Ah, Neil, I knew you'd hit this one out of the park ("The Doctor's Wife" reacton post).
As you might expect,
Fandom's been waiting a long time for Neil Gaiman's DW story. First it existed as hopeful rumors, stirred into open speculation when it became known Gaiman and Moffat had Done Lunch at least once, then became a gleeful certainty last year, when it was finally confirmed.
After that was the hard bit for us fans: the waiting. But I'd say it was worth it . . . and I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by the results. Yeah, we knew it'd be a dark-ish fairytale, brilliantly written, but I wasn't prepared for it to be as lovingly geeky as it turned out. I can't help grinning with delight over the fact that Neil Gaiman just served up the shippiest of (literal!) shipfic -- and in a way that pretty much all of fandom was guaranteed to love.
Yeah, there are probably a few sniffy, "The TARDIS doesn't talk!"/"It's just a machine!" sorts out there who were offended by it, but they're no fun. Neener.
Anyway, yeah, I'm another viewer who loved the whole thing: the concept, the dialogue, the acting, all of it. It was also interesting to see what bits of fanon and fanlore Gaiman turned into canon: that Time Lords *can* swap genders between regenerations; that the interior of the TARDIS can be a mutable, dreamlike place; that the Bad Wolf's "my Doctor" was as much the TARDIS speaking as Rose; that the TARDIS experiences time and reality in a very nonlinear way; that she does have a reason for taking him unexpected places other than mere mechanical failure; that she chose him as much as he chose her; and that she loves him as much as he loves her.
Also, FWIW, I *adore* the idea of a Time Lord named the Corsair; it's a pity we never got to see his/her (no doubt rather disreputable) privateering adventures . . . not to mention that I can picture his/her TARDIS having great fun playing "pirate ship." Of *course* a character like that would be a good friend of the Doctor. :)
Also, lots of intriguing clues in the greater game Moffat is playing with the storylines -- the "river and forest" line, in particular raised my eyebrows. I think it's pretty clear the river is, well River . . . but the forest . . . possibly a return to the Library? It was hinted in TTOA/FAS that Eleven was already thinking of rewriting time in relation to River. Red herring or important clue? Only Time and the Moffat will tell.
Nothing in-depth, in summary, just general love for the story. I'll have to go back and write a retroactive response to the earlier stories -- but for now, Real Life calls. Later!
Fandom's been waiting a long time for Neil Gaiman's DW story. First it existed as hopeful rumors, stirred into open speculation when it became known Gaiman and Moffat had Done Lunch at least once, then became a gleeful certainty last year, when it was finally confirmed.
After that was the hard bit for us fans: the waiting. But I'd say it was worth it . . . and I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by the results. Yeah, we knew it'd be a dark-ish fairytale, brilliantly written, but I wasn't prepared for it to be as lovingly geeky as it turned out. I can't help grinning with delight over the fact that Neil Gaiman just served up the shippiest of (literal!) shipfic -- and in a way that pretty much all of fandom was guaranteed to love.
Yeah, there are probably a few sniffy, "The TARDIS doesn't talk!"/"It's just a machine!" sorts out there who were offended by it, but they're no fun. Neener.
Anyway, yeah, I'm another viewer who loved the whole thing: the concept, the dialogue, the acting, all of it. It was also interesting to see what bits of fanon and fanlore Gaiman turned into canon: that Time Lords *can* swap genders between regenerations; that the interior of the TARDIS can be a mutable, dreamlike place; that the Bad Wolf's "my Doctor" was as much the TARDIS speaking as Rose; that the TARDIS experiences time and reality in a very nonlinear way; that she does have a reason for taking him unexpected places other than mere mechanical failure; that she chose him as much as he chose her; and that she loves him as much as he loves her.
Also, FWIW, I *adore* the idea of a Time Lord named the Corsair; it's a pity we never got to see his/her (no doubt rather disreputable) privateering adventures . . . not to mention that I can picture his/her TARDIS having great fun playing "pirate ship." Of *course* a character like that would be a good friend of the Doctor. :)
Also, lots of intriguing clues in the greater game Moffat is playing with the storylines -- the "river and forest" line, in particular raised my eyebrows. I think it's pretty clear the river is, well River . . . but the forest . . . possibly a return to the Library? It was hinted in TTOA/FAS that Eleven was already thinking of rewriting time in relation to River. Red herring or important clue? Only Time and the Moffat will tell.
Nothing in-depth, in summary, just general love for the story. I'll have to go back and write a retroactive response to the earlier stories -- but for now, Real Life calls. Later!