My Doctor

This is another post that I had started over the holidays. Expect a more topical post shortly...

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I don't think it would be right of me to allow the Tenth Doctor's regeneration to go past without acknowledgement. After all, Doctor Who is one of the main reasons I am so interested in this industry, and had it not come back in 2005 I'd probably be studying physics at some boring University. Warning - This post obviously contains some spoilers about Doctor Who. Don't read it if you're behind at all. I'm look at you, Forest.

I much remember the day that Doctor Who returned to our screens. I was watching the BBC Breakfast News whilst waiting in an airport, ready to fly off to Florida. They were talking about a new series of Doctor Who that was to launch in the UK that evening. They played a clip which didn't really impress me, and then we boarded the plane. 4247 miles away from home, I was probably gorging at an All-You-Can-Eat buffet when the new opening credits were broadcast for the first time. Two weeks later, I returned to find a few friends really enjoying the series, so I gave it a shot. I think I joined the show at episode four: Aliens of London. Now, even the most dedicated fans will admit that this two-parter is regarded as the weakest of the first series, and yet I still fell in love with the characters and the drama. The story of the episode, the monsters, the action - they didn't really matter! I loved the Doctor, I loved Rose, and I loved the show's ability to be anything it wanted to be.

The first time I realised I loved the show was five episodes later - Father's Day. It was such an engaging episode, with some really emotional scenes, and to me it was so much better than anything else on TV or in the cinema.

From that point on my love of the show has been growing exponentially. By Series 2, Saturdays were spent waiting for Doctor Who to come on, with friends joining me to watch. However, another holiday then got in my way at the end of the second series, and I missed the two-part finale. Having recorded it, I arrived back in the country and immediately set about watching it. Missing the publicity for it made it even better, as I had no idea what to expect. It was all new and surprising and exciting! And Rose left, and I was sad. And then Donna appeared in the Tardis, and I was happy! I had no idea who the character was, but I loved Catherine Tate, and I was just excited to see her in the show!

By Series 3 I was a serious addict. I irritated many friends and classmates by tapping out a certain drum-beat, which was particularly comical as this was during exam-time. I remember someone asking me if I had realised I was doing it during an exam, very quietly on the desk. I have no recollection of this, but it's fair enough to assume I was indeed tap-tap-tap-taping whilst solving some equation.

At my Series 4 launch party (yes, that's right) we had Doctor Who themed paper plates, cups, and a table-cloth. Everyone there remembers me literally screaming during a certain scene towards the end. And when I say screaming, I absolutely mean it. I had realised the importance of something before they had. And then, the woman turned around, and it was indeed - ROOOOOOSSSEEEEE!!!!!!!

Ahem.

But this moment was the moment I declared myself going spoiler-free. The excitement I felt in that moment, having no prior warning, was so unique that I dare not look at any set-reports or fan-forums any more. I still read Doctor Who Magazine, but they're great at keeping things a secret.

So, of course I was going to be all crazy-headed for David Tennant and Russell T Davies's final episodes, particularly going in spoiler-free. And personally, I loved them, and probably would have loved them no matter what. Whilst I am far from being objective, I will admit that the story of the final two-parter was a little underwhelming - but every scene between David Tennant and Bernard Cribbins forgives this, and the Tenth Doctor's final moments were perfect.

I think this is the first time I have tried to fully articulate my love for the show, even though most people are aware of it, but I still don't feel I've quite covered it - and I don't think I'll ever be quite able to explain why I love it so much. In honesty, I don't even know. But with a new series starting soon, it's only fair to warn you that I will be insanely excited and possibly a little manic. I don't fear the coming changes. I'm ready to embrace them, love them, and let my obsession grow!

Geronimo!


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Thoughts on Genre

Dear Blog, sorry I've neglected you recently. Various factors have prevented me from finding the time to finish a post. However, I have a selection of half-finished blogs that I will finish over the coming weeks. Hopefully this will make up for the weeks I missed last term. I started the following blog post on the 17th of November, but I only just finished it. I promise to take care of you from now on, and to remember that a blog is for life, not just for Christmas. Yours, Gavin

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Genre is the French word for category or type. It's also the Mayan word for the end of the world*. So this post is about the two, as I delve deeply into a rather shallow pool of destruction, presented in the shape of Roland Emmerich's new film, 2012.

We've had classes on genre in many different modules, and they each bring something new to the table. Andy's recent class on genre gave a very good overview of the "Repertoire of Elements" we expect; Characters, Narrative, Iconography, Style, Setting. It was fun after this class to think about writing in genres that I haven't previously. However, we recently had a class with Richard, in which we also spoke about genre extensively. We looked at the structures of different genres, and audience expectations. After this class I was a little more cynical. The audience expectations (which are made as soon as they know the genre) have to be met, or you risk angering or upsetting the audience - and that wouldn't make Mr Hollywood very happy. It's a little upsetting to think that creativity and originality come second, and your storytelling really can become "painting-by-numbers".

Some genres are more generic than others. Fantasy, sci-fi and social dramas are all quite free to do as they please, in my opinion - but action, romcoms, and horrors are bound by tight rules. Romcoms are particularly bad, and you'll be pleased to know that I'm incidentally working on a romcom for Richard. Arguably it's a romcom with a twist, and that twist thankfully allows me to escape the apparent tight restrictions of the genre, and perhaps give the audience something they don't quite expect. Plus, I can poke fun at the genre a little.

Another generic genre (or "genreic" for short) is the disaster film. I saw 2012 the day after Richard's genre class, and so genre structure was still floating around in my head. I already knew that 2012 was going to be similar to Emmerich's previous disaster film The Day After Tomorrow, but I didn't quite realise just how similar they would be. Allow me, if you will, to present the formula for a Roland Emmerich "the world's going to end, but not before I make them a happy-family again" film.

A black British scientist is in India doing some research about a geological anomaly. The scientist (or someone who works with him) tries to convince the US Government that their findings point to disaster on a global scale. The US Government have a good "lol" at the silly idea that the world could be ending. Only when the President gets involved do they accept the idea to be serious. Meanwhile, the main character is having family problems, which are just as important - if not more important - than preventing the imminent extinction of the human race. Finally the supposed end of the world comes, yet our protagonists somehow all manage to survive. This generally involves lots of near misses with massive tidal waves, fire falling from the sky, and absolute-zero temperatures... Oh - and the death of the President! There's then at least an hour's worth of boring stuff, since they've spent the entire effects-budget on the destructiony bit. During this part of the film, the main character has to travel a great distance by impossibly silly means, and then learns a great lesson, which somehow enables him to bring his family back together (even if that means having to let his ex-wife's new boyfriend perish). It ends showing that, despite all of the destruction, there is some hope for humanity. Frankly, this sort of storytelling makes me believe the opposite.

Ignoring the similarities, I did kind of enjoy 2012. I was in one of those "brainless movie" moods. Though I hope it's the last of it's kind. If I want to see this sort of story again, I'll just rewatch The Day After Tomorrow. At least the family-reunion in that wasn't appallingly sickening and completely unrelated to the events of the story.

Also, as a sidenote - it's actually a myth that the Mayans predict the end of the world on the 21st December 2012. Their calendar cycle ends on this date, but they in fact celebrate this, and start the cycle again. For a crazy amount of information on this whole thing, check out this link. It's a pretty useful read, particularly because I'm sure that we'll have to battle against stupidity and pseudoscience for the whole of 2012.


*Not really.

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There ya go, Bloggy. Much better!