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Why i don't like modern Doctor Who

Started by Roy*Mallard, June 23, 2013, 03:03:04 PM

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Roy*Mallard

Wasn't sure where to post this. Didn't want to piss off fans of the re-boot by posting it in that thread and didn't think it was right to post in the classic Who thread. So a new 'un.

Just been watching The Crimson Horror on You tube. Hmm, it was er.....it was not terrible, but not that good either. I have tried before to enjoy modern Who, and there have been moments where i have thought  'oh, that's not too bad'. But generally, i have been disappointed with it in general. I thought Blink was good, but seeing as the Doctor was hardly in maybe that was the point - the expectations weren't as high and it could generally be taken on face value, not as an episode of Who.

Anyway, here's what pissed me off about The Crimson Horror and some general negativity about modern Who as a whole.

1. The overly wacky Doctor. Fuckin' 'ell lad, just sit down! It was the same with Tennant, who annoyed the living fuck out of me, with his catchphrases and his overall joviality. M Smith is just as bad, skipping, jumping and generally over-acting to show that he is Doctor Who, not some other run-of-the-mill TV character. Yuk. Also, why does his accent go from Victorian lad-about-town to regular modernity so quickly - makes him sound like some sort of alien.....

2. The 'just give 'er a kiss' element. Seriously, who decided to give Doctor Who a cock? Fucking awful idea. Put it in back in your pants and do something scientific, ya twat!

3. The fan pleasing call backs. 'Oh, did you hear that? He referenced Tegan!'. This is obviously used to re-assure people that they are actually watching Doctor Who, not some awful piece of crap that is nothing like Who as we knew it. Tacky and annoying.

4. The over-bearing 'mood' music. Seriously, lower the fucking volume.

5. The ruination of old characters. A Sontaran in a top hat, who gets told off for eating too many lemon sweets? Ah come on. That really fits in with what we learned about them during the 70s & 80s doesn't it?

6. The 'we can tell a story in 45 minutes, we don't need a 4 parter' excuse. Hence jumping from scene to scene in a flash, where you're left wondering 'is this a trailer or are we watching the actual story?'. 

7. Those kids at the end.......faaaaaaarkkkkkk offffffff!

Just some points. It may not have been the best story in the series, i have no idea. But now, fuck me, i really give up on it. I have tried, really i have, to enjoy modern Who, but i just can't do it. It isn't for me as it offers very little of what made the show great all those years ago and i feel a little sadness that THAT shares the same name as one of my favourite shows of all time.

Apologies if anyone is offended by this, but i had to get it off my chest as some of the above things really did make me quite angry.

maett

You are not alone.
Agree with all.
The music irks me the most, the talent and creativity found in the classic series incidental music blows Murray Gold's shite down the elevator shaft from whence it came. Somewhere on youtube is the music to the Dalek Masterplan, it's incredible and alien sounding.
I'd like to add that the designs for Silurians and Sea Devils are fucking awful too, the sort of shit modern Star Trek used to come up with 20 years ago. Those 1970 Silurian design are genius.

Glebe

What happened to the serious, sombre tone of the old ones? So maybe the sets were falling apart around rubber monsters, but Tom Baker could convince you the fate of the universe was at stake with a single, straight-face line. I'm not saying don't have a bit of fun, but 'modern' Who - whenever I've watched of it - seems to consist mainly of running around and going "Ooh! Where's me sonic screwdriver?" and lots of broad, drama-school acting. Okay, I'm generalizing a bit, but I just find it a bit shallow and irksome. I think Charlie Brooker got it spot on when he slagged off Tenant's Who for constantly running onto sets and going "Hey! I've been here before!"

This bloomin' generation!

George Oscar Bluth II

You realise that it's for kids, right?

Funcrusher

Quote from: Roy*Mallard on June 23, 2013, 03:03:04 PM

Just some points. It may not have been the best story in the series, i have no idea. But now, fuck me, i really give up on it. I have tried, really i have, to enjoy modern Who, but i just can't do it. It isn't for me as it offers very little of what made the show great all those years ago and i feel a little sadness that THAT shares the same name as one of my favourite shows of all time.

Apologies if anyone is offended by this, but i had to get it off my chest as some of the above things really did make me quite angry.

I'm not someone with a huge investment in 'the show'- I used to really enjoy it as a kid during the Pertwee era, had a couple of novelisations and some kind of special with loads of episode summaries, but then just grew out of it, but I really hate what I've seen of new Who. Maybe I'm just looking at the past with rose-tinted spectacles, and I'd think the old one was rubbish now, but it seemed much better written, there was even a bit of a political edge occasionally. Admittedly I only really see the Christmas ones, since my family always want to watch it, and I gather they're usually not the best. The plots are incredibly rushed, make no sense, stuff just happens because it's dramatic, and then just gets solved with some vague explanation, a lot of really sickly sentimentality. The crap use of music particularly pisses me off - ridiculously intrusive dramatic themes plastered over every scene, even just two people talking in a room. Aren't there people at the BBC who understand how to score a programme properly anymore? Does no one care? I think that's part of my annoyance with it - the scripts just feel slapped together. It also suffers from being too much the product of SF fanboys it seems to me - it could do with some input from writers with a basic grounding in constructing solid drama, not just creating fan service. I'm only really a very casual observer, but I really hate everything I've seen of it, and it does feel kind of taboo to criticise it because it's seen as such a great success. I just sit there wincing when it's on at Christmas.

the hum

Modern Who has certainly had its moments, but I've pretty much stopped watching now. I remember waiting with anticipation for the show's return in 2005 and watched the first couple of series as they were broadcast on a Saturday without fail, always with a sense of enthusiasm, but also with a voice in the back of my head going 'meh'. I think I realised a couple of years in, probably the awful Christmas special with Kylie and the space Titanic, that this wasn't for me.

Matt Smith's arrival did rekindle my enthusiasm for a bit, but he seems to've become too similar to Tennant, almost as if (and fuck knows why) the latter's portrayal is the template for the character. I didn't watch any of the last series. I'd agree with it all feeling to rushed, tons of shit happening but still leaving you with a sense of 'so what?' No time to carefully develop a plot, despite each series supposedly having a story arc. Oh yes, and the music is absolutely fucking terrible. Overbearing, with incredibly shit motifs being repeated over and over. Murray Gold should be made to sit in a little room with an ARP Odyssey and not be allowed to leave until he's completed an entire series score. I doubt he'd last long.

To be honest though I don't even particularly seek out the classic serials nowadays, although I will happily watch them, particularly T. Baker ones, on the all too rare occasions they crop up on TV (BBC Four showed the superb 'The Hand of Fear' a year or two back I recall).

And let's face it, it is primarily for kids. But at its best the classic era had enough depth to it to keep adults watching. The contemporary series are definitely lacking there for me. A lot of it I realise now is nostalgia, moments in time. I grew up with the McCoy era, and have fond memories of being sprawled on the couch watching 'The Curse of Fenric' (still brilliant by the way) and 'Survival' on late autumn evenings when they first went out. Nostalgia of course covers up the fact that his first series was utterly awful, not that my 6 year old self was bothered by that. What will the kids of today think of the current series in 20 years time? Does that even matter?

Lyfjaberg

I teach teenagers. Even the most ill-educated poorer student understands that it's a kid show.

It's the middle class girls who love it. They also tend to rate the comedy of McIntrye, and go to bands which are popular with the lumpenly aspirational 50k-and-a-4x4 brigade.

BURN IT DOWN.


That said, I think M. Smith is a perfectly good doctor -- or at least he would be in 25 years.

Lyfjaberg

Quote from: the hum on June 23, 2013, 04:12:03 PM
What will the kids of today think of the current series in 20 years time? Does that even matter?

They will ask the Central Computer what to think, as always.

Glebe


Benevolent Despot

It is for kids but I feel worse for the kids than I do the disappointed adults. The kids need nourishment and this is fast food. Plastic television. Empty calories for the brain.

Roy*Mallard

It may be for kids, but so was classic Who and i've never had any problems with that. Different generation, i guess, but it still rankles. As has been mentioned here, it just seems rushed and lacks coherence and, most importantly, worthy dialogue. Classic Who wasn't perfect, by any means, but this.....nah, not for me.


George Oscar Bluth II

Quote from: Glebe on June 23, 2013, 04:16:38 PM
*cough* Okay, touché...

I don't mean to sneer or anything. Just primarily it is a kids show and the acid test for if it's any good or not should be if kids like it or not. There should also be enough there to keep adults interested.

For me, episodes like Blink, The Empty Child, Human Nature/Family of Blood, that one with Van Gogh and a few others fulfilled both criteria. They were really what all "family" TV should aspire to. More recent episodes...haven't lived up to those episodes at all. I mean, what was the story of the last lot? I barely bothered with it.

biggytitbo

It's the 'wacky' portrayal of the Doctor criticism that really annoys me, as if this is some kind of radical departure from the incredible solemnity of previous Doctors.






biggytitbo

Quote from: Roy*Mallard on June 23, 2013, 03:03:04 PM
Wasn't sure where to post this. Didn't want to piss off fans of the re-boot by posting it in that thread and didn't think it was right to post in the classic Who thread. So a new 'un.

Just been watching The Crimson Horror on You tube. Hmm, it was er.....it was not terrible, but not that good either. I have tried before to enjoy modern Who, and there have been moments where i have thought  'oh, that's not too bad'. But generally, i have been disappointed with it in general. I thought Blink was good, but seeing as the Doctor was hardly in maybe that was the point - the expectations weren't as high and it could generally be taken on face value, not as an episode of Who.

Anyway, here's what pissed me off about The Crimson Horror and some general negativity about modern Who as a whole.

1. The overly wacky Doctor. Fuckin' 'ell lad, just sit down! It was the same with Tennant, who annoyed the living fuck out of me, with his catchphrases and his overall joviality. M Smith is just as bad, skipping, jumping and generally over-acting to show that he is Doctor Who, not some other run-of-the-mill TV character. Yuk. Also, why does his accent go from Victorian lad-about-town to regular modernity so quickly - makes him sound like some sort of alien.....

2. The 'just give 'er a kiss' element. Seriously, who decided to give Doctor Who a cock? Fucking awful idea. Put it in back in your pants and do something scientific, ya twat!

3. The fan pleasing call backs. 'Oh, did you hear that? He referenced Tegan!'. This is obviously used to re-assure people that they are actually watching Doctor Who, not some awful piece of crap that is nothing like Who as we knew it. Tacky and annoying.

4. The over-bearing 'mood' music. Seriously, lower the fucking volume.

5. The ruination of old characters. A Sontaran in a top hat, who gets told off for eating too many lemon sweets? Ah come on. That really fits in with what we learned about them during the 70s & 80s doesn't it?

6. The 'we can tell a story in 45 minutes, we don't need a 4 parter' excuse. Hence jumping from scene to scene in a flash, where you're left wondering 'is this a trailer or are we watching the actual story?'. 

7. Those kids at the end.......faaaaaaarkkkkkk offffffff!

Just some points. It may not have been the best story in the series, i have no idea. But now, fuck me, i really give up on it. I have tried, really i have, to enjoy modern Who, but i just can't do it. It isn't for me as it offers very little of what made the show great all those years ago and i feel a little sadness that THAT shares the same name as one of my favourite shows of all time.

Apologies if anyone is offended by this, but i had to get it off my chest as some of the above things really did make me quite angry.


Seriously stop watching it and stick to your old DVDs. If you really think those criticisms are genuine problems with the show then it's clearly not for you anymore. And the only reason I say that is its being like that for 7 series now, it's not likely to change into the version of the show that exists in your head anytime soon.


And thankfully not too, apart from some a few duff notes in S7b it's still excellent.

Catalogue Trousers

QuoteIt's the 'wacky' portrayal of the Doctor criticism that really annoys me, as if this is some kind of radical departure from the incredible solemnity of previous Doctors.

Naff off biggy, you wouldn't catch any of those guys twatting about on a Segway with Catherine bloody Tate and guffawing as though it was The Funniest Thing Ever. They all had too much class.

Glebe

Quote from: biggytitbo on June 23, 2013, 05:31:13 PM

I don't know what's going on there, but Pertwee's expression is priceless. It's like he's trying to keep his composure for a photograph whilst getting tentacled to bits.


ziggy starbucks

Quote from: biggytitbo on June 23, 2013, 05:31:13 PM
It's the 'wacky' portrayal of the Doctor criticism that really annoys me, as if this is some kind of radical departure from the incredible solemnity of previous Doctors.








Funcrusher

Quote from: biggytitbo on June 23, 2013, 05:41:25 PM

Seriously stop watching it and stick to your old DVDs. If you really think those criticisms are genuine problems with the show then it's clearly not for you anymore. And the only reason I say that is its being like that for 7 series now, it's not likely to change into the version of the show that exists in your head anytime soon.


And thankfully not too, apart from some a few duff notes in S7b it's still excellent.

Yeah, but this is the one and only thread on the internet to say 'I think the new Doctor Who is shit'. I really do think it's total rubbish and would welcome a space to commune with like-minded individuals.

Kane Jones

Quote from: Glebe on June 23, 2013, 03:27:10 PM
I think Charlie Brooker got it spot on when he slagged off Tenant's Who for constantly running onto sets and going "Hey! I've been here before!"

He also described Tennant's tenure as a bit like 'Timmy Mallet's Adventures In Space'.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Funcrusher on June 23, 2013, 06:45:58 PM
Yeah, but this is the one and only thread on the internet to say 'I think the new Doctor Who is shit'. I really do think it's total rubbish and would welcome a space to commune with like-minded individuals.

That's fair enough, whilst I disagree with your views I know many who share them. Out of interest are you a fan of shows that heavily influenced the new series, like Buffy and Angel?

Funcrusher

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on June 23, 2013, 06:50:02 PM
That's fair enough, whilst I disagree with your views I know many who share them. Out of interest are you a fan of shows that heavily influenced the new series, like Buffy and Angel?

Not in the slightest, which is probably why I don't like it.

daf

The Old series is Chalk,
The New series is Cheese.
Except for the Eighties,
where it was one of these :





I like it when Doctor Who fans fight, you can hear thumping of their brains inside their skulls.

Add a couple of more points to dislike about the CURRENT era of Doctor Who:

8.  WHERE'S THE DEATH???  Oh, I've been killed - brought back to life again, oh no, dead again, back to life.

9.  Here is this week's cute little kid to carry the plot. 




biggytitbo

Quote from: Funcrusher on June 23, 2013, 06:45:58 PM
Yeah, but this is the one and only thread on the internet to say 'I think the new Doctor Who is shit'. I really do think it's total rubbish and would welcome a space to commune with like-minded individuals.
95% of the threads on Gallifrey Base are exactly that!

The Βoston Crab

I went through a phase of watching Old Who when I was about 14. I'd fallen in love with a girl called Billie Lazer (real name) and she ditched me. I sought solace in the black and white slow burn of The War Games, as well as Supergrass, Diamond White and Embassy No. 1.

I never watch it any more but the atmosphere those 60s and 70s shows created is planted deep in my psyche. I associate it not only with that time but with an era I never lived through, grim but resilient.

New Dr. Who is like a shite.

Sivead

Quote from: biggytitbo on June 23, 2013, 07:11:02 PM
95% of the threads on Gallifrey Base are exactly that!

Yeah if it not old blokes moaning about farting aliens and how its a big gay soap opera now and fan-girls ruin everything,  it's Tennant fans calming how misogynist it is after RTD  left and Mr Moffet's a rapist sex wolf or something. Really is a horrible po-faced community and it's endless, that's what putting me off the lot of it all together. This is why you can't have nice things, guess it's just history repeating.

biggytitbo

Quote from: Catalogue Trousers on June 23, 2013, 05:54:07 PM
Naff off biggy, you wouldn't catch any of those guys twatting about on a Segway with Catherine bloody Tate and guffawing as though it was The Funniest Thing Ever. They all had too much class.

No just twatting about in a flying who-mobile instead or lots of things they'd moan about if they were in the new series.

I thought it was quite amusing when some bell-end on Gallifrey base was moaning about how awful the new series is, citing the scene where the Doctor and Clara are on the motorbike in Bells of St John and saying 'this is exactly the sort of shit that makes me hate the new stories'...'this is not Doctor Who' and 'I'll stick to my DVDs' etc.









That's just typical of the criticism, the rose tinted glasses are so thick they're virtually blind!

The Βoston Crab

At least they have a background which exists in real life

Sivead