Scared Shitless

Last night I couldn't find my friends at Mickey's so I went home and watched some Doctor Who. Aside from a bit of CNN in the morning to go along with my coffee, the only TV I watch is a show not available in the United States so it must be downloaded. The most recent story was a 2-parter comprised of "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances". I have to say that they gave me some of the creepiest moments of television watching ever. I mean it was creepy-spooky-scary. And I loved every fucking minute of it! All of it was standard stuff but it freaked me out. I had to look away a couple times. There were zombies closing in on our heroes and a scene with girl hiding under table with long tablecloth as evil person walks around it.

It has an Invasion of the Body Snatchers plot line with lots of other references thrown in for good measure. The abandoned hospital ala 28 Days and countless other horror flicks, one of those toy monkeys that bangs cymbals together going crazy like in Close Encounter, et al. Plus the incredibly eerie "Where's my mummy?" mantra of a small boy wearing a gas mask.

It takes place one night in London during a couple air raids in 1941. So it's night throughout the story with all these shadows and general creepiness. I enjoyed how the writer was able to explore Rose and The Doctor's friendship while at the same time not giving short shrift to the other characters. Captain Jack could have been really annoying but he was instead amusing and a good foil for The Doctor. This 2-part story really sealed it for me. There is no doubt that the new Doctor Who has struck a balance between being different enough from and deferential enough to the classic series. It also left no doubt that a story left to a single 40-minute episode is not enough. The writers do a good job of cramming a story into 40 minutes but the show really shines when it's given some breathing space. It's more fun to have the mystery last longer and more interesting when we are allowed to get to know the characters better. Plus 2 episodes gives a cliffhanger that takes a week to be resolved. Sure, we know The Doctor will escape but it's fun having to wait a week to find out just how exactly he gets away.

It's too bad that Christopher Eccleston has opted out of the series after only 1 season. But we have a new Doctor to look forward to.