I passed my exams! Second year of university; sorted. I am a very Happy Bunny. Considering the amount I gave up to do well in these exams, the amount of stuff I missed, the amount of my social life that tragically died, I decided I'd earned a little treat. You might have gathered that I'm a bit of a fan of Doctor Who, so I bought myself the series 1-4 box set (half price on Amazon, woop woop!). It got delivered at half 9 this morning, much to the disgust of my mum who was woken up by the postie knocking on the door. It smells amazing by the way. I got stuck in straight away, and have watched the first three episodes already. As I write this I've got the DVD extras running. I love extras. Gives you some interesting things to say when watching with other people... well I think it's interesting... some people disagree.
This is difficult for me. I'm just going to come out and say it. I don't like Christopher Eccleston. I've not seen the first series of the "Nu-Who". Before today I had only seen "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances". First appearance of Captain Jack and all :P. So the majority of my Doctor Who experience has been under the charge of David Tennant's Doctor. You wouldn't think that there would be such a big difference between the two different actors portrayal. There have been pages and pages written about how David is less serious and more eccentric. Matt Smith has followed in these converse prints, taking the character to higher levels of quirkiness. As the Doctors entire brain re-wires when he regenerates it doesn't surprise me that his personality is subject to such dramatic change. This is also seen quite clearly in the first episode of season 4, resulting in the legendary Fish Custard. What bugs me about Christopher Eccleston's Doctor is his lack of concern for other people. Whereas David's character desperately wanted to save everyone, and took every death, no matter how minor the character, as a personal insult, Chris takes death in his stride, forgetting about Mickey in the first episode, barely considering Jabe's sacrifice (the tree girl who burned) and leaving poor Gwyneth to burn too. Three episodes in though. Let's see how the character progresses.
Ultimately I wonder if my view of Christopher Eccleston has been tainted by rumours regarding his early exit from the series. On the first DVD there is an interview with him from the BBC Breakfast show. The interviewer asks if he is planning to return for the next series and he replies that he "can't answer" and isn't even thinking about it at the moment, because he's just finished an 8 month stint. To my eyes it seems he's already made up his mind at that point, that he doesn't want to be in the next series. I can't remember whether the series ends in his regeneration, but I'm going to wait and find out rather than googling it now :P There's still much discussion about why Christopher left Doctor Who after only the one season. Russell T. Davis' comments that the actor left because he felt over worked have been quickly refuted by the actor, who claims that he left because he "didn't enjoy the environment and the culture that [they], the cast and crew, had to work in". I've not heard complaints from anyone else who works on Doctor Who, but it's not impossible that they'd be hushed up. According to Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) and Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), it can't be that bad. Both first appeared in bit parts before reappearing as full time assistants. After leaving Doctor Who, Freema continued to do guest appearances in the show, and also appeared in spin off show Torchwood. Let's face it, even a death in Doctor Who doesn't mean you can't come back, and people come back again and again. I'd like to think a part of this is that the Doctor Who team are a lot of fun to work with. Or maybe that's just my idealistic side refusing to believe there's something dark going on behind the scenes of a show which brings me so much joy. Speaking of people who keep coming back, Gwyneth in “The Unquiet Dead” is played by Eve Myles who went on to play Gwen in Torchwood. The role was apparently written with her in mind. There just mustn’t be enough actresses in the UK! Just goes to show, never turn down a role in Doctor Who, no matter how small.
Coming up for Doctor Who fans, I've got a review of the Adventure Games in the works and coming up for non Doctor Who fans... electric shock treatment! No! I kid! I joke! I will find something for non Doctor Who fans. Watch this space!
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