SJA: Death of the Doctor & Sherlock BBC
Oh, that was lovely. I love it when we get the Doctor and past companions. He just has so much love and fondness for them all, and it's just wonderful to see how much joy he takes from being with them again. And it's nice that the show recognises and celebrates them, you know?
I think that's something about Doctor Who that makes it so (sadly) unique: that it's so strongly the story of the Doctor and all these incredible female characters, and how they're not disposable, how each and every one means the world to him in their own way. I kind of love shows where the main character is so defined by his relationship with women, especially when, let's face it, most of the stories out there largely cast women into a particular role for interaction (love interest, usually) and that's as far as it goes.
[Not to dismiss the role of male companions here either, but they're clearly the exception rather than the rule, and I mean, how odd is that in tv?]
Anyway, some other bits:
- Matt Smith continues to be wonderful as Eleven. I mean, he's just so unspeakably perfect. *squishes him*
- Ha, the '507' response to the question about regenerations was so clearly him being flippant. So much for all the internet hysteria about 'Canon has been retconned in a throwaway line on a spinoff!!!1!!' I'm fine with ambiguity, personally. Clearly we're getting closer to the thirteen marker than anyone expected back when that limit was set.
- LOL at the puppet vulture villains. Just LOL.
- "The universe will shiver" ... I would be like, oh, RTD, except I think the Doctor was pulling their leg a little there. Ten, on the other hand, would have been 100% serious.
- Sarah Jane: "Did it hurt?" / The Doctor: "It always hurts" D'aw. *pats him* It's never quite so dramatic, is it, though, as when Ten was sloooowly regenerating?
- Ten visited ALL the companions as he was dying. So much love. (There's meta to be had there about how Ten was probably the most alone version of the Doctor -- largely due to his own actions, mind you -- but spent his last moments with them all.)
IS IT DECEMBER YET???
In other news, belatedly caught Sherlock. I had been wary of it because fandom somehow had me convinced it was obsessed with mobiles and Mycroft was Moriarty and Holmes/Watson was canon and... I don’t even know. The mobiles part is right? Being irrationally devoted to any form of Holmes, I unsurprisingly loved it. This version of Sherlock Holmes is something of a bastard at times, which is wholly appropriate and which I fully approve of. (Er, the portrayal, not necessarily the behaviour. Although speaking of, I continue to be a little creeped out by some sides of fandom being all "Squee!!!1!" at a character treating a friend horribly.) Drugs reference FTW! One of the things I’ve always loved about Holmes is his deep dysfunction.
There are a LOT of nods to the canon and to other versions such as the Brett series, which I kind of love forever.
I found myself a bit 'meh' on Watson, strangely, because normally I love Watson. It could be that a tiny part of my brain is fully convinced he's Arthur Dent and is like, WHY AREN'T YOU WANDERING AROUND MUMBLING ABOUT TEA? HM? I don't know. It's interesting that unlike almost every other version they seem to emphasise the soldier aspect of his character over the doctor. And how bizarre and horribly sad, really, that over a hundred years on, it still works that he's returned wounded from war in Afghanistan.
Lestrade is clearly awesome and there needs to be more Lestrade in the next round of episodes.
While I'm on that, more of Watson doing doctorly things wouldn't go amiss. And if they could fix some of the issues with racism (OMG look at these Asian people being sinisterly Asian), sexism (Sarah, the only female character not a) used, b) dead or sleeping with her boss, or c) shamed in some way) and homophobia (LOL @ Sherlock's epic stereotyping fail, seriously), it wouldn't hurt.
Need to go and re-read the Doyle stories again, I think.
I think that's something about Doctor Who that makes it so (sadly) unique: that it's so strongly the story of the Doctor and all these incredible female characters, and how they're not disposable, how each and every one means the world to him in their own way. I kind of love shows where the main character is so defined by his relationship with women, especially when, let's face it, most of the stories out there largely cast women into a particular role for interaction (love interest, usually) and that's as far as it goes.
[Not to dismiss the role of male companions here either, but they're clearly the exception rather than the rule, and I mean, how odd is that in tv?]
Anyway, some other bits:
- Matt Smith continues to be wonderful as Eleven. I mean, he's just so unspeakably perfect. *squishes him*
- Ha, the '507' response to the question about regenerations was so clearly him being flippant. So much for all the internet hysteria about 'Canon has been retconned in a throwaway line on a spinoff!!!1!!' I'm fine with ambiguity, personally. Clearly we're getting closer to the thirteen marker than anyone expected back when that limit was set.
- LOL at the puppet vulture villains. Just LOL.
- "The universe will shiver" ... I would be like, oh, RTD, except I think the Doctor was pulling their leg a little there. Ten, on the other hand, would have been 100% serious.
- Sarah Jane: "Did it hurt?" / The Doctor: "It always hurts" D'aw. *pats him* It's never quite so dramatic, is it, though, as when Ten was sloooowly regenerating?
- Ten visited ALL the companions as he was dying. So much love. (There's meta to be had there about how Ten was probably the most alone version of the Doctor -- largely due to his own actions, mind you -- but spent his last moments with them all.)
IS IT DECEMBER YET???
In other news, belatedly caught Sherlock. I had been wary of it because fandom somehow had me convinced it was obsessed with mobiles and Mycroft was Moriarty and Holmes/Watson was canon and... I don’t even know. The mobiles part is right? Being irrationally devoted to any form of Holmes, I unsurprisingly loved it. This version of Sherlock Holmes is something of a bastard at times, which is wholly appropriate and which I fully approve of. (Er, the portrayal, not necessarily the behaviour. Although speaking of, I continue to be a little creeped out by some sides of fandom being all "Squee!!!1!" at a character treating a friend horribly.) Drugs reference FTW! One of the things I’ve always loved about Holmes is his deep dysfunction.
There are a LOT of nods to the canon and to other versions such as the Brett series, which I kind of love forever.
I found myself a bit 'meh' on Watson, strangely, because normally I love Watson. It could be that a tiny part of my brain is fully convinced he's Arthur Dent and is like, WHY AREN'T YOU WANDERING AROUND MUMBLING ABOUT TEA? HM? I don't know. It's interesting that unlike almost every other version they seem to emphasise the soldier aspect of his character over the doctor. And how bizarre and horribly sad, really, that over a hundred years on, it still works that he's returned wounded from war in Afghanistan.
Lestrade is clearly awesome and there needs to be more Lestrade in the next round of episodes.
While I'm on that, more of Watson doing doctorly things wouldn't go amiss. And if they could fix some of the issues with racism (OMG look at these Asian people being sinisterly Asian), sexism (Sarah, the only female character not a) used, b) dead or sleeping with her boss, or c) shamed in some way) and homophobia (LOL @ Sherlock's epic stereotyping fail, seriously), it wouldn't hurt.
Need to go and re-read the Doyle stories again, I think.