Doctor Whoooooo are you (who who, who who)
So! Series five of Doctor Who, plus Doctor Who 2010 Christmas Special!
After half-sleeping through The Eleventh Hour earlier today, I decided to put off continuing the series until after my friends and I tuned into the Christmas Special. You know, the first episode after the series we'd missed.
Hurr.
In a way, though, I'm glad it panned out. Watching Christmas Carol really helped set Eleven apart from Ten, whereas Eleventh Hour didn't really do it for me. It's interesting seeing Eleven's choice of actions in progress, even if his behavior did raise a few flags; going back in time to intentionally mess with the Scrooge character's past in order to save the lives of the 4,003 people on board the crashing ship was creative but devious - and I don't mean in a cute sort of way either. That sort of action reminds me of Nine's willingness to do something morally questionable for the sake of the greater good...but there was still something inheirantly wrong with Eleven's plan this time around. (My friends and I even had a brief argument about how old Scrooge and young Scrooge having physical contact would bring forth those Reality Reaper things, a la Rose touching baby Rose in Father's Day. Then we remembered that the real paradox came from Rose's father not dying, and that Rose and baby Rose making contact only compounded the issue enough to let the Reapers into the church.) Despite the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey mess Eleven makes, I did enjoy the episode.
Amy and Rory were a hoot, particularly Rory lamenting that the Doctor got all of the glory...and subsequently conceding that, yeah, it made sense that way. I need more Rory.
Also, is it just me, or did the guy who played Charles Dickins in The Unquiet Dead play Scrooge's father in Christmas Carol? That'd be a hell of a thing, especially as the actor looked about ready to keel over in The Unquiet Dead.
One last thing that confused me about the episode...did it take place on Earth, or an Earth-like planet? I mean...I don't remember there being fish in the sky, at least, last I checked. Maybe it's something I missed by not seeing series five, or probably because I was in the can when the intro scene started rolling, and I only came in after the opening credits.
Re-watching Eleventh Hour didn't really yield anything new, but it solidified how much of an asshole Eleven is. And to be honest, I love it. I mean, I've heard that Six is a king asshole, and he is the Doctor I would least look forward to watching of the eight I've yet to see, but Eleven's behavior makes him out to be rude, crass and quick to defend himself and dispense blame to others. This...is a goddamn riot. He loves jerking people around, and while this leads him to the morally ambiguous actions I mentioned above, it makes him enjoyable in his own way, setting him apart from the more affable Ten and the more aloof Nine. The CG effects for the multi-form were underwhelming, though; even the running Slitheen and the Jagrafess in series one looked better. Other than that, it was a decent starting episode. I felt bad for Rory and the fact that nobody was willing to believe him despite having pictographic evidence of the multi-form walking around the city.
The Beast Below was pretty standard fare - the "break the new companion in" episode, but much like Rose, Mickey and Martha (Donna and Jack notwithstanding, the former as she'd already had a couple adventures before traveling to a different time or planet and the latter due to having time traveling experience prior to meeting the Doctor), it helped define what I can expect of Amy. Like Nine and Ten's companions, Amy is adventurous and a quick thinker, but there's a combined practicality and wonderment to her that the past companions didn't have. I really enjoy her and I can't wait to see more of her in action. Her indecision about her upcoming marriage was believable as well, and I dread finding out what happens there, as Eleven has proven himself abysmal at landing in a particular time.
Saving the star whale from being lobotomized, though...that was clever. Honestly, I don't think Rose/Mickey/Martha/Donna/Jack would have been able to pick up on that; this isn't to say they were idiots, because they weren't, but Amy used her head and made all sorts of connections that would have slipped past the others. Also, the "last of his kind" references were pretty ham-handed. Yes, we get it, the Doctor is the last Time Lord (for the time being). Jesus, stop it.
Overall, good feelings abound! I look forward to more Matt Smith and Steve Moffat. ^^
After half-sleeping through The Eleventh Hour earlier today, I decided to put off continuing the series until after my friends and I tuned into the Christmas Special. You know, the first episode after the series we'd missed.
Hurr.
In a way, though, I'm glad it panned out. Watching Christmas Carol really helped set Eleven apart from Ten, whereas Eleventh Hour didn't really do it for me. It's interesting seeing Eleven's choice of actions in progress, even if his behavior did raise a few flags; going back in time to intentionally mess with the Scrooge character's past in order to save the lives of the 4,003 people on board the crashing ship was creative but devious - and I don't mean in a cute sort of way either. That sort of action reminds me of Nine's willingness to do something morally questionable for the sake of the greater good...but there was still something inheirantly wrong with Eleven's plan this time around. (My friends and I even had a brief argument about how old Scrooge and young Scrooge having physical contact would bring forth those Reality Reaper things, a la Rose touching baby Rose in Father's Day. Then we remembered that the real paradox came from Rose's father not dying, and that Rose and baby Rose making contact only compounded the issue enough to let the Reapers into the church.) Despite the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey mess Eleven makes, I did enjoy the episode.
Amy and Rory were a hoot, particularly Rory lamenting that the Doctor got all of the glory...and subsequently conceding that, yeah, it made sense that way. I need more Rory.
Also, is it just me, or did the guy who played Charles Dickins in The Unquiet Dead play Scrooge's father in Christmas Carol? That'd be a hell of a thing, especially as the actor looked about ready to keel over in The Unquiet Dead.
One last thing that confused me about the episode...did it take place on Earth, or an Earth-like planet? I mean...I don't remember there being fish in the sky, at least, last I checked. Maybe it's something I missed by not seeing series five, or probably because I was in the can when the intro scene started rolling, and I only came in after the opening credits.
Re-watching Eleventh Hour didn't really yield anything new, but it solidified how much of an asshole Eleven is. And to be honest, I love it. I mean, I've heard that Six is a king asshole, and he is the Doctor I would least look forward to watching of the eight I've yet to see, but Eleven's behavior makes him out to be rude, crass and quick to defend himself and dispense blame to others. This...is a goddamn riot. He loves jerking people around, and while this leads him to the morally ambiguous actions I mentioned above, it makes him enjoyable in his own way, setting him apart from the more affable Ten and the more aloof Nine. The CG effects for the multi-form were underwhelming, though; even the running Slitheen and the Jagrafess in series one looked better. Other than that, it was a decent starting episode. I felt bad for Rory and the fact that nobody was willing to believe him despite having pictographic evidence of the multi-form walking around the city.
The Beast Below was pretty standard fare - the "break the new companion in" episode, but much like Rose, Mickey and Martha (Donna and Jack notwithstanding, the former as she'd already had a couple adventures before traveling to a different time or planet and the latter due to having time traveling experience prior to meeting the Doctor), it helped define what I can expect of Amy. Like Nine and Ten's companions, Amy is adventurous and a quick thinker, but there's a combined practicality and wonderment to her that the past companions didn't have. I really enjoy her and I can't wait to see more of her in action. Her indecision about her upcoming marriage was believable as well, and I dread finding out what happens there, as Eleven has proven himself abysmal at landing in a particular time.
Saving the star whale from being lobotomized, though...that was clever. Honestly, I don't think Rose/Mickey/Martha/Donna/Jack would have been able to pick up on that; this isn't to say they were idiots, because they weren't, but Amy used her head and made all sorts of connections that would have slipped past the others. Also, the "last of his kind" references were pretty ham-handed. Yes, we get it, the Doctor is the last Time Lord (for the time being). Jesus, stop it.
Overall, good feelings abound! I look forward to more Matt Smith and Steve Moffat. ^^