About JE Smith
Location: Irving, Texas
Occupation: Freelance
Bio: JE Smith, aka Jeff S., is a forty-something guy who was born in Illinois, but has been living in the wilds of Dallas, Texas for almost twenty years. He has been a movie nut ever since seeing Escape from the Planet of the Apes at Steeleville Theater in 1971 and is also obsessed with Doctor Who, Ultraman, Star Trek, The X Files, Batman, Spider-Man, Doc Savage and many other pop culture icons. For fifteen years (1981 - 1996) he published the sf/horror filmzine Wet Paint, and tried his hand at self-publishing his own comics with Bulletproof (1999, 3 issues) and Complex City (2000 - 2003, 4 issues and a trade paperback), both of which bombed. He's been writing film reviews for almost thirty years and is just getting the hang of it. Married to the lovely Barbara for over 15 years, and owned by a sleepy cat named Max.
Posts: 176
More from this author
Doctor Who Returns for a fourth season on the Sci-Fi Channel. Here’s the skinny.
When last we left the Doctor, he was alone in the TARDIS (again) after the departure of the ginchy Martha Jones. Suddenly, there was a huge crash, and the bow of a ship impossibly split open a wall, sending debris cascading in every direction. The Doctor picked up a life preserver to see the name of the vessel: Titanic. And off we go into the Christmas special.
Except: before that came the Children in Need charity special. Aired on November 16, 2007, entitled “Time Crash,” and written by two-time Hugo winner Steven Moffat, this “mini-episode” saw the “classic” Fifth Doctor, as played by Peter Davison (1981 – 1984), suddenly appearing in the TARDIS control room, trying to help the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant, naturally) fix some sort of problem with their TARDISes intermixing. It was seven minutes of agreeable nonsense, ending with the slightly cringe-inducing moment where Tennant – still in character, mind you – gleefully gushes that Davison was “his” Doctor. As this is the very first “multi-Doctor” pairing to appear in the new series (it was a staple of the classic show), the fans went ape-hockey, and it was endlessly debated. Look for it on the Series 4 DVD a few months down the road.
So what’s new for 2008? Two biggies: First, the series is being broadcast in the U.S. on the Sci-Fi channel a mere three weeks after each episode debuts on the BBC, beating last year’s turnaround by almost two months. Second, there’s a new companion in town, and her name is Donna Noble. Yes, it’s the Runaway Bride herself, from last year’s Christmas special of the same name, and the appointment of comedy actress Catherine Tate in such a pivotal role threw the Who fan community into a maelstrom of discussion, the likes of which have not been seen since the new series debuted. Tate is a controversial and often abrasive personality, known mainly as a sketch and character performer, as highlighted in her series The Catherine Tate Show. Plus, many fans (this reviewer included) found her performance in “The Runaway Bride” to be appallingly annoying. So it remains to be seen how Donna will fare as a regular companion. Oh, and Martha returns (after a stint on Torchwood), but only for five episodes.
As before, Doctor Who remains under the guidance of exec producer/writer Russell T. Davies, but rumors continue to circulate that this series (and the planned 2009 Specials… but more on that later) may be his last.
As with the 2007 series, my reviews will be split into the following categories:
Plot Points – The basic storyline, so you know which one this is.
Doctor Who? – Interesting facts about the Doctor, or changes made to his character.
Hey, Hey, Donna – How is the new companion developing?
Too Cool – The neat stuff. Can incorporate special effects, performances, or concepts.
Weird Science – New Who has a rather tenuous grip on science and logic. Egregious errors will be discussed here.
Dumb Stuff – And there’s plenty of it, believe me.
Classic Who – References to the classic series.
Lost in Translation – A lot of things are different in Britain… it’s almost like another country… cultural differences will be explained here.
Final Answer – My basic review. Good? Bad? Awful? Your mileage may vary, but I calls ‘em as I sees ‘em.
Plus, I reserve the right to make up new categories as I see fit. And that’s it. Doctor Who Series 4 debuts Friday, April 18th on the Sci-Fi channel. Set your Tivo now.
