New Who Fear Her and Army of Ghosts
Jul. 3rd, 2006 07:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakTwo reviews this time, because I hadn't the chance to post the other one before:
Fear Her
Aka the one by the Life on Mars writer. Considering Rose and the Doctor deliberately pulling a detective act, it showed. g Seriously now, it was delightful, and delightfully creepy, with the abduction by drawing. And the very fact the antagonist of the week was a needy child possessing another child. You can’t rationalize or intimidate it, and additional kudos to Matthew Graham for not going the Omen route and making it evil.
This was clearly Rose’s episode, not just because she got to save the day, but because it showcased all her strengths without making it look easy for her – her courage, ability to empathize with others, and to improvise. The Doctor was Watson this time around, and didn’t mind a bit. Speaking of the Doctor, the opening moment when he parked the TARDIS wrong was a sight gag that still has me giggling (because you know that just has to happen know and then), and of course even yours truly with my spotty canon knowledge squeed “Susan!” at his casual “I was a Dad once”. (Will we ever find out who Susan’s mother or father, the Doctor’s child was? Probably not, I guess.) Not surprisingly, Rose with her Daddy issues is stunned by this (and it probably brings the difference between looks and real age in the Doctor more home to her than an abstract number like “900 years” does).
Army of Ghosts
Okay, even if I hadn’t watched the trailer, I think I would have guessed those ghosts were Cybermen, but never mind, it was a good set-up episode (and better than its equivalent, Bad Wolf last season, imo), finally introducing Torchwood. I was wondering how they’d make it different from UNIT, to avoid simply repeating an already well established institution within the Whoverse. The most obvious and glaring difference, as it turns out, is that UNIT is international, working for the UN, not Britain, and Torchwood strictly national, and neoimperialistic to boot. (Makes sense considering the different foundations and also explains why the two didn’t cross paths so far, thus avoiding having to explain why the Doctor’s work with UNIT didn’t land him with Torchwood earlier.) Then there’s the “if it’s Alien, it’s ours” motto, which of course makes Yvonne and her team basically a British version of Henry van Statten. She’s nicer about it, and doesn’t seem to be into torture to evoke reactions or information from her Aliens, but the principle is the same. At the same time, they’re not the boo-hiss villains, either. And I like the implications – Torchwood was born because of a combination of circumstances: the werewolf-as-Alien, sure, but also the Doctor’s high handed manner, which had Victoria repeating the same words to him he said to the Sycorax in The Christmas Invasion. Neoimperialism doesn’t come out of nowhere, and now he’s going to have to live with it.
Meanwhile, I liked the way the Doctor handled Yvonne’s initial refusal to stop the ghostshifting. The calm sitting down and watching, which worked far better than yelling at her would have done. Now that was a Mexican stand-off, Doctor-style. Meanwhile, Yvonne might be a Neoimperialist, but she’s not stupid. When she gave in and stopped she didn’t just became more dimensional by virtue of common sense but also showed she’s better than Henry van Statten, who followed the traditional villain route of not listening until it is too late.
Much love for Jackie in this episode. You know, I know it won’t happen, because Jackie is tied to Rose’s storyline, but the interplay between her and the Doctor made me think it would be fun with Jackie were the actual companion for a while, precisely because it would be such a juxtaposition to the Rose-Doctor relationship. We’d get mutual snark instead of closeness, and hey, a strike for middle-aged womanhood in space.
Mickey: welcome back, darling. Now why am I afraid again that you’re going to be toast? For all of Rose’s opening “this is how I died” monologue, I don’t think she will actually die, or rather, not literary. But I have the awful feeling that Jackie, introduced to the Torchwood staff as “Rose Tyler” could die, and/or Mickey, and that this might be what causes Rose to call it quits with the Doctor.
Also: re: Giant Brass Ball - clearly, Rambaldi was a Timelord. That explains everything.
And last but certainly not least: DALEKS!
Fear Her
Aka the one by the Life on Mars writer. Considering Rose and the Doctor deliberately pulling a detective act, it showed. g Seriously now, it was delightful, and delightfully creepy, with the abduction by drawing. And the very fact the antagonist of the week was a needy child possessing another child. You can’t rationalize or intimidate it, and additional kudos to Matthew Graham for not going the Omen route and making it evil.
This was clearly Rose’s episode, not just because she got to save the day, but because it showcased all her strengths without making it look easy for her – her courage, ability to empathize with others, and to improvise. The Doctor was Watson this time around, and didn’t mind a bit. Speaking of the Doctor, the opening moment when he parked the TARDIS wrong was a sight gag that still has me giggling (because you know that just has to happen know and then), and of course even yours truly with my spotty canon knowledge squeed “Susan!” at his casual “I was a Dad once”. (Will we ever find out who Susan’s mother or father, the Doctor’s child was? Probably not, I guess.) Not surprisingly, Rose with her Daddy issues is stunned by this (and it probably brings the difference between looks and real age in the Doctor more home to her than an abstract number like “900 years” does).
Army of Ghosts
Okay, even if I hadn’t watched the trailer, I think I would have guessed those ghosts were Cybermen, but never mind, it was a good set-up episode (and better than its equivalent, Bad Wolf last season, imo), finally introducing Torchwood. I was wondering how they’d make it different from UNIT, to avoid simply repeating an already well established institution within the Whoverse. The most obvious and glaring difference, as it turns out, is that UNIT is international, working for the UN, not Britain, and Torchwood strictly national, and neoimperialistic to boot. (Makes sense considering the different foundations and also explains why the two didn’t cross paths so far, thus avoiding having to explain why the Doctor’s work with UNIT didn’t land him with Torchwood earlier.) Then there’s the “if it’s Alien, it’s ours” motto, which of course makes Yvonne and her team basically a British version of Henry van Statten. She’s nicer about it, and doesn’t seem to be into torture to evoke reactions or information from her Aliens, but the principle is the same. At the same time, they’re not the boo-hiss villains, either. And I like the implications – Torchwood was born because of a combination of circumstances: the werewolf-as-Alien, sure, but also the Doctor’s high handed manner, which had Victoria repeating the same words to him he said to the Sycorax in The Christmas Invasion. Neoimperialism doesn’t come out of nowhere, and now he’s going to have to live with it.
Meanwhile, I liked the way the Doctor handled Yvonne’s initial refusal to stop the ghostshifting. The calm sitting down and watching, which worked far better than yelling at her would have done. Now that was a Mexican stand-off, Doctor-style. Meanwhile, Yvonne might be a Neoimperialist, but she’s not stupid. When she gave in and stopped she didn’t just became more dimensional by virtue of common sense but also showed she’s better than Henry van Statten, who followed the traditional villain route of not listening until it is too late.
Much love for Jackie in this episode. You know, I know it won’t happen, because Jackie is tied to Rose’s storyline, but the interplay between her and the Doctor made me think it would be fun with Jackie were the actual companion for a while, precisely because it would be such a juxtaposition to the Rose-Doctor relationship. We’d get mutual snark instead of closeness, and hey, a strike for middle-aged womanhood in space.
Mickey: welcome back, darling. Now why am I afraid again that you’re going to be toast? For all of Rose’s opening “this is how I died” monologue, I don’t think she will actually die, or rather, not literary. But I have the awful feeling that Jackie, introduced to the Torchwood staff as “Rose Tyler” could die, and/or Mickey, and that this might be what causes Rose to call it quits with the Doctor.
Also: re: Giant Brass Ball - clearly, Rambaldi was a Timelord. That explains everything.
And last but certainly not least: DALEKS!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-07-03 06:51 am (UTC)Greatly looking forward to the next episode.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-03 08:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-03 12:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-03 08:58 am (UTC)You should have been able to hear J and me squeeing over that one where you are *g*.
it would be fun with Jackie were the actual companion for a while, precisely because it would be such a juxtaposition to the Rose-Doctor relationship.
I thought that too. I don't think they've ever had a middle-aged companion so it would certainly be a novelty. I can't wait for next week though I am very anxious about the fates of almost everybody.
For all of Rose’s opening “this is how I died” monologue, I don’t think she will actually die, or rather, not literary.
I loved the beautiful, elegiac atmosphere of that opening monologue. I don't think she will actually die, but I'm still very worried about her as she's definitely going to lose something.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-03 12:04 pm (UTC)The countdown for next week is running...
Here via friendsfriends
Date: 2006-07-03 02:16 pm (UTC)Re: Here via friendsfriends
Date: 2006-07-03 05:48 pm (UTC)