Doctor Who: 2 - 4: The Girl in the Fireplace

Steven Moffat wasn't a writer I associated with Doctor Who. I enjoyed Coupling, but I couldn't quite grasp how writing a sit-com about the lives and loves of four friends qualified you to write an episode of Doctor Who. That said, Russel Davies' previous writing credits don't exactly scream "TIMELORD!" Despite my concerns, Moffat's two parter from last season (The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances) are possibly my favourite episodes from Ecclestone's stay in the Tardis. They're unsettling and edgy, even for an adult audience, and the performances and effects are superb across the board.

The Girl in the Fireplace, Moffat's only episode this season, is every bit as good as his last two episodes but in a totally different way. The whole episode is one lovely juxtaposition of science fiction and period drama; taking place in both eighteenth century France and several thousand years in the future. The concept is one which is so genuinely baffling that it shouldn't work. The two time periods are so diametrically opposed that any attempt at blending them should result in an unwatchable episode. And yet this is such a compelling hour of television.

The responsibility for the success of TGITF lies with three people. The first is Moffat; without his script, concept, and skill as a writer this episode would be a confusing, laughable mess. David Tennant and Sophia Myles complete the trio. Myles is delightful as Madame Du Pompadour, conveying every emotion with enthralling conviction. The chemistry between Myles and Tennant is electric, although this should come as no surprise - back in the real world, the two are apparently engaged. Speaking of Tennant: He has arrived! Finally I am totally convinced by his portrayal of The Doctor. I have no complaints with this episode at all; he owns the role here and I can only hope that he's equally superb in future episodes.

Mickey and Rose don't get a great deal to do here, but as a result this is the first episode where I don't really mind Mickey. Their fire-extinguisher/rifles appear to be silver painted rolls of cardboard, and surely qualify as some of the worst props yet seen in new Who?

The villains of the piece are a strange mix of good and bad. Beyond the first appearance, they aren't the scariest of Who creatures, although I suspect anyone with a fear of clowns will be terrified. They are well conceived though, and when their mask is removed, the work of the design team is a wonder to behold. Where can I get one of those mechanical heads?

Doctor Who: 2 - 3: School Reunion

It's important to remember that Doctor Who isn't just for adults. There's a great deal for adults to enjoy, that's always been the case, but this is television that's not exclusively aimed at us so-called grown ups. Quite the opposite in fact. School Reunion, by grown up standards, isn't that great.

But that's missing the point, surely? Episode three of the second series of new Who clearly has the children in mind; Anthony Head plays an evil head master in a school where something odd is going on, and the unpopular child ultimately becomes the hero and saves a school that's over-run by bat-like aliens. Is this not a classic children's adventure story? But there's unquestionably something for the adults too - Elisabeth Sladen returns as Sarah Jane, and K9 isn't far behind - a creation which surely today's audience of children will find laughably poor. But then, did anybody ever really think that K9 was anything but poor?

This is an episode with much to enjoy if you can disengage your brain: Anthony Head is magnificently over-the-top, munching on all the scenery he can stomach, and having a fantastic time into the bargain. He gets some delightfully crap lines ("Bad Dog!"), gets to run around screeching like a bat, and provides more than his fair share of giggles. While part of me still yearns for a Giles spin-off series (imagine the wondrous things that the combined might of Joss Whedon and Russel Davies could achieve) and finds parts like this to be beneath an actor of Head's calibre, I can't help but lap up any cheesy villain roles he takes. It's also nice to see Elisabeth Sladen back, even if Sarah Jane's part is a little underwritten. There's some nice companion banter between her and Rose, but that's really as far as it goes. Mickey makes a reappearance here too, and I've still not managed to warm to this character. There's just something about him that I can't overcome - perhaps it's the way we're supposed to accept that he's become some sort of master hacker since his early brush with The Doctor. Another nice Torchwood reference crops up during Mickey's scenes, a thread that's nowhere near as subtle as last season's Bad Wolf, but is nonetheless well executed. And K9 is back, sadly. Still, he provides the material for a fair few gags, and is on the receiving end of Head's aforementioned "Bad Dog" line, so I can tolerate his return. 

The Masters return

Fango has a nice write up on the next season of Masters of Horror.

To summarise:

John Landis directs Family - starring George Wendt (Cheers). Wendt is superb in Stuart Gordon's King of the Ants; I'm looking forward to this one.

Dario Arengto directs Pelts - starring Meat Loaf. Dario Argento directs Meat Loaf? Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd write.

Tobe Hooper returns.

John Carpenter directs Pro Life.

Ernest Dickerson joins the masters for the first time. I'm a big fan of Demon Knight, so this could be good.

Joe Dante returns - same scriptwriter as his last episode. I've heard bad things about Homecoming, so we'll have to wait and see on this one.

Stuart Gordon directs Poe's The Black Cat. Gordon does Poe, rather than Lovecraft; that makes a nice change.

Mick Garris returns.

Brad Anderson joins. Session 9 is a superbly creepy little film; I have high hopes for this one.

Tom Holland joins. The man that brought us Child's Play and the oft-forgotten vampire classic Fright Night takes his rightful place at the master's table.

Doctor Who: 2 - 2: Tooth and Claw

Episode two of the new series starts badly. The "Crouching Tiger meets 28 Days Later" (the director's words, not mine) intro sequence is terrible. Even though a sick little part of me is quite pleased that the "unique way in which the BBC is funded" (my license fee) has given birth to a set of crimson-clad prancing monks performing wire-fu, it's still pretty bad. It's badly shot, the monks don't look terribly convincing and it just feels too cliched to be true. That, and it looks like one of those intro clips that the BBC show before programs.

Thankfully, things get better. Much better. This, I would say, is probably the best stand-alone Davies' episode yet. The script is spot on, with just the right amount of joking at just the right time ("got any silver bullets?" "Not on me, no"). The Torchwood carrot is nicely dangled once again (this is one of the things I like best about the episode, actually), and the concept itself provides a nice take on the Werewolf mythology, even if The Doctor's solution is characteristically bonkers.

The performances are great here too. Tennant seems far more comfortable than last episode, as does Billie (who's far better when she's just Rose, entertaining as last week's performance was). Pauline Collins' brilliant turn as Queen Victoria is consistently entertaining throughout the episode. Interestingly, The Doctor has changed his costume slightly here - he's expecting to land at an Ian Dury concert and has swapped shirt and tie for a less formal t-shirt ensemble - and I don't recall him doing that before. The suit and sneakers remain, but it's interesting (and quite cool) to see a Doctor that can vary aspects of the costume as it suits him.

The real star here is the Werewolf itself. It's clearly CGI, and the transformation sequence isn't likely to give Rick Baker or Rob Bottin any nightmares, but for the BBC on a Saturday night this was cracking stuff. The creature was nicely animated, well lit for the most part, and should provide the obligatory kiddy scares for this episode.

Another great night's telly. Next week: Antony Head(Master), K9, and Sarah-Jane. 

Doctor Who: 2 - 1: New Earth

The Doctor has returned!

Saturday nights haven't been the same since the last season of Doctor Who ended - the triumphant return of The Doctor last year (thanks to Russel T. Davies and the team at BBC Wales) proved that the BBC were more than capable of producing good Sci-Fi and raised the bar for Saturday evening TV. I have high hopes for the second season, and will be posting my thoughts as episodes air. Note: I know this isn't technically the second season of Doctor Who but for a large number of new fans, it is: I'll be referring to it as season two. I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum too - I don't like having something ruined before I've had a change to watch it, and I'll try not to inflict that on anyone here.

Episode one kicks things off nicely: It's nothing earth-shattering, aiming only to provide enjoyable, light-hearted Saturday evening TV, and along the way prove to be suitably scary for younger viewers (something which Who should, ideally, always strive to achieve). David Tennant somehow seems to be slightly less effective here than in the Christmas special but still manages to be entertaining, and I have no doubt I'll become increasingly enthusiastic about his take on The Doctor as the season continues. Billy Piper has quite a lot to do: As the single common thread linking Eccleston's Doctor and Tennant's it's important for Billy to put in a good performance for the first few episodes, and in this one she does. It would've been quite easy for New Earth to be rendered unwatchable by a terrible performance, but Billy pulls it off. Performance aside, Billy's cleavage also makes more of an appearance here than ever before, and I'm sure fans will consider this a positive. I'm impartial of course, my job is simply to state the facts…

New Earth is, by and large, a success. Admittedly, it steals ideas from both the Matrix and Night of the Living Dead (but provides an entertaining new explanation of the zombie's reaching arms), features a race of feline nurses (that are far less ill-advised than I expected), and makes jokes about Chavs and body/gender-swapping. And while none of this is ever likely to be accepted, enjoyed, or encouraged by the armies of hard-core Doctor Who fans, the Saturday night audience attracted by the BBC last year will no doubt find much to enjoy again this time.

Everybody have fun tonight!

Blimey, reality TV did something good for a change.

The other night I had a bit of an 80s inspired drive home - I found Rick Springfield's great album Tao on iTunes and gave that a play through for most of the journey. It's every bit as good as a I recall (this was one of my most favourite albums growing up) and is a delicious slice of slightly camp pop-rock. After coming to the end of Tao, I slid the iPod around to Wang Chung's Greatest Hits and had a blast of Everybody Have Fun Tonight and Dance Hall Days. Whilst my favourite Wang Chung album is the To Live and Die in LA soundtrack, EHFT and DHD are quite frankly, awesome. And I don't care if anyone agrees with me or not on this one (I can feel a wave of abuse heading my way actually).

Anyway, I digress: Reality TV. It appears that the mighty Wang Chung appeared on the US version of Hit Me Baby One More Time (in which the artists of yesteryear perform recent pop hits). As a result, they've recorded a new album which due out this year! Their myspace site has a version of "Hot in Herre" by Nelly which should be unspeakably awful but somehow….isn't. I assume they performed this on the show.

I look forward to the album. And remember kids: Everybody Wang Chung tonight!