New Who: Doomsday
Jul. 10th, 2006 10:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakAnd thus ends season 2/28. I'm so going to lobby ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bimo and cavendish to send me more Old Who, because the thought of being Doctor-less until Christmas is just too cruel. Overall verdict? I enjoyed the finale, though I think Impossible Planet/ Satan's Pit was the better two-parter this season. I do, however, prefer Doomsday to Bad Wolf, slightly.
Firstly, as I wrote last week, I didn't think Rose would literaly die, so I wasn't surprised she didn't. Though there was a bad moment where I thought "she isn't going to end up stuck in all eternity in the vortex together with the Daleks and Cybermen, is she?" Which, you know, is a fate worse than death. But no, she wasn't. Which I was very glad about, since I like Rose. I don't love her, and I do think a new companion is a really good thing for the show right now, but I like her a lot, and wanted her to have as happy an ending as she could get in the circumstances. Plus, sidenote, the climax of the Lady Constantine miniseries is somewhat similar, with Joanna having successfully outwitted and defeated the demons, only to watch them drag her little sister (who as it turns out later was actually her daughter) into a box/mini-dimension that can't be opened again with them, and that was one of the most haunting things in comics I read. I did not want a repeat in the Whoverse.
Anyway, the Daleks versus Cybermen shenanigans might have been shameless pandering to the fanbase, but Great Maker, as Londo would say, it was fun. Also in character fun, as naturally the Daleks, being all about getting rid of all non-Dalek-lifeforms, would not ally with the Cybermen. And there was robot snark! ("The Daleks have no concept of elegance." "Clearly." and "There is only one thing you are better at. Dying".) Murderous little pepperboxes, you rule. I would feel guilty for rooting for you in the robot competition, except that the show managed to keep the balance and made me also feel the threat and horror you were to the humans later on.
Seriously: the moment when the "Genesis Arc" turned out to have been a prison ship build by the Timelords, with all those thousands and thousands of Daleks emerging? Chilling.
Jackie meeting Alt!Pete might just possibly replace Sisko meeting Alt!Jennifer in terms of my favourite "sci fi character meets AU version of lost spouse, it does get acknowledged they're not exactly the same, and yet they're able to resolve issues" scene. Loved it. Also loved everyone letting them have their moment. "I don't care about that... how much?" Ah, Jackie. I'm going to miss you. A lot.
Speaking of moments, I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere yet, but I loved Rose telling Mickey he was the bravest man she ever met. And yes, he did ask "what about the Doctor", and she did ruefully modify it to "bravest human", but that didn't cheapen her statement or make it less sincere. Not that Mickey didn't become his own man a while ago, but it still was a great counterpoint to their "thanks for nothing" goodbye in Rose and showed how much had happened to both of them since.
Rose and the Doctor. I'm in two minds about what seems one big point of debate - whether the scene with both of them having their hand on the wall should have been the final scene between them (yes, Russell, we already know you're a BTVS fan, thanks for making it even more obvious, and will anyone write Conversations Of A Multiverse Wall With a Cryptdoor?) or not. On the one hand, it would have worked for me. On the other, I also like that it wasn't, because I see it as the direct result of the Doctor's encounter with Sarah Jane and Sarah Jane telling him she waited to hear from him for years, oh, and Reinette's letter showing she waited and waited for years as well. He gives Rose that actual final goodbye, and thus helps her to move on. That message was a last gift to her.
Both scenes, however, also showed why I think it's a good thing we get a new companion. In terms of tv narrative, if you code a relationship as a romance, which this one was, it's hard to maintain that kind of level of emotional intensity after you did the "dying for each other/saving each other's lives" a couple of times. I think it was Joss himself among the ME writers who admitted that well, after "Becoming", the Buffy/Angel romance had to end (with Angel in s3 because a transition to his own show was necessary), because how do you top her sending him to hell?
To use that image, I love Becoming. But I don't want to watch it every other week.
A new companion, preferably one who doesn't get along with the Doctor at all at first and whom he takes time to adjust to, will provide a different kind of narrative - buddy movie/road show, if you like, instead of romance. Which is just the thing after a pairing of doom.
A few links to Whovian posts I enjoyed reading:
On Rose, her development and decisions
Tyle's Don't Lose, post season finale fanfiction byrozk
Worst. Companion. Ever, a hilarious Veronica Mars/Dr. Who crossover, if you don't want any angst, with Logan Echolls taking the title in question
bimo and cavendish to send me more Old Who, because the thought of being Doctor-less until Christmas is just too cruel. Overall verdict? I enjoyed the finale, though I think Impossible Planet/ Satan's Pit was the better two-parter this season. I do, however, prefer Doomsday to Bad Wolf, slightly. Firstly, as I wrote last week, I didn't think Rose would literaly die, so I wasn't surprised she didn't. Though there was a bad moment where I thought "she isn't going to end up stuck in all eternity in the vortex together with the Daleks and Cybermen, is she?" Which, you know, is a fate worse than death. But no, she wasn't. Which I was very glad about, since I like Rose. I don't love her, and I do think a new companion is a really good thing for the show right now, but I like her a lot, and wanted her to have as happy an ending as she could get in the circumstances. Plus, sidenote, the climax of the Lady Constantine miniseries is somewhat similar, with Joanna having successfully outwitted and defeated the demons, only to watch them drag her little sister (who as it turns out later was actually her daughter) into a box/mini-dimension that can't be opened again with them, and that was one of the most haunting things in comics I read. I did not want a repeat in the Whoverse.
Anyway, the Daleks versus Cybermen shenanigans might have been shameless pandering to the fanbase, but Great Maker, as Londo would say, it was fun. Also in character fun, as naturally the Daleks, being all about getting rid of all non-Dalek-lifeforms, would not ally with the Cybermen. And there was robot snark! ("The Daleks have no concept of elegance." "Clearly." and "There is only one thing you are better at. Dying".) Murderous little pepperboxes, you rule. I would feel guilty for rooting for you in the robot competition, except that the show managed to keep the balance and made me also feel the threat and horror you were to the humans later on.
Seriously: the moment when the "Genesis Arc" turned out to have been a prison ship build by the Timelords, with all those thousands and thousands of Daleks emerging? Chilling.
Jackie meeting Alt!Pete might just possibly replace Sisko meeting Alt!Jennifer in terms of my favourite "sci fi character meets AU version of lost spouse, it does get acknowledged they're not exactly the same, and yet they're able to resolve issues" scene. Loved it. Also loved everyone letting them have their moment. "I don't care about that... how much?" Ah, Jackie. I'm going to miss you. A lot.
Speaking of moments, I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere yet, but I loved Rose telling Mickey he was the bravest man she ever met. And yes, he did ask "what about the Doctor", and she did ruefully modify it to "bravest human", but that didn't cheapen her statement or make it less sincere. Not that Mickey didn't become his own man a while ago, but it still was a great counterpoint to their "thanks for nothing" goodbye in Rose and showed how much had happened to both of them since.
Rose and the Doctor. I'm in two minds about what seems one big point of debate - whether the scene with both of them having their hand on the wall should have been the final scene between them (yes, Russell, we already know you're a BTVS fan, thanks for making it even more obvious, and will anyone write Conversations Of A Multiverse Wall With a Cryptdoor?) or not. On the one hand, it would have worked for me. On the other, I also like that it wasn't, because I see it as the direct result of the Doctor's encounter with Sarah Jane and Sarah Jane telling him she waited to hear from him for years, oh, and Reinette's letter showing she waited and waited for years as well. He gives Rose that actual final goodbye, and thus helps her to move on. That message was a last gift to her.
Both scenes, however, also showed why I think it's a good thing we get a new companion. In terms of tv narrative, if you code a relationship as a romance, which this one was, it's hard to maintain that kind of level of emotional intensity after you did the "dying for each other/saving each other's lives" a couple of times. I think it was Joss himself among the ME writers who admitted that well, after "Becoming", the Buffy/Angel romance had to end (with Angel in s3 because a transition to his own show was necessary), because how do you top her sending him to hell?
To use that image, I love Becoming. But I don't want to watch it every other week.
A new companion, preferably one who doesn't get along with the Doctor at all at first and whom he takes time to adjust to, will provide a different kind of narrative - buddy movie/road show, if you like, instead of romance. Which is just the thing after a pairing of doom.
A few links to Whovian posts I enjoyed reading:
On Rose, her development and decisions
Tyle's Don't Lose, post season finale fanfiction by
rozk Worst. Companion. Ever, a hilarious Veronica Mars/Dr. Who crossover, if you don't want any angst, with Logan Echolls taking the title in question
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-10 09:44 am (UTC)I had a brief moment of panic about that too. Dr Who doesn't usually kill companions but it has happened, so while I was pretty confident she was going to survive I wasn't 100% sure. I really liked the fact that it was Pete her not-father who saved her rather than the Doctor, which seeme to me to mean that it's having her family round her that will be important to Rose in the long run.
Murderous little pepperboxes, you rule.
They so do! They shouldn't be overused, but they do add wonderful spice to the Dr Who universe.
He gives Rose that actual final goodbye, and thus helps her to move on. That message was a last gift to her.
Yes, I thought that too. He'd really learnt something this season. And "I burnt up a sun to say goodbye to you" (probably not the exact quotation) was just so damn romantic. He did for her what she *knows* he didn't do for anyone else, say goodbye properly. Sniffle...
no subject
Date: 2006-07-10 09:55 am (UTC)Yes, and it mirrored Rose having been there for actual-father Pete when he died and brought it full circle, because this time, family symbolized not the past but a new start, which also ties with her becoming a big sister via the future Jackie/Pete offspring.
He'd really learnt something this season.
How I see it, too. He knew before that all his relationships with his companions are finite, of course, but there are still different ways to handle that.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-10 02:59 pm (UTC)But with Tennant, who was more playful and the weight of his age, not obvious, I found myself asking, "why aren't they shagging in the Tardis?".
As for the ep, it was very satisfying. Lots of fun moments and you can't beat "burning up a sun to reach you" as a romantic gesture.
Hopefully Rose will grow up now and do the hard work of living a life, making things happen for herself, and being there for those who love her.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-10 08:18 pm (UTC)No extensive lobbying needed :-)
What kind of Old School Who are you looking for anything in particular? Or a good, well-rounded Multiple Doctor mix?
P. S. Finally managed to watch the first half of the McCoy era. Verdict so far: wonderful Doctor, sometimes not-so-wonderful scripts. Season 25 considerably more enjoyable than season 24. Favourite episode is "Happiness Patrol", followed by the Dalek one (Remembrance?)
no subject
Date: 2006-07-10 08:23 pm (UTC)Obviously, there should be a colon between for and anything...
no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 05:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 07:49 am (UTC)Prepare yourself for being flooded by Doctor-ish goodness over the next couple of weeks, since I'll probably mail you one adventure at a time...