If you'll recall, I actually liked the snot monster episode (the snot monster itself, yeah, not so much.) The feel in that episode was one of love and care for children, which I think I maundered on about at the time.
This one doesn't feel as if there's a cohesive center to it. It's all over the damned place.
And while I've often told people to relax and remember that this is a show about a shape-and-gender-changing alien who travels around in a phone box and fights monsters, with a side helping of "Hey, don't you remember the styrofoam sets of yore, which we all love despite those sets wobbling like gelatin desserts?" my attitude has evolved to a certain extent.
The artistic decision to reach original child viewers who were now adults, by at least trying to address adult emotional interests, started in 2005, something for which I bless Uncle Rusty. He also worked hard to balance that new attitude with what skeleton-squid-boy properly calls the joy and whimsy of 10-year-olds.
For the past 20 years, that has proved to be a difficult balancing act, but showrunners have tackled it more or less willingly.
One thing I've long believed (something Bob and I both believe) is that the best way to create art, including television, for kids and young people, is to treat them and their interests with respect. When the attitude starts slipping toward "Oh, let's do it this way; it's easy and kids will watch anything," the end product suffers. That's obviously not what that post refers to, but it's something that's a dangerous tendency.
tl;dr: I think it's possible to maintain crucial whimsy with equally crucial writing quality.
another tl;dr: I will always love Who with all my heart. To borrow from my Stray Kids nomenclature - I'll always STAY with this wonderful show - I'll never be one of those ridiculous people who've said, in every generation, "thiS iS ThE END oF Dr. wHo!!"
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: Tuesday, 13 May 2025 10:46 pm (UTC)This one doesn't feel as if there's a cohesive center to it. It's all over the damned place.
And while I've often told people to relax and remember that this is a show about a shape-and-gender-changing alien who travels around in a phone box and fights monsters, with a side helping of "Hey, don't you remember the styrofoam sets of yore, which we all love despite those sets wobbling like gelatin desserts?" my attitude has evolved to a certain extent.
The artistic decision to reach original child viewers who were now adults, by at least trying to address adult emotional interests, started in 2005, something for which I bless Uncle Rusty. He also worked hard to balance that new attitude with what skeleton-squid-boy properly calls the joy and whimsy of 10-year-olds.
For the past 20 years, that has proved to be a difficult balancing act, but showrunners have tackled it more or less willingly.
One thing I've long believed (something Bob and I both believe) is that the best way to create art, including television, for kids and young people, is to treat them and their interests with respect. When the attitude starts slipping toward "Oh, let's do it this way; it's easy and kids will watch anything," the end product suffers. That's obviously not what that post refers to, but it's something that's a dangerous tendency.
tl;dr: I think it's possible to maintain crucial whimsy with equally crucial writing quality.
another tl;dr: I will always love Who with all my heart. To borrow from my Stray Kids nomenclature - I'll always STAY with this wonderful show - I'll never be one of those ridiculous people who've said, in every generation, "thiS iS ThE END oF Dr. wHo!!"
Wow ... prolix much, woman?