Review #DoctorWho Series 7

I never posted my review of Doctor Who's latest season! I was so caught up in the 50th Anniversary Special (and the Who-love that kept me going all that week) that it completely slipped my mind.

Amy & Rory. I have to say, Rory completely grew on me. I still don't like Amy, I don't like the oblivious way she treats Rory who deserves so much better. But then love is blind and I don't begrudge either of them the love and relationship they have. It's the romantic in me.

Continuity issues: So space and time traveling Rory didn't awaken the Dalek in Asylum of the Daleks by touching it (like Rose did in Dalek) but the loud noise of him tripping did?

John Crichton was in a Town Called Mercy! (Ok, the fabulous Ben Browder for those who never watched the awesome show Farscape.) And I loved the theme there, the parallels with the Doctor and that alien doctor. Very apropos.

Clara. Clara, Clara, Clara. I don't know how to feel about her.

I mean I watched all her episodes and I didn't have that instant dislike as I did with there. I did have several very enlightening discussions with fellow Whovians (love that word!) about Clara and her possible connection to Rose/Bad Wolf. There were at least 3 dropped hints (perhaps more I missed) throughout her half of the series that I found interesting especially given her 'purpose' in the Doctor's life.

Amy, but I'm still now sure how I feel about her. She did little to endear her to me but then she wasn't off-putting either. Kind of just...

All very circular.

Still, I'm not sure I like her.

But I am sure I want to know more about the Fields of Trenzalor! Oh yes. Very sure I want to know all about that. It doesn't even matter to me if we learn the so-called 'real' name of the Doctor. Names aren't important except to others. I can tell 3 people I'm Jane and 4 people I'm June, and it's only a means for other people to identify me.

I know how I am and that's all that matters.

The Doctor is the Doctor, it's who he is and how he identifies himself and his 'real' name is only a means for his enemies to use and abuse, and for others to spread descent through his friends.

The finale not only set up the Day of the Doctor (which was awesome in ways I feel foolishly giddy for saying) and the rest of the series with the new Doctor. I'm looking forward to the Christmas Special in a few weeks!

#Review Doctor Who Series 6 #SaveTheDay

The Eleventh Doctor is certifiable. Definitely crazy. I like it, but it's such a change from the previous seasons and the flow inherent in them, that I don't feel there's a connection. It's disconcerting. I don't like it. Overall it felt as if this series was a race with bad crashes and a few stellar moments. With still that same disconnect I felt in Series 5.

I loved the Christmas special, A Christmas Carol, it touched on the Doctor's past without recapping too much and showed the depth of pain he carries as well as the acting talent of Matt Smith. Kudos there!

And the overall arc with River's origins and the whole past/present thing is really good. I like the Silence, even if the connection between episodes isn't always obvious (which is fine) or coherent (which is not). I get the feeling Steven Moffat has fantastic far reaching ideas but can't quite get there story-wise. But the time travel aspect is really cool and works well with River.

Also the fine line between human and what may be if given a chance. Or what's sentient and what evolves. And those two reasons are why I watch science fiction and the reasons I enjoy it so much. As always, I can do with less Rory and Amy, but I forebear despite the repeated attempts to bang over my head how much they're in love and how they'd wait for each other and on and on. I get it.

My favorite episode of this series was The Doctor's Wife. It may have had that same frantic, mad race around the story of the week but the emotion, the bond, the love so present was touching. Absolutely adored it!

Plus the return of Craig. I don't know why, but I love Craig and his story! It makes me laugh and the Doctor is so different around it. Can't put my finger on why or how, but the 2 episodes with Craig were among my favorites.

I'm still a little confused as to why the Doctor had to marry River. I don't object, just am curious. It didn't seem to serve a purpose other than to provide a physical closeness for the pair of them so she'd understand what was truly happening. Did I miss something? (Hopefully!)

#Review Doctor Who Series 5 #SaveTheDay

It didn't take me long to warm up to Matt Smith, but I'm thinking that had more to do with his phenomenal acting than the writing in the first few episodes. Not their best. By far not the best.

Sure, the Doctor is a pro at running, but this season feels more like a Let's skip any and all character development, character memory, or future characterizations and hop around like a loon.


Yes, yes, different feel to the entire series, but then Steven Moffat is at the helm now. Different writer/producer, different flavor. I miss the old flavor.

Still, I feel there's something distinctly lacking in this particular series. I love the overall arc with River Song and the banter between the Doctor and River is fantastic, but there's still something off. Something that keeps me disconnected.

It took me 4 days to get through Hungry Earth and Cold Blood. Four days! I watch 3-5 episodes at a time in my mission to finish all 7 series (and every single special) before November 23's 50th Anniversary special. Four days for 2 episodes is way too long.

And frankly I didn't pay all that much attention to the Van Gogh episode. It's Vincent van Gogh (played by the amazing Tony Curran with guest-guest star Bill Nighy) for crying out loud and I didn't care! What was his purpose? For the Doctor and Amy to show him that whole madness is only depression and you're a genius? There was no connection, despite the theme that carried through from the previous famous-person guest stars.

I've watched Charles Dickens (a lonely and broken man who reclaimed his zest for life), Queen Victoria (an arrogant queen who required and demanded help but did more to change the future of Doctor Who than any other), William Shakespeare (a pompous fool with a wicked mind and maybe a will to change), and Agatha Christie (a lonely woman with no self-confidence who was shown to be the brilliant deducer of mystery we think of her as) and in each of those enjoyed the overall episode as well as the individual sparks and quirks that made up the Doctor and his companion and their quest to solve an alien mystery.

Why am I so ambivalent to this series? Why do I not care? Why do I feel as if I'm watching this to get through it in the hopes Series 6 is better?

Could be Amy. (No offense to Karen Gillan.)

There's nothing about her that screams I'm a worthy companion for the Doctor. Nothing. Since I couldn't put my finger on exactly why I wanted Amy to die a horrible and painful death several times over, I thought it was me. There was no transition from the 10th Doctor to the 11th as there was from the 9th to the 10th, no continuity, not even a vague mention of the previous seasons.

No Doctor screaming pain from the Daleks who always come back and pop up everywhere, only the seemingly burning question of why Amy didn't remember them. Really? That's the burning question? Not the I killed my people to stop the Daleks and they've returned? I lost friends and companions and people I love to them? Not how the hell did they survive again?

Nothing. There's not even a brief mention of anything from any of his previous incarnations (let alone the most recent 2) until Vincent and the Doctor when the TARDIS prints out a list of the Doctors starting with the first.

I admit, I didn't (and don't) like that, but there's more to it. More to my nearly instant and total dislike of Amy. And what's a girl to do but search online for why I hate Amy Pond? Surely others (who have watched the show first run and had more time to process this) have answers!

Yup. Lots of answers. There's talk of sexism, of one-dimensional characterization, of Amy supposedly being the 'pretty' companion, prettier than others (which I adamantly disagree with!), etc. I think my favorite paragraph out of all I've read is this one from SPARK Movement:

It is also sad that I can’t describe to you how much Amy plays the role of damsel in distress, or how often she’s blamed for problems not of her making.  Not to mention how much she is sold to viewers because she is more “beautiful” than other companions. But I digress; there are other important topics to discuss.

Steven Moffat, the current writer for Doctor Who, calls Amy a ‘fierce’ girl. Amy speaks her mind, looks good, and is bold, but, when Doctor Who plotlines are examined, Amy is only superficially fierce. Amy wants adventure and enjoys it, but she is portrayed as needing the Doctor to find it for her and to save her from any difficulties. She seems to need the Doctor to awaken her ‘fierce’ qualities, reinforcing the idea that a woman must depend on a man to bring out the interesting parts of her character. Amy is, in reality, a damsel-in-distress rather than a ‘fierce’ heroine.

Overall, I had a very difficult time getting through series 5 (or series 6 if we're counting the David Tennant Specials as a separate season). It was all jumbled with more contained episodes that had very little to do with characterization than all previous series combined.

As I said, I did enjoy River Song, she's got enough character to make up for the lack of it from both Any (and Rory who I find so inept and utterly forgettable and is it any wonder Amy forgot him?) and the Doctor. Plus she makes me laugh. The Lodger was funny in a I've forgotten every single moment of my previous lives way and The Pandorica Opens featured River again so automatically made it excellent. I say automatically, but it really was excellent on its own terms.

Like really excellent in a WOW this is why I love science fiction and Doctor Who way. Even if the 2nd part Big Bang ruined every fantastic, wonderful point Pandorica Opens made. I can't even begin to describe the continuity issues, plot creators, and paradoxes inherent in that finale.

Onto Series 6 where I understand it to be a "timey-wimey, headache inducing, I must watch this again before the 50th Anniversary and hope it makes sense". This is a quote from my cousin. I promised I'd watch Series 6 with her so we could discuss, analyze, dissect, and hope for the best!

#Review Doctor Who 10th Doctor Specials #SaveTheDay

There were 3 specials:

The Planet of the Dead which could be skipped. It had really great and funny moments between the Doctor and UNIT, contrary to his normal interactions with them in his 10th incarnation. But I hated the ending and thought it took away from the Doctor's character. It really just didn't mesh with what the character arc we've already seen. Plus I really didn't like Lady Christina.

Waters of Mars. Excellent, oh just fantastic. This is also a very dark episode, very very dark and it's so well done. The Doctor is alone and certainly not at his best. His choice? Change the history (future) of Earth and hence the entire solar system, galaxy, and universe...or watch people die. He's helpless. This isn't the first time he's had to make that choice but it's significant in that he has no companion to show him another way--that choice he continually speaks of. And words....every word Russell T. Davis chooses for the Doctor is deliberate. But then they usually are.

What would you do? Better yet, would you be able to watch it happen? Or would you succumb and try to change things knowing the consequences?

The End of Time

I stayed up until nearly 1am watching this because once you start there's just no stopping!

First I have to ask: What's with these mothers? Every single one of them is a self-serving harpy with no respect for their daughter or said daughter's choices. "I don't want you to do that so I'm going to tell you I'm going to be all alone and you must stay with me." Jackie Tyler, Francine Jones, and Sylvia Noble all used their "I'm your mother" card to berate their daughter's choices, belittle their daughter for said choice, and go from being a concerned mother (which I'm not knocking) to a mother who'd rather their daughter never do anything and stay with them than experience life. I have very little respect for them.

The Master returns in another fantastic performance by John Simm. Love him! Even if there isn't any singing and dancing. Pity. The Master says something there that makes me think it's really about the whole Who-verse. Not just him, not just that incarnation or regeneration, but the Doctor. Very specifically the Doctor. When I say Mr. Davis doesn't use words arbitrary? Totally meant it.

"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die." (End of Time part 2)

Got me thinking. The Ninth Doctor was born from war and died for love. The Tenth Doctor was born from love and sacrifice. What did he die for? The first thing the Tenth Doctor saw was Rose (The Parting of the Ways) and the last thing he saw was Rose (End of Time part 2). He died for love, hope, friendship, yes. But most of all his belief in himself, in right and wrong, and in the choices he's made. He can't change the past, he knows this, accepts this (sorta), it's his Prime Directive (kinda), but still...still. What if?

There's always a choice. Except when it's the end and there isn't. There really isn't.

What does that make the Eleventh Doctor? He's born from sacrifice and hopelessness. Makes me wonder what kind of man he's going to be.

This also marked the end of Russell T. Davis tenure at Doctor Who. I'll miss him, his way with words, his sneaky little plot points, his understanding of both the Doctor and the companions who help the Doctor along in his journey. Mr. Davis, you're a master, a true master. The threads you weave throughout each season and multiple seasons is unparalleled.

Oh...and your ability to make me cry. I'd hate you for that, but it isn't often a TV show can make me teary-eyed let along cry. You've managed it in the finales of Series 1, 2, 4, and The End of Time. If we say these were 5 series, then you aren't doing bad, 4 of 5 endings really got to me. Not that I didn't love the end of Series 3, the end with David Tennant and John Simm was exceptional. Because who else but the Master can pull off the crazed evil of dancing and singing his way through the finale?

As I said...phenomenal.