Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Nov 20, 2019 20:35:03 GMT -5
Star Trek: Discovery
Season 1 - Part 1
The Vulcan Hello - A decade before the events of the original series (and one hundred years after the events of Star Trek: Enterprise), the USS Shenzhau encounters a group of hostile Klingons led by T'Kuvma, who is hellbent on uniting the Klingon Empire in a war against the Federation. Captain Philippa Georgiou and her First Officer Commander Michael Bernham have intense disagreements on how to handle the situation, forcing Bernham to take harsh measures.
Battle at the Binary Stars - Bernham is thrown in the brig for mutiny, as Georgiou continues to try and negotiate with the Klingons. As the Shenzhau takes heavy damage, Bernham escapes the brig and pleads with Georgiou to capture T'Kuvma alive and turn him into a symbol of disgrace.
Context is for Kings - Six months after the death of Georgiou, the Federation and the Klingon Empire is at war and Bernham has been given a life imprisonment sentence for her mutiny. During a prison transfer, Bernham's transport is forced to take haven on the science Starship USS Discovery. Put to work by the ship's captain, Gabriel Lorca, Burnham becomes curious of the Discovery's secret experiment involving alien spores.
The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry - Burnham believes that an alien creature they salvaged from the wreckage of the USS Glenn is the secret to controlling the spores and getting the Discovery's jump drive functional. The crew races against time to get it working to rescue a mining colony from the Klingons.
I went back and watched a few episodes from the first season while I waited for my friends to give the okay to watching the last batch of season two (which should be tonight). So far I'm going to stand by my assessment that I enjoyed the first season more than the second, though I find both seasons pretty solid Trek seasons.
The one thing I will note about these first four episode is that it's amost as if Discovery has two pilots. The first two episodes are more of a prologue than anything, as it mostly sets up the characters of Bernham and Saru, as well as the Klingon war setting. Another Star Trek series would probably explain all of this in exposition, or a five minute section before the opening credits. Discovery gets a bit more into the dirt than that, which is probably just an excuse to get the series more action focused. I have no problem with a Star Trek series carving a distinct identity though. And if I ever want all of those diplomatic talks and table meetings, I always have TNG to go back to.
Once we get to Context is for Kings, it almost feels like the show is resetting. We're given new characters that will serve as our main cast, and given new scientific ideas to explore. It doesn't feel like a brand new show, but it's not exactly in full swing yet. But I love the touch and feel aspect of exploration in these episodes, as the characters are introduced to the spores and they discover something new and game changing about them with each episode.
But while I hope to get through the last run of season two tonight, I have to deal with reality soon in the upcoming weeks, so I'm not sure when I'll finish season one. I won't go into details, but hopefully I'll be back up and running in full steam in a few months.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Dec 28, 2019 11:39:50 GMT -5
Star Trek: Discovery
Season 2 - Part 4
Through the Valley of the Shadows - When a Red Signal appears above a Klingon monastery housing a time crystal, and also the son of Tyler and L'Rell. Pike leads a mission to the monastery to retrieve the crystal, but is shown a vision of his horrible fate.
Such Sweet Sorrow Part 1 - After attempts to destroy the Discovery to keep the Sphere data out of the hands of Section 31 prove to be unsuccessful, Burnham devises a plan to use the time crystal and a newly constructed Red Angel suit to lead the Discovery nine hundred years into the future to keep the data safe.
Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2 - The Discovery and the Enterprise battle Stamets and Section 31 to buy Burnham time on her mission to set off the Red Signals and lead the Discovery to an unknown future.
We actually watched these episodes a month ago, but because of various troubles and holiday stuff I haven't been able to log them until this moment. Since then I've also watched some Doctor Who and Lost in Space, which will all be logged in one giant wave.
As for Discovery, did it stick the landing? On can't say Discovery isn't a visually spectacular series. The two-part finale is probably among the most stylish, visual effects heavy things I've ever seen on television, let alone Star Trek in general. But Star Trek isn't really about thrills, so it's kind of a moot point. If the storyline isn't intriguing then it could be all for nothing. It's a hectic story that's always in motion and I was always invested in how it would turn out. The ending is somewhat maddeningly ambiguous but gets one excited for where a third season will take us. Luckily that season is just around the corner and we have Picard in the meantime, so I'm not too concerned. It's a better cliffhanger than "Hey, it's the Enterprise!" from last year, that's for certain.
But while those last few episodes are fun and pretty to look at, some of the episodes in this season's midsection are the ones I look more fondly upon in reflection. I also don't like how viewing several Short Trek's became a requirement this year to understand certain characters in the finale. If it's not important enough to be in the show then it shouldn't be followed up on in the show. Luckily I rather enjoyed Tilly's relationship with the alien princess, so I wasn't too bothered.
I also liked the foreshadowing to the original series episode The Menagerie, which gives Pike a moment to accept his fate, which is something he never got in previous incarnations. Once he was a captain, once he was a cripple, and once he was a Bruce Greenwood, but now he's starting to become a character. I would totally watch a Pike TV series.
Also, Spock without the hipster beard is horrifying. I can't believe I'm saying this, but for the love of god man, GROW IT BACK!
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Dec 28, 2019 14:00:22 GMT -5
Doctor Who
Revival Series 1 - Part 1
Rose - Rose, a normal woman living in London, finds herself attacked by living mannequins and saved by a mysterious man known only as "The Doctor." Intrigued by him, Rose digs deeper only to find he is an alien time traveler.
The End of the World - The Doctor takes his new companion Rose to five billion years in the future to witness the destruction of the Earth...from a party of a satellite with a view of the planet's last hours. But there are party crashers in the form of small mechanical spiders, which begin murdering guests.
The Unquiet Dead - The Doctor and Rose investigate gas-like beings who are possessing corpses in 1869. With the help of famed author Charles Dickens, they seek to communicate with the creatures.
Aliens of London - The Doctor returns Rose to her time...twelve months too late. While she attempts to re-establish her relationship with her family and boyfriend, a UFO crash lands and the Doctor investigates what may be humanity's first contact with an alien species.
My Doctor Who knowledge is limited. The only Who products I have seen being through Rifftrax, namely the Peter Cushing movies (which apparently is fake Doctor Who) and the 80's TV special The Five Doctors which didn't even have five Doctors in it. Also King Kong Escapes, which has someone named Doctor Who in it. It always seemed like something I'd enjoy if I got into it, though my OCD would always nag at me if I started watching a TV series which is notoriously missing nearly one hundred episodes (it still doesn't forgive me because Mystery Science Theater has one lonely episode missing). But it was probably a matter of time before I started to dip my toe in it. Revival series first, because it's actually not lost.
So, I believe this starts out in 2005. Doctor Who had been off the air for about sixteen years or so, aside from an attempted revival TV movie in 1996. From the looks of things, the revival series tried to make the Doctor a bit sexier and with more youth appeal (for example, he no longer dresses like a hobbit schoolteacher), casting Christopher Eccleston, AKA Destro from GI Joe/Malekith from Thor 2. Eccleston is very game for Doctor quirk and snark, and while I don't think he's entirely an ideal lead, he does grow on you like an infection and he has a decent chemistry with his co-star/companion Billie Piper as Rose, which keeps things fun.
I myself have always gravitated to TV shows about ordinary people on an extraordinary journey out of their control. I watched a lot of Lost in Space growing up, and during my teen-to-twenties I was a heavy binger on Quantum Leap and Sliders, and more recently the series Timeless. Doctor Who seems to be cut from the same cloth, though the Doctor isn't exactly "ordinary." So I find myself using Rose more as my own focal point and using her as my rock, because seeing this fantastical journey through her eyes is more of where I find my entertainment value. I take the Doctor being more of a plot convenience that sucked her into it more than anything, which could change should the Doctor gain more development. I only know snippets about the character, like him being a "Time Lord" or some other nonsense babble. I have no clue what a "Time Lord" is other than some alien that travels through time and has James Bond like regeneration powers that make him look like someone else (I assume this is true of all Brits, honestly), but this revival series hasn't exactly established them outside of a name drop really.
The episodes themselves are hokey fun. They're fakey and silly, but there's enough cheek to the show's attitude that makes it work. The first episode, Rose, has a lot of rushed elements to it, like a lot of bad pilots, and it also relies on the characters being impulsive to move it forward (Rose running into the Tardis at the end because why not being the big "WOW she would dive off a cliff on a whim" moment of the episode, and she spends most of the next episode being mopey at her impulsiveness). I think I enjoyed the next three more, with The Unquiet Dead being the peak of these first four episodes for me, because it brought me back to those silly, individual Sliders episodes that just existed in a bottle and didn't matter the following week. I had a lot of fun with that one.
The fourth episode is part one of a two parter, though I wasn't too into the story as a whole. The idea of a first contact storyline held promise, though I felt it never really stuck the landing while it's humor fell fairly crass as well (the aliens like to fart a lot). I enjoyed the idea of Rose returning to her own time, though in an oopsie daisy by the Doctor it's a year later and she's now a missing person. My one thought about that is that I think it came too soon in the season. Rose had only had two adventures with the Doctor before coming back home. It seemed to me that more of a buffer would have made this land.
It's a good show. I'll keep at it to see if it ever becomes a great one. Maybe I'll mingle some classic Who in also.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Dec 28, 2019 18:57:26 GMT -5
Lost in Space
2018 Season 2 - Part 1
Shipwrecked - Seven months after the Robinsons were separated from the Resolute, the Jupiter 2 is stranded on a thin island on a planet. When their crops are accidentally destroyed, John concocts a plan to turn the ship into a raft and sail to a different region of the planet.
Precipice - With the Jupiter 2 stuck above an alien anomaly in the sea, Maureen and Penny find themselves trapped beneath the ship and the duo must find a way to get back to their family.
Echoes - The crew of the Jupiter 2 make their way back to the Resolute, only to discover it has been abandoned. The Robinsons search for clues as to what happened on board, while Dr. Smith feeds her own agenda.
Scarecrow - The Robinsons, Don West, and Dr. Smith are reunited with the rest of their colony and each do their part to get the Resolute functional and the rest of the families to the Alpha Centuri star system. However, Will tries to communicate with the alien robot designated "Scarecrow," while John discovers that a corrosive alien substance may threaten the future of their mission.
I make it no secret that I hate most of what Netflix does. I think they miss the point of what makes TV fun and often just take one story, stretch it beyond comprehension, and break it into pieces and call it good. It bores me. If a TV series is to be serialized, I'd much prefer the show to use the individual episodes to tell their own individual stories that serve that larger narrative. Instead most shows like this dick around for an hour and toss a tepid plot point at the viewer at the end of each episode to make it seem like something happened (The Walking Dead was king of this).
Thank god for Lost in Space. At long last, a show that does serialized storytelling right.
Lost in Space tells one arc for its season, but each episode is an individual entity with an obstacle to overcome. The episodes aren't afraid to tell a story, rather than most shows which have the characters mope around about the ramifications of the thirty seconds of plot from the previous week. I can identify individual episodes of Lost in Space, and tell you which episodes stand out as favorites. I can't say the same for a lot of other crap on Netflix.
Also helping is that the show is a fun reinterpretation of that childhood favorite show of mine way back when. I love the spirit of adventure that inhabits the new Lost in Space, and it's not just in tune with the original episodes of 1965, but done with such gusto and heart. I especially loved the first episode of this season, which saw the crew find their inner "Swiss Family Robinson" and turn the Jupiter into a sailboat. It brought back memories of one of the original series' best episodes, The Hungry Sea, where the Robinsons and Major West navigated some rough waters in the Chariot.
I find myself less thrilled as the Jupiter finds its way back to the Resolute. Echoes is a fun little empty hall, horror themed episode, but seeing the Robinsons reunite with the rest of the colony didn't do much for me. I liked the use of the colony in the previous season, but so far I don't see much potential cor bringing them back. Especially when the essence of Lost in Space is the Robinsons, West, and Dr. Smith isolated from the rest of the universe having a crazy adventure. This season started with the show embracing that, then seemed to get cold feet about it.
But the show has built up a lot of good will with me, and me and my friends can't wait to finish up the new season next week. Can't wait to see where the wild ride takes us!
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Dec 29, 2019 20:26:02 GMT -5
Lost in Space
2018 Season 2 - Part 2
Run - With John impaled and trapped under rubble, Judy treks across a dangerous alien landscape to save his life.
Severed - When an infectious corrosion spreads from the planet to the Resolute, Penny, Dr. Smith, and Vijay find themselves trapped on the opposite end of the station and are in danger of being jettisoned into space.
Evolution - Finally reunited with the Robot, Will, Maureen, and Adler make their way back to a Jupiter rendezvous, but Adler plans to subdue the Robot for his own purposes.
I went through the last season of Lost in Space twice and what always struck me about that year was how lean and efficient it is. There is always something happening and it is always relevant to the story being told. That doesn't mean there probably wasn't fat that could have been trimmed, though if there was the charisma of the characters helped mask it.
This season does kind of sag in patches. The fourth episode is mostly just a set up for the next two, while the seventh episode seemingly is just a calm before the wheels cranking in the final three are set into motion. Ultimately, I don't question whether or not these episodes are necessary, absolutely they are, but they do feel their length as opposed to the breeziness of the more action packed episodes. This batch has Run and Severed, which are pretty great episodes of hurdles for our heroes to contend with and troubleshoot in fun ways. And Run has the added strength of being a character piece between John and Judy, helping establish their bond as step-father and step-daughter.
And the way the series has been wrestling with Dr. Smith's conscience has been extraordinary. There's more than a little bit of Baltar from the Battlestar Galactica remake in the DNA that Parker Posey gives the character, in that she's not the bumbling blowhard from the previous series and she isn't a simple villain either, offering up something more complex and gray. I can't wait to see where her story takes her.
When Lost in Space hits the ball, it flies over the fences. It's hard not to notice when it settles for a base hit. But I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happens next after Evolution's cliffhanger.
Edit: I would be remiss if I neglected to mention that wonderful callback to the first season where the Robot moves a stone to honor the death of the horse. That was beautiful.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Dec 31, 2019 8:44:59 GMT -5
Doctor Who
Revival Series 1 - Part 2
World War Three - The Doctor is blamed for deaths throughout the British ministry caused by alien infiltration, while the aliens attempt to spark nuclear war for their own financial gain. The Doctor and Rose seek to find out the origins of the aliens to get a leg up on them.
Dalek - The TARDIS is routed into Utah circa 2012, where the Doctor discovers he has captive a Dalek, a member of a hostile race and possibly the last surviving member of his species from the Time War. The Doctor implores them to kill it while Rose seeks to free it.
The Long Game - Joined by their new companion Adam, the Doctor and Rose take him to the height of human civilization, 200,000 years in the future on a space station that uplinks people's brains online. Originally intending for his companions to relax and explore, the Doctor soon suspects that something is nefarious exists on the station they've landed on. Meanwhile, Adam tries to upgrade himself future technology and use it for his own gain.
"Ladies, gentlemen, multisex, undecided, or robot..."
I've kinda taken to watching an episode of Doctor Who before going to bed while I wait for melatonin to work its magic. It's a fun way to close out the night, because it has a warm nostalgia vibe despite having never watched this show before. I wish there were more adventure of the week shows like this on air today. Often I really don't care enough to follow lengthy storylines from episode to episode.
I was iffy on the two parter that I split up between the last batch and this one, but one thing I will say is that I enjoyed part two more than I did part one. There were segments that I thought were clever and fun, like the aliens playing hide and seek with Rose and the mum from Shaun of the Dead and also later on when the Doctor is trying to figure out what planet they're from, so he has Rose and Shaun's mother list out various things they know about them, to which the Doctor exclaims "Narrows it down!" after each piece of knowledge. I also got a good laugh at the scene where the Doctor is cornered and says "If you're going to pin somebody, don't pin them against a lift" (or something like that) then jumps into an elevator.
I also quite liked the end segment between Rose and her mother, in which Rose promised that since the TARDIS is a time machine, she'll be back in ten seconds. Her mother counts to ten, but the TARDIS doesn't return. This could be quite ominous, because it implies something happens to Rose and she never sees her mother again, but it could also imply the Doctor made another oopsie daisy and who knows when she'll be back. I still contend that a return home for Rose happened too early for this to have a full effect, though it started to seem to me as if the reason they rushed it out of the way was to offer maybe a slight sense of closure between Rose and her boyfriend, who she just kind of abandoned in a heartbeat in the first episode. By the next episode it started to seem like this was pushed out of the way so Rose could have a long standing flirtatious romance with another regular companion character, Adam, introduced in the very next episode...but to put it simply, that was a big fat NOPE by episode seven. Still, maybe it was meant to make her flirting with men seem less trampy if she didn't have some dude waiting for her that DIDN'T have a time machine. Adam's arc is kind of weird and unconventional, but it works. I won't miss the son of a bitch, though (unless he comes back as a villain at some point). Rose's chemistry with the Doctor is serviceable enough for now.
Also noteworthy about this episode is that so soon after seeing Shaun of the Dead co-star Penelope Wilton on the series did we find Shaun himself, Simon Pegg, playing a villain. I was a little taken aback...was this coincidence? Probably. I imagine they are both very well liked in the UK, even not taking that particular film as part of the equation. The episode was filmed in 2005, and Shaun of the Dead had come out the year before, so Pegg was fairly well known for both it and Spaced at the time. It's interesting to think of this quaint time when Pegg's career was blossoming, before he reunited with Edgar Wright on Hot Fuzz and The World's End and even joined huge franchises like Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. It's fun to see a little role he did before all of that to remind me that he was once this quirky little actor I liked seeing pop up every once in a while. He's pretty good in the episode, though the episode is not great. It's just kind of an episode where something bad is happening and the Doctor conveniently bumps into it. The Adam subplot of the episode is more interesting than the A-plot, but it's given the short end of the stick.
That leaves one episode I haven't quite touched upon, Dalek. It's notable for not only bringing the Doctor's most famous foes into the revamped series, but it also sheds a bit more light on what exactly this "Time War" the series has been teasing is all about, alluding that the Time Lords and the Daleks were battling and wiped each other out, leaving the Doctor and the sole Dalek as the last of their respective kind. I kind of doubt that's true, though I imagine all of this makes more sense to people more familiar with classic Doctor Who lore (I might get BritBox for a few months and check out some back catalog stuff). Time will tell on that, but I think Dalek is clearly the best episode of the first seven. It's a fairly strong tale of two scarred war vets from opposing sides, and I like Rose's compassionate point of view getting in between them. If I had one complaint for the episode, I'd say the human villain is weak and underdeveloped. It seems like they should have put more time into this character that the plot of the episode rides on. Instead his character is arrogant collecting guy with money that "owns the internet," whatever the hell that means.
Halfway through this season so far. This show is fun.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Jan 1, 2020 10:20:14 GMT -5
Lost in Space
2018 Season 2 - Part 3
Unknown - Upon discovering the captain of the Resolute intends to leave behind the colonists still on the planet out of fear of respreading the corrosion, Maureen takes command of the vessel through mutiny in an effort to cleanse the water containers from the infection and make it safe for the colonists to board.
Shell Game - John and Maureen are left behind by Hastings and are forced to chase the Resolute in maintenance pods. Meanwhile, Will, Penny, and Judy try to help the Robot get Scarecrow to the planet below to save his life.
Ninety-Seven - The Resolute is under attack by an army of the Robot's alien race. They decide the best course of action is to send the children of the Resolute to Alpha Centauri on the Jupiter 2, while the parents stay behind on the vessel.
A lot happens in these final three episodes of the show, with a mutiny being staged, the family becoming fugitives, and a finale that has no easy solutions and only brings up uncertainty for the future. Sending the children into space by themselves with Judy in command is in some ways the logical course of action, because it's a preservation of the future of the colony. But still, when I think about how it might end up...
Has anyone ever read Lord of the Flies?
KILL THE ROBOT! DRINK IT'S OIL!
And the final image of the series has Judy and the young new crew of the Jupiter 2 not finding themselves at Alpha Centauri, but in a different star system staring at the wreckage of a spaceship. I felt a bit of a callback to the Lost in Space movie, where the Robinsons accidentally flew through a time hole and found the wreckage of a search party vessel that was looking for them, which itself was something of a callback to the original series episode The Derelict, in which the Robinsons just investigate an alien ship and Dr. Smith pisses off the inhabitants. This one has the added intrigue of the ship they find being commanded by Judy's birth father, who was lost in space before she was born. I should have seen this coming, since the show had been teasing Judy's father all season, but at the time I had just assumed that they were just setting up the episode Run, which centered on Judy's relationship with John, and how he isn't her biological father, but he is still her dad. I have questions of why exactly the Robot brought them to this specific place, but a third season should be interesting nevertheless.
I also have had suspicions of "Dr. Smith's sacrifice" since the moment she put the space suit on. Dr. Smith willingly putting herself in danger for the Robinsons had me telling my friends "That's not the Dr. Smith I know." If this were the original series, Don would have proposed Smith go out into the bay with the frozen killer robots, Smith would have gotten whiney about it and complained about his back, and then John would have done it just to see some progress get made. After we saw the "death without a body" scene, it kept nagging at me that Smith needed a motive other than "because the Robinsons are my family now." If this were the last episode of the series, then sure, play that card, but the show goes on (pending renewal) and Smith's character is somewhat necessary to the Robinson dynamic of this series. If you wrote her out of the show, then that takes a major obstacle out of there way, because her agenda keeps things from getting easy for their mission. At a certain point toward the end, it occured to me that Dr. Smith may have used the situation as a distraction to board the Jupiter 2 somehow and fly away from the killer robots. I'm not sure how they did it, and it seems to have been written in a way that would make it easy to drop Parker Posey should she choose not to return, but I'm pretty certain that's the intent.
With it's second season, Lost in Space may have established itself as my favorite show on the air. It has a spirited sense of fun that both honors the original series and keeps me ready for another episode while almost everything else on TV works hard to be a dour duplication of the Breaking Bad formula. There are worse shows to take inspiration from, but Lost in Space's optimism in the face of insurmountable odds is addictive and makes me crave more. Netflix seems to have trouble renewing things past second seasons anymore, and they've already canceled two of the four shows I used their service for anyway (Daredevil and Mystery Science Theater, with Disenchantment being the other that's still airing), so I wouldn't be surprised if Lost in Space doesn't come back. But if it does get canceled, it cements my opinion of Netflix being unreliable and not worth any investment in. Yes, they renew Stranger Things, which is a juggernaut at this point, but why can't you support the little guys too, ya know?
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Jan 3, 2020 16:13:56 GMT -5
Doctor Who
Season 1 - An Unearthly Child
An Unearthly Child - Schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright become concerned about the peculiar behavior of student Susan Foreman, who shows high intelligence but odd behavior. They visit Susan at her home and discover she lives in a Police Box with her grandfather, though the inside is much more alien than the outside.
The Cave of Skulls - Ian and Barbara are highjacked by Susan and her grandfather, the Doctor, for having seen the inside of the alien time vessel, the TARDIS. The group winds up in a primitive time where the Doctor is taken captive by a tribe of savage humans who wish for him to make fire.
The Forest of Fear - Conflict within the tribe leads to an elder woman freeing the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara. The time travelers search for the TARDIS while being hunted by other tribe members.
The Firemaker - Stopping to help the tribe leader out of compassion, the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara are captured again for their good deed and make a fire to appease the tribe. But they must find a way to escape when the tribe refuses to free them.
Guess who got a BritBox account?
I cut off all of my streaming months ago, because the guy I was renting from stopped paying the internet bill (which was supposed to be part of my rent, then he raised it and still didn't pay the bill) and I stopped using most of them. I only got to watch Lost in Space because I was having a get together with other fans of the show at their house. I can still stream through my phone though, so I decided to start watching classic Who during my lunch at work. I may have to dump it later this month so I can start up CBS for Star Trek, so we'll see how long this lasts for now.
But while I don't normally give streaming services too much credit, if you're interested in Doctor Who, BritBox is a godsend. BBC's disc releases of the show are erratic and hard to keep track of. I understand the idea of individual serials on their own DVDs and purchased separately, but boy, pricing them like individual movies is rather archaic. Shows like Star Trek, I Love Lucy, and Twilight Zone started doing that in the early 2000's, but it was soon abandoned for complete season sets. BBC is finally releasing season sets on blu-ray (of a show that was filmed on video tape), but they're shooting them out randomly. I imagine they're saving the incomplete seasons for last while they work up a battle plan for them, though I'm not entirely sure what their strategy is in releasing random seasons from the middle of different eras (Season one of Tom Baker followed by season seven?). Keeping track of Doctor Who discs is a headache and it looks expensive, so having what's available all in one spot is something I think we can all be thankful for.
Apparently most of BritBox's customers went straight for Doctor Who also, so I'm probably not the only one that thinks this.
Since classic Doctor Who is broken up into mini-serials, I'm going to have some fun with my format and split them into serial based segments. This show seems tailor made for it. And I kind of dig it. Doctor Who just takes however the hell much time it needs to tell its story. None of this stretching it out to an entire season crap or trying to jam it all in one episode.
Anyway, I was hoping to get more establishment for who the Doctor was and what he's doing screwing with timd by going back to the beginning, because the revival always seems to sidestep it. Did I get what I was hoping for? Doctor's explanation: "We're aliens. We have a time machine."
Cool. Thanks for clearing that up.
In this incarnation he's exiled for some reason and they let him have a time machine he can't control because why not? I don't see what could go wrong with this plan. He also has a granddaughter with him and at some point he decided to settle down in the 1960's and put her through school. She seems to already know everything at this Earth school, so I'm not sure what the point is. Anyway, in a plot point that seems straight out of an R.L. Stein book, the teachers discover their student is an alien and they get abducted. What the Doctor has planned for them is unclear, but I wouldn't rule out anal probes.
I quite like how the Doctor gets his name. Ian refers to him as Doctor Foreman in the second episode, to which the Doctor, clearly unfamiliar with the surname Susan has chosen, responds "Doctor Who?" He never gives his name, so they just call him "Doctor."
As for the serial's storyline, it's okay, though it runs a little long and repetitious toward the end (there's only so many times I can hear "MAKE FIRE!" before I get sick of it). The first episode is more of a prologue that tosses Ian and Barbara into the TARDIS with the Doctor and Susan. I reiterate that I have no idea what the Doctor's big plan was for them. He just boasts at them for a few minutes, says they know too much (mostly because he told them), and whisks them away. But honestly...even if they "knew too much," who was going to believe them about a police box time machine? Who cares what they knew?
The Doctor is very self-important and prideful, explaining about how his intellect towers above the others as often as possible. Then he is beaten up by cavemen and comes off as a doddering old fool. William Hartnell is very good in the role, at any rate. The caveman storyline for him doesn't have much meat on its bones other than to make the main players run. Most of the time I found myself thinking "Boy, they sure had English down pat back then."
But I have fun with old cheese like this. I'll watch some more because why not?
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Jan 4, 2020 21:47:49 GMT -5
Doctor Who
Revival Series 1 - Part 3
Father's Day - Rose requests that the Doctor allow her to be present for her father's death when she was a baby, just to comfort him as he died. But unable to watch him be hit by a car, she rushes out into the street and pushes him out of the way, saving his life. But the paradox awakens creatures called Reapers, which devour everyone in sight. Even more problematic, the TARDIS turns into an actual police box, and the Doctor is unable to repair the timeline.
The Empty Child - The Doctor and Rose chase a metal cylinder into London 1941, in the midst of World War II. The Doctor seeks answers about the cylinder and discovers a haunting paranormal outbreak. Meanwhile, Rose meets another time traveler.
The Doctor Dances - The Doctor, Rose, and Captain Jack fend off the abnormal gas mask wearing creatures and seek the truth behind them.
It's kind of funny going back and forth between old Doctor Who and new Doctor Who. I like thinking that William Hartnell and Christopher Eccleston are the same character, and picturing Susan looking up to Eccleston and calling him "grandfather." Speaking of Susan, I wonder how many regenerations/actresses she has gone through.
As for the episodes, it's hard to look at Father's Day and not immediately think of the classic Star Trek episode City on the Edge of Forever. Trek did it a little smarter, with its "change one thing, change everything" plot as opposed to Who's "change one thing, monsters will eat you" plot, but the episode is fairly touching.
The gas mask two parter waned my interest. It didn't really grab me. Though I did notice whatshisface who played Merlin on Arrow. I took one look at John Barrowman and sait to myself "It's that one dude! The guy who looks like his face was molded from dried up Play Doh!" Much like Jason Clarke, I find Barrowman a bit of a charisma vacuum, and his character is more grating than charming so far. But it looks like we're stuck with him for a bit, so buckle up.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Jan 5, 2020 17:55:17 GMT -5
Doctor Who
Revival Series 1 - Part 4
Boom Town - The Doctor, Rose, and Jack return to 2006 and find the Slitheen alien impersonating Margaret Blaine is still up to no good, so they capture her with the intention of taking her back to her home world. Meanwhile, Rose and Mickey discuss their "long distance" relationship.
Bad Wolf - The Doctor, Rose, and Jack are abducted into a trio of reality show games, as the Doctor competes in a Big Brother style series, Rose answers questions in The Weakest Link, and Jack is entered into Extreme Makeover. But if they lose their respective games, they will be disintegrated.
The Parting of the Ways - To save Rose from the Daleks, the Doctor sends her and the TARDIS back to 2006 with a message to let the TARDIS die while he and Jack devise a plan to destroy the new breed of Daleks. Unable to cope with knowing the Doctor is in trouble without her, Rose risks everything to get back to him.
And Christopher Eccleston's short run (not the shortest, though as Paul McGann and technically Peter Cushing have that honor) as the Doctor. I have no idea what the reason was for Eccleston's departure, though I imagine it ended when David Tennant stormed the set, made Eccleston his bitch, and shouted at him "You will call me Commander!"
Is it weird that Doctor Who makes me want to watch GI Joe? But if it is, I don't want to be normal.
One thing I liked about the final three episodes of this series is that they pretty much deal with the repercussions of the Doctor's actions, and how sometimes there is an overlooked loose end or things sometimes change for the worse. The episode Bad Wolf, for better or worse, reminded me of a type of episode Sliders would do, where they would just enter a dimension and be swept up in some topical nonsense, in this case reality shows. It's also the type of episode Sliders probably should have done more of, as it's a sequel to a previous episode and the travelers in question discover that their "saving" it previously might have made things worse (I do wonder about some of those Sliders worlds and how things probably went haywire after they left).
Speaking of this episode, I was shocked to see The Weakest Link play such a strong part in the episode (they even got the host to reprise her role). I had to double check the year of this series aired, because it seemed like Weakest Link references would have been archaic even by 2005. It turns out Weakest Link lasted much longer in Britain than the US, where it was popular for a few months then just quietly died maybe a year later, so the show was still on the air across the pond when this aired. Somehow, all these years later, "You are the weakest link. Goodbye." is still the cringiest pop culture reference a person can make.
I'm not entirely sure I needed the episode prior, though I enjoyed the scenes with the Doctor and Margaret eating dinner. It gave us some more crap between Rose and her "boyfriend" Mickey and their relationship status. You know, the boyfriend she abandoned by jumping into a time machine out of nowhere and then came back, offered to take him with her, and he declined, then she went off and flirted with two more Doctor companions before coming back again. Did we really need to say anything further about this? It seems like this relationship is DOA.
And Rose, CALL YOUR MOTHER! Tell Mickey to stop humping your leg, and ring your mum to let her know you're not dead.
The finale also has themes of repercussions, as the Doctor feels regret for dragging Rose along. I like the idea of this episode, where he just dumps her back home and we see her trying to live a normal life, but is lost in her head, unable to return to her life knowing the Doctor is in danger. Then we cut back to the Doctor fighting a war with the Daleks...a war portrayed by TV budget. A lot of closeups of three different people shooting guns and shouting at each other, and occasionally going "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" It's the perfect pullback to remind you of just how silly this show is.
Then we climax with the big regeneration scene every Doctor needs. Malekith from Thor: The Dark World turns into Scrooge McDuck from Ducktales. I can live with that. David Tennant seems like a lot of fun.
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Post by crowschmo on Jan 6, 2020 17:57:36 GMT -5
Doctor WhoThe Empty Child - The Doctor and Rose chase a metal cylinder into London 1941, in the midst of World War II. The Doctor seeks answers about the cylinder and discovers a haunting paranormal outbreak. Meanwhile, Rose meets another time traveler. The Doctor Dances - The Doctor, Rose, and Captain Jack fend off the abnormal gas mask wearing creatures and seek the truth behind them. The gas mask two parter waned my interest. It didn't really grab me. Though I did notice whatshisface who played Merlin on Arrow. I took one look at John Barrowman and sait to myself "It's that one dude! The guy who looks like his face was molded from dried up Play Doh!" Much like Jason Clarke, I find Barrowman a bit of a charisma vacuum, and his character is more grating than charming so far. But it looks like we're stuck with him for a bit, so buckle up. Oh, wow. I had the opposite reaction. I loved these two episodes and I love Capt. Jack (and John Barrowman). I didn't think he was a charisma vacuum at all. When someone can flirt just by saying "hello", you're in for some fun. And, I loved the whole trust-me-it's-sonic banter when The Doctor was a bit embarrassed about the fact HIS sonic device was a screwdriver.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Jan 6, 2020 19:41:46 GMT -5
I did like the sonic screwdriver bit. That was a lot of fun. I hear this one is a favorite, but I just felt my attention just disappear during it. It was a weird zombie episode with gas masks, and I just wasn't feeling it.
There's just something about Barrowman that irks me. His face looks weird and watching him be flirtatious makes me ill. Since I was enjoying Doctor Who I was thinking of sidestepping to Torchwood, but now I have doubts.
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Post by mylungswereaching on Jan 6, 2020 22:19:12 GMT -5
Torchwood is up and down. I found some of it to be very, very powerful drama. Some was meh.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Jan 8, 2020 13:05:41 GMT -5
Doctor Who
The Christmas Invasion and Revival Series 2 - Part 1
The Christmas Invasion - The TARDIS crash lands back in London 2006 at Christmas time. With the Doctor still recovering from his regeneration process, Rose is forced to stand by idly as an alien invasion proceeds on Earth once again.
New Earth - The Doctor and Rose venture five billion years into the future once again, and land on the colonized planet New Earth. The Doctor investigates miracle cures at a hospital yet discovers a horrifying secret. Meanwhile, Rose bumps into Lady Cassandra, who steals her body.
Tooth and Claw - The Doctor and Rose travel back to Victorian England and have the honor of meeting Queen Victoria. Having been invited to the castle, they soon discover that there is a werewolf being harbored on the premises.
School Reunion - The Doctor and Rose investigate a school with an oddly growing academic rate, which may be the result of alien staff members. This has also attracted the attention of former Doctor companion Sarah Jane Smith.
"Am I...ginger?"
The first regeneration of this revival series is mostly successful. I think David Tennant is more charismatic than Christopher Eccleston, and so far the episodes themselves have been pretty fun. I had a few reservations about The Christmas Invasion special, which I think runs in its tracks for a little while while Rose waits for the Doctor to recover, but I understand the intent of the episode. The main drama has little to do with the aliens that are invading, but more about Rose's uncertainty in whether or not the Doctor will be the same person or whether he will fully recover at all, before climaxing with the Doctor waking up and solving everything in two minutes because he's still the Doctor.
I'm also not quite sure I like some choices done with Penelope Wilton's character, who was hyped up as a great leader in her previous episode, then the Doctor decides, "You know what, I don't like you. I'll ruin you." But I'm of two minds on this, because I do like the idea that presents history painting this character in a positive light, then she does a despicable deed in front of the Doctor, causing him to realize "Wait, you're kind of horrible." It's a complicated moment, as I'm sure it's intended to be.
The next series kicks off with some fun monster-of-the-week romps. We have a returning villain in episode one, Cassandra, who is now body jumping and setting up some amusing performances by Billie Piper and David Tennant. I like how Tennant is always aware that something is wrong with Rose but doesn't vocalize it until he's staring down who he thinks is responsible. The Victorian werewolf episode is also an amusing horror-in-a-castle aside.
Probably the highlight of these episodes is School Reunion. Most Doctor Who fans may get a kick out of seeing Sarah Jane and K9 again, though I have no context for them at this time (it's going to be about ten seasons into original Doctor Who before I bump into them, by my understanding). But even though I didn't quite know who they were, I was charmed by their presence. Sarah Jane is very charismatic and I like how gung ho she is, while K9 is just deliciously cheesy. I liked Sarah Jane's interaction with Rose, which they react like bitter/jealous girlfriends before bonding over gossiping about the Doctor's little quirks. It's kind of interesting how the revival of Doctor Who has been teasing Torchwood for a few episodes now, which would later get its own spinoff, but Sarah Jane just kind of flies at us out of nowhere in this episode, who also got her own spinoff in The Sarah Jane Adventures (K9 also got some sort of spinoff too, though short-lived). Doctor Who was really branching out into a TV universe during this period.
What I really liked about this episode though is just how Buffy the Vampire Slayer it is. I mean...a school with kids dying/or disappearing, full of monsters, and it even has Anthony Head in it! Holy crap dude! That's gotta be self aware of something!
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Jan 15, 2020 21:41:56 GMT -5
Doctor Who
Season 1 - The Daleks
The Dead Planet - The Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara land in the future on an alien planet with no signs of life except a barren city. The TARDIS becomes inoperable after leaking mercury, forcing the travelers to voyage into the city to find the substance.
The Survivors - The Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara are taken captive by a race of beings in cybernetic bodies called the Daleks. They also learn the planet's radiation could be lethal.
The Escape - Susan is sent back to the TARDIS to retrieve drugs for the group's radiation sickness. On her way back she meets human-like inhabitants of this world, the Thals. Upon learning of Susan's run-in with the other race, the Daleks set up a trap for the Thals.
The Ambush - Highjacking a Dalek cybernetic body, Ian poses as a Dalek in an effort to escape with the Doctor, Susan, and Barbara.
The Expedition - The Doctor and Ian try to convince the Thals to return to the city and battle the Daleks so they can retrieve the TARDIS's fluid intake valve that the Daleks took.
The Ordeal - The Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara, and the Thals venture back into the city while the Daleks plan retaliation.
The Rescue - The Doctor tries to manipulate the Daleks into giving him back the fluid intake valve, while the others plan a surprise attack.
Nearly twice the length of the previous serial, but it feels like it has less downtime. It's another story where the group is captured and has to make their escape from whatever inhabitants they encounter, though it gets the advantage of at least having a story other than "angry cave man want fire!" This has more structure to it, more plot points, more intrigue to the situation...everything is bolder and better.
This is also noteworthy of being the first appearance of the Daleks, those things that look like robots but are totally not robots and Who fans get pissed about if you call them robots, even though...dude, they look like robots. There's just a little squid man at the center of each, controlling the body. Like Krang from Ninja Turtles (or Utroms for comic enthusiasts). We don't get much of a gander at their true form here, just a slithering tentacle, but they're a cool alien race all the same.
It's fun to see the group work out their team dynamic (Ian and Barbara are less of a load), as they've really only been doing this for a few days even though it has been eleven episodes. I like the episode structure, which features our heroes trying to accomplish one thing before moving onto the next step of the story, with the end of each episode teasing what their next obstacle is. It gets a little tired around The Ordeal, which is a fairly basic walk through sets episode, but I think the story was very well done mostly.
I like how even after the serial ends, the end of the last episode leads directly into the next, leading to a sense of constant forward momentum in the series. It's a lot like what Lost in Space or Quantum Leap used to do, where the end of each episode was a hint of the cold open to the next. It makes bingewatching fun again in it's kinetic energy.
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