Mouthwatering adventures with the Doctor

Dr Who returned to our screens this week. It was a highly anticipated episode and it certainly lived up to the hype. The Waters of Mars was one of the darkest episodes since Dr Who returned to our screens in 2005.
This latest episode was dark for a number of reasons. It showed that in many ways, the Doctor has lost the plot. Since the prophecy that he is to die, the Doctor, who has been driven to the point of madness by all the lost souls and horrors he has seen, has begun to doubt his true calling.
The episode dealt with his demons and the way in which he is torn by his love of the job and his need to let it go. There was a very moving scene in which he spoke of the fact that he could not interfere in moments of history that are fixed in time for a reason.
He explained to the captain of the Mars space station, on which the episode is based, that her death was necessary and that he could not interfere. It was a very believable piece of acting and, I’m not ashamed to admit, I shed a tear more than once.
The Doctor is a great character. He is cavalier, emotional and silly. He wants to help but, despite being an alien, his human-like emotions tend to lead him down some lonely and dangerous paths.
He has been in love and sacrificed it; he has broken and bent the rules that govern his existence many times. He is the last of his species and this need for survival, coupled with his great sense of loneliness and loss has been a major storytelling device and character builder in the show.
These themes were very much to the fore in The Waters of Mars and the fact that his sheer frustration with events and the fact that his end is nigh, lead him to go once again against his own rules and interfere with time.
This, however, did not have the effect he had wanted and as the captain of the space station enters her house having been spared death we see her take her gun and a flash of blue light tells us that she has killed herself so as to maintain order in the universe.
It is here that the theme of interference or a Godlike complex come to the fore for Tennant and we see him reel at the fact that he has gone too far and that in many ways, he needs to be released from is torment and his life as it is causing him to misjudge situations.
The episode itself was stand-alone good but, as an appetiser for Tennant’s finale over the holiday season, it was exceptional. All you could think of at the end of the episode was when is the next one and can I watch it now. It also raised the question as to how well his successor will do.
Everyone who is in anyway interested in the series knows that David Tenant will soon cease to be the Doctor and a new whippersnapper called Matt Smith will be taking over as the Time Lord. While this has our interests heightened, there is no denying that we are all very sad to see David Tenant go. He has made the role his own adding great depth and humour to the character. For many he is the ultimate Doctor and has made the role iconic. There is no denying that young Mister Smith has mighty large sneakers to fill.
For a sneak preview of the next Dr Who adventure tune into the Children in Need event on BBC One on Friday night. Well worth a look. You might even see some familiar faces from previous episodes.
On seeing the advertisements, I was nothing but sceptical of this new programme with Neil Delamare. As the host of The Panel, he was not particularly good but having said that, he is better than the new host David Williams who is about as capable of cracking a joke as yer one on the new TV licence ad who’s had botox is of cracking a smile.
Anyway, Republic of Telly did not inspire me with confidence, delight or even interest. It looked like another Irish rip-off of a British programme. You know the one with the baldy headed lad… not particularly funny either. Now, personally, I think if we are going to do a programme which comments on things that have been on the telly in the past week, well, we should bring back Mail Bag. And I don’t mean bring it back in a new format with some trendy host and some silly voiceovers.
No, I mean bring back the whole kit and kaboodle – the same Arthur Murphy, the same set, the same readers and of course the same wonderful music… listen to Ray Darcy’s Emailbag if you want to hear it.
Anyway despite the fact that RTÉ have failed to bring back Mail Bag, Republic of Telly is not bad. Neil Delamare is much better at this than at The Panel and I think the gimmicks and observational humour suits him best. It’s still not a brilliant show but it does pass some time on a Monday evening when, basically, there is nothing much to do anyway.
Another programme that, on mature reflection, wasn’t very good was the reshowing of Mansfield Park. This was the ITV adaptation of the Jane Austen novel starring Billy Piper. It is only on closer inspection that I must conclude that it lacked lustre.
The pace is too quick and the characters are underdeveloped. In short, it does a disservice to Miss Austen. Billy Piper does well and the support cast are decent but the real meat of the book – the story – are glossed over in a haze of frocks, scenery and posh accents.