The Doctor is In! - Liveblogging (sorta) the Doctor Who Premiere
Happy Easter everyone!
Since I had to work during the premiere of Doctor Who on BBC America, I decided to liveblog all my reactions to this episode as I watch it on download, because everyone's pretty much seen it already and who knows? I may be slightly amusing and/or you might just want to relive watching the episode for the first time vicariously through me.
So, here it goes . . .
- Really touched by the memorial to Elisabeth Sladen. Way to be classy, show.
- Costume drama shoes and hose . . . where are we? When are we? Pointed rapiers, wigs and itty bitty mustaches, why it must be the 1600's!
- Notice the patched jacket and bow tie . . . what kind of shenanigans is the Doctor up to?
- I wouldn't frown on looking at Matt Smith naked, but that painting is just too much!
- "WHERE'S THE DOCTOR?" "Eh . . . Doctor Who?" Okay, I gigglesnorted.
- The Doctor looks a little embryonic under the painter's skirts, doesn't he?
- Amy's hair is a little darker this season, and absolutely gorgeous.
- Okay, this second flashback scene I don't get. Is it some great moment in British history we 'Mericans just aren't taught in schools?
- Haha! The Doctor waves at them from inside Laurel and Hardy! And look! It's the fez!
- Ooh, blue card! Very astute Amy!
- RIVER!!!!
- I never open envelopes as smoothly as River Song does. I never do anything as smoothly as River Song does, actually.
-"Stalker!" "Flirt!" "--Husband!" Poor Rory!
- "I wear a Stetson now. Stetsons are cool." I squeed.
- River in that light frame shooting the gun = priceless. I'll be iconing those caps, once I get done with my seasonal_spuffy icons.
- Two time travelers never meet in the right order. My head could explode thinking about that.
- Poor Doctor. I love how Matt Smith can convey both pathos and good cheer when he talks about how he's been running all his life. Lots of expressions that man has.
- How pleased am I that Arthur gets billing in these new episodes? Very, very pleased!
-1103-908= 195 years since the Doctor last saw Amy and Rory. 195 years for fanfic to fill?
- Ooh, creepy alien thing!
- "A lot more happens in '69 than anyone remembers. Human beings . . . I thought I'd never get done saving you." Ooh, ominous! Foreshadowing?
- While we're all staring at the old guy in the truck, an astronaut lands in the lake. And this happens . . . how?
- So . . . who's in the space suit?
- No. Wait. No! The Doctor does not get shot and die! And did you see the devastation on Amy's face?
- Why don't River's bullets work on the astronaut? And why's he just walking back to the lake?
- There's something about the line "we're his friends. We do what the Doctor's friends always do. As we're told" that bothers me. The idea behind it is so patronizing, and I think its one of the underlying dark parts of Doctor Who that I don't like: the Doctor always knows best, the Doctor is always the one who saves the day, so you listen to the Doctor and do as you're told. The feminist in me gets annoyed with the lack of agency this attitude leaves all the companions, no matter what gender.
- Fire pretty.
- Canton Everett Delaware III, I love your name. That's a great name.
- "This is cold, even for you this is cold." Yes. It is.
- And WTF is going on here?
- You go, River Song! I'll need a gif of that slap!
- Good use of "Spoilers," River Song! (If you haven't noticed, I often refer to River Song by her full name. Or River motherfucking Song. Sounds badass.)
- Rory's so cute when he's trying to make sense of the Doctor!
- Mark A. Sheppard! yay! And he's not British . . . I'm slightly disappointed we don't get to hear his British accent.
- Loving the costuming for the FBI agents, very Mad Men.
- The Legs, The Nose and Mrs. Robinson! Ha!
- Creepy Alien in a suit!
. . . and after that I just ended up watching the whole thing with open-mouthed amazement because I had no clue what was going on. Sorry, I'll try and complete my liveblogging of Game of Thrones tomorrow and actually see the dang thing through.
Anyway, some general thoughts on the episode
As I was saying to snickfic (who brought up the subject) earlier today, I love speculative fiction and television, and one trademark of speculative fiction is the need to speculate on what's happening. I adored Lost, and that show had you saying "what the heck is going on here?!?" every episode, so I'm not put in an uncomfortable position by last night's Doctor Who cliffhanger. No, I don't exactly know what's going on, but I'm fascinated by the idea of the doctor arranging his death. It seems like such a melancholy thing for such a vibrant character to do, and I don't understand how it's going to be resolved, and I can't believe they'd do the franchise such a disservice as to guarantee that Matt Smith will be playing the last incarnation of The Doctor, so I hope they somehow create an out for themselves in the next episode. As for this particular episode alone, it was so refreshing to have my Team Tardis back on the screen! Eleven is my Doctor and Amy, Rory and River are all favorites of mine, so seeing them again back in action was a fun treat after a hard day of work.
The plot of the episode is hard to pin down, because on the one hand you have the Death of the Doctor to figure out, while there's another story within the plot involving Canton Everett Delaware III and President Nixon's mysterious phone calls. No, I don't know what's up with the kid in the space suit, and no, I don't know what's up with the creepy memory-erasing aliens in suits, but I have faith in this show to give me a satisfying, if not exactly scientific, ending to this two-parter. I'm curious to know what the overreaching plot of this season will be (last season it was the crack), and if we've already missed some foreshadowing. I know the cliffhanger before they go to summer break is going to be a nail-biter, if this cliffhanger is anything to go by, so that's something to both dread and look forwards to.
I rather think I liked this episode, and that's really all the conclusion I need!
Since I had to work during the premiere of Doctor Who on BBC America, I decided to liveblog all my reactions to this episode as I watch it on download, because everyone's pretty much seen it already and who knows? I may be slightly amusing and/or you might just want to relive watching the episode for the first time vicariously through me.
So, here it goes . . .
- Really touched by the memorial to Elisabeth Sladen. Way to be classy, show.
- Costume drama shoes and hose . . . where are we? When are we? Pointed rapiers, wigs and itty bitty mustaches, why it must be the 1600's!
- Notice the patched jacket and bow tie . . . what kind of shenanigans is the Doctor up to?
- I wouldn't frown on looking at Matt Smith naked, but that painting is just too much!
- "WHERE'S THE DOCTOR?" "Eh . . . Doctor Who?" Okay, I gigglesnorted.
- The Doctor looks a little embryonic under the painter's skirts, doesn't he?
- Amy's hair is a little darker this season, and absolutely gorgeous.
- Okay, this second flashback scene I don't get. Is it some great moment in British history we 'Mericans just aren't taught in schools?
- Haha! The Doctor waves at them from inside Laurel and Hardy! And look! It's the fez!
- Ooh, blue card! Very astute Amy!
- RIVER!!!!
- I never open envelopes as smoothly as River Song does. I never do anything as smoothly as River Song does, actually.
-"Stalker!" "Flirt!" "--Husband!" Poor Rory!
- "I wear a Stetson now. Stetsons are cool." I squeed.
- River in that light frame shooting the gun = priceless. I'll be iconing those caps, once I get done with my seasonal_spuffy icons.
- Two time travelers never meet in the right order. My head could explode thinking about that.
- Poor Doctor. I love how Matt Smith can convey both pathos and good cheer when he talks about how he's been running all his life. Lots of expressions that man has.
- How pleased am I that Arthur gets billing in these new episodes? Very, very pleased!
-1103-908= 195 years since the Doctor last saw Amy and Rory. 195 years for fanfic to fill?
- Ooh, creepy alien thing!
- "A lot more happens in '69 than anyone remembers. Human beings . . . I thought I'd never get done saving you." Ooh, ominous! Foreshadowing?
- While we're all staring at the old guy in the truck, an astronaut lands in the lake. And this happens . . . how?
- So . . . who's in the space suit?
- No. Wait. No! The Doctor does not get shot and die! And did you see the devastation on Amy's face?
- Why don't River's bullets work on the astronaut? And why's he just walking back to the lake?
- There's something about the line "we're his friends. We do what the Doctor's friends always do. As we're told" that bothers me. The idea behind it is so patronizing, and I think its one of the underlying dark parts of Doctor Who that I don't like: the Doctor always knows best, the Doctor is always the one who saves the day, so you listen to the Doctor and do as you're told. The feminist in me gets annoyed with the lack of agency this attitude leaves all the companions, no matter what gender.
- Fire pretty.
- Canton Everett Delaware III, I love your name. That's a great name.
- "This is cold, even for you this is cold." Yes. It is.
- And WTF is going on here?
- You go, River Song! I'll need a gif of that slap!
- Good use of "Spoilers," River Song! (If you haven't noticed, I often refer to River Song by her full name. Or River motherfucking Song. Sounds badass.)
- Rory's so cute when he's trying to make sense of the Doctor!
- Mark A. Sheppard! yay! And he's not British . . . I'm slightly disappointed we don't get to hear his British accent.
- Loving the costuming for the FBI agents, very Mad Men.
- The Legs, The Nose and Mrs. Robinson! Ha!
- Creepy Alien in a suit!
. . . and after that I just ended up watching the whole thing with open-mouthed amazement because I had no clue what was going on. Sorry, I'll try and complete my liveblogging of Game of Thrones tomorrow and actually see the dang thing through.
Anyway, some general thoughts on the episode
As I was saying to snickfic (who brought up the subject) earlier today, I love speculative fiction and television, and one trademark of speculative fiction is the need to speculate on what's happening. I adored Lost, and that show had you saying "what the heck is going on here?!?" every episode, so I'm not put in an uncomfortable position by last night's Doctor Who cliffhanger. No, I don't exactly know what's going on, but I'm fascinated by the idea of the doctor arranging his death. It seems like such a melancholy thing for such a vibrant character to do, and I don't understand how it's going to be resolved, and I can't believe they'd do the franchise such a disservice as to guarantee that Matt Smith will be playing the last incarnation of The Doctor, so I hope they somehow create an out for themselves in the next episode. As for this particular episode alone, it was so refreshing to have my Team Tardis back on the screen! Eleven is my Doctor and Amy, Rory and River are all favorites of mine, so seeing them again back in action was a fun treat after a hard day of work.
The plot of the episode is hard to pin down, because on the one hand you have the Death of the Doctor to figure out, while there's another story within the plot involving Canton Everett Delaware III and President Nixon's mysterious phone calls. No, I don't know what's up with the kid in the space suit, and no, I don't know what's up with the creepy memory-erasing aliens in suits, but I have faith in this show to give me a satisfying, if not exactly scientific, ending to this two-parter. I'm curious to know what the overreaching plot of this season will be (last season it was the crack), and if we've already missed some foreshadowing. I know the cliffhanger before they go to summer break is going to be a nail-biter, if this cliffhanger is anything to go by, so that's something to both dread and look forwards to.
I rather think I liked this episode, and that's really all the conclusion I need!