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Qixotl
Reviews
Star Cops (1987)
Cynical, realistic, and brilliant
A neglected classic. Wonderful low-key SF tales - the titular police department has only a moonbase and a couple of space stations to deal with, but the stories are thought-provoking and frighteningly believable. Best of all, the good guys don't always win. Top-notch acting all round makes this well worth tracking down. Happy hunting...
Doctor Who (1996)
Opinion of a British fan
Well, it looks nice.
The production design, direction and photography are top-notch, and it's wonderful to see the good Doctor (played wonderfully by Paul McGann) in such a slick production.
Unfortunately, the one thing they neglected was the one thing that kept the original show going for 26 years solid - a good story. The plot is embarrassingly simplistic (The Doctor literally racing his arch-rival to reach the MacGuffin, with a weak confrontation tacked on the end) and over-reliant on obscure continuity references, many of which are wrong (enraging fans when it was first shown), although fandom has since managed to retrofit most of the 'errors' into making sense. Watch it, enjoy the lavish budget and McGann's excellent portrayal of the Doctor, but switch off higher brain functions first.
High points: the 7th Doctor's death in a gruelling ER-style hospital scene, the 8th commandeering transport by holding himself at gunpoint.
Low points: the continuity-heavy prologue, the technobabble, the motorbike chase, the sickly happy ending...