tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202625234167413814.post4811855185501569569..comments2024-02-28T17:50:10.303+00:00Comments on LUCID FRENZY JUNIOR: DOCTOR WHO SERIES 4 (Part Two)Gavin Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16347163260510316959noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202625234167413814.post-10288058522902064442008-07-09T22:40:00.000+01:002008-07-09T22:40:00.000+01:00Davies has been, in a way, writing more and more f...Davies has been, in a way, writing more and more for fans as the years have progressed. Those last couple of episodes were pure fanwank, bringing back everybody from Davies's first four seasons, but there are also acres of references to the old series in every Davies script. I agree that he generally does this in a very unobtrusive way. One of my favorite bits, though, was when Davros refers to the Doctor as "the man who never carries a gun." Davros obviously has forgotten Resurrection of the Daleks when Peter Davison aimed a huge rifle at him, but then didn't have the guts to pull the trigger. (Though he happily engineered a virus to kill all the Daleks later in the episode.) Of course, Davros shouldn't be expected to remember the other couple of dozen times the Doctor carried a gun in the old series.Andrew Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13453328821252013152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202625234167413814.post-40735732109331034642008-07-09T17:56:00.000+01:002008-07-09T17:56:00.000+01:00It's true that in the first story they even talk a...It's true that in the first story they even talk about the 'extermination' of the Thals, from whence that famous catchphrase came. (And of course it literally means to eradicate or destroy.) But there's a internal reason for this, they can only live on the surface of Skaro by making it uninhabitable for the Thals. That's not the same as the Bringer of Death stuff we got last week.<BR/><BR/>And by their second showing (when they invade Earth), they explicitly offer humans life in exchange for servitude, and trade under the catchphrase "We are the masters of Earth!"<BR/><BR/>Conceptually the two things aren't at odds - they could be purely destructive in intent whilst having an element of pathos. (In fact that's their first story pretty much summed up!) But it seems to me that <I>historically speaking</I>, the two things grow to be at odds...<BR/><BR/>Thanks for clarifying the Trickster thing. (I don't watch either of the spin-offs.) Ironically this is a balance Davies normally strikes right, It was only when I started watching the old episodes when I realised how much he was referencing them, but in blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments which more regular viewers would simply glide over. Yet here he's assuming we know stuff we actually need to be told!<BR/><BR/>And thanks for correcting my spelling! I suppose I could claim it was all to do with some Gnostic dualistic cult but... mea culpa, as they say in Germany. The only Latin I ever learnt was from the philosophical pirate in Asterix, so its no surprise I'd get something like that wrong.Gavin Burrowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16347163260510316959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202625234167413814.post-1169326780068190222008-07-09T01:26:00.000+01:002008-07-09T01:26:00.000+01:00I agree with you that the Daleks work better if th...I agree with you that the Daleks work better if they're not genocidal, but there is the whole bit in Genesis of the Daleks where Davros and the Doctor talk about a virus destroying everything in the Universe. So it's consistent with the latter part of the series. Heck, even in the first story, they were out to exterminate the Thals, not enslave them.<BR/><BR/>The Trickster's motivations are explained in the Sarah Jane Adventures story where he appeared. The Trickster feeds on chaos. (Like the Angels in Blink, it apparently can nourish itself on metaphysical concepts. I sometimes think Davies-era Who should be labeled philosophical fiction rather than science fiction.) Of course, no points to Davies for not bringing it up in the episode itself.<BR/><BR/>By the by, it's deus (god) ex (out of) machina (machine). Deux est machina means 'two is the machine' and is only two-thirds Latin (the other third French).Andrew Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13453328821252013152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202625234167413814.post-63082404357012482032008-07-08T17:56:00.000+01:002008-07-08T17:56:00.000+01:00Thanks for the comments, Rol!However, going back t...Thanks for the comments, Rol!<BR/><BR/><B>However, going back to the first appearance of the Daleks in New Who (Robert Sharman's 'Dalek'), they were presented then as Death Incarnate - their greatest desire being to kill, which correlates more with their mission this time... </B><BR/><BR/>I guess my objection is that the genocidal nature of the Daleks seem to come from purely schematic reasons, with nothing to do with their nature.<BR/><BR/>First, and quite rightly, Davies needed something to knock the bloody Time Lords out the show. And as the Doctor's primary antagonist, the Daleks get given the job.<BR/><BR/>Secondly, this is 'event TV' so subject to those hyperinflationary pressures where everything has to be bigger and BIGGER than before. It's not enough for the universe to be in danger, the multiverse had to be being destroyed. For product recognition reasons, the Daleks need to appear in the finale so the two get grafted together.<BR/><BR/>But as I argued in <A HREF="http://lucidfrenzy.blogspot.com/2007/11/here-come-daleks.html" REL="nofollow">my review</A> of the first Dalek story, I think they worked best when given an element of pathos and worse when they were just guns with catchphrases. They can exterminate a flower but never pick a flower, that sort of thing. For that reason Dalek-the-episode is my favourite Dalek story from New Who.<BR/><BR/><B>Best thing about this latest Who - Bernard Cribbins. His final scene on Saturday made the whole series for me.</B><BR/><BR/>Lots of people have been saying that. I'll admit that pay-off scene is a pure "something-in-my-eye" moment, and certainly more than emoto-porn.<BR/><BR/>But E Randy Dupre mentions something on <A HREF="http://www.barbelith.com/topic/28292/from/735" REL="nofollow">the Barbelith board:</A><BR/><BR/><B>Apparently, a scene cut from the episode quite late in the day showed Donna, at the very end of the episode, looking up from her phone call as the Tardis disappeared, recognising, on a low level, the sound it made, then returning to her chatter. If that had remained in, the whole end sequence would have been vastly improved. Otherwise, as it stands, the end of the episode feels like it just peters out.</B><BR/><BR/>I've no idea whether he speaks truth there. But understatement usually does more for me than overstatement, and less is generally more than more.<BR/><BR/>I love the bookend sequence in Brief Encounter, where we first just see the two silent characters in the railway cafe, being joined by an overly chatty woman. Then we go back to that scene at the end, exactly the way we left it, except now all the emotional substance has been filled in for us.<BR/><BR/>Probably more Who-related stuff will follow...Gavin Burrowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16347163260510316959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202625234167413814.post-84290578106145341452008-07-07T13:13:00.000+01:002008-07-07T13:13:00.000+01:00The RTD / Chris Claremont analogy is an interestin...The RTD / Chris Claremont analogy is an interesting one. RTD doesn't overwrite his scripts like CC, but other than that... yes.<BR/><BR/>Like you, I thought the issue of Davros' new role in Dalek society was ignored after being introduced and the character was wasted as a result. However, going back to the first appearance of the Daleks in New Who (Robert Sharman's 'Dalek'), they were presented then as Death Incarnate - their greatest desire being to kill, which correlates more with their mission this time... though makes them a difficult villain to write unless you sometimes give them another plan too (otherwise they'll just kill the Doctor as soon as they see him).<BR/><BR/>Best thing about this latest Who - Bernard Cribbins. His final scene on Saturday made the whole series for me.Rolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02103804480646939038noreply@blogger.com