Sep. 3rd, 2014 05:50 pm
Into the Dalek
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clocketpatch"You will take me back to my command ship."
"No. Not like that."
Wow, way to be a jerk Twelve. I am impressed that he's managed to perfect his technique of TARDIS-materializing-around-a-person (I can't recall if Eleven did this? I feel he did, but I only really remember Nine doing it to Rose that time. Which was a another Dalek episode…)
And while it is also commendable that he's saved Journey Blue's life along the way to get coffee, it's a bit nasty of him to expect so much gratitude afterwards, considering the circumstances.
It does raise questions, however.
1. So, the Daleks are out and marauding again like the Time War never happened, and the Doctor is just casually inserting himself into these battles while on his coffee fetching trip?
2. Journey Blue is a very suspicious sounding name. All of her comrades have normal names. Why does she have a Moffat name? Especially with another character with the last name "Pink" being introduced? My plot arc senses are tingling.
"OK. Have you ever killed anyone who wasn't a soldier?"
Danny Pink looks to be an interesting variable to add into the mix. His past (which I'm certain will come up in more detail as the plot chugs ahead), the Doctor's new dis-like for soldiers (more on that later), and the fact that things are setting up for a relationship between two teachers at Coal Hill School.
I'm going to be waiting the whole series for Twelve to get confused and called Danny, Chatterton, or think Clara is Barbara… or Susan. Jenna Coleman and Carol-Anne Ford don't look very much alike, but there are some certain similarities there.
Also, the kids at Coal Hill school are still jerks fifty years later. Good on Ian for not giving up on the hopeless cases.
"That's right. Keep your spirits up."
Twelve accusing Clara of being old is a bit bizarre. I can't tell if he's lost his ability to judge ages, or if he's trying very hard to get over how old he himself looks. I've got a head canon that the Doctor doesn't like being old. He generally isn't, with the exceptions of One and Three. And
Three wasn't a face he choose for himself.
I also don't buy for a second that his abandoning of Clara in Glasgow wasn't at least a little bit intentional.
"How do you get into a Dalek's head?"
"That wasn't a metaphor."
From the moment I realized that this was going to be a rift on A Fantastic Voyage I was giggling uncontrollably. This continued throughout the episode. I might have been sliiightly tipsy, and a teensy bit tired, and, as I learned the next day, I was definitely coming down with something… but I think I would've been madly giggling anyway. Isaac Asimov's novelization of the movie was one of the first scifi books I ever owned/read, and I always loved that episode of The Magic School Bus. Oddly, I've never seen the actual film.
"Ross, swallow that."
"What is it?"
"Trust me."
And once it became apparent that it was going to be A Fantastic Voyage into a Dalek, I kept waiting for 1. everyone to be attacked by antibodies, and 2. Interesting detours throughout the Dalek's anatomy. Obviously, the episode delivered on both counts, which made me giggle.
But even giggling, I didn't like the above line of dialogue.
Twelve feels very One-like to me. The kind of Doctor who will pout, throw tantrums, and manipulate everyone into unsafe situations for the benefit of his curiosity. Okay, so all the Doctors do that occasionally. But there is a sort of obliviousness One had to what he was doing wrong that Twelve seems to share. I feel like there's been some kind of regeneration reset. One is the Doctor, but he doesn't act like the Doctor yet, because he hasn't entirely learned how… but he's got a very good excuse for that.
I like Twelve so far. I want him to start being the Doctor again.
"Dalek-levels returning to normal parameters."
I have no idea what a Dalek-level is. This made me laugh so hard I think I broke something, because… what is a Dalek-level!? A few days on, this still makes me laugh.
I am probably crazy.
"Is he mad or is he right?"
"Hand on my heart, most days he's both."
"I can save the future."
This is a very interesting exchange, because I think it defines this Doctor far better than the "Am I a good man?" framing device of the episode.
He is mostly (but not always) mad. He is mostly (but not always) right.
He is trying to save the future, which is very interesting indeed, because it implies that the future is in danger. I think that the Time War has started up again, and with the Time Lords safe in their alternative dimension… maybe this time, the Daleks are winning.
"The Doctor is not the Daleks."
And this exchange more or less sums up fifty years of television history.
"You are a good Dalek."
The parallels with the episode Dalek were a bit heavy-handed. I don't think I would've noticed so much, if last week hadn't been referencing The Girl in the Fireplace so often. I look forward to next week's Robin Hood and Robots episode as something hopefully more stand-alone.
Which isn't to say I didn't enjoy this episode or last weeks, because I did, but if there are episode references and returning enemies this thick and heavy three weeks in a row I'll start getting a bit annoyed.
Also, I am slightly annoyed that we're retreading this angsty, the-Doctor-doesn't-know-if-he's-good-or-not territory. It's one of those plot arcs that loses something that second (third? Fourth? Fifth?) time around.
"I just wish you hadn't been a soldier."
Journey has my plot sense tingling. I think we'll be seeing her again. I am, in the meanwhile, disappointed that Twelve didn't take her on as a full-time companion, because I think that would've been a very interesting counterpoint to Clara's popping in and out every other Wednesday.
I also wonder if the reason Twelve didn't take her along also has to do with the reason he saved her. He didn't just accidentally materialize his TARDIS around her at the moment her ship blew up. Twelve said that he's trying to save the future. Perhaps Journey Blue is instrumental to the future being saved.
He would've taken her. He just wishes she didn't have another battle to fight.
"Oh good for you. Still making an effort."
This ties back with the, "that's right, keep your spirits up," comment earlier. I really don't know if Twelve if talking to himself or Clara, but I do like the nod to the Doctor never changing (has he even washed? Or is he still covered in Dalek goo and Ross? Eewwwwww….)
I think I enjoy Twelve the most when his hair is rumpled. The combination of bed-head and immaculate suit makes him look utterly unhinged. It's oddly charming.
And he let Clara go out, in a new outfit, after only thirty seconds in the cupboard. Intentional. Just like the coffee detour was intentional. I think he wants Clara to find someone else, but is now surprised at how hurt he feels that maybe she has.
All together...
I liked it. It made me laugh a lot, and the CGI and driection was amazing. The show has been getting steadily prettier as time goes on and the budget/ CGI technology increases. It also made me think of The Giants and the fact that this isn't the first time Who has shrunk the crew (more One parallels, hmmm) and how, if this sort of episode is considered ambitious today how crazy and ground-breaking it is that they did the same thing in the sixties and managed to pull it off.
"No. Not like that."
Wow, way to be a jerk Twelve. I am impressed that he's managed to perfect his technique of TARDIS-materializing-around-a-person (I can't recall if Eleven did this? I feel he did, but I only really remember Nine doing it to Rose that time. Which was a another Dalek episode…)
And while it is also commendable that he's saved Journey Blue's life along the way to get coffee, it's a bit nasty of him to expect so much gratitude afterwards, considering the circumstances.
It does raise questions, however.
1. So, the Daleks are out and marauding again like the Time War never happened, and the Doctor is just casually inserting himself into these battles while on his coffee fetching trip?
2. Journey Blue is a very suspicious sounding name. All of her comrades have normal names. Why does she have a Moffat name? Especially with another character with the last name "Pink" being introduced? My plot arc senses are tingling.
"OK. Have you ever killed anyone who wasn't a soldier?"
Danny Pink looks to be an interesting variable to add into the mix. His past (which I'm certain will come up in more detail as the plot chugs ahead), the Doctor's new dis-like for soldiers (more on that later), and the fact that things are setting up for a relationship between two teachers at Coal Hill School.
I'm going to be waiting the whole series for Twelve to get confused and called Danny, Chatterton, or think Clara is Barbara… or Susan. Jenna Coleman and Carol-Anne Ford don't look very much alike, but there are some certain similarities there.
Also, the kids at Coal Hill school are still jerks fifty years later. Good on Ian for not giving up on the hopeless cases.
"That's right. Keep your spirits up."
Twelve accusing Clara of being old is a bit bizarre. I can't tell if he's lost his ability to judge ages, or if he's trying very hard to get over how old he himself looks. I've got a head canon that the Doctor doesn't like being old. He generally isn't, with the exceptions of One and Three. And
Three wasn't a face he choose for himself.
I also don't buy for a second that his abandoning of Clara in Glasgow wasn't at least a little bit intentional.
"How do you get into a Dalek's head?"
"That wasn't a metaphor."
From the moment I realized that this was going to be a rift on A Fantastic Voyage I was giggling uncontrollably. This continued throughout the episode. I might have been sliiightly tipsy, and a teensy bit tired, and, as I learned the next day, I was definitely coming down with something… but I think I would've been madly giggling anyway. Isaac Asimov's novelization of the movie was one of the first scifi books I ever owned/read, and I always loved that episode of The Magic School Bus. Oddly, I've never seen the actual film.
"Ross, swallow that."
"What is it?"
"Trust me."
And once it became apparent that it was going to be A Fantastic Voyage into a Dalek, I kept waiting for 1. everyone to be attacked by antibodies, and 2. Interesting detours throughout the Dalek's anatomy. Obviously, the episode delivered on both counts, which made me giggle.
But even giggling, I didn't like the above line of dialogue.
Twelve feels very One-like to me. The kind of Doctor who will pout, throw tantrums, and manipulate everyone into unsafe situations for the benefit of his curiosity. Okay, so all the Doctors do that occasionally. But there is a sort of obliviousness One had to what he was doing wrong that Twelve seems to share. I feel like there's been some kind of regeneration reset. One is the Doctor, but he doesn't act like the Doctor yet, because he hasn't entirely learned how… but he's got a very good excuse for that.
I like Twelve so far. I want him to start being the Doctor again.
"Dalek-levels returning to normal parameters."
I have no idea what a Dalek-level is. This made me laugh so hard I think I broke something, because… what is a Dalek-level!? A few days on, this still makes me laugh.
I am probably crazy.
"Is he mad or is he right?"
"Hand on my heart, most days he's both."
"I can save the future."
This is a very interesting exchange, because I think it defines this Doctor far better than the "Am I a good man?" framing device of the episode.
He is mostly (but not always) mad. He is mostly (but not always) right.
He is trying to save the future, which is very interesting indeed, because it implies that the future is in danger. I think that the Time War has started up again, and with the Time Lords safe in their alternative dimension… maybe this time, the Daleks are winning.
"The Doctor is not the Daleks."
And this exchange more or less sums up fifty years of television history.
"You are a good Dalek."
The parallels with the episode Dalek were a bit heavy-handed. I don't think I would've noticed so much, if last week hadn't been referencing The Girl in the Fireplace so often. I look forward to next week's Robin Hood and Robots episode as something hopefully more stand-alone.
Which isn't to say I didn't enjoy this episode or last weeks, because I did, but if there are episode references and returning enemies this thick and heavy three weeks in a row I'll start getting a bit annoyed.
Also, I am slightly annoyed that we're retreading this angsty, the-Doctor-doesn't-know-if-he's-good-or-not territory. It's one of those plot arcs that loses something that second (third? Fourth? Fifth?) time around.
"I just wish you hadn't been a soldier."
Journey has my plot sense tingling. I think we'll be seeing her again. I am, in the meanwhile, disappointed that Twelve didn't take her on as a full-time companion, because I think that would've been a very interesting counterpoint to Clara's popping in and out every other Wednesday.
I also wonder if the reason Twelve didn't take her along also has to do with the reason he saved her. He didn't just accidentally materialize his TARDIS around her at the moment her ship blew up. Twelve said that he's trying to save the future. Perhaps Journey Blue is instrumental to the future being saved.
He would've taken her. He just wishes she didn't have another battle to fight.
"Oh good for you. Still making an effort."
This ties back with the, "that's right, keep your spirits up," comment earlier. I really don't know if Twelve if talking to himself or Clara, but I do like the nod to the Doctor never changing (has he even washed? Or is he still covered in Dalek goo and Ross? Eewwwwww….)
I think I enjoy Twelve the most when his hair is rumpled. The combination of bed-head and immaculate suit makes him look utterly unhinged. It's oddly charming.
And he let Clara go out, in a new outfit, after only thirty seconds in the cupboard. Intentional. Just like the coffee detour was intentional. I think he wants Clara to find someone else, but is now surprised at how hurt he feels that maybe she has.
All together...
I liked it. It made me laugh a lot, and the CGI and driection was amazing. The show has been getting steadily prettier as time goes on and the budget/ CGI technology increases. It also made me think of The Giants and the fact that this isn't the first time Who has shrunk the crew (more One parallels, hmmm) and how, if this sort of episode is considered ambitious today how crazy and ground-breaking it is that they did the same thing in the sixties and managed to pull it off.
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(I'm just really hoping that Moffat doesn't do some kind of convoluted thing where River becomes the Master because... no)
I like your theory about her materializing a TARDIS around the Doctor's collateral damage at the last possible moment. I don't think it's crack at all. In fact, I think it's the most plausible theory I've heard so far.