Sunday, April 01, 2012

Doctor Who: a Tennant marathon!

So Jennskoot and I have been planning a Doctor Who marathon for what seems like two years now, maybe longer, and our schedules (well, let’s be honest — her schedule, she’s always much busier than I am) have never quite allowed for it. But we decided that April Fools’ Day would be the perfect day. Not only was it a lazy grey Sunday, but it was also a great way to avoid all the tricks people like to pull on each other (neither of us appreciate that much). So today we finally did it!

See, it all started with Torchwood: Children Of Earth. After hearing our friend S and I going on and on about how amazing it was, and after reading many praises, she finally asked if she could come over and watch an episode. Which turned into two and might have been three that night if it had not grown so late. She ended up coming back four days later to finish it. And then had to borrow seasons 1 and 2. And then, finally, knowing Captain Jack was spun off from Doctor Who, hearing about the show from a few different friends from a few different circles, and after continually noticing posts about it on various blogs she follows, she relented and began watching the 11th Doctor… and loved him. The hook was in.

I’d given her a disc with a few episodes she might like, just to see if she’d be willing to watch anyone other than Matt Smith in the role, and after watching several stories she agreed that an afternoon marathon would be fun. Thus began over a year of scheduling, re-scheduling and re-re-scheduling!

(We did watch a few episodes the night before our trip to Curaçao, and that was fun, but not as relaxed as it could have been.)

So last night I gathered together the makings for Sonic Screwdrivers (vanilla vodka, blue curaçao and Sprite), the DVDs I’d selected and a present for Jennskoot’s home (I’d never been there before) and put them by the door so I wouldn’t forget them. Then, this morning, I picked it all up and went downstairs to grab the bus. Except I didn’t — I went downstairs and waited for the bus, and as I saw it coming up the street I realized I’d LEFT IT ALL UPSTAIRS. So back I went. Typical me.

Anyway, I TTC’d there, was introduced to her lovely little place (immaculate, puts me to such shame) and we settled in — we mixed up our sonic screwdrivers (sweet and a bit deadly), made pizza and popped in the first disc. As she’d already seen some Christopher Eccleston and wasn’t overly keen on him, she had decided to see what the big deal about David Tennant was, so we focused on him and started with:
  • New Earth — The Doctor takes Rose to the far future to a hospital run by cats using tank-grown human clones as incubators for every known disease, and meets some old acquaintances. Good introduction to Tennant, and both inhabited in turn by Lady Cassandra made for a lot of fun. She enjoyed it, yay! So we moved on to…
  • Love & Monsters — A love-it-or-hate-it episode (we loved it), a love-letter to the fans with a lot of heartfelt performances, humour and an excellent soundtrack. Again, very much enjoyed! Excellent. Moving on…
  • Runaway Bride — Hooray for Donna! Not even the bizarre Empress of the Racnoss could bring it down. Perhaps the least favourite of the afternoon, but Donna was awesome. Ready for more, we turned to…
  • Partners in Crime — That’s right, we jumped right past Martha and into the return of Donna. She loved this one, especially their silent exchange across the room through the windows, and why wouldn’t she — the Doctor and Donna are perfectly set in this one. And so we moved forward with…
  • The Fires of Pompeii — It’s volcano day in Pompeii. Fully appreciated, excellent effects (best I’ve ever seen on the show), the more serious performances by both at the end really stood out for her. And look, is that Amy? Why yes! And then I insisted on…
  • The Unicorn and The Wasp — Whodunnit? It was YOU, yes YOU! No, not you… heh heh, they were so much fun together in this one. The whole cast was fun actually, Felicity Kendall and Fenella Woolgar (12th Doctor? I’d love her!) were a real treat. Then, because she’d seen the teaser during the end of Runaway Bride, we backtracked to…
  • The Shakespeare Code — Again, another winner! Witches, huzzah! The misread intentions all over this episode between the Doctor and Martha are enough to make you want to slap him, and Will was a randy boy — hey nonny nonny indeed!

…and then it was time to go. 8-1/2 hours later and I’m back home, planning our next marathon. Might be a while…

1 comment:

  1. Doctor Who started out life as a sort of dramatic history show, so it was nice to see it get back to its roots. Read about some of the events dramatized here:

    The destruction of Pompeii:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii
    The 11-day disappearance of Agatha Christie:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_Christie#Disappearance
    Shakespeare's 'Love's Labour's Won':
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love%27s_Labour%27s_Won

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