Day Seven - Dr.Who: Series 1, Episode 1, or "Oh, Lord, this is just silly."

Years after it signed off for the last time, the BBC decided to have another go at it's time-honored favorite, Dr.Who. In the first of the new series (which is now up to seven seasons), the mantle was worn by Christopher Eccleston.

Only lasting a season before fan-favorite David Tennant took over, I can definitely see why folks might have preferred the latter to the former since, as much as I like Eccleston as an actor, I just cannot believe him as he tries to maintain the goofy whimsy of the Doctor.

It's not his fault really, but, all throughout his scenes in the pilot, there was just something about his grin that just bothered the heck out of me.

To me, Chris Eccleston is much better suited to sardonic sarcasm than upbeat optimism. He's a fine villain, and even a fine anti-hero when given the chance... but a save the world with a pithy quip and cuppa all while maintaining the most saccharhine of poses?

I think not.

Still, he's not the only reason the pilot fails in my opinion.

For one thing... there's the villain. Granted, Dr.Who has always had a certain cheese factor that rates quite large. I mean, who wouldn't look at the Daleks, Cybermen, or even K-9 and NOT think, at first glance, "this is utterly ridiculous?" It's kind of part-in-parcel what Dr.Who is about.

Living mannequins, though? In the pilot? I mean, really, they totally could've done better than that. And should have. But we're left with what we were given.

To be honest, I probably could've tolerated the level of cheese a bunch of robot character actors in white latex maskes were giving me until the boy toy of new Companion Rose was assimilated and a copy made of him.

Sorry, but makeup effects that turn a person into a Ken doll are where I draw the line. I checked out pretty much at that point.

That's not to say I didn't soldier on and complete the episode, rolling my eyes at the eatery chase sequence and shaking my head as the 9th Doctor couldn't seem to shrug his way out of the grip of more mannequin-masked BBC stuntmen.

It was all so laughable.

And that's not to mention that Rose works at a major department store in a sweater hoodie. Yikes.

Ah well, I suppose I'll have to forgive it all to get to the relative good stuff of the 10th and 11th Doctors. No skipping for me (though it might skip on the blog). Have no fear that, even should I not report it, I'll suffer through every episode on my quest to get through the entirety of the new series.

It makes me long for my aunt's betamax copies of the old Tom Baker episodes, though.

I wonder if Netflix will ever put them episodes on the stream?

My final verdict for the new Dr.Who pilot? Horrible. Just utterly horrible... yet, there is hope shining off in the future. If you're an ardent fan, you can suffer through like I will. If you just want to see what all the fuss is about on the web concerning Tennant and Smith... skip to series 2.

I know it will be a long while till I see River Song again, but the thought of her keeps me going. Well, that and the thought of the Weeping Angels. Now THERE'S a cheesy villain I can get behind.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~