Review of The Next Doctor (DW 5.1)

[unfeathered]

I rewatched this last night for the first time since Christmas Day last year (original reaction post here) and I have to say I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than I did the first time.

I liked David Morrissey this time. I thought he acted the part brilliantlly (though possibly a fraction too tearfully) and there was lovely chemistry between him and David Tennant. And the story of how he 'became' the Doctor was excellent. I do wish they had left the reveal until later, though, because Jackson Lake's story really was the interesting part of the episode and all the Cybermen stuff really should have been just an excuse for him to become overloaded with the datastamp.

I still thought the Cyberking stuff was boring and not a good climax to the show (though at least it did make a bit more sense to me this time as I heard Ten explain that it was actually a spaceship) and not just a ridiculously large Cyberman, which is what I'd previously thought. *g* But I still prefer my drama on a smaller scale - a human scale - and preferably one that doesn't make one wonder why the history books have never mentioned this enormous Cyberman stomping all over London on Christmas Day 1851!

I also didn't like Jackson declaring that the Doctor had never been thanked for saving people. I'm sure that's a downright lie. All right, maybe he hasn't had loads of people cheering him like that before, but individuals have thanked him, haven't they?

Also? Calling the episode 'The Next Doctor' doesn't make any sense, because he's NOT the next Doctor. The episode isn't actually anything about the next Doctor, and even the real Doctor only thinks Jackson is the next Doctor for about the first quarter of the episode! It should have been called 'The Other Doctor' or something like that.

Anyway. I enjoyed it, and now I'm off to see if Planet of the Dead is better than I remember too. :-)

Comments

[yamx]

They called it that on purpose - it was a deliberate mislead. They also "leaked" the information that David Morrissey would be Eleven - it was all a hoax, meant to make it a real shock when we found out Lake only thought himself the Doctor.

[unfeathered]

Well, yes, I assumed that, but surely they could have done that with the teasers or tag lines or whatever? As it is, once you know the facts, the title of the episode makes no sense whatsoever!

[yamx]

Yes, it does, if you assume it refers to Ten and the changes he undergoes.

[evilawyer.livejournal.com]

All right, maybe he hasn't had loads of people cheering him like that before, but individuals have thanked him, haven't they?

I am beset by an image of that young kid grabbing Seven's hand and pumping it up and down while saying "Thanks, Doctor. Thanks, Ace. Thanks for saving my life and getting me home" while the Seven smiles in an impishly benign fashion. Six gets thanked by The Inquisitor, quite hearfeltly, too. I know the earlier Doctors were frequently thanked (maybe not One, though), and I seem to remember Harriet Jones thanking Nine.

The Doctor gets thanked all the time. I think he even expects it.

I got the impression they called it what they did because, at that time, it still wasn't quite certain exactly how much of David Tennant we were still going to get and the production team wanted to capitalize on that.

[karaokegal.livejournal.com]

I still have a mad desire to smack the Doctor when he starts whinging about all the companions leave or forget him. Other than that I think it held up very well, especially the first 1/2.

[unfeathered]

Hmm, no, still doesn't work for me. He doesn't change much in this one. 'The New Doctor' might just have worked, I suppose...

[unfeathered]

Yeah, exactly, I thought there must have been plenty of thanks over the years!

I got the impression they called it what they did because, at that time, it still wasn't quite certain exactly how much of David Tennant we were still going to get and the production team wanted to capitalize on that.

Hmm. Well, if that was the reason, I don't like it. They can thank DT out of character as much as they like, but let's keep it out of the episodes, please.

[unfeathered]

Heh. I must admit, I really liked that bit the first time round, but this time, yeah, it didn't make me feel sorry for him. Particularly, I think, because I can't help feeling how much better his final season would be if he actually had a proper companion.

Well, except for the fact that we wouldn't have got the Time Lord Victorious if he'd had someone around to smack him down. *g*