"Are you deducing?"
Jun. 26th, 2006 09:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llywelaThanks to a busy weekend, have only just now got around to seeing this week's Doctor Who.
After a lot of episodes this season that left me feeling vaguely disappointing, I enjoyed almost everything about this one.
I enjoyed the solid detectiveness of the case. I enjoyed that Rose was back to her season one self, caring and investigating and generally sticking her nose in, Doctor-style. I enjoyed that Rose was left to carry the can alone when the Doctor got disappeared - similar to Father's Day last year, except that time it was Pete who figured it all out and saved the day. This time Rose managed all on her own, so yay, Rose. I enjoyed the Doctor being eccentric and playful and masterful all at the same time - David Tennant is a good Doctor.
The techno-babble sounded good, although I suspect if subjected to reasoned analysis it might start to fall apart. But it sounded good if you just let it wash over you as necessary exposition to hold the rest of the plot together.
It was a proper standalone case. Doctor Who used to consist of nothing but (only in installments, not condensed into 45 minutes). Since I'm not convinced the writing team really has the hang of seasonal arcs, I'd rather have the standalones (with character development thrown in).
I liked the Doctor casually tossing out that line about having been a Dad once. We knew that - after all, his granddaughter Susan had to have come from somewhere. But Rose didn't. And she still didn't take the hint that she really knows very little about him, even after all their time together.
I also liked the Doctor being able to feel the energy where the kids were snatched, and being able to take tiny hints that the alien (forget the name - Isolas?) threw out and weave them into coherent theories because, yes - the Doctor is an alien, and a genius, and whatnot. And I liked how he empathised with and cared about the Isolas despite what it had done, while Rose was all indignant and hostile to it. Rose is still so young, so immature in many ways. But the Doctor still possesses that sense of mercy he feared he'd lost earlier in the series - he saw only victims in the whole case, and wanted to save everyone, including the Isolas. A point that Rose did get in the end - and saved the day for them all, Isolas included.
Didn't like the anvils being dropped on my head. Heavy-hand the Daddy issues again, why don't you? And the Doctor-Rose stuff at the end was even more heavy-handed - it was going so well up to that point, although they are still too touchy-feely for my taste. I prefer my TV emotion subtle - it feels so much deeper. But I can take it as just part of the relationship Rose has with this Doctor. But the clanging of anvils at the end with all that "we'll always be together" stuff from Rose, who still doesn't get it, and the Doctor still trying to hint to her that, no - they won't always be together. I can sympathise with him, though - he did tell her straight out in one episode that he won't always be with her, that he will continue almost eternally, while she grows old and dies, and that he won't hang around to watch that happen. She didn't listen then, she's not going to listen now. But the audience got the point, so please stop hitting us over the head with it.
Did not enjoy the spoilerific trailer for the two-part finale. Talk about making Rose's fate blatantly obvious - some people actually find that being surprised adds to the viewing experience!
The word 'lonely' got thrown around a lot in this episode. The Doctor being, of course, the Lonely God, or Lonely Angel. And 'a storm is coming'? Way to semaphore who they'll be facing in the finale - three guesses which enemy knows the Doctor as the Oncoming Storm...
After a lot of episodes this season that left me feeling vaguely disappointing, I enjoyed almost everything about this one.
I enjoyed the solid detectiveness of the case. I enjoyed that Rose was back to her season one self, caring and investigating and generally sticking her nose in, Doctor-style. I enjoyed that Rose was left to carry the can alone when the Doctor got disappeared - similar to Father's Day last year, except that time it was Pete who figured it all out and saved the day. This time Rose managed all on her own, so yay, Rose. I enjoyed the Doctor being eccentric and playful and masterful all at the same time - David Tennant is a good Doctor.
The techno-babble sounded good, although I suspect if subjected to reasoned analysis it might start to fall apart. But it sounded good if you just let it wash over you as necessary exposition to hold the rest of the plot together.
It was a proper standalone case. Doctor Who used to consist of nothing but (only in installments, not condensed into 45 minutes). Since I'm not convinced the writing team really has the hang of seasonal arcs, I'd rather have the standalones (with character development thrown in).
I liked the Doctor casually tossing out that line about having been a Dad once. We knew that - after all, his granddaughter Susan had to have come from somewhere. But Rose didn't. And she still didn't take the hint that she really knows very little about him, even after all their time together.
I also liked the Doctor being able to feel the energy where the kids were snatched, and being able to take tiny hints that the alien (forget the name - Isolas?) threw out and weave them into coherent theories because, yes - the Doctor is an alien, and a genius, and whatnot. And I liked how he empathised with and cared about the Isolas despite what it had done, while Rose was all indignant and hostile to it. Rose is still so young, so immature in many ways. But the Doctor still possesses that sense of mercy he feared he'd lost earlier in the series - he saw only victims in the whole case, and wanted to save everyone, including the Isolas. A point that Rose did get in the end - and saved the day for them all, Isolas included.
Didn't like the anvils being dropped on my head. Heavy-hand the Daddy issues again, why don't you? And the Doctor-Rose stuff at the end was even more heavy-handed - it was going so well up to that point, although they are still too touchy-feely for my taste. I prefer my TV emotion subtle - it feels so much deeper. But I can take it as just part of the relationship Rose has with this Doctor. But the clanging of anvils at the end with all that "we'll always be together" stuff from Rose, who still doesn't get it, and the Doctor still trying to hint to her that, no - they won't always be together. I can sympathise with him, though - he did tell her straight out in one episode that he won't always be with her, that he will continue almost eternally, while she grows old and dies, and that he won't hang around to watch that happen. She didn't listen then, she's not going to listen now. But the audience got the point, so please stop hitting us over the head with it.
Did not enjoy the spoilerific trailer for the two-part finale. Talk about making Rose's fate blatantly obvious - some people actually find that being surprised adds to the viewing experience!
The word 'lonely' got thrown around a lot in this episode. The Doctor being, of course, the Lonely God, or Lonely Angel. And 'a storm is coming'? Way to semaphore who they'll be facing in the finale - three guesses which enemy knows the Doctor as the Oncoming Storm...
