‘Love & Monsters’ is fascinating. I hated it when I saw it as a teenager, but when I saw it on a rerun a few years ago I was really taken with its angle and messages. I find myself thinking about the closing speech quite occasionally.
The season finale with the reveal of Torchwood, the confrontation between the Daleks and Cybermen, and Tracy-Ann Olberman playing the head of Torchwood make it remarkably memorable.
I like that in retrospect, the theme that plays periodically through those episodes is what became the theme to Torchwood. Also if you haven’t already, would totally recommend listening to the Torchwood One audios, you’ll get more Yvonne and Ianto there.
"No second chances, I'm that sort of man..." That was such a brilliant, spine-tingling flash of darkness - sadly something that was never really followed up apart from in The Family Of Blood...
I'd say it was definitely followed up earlier with The Runaway Bride. The way the Doctor defeats the Emperor Racnoss is slightly cruel and dark enough that it's what scares Donna away from traveling with the Doctor at the time.
Girl in the fireplace is one of my favorite episodes and a quintessential example of what is good about Doctor Who at its core! It reminds me of the after school specials we used to have in the United States that combined mystery, history and other elements and a classic way of Storytelling that all come together to create a great Style! Honestly the only other place I've seen that exact style and feel is on those after school PBS style specials that really focused on history. I wish there were more of those educational episodes that feed the flame so to speak when it comes to the fire of learning!
I love "Love and Monsters"; I find it hysterical. It's Doctor Who meets every cheesy Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo-esque cartoon I watched on (American) Saturday morning TV. (Especially with the band, the difference being that this band covers well-known songs rather than indulging in what The Animaniacs would refer to as "cheesy fake rock songs".)
Season 2 was a solid continuation of the hard work put into season 1. The show remained consistent and Tennant was incredible in the role ... The final two episodes felt like the moment things went stratospheric, and it became a show most of the UK was watching ... Then season's 3 and 4 were what many believe to be the golden age of DW ... with critical and commercial success flowing non-stop.
Damn Series 4 was such a revelation. I'd felt sorry for Freema and how her character was done so shittily, then to see a comedian being cast as the new companion, based on a one-note character appearance. I was not *not* worried. And then it was completely f***ing brilliant.
I had always hoped the powerful entity of "The Satan Pit" and later the even MORE powerful thing from "Midnight" (which easily took control of the Doctor!) were hints at the horrors of the Time War, perhaps officers in the Meanwhile and Neverwere army of the Could've Been King. Or perhaps one of them was the Nightmare Child itself. Alas, the connection was never made, and what we finally see of the Time War is just lots of pew-pew lasers.
Yes, I sure do remember Genesis of the Daleks, the episode that showed us the starting point of the Time War, was lots of pew-pew lasers from the Daleks and Davros everywhere, cuz it's not like actual wars start out with big strategic takeovers and slowly devolve into mindless gunfire.
'Fear Her' is usually skipped when I am rewatching my Who collection. 'Love and Monsters' only slightly less so. I do like pineapple on pizza as long as it's with ham. I'm aware this probably puts me in a weirdo minority, I'm also left handed.
I honestly can't believe people don't like the Linda episode! I love that episode and I think it's such a great example as well as being one of the first examples of how the show can switch its footing and give you something from Left Field! I also love the nod to Fat Bastard from the Austin Powers movies! Just really great and I love the opening intro with the ELO, which was also redone a bunch of times in various movies and shows but they definitely did it here first
can't really understand what's so disliked about Love & Monsters and Fear Her tbh. I even found The Idiot's Lantern quite fun Also I'm not sure how intentional it is but there seems to be a bit of a theme in series 2 where the main characters try to do something good but don't give it enough thought so it blows up in their face, culminating in Rose reaching off to the side to keep the rift open to let all the Daleks through and save Earth from them...only to fall down into it and becoming separated from the Doctor. Gives it a sense of inevitability, which I like
David Tennant the best doctor ever. His regeneration broke my heart and it’s never recovered. I’ve watched Doctor who since the 3rd doctor but David Tennant doctor still is the best one.
The parallel he made about Love and Monster (Yes, I like it. I also like ELO. Deal with it.) and Blink made me realize that I actually prefer Dr Who without Dr Who.
I'm so glad you said Fear Her is worse than Love and Monsters. At least Love and Monsters was bad in a fun way. And on rewatch I actually enjoyed Elton's character a lot. Fear Her was just booooorrrriiiinnnnggggg. One of the few episodes I've skipped in my binge watch. Also, I forgot just how often Torchwood comes up in season 2 (I say, as a massive Torchwood fan). Love that Tooth and Claw is the reason we have so many Queen Victoria Torchwood audios that no one cares about except maybe the two people who are still buying them...
27:23 In the US, pre-streaming anyhow, TV shows would typically run from Sept thru May, 25-30 episodes each year. So each Fall/Autumn it was like a new TV season. Shows typically don't skip a year. If a show skipped a year, that would probably mean they were canceled and have maybe moved to another network at best. A series is what the whole show would be called, which is the whole contiguous run. I've noticed British shows tend to have lesser episodes in each run and they don't necessarily seem to air each year with certainty. So each time they put a series of episodes together, that's what they are, a series of episodes. Makes sense to call them 'series' in that context. And similarly I guess Classic Who ran more episodes each year, so it was more like a TV season each year.
Hey Stam. I’ve been watching your videos for a while now, and I’ve always had the weird feeling that you sound really familiar. I’ve finally figured it out. We used to work at the same company 20 years ago! I don’t know if you remember me. We didn’t interact much. But it’s good to see you have a successful RU-vid channel.
@@StamFine Yeah, we definitely did. The place we worked had the initials KS, and your name starts with a G. I was one of the Sega Dreamcast programmers. Small world!
I actually really liked the idiot's lantern going back to it, i don't know if I'm reading into things incorrectly, but i liked the themes of toxic nostalgia for the past, it struck me almost as a criticism of how the UK glorifies the olden days, empire, the coronation. There's a bit where the TV sales guy is talking to The Wire, and the dialogue there was very nice: "Magpie: Please. You’re burning me. Inside. Behind my eyes. It hurts. Even my memories hurt. I just want things back like they used to be. The Wire: Oh but this world of yours is busy busy busy. Forging ahead into a brand new age. You can never go back. That’s your tragedy."
I think it’s hilarious that Doctor Who had convincing cat-people in 2006, but Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, which cost a zillion dollars, had trash CGI cats.
Honestly.... There is just no other way to say it - Tenant nailed that role from the first scene. I never quite jelled with Eccleston - for whatever reason my take was he was good but just did not click with me. But Tenant just WAS the Doctor from that point where the TARDIS door opens. I was only worried for a few seconds since then he proceeded to do a Star Trek sword fight but that was literally the only time I was anything less than happy with his tenure. And this is coming from a person that before this was a Tom Baker person (Although my favorite era was those last two seasons of Sylvester McCoy)...
Enjoyed the review as always, but this time you've gone and done it! I remember coming home after school in NZ and watching Tucker, Benny, Trisha, Alan, Anne Wilson etc get up to their shenanigans - any chance for a review - or is it a hill too far? 😁
I hear series 2 is underrated or good I don’t know got some of the series 2 dvds and some of the figures. And there was Easter egg for Saxon in love and monsters
Captain Jack is funny cute. He needs to be brought back from Roses Universe, why has Martha appeared on Rose,s Universe. Has anyone else figured out that Rose, Donna, Clara and Captain Jack are all part Time Lord. Rose was the War Doctor,s Companion. Rose the baby Rose into a Meta Crisis Rose. Donna like Clara and Amy both have Time Lord DNA. Martha is human.
Love and Monsters had potential but that last half really screw things up, now Fear Her... good lord, I rather watch The Twin Dilemma three times in a row than that episode again.
I thought about this last time, I watched army of ghosts when he asks her how long she plans to stay with him, i feel like he felt borderline “sure, sure you will Rose”. And the whole playful/flirty relationship they have this season feels far more tiresome nearly 20 years later.
Well, Mr Presumptuous, sir, you're allowed to delete this comment once you've either watched the video, or looked at wikipedia or something, whichever you can be arsed doing ;) [to be fair, I was surprised and learnt something I didn't know too, so :)]
In retrospect "Love and Monsters" really wasnt that bad of an episode. Yes it's very campy and Yes...that ending, but I feel like its infamy stems from the fact that it was the first really crap episode in the revived series' two-season winning streak. There have been so, so, so, so many worse episodes to come out of this show in later years that "Love and Monsters" just seems cute by comparison.
really hate the way the fandom is insisting tennant is the 14th doctor, considering how many iterations of the doctor were included in the new series, its pretty obvious Ncuti Gatwa is the 14th, as he was announced before Power of the Doctor as "the next doctor" and reverting into old forms is just the a new superpower the doctor has, ergo the title of that episode. Tennant definitely isn't a 'new character' for the 2023 series, in fact he's wearing 10's outfit, breaking convention regarding regenerating clothing. I know chib wasn't great at qualifying things but c'mon
Some of us like pineapple on pizza. (Especially those of us who don’t like or can’t eat pepperoni.) I don’t dis your pepperoni; so pls stop dising my pineapple!
And man did David teddon get roasted as the doctor and didn't even figure that out wow looks like he wasn't that intelligent than either really the dumbest time lord in space
The worst Episode that SHOLD NEVER haver been written and aired. Was Turn Left What were the Beeb thinking airing Turn Left, POLAND SHOULD NEVER have been used in the Episode.
