The obligatory End of Time reaction post
About The End of Time ... well, it's very, very hard to judge a two-parter by the first half. I suspect that there's a fair amount of misdirection in the episode itself, but we'll have to wait and see.
First of all, I will go on record saying I liked it. I can sympathize with people who didn't. There was a lot of crack, but honestly, as I said in a comment on someone else's LJ, New Who is all about some crack. Farting aliens? Man-eating trash bins? The Doctor and Donna's mimed reunion? Fat blobs? Need I go on? It's best when it marries the truly ridiculous with the dramatic and intimate.
My strongest objection to the episode is that I didn't feel the oncoming threat. I hear Timothy Dalton telling me that Time is coming to an end, but I don't have a clue as to how that happens so I can't fear it. Let's compare and contrast to AoG or TSoD, in which everything was so clearly and utterly disastrous that the viewer couldn't imagine how in the hell they would get out of it. This time, I'm left wondering how we go from a few billion Masters (which is more comic than horrific) to the end of life as we know it. It's been noted by many people in reaction posts that RTD is at his best when writing the very personal rather than the large-in-scope stories. TSoD worked for me as a shocking cliffhanger because it was personal - we saw the effect on Martha, Jack, the Jones family, the Doctor, and other supporting characters. This time, we worry about Donna and Wilf, but the threat to them isn't specific. Was this a logical break in the storytelling?
About the senior citizen brigade -- is anyone really surprised that they're more competent than Torchwood? Ha. Of course they were.
Bernard Cribbins as Wilf was fantastic, and Tennant was wonderful as usual. The scene in the diner has been adequately commented on. One moment separately that I loved was the simple act of the Master and the Doctor putting their foreheads together, when presumably a touch to the temple would have sufficed. There is something personal about that gesture that touch or smell could convey.
Mostly ... it was campy, and rompy, and fun, with moments of drama. John Simm's evil OM NOM NOM made me laugh.
Things I don't want from the second episodes:
A reset of the Time War. To my thinking, it cheapens the Doctor's grief and loss from the last few years to wave a wand and undo it. It's one thing to resurrect the Master.
Wilf or Donna to be related to the Doctor, or Time Lords, or whatever. RTD's explained why Donna is special. That's enough.
Rose or Ten II. Yes. I said it. I don't want that storyline touched. I like them together in their own universe, with so many stories left untold and possibilities left to the imagination. The Doctor can't be with Rose forever, and in a way, he is as much as he can be. I'm content to leave it that way.
Things I want:
Someone important to actually die. There's a lot of foreshadowing of death on this show and usually, there's some cop out. Rose is on the list of the dead. Donna didn't die, just lost her memories. Maybe this is twisted, but I want some consequences, and I don't mean the Doctor's regeneration.
More evil OM NOM NOM.
Most of all: more quiet time with the Doctor. That may be hard to do, but more of what we saw with the conversations with Wilf and the Master would be excellent.
I don't want Tennant to go.
First of all, I will go on record saying I liked it. I can sympathize with people who didn't. There was a lot of crack, but honestly, as I said in a comment on someone else's LJ, New Who is all about some crack. Farting aliens? Man-eating trash bins? The Doctor and Donna's mimed reunion? Fat blobs? Need I go on? It's best when it marries the truly ridiculous with the dramatic and intimate.
My strongest objection to the episode is that I didn't feel the oncoming threat. I hear Timothy Dalton telling me that Time is coming to an end, but I don't have a clue as to how that happens so I can't fear it. Let's compare and contrast to AoG or TSoD, in which everything was so clearly and utterly disastrous that the viewer couldn't imagine how in the hell they would get out of it. This time, I'm left wondering how we go from a few billion Masters (which is more comic than horrific) to the end of life as we know it. It's been noted by many people in reaction posts that RTD is at his best when writing the very personal rather than the large-in-scope stories. TSoD worked for me as a shocking cliffhanger because it was personal - we saw the effect on Martha, Jack, the Jones family, the Doctor, and other supporting characters. This time, we worry about Donna and Wilf, but the threat to them isn't specific. Was this a logical break in the storytelling?
About the senior citizen brigade -- is anyone really surprised that they're more competent than Torchwood? Ha. Of course they were.
Bernard Cribbins as Wilf was fantastic, and Tennant was wonderful as usual. The scene in the diner has been adequately commented on. One moment separately that I loved was the simple act of the Master and the Doctor putting their foreheads together, when presumably a touch to the temple would have sufficed. There is something personal about that gesture that touch or smell could convey.
Mostly ... it was campy, and rompy, and fun, with moments of drama. John Simm's evil OM NOM NOM made me laugh.
Things I don't want from the second episodes:
A reset of the Time War. To my thinking, it cheapens the Doctor's grief and loss from the last few years to wave a wand and undo it. It's one thing to resurrect the Master.
Wilf or Donna to be related to the Doctor, or Time Lords, or whatever. RTD's explained why Donna is special. That's enough.
Rose or Ten II. Yes. I said it. I don't want that storyline touched. I like them together in their own universe, with so many stories left untold and possibilities left to the imagination. The Doctor can't be with Rose forever, and in a way, he is as much as he can be. I'm content to leave it that way.
Things I want:
Someone important to actually die. There's a lot of foreshadowing of death on this show and usually, there's some cop out. Rose is on the list of the dead. Donna didn't die, just lost her memories. Maybe this is twisted, but I want some consequences, and I don't mean the Doctor's regeneration.
More evil OM NOM NOM.
Most of all: more quiet time with the Doctor. That may be hard to do, but more of what we saw with the conversations with Wilf and the Master would be excellent.
I don't want Tennant to go.