Got loads of coursework to do but would rather procrastinate by looking at things on the Internet? Then check out the Magic Bullet website's brainy articles on Dr Who. While there is much here on the flashy new Ecclestone-Tennant Dr Who, there is more than enough stuff about real Dr Who to keep anyone away from coursework for quite some time.Consider Alan Stevens' article on Tomb of the Cybermen: The writer accuses this once beloved story of basically placing Orientalist clichés in a far future setting, not to deconstruct them but just because the original programme makers were lazy. I think, though, that maybe Mr Stevens is guilty of over-intellectualising the programme when he says "... the writers do not seem to be considering the story as a case of characters with problems and motivations, but as a series of set pieces providing dramatic thrills at appropriate moments". Dude, this is Dr Who we're talking about - give me exciting set pieces and dramatic thrills over a load of thesps exploring their motivations!
My recollection of Tomb of the Cybermen is that the book rocks when you read it as a child, but the reissued series is rather disappointing. But the main problem is not the Edwardian Orientalism, but the Cybermen themselves. They speak with heavily modulated voices that make them largely incomprehensible, thus explaining their failure to conquer the universe.
Thanks to Nicholas for pointing me at this website.
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