The Eleventh Hour
I've just watched the first Matt Smith episode of Doctor Who. For the third time.
Spoiler-free part: I love it! It's a great place to come in if you're a new fan and it hasn't lost any of what I loved from the old episodes. It's no secret that I prefer Moffat's writing to RTD's, but I really think he wrote a brilliant introductory episode here.
I watched it the first time with my family and Isaac, clutching a cushion to hide behind when it all got too much. The second time through I made notes to remind myself of interesting points. Then of course I had to watch it again, as I'd missed bits through typing! What follows are my observations. Please add your own, whether you disagree or want to squee with me!
This will work best if you've seen the episode, as I don't intend to recount everything that happened, just to comment on the parts that caught my attention.
The first scene is of the TARDIS, engines blazing, on fire, swooping low over London with the Doctor hanging out of the open door. So far, so epic, and definitely a great opening sequence. The part that made me happiest, though, was that it doesn't land in London! The TARDIS suddenly goes shooting off in a (presumably northernly) direction, and lands far away. I adore London, but Cardiff and it do not need to be in every episode. I will accept Cardiff doubling for other places, which it does very well. Amy's little village near Gloucester is a new Earth setting, and it's about time.
Our first view of Amelia Pond is as she prays to Santa (who should be Father Christmas, hmmm). I love the idea and I think it shows that she's been a bit neglected, if she's praying to Father Christmas because a)her aunt's no help and b)no one's taken the trouble to explain Christianity or any other religion to her, so the best god she has is Santa. Though the fact that her mum made faces on apples to get her to eat them shows that she was well loved and looked after at some point. I hope we get more backstory on her family later on.
All the crazy regeneration bits were great:
"Who are you?"
"I don't know yet, I'm still cooking."
[Faceplant] "Early days, steering's a bit off."
"Beans are evil. Bad, bad beans." (Isaac was watching this with me, he definitely agrees with this statement!)
Fish custard sounds dreadful, but maybe it's like chips and icecream? I hope for Matt Smith's sake that fish fingers dipped in custard isn't as awful as it sounds.
The glass which the Doctor uses to listen to the crack in Amelia's wall is exactly like the glasses we have at home, which came from Tesco in 2006. My housemates and I were very excited just because it was like our glasses, but now I wonder... is Amelia's aunt a time-traveler?! (Joking, mostly).
There were several moments where Eleven was channelling previous Doctors. I only picked up on Ten and Nine because those are the ones I know best, but maybe other people saw/heard other Doctors? Ten's voice came through occasionally in odd phrases, but most clearly in "Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey" and the sniff he does as he's chained to the radiator ("Five minutes! I promised!"). I could hear Nine in "Here they come, the human race" as he rants against people using their videophones to record the end of the world. The litany of aliens and Doctors was a great idea, though the Ood and the Hoth never threatened Earth (/pedant).
"Do I just have a face that no one listens to? Again?" Does anyone know which Doctor this might be a reference to? Or is it just that his companions never seem to listen to him?
I really like this exchange between the Doctor and Amelia:
"I was in the swimming pool."
"You said you were in the library."
"So was the swimming pool."
The new TARDIS interior is fantastic. It's about twice the size and has exits leading off in all directions, so I'm really hopeful we'll see some of the other parts of the TARDIS, not just the control room and the wardrobe. On the BBC website there's a guided tour to all the new bits, and they've put so much work into it. They've even 'bruised' the coral as it's growing out of the metal supports, it's painted a sort of dark purple in places, which I found really sad, poor girl, but the designer referred to it almost casually. They clearly see the TARDIS as an integral character, though, which I love. Doctor/TARDIS forever! He's patting her and talking to her all through this episode, and his "Thanks, dear." as she gives him a new sonic screwdriver is very sweet. Now I think about that, isn't that a bit unusual, that the TARDIS has made him a screwdriver? I thought he made them himself. ("Never had a long night? Never had a lot of shelves to put up?")
The lack of angst was refreshing. This Doctor seems to be at peace with his lack of a family:
Eleven: "I don't even have an aunt."
Amelia: "You're lucky!"
Eleven: "I know."
And his invitation to Amy to go with him seems to be just a desire for a companion. He says he's just lonely. Though all the "crack in the universe" foreshadowing does suggest that she might have a role to play in helping him fix it.
I prefer Amelia to Amy, but I understand why she couldn't be his companion. Kidnapping is still a crime even if it is to take her on amazing adventures... The shot of her sitting on her suitcase, waiting for the Doctor to come back, is very powerful. I'm part of the generation which grew up without the Doctor, but everyone who watched Doctor Who at a young age (including the children who are watching it now) can understand that desire to leave with the Doctor, to be chosen to go on adventures. I've heard at least one person talk about having a bag packed ready to go.
Amy is clever, capable and determined. I think I like her! It really doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous, too. I love the first scene with her, when she's wearing a police uniform and putting on a police officer voice while her skirt is much too short and she has a pretend radio and handcuffs with no key. Oh, and when the Doctor is on the village green trying to attract the Atraxi's attention (sonic everything!) she's loving it! She's going to be just fine as a companion.
I'm really hoping the information about why electrons have mass and how to achieve faster than light travel was just a throwaway line, as that could be awkward to explain later!
Prisoner Zero's copy of Amelia got to tell the Doctor off in a way that Amy didn't get to and may never choose to, telling him that he's a disappointment. That was interesting - the companions don't often get a chance to call the Doctor on his faults. Amy herself yells at him ("Twelve years!") and when he leaves again after saving the world you can see her feeling of abandonment and how she has to shut her eyes to try not to cry. Yet she still challenges the Doctor's confidence that she'll come with him. ("You are so sure that I'm coming.")
Does anyone know what the blue glow was in the "believe in me for twenty minutes" scene? I'd like to think that it's something to do with a link to the TARDIS, but I have nothing to back up that idea.
There's other stuff, but then I could talk about every bit of this episode, so I'll just put some favourite quotes here:
"You know when grown-ups tell you 'Everything's's going to be fine' and you know they're probably lying to make you feel better? [Scary eyes] Everything's going to be fine."
"You're Amelia!"
"You're late!"
"I kept biting them. They said you weren't real."
"I'm the Doctor, I'm worse than everybody's aunt."
"Twenty minutes to save the world and I've got a Post Office. And it's
shut!"
"Blimey! Get a girlfriend, Jeff!"
"Who is your lady friend?"
"Patrick, behave."
"Who da man? ... Never saying that again. Fine."
"You are not of this world."
"No, but I've put a lot of work into it."
"Hello, I'm the Doctor. Basically... run."
"Other planets, wanna check some out?"
"I grew up."
"Don't worry, I'll soon fix that."
"I am definitely a mad man with a box."
Doctor Who's back!
Spoiler-free part: I love it! It's a great place to come in if you're a new fan and it hasn't lost any of what I loved from the old episodes. It's no secret that I prefer Moffat's writing to RTD's, but I really think he wrote a brilliant introductory episode here.
I watched it the first time with my family and Isaac, clutching a cushion to hide behind when it all got too much. The second time through I made notes to remind myself of interesting points. Then of course I had to watch it again, as I'd missed bits through typing! What follows are my observations. Please add your own, whether you disagree or want to squee with me!
This will work best if you've seen the episode, as I don't intend to recount everything that happened, just to comment on the parts that caught my attention.
The first scene is of the TARDIS, engines blazing, on fire, swooping low over London with the Doctor hanging out of the open door. So far, so epic, and definitely a great opening sequence. The part that made me happiest, though, was that it doesn't land in London! The TARDIS suddenly goes shooting off in a (presumably northernly) direction, and lands far away. I adore London, but Cardiff and it do not need to be in every episode. I will accept Cardiff doubling for other places, which it does very well. Amy's little village near Gloucester is a new Earth setting, and it's about time.
Our first view of Amelia Pond is as she prays to Santa (who should be Father Christmas, hmmm). I love the idea and I think it shows that she's been a bit neglected, if she's praying to Father Christmas because a)her aunt's no help and b)no one's taken the trouble to explain Christianity or any other religion to her, so the best god she has is Santa. Though the fact that her mum made faces on apples to get her to eat them shows that she was well loved and looked after at some point. I hope we get more backstory on her family later on.
All the crazy regeneration bits were great:
"Who are you?"
"I don't know yet, I'm still cooking."
[Faceplant] "Early days, steering's a bit off."
"Beans are evil. Bad, bad beans." (Isaac was watching this with me, he definitely agrees with this statement!)
Fish custard sounds dreadful, but maybe it's like chips and icecream? I hope for Matt Smith's sake that fish fingers dipped in custard isn't as awful as it sounds.
The glass which the Doctor uses to listen to the crack in Amelia's wall is exactly like the glasses we have at home, which came from Tesco in 2006. My housemates and I were very excited just because it was like our glasses, but now I wonder... is Amelia's aunt a time-traveler?! (Joking, mostly).
There were several moments where Eleven was channelling previous Doctors. I only picked up on Ten and Nine because those are the ones I know best, but maybe other people saw/heard other Doctors? Ten's voice came through occasionally in odd phrases, but most clearly in "Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey" and the sniff he does as he's chained to the radiator ("Five minutes! I promised!"). I could hear Nine in "Here they come, the human race" as he rants against people using their videophones to record the end of the world. The litany of aliens and Doctors was a great idea, though the Ood and the Hoth never threatened Earth (/pedant).
"Do I just have a face that no one listens to? Again?" Does anyone know which Doctor this might be a reference to? Or is it just that his companions never seem to listen to him?
I really like this exchange between the Doctor and Amelia:
"I was in the swimming pool."
"You said you were in the library."
"So was the swimming pool."
The new TARDIS interior is fantastic. It's about twice the size and has exits leading off in all directions, so I'm really hopeful we'll see some of the other parts of the TARDIS, not just the control room and the wardrobe. On the BBC website there's a guided tour to all the new bits, and they've put so much work into it. They've even 'bruised' the coral as it's growing out of the metal supports, it's painted a sort of dark purple in places, which I found really sad, poor girl, but the designer referred to it almost casually. They clearly see the TARDIS as an integral character, though, which I love. Doctor/TARDIS forever! He's patting her and talking to her all through this episode, and his "Thanks, dear." as she gives him a new sonic screwdriver is very sweet. Now I think about that, isn't that a bit unusual, that the TARDIS has made him a screwdriver? I thought he made them himself. ("Never had a long night? Never had a lot of shelves to put up?")
The lack of angst was refreshing. This Doctor seems to be at peace with his lack of a family:
Eleven: "I don't even have an aunt."
Amelia: "You're lucky!"
Eleven: "I know."
And his invitation to Amy to go with him seems to be just a desire for a companion. He says he's just lonely. Though all the "crack in the universe" foreshadowing does suggest that she might have a role to play in helping him fix it.
I prefer Amelia to Amy, but I understand why she couldn't be his companion. Kidnapping is still a crime even if it is to take her on amazing adventures... The shot of her sitting on her suitcase, waiting for the Doctor to come back, is very powerful. I'm part of the generation which grew up without the Doctor, but everyone who watched Doctor Who at a young age (including the children who are watching it now) can understand that desire to leave with the Doctor, to be chosen to go on adventures. I've heard at least one person talk about having a bag packed ready to go.
Amy is clever, capable and determined. I think I like her! It really doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous, too. I love the first scene with her, when she's wearing a police uniform and putting on a police officer voice while her skirt is much too short and she has a pretend radio and handcuffs with no key. Oh, and when the Doctor is on the village green trying to attract the Atraxi's attention (sonic everything!) she's loving it! She's going to be just fine as a companion.
I'm really hoping the information about why electrons have mass and how to achieve faster than light travel was just a throwaway line, as that could be awkward to explain later!
Prisoner Zero's copy of Amelia got to tell the Doctor off in a way that Amy didn't get to and may never choose to, telling him that he's a disappointment. That was interesting - the companions don't often get a chance to call the Doctor on his faults. Amy herself yells at him ("Twelve years!") and when he leaves again after saving the world you can see her feeling of abandonment and how she has to shut her eyes to try not to cry. Yet she still challenges the Doctor's confidence that she'll come with him. ("You are so sure that I'm coming.")
Does anyone know what the blue glow was in the "believe in me for twenty minutes" scene? I'd like to think that it's something to do with a link to the TARDIS, but I have nothing to back up that idea.
There's other stuff, but then I could talk about every bit of this episode, so I'll just put some favourite quotes here:
"You know when grown-ups tell you 'Everything's's going to be fine' and you know they're probably lying to make you feel better? [Scary eyes] Everything's going to be fine."
"You're Amelia!"
"You're late!"
"I kept biting them. They said you weren't real."
"I'm the Doctor, I'm worse than everybody's aunt."
"Twenty minutes to save the world and I've got a Post Office. And it's
shut!"
"Blimey! Get a girlfriend, Jeff!"
"Who is your lady friend?"
"Patrick, behave."
"Who da man? ... Never saying that again. Fine."
"You are not of this world."
"No, but I've put a lot of work into it."
"Hello, I'm the Doctor. Basically... run."
"Other planets, wanna check some out?"
"I grew up."
"Don't worry, I'll soon fix that."
"I am definitely a mad man with a box."
Doctor Who's back!