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Well, I watched Planet of the Dead. And I liked it- stuff at the end, I'm pretending that I didn't hear, aside.
I might as well face it: I'm RTD's bitch. Use me, abuse me and I come back for more. It remains to be seen whether the Moff will have that effect on me.
I still hate the comic book story arch. I still hate the idea that it's desirable - or even acceptable - to take your hero, wreck him with survivor's guilt, fix him and then proceed to deconstruct his life bit by bit. That's clearly sadism and I feel a little dirty even watching.
Comic book writers say that kids don't want their heroes happy and settled. (Sound familiar?). But I don't see that being true. They may not want to see adults kissing, but that doesn't mean they want them miserable.
My son was only seven when he saw DD and his only comment at the time was "If Rose wanted to stay with the Doctor she should have held on tighter." But I noticed, where before he would bounce off the walls when he heard a new ep was coming, chattering non-stop during the ep and for twenty minutes after, as S3 progressed, he was more and more blase about it. By S4, he watched almost as an afterthought. He would consent to be in the room with us and glance at the screen from time to time. We haven't bought S4 (more due to money trouble than anything else) but we do have S3. Whenever I can manage to coax my son into a DW watching, he always asks for an S2 or S1 ep. He never wants to see S3. And this isn't a kid who's lost interest. We have a permanent TARDIS in the living room. He spent an hour shopping in the dealer room at Outpost Gallifrey. He pined for an R/C Dalek that we couldn't afford. (And bought anyway on the sly. Happy Easter!)
So when they say this is what the kids want - you couldn't prove it by me.
ETA: I just asked my son if he wanted to watch POTD and he responded "no, thank you." So, I asked why and got the shrug. But when I asked if he thought that the show was too sad now, he answered with a sad little, "yeah." Put that in your pipe and smoke it, RTD.
ETA x2: Well the little one watched and enjoyed for the most part. Then when the end turned dark, I could see the dismay in his eyes. The only saving grace was that it was brief and the previews were sufficiently distracting.
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Date: 2009-04-12 05:58 pm (UTC)From:For all that I continue to hold out hope of a truly heroic and possibly even satisfying ending for Ten, I also recognize the irony of how the RTD era has backtracked from setting up potentially groundbreaking changes in the fundamentals of the show into yet another apparent retrenching of many of its most frustrating aspects. For example, it's difficult to argue, in the wake of JE, that the Doctor is not afflicted with a Peter Pan complex -- or at least an insurmountable level of emotional cowardice -- that renders him incapable of developing anything resembling a healthy adult relationship. And how "heroic" is his existence, really, if all the good he does for humanity and others is possibly grounded in guilty attempts at overcompensation for his own inability to form meaningful attachments on a more intimate basis?
It's good to hear that even some children are rejecting this currently depressing perspective in favor of episodes that convey a much more balanced approach to the adventures of possibly the most remarkable man in the universe.
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Date: 2009-04-20 06:35 am (UTC)From:It makes you wonder doesn't it?
I, for one, cringed when Ten said in PotD "The worse it gets the more I love it." Yes, we know the Doctor is an adrenalin junky - that's almost core to the character - but in light of what's happened it reads as something else. I harken back to Nine when Jabe said, "a man only enjoys trouble when he has nothing else left." So, then, who is in need of fixing, really? The Doctor in the TARDIS or the copy of himself that he ran away from?
That is an excellent point. A hero motivated by emotional shortcomings can hardly be called self-sacrificing. Yet RTD claims this is central to the Doctor's character. Hmmm.
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Indeed. I think kids have a decent idea of how relationships are supposed to be, and that you can't just retcon yourself back to square one. Kids are much smarter than we grownups give them credit for.
Case in point. I think your son understands that this isn't how the Doctor is supposed to be, and it's rather ruined his enjoyment of the show. Smart kid.
PS: happy birthday! :)
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Date: 2009-04-20 06:23 am (UTC)From:The irony is that RTD once said they cover the "big" psychological issues because that's what kids are concerned about. Um, that may be but I don't think what they want to hear is life sucks no matter how much good you do, so perhaps you shouldn't bother trying.
I think so, yes. :(
Thank you! :D
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Date: 2009-05-17 05:32 am (UTC)From:If what I saw on the spoiler page turns out to be true, sounds like that's the direction RTD is taking it, which is really sad. Classic Who was never this much of a downer; even the darkest episodes didn't rip your heart out and stomp on it.
While I do have a child of my own, he's currently in the Silly Sevens stage. He's can't really comprehend a complex story. I almost envy him now.
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Date: 2009-05-17 05:46 am (UTC)From:I'm trying not to give the new specials much thought. If RTD goes down this road, New Who for me will end sometime during The Stolen Earth .
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Date: 2009-05-17 06:18 am (UTC)From:I didn't like the Seventh Doctor's last year (I don't like manipulative people) but I still prefer it to Ten's constant self-torture. There's only so much the audience can put up with.
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Date: 2009-04-20 12:34 pm (UTC)From:But I do think having children makes you aware of the power of myth to inspire us and create hope, and how important that is. Religious myths in childhood can do incalculable harm and I would love to see DW as a spiritual humanist narrative that can include everyone. It doesn't seem to be going that way - they're more interested in a glitzy formulaic show right now, and that bothers me.
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Date: 2009-04-20 07:26 pm (UTC)From:Traditional children's lit may be dark but they always have the "fairy-tale ending." You can spend an age with Jungian analysis of kiddie lit, but it boils down to hope. Young kids can't survive without it. Adults trying to bring up these kids can't survive without it.
The creators of Doctor Who still think they are producing a family show. But they have lost their way. They need to decide who their audience is. If it's families, they need to turn back now, they are rapidly heading for a cliff. If it's the teen angst, Twilight/The OC crowd, then by all means continue. Just don't expect the rest of us to join them on the journey.
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Date: 2009-04-21 10:03 am (UTC)From:The one group I can't see DW ever appealing to is teens, as it happens. As the parent of two myself I know from experience that there is only one thing worse than liking what your parents watch, and that's liking what 10 year olds watch. DW is both. My son won't touch it with a bargepole.
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Date: 2009-05-17 06:22 am (UTC)From:My son won't touch it with a bargepole.
Ah teens. They are such an enigma to marketers coveting that market share. I wonder if BBC's giving it a try. Of course they will lose the younger kids, though. My son's passion for Harry Potter wilted once the teen angst appeared in Goblet of Fire.