Shuroki Online

You may or may not know that the BBC is broadcasting a new series of the venerable sci-fi classic “Doctor Who”.

I’ve watched the first nine episodes and am completely hooked.

I have to admit up front that I have never really watched Doctor Who..

I know I know, Doctor Who – like Star Wars, Star Trek, or Babylon 5 – is considered required watching for a geek and devout sci-fi fan. I do feel a little guilty about it, but I saw a few of them through the decades, but never got into it. I did know what a TARDIS is, what a Dalek is, and that The Doctor is a regenerating Time Lord from Galifrey, but that”s about it.

Background

If you”re not familiar with the show, here is a little background. Doctor Who is a Sci-fi show from the UK that first aired in 1963 on BBC (in black and white, no less). The show follows an alien simply known as “The Doctor”. The Doctor looks human, but is from Gallifrey and is a “Time Lord“. He travels in something called a TARDIS which, in this case, looks like a big blue police call box (phone booth) on the outside, but resembles a multi-room space ship on the inside. I believe that he pretty much always travels with a female companion and other people come and go as the stories unfold.

The character of The Doctor has been played by several different actors, and it”s not entirely by necessity. Gallifreyans go through a regeneration periodically in which they basically melt down like a wax candle and regrow. With each regeneration The Doctor looks quite different and has a new personality, though most of his knowledge seems to come along.

The New Series

There hasn”t been a Doctor Who series on air for many, many years. I believe that the last incarnation was a direct to TV movie which I actually did see and remember enjoying.

Aside from the new Battlestar Gallactica, and maybe Lost, I think that the new Doctor Who is the best Sci-Fi currently on television. The episode plots are quite varied in their style of story telling. Since they are in a dimension hopping time machine they go from present day to billions of years in the future to Dickensian England of centuries past.

The Doctor in this newest production is played by Christopher Eccleston. I recognized him as the bad guy from the Nicolas Cage movie “Gone In 60 Seconds” and the Internet Movie Database tells us that he”s also been in …… His human sidekick, Rose, is played by Billie Piper who I”ve never seen or heard of, but she is wonderfully fun to watch.

I think Chris is awesome as The Doctor. He imbues an artful combination of mad scientist, conceit, cheese, hip swagger, goofiness, and heartfelt concern. It”s sad that he will not stay on beyond this season. Apparently he had an agreement with BBC from the beginning that he would only do one season because he doesn”t want to get typecast. The Doctor next season will be played by, which I think is also an excellent choice and I can”t wait to see what he brings to the role.

Complimenting The Doctor, Billie Piper exhibits child-like awe, deep fear, longing, and an appetite for wicked excitement in Rose. The casting throughout the new series is great with secondary characters and villians played superbly.

The show is somewhat “monster of the week”, but not so blatant about it as Smallville, Charmed, or Medium. Though Medium pulls it off much better than the other two. There is a decent amount of character development and (to a lesser degree) long range story arc.

And, of course, the eye candy is stunning. The special effects are top notch and the action is great.

One surprise to me is that the show isn”t very UK-centric.. I guess I”m used to BBC shows like Coupling, The Office, or Father Ted being so.. well.. english. Of the seven episodes I”ve seen so far, four have been in England, one in the United States, and two in space. Like Farscape (filmed in Australia), most of the actors and extras have accents, but the themes, concepts, and references are universal.

The best thing about Doctor Who is that it”s funny. I mean really funny. It”s got action, drama, and a little philosophy thrown in for good measure. But the show doesn”t get gummed up in being scientifically acurate and doesn”t get mired down by excessive drama or politics. Sure there are inconsistancies and logical leaps, but it”s OK because the show makes up for it with it”s other facets.

I think that the new Doctor Who will be well appreciated by long time fans as well as any sci-fi lover that hasn”t followed the series in the past. I would imagine that people not into Sci-Fi would like it as well for the humor. Newcomers can jump in and enjoy the ride without getting lost because everytyhing is new to Rose as well, so you figure things out with her.

The episode guide can be found on BBC”s website. My favoirites so far are: The End of the World, Dalek, and The Long Game.

If you are interested in seeing the new Doctor Who, you can buy the DVDs whenever they become availble; wait, hope, and pray that they get broadcast in the USA; or download them via Bittorrent. To find the torrents, simply do a web search with the terms: “ doctor_who_2005+torrent“.

Two of the best sites I”ve seen for video torrents are: The Pirate Bay, and ISO Hunt.

Watch soon for my review of another new incarnation of a british classic “The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy” movie!