A recent comment by one reader prompted me to think about where I am
going with this, and whether it's time to repaint the wagon.
Basically, the problem was that he couldn't always tell from the outset
which story I was reviewing, so he suggested including the name of the
story in the title of the post, and in the "next time" slot at the end. I
thought about it: it made sense, particularly with the non-televised
stories whose episode titles are sometimes pretty obscure (or even
invented by me, as will probably happen next when I review Frostfire).
But I didn't want to do it. I did eventually come up with a solution to
the request that satisfied both of us - I would mention the story title
in the first sentence of each episode review - but the act of pinning
down why I didn't want to go along with his offered solution reminded me of some original intentions I had regarding the blog.
One thing that I may not have ever made clear is that this isn't
(primarily) a story review blog. I was prompted to start it when I read a
piece on Elizabeth Sandifer's TARDIS Eruditorum about how we consume Doctor Who
in the 21st Century, as opposed to how it was seen in the 1960s. Back
then it was a serialised show, designed to be watched one episode a week
and to provide family entertainment for 25 minutes each Saturday
throughout most of the year. It wasn't a bunch of made-for-TV
movies split into 25-minute chunks, which we can now watch on DVD in all
their long-form glory. Sitting down for almost three hours to watch The Daleks doesn't give the right impression at all.
So, I started my marathon explicitly to experience the show as a series
of episodes. And that's why I do so many episode reviews: this is
(primarily) an episode review blog. The "Next Time" bit at the
end is intended as a caption card, rather than being particularly
informative for readers.
I'd forgotten that. I was becoming concerned that there wasn't enough
meat in the serial reviews at the end of each run of episode reviews -
more importantly, I'd started writing episode reviews merely out of
habit. And I would spice up my "Next Time" sections to make them more
fun, more chatty, or more teasing. But in doing all this I was slipping
away from what makes this blog unusual. The fanfic, the "serial # as a
whole" reviews, the "what was I thinking?" posts like this, all have
their place; but they are subsidiary to the main point of the exercise,
which is the episode reviews.
It's aimed at a very niche audience. I could probably attract a lot more
readers if I did turn it into a story review blog, but there are plenty
of good ones out there already (Doc Oho's,
for example), and if I was trying to compete with them I'd give up. Let
me focus on my tiny pond instead. That way there's a chance I'll still
be doing my marathon in a year's time.
Where am I headed? I ain't certain. Just like the viewers of the 1960s. All I know is I am on my way.
Next Time:
The Morisco.
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