Dr. Who: Tooth and Claw
Apr. 23rd, 2006 12:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakBefore I get on with the squeeing, because I did love this episode, let me get out my nitpicking first. Russel T. Davies, please get your German geography and your history right. I thought I didn't hear right when Victoria mentioned dear Albert being "from Saxe-Coburg" and the Doctor told Rose "that's in Bavaria". I actually stopped the episode and replayed to be sure I didn't mishear.
Okay. As the Doctor approves of books and research, let's have a little education.
Albert was Albert Emmanuel von
. This German state was actually two states, the 
and the 
. As you can see, the second one shares a border with Bavaria, but is well out of it. (At that time; the city of Coburg today lies within Bavaria (as Franconia has been annexed by Bavaria); the majority of both duchies went on to form Thuringia.) In any case, Victoria, being German herself (majorly) would never refer to the late Albert as being from "Saxe-Coburg" - there is no region called "Saxe-Coburg", these are two parts of the double-duchies' title. She might have said "from Coburg" as Albert was indeed born in a castle near that city. (Said city, btw, is in the province of Franconia.) Or "from Saxonia" as that is where he mostly grew up, regionally speaking, or "from Gotha" if you want to go by state name. But the sentence "Saxe-Coburg is in Bavaria" just doesn't make sense. (Comparable to saying "Yorkshire-Edinburgh is in England", or Vermont-Boston is in Virginia", to pick some other nonsensical geographical examples.)
Anyway. End of pendantic nitpicking. On with the fun.
Now, that's how you present a werewolf. So far, while I've seen good werewolf stories, the actual creatures themselves always looked faintly ridiculous instead of scary. (In both BTVS and AtS, for example, and let's not mention poor old Lupin in Prisoner of Azkaban, the movie.) Also, black eyes never lose their creepiness, no matter how many other shows did this (also the Jossverse plus B5 plus the X-Files plus who knows who). With a Christmas outing and two episodes as sole evidence, I think what strikes me about the Ten-Rose relationship is that it has a very "buddy" vibe to me (as opposed to a shippery one), and you know, I like it. "Bet you ten quid" being a case in point. They were a good team here, both contributing to the solution, but you know, I can understand why Victoria in the end didn't just reward them but banish them. In fact, I loved the banishing-the-Doctor scene because I can't help but see it as payback for the high-handed way he treated Harriet Jones. Which makes me confident that RTD indeed knows what he's doing with the hubris, just as he did last season with the war guilt. Torchwood being founded by Victoria was nice set-up and tied to the use of it by Harriet in The Christmas Invasion, too.
Loved that the women weren't just getting organized by Rose but that Lady Isabel came up with her own ideas and courage. Sir Robert's death was a very, no pun intended, Victorian thing, fitting in a novel by Wilkie Collins with the whole self-sacrifice as atonment for earlier betrayal etc., and with a sword, too. Great period touch. And continuity-wise, the fact Rose's stint as Bad Wolf was brought up was lovely. As was the Doctor's moment of sharing grief for the dead with Victoria. We didn't need to have it spelled out whether he was grieving for the Timelords or past companions, it was enough that he grieved. Tennant is good with these quiet moments as he is in the more manic ones, and the deadpan ones ("seriously, don't", re Rose's Scottish accent). That moment of awe, wonder and appreciation he had for the werewolf was great, too.
(BTW, I take it the pseudonym he chose was the name of a past companion, right? I remember mention of someone named Jamie.)
Namechecking Dr. Joseph Bell: wasn't he the one supposed to be the model for Sherlock Holmes? If so, much love.
The Royal Family as werewolves is cute, though it doesn't make sense as Victoria's children were all born and indeed adults by then, and the current Royals are descended from Edward, aka Bertie, right? Can't see Victoria biting Bertie, sorry, but no, despite my occasional incest kink.)
And lastly: the books scene. I don't care how blatant that was, but yeeeees! Such a great love declaration for reading must be celebrated.
Next week: ASH as an Evil Overlord and Sarah Jane Smith. Why does it take another week again?
Okay. As the Doctor approves of books and research, let's have a little education.
Albert was Albert Emmanuel von
. This German state was actually two states, the and the . As you can see, the second one shares a border with Bavaria, but is well out of it. (At that time; the city of Coburg today lies within Bavaria (as Franconia has been annexed by Bavaria); the majority of both duchies went on to form Thuringia.) In any case, Victoria, being German herself (majorly) would never refer to the late Albert as being from "Saxe-Coburg" - there is no region called "Saxe-Coburg", these are two parts of the double-duchies' title. She might have said "from Coburg" as Albert was indeed born in a castle near that city. (Said city, btw, is in the province of Franconia.) Or "from Saxonia" as that is where he mostly grew up, regionally speaking, or "from Gotha" if you want to go by state name. But the sentence "Saxe-Coburg is in Bavaria" just doesn't make sense. (Comparable to saying "Yorkshire-Edinburgh is in England", or Vermont-Boston is in Virginia", to pick some other nonsensical geographical examples.) Anyway. End of pendantic nitpicking. On with the fun.
Now, that's how you present a werewolf. So far, while I've seen good werewolf stories, the actual creatures themselves always looked faintly ridiculous instead of scary. (In both BTVS and AtS, for example, and let's not mention poor old Lupin in Prisoner of Azkaban, the movie.) Also, black eyes never lose their creepiness, no matter how many other shows did this (also the Jossverse plus B5 plus the X-Files plus who knows who). With a Christmas outing and two episodes as sole evidence, I think what strikes me about the Ten-Rose relationship is that it has a very "buddy" vibe to me (as opposed to a shippery one), and you know, I like it. "Bet you ten quid" being a case in point. They were a good team here, both contributing to the solution, but you know, I can understand why Victoria in the end didn't just reward them but banish them. In fact, I loved the banishing-the-Doctor scene because I can't help but see it as payback for the high-handed way he treated Harriet Jones. Which makes me confident that RTD indeed knows what he's doing with the hubris, just as he did last season with the war guilt. Torchwood being founded by Victoria was nice set-up and tied to the use of it by Harriet in The Christmas Invasion, too.
Loved that the women weren't just getting organized by Rose but that Lady Isabel came up with her own ideas and courage. Sir Robert's death was a very, no pun intended, Victorian thing, fitting in a novel by Wilkie Collins with the whole self-sacrifice as atonment for earlier betrayal etc., and with a sword, too. Great period touch. And continuity-wise, the fact Rose's stint as Bad Wolf was brought up was lovely. As was the Doctor's moment of sharing grief for the dead with Victoria. We didn't need to have it spelled out whether he was grieving for the Timelords or past companions, it was enough that he grieved. Tennant is good with these quiet moments as he is in the more manic ones, and the deadpan ones ("seriously, don't", re Rose's Scottish accent). That moment of awe, wonder and appreciation he had for the werewolf was great, too.
(BTW, I take it the pseudonym he chose was the name of a past companion, right? I remember mention of someone named Jamie.)
Namechecking Dr. Joseph Bell: wasn't he the one supposed to be the model for Sherlock Holmes? If so, much love.
The Royal Family as werewolves is cute, though it doesn't make sense as Victoria's children were all born and indeed adults by then, and the current Royals are descended from Edward, aka Bertie, right? Can't see Victoria biting Bertie, sorry, but no, despite my occasional incest kink.)
And lastly: the books scene. I don't care how blatant that was, but yeeeees! Such a great love declaration for reading must be celebrated.
Next week: ASH as an Evil Overlord and Sarah Jane Smith. Why does it take another week again?
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 10:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 05:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 12:03 pm (UTC)I am in fact all tied up about that over where is Michel from in Elza's book, because the town, Saar-Louis (also known as Louis le Bon and Saar-Libre) is now in Germany, was in France when Michel was born, was not in France for a while, back in France until 1870, then in Germany to the Treaty of Versailles, and then back in France for the interwar years. His first name is French, his sister however is Margarethe and his brother Josef. His father seems to have been baptised Protestant, but then Michel got sent to a Jesuit primary school and was baptised Catholic. He is described by various contemporaries as "Alsatian", "German", "a Rhinelander", "French" of course, and by one person whose geography is clearly worse than mine, as "a hot-blooded Gascon"!
*flails helplessly and flings self upon your mercy*
no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 02:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 02:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 02:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 04:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 03:46 pm (UTC)Now, that's how you present a werewolf.
Yes, it really was. Definitely by far the best I've seen it done.
Namechecking Dr. Joseph Bell: wasn't he the one supposed to be the model for Sherlock Holmes? If so, much love.
Yes, he was. I believe I'm right in saying he was Conan Doyle's tutor. Ian Richardson played him in a series called Murder Rooms about the early life of Conan Doyle.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 05:33 pm (UTC)Will there be a werewolf icon?
And thanks for confirming the Bell/Holmes connection!
no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 10:10 pm (UTC)In all likelihood their will be, but not for at least another 10 days :) I have actually seen one around already, but I don't know where it came from.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 04:23 pm (UTC)In particular, that shot of him howling at the moon was wonderful.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-23 05:35 pm (UTC)