Re: S4E02 Up Doctor Who

On 13 Apr, 01:12, "Agamemnon" <agamem...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"The Real Zarbiface" <zarbif...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in messagenews:682cef3c-cead-44bc-9f25-d78bc20d530d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx





On Apr 13, 12:28 am, "Bazza" <bazza2...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Mr.Smartypants" <anybod...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:dae1402a-66f4-43c2-ba23-f802007f0992@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Apr 12, 5:07 pm, The Real Zarbiface <zarbif...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Apr 12, 9:11 pm, "Agamemnon" <agamem...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Another childish comedy. All that was missing was Frankie Howard
going,
Ooh
er missus, ye jest, ye jest, you are mocking Francis, nay, nay, and
thrice
nay, you are mocking Doctor Who. Yes, you are mocking Doctor Who!

You're entitled to your opinion Aggy but what a shame you're so
clueless about everything that your opinions are always crap.

There was no need for a homage to Del Boy and Lovely Jubbley

Except for the very good reason that it'd amuse the viewers. Most
people want ENTERTAINMENT on a Saturday evening Aggy. Doctor Who
isn't, and never has been, hard SF. Get used to it!

The point was that the TARDIS translates language. A rather clever
idea which now explains why all the aliens since 1963 spoke English.
The TARDIS translated Latin into what Donna would be familiar with;
modern London slang. That's why, when she actually spoke Latin, which
to their ears would be translated into modern English, they thought
she was a Celt. (As this was pre-cockney times they assumed it was the
nearest language that it sounded like to them, Celtic.)

and no need for
stupid GK Maximus and I Came, I Saw, I Conquered jokes by Donna and
the
moronic They must be Celtic running gag. Why couldn't they have
played
it
seriously for a change?

Most of it was very serious. You must have missed that while you were
shouting at the screen like a demented loony.

Ok...the JOKE was actually T K Maximus. It refers to the UK chain store
of
bargain designer clothing T K Max. Hope that clears that one up for the
illiterate and the foreigners.

Secondly....the TARDIS translation program...when did it do accents? I
don't
remember any Hartnell historical characters taking on cockney accents and
Del Boy characteristics. Whatever you say Aggy is correct on this point.
Whilst (as viewers) we all understand the requirement to transmit the
program in English rather than latin - and also appreciate the throw away
lines in the past to the never fully explained psychic properties of the
Tardis translating alien languages - it's a bit bloody too much when it
becomes a parody. Ever seen the movie Spartacus? 300? Even the popular
mini
series Rome? Sure...they all speak English..but they speak it as we
expect
Romans would speak it! It just adds to the reality of the show. Use a
southern English actor by all means but at least give them lines suitable
to
the era. God knows what else the Tardis translator has taken liberties
with
eh? Perhaps the Daleks really all sound like Po from the Teletubbies but
we
only "hear" what the Tardis wants us to? Sorry RTD...this sucked.

Baz

Romans speaking with RADA accents was all well and good in the
sixties, when that was the norm in tv drama, but the norm TODAY is for
tv drama to feature regional accents. RTD and his team are trying to
attract viewers who have grown up on watching Eastenders and The
Bill.

TWADDLE AND HOGWASH!

Accents have nothing to do with this issue. The Romans did NOT speak in a
cockney dialect

Or a middle England dialect. Or speak English. But in the episode they
are speaking English, and can't speak with Italian accents because the
inflections would be all wrong and would just make people wonder why
the TARDIS doesn't translate more precisely. Cockney's no more of a
stretch than these allowances - the actors have to speak with *some*
accent.

or use expressions with an English equivalent of Lovely
Jubbley.

I don't recall that specific expression being used, but certainly the
Romans would have had their own urban working-class slang. "Lovely-
jubbley" I can buy to an extent - it's a meaningless phrase only used
as slang in fixed contexts, so could well be treated as an equivalent
of Roman street slang used in much the same way. It's things like "get
off" and "give me a break" which are (a) idiosyncratic terms which
have completely different meanings when used as slang or as standard
English, and (b) aren't contemporary with Donna that I have problems
with it. Of course, the TARDIS translation explanation doesn't make
any sense for scenes where Donna and the Doctor aren't present anyway,
but one has to make allowances to some degree - they aren't going to
train all their actors to speak Latin with appropriate accents for
extended scenes.

Anyone who has read Latin

Oh come on, Aggy. Your review mentioned "I came, I saw, I conquered"
because you couldn't remember "veni, vidi, vici". So I doubt you've
read much Latin.

So in both a practical sense and in a fictional sense, the gimmick
works. And it's a bit of fun. What's not to like?

WRONG! The gimmick did not work and neither did the I'm Spartacus gags

Gag, singular. Though it looks from next week's trailer as though the
"are you married?" gag will become a running joke through the season.

which
were another rip-off from Monty Python.

Thought they were a ripoff from Spartacus, myself...

Phil
.