2007 Christmas Special: Voyage of the Damned

[Bel_Azad]

The problem with success and bringing back Dr Who has RTD has done is

How can he keep it new and fresh, build up more viewers and keep the older guys interested?

I just hope this focus on celebrity dont mean they provide less foucs on the writing and the acting and the story telling.

I mean some of the last series episodes that featured celebrities were just pants, the one about the car park (Father Ted guy) and the one about the spaceship (P Collins) crashing into the sun.

One of the best involved the stone angels and I never recognised any of the actors in that episode

Kylie with a great story - thumbs up
Kylie with a poor story - thumbs down!

[Coolhand]

I know I shouldn't worry so much about the decline of New Who, but I just can't get it out of my head. Boy, it's all that I seem to think about. I just can't get it out of my head, yeah now it's all that I dare to think about...

Oh come on, SOMEONE had to do that gag sooner or later...

[PTeppic]

Originally Posted by Coolhand

Oh come on, SOMEONE had to do that gag sooner or later...

You should be so lucky.... lucky, lucky, lucky...

[Dave]

Then there is the TARDIS, Spinning around....

Oooh-oh I'ts spinning around, Move out of my way, I know you're feelin' me 'cause you like it like this....

[the_faery_queen]

i actually liked the one when they were on that motorway, gridlocked, just because it was a simple concept without a tonne of celbs and silly aliens and too much running around or martha mooning over the doctor. i can see why people found it dull, but im kinda happy with things abotu characters, especially when they're not together to be lovesick all the time.
but that's the only episode he's done that i didn't dislike. and the way that celbs are stuck in randomly (along with the tendancy to whittle on about a variety of stupid contemporary things, from jk rowling to the teletubbies) is just irratating. i get the feeling they're trying to be cool, instead of actually being cool. and it tends to be russel's scripts that do that (yes i reallllly hate him) because i can't remember that happening in blink, or the family of blood ones. no real famous people, not many references to famous people/tv shows. ti was abiout the plot, the action. while with russel it's all famous people and tv show references.

[PTeppic]

Perhaps one reason for the success of "family of blood" is that it was a fully-fledged story, characterisations, timing, background and so on before it was brought to the TV. It still had a string of well-known faces (the boy, the nurse, the farmer and the head) but they were totally defined characters, placed well in the narrative.

Hasn't there always been a desire to cast famous faces in TV serials, such as Dr Who? I'm trying to think of some well known TV actors and actresses who guest-starred in the 70s and 80s.

As for pop-culture, up to a point I guess they're aiming at the kids in the audience, who may love that kind of thing. However, some of the time it does seem a bit laboured and may date the show.

[Vladd67]

With reference to the Teletubbies it may have been an attempt to be contemporary, or it may have been a obscure link to the original Master who was a fan of the Clangers.

[PTeppic]

Or indeed, might have been both... they do seem to like putting in the very subtle references to old series dialogue, situations, characters and so on. Since many of us "don't get it" it might otherwise seem clunky or out of place.

Like "F4: Rise of the Silver Surfer", the presence of Stan Lee at the wedding I thought was awfully clunky, say compared to Spiderman 3 (as cameos go), yet a review of F4-2 said it was verbatim from a cell in a 1950 comic...

[the_faery_queen]

the worst, for me, was the jk rowling reference, and the really awful advert they had for the pm eleection in the penulimate episode. the people they got in that advert were so random, politicans, a boyband for heaven's sake, it just didn't seem real to me. i can't remember an advert in the real world like that (granted i dont' watch them) but it seemed so cheesy and desperate

[Alienweirdo]

Originally Posted by the_faery_queen

the worst, for me, was the jk rowling reference, and the really awful advert they had for the pm eleection in the penulimate episode. the people they got in that advert were so random, politicans, a boyband for heaven's sake, it just didn't seem real to me. i can't remember an advert in the real world like that (granted i dont' watch them) but it seemed so cheesy and desperate

Sharon Osbourne Gets what she can, shes not a very nice person. Mcfly, yeah...

I thought Anne Witicombe's cameo was clever, as it was a politcal advert after all

[the_faery_queen]

a politican makes sense, yeah, but the rest just didn't.

[sebbie3000]

Originally Posted by the_faery_queen

...the way that celbs are stuck in randomly (along with the tendancy to whittle on about a variety of stupid contemporary things, from jk rowling to the teletubbies) is just irratating... and it tends to be russel's scripts that do that... because i can't remember that happening in blink, or the family of blood ones.

Unfortunately for more 'mature' viewers of Doctor Who, like yourself, certain pop-culture references will have to be endured. This is because Doctor Who is, first and foremost, a younger person's show. The episodes that the more mature viewers like will be those with proper characterisations, the twisting, intertwined plots and realisations of the the overall arc, whereas the younger viewers need a less cerebral approach to hook them in, hence the celebs (or celbs) and pithy modern witticisms.

Most successful shows have certain element of 'pandering' in them. It's one way to guarantee another series.

Actually, a lot of the mature viewers new to Doctor Who need that too! It just parallels the dumbing-down of society.

[sebbie3000]

Originally Posted by the_faery_queen

the worst, for me, was the jk rowling reference, and the really awful advert they had for the pm eleection in the penulimate episode. the people they got in that advert were so random, politicans, a boyband for heaven's sake, it just didn't seem real to me. i can't remember an advert in the real world like that (granted i dont' watch them) but it seemed so cheesy and desperate

No offence, but you really negated your argument with your brackets. If you don't watch political broadcasts, how can you know that they are any different? The only real difference was that those in Doctor Who were less desperate than the real adverts.

[jackokent]

Ok less of the "more mature" references I guess I am in that bracket, agewise if not mentallly I LOVE the modern references, loved the Trisha interviewing a ghost, loved SHaron Osbourne appearance and also the JK Roling refernce.

I think it's these little snippets that stop it getting too up itselft otherise you could potentially get a serious deep "time lord with big lonely past" saga. They remind us this is after all entertainment. Roll on more celebs and more contemporary references but also agree with other's pleas keep the plot lines good

Incidentally loved the Gridlock episose too. RTD can do no wrong in my eyes.

[sebbie3000]

I also class myself as one of the "more mature" viewers, if not in the mind, certainly in years!

But I am partial to the odd pop-culture reference. I think they need to include a few more, and maybe some more obscure ones. Like in HHGTTG the movie - they had the Marvin from the original TV series in the queue for the appeal when they were on the Vogon's home planet being brushed aside by the newer version of Marvin. I like those kinds of references, and they keep the fanboys happy!