Happy Fourth of July!
I spent mine working on the Sunday New York Times crossword, watching a little television (old-school Doctor Who and, later, an episode of Wire in the Blood), and joining my friend Maurice for our regular Sunday writing group. So basically just your normal Sunday, but I do like that I don’t have to be at work tomorrow.
Happy fourth of July to you!
I’m really going to have to start watching Dr. Who.
I’m really going to have to start watching Dr. Who
The original, or classic, series can be an acquired taste, with its low production values, cheap effects, and not always remarkable acting. For most of its decades on the air, the BBC threw very little money at the program, and it often shows, in a preponderance of rock-quarry sets and men in flimsy rubber suits. But, looking past that, it actually has a lot to offer; the wonderful thing about the show is that it can be just about anything, week to week, hopping over genres and telling all kinds of stories. The newer series, starting in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston, is probably a lot more accessible. The writing is arguably a lot better, and certainly the effects and pacing blow the original series out of the water. Even if you don’t want to jump back four-plus seasons (much less five-plus decades), the series that just recently ended in the UK, with Matt Smith as the new Doctor, is pretty accessible for the newcomer. It’s a particular flavor of the show — delightful nonsense, more often than not — but it doesn’t require much familiarity with the characters to get you into it. Not that the show ever really required that. There’s continuity, but entire books have been written about how that continuity frequently falls apart.
In Kaleidotrope #3, Betty Ragan — who’s my go-to person for Who-related questions — put together a top-ten list of classic and new episodes, as well as an essay about why the show appeals to her, that I think offers a really good entry point to the show. Having used her list myself, I can’t really argue with her choices.