All right, just got back from watching the episode LOVE AND MONSTERS...
...and it was pretty good! :D Loved it. :)
So, on the sickness front, we're still in Sick City, although I'm better than I was, and my mom's boss was nice to her at work (especially considering that she and the boss aren't on the best of terms). My brother actually fell asleep during the episode (although I think it was just because he was tired, more than anything else) so I missed some of his commentary (honestly, watching something on one's own is great, but there's something about watching it with other people that's amazing). My mom was good enough to do so, though, e.g. her mocking how LINDA seemed so quick to trust Victor Kennedy and do what he says. And to be fair, I definitely see her point. I don't entirely agree, but...y'know. :)
Anyway, what did I like about the episode? Well, for one thing, I loved the characters. I loved Elton, for one thing -- he was very endearing. As were just about everyone else in LINDA, such as Bliss, Mr. Skinner (he was one of my favorites, really), Ursula (another favorite), and Bridget (another favorite). I loved the little touches in the episode, like Mr. Skinner reading his novel-in-progress aloud (I just love the protests as well from the others when he does the whole "To Be Continued" thing; it's just so adorable and funny. XD), as well as them doing the music thing and such, talking about their family (and poor Bridget. :( ). I know Nash's review of "Love and Monsters" criticized it for not being a typical DOCTOR WHO episode (amongst other things, but I'll be addressing that shortly) but I think that was the point -- to sort of show a different side to the show, and even do a bit of meta while one's at it. And I think it did it well, for what it's worth.
As for Victor Kennedy himself...yeah, unlike some of RTD's other villains, which have a degree of motivation or charm to them, there really is no defending Victor Kennedy. He has some funny moments, but let's just say he's a scumbag. I think the worst part of him is...well, I had the misfortune to know someone like him once. A friend I've long parted ways with. And a friend I hadn't wanted to part ways with, but...yeah. Let's say that some of what Victor was doing in the episode, bossing other people around and such...while he didn't come as close as Victor did, he could occasionally get...well, scary. For example, expressing a desire to have an old woman's head on a pike -- basically -- for accidentally ruining an old painting. Yeah...it is the Internet, I assume, but it doesn't make it any less frightening. I guess I shouldn't be foistering my personal issues into this, but Victor reminded me so much of that person that it was kind of frightening. And I guess the episode as a whole teaches a sort of Aesop about fandom -- fandom's about having fun, not making others conform to your vision of how things should go. After all, the little details, the little arguments about continuity? Sometimes they can be significant, but most of the time, fandom's about having fun. About meeting people, meta, fan works, things like that...and it really is beautiful when one sees it that way, I think. It really is.
There's been some speculation that the Absorbaloff (yes, that's the name of the monster) was based off Ian Levine. I can't say whether or not he was, but I think it would put an interesting spin on things, i.e. the Absorbaloff's character being based slightly on how some might have felt about Levine, at least at times. (He also called Eccleston "lower than a cockroach" for leaving the series. Yep... :/) And the Absorbaloff itself...I will confess, back when I was working on my NaNo last year, I actually had a nightmare about that thing. I will report that no, it has not lost its impact: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgwcmvRlMO1qc7n7h.jpg. I think I might have jokes with my mom about him coming directly out of R.L. Stine's nightmares. (Yeah, I read GOOSEBUMPS as a kid. Ah, the memories... :) It doesn't help that I'm really squeamish regarding Body Horror, and the Abzorbaloff hit that to a T. Seriously, there are fucking *faces* in its skin, and the people are still very much alive. Holy shit! D: And it definitely helps explain the don't-get-too-close-to-me thing -- he didn't want to blow his cover yet. (Although one could argue that you're not doing a good job keeping your cover already, Victor. :P) And why he needed LINDA -- after all, he wants to be able to absorb the Doctor's knowledge. How better a way than to get a Doctor fan club to do his bidding? Add in Elton's utter confusion over the Doctor and what he was doing in his house the night his mother died, and the Absorbaloff's got the perfect loyal minions, and the fact they don't realize it, all the better for him. I think what I like about the idea most is the fact that LINDA...they're just nice, ordinary people who were manipulated into this. And it sort of ties into this sort of theme, of sorts, Davies has...the sort of "we could have been happy if not for this ugly thing that interfered with our lives" thing (for example, the Master). It's beautifully offset by Elton trying to stay positive (although it kind of hurts all the more. There's also the thing with Ursula, but I'll get there in a moment), but it's there nonetheless. I'll confess that it's something I have in my writing -- the "we could have been happy" thing. Usually as a sort of part of my villains; I don't know what that says about me. But I digress. I also like how, in a way, the episode shows that the Doctor isn't always perfect. In the end, LINDA has to find a way to stop the Abzorbaloff by literally fighting from the inside. There's a price to pay, of course, but nonetheless...well, I think it has a point. Sort of a way of showing that the Doctor is a wonderful, amazing man, but he's not God. Hell, even trying to restore Ursula, he can't just wave the sonic screwdriver like a magic wand and make it all okay. Although I will admit, it's still quite...well, I'll admit it raises questions. There's been something suggested by Davies himself that says, basically, that Elton...well, he's kind of an Unreliable Narrator. Which I think makes sense. Although it does make the end of the episode more depressing than it already is. The idea of Elton being so stricken with grief that he has to imagine the idea of Ursula being there with him somehow...yeah, that's pretty bloody depressing. Here's a picture of Captain Picard: http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/250x250/33448732.jpg.
As for other stuff I liked? Well, the beginning with Rose and the Doctor was really cute. I loved the Doctor trying to lure the beast in question with a juicy steak (just... *giggles*), and the "You said blue!" "I said not blue!" thing -- that was hilarious. XD And while on occasion it got to Really Uncomfortable on the uncomfortable scale, Jackie's interactions with Elton were cute. Which really made it all the more sucky (heh) when things blew up in both their faces. Although I loved Jackie's speech as well. It's really one of those moments I love Jackie Tyler. I also love how we got to see more of Jackie that we hadn't seen before -- she may be more accepting of the Doctor than she used to be, but it doesn't make the time Rose is away from her any less difficult. I also liked Elton coming up with the name for his club, realizing he was in love with Ursula (even though things still went to shit), etc. And I liked Rose's initial ire towards Elton (seriously, when you get down to it, Rose really does love her mum) -- it felt very human and believable. And later, her comforting Elton after the mess is over. And I also loved Elton's speech near the end -- the whole "so much madder and so much better" thing. Because it's very true. And one of those few times in terms of delivering a...semi-moral message without being painfully obvious, because it felt like it was growing organically from the story. I think that's what I love most about this episode; the characters are very believable and very human, and I think that's definitely the core of it. After all, if one doesn't care about your characters, why would they give a damn?
So overall? Pretty good episode. I can understand where others may dislike it, but for the most part? I recommend it. :)
So, on the sickness front, we're still in Sick City, although I'm better than I was, and my mom's boss was nice to her at work (especially considering that she and the boss aren't on the best of terms). My brother actually fell asleep during the episode (although I think it was just because he was tired, more than anything else) so I missed some of his commentary (honestly, watching something on one's own is great, but there's something about watching it with other people that's amazing). My mom was good enough to do so, though, e.g. her mocking how LINDA seemed so quick to trust Victor Kennedy and do what he says. And to be fair, I definitely see her point. I don't entirely agree, but...y'know. :)
Anyway, what did I like about the episode? Well, for one thing, I loved the characters. I loved Elton, for one thing -- he was very endearing. As were just about everyone else in LINDA, such as Bliss, Mr. Skinner (he was one of my favorites, really), Ursula (another favorite), and Bridget (another favorite). I loved the little touches in the episode, like Mr. Skinner reading his novel-in-progress aloud (I just love the protests as well from the others when he does the whole "To Be Continued" thing; it's just so adorable and funny. XD), as well as them doing the music thing and such, talking about their family (and poor Bridget. :( ). I know Nash's review of "Love and Monsters" criticized it for not being a typical DOCTOR WHO episode (amongst other things, but I'll be addressing that shortly) but I think that was the point -- to sort of show a different side to the show, and even do a bit of meta while one's at it. And I think it did it well, for what it's worth.
As for Victor Kennedy himself...yeah, unlike some of RTD's other villains, which have a degree of motivation or charm to them, there really is no defending Victor Kennedy. He has some funny moments, but let's just say he's a scumbag. I think the worst part of him is...well, I had the misfortune to know someone like him once. A friend I've long parted ways with. And a friend I hadn't wanted to part ways with, but...yeah. Let's say that some of what Victor was doing in the episode, bossing other people around and such...while he didn't come as close as Victor did, he could occasionally get...well, scary. For example, expressing a desire to have an old woman's head on a pike -- basically -- for accidentally ruining an old painting. Yeah...it is the Internet, I assume, but it doesn't make it any less frightening. I guess I shouldn't be foistering my personal issues into this, but Victor reminded me so much of that person that it was kind of frightening. And I guess the episode as a whole teaches a sort of Aesop about fandom -- fandom's about having fun, not making others conform to your vision of how things should go. After all, the little details, the little arguments about continuity? Sometimes they can be significant, but most of the time, fandom's about having fun. About meeting people, meta, fan works, things like that...and it really is beautiful when one sees it that way, I think. It really is.
There's been some speculation that the Absorbaloff (yes, that's the name of the monster) was based off Ian Levine. I can't say whether or not he was, but I think it would put an interesting spin on things, i.e. the Absorbaloff's character being based slightly on how some might have felt about Levine, at least at times. (He also called Eccleston "lower than a cockroach" for leaving the series. Yep... :/) And the Absorbaloff itself...I will confess, back when I was working on my NaNo last year, I actually had a nightmare about that thing. I will report that no, it has not lost its impact: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgwcmvRlMO1qc7n7h.jpg. I think I might have jokes with my mom about him coming directly out of R.L. Stine's nightmares. (Yeah, I read GOOSEBUMPS as a kid. Ah, the memories... :) It doesn't help that I'm really squeamish regarding Body Horror, and the Abzorbaloff hit that to a T. Seriously, there are fucking *faces* in its skin, and the people are still very much alive. Holy shit! D: And it definitely helps explain the don't-get-too-close-to-me thing -- he didn't want to blow his cover yet. (Although one could argue that you're not doing a good job keeping your cover already, Victor. :P) And why he needed LINDA -- after all, he wants to be able to absorb the Doctor's knowledge. How better a way than to get a Doctor fan club to do his bidding? Add in Elton's utter confusion over the Doctor and what he was doing in his house the night his mother died, and the Absorbaloff's got the perfect loyal minions, and the fact they don't realize it, all the better for him. I think what I like about the idea most is the fact that LINDA...they're just nice, ordinary people who were manipulated into this. And it sort of ties into this sort of theme, of sorts, Davies has...the sort of "we could have been happy if not for this ugly thing that interfered with our lives" thing (for example, the Master). It's beautifully offset by Elton trying to stay positive (although it kind of hurts all the more. There's also the thing with Ursula, but I'll get there in a moment), but it's there nonetheless. I'll confess that it's something I have in my writing -- the "we could have been happy" thing. Usually as a sort of part of my villains; I don't know what that says about me. But I digress. I also like how, in a way, the episode shows that the Doctor isn't always perfect. In the end, LINDA has to find a way to stop the Abzorbaloff by literally fighting from the inside. There's a price to pay, of course, but nonetheless...well, I think it has a point. Sort of a way of showing that the Doctor is a wonderful, amazing man, but he's not God. Hell, even trying to restore Ursula, he can't just wave the sonic screwdriver like a magic wand and make it all okay. Although I will admit, it's still quite...well, I'll admit it raises questions. There's been something suggested by Davies himself that says, basically, that Elton...well, he's kind of an Unreliable Narrator. Which I think makes sense. Although it does make the end of the episode more depressing than it already is. The idea of Elton being so stricken with grief that he has to imagine the idea of Ursula being there with him somehow...yeah, that's pretty bloody depressing. Here's a picture of Captain Picard: http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/250x250/33448732.jpg.
As for other stuff I liked? Well, the beginning with Rose and the Doctor was really cute. I loved the Doctor trying to lure the beast in question with a juicy steak (just... *giggles*), and the "You said blue!" "I said not blue!" thing -- that was hilarious. XD And while on occasion it got to Really Uncomfortable on the uncomfortable scale, Jackie's interactions with Elton were cute. Which really made it all the more sucky (heh) when things blew up in both their faces. Although I loved Jackie's speech as well. It's really one of those moments I love Jackie Tyler. I also love how we got to see more of Jackie that we hadn't seen before -- she may be more accepting of the Doctor than she used to be, but it doesn't make the time Rose is away from her any less difficult. I also liked Elton coming up with the name for his club, realizing he was in love with Ursula (even though things still went to shit), etc. And I liked Rose's initial ire towards Elton (seriously, when you get down to it, Rose really does love her mum) -- it felt very human and believable. And later, her comforting Elton after the mess is over. And I also loved Elton's speech near the end -- the whole "so much madder and so much better" thing. Because it's very true. And one of those few times in terms of delivering a...semi-moral message without being painfully obvious, because it felt like it was growing organically from the story. I think that's what I love most about this episode; the characters are very believable and very human, and I think that's definitely the core of it. After all, if one doesn't care about your characters, why would they give a damn?
So overall? Pretty good episode. I can understand where others may dislike it, but for the most part? I recommend it. :)