This post was initially to only include my mini-review of Doctor Who‘s mini-episode. But then I thought, let’s give this some mass appeal. This teeny episode has made me even more anxious to get new Who, but let us also mention the need for more Stargate SG-1.

When we reached the mid-season hiatus that we’re currently inhabiting, Stargate was ticking along nicely. Which was a shame, because there were a few hints that it could have reached ‘awesome’ level earlier. These were dashed mostly by the departure of Vala Mal Doran, as played by Claudia Black. Well, there’s good news. In Stargate‘s (American) record-breaking tenth season, Vala’s back!

Oh alright, so we all assumed she would be anyhow. But it’s nice to get confirmation.

Now, onto Who — which you can watch for free online in crummy quality. Three and a half minutes doesn’t make for a very satisfying story. It’s basically just a TARDIS scene immediately after ‘The Parting of the Ways’. But as it’s our first sustained look at David Tennant as Doctor Who, it’s pretty interesting nonetheless. I should point out straight away that Billie Piper is still fantastic, and still manages to ground the craziness of any scene she’s in, and is still cute.

The Doctor’s regeneration goes wonky, naturally, but there’s a minute or two of lucidity where he can reassure Rose that it’s actually him. In my favourite moment, Rose accuses him of being a Slitheen, or some other impersonating monster, and he replies “I am not a Slitheen” with a curious sincere blend of sarcasm. I don’t know how he did it.

The manic bits are amusing, but I much preferred his quiet moments. I especially liked it when he reminded Rose and the audience of the first time he met her, complete with the eerie ‘Bad Wolf’ theme playing in the background. Some have disliked the bit where he tries to get Rose to laugh by reminding her of the time they had to “hop for their lives”. These people have obviously never tried to make a joke and watched it die horribly in front of them. Tennant does it perfectly.

So I’m pretty confident about this new Doctor. I’m sure he’ll be just as good as Eccleston, but I’m hoping they find a way to make him markedly different (in personality or methodology, not in fashion sense). I’d say more but it’s ridiculous to write more than a paragraph per minute. I wouldn’t want to follow this rule in a full episode review. Although it would be a good way to review 24.

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This entry was posted by the illustrious Tom Charman on Monday, November 21st, 2005. It concerns such pressing issues as Doctor Who, Stargate SG-1, tv. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.