Because I'm out here at Comic-Con, I don't have much time to write about the latest "Doctor Who" special, save to note a few things: 1)Michelle Ryan remains much, much more interesting in her native accent than she was on "Bionic Woman"; 2)Special effects aside, "Planet of the Dead" felt much more like a regular "Doctor Who" episode than any of the Christmas movies (which all took place on a larger scale); and 3)Much more than "The Next Doctor," this one is offering hints to the end of David Tennant's tenure as The Doctor.What did everybody else think?
eh, Michelle Ryan was better than when she was on bionic woman, but so is a piece of wood. I still didn't like her, the character was still one note, just a different note.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, although this may seem like a petty complaint, I hated the music. It reminded me of one of those Disney musicals from the late 50s/early 60s. I kept expecting Angela Landsbury to burst into song.
All in all, very disappointing.
Not one of my favourites, but I think that's more to do with not being a fan of 'beat the clock' stories than anything horrible wrong with the execution or concept.
ReplyDeleteAlso, am I the only one who suspects this was intended as a relatively effects-light, small cast 'bottle' show, so there's a LOT more money to spend on the two-part finale?
Bo-ring!
ReplyDeleteYes, the last few minutes were fun set up (with that heavy-handed music that Grunt noted) but otherwise a good old fashioned... Meh.
I guess I forget sometimes how this is very much a kid show in England. Certainly felt like one in this episode.
I'm not a big "Doctor Who" fan, but I liked this episode -- mainly because it was more about the people than the special effects.
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought Michelle Ryan was pretty great. Not to mention awfully pretty.
I thought it was a lot of fun. Never knew I could actually like Michelle Ryan, her character was a hoot. One note, but it was a fun note. I had a lot more fun watching it than "The Next Doctor." I did wish she could be a longer-term Companion, running around stealing on every planet. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteAlso enjoyable: the girl in charge of the military whose name I forget who kept wanting to salute the Doctor, and the Doctor's "new best friend."
I agree that this seemed particularly geared toward children. Maybe there's something innate about being on the big bus that does that. Half expected to see Mrs. Frizzle. (Which is why I HATED the yellow school bus ending to Buffy.)
ReplyDeleteLady Christina just felt like a Parker-wanna be.
I thought the Doctor's most telling line was "the worse things get, the more I like them" or something like that. It's a dangerous philosophical outlook for humans.
This was mostly a variation on the usual themes to me, but still made for a passable hour. However, I found myself think of such things as - how did those flyboys fit into their clothes with those big heads? So I guess it was as captivating as it should have been.....
ReplyDeleteI too enjoyed it well enough, and it was a nice change of pace for them to bypass the "Doctor as mysterious stranger who has to convince the authorities to listen to him." Most of the time it makes sense, what with the time traveling and all, but it can still get tedious. We know who he is, and what he can do, and it's high-time the rest of the universe got on board.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I agree that this felt exactly like a standard episode, down to the hour-long runtime. There was absolutely nothing about Planet of the Dead that warranted special status.
Also, my Tivo cut out on my right after she said "We'd make a good team," and he replied "We already did." Did I miss anything?
It was okay, but if this is supposed to be a "special" I didn't find that there was much that was special about it. The possible hints to Ten's demise were interesting, but a bit heavy handed, and while Michelle Ryan was a fun character, there wasn't that much to her, and I felt like this was a waste of the last few episodes with David Tennant. In a 13 episode season, I would not have cared as much, but this takes away a bit from the impact of the last episodes with Donna.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'm not that hot about the idea of the specials in general for that reason, Nicole. It does dilute the ending to just have a bunch of 1-hour romps that don't necessarily continue anywhere.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if/when it will be re-aired? I was out of town this weekend and missed it. I don't see anything in this week's TV listings.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if/when it will be re-aired? I was out of town this weekend and missed it. I don't see anything in this week's TV listings.
ReplyDeleteI can't speak to when they might rebroadcast it, but the DVD was released yesterday, so that's always an option.