10.23.07

Just What The Doctor Ordered

Posted in Rants at 4:21 am

On the way back to Pittsburgh, I made a stop over in Erie and picked up one of the old Doctor Who stories, in this case “City of Death”. I suppose I ought to preface this whole entry, actually, with an explanation of just why it’s taken me so long to get into Doctor Who. As many of you happen to know, I was a weird kid. A few months after our family had moved to Cuba, I was left alone in the living room while my parents were doing something outside and downstairs. I was about seven or eight at the time. It was a Sunday afternoon, which meant that for a kid like me, there was little on television (this was before we had cable), and more than that, on PBS– the channel I usually found myself on when there was nothing on in the vain hopes that something would present itself– it was Pledge Week. The ‘gift’ which was offered was a thermal-sensitive Doctor Who mug. I was, for whatever reason, enthralled with this mug; I had absolutely no idea just what Doctor Who was, but the mug was cool, and being seven, I wanted it. So I called in to make a pledge. Bear in mind one other thing, this was when a call to the ‘local’ PBS station was in fact a long distance call, and the charges were racking up as I toddled down the stairs and asked Mom to come up and talk to the lady on the phone. Yeah, that didn’t end well. I was later told that I was not allowed to use the phone, ever. Despite twenty years of covert and overt telecommunications, often times in front of her or even with her, I actually don’t think Mom has ever officially rescinded that restriction, so I’m still technically in that rebellious phase.

ANYWAY. About “City of Death”. There’s a lot that I want to get into, so let’s start with the Fourth Doctor himself, Tom Baker. I have to admit that I can see the charm, and I’m already looking forward to tracking down more stories– I’d had my eye on the “New Beginnings” box that has Baker’s final three stories, starting with “The Keeper of Traken”, but elected to start with this one as it was cheaper. He’s a brilliant actor, and the physicality that he adds to the character is something I’d hoped to see in the other two Doctors I’ve had exposure to (Eccleston mostly, but I have seen one full episode with Tennant– more on him as I see more). I’m not sure if it’s a contribution of the Douglas Adams-penned script or if it’s a quirk he adds to the character, though, but he’s also a riot. His delivery and timing are immaculate, and as stated he adds enough physical comedy to the action (particularly when the group is brought to the Count’s parlor for the first time) to make it universal. I’m sure that I’ll find much to like about the other Doctors, but this certainly is one of the series’ high points in my estimation.

Moving on, I’d like to say a few words about Romana. Really, I would. The problem is that I can’t, because she irks me for no reason other than that she doesn’t really serve the same kind of role that Rose does; I’d come to expect that the Companions tended towards being ciphers for the viewer, giving the Doctor someone to exposit to. Romana can’t fill that role as she’s the Doctor’s equal: same species, but a bit younger– quite a bit younger, if the relative age difference is to be believed. Regardless of the fact that she’s the Doctor’s junior, she’s still over the heads of the viewers, and that means she doesn’t work very well as a cipher/Companion. Of course, perhaps I’m over-reading the definition of a Companion, or I’m just not immersed enough in it, but if I am, then I’ll gladly reassess her. She seems nice enough, if a little jaded (I’m guessing that, relatively speaking, she’s a teenager– which would explain the fact that her clothes look like a school uniform of some sort). I’m just not digging her character; the actress, Lalla Ward, offers a very good portrayal.

The tale itself is fascinating. I have to admit that the Douglas Adams connection is what endeared this specific disc to me as an entry point into the older series. (That’s something I want to touch on really quick; I’m all for the recent reboot for the purposes of introducing the Doctor to the world at large once more, but it does absolutely nothing to get viewers’ feet in the door for what came before.) Still, it’s well-written and works as a standalone story. Without getting into too much detail for those of you who’ve no interest in it, the hook involves six “original” Mona Lisas stashed in a Parisian basement for 500 years somehow being instrumental in the salvation of a dying alien race. The incidental characters are well-played, and the setup is almost immediately engaging (there’s a little bit of silliness involved while the Doctor and Romana argue about the nature of art, but beyond that, it’s in media res all the way). I’m always of the opinion that good science fiction doesn’t lean too terribly heavily on the science aspect of the story, and in this regards, “City of Death” works wonderfully; the time-travel is simply a device that needs to be tacitly accepted for the story to work (you don’t even really need to care too much about how it works). Even the conclusion, which does wind up requiring a little bit of thought to really ‘get’, goes above the science in which it’s rooted and just plain works. We’ll see how much this applies across the entirety of the series– it’s hit or miss in the current version, but there’s enough of it to be considered “good”.

As I’d said, next on my list (in a couple of weeks) is the set starting with “The Keeper of Traken”, but until then I’m likely to keep watching Torchwood (I’m so horribly backlogged on that).

Permalink