Doctor Who (yarr, there be spoilers here!)

[Janus%TheDoorman]

Time of the Angels - 5/5

Even more than the finale, I think these two episodes will be remembered best out of this season. River's back. and she's always going to be a polarizing figure, probably even more so once we find out who she is. Someone has suggested that she's Amy from the future, and there are odd hints to that. River is downright weird around her in some instances when Amy's asking questions about her - almost exactly the same way Amy was when the Doctor began to sort out that she was one in the same with the little girl Amelia. And their echoed use of the phrase "It's how he keeps score" at first seemed to me just like the girls having fun poking at the idiosyncrasies in the Doctor's personality, but it can be read as evidence. There are some problems with the theory - notably River is a few inches shorter than Amy, is not Ginger and lacks a Scottish accent. Then again, how River described the Doctor is Forest of the Dead is almost exactly how the Eleventh Hour went down, and her ambiguous answer about being married when the Doctor asks her at the end fo the season fits Amy rather well. More likely than not, though, Moffat's just intentionally leaving all these bits out there for us. There's probably as much evidence for a number of other theories, and I'm just not looking for them.

This would probably have gotten a 4/5, it's just not quite as good as the next episode, or either of the finale episodes, but the hand-biting scene made me smile too much not to give it the full 5.

[Eaquae Legit]

Best and Worst of New Who

And anyway, I have to disagree, I was a bit disappointed with the angels episodes. They're not supposed to move while you see them! The non-existence of the fourth wall was part of what made them so terrifying, initially!

I liked Vincent and the Doctor much, much more.

[Janus%TheDoorman]

They don't move when you can see them - they move the the gaps between the frames of the video. All of the scenes with the Angels moving are just really smooth stop-motion video. You can tell if you watch it knowing - the Angels never show a hint of exposure blur.

Flesh and Stone - 5/5

I've been back and forth about this a few times, and I may go back again later, but I feel confident enough to say it now - I like the Eleventh Doctor better than the Tenth.

This is the first time the Doctor is really under threat. Eleventh Hour, he's defending Earth, but really just getting the Atraxi to bugger off. The Beast Below, he just sorting out a mystery on Starship UK. In Victory to the Daleks, you can make the argument, but that's more of a general threat - this is the first time he feels like he, or Amy or anyone he cares about in particular might be in real mortal peril, and he just handles it with so much style and panache at first, and believable frustration and anger later on. Tennant was always downright Shakespearean in his demeanor, which isn't a bad thing, I just prefer Smith's emotional portrayal.

The Fairy Tail motif came up again, but only in the Doctor and River discussing the Pandorica at the end. I won't speculate here as to who "The Best Man She's Ever Known" might be. The implication is the Doctor, but with Moffat you never know.

Amy's attempted seduction at the end. Didn't pick up much of anything else that wouldn't have made sense on the first watch through, except that the first time the Doctor seemed like a nervous guy, socially awkward guy who just wasn't processing what was going on - but this time it seemed more like he was, maybe not quite revolted, but just a little put off by the sheer idea of a relationship with a human. He gives the same sort of reasons 10 gave to Rose when she was upset over how he treated Sarah Jane, but where 10 actually seemed like he wished he could have a relationship with a human, but was worried about the inevitable pain of losing them, 11 just seemed to object on principle. If anything he seemed most like an adult trying to dissuade a 13 or 14 year old who was coming on to them. He exclaims, "But you're HUMAN!" the way I imagine one of us might shout, "But you're THIRTEEN!" frustrated simply by the other party's inability to see the inherent wrongness.

Makes me wonder about 11's surliness whenever River's around. I think he just views humans much the way we do young children, and having River around for him is like having a 12 year old who knows more than you, and more about you, bustling about your house.

[Janus%TheDoorman]

Before we move onto Vampires of Venice, here's a picture of Neil Gaiman on the TARDIS. He wrote the third episode of the next series which just finished filming.

Right then...

Vampires of Venice - 2/5

This whole episode is kinda meh. The Doctor bursting out of the cake at Rory's stag party is about the only high point. The First Doctor's library card makes an appearance which is cool, but falls flat with me, not having seen much of the classic series.

Rory shows a side I hadn't really noticed before. I just remembered him being very touchy and insecure about the Doctor and Amy, but he's really very protective of her, and Amy doesn't just blow him off the way she blows the Doctor off when he tells her something is too dangerous.

Also, why does pretty much every alien species resist psychic paper? Is it basically just human-fooling paper?

The whole episode just feels very generic, like it could have been any other Doctor or really any other hero dropped into the plot.

[Mich]

Before we move onto Vampires of Venice, here's a picture of Neil Gaiman on the TARDIS. He wrote the third episode of the next series which just finished filming.

Huh, really? Man, he gets around. That guy!

Right then...

Vampires of Venice - 2/5

This whole episode is kinda meh. The Doctor bursting out of the cake at Rory's stag party is about the only high point.

Completely agree. I, too, thought that Rory's characterization in general was just a nice point, but then, I liked him in most episodes, just for being there. But yes, such a drab episode.

I'm enjoying your little reviews, by the way. Helping sum up my thoughts on the season, as well.

[Janus%TheDoorman]

I noticed that the Fairy Tale motif was completely gone from Vampires in Venice. Maybe that's why it feels out of place.

Amy's Choice - 5/5

I know I said the Angels arc will probably be the best remembered episodes from this series, but if I had to pick one to show someone unfamiliar with the series, this would be it. Opening on a pregnant Amy would probably be confusing, but it would get sorted out.

Watching this again knowing who the Dream Lord is is downright creepy. He's the one that starts insinuating that Amy's more interested in the Doctor than Rory, rips on all the Doctor's quirks suggesting they're intentional choices to make him seem more quirky than he actually is. But then, he does show at least acknowledgment of the Doctor's tendency to leave her behind without apologizing, if not remorse. Once you know, every little glance of his is filled with much more emotional force for the Doctor when the first time through they just seems sinister. Makes me wonder what having him as the Doctor would be like over a series of adventures. There's been some speculation that he's the first development in what will eventually become the Valeyard, so maybe we'll see him again.

But then, the hints that he's the Doctor are so obvious once you... know he's the Doctor...

Everyone is at their best and their worst this episode. The Doctor figures out an impossibly tricky trap all the while having his insecurities and flaws parading around making fun of him, Rory dies to protect Amy, but also just wants to settle down in a sleepy village despite Amy's obvious boredom, but then Amy's willing to give the Doctor a pregnancy scare just to defend Rory's choice, and ultimately chooses Rory in the end. Actually, I guess Amy's just at her best.

Amy's phrasing when he dies, "If this is the real world, then I don't want it" is interesting because of the implication of the choice, that without Rory, she doesn't want the Doctor. He's often likened to more of a force of nature than a person, and Amy obliquely reveals that she sees the Doctor this way, too. The Doctor doesn't look full on anguished at this, but I think he's hurt at being reminded of his inhumanity as much as Amy choosing Rory, since it's not a direct choice, as much as Amy's just saying that Rory's necessary, and the Doctor isn't. The Dream Lord's silent appearance in the moments following is heart-wrenching in ways that Tennant's emotional declarations as John Smith, or when he was separated from Rose weren't. It's more empathetic, at least for me. And, of course, though the Doctor says his brain can't work in Leadworth because of how dull it is, at the end of the episode, he's quick to spot the impossibility of the situation on the TARDIS. It wasn't Leadworth that was slowing him up, it was the fact that there was a lot at stake for him emotionally, and it's only after Amy's choice that he's thinking clearly.

In retrospect, killing Rory in the next serial was a bit on the nose, but he left at a high point, and of course eventually came back, so it's okay with me. Perhaps my favorite aspect of this episode was that it brought the tension between the Doctor and Amy to a boil ASAP, instead of letting it stretch out like it did with the Doctor and Rose.

If there's definitely one episode to rewatch from this series, it's this one.


The Hungry Earth - 1/5

It's not that this episode is godawful, but it's the worst of the series, and so merits the 1/5. The guy who wrote it is responsible for some of the worst episodes of Torchwood, too. Ah well, here we go.

It brings back the Silurians, for all that's worth with New Who fans, but makes them into sexy, skintight outfit sporting indigenous tribe-allegories.

I might simply be reading too much into it, but the Doctor's demeanor does seem a bit different now compared to earlier in the season. I think the whole Fairy Tale motif has been dumped since Vampires of Venice, and the Eleventh has come into his own now that his relationship with Amy is more clearly defined. He feels more like a proper incarnation of the Doctor, not just Amy Pond's imaginary friend come back to take her adventuring. For the first time I can imagine 11 in seasons to come with another companion, but... then apparently so could the writer because he separates Amy from the Doctor this episode and replaces her with a much more boring and awkward companion. The Dream Lord pointed out that "The Old Man prefers the company of the young," and there's a good reason for that, besides the creepy implications the Dream Lord intended. Middle-Aged adventurers are only cool to watch as experts - not quite mentor-ish superwizards like Gandalf and the Doctor, but very competent characters like River or the Brigadier. Having a ~50 year old as the perky amateur just feels weird.

Amy's "death" scene being dragged into the Earth is a bit weird. The scene wants you to take it seriously, but there's simply no way they'd kill Amy off like that.

The Doctor's kind of annoying, too. His technobabble is kind of pointless, and the "tawdry quirks" are on overdrive. The whole episode is just poorly written. For some reason Smith walks around with his head kind of shoved out and his arms held at a weird angle. It's something he does on occasion in other episodes for visual effect, but it's near constant here, and just looks weird. His friendly threat to Ambrose to put the weapons away is memorable, though. And, I know the Doctor can be scatter-brained at times, but letting the kid run off home minutes before the Silurians surface to get his headphones? Really? Three seconds after promising to save his father? And it takes his mother a good ten minutes to notice he's gone? And the "The door sticks!" gimmick got old the third time they used it to build tension.

And the cold blood/thermal imaging sunglasses thing... Alright, I'm going to stop nitpicking.

And never mind Ambrose. Just... never mind Ambrose. She's not as bad in this episode as the next one, but still. Her Dad gets a turn with the idiot ball for a while, too.

In fact, I'm just going to end this one here and skip to Vincent and the Doctor.

[Janus%TheDoorman]

Vincent and the Doctor - 4/5

Not a whole lot to say here. I'm not a big art fan, so I think a lot of the best parts of this episode are wasted on me, but it manages to keep a smile on my face throughout the whole of it.

The first time I was so charged up after the Silurian episodes with anticipation for the finale I was annoyed at having to wait for the resolution. Watching it now without that annoyance, it's quite a nice episode. I enjoyed it more than the Dickens and Shakespeare episodes, though not as much as Girl in the Fireplace.

Poignant seems to be the perfect word.


The Lodger - 3/5

The basic premise of this story - TARDIS malfunction punts the companion to a distant time/location and the Doctor has to sort a way to get back to the TARDIS could have been used for SO. MUCH. MORE. Instead we get a domestic episode. This episode was, for me, unfortunately complicated by seeing James Corden's clash with Patrick Stewart afterward. It's a bit like watching any of Mel Gibson's old movies.

Yet another Amy-lite episode. I get the feeling the producers realized the way the companions often came to dominate their seasons with the 10th, he was always running into trouble with their families, etc., but to establish a new Doctor, scaling back the companion's presence proves useful.

The awkward, half-stepping love story is kind of cute, and the Doctor trampling all over Craig's life is hilarious.

Someone mentioned that there's some joke or implication going on with the people that get taken up to the second floor, but I missed it again. Or maybe it was just the awkward chick who was billed as a "clubber" in the credits but looks more like a hooker at first glance.

There's something weird in the shower scene. I think the audio for the Doctor's "What'd you say?" line was recorded once, but used twice it's exactly the same both times. It's kinda creepy. God, he's so pale.

Somehow the Doctor feels slightly more insane for most of this episode. He only seems familiar - in the sense of being similar to the rest of the season when he's talking to Amy. Makes me really want more adventures where he's companion-less. And it makes me dread the inevitable days when Amy Pond is no longer his companion even more.

This episode doesn't seem to have much to do with the over-arching plot, but I've read some theories that the spooky voice at the end of the season is Omega, and this was his attempt to build a TARDIS, and that over the next few seasons we'll get full confirmation that the Doctor is the re-loomed Other, and we'll see a great big Time Lord resurrection, which would be cool.

Finale's next!

[Janus%TheDoorman]

I just realized it's been precisely 3 months since the finale aired. Seems like so much longer.

The Pandorica Opens - 4/5

Huh. I thought she had jumped time somehow on the first watch through, but it seems it's possible that River's home era is the same as Liz X's. That's a big era, but still. And indeed, it's the 51st century. Seems like a lot goes on there. Harkness and the Time Agency for one thing.

River's eyes are really very creepy with black hair.

We never really get an explanation for Vincent's extra-sensory capabilities, why he can see the Kra...whatever, and know the date and coordinates of the Pandorica's opening. Even the Master's drumbeat got a fairly explicit explanation. Maybe something for next season when our Big Bad is revealed.

The "Let somebody else try first" speech is at least as magnificent the second time around, but the return of Rory loses its punch. It's fun to imagine him speaking Latin the whole way through, with the TARDIS translating, though.

I'm still amazed it didn't occur to the Doctor that he was the thing inside the Pandorica, given how quickly he caught on to the Dream Lord. He seems much less self-aware here.

With all the guessing and mystery taken out of it, the first forty minutes of the episode are fairly bland, enough that I was going to rate this 3/5, but the last five minutes, with River in the exploding TARDIS, Rory having shot Amy just as she remembered him, and the Doctor being forced into the TARDIS constitute one of the best cliffhangers in TV history, in my not-so-humble opinion.

The Big Bang - 5/5

I remember it took me a while to catch on to what was going on in the opening. I'm used to living in areas where it's near impossible to see any stars, so I didn't see anything wrong with the sky in young Amelia's world at first. The Richard Dawkins line is priceless, and I would think that Einstein or Hawking would have been more appropriate, but then neither of them would be famous if not for stars.

Aside from the hair, on the first run through, I thought Karen Gillan's cousin, playing little Amelia didn't resemble her much at all, but now having seen much more of Amy in a shorter time, I can see the resemblance more clearly. It's kind of eerie in a cool way.

Her lack of reaction to someone snatching a soda out of her hand, and the idea of a child going missing in a public place for hours on end without a state of emergency being declared are a bit of a stretch, though.

Funny that the screwdrivers spark when they come into contact with each other, but the Amys (Amies? Amelias?) don't. Not getting into time loop mechanics right now. There's some circular logic going on, too. The Doctor is let out of the Pandorica because Rory let him out and told him that the Doctor told him to do so, which is why the Doctor knows to do so when he goes back. There's no real start point. The Doctor gets out of the Pandorica because the Doctor gets out of the Pandorica, etc.

Apparently Smith himself was attached to the fez, insisting it should be incorporated into next season's outfit, until it was taken from him and destroyed. I believe it.

It surprises me that Amy realized the Doctor had used them as a diversion so quickly. He's not shown much of a tendency to use people like that, at least not to her, and most of the companions resist the idea of the Doctor thinking of them like that at all. Of course, he did it so he could sacrifice himself and fly into the heart of a second Big Bang, so that evens it out, I guess.

I would have been really, really, really cool if the Doctor's unraveling Time Stream had gone back and visited each of the previous generations at least once. Moffat made a point to stress that the Doctor's the same man as he was when Hartnell played him, if with a different personality. This would have been the perfect time to hammer that home, even if there were just a few seconds for each, instead of full scenes.

It's strange thing to note, but I love the bass note in Amy's voice whenever she's not screaming.

How did River ... how did she have the TARDIS diary and know to stop by Amy's wedding if the Doctor never existed? This is probably the single most mysterious thing about her to date. More evidence that she's Amy, maybe? Or a Time Lady? Who knows. In fact, if the Doctor never existed, what happened with the Time War? And if he's the Other, re-loomed, did the Other still exist? If he didn't, what became of the Time Lords at all? Questions... questions... All of which can be so easily ignored, really.

[Mich]

Questions... questions... All of which can be so easily ignored, really.

If you wonder how they eat and breathe, and other science facts, just remind yourself it's just a show, you should really just relax.

But yes, the information paradoxes bugged the hell out of me, as they always do in shows that don't think about them too much. Who is normally so good at avoiding things like that, though, or at least what I can remember about it.

[Yebra]

The official Who explanation for when things don't seem right is that you didn't see the adventures that make that make sense - just imagine there was a season's worth of stories where the Doctor has to escape the horrible trap of unreality before his triumphant escape to the wedding. The musical episode was amazing.

[Janus%TheDoorman]

NO, NEIL, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[megxers]

The big challenge is that television is almost completely replaced the short story in our culture. Forty-five minutes of Dr. Who in my iPod Nano IS a short story.

[Eaquae Legit]

I suppose that is somewhat true. 45 minutes is not long at ALL. When you read novelisations of stuff, they inevitably add in extra backstory or scenes to pad it out. The difference is that short stories leave you guessing, leave you wanting more. They're generally not episodic, where you tune in next week to answer all your questions. I find my favourite short stories are the ones where I really want to explore the world more, to spend more time with the characters, but I know it would take the magic away if I did.

[Dr. Mobius]

The best full-length novels are like that too. Even if they tie up the major plot lines, there'll be enough minor things left for you to ponder on your own. Like the discovery of the descolador planet at the end of the Ender series and the simple fact that the greater human community still needs to learn how to live in peace with piggies and buggers.

[zeroguy]

Like the discovery of the descolador planet at the end of the Ender series

My (possibly incorrect) understanding is that this isn't going to remain so mysterious. Which honestly annoys me, since I agree with your general point.

[Janus%TheDoorman]

After seeing Inception I thought that there was a lot of potential for extra stories using it's mechanisms, even if they were completely unrelated to the plot and characters of the movie. Sci-Fi shows like that got beat to death in the 90s, with Stargate more or less coming out on top, and it would have to be a brilliantly constructed show to measure up to the movie, and the SyFy channel certainly wouldn't be up to the task

I also wondered if the newest Star Trek movie was supposed to be a stealth pilot for a new TV Series, mainly because Zachary Quinto was one of the main characters and Christopher Pine was very much a B-list celebrity before Star Trek.

I don't know if an open-ended nature is necessary for a short story to be good, or if the best stories necessarily are like that, but those are the ones that tend to generate the most endeared fans. Firefly wouldn't be nearly as popular as it was if everyone couldn't imagine having their own adventures in the Verse.

[Wil]

Quite enjoyed the Christmas Special this year. Despite the (very) fuzzy time travel logic, I thought it was very fun and moving... and the ghost of Christmas future bit I didn't see coming at all. Good stuff.

[Wil]

In case someone missed it, or wants to watch it again, or didn't see it at all, or something: *cough*

[Janus%TheDoorman]

... So... we have this show... about a man... who's not really a man... the only name we know him by is "The Doctor", and he's got a hyper-advanced time traveling spaceship with wardrobes, and libraries, and a swimming pool, and the technology to completely regenerate his body on suffering severe injury, but apparently he can't cure some Elizabethan disease that probably came from someone not washing their hands enough?

I was absolutely horrified at the way Abigail's death was just sort of handwaved away as the natural end to things. Really? Really?

I mean, what, does the TARDIS not have medical facilities? And if it doesn't, IT'S A TIME MACHINE. Take her forward a few hundred years, get her cured, and bring her back. Or how about that one planet where they had the cure for. Every. Disease. Ever. They kind of owe the Doctor one, maybe this is a good time to call in a favor.

[Jayelle]

but apparently he can't cure some Elizabethan disease that probably came from someone not washing their hands enough?

You do realize it wasn't actually the Victorian era? It was a planet that was like the Victorian era. The disease is probably not consumption.

[Janus%TheDoorman]

I'm clear enough on that, and I'm not sure if they specified what time period this episode took place in, but they did specify that the ship Amy and Rory were on was a Galaxy-class ship, same as the Byzantium, which puts us right at about the 51st century, where the most advanced piece of technology was a vortex manipulator, which compared to the TARDIS is a minecart next to a maglev bullet train. Whatever disease it was, I'm sure the Doctor would have access to the cure in some form or another, and Abigail had more than earned it. It wasn't even so much that she had to die, I totally understand from a story standpoint not wanting to just wrap it up in a fairy-tail bow where nobody loses, but just leaving it by saying, "Yeah, well, I can't be bothered," isn't acceptable, both from a general storywriting standpoint, and because it's the Doctor - Mr. Everybody Lives.

[megxers]

Yeah, I was not amused (I just watched Tooth & Claw) with some aspects of the treatment of the one off characters in The Christmas Special.

I had my friend just start with 5x01, which worked well enough for him to be anticipating the special once he finished the season. (His least favorite episode was the Van Gogh one, which he finds he dislikes even more after finishing a few books on him. He's an art historian. And a fun sponge)

For those interested in a peak at series "6", BBC trailer & BBC America

Oh, and there's a New Who marathon on BBC America today/tonight if you get it!

[Eaquae Legit]

I was quite irritated by the dismissal of Abigail, too. He's got a magical time machine, and usually he cares quite a bit that people not die.

[Jayelle]

Has anyone seen the animated Doctor Who? I came across it at the library today and checked it out, but haven't watched it yet. Somehow it's existence totally slipped by me. Looking forward to watching it!

[Bean_wannabe]

Has anyone tried the games you can download for the BBC website? I'm sure they're quite childish, but are they worth playing from a narrative point of view?

[Janus%TheDoorman]

Has anyone seen the animated Doctor Who? I came across it at the library today and checked it out, but haven't watched it yet. Somehow it's existence totally slipped by me. Looking forward to watching it!

I was not a fan. Everything about them seemed pretty second rate. It doesn't help that they're cut up into 10-minute segments, and that the animation quality is notably worse than what good flash artists put out. It feels more like a radio drama with some pictures to go along with it.

[Eaquae Legit]

I never watched the cartoon. It looked... well, overly cartoonish.

[Jayelle]

Mini-Episode from Red Nose Day!

http://ca.io9.com/5783593/doctor-who-re ... s/gallery/

[Eaquae Legit]

I loved that. I loved Ten meeting Five best, but that one was pretty good. Rory is great.

[ender1]

Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane, has died at age 63.

[Rei]

To go with it, the saddest Dork Tower ever.

[Mich]

Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane, has died at age 63.

I saw this yesterday while I was at work and was quite saddened. I'm not a huge fan of the older Doctor Whos (more a problem with getting around to watching them than anything else), but I have seen a small amount of Sarah Jane.

[Eaquae Legit]

It makes me very sad. I'm glad there's apparently going to be a small, fitting tribute in the early ep(s) of Doctor Who this season.

[Paul]

Ok, first off. I haven't read a single post in this thread and I've never seen this show.

But recently I watched a Doctor Who short and found myself intrigued and a bit confused. But it did perk my interest. After doing some research, I found out that the show has been going on since the 70's and include hundreds of episodes. Here's my question.

Where the hell do begin? I've read that its pretty easy to pick it up later in the series, BUT WHERE!?!? What should I do?

Help me P-web, you are my only hope...

[ender1]

I can't stand the older ones. You can watch the new ones that started in 2005 and it'll all make sense.