Thoughts on Doctor Who S6 Finale
The Short Version:
The Long Version:
- From the moment I saw the title of the episode, I cringed. And then when I read the summary blurb and the bit about "the love of a good woman," I cringed even harder. Now, I love Doctor/River - love it a whole lot. But I also have a very low tolerance for squishiness, and it was starting to look super-squishy, even more so all the times I was stupid enough to look at posts from revolting Doctor/River shippers. I guess it's a bit rich to say that, when I suppose I *am* a Doctor/River shipper, but I don't feel like I'm "one of them," if that makes sense.
- Having said that, I was very satisfied with last night's episode and the various developments, especially on the "shipping" front. It was sweet without being "precious," and oh my, that was rather a wonderful kiss.
- I haven't watched enough "Old Ass Who," as I call it, to know much about the Brigadier, but I had read a bit about his character and thought it was very poignant that the phone call where he learned he was dead was the thing that made him pull out the envelopes and go to his "death" (even though obviously at that point his plan was in place).
- I was sad we didn't get to see Canton again and that he didn't have anything to do with last night's story, except to be in the background in a flashback and have the Doctor wave at him.
- I wondered why the Teselecta was important enough to make the "previously" reel, and rather loved the answer.
- River snogged Cleopatra in the aborted timeline. That is all.
- Am I the only one who cracks up at the Silence and their slo-mo ballet movements? Also, LOL at them trolling Rory - "the man who dies and dies again."
- LOVED Amy and her badass mommy revenge on Kovarian! "River Song didn't get it all from you, sweetie." BOOM!
- Also loved the Doctor trying (very badly) to play matchmaker with Amy and Rory. Texting and scones!
- It had been joked about for several weeks - "What if the question is 'Doctor who'?" I'd thought it was impossible, because they leaned so much on "Silence will fall when the question is asked." So wouldn't Silence have fallen like a million times by now because someone asks it in almost every episode? Well silence did fall every time it was asked, just not THE Silence. Silence fell as it always does when a question is not answered. I thought that was devilishly clever.
- Loved Dorium's reappearance ("Doctor, give it to me straight - how bad are my injuries?" and LOL at him having WiFi access in ... can we call it the Cave of Skulls or does it have an actual name? [/First Doctor reference]), but the Viking guy being eaten by the living skulls? NO THANK YOU TIMES A MILLION! That is seriously the most disturbing thing I've EVER seen on this show, and one of the more disturbing sights in my entertainment life. AND I'VE SEEN A SERBIAN FILM!
- "River Song came twice." Oh, Moffat, there were a dozen other ways to phrase it, but you chose that one, you dirty bird. *dissolves into naughty cackles*
- LMAO at Meredith Viera being credited as "Newsreader" instead of "Herself," because Brits don't know who the hell she is. :P
- There's a lot of argument right now over whether the Doctor and River are actually married. I find it kind of hilarious that people seem to think the thing that makes it not so is that he didn't actually tell her his name (what does that have to do with it?), when the much bigger issue is that it happened in the same universe as Amy killing Kovarian - "in an aborted timeline, in a universe that never was." I suspected for a long time that they were married or something like it in the future, as did pretty much everyone else, but I couldn't wrap my head around how that would work when their timelines are going in different directions. I mean, so they get married and the next time they meet up that hasn't actually happened yet for one of them? But this was kind of fitting, like it happened in this universe that was outside of time or ... on an astral plane of timey wimeyness or something. It also quite fits River's comments in "Time of Angels" that their relationship is not as simple as husband/wife.
- I think more significant than the "marriage" (which I still pronounce "mar-ee-ahhhhge" like Captain Jack Sparrow) is the fact that this is when the Doctor starts trusting River with things he doesn't trust to other companions. I suppose, wedding legitimacy issues aside, that is a sort of marriage in and of itself.
- I may have screamed a bit when the Doctor said "her nights ... that's between her and me, eh?". Might. I know some people don't like the visual that brings to mind, especially those uncomfortable with Alex Kingston being 20 years older than Matt Smith, but to that I can only say ... just picture her snogging William Hartnell or John Pertwee. Same man and all. Problem solved? Or perhaps exacerbated? :P I'll just be over here trying not to imagine the same thing with Tom Baker or Peter Davison because I only have so much self-fanning capability.
- So, obviously we're not done with River because there's some time (probably quite a bit) between when she "killed" the Doctor and when she shows up at Demon's Run. I also think it's nice that, according to the Confidential special about her timeline, Demon's Run is the point where hers and the Doctor's lives start running in opposite directions. Maybe there will be a period of time where they're running parallel to each other.
- Another shout-out to Rose Tyler last night, which I loved, and which brings me to ... err, Rose Tyler. :P Specifically, what about Rose Tyler and how dare River say no one loves the Doctor more than she does and blahblahblah. (Please don't mistake my blahblahblah for not caring about the Doctor's affection for Rose, btw, because I did and do enjoy them.) First, obviously River doesn't know Rose (though she may have known *of* her through her archaeology research), so that statement is from her perspective only. Second, and more importantly, I don't like the idea that I have to choose which is the "better" or "more epic" relationship/romance/whatever. The Doctor has two hearts and is 1103 years old with eleven incarnations so far, and people come and go from his life all the time. I think he's allowed to have more than one Love Of His Life. And of course, Rose has her very own Doctor, who will grow old with her and not move on to other times and places and can even grow his own TARDIS. I'm fine with all of this.
- I thought this episode was MUCH less confusing than other finales, especially Big Bang. But one thing *is* a bit puzzling to me. When exactly is that Pond Family Wine Party scene actually taking place? I get that in River's timeline she just finished the "Time of Angels"/"Flesh and Stone" adventure (and LOL her mother was about to try and sexytime her future son-in-law - HOW 'DAYS OF OUR LIVES'!), but when is this for Amy and Rory? Presumably well after they've parted ways with the Doctor, but how does she know he's "dead"? Also, I know Moffat has cheekily tweeted that River would have broken out of prison to get her hair done, so it's not a stretch that she'd break out to have a glass of wine with her mum, but since this is after the Byzantium adventure, wouldn't she have been pardoned?
Christmas has never seemed so far away! I've fallen hard for this show. Can you tell?
The Long Version:
- From the moment I saw the title of the episode, I cringed. And then when I read the summary blurb and the bit about "the love of a good woman," I cringed even harder. Now, I love Doctor/River - love it a whole lot. But I also have a very low tolerance for squishiness, and it was starting to look super-squishy, even more so all the times I was stupid enough to look at posts from revolting Doctor/River shippers. I guess it's a bit rich to say that, when I suppose I *am* a Doctor/River shipper, but I don't feel like I'm "one of them," if that makes sense.
- Having said that, I was very satisfied with last night's episode and the various developments, especially on the "shipping" front. It was sweet without being "precious," and oh my, that was rather a wonderful kiss.
- I haven't watched enough "Old Ass Who," as I call it, to know much about the Brigadier, but I had read a bit about his character and thought it was very poignant that the phone call where he learned he was dead was the thing that made him pull out the envelopes and go to his "death" (even though obviously at that point his plan was in place).
- I was sad we didn't get to see Canton again and that he didn't have anything to do with last night's story, except to be in the background in a flashback and have the Doctor wave at him.
- I wondered why the Teselecta was important enough to make the "previously" reel, and rather loved the answer.
- River snogged Cleopatra in the aborted timeline. That is all.
- Am I the only one who cracks up at the Silence and their slo-mo ballet movements? Also, LOL at them trolling Rory - "the man who dies and dies again."
- LOVED Amy and her badass mommy revenge on Kovarian! "River Song didn't get it all from you, sweetie." BOOM!
- Also loved the Doctor trying (very badly) to play matchmaker with Amy and Rory. Texting and scones!
- It had been joked about for several weeks - "What if the question is 'Doctor who'?" I'd thought it was impossible, because they leaned so much on "Silence will fall when the question is asked." So wouldn't Silence have fallen like a million times by now because someone asks it in almost every episode? Well silence did fall every time it was asked, just not THE Silence. Silence fell as it always does when a question is not answered. I thought that was devilishly clever.
- Loved Dorium's reappearance ("Doctor, give it to me straight - how bad are my injuries?" and LOL at him having WiFi access in ... can we call it the Cave of Skulls or does it have an actual name? [/First Doctor reference]), but the Viking guy being eaten by the living skulls? NO THANK YOU TIMES A MILLION! That is seriously the most disturbing thing I've EVER seen on this show, and one of the more disturbing sights in my entertainment life. AND I'VE SEEN A SERBIAN FILM!
- "River Song came twice." Oh, Moffat, there were a dozen other ways to phrase it, but you chose that one, you dirty bird. *dissolves into naughty cackles*
- LMAO at Meredith Viera being credited as "Newsreader" instead of "Herself," because Brits don't know who the hell she is. :P
- There's a lot of argument right now over whether the Doctor and River are actually married. I find it kind of hilarious that people seem to think the thing that makes it not so is that he didn't actually tell her his name (what does that have to do with it?), when the much bigger issue is that it happened in the same universe as Amy killing Kovarian - "in an aborted timeline, in a universe that never was." I suspected for a long time that they were married or something like it in the future, as did pretty much everyone else, but I couldn't wrap my head around how that would work when their timelines are going in different directions. I mean, so they get married and the next time they meet up that hasn't actually happened yet for one of them? But this was kind of fitting, like it happened in this universe that was outside of time or ... on an astral plane of timey wimeyness or something. It also quite fits River's comments in "Time of Angels" that their relationship is not as simple as husband/wife.
- I think more significant than the "marriage" (which I still pronounce "mar-ee-ahhhhge" like Captain Jack Sparrow) is the fact that this is when the Doctor starts trusting River with things he doesn't trust to other companions. I suppose, wedding legitimacy issues aside, that is a sort of marriage in and of itself.
- I may have screamed a bit when the Doctor said "her nights ... that's between her and me, eh?". Might. I know some people don't like the visual that brings to mind, especially those uncomfortable with Alex Kingston being 20 years older than Matt Smith, but to that I can only say ... just picture her snogging William Hartnell or John Pertwee. Same man and all. Problem solved? Or perhaps exacerbated? :P I'll just be over here trying not to imagine the same thing with Tom Baker or Peter Davison because I only have so much self-fanning capability.
- So, obviously we're not done with River because there's some time (probably quite a bit) between when she "killed" the Doctor and when she shows up at Demon's Run. I also think it's nice that, according to the Confidential special about her timeline, Demon's Run is the point where hers and the Doctor's lives start running in opposite directions. Maybe there will be a period of time where they're running parallel to each other.
- Another shout-out to Rose Tyler last night, which I loved, and which brings me to ... err, Rose Tyler. :P Specifically, what about Rose Tyler and how dare River say no one loves the Doctor more than she does and blahblahblah. (Please don't mistake my blahblahblah for not caring about the Doctor's affection for Rose, btw, because I did and do enjoy them.) First, obviously River doesn't know Rose (though she may have known *of* her through her archaeology research), so that statement is from her perspective only. Second, and more importantly, I don't like the idea that I have to choose which is the "better" or "more epic" relationship/romance/whatever. The Doctor has two hearts and is 1103 years old with eleven incarnations so far, and people come and go from his life all the time. I think he's allowed to have more than one Love Of His Life. And of course, Rose has her very own Doctor, who will grow old with her and not move on to other times and places and can even grow his own TARDIS. I'm fine with all of this.
- I thought this episode was MUCH less confusing than other finales, especially Big Bang. But one thing *is* a bit puzzling to me. When exactly is that Pond Family Wine Party scene actually taking place? I get that in River's timeline she just finished the "Time of Angels"/"Flesh and Stone" adventure (and LOL her mother was about to try and sexytime her future son-in-law - HOW 'DAYS OF OUR LIVES'!), but when is this for Amy and Rory? Presumably well after they've parted ways with the Doctor, but how does she know he's "dead"? Also, I know Moffat has cheekily tweeted that River would have broken out of prison to get her hair done, so it's not a stretch that she'd break out to have a glass of wine with her mum, but since this is after the Byzantium adventure, wouldn't she have been pardoned?
Christmas has never seemed so far away! I've fallen hard for this show. Can you tell?