Doctor Who

Doctor Who is guaranteed to generate a reaction from anyone in science fiction. It would since it was a show that ran from 1963–1989, produced by the BBC. It ends up being one of the longest running science fiction television series in the world.

Whether you like it or not, Doctor Who has been recognized for it imaginative stories, creative low-budget specials effects and the pioneering use of electronic music. The opening theme, I believe, is known to almost anyone nowadays.

Around the world, Doctor Who has become a cult favourite, at times surpassing Star Trek and Star Wars. At the same time over the past few generations, British television writers have been influenced by the series.

For me, what makes Doctor Who work is the basic premise. “The Doctor” is a mysterious time-travelling adventurer who can explore time and space with his ‘space ship’ called the TARDIS. He would take on companions and go about the universe fighting evil and injustice.

Initially the programme was intended to be educational and focused on family viewing. The original idea was to present stories set during important periods of human history. So The Doctor went to the French Revolution and the Roman Empire. And met historical figures like Genghis Khan. The stories set in the future or outer space was designed to help enlighten children about science.

Thing was, the science fiction stories started to dominate the series. The historical stories were not popular with the production team. So the history lessons were dropped with the first couple of years. Historical settings were now used a backdrop for science fiction stories.

Excluding the original, open-ended concept of Doctor Who, the producers used an innovative way to tell stories. Each of the weekly episodes formed part of a story, basically a series of several parts. So a story may span four episodes while another would span 6. This allowed the writers to explore a story without the strictures of an artificial time slot.

Some stories covered longer story arcs. The Daleks’ Master Plan aired in 12 episodes, while The Trial of the Time Lord ran for 14 episodes.

One of the trademarks of the serial feel of Doctor Who was that each episode within the story arc would end with a cliffhanger, usually the Doctor or one of his companions in danger. So the viewers would tune in the next week to see how they got out of the sticky mess.

And because of the ‘free’ format, this allowed the writers to explore various things. They could explore the dangers of cults to social issues to political commentary. Nothing seemed to be sacred for the writers of Doctor Who.

And quickly the program became a national institution in Britain. It became the subject of countless jokes, newspaper articles and popular culture references. Because of the popularity of the show, many renowned British actors asked for or accepted guest roles in different story lines.

From the beginning, the Doctor was shrouded in mystery. All that was given to the audience was that he was an eccentric alien traveller of great intelligence who battled injustice whilst exploring time and space. To do so, he had an old, unreliable time machine called the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension (or Dimensions) In Space).

The TARDIS is stuck in the shape of a 1950s-style British police box which has not changed over the long period of time Doctor Who spanned. Yet one could see it was much larger on the inside than on the outside.

From the onset, the Doctor was irascible and slightly sinister. But as the series progressed, he mellowed into a more compassionate figure. Eventually it was revealed he was on the run from his own people, the Time Lords of the planet Gallifrey. And it was revealed that other TARDISes had a “chameleon circuit” to disguise it but the Doctor’s TARDIS did not have a working circuit, so it always appeared as the blue police box.

In time, it was revealed that Time Lords had the ability to “regenerate” his body when near death. This simple device allowed the writers the convenient ability to recast the lead actor when need be. As of 2006, ten actors have played the part of the Doctor.

The other brilliant thing about regeneration is it allowed the Doctor to have his own quirks and abilities. So each actor could put their mark on the Doctor and the story lines could move from quirky and silly to dark and brooding.

Within the original run, it was hinted that a Time Lord can regenerate twelve times. For some people, this is canon while for others there is no solid evidence there is a definite number of times a Time Lord can regenerate.

Even with the changes in personality, the Doctor has always remained an intensely curious and highly moral character. He would rather solve problems with his wits and his sonic screwdriver and through the use of violence. Yet at time, through his actions or inaction, violence would occur, people died and it would affect the Doctor in different ways. One of the most famous lines goes something like: “There should have been another way”.

Because of the longevity of the show and different writers, certain revelations were made, like the number of possible regenerations. In The Brain of Morbius, it is hinted that the first Doctor may not have been his first incarnation.For the era of the seventh Doctor, it was hinted that he was more than just an ordinary Time Lord. And in the movie made in 1996, it was revealed the Doctor is actually half-human, on his mother’s side.

During the old run and now the new run, the Doctor almost always shares his adventures with companions. Sometimes he would have just one, while other times he could have three. The idea was to provide a surrogate with whom the audience could identify with. It allowed the writers to further the story by asking questions. Or create suspense with the companions getting into trouble.

Regularly, the Doctor gained new companions and lost old ones. Sometimes they would return home. Other times they would find a new cause or loves and move on. And the writers were bold enough to even have some die during the course of the series.

All too often, the companions were young, attractive women. But the show had a long standing “ban” on any overt romantic involvement between the Doctor and his female companions. Of course this has not prevent fans from speculating possible romantic involvements. This was extremely apparent with the fourth Doctor and his fellow Time Lord companion, Romana. But if anything happened, it was off-screen.

What made the companions interesting was that they were not all humans from Earth. He had a mechanical dog called K-9. Some were aliens were other planets or dimensions, like Leela, Adric, Turlough or Romanadvoratrelundar.

Of course we can’t have a show without the bad guys. From the beginning, they did not want to perpetuate the cliché of the “bug-eye monster” that pervaded the films of the 50’s. But all too quickly, monsters became a staple of Doctor Who.

Some of the notable adversaries in Doctor Who included Autons, the Cybermen, the Sontarans, the Sea Devils, the Ice Warriors, the Yeti and the Silurians. Yet the two that standout are The Master and the Daleks.

Of all of the villains created by Doctor Who, the Daleks were the creations which lodged into the psyche of the viewers from early on. They are mutants in tank-like mechanical armour from the planet Skaro. They appeared in the program’s second serial, The Daleks and have become the standard villain of Doctor Who.

The Daleks is a ruthless race bent on universal conquest and domination. They are utterly without pity, compassion or remorse. Their infamous catch-phrase was “Exterminate!” or “Ex-ter-min-ate!” with each syllable individually screeched in a breathless electronic voice. The salt and pepper look with their electronic voices made for one of the most unsettling villains which became a staple to copy from.

I came into the Doctor Who universe some what late. Thanks to my friend Mike, I started to watch some episodes and got hooked. Yes, the sets are cheesy, the effects silly and some of the monsters look like a man in a rubber suit, but like the original Star Trek, the stories were what pulled you in. There was mystery, there was wonder and often there was a story.

Be it Tom Baker with his long scarf and bug-eye wonder or Peter Davidson with his longing to help out or Sylvester McCoy with his vaudevillian movements, each Doctor had unique adventures and something to say.

Be it stories like The Happiness Patrol or Vengeance on Varos, writers could tackle aspects of political repression and the pressures of society to conform. Or The Warriors of the Deep showing the futility of warfare and misunderstandings, leading to a tragic ending. Or just simple murder mysteries like the Robots of Death or a vampire story like State of Decay. Any story could be told in the Doctor’s universe.

But throughout the old and new run of Doctor Who, there was always a sense of wonder and optimism which is missing in many of the current shows. In the midst of an escalating situation, the Doctor would always try to find a non-violent solution. There is always another way.

Yes, Doctor Who is not up to the standards set by Star Wars or Star Trek, but there is a heart and soul both often miss. Be it by torrents or DVDs, I highly recommend checking out Doctor Who. There are bad episodes, but which show doesn’t have them. But the Doctor is worth travelling with at any point of time and space.

George Lucas: A Hack

I am going to stay within the realm of science fiction for a little while. As you can tell from the title, I don’t have a high opinion of George Lucas. He may be a man with ideas and a good producer but after that, he is nothing more than a hack.

When the fourth Star Wars film came out, The Phantom Movie, one magazine had a shot of him and called him an überdirector. I was stunned and flabbergasted. Especially after I saw that piece of shit.

I will give Lucas his dues. He changed the landscape of film-making. And for me, generally for the bad. Don’t get me wrong, I love Star Wars (The New Hope) and The Empire Strikes Back. But then he lost it afterward.

Yet the media salivated whenever he spoke, like Bill Gates. Projects he was involved in made major bucks so he was a force in the industry.

Let us look at the output of the überdirector, over 30 odd years (1971 to 2005).

• Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
• Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
• Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
• Star Wars (1977)
• American Graffiti (1973)
• THX 1138 (1971)

Whereas his friend, Steven Spielberg did 26 films over the same time period. I know volume is not a determining factor in how good a director you are, but 7 films in 30 years? How does that make Lucas an überdirector?

The myth that has been generated around George Lucas is based on the projects he has been involved in, like the Indiana Jones series. People don’t realize he did not direct Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi, let alone the Indiana Jones series.

As a producer/executive producer he has been involved in over 40 projects. And the same can be said as a writer. So he has not been sitting on his butt doing nothing.

The main reason for my bitching about Lucas is two-fold: a lost opportunity and a wrong direction. Star Wars started with such promise. I can remember, one evening, after my friend Cathy and I had just seen Empire Strikes Back. We were pumped. We sat in the Old Dublin, with our pints, wondering who the other was and where Lucas was going with this trilogy. Then came Return of the Jedi.

Instead of a great denouement to a long story, I watched a hackneyed mixture of slapstick and T&A. The dark aspects introduced in ESB was dropped for cute Ewoks and a cackling Emperor. And we must not forget the chains and gold bikini.

Instead of a good story, we got eye-candy and a flimsy plot. Luke needed to return to see Yoda, who just ups and dies without finishing the training. We have little furry creatures dancing around the forest who can bring the Empire to it’s knees. We have a mediocre reunion between Luke and Darth, all culminating in a silly scene with bolts of lightning and a supposedly malevolent Emperor cackling for Luke to die.

Yet by this time, Lucas was starting to focus on, what I believe, is what Star Wars really is about: merchandising. That is what Lucas brought to film-making.

Merchandising wasn’t anything new. Star Trek did it, Space 1999 did it. I even had some of the models of things like the Enterprise and some books. But Lucas brought it into the 21st century. Star Wars heralded a machine, be it for figurines or product endorsements.

With Star Wars, suddenly we have images of characters on Burger King or McDonald’s cups. The products could not be featured in the film, so have a picture of Luke on a soft drink bottle or a cereal box. With Return, I could not walk around without seeing something of Star Wars around me.

For me, this is the negative legacy this überdirector has left. I can see why he is called that, because the films he has been involved in, has brought in billions and billions of dollars into the Hollywood system. The minute his name is attached to a project, you can expect a better dividend.

Yet the title überdirector should be for someone who does good films, not good box office. The new trilogy was completely atrocious. There was no story telling. Things like what the Force is, gets retooled and becomes parasites in the blood not a Zen like field that comes from every living thing. Save a couple of characters, the universe was populated with boring and dull people.

But what the new trilogy was good for was sheer eye-candy and merchandising. Be it all the new types of ships to the massive amount of characters, the three films are a boon for the collector. But not for an audience that wants a decent story.

And this hurts people who want to try to promote good science fiction. The standard now is a screen full of space ships, impressive explosions and tons of funky aliens. We need ships weaving in and out, for over ten minutes, giving the audience a roller-coaster ride. Overload and impress the audience and maybe they will not see you don’t have a story. They will ignore the bad dialogue and flimsy premise.

This hurts people trying to bring good SF to the big and small screens. The studio knows how to promote a Star Wars but are at a loss with a film like Serenity. For me, Joss Whedon put more in Serenity than Lucas did in all three prequels when it comes to story-telling. Yet the studio did not promote the film and only the Firefly fans and word of mouth brought people to check it out.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we have a wealth of science fiction that can be harvested. Right off the bat, I can think of Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks. It is high space opera but a good story. It would make an amazing film but it does have space battles, a huge number of aliens and a base for merchandising. But it would make a fun SF romp with some serious points to bring up.

I know a good SF film or show is expensive to make. Be it the modelling or CGI, audience expect a certain level of effects. This drives up the cost. But that is the box people like Lucas put SF and fantasy into. And moulded the mindset for the bean counters in charge.

Yet with the advent of inexpensive CGI for PCs and digital cameras, independent film makers can start to make science fiction films or shows. They don’t have to be as clean and slick as Star Wars. There is an audience for a good story and minimal special effects. Many of us have no problem with a little bit of cheese with the story.

The problem is that too many look at Lucas as the überdirector. When he speaks about the future of film making, people listen and lap it up. For many, his vision is the way to go. That is sad because that regulates science fiction to just special effects and toys. The idea of investigating the future, good or bad, becomes secondary or unimportant. Looking into the human condition is irrelevant. Science fiction becomes the playground of the mediocre and bland. If it looks good, then it sells. That may be Lucas’ legacy to us over the next few years.

Science Fiction: An Untapped Vein

I have been gone for a little while, focusing my energies on writing. When it comes to writing, I need to focus and this blog has become an orphan because of that. Yet, as always, I come back.

One of my new short stories, I Thought, has been a foray back into science fiction. This is the main genre I started with many years ago and left for a long time working on my two fantasy series, Tangled Threads and The Elegy Series. It felt good to be back in the saddle. And it got good reviews on urbis.

But coming back into SF had my mind meander into the state of SF on film. This summer we are getting blockbusters like X3 and Superman, comic book films yet no real SF.

And this post has been bouncing around since watching the season finale of Battlestar Galactica and checking out the second season of Dr. Who. So today, I want to look at the lack of good SF, on the big and small screen.

From the onset, I was a vocarious reader. Both my parents were readers so I had access to tons of books. And because of an interest in science, I preferred science fiction. I was not a nine year old kid reading the kiddie stuff. I was reading Heinlein, Clarke, and Herbert.

Yet there wasn’t much on TV. To give you an idea, here is a smattering what was available, when I was a kid:

• Doctor Who (1963 - 1989)
• Lost in Space (1965 - 1968)
• Thunderbirds (1965 - 1966)
• Star Trek (1966 - 1969)
• Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967)
• The Invaders (1967 - 1968)

Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet were puppet shows which people consider for kids yet had a dark edge to them. I did not get into Doctor Who until much later. Lost in Space had camp but how many times does a kid need to be disappointed because once again they can’t get home? And a giant chicken does not look like an evil bad guy.

Star Trek was a breath of fresh air. Yes some of the effects and sets looked cheesy but when the stories were good, they were good. And they ran the gamut. A monster kills humans but with a twist (Devil in the Dark), a taut cat & mouse game between enemies (Balance of Terror), comedy (The Trouble with Tribbles, I Mudd) and a time travel story done properly (The City on the Edge of Forever).

Of course there were episodes which were utter shite (The Omega Glory, Spock’s Brain to name two). But for a kid who was craving decent SF, I finally got it. And it showed that good SF could be done for the TV.

A quick note on The Invaders. This was a series where aliens were invading Earth and only one person knew of it. As he is on the run, he is trying to tell the world and stop their plots. For me, it was a good show.

The sad thing was that Star Trek did not spawn other SF shows. Yet on the big screen, there were attempts like:

• Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
• Planet of the Apes (1968)
• Charly (1968)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• The Andromeda Strain (1970)
• Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
• A Clockwork Orange (1971)
• Silent Running (1972)
• Dark Star (1974)

But they did not bring in the big box office bucks. Then came Star Wars (1977).

George Lucas’ simple story wrapped up as a space opera was refreshing. I was not expecting hard SF like 2001 or Silent Running but it was a romp and visually eye-popping. And it made money.

At the same time, Star Trek was gaining cult status. It got resurrected in 1973 as an animated series and lasted for 3 seasons. For me, the two ushered in a belief that SF might be a viable genre. Which gave us Space 1999 (1975 - 1977) which was a complete travesty of acting and story-telling.

But, for me, Star Trek and Star Wars also was bad for SF. People started to use them as templates for shows and films. In many ways, they focused on space opera not SF.

A good example is Battlestar Galactica (1978 - 1979). At first, I was excited. Visually, nothing like this had been done on TV. But the show was hobbled by inconsistent story telling, camp and some very wooden acting. Here was an interesting space opera that could have been good. Even though it was getting good ratings, it was cancelled because it was too expensive to produce.

What came after were weak films, trying to be Star Trek or Star Wars wannabees. Even the first Star Trek film was extremely weak. But it was not a complete wasteland because we got, so example:

• The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
• Alien (1980)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1980)
• TRON (1982)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• Enemy Mine (1985)
• Aliens (1986)
• The Fly (1986)
• Robocop (1987)

In the box office, SF was doing well, especially with the Star Wars and Star Trek franchies. But in TV land, there was a wasteland for SF. But great TV existed like Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere for example. And in 1987, for me, SF came back to TV with Next Generation.

But the curse of both haunted both the small and big screens. Star Wars started to became vehicle of merchandise and not story telling. Star Trek alternated from good to pathetic.

Real SF on the big screen got replaced by comic book stuff. We got crap like The Lawnmower Man, Timecop, and Judge Dredd. There were bad attempts to make cyberpunk films or use comic books. And, over all, SF languished. As the 90’s moved along, Star Wars was over and Star Trek was losing steam.

In TV land, things were even worse. Next Generation was losing steam so we got overloaded with Star Trek spin-offs. I loved DS9 but could not believe the utter shite of Voyager. Shows like Stargate SG-1 and Quantum Leap were simple shows with little or no SF.

Yet there was one beacon, one potential shining light was Babylon 5 (1994 - 1998) which completely non-Trek or Wars but it seemed to be retooled each season. I loved the idea of long story arcs and things not being wrapped up at the end of the episode. Yet the stations that were airing it either pre-empted it or moved it around. Babylon 5 never got a real chance. But for many, it was refreshing to have something original.

I know some people would want to put X-Files in here, since it started 1993. But, for me, the show was never SF. It focused on this paranormal and conspiracy theories.

But things, for me, changed drastically in 1999. The first was the release of the complete and utter shit called The Phantom Menace. I was completely stunned by the lack of story telling, contradictions to things previous established and wooden acting. It was just a movie trailer so Lucas could masturbate and sell toys.

Yet 1999 heralded an important change for TV. I came into Farscape (1999 - 2003) a season or two after it started. I was blown away. The aliens were not cute and fuzzy. The characters were not paragons of virtues. And the show was genuinely funny. I was extremely pissed off when it was cancelled. Dark Angel (2000 - 2002) started with an interesting premise but fell apart all too quickly. As did Enterprise (2001 - 2005). And I won’t get into the crap like Andromeda or Earth: Final Conflict.

For me, the biggest tragedy was Firefly (2002 - 2003). Here was something completely new and different for SF on TV. Let’s have a SF show with no aliens. Just humans with human problems as they expand outwards. Like Farscape, Firefly focused on a rag-tag bunch of people who were not that loveable. And the story telling was strong.

Then came Battlestar Galactica (2003 - today). The stories were completely riveting and engrossing. Effects were top-notch for TV and I couldn’t wait to see the next episode.

And last year came the retooled Dr. Who. For me, the first season rocked while the jury is still out on the second season. That is going to be another blog.

So what is the point of this meandering post? Dr. Who and Battlestar Galactica have come back with a vengeance. Shows like Firefly and Farscape broke the barriers Star Trek and Star Wars put on science fiction. Yet why aren’t there more good shows and movies out there?

Just look at the current line up on the Sci Fi channel. Most of the programming is pure, utter shite. Monster shows, alien invasions and super-hero stuff. Not much when it comes to hard-core science fiction.

And it is as if there isn’t a wealth of material to work from. The stories from Larry Niven in the 70’s has some amazing stuff to cull. Joe Haldeman has some great stuff about war and identity. James P. Hogan has mystery and intellect in his Giant series. And there is so much more.

Yet we get crap like Battlefield Earth (2000) and Andromeda (2000 - 2005). As I have pointed out, above, there have been some great SF films and shows. This is a genre that screams to be explored. SF allows us to explore the human condition without the constraints of our current society. It allows us to dream of the future, good and bad. It reminds us we do have a future. But the studios just squander it on ray guns, stupid aliens and/or hackneyed dialogue. And, lest we forget, merchandising.