Fandom, TV

Doctor Who and the POA

8,942 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.

8,942 thoughts on “Doctor Who and the POA”

  5. Hi there! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wonderingif you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for mycomment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yoursand I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanksa lot!

    Reply

  13. Next time I read a blog, I hope that it does not fail me as much as this one. I mean, Yes, it was my choice to read, however I really believed you would have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of moaning about something that you could fix if you were not too busy looking for attention.

    Reply

  20. At this time I am gking too ddo my breakfast, after having my breakfast coming yetagain to read other news.

    Reply

  39. Thank you, I’ve just been looking for information approximately this topic for a long time and yours is the greatest I have came upon till now. But, what in regards to the bottom line? Are you certain concerning the source?

    Reply

  45. It’s actually a cool and helpful piece of information. I am happy that you simply shared this helpful information with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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