Tom Baker and the Mortality of Heroes

When I was young the Doctor was my hero.  Not just any Doctor but Tom Baker as the Doctor. There was something soothing about his melodic tones.  Something that reminded me that everything would be all right.  He was in the universe defeating the monsters and the injustice so that I didn't have to.  He inspired me to be strange and goofy if I wanted to, but also reminded me that I could be serious too.  He convinced me that I should keep full pockets of trinkets because you never know when you might need one of them.  He taught me how to make an entrance at the most inopportune time.  He taught me there was a time to fight for what you believe in, but also to make the best decisions I could while doing it.  He taught me all of that in season 12.

The Fourth Doctor - Image Copyright BBC

Tom Baker defined the role of the Doctor in my mind when I was very young.  He defined it in season 12. That is a near perfect season of the show.  For me it is what I judge all other seasons against, and to be honest, all other actors who are in the role.

Last night I had the opportunity to watch the Directors Cut of "Genesis of the Daleks" at my local theater.  The cut was put together in 1975 and it is rough, the edits seem hastily put together, incidental music is cut off, and the story is mostly able to be followed.  That said it did take a story that is nearly 3 hours long and condense it down to 90 minutes, which is no simple feat.  Its not perfect, but it was super fun to see it on a big screen.  Its great that we live in a time that you can go to a theater and see a 43 year old Doctor Who serial presented in a way that hadn't been seen in some time.

The thing that has been bothering me though, is an interview with Tom Baker at the end of the production.  We get the opportunity to see Tom be candid about the show, people involved in it, and more importantly, his mortality.

Tom drives home many of the answers to the interviewers questions with fun anecdotes from when he got the job and how the people around him reacted.  He looks back at how much life he had - how exciting it was to be him at that very moment.  He also mentioned mistakes he made toward the end of his tenure as the Doctor.  It is clear he has thought a lot about his time on the show quite a lot over the last 43 years.

And that brings me to his thoughts on his own mortality.  This is hard to watch.  Tom is well into his 80s at this point, so he is not young.  He knows this.  It seems to be a part of his whole being when he speaks.  It feels like he is jumping back in to the Doctor Who world long enough to get his feet wet and to enjoy some of that youthful exuberance that he once had.  He has been pounding out the Audio Adventures with Big Finish over the last several years, and of course he made that beloved appearance in the day of the Doctor -

Tom Baker as The Fourth Doctor in the recent
release of Shada- Image Copyright BBC

Taking a step back and thinking about a much younger version of myself watching and re watching VHS tapes that were recorded off of our local PBS station.  I watched Tom Baker story after story, week after week,  fight tyranny and stand of what what was right.  I realized then (and now) that these are stories, but it doesn't change the fact that it is difficult watching this fictionalized hero that walks in eternity age. and watch him be tragically aware of this own mortality.

Tom Baker defines so much of my character.  The time I spent watching his adventures as a child and into adulthood is immeasurable.  I was inspired by him.  I continue to be a fan of Doctor Who, in no small part, because of his contribution to the show.  So much of what I latched on to comes from him.

Don't get me wrong, I think we have a lot more Tom Baker to come. But it is difficult to watch your childhood hero be so aware of his mortality, but I know there is a small part of me that is so heavily inspired by the man.  I will always appreciate him for that!     


     

Capaldi and the art of purging fans!

I feel like I have to write this post.  I know after yesterday everyone even remotely associated with Doctor Who has posted, or tweeted, or somethinged about the announcement of Peter Capaldi (I've got to get used to spelling that), but I wanted to put my two cents into the ring.

I'm not going to say much about the choice of Capaldi other that I think it was a great choice.  I am 100 % behind this decision (at the moment) I think this is a dream job for Capaldi as he has been a documented long time show of the franchise, he has a history with it, and I think he will treat it well.  I am excited to see what he does with the character.



The big thing that I feel forces me to post on the topic is this.  Peter Capaldi is the same age that William Hartnell was when he played the doctor, which puts him as being one of the oldest actors to portray our favorite timelord.  This has been a point of contention.  I think It always has.  When Doctor Who was created they didn't really know what it was.  The titular character of the doctor wasn't really the hero, that was left to the lead male companion (Ian).  But the role changed over the years and the character of the doctor became more than just the catalyst for the companions to go from crazy adventure to crazier adventure.  So finding and actor that could be a bit more versatile began to be an important part of casting decisions The doctor began to be a bit younger, but still in their forties and they were semi established actors.

When Peter Davison took over he was young, there was a lot of concern about having a doctor that was so young.  Then the doctor got to be a bit older again as the next two incarnations came and went!

Then the new series hit.  Christopher Eccleston was solidly in his forties and then David Tennant got a bit younger in his thirties, and then Matt Smith in his twenties.  All of that is OK!  The actors did their job perfectly, but with the younger actors came the change in the fanbase.  The old fans still, for the most part, supported the show and enjoyed the fiction that was being created.  Much of the new fanbase was also enjoying the show as well! There was, however another contingent.  The contingent who could care less about the stories being told.  The people who watched the shoe primarily for the personalities, the actors who were playing the parts.  Perhaps for the "Eye Candy!"

This is the group of fans who are saying "IF they go with an older doctor I'll stop watching"  A statement which I find shallow and insulting.  A statement that proves my point, that people were not interested in the fiction being created.  They were not interested in the stories being told, but were concerned only about who they were watching.  You can't honestly tell me that you love a show and are willing to drop it as soon as someone you don't approve of gets the job.

Here is an example of one such disgruntled fan:



The point of this post is really an observation that there are a lot of fans of the new series who are in the fandom, going to conventions, dressing up, and they don't even care about the franchise.  They don't care about the stories, they are petty and shallow.  What do they add?  Do they care about the harritage of the show?  Do they know/care about the wilderness years?

I want to point out that I am generalizing a bit.  I honestly believe this is a small part of new Who fandom.  And I recognize that the new show can not survive on classic series fans alone.  I love new series fans, but what I don't appreciate are  the people that are so shallow that they won't stick around long enough to give an older actor a chance.

Yeah there is a chip on my shoulder!

What are your thoughts about this kind of fandom, about Peter Capaldi being cast as the next doctor, or anything else related, let us know in the comments below!

Loving the Enemy or my fascination with the Ice warriors

This is an exciting year for Doctor Who fans, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention it.  So I'll be remiss, because I want to talk about something else happening to Doctor Who this weekend, something that is very exciting for me.  The Ice Warriors are back.

Those of you that know me or have read any of my Doctor Who Posts on this blog know that I have an unhealthy liking for the Ice Warriors.  But I don't believe I have ever taken the time to explain why.  In this post I am going to do that, In celebration of the return of the Ice Warriors I am going to let every one know why I love these second tier icy bad guys of the Whoniverse.

I got my introduction to the Ice warriors when I was very young with the Pertwee story the Curse of Peladon.  This story has all of the elements I love in my sci-fi.  A vast Space operatic federation, with intrigue, alien races, schemes, murder and a big fury monster.  Within all of that though is a morality tale about racial discrimination.  This story includes the Ice Warriors (or more accurately Martians)  as part of the grand Galactic Federation.  They are pitted to be the bad guy throughout most of the story, and the Doctor doesn't trust them, because he has encountered them before.  But these Ice Warriors are not the bad guys, and in a way they even turn out to be the heroes by saving the Doctor.

The story was great and had a great atmosphere but what I took away from it over 25 years ago is that the Ice Warriors (and Ice Lords) are awesome.  I had never experienced a story, at least in Doctor Who, where the monster turns out to be the good guy, where the Doctor misjudged someone based on his past history with their race.  Now that is not to say that it hadn't happened but I hadn't thought about it like that at my age.  The story really spoke to me and so did the Ice Warriors.

Unfortunately this is the only time (on TV) that the Ice Warriors have been treated like this.  They were the villains in their previous 2 stories, and again in the sequel to Peladon, and unfortunately we never saw them again on the show.  They have however shown up in novels and Big Finish audios and they have shown up as both the villains and the allies of the Doctor, and this is always exciting.

This Idea that an alien race can have the same sensibilities as the human race really captured me as a kid and still does now.  The idea that there are good Ice Warriors and Bad Ice Warriors is stunning to me.  

Now all of that leads me to mention "Cold War" which is going to air this weekend and bring back the Ice Warriors after nearly a 40 year absence from our TV screens.  The images of the Ice Warrior that we have seen so far are pretty amazing.  They are really going back to the roots of making them viking like with some of the small designs in the costume, while at the same time staying very true to the design.  The story, however is what I am most curious about

This story is a historical and appears to be taking place on a submarine.  I have a feeling it is going to harken back more to the Second doctor's encounters with the Ice warriors, in which there is an ancient Ice warrior who came to earth from Mars during our Ice age and has been rediscovered and hence re awakened.  The Ice Warrior will be the villain in this story.  While it is not the way I would bring the Ice Warriors back (I would bring back the Galactic federation and all of it's space opera glory!) I feel it will not let us down as being a good trapped inside with a monster story.

I look forward to this story and hopefully it will be successful enough to bring the Ice Warriors back the way they should be brought back, with their honor in tact!

Just as a note for those of you who don't know my name of the internet has been Izlear for about 15 years now.  This of course hearkens back to Izlyr, the Ice lord from the Curse of Peladon.    


Why do you love the monsters you love in Doctor Who or any other show you love.  Leave your thoughts in the comments below!      

Media Dissection!?!?

Last night my wife and I went to see the New James Bond movie.  It was a decent enough movie but that is not the purpose of this post.  When the movie was over, I wanted to talk about it, analyze the pros and cons of the movie, debate weather the villain was a good bond villain.  My wife didn't tO the point where she said "I just want to watch a movie and enjoy it, I don't want to analyze it."  So then that got me thinking, have I become such a fanboy that I can't watch a movie, enjoy it, and then simply turn it off.  I'm not sure!

For me, talking about movies has always been just as important as watching the movie!  When I was young and my parents would take me to the movies when we walked out I wanted to talk about the movie we just watched.  That might be me talking about a fight scene I liked or it might be talking about how a character was, but I always talked abut it.  Heck it might have been ralking about a trailer I had seen.  That interaction  was important to me.

I think as I have grown up, the concept of talking about the media I consume has become even more important to me.  I suppose in a way it seems like a waste of time to simply watch a movie, TV show, or even read a book if you can't analyze it with friends.  This dissection has become the pivot point of my fandom, and maybe fandom in general.  The concept of discussion and analyzing the things we consume is. for me, the central idea of fandom. 

I have said it before, that my favorite part of a convention is sitting on a panel and talking to the other people on the panel, and people in the room about what they think about something.  The whirl wind of opinions give credence to the concepts and stories that the writers put forward.  As fans isn't it kind of our job to dissect these things?  I'm honestly don't think I react to anything else as much as I react to a good discussion of the merits (or flaws) or somethuing that I really like (or don't like)

Take the wheel of time (or any epic book series) for instance.  I could not imagine reading those books in a vacuum.  It would be impossible for me to read that last word and then just put it down and be happy that I had read it.  The act of reading and consuming these media has been about building community for me.  I can't imagine reading the last "Wheel of Time" book (that will be coming out in the early part of next year) without the community that has become something akin to a support group to me.  The community becomes just as important (if not more important) than the media itself.

And that idea of fan community of course has evolved from people sitting in living rooms discussing things they love to doing it at conventions and gatherings, but of course then it moved to the internet.  Forums and facebook pages, and even blogs like this one has become a way for me to express the things I like and talk about them with a much larger community.  The idea of consuming media without a community is almost foreign to me now.  

How do you consume media and participate in enjoying it,  do you watch and consume in a vacuum, being happy that you had the opportunity to have that media and then leave it at that?  Or do you dissect it and let it become more to you than just something that is turned off.  Let me know I really want to know how the media you consume effects you!          

Why I'm a Fan

As just about any reader knows I like Doctor Who. I can’t remember not liking Doctor Who. I’ve been thinking a lot about why we like things that we like, and Doctor Who Seemed like a good starting point.

Thinking about the things I like. . . the major things that I like . . . they all stem from childhood. Nostalgia plays a huge part. I find that I am constantly striving to pull on thread that runs from childhood through to adulthood. I surround myself with parts of my childhood, probably in an attempt to not loose said childhood. Of course, all of this “climbing a thread from my childhood” ends in a lot of clutter, and extra stuff. Collections I can’t let go of, and buying up parts of my childhood that I want to preserve. The line of logic usually goes back to “But I want my kids to have them when/if I ever have kids” When In the back of my mind I know I would never let my kids play with them.

Now, Fandom has also been an interesting journey for me. The earliest form of any sort of organized fandom for me involved me asking my dad questions about Doctor Who. Of course, this quickly switched to my dad asking me questions about Doctor Who. My dad of course is probably the reason I am the person I am with fandom. Now, he is by no means a super fan. But he is also more than a casual viewer. Some of my earliest memories are of being with my dad and watching doctor who, or playing with toys, or looking at books about things that I still like. He encouraged the love that I have for these things. So in a way, even though I am lucky enough to still have my father, these childhood franchises that I hang on to is not only a connection to my childhood, but it is also a connection to my father. In one way it’s a point of reference that I can communicate to him about, and on another level it is a part of me that I know I will always share with my dad. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I can feel my dad when I watch Doctor Who, or pick up a Masters of the Universe figure, and I hope to always have that!

So, My purpose for fandom is nostalgia and also the memories it conjures for my Dad. I think it is probably more complicated than that, but those are the reasons I feel it is important for me. Why is fandom important to you? why are the franchises that you follow important to you. Why does it just make sense to be a fan?

R.I.P Outpost Gallifrey

Yesterday, Outpost Gallifrey announced it was closing the News and forums sections of their website. The Outpost has been a major influence on Doctor Who fandom over the last several years. It has united a fanbase that is spread all around the world. It has united people with common interests. For me it was my first exposure to other people who knew and loved doctor who.
It taught me about being a fan. I know that probably sounds a bit ridiculous, but it is true. I learned that there were other people like me. Other people whon knew far more than I did, and that I was a part of their community. I could interact with the "major" fans and even the authors of (at the time) the Doctor who books that were being published. . . even Steven Moffat, who is now the producer of the show. It created comunity.

Now, let me say that I respect the decision of Shaun Lyon, the founder of the site, of steping back. I have to say I have to question why he doesn't just hand it off, I supose there is a true (and rightfully so) sense of ownership and that it would be hard to see some one else running things, but the Outpost is a HUGE community.

Shaun maintains that other communities will rise up, I agree. My concern is in the word "Communities." This is Plural, meaning multiple. Fandom will split. Its hard enough to maintain fandom as it is (which is alrady split) but now taking a huge group of fans and saying "ok go find somewhere else to comune, you can's stay here anymore" and then not helping them find a place.

I am sure communities will grow out of this. Really good communities, but I think there will be several really good communities and the comradery that has been had in the Outpost, will be lost. I am comfidant that something GREAT will come out of this, but at the same time I am sad because of the nastalgia that the Outpost has for me. I have had a great time, and will remember that time fondly.