tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post2427726826039996129..comments2024-03-18T08:38:01.678+00:00Comments on The Life And Opinions of Andrew Rilstone: 4:4 "The Sontaran Stratagem"Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-65677707563475468782008-05-07T00:21:00.000+01:002008-05-07T00:21:00.000+01:00I did not intend to complain that "The Sontaran St...I did not intend to complain that "The Sontaran Stratagem", as an episode, was slow paced.<BR/><BR/>I made a note that there were two scenes (the squaddies in the corridor, the squaddies talking to the luminous green goo) that didn't seem to be going anywhere.Andrew Rilstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16934052271846235431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-55322413246205808562008-05-06T23:53:00.000+01:002008-05-06T23:53:00.000+01:00Or perhaps you were seriously inviting me to do so...<I>Or perhaps you were seriously inviting me to do some episode by episode writing about Old Who? If so, I'd be more likely to tackle Season 1 than Season 12: I might even do that one of these days.</I><BR/><BR/>This would be terrific and I'll heartily endorse this suggestion. I'd even go for Season 12, despite its being the worst of the Hinchcliffe seasons by a wide margin. (I personally do not join Mr. Rilstone in his criticism of The Sontaran Stratagem for its slower pace. Still, comparing it to Ark in Space is a low blow. The slow pace of Ark in Space Episode 1 is part of what makes it so atmospheric. Pity the next three episodes weren't nearly as good and the slow pace just bogged it down.)<BR/><BR/>By the by, my favorite Hartnell season (who is my favorite Doctor) isn't Season 1; it's actually Season 3. Wonderfully inventive and experimental other than Galaxy 4, which just sucked. Even its experimental failures like The Celestial Toymaker were interesting. (And The Gunfighters is a comedy masterpiece. Don't let anyone tell you differently.)<BR/><BR/>I think most old fans probably wanted a reboot of the Tom Baker years. I would have given much for a reboot of the original series - an older Doctor, two young Companions (one male, one female, so the non-fans can have their sexual tension). If you wanted to be <I>really</I> brave, you could even make them a young married couple and do something quite unlike anything else on television - actually show a happy marriage. (Honestly, they do exist, difficult as that might be to believe.) The Doctor would eventually, of course, have to become the hero of his own show again, but this transition could be done slowly as the audience becomes accustomed to the character. <BR/><BR/>But then I can drive myself crazy wishing for the show I would have wanted written (but lack the talent to write myself). Davies has given us Father's Day, The Empty Child, School Reunion, The Impossible Planet, Human Nature, and Blink. He seems to be good for two brilliant stories a season, a handful of watchable ones, and two or three really abysmally bad stories. We could all wish for more consistency, like Buffy generally had (at least for the first five seasons), but I'm certainly willing to take what I can get.Andrew Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13453328821252013152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-21542607722605723142008-05-06T23:27:00.000+01:002008-05-06T23:27:00.000+01:00If you call a story "Tomb of the Cybermen", then t...If you call a story "Tomb of the Cybermen", then there is not much point in trying to generate tension and mystery about whose tomb it could possibly be. Much better to stick the Cybermark on the tomb and have people say "We've come to find the legendary tomb of the cybermen" in the first five minutes. If you call a story "Earthshock" and want us to spend the whole of episode 1 wondering who is behind all the unpleasantness in the caves, then when the Radio Times ask if they can put the cybermen on the cover, best tell them they can't because it would ruin the whole point of the episode. If the Doc and Sarah are going to wonder around a deserted London wondering what could possibly have scared all the people away, then best label the story "The Invasion" and only use the full title (..."of the dinosaurs") after the first saurian has come into view at the end of part 1. It's not rocket science.<BR/><BR/>Sontaran Stratagem used a classic old school structure for "revealing" the baddie: <BR/><BR/>1: We hear the voice of an alien talking to Human Baddie.<BR/><BR/>2: We see Human Baddie from alien's point of view.<BR/><BR/>3: We see alien's three fingered hand<BR/><BR/>4: We see alien, but with it's face covered by a helmet<BR/><BR/>5: Alien removes helmet,Human Goodies look shocked, but we only see extreme close up of alien's eyes.<BR/><BR/>6: Finally, when Doctor himself sees alien, we see full view of alien's face...<BR/><BR/>And this is just a very, very odd thing to do when the <I>title</I> tells us who the alien is, and <I>every bit of publicity the BBC has used</I> tells us what it looks like. I wonder (seriously) if it's another weirdo post modern gag: treating something which has been revealed in advance as if it's all very serious.<BR/><BR/>That said, the two actual plot twists -- the fairly predictable "who saves the Doctor at the end" one, and the rather more surprising Thing Which Happens in the Last Two Minutes were kept sufficiently quiet to take me slightly by surprise. And the story wasn't spoiled by the spoilers. (In season 1, the trailer for "Bad Wolf" rendered the entire episode completely pointless.)Andrew Rilstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16934052271846235431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-90868334905210241872008-05-06T18:12:00.000+01:002008-05-06T18:12:00.000+01:00But I'm not saying "It's not as a good as it used ...But I'm not saying "It's not as a good as it used to be." I don't know how I can say this more clearly than I have. My quarrel with New Who is not that it isn't Old Who, it's that a lot of the time, it isn't very good at being New Who. Whether 'Partners in Crime' compares well or badly with 'Ark in Space' is not the point. The point is that it compares terribly, terribly badly with 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'.Andrew Rilstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16934052271846235431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-44177101360952316082008-05-06T16:06:00.000+01:002008-05-06T16:06:00.000+01:00There seems to be a theory going around that any c...<I>There seems to be a theory going around that any criticism of New-Who can automatically be refuted by...</I><BR/><BR/>My intention wasn't so much to refute you as to cap your "it's not what it used to be" with the necessary "mind you, it never was".Sam Dodsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726256941052487243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-62156902199001333212008-05-06T11:27:00.000+01:002008-05-06T11:27:00.000+01:00It's true enough that all the efforts to handle Wh...It's true enough that all the efforts to handle Who as "event television" do indeed tend to trash many attempts at surprise effects in the actual programme... On which I find there are two possible comments:<BR/><BR/>1. Event television isn't really about surprises or the unexpected. At most, it's about a facsimile of surprise - a series of showpieces which enable the viewers to cheer and whoop without being disturbed by anything so unpleasant as a shock.<BR/><BR/>(To be more precise, "family event television" perhaps works this way. <I>Torchwood</I> - whatever its other issues - does actually manage to keep a few twists under wraps until the broadcast date. But that's being pitched at a slightly older, more thriller-oriented market, who really don't mind being surprised so much.)<BR/><BR/>2. The Beeb/RTD and his mob maybe really aren't that good at this event TV stuff. American products in the same market niche (<I>Heroes, Lost</I>) get almost as much prior promotion, but still manage some genuine twists and turns.<BR/><BR/>(Of course, (a) those may be aimed more at that older/thriller-ish market, and (b) they're less dependent on the resurrection of thirty-year-old monster designs for their effect.)Phil Mastershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12533451060065715833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-80680988844651712722008-05-06T01:26:00.000+01:002008-05-06T01:26:00.000+01:00Nick, dear-heart, I have not the slightest idea wh...Nick, dear-heart, I have not the slightest idea what point you are making.<BR/><BR/>Season 12 is, er, (counts on his fingers) Tom Baker's first -- Robot, Bubble Wrap, Davros, Sontaran filler, Cybermen, yes? <BR/><BR/>The above review was a more-or-less sincere attempt to write down my first impressions of last weeks show. (In truth, second impression: I rewatched the prog on Sunday night with a dictaphone in my hand, said more or less what came into my head and typed up more or less what I wrote.) Intended to counter the criticism that I had over analyzed the first three stories. <BR/><BR/>By definition, I can't tell you my first impressions of 30 year old stories which I've seen at least three times, and in some cases, seven or eight times. But when I write about Old Who, when I can <I>remember</I> a first impression, as "I saw Genesis of the Daleks part 3 at Richard Grimwood's birthday party", I often refer to them. And open myself to the charge of being twee.<BR/><BR/>There seems to be a theory going around that any criticism of New-Who can automatically be refuted by <BR/><BR/>a: Pointing out that at least one Old Who had a similar fault or<BR/><BR/>b: Pointing out that at least one contemporary fan disliked an Old Who story which is now regarded as a classic.<BR/><BR/>Hence "So and so says 'Partners in Crime' was not very good; but then, at the time, people said 'Horns of the Nimon' was not very good, so he should just shut up."<BR/><BR/>Or<BR/><BR/>"So and so says that 'Partners in Crime' was slow / silly / rushed / badly acted / over acted. But you could just as well say that 'Terror of the Terror' was slow/silly/rushed/badly acted. So he should just shut up."<BR/><BR/>Which is, of course, just fine as an argument for NOT writing reviews, and indeed, for watching "Doctor Who" (and "Heroes", and "Indiana Jones and the Revived Franchise" and "Iron Man, Iron Man, Does Whatever An Iron Can" with ones brain in neutral and not thinking about them at all. Which is fine if you're happy for this blog to be purely about the Archbishop of Canterbury and C.S Lewis. <BR/><BR/>Or perhaps you were seriously inviting me to do some episode by episode writing about Old Who? If so, I'd be more likely to tackle Season 1 than Season 12: I might even do that one of these days. Or were you just pointing out that there is some well known example of a twist for Season 12 being blown in Radio Times in 1976? <BR/><BR/>One doesn't have to buy R.T, but one can't avoid the fact that a whole display of Sontarans are staring out at you from Mr. Patel's corner shop when you go to buy the Guardian and the Eye.Andrew Rilstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16934052271846235431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-25379026233750452722008-05-05T22:53:00.000+01:002008-05-05T22:53:00.000+01:00Radio Times? Does anyone actually buy it?I will be...Radio Times? Does anyone actually buy it?<BR/><BR/>I will be interested to see a review in the same style for season 12.nickpheashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07376911190280152116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-4755639946468388492008-05-02T10:24:00.000+01:002008-05-02T10:24:00.000+01:00Because apparently the BBC is the only organisatio...Because apparently the BBC is the only organisation in the world that feels it actually has to kowtow to the UN. Wimps.SKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09102522819364312684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-51788513209373534812008-05-02T01:14:00.000+01:002008-05-02T01:14:00.000+01:00Apparently, when they had those viral sites for DW...Apparently, when they had those viral sites for DW in 2005, someone, somewhere at the United Nations noticed a website claiming to represent a non-existent branch of the UN and got in a snit about it; hence "unified".Tilt Araizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17210525564258147584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-40462772682665012802008-05-01T18:44:00.000+01:002008-05-01T18:44:00.000+01:00Insightful and interesting review of Who, as ever....Insightful and interesting review of Who, as ever.<BR/><BR/>Watching the dramatic cliffhanger I couldn't help thinking "If only there was a large vulnerable part of a car made from some fragile material like glass that could be broken by... oh I don't know... half a brick?"<BR/><BR/>And I see the Sontaran's have magic wands too. Sorry, I mean stick-like plot-devices.Pandora Caitiffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02912184784443896172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-89520151301149714772008-05-01T15:22:00.000+01:002008-05-01T15:22:00.000+01:00I'm noticing this season more than ever before tha...I'm noticing this season more than ever before that whoever has been directing has absolutely no ability to direct crowds or extras - and I suspect it looks so crap that they're cutting out lots of shots which just didn't work.<BR/><BR/>The Ood episode was a particular example - there's a huge battle going on between the Ood and the humans, but all we get are these really tight shots, and the extras you see in the background aren't doing anything obviously interesting. In many cases, just standing about, particularly noticeable in the reaction shots to the Ood becming whole again.<BR/><BR/>This episode wasn't much better, and other than the one shot at the end (ruined by cutting closer) I'm getting more annoyed at everything in the show other than David Tennant - it used to be just the writing, but unavoidably even the direction is sticking in my head as badly done.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04786440095289790331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-85279609694882903382008-05-01T11:15:00.000+01:002008-05-01T11:15:00.000+01:00Oops, the "fiona" who posted the previous comment ...Oops, the "fiona" who posted the previous comment is me: she used Google Mail last, and left it logged in.<BR/><BR/>Anyway: forgot to say that I feel your pain regarding the constant give-aways in the Radio Times, tabloids and indeed trailers. But even more, I feel the pain of the poor writers and directors who have to find a way to work in that environment. Really, what are they supposed to do? I don't think it would be right to put together the episode with the assumption that everyone's seen these things: they have to assume that no-one has and make the reveals accordingly. This problem is hardly unique to Doctor Who, though it does seem to suffer from it more than most.Mike Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06039663158335543317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-49643578221153632662008-05-01T11:12:00.000+01:002008-05-01T11:12:00.000+01:00Hi, Andrew, thanks for this. I admit that I am st...Hi, Andrew, thanks for this. I admit that I am starting to look forward to your reviews almost as much as the actual episodes :-) Not too much to disagree with here, except that it seems a bit harsh to complain about the SLOW pace of this episode!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03075917417186435416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-84711723417540416332008-05-01T11:00:00.000+01:002008-05-01T11:00:00.000+01:00COULD WE GET ON WITH IT PLEASE?As someone who semi...<I>COULD WE GET ON WITH IT PLEASE?</I><BR/><BR/>As someone who semi-recently watched "The Ark In Space" on DVD, I find this comment ironic.Sam Dodsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726256941052487243noreply@blogger.com