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November 30, 2023     Shelton Mason County Journal
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’Doctor Who’ forges new start by recapturing glory days. elcome to the Disney era of “Doctor Who.” Once upon a time, there was a globally popular, decades-spanning sci-fl TV se- ries about a mythic alien trick— ster who changed into different lead actors every few years and who traveled through space and time in a disappearing blue box that was bigger on the inside than on the outside. As the narrative became less accessible to casual view- ers, due to the compounding complexity of its many backsto- ries, it only took a handful of ill-considered revisions to that established canon, presented during less-than-deftly written episodes, to diminish the fan— dom enough for the show to go on hiatus. Then, a showrunner named Russell T. Davies brought “Doc- tor Who” back with a big heart and some big-screen-size stylis- tic ambitions. That was how “Doctor Who” returned to the BBC in 2005, following a 1996 TV movie on FOX failed to restart the series after its end in 1989, and it ap— pears to be how RTD (as he’s abbreviated by fandom) is re- vamping the Show with a trio of weekly streaming specials on Disney+, after its last regular season in 2021 trailed 011‘ into a string of specials during 2022. The original “Doctor Who” from 1963 through 1989 was limited by a modest production budget, occasionally hastily written scripts and a touch of over-reliance on dated contem- porary genre tropes. When Davies reintroduced “Doctor Who” in 2005, he was praised for injecting it with a fresh sensibility, similar to that of J oss Whedon’s “8tu the Vampire Slayer” TV series, by turning a more in-depth focus on the personal lives and rela— tionships of the human charac- ters whom the Doctor adopted as his traveling companions. What Whedon and Davies wound up doing was to outline what became the subsequent DARK REVIEWS Marvel Cinematic Universe formula by mixing snarky, self- aware comedy and manipula- tive familial drama with stag- gerineg apocalyptic stakes, well—suited for widescreen visuals. That’s what Davies’ “Doc- tor Who” was about for five years, until he amenably ceded custody of the series to other hands in 2010. Based on “The Star Beast” — the first of Da— vies’ three “Doctor Who” spe- cials on Disney+, which began streaming Nov. 25 — that’s the RTD who came back for this go-round. Davies is joined in all three Disney+ specials by his pri- mary incarnation of the Doctor (played by David Tennant, who remains one of the most popular “Doctor Who” lead actors in the series’ history) and Donna N o- ble (played by Catherine Tate), who rzmks among the most be— ~ loved of the doctor’s companions in the post-2005 era. After watching “The Star Beast,” I can reassure fellow fans of the Doctor/Donna pair— ing that Davies retained both characters’ distinctive voices while writing their dialogue. Tennant and Tate spark off each other as though they’d never left the show. For those who haven’t seen “Doctor Who,” I can reassure you that Davies’ storytelling brings new viewers up to speed on the key points of who the Doctor and Donna Noble are, what they mean to each other, and what the stakes of their Thursday, November 30, 2023 — Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 13 David Tennant as “Doctor Who” proves that, if you invite a cockatieI-haired space-wizard into your home, you should expect some drastic interior renovations. Courtesy photo reunion will be. Even if you have no taste for fantasy-flavored adventures, the Doctor’s chaotic interactions with Donna, and her family, should appeal to those who rel- ish the rapid—fire farce of Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd’s verbal duels in “Moonlighting,” albeit without any of David and Maddie’s more adult~rated chemistry (the Doctor and Donna really are just very good friends). Beyond that, “The Star Beast” should be an effective litmus test for the degrees to which you’ll find RTD’s “Doctor Who” either endearing or diffi- cult to endure. Like George Lu: cas and Ray Bradbury, Davies is a “science-fantasist,” rather than a “hard-SF” storyteller, who uses the genre as a vehicle for social commentary and (mostly) well-done melodrama. ' If you love cryptic but bla- tantly telegraphed teases for multi—episode story arcs, gra- tuitous strings of meaningless but semi—scientific-sounding jargon, and well-intended and frequent vague “Power of Love” resolutions that lean on the cos- mic equivalents of “Care Bear 517 Franklin St. 0 Shelton (Across from Safeway) - www.3heltoncinemas.com 24 Hour Movie Info (360) 426-1000 MA©B© MQCEWEE How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) Friday 12/1 at 3:45 The Marvels 'Stares,” you. are going to adore Davies. I’m not even criticiz- ing. When measured out cor- rectly, his tropes make for great ingredients. However, if you head into RTD’s “Doctor Who” expecting it to be free of what you might consider “woke” messaging, as the “South Park” ski instruc- tors would tell you, “You’re gonna have a bad time.” Davies is openly gay, and his stories have always been unabashedly inclusive of not only LGBTQ, but various other spectra of diversity. Davies’ outlook reveals itself in the most basic aspects of his tales, because when you begin from the premise that it’s OK to be different, then it naturally follows that appearances aren’t always what they seem. What might look like scary monsters are actually good guys. For those new to “Who,” the black—clad paramilitary- uniformed troops we see on the scene are part of U.N.I.T., aka the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. In spite of their sin— ister attire in “The Star Beast,” they’re typically allies of the Doctor (when they’re not being Daily at 4:30 6:45 Plus Sat/Sun matinee at 2:15 manipulated by villainous forc- es). Ruth Madeley is a welcome new addition as Shirley Bing- ham, the group’s latest scien- tific adviser (a post the Doctor himself once held). ’ For fellow longtime Who- vians, the new central console room ofthe TARDIS is already my all-time favorite, as it com- bines the pristine, streamlined futurism of the original’series with the open-ended complexity and expansiveness of the mod— ern TARDIS interiors, most no— tably the Eleventh Doctor’s “e1- egant mess” of a jack-o’-lantern. I love the Spiraling catwalks and the multiple portals, per- haps as much as writers Pat Mills and John Wagner, and artist Dave Gibbons, appar~ ently appreciate how well'“The Star Beast” adapted what was originally their 1980s comic strip story for “Doctor Who Weekly” magazine. Look for parts two and three of this trilogy “Wild Blue Yonder” and “The Giggle” —— on the Saturdays of Dec. 2 and 9 on Disney+, which should cul- minate with Ncuti Gatwa tak- ing over as the newest “Doctor Who.” 1 m rm Alum mwumm u m Trolls Band Together Daily at 4:40 6:40 (No 4:40 showing Friday 12/1) Plus Sat/Sun matinee at 2:30