Doctor Who 4/30.12 The Stolen Earth
Jun. 29th, 2008 07:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn the immortal words of Joss Whedon, Yeahbutwhat?!? (Also known as: Russell, you old sadist, you are having far too much fun with this.)
Okay, the big one out of the way first: obviously, we have two possibilities here: either this is a genuine regeneration and the actor playing Eleven is the most discreet person on the planet, as is his agent, or the beginning regeneration will either be reversed or turned into something else, meaning David Tennant continues as Ten. Given we got a meaningful and otherwise unexplained close up to the severed hand earlier in the episode, we had Jenny reviving but not bodyswitching earlier the season, and the BBC could use this to solve the problem they have ever since Robert Holmes in the Fourth Doctor episode The Deadly Assassin declared Time Lords only have twelve regenerations at their disposal, I am currently assuming and hoping for the later, admittedly mostly because I do love my Tenth Doctor and the actor who plays him and am not ready for Eleven yet. But if we do get Eleven - wow. That would be the first time he doesn't regenerate at the end of a season but in the episode before, and given that he's always somewhat out of it in the post-regeneration phase, circumstances are even more dire. Still. My current prediction is he'll remain Ten-shaped (and there will be a mention that this incident prolongs the number of available regenerations).
Now, on to the companion and continuity extravaganza. The most pleasant surprise was the entire Harriet Jones segment. I've said before season 4 addresses various issues that have piled up in previous seasons, and the deposing of Harriet Jones at the end of The Christmas Invasion was one of those. Here, we don't just have Harriet written as a positive heroine but also via maintaining her previous position, not via "repenting", thus making it clear it wasn't a black and white issue, and the narrative does not necessarily endorse the Doctor's position back then. The Christmas Invasion still is my least favourite Christmas special, but this mollifies me to no end.
Sidenote: Harriet's death, while tragic, also works for me. If the Daleks only kill redshirts (and possibly the Doctor, who regenerates and thus doesn't really die), it doesn't have the same impact as if they kill a character we know and love, and Harriet went out with her head held high, knowing she rallied the troups and gave Earth a chance that way.
Most favourite continuity detail: Sarah Jane recognizing Davros by voice. Sarah Jane is the only one of the companions who met him ("met" being a euphemism for "imprisoned and tortured by"), she knows exactly who he is and what he has done, she saw the last of his species, the Kaleds, murdered before her eyes and the Thals exterminated.
Speaking of whom: when there were first rumours about a Davros return, I was, shall we say, less than enthusiastic. Genesis of the Daleks is a deserved classic, and Davros is one of the reasons - he's truly chilling in it, ridiculous make-up not withstanding - but I disliked his subsequent appearances. Then I listened to the audio Davros, which proved you can use him in an interesting way without repeating the Genesis story, and that made me feel a bit more optimistic. His appearance here so far is effective; the old look modified enough so he doesn't resemble a puppet, and so far the emphasis is more on evil genius than crazy ranting wannabe. (Not that I don't fully expect a Davros rant before the season is over. He IS Davros, after all.) The "After all this time (...) I have only one thing to say to you: bye!" line by the Doctor was a great twist on last season's line to the Master, filling in, I think, a New Who audience on the emotional difference to the Doctor. Davros is a recurring nemesis whose impact on the Doctor is because of what he did - create the Daleks - not because of any mixed feelings on the Doctor's part.
The most interesting thing about Davros' reappearance, however, is that little story of how he survived this time because if I'm not mistaken, it points to the biggest change in New Who. If Dalek Caan (last seen in Evolution of the Daleks, and now amazingly personalized and effective as a Dalek Drusilla, and btw, now that I think of it, Caan was the Dalek who got to reminesce about Skaro and the Time War in Daleks in Manhattan) managed to retrieve Davros from the Time War - at the cost of his sanity - then obviously this means the Time War is no longer as time-locked as the Doctor assumes. Meaning neither are Gallifrey, or the other Time Lords. Of course, this could be one of the reasons why the walls between dimensions are breaking down, and in that case it would have to be reversed, but still. Could it be RTD means to restore the status quo ante before he hands over the show to Stephen Moffat?
Lost planets, vanished bees, Medusa Cascade: all coming together now. What's missing is the Doctor's name (not that they'll ever reveal it, but I think they'll do something concerning it, what with all the references this season). So, he was nineteen when he was at the Medusa Cascade. Given the Master mentioned it in LotTL, I guess he wasn't there alone, but that's probably not important for whatever pay-off for the name thread awaits.
The huge, huge cast this episode was handled well: you felt they all contributed and had something to do. Gwen arming herself and Ianto and talking of Tosh and Owen at the end had me whimper a bit (not that I'm afraid they'll kill off the remaining Torchwood cast on another show, but I'm still in mourning for Owen and Tosh, you know), and may I say, I loved Gwen throughout, calling Rhys, being brave, and noticing the Doctor's looks. (While Jack flirted with Sarah Jane. Of course he did.) Martha teleporting back to her mother was something that touched me deeply - the last time there was an apocalypse, Martha didn't see Francine again for an entire year (of hell). Whatever the Osterhagen Key is, given that set-up she's obviously going to use it in the next episode, but I'm not afraid for Martha. No, what with the "everlasting death" prediction I'm actually afraid for... the TARDIS. (I mean, who else is the "most faithful companion"? I know they want us to think either Donna or Rose, but clearly, that title goes to the TARDIS!)
Lastly: The Dalek Invasion of Earth is another deserved classic (from the First Doctor era), but the Dalek plan in it always was a wee bit daft. Now it looks as if it gets retconned into something that makes crazy sci fi sense. So, what do Davros and the Daleks need the 27 planets in formation for? Also, there is talk of "the crucible"; back in Sound of Drums the Master said "I saw the Daleks take control of the cruciform" - possibly meant to be the same thing? Something that allows control over time and space in the entire galaxy, perhaps?
Okay, the big one out of the way first: obviously, we have two possibilities here: either this is a genuine regeneration and the actor playing Eleven is the most discreet person on the planet, as is his agent, or the beginning regeneration will either be reversed or turned into something else, meaning David Tennant continues as Ten. Given we got a meaningful and otherwise unexplained close up to the severed hand earlier in the episode, we had Jenny reviving but not bodyswitching earlier the season, and the BBC could use this to solve the problem they have ever since Robert Holmes in the Fourth Doctor episode The Deadly Assassin declared Time Lords only have twelve regenerations at their disposal, I am currently assuming and hoping for the later, admittedly mostly because I do love my Tenth Doctor and the actor who plays him and am not ready for Eleven yet. But if we do get Eleven - wow. That would be the first time he doesn't regenerate at the end of a season but in the episode before, and given that he's always somewhat out of it in the post-regeneration phase, circumstances are even more dire. Still. My current prediction is he'll remain Ten-shaped (and there will be a mention that this incident prolongs the number of available regenerations).
Now, on to the companion and continuity extravaganza. The most pleasant surprise was the entire Harriet Jones segment. I've said before season 4 addresses various issues that have piled up in previous seasons, and the deposing of Harriet Jones at the end of The Christmas Invasion was one of those. Here, we don't just have Harriet written as a positive heroine but also via maintaining her previous position, not via "repenting", thus making it clear it wasn't a black and white issue, and the narrative does not necessarily endorse the Doctor's position back then. The Christmas Invasion still is my least favourite Christmas special, but this mollifies me to no end.
Sidenote: Harriet's death, while tragic, also works for me. If the Daleks only kill redshirts (and possibly the Doctor, who regenerates and thus doesn't really die), it doesn't have the same impact as if they kill a character we know and love, and Harriet went out with her head held high, knowing she rallied the troups and gave Earth a chance that way.
Most favourite continuity detail: Sarah Jane recognizing Davros by voice. Sarah Jane is the only one of the companions who met him ("met" being a euphemism for "imprisoned and tortured by"), she knows exactly who he is and what he has done, she saw the last of his species, the Kaleds, murdered before her eyes and the Thals exterminated.
Speaking of whom: when there were first rumours about a Davros return, I was, shall we say, less than enthusiastic. Genesis of the Daleks is a deserved classic, and Davros is one of the reasons - he's truly chilling in it, ridiculous make-up not withstanding - but I disliked his subsequent appearances. Then I listened to the audio Davros, which proved you can use him in an interesting way without repeating the Genesis story, and that made me feel a bit more optimistic. His appearance here so far is effective; the old look modified enough so he doesn't resemble a puppet, and so far the emphasis is more on evil genius than crazy ranting wannabe. (Not that I don't fully expect a Davros rant before the season is over. He IS Davros, after all.) The "After all this time (...) I have only one thing to say to you: bye!" line by the Doctor was a great twist on last season's line to the Master, filling in, I think, a New Who audience on the emotional difference to the Doctor. Davros is a recurring nemesis whose impact on the Doctor is because of what he did - create the Daleks - not because of any mixed feelings on the Doctor's part.
The most interesting thing about Davros' reappearance, however, is that little story of how he survived this time because if I'm not mistaken, it points to the biggest change in New Who. If Dalek Caan (last seen in Evolution of the Daleks, and now amazingly personalized and effective as a Dalek Drusilla, and btw, now that I think of it, Caan was the Dalek who got to reminesce about Skaro and the Time War in Daleks in Manhattan) managed to retrieve Davros from the Time War - at the cost of his sanity - then obviously this means the Time War is no longer as time-locked as the Doctor assumes. Meaning neither are Gallifrey, or the other Time Lords. Of course, this could be one of the reasons why the walls between dimensions are breaking down, and in that case it would have to be reversed, but still. Could it be RTD means to restore the status quo ante before he hands over the show to Stephen Moffat?
Lost planets, vanished bees, Medusa Cascade: all coming together now. What's missing is the Doctor's name (not that they'll ever reveal it, but I think they'll do something concerning it, what with all the references this season). So, he was nineteen when he was at the Medusa Cascade. Given the Master mentioned it in LotTL, I guess he wasn't there alone, but that's probably not important for whatever pay-off for the name thread awaits.
The huge, huge cast this episode was handled well: you felt they all contributed and had something to do. Gwen arming herself and Ianto and talking of Tosh and Owen at the end had me whimper a bit (not that I'm afraid they'll kill off the remaining Torchwood cast on another show, but I'm still in mourning for Owen and Tosh, you know), and may I say, I loved Gwen throughout, calling Rhys, being brave, and noticing the Doctor's looks. (While Jack flirted with Sarah Jane. Of course he did.) Martha teleporting back to her mother was something that touched me deeply - the last time there was an apocalypse, Martha didn't see Francine again for an entire year (of hell). Whatever the Osterhagen Key is, given that set-up she's obviously going to use it in the next episode, but I'm not afraid for Martha. No, what with the "everlasting death" prediction I'm actually afraid for... the TARDIS. (I mean, who else is the "most faithful companion"? I know they want us to think either Donna or Rose, but clearly, that title goes to the TARDIS!)
Lastly: The Dalek Invasion of Earth is another deserved classic (from the First Doctor era), but the Dalek plan in it always was a wee bit daft. Now it looks as if it gets retconned into something that makes crazy sci fi sense. So, what do Davros and the Daleks need the 27 planets in formation for? Also, there is talk of "the crucible"; back in Sound of Drums the Master said "I saw the Daleks take control of the cruciform" - possibly meant to be the same thing? Something that allows control over time and space in the entire galaxy, perhaps?
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 05:23 am (UTC)he was nineteen when he was at the Medusa Cascade
I'm pretty sure he said he was ninety, not nineteen. But ninety's still young for a Time Lord.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 05:50 am (UTC)Oh, I think that's been going on since Partners in Crime (another season theme?). But it's especially obvious and gratifying in the case of Harriet Jones.
Ninety versus nineteen: could be either, you're right, I can't make it out in DT's pronounciation. Maybe when the BBC updates their website info on the Doctor we'll get more.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 05:50 am (UTC)...and after next week, they'll become either nostalgic or horribly poignant. Auuuuuuugh.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 06:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 06:11 am (UTC)Harriet Jones was wonderful - such a shame that we never found out what she was up to during the Master's reign.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 06:34 am (UTC)Wasn't Nicholas Courtney in a First Doctor story as someone else before he played the Brigadier in Two's era? But otherwise, yay Bernard Cribbins, who was great as Wilf as always.
Harriet Jones was wonderful - such a shame that we never found out what she was up to during the Master's reign.
Either he had her killed early on, or she was organizing resistance in the underground, I guess...
no subject
Date: 2008-06-30 05:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-30 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 06:37 am (UTC)Nope. Colin Baker!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 06:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 06:44 am (UTC)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doctor_Who_serials#Sixth_Doctor
he was nineteen when he was at the Medusa Cascade
I also heard 90, not 19.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 07:20 am (UTC)Could it be RTD means to restore the status quo ante before he hands over the show to Stephen Moffat?
I'd like him too, but indications are that Moffat likes 'no more Gallifrey', so I highly doubt that. I sort of suspect that he's not that keen on Daleks though, so we might see Davros and Co die a good long death in this next episode.
Also, there is talk of "the crucible"; back in Sound of Drums the Master said "I saw the Daleks take control of the cruciform" - possibly meant to be the same thing? Something that allows control over time and space in the entire galaxy, perhaps?
Probably. I kind of wish that it were some sort of special gravitational field that tears open the dimensional fabric, but it probably won't be explained that well...
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 08:19 am (UTC)Me neither. My head and heart are in full on panic mode but my gut instinct says that something else is going on and we'll still have DT for at least a while.
The resolution to Harriet Jones's storyline was possibly my favourite thing in the entire episode. I was so pleased she got to go out heroically standing by her decision to the end.
No, what with the "everlasting death" prediction I'm actually afraid for... the TARDIS.
Me too. I can't think what else it could possibly mean. I'm going to have no finger nails left by Saturday *g*.
P.S. If you haven't seen the Confidential yet it's worth watching for a moment of DT total geekishness :)
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 08:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 09:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 10:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 11:13 am (UTC)But between the glancing shot the Doctor took from the Dalek, the glance (once again) a the hand in the jar, and the various stories about DT committing till 2009 - I think it's just a wild cliff-hanger to the season finale.
But I did like the touch about mentioning disappearing planets from Classic Who. When Six landed on Ravolox which turned out to "really" be Earth that was moved by "someone". And when Calufrax which disppaeared in the "The Pirate Planet".
Then there was the mention of Mr. Copper from "Voyage of the Damned". Guess he was a little busier than the Docor thought he'd be...
There's going to be quite a few loose ends tied up after next week...
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 11:31 am (UTC)I'm about 70% sure it is, especially since he mentioned a tidbit of the Christmas special on on of the podcasts, and they haven't get filmed a Christmas special that was set before the finale of a season instead of after. (Since the cliffhanger of a season finale always leads into the special.) Still, the remaining 30% insecurity makes me a tad nervous...
Mr. Copper: yes indeed, and put that credit card of his to good use, it appears.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 12:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 12:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 12:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 12:59 pm (UTC)Caan, that is, not the Balrog.
I guess the latter would be a little out there even for Dru.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 01:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 02:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 10:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 06:01 pm (UTC)And I'm in denial about the TARDIS maybe dying. (Oh - it can't! He has it when he travels with River. *loves River some more*)
no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 06:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-29 06:41 pm (UTC)It's going to be a LOOOOONG week!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-30 11:57 am (UTC)Full detail: she was a human from a Borg-style technohivemind called the "Remote". The Doctor gave her her free will back, but she had to have connection to some kind of technological entity to survive, so the Doctor linked her to the TARDIS. Unfortunately, it had more influence than he anticipated. That's why I was wondering about the long term effects of Rose's intimacy with the TARDIS and what her departure would be.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-30 12:17 pm (UTC)Cross-posted on HonorH's LJ too
Date: 2008-06-29 10:49 pm (UTC)Exactly the same beat.
I don't know if it was intentional, but that had me up and out of my seat.
PJW
Re: Cross-posted on HonorH's LJ too
Date: 2008-06-30 09:38 am (UTC)If it wasn't a coincidence and the production team reusing something effective: well, presumably the archangel network was dismantled after the year that wasn't, but if Harriet was busy building up a network of her own that would be able to contact the Doctor if necessary, components of the archangel network would come in really handy...
COMPLETE GUESSING THAT MIGHT BE SPOILERIFFIC IF RIGHT. EXTREMELY UNLIKELY THOUGH
Date: 2008-06-30 06:05 pm (UTC)The Master's chunky, clunky ring was picked up by a woman with long red nails. Doesn't Donna have long nails and wear a chunky, clunky ring?
[/Completely random guessing]
PJW
no subject
Date: 2008-07-01 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-01 04:59 am (UTC)(The Runaway Bride, btw, is my favourite of the Christmas specials, and I've written a big meta post about it, but that's hopelessly spoilery for season 3 - since it's about the amazing foreshadowing etc. going on - so I guess you can't read it yet...)