Kill the Moon
Oct. 5th, 2014 07:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llywelaI waited overnight to see if my feelings would change, but they haven't.
And to think I had such high hopes for this season.
Contrived conflict. Characters used as devices. Awful storytelling.
I don't even have the energy to pick it all apart any more. I really dislike this narrative style. I hate that the show and the Doctor are being thrown under a bus to serve Clara's story arc. It is possible to give a primary story arc to one character while also developing other characters and stories alongside them. Everything does not have to be subsumed by that single story to the exclusion of all other development. I can see what they are trying to do here, but the writing is so heavy-handed that it's crushing the life out of the show.
This new Doctor has not been allowed to have his personality developed beyond the abrasive detachment established in his first episode, because Clara's story for the season - which apparently revolves around disliking the Doctor and being miserable while with him - relies on him being unpleasant, and Moffat has decided that Clara is now the hero of the show, the only person who gets to have a storyline or a valid point of view.
Capaldi's Doctor is just so...graceless. And, you know, plenty of previous Doctors have been rude, whether by accident or design, but they all had charm to offset it, they all had layers, multi-faceted personalities. They were more than just one thing. We should be peeling back the layers of Capaldi's Doctor by now, we should be getting to know him - and the thing is, if we were doing that, if he were being explored in any depth, it would strengthen Clara's storyline by adding tension. If we were shown the strengths of their relationship instead of just tearing it down to make Clara look good, it would make her dilemma stronger and more real, instead of leaving us wondering why she bothers with this bastard she dislikes so much.
In this episode, continuing the seasonal trend, the entire population of Earth got to be wrong so that perfect Clara could be right.
And once again Moffat's Who avoids consequences. Make a choice that for all you know could end all life on Earth (which is what would happen if the moon disappeared) and presto chango, as if by magic, there are no consequences, plot magic saves the day, even though the characters had no way of knowing that.
It all feels so contrived. Manipulative. Hollow.
Who am I supposed to be rooting for here? None of these characters are likeable. Well, I suppose Courtney might be fun if she existed as a person with a life and story of her own, rather than as a device to support Clara's story - from what we've seen of her, I'd far rather see Courtney develop a spiky, 'gruff mentor-rebellious pupil' relationship with the Doctor (something that would give both of them the opportunity to peel back layers) than watch Clara being always right and always miserable, feeling tied to the Doctor not because she likes him or enjoys travelling with him but because she feels responsible for keeping him on the straight and narrow. Their dynamic is horrible. The characters are not being given room to breathe and simply be.
I resent it when realistic characterisation and reactions are shafted in service of a plot contrivance. Like...as a teacher, with one of her students having been taken on a trip in the TARDIS by a Doctor she neither likes nor trusts, Clara's reaction should have been "What were you thinking?" not "How could you say something mean to her?" The focus and emphasis are in all the wrong places.
I can see what Steven Moffat is aiming for. I can see what he is trying to do. The 6th Doctor was presented as unlikeable in the wake of his regeneration, with the intention of mellowing him as time went along. It didn't work, the writing was too weak and the audience was alienated, and that incarnation didn't last long enough to become who he could have been (although he mellowed a good sight faster than Capaldi's Doctor!). Tegan Jovanka was presented as very much the reluctant companion who frequently clashed with the Doctor and was horrified by the disasters she witnessed. I quite like her story, but many fans hate her for it. Both were controversial characters in the 1980s. Moffat seems to think he can repeat those experiments and do it better this time, but he's just making the same mistakes all over again - and adding many more of his own, while not even managing to replicate the things those earlier attempts got right (such as Tegan's close bond with Nyssa or the 6th Doctor's passion and heart).
Moffat loves his callbacks to the classic show - this episode was crammed with them. But cherry-picking a few moments from classic stories that appear 'cool' or 'significant' or 'popular', removing them from context and jamming them together hoping to make a similar impact...it doesn't work, it just feels flimsy and forced. This Doctor needs to be allowed to find himself, not just copy what other Doctors did in a different context.
One of my major criticisms of the Moffat era has been that it tells its stories in broad brushstrokes, using characters as devices to service the plots rather than using the plots to explore the characters. That's still true, and the flipside is that he also tends to have a very narrow focus on his primary plot, to the exclusion of all else. No matter what issues are thrown up along the way, they aren't explored and they aren't resolved, because the overarching Plot is what matters. It makes for a disjointed viewing experience and is part of what has prevented me bonding with any of his characters.
I'd really hoped for better with a new Doctor and a new era, but no.
This season disappoints me enormously.
And to think I had such high hopes for this season.
Contrived conflict. Characters used as devices. Awful storytelling.
I don't even have the energy to pick it all apart any more. I really dislike this narrative style. I hate that the show and the Doctor are being thrown under a bus to serve Clara's story arc. It is possible to give a primary story arc to one character while also developing other characters and stories alongside them. Everything does not have to be subsumed by that single story to the exclusion of all other development. I can see what they are trying to do here, but the writing is so heavy-handed that it's crushing the life out of the show.
This new Doctor has not been allowed to have his personality developed beyond the abrasive detachment established in his first episode, because Clara's story for the season - which apparently revolves around disliking the Doctor and being miserable while with him - relies on him being unpleasant, and Moffat has decided that Clara is now the hero of the show, the only person who gets to have a storyline or a valid point of view.
Capaldi's Doctor is just so...graceless. And, you know, plenty of previous Doctors have been rude, whether by accident or design, but they all had charm to offset it, they all had layers, multi-faceted personalities. They were more than just one thing. We should be peeling back the layers of Capaldi's Doctor by now, we should be getting to know him - and the thing is, if we were doing that, if he were being explored in any depth, it would strengthen Clara's storyline by adding tension. If we were shown the strengths of their relationship instead of just tearing it down to make Clara look good, it would make her dilemma stronger and more real, instead of leaving us wondering why she bothers with this bastard she dislikes so much.
In this episode, continuing the seasonal trend, the entire population of Earth got to be wrong so that perfect Clara could be right.
And once again Moffat's Who avoids consequences. Make a choice that for all you know could end all life on Earth (which is what would happen if the moon disappeared) and presto chango, as if by magic, there are no consequences, plot magic saves the day, even though the characters had no way of knowing that.
It all feels so contrived. Manipulative. Hollow.
Who am I supposed to be rooting for here? None of these characters are likeable. Well, I suppose Courtney might be fun if she existed as a person with a life and story of her own, rather than as a device to support Clara's story - from what we've seen of her, I'd far rather see Courtney develop a spiky, 'gruff mentor-rebellious pupil' relationship with the Doctor (something that would give both of them the opportunity to peel back layers) than watch Clara being always right and always miserable, feeling tied to the Doctor not because she likes him or enjoys travelling with him but because she feels responsible for keeping him on the straight and narrow. Their dynamic is horrible. The characters are not being given room to breathe and simply be.
I resent it when realistic characterisation and reactions are shafted in service of a plot contrivance. Like...as a teacher, with one of her students having been taken on a trip in the TARDIS by a Doctor she neither likes nor trusts, Clara's reaction should have been "What were you thinking?" not "How could you say something mean to her?" The focus and emphasis are in all the wrong places.
I can see what Steven Moffat is aiming for. I can see what he is trying to do. The 6th Doctor was presented as unlikeable in the wake of his regeneration, with the intention of mellowing him as time went along. It didn't work, the writing was too weak and the audience was alienated, and that incarnation didn't last long enough to become who he could have been (although he mellowed a good sight faster than Capaldi's Doctor!). Tegan Jovanka was presented as very much the reluctant companion who frequently clashed with the Doctor and was horrified by the disasters she witnessed. I quite like her story, but many fans hate her for it. Both were controversial characters in the 1980s. Moffat seems to think he can repeat those experiments and do it better this time, but he's just making the same mistakes all over again - and adding many more of his own, while not even managing to replicate the things those earlier attempts got right (such as Tegan's close bond with Nyssa or the 6th Doctor's passion and heart).
Moffat loves his callbacks to the classic show - this episode was crammed with them. But cherry-picking a few moments from classic stories that appear 'cool' or 'significant' or 'popular', removing them from context and jamming them together hoping to make a similar impact...it doesn't work, it just feels flimsy and forced. This Doctor needs to be allowed to find himself, not just copy what other Doctors did in a different context.
One of my major criticisms of the Moffat era has been that it tells its stories in broad brushstrokes, using characters as devices to service the plots rather than using the plots to explore the characters. That's still true, and the flipside is that he also tends to have a very narrow focus on his primary plot, to the exclusion of all else. No matter what issues are thrown up along the way, they aren't explored and they aren't resolved, because the overarching Plot is what matters. It makes for a disjointed viewing experience and is part of what has prevented me bonding with any of his characters.
I'd really hoped for better with a new Doctor and a new era, but no.
This season disappoints me enormously.
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no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 07:27 am (UTC)Capaldi's Doctor is older so make him a father figure rather than someone Clara is hating more and more.
I will continue to watch. It is like the last Series of Merlin ... hated the story lines but watched to the end to see what the cast could salvage from the scripts.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 07:35 am (UTC)I can't not watch (although I came close to turning off in the first 5 minutes here)...but I'm so disappointed.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 07:38 am (UTC)I find myself holding my breath at the beginning of each new scene ... wondering what they are going to do ... it is no longer enjoyable ... we are not being taken away on a marvellous adventure each episode any more.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 07:47 am (UTC)At this point I don't even care what the seasonal resolution is. It won't redeem this dross along the way.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 07:59 am (UTC)After all the fuss they made of how important Clara was to the Doctor's story this series has been a big disappointment. They are wrong to assume we will not miss her if they get us to hate her. It is the same Doctor ... just another face.
One thing I did like about this episode was regenerations ... think it was this one ... if I heard properly he now has UNLIMITED regenerations. If this is correct that was all down to Clara and will be her legacy I suppose. If I am correct.
TV is terrible at the moment. My dvds are being given a good workout. At least there is a new series of LEWIS your way tonight. Still a fan of Morse > Lewis > Endeavour.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 08:14 am (UTC)I don't think the Doctor seriously meant that he has unlimited regenerations now. He was just talking to stop the astronauts shooting them. A bit like how in that SJA adventure he told Clyde he had 583 regenerations - it wasn't true, he was just throwing out a ridiculous number to stop Clyde asking questions. Here, he was presenting the astronauts with reasons not to shoot them, and one of those reasons was 'if you keep shooting me I'll just keep coming back to life, so what's the point?' Not that the astronauts would have known what regeneration even is. But he wasn't being serious any more than he meant it when he told them to shoot Courtney first - there, he was pointing out the 'little girl' to make the potential shooters stop and think (although I'm not sure Courtney realised that, it was yet another of those 'the Doctor says thoughtless hurtful things without even knowing it' moments).
The thing about Clara is...I see shows making this mistake a lot. Grey's Anatomy does it all the time - "we just lost a beloved character and want the fans to love the replacement, so let's make the new character better than the old one in every way, however unrealistic that requires our writing to be, that should do it," and then they undermine other characters to prop up the new one, and it never works, it just makes viewers resent the new character for the unearned favours being bestowed on them and for the damage they are doing to other characters. When if the writing were just dialled back in the first place, there wouldn't be a problem.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 08:24 am (UTC)Shows all over the place must be losing audiences through careless writing. We want escapism when we watch a show ... think of your audience and not your own egos.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 08:48 am (UTC)Why won't LJ let me use different icons in comments? I've selected a different one for every comment in this thread, but LJ is only showing the default! Stupid LJ.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 01:20 pm (UTC)You are not alone.
Rewatching the Moon ep of the Doctor I am most annoyed at Clara. For once the Doctor, of sorts, let humans decide and Clara chucked the wobbly. I hope Courtney is not going to be in too many more episodes ... she is really getting on my nerves.
Agree ... Clara last week said she trusted the Doctor and now no.
Thing is these episodes have probably all been filmed and the comments I am seeing are 50/50 ... so can the BBC afford to lose half its audience?
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 07:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 07:54 am (UTC)So disappointing.
So I'm burying myself in the classic show, which might be clunky and primitive but has wonderful characters with fully formed (if not deeply developed) personalities who actually like one another and enjoy being together, the moral dilemmas they face arising from the situations they stumble into along the way, rather than being manufactured purely to contrive conflict between them. I'd rather spend time with them than this lot any day, I don't care how much more sophisticated the production values are now.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 09:46 am (UTC)I see all the usual Moffatt flaws in the storytelling, but this season I have a more positive outlook, given that it is such a huge relief for me to be rid of Eleven/River Song/the fairytale tone of the previous seasons/etc. So I guess my standards are really low, and anything was going to be better than season 6/7 for me.
So now I just watch for the adventures and the entertainment value. I have no emotional investment and I avoid analyzing the show too much; also, the Clara worship will never stop being utterly annoying... but at least I'm not getting irritated all the time! ;)
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 02:25 pm (UTC)I really feel that the show would be better off at this point in the hands of someone who hasn't been a lifelong fan - Moffat and Davies brought a lot of baggage into their showrunning. With Davies it mostly worked, but with Moffat it has been dire and is getting worse.
I started out feeling that season 8 was a definite improvement, but the grace period is over now and I'm just cross.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-16 12:35 am (UTC)Like Francy though, I am still enjoying this season more than the last two, even with its issues. I was just so sick of Eleven and River song, and while the perfectionism is unfortunate, I do prefer Clara being written with a grounded human life, rather than as merely a mystery to be solved.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-17 09:13 am (UTC)I cannot wait to get rid of arrogant Clara. She is completely the wrong personality for this new Doctor. I think I'd quite like to see him with a younger companion, strike up a paternal, mentor-student relationship - return to a classic dynamic that would be new for new Who. NOT Courtney, who has a loving home and family and would be missed, but some young stray with nowhere to go who could spark off this gruff new persona while drawing out his softer side in a way that Clara simply can't.
We need to get away from this insistence on always getting home in time for tea, as well. Let the Doctor and the TARDIS fly free, that's when they are happiest, with the companion living aboard.