YAB Review: 'Doctor Who'
Posted by meredith on 04-09-2010Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board review comes from Lauren Williams on the premiere of the popular British science fiction series "Doctor Who." Lauren caught the official UK debut online, but American fans can tune in when the episode airs on BBC America April 17.
Remember, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com… or just leave a comment below.
YAB Review: 'Doctor Who'
What was the biggest draw?
The Doctor is back with a new sense of humor, smoldering sex appeal, and most importantly, a new face. In the premiere, it's the “Eleventh Hour,” as the episode title explains, heralding in this Eleventh Doctor. Fans of David Tennant (aka the “best Time Lord Ever”) held on to their chairs Saturday night, not because the Doctor dangled for his life from the open doors of a wildly crashing TARDIS, but because the success or failure of the franchise banked on newbie, Matt Smith. Smith, officially the youngest Doctor of all time at 26, stepped into the role on January 1st when Tennant finally bowed out.
Tennant’s year-long swan song was considered one of the worst, most poorly crafted exits on television in a decade. Critics panned the convoluted last episodes, and fans lamented the unsatisfying final moments of the Tenth Doctor. I’m inclined to agree with both critics and fans. David Tennant’s Doctor went out in sobs and bitterness, rather than magnificent heroics. “I don’t want to go” were his final, tear-filled words before regenerating into Matt Smith.
How much did you know beforehand?
For the past five years, I've verged on the obsession cliff when it comes to "Doctor Who," so I knew pretty much everything about this new season. When David Tennant decided to leave the role, I cried with he best of them; yet, the idea of a new generation Doctor Who intrigued me. Steven Moffat taking over show runner, Matt Smith stepping in at the new Time Lord, the complete remodel of the TARDIS — all these things were expected. What wasn't expected was how well all these things would come together to make a beautiful new product appealing to Whovians and Non-Whovians alike.
How'd you tune in?
I watch everything online, and "Doctor Who" is no different.
Sum it up
In this first episode of the new season (or "series" as the Brits call it), the Doctor crashes down in the garden of little Amelia, who promptly befriends the mysterious man. She tells the Doctor of a whispering crack in her bedroom through which “Prisoner Zero has escaped.” Promising to be back in five minutes, the Doctor runs to his regenerating TARDIS (about time for a face lift) and whoshes in and out of time and space. Five minutes for the Doctor, however, was twelve years for Amelia who has trouble trusting the returning mystery man. Together, the pair, along with Amy’s boyfriend, must hunt down Prisoner Zero before the prison guards destroy Earth in an attempt to contain the villain. Eventually, Earth is saved and the new Doctor proclaims his protective dominion over the planet in a scene filled with past pretense and renewed spirit. “I’m the Doctor. Now, run!”
So, what'd you think?
After that spectacular season/series six (or is it five? That year of specials really confused my timeline) opener, I can’t help but be ecstatic for the episodes to come.
As for Matt Smith, let’s just say that fans need not have worried. From the moment Eleventh Doctor pulled himself out of the lopsided TARDIS, looked at young Amelia Pond, and requested an apple, Smith won our hearts. Reading through critical reviews, most already naming Smith “the Best Time Lord Ever,” I came across a fan comment that read, “within 5 minutes it became a case of ‘David Who’,” and I’m fully inclined to agree. Matt Smith didn’t jut take on the part of the Doctor, he fully inhabited the character nailing the quirks and genius of the 906 year-old Time Lord better than ever before.
Matt Smith isn’t the only new face in the crowd. He’s joined by a youthful companion, Amy Pond, played to sparkling perfection by Scottish gem, Karen Gillan. Also, at the helm of the production is Steven Moffat, taking over show-runner from Russell T Davies, the man who originally infused new life into the decades old series. Moffat’s stand-alone episodes in seasons past are regarded as some of the best in the series. “Blink,” in particular, won a BAFTA for Moffat and is a long-time fan favorite even though it hardly even features the Doctor.
About Lauren
Lauren recently spent a harrowing year in England where she overcame her life's demons and finally found her answer to that itching question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Currently, she is completing her final year at Northern Arizona University. She will graduate this spring with a BA in English and a minor in Cinema and Visual Culture. Meanwhile, she is keenly stressing herself out by volunteering to take on a 60 page undergraduate thesis about Superman. When not studying, Lauren enjoys watching ungodly amounts of television. An All-American girl, Lauren loves baseball, Coca-Cola, cherry pie, and violent action films. Her favorite pastimes include hanging out in grapefruit trees, building complex civilizations out of LEGOS, and digging for dinosaur bones in the sandbox.
Categorized under: TV, Youth Advisory Board
