Well of course all week it’s been Olympics.
Saturday and Sunday: Two days of rather boring telecasts. Beach volleyball has a real lack of energy. I think it’s because once the ball hits the sand it’s dead, no bouncing, no nothing. Similarly dull viewing with badminton (same problem as beach volleyball) and soccer – so frustrating with the lack of scoring. However, the gymnastics and the diving are real delights – a combination of technique and artistry. And the swimming is always exciting as well (except this year it’s on in the day when I am at work so I’m mainly watching it in replay).
Sunday: Doctor Who
I thought it was because I was really tired that I was struggling to stay awake that the plot seemed underdeveloped and confusing. In spite of the interesting story of the Doctor having a daughter I didn’t enjoy much in this episode. I wanted some backstory to explain the Hath (the fish people with the bubbling test tube mouths). And I didn’t understand why the Hath and humans were even trying to settle the planet, or why they were fighting. While I enjoyed a little bit of dramatic acting from David Tennant when Jenny was dying, and the little jokes about lots of running, I thought the whole “numbers counting down” was a little convenient and too quickly worked out by Donna. And why if Jenny has some of the Doctor in her genetic makeup after all and she regenerated didn’t she change appearance as the Doctor usually does – or is this optional?? Have I misunderstood somewhere? This was a difficult one. So many questions…..
Wednesday: The Hollowmen: WASN’T ON….grrrrrr…
Thursday: Lunchtime: Swimming finals
I decided I would eat lunch at home so I could actually catch some of the swimming finals. Such jingoistic one-eyed commentary! It’s gold or you’re an un-Australian loser apparently….You could just feel the disappointment from the commentators when Leisel Jones won silver not gold.
However the highlight of Bruce McAvaney’s commentary so far was his description of Michael Phelps trying to “climb Mt Spitz”. Are Roy and HG ghostwriting for the seven commentary team now?
Thursday: Afternoon: Weightlifting and Table Tennis
Yes I know it seems unlikely but weightlifting is a great sport for TV. It’s quick and to the point, as well as being full of drama. Similarly, after about two minutes of watching table tennis I could really see the appeal of this game (when it’s played at a high level). It’s fast and furious stuff. In the words of the man in the hat, do yourselves a favour people and watch it if there’s any more in the broadcast.
Friday: Father Ted
Thank you thank you thank you ABC 2 for the reruns of Father Ted on Friday nights. Technically, I didn’t actually watch it because I went out, but I would have. Father Dougall is so endearingly moronic.
Don’t quote me on this, but I’m not convinced that Jenny regenerated–it seemed too delayed to be an ordinary regeneration, and the Master’s death seemed to suggest that Time Lords (in this new incarnation, at least) have a limited time frame in which to regenerate. Jenny seemed to have been dead for a while. I think Jenny coming back to life may have been a side-effect of the terraforming process; the golden light that came out of her mouth looked remarkably like the terraforming light.
But the original series showed that regeneration is a highly individual process. Every one of the Doctor’s incarnations–except the second Doctor, who was forced to regenerate as a punishment–regenerated after trauma. But it’s not always like that.
When Romana regenerated from Mary Tamm to Lalla Ward, it was a deliberate choice, no trauma involved, and she went through a process of choosing between various bodies.
And we’ve seen The Valeyard, a figure from between the Doctor’s twelfth and thirteenth regenerations, in The Trial of a Time Lord.
And the Master not only managed to cling on to a kind of half life after his regenerations were all used up, in The Deadly Assassin, but found a way to steal other people’s bodies, as a corruption of the regeneration process, in The Keeper of Traken.
So if Jenny did regenerate, I suppose it’s just another individual way of experiencing the process.
Hey thanks…that’s a great insight into the variances of regeneration etc (especially for me as a relative newcomer to the delights of the world of the doctor)