moominmuppet (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
moominmuppet) wrote2011-05-15 10:47 pm
moominmuppet) wrote2011-05-15 10:47 pm
Entry tags:
On Doctor Who, Episode 6.04 (The Doctor's Wife)
Just a few thoughts and comments, and I didn't want to accidentally spoil someone by tossing them into my regular linketies post:
I am full of squee over the new Doctor Who ep. Oh, my, Gaiman certainly decided he'd leave his stamp on canon! Time Lords aren't gender-locked for regeneration; YAY! And favorite companions or no, I really am most in love with the Doctor and his Blue Box, so it was an episode that hit all my buttons in the best sort of way. Still, it's worth noting that I'm really loving the relationship Amy and Rory have developed with the Doctor. When the wedding was coming up last season I was just sure it was either going to be a Rory-death (for real), or a "you're married now, time to settle down and stop adventuring" kind of thing that's happened whenever other companions have formed serious relationships (and that tends to be an implicit part of the ending of way too many adventure stories in general). Despite not being personally interested in marriage, I've always loathed and resented that trope.
I've also been really fond of the recent tendency to acknowledge how weird it is to be friends with a time traveler; I think they've done a good job with showing how differently time can pass for him than for his companions. It was highly relevant to the Christmas episode; whole other companions and adventures while minutes tick for Amy and Rory stranded above. It's certainly a huge element in The Impossible Astronaut, both in terms of 1100-year-old Doctor, and in terms of the more day-to-day "Oh, the Doctor's back, and it's been ages" sort of thing. Frankly, it's why I've adored Amy Pond's story so much, even when she as a character annoyed me at times last season. I think the sprawl of her relationship with the Doctor across her own time line feels much more "right" and intuitive than the traditional "pick you up, adventure a bit, drop you off never to be seen again" pattern with previous companions (especially in the original series).
I do think it's unfortunate that the Neil Gaiman episode being moved (was originally planned for last season) puts it so close to other strong episodes with similar themes, specifically the The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon; I loved that too, but I thought there were a few moments, especially in terms of the Doctor's relationships with others, that accidentally echoed in this ep. Confused-Kissing-Doctor is such a rare phenomenon that I don't like seeing it happen twice in three episodes, especially because it feels accidental, not like they intended to emphasize a theme. The same with "powerful mysterious lady knows more about the TARDIS than the Doctor" -- it's great in both eps, but feels weird when it happens so sequentially like this.
Still, lovely all 'round, and I am pleased. However, is "Oh my God, they killed Rory!" going to be a weekly refrain? I don't normally think of Doctor Who as being quite so SouthParkian.
(as to last week's pirate episode, it was a throw-away with plot holes galore -- fun in the moment, but not really worthy of much commentary)
I am full of squee over the new Doctor Who ep. Oh, my, Gaiman certainly decided he'd leave his stamp on canon! Time Lords aren't gender-locked for regeneration; YAY! And favorite companions or no, I really am most in love with the Doctor and his Blue Box, so it was an episode that hit all my buttons in the best sort of way. Still, it's worth noting that I'm really loving the relationship Amy and Rory have developed with the Doctor. When the wedding was coming up last season I was just sure it was either going to be a Rory-death (for real), or a "you're married now, time to settle down and stop adventuring" kind of thing that's happened whenever other companions have formed serious relationships (and that tends to be an implicit part of the ending of way too many adventure stories in general). Despite not being personally interested in marriage, I've always loathed and resented that trope.
I've also been really fond of the recent tendency to acknowledge how weird it is to be friends with a time traveler; I think they've done a good job with showing how differently time can pass for him than for his companions. It was highly relevant to the Christmas episode; whole other companions and adventures while minutes tick for Amy and Rory stranded above. It's certainly a huge element in The Impossible Astronaut, both in terms of 1100-year-old Doctor, and in terms of the more day-to-day "Oh, the Doctor's back, and it's been ages" sort of thing. Frankly, it's why I've adored Amy Pond's story so much, even when she as a character annoyed me at times last season. I think the sprawl of her relationship with the Doctor across her own time line feels much more "right" and intuitive than the traditional "pick you up, adventure a bit, drop you off never to be seen again" pattern with previous companions (especially in the original series).
I do think it's unfortunate that the Neil Gaiman episode being moved (was originally planned for last season) puts it so close to other strong episodes with similar themes, specifically the The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon; I loved that too, but I thought there were a few moments, especially in terms of the Doctor's relationships with others, that accidentally echoed in this ep. Confused-Kissing-Doctor is such a rare phenomenon that I don't like seeing it happen twice in three episodes, especially because it feels accidental, not like they intended to emphasize a theme. The same with "powerful mysterious lady knows more about the TARDIS than the Doctor" -- it's great in both eps, but feels weird when it happens so sequentially like this.
Still, lovely all 'round, and I am pleased. However, is "Oh my God, they killed Rory!" going to be a weekly refrain? I don't normally think of Doctor Who as being quite so SouthParkian.
(as to last week's pirate episode, it was a throw-away with plot holes galore -- fun in the moment, but not really worthy of much commentary)