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The long-awaited (what? you weren't waiting?) tv review column, along with Where We Are and Please Continue Not to Spoil Us! Everyone has been great so far with not spoiling us. We are apparently the last two people in North America, possibly the world, to see "Search and Rescue"--but if we watch it now, we'll just have to wait longer for the second episode of the season. I'll wait for July 11 and see it in relative comfort from the broken-down couch on the big tv (assuming Small Child does not go through it doing gymnastics between now and then).
Okay, the round-up!
Doctor Who
Yes, we're watching it on SciFi. Go ahead and laugh. Get it out of your systems.
I love Donna. Okay, I love Rose and Martha too. I know some of my friends had complaints; I actually agree with some of those complaints (no more unrequited love for a while, please!), but they didn't much harm the characters for me. In fact, my one complaint about Donna is that now I'm getting tired of hearing in every episode that she is NOT in love/lust/confusion with the Doctor. We get it, already!
We loved the whole silent scene with the Doctor and Martha gesturing at each other in "Partners in Crime"; in fact, we loved it so much that we ran it again before we went on with the episode (I'm pretty fond of TiVo, too). Donna is a match for the Doctor in many ways. She can keep up with him most of the time, tells him clearly when she can't, and tells him off when it's appropriate (that is, often). She has useful skills ("Supertemp"!) but flaws also, and all in all seems a realistic and sympathetic character. Can we keep her? For a good long time? Oh, River's reaction to meeting her in the Library makes me nervous: I don't want to lose Donna!
"Partners in Crime": Those Adipose babies were the cutest, sickest little things I have ever seen. If I had unlimited userpics, I'd have one of them. I had too much fun to complain about this episode.
"The Fires of Pompeii": a lot of silliness, with the priestesses and the monsters. I did feel like Donna shouldn't have had to call out the Doctor on this one; he's saved individuals from massive, unchangeable historical disasters before. What I like best is the way Donna joined the Doctor in taking responsibility for making Pompeii happen, because the alternative would have been worse. She has smarts and courage and feelings, all together.
"The Planet of the Ood": more people making stupid and fatal decisions; there seem to be a lot of those. Again, I didn't feel we needed the Doctor to be callous so that we could realize how warm-hearted Donna is, but I did like a lot of what they did with the Ood. It was good to get some closure after "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit" for these aliens.
"The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky": Martha still rocks! If anything, Martha rocks better than ever! "If you're comparing him to your father, you must be over him." Oh, yeah! Scene I would have cut: Major What's-Her-Name is so relieved to be alive that she kisses Col. Mace. I felt embarrassed for all involved. Small Child saw adds during Sarah Jane and wanted to see this one, so we let her watch after we'd seen it once. She got very scared, but she mostly liked it. I hope we've hooked a new little fan. I showed her the clip I saw from "Scorched Earth" (no, please don't spoil me further! although I didn't mind being spoiled this little bit--in fact I'm quite happy to see...). I think she'll be watching, but we'll have to pre-screen to make sure it's not too terrifying.
"The Doctor's Daughter": I heard the title of this long before I saw the ep. I was terribly disappointed. I'd want my money back if I'd paid for anything! Martha didn't get to do much (and hey, it was really Clone!Martha in the previous two most of the time, so I want more Martha! Yes, yes, I know...), and I figured Jenny was doomed from the moment the Doctor started caring about her (and again, do we need Donna to make him feel? Although she did quite well at that). I feel robbed by the ending. The Doctor should have known that a regeneration is unstable for 24 hours; he regrew a hand! We also saw Romana try on different bodies. Why shouldn't a new Time Lady be dead for a bit before she manages to come back? And why doesn't the Doctor know it? I can do a little special pleading: he's so shocked and so hurt at losing a daughter he'd only just acquired and come to love that he's blocking any feeling. But he knows when there are no other Time Lords left, because he can't feel them. He can feel Jack Harkness as a still point in the universe, an impossible thing. He can't feel that there is still a Time Lady running around loose? Still, I rather look forward to seeing her again.
(Aside: I'm not much into gossip, but someone--![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bentleywg?--gave a link to an article about David Tennant and Georgia Moffett. Oh noes! "You were my Doctor"--if DT breaks Peter Davison's little girl's heart, how is he going to live with himself? (Especially if Peter Davison goes after him with a cricket bat....) I'm sorry, but even I knew before I saw this article that he seemed to have rather too active a love life. I hope they can find happiness together, or at least part amicably, but actors dating fellow actors often doesn't work out.)
"The Unicorn and the Wasp": This was crack. Silly, wildly implausible--and fun. I don't need ever to see it again, but I'm not complaining. I got my Doctor and Donna fix.
"Silence in the LIbrary" and "Forest of the Dead": I gathered from a posting elsewhere that RiverTam Song has been somewhat controversial. I can see why (though for all I know people have other reasons; I'm not seeking out criticism of her, and I don't intend to be too harsh). I don't dislike the character; I like her, actually, but I'm glad we won't be seeing her again! It was only in the second episode I realized: she's a Mary Sue! No, she's not someone that everyone loves (thank goodness), but she's the character who has apparently won the heretofore (and into the future, in fact) heart of the Doctor. I don't want him to fall in love with his companions (and I most certainly don't want him having flings with them; I hardly ever read DW fic anymore, in fact, because I've been a bit surprised at what I've found!). I can hardly imagine that he could really fall in love with anyone. Love? Absolutely. He loves all his companions: he cares about them deeply, he worries when they're in danger, he misses them when they're gone. Romantic love? No thanks! I've got other shows for that. (Not too many, actually. Okay, hardly any, maybe just Torchwood--let's not get nitpicky here.) The Doctor is attractive because he's unattainable. But River Sue has attained the unattainable (the Doctor and the sonic screwdriver!), and therefore she knows more than anyone should (another Mary Sue characteristic), and she knows his future, and she's perfect to help him. Too perfect, too energetic, too spunky. I knew the moment the possibility arose of self-sacrifice that she'd snatch that opportunity from him. (Someone always does, unless he regenerates.) I'm happy to think that at some point in the future, the Doctor will have happiness--but I find that I don't want to see it! I think Alex Kingston did a grand job, and with most other actresses, her MarySueness would have been more immediately apparent.
But Alex Kingston did do a great job, and the Doctor with his great big eyes needed some love in this story, especially after losing Donna, and losing one of the Daves (apparently for talking too long).
The story was amazingly creepy, and I figured bits out, but slowly, probably just when I was supposed to. I love the Library. I love the idea of it, I loved the sets and even the obvious backdrops. The Vashta Nerada were very well thought-out; I gather from the Internet that these were original to the show, but I did wonder if Moffat was tapping some pre-existing mythology here; did I miss anything?
Moffat is a wonderful writer, and I'm glad we'll be getting more from him.
Upcoming episodes: no! Don't tell me! I'll get there!
If you wrote reviews of any of these episodes back when you saw them, by all means, put links in the comments! I'd love to read them, but I don't know how many of my friends' pages I'll go back through to find your posts from weeks or months ago!
Life on Mars: I don't need a cut because I have no spoilers. We have only seen the first three episodes (yes, that's season one). I love it. John Simm is brilliant. Philip Glenister is brilliant as well! (I saw him in Cranford on Masterpiece recently; I loved it, and I loved him. And he was better looking on Cranford!) I love the suspense of the overall premise; by ep 3 it seems pretty clear what's going on, but we're not certain. (I will say that Sam needs to turn his tv off at night! Srsly, dude!) I feel for Sam, trapped in this really rather awful year--and I mean the police methods more than the clothes and hair. He's trying single-handedly to update their method, and only Annie seems even remotely on board. Great writing; why can't Americans do this? No, that does not mean we should redo the show!
Okay, the round-up!
Doctor Who
Yes, we're watching it on SciFi. Go ahead and laugh. Get it out of your systems.
I love Donna. Okay, I love Rose and Martha too. I know some of my friends had complaints; I actually agree with some of those complaints (no more unrequited love for a while, please!), but they didn't much harm the characters for me. In fact, my one complaint about Donna is that now I'm getting tired of hearing in every episode that she is NOT in love/lust/confusion with the Doctor. We get it, already!
We loved the whole silent scene with the Doctor and Martha gesturing at each other in "Partners in Crime"; in fact, we loved it so much that we ran it again before we went on with the episode (I'm pretty fond of TiVo, too). Donna is a match for the Doctor in many ways. She can keep up with him most of the time, tells him clearly when she can't, and tells him off when it's appropriate (that is, often). She has useful skills ("Supertemp"!) but flaws also, and all in all seems a realistic and sympathetic character. Can we keep her? For a good long time? Oh, River's reaction to meeting her in the Library makes me nervous: I don't want to lose Donna!
"Partners in Crime": Those Adipose babies were the cutest, sickest little things I have ever seen. If I had unlimited userpics, I'd have one of them. I had too much fun to complain about this episode.
"The Fires of Pompeii": a lot of silliness, with the priestesses and the monsters. I did feel like Donna shouldn't have had to call out the Doctor on this one; he's saved individuals from massive, unchangeable historical disasters before. What I like best is the way Donna joined the Doctor in taking responsibility for making Pompeii happen, because the alternative would have been worse. She has smarts and courage and feelings, all together.
"The Planet of the Ood": more people making stupid and fatal decisions; there seem to be a lot of those. Again, I didn't feel we needed the Doctor to be callous so that we could realize how warm-hearted Donna is, but I did like a lot of what they did with the Ood. It was good to get some closure after "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit" for these aliens.
"The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky": Martha still rocks! If anything, Martha rocks better than ever! "If you're comparing him to your father, you must be over him." Oh, yeah! Scene I would have cut: Major What's-Her-Name is so relieved to be alive that she kisses Col. Mace. I felt embarrassed for all involved. Small Child saw adds during Sarah Jane and wanted to see this one, so we let her watch after we'd seen it once. She got very scared, but she mostly liked it. I hope we've hooked a new little fan. I showed her the clip I saw from "Scorched Earth" (no, please don't spoil me further! although I didn't mind being spoiled this little bit--in fact I'm quite happy to see...). I think she'll be watching, but we'll have to pre-screen to make sure it's not too terrifying.
"The Doctor's Daughter": I heard the title of this long before I saw the ep. I was terribly disappointed. I'd want my money back if I'd paid for anything! Martha didn't get to do much (and hey, it was really Clone!Martha in the previous two most of the time, so I want more Martha! Yes, yes, I know...), and I figured Jenny was doomed from the moment the Doctor started caring about her (and again, do we need Donna to make him feel? Although she did quite well at that). I feel robbed by the ending. The Doctor should have known that a regeneration is unstable for 24 hours; he regrew a hand! We also saw Romana try on different bodies. Why shouldn't a new Time Lady be dead for a bit before she manages to come back? And why doesn't the Doctor know it? I can do a little special pleading: he's so shocked and so hurt at losing a daughter he'd only just acquired and come to love that he's blocking any feeling. But he knows when there are no other Time Lords left, because he can't feel them. He can feel Jack Harkness as a still point in the universe, an impossible thing. He can't feel that there is still a Time Lady running around loose? Still, I rather look forward to seeing her again.
(Aside: I'm not much into gossip, but someone--
bentleywg?--gave a link to an article about David Tennant and Georgia Moffett. Oh noes! "You were my Doctor"--if DT breaks Peter Davison's little girl's heart, how is he going to live with himself? (Especially if Peter Davison goes after him with a cricket bat....) I'm sorry, but even I knew before I saw this article that he seemed to have rather too active a love life. I hope they can find happiness together, or at least part amicably, but actors dating fellow actors often doesn't work out.)"The Unicorn and the Wasp": This was crack. Silly, wildly implausible--and fun. I don't need ever to see it again, but I'm not complaining. I got my Doctor and Donna fix.
"Silence in the LIbrary" and "Forest of the Dead": I gathered from a posting elsewhere that River
But Alex Kingston did do a great job, and the Doctor with his great big eyes needed some love in this story, especially after losing Donna, and losing one of the Daves (apparently for talking too long).
The story was amazingly creepy, and I figured bits out, but slowly, probably just when I was supposed to. I love the Library. I love the idea of it, I loved the sets and even the obvious backdrops. The Vashta Nerada were very well thought-out; I gather from the Internet that these were original to the show, but I did wonder if Moffat was tapping some pre-existing mythology here; did I miss anything?
Moffat is a wonderful writer, and I'm glad we'll be getting more from him.
Upcoming episodes: no! Don't tell me! I'll get there!
If you wrote reviews of any of these episodes back when you saw them, by all means, put links in the comments! I'd love to read them, but I don't know how many of my friends' pages I'll go back through to find your posts from weeks or months ago!
Life on Mars: I don't need a cut because I have no spoilers. We have only seen the first three episodes (yes, that's season one). I love it. John Simm is brilliant. Philip Glenister is brilliant as well! (I saw him in Cranford on Masterpiece recently; I loved it, and I loved him. And he was better looking on Cranford!) I love the suspense of the overall premise; by ep 3 it seems pretty clear what's going on, but we're not certain. (I will say that Sam needs to turn his tv off at night! Srsly, dude!) I feel for Sam, trapped in this really rather awful year--and I mean the police methods more than the clothes and hair. He's trying single-handedly to update their method, and only Annie seems even remotely on board. Great writing; why can't Americans do this? No, that does not mean we should redo the show!
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