il Giardino Romantico

【中文版在下方】

'Who's there?'  This is the first line that is spoken in one of Shakespeare's all-time favourite tragedies - 'Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'.  Identity is one of the most intriguing themes of the play.  Interestingly, the Shakespearean actor, David Tennant, who has played Hamlet a number of times, also stars as the protagonist, the Doctor, in the BBC series, 'Doctor Who'. 

Before arriving in the UK, I had already heard of its popularity.  After arriving here, I've continued to hear people talk about either the series itself or David Tennant.  When I first attempted at watching it, I turned it off after about five minutes.  Then I gave it another chance, and ever since then, I had been hooked on to the series.  Now what is it about the series that is so mesmerizing?

The Doctor has no name.  He is a Time Lord who travels in his spaceship called the Tardis.  In each of the different series, he travels with a different companion, namely Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, and Donna Noble.  The Doctor travels through time and space to resolve different issues that arise throughout the universe.  He saves planets from destruction, including Earth, and he salvages different races in the universe from genocide. 

If that is all there is to the series, it would be nothing more than a mediocre SF, good to watch only for the purpose of killing time.  But, as we all know, all good things withstand the test of time for very good reasons.  Samuel Johnson once described in his Preface to his edition of Shakespeare's works, that Shakespeare is a poet of nature.  He wrote plays that portrayed the nature of human kind, and his plays were popular, and still are, for that exact same reason.  'Doctor Who' is no less than that. 

Throughout his travels, we see the Doctor, not only salvaging our planet, but justifying human cause to the alien races that desire to destroy us.  Our emotions, our feelings, our love towards our family and friends become the most priceless possessions in the whole of the universe.  The sad thing is, often times, even us humans are ignorant of this valuable treasure in our keeping.  There are traitors that will betray us and work with the aliens towards the destruction of human kind.  There are selfish people who will destroy their own kind, only to achieve their personal goals.  Well, with that said, I believe the portrayal of the human race is pretty much self-explanatory. 

It is not enough, though, to have a saviour that is willing to go the whole nine yards to protect us from any harm that we may be exposed to.  The Doctor is a Christ-figure, who has his share of sacrifice.  The Time Lord does not die easily.  He has two-hearts, and he can regenerate whenever he 'dies'.  He never ages in appearance.  Throughout the series, we are told that he is around nine-hundred years old.  What this means to the Doctor, is that even though he has companions from time to time, he is always alone.  He is alone because he is the sole survivor of his race who have all died in a war.  He is alone because no matter who chooses to be with him at one time, will have to end up leaving him. 

He lives in ultimate fear of loneliness.  Yet it does not stop him from doing what he does best.  Like many Shakespearean plays, 'Doctor Who' mingles seriousness with comic relief.  The funny bits are hilarious, and the tragic bits is bound to tear your heart up to pieces.  The aspect that attracts me most, is not his wittiness, nor his humour, but the way he is willing to sacrifice what he desires most, in order to save a race or planet from being completely sabotaged.

In 'Doctor Who', you'll find out a new explanation for many mysteries throughout history.  How, for instance, Shakespeare's apparently 'lost play' had been lost, and the truth behind Agatha Christie's unexplained disappearance and memory loss.  History has been weaved in so well into the plot, because the Doctor can travel through time and space, but he is not allowed to interfere with major historical events, although he does make an exception in Pompeii.

Now, then, if you ever get a chance to catch the series, believe me, it will definitely be worth the watch! 

[Scroll down to see a 5min video clip of 'Doctor Who - The Next Doctor' (2008)]

【以下中文非直接翻譯】

<<超時空博士>>是英國BBC電視台製作的科幻電視影集。在還沒來英國之前，就已經聽說過了。來到英國後，還是常聽到大家談論此影集的內容。劇中主角David Tennant是一位莎劇演員，飾演『哈姆雷特』聞名演藝界。在此劇中，還是不失哈姆雷特那瘋瘋癲癲的個性，以趣味、幽默的方式詮釋了『博士』一角。

『博士』沒有名字。大家都稱他為『博士』。他是一個能夠穿越時空以及空間的探險家。他最主要的任務，其實不過就是大家所熟悉的『拯救世界』。但『博士』與一般救世主不同的地方在於他拯救的不只是一個世界，而是整個宇宙都在他的行徑範圍內。

他與他的飛行船『Tardis』帶著不同的異性伴侶穿越不同時空與空間，在不同的時間拯救地球與人類無數次。當然也在宇宙間拯救了不少星球。這種劇情在科幻影集裡應該已經老掉牙了。第一次嘗試著去看得時候，我只看了五分鐘就放棄。但在給了他第二次機會之後，我一連從第一季看到看到第四季，卻還是欲罷不能。

就如同十八世紀曾編輯過莎士比亞全劇的詩人Samuel Johnson所說：莎士比亞是個描述『自然形態』的詩人。人類的本性，在他的劇中描述的一輕二處。因為如此，人們從莎士比亞當代至今，一直對於他所寫的喜劇、悲劇、歷史劇會如此的戴愛。我觀察到的<<超時空博士>>其實也是如此。

在拯救宇宙的同時，尤其是地球與人類的時候，『博士』無數次說出人類的可愛處。我們的情感以及對親友之間難分難捨的愛，是這位非人類『博士』眼中最寶貴的特徵。而在我們當中，卻依然還有人自私的只為自己的利益找想，不顧他人，寧願眼見自己的同類全部被外星人屠殺，也不願意放棄自己的貪圖。

然而，這位『博士』心中卻是無比的寂寞。身為他們星球中唯一的存活者，『博士』在四季中帶著不同的異性夥伴穿越不同時空與空間。每每必須失去一個夥伴，他又陷入他的一人世界。即使是有伴在身邊時，他的內心深處依然是那麼得孤獨與寂寞。令人最感動的是，『博士』不會因為自己的寂寞，就放棄拯救宇宙的重要任務。他是宇宙和平的維持者。

『博士』有兩顆心臟。『博士』的外表完全不會老化。若是受重傷，或是『死』了，他可以馬上重新再生。不朽的生命，讓他即使有著不同的人類伴侶，他也知道總有一天必須彼此分離。

從此影集中，除了喜怒哀樂俱全之外，你還可以長知識。例如：傳說中莎士比亞遺失的劇本是怎麼遺失的？真的有劇嗎？或是懸疑小說家Agatha Christie到底是為什麼會突然失蹤，而現身後為何又會失意？實際歷史可以跟影集劇本這麼一拍即合的原因是『博士』雖然擁有穿越時空與空間的能力，但他卻不能違背宇宙的大法律：介入重要歷史性事件。即使如此，被感化的『博士』還是在龐貝火山爆發時破了一慣的例子。

這部寫實描述人性的科幻影集，錯過了實在可惜。如果有機會觀看，真的不要輕易錯過。

以下是<<超時空博士>>2008年聖誕節特輯『The Next Doctor』前五分鐘片段：

天仙念：還是有很多網友抱怨說英文太多。天仙這次破天荒的第一次以雙語呈現電影影集觀賞心得。希望大家賞個臉看一下。但因為天仙寫的順序是由英文版先開始，所以中文部份若寫的不好，請見諒。