"Last of the Time Lords" is another poorly plotted, overly sentimental, corny-looking episode of the new Doctor Who that is destined to be hailed as a masterpiece by enthusiastic fans.
Alas, I must remain in the long-suffering minority on the issue of this weird revival. I was willing to be open-minded about the new Who, but episodes like this have pretty much finished me off as a viewer. Bluntly, I think Russell T. Davies is a horrible writer of science fiction - he constantly recycles plot elements, he clearly understands nothing of real science, and he resolves all of his stories with patently ludicrous deus ex machina endings. This story, in particular, features one of the most laughably unconvincing resolutions in the history of filmed entertainment.
His "emotional" writing is way off, too. Much of the new Doctor Who is dedicated to sarcastic mocking of contemporary culture; it comes across as quite cynical and cranky. And yet, the series also veers into laughably unsubtle sentimental territory, as characters weep and wail and declare their feelings in clunky, totally artificial lines of dialog that should ring false to anyone who has ever watched and appreciated quality drama. Anyway, the guy can't really have his cake and eat it too in this regard: he can't make the show both bitterly cynical and ridiculously sentimental. The clash of tones is dissonant and annoying.
Oh, and the show is still cheap, too. The depiction of post-conquest Earth in this story was corny and utterly unconvincing. If it wasn't for a few modern CGI shots, I might've thought I was watching a 1983 BBC production instead of a 2007 one.
In short, it was junk. The older I get, it seems, the less interest I have in these childish, technology-obsessed science fiction properties. So is anybody up for watching "Floating Weeds" instead? Now there's a production that can make you cry without resorting to cheap dramatics, ham acting, and a bad special effects apocalypse.
Alas, I must remain in the long-suffering minority on the issue of this weird revival. I was willing to be open-minded about the new Who, but episodes like this have pretty much finished me off as a viewer. Bluntly, I think Russell T. Davies is a horrible writer of science fiction - he constantly recycles plot elements, he clearly understands nothing of real science, and he resolves all of his stories with patently ludicrous deus ex machina endings. This story, in particular, features one of the most laughably unconvincing resolutions in the history of filmed entertainment.
His "emotional" writing is way off, too. Much of the new Doctor Who is dedicated to sarcastic mocking of contemporary culture; it comes across as quite cynical and cranky. And yet, the series also veers into laughably unsubtle sentimental territory, as characters weep and wail and declare their feelings in clunky, totally artificial lines of dialog that should ring false to anyone who has ever watched and appreciated quality drama. Anyway, the guy can't really have his cake and eat it too in this regard: he can't make the show both bitterly cynical and ridiculously sentimental. The clash of tones is dissonant and annoying.
Oh, and the show is still cheap, too. The depiction of post-conquest Earth in this story was corny and utterly unconvincing. If it wasn't for a few modern CGI shots, I might've thought I was watching a 1983 BBC production instead of a 2007 one.
In short, it was junk. The older I get, it seems, the less interest I have in these childish, technology-obsessed science fiction properties. So is anybody up for watching "Floating Weeds" instead? Now there's a production that can make you cry without resorting to cheap dramatics, ham acting, and a bad special effects apocalypse.