So, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as directed by Tim Burton is a much closer version of Roald Dahl's classic novel than the previous 1970's version entitled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Is one better than the other? Not necessarily...both have their pros and cons (as to the earlier version, if they were gonna add musical numbers, beyond the Oompa Loompa songs, they should have made it a full blown musical...look for that version to eventually hit Broadway), but they are both very valid and enjoyable interpretations of the same material. Don't have much else to say about it...sorry.
Meanwhile, at the end of March over in Eglnad, the BBC started airing 13 new episodes of their classic sci-fi show Doctor Who, which hadn't been on the air as a weekly series since 1989 (there was a TV movie in 1996 that was an attempt at a new series, but it didn't work for a number of reasons). The show was such a hit that a second series has been ordered (as well as a Christmas speical to air before the second series begins next March).
Unfortunately, we here in the U.S. are stuck without new Who. No networks have picked it up as of yet (in fact, the logical network, Sci-Fi, passed completely because they can't own a stake in the show) and BBC Video are not going to release the first season on DVD here until it has had a proper airing (or until mid 2006...whichever comes first).
But...I have had a chance to catch them all (won't reveal how, but it's not hard to figure out in the 21st Century...and I look forward to eventually owning what BBC Video releases as well)...and all I can say is "wow"!
The Doctor is back and better than he's ever been. The strongest parts of the old series was the acting (by the Doctors mostly) and the writing (most of the time). It was what you were able to focus on while trying not to wince or laugh at the special effects...but 16 years of technological advances and a shift in the way people write for television have given Doctor Who a proper make over...and still allowing it to remain as true to its roots as it can be.
For those not in the know, the first episode allows everyone who's an outsider in as Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) meets The Doctor (Christopher Eccelston) and helps him stop a potential invasion of the Earth by an old enemy (no...it's not the Daleks...at least in this episode). At the end of the episode, Rose joins the last surviving Time Lord (yes...you heard right...it's a mystery that slowly gets revealed as the series progresses) on his adventures through time and space in his TARDIS. We get a good glimpse of this fun and charming man of mystery (played wonderfullyby Eccelston) mainly because we get to see everything from the point of view ofthis spunky young girl who becomes his travelling companion. It's a great start (or is that restart)...and it only gets better from there...
While the season spends all of its time on Earth or just above it in a variety of orbiting space stations, we never get tired of it hoping for the Doctor to travel to some other strange world (unless miles beneath ground in Colorado counts). And the time travel aspect extends from the end of the world five billion years in the future to a meeting with Charles Dickens.
There are lots of witty bits and plenty of bones thrown to fans of the "old" show and it's an exciting ride with lots of mystery and imagination to keep everyone on the edge of their seats waiting for what will happen next (and, surprisingly there's a lots of subtextual social commentary...which may be another reason why no American TV network has picked up this very British show). I can't wait to see what happens next season (and am interested to see how they scale back on some of the violence and destruction in the wake of the tragic terrorist bombings in London last month). But it's quite honestly the best science fiction on TV right now. (or in our case over here, not on TV).
Lastly, I want to mention a disturbing trend that seems to be happening more often on DVD in regards to TV shows. Using the syndicated versions of a show and not labelling the packaging as such is just abhorrent. I can understand and forgive a few minor cuts here and there due to the silliness of having to get new music license rights, but to just flat out use prints of shows that are missing anywhere from 2 to 8 minutes of footage is just disgusting. The biggest offenders right now are "ALF" and most of the Carsey/Warner shows ("Roseanne", "The Cosby Show"). I'm letting Disney slide on "The Muppet Show" (music rights issues coupled with confusion over US & UK versions) and Sony slide on most of their shows (every now and then an odd syndicated episode shows up...they're a sloppy half-assed company in my book anyway, so I'm actually surprised they're not doing this more). Get your acts together people...it's the 21st Century for crying out loud.
Be seeing you.
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