The Best (and worst) of Matt Smith's Doctor

Wow! Haven't blogged for a little bit (and I have a doozy planned for a few weeks time on the occasion of my 40th) so I decided to do a blog on a great important issue upon which nobody has ever written a single blog post about- Doctor Who.

 Matt Smith recently said goodbye and, I have to admit, I was sad. Of the three incarnations of the Doctor since the show came back in 2005 he has been my favourite. He was the Tom Baker of his generation- an absolute favourite with young kids because he reminded them of that crazy uncle you only saw at Christmas who you thought was really cool.

 That being said, his era was also the most inconsistent of recent years in regards to script quality. So what were my high- and low-lights of his era? Let's grab a fez and a bowl of fish fingers and custard and take a look. Before I do that though, a disclaimer. These are MY opinions, however wrong you may think I am. If you disagree then all power to you. Leave some (nice) comments below.....

THE BEST
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5) Asylum of the Daleks (Season 7, episode 1)

 This season opener was the first time that showrunner Steven Moffat had written for the Daleks and it's an absolute corker. The Daleks are both cowardly and menacing, and nearly every incarnation of them are peppered throughout the episode. Our three heroes are in absolute gold form and they are joined, in a shock to viewers, by the companion who was yet to be, played by Jenna Coleman. Since they first returned in the episode called "Dalek", they have had some pretty average adventures, but this one was a winner all the way

4) The Doctor's Wife (Season 6, episode 4)

 Legendary sci-fi writer Neil Gaiman writes one of the greatest Who stories ever. The conscience of the TARDIS is transferred to a helpless woman (played brilliantly by Suranne Jones) and the mayhem begins. What sets this apart from other episodes is how it not only provides some of the most delicious dialogue in recent memory ("You never took me to where I wanted to go" "But I took you to where you were meant to be") but also some of the most heartbreaking moments the show has ever produced. We will forever refer to the TARDIS as "sexy".

3) The Eleventh Hour (Season 5, episode 1)

 After David Tennant spent most of his first episode sleeping, Moffat decided that the new Doctor needed to hit the ground running. It was a gutsy, and brilliant move. The exchanges with young Amelia Pond are brilliant, the plot develops nicely and the camaraderie between Doctor and the grown-up Amy Pond already establish a wonderful connection. When I think back to first stories of freshly regenerated Doctors, this one sits right up there with "Power of the Daleks" and "Spearhead from Space". By the end of it you are in no doubt that this man IS the Doctor.

 

2) The Day Of The Doctor (50th Anniversary Special, 2013)

 Many fans, including myself, were probably dreading this. Not only were we only getting one real former Doctor (even if it was Tennant) but we had an incarnation of the Doctor nobody had ever heard of played by John Hurt. To many fans it was as if Moffat had kicked them in the sensitive areas. But then something happened. Firstly, out came a mini-episode that saw Paul McGann's eighth Doctor appear onscreen for the first time in 17 years only to regenerate into John Hurt's "War Doctor" (as the fans call him). Then, the special aired and people were amazed at how good it was. Matt Smith is in top form here, Tennant slips back into the tight suit and sandshoes as if he never left them and John Hurt plays his role as if he's been doing it for years. The script is tight and the effects great. I'll be the first to admit that it's not all brilliant (Elizabeth I is rather poorly portrayed, and the excellent Zygon plot seems to just fizzle out into nothing) but almost all is forgiven for that one scene where Matt Smith meets the oldest surviving Doctor- the unflappable Tom Baker. To hear a whole cinema nerdgasm at the same time is a rare and wonderful thing.

1) Vincent And The Doctor (Season 5, episode 10)

 Quite simply, the most beautiful thing to come out of Matt Smith's, or any Doctor's, era. Nobody cares about the plot involving an invisible chicken, it's the story of Vincent van Gogh battling depression and rejection that truly makes this legendary. For once though, the Doctor gets totally flummoxed by what he has to deal with and it's Amy who brings the troubled painter hope. The cameo from an uncredited Bill Nighy is beautifully underplayed and the final scenes, where the Doctor takes Vincent to a modern day gallery to see the impact he has had, has reduced stronger men than myself to puddles of tears. It's rare to see Who venture into new ground these days but this was one of those moments when it not only did that, it planted a flag that said "now owned by Doctor Who".

Honorable mentions-

The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon (Season 6, episodes 1 and 2)

 The opener to Season 6 introduced us to the Silence- another worthy villain created by modern Who. Although many of the questions would not be answered until either the season finale or Smith's last episode, it is a beautifully paced story filled with suspense, terror and lashings of great humour. The interplay between Smith's Doctor and Alex Kingston's River Song is never better than in this story. 

The Snowmen (2012 Christmas Special)

 Take a villain from the 60's (from episodes that, at the time, were considered largely lost), add in brilliant performances by Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman and Richard E Grant, add in a trio consisting of a Silurian and her lesbian lover plus a Sontaran nurse and some truly scary snowmen and you have an amazing Christmas episode. It's a solid story that flows brilliantly and manages to entertain even the most casual of fan. The best of Smith's Christmas specials by a long chalk.

 

THE WORST

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5) The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe (2011 Christmas Special)

 A boring, pointless farce that never reaches any kind of excitement. Bill Bailey wanders around wondering why he agreed to be a part of it as do most of the supporting cast. Smith, to his credit, does a good job at trying to keep the vibe of the show going but it really is an uphill struggle. The laughs seemed really forced a lot of the time.

4) Nightmare In Silver (Season 7, episode 12)

 After writing the brilliant "The Doctor's Wife" (see above), I bet Moffat thought he was in a safe pair of hands giving the cybermen to Neil Gaiman. He was wrong. To be honest, I don't think the cybermen have ever really hit their stride in New Who. To be fair though, apart from "The Tenth Planet", "Tomb Of The Cybermen" and "Earthshock", they never really hit it in Classic Who either. This story is an absolute stinker from a season that had more misses than hits. My biggest complaint is that Gaiman has obviously confused the Cybermen with Star Trek's Borg Collective. To make matters worse, we have a couple of kids running around getting trouble, so he's confusing Doctor Who with it's spinoff The Sarah Jane Adventures. The whole thing is ridiculous and a waste of the onscreen talent (which includes Warwick Davis). Smith again tries to carry this one but overacts to almost Tennant-like levels.

 

3) Victory of the Daleks (Season 5, episode 3)

 Oh how I REALLY wanted to love this episode. Smith's first encounter with the Daleks, plus it's set in Churchill's bunker during World War 2, plus it's written by Mark Gatiss. Why didn't this work? WHY? Because of the rubbish iDaleks/Mighty Morphin Power Daleks/ Kiddie Daleks (insert your own derogatory name here) Daleks that appear at the episodes conclusion but it also forces to suspend that little bit of disbelief too much. Too many coincidences, too many sloppy resolutions, too many things that shouldn't be able to happen happening. Yes it's cool to hear the Daleks say "Would you like some tea?" and "I am your soldier" but a couple cute phrases can't hide the overall stench. Interestingly enough, those "new paradigm" Daleks never really showed up again....funny about that...

2) The Rebel Flesh/ The Almost People (Season 6, episodes 5 and 6)

 I know a lot of fans will have their jaws on the floor with this one, but I simply found this story to be droll and way too padded out (it really should have only been a single episode). It's a highly convoluted story that never really goes anywhere and involves two Matt Smiths vying for "most lovable Doctor" award. It is, in fact, really irritating.  There really aren't any likeable characters throughout this story (even the ones who, ultimately, become nice people) and the ending is woeful. 

1) The Rings of Akhaten (Season 7, episode 7)

 The nadir of the Smith era. Stupid plot, ludicrous acting, lots of shouting and pointless singing all make for an annoying misstep. Sadly, it would not be a lone blemish in this season which is a shame because both Smith and Coleman are very good in this and the effects are certainly fine but when the basic story is so threadbare, it is hard to salvage much from it.

Honorable Mention

The Curse of the Black Spot (Season 6, episode 3)

Not even Hugh Bonneville can save this ridiculous farce. Flimsy plot and ridiculous ending plus some rather dodgy effects sequences just lower the tone of this one. I don't think it's quite as bad as some other fans do but it still can't match the very best of this era.

So now we wait and see what Peter Capaldi gives us. I, for one, can't wait!

Sexism and my friend Dolores

 After Tony Abbott won the election I had a foolhardy dream. I actually believed for a minute that people might wait and see if all their dire predictions would come true. Sadly, I was wrong. The name-calling, the spite, the anger (and other signs of being a sore loser) were more prevalent than ever. Already the articles have started about all the bad things our new PM (who at the time of typing this hasn't even been sworn in as PM yet) has done. Disgusting groups like  "Tony Abbott is the worst PM in history" have sprouted up and at least 50 friends of mine on my FB page have joined it. I'm glad that spirit of "giving a person a fair go" is still alive and well in 21st Century Australia. Oh yes, I even got defriended by one person for daring to post a pro-Abbott video on my page (in response to the countless anti-Abbott articles, memes and such filling up my page which they posted).

 But you know what? We live in a country where all of that is possible without fear of death. I would rather people be engaged with political debate in this country then to sit passively by and say "I hate them all". I'll take a person who weighs up the pros and cons and reaches a conclusion that is different to my own anyday.

 I am proud to call some of those people my friends. Fellow musicians who I admire a lot but who think different politically to me. At least they care about this country. One of those is my friend Dolores [not their real name]. We've done shows together and she has always been a good friend to me. She is an outstanding teacher, a wonderful mum and wife and has been a great support to me as I do my degree. But her views on politics could not be more different than my own. On election day I actually messaged her on FB and apologised that we seemed to only talk when disagreeing on politics. She laughed and said it didn't matter- and she reminded me that she married a Liberal voter. The fact she is still my friend sometimes amazes me given some of the exchanges we have had in the past.

 Today was no different. The feminists have been having a field day since Mr. Abbott announced his cabinet with ONLY ONE WOMAN!!!! (du-du-DUUUUH!!!) Poor Corinne Grant must have steam coming off her keyboard writing so furiously to get a blog up on The Hoopla! How dare he!! Nice way to set women's rights back 50 years!! Oh the outrage, the anger, the venom!! 

 Dolores jumped in with a pithy status and, despite my better judgement, I went wading in right after her. Do I seriously need another target on my back??

 Of course, any attempt to defend the decision would be immediately leaped upon and branded as sexist (especially when coming from a man) and it didn't take long. So before I get the tirades of abuse, let me try and point out my views on the this.

 Let's play a hypothetical-

 You have to fill a position. You have two possibilities to fill that vacancy. One person is experienced and has a solid background in the job. They also are qualified and have proven themselves as a team player. The other person is nowhere near as qualified, has little experience and has yet to prove themselves. Which one do you go for? Now if this were a rather lowly position you may be tempted to make a judgement call and decide that a person has to start somewhere and if they screw up then no harm, no foul. But this is a senior position with a LOT riding on it. In this instance, I think a good boss will go with the first person. To me, that makes sound, business sense. It matters not what their age, gender, religion or race is. You picked the best person for the job.

 That is the choice the PM-elect has had to make. I note that Mr. Abbott is also nominating Bronwyn Bishop as speaker of the House of Reps (which would make the most powerful position in the house being filled by a woman- something a lot of the people are forgetting). By the way, I imagine he put the same criteria on filling THAT position as he did in filling in the cabinet positions. 

 When I looked through the ministry I saw a lot of experience both as opposition spokesperson and from outside Parliament. What I saw was a team capable of bringing solid government to this country and representing our country well. 

 "But what about the WOMEN"??? Dolores cried. She rightly pointed out that women are just as capable of doing these jobs as men and that they make up 50% of the population. I don't disagree with her on that at all. Sadly, the pool of talent that our new PM had to choose from wasn't very representative of that. I suppose we can argue about the Liberals not blooding enough female talent and you might have a point, but the simple fact is that if not enough women want to run as a candidate for the party then it is very hard for them to be elected and then put into cabinet. Is that the PM-elects' fault? As Mr. Abbott pointed out yesterday there several women knocking on cabinet's door. Good. Come time for a reshuffle, one or two of them may just enter into that room having had more experience under their belt.

 I am all for women getting the same opportunities as men- they are as capable (and in some cases, more capable) of doing the job as their male counterparts if they are the right person for the job!! It's not sexism, it's actually good business sense- the right person for the right job.

I still greatly respect Dolores and will continue to do so. She's awesome. 

"Salome"- State Opera of South Australia, Festival Theatre

 Richard Strauss' masterpiece of the stage gets an all-too rare outing in Adelaide. I remember seeing this opera when State Oepra performed it last in 1994 and was blown away by how vivid and exotic the score is. There is not a single "easy" part in this whole opera. From the first moment to the last (a nice call-back to "Game Of Thrones" watchers) it leaves the audience on the edge of its seat.
 When the Opera Conference chose to mount a new production they chose director Gale Edwards to bring this sordid one-act tale to life. Doing that ensured it would not be a sandal and toga affair. Rather, Edwards has presented a dark, brooding and sexual affair of the most grotesque kind. The single set functions well enough to set the stage with not-so-subtle imagery of dead carcasses off the back wall and a red hue to all the lighting and costumes.
 The production team should be applauded for keeping things visually interesting without over-blowing our senses (leaving that job to the wonderful music of Richard Strauss).
 In the title role, Kate Ladner proves once again that she is one of Australia's finest leading ladies. Not only does she have the vocal ability to tackle the demands of this score, but every nuance of her character is played out in her gestures, body movements and thought processes.
 As her depraved step-father, Herod, Hubert Francis is an absolute standout. Every bit the depraved ruler, he makes every member of the audience feel slightly violated. Vocally he totally nails this role to the back wall and his acting is on par with the best around the world.
 Elizabeth Campbell provides a solid support for Ladner and Francis as the much-maligned Herodias. I simply cannot remember a role where Campbell has given less than 100%.
 Douglas McNicol (almost unrecognisable under heavy makeup) is a brilliant Jokannan. Like the rest of his castmates, his vocal abilities are beyond question and he gives a much less pious performance of the doomed prophet than we have seen in the past.
 Bradley Daley as the love-struck Narraboth and Anne Marie Gobbins as Herodias' Page round out the major players superbly. Local talent including Adam Goodburn, Andy Turner, Thomas Millhouse, Bernard Hull and Robert McFarlane fill out the smaller roles with much gusto and relish.
 Arvo Volmer and the ASO performed wonders in the pit but I fear their exuberance led many passages being sung to be inaudible to the audience. The dance of the seven veils, however, was one of the most breath-taking moments ever heard in the festival theatre (and the ensuing dance onstage was cleverly executed by Ladner and several dancers).
 This opera- at 100 minutes- is almost as draining on the psyche as the 6-hour "Parsifal". Both of these are in my top 10 operas of all time and State Opera have pulled another gem from their hat.