Color. Me. Impressed. I've been a bit off and on with The Doctor, since I started watching the reboot on Netflix about two years ago, watching ten or so episodes in a row then not watching any more for months because it didn't succeed in holding my interest. Too much 'Next Generation' too little 'Deep Space Nine'.
Ok, I realize I'm letting my nerdstreams cross, and you should never cross the streams, but it applies here, let me explain.
Star Trek: The Next Generation has a single cast but not any real overarching storylines. It's very much like the Original Series was. Villain of the week, everyone is back to status quo by the end of the episode (with the exceedingly rare two or three parter thrown in), start it all over again same bat-time same bat-channel next week.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially in the era of waiting a week between episodes. Having a cliffhanger or unfinished plot point was dangerous and could be a liability. What if somebody missed a week? Wouldn't they be lost entirely? Well, no. In a 'Next Generation' style series you can pretty much hop around and watch any episode at any time and know what's going on. Because every episode starts from the same place. The same cast, the same ship, same backdrop, new adventures.
But this is the era of so called Binge Watching. Where the internet and dvd players allow you to queue up a series and watch it from start to finish in one long go. And a 'Next Generation' style show just gets repetitive after a while. You start to long for real growth and change among these characters you have invested so much of your time in.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine did things differently. Maybe it's a function of being set on a stationary... Well... Station, but the backdrop of adventures couldn't change that much, so the characters had to. And this led to longer, multi faceted, intricate character arcs that draw you in in a totally different way. Instead of tuning in to see how the intrepid crew tackles this new obstacle, let's tune in to see how these people grow and develop. This turns every episode into a cliffhanger of sorts because it isn't a series of stories starring a group of people. It's one big story about a group of people.
In a sense, the obstacles, the enemies and challenges were the stars of Next Generation. They were why we tuned in each week, what fantastical thing will they overcome this week. While the people. The crew were just more parts of the machine that was designed to overcome the more interesting challenges. The people were the backdrop and the adventures were at the forefront.
By contrast, it was the PEOPLE who were the stars of Deep Space Nine. The focus wasn't on the obstacle to be overcome each week, it was on the people and their relationships. How will this person react to this loss. How will their relationship be affected by this turn of events. Will everyone survive? The adventures were the backdrop and the real personal development of the characters was at the paramount.
I prefer the longer, overarching storyline. One that focuses on the characters and allows them to grow. This is a personal preference. Some people watch for the fantastical adventures. I watch for the moving stories. I guess that comes from me being a natural born storyteller, I like the STORIES way more than the scenery, however pretty it may be.
But I (REALLY) digress.
Back to The Doctor. During the Christopher Eccleston (now known to be the 10th Doctor, it's complicated) run and even though the beginning of his successor, David Tenant (Doctors 11 and 12, again, it's complicated) Doctor Who was very much a 'Next Generation' show. Wherein the characters were the backdrop for the fantastical adventures. It maybe wasn't as pronounced, there were some very intriguing overarching plot hooks, but really, you could watch most of the first bit of the new Doctor Who in any order and still know what was going on. It was about half way through Tenants run that the story began to shift.
About half way through the 11th Doctor, the focus was changed from the time travel shenanigans to the people doing the travelling. This made the show a whole lot better, in my opinion. From the end of Tenant all the way through Matt Smith (Doctor 13, I know you think you're getting it, but you're not) the show had a series of overarching stories that allowed the characters to grow as people. More 'Deep Space Nine' you see.
Anyway. I have now witnessed the entire run of three Doctors (well four if you count the Time War Doctor, John Hurt, who comes before even Eccleston, but he was only in the 50th anniversary special) and I am hooked. I will be eagerly awaiting the next season (or series, as it's called in England) of Doctor Who, and I can't wait to see how Academy Award winner Peter Capaldi (Technically Doctor 14, though he may be the first one again, see? Complicated.) does in the role and what he does with the character.
So, live on Doctor. You have made a whovian out of me.
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