I vaguely remember watching the older series on Gold. Back then I didn't really take any notice of what the programme was trying to convey, or pay any attention to the Dr's progression or story arcs etc. It was a silly programm I watched on a Sunday morning. A hangover cure. Since it has been re-invented I have taken more notice of the structure and the stories. It started off really badly - with hindsight. But as it has developed It has improved. I really like what it has become. The 'sexual tension' element has been removed with Matt smiths incarnation, as they had a married couple involved, and the Dr was married himself. Perhaps the Dr's marriage has not worked the entire time (pardon the pun) - but it has made it a little more complicated, and interesting. I do (or did) think the media made more of the supposed sexual tension in recent times than the actual programme did. It has been good they have gone with the married couple, and the love between them - than any hint of a romance with the Dr. I also prefer the fact the current series has focused on individual stories, rather than try and extend a story arc over one series to another. I look frwd to the christmas special. :love:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5iwoRA2Cas"]DOCTOR WHO New Season 2012 Teaser Trailer s7 - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7YGoVyRSik&feature=relmfu"]DOCTOR WHO New Season Fall 2012 Trailer Series 7 - YouTube It's almost like I picked a terrible e.g
i'd reccomend revisiting some of the old series, if you can see past the special effects etc and try to see 'em for more than just their kitsch value, theres a lot to like. i'd particularly reccomend genesis of the daleks and the caves of androsani (which is written in the style of jacobean tragedy, which i thought was a nice touch) Matt smith's incarnation has gone a long way to dispel the sexual tension crap (although there are still residual hints of it in his relationship with amy, and i find the tension between him and river song to be just as irritating.) i've not been digging this latest series all that much, tbh. particularly the first episode. maybe it'll kick up a gear soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQXOx2lYnA4"]Back To The Future III trailer - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7_G3M8MVss"]Jurassic Park Blu-Ray Trailer Exclusive HD - YouTube
Well, I passed on approx 20 years worh of Dr Who episodes to an American friend - I await it's return. I do appreciate what you are saying. I don't dismiss the entire run. I just think it takes a lot of effort to sit through 3-4 episodes of one story. Accumilating approx 3-4 hours of TV. Perhaps my attention span needs improvement. That was the key reason I can't really watch them. I found it a bit too much to bare. Too many false cliff hangers and really bad acting. I do think the bones of many of the stories were good. The River Song element started well - but yeah, I hope it's not done to death in future.
haha, yeah, i knew you were a stewart lee fan (right on) was wondering if that vid might be posted. yeah i love stewart lee, but (naturally) i don't agree with what he thinks (or pretends to think) about everything. this is one point on which we completely differ (assuming he isn't simply being ironic, i hope, and am pretty sure tha, he is, at least to acertain extent.) if its a choice between being lumped in with people who read something for enjoyment, even if someone else has deemed that it is innapropriate for them, or being one of those twats who sits in starbucks and flashes the cover of their pristine edition of dostoyevsky at the passing ladies while trying to look deep (not noticing that they're holding it upside down), i'd choose the potterfiles every time. implying that people who read for enjoyment things which other people have decided they should not be enjoying should only do so IN PRIVATE lest their lack of taste offends the liberal intelligentsia is absurd. why the hell should they be ashamed? this is simply snobbery, cultural elitism. when people criticise a trend in literature they generally accuse people of a sort of cultural conformity, not realising that really the prevailing taste consensus has always been the highbrow/lowbrow thing. more people should read harry potter on the train, let personal taste win out over snobbery, destroy this absurd "mass culture" dichotomy and therefore be able to evaluate things more critically. READ HARRY POTTER ON THE TRAIN! EVEN IF YOU HATE IT! GIVE CAMUS AND KAFKA AND VOLTAIRE TO YOUR CHILDREN AND READ THE HUNGRY HUNGRY CATERPILLER ON THE BUS YOURSELF! FUCK THE SNOBS! but i also have read the collected works of poet and visionary william blake (my laptop is resting on the complete illuminated verses) so fuck off. (no offence )
You make good points but none of this makes up for the fact that Harry Potter is a very poorly written, banal, anodyne waste of time...
well, i can't answer banal and anodyne, as those are pretty much subjective, as for waste of time well, most fiction books are, really, they certainly aren't in any way constructive. but poorly written... do you mean structurally, or in terms of style?
i know very little about the hunger games, never having read the books or seen the movie, although i once argued for quite a while with a friend that they were NOT (necessarily) a simple battle royale ripoff. i'm told they feature a strong female protagonist though, which is unfortunately rare in genre fiction, so i'm all in favour.
I think the 'battle royale ripoff' is a little lazy. The books do contain a strong female protagonist. Which I take as secondary to a good story.
I wouldn't agree that good fiction is a waste of time. I think 'anodyne' is pretty much her intention (and the reason they have such wide appeal), 'banal' is fair and objective comment given their entire lack of originality in plot and characterisation and their mawkish, cloying sentimentality, and as for the obviously poor writing I mean that they're clearly shit
aye, its not really a ripoff, its just part of the same narrative trend, might as well call it a 10th victim ripoff, or a running man ripoff, or even a year of the sex olympics ripoff. aye, its not necessarily central, its just good to see, strong female protagonists aren't as plentiful as they should be. poring over books as a young girl, looking for a heroine who isn't a complete bloody waste of space must be quite a chore.
I would disagree with that too. Reading a worthwhile novel or poem or watching a great drama can be inspiring, moving, it can awaken the intellect and fire the imagination. All of which are constructive ways to spend your time.
