Who-related Rants: GOOOO
Oh, hey, look: an LJ. And it appears to be mine. Perhaps I should bother to make use of it. (And therefore help procrastinate on sleep, because that makes sense.)
Too bad I'm really bad at thinking of worthwhile things to say. (Key word: "worthwhile.")
BUT, on to what this particular rant-based post is about: Doctor Who, David Tennant, and Torchwood.
1) I'm seriously getting sick of people hating on Matt Smith--and especially since most people only support the claim with the reasoning "he's not pretty." It's as though people believe that a continuing trait in the Doctor is good looks-which makes no sense and isn't supported by the show's history, as I know it. I think the only understandable argument against him is his age, since he's the youngest Doctor in the history of the show and Peter Davison, the second-youngest, has spoken about how he felt he didn't quite feel old enough to play the Doctor.
But, that doesn't change the fact that Smith was chosen out of a large pool of applicants--meaning he must be a very good actor and a very good fit for the Doctor.
Basically, I just wish people could wait until he's done at least a full episode before they start attacking him for "ruining Doctor Who," as I've seen a few people claim. It's ridiculous-like how FOX kept criticizing Obama a day into his presidency, or how some people began petitioning to impeach Obama after only a couple of months in office.
(Also, [warning: spoilers for the fifth series trailer up ahead] why do people keep yelling at Matt Smith for the fact the Doctor has a firearm in the trailer? I understand that people are upset about the Doctor, an established pacifist [ignoring a few emotion-filled moments *coughNINEcough*], firing a gun, but it's not as though Smith decided to do it on a whim. Assuming that the context of the clip involves the Doctor actively violating his swearing off of guns [i.e. he doesn't use it as he did in The End of Time or in Bad Wolf], the gun is there because the writers put it there-it's in no way Smith's fault.)
2) Small section ahead. Just wanted to broadcast my disappointment over the fact that David Tennant used an American accent in the Rex Is Not Your Lawyer pilot. Such a shame. And I hope that NBC decides to at least air the pilot (preferably soon), since I'm quite curious about how the premise plays out. (Not to mention I'm now weirdly curious about how he sounds with the American accent... According to a few blogs and websites I visited, apparently it's quite good.)
3) Apparently Torchwood may end up with its own American spin-off.
I really don't know what to think of this.
On one hand, apparently the production team from the original series will still be in charge--which means that it's not going to be straight-up remake of the series, and that's always a plus. (It pains me to think of what ABC did to Life on Mars. Has no one heard of originality?) It's also supposed to take a more international approach than the original series, which mostly focused on Cardiff/the UK. And John Barrowman might even step in as Captain Jack for a few episodes-or maybe even as one of the main characters. It sounds like the premise could add a new dimension to the Torchwood universe, in a way-and perhaps a few cameos could be worked in both ways.
But, on the other hand, the show's being developed by FOX. How can you have Torchwood without the sex, gore, and general craziness that can't hope to get past US censors? ... Actually, I think a loss of a certain amount of gore/sex would be fine (and understandable). Episode two of series one was kind of ridiculous, and Countrycide, while extremely engaging and entertaining, was a bit nauseating at times. But, my main worry is how they'd deal with Captain Jack. FOX isn't quite known for being very open-minded when it comes to bisexuality and the like, and Captain Jack isn't Captain Jack without his omnisexuality and promiscuity. (On the bright side, John Barrowman would most likely step out of the series if Captain Jack's nature were compromised in such a way [i.e. toned down and stripped of his sexuality], especially if the only reason for it were homophobia. On the not-so-bright side, that might mean they'd just cast a different actor as Captain Jack, which would essentially result in a straight-laced impostor parading around in Captain Jack's jacket.) But, since this is just a remake/spin-off combination of the original series, I don't think FOX's habit of dropping sci-fi series really will affect this in a way that'll upset the fans, unless it's ridiculously good. At least it would draw new viewers to the original series (softening the blow for them) and the old fans are left secure, knowing that this spin-off can't really tarnish the original series in any way.
All in all, I'm curious. I don't want to make any outright judgments yet, since basically nothing is known about it at the moment (a pilot hasn't even been written yet), but part of me is hesitantly hopeful. The other part just wants the entire thing to crash and burn, so then I can watch and laugh over the terrible "translation" of the show. Either way, I will be watching it if it's shown/made/what-have-you.
Aaaaand I do believe that's the end of this. Woohoo. If you were able to suffer through that, you deserve some sort of medal. Srsly.
This may be edited/expanded upon/what-have-you later. At the moment, it's 5:30 AM and I'm pretty sure I should be going to sleep or something.
Too bad I'm really bad at thinking of worthwhile things to say. (Key word: "worthwhile.")
BUT, on to what this particular rant-based post is about: Doctor Who, David Tennant, and Torchwood.
1) I'm seriously getting sick of people hating on Matt Smith--and especially since most people only support the claim with the reasoning "he's not pretty." It's as though people believe that a continuing trait in the Doctor is good looks-which makes no sense and isn't supported by the show's history, as I know it. I think the only understandable argument against him is his age, since he's the youngest Doctor in the history of the show and Peter Davison, the second-youngest, has spoken about how he felt he didn't quite feel old enough to play the Doctor.
But, that doesn't change the fact that Smith was chosen out of a large pool of applicants--meaning he must be a very good actor and a very good fit for the Doctor.
Basically, I just wish people could wait until he's done at least a full episode before they start attacking him for "ruining Doctor Who," as I've seen a few people claim. It's ridiculous-like how FOX kept criticizing Obama a day into his presidency, or how some people began petitioning to impeach Obama after only a couple of months in office.
(Also, [warning: spoilers for the fifth series trailer up ahead] why do people keep yelling at Matt Smith for the fact the Doctor has a firearm in the trailer? I understand that people are upset about the Doctor, an established pacifist [ignoring a few emotion-filled moments *coughNINEcough*], firing a gun, but it's not as though Smith decided to do it on a whim. Assuming that the context of the clip involves the Doctor actively violating his swearing off of guns [i.e. he doesn't use it as he did in The End of Time or in Bad Wolf], the gun is there because the writers put it there-it's in no way Smith's fault.)
2) Small section ahead. Just wanted to broadcast my disappointment over the fact that David Tennant used an American accent in the Rex Is Not Your Lawyer pilot. Such a shame. And I hope that NBC decides to at least air the pilot (preferably soon), since I'm quite curious about how the premise plays out. (Not to mention I'm now weirdly curious about how he sounds with the American accent... According to a few blogs and websites I visited, apparently it's quite good.)
3) Apparently Torchwood may end up with its own American spin-off.
I really don't know what to think of this.
On one hand, apparently the production team from the original series will still be in charge--which means that it's not going to be straight-up remake of the series, and that's always a plus. (It pains me to think of what ABC did to Life on Mars. Has no one heard of originality?) It's also supposed to take a more international approach than the original series, which mostly focused on Cardiff/the UK. And John Barrowman might even step in as Captain Jack for a few episodes-or maybe even as one of the main characters. It sounds like the premise could add a new dimension to the Torchwood universe, in a way-and perhaps a few cameos could be worked in both ways.
But, on the other hand, the show's being developed by FOX. How can you have Torchwood without the sex, gore, and general craziness that can't hope to get past US censors? ... Actually, I think a loss of a certain amount of gore/sex would be fine (and understandable). Episode two of series one was kind of ridiculous, and Countrycide, while extremely engaging and entertaining, was a bit nauseating at times. But, my main worry is how they'd deal with Captain Jack. FOX isn't quite known for being very open-minded when it comes to bisexuality and the like, and Captain Jack isn't Captain Jack without his omnisexuality and promiscuity. (On the bright side, John Barrowman would most likely step out of the series if Captain Jack's nature were compromised in such a way [i.e. toned down and stripped of his sexuality], especially if the only reason for it were homophobia. On the not-so-bright side, that might mean they'd just cast a different actor as Captain Jack, which would essentially result in a straight-laced impostor parading around in Captain Jack's jacket.) But, since this is just a remake/spin-off combination of the original series, I don't think FOX's habit of dropping sci-fi series really will affect this in a way that'll upset the fans, unless it's ridiculously good. At least it would draw new viewers to the original series (softening the blow for them) and the old fans are left secure, knowing that this spin-off can't really tarnish the original series in any way.
All in all, I'm curious. I don't want to make any outright judgments yet, since basically nothing is known about it at the moment (a pilot hasn't even been written yet), but part of me is hesitantly hopeful. The other part just wants the entire thing to crash and burn, so then I can watch and laugh over the terrible "translation" of the show. Either way, I will be watching it if it's shown/made/what-have-you.
Aaaaand I do believe that's the end of this. Woohoo. If you were able to suffer through that, you deserve some sort of medal. Srsly.
This may be edited/expanded upon/what-have-you later. At the moment, it's 5:30 AM and I'm pretty sure I should be going to sleep or something.