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Waiting to Exhale

Deep Breath (Series Eight, Ep. 1; 2014)
Viewed 25 Apr 2018

Doctor/Companion: Twelve, Clara Oswald
Stars: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman
Preceding Story: The Time of the Doctor (Eleven, Clara)
Succeeding Story: Into the Dalek (Twelve, Clara)

The end of the school year and start of our summer break has taken us down several different binge-watching paths. As I mentioned last time, for a while it was the MCU. More recently it’s been other programs. And I’ll be honest—with “Kill the Moon” next up in our Who marathon, I’ve not pushed them too hard to get back to it.


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2012 BBC

Before everything went sideways, though, I did manage to get them through the early part of Series Eight. New regenerations always make for interesting viewing, so I thought I’d record their reactions to this “new” Doctor to share here.

Of course he wasn’t new to them, which makes this an odd sort of not-quite-full-circle episode. The Twelve my girls know is actually rather different than the Twelve that first appeared on screen. Not only is his hair far too short here (I love that you can gauge where both Three and Twelve are in their regeneration based on how bouffant their hair is), but he’s still über antisocial (“I don’t think that I’m a hugging person now”). That persona put off a lot of fans at the time, and some of them never warmed to Twelve.

However, I’ve always held that early Twelve is a big hedgehog (prickly on the outside, but soft and tender on the inside). Perhaps having known his later, mellower self made it easier for my girls to agree with my assessment—or devise their own—and accept this awkward, uncomfortable goober as the Doctor. Whatever the case, they took him in stride and most of their comments and reactions were aimed at other characters.

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Nu-View #23: Time Marches On

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The Time of the Doctor (Christmas Special; 2013)
Viewed 24 Apr 2018

Doctor/Companion: Eleven, Clara Oswald
Stars: Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman
Preceding Story: The Day of the Doctor (Eleven, Ten, War, Clara, Kate Stewart)
Succeeding Story: Deep Breath (Twelve, Clara)

I don’t know what others’ families are like, but in ours obsessions come and go in waves. We’ll get all excited about something and dive in head-first, only to get derailed somewhere along the way for one reason or another. Sometimes it’s a scheduling issue that throws us off our groove, or sometimes something else piques our interest and supersedes the current passion-of-the-moment.


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2013 BBC

Such is the way of the girls’ run through modern Doctor Who. Once we got on a roll, we were powering through episodes at an incredible rate. With only twenty-one left to get them up-to-date on the entirety of the modern era, we hit one of those bumps in the road. It’s now been more than a month since we last watched Who, having for the time being move on to the MCU.

All this is by way of explanation that my recollections of the girls reactions to this (and the following) episode have already been blurred by time. I have my notes, but they’re spare, and lack of temporal proximity makes them more difficult than usual to interpret. Besides, the girls did more watching than openly reacting. But there are a few key moments in the Eleventh Doctor’s last story that made an impression on them, and therefore on me.

Moffat threw everything but the kitchen sink at us here. There are Daleks, Cybermen, Silence, and the Crack. In fact, there appears to be a message coming through the Crack that no one can interpret. But the Doctor conveniently has something that can help his new “friend” Handles the Cyber-head decode that message: the Seal of the High Council of Gallifrey. “Nicked it off the Master in the Death Zone,” he explains, and the girls bark a laugh. We’ve only recently watched The Five Doctors, and they understand the reference perfectly.

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Nu-View #22: Taking Satisfaction

The Angels Take Manhattan (Series 7, Ep 5; 2012)
Viewed 16 Apr 2018

Doctor/Companion: Eleven, Amy Pond, Rory Williams, River Song
Stars: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Alex Kingston
Preceding Story: The Power of Three (Eleven, Amy, Rory)
Succeeding Story: The Snowmen (Eleven, Clara)

This coming weekend, I get to take my daughters to their first Doctor Who con—in fact, their first con of any sort since becoming fans of the show. As you may recall, the three members of the Paternoster Gang were slated to be the guests of honor, and I was trying to figure out how to give the girls enough background to appreciate said guests.


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2012 BBC

Since then, Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra)—the first of those guests to have been announced, as I recall—has had to cancel, and my kids have blown through so much Doctor Who that they’ve now seen not just one, but every extant episode in which the Paternoster Gang appears. I’m no longer worrying about their excitement for meeting these actors; now it’s a matter of which Doctor do we watch next (and next, and next…).

Not only are we watching lots of episodes together, but it’s also been a ridiculously long time since the Ladies have gotten together to watch anything other than the most recent series (scheduling can be a real bear). And since a commenter suggested it might be fun to read more about what my daughters think about these new-to-them stories, I thought I’d choose a few during which to record their reactions and reboot the NuViews section of the blog in earnest.

At the time I made that decision, we were in the middle of Series 7A. A Companion departure story seemed like a really good one to capture, so when it was time to watch The Angels Take Manhattan, I got out my clipboard and—with the girls’ permission—started taking notes.

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Nu-View #21: Disgust & Side-Eyes

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Love & Monsters (Series Two, Ep. 10; 2006)
Viewed 15 Jan 2018

Doctor/Companion: Ten, Rose Tyler
Stars: David Tennant, Billie Piper
Preceding Story: The Satan Pit (Ten, Rose)
Succeeding Story: Fear Her (Ten, Rose)

It’s been some three-and-a-half years since I last did one of these. Aligning four adults’ schedules often enough to keep up on new episodes with the Ladies—let alone review old ones—has proven a serious challenge. We are, in fact, still in the middle of Series Ten. I’m hopeful we’ll get caught up with the Christmas episode by midsummer.


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2006 BBC

When Verity! podcast released their Love & Monsters commentary a couple weeks ago, though, I knew it was time to relaunch a new version of the NuViews. It felt like Fate, because my 11-year-old twin daughters’ introduction to the modern show had paused right at that exact episode. If I could convince them to watch with me again, I could both get them back in the proverbial saddle and share their unique perspective with my readers.

The girls were game, and so we sat down (not without trepidation on my part) to watch Elton’s vlog about his encounters with the Doctor. I realized immediately that this would be a different kind of experience than watching with the Ladies. To start, H & V are still quite new to Who; they don’t have a whole lot of context upon which to draw for comparison. For another, they are for the most part still simply absorbed in the story; any comments they make tend to be direct gut reactions rather than the snarky comments of jaded adults. It’s refreshing, even if it means there are fewer mid-episode impressions to report.

Since it had been years since I’d seen the episode myself, it was almost as interesting to gauge my own reactions as to see the girls’. For instance, I got something of a Torchwood vibe from the pre-credits sequence (interesting in retrospect, since this is the series that led up to the whole Torchwood storyline).

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Nu-View #20: Brave New Worlds

New Earth / Tooth and Claw (Series Two, Eps. 1-2; 2006)
Viewed 05 Aug 2014

Doctor/Companion: Ten, Rose Tyler
Stars: David Tennant, Billie Piper
Preceding Story: The Christmas Invasion (Ten, Rose)
Succeeding Story: School Reunion (Ten, Rose, Sarah Jane Smith)

Our latest WhoFest was meant to be the first in my new home. The depressing fact that it wasn’t (and that our move is rapidly receding into the realm of myth) was somewhat alleviated by jO’s return to the fold after an extended absence.


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2006 BBC

The early, jaunty Ten had been similarly absent from all of our Who viewing in recent years. “Look how young he looks!” exclaims jO. “When was this?”

I remind the Ladies that Series Two went out in 2006, and jE summarizes our common reaction perfectly: “We’re getting old.”

Old we may be, but at least we’re not hanging onto our youth in sheer desperation like Cassandra. And she’s a crafty one, redirecting Rose to her lair for her own nefarious purposes. “[Rose] knows she’s not on Ward 26,” observes jE. “Why doesn’t she just get right back in the lift?” It’s one of several plotting flaws we notice this evening.

I found it interesting to realize how I always think of this story as having a lot of Zoë Wanamaker (Cassandra) in it, when she actually only plays the character for a few minutes. With all the body-swapping, even Sean Gallagher (Chip) spent nearly as much time as Cassandra as Wanamaker did. And, by the way, kudos to Gallagher; Chip was a physically awkward character to play, especially running through corridors with his arms straight down at his sides.

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Nu-View #19: Enter Number Ten

The Christmas Invasion (Series Two, Ep. 0; 2005)
Viewed 08 Jul 2014

Doctor/Companion: Ten, Rose Tyler
Stars: David Tennant, Billie Piper
Preceding Story: The Parting of the Ways (Nine, Rose)
Succeeding Story: New Earth (Ten, Rose)

As the Ladies gather one last time at the current Chez Neowhovian, the impending move to a new house is top on everyone’s mind. Next time we get together (hopefully jO will finally be able to join us again; it’s been too long!), we’ll be at a completely new place.


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2006 BBC

We barely even mention in passing that we’ve tried before to watch this episode (though there’s a little muttering about it as Mickey shushes his coworkers to listen more carefully to the TARDIS materializing). The next thing we know, Jackie’s delivering the classic joke line (“Doctor who?”) and the opening credits crash across the screen.

Poor Mickey is still getting the short end of the stick. “Can you just let it be Christmas?” he begs Rose. “Not so much,” jE answers for her. On screen, Rose herself is trying a little harder, nodding acquiescence.

“You promise?”

“Yeah,” she assures him.

“Well, yeah, until the life or death stuff,” amends jE. “Then I’ll renege on my promise.” And so it goes.

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Nu-View #18: Special Surprise

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Planet of the Dead (Series Four Special; 2009)
Viewed 03 Jun 2014

Doctor/Companion: Ten, Lady Christina de Souza
Stars: David Tennant, Michelle Ryan
Preceding Story: The Next Doctor (Ten, Jackson Lake)
Succeeding Story: The Waters of Mars (Ten, Adelaide Brooke)

Having finished the Ninth Doctor’s tenure last time, the Ladies and I are ready to leap into the Tenth Doctor’s debut. Fate is, however, against us.


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2009 BBC

It turns out that my Doctor Who evangelism is as disorganized as the rest of my life right now. Around New Year’s I’d loaned my DVDs of Series Two to a friend whose kids were just getting into Who, and never asked for them back. I only discover this oversight for our WhoFest viewing plans as the Ladies are setting themselves up with wine and snacks.

Not to waste one of our increasingly rare opportunities to spend time together with each other and the Doctor, we decide to postpone our watch-in-order exercise for another time and select an episode that we collectively know less well, at jE’s request. It’s an unexpectedly good choice; not only has jE seen it only once, but we discover that jA has never seen it at all! (I’m not sure how this egregious error came about; it’s good we’re correcting it now!)

So off we go on the Lonely God’s last “romp.” First we meet our bored, aristocratic cat burglar as she takes advantage of the “worst security system ever” (as jA puts it). For someone who’s meant to be so clever, Christina’s a bit of a dullard for ripping off her identity-concealing mask whilst still inside the museum she’s in the process of robbing.

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Nu-View #17: The End of Our Beginning

Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways (Series One, Eps. 12-13; 2005)
Viewed 20 Mar 2014

Doctor/Companion: Nine, Rose Tyler
Stars: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper
Preceding Story: Boom Town (Nine, Rose)
Succeeding Story: The Christmas Invasion (Ten, Rose)

The Doctor plops himself down into a big, red comfy chair in the Diary Room, looks straight at the camera, and declares in disbelief, “You have got to be kidding!” Oh, Doctor… How could you predict my reaction to this past weekend so perfectly?


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2005 BBC

As the Ladies sit down together to watch the final two episodes of Nine’s all-too-short tenure, I’m finally happy and relaxed. I’ve spent a frantic week preparing to put our house back on the market, and it’s finally wrapped up; the listing will go live the next day. The only downer is knowing we’re saying goodbye (again) to the Doctor who started my love affair with this whole crazy show.

We’re all ready for a good time. As the TARDIS crew each settle into the games in which they’ve been inserted, the quips fly around the room. Trin-E and Zu-Zana use the defabricator on Jack, who then assures them, “Ladies, your viewing figures just went up.”

jA’s eyes sparkle. “I’d like to be watching that channel!”

Over with the Anne Droid, Rose’s competitor Rodrick (played by Paterson Joseph, an actor whose name has popped up now and again in “who could be the next Doctor” lists) explains the most basic rules of the Game Station to her. “It’s play—or die.”

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Nu-View #16: Dining with the Enemy

Boom Town (Series One, Ep. 11; 2005)
Viewed 11 Feb 2014

Doctor/Companion: Nine, Rose Tyler
Stars: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper
Preceding Story: The Doctor Dances (Nine, Rose)
Succeeding Story: Bad Wolf (Nine, Rose)

The fact that we happened to watch this particular episode the day before I left for Gally was totally fortuitous for me. Among other things, having it fresh in my mind helped me appreciate having Annette Badland (who played Margaret / Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen) at the con.


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2005 BBC

Better yet, the re-watch reminded me what a profound episode it is.

It begins with a reminder of how we first met the unfortunate Slitheen family. “I hate those guys,” interjects jA. “They’re ishy.” And it seems “Margaret” hasn’t changed much beneath, even if she has taken on an air of public service, heading up the Blaidd Drwg project.

And so it proceeds, though the first half of the episode is mainly the slightly silly, doesn’t-make-sense-if-you-look-to-hard fare we’ve come to expect from Who. RTD exhibits a bit of a tin ear for dialog in a place or two—e.g., when Blon takes Cathy the reporter to the loo with her, so she can shed her skin suit and kill the woman, then makes a seemingly rude noise upon entering the stall. Cathy comments, “Sounds like we got here just in time!” Incredulous, jA asked, “Who does that?” Perhaps we can give RTD a pass on that one, though, as he’s presumably never experienced a communal ladies’ room moment firsthand.

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Retro-View #15: A Gentle Passing

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The Caves of Androzani (Story #136, 1984)
Viewed 29 Jan 2014

Doctor/Companion: Five, Perpugilliam “Peri” Brown
Stars: Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant
Preceding Story: Planet of Fire (Five, Peri, Turlough)
Succeeding Story: The Twin Dilemma (Six, Peri)

Given that Caves is generally viewed as one of the (if not “the”) best stories in Doctor Who‘s entire fifty year history, I had really been looking forward to sharing it with G. That pesky “Real Life” (RL) thing keeps getting in the way of our viewing, though. Not only has it been three months since we last got together, but this may well be our last session for a good long time, due to other RL obligations. Good thing we had something meaty to tide us over.

As usual, I spent a few minutes updating G on the various changes in the TARDIS crew since she last tuned in. Tegan and Nyssa have moved on, as has a completely different Companion whose entire tenure was between these episodes (that’d be Turlough; I didn’t even bother with Kamelion). And when it came along, I mentioned how Davison himself had wanted an explanation for the dratted celery he’d been wearing these past few years, and that’s why we got the whole bit about if it turns purple.

Mostly, though, the first episode of the serial was spent getting back into the groove and noticing all the stereotypical details. There was an “Eew!” at the cave bat/magma creature/whatever-we’re-calling-it and a laugh out loud at the ensuing panicky gunfire from the humans. There was an “Ooh, that was weird” at our first sight of Sharaz Jek and a “Boy, those are some hairy fingers. … Got the wolfman going here” at a subsequent one. And there was the observation of the obligatory set up: “Every show starts out with a misunderstanding of who he is…” By the time we’d made it to the first cliffhanger, we were back in the swing of things.

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