clocketpatch | The End of Time

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The End of Time

Well... that was both completely unexpected, and utterly and completely expected.

I'm so scrambled from the WTF that I couldn't even tell you if I liked it, loved it, hated it... I do know that I was cackling madly through most of it. Though, whether that was because I'd cry otherwise I'm not quite sure. Except it was also good. And strange.

AND WTF THE MASTER CAN FLY?

and

WTF THE MASTER IN A DRESS? (for some reason this weirded me out even more than the... you know)

I'm sure the kinkmeme will be full of interesting prompts shortly (not that I would ever visit the kinkmeme, er...)

Best part: When the Doctor said what we were all thinking and called the Master Skeletor

Worst part: What was with the random butt pinching interlude there? That was just strange. Though not bad persay... nothing was BAD persay... just so much WTF... I think I've reached the overload point

Saddest part: They were so totally about to kiss damnit! No, that's not actually it, though that scene, it was pretty damn epic. The saddest part is probably pretty much every second Donna was onscreen. *cries inside* (and yet those were also all the best parts...? Donna. This is why I love you. And that you've gone out and made yourself a fantastic life even without your memories, and that you're still fighting, and who bloody cares how much your boyfriend makes?!?)

Most expected part: I think we all saw that little twist coming. (Though, because it's Timothy Dalton, I think we can now all rest assured that James Bond is, in fact, a Time Lord). Granted, the flashbacks at the beginning were also pretty expected, because I think we all realized, as soon as it was announced that he was coming back, that there would be some kind of Sound of Drums-Last of the Time Lords sum-up. Because there had to be.

Most unexpected part: I think you all know. WTF? WTF? WTF? However, I love the Master just enough to love this ending despite the layers and mountains of cheese.

The part that probably put a lot of people off their dinner: Master, I love you, but you've just put me off turkey for life.

The part that I couldn't stop wondering about throughout the episode: So, Obama? Does this mean that the timelines have joined or caught up or what? And I wonder how the US feel about the random stock footage being shoehorned into a Doctor Who special... and their president suddenly being turned into the Master? Because do you not somehow get the impression that you're supposed to ask permission before doing that sort of thing? Even if you don't actually have to? And that was just really strange and didn't add anything and is going to date this story like WOW in a few years time and... moving on.

The best part (I know I already said the best part, but this was THE best part):

WILF!

The part that I TOTALLY predicted OMG I THINK I MIGHT ACTUALLY BE RIGHT ABOUT THIS OMG:

WILF!

WILFWILFWILFIWILFWILFWILF

OH MY LORD! SHE'S A CACTUS!!!

*does the Wilf dance*

And to finish: Rusty is still nicking bits of Star Wars miscellanea isn't he?

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I loved it. I do hope the Time Lords survive it, though.

Agreed. I'm kind of hoping the Time Lords kill Ten as punishment for war crimes at the end.

Though... I've got the strangest feeling he might be committing genocide against his own people... again.

Yeah like to fix things they have to die again :(

Whether he does or not, I would kind of like that moment to come up, with him being forced to choose between humans and Time Lords.

The results of his decision being the reason they kill him at the end.

Lookit! I should be one of the writers!

You know, the part that made me roll my eyes about the Obama "cameo" was the absolute gushing about how he was going to fix the world (and apparently overnight with a master solution). A British minimum wager is expecting a quality of life increase, thanks to Obama!

I mean, the guy's great and all, but this felt laid on thick, especially since usually with the exception of monarchy, heads of state are fictionalized (Prime Ministers and Presidents included).

THIS

the whole this was just... bizarre. And personally, I find all the Obama love going around just plain creepy. Because I'm sure he's a great guy and all, and will be doing great things for the US, and i definitely doing thing for their self-esteem... but... but...

whenever people fall THAT deeply in love with a politician, to the point where they can Do No Wrong, an Ought Not Be Questioned. Well, it worries the hell out of me.

Anyways... to end that all up with a lol: apparently several people have tweeted Obama asking him if he's hungry. This amuses me like you cannot believe.

You should come visit some time. I'll take you to some of the Obama gift shops in town, whole stores dedicated to the commercialization and merchandising of his image.

I think my icon sums up my feeling on this.

You will feel differently once your country falls under his benevolent grace.

I'm just north of the border... I think my country already has. O.o

Actually, I very nearly met him that time when he was visiting Ottawa. I was going to be at the Beavertail place with a friend, but then I got sick and canceled. So, I'm watching telly and there he is making a random unplanned detour to eat a Beavertail. At the exact time I would've been there if it weren't for the flu.

And that is my grand story about how I almost met the President but didn't.

timeloop edit now that I've got the internet to work and have seen the video. That is terrifying. I have no words for how terrifying that is. I mean, children's choirs are creepy to begin with, add in a political agenda and... *runs away screaming*

just so much WTF... I think I've reached the overload point

That's pretty much me.

Saddest part for me was when The Doctor sees Donna and she's just out there yelling at people and Wilf asks "She'd make you laugh again, right?" and The Doctor kind of gives a little nod. OMG. *pouts*

and I hope you are so right about Wilf. I didn't try and predict things but it seems this special was pushing it in that direction.

I love how you've Christmas-ified your default icon.

Yeah... the plot (what plot?) was so much crack that I can't even pick it apart to dislike it. There honestly is nothing to pick. just crack, crack, and more crack. With a few golden moments scattered throughout. And I'm surprisingly okay with that.

I've been predicting Wilf for so long it would be such a squeefest for me. Granted, Journey's End did this same teasing to me and my Donna-is-Romana theory, so I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop and my dreams to be crushed.

I'm thinking maybe my expectations for these specials were lowered by the two previous specials... but I think this part of the special was just so fun. And its finally getting to where they were going at the end of Season 4, just stretching it out for an entire year. *sigh*

and I was highly entertained. None of it bored me. So lack of a plot or any sane ideas isn't bothering me. haha

awww, I hope your dreams aren't crushed. please please, no

That's it I guess. It wasn't at all boring. It was just mindless. And I guess that's all I expect from DW now. Which is sad, because I used to expect so much more...

I see that we are pretty much on the same page as regards this. As you say, just far too much going on, and all of it absolutely frothing cracky crazy, to really pass verdict on it one way or another. I'm starting to think that Ten's death and resurrection and how it's handled is going to totally make or break this story, one or the other. But then, wasn't that always going to be the case?

The Obama love... I like Obama, I think he'll do good things for America and the world if he gets the chance, and I can completely see why he gets the support he does from some Americans (and conversely kind of shake my head at the he-wants-to-make-us-all-speak-Russian hysteria from his right wing opponents). Yet, the kind of blind hero-worship he gets from the non-American world is, imho, naive in the extreme and kind of embarrassing, and seeing Rusty fall into the same sort of stuff here was a bit WTF, but not in a good way like the rest of the WTF in the episode! My main concern though is that, as you say, it dates the story very badly, as do the superficial attempts at socio-political consciousness, mentioning the recession and anything.

You see, when classic Who did politics, it did it metaphorically and it often made very good points - witness Happiness Patrol's satire of Thatcherism, or indeed any one of a hundred other examples. When NuWho touches on politics, it's only as skin-deep window-dressing, and it usually comes off as just a ham-fisted attempt to be contemporary, when what they should be aiming for is timelessness. Ah well...

And don't get me started on the stuff about Donna and her boyfriend, and the idea that poverty is something some superhero can rescue you from overnight with a wave of his magic wand...

But Wilf was awesome, and Donna was Donna, and Tennant was great, and Simm was as amusing as ever (and do you think he was sort of draining those people's energy to make them into skeletons, or was he actually...er...eating them...? O.o). And the WTF Cliffhanger of Doom will have me counting the days until next week; plus it looks like some of the really cracky fan theories that have been going around for a while now are actually going to turn out to be true...

Look at my icon. Or your own icon. Good. Now, imagine him flying up to you and taking a nibble.

...

I'm not going to lie, I timeloop edited this reaction multiple times, and some of that was influenced by your reaction post making me remember all of the minor things that I'd forgot in the midst of all the WTF; Donna's boyfriend is one of those things. The more I think about it though, the more it confuses me. Not so much Donna, but the whole episode's thing with people needing to be saved from their poorness. And Obama. And wtf?

I get it, poverty is bad. Having no money sucks. I know this first hand. But...?

Whatever, Seven's episodes were awesome and did the political statements so much better. It's part of why I love him so. For he manages to be subtle while gurning, and I did not know that was physically possible.

I'm sure that if Delgado Master was going to dine on Long Pig, as they allegedly used to call it in the South Seas, he would do so according to some cordon bleu recipe - tiny portions with rich, rich sauces, on fine China with silver cutlery, and quite possibly some fava beans and a nice chianti too.

And brandy and cigars afterwards, natch.

So, no, I don't imagine him chewing off the faces of burger van proprietors or anything like that. But then again, he was a man of wealth and taste...

And yes, Seven and Ace = political and social conscience, RTD = saving people from poverty with magic fairy dust... I rest my case. ;D

I'm so scrambled from the WTF that I couldn't even tell you if I liked it, loved it, hated it...

Agreed! Especially on the scrambled-ness... I feel like I need to a) rewatch this part and b) see Part 2 before I can draw any real conclusions about it. I think I liked it... but it needs some digesting to be sure!

One thing is certain though -- I ♥ Wilf liek whoa.

WILF!

I should have a Wilf icon. Because he is win topped with win topped with win.

(Though, because it's Timothy Dalton, I think we can now all rest assured that James Bond is, in fact, a Time Lord).
I've always suspected as much, considering how many times Bond has changed his appearance.

I love the Master just enough to love this ending despite the layers and mountains of cheese.
For me, Ainley is my Master of choice. But I love John Simm (ever watched Life on Mars?), so I'd be quite willing to look at him in anything, including a dress.

Space will be playing all 5 of the specials on Jan 2.

I know! I've told my mother that I'm hijacking the telly on the 2nd.

I want to see Life on Mars SO BADLY. I asked everyone for Amazon gift certificates, and what do I get? Walmart. I can not get this show from Walmart. (that said, there are other things which I certain can get, so I'm not overly disappointed)

So, now I'm trying to justify spending 80+ dollars on a TV show which I know next to nothing about. Damn it, why do these things have to be so pricey??

I asked everyone for Amazon gift certificates, and what do I get? Walmart. I can not get this show from Walmart.
Isn't that just the way.
*eyeroll*
When I worked in the bookstore, no one ever bought me a book again. Can you buy Amazon gift cards at Walmart? They sell gift cards for just about every store out there.

Life on Mars plays on BBC Canada, if you get the channel on satellite or cable you should be able to catch a couple of episodes to make certain you like it (you'll love it, actually).

Can you buy Amazon gift cards at Walmart? They sell gift cards for just about every store out there.

--

Oh, there's a thought. :D

Or maybe you could buy it from Walmart, since they seem to carry it: walmart page.

I just found that, and had an absolute squee fit. This is why I should always check the .ca before the .com

that said, they don't do online shopping for some reason and I could swear I've never seen it in store. Oh well, I guess I could ask for a special order or something?

I wouldn't really expect it to be on the shelf -- this is Walmart after all, they've probably got Billy Ray Cyrus programs all over the place...

I would certainly ask, there's no harm in doing so, especially if you print out the page in question with the item # and show it to someone.

Of course it's only about $42 on Amazon right now instead of $75 (boxing week sale, maybe?), so maybe you can just save the Walmart cards for something else.

I noticed that too. Of course, it's been that price on Amazon for an age. I'm thinking now that I'll try to get series 1 from Walmart and series 2 from Amazon, since the big blue box store apparently doesn't carry it yet. Yes... that's what I'll do... :D

FWIW, I don't think they seriously meant that Obama is an awesome miracle-worker -- I think they just thought it would be funny if the world was poised on the brink of peace-n-prosperity-for-all, and then just at that very moment the Master came along and ruined it for everybody.

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The End of Time

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