From: as010b@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (andrew david simchik)
Subject: Re: Seventh Doc Quality
Organization: University of Rochester - Rochester, New York
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 92 17:45:33 GMT

In <Bx7z71.8Gq@news.cso.uiuc.edu> jasstev@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (stevens jason) writes:

>as010b@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (andrew david simchik) writes:

>>Actually, I didn't really consider the last season to be improving.  Here
>>are my reasons why:

>>1.) Ace.  This is a personal prejudice.  I really couldn't stand her at all. 
>>She was just ludicrous and annoying.  There's no factual basis for this;
>>it's all opinion.
> MMM...i understand you feeling this way if you just watch Dragonfire, btu Ace
> was never THAT bad. a little annoying with all that language NOT spoken by
> British teenagers. BUT she was given alot more depth in character, and this
> then wound into the plot (Ghost light, esp.Fenric). And Sophie is a lovely
> person aswell . Thats my personal prejudice!!!!

Actually, Dragonfire was the only tolerable appearance of Ace.  She was just
out of place everywhere else.  Depth of character--NO.  Richer
background--YES.  Turlough was also given a richer background and it didn't
affect his character depth at all (although I still liked him much better
than Ace).  Lovely, perhaps, but not in that enormous, baggy jacket.  I was
glad they took that off her in some episodes.  It was pretty damn fugly.

>>2.) Bad technical quality.  The special effects did not *significantly*
>>improve; everything looks schlocky and fake.  The sets just looked
>>ridiculous on video.  And worst of all, the sound--I cannot tell you how
>>irritating it was to be watching the videos and constantly having to rewind
>>to understand the dialogue, which was not recorded loudly enough.  Not to
>>mention Sophie Aldred's tendency toward an incomprehensible mumbling
>>delivery, and Sylvester McCoy's tendency to speak entirely too rapidly.  I
>>get the feeling I would have enjoyed the episodes more if I could have
>>understood the dialogue.
>I half agree here, some of the effects were dubiuos, but some were unsurpassed
>not only in Who but for British tv. Time and the Rani 's redeeming features
>were the effects (bar the killer bugs), and can you fault kanes melting in 
>Dragonfire?
>Remebrance works excellent for effects..look at the end of ep3 with the Dalek
>ship landing!!! take the Battlefield helicopter etc.
>Yes I agree about dialogue, BUT sophie Aldred does not mumble at all, she is
>perfectly clear. Is it the accent you dont understand perhaps, and some of the
>expressions? McCoy does mumble or talk fast, it helps in some scenes, but not
>in others. Be grateful Timothy dalton isnt the Doctor, he mumbles for a living.

True about the FX.  I meant something other than what I wrote...sorry about
that.  The expressions are clear (if ludicrous and incredible), but her
accent is slightly obnoxious.  The lack of clarity, however, came from the
sound quality, a tech problem.  Dalton is a great Bond; he would have been a
lousy Doctor.

>>3.) Stupid, stupid stories.  Things like "The Happiness Patrol," "The
>>Greatest Show In The Galaxy," and "Paradise Towers" were obviously silly and
>>one could watch them without having to take them too seriously.  But the
>>last four episodes fell victim to bad plotting, incoherent ideas, loose
>>ends, and totally unbelievable characters.  Which is not to say that the
>>other eight episodes did not; it was just that these were much more obvious.
> The Crappiness patrol was crap, yes!!! Show & Towers were aplay on sureality
> which put the show on a higher level than some of the cerebral Bidmead rubbish
> and I liked them alot. There could hav e been more work on some of the scripts,but I for one will not fault either of the Wyatt stories, remembrance, Ghost     Light or Fenric)
> I admit Towers was silly but i regard classic stuff..ahh nostalgia days!!!

Well, no, it wasn't crap at all.  It was satire, kind of like the SunMakers
in pastel.  Cerebral Bidmead rubbish, my posterior.  That kind of
cerebrality made the show worth watching...in marked contrast to ST:TNG's
tendency toward CrackerJack quasiphysics.

>>4.) Lack of continuity.  I don't mean factual discontinuity; I mean
>>stylistic discontinuity.  Doctor Who had always maintained a certain style
>>that made it OK to suspend disbelief and enjoy some great science fiction. 
>>Starting about midway through Colin Baker's stint and growing steadily
>>worse, a trend toward outlandish plots with jarring juxtapositions of ideas
>>and two-D characters drove the style in a completely new--and
>>unwelcome--direction.
> No I dont agree here. The survival of Who has been its ability to change
> direction to suit the times and to keep running. Do tou think it would
> have lasted for 26 years without this? star Trek survived 3 as a series if
> that isnt a good reminder. i for one liked the new direction. Perhaps you
> are watching too many old videos!!!!!!!

It has changed direction in a positive way, and maintained a certain drama
throughout.  The drama has become cheap melodrama, and the show has gone in
a negative direction.  I would be only too happy to watch old videos as they
were worth watching.

>>IMHO, Enlightenment was the last of the truly great
>>and stylistically faithful episodes.  (I suppose we could also count the
>>Five Doctors.)  After that, the only really worthwhile episodes made were
>>Caves of Androzani, the Two Doctors, Timelash (only for its fascinating
>>literary references), and possibly Silver Nemesis.  Trial of a Time Lord
>>also had its moments, if we want to be fair, and so did Greatest Show ITG
>>and the Happiness Patrol, but none of these really hit the "great" mark (not
>>even "Caves," sad to say) except possibly Two Doctors, and Peri
>>could easily have killed that one--Nicola Bryant is great in other roles,
>>but Peri was an awful companion--so fortunately Jamie and the Second Doctor
>>stole the show.
> Enlightenment? Strange choice that. I would have thought The Awakening was
> typical pertwee material. Caves was superb 9hooray for jon Normington as
> Morgus). 

The Awakening *was* typical Pertwee material.  Pity Davison was the Doctor
then, wasn't it?  Tegan, etc. spoiled what would have been a great episode
with Jo Grant.  Caves was pretty good but could have been better.  A bit
overdone, I thought.  Don't misunderstand me; it's on my top 40 favorite Dr
Who episodes, a list which I may post sometime.  But I loved Enlightenment;
wonderful stuff.  Wrack was a sublime character, much better and more
memorable than Morgus.

>>Keep in mind that this is just my opinion, although I'm quite willing to
>>defend it if there are any flames out there.  I just found everything after
>>Davison less than satisfying, and if you didn't, that's my problem, not
>>yours. :)
> I agree. i like the way you back up your opinions, post this sort of thing
> on the terk groups and youd have hate mail for the next year!

Hee, hee, hee!

Drewcifer
(Andrew D. Simchik)