RIP - Elisabeth Sladen: Doctor Who is missing something today

The Doctor Who world, as well as British television, were rocked yesterday by the news that Elisabeth Sladen had passed away.

Sladen played Sarah Jane Smith, one of the most popular Doctor Who companions ever. She was loved by millions of Who fans around the world. For many of us, she was the first companion we were familiar with, much as Tom Baker was our first Doctor.

Sarah was my first companion, and yes, I admired her good looks (I was 12 when I first discovered the show, keep in mind). But I also admired the intelligence she was written with, for the most part. The role of the companion in the old Doctor Who series was mainly to look good and to be the Doctor's sounding board, taking the audience's place by asking "What is that, Doctor?" so he could explain what was going on. Somehow, Sarah rose above that. She had a mind of her own, and she very rarely screamed. When she did, you knew it was something scream-worthy, too. Towards the end of her tenure, the writers got away from this a bit, and I think that might be why she left.

Doctor Who - Vampires of Venice

So far, Matt Smith has had a very good season as the Eleventh Doctor in the 47-year history of the Doctor Who program. Of course, four of the five episodes had been written by Stephen Moffat and the one that wasn't was very sub-par, so there hasn't been a good track record for non-Moffat Who.

That was until "Vampires of Venice," written by Toby Whithouse. Whithouse also wrote the excellent "School Reunion" episode for David Tennant's Doctor, the episode that brought back Sarah Jane Smith and K-9. Whithouse provides some great stuff in this episode, good dialogue and an interesting story showing us that it is possible to write for Smith without your last name being "Moffat."

Doctor Who - Flesh and Stone

After last week's thrilling "The Time of Angels", could the second part of the story stand up to all of that? Thankfully, "Flesh and Stone" does that and more. Only an ending to the episode (as opposed to the ending of the story, which is great) that felt a little off mars this excellent episode.

WARNING: Spoilers for "The Time of Angels" below!

The Doctor's brilliant plan as the Weeping Angels are closing in on the group works to perfection, giving the entire party a chance to run into the bowels of the ship "Byzantium." However, the Angels are still on the move, as relentless as zombies and even more aggressive. They can only move when they're not being watched, but they can move lightning-quick when that does happen. What exactly do the Angels want? Why does the crack on Amy's wall (from "The Eleventh Hour") keep appearing, and what does it mean? And why doesn't Amy remember some very public occurrences like a full Dalek invasion of the Earth? Strap yourselves in, because it's going to be a wild ride!

Doctor Who - Time of the Angels

"You lot, you're like rabbits! I'll never be done saving you." - The Doctor

Now that's more like it! After the really poor (and falling even more in my graces as I think about it) "Victory of the Daleks," producer Stephen Moffat brings us a brilliant story (at least so far) to make up for it. "Time of the Angels" has it all: awesome dialogue, great acting, creepy thrills, and a cliffhanger that doesn't feel forced. If Part 2 is anything like Part 1, this one is going to be considered one of the greats.

Doctor Who - Victory of the Daleks

The third episode of Matt Smith's tenure as the Doctor is definitely the least of the three so far, as well as being the first one not written by Executive Producer Steven Moffat. "Victory of the Daleks," written by veteran Who scribe Mark Gatiss, is a rather straightforward story with some interesting set pieces and some dodgy effects (which I guess those who don't know any better think that describes Doctor Who to a tee). Also, the story itself doesn't hang together, and the "new" Daleks are rather silly-looking.

At the end of "The Beast Below," Winston Churchill (Ian McNeice) summoned the Doctor to come and help out with a problem. The Doctor and Amy (Karen Gillan) show up and are greeted by Churchill and some British soldiers. After the usual attempt by Churchill to get the TARDIS for himself (evidently it's a running joke between the Doctor and Churchill), the PM leads the Doctor and Amy up to the roof of the bunker as a German air raid is beginning. Suddenly, energy bursts erupt from behind the sandbags, destroying German planes like they were matchsticks! Professor Bracewell (Bill Paterson) introduces his latest invention, "Ironsides", that will win the war. But they're really Daleks! The Doctor must discover what his oldest enemies are up to, before the Earth itself is destroyed.

Dr. Who - The Beast Below

Now that we've got the regeneration story out of the way, it's time to see how the Doctor's new companion will bear up to the pressure of having adventures. The second episode in Matt Smith's tenure is called "The Beast Below," and it is also written by Executive Producer Stephen Moffat. While it's nowhere near as strong as "The Eleventh Hour," it does have the same great dialogue, characterization and acting that tells me I am going to enjoy the next eleven weeks.

Dr. Who - The Eleventh Hour

Matt Smith is Doctor Who!

With "The Eleventh Hour," the first episode in Smith's tenure as the Doctor as well as the first episode with the excellent Stephen Moffat as producer, Smith makes the role his own.  Those who were worried when David Tennant, the powerhouse Tenth Doctor, left the show, they needn't have.  Moffat gives us a Doctor who's recognizable yet oh so different from Tennant.  Some thought that Smith was too young to play the Doctor with any gravitas, that there was no way we would see the 900+ year-old Time Lord in his portrayal, but I think he proved these skeptics wrong. Or at least he showed that he deserves a chance to further prove himself.

Welcome Matt Smith as the next Doctor Who

As promised in my post about "The End of Time: Part 2", here's the BBC trailer for Matt Smith's first season as the Doctor.  After seeing it, I'm quite pumped.  As young as he is (and he looks younger!), it seems that he'll handle the role beautifully.  I hope the season keeps up what the trailer promises.



Daleks! Weeping Angels! The Angels are the creepiest monsters I've ever seen on Who.

I'm even more pumped now.

Dr. Who - The End of Time: Part 2

So this is it.  So long, David Tennant.  Hello, Matt Smith.  With a mixture of emotion, I sat down to watch the final 75 minutes of David Tennant's career as the Doctor (barring any future multi-Doctor specials), ready for the tears that I knew would come.

And so they did, but not totally because of Tennant's departure.  Part of it was that the episode was a bit crap as well.

Dr. Who - The End of Time: Part 1

David Tennant's time as the 10th Doctor is coming to an end, but he appears to be making the most of it.  Tennant's final episodes as the Doctor are the two-part story "The End of Time," and I've just seen part 1 (which aired on the BBC on Christmas Day).  A tour-de-force, though I can understand why some people may not like it.  Like most of outgoing producer Russell T. Davies' season climaxes, this story is cosmic in scope, very broad, and with the very fabric of Time itself (or maybe just the universe) under threat.

Dr. Who - The Waters of Mars

Watched the latest Dr. Who special last night, "The Waters of Mars."  This is the last special before the 2-part special that comes out at Christmas time that will mark the end of David Tennant as the Doctor.  Once again it was a great hour of television, though it wasn't without its faults.

Dr. Who behind the scenes - ramps up the excitment

Thanks to Blogtor Who for pointing this site out to me!  It's really cool seeing shots of the new Doctor, Matt Smith, and his companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) as they're filming episodes for the season coming up in Spring 2010.  While I really can't wait for the upcoming David Tennant specials, there's something about a new Doctor, new companion, and definitely a new production team, that has me really wishing they would show them now rather than in the Spring.  That is kind of hard to do since they haven't been filmed yet, but can't we just get a time machine and travel forward to April 2010 (or whenever they're going to start showing them)?

Doctor Who Specials - I'm Getting Excited Again!

As some of you know, I'm a huge Doctor Who fan, and I've really been enjoying the series since it came back five years ago (God, has it really been that long?).  This year, instead of a 13-episode season, we'll have 4 specials that will culminate in David Tennant (my favourite Doctor in a long time) leaving the show and regenerating into Matt Smith.  The first special, "Planet of the Dead", aired at Easter.


Sometimes, waiting for these specials, Doctor Who falls off the radar a little bit.  But then I get reading up on upcoming spoilers and I start getting really excited again.