this is my timey-wimey device. it's kind of ringing up a storm right now.
So..."Journey's End"?
Remember in Angel, S4, when we were told that apparently everything important that happened over the last three seasons was engineered by The Benevolently Evil Goddess Zoe Washburne?
Anybody else feeling like we were right back there?
(Especially when we found out that MOST OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS INVOLVING DONNA WERE ENGINEERED BY A DALEK.)
I was kind of enjoying the episode while I was watching it, cos it was with friends, and you know, that's awesome. But then Donna's ending made me angry, and a lot of other bits gave me a bad taste in my mouth, and seeing as my favourite season finale of any show ever is an extended dream sequence practically made of metaphor, you are probably guessing that Massively Epic is not what I love. And this was more than massively epic, it was over-the-top, and confused. (Though I actually think I dislike it less than "Last of the Time Lords", despite the fact that it's gone and thrown more things into the melting pot of canon that I have to come to grips with than that one did. I don't know. Martha leaving was nothing on all of Donna's character development going away forever.)
The thing I'm realising, though, is that while RTD likes to throw a lot of Big Emotion about, it's nearly all sound and fury signifying nothing, or at least sound and fury signifying very little character development to come, and it's often so big that it's melodramatic and doesn't move me much at all. (Though, "Midnight"? "Midnight" was perfect, and subtle, and small, and THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD BE WRITING ALL THE TIME, MR DAVIES, CHARACTER CHAMBER PIECES that are scary without absurd monster suits that suspend disbelief until it finally snaps, and without having to explain every single thing. So I give you credit for that one. And "Turn Left", because most of that was pretty awesome, too.)
At the moment I pretty much want Joss Whedon to re-write a lot of stuff ("The Doctor's Daughter"? would have been AWESOME rather than RANDOM and LAME had Whedon written it, or at least someone who could get some interesting what-it-is-to-be-human riffs out of it rather than RANDOM ACTION! RANDOM BONDING! RANDOM DEATH! RANDOM REGENERATION! OKAY BYE LET'S NEVER MENTION THIS AGAIN) -- make it smaller, but make the emotional cost real. Because Donna's mind wipe could have been wrenchingly tragic, but instead it only felt cheap, and a disservice to the character. And I watch Joss Whedon, okay? I don't confuse "really tragic ending" with "a disservice to the character". Killing -- well, I could start with Jesse in Buffy S1 and end with MY WESLEY in Angel S5 (or possibly ALL OF THE CHARACTERS, depending on how you imagine the outcome of that final battle) -- anyway, when Joss does something horrible and devastating it's -- well, it's horrible and devastating, but I can't remember a time when it felt cheap, or when it didn't move me.
(And, um, the whole alt!Ten thing, I really...don't know what I think, really. It was...odd. And...well, odd. And am I the only person who feels like it it cheapens -- well, a lot of things? (Though I was somewhat callously amused that STILL, the only Doctor/Companion action we see on screen is STILL A DIVERSION SNOG.)
I mean, you know me, right? I mean, it takes a lot for me to actively dislike a piece of my fandom, especially one with a lot of major developments. I make excuses for Connor, you guys. (Though his linguistic patterns are entirely unsatisfactory, which...nobody actually wants to hear me rant geekily about, so, uh.) There were bits I liked, especially some character bits (MICKEYYYY! I'M SORRY I FORGOT YOU WERE SO AWESOME!), and some funny bits, but...well. Yes.
The Republic of Moffat really can't come soon enough.
Remember in Angel, S4, when we were told that apparently everything important that happened over the last three seasons was engineered by The Benevolently Evil Goddess Zoe Washburne?
Anybody else feeling like we were right back there?
(Especially when we found out that MOST OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS INVOLVING DONNA WERE ENGINEERED BY A DALEK.)
I was kind of enjoying the episode while I was watching it, cos it was with friends, and you know, that's awesome. But then Donna's ending made me angry, and a lot of other bits gave me a bad taste in my mouth, and seeing as my favourite season finale of any show ever is an extended dream sequence practically made of metaphor, you are probably guessing that Massively Epic is not what I love. And this was more than massively epic, it was over-the-top, and confused. (Though I actually think I dislike it less than "Last of the Time Lords", despite the fact that it's gone and thrown more things into the melting pot of canon that I have to come to grips with than that one did. I don't know. Martha leaving was nothing on all of Donna's character development going away forever.)
The thing I'm realising, though, is that while RTD likes to throw a lot of Big Emotion about, it's nearly all sound and fury signifying nothing, or at least sound and fury signifying very little character development to come, and it's often so big that it's melodramatic and doesn't move me much at all. (Though, "Midnight"? "Midnight" was perfect, and subtle, and small, and THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD BE WRITING ALL THE TIME, MR DAVIES, CHARACTER CHAMBER PIECES that are scary without absurd monster suits that suspend disbelief until it finally snaps, and without having to explain every single thing. So I give you credit for that one. And "Turn Left", because most of that was pretty awesome, too.)
At the moment I pretty much want Joss Whedon to re-write a lot of stuff ("The Doctor's Daughter"? would have been AWESOME rather than RANDOM and LAME had Whedon written it, or at least someone who could get some interesting what-it-is-to-be-human riffs out of it rather than RANDOM ACTION! RANDOM BONDING! RANDOM DEATH! RANDOM REGENERATION! OKAY BYE LET'S NEVER MENTION THIS AGAIN) -- make it smaller, but make the emotional cost real. Because Donna's mind wipe could have been wrenchingly tragic, but instead it only felt cheap, and a disservice to the character. And I watch Joss Whedon, okay? I don't confuse "really tragic ending" with "a disservice to the character". Killing -- well, I could start with Jesse in Buffy S1 and end with MY WESLEY in Angel S5 (or possibly ALL OF THE CHARACTERS, depending on how you imagine the outcome of that final battle) -- anyway, when Joss does something horrible and devastating it's -- well, it's horrible and devastating, but I can't remember a time when it felt cheap, or when it didn't move me.
(And, um, the whole alt!Ten thing, I really...don't know what I think, really. It was...odd. And...well, odd. And am I the only person who feels like it it cheapens -- well, a lot of things? (Though I was somewhat callously amused that STILL, the only Doctor/Companion action we see on screen is STILL A DIVERSION SNOG.)
I mean, you know me, right? I mean, it takes a lot for me to actively dislike a piece of my fandom, especially one with a lot of major developments. I make excuses for Connor, you guys. (Though his linguistic patterns are entirely unsatisfactory, which...nobody actually wants to hear me rant geekily about, so, uh.) There were bits I liked, especially some character bits (MICKEYYYY! I'M SORRY I FORGOT YOU WERE SO AWESOME!), and some funny bits, but...well. Yes.
The Republic of Moffat really can't come soon enough.