Tursiops
Tuesday 15th June 2010 1:33am [Edited]
Welwyn Garden City
9,788 posts
Quote: Godot Taxis @ June 15 2010, 1:36 AM BST
When was dialogue a transcript of everyday speech?
It isn't, but neither is it a requirement for characters to consistently speak in grammatically correct sentences.
You think I write sentences that don't actually mean anything? The meaning of my remark is obvious to anyone who can understand what the words I used literally mean.
Nothing wrong with my vocabulary, but I am afraid I could distil no meaning from the collection of words in question.
One assumes that when you write for a show there are no 'elements that do not fit in to the story' as you put it, since you construct your story around them. If you have to exclude the tardis and the assistant, lets face it, you're not really trying.
I am not sure they were excluded; in fact the Tardis featured rather more prominently than usual - usually it is just parked and forgotten about; the plot involved the Doctor attempting to recover the Tardis and rescue Amy. But in any case, Doctor Who should be playful with its format, so long as each story works on its own terms and does not undermine the whole. The approach of satisfactorily explained absence is considerably preferable to having the plot made flabby by the need to keep the assistant involved in the action (something that tended to happen in classic Who). The perceived need to write a part in every story for every character was a terrific drag in shows such as the later Star Trek franchises.
The sonic screwdriver was used. It was mentioned when the doctor was standing on the bed "no sonicking" and it was substituted with a toothbrush as joke.
So it was used by not being used?
I don't regard the Sonic Screwdriver as an essential element of Doctor Who. There has been much fan debate as to whether it should ever be used again. For me it is similar to K9.
Quite, but as the writers are stuck with it, like with K9 they have to find ways of writing around it. i.e. not using it, but not ignoring it. Which was how it was dealt with in this instance.
Psychic Paper is a load of bollocks that has no place in the show. It removes dramatic possibilities and is a quick fix for writers.
No, psychic paper has limited applications so it does not significantly remove dramatic possibilities, just a lot of tedious explaining; it is therefore acceptable as a plot device. The sonic has only become objectionable because under RTD it could be used to get the Doctor out of any possible hole.
No doubt the headbutts were written in at a late date when it was revealed that James Corden would be in it, but there is nothing to say about this sequence other than it should never have progressed past the first draft of the script.
The only redeeming aspect was that by making it painful they gave the Doctor a reason not to do it every time he needs to explain something in a hurry. But yes it was misjudged.