Round Tripper Reviews: Doctor Who S1E7: The Long Game
I decided to continue my journey through Doctor Who. For those who have been paying attention I have never watched Doctor Who and kept my knowledge to a minimum but was constantly pressured to watch the show. Everyone knew I would love the show. There are quite a few shows that led to that. Before I get going on my thoughts for this episode let's put a trailer in case you need a reminder/want to know what this episode is about.
This was...an episode. I think part of the issue is that this is a season 1 of a show and has a lot of season 1 problems. Basically the Smallville "Kryptonite Freak of the Week" syndrom where each week was a different random person with abilities and no major continuity. There is really nothing drawing me back in yet episode by episode except the promise that this is one of the "best series of all time" that everyone loves. There have been episodes that I've enjoyed but it just isn't clicking with me yet. The two main characters are good (the Doctor and Rose) but unless the trailer for the next episode is good I'm watching more to see what the hype is about than because I want to.
My (perhaps unfair) comparison is currently Battlestar Galactica, which is the best Sci-Fi series I've watched. BSG reeled me in from the start-the mini-series pilot was amazing and I couldn't wait to see more. I wanted to watch another episode as soon as possible (which since I started watching at some point in S2 let me binge watch for a while. This show right now it feels like I'm watching out of obligations...
Which leads to one other quick comparison...Star Trek. I decided I wanted to watch ALL of Star Trek from the beginnings...the Pilot of TOS. S1 I enjoyed. S2 had some really good episodes and was ok. I've made it 5 episodes into season 3 and am stalled. I know I want to push through this and the Animated Series to get to TNG, but right now it feels more like work than entertainment and enjoyment. Seeing as a lot of the remaining episodes are not considered that great from what I've seen...I know it will be a slog. That is how Who feels right now. While I like two characters I don't care what is happening all that much.
So...general thoughts:
- The next episode looks interesting but standard for a Time Travel show.
- I didn't like the Adam character in the last episode and am not sad to see him gone.
- This felt very standard to me, as have many of the episodes. There was really no wow factor in the episode. That could be unfair with me watching it a decade later but it really feels like "been there, seen that, standard Sci Fi stories" for each episode. Good but not great, nothing special.
- None of this has to do with the Doctor (I like this Doctor-he seems interesting though with little growth/character/motivation) or Rose (who I enjoy so far) but just the plot of the episodes.
I've been told "push through season 1" which is never a good sign, but I am now over halfway through, so that, at least, is a good thing.
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