Fandom, TV

Doctor Who and the POA

8,966 Comments

I’m now starting to feel that the new Doctor Who series has disturbing parallels to the Alfonso Cuarón era of the Harry Potter movies.

When Cuarón helmed the third movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, fans rejoiced. Most fans rejoiced. I did not. The tone of the entire series darkened, most strikingly, visually. Figurative darkening was a necessity, as the source material was becoming more dangerous and entangled, but visually, the movie felt as if it had been shot through fog and the world seemed dim as a result. The sets showed the darkness, too. Everything began to look dilapidated and uninviting, even Hogwarts, which had seemed magical and bright in the previous films. This hazy, dark look continued throughout the films and was the primary reason I stopped watching them.

Steven Moffat, similarly genius in his storytelling, appears to be doing the same to Doctor Who. His Series 3 episode “Blink” is universally considered one of the best episodes of the modern era. As a standalone ep, I agree, it’s striking in its difference. As the tone of a series, it’s depressing and dull. I allowed the thought that Series 5 was a bit less colorful because of the transition to our Eleventh Doctor. I, like all of fandom, was feeling him out along with the new sassy companion. I was pleased. As this season began, we were hit with too many cliches and teases in the first two episodes. Following the convoluted story of the opener, we were treated with two dark, dank episodes that did little to harken back to the glory days of FUN Doctor Who, and I fear we will not return.

My fear is that I am alone in my distaste for the new style. I was completely isolated in the HP fandom as someone who preferred that a children’s story (and regardless of what is said, Harry Potter is a children’s story) remain a bit fantastic and bright. The response to last night’s cheerless episode “The Doctor’s Wife” written by Neil Gaiman has been exceedingly positive. Having several scenes of suffering and misery seems to appease fandom, and on that count we differ. I accept and appreciate darkness in the right fandom (BSG, GoT) but this is still, at heart, a show for younger fans with a fifty year tradition that should be respected.

8,966 thoughts on “Doctor Who and the POA”

  2. I think what you said made a ton of sense. However, think on this, what if you were to write a killer title? I mean, I don’t wish to tell you how to run your website, but what if you added a post title that makes people want more? I mean %BLOG_TITLE% is a little plain. You should look at Yahoo’s front page and see how they create news titles to get viewers to click. You might add a related video or a related picture or two to grab readers interested about everything’ve got to say. In my opinion, it could bring your website a little livelier.
    Sweet Rush Bonanza

    Reply

  3. you’re really a just right webmaster. The site loading pace is incredible. It sort of feels that you’re doing any distinctive trick. Moreover, The contents are masterwork. you’ve done a fantastic task on this topic!
    tada gaming slots

    Reply

  15. Hello! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any recommendations?
    tada gaming games

    Reply

  35. Hey there! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog. Is it hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about creating my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any ideas or suggestions? Cheers
    adult xxx video porn site xxx sex video

    Reply

  38. This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post. Also, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks!
    ??????????

    Reply

  42. Hi there are using WordPress for your site platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you need any coding expertise to make your own blog? Any help would be really appreciated!
    ???????

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *