marycatelli (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
marycatelli) wrote2011-08-03 10:47 pm
marycatelli) wrote2011-08-03 10:47 pm
Entry tags:
settings and stuff
Recently watching some Dr. Who episodes -- and not the new stuff either. The original, old, with the cheesy FX, the limited cast, the ramshackle plots, the noble lack of concern with world-building consistency. . . .
The new series is better for all these traits, but they are certainly having a heck of a lot less fun. Not because of a new seriousness either -- the episodes I watched had some truly terrible death counts. The old series had a lot less compunction about putting stuff off Earth, too, which meant more possibilities. But a pretty lack of consistency did mean that the writers were not boxed in. Well, not too much. Any series has to have some boxing-in, or it's not really a series. Still, the Dr. Who universe was something the writers used as a playground.
Then, OTOH, sometimes those kinds of romps will feel thin. Imaginary fantasy worlds that are clearly and overtly based on some real-world era often come across as more solid than pure fantasylands. Then, part of that is that the writers rip off quirks, oddities, and misfits based on real-world equivalents, so you get the odd effects without sacrificing the realism. . . . hmm. . . .this matter can stand a lot of pondering.
The new series is better for all these traits, but they are certainly having a heck of a lot less fun. Not because of a new seriousness either -- the episodes I watched had some truly terrible death counts. The old series had a lot less compunction about putting stuff off Earth, too, which meant more possibilities. But a pretty lack of consistency did mean that the writers were not boxed in. Well, not too much. Any series has to have some boxing-in, or it's not really a series. Still, the Dr. Who universe was something the writers used as a playground.
Then, OTOH, sometimes those kinds of romps will feel thin. Imaginary fantasy worlds that are clearly and overtly based on some real-world era often come across as more solid than pure fantasylands. Then, part of that is that the writers rip off quirks, oddities, and misfits based on real-world equivalents, so you get the odd effects without sacrificing the realism. . . . hmm. . . .this matter can stand a lot of pondering.