Old Skool Tour: Series Two Retrospective
Jun. 16th, 2009 08:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rangersylHoly hiatus, Batman! It's been a long while since I've added anything to my Old Skool Tour.
I am still dutifully viewing vintage Who, in fact I'm in the middle of The Dalek's Masterplan. Inspired by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stellastars Classic Who Rewatch, I went back to see when I had last posted my Tour... and ouch! It was January. I can only say that the last few months have been insane for me -- between nagging health problems, work insanity that reached a fever pitch, long (great) vacation and other things... well anyway. Haven't kept up with much lately.
Regardless, the last tour guide was The Time Meddler.
Next up is
If the first season of Doctor Who could be considered groundbreaking, the second season was extraordinarily ambitious. It was also a transitionary period - the program showed that it could tolerate change both behind and in front of the camera. The versatility of the format continued to provide extraordinary entertainment, and now the resilience of the show was established. In short -- the groundwork was laid for modern Who.
Some things were tried and never attempted again -- the meticulous world-building of The Web Planet and the potpourri of The Chase, for example. I'm bummed about former and thankful for the latter. From this point on, tie-in novels, animation and comics, etc. are the only place we'll see a truly alien world realized. This makes sense of course, in terms of budget and the limitations of special effects (even today's CGI). But at the same time, the scope of Who just cries out for huge stories -- here's to hoping that they will be attempted again on television.
Another trend was the decline of the historical and the ascendency of sci-fi. The limitations of straight historicals have been reached, it seems. If our heroes can't rewrite history, then the story becomes a romp -- either humorous like in The Romans or a sight-seeing costume drama like The Crusade. The Doctor and company can't really affect the larger arc of the story and are relegated to simply observing. And let's face it, when compared with Daleks and other bug-eyed monsters, pitchfork-toting villagers just can't compete in the menace department. The solution to this was to combine the two concepts. The Time Meddler successfully brought sci-fi to Saxon England and introduced a whole new genre of Who.
The other most influential story was The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Eye-poppingly ambitious, it minted the 'alien invasion' genre. It also marked the first departure of a companion. By the time 'The Chase' concluded the entire cast had changed, except of course for the Doctor himself. His turn would come the following year.
Taken as a whole, I didn't find the second season to be as breathtaking as the first. I still don't think anything can match the sheer wonder engendered by the first wild adventures, but that is sort of beside the point. The stories continued to stretch boundaries, trying on different hats for size and discarding some while others became longtime favorites. The show has found its roots, and will continue to grow from here.
Coming Soon: Galaxy 4
I am still dutifully viewing vintage Who, in fact I'm in the middle of The Dalek's Masterplan. Inspired by
stellastars Classic Who Rewatch, I went back to see when I had last posted my Tour... and ouch! It was January. I can only say that the last few months have been insane for me -- between nagging health problems, work insanity that reached a fever pitch, long (great) vacation and other things... well anyway. Haven't kept up with much lately.Regardless, the last tour guide was The Time Meddler.
Next up is
If the first season of Doctor Who could be considered groundbreaking, the second season was extraordinarily ambitious. It was also a transitionary period - the program showed that it could tolerate change both behind and in front of the camera. The versatility of the format continued to provide extraordinary entertainment, and now the resilience of the show was established. In short -- the groundwork was laid for modern Who.
Some things were tried and never attempted again -- the meticulous world-building of The Web Planet and the potpourri of The Chase, for example. I'm bummed about former and thankful for the latter. From this point on, tie-in novels, animation and comics, etc. are the only place we'll see a truly alien world realized. This makes sense of course, in terms of budget and the limitations of special effects (even today's CGI). But at the same time, the scope of Who just cries out for huge stories -- here's to hoping that they will be attempted again on television.
Another trend was the decline of the historical and the ascendency of sci-fi. The limitations of straight historicals have been reached, it seems. If our heroes can't rewrite history, then the story becomes a romp -- either humorous like in The Romans or a sight-seeing costume drama like The Crusade. The Doctor and company can't really affect the larger arc of the story and are relegated to simply observing. And let's face it, when compared with Daleks and other bug-eyed monsters, pitchfork-toting villagers just can't compete in the menace department. The solution to this was to combine the two concepts. The Time Meddler successfully brought sci-fi to Saxon England and introduced a whole new genre of Who.
The other most influential story was The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Eye-poppingly ambitious, it minted the 'alien invasion' genre. It also marked the first departure of a companion. By the time 'The Chase' concluded the entire cast had changed, except of course for the Doctor himself. His turn would come the following year.
Taken as a whole, I didn't find the second season to be as breathtaking as the first. I still don't think anything can match the sheer wonder engendered by the first wild adventures, but that is sort of beside the point. The stories continued to stretch boundaries, trying on different hats for size and discarding some while others became longtime favorites. The show has found its roots, and will continue to grow from here.
Coming Soon: Galaxy 4
