So, got back from watching PLANET OF THE DEAD and THE WATERS OF MARS.

[ladyhadhafang]

You know how I said going from "The Doctor's Daughter" to "The Unicorn And The Wasp" was quite the exercise in Mood Whiplash? Same here. I mean, for "Planet of the Dead" you got this really honestly fun special with a really hopeful ending, and for "The Waters of Mars"... *Sighs* Three words: Time Lord Victorious. Do I need to say anything else

Comments

[jackdavfan692]

"Planet Of the Dead" was actually my least favorite of the four specials. I had a very "Meh" reaction to it, but I still haven't figured out why :[. I don't know if it was because, IMO, Lady Christina seemed too flat/one-dimensional (I found the bus passengers far more interesting), and I never really saw a "spark" between her & Ten, or something else, but it just didn't work for me, unfortunately :[. *Shrugs*

I absolutely loved "The Waters Of Mars", though :). That and "The End Of Time" are my favorites of the four specials. *Nods* The "monsters" in this actually didn't scare me nearly as much as Ten did toward the end of the ep, though. It was definitely terrible to see the crew members turn into the monsters one by one, however, especially the woman you mentioned in your post. *Nods*
it didn't stop me (because I'm a fucking idiot, apparently) from going all, "Come back and save them, Doctor!" To which he popped back later, but...yeah, I kind of wished he didn't. :/
My reaction was pretty much exactly the same. On the one hand, I really wanted Ten to save them, for exactly the reason you mentioned (the various sounds as they were rushing to get out of the base before they were all drowned and taken over by the monsters made me really hope they could be saved), and because that's what the Doctor's supposed to do, but on the other, he really shouldn't have, because the destruction of the base & the death of the entire crew were part of a fixed point that could not be altered.

I also like how it was not the matter of saving people that was portrayed as a terrible thing...but the matter of taking it too far, as the Doctor did. Lines such as "The laws of time are mine and they will obey me!" and "We're fighting time itself and I'm gonna win!" -- I think the best part... is how they still manage to make the Doctor sound...well, like the Doctor and not like they randomly turned him into a raving lunatic for the sake of the plot.
Yeah, that whole sequence of him going from honestly wanting to help the crew to going completely off the deep end & losing it was just brilliant. *Nods* Major props to David Tennant for his acting and to RTD, or whoever wrote the ep, for his/her writing there.

What scared me the most about those last few minutes before Ten sees Ood Sigma and realizes the error of his ways was how cold and detached he seemed. There was a sort of chipper tone to his voice when he was talking, sure, but I heard an absolutely ice-cold edge to it, as well- Ten might as well have said, "How amazing am I? I might screw things up in the timeline a bit here & there, but you know what? I don't give a f**k! And besides, I can easily fix any problems I might have caused, because I can bend the laws of time & space to my will." *Shudder* It's no wonder Mia screamed in terror and ran off =[! I would have too, if I'd been in the presence of someone with that huge a god complex.
when he starts having visions of the Ood while he's all but kneeling in the snow outside the TARDIS -- it's there that "Time Lord Victorious" seems to fade and be replaced by naked feelings of fear, guilt, and a lot more.
Yeah, that moment was devastating. *Nods* Again, great acting and writing there.