automatonrevolution

I’ve been watching a lot of Dr Who recently…the older stuff, the origional stuff. Jon Pertwee and Peter Davidson and Tom Baker etc. And ive come to the conclusion that the new series has a bit of a problem. Its too much of everything…its too “in your face”…too much razzle-dazzle. Now, some of this is due to the change from a serial based show to single episodes. The available time is shorter and therefore theres less space to put plot and characterization. So to cover over the more paper thin elements they have to layer it with fast paced action scenes and lots of music. Most of the time this is fine and can still produce some amazing episodes, such as the one with the Weeping Angels…but when they do a 2 part episode the lack of depth in most of the single episode stories is shown for what it is.

The overuse of music is a big problem for me. if you go watch the earlier stuff the music was pretty understated most of the time. Sure, thered be the occasional score that sounded as if the BBC Philharmonics Workshop had made some new sounds that they didnt know what else to do with…but most of the time the music was there to undercurrent what was happening, not cover up cracks in the story. Dont get me wrong, I like the new series of Dr Who, but in many ways its not a patch on the older stuff. The stories are generally thinner, the characters more comedic or stereotypical, theres less room for thought or to explore the Doctor’s attitudes. The special effects are better, and the sets dont wobble so much, but still….

I really dont think it would hurt for Russel T Fanboy to go back and rewatch the older stuff…and see just how good it is.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 at 5:22 pm and is filed under Random Stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.