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A difficult time in Fandom...Or not?

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Vampyros Adric
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« on: April 30, 2011, 10:13:34 am »

I am not really sure where I expect this thread to go. I just wanted to put down a few thoughts and see if anyone agrees or whether it is just me.... I've put it in the spoiler thread because I'm discussing spoilery aspects but I don't think I'm giving anything away...

The main thrust of my argument is that, far from being a triumphant start to season 6 I think the last couple of weeks have actually been quite a difficult time in Fandom. The week before TIA we started chocked full of excitement for possibly the greatest season of Doctor Who ever..

Then poor Lis Sladen died and the whole of Fandom came together and mourned our lost her0ine. It was an amazing and moving outpouring of grief, but it cast a long shadow over the start of the new season. There were times when I felt a little guilty for getting excited and certainly times when I felt guilty posting about it. So (in my own way) I overcompensated with silly posts.

Then came Saturday 23rd. The first day of season 6. I had been looking forward to this quite literally for months. However, the first thing I woke up to was a bit of a storm that the BBC had posted spoiler pictures on its website. Then we got a message from Steven Moffat on Twitter, not exalting us about the new series but telling us how he wanted it to rain to 'up' the viewing figures.

The show itself was mesmeric, beautiful and everything I'd ever wanted in Doctor Who. Here at last was the British X-Files but with so much more depth and back-story and subtlety. It combined just about all of the great elements of science fiction that I loved.

But then we woke up on Sunday to low overnights and a very mixed critical reaction. It had been too complicated for people to follow said one critic (dear God do we have to go to the lowest common denominator every time) another dismissed it as too wordy and wondered whether the show had run out of steam! This was like being back in 1986 again - the popular press turning on Doctor Who (admittedly it is part of an anti-BBC agenda so probably nothing to get too worked up about).

And then there has been the spoilers. Not little hints or teasers that make a forum like this tick over with speculation and excitement but a big info-dump about what's going to happen and how. I should add that I'm not pointing the finger at anyone in here for reporting these spoilers - the fact that they are out in the public domain means that we need to have them on here. My disappointment is two fold, firstly that I will not 'explode' with excitement at 6.44 tonight but more importantly I am already pre-judging the ramifications. Was the big preview screening really necessary for both episodes? Why not just pre-screen one episode and then have the media begging for more. It just seemed like another own-goal from the production team.

This has been quite a downbeat post but actually I want to finish on a positive note. This forum has absolutely stood out head and shoulders above the rest of fandom. Where we have debated things and discussed the spoilers it has been in a balanced and proportionate way. Our tributes to Lis were heartfelt and sincere without ever being mawkish or hysterical. The discussion after TIA on here was genuinely one of my high points as a fan of the show (and we're talking 32 years that this bloody show has had its claws in me).

Thank you for being my therapy Smiley Does anyone else feel the same - or is it just me being a grumpy old fella Smiley
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« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2011, 11:46:25 am »

I see someone has his Victor hat back on Tongue

While I agree with a lot of your post (specifically the parts about the forum being awesome) I do think your being a bit 'glass half empty', especially in regards to the press.

If some reporters last week were to be believed, then you basically have to be Stephen Hawking in order to get your head around TIA, which simply wasn't the case. Two of my nephews (7 & 12) are already converted to Who and when I called them both up this week to find out what they thought, they both loved it and followed it fine and we had whole discussions about the future Doctor and the monsters and stuff like that and they were both up to speed with it. I worry about the state of the people who bring news to the country if they had trouble getting their heads around it, though sometimes I think people just like to bash something for the sake of it. There is nothing like building something up and then bringing it down a peg or two. We are a nation who hates a success and as soon as something is, the papers are right on it and love every opportunity to bring it down.

Ok, so that got a bit ranty, but the point I was going for is that while a small minority of people/press knocked it, the majority of people who watched it really enjoyed it. Our poll, and all the others around the web show that. There were far more positive reviews than negative ones in the press and the fans themselves have rated it very highly. Even the average Joe who has to sit and watch to give it the AI rated it 88 out of 100. The overnights are awesome to look at in general, and yes last weeks were low, but its the week 2 ones that really matter. Launches and finales are (usually) always high, but what we want to know is did last weeks episode retain the viewers it picked up and has the hype brought in more? Its not really a fair test this time though as its not only the first time we open on a two parter, its also the first time the opener stradles two bank holiday weekends.

So take off your Victor hat, order your takeaway and enjoy Doctor Who tonight. I never care about the target audience. Once that show starts the only person Moffat has to please is me and if I enjoy it then I don't care what the press says. I think this is just the after effects of such a huge build up and launch and my glass is definately half full Smiley
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« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2011, 12:04:15 pm »

I'm an impatient spoiler junkie and it can sometimes be hard for me to understand how people like to be surprised, but I have to say, I was a little shocked by the amount of spoilerage that the BBC released on the website, what with the spoiler pics and whatnot. I can see how some people might have not wanted to see them. Me, I'm the opposite: I'd rather know every detail of the whole episode beforehand and it actually enhances my enjoyment of the show (or prepares me for things I won't like, so I'm not devestated when they happen).

So I soaked in all the spoilers I could for TIA and when it aired, I loved it. I think it's probably my favorite episode to date. And the complicated timey wimey-ness was no problem. In fact, I've rewatched it twice so far and realized it was so much more dense than I thought watching it the first time. I keep picking up new things I missed each time I rewatch it, despite the spoilers and previous viewings. I think that's a good thing. It shows how layered and cleverly written it was. And I think it's meant to be something you need to rewatch, because Moffat is so good at weaving things in that you won't understand until the end and that makes you want to come back and rewatch.
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« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2011, 12:16:28 pm »

I see someone has his Victor hat back on Tongue

While I agree with a lot of your post (specifically the parts about the forum being awesome) I do think your being a bit 'glass half empty', especially in regards to the press.

So take off your Victor hat, order your takeaway and enjoy Doctor Who tonight. I never care about the target audience. Once that show starts the only person Moffat has to please is me and if I enjoy it then I don't care what the press says. I think this is just the after effects of such a huge build up and launch and my glass is definately half full Smiley

This is why you rock Smiley

You're right - of course. And in a way thats why I started this thread because I wanted to have a bit of a rant but I also wanted to keep it in the spirit of the forum as well.
 
I think it was more the cumulation of things which just seemed to be conspiring a bit against what seemed like an awesome show. I actually couldn't get my head around how people couldn't see that this was incredible.

I also agree with R&TD as to how multi-layered TIA actually was. I watched it again last night and just kept picking up different aspects. Utterly stunning Smiley

Victor has been put back in his cage....

And tonight I am experimenting with a new Thai restaurant that has just started doing delivery. They promise a Thai Banquet for Four People for £28. That should keep me well stocked until supper Smiley
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« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2011, 01:27:31 pm »

Well when Doctor Who began back in 1963 they didn't think it was going to last very long and yet its lasted nearly 50 years, don't worry there is a point to this, you see any long running programme is going to be under scrutiny and fandom being a bit hypocritical. So many people say they want some spoilers but when they get some they get annoyed at it. I've avoided the big spoilers luckily so it hasn't ruined it for me so I still don't know who River is or how things are going to turn out and I see that as a great thing. I mean some people like having spoiler and that's fine but don't go round getting annoyed cause you know what happens. As for the complicated story and big words, what else do you expect in a sci-fi show?Huh? Yes I admit I was very confused at the story but I loved that cause it made me think and really pay attention to it. While watching it I feel clever for once because I understand it over my family or my friends and I see that as a good thing. Surely if it makes someone feel good about themselves then surely the Moff has gotten it right!!!! I remember Joey said in FRIENDS once 'critics only put down actors because they weren't talented enough to make it themselves' or something along those lines (someone correct me if I'm wrong there Tongue) so I see those critics as people who are jealous because they didn't get want they wanted!!!!

Hopefully all that made sense to y'all, it did in my head haha Cheesy
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« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2011, 05:50:11 pm »

I think people are judging the series before it's even aired.  It was part 1 of a 2 parter, and episode 1 of a 13 episode arc.  So what if the kids were confused, so were the adults!  People need to be more patient.   Roll Eyes 
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« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2011, 07:50:18 pm »

I think we can probably ignore my rant from earlier Wink Victor has left the building and Vampyros Adric has had his little mind blown by some brilliance tonight Tongue
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« Reply #7 on: April 30, 2011, 11:01:20 pm »

I try to avoid reading the critics, so I don't know what was said, but some critics are always ready to knock things down.  It doesn't particularly surprise me if they found it too much of a tax on their "intelligence".  As The Doc said, the fans loved it, and judging from threads here, it seems to be making new converts.
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