First off I want to apologize for ditching out on all of you last week, but I was super busy with school and being sick, so I didn't end up posting. My bad. However, I'm making it up to you by giving you a post early in the week. (Despite the fact that I should be doing homework right now...) It's something that has been rattling around in my brain since the third Doctor Who episode this season, and it wouldn't go away. I've never had too much of a problem falling in love with the new regenerations of the Doctor. (Yes, Tennant is my favorite, but I'm fond of nine and the idea of eleven as well.) This new Doctor has not stolen my heart yet, though. In fact, I'm finding it very difficult to like him or his episodes at all, and I couldn't figure out why. I like Capaldi as an actor, and I want to like his Doctor, but I can't bring myself to even see many positive things in his episodes. I thought about this and thought about this, trying to figure out what it is about this season and the previous one that kept me from falling in love with them the way I fell for seasons 1-6. (I admit this mysterious thing had already started to disappear in season 5, but Matt Smith had enough life and excitement in him I hadn't started to notice yet.) I figured it out, and Rose put it into words perfectly in this video all the way back in season 1:
The bigger picture, that's what this and the last few season of Doctor Who have lost. Back in Russel T. Davies era the show wasn't really about the Doctor, he was just there. The show was about the universe and teaching people what they are capable of. Like Rose says it's about learning to live a better life. Yeah, I know that sounds corny, but the show kind of taught it's audience to see how amazing the world around us is because the Doctor never stopped being amazed at the universe, aliens, and especially humans. But starting in season 5 the show's focus started to narrow. It stopped being about traveling, exploring, and finding the best in people; it started to just be about the Doctor and his life. Now the show has narrowed so much that it has completely lost the bigger picture and the reason the Doctor started travelling around in the first place. With so many of these episodes I feel myself asking what's the purpose, the reason for the Doctor being here because he lost the reason he used to have-his love of the universe and for seeing new things. This Doctor has lost that wonder and restless spirit. Something that I haven't seen this season either is the Doctor's interactions with his TARDIS the way he used to in old seasons. There seems to be no connection there. It was lost when he lost his desire to see the universe. Now the TARDIS just feels like a cold empty box.
I really miss what Doctor Who used to be. When we didn't know anything about the Doctor and his life it gave mystery and fun. We didn't need to know about his past because we learned so much about him just by watching his present. Narrowing the show down to be all about the Doctor and where he came from has really taken away from the essence of what New Who has been about since it's reboot with Eccelston. I love that the companions used to be tempted by the vastness and mysteriousness of the universe and not so much by the Doctor's charm. I would just love it if the Doctor stepped back out of the limelight and let the show go back to what it used to be - the Doctor and his companions running through the universe, having adventures, and seeing new things.
I know this is kind of a rambly post and not the most clear, but I've been trying to figure this out for weeks, and I finally did today. Doctor Who has lost its wonder, and that's why it's lost my adoration. What do you all think of the new season? Do you like the new Doctor? Do you think the show has lost the essence it had that made you fall in love with it? Leave me a comment or send me a message letting me know. Thanks for reading my post, and I'll try to update again soon. On Sunday I'm writing about either the Warehouse 13 finale or the clones as sisters in Orphan Black. Let me know what you'd rather read. If you don't pick then it'll end up being up to me, and that's just to much power. Until next time!
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