Nemesis by contrast...was a disaster of Star Trek V levels, but without any of the charm that makes you forgive V it's failings. And say what you like about Shatner, on some level he understands what made TOS so great.
Yeah.
Star Trek V has its problems. (The sets are over-lit. The special effects are shitty. Uhura does a naked fan dance 20 years after anyone actually wanted to see her do a naked fan dance. Captain Kirk wrestles a 3-breasted cat-woman. And is searching for God an appropriate subject for the devoutly athiestic
Star Trek?) But at the same time, the Kirk/Spock/McCoy triumvirate just charms the hell out of me every time I watch it!
The DW 50th anniversary, like anything, will delight some, piss off others (though the ones that will be pissed off are the fans that want to act like 1981 was the paragon of Who and everything post-2005 sucks) and leave others ambivalent. There's no way that it can match the hype. But I will say that even I have this weird feeling about it, like they haven't done as much as they could have to take advantage of this opportunity and will try to cover it using "sight cameos."
Agreed. This should feel like a hugely satisfying tribute to the show's massive 50 year history. But instead, it seems like they're just using it as an excuse to pander to the 10th Doctor/Rose 'shippers. And then wasting valuable time creating this new fake Doctor when you've got a criminally underused Paul McGann just sitting there!
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe, despite the lack of actual major appearances by pre-2005 characters, they'll still manage to hit the right tone of honoring the classic series while also not subjecting us to the grim realization of just how old Tom Baker, Peter Davison, & Colin Baker are. I suppose I should have some faith in Steven Moffat. He & I have generally been on the same page over the years (concerning both
Doctor Who &
Sherlock).
And I suppose I should remember that "The Three Doctors" was an excellent story even though it wasn't full of naval-gazing & continuity porn. If the internet had been around in 1973, I suppose we'd all be complaining about how they only managed to bring back Patrick Troughton for the 10th anniversary, with no appearances by Jamie or Susan or Ian or Barbara, etc.
I love Warriors' Gate, The Keeper of Traken, and Logopolis, all of which were broadcast in 1981. Season 18 is one of my favorites!
My favorite of the E-Space trilogy is "Full Circle." I like the notion of just how far things have evolved over the years and that Adric is a descendant of the swamp people. The design of the marsh men is also quite well done.
"State of Decay" just kinda sits there. It's a horror pastiche but it lacks that Robert Holmes magic touch that made all the earlier horror pastiches work.
I don't understand "Warrior's Gate" at all.
"The Keeper of Traken" has it's moments but there are also bits of that story that I don't understand. In particular, I don't get the Melkur. I mean, I know it's really just the Master's TARDIS in disguise but I don't get what the people of Traken think it's supposed to be. It's one of those stories that I just have a hard time following while I'm watching it because I always feel 2-steps behind (kinda like "Ghost Light").
"Logopolis" is just tired because you can tell that Tom Baker is tired and has already mentally checked out of the show.
Actually, my favorite story from Season 18 is probably "Meglos." I think it's got a lot of really solid guest stars, and it looks like Tom Baker was in a good mood that month when they shot it.
