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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Doctor Who Challenge Part I

This is part 1 of 4 for a Doctor Who Tag Challenge hosted by Banrion An Gheimhridh! The challenge consists of twenty Doctor Who related questions, and I will answer five of them today, six in Part 2, eight in Part 3 and the last, most important one in the Finale. I imagine that by the end, you will know my opinions on the show very nearly as well as I do, and I will have probably learned a few things as well. So, with no further ado...

1 - When and why did you start watching Doctor Who, and what made you become a fan of it?
Ah, let me think back, to the summer so long ago... in 2012. Yes, I suppose I'm a relatively new Doctor Who fan aren't I? But my first taste of the Doctor came a few years before when I happened upon a re-running Tennant episode, "Fear Her." I watched from about half to the end feeling as though I had just stepped into a separate world. (In retrospect, I pretty much had.) Now skip to last year -- one rather boring summer morning I watched about five minutes of "The Empty Child" and remembered the show, which I was now vaguely aware of. The next day, my brother and I watched "Smith and Jones" and by the time it ended, I was unknowingly hooked. I realized it later when "the image of an Angel became an Angel," in "Time of the Angels" and my mind was blown. It was hilarious one second, and terrifying the next -- a true one-of-a-kind, and so heartfelt and completely unashamed. After that, my favorite summer past-time was to watch Doctor Who as I chopped tomatoes for my homemade salsa almost every morning. Once I got the rest of my family to watch them with me off Netflix, (not a hard task) things went supersonic, and we watched all of Eleven, then Nine and Ten well before the premiere of season seven.


2 - Favorite quotes?
Well, you gotta have this one: "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, time-y wimey... stuff." (And then must add:) "Started well, that sentence."

And this is the one I always quote to people about to enter dark places: "Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark. But they're wrong, cause it's not irrational. It's Vashta Narada."

"This is my timey-wimey detector. It goes 'ding' when there's stuff." 

"It's smaller on the outside!"











The Doctor: "Well, that's rubbish. Who's that supposed to be?"
Rory: "It's you."
The Doctor: "Me? Is that what I look like?"
Rory: "You don't know?"
The Doctor: "Busy day!"

Pretty much every quote from "The Eleventh Hour" actually... come to think of it, every quote from "Time of the Angels" and "Flesh and Stone" as well!

River: I just landed her.
The Doctor: But... it didn't make the noise.
River: What noise?
The Doctor: You know, the... [imitates the TARDIS]
River: It's not supposed to make that noise. You leave the brakes on!
The Doctor: Yeah, well, it's a brilliant noise. I love that noise. 











3 - Favorite theme songs?
Obviously, I love, and always sing along with the main theme. It's required. But sometimes... I prefer to whistle it. I know, I'm so hardcore. Otherwise, I don't usually notice music unless it's really bad or really good, but I adore the 11th Doctor's theme -- never fails to make me smile.





4 - Favorite episodes and favorite scenes/moments?
Smith and Jones -- Ten is at his best, and I love all the running involved in this episode, (so classic!) but the highlight is when The Doctor expels the radiation out through his shoe, then takes off the other one so he won't look daft. "Barefoot on the moon!"

Time of the Angels -- "But you're just a statue... you can't move..." Scariest thing I have ever seen. Also, the scene where Amy asks if River is The Doctor's wife. Brilliant.

Flesh and Stone -- "Amy, you need to start trusting me now, it's never been more important." "But you don't always tell me the truth." "If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me." I loved this moment even before I knew the significance of it. (I'm a hipster!)

The Eleventh Hour -- Fish fingers and custard. Or, The Doctor's big reveal. Saving the earth, and making bowties cool! Or... everything else in the episode.











Blink -- When DI Shipton asks Sally out for drinks. "Life is short, and you are hot!"

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead -- River and The Doctor. Need I say more?

Vincent and The Doctor -- The ending.

Hide. (My favorite of season seven.)














Day of the Moon. (So creepy, so awesome.)

The Unicorn and the Wasp. (The Doctor AND Agatha Christie!)

David Morrissey stealing Ten's thunder in the beginning of "The Next Doctor." "Allons-y!!"










When he knocks four times.

Eleven and River in "The Name of the Doctor." Oh my goodness.

Eleven's speech in "The Rings of Akhaten."


I could go on, (and on) but... I will not. Next!


 





5 - Least favorite episodes?
I'm pretty easy-going, and don't really dislike any episodes, but I'm not a big fan of Nine, and besides "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" his episodes go rather low on my list of favorites. "Dalek" is probably my least favorite -- too serious, and too slow. Ten's early episodes are similar, but generally better; the low point in season two was probably "Rise of the Cybermen"/"Age of Steel."

Stay tuned for Part II the day after tomorrow!

8 comments:

  1. I plan to do this tag as well starting Sunday. I actually became a fan of Doctor Who in 2005 after the reboot aired and I have loved the show ever since.

    The "wibbly wobbly, time-y wimey... stuff." speech is probably my favorite quote too, I use that quote anything I am trying to explain time travel to someone. Also the "Fish sticks and custard," scene and the entire "Eleventh Hour" episode is brilliance.

    Looking forward to your next post!

    -James

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    1. Great, I'll be looking out for yours!

      Absolutely, it's so much fun to quote. I usually get funny looks, but I do it anyway. Definitely, pure brilliance! Thanks for reading!

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  2. I agree with you - Doctor Who has light moments and dark moments, and can switch effortlessly between the two. I love all of the quotes you listed! The scene where the 11th Doctor sees himself for the first time makes me laugh every time. :) "I am the Doctor" is undoubtedly one of the best Doctor Who theme songs ever. I feel really happy and up-lifted whenever it comes on. "The Eleventh Hour" was a brilliant episode and one of my favorites. The 11th Doctor's speech in "The Rings of Akhaten" was very moving, absolutely beautiful, and so emotional. "Rise of the Cybermen" never really interested me. However, I thought "Love and Monsters" was the worst episode. I didn't even bother to watch it, and I don't plan to any time soon. Frankly, it looks like an awful episode. I'd say it was Doctor Who's lowest point.

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    1. Thanks, I'm glad you agree! "The Eleventh Hour" is perfect. I hope Twelve's first episode is similar! Oh yeah, "Love and Monsters" was really weird and disturbing in a very-not-good way. Definitely very low on my list of favorites too. It was pretty awful, but at least it wasn't boring... :P

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  3. Aw, I really wish I could have taken part in this! Some thoughts from me:

    You've listed many of my favourite episodes. And Hide was my favourite S7 episode too. Human Nature/Family of Blood (my favourite Doctor Who story ever!), The Waters of Mars, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, A Christmas Carol, The Fires of Pompeii, The Doctor's Wife and Midnight are all MASSIVE favourites of mine as well :)

    There aren't any episodes that you dislike?! Wow! There are a lot of episodes from the RTD era that I hate! Those Slitheen episodes from S1, Love & Monsters, Fear Her, Daleks in Manhattan, etc. In fact it wasn't until Steven Moffat took over that I really began to fall in love with the show. It became far more consistent. For me the episodes in the RTD are either amazing or atrocious. You might have gathered that I have very strong opinions! :D S2 & the year of the specials are the worst years of the show for me. S5 & S6 are the best years of the show for me. S4 is my favourite RTD era. I love the relationship between Ten and Donna.

    Nine is my least favourite New Who Doctor as well. It's not that I dislike him. I think Christopher Eccleston did a great job. It's just that he only got one series and I don't think I really got to know him as well as the other Doctors. To me Nine is this really cool guy that I wish I'd gotten to know better, Ten is the one I'd most like to marry, and Eleven is the one I'd most want as my best friend. I think Twelve is going to be a cool uncle type or a father figure :D

    And finally, have you seen any Classic Who?

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    1. Oh yes, those are all great too! Especially Midnight because of Colin Morgan and the "the pool is abstract!" story. Gets me every time. :D

      Yeah, I don't hate any episodes, I just like them a LOT less than my favorites! I do agree with you that those are definitely the worse episodes though -- except for Fear Her, I don't mind that one, but maybe that's just because it was the first DW I ever saw. I think we have pretty much the same opinions, except yes, yours are stronger. ;)

      Yeah Eccleston was fine, and it wasn't his fault most of his episodes weren't very good! I agree about Ten and Eleven as well. :D And you're probably right about Twelve, which would be great.

      Not really, just random bits and pieces. I want to see them someday because I don't feel like I can be a really complete Whovian without seeing ALL the episodes, but it's a very daunting task to begin.

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  4. S1 is one of the weaker DW series. The Slitheen episodes and The Long Game are all really bad I think. And as an American - at least I think you're American?! - how do you feel about the episode Bad Wolf? It's making all of these references to these reality/game shows that were huge in Britain at the time. It really hasn't aged well and I can imagine it being pretty confusing if you're not familiar with those shows! I LOVE Empty Child/The Doctor Dances though. That's an amazing story. And I actually really, really like the episodes in that series that weren't written by RTD: The Unquiet Dead, Dalek, Father's Day.

    I wouldn't beat yourself up too badly about not seeing all of Classic Who! Admittedly I do feel that all fans of New Who owe it to themselves to watch Classic Who - but it would take you YEARS to watch every single episode! That's one of the things that I most love about being a Whovian though, there's always something to explore! Even when you've watched up to S7 of New Who there's still years and years of Classic Who to watch! And there's also Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, the Big Finish audio dramas, tie-in novels, charity specials, animated episodes, computer games, the Proms concerts, and who knows what else the BBC have been able to churn out! :D

    I'm still finding my bearings when it comes to Classic Who but I can recommend a few serials to you. I'd completely recommend The Talons of Weng Chiang. The 4th Doctor and his kickass companion Leela go to Victorian London in a story that's got lots of Sherlock Holmes and Phantom of the Opera references! And The Caves of Androzani is a 5th Doctor story that's absolutely stunning and has two of the best cliffhangers you'll ever see. Genesis of the Daleks & The Pyramids of Mars are also brilliant. And then there's the 1996 movie. Lots of fans hate it and I can understand why. It's, er, not great. But I still love Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor and the TARDIS interiors are very impressive. If you want to know more about Classic Who I'd just consult fan forums and Google and see what the other fans recommend, that's how I'm learning about it :) I definitely plan on watching more Classic Who and it will keep me occupied in those months when New Who isn't around. Sorry to go full on nerd with you but I LOVE talking about Doctor Who! :D

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    1. Yes, I am American, and I don't remember being confused or anything with Bad Wolf, because the games were similar enough to American shows in a general sense, although I imagine some more specific references went over my head! It's been a while since I've seen that one though, so I can't really remember. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances is definitely my favorite of Nine.

      Well thanks for the encouragement and the recommendations! I always thought that the Fourth Doctor would be a good place to start with Classic Who, and I guess skipping around to the really good ones is a good idea too, so thanks for all the information. I think I'll definitely take your advice! :D

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