One for the Fans

Being described as a fanboy is something of an insult in the world of fandom. Liking a TV or film series, sports team, comic book series or computer game to the point of obsession may appear a little mystifying to the outside world but it can be a perfectly healthy pastime in moderation. Watching every episode of a Star Trek is perfectly acceptable. Wearing your Star Fleet uniform to work probably isn’t. Supporting your local football team through thick and thin is fine. Punching one of your rivals fans is a definite no no. Learning the Klingon language is a little obsessive if academically intriguing. Naming your kids after the entire first team squad of the league champions is taking the piss.

The interesting thing with long running TV shows is that the fanboys can often end up writing the show themselves and it must be a great temptation to adapt some sort of fan fiction or get caught up in the minutiae of detail rather than write a general script that the casual viewer would appreciate. However, it is possible to appeal to both audiences simultaneously and this is what the writers at Doctor Who have managed to do with the latest episode, The Power Of Three. In the grand scheme of things the episode is really just readying the audience for the departure of the Ponds in next weeks episode but along the way there were numerous references to appeal to old farts like me who grew up with the show in it’s early 1970s heyday.

Having Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart’s daughter in the show was both a great nod to those of us that grew up with Jon Pertwee’s Doctor and also a fantastic way of celebrating Nicholas Courtney who died last year. We had a reference to the Zygons – possibly one of the best monsters only to have featured in one story. We finally got to see UNIT in their full glory and we had a reference to The Doctor’s home planet. We also had hints of the ghost of companions past – they don’t always make it out alive. Of course, there was also the whole plot thing with the cubes and this is where I felt the episode let itself down somewhat. I think part of the problem is that there was too much going on to really care too much about why the cubes where there and what the resolution was. It also rather let down the cast with Steven Berkoff being criminally underused and Jemma Redgrave not having quite the full staring role that I think she deserved. However, it was great to see Mark Williams again who is comic genius – sadly, with the Ponds leaving next week, this may be the last we see of him.

Next week sees the return of the Weeping Angels, possibly the best adversaries that the revival of Doctor Who has seen. It also sees the end of the Ponds – quite how remains to be seen although I have heard that Steven Moffat changed his original script as he was unhappy with the ending. I’ll miss Amy and Rory. They have provided a very different dynamic for the show and one that has proven refreshing.