Doctor Who binge

I'm taking a break from a Doctor Who, Series 2 marathon. Heidi's already watched the whole thing so this is (at least) her second time through it. You see, I like Doctor Who -- Heidi's pretty much obsessed with it. I especially like David Tennant as Doctor Who. He's so much fun and clearly, he has a lot of fun with the role. I was telling Heidi that David Tennant seems like a guy I'd like to hang out with, have a meal with or something like that. He just seems like he knows how to have fun. Perhaps it's that sense of little boy that he conveys -- something that I think speaks to every adult male. For inside every adult male, there's a 12-year old boy that's been buried by years of adult responsibility and expectations just dying to get out. And I think David Tennant at least does a really good job of pretending to be that way. Of course, I could be completely wrong and Tennant could be a first class ass, but Heidi says that from everything she's read and seen, he seems like a nice guy.

I only have 4 more episodes to go in the series -- unfortunately, I already know how it ends. It was impossible to avoid, but even so, I won't spoil it here for those Stateside fans of Doctor Who who haven't seen Series 2 yet. Anyway, I really do love the show. There's something about the writing, the character, the Buffy meets traditional sci-fi feel of it that really appeals to me. And that's coming a long way from the first time I watched it and was completely unimpressed. Granted it was a VHS copy of a Region 2 DVD that had really bad audio, and once I got a chance to watch them on our own Region 2 DVDs, it made all the difference in the world. I mean, it does take a little getting used to listening to actors speaking quickly in an English accent. At times, it was almost like it was a foreign language which is weird because it's English, for Pete's sake!

But one of the episodes today ("The Idiot's Lantern") had perhaps one of the best pieces of subtle writing that I've witnessed in a while. The Doctor is trying to thwart the plans of the "alien-of-the-week" and has the following exchange with a minor character:

Tommy: You don't even know where to start looking! It's too late...
Doctor Who: It's never too late, as a wise person once said. Kylie, I think.

How many sci-fi shows would have the nerve to put in a pop culture reference to Kylie Minogue? Not many, I daresay.

And because I can't share the "Never Too Late" mp3 (darn DRM technology), here's the YouTube video.