![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jjporWell, I've finally managed to see this week's SJA two-parter (thanks, BBC iPlayer!), and, well:
It's a funny thing. As an oldschool Who fan, who is fairly confident in his oldschool Who fandom (just come around here with your jibes about cardboard sets and your accusations of sexism and your claims that Rose was the only companion he ever loved! I dares ya!), I shouldn't really care what NuWho and its spinoffs think of the original series, should I? Nevertheless, whenever there is even the tiniest bit of continuity, the measliest hint of fanw*nk, I find myself uncontrollably squeeing. Which can be quite embarrassing when there are other people present.
Take the Xmas special "The Next Doctor" for instance. I didn't like it that much. I thought David Morrissey and Dervla Kirwin were both perfectly spiffing in their guest-shots, mind you. It's just my irrational prejudice against NuWho Cybermen, combined with the truly industrial-strength Ten!Angst present in that story that turned me off it. "They break my heart..." Good God, Ten; get a grip you cry-baby! Nevertheless, I enjoyed that special more than I should have. How? I hear you ask. Well, the montage, of course, silly!
That multi-Doctor montage, all ten of the blighters, reduced me to a quivering lump of pure squee, in spite of all of my misgivings. Random fanw*nkery in the middle of NuWho has this effect on me.
Thus you can imagine my reaction at that brief flashback/flashforward sequence at the mid-point of this week's SJA adventure. Three! Four! Sarah Jane!!! I mean, Lis Sladen remains a fine-looking woman for her age, but, back in the 70s...Good Lord, as the Brig probably said many a time... And Big Tommy B! At his most charismatic (as opposed to that brilliant, drink-addled comedy of his last couple of seasons)!! And, incidentally, totally undermining RTD's angst-ridden Ten/Rose-centric version of said departure scene (or so I like to think!). Well, for that alone this week's story was a keeper as far as I'm concerned, although there were certainly other things to recommend it:
Clyde! Every time I mention SJA, my first remark is usually something like Clyde is The Man, but it's so true. This week, he was in particularly fine form. His genuine friendship with Luke was there for all to see, but even moreso his interplay with Sarah herself. Maybe Clyde's growing up or something, but their interaction here was as between equals, true friends, with an easy humour and camaraderie. And then we got to see Clyde playing detective, tricking the character Harry into revealing more than he intended. And then, when Sarah was reeling from the aforementioned flashback/forward inflicted on her by a misguided alien computer, Clyde snapped her out of it with a presence of mind and maturity that added new depths to the character. I got the impression that this was supposed to be a "Rani episode", but nevertheless it was Clyde who shone through for me.
Having said that, Rani was good in it. Often, she feels like a bit of a Maria-substitute character, but this story took this as its main point; it explored that feeling of teenage awkwardness and uncertainty, of not quite being one of the gang, and had some thoughtful points to make on the subject. The bit where Adam revealed his true nature and helped the aged Rani set right her own screwed-up history (with a glimpse too of her future son and grandchildren), well, I don't like to own up to such things, but I had something in my eye when I was watching that scene. Yes, definitely. Something in my eye, that's right...
And as for Sam and Eve the alien girl, and bewildered dad-figure Harry wandering the stars together...probably nobody will write fanfic about that, but they definitely should...
Well, a bit more fan-squeeing from me before the end of this non-review:
K9! K9! Voiced by John Leeson his own self! Back for good, apparently! I certainly hope so, and that scene where they were getting their photo taken together, well it made me mist up a bit, I''ll admit... Oh, and the bitchy K9/Mr Smith relationship deserves to be expanded on in future eps.
And random Time War reference too! "So many people were exterminated." We were supposed to think that it was the Daleks who did for Eve's people, but I bet it was the Time Lords; they'd have more reason to expunge a race of history-meddling time sensitives, wouldn't they?
Oh, and did that zombified homeless guy with his white, white smile and his red, red eyes remind anyone else of Fenric a little bit? No? Just me, then. ;D
And next week:
NIGEL HAVERS??!! NIGEL CRUKKING HAVERS????!!!!
Oh yeah, and there's some skinny Scottish bloke with spiky hair in it as well....
It's a funny thing. As an oldschool Who fan, who is fairly confident in his oldschool Who fandom (just come around here with your jibes about cardboard sets and your accusations of sexism and your claims that Rose was the only companion he ever loved! I dares ya!), I shouldn't really care what NuWho and its spinoffs think of the original series, should I? Nevertheless, whenever there is even the tiniest bit of continuity, the measliest hint of fanw*nk, I find myself uncontrollably squeeing. Which can be quite embarrassing when there are other people present.
Take the Xmas special "The Next Doctor" for instance. I didn't like it that much. I thought David Morrissey and Dervla Kirwin were both perfectly spiffing in their guest-shots, mind you. It's just my irrational prejudice against NuWho Cybermen, combined with the truly industrial-strength Ten!Angst present in that story that turned me off it. "They break my heart..." Good God, Ten; get a grip you cry-baby! Nevertheless, I enjoyed that special more than I should have. How? I hear you ask. Well, the montage, of course, silly!
That multi-Doctor montage, all ten of the blighters, reduced me to a quivering lump of pure squee, in spite of all of my misgivings. Random fanw*nkery in the middle of NuWho has this effect on me.
Thus you can imagine my reaction at that brief flashback/flashforward sequence at the mid-point of this week's SJA adventure. Three! Four! Sarah Jane!!! I mean, Lis Sladen remains a fine-looking woman for her age, but, back in the 70s...Good Lord, as the Brig probably said many a time... And Big Tommy B! At his most charismatic (as opposed to that brilliant, drink-addled comedy of his last couple of seasons)!! And, incidentally, totally undermining RTD's angst-ridden Ten/Rose-centric version of said departure scene (or so I like to think!). Well, for that alone this week's story was a keeper as far as I'm concerned, although there were certainly other things to recommend it:
Clyde! Every time I mention SJA, my first remark is usually something like Clyde is The Man, but it's so true. This week, he was in particularly fine form. His genuine friendship with Luke was there for all to see, but even moreso his interplay with Sarah herself. Maybe Clyde's growing up or something, but their interaction here was as between equals, true friends, with an easy humour and camaraderie. And then we got to see Clyde playing detective, tricking the character Harry into revealing more than he intended. And then, when Sarah was reeling from the aforementioned flashback/forward inflicted on her by a misguided alien computer, Clyde snapped her out of it with a presence of mind and maturity that added new depths to the character. I got the impression that this was supposed to be a "Rani episode", but nevertheless it was Clyde who shone through for me.
Having said that, Rani was good in it. Often, she feels like a bit of a Maria-substitute character, but this story took this as its main point; it explored that feeling of teenage awkwardness and uncertainty, of not quite being one of the gang, and had some thoughtful points to make on the subject. The bit where Adam revealed his true nature and helped the aged Rani set right her own screwed-up history (with a glimpse too of her future son and grandchildren), well, I don't like to own up to such things, but I had something in my eye when I was watching that scene. Yes, definitely. Something in my eye, that's right...
And as for Sam and Eve the alien girl, and bewildered dad-figure Harry wandering the stars together...probably nobody will write fanfic about that, but they definitely should...
Well, a bit more fan-squeeing from me before the end of this non-review:
K9! K9! Voiced by John Leeson his own self! Back for good, apparently! I certainly hope so, and that scene where they were getting their photo taken together, well it made me mist up a bit, I''ll admit... Oh, and the bitchy K9/Mr Smith relationship deserves to be expanded on in future eps.
And random Time War reference too! "So many people were exterminated." We were supposed to think that it was the Daleks who did for Eve's people, but I bet it was the Time Lords; they'd have more reason to expunge a race of history-meddling time sensitives, wouldn't they?
Oh, and did that zombified homeless guy with his white, white smile and his red, red eyes remind anyone else of Fenric a little bit? No? Just me, then. ;D
And next week:
NIGEL HAVERS??!! NIGEL CRUKKING HAVERS????!!!!
Oh yeah, and there's some skinny Scottish bloke with spiky hair in it as well....
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-10-25 12:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-25 09:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-25 10:44 pm (UTC)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsZShpHdrPw
no subject
Date: 2009-10-25 04:19 pm (UTC)Plus, next week - we have potentially the usual team, K( (!!!!!), Mr Smith being all snarky about K9, Ten and Nigel Havers turning up to marry Sarah?
It is a strange and wonderful world we live in. Heh.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-25 09:25 pm (UTC)Not that I class Nigel Havers with the likes of them, obviously...
*counts seconds till next Thursday*
no subject
Date: 2009-10-26 08:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-26 08:55 pm (UTC)To be honest, I'm not sure if those acts are all still alive and/or active! Ah well, failing them, they could probably get Paul Daniels - slap some green makeup on him, job's a good 'un... XD
no subject
Date: 2009-10-25 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-26 08:51 pm (UTC)And next week... O.o
no subject
Date: 2009-10-28 06:42 pm (UTC)---
Not just you.
Loved this episode, and looking forward to the next, random spikey-haired Scott and all.
And yes, Clyde is most certainly The Man (and the age of the actor means I don't have to feel creepy about crushing on him any more. Whoot!)
no subject
Date: 2009-10-28 08:08 pm (UTC)And next week...next week will be epic. Or should be. Or must be. At any rate, if I were a betting man, I'd lay odds it'll be better than any of the "specials" (although I'm still waiting for Waters of Mars and/or the Xmas Special to surprise me by blowing me out of my socks).
Things that remind me of Fenric...a short list, to be honest, but that guy did. You know the scene I'm thinking of right; the nurse, the vampires, the smile...brrr...