Thoughts on Doctor Who Season Five

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 8, 2010

This morning I completed watching the fifth season of the current Doctor Who series and wanted to sum up my thoughts as we all eagerly await the Christmas special. By now I will presume those who want to see the show has and therefore won’t be tiptoeing around plot points.

Steven Moffat and Matthew Smith came to the series together, marking a major creative turning point for the eternal franchise but as with any fresh beginning there are new things to be learned and time required for things to fall into place. Moffat is no stranger to The Doctor but stepping into Russell T Davies shoes had to be somewhat daunting. He needed to rebuild the show with a fresh status quo by introducing the eleventh incarnation of The Doctor, find him a companion and tell some mind-bending stories without losing his sizable international audience. He first wanted a more middle-aged actor to play the Time Lord but once he auditioned 27-year old Matthew Smith, he was besotted and hired on the youngest man to ever play the role.

Right there that changed the tone and what could be done. We were told all along that the new companion, Amy Pond, would actually spark something between them and we could see the Doctor in love, something he’s resisted across all the incarnations. And it would certainly set this Doctor apart from his predecessor who managed to love Rove Tyler from afar and was left saddened by what might have been.

Karen Gillan has captured out hearts as Amy, the girl who waited. She was cute as a button; ready for adventures beyond Scotland, and thought the Doctor was potentially more interesting than her love, Rory (Arthur Darvill). Early on she even threw herself at the Doctor, who reacted more with an innocent’s surprise than anything else. That played poorly and was actually a sign of the growing pains any new endeavor will experience.

Smith has a likable personality and the physicality required of the Time Lord these days but all too often he flitted about, gibbering asides that recalled David Tenant. He needed to define himself differently and every now and then there was a flash of the darkness within, the danger inherent in crossing the Doctor.

Moffat had a set of beloved toys to play with and he did so with abandon, but also, with a little too much enthusiasm. As a result, across thirteen episodes comprising actually ten stories, we have the return of the Daleks, now in five collectible colors. I suppose it was irresistible to pit the new Doctor against his ages-old foes but they felt overdone, which meant they felt really tired when one menaced the gang in the thirteenth episode.

One of the strongest episodes of the recent past was the stand-alone with the Weeping Angels. Moffat brought them back, too, to much lesser effect. Having them back so soon diminishes the chilling residual feeling their debut left the audience. It was also just an okay and far from suspenseful two-parter. Better used is the return of Dr. River Song (Alex Kingston) and she breathed some life into relatively dull moments.

Much like the Bad Wolf thread, Moffat seemed obligated to have something to tie the season together and gave us the crack in the wall. Around midway, we saw the Doctor reach through the gap and retrieve a piece of the TARDIS, upping the importance of solving this problem. And just like that, Moffat built things up in a hurry so the two-part finale was the strongest story of the season. It showed he had mastered his characters and his milieu, giving us a fresh End of the Universe epic that never lost sight of the emotional impact the events would have.

Amy endured a lot, without cracking. She welcomed her fiancé Rory into her personal adventure and then had to watch him vanish from reality. Her memories of him flooded back after a delightful episode spotlighting her and Vincent Van Gogh.

And in the end, the thread for season five was all about memory and its amazing power. It meant Amy, the girl whose memories of her parents were robbed by the crack in her wall, received some cosmic justice when the restored reality returned them to her life along with Rory. And then, with a series of visual cues, she finally remembered The Doctor back into existence –- aided by Rory, whose memories of the man seemed quite strong, too. His arrival, in black tie no less, during their wedding was a perfect way to bring a close to the first season.

Overall, it began unevenly, and ended quite strongly. Now, Moffat has to make his mark by adding some new threats of his own. The alien vampires were a good start but he needs a real memorable opponent for the new Doctor, a way for this one to stand head and shoulders beside his previous incarnations.

I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Withdrawing from Dragon*Con

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 5, 2010

I love going to conventions. I love interacting with fans and fellow professionals, participating in panel discussions devoted to interesting topics. Browsing the dealers room and art show can be eye-opening experiences as are the masquerades and other events.

As a result, if invited, I tend to say yes. These shows usually cover my expenses since I appear on programming and it’s a good way to do some self-promotion.

There are selective others that Deb and I are interested in enough to attend on our own, although I try and offer my services for programming in exchange for admission so we all get some out of the arrangement. But, travel, hotels, and meals can add up.

Last year, we decided to splurge and head to Dragon*Con in Atlanta where we not only had a wonderful time, but got to visit with the Georgia-branch of my extended family. We had hoped to return this year, but my lack of productive, paying work this year has forced us to reconsider this expense.

Yesterday, I made the formal decision not to go to the show. Unless something changes, the next convention appearance will be a lot closer to home: New York Comic-Con in October.

The Waiting Game

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 1, 2010

With Comic-Con International now a week in the past, I am hopeful that everyone is getting back to their desks, sifting through messages and e-mail and returning to work. Ideally, that will mean that some of the long-simmering proposals will actually get read and either approved or passed on, allowing me to shop them elsewhere.

I tend towards decisiveness and can get impatient waiting for feedback from others. If I’m busy enough, I can ignore the gnawing voice in the back of my mind should a single proposal be out in the ether. For the last four months, I now have many proposals out in the ether and the voices multiple in my mind without enough day-to-day writing work to effectively ignore them.

I’ve been on the other side of the desk and know full well how busy people get, how some have excellent time management skills and others could use lessons. So, really, the only ones that bother me the most are the ones who go radio silent, never responding to gentle follow-up e-mails or phone calls. If the editor expresses interest in seeing a pitch, the least they could do is acknowledge receipt and a time frame for response.

One particular pitch has sat on a desk since April and both e-mail and phone calls have gone unanswered. The person also received a promotion during this period so I dropped a quick note of congratulations, without mentioning the pitch. Still nothing. Tomorrow, I will try someone else because clearly, this editor has no interest in the project or me.

Another frustration can be editors who ask to see something then can’t find it and ask to see it again. And again. On June 1, I sent a pitch over to an editor who sounded very enthusiastic. He acknowledged receipt and said he would discuss it with his superior that week. On June 30, when I asked if there was any news, he told me he had to wait for his superior to get back from vacation. On July 30, I asked if that person came back from vacation yet. Apparently he had, but the editor then went on vacation so now everyone is back in the office. Then he asked me to forward the materials again to be certain he had the right version.

This is all typical and not at all personal, but with multiple projects floating out there, the delays and lapses in communication grow exponentially, driving me to distraction.

Much of the above explains the reason my posting has dropped in frequency. There hasn’t been as much to talk about as usual. With luck, now that the major cons are over, this will change.