TV Review: Doctor Who - The Eleventh Hour

As it has not aired in America yet, this review will be spoiler free.

Doctor Who is an amazing show. I don't just mean to watch, but in the sense that it is an amazing production. From early on in the show's life, they wrote in a plot element that would allow the show to survive the one thing that has ended many shows before it. That being, the loss of your lead actor. The Doctor's ability to regenerate has allowed the show to survive actors moving on and changes in production staff. Unfortunately, these transitions can be rough at times.

Needless to say, when I first saw Matt Smith was going to play The Doctor, I wasn't completely sold. Not only does he come under scrutiny for being the youngest actor to ever take on the role, but he also has to follow one of the most popular Doctors of all time. Being one of the people that loved David Tennant, it would be a hard sell to get me on board. I have been very frank with my hesitance. So does the Eleventh Hour set the show's best foot forward?

Yes. Matt Smith over the course of the sixty-five minute episode started to put my mind at ease. His portrayal of The Doctor is very likable and not too far off from his previous incarnation, maybe even a little more light hearted. It's hard to tell after just one episode, but it seems as though the show is taking a break after what was some hard hitting and dark drama to wrap up Tennant's run. Maybe it's just Smith's youth, but the Doctor really does seem to be glowing with life this episode... sometimes literally.

But to give all the credit to Smith would not be fair. The new head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat has to be given his due. Moffat is no stranger to Doctor Who. He has actually wrote multiple episodes over recent years, including my two of my personal favorites "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" and "Blink."

In "The Eleventh Hour" we are introduced the Doctor's newest companion Amy Pond, played by the beautiful Karen Gillan. She seems to be a clever and fast thinking type. She also comes across rather secure and charismatic. I think with some time, proper writing and some good acting, she might end up being a fan favorite.

The episode itself is pretty standard Doctor Who fare. As with previous Moffat stories, there is a focus on perception. The Doctor, fresh off his regeneration, crash lands into a young girl's garden and quickly befriends her. It is not long after that she tells him of the scary crack in her bedroom wall and in typical fashion it turns out all is not as it seems. The crack is actually not just a crack in the wall, but a crack in space time. Events unfold and The Doctor finds himself with only 20 minutes to save the Earth from being turned into a giant cinder.

The writing for the episode is fast paced and very kinetic, though there is little action to speak of. As is par for the course recently, the sci-fi is there but not overwhelming. The bulk of the action takes place between The Doctor and his new companion as he tries to figure out how he is going to save the world.

Overall it is a strong first outing for this new cast and crew. It looks as though the season is going to be action packed and full of surprises (Seriously, did anyone else see that Dalek with the Union Jack on it?) I hope that the quality of the show keeps up and maybe we get off Earth a little bit more? Please? Pretty please?

Instead of my typical witty picture rubbish, enjoy one of the amazing trailers for the new run of Doctor Who.

Kneel Before Reruns

As I mentioned in the latest episode of Kneel Before Pod, I want to start a group. Together we pick a show that is easily accessible (Netflix, Hulu) and watch one episode a week. The following week, we discuss the episode on the forums and maybe even a little on the show. At the end of the show's season, we do a wrap up show that gets some of you readers and listeners involved.

This thing won't work without participation from you. So click here to head on over to the forums and give us your feedback. It's free to sign up and we'd love for you to join us. You don't need to listen to the show to take part in this fun experience! Just watch the episode and stop by the forums to talk about it. So tell your friends! The more people, the more fun!

DO IT!

Late Night done right?

Maybe. Yesterday was the first episode of NBC's Late Night with it's new host Jimmy Fallon. Now, I wouldn't say I'm a "fan" of Fallon's, but I don't dislike him either. When he was on SNL, I enjoyed some of his stuff and I thought he was great on Weekend Update with Tina Fey. So, coming into this I was pretty neutral. I was excited to hear that he was going to focus on more tech culture such as the internet and video games, which are things I am personally interested in.

So, I settled in last night to watch the premiere of this new era of Late Night. Bottom line? Not bad. First things first, it was very clear that Jimmy was nervous. He was a little fidgety and awkward at times, but his jokes were very funny. He had some things that on paper and when described sound very funny such as the game "Lick it for Ten," a game where he would pay people $10 to lick various items, but just didn't come across as funny as you would think when executed. Overall, as far as humour and entertainment go, this show displays a lot of potential.

The weakest link of the show for me is Jimmy's interviewing skills. He falls into that terrible pit that Stephen Colbert oft jokes about, but never falls into strangely, where all the discussion is by or about the interviewer and not the interviewee. There seemed to be a distinct lack of just asking open ended questions of the guest and letting them answer. Often Jimmy would but in with a story about him and his guest, and at one point told a story about Jack Nicholson. While interviewing Robbert De Niro. You know, because I'm sure Mr. De Niro doesn't have any interesting stories...

So, in short, I found the show funny and I am sure to watch it again in the near future. I am not a typical Late Night viewer these days, but I used to be back when my schedule was more open. Maybe once Jimmy is in full stride it will be a show I go out of my way to watch.

So did anyone else watch it? Have an opinion? Pop on over to our forum and chime in!

Reaction: TheClone Wars TV Show, are these the Clones you're looking for?

From Kneel Before Pod

It's no secret how we felt about The Clone Wars movie. It was horrible and I felt shit on. If I was a child, I would hope that I felt offended by the blatant pandering and just plan down right insulting writing.

Luckily, this little post is not about the movie. This post is about the TV series. Sure, the movie was actually the first few episodes duct taped together and shoe horned onto a movie reel, but I still had hope. There was a chance that those first few episodes were just crap. Maybe they would be able to tune up the final project between the release of the movie and the premiere of the show. I am nothing if not a hopeless romantic and optimist when dealing with my favourite franchises, so why would Star Wars be any different. So I hope and I pine. Was my hoping in vain?

Short answer, no. The show that I am watching is a better experience than what I had with the movie. Notice I said experience and not product. I'm not sure if it's the fact that I'm not paying $10 to see this, or it works better on the TV, or maybe it's actually of better quality. Of course, it might be like hitting yourself in the head with a brick over and over. After awhile you stop feeling the pain and you get used to the blood running into your eyes. Thankfully, unlike the brick to the skull, The Clone Wars cartoon will not kill me so I will continue to bludgeon myself in the head with it. So you might be wanting some details at this point since I have been painting with broad strokes and bricks.

Ok, lets start off with what they do wrong. Why? Because I want to and honestly, it's a pretty short list. I honestly don't like how they are writing the villains for the most part. Both Ventress and Grievous come off as little whiny bitches at times. Especially Grievous with him complaining about the speed of his ship and what not. They really feel like token cartoon villains and not too threatening most the time. I know that outside of books and comics, these characters haven't been explored much, but I would think they would be a little cooler and darker.

To the defense of the writers, they do get some things right with these characters. In the same episode that Grievous is complaining like Anakin, they hit a couple really cool character nuggets. They really illustrate his complete disregard for both living and droid lives. At one point, to the disapproval of Dooku, he punches the head off a battle droid for opening it's stupid mouth and admitting how incompetent it is. Which is great, because he's doing exactly what I want to do. What do I want to do you may ask? Well let me tell you.

DESTROY EVERY FUCKING BATTLE
DROID IN THIS CARTOON.

The biggest carry over complaint I have about the movie into this show is the battle droids. They really, really, really need to talk less. I hope that the writers don't think that they are writing a laugh out moment when they write most of these jokes. I will admit, in the latest episode there was a good one about their aim, but it was still just so out of character in my mind that I couldn't enjoy it. On the other hand, they are writing these cute little throw away lines for Anakin and the other human characters which aren't that bad. The dialogue between living characters, especially Anakin and Ahsoka, has been pretty good. Yoda talking to clones, A&A having banter, the clones ribbing each other and Master Plo trying to keep all the kids in line is fine. It's not going to win any awards, but I can accept it because of the large demographic of the audience. They seem to have found a way to keep everything simple, but not insultingly so.

So, bottom line. I would not recommend this to any of my adult, non-Star Wars watching friends. This will not be the project that wins them over. I would suggest it as viewing for their children though. It's starting to shape up as a decent kids show with some good morale lessons in it. As far as Star Wars fans, I wouldn't dare venture a guess if they will like this or not. I will personally continue to watch it and I am sure I will enjoy a lot of it and maybe even cringe at times, but it's still better than the movie.

Episode 9 - The Star Wars Wrap up

In this episode we just have a general star Wars discussion. The topics range from Toys, to Video Games, to Live Action TV shows and what actually is canon? This is the end of Star Wars theme episodes... for now.



Tune in next week as we talk video games. We're going to discuss what they have given us so far and what we want from them in the future. Also, there will be a big heaping portion of the typical bullshit as well.

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Reaction: Heroes Season 3 Premiere

So it has finally arrived. Season three of "Heroes", which to those in the know might think of as the second half of season two. Yes, poor, poor Heroes. You were were making so much ground. You were helping people like myself bring comic books into the mainstream and making Sci-fi sexy. Then the writers strike came and took you away.

I'm the first to admit that Season Two might have been missing some of the magic of Season One, but I was still enjoying it. The characters and stories were a little awkward at times, but you had some good stuff going. Season Three seems to be back into it's stride though with essentially two episodes under it's belt. Claire, who seemed neglected at times in Season Two, is showing potential for a lot of growth and evolving beyond being a victim that can recover from anything you do to her. Peter as always has us guessing what and who he is. Sylar is back and in black.

Hiro is again the stand out so far this season, as he is really settling in as the first true superhero of the bunch using a combination of his powers and his resources. He's the head of a billion dollar international company with boundless cash and technology at his finger tips. Yeah, that sounds like a couple comic characters I could name off. I think it is safe to say that if there is going to be an organization of a legit Superhero group during the run of this show, Hiro will be the one that arranges and supports it.

This season wastes no time introducing new characters into the mix. I'm sure that some will be a throw away, but I really hope that some of them stick around. One of those characters is Daphne. She shows up in the first episode of the season and quickly shows that she will be a qualified nemesis for one of our main characters. One nice little thing they did with the show is that she refers to herself as a "Speedster", which is a nice nod to the comic book characters that share her skill set and are often referred to as such.

Overall, I think this might be the season we have been wanting for awhile. Ever since what some could argue as a slightly anti-climatic season one finale, Heroes seems to have been treading water. They now seem to be heading towards a solid plot and story arc with Phelps-like speed and technique. This might turn out to again be one of the shows to watch this seasons. Nuff said.

Episode 3: Top 5 TV Shows to guest on or Send us a free Kindle, please.

On this week's episode we talk about what TV shows we would love to be a Guest Star on, go over some news and then talk about e-books (which promptly degrades into a Kindle commercial.)



Tune in next week as we talk about the top 5 fictional world creators.

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