Tag Archives: TV

The Doctor, the bad and the ugly – review of Doctor Who A Town Called Mercy

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Doing a Western on a TV budget is always risky. Sand dunes, ponies, fake American accents and a few Stetsons do not add up to a small screen version of High Plains Drifter.

review of Doctor Who A Town Called Mercy
The Movie Poster for A Town Called Mercy

So hats off (or Stetsons off) to the BBC for flying the Doctor Who production team to Almeria in Spain and the famous Fort Bravo studios for the latest weekly blockbuster story, A Town Called Mercy. Authentic desert landscapes, shimmering heat hazes, and a wooden frontier town convinced me that the Doctor was genuinely in the old west – though admittedly the American accents were still a little, well, fake.

At high noon, Matt Smith faced “The Gun slinger” in the dusty town square. But his opponent was no Lee Van Cleef in a long flowing black coat. This was the Terminator in a long flowing black coat, complete with cyborg arm mounted laser cannon and bionic eye with heads up display.

Despite the potential for camp pantomime A Town Called Mercy is a dark story. A war criminal finds refuge in a western town and becomes a healer. When the half man half machine Gun-slinger arrives seeking revenge we find a morality tale in which even the Doctor seems ready to wield an executioners six-shooter.

The story explores quite adult themes for a family show, but humour offsets the darkness. Show-runner Steven Moffat promised us a movie each week for this series. A Town Called Mercy isn’t quite a cinematic as A Man Called Horse, but it tries very hard and just about pulls it off, whilst at the same time also introducing us to a horse called Susan.

Over to you: Do yo agree with my review of Doctor Who A Town Called Mercy? What did you think of the Doctor’s journey back into Spaghetti Western territory? Did the BBC pull it off or was this just bad and ugly. Share your thoughts. Leave a comment and let me know.

Forget snakes on a plane – Review of Doctor Who Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

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When I was a kid I loved dinosaurs. I read about them, drew pictures of them and even made Airfix plastic dinosaur models.

My favourite TV programme was Doctor Who. But on the one occasion that Doctor Who did dinosaurs it did them badly. The 1970s Jon Pertwee story showed the prehistoric lizards invading the streets of London and confounding the attempts of the army to stop their lethal rampage. Except even to the impressionable eyes of a youngster like me it was obvious that the mighty lizards were just badly designed glove puppets superimposed on to photos of empty London streets.

Since then we’ve seen films (Jurassic Park) and TV series (Walking with Dinosaurs) boasting convincing CGI lizards. So in keeping with revamped modern Doctor Who series 7’s attempt to deliver a block buster movie each week, the CGI in “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” had to be cinematic. And it was. Even on a BBC budget.

Review of Doctor Who Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
Movie Style Poster for Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

The episode itself was great entertainment. It veered from comedy in the early scenes (Matt Smith’s joy at seeing the dinosaurs) to darkness at the end (Matt Smith dealing ruthlessly with the very unpleasant bad guy Solomon).

And whilst I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I can’t help wondering whether the producer decided that dinosaurs on a spaceship was a random good idea and then tried very hard, and not entirely successfully, to make the plot device fit the story.

That’s only a minor quibble though. I still think Doctor Who is the best all round drama entertainment series on TV at the moment for all ages.

Over to you: Do you agree with my Review of Doctor Who Dinosaurs on a Spaceship? Was it a bit convoluted? Or do you think it worked? How did it compare to famous dinosaur entertainment like Jurassic Park. Leave a comment, share your thoughts or post a link.

Daleks are scary again – review of Doctor Who Asylum of the Daleks

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Doctor Who came blazing back on TV screens on Saturday 1 September and nearly 49 years after they first terrified the nation the Daleks returned to send kids scurrying for safety behind the sofa. <Click here to Tweet this

Review of Doctor Who Asylum of the Daleks
Movie Style Poster for Asylum of the Daleks

In nearly half a century successive production teams have treated the Daleks differently. What used to be a scary monster was often reduced to a figure of fun. Especially when exploiting the fact that all you need to do to escape from one is to run up the stairs.

When Russell T Davies revived the show in 2005 he had the metal maniacs flying and they became frightening again. Stairs were no longer a source of salvation from their exterminating excesses. But as the modern programme continued the Daleks became dull again. Too easily defeated. Always wiped out. Instead of fearing them children want to cuddle them. It’s okay to go to sleep with a toy Dalek in your bedroom.

With Asylum of the Daleks, current show runner Steven Moffat, has delivered a genuinely scary script. Humans infected by Dalek nanobots sprout eye stalks from their foreheads and guns from their wrists. Even the rotting skeletal corpses of dead humans rise and deploy their sinister appendages.

Review of Doctor Who Asylum of the Daleks

Deep within the gloomy shadows of the asylum, dormant cobweb covered Daleks raise the heart rate simply because they are immobile. We know they are going to move but which one first. These scenes drag you to the edge of your seat with tension. Maybe children will be putting their toys outside the bedroom after this adventure.

Matt Smith is totally at ease in the role in his third series, a darker Doctor but still flitting effortlessly between humour, sadness, anger and happiness. He develops a strong bond with Oswin, the girl in the red dress who is hiding out deep in the asylum. She guides him through the maze, opening doors and hacking into systems. When the Doctor finally finds her his face is one of complete desolation as he realises that she is in fact a Dalek after all. A Dalek still dreaming of the time it was still a human. And in that sadness is still loathing. Loathing of what she has become. What a strong moment in a stand out script.

Review of Doctor Who Asylum of the Daleks are scary again

But of course the big surprise is Oswin herself. Played by Jenna-Louise Coleman the BBC has promoted her as the Doctor’s new companion replacing Amy and Rory and that they will introduce her in the Christmas episode. So what is she doing here in the first episode of the new series when Amy and Rory’s story is still incomplete? And if she is a Dalek how is she going to become a companion?

As usual Steven Moffat messes with our minds and sets up many questions that we may or may not find answers to as the weeks go by.

Over to you:  Do you agree with this review of Doctor Who Asylum of the Daleks that the show made the monsters scary again? How will Oswin become the new companion if she has been blown to bits as the asylum exploded? Leave a comment. Let me know your thoughts.

Rebooting ghosts, werewolves, vampires and gladiators

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The concept of the film or TV reboot is now well accepted. In the next few months cinema goers will be treated to reboots of the Spiderman and Batman (Dark Knight) franchises. This year already TV fantasy fans have enjoyed a reboot of BBC3’s Being Human and Spartacus.

Producers play the film and TV reboots card usually to extend the life of a successful franchise when its existing actors either become too old for their roles or express their desire to move on to avoid being typecast.

The earliest example of a TV reboot is probably Doctor Who. When original actor William Hartnell left, the producers came up with the idea of allowing the character to “regenerate” into a completely different body. It was still the same person, an eccentric time traveller fighting evil across the universe, but each regeneration brought a different personality and interpretation. In this instance the reboot became integral to the story. Eventually by 1989 even this innovative method of keeping the programme fresh couldn’t save a tired format from plummeting audiences. The series was then rested for 16 years before being fully reinvented, re-suited and rebooted for a whole new generation. Doctor Who is now one of the most successful TV shows in the world.

In cinemas James Bond has been similarly refreshed by replacing the lead actor. Despite a few hiccups this has kept the franchise alive and we are now approaching the 50th anniversary of the first film, Doctor No.

film and tv reboots

Being Human is one of my favourite black comedy dramas and one of BBC3’s best products. The idea of a ghost, vampire and werewolf living together as house mates makes for extremely funny situations, some deep heart searching drama, and of course some frightening darkness interspersed with quite violent scenes.

Faced with the departure of two of the main male leads, the producers could have rested the series. But instead, over the course of the six episodes of season 4 they reinvented the show until we were left with three completely different actors playing a ghost, a vampire and a werewolf (but not the same ones!). Was this successful? I certainly didn’t enjoy this series as much as the first three, but I would agree that the producers have “pulled it off”.

film and tv reboots

Spartacus, a blood soaked, almost soft porn laden Roman sandal opera had to be rebooted because sadly the lead actor died of cancer?  And the chief villain played by the wonderfully vile John Hannah was killed at the end of the first series. Again I’m not convinced that the new actor was anywhere near as good as Andy Whitfield but the supporting characters remained interesting enough to carry the show into ever bloodier battles, and examples of Roman sexual excesses.

As useful as the reboot is to the franchise producer I do wonder whether it stifles creativity and prevents new ideas from finding screen time. Would it be better to find completely new concepts and stories rather than continually reinvent the old ones?

Over to you: Do you agree with film and TV reboots or would you rather a film or TV franchise came to a natural end to be replaced with something completely new? Please post you thoughts in the comments box below.