Stuff watched

[petronia]

Doctor Who: annoyingly stuck for scheduling reasons at S2 episode 8, to be continued. On the whole S2 isn't as good as S1, actually; a lot of what X-Files fandom used to call Monster of the Week. The current two-parter is good, though. It still has an X-Files vibe - like those storylines they used to do about horrible worms brainwashing the inhabitants of Arctic research stations or whatever. But in space. XD

I can't really tell from the Confidentials if I'd like the older seasons or not, with one element excepted: the outfits. The outfits are CLEARLY FIERCE.

Antique Bakery (the Korean screen version): which I downloaded from halcyonjazz, only both files died halfway for some reason, so we ended up watching off Youtube, not completely in order. XD; I might watch it again... Someone started an awesome rumour in the Douban review thread to the effect that on a trip to Korea she saw the movie in the theatre then went clubbing with a gay friend, and bumped into one of the lead actors in the gay club - but refused to reveal which one when pressed. XDD

Then I got back on Livejournal and discovered via beeblebabe that Ristorante Paradiso had been turned into an anime. Did not see that one coming, guys.

Comments

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

While all Who is pure squee to me, s2 is the weakest of the four New Who seasons, IMHO, though it's got stuff I adore. I personally think s4 is the best for various reasons...not sure if that's the cross-fandom consensus, however, as I stay far, far away from main Who fandom.

I've seen a bit of Old Who and quite enjoyed it, but then I apparently have a taste for old skool UK scifi. It's fascinating to watch Old Who and then New, because it becomes even clearer just how great fans the New Who creators are. New Who is - it's not exactly fic, but it's making the show they wanted to see; the show that they were watching when they were kids, when half of what's there (the characters, the f/x, the love) is only in your head. New Who is about putting everything all those kids imagined up on screen - to varying levels of success, but I can't help but admire the attempt.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Yeah - this is really apparent, actually, even to a viewer who's never watched Old Who (albeit a viewer with a great deal experience as to how fanboys and fangirls think XD).

[woodburner.livejournal.com]

Ah! My files died half-way too, I figured I must be the only one since no one else had said anything. I went tearing through the internet until I found this (http://lets-look.com/index.php?showtopic=11742&st=0).

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Must be some kind of bug. ^^; It didn't play on Windows Media Player, either, and by rights I should have all the right codecs.

[yoshitsune.livejournal.com]

I basically feel the same way as xparrot - while I love certain parts of S2 ("School Reunion" is basically my go-to feel-good ep and I could watch it umpteen billion times), I thought the Doctor/Rose relationship became kind of unbearable at moments and there were moments where the Doctor seemed so out of character I wasn't sure I was watching the same show ("Girl in the Fireplace," anyone?). Doesn't mean I didn't cry like a little crying thing at the end of the season, though.

But yes, while S3 has certain weak points as well, it's generally quite good - with some of the high points of NuWho in general - and S4 is just mostly made of awesome.

And as an OldWho fan (though I discovered it through NuWho), I agree with xparrot there as well. It's wonderful in a lot of ways, but many of those are almost because of its failings rather than in spite of them ("The Ark in Space" and its alien infestation manifested by wrapping actors' arms in green-painted bubblewrap, etc.), and Russell T. Davies of NuWho is essentially the highest-paid fanfic writer in England at the moment. (And he's been doing it long enough that he's even starting, it feels, to write fanfic of his own stuff, if the end of S4 or the spoilers for the upcoming Christmas/New Year's specials are anything to go by.)

And yes, the outfits in OldWho are totally fierce...one of the recent DVD boxsets (the E-Space trilogy) actually had an entire featurette on the costumes of Romana, a Time Lady who is the Doctor's companion. If you want an OldWho serial to check out to see whether you'd like it (or while you're waiting for moar to download), try the '60s story The Mind Robber, which seems like it would be totally up your alley - the Second Doctor and his companions Jamie and Zoe (a piper from Culloden who always wears a kilt and a child genius from the 21st century respectively) run around in the Land of Fiction meeting Rapunzel and Gulliver and getting their faces rearranged (literally). It also has the tiny Zoe doing an unconvincing imitation of kung fu in a glittery bodysuit against a guy in a padded muscle suit which nevertheless manages to come off as totally badass.

*uses obligatory "Second Doctor is totally gay for Jamie" icon*

[petronia.livejournal.com]

There does seem to be a general consensus on ranking... the good eps are just as good, I guess, but some of the others are neat concepts with disposable execution. ^^; I guess inevitably, because each of season 1's eps pushes the relationships between the characters forward, and there's less of that needed.

I might check to see if the library has DVDs. XD

[canis-m.livejournal.com]

Everyone seems to agree that overall episode quality is higher, objectively speaking, in S1 than S2. Batshit Ten/Rose fans enjoy S2, however, because it has Ten and Rose being grossly raburabu. While speaking for the batshit cadre I should also mention that "Girl in the Fireplace" is reviled due to the way anti-shipper Steven Moffat--who is soon to be the new showrunner btw--wrote JamesBond!Doctor (and won a Hugo for it, damn him) as Moffat is wont to do, because he is that kind of fanboy, not to say chauvinist pig! but I digress. OTOH he wrote a very scary ep for S3 that I'm fond of.

"Impossible Planet" is a favorite. Like yoshitsune said, emotional impact of "School Reunion" is almost incalculable for OldWho fans. It's a nostalgia sugar high. That's one where NewWho-only folks do miss a lot--you have to know and love the robot dog from the '70s in order to freak out massively when it shows up. Although anyone can appreciate Anthony Head as an evil headmaster who is sekritly an alien.

horrible worms brainwashing the inhabitants of Arctic research stations

That was the one that got me hooked on XF!

[petronia.livejournal.com]

A Hugo for that episode? Really? I don't hate it but it seems odd - in S2 I would've said "Love and Monsters" or "Impossible Planet". XD; I didn't totally get "School Reunion", but sororial unit and I were betting on stuff that has to show up out of narrative inevitability, like: an ex-Companion, another Time Lord, the Doctor loses his powers, hot springs episode that sort of thing.

I like the way the thing is set up... like, here is your OTP, here are all the other pairing possibilities, no pushing, go forth and have fun. XD;; But then by definition it's not a canon that's based on accounting for every second of character together-time.

Also, I like how Ten is a Jarvis Cocker-style indie rock star with his pinstripes and Converses. Man for the times I suppose.

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

Hmm, really? Where did you dl Antique from? My version seems to work fine..