Doctor Who: season 20

[altariel]

Arc of Infinity
mraltariel: They've gone abroad. Or to Norfolk. One or the other.
altariel: Easily confused.
mraltariel: Check for mustard.
altariel: And wool. And Wimsey. No? No. It is Amsterdam. Now.
mraltariel: What?
altariel: I know it is not very fashionable, but I like bits of this story.
mraltariel: Oooh! Which bits?
altariel: I like...I've forgotten.
mraltariel: Collect yourself.
altariel: No! Yes! I've remembered. I like Commander Maxil. And. And his Hat.
mraltariel: We like a good Hat.
altariel: And! And I like Davison as Omega. I think it is rather touching.
mraltariel: It was, actually, now you come to mention it.
altariel: But that is all I like.
mraltariel: I fell asleep twice during this story.
altariel: I liked that too.

Snakedance
mraltariel: Woo! I like this one! It has got the best hat in all of Doctor Who!
altariel: It bloody does!

Mawdryn Undead
mraltariel: The Brig is in this one. Implausibly. I don't actually like this nearly as much as I'm supposed to.
altariel: DavidDevaSilverLegolasCollings!!
mraltariel: That's DameDavidDevaSilverLegolasCollings to us.
altariel: Why do you think you're supposed to like it more than you do like it?
mraltariel: If I knew that, I wouldn't have had to endure six months of torture in the Lubyanka. I could've just told them.
altariel: Are you having one of your funny turns again?
mraltariel: Oh, hang on. That was Callan.

Terminus
mraltariel: I almost died watching this, it was so effing boring.
altariel: Dull. And pretentious. Move along, nothing to see.
mraltariel: On the other hand, I like the Garm.
altariel: Hmmm? Sorry. Nodded off.
mraltariel: THE GARM.
altariel: Eh? Wha? Oh, yes.
mraltariel: By keeping quiet, he avoids getting any of the terrible dialogue. And the awful characterization that veers all over the place.
altariel: Neither does he drop his skirt.
mraltariel: Au contraire. Look at the outtakes.

Enlightenment
mraltariel: I like him out of 'Stenders and every-programme-ever-made-in-the-1970s.
altariel: CLS.
mraltariel: CLS?
altariel: Cracking little story. Oooh, it is good, isn't it. Like something from the last season.
mraltariel: It is, actually. Looks good, nice music, weird but compelling performances.
altariel: Turlough. Valentine Dyall. Tegan's great. Nice set.
mraltariel: Don't miss Nyssa.
altariel: Miss the Garm more.

The King's Demons
mraltariel: "WE SING IN PRAISE OF TOTAL WAAAAAAAAAAR."
altariel: Magna Carta Died In Vain.

The Five Doctors
mraltariel: So called, because they'd already used up "The Three Doctors".
altariel: Oh, I like it.
mraltariel: So do I! It is great! Even the bits from "Shada" are great. Again.
altariel: Tom's finest hour.
mraltariel: Clips, and a waxwork.



Ranking
Snakedance
Enlightenment
The Five Doctors
Mawdryn Undead
The King's Demons
Arc of Infinity
Terminus


mraltariel: This is a bit of a letdown after the last season. It is not exactly bad, but it is not exactly good either
altariel: I agree. "Snakedance" and "Enlightenment" are the really striking stories, but there seems a higher ratio of meh.
mraltariel: And some downright rubbish. "Terminus", I'm looking at you. "Time-Flight" was the low point last season, but "Terminus" is even worse. It even thinks it is good.
altariel: Wait 'til we get to "Frontios".
mraltariel: Where's that?

Comments

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

Definitely the weakest of Davison's three seasons. Things get a bit better next season (hey, I like Frontios), but then it all goes into freefall with The Twin Dilemma, and the show doesn't really recover until Remembrance of the Daleks.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Some strong opinions on "Frontios" in this house!

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

I remember liking Terminus, though I've not seen it in several years. Arc of Infinity is a sad frittering away of ideas with potential. I once watched The King's Demons alongside The Time Warrior as examples of mediaeval Doctor Who, and found it was the later serial which seemed the most old-fashioned.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

"Terminus" was such a slog. I guess there are some decent ideas in it, but the pace is slow-moving. How did "The King's Demons" and "The Time Warrior" compare?

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

I'd misremembered - the comparative viewing was of The King's Demons and Battlefield, as illustrated by this write-up. The Time Warrior, though, has far less in the way of bad mediaeval pageant dialogue for its own sake; Robert Holmes and colleagies concentrate on building a sense of period through character whereas Terence Dudley and allies seem to think that mock antiquated courtliness is all that's needed. It doesn't help that the story includes a cravenly apologetic line about its own absurdity.

More of my old thoughts about The King's Demons here.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Enjoyed reading these posts: thanks for the links.

[manna]

Awwwwwwwww. The idea of anyone not loving every episode containing Turlough makes me sad in my soul.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

He is a sweetie. And has a nice little story arc.