DoctahJenn's thoughts on Capaldi/The New Series
DoctahJenn
Posts: 616 Member
For Kempt_ken. :P
I've been in the process of moving from New Jersey to South Dakota, and so I know I've been MIA and unavailable to post about the newest Doctor and his adventures. This post will make up for all of that, and I welcome you to join into the discussion with your own thoughts and idea. HOWEVER. If anyone becomes rude, or starts arguing for the sake of arguing, I'm going to reserve the right to delete said posts. Let's keep it civil!
Let's start with Capaldi as the new Doctor. Capaldi is, in my opinion, a fantastic actor, and very good as the Doctor. I think he's perfect for the role. BUT. That being said. I'm about to go off on a tangent about the writing. Bear with me.
Moffat is currently writing two major shows - Doctor Who, and Sherlock. Both shows are very good, and very popular. But it's my opinion that he's starting to mix the two. Does Capaldi's Doctor sound a little too much like Sherlock in Deep Breath to anyone else? I can't say it's not appropriate for the Doctor to use logic and act like everyone else is a bit slow - and I'm a huge fan of 12's tendency to call humans Puddin' Heads - but I feel like Moffat is blurring the lines between his shows just a little.
HOWEVER. That being said. I'm a huge fan of the way Capaldi is playing it. Watching him in the role, you can see glimpses of the past Doctors. (Some of that is the writing, to be sure, but I attribute it mostly to Capaldi. He really is fantastic.)
Now then. Let's get past Capaldi just for a moment - we'll get back to him later - and focus on Clara. Oh, Clara. I've hated you almost from the beginning, but you're starting to push me just a bit too far. This is NOT the Clara show. Clara should not be smarter than the Doctor. She should not always be the one getting them out of trouble, or the person with the right answer, or the competent one. She is a companion. Companions, in my opinion, are there to further the story and sometimes make astute observations that help the Doctor come up with the right answer. I feel like companions should be a side-story, not the Hero character, and Clara is slowly becoming too Perfect to be a regular person of the sort we want in our companions.
And the Clara character? First she was Impossible. Which turned out to be mystical and oh-so-special. Ugh. When people complained about that, she became a crush. Ugh AGAIN. The Doctor has been in love TWICE recently, and even married one of them. No more love stories, Moffat! So what does he do when Capaldi firmly says he will NOT romance a much younger companion? (True story - look it up - Capaldi put his foot down about it.) He turns her into The Girl Who Is Special Because She's His Best Friend And Is Always Right. She's a SCHOOL TEACHER, for gosh sake! I'd buy it in a college professor, but a grade school teacher? Good gosh Moffat, just admit you have a bad character and move on. I almost liked her for a moment, in the bit with Danny Pink. (Whom I'm looking forward to seeing more from, but am scared he's going to turn out to be evil somehow.) But every time she outshines the Doctor, I want to hurl something at her smirking face.
And let's go to that scene in The Robot of Sherwood where Doctor is arguing with Robin and they kick the key into the hole, culminating in the line "at least Clara wasn't here to see it." Oh lord. On one hand, I thought it was funny, Doctor not getting along with Robin. On the other hand, that scene was bad writing of the worst kind, and completely not fitting for the Doctor. It's like he's just ready to admit she's the only important person. Can we go back to him abandoning her in the middle of a crisis, please? And I'm much more fond of the bit where he's plucking hairs from their heads and taking blood - THAT was more of what I expect from the Doctor, being self-sufficient and self-absorbed and not really caring what anyone thinks of him. Not this bit where he doesn't want Clara to see him do something dumb.
All in all, I'm a fan of the most recent series. I'm always a little miffed after an episode airs, but after it has some time to sit in my head, I find I'm still as big a fan as ever. And you can bet I'm looking forward to next year when Jenna is reportedly leaving the show, and maybe we'll get to see more of Capaldi being amazing all on his own.
(As a side note - more Strax please.)
I've been in the process of moving from New Jersey to South Dakota, and so I know I've been MIA and unavailable to post about the newest Doctor and his adventures. This post will make up for all of that, and I welcome you to join into the discussion with your own thoughts and idea. HOWEVER. If anyone becomes rude, or starts arguing for the sake of arguing, I'm going to reserve the right to delete said posts. Let's keep it civil!
Let's start with Capaldi as the new Doctor. Capaldi is, in my opinion, a fantastic actor, and very good as the Doctor. I think he's perfect for the role. BUT. That being said. I'm about to go off on a tangent about the writing. Bear with me.
Moffat is currently writing two major shows - Doctor Who, and Sherlock. Both shows are very good, and very popular. But it's my opinion that he's starting to mix the two. Does Capaldi's Doctor sound a little too much like Sherlock in Deep Breath to anyone else? I can't say it's not appropriate for the Doctor to use logic and act like everyone else is a bit slow - and I'm a huge fan of 12's tendency to call humans Puddin' Heads - but I feel like Moffat is blurring the lines between his shows just a little.
HOWEVER. That being said. I'm a huge fan of the way Capaldi is playing it. Watching him in the role, you can see glimpses of the past Doctors. (Some of that is the writing, to be sure, but I attribute it mostly to Capaldi. He really is fantastic.)
Now then. Let's get past Capaldi just for a moment - we'll get back to him later - and focus on Clara. Oh, Clara. I've hated you almost from the beginning, but you're starting to push me just a bit too far. This is NOT the Clara show. Clara should not be smarter than the Doctor. She should not always be the one getting them out of trouble, or the person with the right answer, or the competent one. She is a companion. Companions, in my opinion, are there to further the story and sometimes make astute observations that help the Doctor come up with the right answer. I feel like companions should be a side-story, not the Hero character, and Clara is slowly becoming too Perfect to be a regular person of the sort we want in our companions.
And the Clara character? First she was Impossible. Which turned out to be mystical and oh-so-special. Ugh. When people complained about that, she became a crush. Ugh AGAIN. The Doctor has been in love TWICE recently, and even married one of them. No more love stories, Moffat! So what does he do when Capaldi firmly says he will NOT romance a much younger companion? (True story - look it up - Capaldi put his foot down about it.) He turns her into The Girl Who Is Special Because She's His Best Friend And Is Always Right. She's a SCHOOL TEACHER, for gosh sake! I'd buy it in a college professor, but a grade school teacher? Good gosh Moffat, just admit you have a bad character and move on. I almost liked her for a moment, in the bit with Danny Pink. (Whom I'm looking forward to seeing more from, but am scared he's going to turn out to be evil somehow.) But every time she outshines the Doctor, I want to hurl something at her smirking face.
And let's go to that scene in The Robot of Sherwood where Doctor is arguing with Robin and they kick the key into the hole, culminating in the line "at least Clara wasn't here to see it." Oh lord. On one hand, I thought it was funny, Doctor not getting along with Robin. On the other hand, that scene was bad writing of the worst kind, and completely not fitting for the Doctor. It's like he's just ready to admit she's the only important person. Can we go back to him abandoning her in the middle of a crisis, please? And I'm much more fond of the bit where he's plucking hairs from their heads and taking blood - THAT was more of what I expect from the Doctor, being self-sufficient and self-absorbed and not really caring what anyone thinks of him. Not this bit where he doesn't want Clara to see him do something dumb.
All in all, I'm a fan of the most recent series. I'm always a little miffed after an episode airs, but after it has some time to sit in my head, I find I'm still as big a fan as ever. And you can bet I'm looking forward to next year when Jenna is reportedly leaving the show, and maybe we'll get to see more of Capaldi being amazing all on his own.
(As a side note - more Strax please.)
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Replies
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Strax was my favorite character in Episode 1. I loved where he was giving Clara her physical exam. Great. Also, i completely agree with you analysis on this. To a tee i think you have hit the nail on the head.0
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And you can bet I'm looking forward to next year when Jenna is reportedly leaving the show, and maybe we'll get to see more of Capaldi being amazing all on his own.
(As a side note - more Strax please.)
+ 98732135498799999999 Right here. This.0 -
I miss the rude banter between 12 and Strax - Potato heads unite!0
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I completely agree about Clara. I've never liked her. I'm actually wondering if we will see any of River this series?0
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I think the first episode was pretty good for a first/intro episode, the second episode was terrible, and the third was a vast improvement from the second.
I think Capaldi is a great doctor, and has the potential to be a fantastic doctor. I certainly started to like him a lot faster than Matt Smith, which honestly took many episodes.
But first, let's go back to episode 2. I absolutely hate the "Honey I shrunk the kids" plot device. I admit that was what foremost colored my impression of the second episode. They even joked about it in the beginning but that still doesn't excuse it. Second, the Doctor became incompetent and started responding to Clara's finger wagging. In the first episode, they established that the doctor was out of his depth, and was scared, and vulnerable. In a way this made him more "human" instead of an all knowing being that could fix all problems by wagging his sonic screwdriver. This had the potential to make things more interesting. BUT they also made him arrogant and foolish to boot. And cold/logical when the lady triggered the autoimmune response and his response was to give her something to eat since "she was dead already." I would have expected the Doctor to at least try. But that's a minor point.
I don't mind some fantastic deus ex machina in the end or some wacky timey wimey "reverse the polarity" explanation but the basic premise of the episode really was foolish. A Darlek became "good" by malfunctioning. What exactly did they think would happen when they fixed it?
Still the only interesting part was when the Doctor was told that he is a "good Dalek" which gave new meaning to the imprisoned Dalek telling #9 that he would be a "good Dalek."
The third episode was more jovial and more in line with Doctor Who being a children's show. The banter between the Doctor and Robin Hood was very funny and lighthearted. I've read a lot of complaints about the final golden arrow part, but it was precisely fantastic because it was so nonsensical.
Fun episode aside, however, the issue I see is that the doctor has repressed into a ten year old boy. While trying to impress his sweetheart Clara. Honestly, I think a large part of what I liked about the episode was Tom Riley/Robin Hood. And the Princess Bride kind of charm that it had going. I'll eager to see how the new Doctor persona works in the next few episodes.0 -
I am loving Capaldi but Clara has to go! He needs a companion that is a little more rough and tumble and not so twee and cute.0
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I am loving Capaldi but Clara has to go! He needs a companion that is a little more rough and tumble and not so twee and cute.
That one line from Deep Breath - "Times like this I miss Amy" - oh my, yes. Yes, yes, yes. I think we all miss Amy.0 -
Yes, the writing has been sub par but at least I know now it's not Capaldi...he's got me in his corner (it took three episodes but I'm there). Now they just need to give him something he can work with.0
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Everything you said. Except for the Strax bit. I'm not the biggest fan of the Paternoster Gang - it feels like too much forced comedy to me.0
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Everything you said. Except for the Strax bit. I'm not the biggest fan of the Paternoster Gang - it feels like too much forced comedy to me.
Ok, so Deep Breath was a little forced. But his previous appearances have always had me in stitches. Like:
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Okay - that bit was actually funny.
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I don't care for Clara either... but I was sad when The Doctor just abandoned her.
I'm super excited for Capaldi, so far I've loved him. I'll miss Matt of course, and still miss David! Hahaha.
I would LOVE to see more River.0 -
I'm more than ready to pack Clara's bag for her and send her off into the Vortex, never to be found again. After last night's episode, I've gone from grudging tolerance of her to out-right disgust.0
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I was sort of ok with her until that last bit. THEN I remembered why I hate her.
DAMN YOU, MOFFAT!0 -
See now I started out liking Clara, but she's quickly wearing out her welcome. I agree that she shouldn't always be saving the day. Its freaking annoying. Its too Mary Sue saves the day, for me and they need to either lay off or bring on someone new. I Love, love love Capaldi!!0
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I just read an article today that says Moffat thinks the companion should be the star of the show. -_- I mean, I guess we already knew that, and to a degree, he's right - the companion is the Human element and their personal story drives the show a bit. I just feel like he takes it a little too far, first with Amy's change to the intro and now with Clara outshining the Doctor all the time.
I suppose I sort of just miss the Tennant days, when he WAS the star of the show, because how could he not be? He was allowed to be the focus, and it was that focus that I honestly believe saved Doctor Who. But if we look back at, say, Eccleston's season... Rose WAS the star of the show, and we don't mind that as much. So are we just being picky? Or has Moffat taken the Companions too far? Matt shone in his own right, but you have to admit that his story really didn't pick up as much until he'd been around a while. It was all Amy for quite some time. Maybe, given some time, Capaldi will be given that same chance. But the first episodes with a new Doctor are always a bit rough, and maybe we all just REALLY hate the story Moffat has written for her.0
