BORDERS sent me a 40% off coupon for any single DVD so I picked up this diverting bit of fluff. David Tennant plays the 10th Doctor. He meets up with a jewel thief, Michelle Ryan, and the London double-decker bus they’re on goes through a worm-hole to a desert planet a galaxy away. Yes, this is typical Doctor Who nonsense, but the production values are top-notch. The desert scenes were shot in Dubai. Along with the episode, there’s a 60-minute “Doctor Who Confidential” where the stars, the producers, the director, the writers all talk about how the shooting of the episode both proved challenging and frustrating. If you’re recovering from knee surgery, something as light and frothy as DOCTOR WHO: Planet of the Death is just what the doctor ordered. GRADE: B+
Better cash in those Borders coupons fast!
You’re right, Deb! Now that BORDERS has announced the liquidation of their 400 remaining stores, the end is near for the two BORDERS in my area.
“Light and frothy” is a good description of the DOCTOR WHO phenomenon. I’m afraid it’s a little too “frothy” for our taste and I prefer Tennant to the current Doctor, but in your situation it is probably jsut right.
Mark Smith is okay as the current Doctor, Jeff. But, like you, I think Tennant (with those bulging eyes and comic facial expressions) is a stronger actor. Recovery after major surgery requires some mind-less entertainment. DOCTOR WHO fits the bill.
Some day I am going to catch up with this series. An awesome chore by now.
Our current Time-Warner cable package has a BBC channel, Patti. Occasionally, they offer DOCTOR WHO marathons so that would be an inexpensive way to catch up on the series. I managed to talk the “media” librarian at the North Tonawanda Public Library into buying some DOCTOR WHO boxed sets which were fun to watch.
Overall, we’ve found BBC America to be pretty disappointing in recent years. (When we first got TWC it was probably the channel we most wanted to have.) They have way too many hours spent on “reality” shows (such as “My Small Breasts and I” – NTTAWWT) rather than worthwhile British drama we were hoping to see.
Same here, Jeff. Those British reality shows are lame. But, occasionally, there’s a DOCTOR WHO festival and I can DVR a dozen hours of programming.
I watched some Dr. Who years and years ago, I think Tom Baker was the good Dr. then and he was terrific, even if the Dalecks looked like tinfoil-covered cardboard boxes. I never understood what the larger plot line was about, the Time Lords and all that, but week to week (this was likely to have been on a Public TV station) it was fun. I even bought and read a few of the books, which were good too.
Like you, Rick, I discovered DOCTOR WHO when our PBS station broadcast the Tom Baker episodes. The stories tended toward confusion. And, you’re right: the production values bordered on cheesy. But, somehow, the wackiness of the whole enterprise was captivating.