Doctor Who S4 Review

[kalena_henden]

Russell T Davies, how do you do it? Yet again another Doctor Who season finale which successfully made me cry. (It's currently 4 for 4 now.) Not just misty-eyed single tear down each cheek but lip-quivering, blotchy-faced, Rudolf-the-red-nosed-reindeer-sniffling, tears-like-waterfalls, blanket-clutching, silent sobbing.

Comments

[annalouwho]

Hey, you're right, I'm 4 for 4 for the Davies era too! I thought maybe I didn't cry at "Last of the Time Lords," but then I remembered the Master dying in the Doctor's arms (ugh my god that kills me). But Donna's ending really destroys me the most. It's so awful to think of her never remembering all the incredible things she's seen and done nor knowing how truly amazing she is, but that's actually what I kind of love about it. I think it's brilliant in how painful it is. And what really makes it work for me is when the Doctor is sitting with Donna's mother and Wilf and he's like, "For a time she was the most important woman in the universe," and her mom says, "She still is; she's my daughter," and the Doctor just looks her straight in the eye and says, "Then you should tell her that once in a while." Seriously, I hate Donna's mother. Donna doesn't need to save the universe every five minutes to be amazing; she's amazing for just being who she is. Donna is my favorite.

But the rest of that finale I actually kind of hate. And Series 4 as a whole is so frustrating and depressing for me because it just doesn't live up to the amazingness of Donna! The episode quality is incredibly mediocre (except the Pompeii episode, which is also my favorite), the Doctor is unbearably self-righteous all season long, and Rose's character arc is completely ruined. It's not fair!

I can't wait for you to get to/through Series 5. I have to say, I did not like River, Eleven, Amy, or Series 5 as a whole when I first saw it. NOW, Eleven is my favorite Doctor, Amy is my second favorite companion, Series 5 is my favorite season, and by the end of it I was completely shocked by how much I had started loving River. So just, you know, you never know. (Series 6, though, is a completely different story, ugh.)

[kalena_henden]

I still was more heartbroken for the S2 finale. I think it was just a better crafted story. Ten/Rose on opposite sides of the wall and then Rose hearing a whisper of his voice calling her through time, traveling the country to find its orgin and the whole epic beach scene where he gets cut off from declaring "i love you." [falls into a weepy puddle]

But that doesn't diminish how much I felt Donna's fate.

It's so awful to think of her never remembering all the incredible things she's seen and done nor knowing how truly amazing she is, but that's actually what I kind of love about it. I think it's brilliant in how painful it is.
THIS! It kills me but I agree, it's brilliant.

And what really makes it work for me is when the Doctor is sitting with Donna's mother and Wilf and he's like, "For a time she was the most important woman in the universe," and her mom says, "She still is; she's my daughter," and the Doctor just looks her straight in the eye and says, "Then you should tell her that once in a while." Seriously, I hate Donna's mother.
This is one of my favorite scenes of the season. Donna's mom drove me nuts but this scene redeemed her for me. Though she totally needed the extra scolding from The Doctor.

Donna doesn't need to save the universe every five minutes to be amazing; she's amazing for just being who she is. Donna is my favorite.
YES! YES! YES! Amazing just for who she is, definitely.

Doctor is unbearably self-righteous all season long
Exactly! It's so unlike him its weird and aggravating. There were so many times I was taken out of the moment yelling, "why are you acting like a git?"

Rose isn't ruined for me. It was more a WTF was that storyline.I feel better now that Caro and I discussed 's Rose/Clone!Ten's possible future a bit. (see my other comments in this post)

I'm reserving judgement on the future seasons til I'm seen them. But I am looking forward to them since alot of people still seem to like the show.

[annalouwho]

Well, see, what I think made "Doomsday" so brilliant is that even though it was absolutely heartbreaking, we still knew that Rose was going to be fine, no, that she was going to be amazing even without the Doctor. There were so many times throughout Series 2 where she was separated from him and had to stand on her own two feet, and she was a strong woman and a hero all by herself. Then in Series 4 we learn that she has spent the previous years trying to rip a hole in the universe so that she can get her boyfriend back? I hate it. I just feel like it invalidated her whole character arc in Series 2.

And, oh my god, the worst bit of Doctor self-righteousness was in "The Doctor's Daughter" when he was like, 'You should model your society after me!! Because I would never shoot anyone with a gun!!' Like, WHATEVER, MR. DOUBLE GENOCIDE. THROW ANYONE INTO A BLACK HOLE LATELY? I adore the Doctor, and I love when he's fucked up, but not when he's like that.