Doctor Who S5, Episodes 1&2-- SPOILERS

[rabid1st]

I don't know what it is about me and Doctor Who. We seem to be tapping into the same creative slipstream. What I haven't told any of you, yet, because I didn't want to raise false hopes, is that I went back to the drawing board a few weeks ago on Wild Geese AU (which was sort of Part 2). I based what I was doing on my own predictions re: S5 starting with a particular death. See this post for my fearless prediction...http://rabid1st.livejournal.com/315487.html

I expected to be wrong about my predictions. But, as usual, nearly everything I wrote about in my NEW Wild Geese chapter was referenced in this latest episode. :headdesk:

What is it about me and Doctor Who? It is there in my head, but it is not in my hands. Which means we are all destined to be bitterly disappointed by any attempt I make to write this one. And yet...and yet...I know that Moff will not go where I would go for the 50th Anniversary. Even though, where I'm going, I think, is the proper destination for what Moff will inevitably serve up this season. Because Moff can't help but meddle.

All that said, I quite liked the episodes. They were very clever and quite adaptable to my storyline needs. So, thanks again, Moff. We seem to be made for each other. I should stop giving you such a hard time, shouldn't I? But...alas...you gave us River Song and you keep telling us instead of showing us and that's annoying. :smirk: Spoilers to follow...

First, it was the Doctor who died. Second, it could still be River who shot him, because we don't see who is in that suit. And it could be that River is the little girl. After all, it would explain a lot. We don't know that he didn't meet her for the first time the day she was born. Actually, that would work nicely as we go forward with the character, because AK will be getting too old to play her and we will need a new and much younger actress, eventually. And there is no sense telling me that Moff already had a story with the Doctor influencing a child into loving him...because I will tell you third time is the sure sign of a writer's personal cliche. This, I think, is Moff's core story again and again...it's the Peter Pan Syndrome in him, like "The Doctor In Love" was RTD's default position.

I love The Silence. The very idea of them is compelling and completely scary. But I think they should rethink their slogan. I mean, The Silence Will Fall? So did Rome. Rory was there. And I suppose I was the only one that got Rose references in this episode. I know that Moff wanted me to think of River, but I couldn't. I LOLed over Richard Nixon playing a big part in this episode. And the Doctor advising him to record everything and "trust only me."

Coming to the whole idea of how to defeat the alien menace with their own petard. Very well done. Maybe it wasn't like the Doctor to do it this way, but I will say, what many others have already said, and that is that Moff knows how to get to the heart of what is genuinely scary. That creepy old orphanage with the creepy man stuck there forever, surrounded by horrible monsters just behind his back. The time kid...who I am going to predict is NOT a time lord, unless we are going to finally discuss how you make NEW time lords. I will say that this baby is also not Rory's or the Doctor's but was implanted by The Silence while they had Amy. OR...was doctored (pardon the pun) in some way at least. Though, there were shades of Disheveled in this episode. Probably just a time machine + babies coincidence though. It is very possible that TARDIS travel influences children in the womb.

Amazingly, Amy did not drive me completely insane during this episode. I can't tell if that is because she really was trying to act like a little girl last season or not. I didn't buy into her grief for one nanosecond, so I hate to give her props for acting. On the other hand, nobody did a good job with the grief if you ask me. And that's one problem I did outline in my post about it. Too much timey-wimey stuff is risky because your audience gets jaded and figures why bother grieving for something that is meaningless. Without actors to really sell something you don't have an EPIC moment.

But back to Amy. She was more proactive, actually doing meaningful things rather than grandstanding in a LOOK AT ME, I'M SO CLEVER fashion with no understanding of the deeper meaning behind anything...and it really helped me deal with her. A certain level of maturity is a good thing in a companion. I like not getting completely nauseated by everyone's Disney level cuteness. Now, if only River wasn't Captain Jack with breasts and a double dip of double entendre. Of course, if she IS Captain Jack with breasts, then all is forgiven. This is not to say I love this crew or that I think they are going to stay on the air. I am sticking with it goes to the Anniversary and then is off the air for good. Because I don't think the average viewer will have the patience that Moff demands, especially when he keeps using the same set pieces for his stories. Lost little girl? Check. Haunted house? Check. Inappropriate sexual jocularity? Check. Quick look behind you? Check.

The Doctor in particular needs to stop being such a maroon. I'm tired of suspending my belief to allow him to be clever and commanding. I'm tired of listening to him ramble and being hit with a real need to have Ten back to ramble for real. River kissed him and he squirmed. You know who else squirmed? Ten! You know who didn't? Nine! And Eight! Both of them kissed women without squirming. This, more than anything else, tells me that Matt Smith shouldn't be in this role. Or that Moff shouldn't be writing him. Eleven isn't his own man. He's just a youthful version of Ten with more quirks and twitches and a bowtie. I don't mean he's like Ten as in they have the same personality. I mean, Matt doesn't ever convince me that he defines what the Doctor means to all of us.

I know I'm being hard on poor Matt Smith here and I know some people love him. But is he incapable of putting his own stamp on things? He talks faster and he scampers around more and he flirts with girls or women in blatant fashion...all like Ten...but with less confidence and more actual sexual innuendo. David could loosen his tie and make us all think about sex, Matt has to take off all his clothes and hide under a woman's skirt. More obvious about everything, isn't more interesting. Moff needs to stop telling me how wonderful he is and MAKE him wonderful. Or rather, just...make him go away. I'm sorry, he's a nice enough guy, but he's not convincing in this role. He's just not.



Rae

Comments

[susanb03.livejournal.com]

My husband says that he has NO real acting experience. He's too young. David had EXPERIENCE. You're going to get a watered down version.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Yes. But also there is no excuse for Moff not stopping it from being this cookie cutter nonsense. Every Doctor before this had a unique personality. Eleven does not, even if you find him adorable (which I sometimes do) or cute (which I am too old to do)...he's not original in any way but cosmetically.

Even SIX was an original. He stank. But he was his own Doctor.

Rae

[sensiblecat.livejournal.com]

So glad someone feels the same as I do about Matt. i think they should have gone with the kind old man thing. complete contrast to Ten so no invidious comparisons. And Matt seems to have the unique quality of convincing you he's very old. It was all working beaitifully in The Big Bang, so why change things? did someone tell Moffatt the Americans would need him to be more sexy?

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Yes! I think Matt might have pulled off the old man bit, had they stayed with that and developed it. I like him best when he is weary of things.

I do wonder if Moff is just too controlling and ruining his actor's performances with his over-the-top styling? The writing could be getting in their way, making it much harder for them to lock onto real characterization. Or is it simply that the actors are not mature and so they can't make anything out of their roles? AK's cheesy Captain Jack in Drag performances make me feel that the problem here is the man at the helm. Surely, she is more capable of range than we have seen so far.

[saku-teiki.livejournal.com]

RE: Disheveled. My boyfriend asked me if there was anything in Classic Who that explained what would happen to a pregnant woman who travelled in the TARDIS. I immediately thought of your story (which I last read over a year ago, at least. I then proceeded to tell him about Rose's baby (Susan!). I think he thinks I'm weird because my mind thought your fanfic was canon for a second. xD

RE: Amy. I didn't like Amy at ALL last season. She drove me insane. I scoffed when the Doctor died because I went "oh, cool, this season will be about who killed him and why. Nifty, I guess." And then the Silence showed up and I was like O_O OMG it's the Silence! Although I kept thinking they were saying something like "Psy-lents" so it's not actually "Silence" but something similar, like the latest Doctor Who comic that has aliens named "Ju'wes" who interfere with Jack the Ripper (hence the mispelling of "Jews" on the wall). Back to Amy. When she said she was pregnant I just... gah. I HATE babies. Well, I hate when a main character has a baby. It just ruins the dynamic of the show and makes it... domestic. ^_~

Rory was cute as always. River's admission that her greatest fear is the day when he doesn't know who she is was heartbreaking and makes me want to watch the Library episodes yet again.

I was talking with my best friend about Ten, and how absolutely sexy "Fear Her" is, all because he's not wearing a tie and his shirt's unbuttoned. Yum. I bet Eleven would look just as attractive. Okay, there's no chance of that, but still.

I was really starting to hate emo!Ten but Eleven is just... too happy. It's like everything never happened. Which might be true. If the Daleks never existed, does that mean Rose might still be in our universe? Hmmm...

I realized at work today that it's most likely River in the spacesuit who killed the Doctor. River as a little girl. But then I wonder how she would have gotten into Archaeology and become a doctor herself. Did they ever explain how she got out of prison and became a Professor? Bah! But River being in the suit (and the little time!kid) seems way too obvious. But Jacket!Doctor (of last season) also seemed too obvious (yeah right, like they would allow him to travel back and mess up his timeline like that. Pssht) but then that's what happened. So we must be made to believe that River isn't his wife/lover/sex-buddy/whatever, River CAN'T be Amy's daughter, and that River's NOT the one in the suit. Oh, and River killed a great man, but it WASN'T the Doctor. Which means it's probably all true. That didn't make sense at all.

This got really long (I didn't mean for it to), but... thanks for letting me ramble! XD

<3
Grace

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I was really starting to hate emo!Ten but Eleven is just... too happy. It's like everything never happened. Which might be true. If the Daleks never existed, does that mean Rose might still be in our universe? Hmmm...

Oh, you are so close I want to tell you. But unlike Moff, I really would rather show you how it all works than tell you. But, yes, I think the absolute best solution to Matt and Moff is to make sure that all of this is just not right. Which I can very easily do...and deal with your Emo!Ten problems too. HEE

I'm suddenly thinking I can write again. We will see.

Also, I am happy that Disheveled is canon somewhere.

As for River is the girl...I think she is. But it is still possible that is a red herring. Are people saying that it must be River? They should be saying that...because it is quite the obvious thing. We shouldn't allow that Moff won't be obvious. He often is. Being well plotted can make you obvious, really. RTD often surprised us because he wasn't well plotted.

Rae

[susanb03.livejournal.com]

And this is from someone who only watches Who because I enjoy it. He tolerates it.

[wickedgillie.livejournal.com]

I just had some semi-deep thoughts about the transition from Ten to Eleven. First, we have Ten refusing to change faces because he wants to be Himself for Rose. Then we get self-loathing magnified thanks to Davros,Ten pushing away everyone he loves, then whinging about how alone he is, then Time Lord Victorious, then a lord-knows-how-long temper-tantrum when the Ood call him home, then Ten's all-telling final words, "I don't want to go!"

Then--we get Eleven of the floopy hair, silly tics, petulant child/grumpy old man nature, and who gives Ten a run for his money with the rambles. Even the clothes have a whiff of Ten about them. Maybe it's lazy writing and trying to go with what works for the Beeb (and I won't discount this as a real possibility) but if we're heading toward the Valeyard for the anniversary, there's quite arguably an insane troll logic to it all.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I think Moff, if he stays with us, will give us the Valyard as an alternative energy being and excellent enemy for 13. But I am not sure we will stay on the air long enough to get beyond Matt. I do think it is possible that the Doctor is going to meet the Valyard sometime soon, though. They really do need an epic enemy for S7, going into the anniversary. And he would be the coolest.

Meanwhile, I think that Moff is going to go for Time Lord Wife for the Doctor. I think HE is the one that inserted that woman in white into RTD's finale. The one that talks to Wilf. And I think that what he's doing that for is to clear away the ghost of Rose and also allow that true companion romance never happens again. And, I think it would go a long way to repairing the Doctor's image with all the fans. I could just about buy it that the Doctor found himself unexpectedly in love with Rose...and couldn't be with her because it would betray the wife that he'd sealed away in a living tomb.

This would mean that even though he desperately wanted to be with Rose, he wasn't free to be with her. And when he learned that she would never stop coming to him, he had to do something to give her some chance at peace...and so he insisted she take the false him. However, that explanation doesn't really honor ROSE as much as I would like to honor her. Though, it does allow me to like the Doctor again...and to look for a way to like Ten2...so it could work for the show.

Rae

[soophelia.livejournal.com]

I thought RTD said the woman in white was the Doctor's mother. *is confused*

[auntiesuze.livejournal.com]

Gotta get this out of the way first... WILD GEESE 2!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! So glad to hear that you're pecking away at this again. :)

Weirdly, I'm enjoying this season so far. Maybe I've just become detached enough from it now. I certainly don't scramble to watch the new episodes as soon as they're available like I did with CE & DT. It's more that I enjoy it, but I'm not as invested in it as I was. Which is a bit sad, but at least I *can* enjoy it again.

The twisted timelines make my head hurt if I think about them too much. I still think that it's River who shoots the Doctor and that she's the one who sent out the invitations (neither theory has been Jossed yet).

I believe that Amy was held by the Silence for a lot longer than it appeared (or Rory and the Doctor think). I was thinking along the same lines as you - that the Silence impregnated her and/or took the baby and/or made some genetic modifications to the baby, etc. Something like that. And I'm still thinking that the little girl is Amy's. I hadn't thought of River being that child, but it's an interesting idea.

Both Amy and River have been less annoying so far this season. We're only two episodes in, though, so that could change rapidly. ;) Also, surprisingly, I'm more okay with the idea of a River/Eleven relationship. Yeah, it's still far too heavy-handed (the Grand Moff wouldn't know subtlety if it bit him on the arse), but unlike you, I'm coming to see Eleven as separate from Nine and Ten. Nine and Ten loved Rose. Full stop. But I can see how Eleven might eventually have...*something* with River. Though the idea that River is really Captain Jack is BRILLIANT. This fanfic must be written ASAP! LOL

The orphanage and its poor addled caretaker were both creepy and sad. Yeah, SM does do the whole haunted house thing very well (though he still can't cobble together a new idea - it's the weeping angels house all over again) and I have to wonder just what the heck was going on with the woman who said "I think she's dreaming" and the disappearing window hatch. Maybe this is kinda sorta related to Prisoner Zero and not being able to see the doorway except out of the corner of your eye. Just spitballing.

Anyway, I'm going to hang in there and hope that this all turns out okay. These twisted timelines could lead to something brilliant or something utterly disastrous. Eep.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

It is sort of like lemons to me, I'm going to make something out of it. I don't really care about River and Eleven. It can happen. What I didn't like was that Matt Smith isn't really doing his own Doctor. Which works just fine for my fic-writing purposes, but in reality, to me, it makes him the worst Doctor on record. I'm putting him below Colin Baker even. Not in my sheer lack of stomaching him...because Colin still wins that one...but in his inability to really inhabit the role.

And I am afraid that I felt a little bit like River is his mom. I suppose it is like that painting of him, a cartoon version of godhood rather than the real deal.

I do feel that Amy and River are less annoying this season. River because Moff is finally giving her a smidge of range. Not much but something. And Amy because she has toned it down a little.

I don't think I can take credit for River as a female Captain Jack. Lots of people thought that after Silence in the Library.

Also, in addition to the woman checking through the door on Amy. Someone tells me that we had the ship from The Lodger in one of the tunnels. I will need to check on that. If it is true, I cackle happily as my plan for Doctor Who domination continues. :tee-hee-hee:

[gwendolynflight.livejournal.com]

Agreed, Matt Smith is not the actor for this role. I've thought it since he was announced. He's too young, and Moffat's endless crush on his 'old soul eyes' is not going to convince me otherwise, since apparently we'll never see that on screen.

[ten-rose-addict.livejournal.com]

Hello! I've been gone for a very long time, but this season I am back on the livejournal for the funs :) Reality is I lost my watching companion :(
But anyways, wanted to say hello before I just popped in.

I think I agree with everything you said. But then you mentioned 10 loosening his tie...and I forgot. lol

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I love your icon. Loose Ten tie is for the win. I have a feeling that Moff is going to try to improve the Doctor's tarnished image by giving him an alternative EPIC LOVE who is long lost. Perhaps that woman in white from Wilf's visions in The End of Time. When the Doctor asked Rory if he remembered waiting for Amy for 2000 years, I thought immediately of how he should be waiting for Rose to return to him. But we know he rejected Rose and gave her an alternative him...something that is currently inexplicable if the Doctor is the man he should be. But, if he is waiting for someone else...then...it makes some sense that he had to heroically resist the temptation of Rose. Not a lot of sense, but some. So, I do wonder if Moff is going to offer us an alternative to River, Rose and any other human woman by creating the Time Lord wife in absentee. Because, well, if she is trapped on Gallifrey with all of the evil Time Lords, she's not actually dead.

[asahifirsa.livejournal.com]

Isn't the next episode by Gaiman called "The Doctor's Wife"? Looking forward to that one. The trailer alone seemed to be sparkling with fun already.

[keswindhover.livejournal.com]

Well, whatever your views on the plots or the actors, I can see you are well and truly hooked again. *smirks*

Also, River is hot. We must not forget the importance of the jodphurs to the overall effect of the series.

[monkeybatz.livejournal.com]

Looooong time since ive commented but I have been following every post!

I just watched the new episodes for the first time tonight, I kept my mind open.....to be honest I only watched bit and pieces of last series. I found some of it to be really obnoxious..like with river and the doctor, there was a sexual innuendo every 5 seconds with those two! While I am doctor/rose shippie I can still appreciate the new direction if it wasn't smashed in your face every minute.

The same themes were occurring like you stated. From the get go when he died I knew it was going to be a timey wimey plot again...and again. I did like Amy though..I found her to be a bit annoying last season but I liked her these first two. I love the Amy/rory dynamic and to me it seems like she grew up and matured. I love growth in characters.

I saw you mentioned rose references that I seemed to miss. Can you refresh? Even if they are meant for river I can convince myself otherwise. :)





I know you mentioned rose references above but I must have missed it, can you refresh my memory? (even if it was meant for river I could convince myself otherwise)

[monkeybatz.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the double question...my iPhone sucks with lj..

I am happy you still read my LJ. I've missed your insights.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I found the sexual innuendo completely inappropriate for Doctor Who. See? To me, there is a difference between epic love and sexual content. Sex isn't something that we want kids to be afraid of, or ashamed of, certainly, but it isn't always age appropriate either. This is something I truly want to address in Wild Geese 2. I hope I can do it with the appropriate sensitivity. But epic love is something that is introduced at a very young age with the "And they lived happily ever after" sort of stories. Children easily understand the type of cozy love that Rose and Ten had. We all understand it at some level, even those people who had open contempt for it...understood it. And I think it even makes children feel secure about their own lives. This is one of the many reasons I hated Ten abandoning Rose when she had done everything she could to get to him. I just don't think that is something kids would understand. It is more jaded and mature than the age appropriate (or character appropriate) for the show. It isn't my love of Rose that is talking here. It is what the show really represents that I am talking about now.

Now, I don't tend to think of Doctor Who as a Kid's Show on some levels. But what the Doctor represents...bravery, ingenuity, fun, genuine love and support for all...is important to the long-term survival of the show in the hearts and minds of everyone who watches it. I honestly think making him shallow and crass and small-minded and afraid of something as universally craved as love is something that hurts his long-term appeal. And I'm not putting this all on Moff and Matt, either. RTD had nowhere to go once he decided that the Doctor and Rose couldn't honor the epic love he'd created for them. Or rather, he did have somewhere to go...Rose could die.

I actually believed Rose should have died...of old age. It would have literally saved the show, opened it up to new writers. But RTD and Matt and Moff chose to go with...he just isn't ready to settle down. Which is so very shallow that no kid would buy that explanation. They really should have run it past a kid...because the kid would say, "WHY NOT?" And they would say...Because he is SOOO busy. Or because he has the whole world to love and Rose is just one girl. Or because he just doesn't love Rose like she needs to be loved. And all of those explanations would have fallen flat, because it was rather easy for the kids to understand the sweet love or Rose and Ten. The real answer is because...the writers and some fans don't believe in sweet, real love. So they wanted it to just go away. Even if you give up on Rose, now, or never liked her, it is hard to digest that the Doctor is so shallow now because you can't really relate to the previous Doctor's motivations.

I related to Rose when the Doctor asked Rory his personal question. "Do you ever remember it, 2000 years waiting for Amy, the last Centurian?" Of course, I think Moff is going to make that about the Doctor's Timelord wife or River rather than Rose. But for a second there, I thought the Doctor might be thinking of Rose returning to him again.

He isn't, of course, I am afraid that Moff is going to give us the "True Love" of his life which is someone from Gallifrey. Thus neatly explaining how Rose could never be "The One." The only problem I have with that is RTD pretty much assured us that Rose was the Doctor's first true love, by some actual canon statements that the Doctor makes to her. Though, I suppose, Moff could rationalize that by suggesting that Rose was only the first COMPANION he allowed himself to love. Or that she was his greatest temptation to stray but he managed to overcome it in the end and remained true to this alternative EPIC love. It is an explanation of the betrayal of Rose, I suppose, one that would work to repair the Doctor's tarnished image. But I don't think it will resonate as well as Moff might imagine it will.

"I am happy you still read my LJ. I've missed your insights."- *squee*

[monkeybatz.livejournal.com]

I think it's absolutely sad where the show has gone. I absolutely agree about the difference for the show between being sexual and showing love. I talked about it with my husband last night and even he stated that the show doesn't really give you enough to care about anymore. He also really doesn't like the "River" aspect of it because all we ever see is her TELLING us the adventures they have gone through and there is no real bonding going on. Not to mention the chemistry we are supposed to believe.....they like to sexualize every comment the other makes...and it's not even WITTY!

"You have that 'he's so hot when he's clever' face on"
"It's my normal face"
"Exactly"

*Runs to the bathroom to vomit*

I also completely agree with your incite on Matt Smith's doctor. I just see him as a younger version of ten with a somewhat careless attitude about the possible emotional situations around him. I know Matt does show his sad face once in a while but rewatching just the first two episodes of series 2 you see the doctor really FEEL.

Also I have not forgotten about your disheveled vid, that will still be made. Many re-edits to how the idea is conveyed but atleast the new episode 2 gave me the body scan of a timey-wimey baby which I could use! (Which I am totally convinced they read your fic and was like "BRILLIANT!! WE MUST USE THIS!")

Also to partially explain my absence I was laid off for a 3rd time back in March so now that I'm comfortable in my new job...yet again..I can focus on the video more as well as editing. Wee!