Doctor Who: Hide...Spoilers

[rabid1st]

Where to begin...where to begin...?

Well, that was creepy. And not because of the spooky things in the night. No. It is creepy because I posted a story with the Doctor in a pocket universe, well, bubble universe...and...here we have pocket universes. And...love stories in them. And...well...I feel all sorts of portents looming. But they irk me no end. Stop doing this to me, muses! Stop it!

So, if the Victorian coat and such was the First Doctor, I was expecting something for the Second Doctor and it seemed more Three, to me. Of course the Ice Warriors are from Two...was Boffin a symbolic Two? The blue crystal is from Three...the Green Death and Planet of the Spiders. And that scientist fellow (yes, I did it again...it's Dougray Scott, yeah?) was Unit and the Third Doctor's gizmos all rolled up into one. But he didn't have that flashy style Pertwee personified. Quite a plain man. And, now I've learned he was based on Quartermass. Well, the toggles and big wheel recording devices are still very 70's Doctor Who. The assistant was more Zoe to me than Jo Grant and Sarah Jane. Maybe some Liz Shaw to her. Apparently, the actors didn't feel there was any basis for romance in the actual script, so they had to work hard to insinuate one...sounds about like a Moff-style overlay of an idea to me, something he asked the original writer to toss in, as a handy parallel for Doctor/Companion relationships.

Obviously, there is a definite parallel of lovers separated and companions who you want to be with, but can't mention your feelings to, already. And, well, breeding, to be frank about it. Rose trapped in another universe, and the Doctor keeping his love for her. We had four years of it. However, I can more easily see Moff just copying that epic, than completing it...as it should be completed. Yes, even with the casting spoilers we have, I do not believe that we will have a reset. More's the pity. So, we are foreshadowing...River calling to Eleven...or the woman in white, who is the real wife from Gallifrey, and trapped, too. Or even, the TARDIS, since she has a Clara Avatar. BTW, I think that was her saying Clara doesn't really exist.

But, you just can't escape the huge honking parallel with the romance between the assistant and the scientist who has killed one too many people. She makes him better. They long to be together, but can't work it out. Hello, Rose. River isn't really an assistant. Sarah Jane never qualified as a love interest, despite RTD's rewrite. Also, the great, great Xn2 grandchild lost in time angle returns. Susan, again.

I do believe the Doctor is trapped, in a sort of pocket universe...or an alternative reality or mindscape...he is not real...and someone is his lantern. Clara is the obvious choice...blood calling to blood...so, a grand-daughter...or an avatar of that person. She is calling him home. I do think it would be the best of all possible surprises to go back to the TARDIS exploding, and the whole, "There is still time to save the Doctor!" And have had all of Eleven's run be in bubble universes. Only a minute or three having passed in real time, while he explored the possibility of being a God and such with River.

What irks me is to have the canon parallel my ideal solution, the antidote to all of the things I hate about Moff's run. It is like he is mocking me with a similar theme, because, of course, he won't deliver anything I will enjoy in the end. I know this. In the end it will just be Moff trying to reinvent the Poptart and calling it genius. Pfft! Yes, he will tell us, the Doctor loved Rose or River or Sarah Jane, but they were only reflections of his true feelings for HIS ideal partner. YADA-YADA.

How dare they insist that love can survive when they trapped Rose in an alternative reality with a facsimile Doctor? You can't reboot the epic love with every new companion. That's just silly.

However, that said, I did enjoy the hot potato reaction he had to hugging Clara. Definitely not a romance at work there...something else...something more like a grandchild? Or, he's just being cautious since he doesn't know what she is.

Spotted the Impossible Planet spacesuit. Hard to miss it, really. Another reference to Boffin...Boffins, actually. We have a real lonely scientist motif going on this season. Also, the TARDIS is behaving very oddly indeed. Last week she ran off on her own, week before that she locked Clara out, and this week she talked to Clara directly. Can't recall her ever talking to people directly. And, next week, she's in some real trouble.

Idle & Blessed Chapter 4 has been sent to the beta. YAY!

Comments

[sensiblecat.livejournal.com]

The seventies vibe was well done, wasn't it? I enjoyed that one. Haven't a clue what Moff is playing at but it's very interesting to see all the Rose references building up. Could be a complete McGuffin, of course. But this one was almost screaming "Physician heal thyself!" - we had the Doctor running around in other universes, big blowy white portals opening, and another universe jump just so that a couple could be together.

The deeper we get into this show the more I feel there's something off about the Doctor. He never went out of his way to explain things but there seems to be no communication at all from him these days. It's very disturbing. And...calling the TARDIS an old cow? That's new. Why would the TARDIS hesitate to save the Doctor...unless she knew he's not the real deal? Hmm.

What also struck me was that if you go back to the 70s you're still dealing with people whoses attitudes were shaped by the war. I think that, too, may be a parallel.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

The thing is...it is so much wishful thinking on our part...that I am only getting angry. For a real Rose/Doctor fan like myself, all of these quite obvious parallels just make me think that Moff is mocking my devotion to what was an epic story.

As I've said, repeatedly, ad nauseum, the very best way to reconcile the epic love is to allow the Doctor to go to Rose for a time. Certainly, he could go as I have him do in I&B, using the human vessel to temporarily cross over during the regeneration. And, as we once again have pointed out to us, time is flowing at different rates in other universes, so it is all over in 5 minutes. Or three. But it is spooky to me to have a story like this one, fit so well with my story. I get mixed up. I must remember that just because it fits, doesn't mean that solution is the right one. Objectively, it is far more likely that Moff is talking about some other epic love that he just invented.

Or, yes...most likely...he's simply presenting us with an artificial Doctor, a compilation of memories.

The thing is...his Doctor has always seemed fake to me, a cartoonish parody of the real Doctor. This Doctor has gravitas and seems more like the real thing. However, paradoxically, that makes me think this Doctor is NOT real. There is definitely something off about him.

And, as you say, the TARDIS hesitated to rescue him and left him stranded in the last episode. She also...looks remarkably different. And she is communicating with Clara...which is completely new. I know that someone might think that's what happened in Parting of the Ways...but that was a preset program. So...unless the writers just were not paying attention, we have something new happening here.

[yumimum.livejournal.com]

How dare they insist that love can survive when they trapped Rose in an alternative reality with a facsimile Doctor?

Yes! Thank You!

I admit, I got rather shouty as soon as Clara used the Ghostbusters line, and it all went downhill from there. The love surviving lines kept annoying me, seeing him in that Space suit made it worse. I've been convinced all along that this isn't real and he's reliving fragments of his memories, but tbh I'm starting to doubt if Moffat is smart enough to pull it off. It's just as likely he's just run out of ideas.

God, that man!!!

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Yep! That Ghostbusters line irked me, too. I didn't scream, I just rolled my eyes over the obvious repetition.

I'm happy to see other people are thinking this is him reliving his memories. I had some arguments with people over that one. It is certainly appropriate for the 50th Anniversary year to do something like that. But, as always, I feel that Moff is going to minimize what was the most original idea the new series had...ie...Rose and the Doctor in love. That idea was completely new. And since, then, it has only been copied, in effectively.

Truly, I want Clara to be a grandchild...because...that is the most fitting companion for the 50th Anniversary. But, I also want them to put Rose and the Doctor to rest properly, so the show is no longer burdened by this unfinished epic. This is about our last chance to do it, in canon...but...does Moff understand that? I doubt it. He's probably doing something self-referential and lame...to be honest. Tha's him, after all.

Ditto! God, that man!

[yumimum.livejournal.com]

Honest to god, with the way the Moff is, I'm just glad this isn't the end of the entire show. Can you imagine it? He'd risk the universe to get River out of the library, just so his little obsession gets a happily ever after!!

I definiyely get the grandparent vibe with Eleven and Clara. Subtlety has never been a moff strong point (but then what is) When they mentioned Susan I was surprised, if nothing else that SM remembered canon. Also, the constant references to boo hoo the tardis doesn't like me are getting a bit much!

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

My thought was not that the TARDIS didn't like her...so much as she isn't real. Jack is a fixed point in time, not real. Maybe the TARDIS doesn't care for this farce.

The Doctor just waves aside the TARDIS not liking people, claiming she's a cat. But she never has been too actively involved with people, before this. She didn't care for Jack, according to Ten. And she has responded to Rose, twice...or felt a need to help her locate the Doctor, at least. That was another completely new idea for the series. Moff has done a lot to personify the TARDIS, leaping off of The Doctor's Wife. And here we see more of the same. I wouldn't mind the TARDIS having a communication interface, since I have one in Disheveled, and it was born out of early canon...but it is still taking liberties. And, if he's doing all of this to rescue River from the library, than I'm going to be irked.

Even though, it all fits in nicely with Idle and Blessed. Sometimes I can't believe how closely I parallel canon without any sort of spoilers. It is very much like we all draw from the same well of ideas. However, I think my icon says it all. LOL

[yumimum.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'm sure we'd all feel a lot more comfortable with you as showrunner though! I don't want that man and his crappy plot holes anywhere near DW. I just hope he moves on before it's too late =(

[susanb03.livejournal.com]

loving your commentary. You sure you can't apply for the show runner job?? :)

[susanb03.livejournal.com]

And YEA new chapter

Yes, it took this long to finally watch it

[dragon-bait21.livejournal.com]

I need to go back and check the writers on each of these episodes. It would be interesting to know if he went to each of the writers and instructed them to reference an earlier episode. If he had written all of them it would be tempting to assume lack of new ideas, however, if each writer was just given that instruction it could explain the wolf reference in Cold War, the Ghostbusters in Hide. Each author would interpret the instruction differently. Moffat basically rewrites TIL, other authors are less obvious. That still leaves the motivation. I like your memory trap theme. I agree that I like Clara so much better than either Amy or River, but even that couldn't get me to watch while it was nice and sunny outside, a big switch from series 1-4.

Re: Yes, it took this long to finally watch it

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Whoops! Somehow I didn't see this comment. I think Moff has stated that each episode this season was to reflect the original who as a tribute. I don't know if he individualized them or not. Journey, which I haven't seen, yet, seems in the previews to bear a strong resemblance to a First Doctor story about the TARDIS in distress, The Edge of Destruction. I extrapolated off of that story for some of my Disheveled ideas about how the TARDIS could have an interface feature. And I have noticed that Moff is running with that idea this season, given that interaction with Clara. He's not basing that on Parting of the Ways, though many people are thinking that he is. Or...if he is...he misunderstood Parting of the Ways, or is hoping WE did.

Yeah, I'm not watching this latest one...but I've been very busy this weekend. I think my enthusiasm has gone up, but my hope for the future is still quite tenuous.