I have moved Sci-Fi Saturday to Sunday afternoons. I am having a go at redoing my side of the blog in hopes to have more visits to the blog. Today let's talk Dr. Who and Firefly. I have only watched one or two seasons of Dr. Who and I have only watched one(maybe two) episodes of Firefly. So it is up to you today to run the show. I do plan on watching more of both of them on Netflix here soon.
Open Critique / Share Day and Sci-Fi Sunday? Wheh… might want to pace yourself, HK! Unless it’s breaking news, one blog entry a day might keep from burning yourself out. 😉
I’ve been watching “Classic Dr. Who” on Netflix. It’s odd because the collection is sequential, but there are huge gaps. Mostly because the BBC destroyed the original tapes! It’s a fun, quirky show. I picked up Dr. Who when I was little. PBS ran the Tom Baker years late night on Saturdays. That, Dr. Sanguinary’s Creature Feature, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and Kolshak: The Night Stalker contributed much to my insomnia.
Firefly, yes! Watch the every episode. It is one of the most beautiful and rich shows that I have ever seen in any genre. Engaging characters, great storyline, … you feel it! Too bad the network execs screwed it over. I saw Serenity before Firefly. Great as a stand-alone movie. After watching Firefly, it made me feel almost sick knowing what could have been five or six seasons of worthwhile television.
I just watched Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog on Netflix. If you had a crush on Nathan Fillion in Firefly, you will love to hate him in this Joss Whedon gem.
Still going through “Classic Dr. Who.” One nice thing is every “season” averages to a two-hour movie. Perfect for casual watching. My visits with the good Doctor have been side-tracked by another Netflix nugget: Invader Zim! Doom, I tell you! Doooooooommmm!
You said the magic words. Doctor Who (never “Dr.”) and Firefly. You have my attention, sir.
Aye… it should be “Doctor Who” or “the Doctor” not “Dr.”
So, who wants to speculate on Clara, the new companion? What’s the secret to the Girl Who Died Twice/Impossible Girl/Souffle Girl?
Ummm . . . she’s adorable? 😉
I really don’t know where Moffat’s going with this, no. For while he does have a tendency to re-use ideas, I’m not sure which one would apply here. The most I can associate, is Rose Tyler spreading the “Bad Wolf” symbol throughout time: can you do this to a PERSON?
I remember back when I was young, when WTTW in Chicago would show Doctor Who (Tom Baker times) at 5:30 in the afternoon, right after 3-2-1 Contact.
My mom didn’t like the show, which made it all the better. 😉
I don’t really watch TV anymore, but it is good to hear The Doctor is still trucking on in the Most Famous Telephone Booth Of All. Good that classic villains like the Autons and the Cybermen have shown up, too.
And where would we be without the Daleks?
On a side note, I remember talking with my dad’s cousin (also an old-line Whovian) about the passage of time in Doctor Who. In an episode from the early 70s, during Jon Pertwee’s tenure, UNIT had to call in an air strike, duly answered by footage of RAF Phantoms delivering rockets on target. Not long after, during Tom Baker’s time, the BBC updated their stock footage, and it was Harriers doing the strafing. We both got a laugh out of that…
As for Firefly, I have never liked Joss Whedon, I do not like Joss Whedon, and I never will like Joss Whedon. If that is some sort of “credibility” issue with you, or you feel entitled enough to pass judgement on me for that, you know where you can go, and just what activity you can be engaged in during the journey.
I could never get into Dr, Who, they keep changing the actors/actresses and almost everything i have seen on BBC is unwatchable. I guess its not my cup of earl grey. I love me some firefly though! I wish they would bring it back!
The Doctor (never Doctor Who, either, except on the credits… WHO is the Weird Happenings Organization!) is equivalent (roughly) to Superman, while Firefly is much more Rawhide or Bonanza… They don’t really compare.
The Doctor is cosmically powerful (though never in a very straight forward way, like with Superman), affable, and more than a trifle silly…
Firefly has an ensemble cast, and is much more of a Sci-Fi Western, mixed with a bit of Traveller thrown in.
Both are good in their own way, but I’d rather watch Classic Trek…
Though I’ve been assured by my friends that I would like Firefly, I’ve never actually seen it.
I DO however ABSOLUTELY LOVE Doctor Who. Since 2004, it’s the only show I’ve watched religiously. An appropriate term since it’s just moved to a Sunday slot…
On BBC America, it’s actually part of Sci-Fi Saturdays, showing just before a show I’m really getting into which is Orphan Black.
Doctor Who and Firefly are both great shows. I prefer Firefly, but only because the show was short enough to not run afoul of the old multi-seasonal plot resolution and subsequent character trainsition(s). Also there was also a distinct change in the writing when the current Doctor came on the show, which has (unfortunately) been even more liberal than the last. Still, the show is entertaining and it beats Firefly in that it has waaaay more episodes to watch!
Well yeah, but the same could be said for a LOT of shows…
Whoists are sometimes appropriately horrified with me to discover that I NEVER try to catch them all or in order.
But the Doctor never did anything in order, now did he? He’s got the Orkian age order for respect in youth and adoration in his final years. All that hopping completes the mix.
Firefly is far from typical Whedon except for his adaptation of cross-hemisphere culture mixing. Fun in every respect. It is a shame about it’s short run.
William A. Peterson:
never in a very straight forward way, like with Superman, affable, and more than a trifle silly…
I always saw the silliness of the doctor as something a bit tragic. Living in the moment is the only way he can remain sane, seeing what he has done. And even whitout that, if you have the entirety of time and creation at your disposal the everyday he is confronted with must look extremely silly to the doctor
a bit early to tell really. She indeed adorable but a bit bland personality wise. Something better than the whole The Silence story i hope.
I like the theory where she is actually CAL from Silence in the Library, but last week’s episode kinda disproved that…