The Caretaker

[clocketpatch]

Not a full meta, because I already know I don't particularly want to re-watch that. Did anyone else find that episode hellishly awkward? It was like getting stuck behind an arguing couple at a movie theatre. The movie's good, but so overshadowed by the awkward that you can't actually enjoy it.

I liked the cold open and would enjoy fic of how they ended up chained to pillars in the desert and how they escaped the sand piranhas afterwards

There were some very funny lines, especially in the first half. "I read the book. There's a bio in the back," made me lol, while the bit where the Doctor tells Clara that, "I used to have a teacher..." was a very touching bit of nostalgia. Ditto, the nose tweaking (Seven!), and the build-up of altron energy.

I also enjoyed Danny calling the Doctor on his shit and recognizing him for what he is. Though, there was a moment there when he first said, "Time Lord," that I wondered if the rumours about Danny being the Master pre-series might be true. The actual shit calling was far more satisfying than that, I think.

The constant soldier/PE teacher thing was not actually funny. Adrian looking like Eleven was... disturbing, and it made me want to throttle Moffat, because that gag wasn't funny in Sherlock and it is doubly not funny here, with an addition of, "why are you reusing the worst ever gag from Sherlock that was never funny?"

I didn't enjoy the fact that the Doctor must approve Clara's choices, or that the onus is being put on her. Granted, she could've been a bit less secretive, but, "I've got a platonic relationship with an alien time traveller" isn't the easiest thing to explain. Pink being her boyfriend doesn't really require explanation, and I disliked the Doctor requiring it. Dear Moffat, please stop writing Twelve as an emotionally abusive asshole. If I want that, I'll watch Sherlock. Thanks, bye.

I enjoyed The Disruptive Influence and "there is a spillage". Funny stuff. Though I think it's unfortunate casting that certain students were disruptive and being caught playing truant by police, while certain other students are grade A all the way and asking questions about Austin.

The mechanics of the conclusion, with the Doctor giving orders, Clara dodging explosions, and Danny doing oddly athletic somersaults was good.

I liked the ending with Danny and Clara on the couch. I think that's the most palatable bit of their on-screen romance so far. It was definite set-up, though. The Doctor is going to take things too far. Clara's trust will be betrayed. Bad things will happen. And they will almost certainly involve the gate-keeper of the Nethersphere.

Next week: Terrifying spiders on the moon! Hopefully that will go better.

Comments

[clocketpatch]

No, your captions were correct. to be fair, I feel like that's something Twelve might say to anyone under the age of twenty (or Ten, for that matter, "happy slappy hoodies with ASBOs," was, I think, how he put it...), but the casting connotations were... unfortunate. :/

I also feel like someone should be editing Moffat for blatant Sherlock swipes. The two shows have a large cross-viewership, and no one likes being condescended to with poorly re-packaged jokes. Especially when they were awful jokes to begin with.

[ladymercury-10.livejournal.com]

to be fair, I feel like that's something Twelve might say to anyone under the age of twenty (or Ten, for that matter, "happy slappy hoodies with ASBOs," was, I think, how he put it...), but the casting connotations were... unfortunate.
I think that's one of the recurring problems the show has, is that they assume that because the Doctor is pretty much equal-opportunity rude and condescending to everyone when he feels like it, that they don't have to consider the implications of how it will come off directed at specific people.

[mithen.livejournal.com]

I do think the Doctor rather LIKED Courtney, sensing a kindred Disruptive Influence spirit--the way he lit up at that term did make me laugh. But ugh, oh, the choices of Good and Bad students was unfortunate, and while I understand the Doctor is assuming Danny can't be a maths teacher because he's a soldier (bad enough), it came off awfully to me like judging someone as non-intellectual for racist reasons. There was a LOT of cringe-worthy stuff in this episode, and I hated having Clara be "torn" between the Doctor and Danny. They both come off quite bad because of it, although I did think the scene where Danny calls him an officer and rakes him for it was very well-done.