As Doctor Who finales tend to be, this one is kind of a whirlwind
And it suffers from Rusty-itis - Part One, great, Part Two... er.
I LOVED TPO. I though it was a great set up; the teaser was awesome, the cinematography (?) is fantastic, the reunion between the Doctor and Rory is hilarious - really, there's a lot to love in that episode.
And then ... The Damp Squib. Because really - wtf? I get fed up seeing people who criticised Rusty for his use of the deus ex machina and his nonsensical plots - because what's this if not nonsensical?! At least Tinkerbell!Doctor and The Year that Never Was made some kind of sense in plot terms (okay, so not much, but SOME) - but someone being able to bring back an entire universe and replace everyone's memories because she remembers someone? Huh? And using a time loop to get Eleven out of the Pandorica... that's gotta be the biggest deus ex machine EVER - and if I try to think about how that particular time loop works, it makes my head ache.
My favourite scene from TBB has to be the bedside scene. In the post I wrote after I saw the episode for the first time I said -
Matt Smith absolutely nailed it there as he spoke about the silly old man who ‘borrowed’ the TARDIS and ran away… the times we never had… in your dreams, they’ll still be there… the Doctor and Amy Pond… and the days that never came
And that’s still a moment that makes me tear up.
It was obvious from pretty early on that the terrible being from the legend was the Doctor, and right up until the Pandorica opened, I expected that there would be a future version of him inside it, so that, at least, was a surprise.
As to Amy’s powers of recollection - meh. It doesn’t help that I don’t like her very much. Had it been Donna or Martha, I’d have been cheering her on and punching the air at the thought of her saving the universe, but then I loved those characters and could see why the Doctor thought they were special… Amy - not so much.
I can’t help with the firm grasp of events either - I don’t know whether this was a “reboot” or not. I mean, if the Doctor doesn’t exist, who pulled the plug on the Time Lords and the Daleks? Does that mean that the replica of the Titanic crashed into Buckingham Palace and caused a nuclear explosion that destroyed the south of England à la Turn Left? That’s assuming the Earth survived being overrun by Racnoss. Which assumes it survived the Army of Ghosts, etc, etc.
Just because the Doctor isn’t there, can’t mean, surely, that all the events in which he took part didn’t happen. He’s there to save the day - he doesn’t create the scenarios in which the day needs saving!
At this point, I think I need to get a cold cloth for my head and lie down!
This is too long for one comment, so part 2 coming up!
And it suffers from Rusty-itis - Part One, great, Part Two... er.
I get fed up seeing people who criticised Rusty for his use of the deus ex machina and his nonsensical plots - because what's this if not nonsensical?! At least Tinkerbell!Doctor and The Year that Never Was made some kind of sense in plot terms (okay, so not much, but SOME) - but someone being able to bring back an entire universe and replace everyone's memories because she remembers someone? Huh? And using a time loop to get Eleven out of the Pandorica... that's gotta be the biggest deus ex machine EVER - and if I try to think about how that particular time loop works, it makes my head ache.
THANK YOU! I hate people ragging on RTD's finales, but then saying that this one makes so much ~sense, in contrast! :s How so?! Oh, they say, well he's been setting up a ~fairytale theme from the beginning of the season....so? That means that it's okay to have a fairytale deus ex here then, and not in season 3 because there was no fairytale theme all along there? *rolleyes* Whatever...
Personally I found this finale even MORE confusing and nonsensical than the previous ones, and not just with the wiping out of existence thing, you also have the fact that every other thing in the universe is wiped out/erased like 3,000 years ago, but then the universe munching happens to halt for 3,000 years just until Pond is born...really? :s
People need to just face the facts that for all his reputation, Moffat writes plot holes and conveniences just as big as RTD does...
well he's been setting up a ~fairytale theme from the beginning of the season
*nods* - On a purely superficial level Rusty was setting up "Mr Saxon" from TRB, so there's no difference there in terms of the set up time.
As for the rest - double standards.
People need to just face the facts that for all his reputation, Moffat writes plot holes and conveniences just as big as RTD does...
Of course he does. Neither of them is perfect or "better" - I wouldn't presume to make that sort of judgement. I just find that one style sits better with me than the other. I can appreciate Moffat's clever plotty-ness, but I prefer Rusty's more character driven style.
I still think that the plot of TBB doesn't make sense, though :)
And it suffers from Rusty-itis - Part One, great, Part Two... er.
I LOVED TPO. I though it was a great set up; the teaser was awesome, the cinematography (?) is fantastic, the reunion between the Doctor and Rory is hilarious - really, there's a lot to love in that episode.
And then ... The Damp Squib. Because really - wtf? I get fed up seeing people who criticised Rusty for his use of the deus ex machina and his nonsensical plots - because what's this if not nonsensical?! At least Tinkerbell!Doctor and The Year that Never Was made some kind of sense in plot terms (okay, so not much, but SOME) - but someone being able to bring back an entire universe and replace everyone's memories because she remembers someone? Huh? And using a time loop to get Eleven out of the Pandorica... that's gotta be the biggest deus ex machine EVER - and if I try to think about how that particular time loop works, it makes my head ache.
My favourite scene from TBB has to be the bedside scene. In the post I wrote after I saw the episode for the first time I said -
Matt Smith absolutely nailed it there as he spoke about the silly old man who ‘borrowed’ the TARDIS and ran away… the times we never had… in your dreams, they’ll still be there… the Doctor and Amy Pond… and the days that never came
And that’s still a moment that makes me tear up.
It was obvious from pretty early on that the terrible being from the legend was the Doctor, and right up until the Pandorica opened, I expected that there would be a future version of him inside it, so that, at least, was a surprise.
As to Amy’s powers of recollection - meh. It doesn’t help that I don’t like her very much. Had it been Donna or Martha, I’d have been cheering her on and punching the air at the thought of her saving the universe, but then I loved those characters and could see why the Doctor thought they were special… Amy - not so much.
I can’t help with the firm grasp of events either - I don’t know whether this was a “reboot” or not. I mean, if the Doctor doesn’t exist, who pulled the plug on the Time Lords and the Daleks? Does that mean that the replica of the Titanic crashed into Buckingham Palace and caused a nuclear explosion that destroyed the south of England à la Turn Left? That’s assuming the Earth survived being overrun by Racnoss. Which assumes it survived the Army of Ghosts, etc, etc.
Just because the Doctor isn’t there, can’t mean, surely, that all the events in which he took part didn’t happen. He’s there to save the day - he doesn’t create the scenarios in which the day needs saving!
At this point, I think I need to get a cold cloth for my head and lie down!
This is too long for one comment, so part 2 coming up!
Reply
I get fed up seeing people who criticised Rusty for his use of the deus ex machina and his nonsensical plots - because what's this if not nonsensical?! At least Tinkerbell!Doctor and The Year that Never Was made some kind of sense in plot terms (okay, so not much, but SOME) - but someone being able to bring back an entire universe and replace everyone's memories because she remembers someone? Huh? And using a time loop to get Eleven out of the Pandorica... that's gotta be the biggest deus ex machine EVER - and if I try to think about how that particular time loop works, it makes my head ache.
THANK YOU! I hate people ragging on RTD's finales, but then saying that this one makes so much ~sense, in contrast! :s How so?! Oh, they say, well he's been setting up a ~fairytale theme from the beginning of the season....so? That means that it's okay to have a fairytale deus ex here then, and not in season 3 because there was no fairytale theme all along there? *rolleyes* Whatever...
Personally I found this finale even MORE confusing and nonsensical than the previous ones, and not just with the wiping out of existence thing, you also have the fact that every other thing in the universe is wiped out/erased like 3,000 years ago, but then the universe munching happens to halt for 3,000 years just until Pond is born...really? :s
People need to just face the facts that for all his reputation, Moffat writes plot holes and conveniences just as big as RTD does...
Reply
*nods* - On a purely superficial level Rusty was setting up "Mr Saxon" from TRB, so there's no difference there in terms of the set up time.
As for the rest - double standards.
People need to just face the facts that for all his reputation, Moffat writes plot holes and conveniences just as big as RTD does...
Of course he does. Neither of them is perfect or "better" - I wouldn't presume to make that sort of judgement. I just find that one style sits better with me than the other. I can appreciate Moffat's clever plotty-ness, but I prefer Rusty's more character driven style.
I still think that the plot of TBB doesn't make sense, though :)
Reply
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