Planet of the Dead or at least the really sandy and sunbaked.
I think this post probably needs pictures: time to hotlink the BBC since I suspect I can't be arsed.
- I don’t mind Christina, I rather like her. This is probably a reflection on having watched too much Alias and spy things. Somebody on my flist, I forget who, made the comment that she was selfish, which yes, and that her thievery tendencies don’t really recommend her. Again, I like thieves too much to really critique that, but I think it understandable that the Doctor likes her; I think he sees some of himself in her. He, too, is separated from his people and class, he has some pretty light fingers himself when it comes to appropriating things (he even mentions he stole the TARDIS) and he is just out looking for adventure and to never stop running. Yes, it’s not the time for the Doctor to pick up someone new, not at all. But I can see why he said they were meant for each other. They have a lot of the same strengths and weaknesses. That doesn’t exactly lend itself to good Companionship, though, since he needs someone that more complements him than reflects him. The Doctor has some times where he’s not exactly sensitive to the needs of the humans around him; that’s why he needs Rose, and Martha, and Donna so much. Christina hears that there’s bodies in the sand… and complains that it’s in her hair. She lacks a bit of that human sympathy as well.
- I was so sure everybody was going to die. After all, the Doctor did promise to get them all out of there.
- Okay, that “science”? About how the stingray things fly around the planet so fast they generate a rip in the universe, creating a wormhole? There is NOTHING in all the laws of physics that I know that even suggests that as a possibility. ninamazing ? Anything you can think of? Because all the evidence suggests we live in a flat universe anyway, which makes wormholes pretty difficult to start with, but the closest thing that I can think of is that all that rotation creates energy/radiation (which, no, they’re not moving anywhere NEAR that fast) and a buildup of mass from protons, thereby creating enough mass to make a rupture in spacetime. Guys… you need a lot more speed (like faster than 95% of the speed of light, if I remember correctly) and a whole lot more mass to even make that a remote theoretical possibility. I’m sure they were reversing some polarity somewhere, of course.
- Oh, Malcolm and his little Scottish accent. RTD really likes showing how much of a fanboy he is in not-so-secret ways. I liked seeing how he grew, though, from being merely excited to really helping as a person. Also, I was thinking when the Doctor was smiling at Malcolm at the end that he would say something like, “Oh, Einstein? Yeah, nobody’ll think he’s as cool once this bloke figures out a unified quantum mechanical theory, which he will in… what’s today’s date?”
- Snoggage. Oh, Doctor. andi_horton and I have a sneaking suspicion that, considering his lifespan, he hasn’t actually gotten snogged all that much. He always looks so bemused when it happens. I know plenty of people always get upset when he kisses somebody that isn’t Rose, but I don’t really think it’s that big a deal. He’s NOT human. He wasn’t raised human. And even among humans, the sexual meanings ascribed to various actions vary. Some cultures view kissing as merely a greeting, some view it as a more intimate act reserved for lovers. Some cultures cover up their women, some the women go bare-breasted without it being viewed as highly sexualized. As someone who also generally lives outside sexual norms, I can understand not really feeling or expressing affection in such a way; the Doctor would not have been raised or excessively acclimated to such norms, and also might not necessarily ascribe the same meaning that our culture does. So the fact that while he loved Rose he didn’t go around snogging her all the time, and he happens to kiss plenty of women he isn’t in love with, doesn’t really mean anything at all in terms of intimate relationships, I think. (And that was your not-so-daily dose of asexual cultural critique, we'll be back next week with-)
- On seeing the episode a second time, Christina does grate a little. And it’s not really her fault. It’s her lines- they’re so cocky, it’s kind of annoying, because there’s no reason revealed for her cockiness- is she psychologically protecting herself from something? Why does she feel the need to almost one-up the Doctor when it comes to doing things, taking charge, etc? So I feel like her character wasn’t written strongly enough and fleshed out enough, as much as it could have been. This is why there should be a spinoff series: member of British peerage that has adventures in magical flying bus. IT WOULD BE AWESOME.
- Oh, it's okay to bash the hell out of the gold coronation cup from Hwyll or whoever. IT'S ONLY WELSH, AFTER ALL.
- Majority of dead not white/English-speaking? Check. Black people that help white people but ultimately have no real part in the plot? Check. There are some things I will not miss about the RTD era. Okay, Magambo is the Rather Awesome exception. Though... she didn't really accomplish a whole hell of a lot, either. *sigh*