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I just discovered today that the next special dropped yesterday, and here I am eight days after seeing "The Star Beast" without having written about it!
I wanted to give myself time to sort out my feelings, because sometimes I change my mind after a bit. Not this time.
Plot? What plot? Very little about the narrative made sense. I don't care. I was totally there for the characters, and I got what I wanted, but now I want more!
I wanted to give myself time to sort out my feelings, because sometimes I change my mind after a bit. Not this time.
I was nervous about Davies taking the reins again and a little bit about seeing David Tennant as the Doctor again. By the time he finished his last spate of specials, I was going, "Just die already!" I'd loved his Doctor, especially with Donna, but the specials disappointed me one after another.
And I do have a few complaints. I'll get them out of the way.
This episode was so ham-fisted in some ways!
We get that Rose is trans and that people are hateful. I'm not sure seeing her deadnamed by bullies from school did anyone any good. I was on the fence about Donna's conversation with Sylvia. Sometimes, I think it's helpful for those of us who do stumble over pronouns—and yes, I have done that a few times—to be reassured that we just need to move forward from mistakes. But it all seemed a bit much. And what really got me was that it was starting to feel like "Look at us; we're so progressive!" especially when Rose corrected the Doctor's assumption of pronoun for the Meep—and then they proved that no one in the room knows what a pronoun is with the Meep declaring that Meep's pronoun is "the." That's not a pronoun! And no one used it as a pronoun! How no one involved with the episode saw a problem with this, I don't know. So we got the point, but the writers didn't always (and did the cast cringe at this? I can only imagine at least some did).
And yes, we have a character who uses a wheelchair! We didn't need the plucky "Don't make me the problem!" bit that sounded like it came from someone's sensitivity workshop. I will say that the tranq darts in the wheelchair are kind of cool. I'm less sure about the explosives.
On the other hand, these moments were a sharp stick in the eye to the kinds of people who could use a (metaphorical) stick to the eye.
But I loved so much about this episode!
One of the reasons I waited to post a reaction was that my first reaction to the Doctor taking Donna's memories away in the first place was that it had to be done; she'd never have left the TARDIS otherwise. I defended the writing. And I was horribly wrong and regret it. That was just terrible writing. There were better options! And it was an awful, misogynistic thing to do (a pattern that became clearer with later companions; yes, Rory spending almost two millennia watching over Amy is awful, but it's not as awful as having your child stolen or being stranded for decades and having to participate in your own erasure. But I digress.)
I just loved seeing the Doctor and Donna again. I had gotten sick of Tennant, but I was ready to see him again, or he was ready to take on the role anew. I had forgotten how physical his Doctor is—flinging himself around, running, waving his arms. And that energy contrasted beautifully with Donna's immovable object insistence that she was going to do what needed to be done, even if it killed her. Also, all her tart commentary! I loved them playing off each other, from the first moment where the Doctor sees Donna's face and puts the boxes back on her pile to the end of the episode.
I loved Rose. I was not sure what they were doing when I heard they had a new character also named Rose, but I am satisfied. I quite like her and hope we'll see her again. I love the dolls she made from the suppressed memories!
The Meep being cute and then turning out to be terrifying was just hilarious to me. The Meep was also a completely over-the-top supervillain with delusions of being much more powerful than the Meep actually was, which I also found hilarious.
I liked the Doctor's quiet little talk with Shirley Anne Bingham, the Unit advisor. I'd like more of that, in fact.
I love Donna. She might be my favorite companion (it's so hard to choose!). She deserved a good life, and she got it—and now she has her memories back! She should never have lost them, of course, but I was just so thrilled to see her get them back. The scene where Sylvia tried to deny that "the skinny man" was even there had me in stitches. Donna advising the Doctor on what suits he's too old to wear was also gold. Over 35? Just wait until you remember!
I loved the nod to Wilf, and I about died when it turned out the character wasn't dead! I wish we could see him again. I had, like the Doctor, assumed he was dead. Unlike the Doctor, I know his actor is dead.
And I do have a few complaints. I'll get them out of the way.
This episode was so ham-fisted in some ways!
We get that Rose is trans and that people are hateful. I'm not sure seeing her deadnamed by bullies from school did anyone any good. I was on the fence about Donna's conversation with Sylvia. Sometimes, I think it's helpful for those of us who do stumble over pronouns—and yes, I have done that a few times—to be reassured that we just need to move forward from mistakes. But it all seemed a bit much. And what really got me was that it was starting to feel like "Look at us; we're so progressive!" especially when Rose corrected the Doctor's assumption of pronoun for the Meep—and then they proved that no one in the room knows what a pronoun is with the Meep declaring that Meep's pronoun is "the." That's not a pronoun! And no one used it as a pronoun! How no one involved with the episode saw a problem with this, I don't know. So we got the point, but the writers didn't always (and did the cast cringe at this? I can only imagine at least some did).
And yes, we have a character who uses a wheelchair! We didn't need the plucky "Don't make me the problem!" bit that sounded like it came from someone's sensitivity workshop. I will say that the tranq darts in the wheelchair are kind of cool. I'm less sure about the explosives.
On the other hand, these moments were a sharp stick in the eye to the kinds of people who could use a (metaphorical) stick to the eye.
But I loved so much about this episode!
One of the reasons I waited to post a reaction was that my first reaction to the Doctor taking Donna's memories away in the first place was that it had to be done; she'd never have left the TARDIS otherwise. I defended the writing. And I was horribly wrong and regret it. That was just terrible writing. There were better options! And it was an awful, misogynistic thing to do (a pattern that became clearer with later companions; yes, Rory spending almost two millennia watching over Amy is awful, but it's not as awful as having your child stolen or being stranded for decades and having to participate in your own erasure. But I digress.)
I just loved seeing the Doctor and Donna again. I had gotten sick of Tennant, but I was ready to see him again, or he was ready to take on the role anew. I had forgotten how physical his Doctor is—flinging himself around, running, waving his arms. And that energy contrasted beautifully with Donna's immovable object insistence that she was going to do what needed to be done, even if it killed her. Also, all her tart commentary! I loved them playing off each other, from the first moment where the Doctor sees Donna's face and puts the boxes back on her pile to the end of the episode.
I loved Rose. I was not sure what they were doing when I heard they had a new character also named Rose, but I am satisfied. I quite like her and hope we'll see her again. I love the dolls she made from the suppressed memories!
The Meep being cute and then turning out to be terrifying was just hilarious to me. The Meep was also a completely over-the-top supervillain with delusions of being much more powerful than the Meep actually was, which I also found hilarious.
I liked the Doctor's quiet little talk with Shirley Anne Bingham, the Unit advisor. I'd like more of that, in fact.
I love Donna. She might be my favorite companion (it's so hard to choose!). She deserved a good life, and she got it—and now she has her memories back! She should never have lost them, of course, but I was just so thrilled to see her get them back. The scene where Sylvia tried to deny that "the skinny man" was even there had me in stitches. Donna advising the Doctor on what suits he's too old to wear was also gold. Over 35? Just wait until you remember!
I loved the nod to Wilf, and I about died when it turned out the character wasn't dead! I wish we could see him again. I had, like the Doctor, assumed he was dead. Unlike the Doctor, I know his actor is dead.
Plot? What plot? Very little about the narrative made sense. I don't care. I was totally there for the characters, and I got what I wanted, but now I want more!
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