Showing posts with label Christopher Eccelston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christopher Eccelston. Show all posts

Sunday 24 February 2013

Degrees of Doctor Who

Ever sat down to watch a movie or perhaps your favorite new show only to do a comical spit take when you realize you know that characters face?

Just the other day, for instance, I happened to catch a few minutes of  a 1959 film; The Mouse That Roared in time to catch a glimpse of the legendary William Hartnell as Will Buckley. It's such good fun, but let's not make it so hard to play the game. Let's start with the big targets of genre film, shall we?

I've mentioned Tolkien's world previous in The Hobbit review. Sylvester McCoy- best known for playing The Seventh Doctor- here plays Radagast the Brown to kooky perfection. I truly hope we see more of his performance, either in the remaining films or on the home releases special features. Fingers crossed, aye? Check off Middle-Earth, then.



I've only touched upon the Alien universe very briefly when discussing artificial life. This next person is all too human. Alien 3 gives us Golic- a convict turned convert- who is very much out of touch with reality, played by the inimitable Paul McGann, aka The Eighth Doctor. His role is unfortunately cut rather short in the theatrical release, but an entire sub-plot revolving around his character unfolds in the so-called 'Assembly Cut' of the film available in the box sets. Aliens, check.



Christopher Eccelston aka The Ninth Doctor has had a commendable career on the big screen as well as the small. Some people may remember him as the baddie from Gone in Sixty Seconds, or as that guy from 28 Days Later, or even McCullen from the GI Joe flick. Heck, if you watched Heroes, you will remember him. Adding yet another notch in his genre belt, however is the up-coming Marvel film follow up, Thor: The Dark World. Marvel? Big ol' check.


I'm a big Harry Potter fan. I'm a big Doctor Who fan. So, it was both surprising and with much glee that I watched David Tennant-who played the creepy and loyal Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr- cast as none other than The Tenth Doctor. Stange then, isnt it, that in his run on Doctor Who he mentions reading the Potter series and crying through 'book 7'. How does that work, then? The Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Yes, ma'am.
 



Any more? Give it a go, you might find more than you bargained for.

Until Matt Smith is cast in the new Star Wars films, I remain

frogoat









Saturday 19 January 2013

Tales of Who's Past: Rose

That is a nice jacket.


Rose Tyler traveled with both the Ninth Doctor and the Tenth Doctor. Rose was both a companion to the Doctor and, for (almost) the first time ever, a love interest. The story of Rose and the Doctor is written as a love story, 'without the shagging' as David Tennant would say. I both enjoyed and despised the new take on the companion in Doctor Who. Here's why:

Rose is a Mary Sue, the blank slate for the audience to latch onto and identify with; she is us, we experience the series through Rose's eyes first (check out the very first new series episode, aptly titled 'Rose'). Trouble is, Rose is perfect. Well, okay, to be fair, Rose has flaws, it's just that in language of the series she doesn't ever have any negative consequences. Rose is a cypher, in the sense that she does everything the audience wants to do....it's almost like reading a fan fiction sometimes.

Don't misunderstand me, I adore Rose. Rose was my first companion, and she holds a special place in my heart as a fan of the series, however she does get a bit arrogant and even blasè by the time you get half way through series 2, laughing at danger. Rose saves the Doctor -just like the audience at home wanted too- in The Parting of the Ways, brings Captain Jack Harness back from the dead (the sexy devil!) and destroys the Daleks. But she also treats Mickey (her boyfriend) rather badly and admits to her mother she made a decision long ago, choosing the Doctor over her mother. Try telling Amy that when she traveled with her boyfriend/fiance/husband, daughter and father-in-law. And a mad man in a blue box, naturally.

Rose, I loved you, I missed you when you left, but I also remember the down side to being such a blank slate character. It's a mixed blessing, this Mary Sue business.

Until Captain Jack makes out with the Face of Boe, I remain

frogoat