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‘Doctor Who celebrates 50 years of timey-wimey fun

Anniversary episode
airs on TV, in theatres

Cheryl
= Minns
® Arts Editor

arts@ theotherpress.ca

GC” your fez and put on
your thinking glasses

because The Day of the Doctor has
arrived. The long-awaited 50th
anniversary episode of Doctor
Who premiered simultaneously
at various movie theatres and
on television screens around the
world on November 23.

The 75-minute episode
follows the Doctor (currently
played by Matt Smith), a Time
Lord who travels the universe
in a blue police box, as he and
his former incarnations (David
Tennant and John Hurt) go on
an adventure through time
and space to save the Earth
and maybe even their soon-
to-be-destroyed home planet,
Gallifrey.

With an interesting plot
set between present day
and the Elizabethan era and
featuring special effects that
rival blockbuster movie hits,
the episode seems more like a

cinematic film than a season
opener for a television show.

In Vancouver, the televised
broadcast and theatre showings
began at 11:50 a.m. to coincide
with England’s 7:50 p.m.
showtime. Dedicated fans sold
out the theatre shows as soon
as tickets became available
while others loyally sat by their
televisions for the commercial-
free broadcast.

But how did a low-budget,
black and white, children’s show
that debuted on November 23,
1963 gain such a devoted fan
following?

Many of the recent fans
attribute their passion for the
show to its 2005 reboot with
Christopher Eccleston as the
Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose
Tyler, the fan-voted number one
companion of all time. The new
series embraced the sci-fi genre
and filled the show with special
effects while sending the Doctor
and Rose across the universe
and through time from the
Victorian era to the end of the
world, battling foes and putting
their lives in peril for the greater
good.

The reboot also went
for darker episodes than its
predecessor and featured the

deaths of lead characters—such
as the Doctor, who regenerates
instead of dying to allow for
recasting—and the departure
of companions Amy Pond

and Rory Williams, who were
attacked by Weeping Angel
monsters.

Speculation over which
former characters and guest
stars would appear in the
50th anniversary episode ran
rampant among fans over the
last year. They predicted former
companions like Rose and the
actors who previously played
the Doctor would appear in the
episode.

Piper returns, as many
expected, and plays a variation
of her original Rose character.
Tom Baker, who played the
Doctor in the 1970s, also makes
an appearance in the episode.

The Day of the Doctor is an
instant fan favourite with solid
writing and special effects,
entertaining guest appearances
and inside jokes, and fantastic
comedic timing between Doctor
actors Smith and Tennant. Doctor
Who is an excellent example of
what classic British television
can achieve when people believe
in it and support it.

 

Day of the Docotor promo | Photo courtesy of www.dt16community.nbed.nb.ca

 

Get ready for another round of The Hunger Games

‘The Hunger Games:
Catching Fire’ review

Jerrison Oracion, Contributor

DOOoeT

n The Hunger Games: Catching
Fire, Katniss Everdeen
(Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta
Mellark (Josh Hutcherson)
return from a Victory Tour
around Panem only to find
out they have to participate

in a special all-stars edition of
the Hunger Games called the
Quarter Quell.

The people in charge say
the games are called for because
of a “wrinkle” in The Hunger
Games Act, but they are also a
way for President Coriolanus
Snow (Donald Sutherland) to
hurt Katniss or force her to
work with him because he fears
she could start a revolution.
Snow works with the Quarter
Quell game maker, Plutarch
Heavensbee (Philip Seymour
Hoffman), to try to accomplish
this.

The structure of the film
is similar to the previous
Hunger Games movie. The first
few minutes involves Katniss
and Peeta dealing with what
happened to Rue in the last film.
There were a lot of twists in the
movie and it ends with a hint of
what's coming in the next sequel
and the film’s theme song,
“Atlas,” performed by Coldplay.

Jena Malone is brilliant in
her portrayal of Johanna Mason,
the District 7 Tribute, and could
get an Oscar nomination for her
performance.

 

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire | Photo courtesy of Murray Close/Lionsgate

 

Get ready for the cops of the future

Almost Human review

Lauren Paulsen, Contributor

OO0O0O0

Imost Human is a gritty, sci-fi
crime drama from producer
J.J. Abrams that takes place in

6

the year 2048. Technology has
reached new heights and with
it has come a lot of criminal
activity. Police officers are
required to have an android
partner to help them fight these
crimes. The show revolves
around Detective John Kennex
(Karl Urban) and his android
partner, Dorian (Michael Ealy),
who is unlike the other androids
because he can feel emotions.

The technological gadgets
of this story are impressive
innovations that make the police
work easier, such as with the
addition of android partners.
They also make it much more
difficult for the police to
catch the bad guys, as in the
case of a DNA bomb that can
contaminate all DNA samples in
the vicinity.

Another highlight in the

show is the humour integrated
into the storyline, particularly
the interactions between Kennex
and Dorian. It is witty and at
times made me laugh out loud,
which is a nice contrast to the
dark tone of the crimes Kennex
and Dorian are fighting against.
I found Almost Human to
be really worth watching. It is
one of the best new programs to
premiere this season.

 

Karl Urban in Almost Human
Photo courtesy of Fax