"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes." - Walt Whitman
Surely the same can be said for Doctor Who and his 50 years of TV.
True, but some of them are unnecessary and there for no discernible reason, like the Doctor saying that he's half human on his mother's side or something like that.
Some silly masterplan - they had all sorts of stuff laid out if it was picked up for a full series, I think the Doctor and the Master were going to be half-brothers or something? Thanks for Paul McGann, TVM, but I think the show found its way to the right people in the end.
I should mention that I'm easily pleased. I don't think there's a single Matt Smith episode that I'd call bad, so I guess my standards are just low. The worst is probably Closing Time or The Curse of the Black Spot, and even those have some really cool stuff.
Oh, yeah, it's always quality TV. "Bad" is relative. Closing Time and The Name of the Doctor are good, well-produced television episodes, but they're just not my bag in terms of Doctor Who.
Last episode I rewatched was The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe. I've never disliked it, it's always entertained me, but time and distance have done that episode
huge credit. I think, at the time, I was sort of hoping for it to be all things Doctor Who - wit and thrills and scares all wrapped in a devilishly clever Christmas bow. It's not that at all, but I do love what it
is. Claire Skinner is absolutely brilliant in it -
"I found a spaceman in a field, possibly an angel, but he's injured and I can't get his helmet off, so I'm having to take him into town to find a police telephone box, all right?"
"Stay inside - the rain is
frightful!"
"What have I told you about opening your presents early? Something like this was bound to happen!"
"It's funny! One can't imagine being a forest, then suddenly one can."
I love the harvest rangers, too. "Sorry, sir. It's under control. Do you want me to shoot her?"
There's a couple of lines I don't like - "humany wumany" among them - but the ep's so witty, very moving, and I love how it subtly weaves into the bigger story. The man who let his family believe him dead. Last few scenes are perfect.