Torchwood/ Doctor Who; Derivative much?
POSTED BY: SpaceAnJL
UPDATED: Monday, April 21, 2008 08:31
VIEWED: 8019
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Is it just me, or does the whole vibe coming offa these shows smell kinda Joss-like to you guys? Not the full-on Joss, just...Joss-ish.
I mean...in S2/Dr W, a whole planet that just laid down and went to sleep under the influence of 'Bliss'? Brown coats and snappy banter. (Well, would-be snappy banter - it really took off in Torchwood2, with His Spikeness.) There are very definitely Browncoats involved somewhere in that process. Warping minds and infiltrating themselves.
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Infiltrating themselves?
they allow so much MORE on british tv.....
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The show runner behind both of them (Russell T. Davies) has said he's a fan of Buffy and Firefly. However, given that there was a good 30 years worth of Doctor Who produced before Buffy was even a failed movie, most of the central ideas in Who are long established.
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I've seen most of the old episodes (Tom Baker was my Doctor!) I was really just remarking on the influence pervading the new writing. But I suppose you could equally say, no X-files, no Torchwood.
Granted, there are only so many original storylines in the world, so everything comes from something. It's just that occasionally some programmes reveal their sources a bit more blatantly. I think if you call it a homage, you don't get sued.
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More music video goodness... this one is Doctor Who... (well, it's mostly Rose, but still...)
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Quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAnJL:
(Well, would-be snappy banter - it really took off in Torchwood2, with His Spikeness.)
Anthony Head also did a couple of Dr. Who episodes a couple of years ago. Keeping it in the Family.
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Oh, yeah, that nicely creepy not-blinking trick of his.
Just seen the latest 'Torchwood' episode here in the UK - very 'Out of Gas'.
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Tom Baker was my doctor, too...though I just about remember Jon Pertwee's fashion sense. The new writing does sometimes smack of Jossverse but then, Joss did study/live in England for a while so I like to think that it had a profound effect on him.
The 'old' doctors had some pretty snappy dialogue, too, and if you want to really look for older sci-fi/supernatural influences then Quatermass would be a good place to start. I don't know if Joss has seen any but I wouldn't be surprised. I don't know when we'll get to see Torchwood or Dr Who over here in Canada, even the DVDs are hard to get.
The 'Jossification' of the world can't be a bad thing, surely (though making up words like that probably is...)
You are beholden to no man
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I know Quatermass well. (And Dr Who referenced it in the last series, the episode with Dr Lazarus)
I'd recommend John Wyndham, if you can get his stuff.
As for older sci-fi/supernatual influences (looks at bookshelves) Adams, Asher, Asimov, Barker, Banks, Bear, Brin, Benford, Cherryh, Clarke, Dickson, Gaiman, Hamilton, Harrison, Heinlein, Kneale, LeGuin, Moore, Morgan, Pratchett, Pullman, Rowling, Stoker, Tolkien, Wyndham...yep, think I've got a few ideas.
That's just the one set of bookshelves, by the way. I also collect classic crime, and I studied medieval history. I've got some amazing stuff on the history of magic, the evolution of the vampire myth and some neat ways to kill folk undetected. 
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Hissssssssss!