Watched The Chase. Like the Tenth doctor’s travels, the first episode shows Shakespeare. Unlike the later story, this gives quite an uninspired explanation for the authoring of Hamlet. Also the episode manages to pander to the fan base by including a video of The Beatles’ television appearance (the song being played, Ticket to Ride, was released just a month prior to the show’s airing date). It really is a good thing that The Beatles ended up being a long-term success with enduring popularity; otherwise, this would have been a reference to a long-forgotten band.
The TARDIS finds its way to the top of the Empire State Building, along with some Daleks. Later in Tenth Doctor times we’ll be seeing some Daleks working on the very same building. After Manhattan, the crew lands on a moving ship (the Mary Celeste); this would probably be the first time they’ve landed on a moving object, so far. The ship moves on to a haunted mansion exhibit (note: the writers could have known about the Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion since it was already under construction and had been publicized).
I really liked the fact that the Daleks’ time machine is much like the TARDIS, i.e. bigger on the outside, and the Doctor vs. Robot Doctor fight. Very nifty.
Finally, we say farewell to the original companions — Barbara and Ian. I don’t know yet what the other companions will bring: when I started watching the old series my only frame of reference for companions was Rose Tyler and Martha Jones, who are quite different in attitude (and age) from Barbara and Ian. I didn’t really know what to expect, and thus was surprised by the somewhat formal style of Ian and the fear often exhibited by Barbara, plus by the patronizing relationship the Doctor had with Barbara. Some things were the same: the Doctor needs his companions, just as they need him, and he depends on them thinking on their feet and never really losing hope. Over the course of the first two seasons our Barbara and Ian matured and became more fun, more interested in their travels, more inclined to get involved in local affairs in the places they visited. I have high hopes for the upcoming companions.
