In Light of a Darker 'Doctor Who'

[SPOILER WARNING: This post contains mild spoilers from the first two episodes of series 8.]

Many people predicted that this would happen.

Yes, with the advent of Peter Capaldi's incarnation of the Doctor, we've seen a massive tonal shift for the show.

The Doctor himself has become more abrasive, less cuddly and harder to understand. Indeed, with only two episodes having aired to date, we've already seen the Doctor doing distinctly edgy, dark and disturbing things, things we wouldn't have expected from many of the other Doctors.

Certainly, the twelfth incarnation of our favourite Time Lord looks to be a more prickly persona than others he's had in the past, but I would argue that this is neither uncharacteristic, nor is it necessarily a bad thing. I've heard many viewers expounding their views about Capaldi's interpretation of the role as saying that he's too rough and scary and not at all like other Doctors before.

To this I would point out that each and every incarnation has had some terribly dark moments; the
first Doctor goes to bash a caveman's skull in in only the second episode of the very first series! From there, we go to the third and fourth Doctors, both of whom could be capable of a macabre moment; however, what many viewers (either children of the sixties and seventies or new fans watching the old episodes) fail to notice is that this darkness is often hidden behind a veil of humour.

Naturally, any Doctor Who fan worth their salt would point to the sixth Doctor as a perfect example of the Doctor's darkest personality. Often cold and uncaring, Colin Baker's version of the Time Lord had the potential to be utterly chilling in his ruthless and domineering nature. However, as mentioned before, the overall colours of his costume and the style of the show at the time bely this Doctor's true nature.

Only now, when we have a version of the programme which is filmed and edited in such a way that it compliments the darker side of the Doctor's new found personality do we see the shadow in the Doctor's soul.

Dark? Yes. Gritty? Undoubtedly. But thus far we've yet to see Peter Capaldi's Doctor do anything utterly unforgiveable. I would be remiss if I left out the horrifying moment in the series opener 'Deep Breath' where the Doctor leaves Clara behind because "there's no sense in us both getting caught". Indeed, it was that moment which, for me, cemented this incarnation as one of the most cut-throat to date.

However, while this action (and others) can be deemed questionable or risky, we've yet to see anything from which the Doctor cannot recover.

Even a moment from last Saturday's 'Into the Dalek' wherein we think the Doctor is about to save the life of an endangered soldier, only to discover that the Doctor was merely using his death as an opportunity to track the Dalek antibodies is understandable. The Doctor states there was nothing he could do to save the man's life so why would he risk himself and everybody else for something couldn't make any difference? At least in death he was able to help the rest of them complete their mission.

Admittedly, however, the Doctor's reaction to this is pretty dark, considering he's frankly uncaring
and cold about it - my fiancée turned to me during the initial viewing and stated defiantly "Matt wouldn't have done that!" - and while I agree that no he wouldn't have reacted that way, he would still have made the same choice, just with a lot more apologising.

With the dawn of Capaldi's tenure aboard the TARDIS, I feel that we're seeing a Doctor more in keeping with each past regeneration. In 'Deep Breath' the Doctor said of the Half-Face Man "Question; you take a broom, you replace the handle. Then later you replace the brush. You do that over and over again. Is it still the same broom? Answer: No of course it isn't!" - now, while this serves as a perfect metaphor for the Half-Face Man himself, we also see the Doctor glimpse his own reflection.

He doubts that he is the Doctor any more. He's changed his face and his persona so many times, there's not a trace of the original him left...

While I find this a poignant and powerful moment, I would argue the exact opposite. For the first time in the show's history, I would say that this Doctor is more the Doctor than any other. He feels like the complete sum of his parts. The logical next step after the mad, professorial Matt Smith is, of course, the calm and confident Peter Capaldi. Long may he continue. The Doctor is in safe hands.


For more of my writing on Doctor Who, be sure to click here to see some of my work as one of WhovianNet's WhovianNetters! Don't forget to check out the work of my colleagues, too!

Gypsy Jazz, Django Reinhardt, & Lés Beau Djangles

Bet you thought I was dead, what with the lack of blogging lately. I must apologise... The reason for my lack of posts is mainly because I've been writing lots of other content for lots of better, more interesting online things than this! (If you're interested click here for music, or here for Doctor Who.)

Django.

On top of that, I've been practising some guitar with a good friend of mine. We've formed a guitar duo dedicated to the idea of playing a style of music known as Gypsy Jazz. The reason for this odd name is because the style was spearheaded by an incredibly gifted musician named Django Reinhardt.

Django was a rare talent; he completely revolutionised the way people look at the guitar. Born into a Romany gypsy family in 1910, Django was always surrounded by music and, to cut a long story short, he became a virtuoso on the banjo-guitar at an early age. Things seemed set for Django and he felt confident and happy that he would be a successful French musician. As with all good stories, however, tragedy struck, and at the age of 18 Django was caught in a fire. Much of the left side of his body was badly burned and his fretting hand was left gnarled and twisted after the accident. He had little to no movement in his third and fourth fingers but retained mobility in his first two fingers. It was this which provided Django with a small ray of hope and, while healing in a French hospital, Django retaught himself how to play.

With the dawn of the Jazz Age Django seemed poised to take the world by storm. Forming his band, The Quintet of the Hot Club of France, Django and his compatriots quickly became some of the most highly regarded players on the jazz scene.

Django and an early example of the Selmer Maccaferri
guitar with which he would become synonymous.

Django later died in 1953, having left an enormous legacy of terrific guitar jazz behind. On top of this, he truly created a new style of music and guitar playing which would go on to inspire (either directly or indirectly) almost every guitar player to follow him.

The music of Django is truly remarkable and, as mentioned before, my friend Dave and I have formed our own Gypsy Jazz guitar group. Named Lés Beau Djangles, we play a mixture of covers, originals and twists on modern songs.

Before playing this style of music I was unaware of just how complex and layered a style can be and, thanks to gypsy jazz, I've found myself growing not just as a guitar player, but as a musician in general. If any guitarists out there are considering playing this style, I would urge them to do so.

From an early age I was besotted with Django's music and never truly believed I'd find myself playing it - I always thought it would be too hard and too complicated for someone like me to even grasp the basics. How wrong I was. With a little perseverance and hard work I believe anyone can pick up even the rudiments of the style!

While I haven't been at this for very long, I feel I'm on the way to eventually maybe getting somewhere with this and I'd recommend you do the same! With amazing players like Robin Nolan giving excellent free lessons on YouTube, what excuse have you got?

Take a look below at Dave and I playing 'Djangologie' and be sure to like us on Facebook! Until next time, chums, keep swinging!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

As Brits, we often find ourselves being indoctrinated with American culture. We're shown American TV programmes and American films, we're fed American foods, we listen to American music and we use American innovations.

Yearning to breathe free.

As a child, I became obsessed with American culture due to the prevalent depiction of "the American Dream" the entire ethos of New York. A hangover from the very first immigrants to set foot on Ellis Island and read the inscription on the Statue of Liberty:

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free."

It was this shameless display of hope which so captured my imagination. As a child, nothing speaks to an over-active imagination quite like a land where anything is possible, where sky scrapers line the streets and children play stick ball in the road. Where music can be heard from all corners of the city and jazz fills the air in a smoky swirl of ecstasy.

Because of this obsession, I ended up, even to this day, being interested in a lot of facets of American culture. Comic books have always been a big thing for me, they feel so quintessentially American (well some do) that I would often use them as an escapist portal into an ideal, super-hero filled America.

Young Baseball fan, around 1941.

The other thing that I've always been interested in is Baseball. This is probably due to its' history as the
nation's pastime. The game could have been played (in some form or another) as early as 1744, however, this wouldn't have been anything like the Baseball played today, or even when it really took off in the States. However, it has been an integral part of American history and is played with as much fervour and enjoyment today as it always has been.

It has truly captured the imaginations of, not just the American people, but a vast number of fans around the world.

As I've said, I always had a passing interest in the game. When I was 11 I got a Baseball glove for my birthday and I thought I was the coolest little bugger in the playground because of it (that didn't last long!). I would play catch with my friends and try to emulate what I'd seen in films or on TV. Street-wise Brooklyn youths playing stick ball and chewing huge wads of bubble-gum in the 1940s. That was the Baseball ideal for me.

Babe Ruth

More recently, however, I've been watching films like "42", about seminal player Jackie Robinson, and a fantastic (if a little dated) biopic of Babe Ruth starring John Goodman simply entitled "The Babe". It was these films that really
rekindled my interest in the sport and got me reading up on the game. I began to find I
was a lot more interested in it now than I ever was before. Whereas, as a child, I was holding onto the misbegotten notion that by having an interest in Baseball, I could hold onto something of the ideal I'd imagined for myself, now I was just interested in the sport. I was in it for the love of the game.

Jackie Robinson

I've recently been watching Baseball games and I've been enthralled by what I've seen. Those who know me will know of my dislike of watching Football (or as I like to call it 'Kickaball') and I have no interest in Rugby, Golf, or any other such sport. I'm not sporty by any stretch of the imagination. But Baseball has spoken to me.

Truth be told, I feel a bit silly. Mainly because, if ever I show an interest in any sort of sport, people simply can't believe that I could be interested in a sport. Now, I understand their surprise, but just like everybody else, some sports hold a special place in my heart. Baseball is of interest to me, as it always has been and, personally, I'm glad of that.

The game holds a great deal of excitement for me, where other sports simply don't. Some people would argue that it's boring and that they don't like the set up, that's fine. But I feel the same way about Kickaball. We're all different and the fact that there are so many sports, teams, leagues, cups, players and fans (of any and all sports) can attest to that.

It wasn't until recently that I realised how exciting it can be to have a sport that you love and a team you support (no matter how much of an underdog they are!) finally, as I enter into my 22nd year on Earth, I get it.

My two jerseys. The Chicago Cubs, the underdogs I love, and the Seattle Rainiers,
a vintage jersey from Ebbets Field Flannels.