New Who: School Reunion
Apr. 30th, 2006 08:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakWhile continuing to watch the Third Doctor and s10 (have met the Master as Roger Degaldo now; people, you were so right, he's suave!), I was over the moon regarding the latest episode of the new series.
Firstly, though Four was actually the first Doctor I saw (Talons of Weng Chian, and then City of Death), I hadn't seen any of the Sarah Jane Smith episodes until a few months ago, when I watched Genesis of the Daleks. (Wherein she was splendid.) (My favourite Doctor/Companion team, however, is Seven/Ace, whom I first saw in Curse of Fenric. Anyone familiar with my fondness for Arvin Sloane, Laura Roslin, Kai Winn, John Locke et al, I bet you're fainting in amazement.) So I had benevolent feelings anticipating her return, but she wasn't the one and all for me. Still, even if I had not seen her ever before this episode, I'd have come out loving her. It was also the first Dr. Who to make me cry. I made it through Father's Day and Parting of the Ways without shedding a tear, not because I wasn't moved, but I don't cry easily. This time, though? "My Sarah Jane." You shameless manipulative writing staff and you splendid actors you, I'm still sniffling.
Best of all, though? The episode didn't neglect anyone. Rose, Mickey, K-9, and the new one shot guest stars, the headmaster played by ASH and Kenny, they each were important to the story. Moreover, it used both last season's "last of the timelords" and this seasons "god or not?" themes and build on them; it could not have come earlier and advanced the developing story. It wasn't a standalone, which I had wondered it might be. Oh, so much love.
It doesn't hurt that the BTVS influence comes across pretty strong, and I don't mean by the casting of ASH. Between the evil lunch lady (ladies?), the poisoned food (though not lethal poison, admittedly), the eating of the staff and the blowing up of the school, someone has cleary been rewatching season 3 of Buffy and used its elements creatively. The dialogue was flying quick and fast, too. ("You get older and your assistants get younger.") Sarah Jane and Rose going from bickering to bonding reminded me of the Jossverse as well.
Since I always had a soft spot for Mickey, I loved and adored the fact he asked to come along at the end. And that he did so for the sake of adventure, not because he's still pining for Rose. Good thing too, given her reaction. Which, btw, I understand: it has just sunk in for Rose that just as there were companions before her, there will be some after her, and Mickey is the first of that line. (As she hadn't known about her predecessors when Jack was there, it wasn't the same thing.) Plus her relationship with Mickey was something of a great safety net she was very comfortable with; he was always there when she came back. (I resented this on Mickey's behalf in the opening scene of New Earth when she said goodbye with a decidedly unplatonic kiss, but not here, perhaps because Mickey is no longer pining.) Having just been presented with her own future in the shape of Sarah Jane, it probably was, subconsciously or consciously, comforting to assume that as opposed to Sarah Jane, she'd have someone to come back to, and now, not so much. Not a nice or selfless reaction, no, but you know what, I like Rose because she has flaws in addition to her strengths.
Speaking of Mickey, he had entirely too much fun at the whole "mate, the new girl and the ex, welcome to every man's worst nightmare" thing (again, not a nice thing to do, but utterly understandable and making him real), and it made me grin. I think it's one of the reasons why he asks the Doctor, at the end. It made the Doctor less superior and more approachable to him. Was very amused at Mickey and Rose both staring in disbelief at the 70s hockeyness of K-9 ("why does he look so disco?" indeed), kids of the new millennium which they are, and Rose being deeply embarrassed at the Doctor going all awwww about his pet.
Tennant had the change to really flesh Ten out in this one, and he did. Goofy, cold, embarrassed, brimming over with love for both Sarah Jane and Rose, tender, furious, bewildered, you name it, he was it, and always in places where it made sense. He really sold the entire K-9 thing on me, as did Liz Sladen as Sarah Jane, from with the hurt looks when Rose and Mickey can't believe their robodog over the goodbye to the aftermath when everyone else is rejoicing. And my, but did he spark off with ASH. Their two big scenes, at the swimming pool (cool location, director!) and later in the class room were just awesome, and it's really good they cast ASH for this role because this is one smart antagonist, and you really have to believe the Doctor is tempted. Excellent first pay-off for the "god/highest authority" claim from New Earth, too. Also, Tennant made the claim of age with its accompagnying chill and threat in the first scene totally believable.
Age, and aging, was a big theme in this episode anyway. Sarah Jane will die. Rose will die. Neither of them will regenerate and come back. The Doctor does and does not age, changes and doesn't, and I have expected someone to say "death would be an awfully big adventure" because there was something of a Peter Pan and Wendy vibe around, or rather, just for the last chapter in Barrie's novel, when Peter returns and realizes that Wendy grew up, and lived, and married, and has a child... but because he's Peter, symbol of anarchy in the eternal child, he overcomes the horror and grief in a heartbeat as soon as he's offered a replacement, and takes her daughter to Neverland instead. School Reunion played and twisted this scenario: the Doctor, though he can be childlike (especially in particular incarnations) is not a child, he does remember and the grief doesn't go away, and it's Rose who has the moment of dawning realisation and horror, and it's Sarah Jane who felt like her life was stuck whereas the Doctor went on and changed. They're all bits and pieces of Peter, and bits and pieces of Wendy. No clear cut roles.
Watching Sarah Jane and Rose, it suddenly occured to me that while we've seen Rose bonding with other women before (Gwynneth in The Unquiet Dead, Flora in Tooth and Claw, for example), she always did so from the position of having more knowledge; there wasn't equality there. And of course Jackie is her mother. Here with Sarah Jane there was, and that was why the going from "oh, yeah?" (trying to one-up another) to "oh yeah!" (giggling together over the Doctor, and of course they're right, he and the Tardis are the true OTP; they're FOREVER, I tell you!) worked so well. Their quiet hug at the end was perfect.
But, to return to the beginning: "Say goodbye. Say it." And "my Sarah Jane".
I am still bawling, damm it.
Firstly, though Four was actually the first Doctor I saw (Talons of Weng Chian, and then City of Death), I hadn't seen any of the Sarah Jane Smith episodes until a few months ago, when I watched Genesis of the Daleks. (Wherein she was splendid.) (My favourite Doctor/Companion team, however, is Seven/Ace, whom I first saw in Curse of Fenric. Anyone familiar with my fondness for Arvin Sloane, Laura Roslin, Kai Winn, John Locke et al, I bet you're fainting in amazement.) So I had benevolent feelings anticipating her return, but she wasn't the one and all for me. Still, even if I had not seen her ever before this episode, I'd have come out loving her. It was also the first Dr. Who to make me cry. I made it through Father's Day and Parting of the Ways without shedding a tear, not because I wasn't moved, but I don't cry easily. This time, though? "My Sarah Jane." You shameless manipulative writing staff and you splendid actors you, I'm still sniffling.
Best of all, though? The episode didn't neglect anyone. Rose, Mickey, K-9, and the new one shot guest stars, the headmaster played by ASH and Kenny, they each were important to the story. Moreover, it used both last season's "last of the timelords" and this seasons "god or not?" themes and build on them; it could not have come earlier and advanced the developing story. It wasn't a standalone, which I had wondered it might be. Oh, so much love.
It doesn't hurt that the BTVS influence comes across pretty strong, and I don't mean by the casting of ASH. Between the evil lunch lady (ladies?), the poisoned food (though not lethal poison, admittedly), the eating of the staff and the blowing up of the school, someone has cleary been rewatching season 3 of Buffy and used its elements creatively. The dialogue was flying quick and fast, too. ("You get older and your assistants get younger.") Sarah Jane and Rose going from bickering to bonding reminded me of the Jossverse as well.
Since I always had a soft spot for Mickey, I loved and adored the fact he asked to come along at the end. And that he did so for the sake of adventure, not because he's still pining for Rose. Good thing too, given her reaction. Which, btw, I understand: it has just sunk in for Rose that just as there were companions before her, there will be some after her, and Mickey is the first of that line. (As she hadn't known about her predecessors when Jack was there, it wasn't the same thing.) Plus her relationship with Mickey was something of a great safety net she was very comfortable with; he was always there when she came back. (I resented this on Mickey's behalf in the opening scene of New Earth when she said goodbye with a decidedly unplatonic kiss, but not here, perhaps because Mickey is no longer pining.) Having just been presented with her own future in the shape of Sarah Jane, it probably was, subconsciously or consciously, comforting to assume that as opposed to Sarah Jane, she'd have someone to come back to, and now, not so much. Not a nice or selfless reaction, no, but you know what, I like Rose because she has flaws in addition to her strengths.
Speaking of Mickey, he had entirely too much fun at the whole "mate, the new girl and the ex, welcome to every man's worst nightmare" thing (again, not a nice thing to do, but utterly understandable and making him real), and it made me grin. I think it's one of the reasons why he asks the Doctor, at the end. It made the Doctor less superior and more approachable to him. Was very amused at Mickey and Rose both staring in disbelief at the 70s hockeyness of K-9 ("why does he look so disco?" indeed), kids of the new millennium which they are, and Rose being deeply embarrassed at the Doctor going all awwww about his pet.
Tennant had the change to really flesh Ten out in this one, and he did. Goofy, cold, embarrassed, brimming over with love for both Sarah Jane and Rose, tender, furious, bewildered, you name it, he was it, and always in places where it made sense. He really sold the entire K-9 thing on me, as did Liz Sladen as Sarah Jane, from with the hurt looks when Rose and Mickey can't believe their robodog over the goodbye to the aftermath when everyone else is rejoicing. And my, but did he spark off with ASH. Their two big scenes, at the swimming pool (cool location, director!) and later in the class room were just awesome, and it's really good they cast ASH for this role because this is one smart antagonist, and you really have to believe the Doctor is tempted. Excellent first pay-off for the "god/highest authority" claim from New Earth, too. Also, Tennant made the claim of age with its accompagnying chill and threat in the first scene totally believable.
Age, and aging, was a big theme in this episode anyway. Sarah Jane will die. Rose will die. Neither of them will regenerate and come back. The Doctor does and does not age, changes and doesn't, and I have expected someone to say "death would be an awfully big adventure" because there was something of a Peter Pan and Wendy vibe around, or rather, just for the last chapter in Barrie's novel, when Peter returns and realizes that Wendy grew up, and lived, and married, and has a child... but because he's Peter, symbol of anarchy in the eternal child, he overcomes the horror and grief in a heartbeat as soon as he's offered a replacement, and takes her daughter to Neverland instead. School Reunion played and twisted this scenario: the Doctor, though he can be childlike (especially in particular incarnations) is not a child, he does remember and the grief doesn't go away, and it's Rose who has the moment of dawning realisation and horror, and it's Sarah Jane who felt like her life was stuck whereas the Doctor went on and changed. They're all bits and pieces of Peter, and bits and pieces of Wendy. No clear cut roles.
Watching Sarah Jane and Rose, it suddenly occured to me that while we've seen Rose bonding with other women before (Gwynneth in The Unquiet Dead, Flora in Tooth and Claw, for example), she always did so from the position of having more knowledge; there wasn't equality there. And of course Jackie is her mother. Here with Sarah Jane there was, and that was why the going from "oh, yeah?" (trying to one-up another) to "oh yeah!" (giggling together over the Doctor, and of course they're right, he and the Tardis are the true OTP; they're FOREVER, I tell you!) worked so well. Their quiet hug at the end was perfect.
But, to return to the beginning: "Say goodbye. Say it." And "my Sarah Jane".
I am still bawling, damm it.
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 06:47 pm (UTC)It was a very smart move for the writers to make this not just a "reunion," but to deal with the more overarching series-spanning themes of loss and immortality vs. mortality (I also loved how ASH's character and the temptation he gives the Doctor fed into these exact themes), and putting the Doctor/Rose relationship in the larger context of previous Companions, so Sarah Jane functions both as her own character, and as a representation of all the previous humans the Doctor has bonded with. I loved Mickey's almost meta comments about the new and ex-wife, and Rose and SJ's bonding over making fun of the Doctor. And how the Doctor/Companion relationship was compared to a marriage numerous times throughout the ep.
Btw, I'm really starting to warm up to Tennant now. I liked him from the start, but I still had trouble accepting him completely, since I loved Eccleston so much in the role. Now, he's really starting to grow on me. You almost forget he's a different person than the guy we saw in S1, in a way, which is strange but kind of cool.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 06:48 pm (UTC)Dammit, yeah *sobs*
no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 07:01 pm (UTC)Though she does have the advantage of having played with differenct Doctors before. (Which it occurs to me makes her an even more perfect parallel/contrast to Rose; she went through a regeneration with her Doctor, too.) I.e. the actress back then had to adjust to a different actor, too. But yes, you really believed both her and Tennant that they knew each other and were so close many years ago!
I also loved how ASH's character and the temptation he gives the Doctor fed into these exact themes
Oh yes. Such a good use of a villain to tie in the larger themes.
Rose and SJ's bonding over making fun of the Doctor.
I like to imaging they're emailing each other from this point onwards. (Well, if the Doctor could make Rose's cell phone work through time and space, he certainly can made the TARDIS forward her emails!) And exchanging comments like "he did again!" all the time.*g*
BTW, have discovered an excellent post episode vignette which works even if you don't know all the previous companions mentioned (I don't know all of them, either!): His Story (http://calapine.livejournal.com/283748).
no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 07:22 pm (UTC)Oh, very interesting! I did not know that.
BTW, have discovered an excellent post episode vignette which works even if you don't know all the previous companions mentioned (I don't know all of them, either!): His Story.
Cool, off to read! Thanks :)
Btw, I just wanted to add that I loved what you wrote about the Peter Pan/adult Wendy parallels.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 07:29 pm (UTC)And grr, argh, I just noticed the link doesn't work. Let me try again: the story is here (http://calapine.livejournal.com/283748.html).
no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 07:35 pm (UTC)And, yes, that link works. Lovely story! :)
no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 07:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 07:51 pm (UTC)(Otoh, going through other people's reviews, I see lots of them pointing out that Finch theoretically could have been the Master in disguise, as we never saw him change into a gargoyle on camera, but I don't see how that squares with him clearly having eaten the girl in the teaser and the rest of the human staff later on. Both things, one assumes, that a renegade timelord would not do.)
Anyway. More about the Master and Three in an extra post, I promise.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 07:54 pm (UTC)The last time the Master was seen on TV, he was rather far into a metamorphosis into a carnivorous catperson, and rather looked prone to the eating-people thing.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 09:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-30 10:02 pm (UTC)I think that whole scene was a rather clumsy one for Sarah, sadly, although that was the best part in it. But I think at that point, I was just a bit irritated by how "my life is meaningless without you, Doctor!" they were showing all the women there. It wouldn't have been such a problem for me if they weren't showing them in such a bad light anyway, because clearly there is some sort of mental adjustment to being Earthbound like that, but as it was, it grated more than moved me.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 01:13 am (UTC)Because women who travel through time and space with aliens are just like Manhattan upper-class husband-hunters.
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Date: 2006-05-01 01:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 02:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 02:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 02:56 pm (UTC)I loved the episode.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 03:20 pm (UTC)I loved it, too, and I love Sarah Jane. Which is why I was so troubled at what looked like some real misogyny in the writing.