Doctor Who "A Christmas Carol" reaction post.
Spoilery comments are spoilery, and thus under a cut.
Sooooo . . . that was interesting. Now, up front I enjoyed it as a Christmas episode, found the acting wonderful (Michael Gambon was perfect, in particular), and squeed my ass off to see Arthur Darville getting listed in the opening credits (Rory, yay!). Amy and Rory "having a bit of fun" with their honeymoon outfits was hilarious. Also, the "flying" fish were a delightful bit of goofiness; the bit where the Doctor is interacting with the little minnowy-things swarming around the lamppost was a moment of utterly Whovian charm and wonder. Oddly, this episode feels like the most RTD-esque thing Moffat has yet penned, though I can't pin down exactly why.
However, I suffered a weird form of double vision all the way through the episode that affected my ability to enjoy the story fresh, on its own terms. Y'see, Steven Moffat has written this story before. Sort of.
Back in 1996, he published a story, "Continuity Errors" in Decalog 3 that has proven remarkably . . . predictive of some aspects of Moffat's NuWho writing.
"Errors" is a quietly dark (and really somewhat frightening) story of Seven at his most manipulative, told from the point of view of a character who holds access to a piece of information the Doctor needs to avert a major tragedy. Faced with refusal of his request, Seven embarks on a campaign of tweaking the POV character's past with increasing severity until he finally gets access to what he wants as a result of changing the other person into someone willing to do what he asks. The way in which the viewpoint character's history, reality and worldview shift throughout the story is handled deftly, even brilliantly, and even though all the changes the Doctor makes are positive ones . . . the end result is still chilling rather than heartwarming. It makes Ten at the end of "Waters of Mars" seem like a rank amateur at warping history and people's lives to suit his purposes.
In the background, Benny (Bernice Summerfield, the Big Finish companion widely considered to be the inspiration for River Song) is shown desperately trying to keep track of her own chaotic, ever-changing timeline, by way of a diary she guards carefully and updates/annotates whenever possible. (Sound familiar?) Again, the effect is more than a little creepy, since Benny is shown as trying to keep a degree of control in a largely uncontrollable situation.
Now, I personally loved "Errors" (I love me some Dark!Doc). . . but it's been echoing weirdly through my head since "Silence in the Library," when River and *her* diary were introduced -- and then comes "Carol," which is basically "Errors" in outline, but given a positive, rather than a frightening, twist. It feels like a weird, Disney-esque whitewashing of a dark, old fairytale into friendly all-ages entertainment (think of "The Little Mermaid" . . . yeah).
River, unlike Benny, is shown to be very much in control of her life, knowing things even the Doctor doesn't (yet), which very much changes the dynamic of that relationship. Instead of an almost helpless figure, River/Benny has been transformed into a person of power in Nu Who. And, of course, though it's bittersweet and painful at times, Eleven's manipulation of Kazran's past (and self) is shown to be a positive act in "A Christmas Carol."
Don't get me wrong -- I like River and her blue-TARDIS journal, I enjoyed the latest Christmas episode and I'm NOT trying to rip on Moffat for recycling some of his past ideas and concepts. Hell, more power to him -- they're good, cunning, entertaining ideas. And he does blend in novel elements; in addition to "Errors," "Carol" played conceptual riffs on everything from the titular Dickens to Mary Poppins, steampunk, and Fritz Lang's Metropolis, which makes for a heady blend.
But damned if I'm not finding myself plagued by a sense of doubled vision rather like one of Moffat's own characters, as stories I thought I knew shift and change like unstable sand beneath my feet.
Sooooo . . . that was interesting. Now, up front I enjoyed it as a Christmas episode, found the acting wonderful (Michael Gambon was perfect, in particular), and squeed my ass off to see Arthur Darville getting listed in the opening credits (Rory, yay!). Amy and Rory "having a bit of fun" with their honeymoon outfits was hilarious. Also, the "flying" fish were a delightful bit of goofiness; the bit where the Doctor is interacting with the little minnowy-things swarming around the lamppost was a moment of utterly Whovian charm and wonder. Oddly, this episode feels like the most RTD-esque thing Moffat has yet penned, though I can't pin down exactly why.
However, I suffered a weird form of double vision all the way through the episode that affected my ability to enjoy the story fresh, on its own terms. Y'see, Steven Moffat has written this story before. Sort of.
Back in 1996, he published a story, "Continuity Errors" in Decalog 3 that has proven remarkably . . . predictive of some aspects of Moffat's NuWho writing.
"Errors" is a quietly dark (and really somewhat frightening) story of Seven at his most manipulative, told from the point of view of a character who holds access to a piece of information the Doctor needs to avert a major tragedy. Faced with refusal of his request, Seven embarks on a campaign of tweaking the POV character's past with increasing severity until he finally gets access to what he wants as a result of changing the other person into someone willing to do what he asks. The way in which the viewpoint character's history, reality and worldview shift throughout the story is handled deftly, even brilliantly, and even though all the changes the Doctor makes are positive ones . . . the end result is still chilling rather than heartwarming. It makes Ten at the end of "Waters of Mars" seem like a rank amateur at warping history and people's lives to suit his purposes.
In the background, Benny (Bernice Summerfield, the Big Finish companion widely considered to be the inspiration for River Song) is shown desperately trying to keep track of her own chaotic, ever-changing timeline, by way of a diary she guards carefully and updates/annotates whenever possible. (Sound familiar?) Again, the effect is more than a little creepy, since Benny is shown as trying to keep a degree of control in a largely uncontrollable situation.
Now, I personally loved "Errors" (I love me some Dark!Doc). . . but it's been echoing weirdly through my head since "Silence in the Library," when River and *her* diary were introduced -- and then comes "Carol," which is basically "Errors" in outline, but given a positive, rather than a frightening, twist. It feels like a weird, Disney-esque whitewashing of a dark, old fairytale into friendly all-ages entertainment (think of "The Little Mermaid" . . . yeah).
River, unlike Benny, is shown to be very much in control of her life, knowing things even the Doctor doesn't (yet), which very much changes the dynamic of that relationship. Instead of an almost helpless figure, River/Benny has been transformed into a person of power in Nu Who. And, of course, though it's bittersweet and painful at times, Eleven's manipulation of Kazran's past (and self) is shown to be a positive act in "A Christmas Carol."
Don't get me wrong -- I like River and her blue-TARDIS journal, I enjoyed the latest Christmas episode and I'm NOT trying to rip on Moffat for recycling some of his past ideas and concepts. Hell, more power to him -- they're good, cunning, entertaining ideas. And he does blend in novel elements; in addition to "Errors," "Carol" played conceptual riffs on everything from the titular Dickens to Mary Poppins, steampunk, and Fritz Lang's Metropolis, which makes for a heady blend.
But damned if I'm not finding myself plagued by a sense of doubled vision rather like one of Moffat's own characters, as stories I thought I knew shift and change like unstable sand beneath my feet.