Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars ... review

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars ... review

by

Expert...on everything...
Published on November 16th, 2009, 11:54 pm
Rift: Arts

I just finished Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars. I believe this is the next to last installment of the Who saga with Russel Davies at the helm, and its pretty obvious he wants to go out with a bang.

The story takes place on Mars (oddly enough) within the first human outpost in 2059. This story is a departure in that it seems davies has abandoned the lighter and campy Who in favor of a much more gritty, frightening, and grim narrative. When you are talking bleak stories, Mars seems to be the perfect backdrop.

I won't go into details, but will say that this story will scare the hell out of kids, and The Doctor, at least in this current incarnation, will be missed. Tennant plays with the normal contrast of manic whimsy and serious resolve that has been the unique signature we have come to recognize as his own. It seems tennant can step in and out of those time travelling chucks with ease. The only complaint I have is a character twist which within the context of this story seems abrupt but within the entire story arc makes some sense. Believe me, you'll know what I'm talking about when it happens.

Overall it was solid and unsettling entertainment. In the end you are left with a sense of dread, which leads perfectly into the fantastically tentalizing teaser for the Christmas special. I can't wait. Knock knock knock knock...

Oh you taunt and tease Sanjuro. We Dr. Who junkies need our fix. :pray:

Yeah, it's complete crap now that we're all caught up on everything... and we have to wait months to see stuff from the BBC.... I'm looking forward to watching this episode... even more excited that they greenlit Torchwood 4

shannon wrote:Oh you taunt and tease Sanjuro. We Dr. Who junkies need our fix.

I seriously cant wait for the final act. The Xmas special looks like they are pulling out all the stops!

(Oh, apologies for the terrible punctuation and format in my first post, I did it from my mobile device and that never comes out looking or sounding like I want. ) :lol:

It will be interesting to see if the "New' DW can maintain such quality writing with Russell now at the helm?

I know I keep up with many of the writers from the series, and apparently even when the episode was written by them, Russell came up with all the ideas, had final rewrites, and always added continuity tid-bits which would show up in later episodes....

I really hope they maintain that quality.. because the writing is one of the best aspects of the show.

Liv wrote:It will be interesting to see if the "New' DW can maintain such quality writing with Russell now at the helm?

Actually its Steven Moffat at the helm 2010 forward.

Yes I know... meant 'without'.... I was just testing you...

Damn hands... they type what they want sometimes.

Wait till you see the "Children in need" Doctor Who special. Perfect segue into the Xmas specials!!

I'm a child in need. **December 8th, 2009, 7:18 pm**

I'm a child in need.

Its on youtube, but make sure you dont watch it till you see Waters of Mars.. otherwise it wont make a lot of sense.

I find that most of the special episodes of Dr Who are more like mediocre regular season shows. I don't know why that is, but I felt the same about The Waters Of Mars, until the ending. It sure took a dark turn. I think that's one of the things I like best about the Doctor, the darkness. We have a name, in my house, for dark and vengeful turns in a movie, TV show or book. We call it a "Dr Who moment". The first really shocking "Dr Who moment" I remember was from The Family of Blood episode when The Doctor imprisons the whole family separately and eternally.

Liv, I know what you mean about having caught up on everything. To bide my time, I've just begun watching an older British sci fi series, Blakes 7. I haven't made it through the first episode yet, but I have high hopes I'll like the show. IIRC, the creator is said to have come up with the idea of the Daleks in Dr Who. I've also been watching The Big Bang Theory. It's a sitcom, but much smarter than most and I really like the science references. I can also re-watch the series Red Dwarf.

Nfidel wrote:I've just begun watching an older British sci fi series, Blakes 7.

Have you seen the I.T. crowd..... It's not old, but it's super funny....

"I'm disabled...."

Moffat says: "The Weeping Angels are coming back!"

My fav.

Liv wrote:
Nfidel wrote:I've just begun watching an older British sci fi series, Blakes 7.

Have you seen the I.T. crowd..... It's not old, but it's super funny....

"I'm disabled...."

No, but I soon will after having read about it on Wikipedia. It sounds interesting.

Nfidel wrote:No, but I soon will after having read about it on Wikipedia. It sounds interesting.

I think I've never laughed harder, no seriously, in my whole life then when they all think she's dead on that show.

Ruh roh... Major dilemma... I'll be in Paris on April 3rd when Doctor Who premiers..... and they don't have BBC1 do they?????

Can hope for re-runs on Sunday, right? (When I'm in London)

Liv, I'm not sure you will get the re-run Sunday. You may have to wait to watch it on Monday evening at our place.

I told chance that it will premier while we're over there and he got as mad as a 7 year old boy can get...

It's okay if I miss it, we'll eventually get it here.... I'll be missing the premier of SGU stateside and an episode of LOST... thank goodness for the internet these days..... I usually spend a few days catching up when I get home.

I am sort of sad that I didn't realize there is a giant Doctor Who party going on in London on Saturday... would have tried to make it if I knew...

There's also the Hub 4 Con going on too... but since Jack isn't going to be there I can't see spending 75 GPB for a ticket... though I am rather fond of Eve Myles.... she isn't worth the money. (Unless she talks dirty in Welsh to me, then I might reconsider.)

Do you have details of the party Liv, as I will be in London Saturday

Yep, Linky here.

UK Doctor Who Series 5 launch party

A venue in the City of London will be playing host to a major, free-to-enter launch party to celebrate the arrival of 11th Doctor Matt Smith on Saturday 3 April.

Those familiar with previous parties at The Printworks in London may be dismayed to learn that venue has not only changed hands,*but changed its identity too. However, no fewer than three new, similarly equipped establishments in the City are in the running to stage this year's party, although final choice of venue will be decided by the number of people who would like to attend.

The party is open to anyone aged 18 years or over, and will run from 2:00pm-10:00pm. Early arrival is recommended to secure best viewing points for the largest screens. All major Doctor Who programming will be screened in high-definition, surround-sound, and a licensed bar and full food service will be available all day.

Entry is free, but YOU MUST HAVE A TICKET. Bear in mind also this will be Easter weekend, so check out any public transport issues before registering your request for tickets.

To request tickets, send an email to organiser Jeremy Bentham stating your name, your email address (for replies), the number of people in your party, and your likely arrival time.

N.B: All registration requests must be received by 10:00pm Sunday 14 March. If your application is successful, you will receive details of the confirmed venue, plus your individual or group tickets, during the week commencing 22 March.

I guess the RSVP date has passed, but you could try a beg and plead email... (or just crash it.)
If you go, take pictures... we want to hear all about it!

I have heard there may be some train strikes Easter weekend. They may cause some issues with our visits. I'll keep an eye open for any updates.

smiler125 wrote:I have heard there may be some train strikes Easter weekend. They may cause some issues with our visits. I'll keep an eye open for any updates.

Fark Me! In 08 we almost had a Tube strike while we're out there..... At least it's national rail... that doesn't cover Eurostar, does it????

Should get real interesting, real quick if they do strike.... which wouldn't surprise me in the least... I've had some rather poor luck just planning the whole thing so far....and as soon as I think I'm done... well this stuff happens.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/1 ... twork-rail

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 24069.html

I would expect Eurostar to be OK

Always good to see the country striking during a recession. My colleagues and I didn't get a payrise last year and had redundancies and everybody understood that cuts had to be made to get us through difficult times and to survive. I'm not sure the unions see it the same way or BA staff.

As quoted by a BBC reader-

'BA will fold just as our coal, steel and manufacturing industries in general have done, mainly thanks to the people demanding unrealistic rewards which are not affordable or sustainable'

I couldn't agree more. The Royal Mail and trash collection men have all been on strike, but few people I know give the strikers any support.

They wouldn't dare strike would they... wouldn't that be complete mayhem??? On Easter?

I guess we shall see. I'm all for unions and striking... (though I have no clue on the U.K. stuff...) but doing so on Easter seems a bit like going for the jugular in a country where many people don't drive. Of course personally I'd prefer if they defer the strike till about April 9th.... just for me of course.