When I reviewed the the Ideas set for the Big Bang Theory, I was in a weird spot where I really liked a set but didn’t care at all for the source material. When I decided to review 21304 Doctor Who, it almost felt like I was in an opposite place… source material I just love but a set I was initially excited about but cooled off to indifferent by the time it came out.
Part of the reason may be that, as much as I love Doctor Who as a series, I don’t care much for the current doctor. Peter Capaldi is a fine actor, as is Jenna Coleman, but I don’t care for the portrayal of the doctor that can best be described as a “raging jerk” in our PG-rated language, and Clara is far more interesting when she’s apart from the doctor than when she is with him. I understand why the Ideas set focused on the current Doctor and his most recent companion… that makes sense from marketing. But in a show that has such a rich history, it’s certainly a down-note for me personally, and that tempers what I like.
Of course, that being said, we also get Daleks and my 2nd or 3rd favorite doctor in the set, which improves my outlook (I <3 Tennant, and Baker is always the one I love to watch on the older serials). At $59.99 in the US and 623 pieces, there seems to be some good value. And on its face, the design of this set is just fantastic, with the “bigger on the inside” represented nicely and a great little shelf piece on the closed-up TARDIS. At this point, huge fans likely already have the set, people who don’t like it haven’t touched it… the people still waiting are likely just like me, on the fence and wondering if it’s worth the money.
Or, you know, they could have just given me a Donna Noble figure and I would have been camping outside the LEGO store waiting to get this set. Just sayin’
