Is It Any Good?

Step Back (And Forwards) In Time with Doctor Who

30 Jun 2008

 Sci-fi nerds are excited. Should you be too? Doctor Who has rematerialised on Sunday nights on ABC1. And in last night's episode our Kylie helped the good Doctor battle evil androids. On the Titantic. In Space. As you do.

This is the fourth season of new Dr Who – relaunched by the BBC in 2005 after being exterminated in 1989 - but the much spruiked casting of Kylie Minogue in the first up Christmas Special titled ‘Voyage Of The Damned’ may well have seen some Australian viewers give the revamped show a first look.

And it’s an ideal introduction to the Time Lord’s latest incarnation portrayed by David Tennant.

‘Voyage Of The Damned’ is an unashamed romp paying cheeky homage to the likes of 1970s disaster movies such as The Poseidon Adventure. You know the drill. Calamity strikes. A motley band of survivors rely on each other to survive. Some are brave. Some cowardly. Some live. Some die. The fun’s in guessing who gets offed, and when.

Kylie acquits herself well as Astrid Peth and gets into the spirit of things to such an extent it’s difficult not to warm to her performance once the initial response of “It’s Kylie!” ceases after 10 minutes or so. She may even be a better actor than singer. Unkind souls will say this isn’t difficult. It’s not giving too much away to reveal Kylie’s appearance is a bit of one-off stunt casting for the series. British comedian Catherine Tate joins Tennant as his new regular TARDIS traveling companion for next week’s episode ‘Partners In Crime’ and beyond.

Tate – star of The Catherine Tate Show, also airing on ABC1 at the moment – initially grates as the Doc’s latest offsider as she’s too SHOUTY and try hard but by mid-season something unexpected happens. Her character Donna Noble morphs into someone to care about. She’s actually the best of the new Who companions to date. A big achievement for Tate considering she doesn’t fit the glamour doll archetype of most previous companions.

Tennant’s Doctor is pitch perfect. He’s up there with mad old Tom Baker (he of the long multi-coloured scarf) as best ever Doctor. Tennant doesn’t have the eccentric appearance to out bug-eye the aliens he fights on a weekly basis as Baker did; but he brings youth, charisma and a sense of humour to the party. He’s a self confessed old school Who fan so the role is in safe hands and his enthusiasm means he can carry the show when the occasional misjudged episode airs.

Episode 6 - ‘The Doctor’s Daughter’ - for example is so laughably wrong that regular Who watchers may fear the show has ‘nuked the fridge (‘jumped the shark’ has jumped the shark…) but it’s thankfully an aberration in what is otherwise another excellent season of time traveling adventures.

ABC has scheduled this series of Doctor Who to run on Sunday evenings. Don’t watch Big Brother. Or 60 Minutes. Coax your inner child out from behind the couch from whence it hid when you watched old Who. Spend some time with the Doctor and the Daleks. And Sontarans. And Ood.

Forget about reality and indulge in a top class piece of escapism every Sunday evening. Postpone being confronted by the dreary reality of selfish malcontents, feckless arseholes and holier-than-thou social commentators until the working week begins on Monday mornings.

Let a Doctor banish any Sunday night blues for the next 14 weeks.

Back to listing