Moon Reviews Something. Poorly.
I recently finally saw series 5 of Doctor Who in its entirety. So, I thought I'd do a li'l review with my thoughts. First off, Matt Smith. Really liking him as the new Doctor. I've pretty much liked all the doctors for the way they play the role. Eccleston laid the framework for the new series, got people into it again, Tennant got the zany/nerdy thing going and got the cutie face to bring in the fangirls, and Smith brings that up to...well...eleven. :3
So, episode-by-episode:
-The Eleventh Hour: This was a solid first episode for a new Doctor. It showed the different points of his personality, and also demonstrated what the new guy can do. Tennant's first episode was spent out of commission for most of it, but Smith comes out swinging. No TARDIS, no screwdriver, 20 minutes to save the world. No problem. I will take umbrage with one thing. BACON IS FUCKING AMAZING. HOW DARE HE THROW IT OUT. D: I liked the reveal of grown-up Amy, even though I knew who she was from watching the episodes out of order and general internet stuff. Just two lines, really, and you understand what happened. The villain was sufficiently creepifying. Weeping Angels, Vashta Nerada, and now Prisoner Zero. Moffat just seems to know how to make a fucked up monster that will terrify you and not let you sleep. Anybody who has a big house with closets in out-of-the-way places probably went to check them all, then jump at every movement they catch from the corner of the eye. You never know, you might have a eel-piranha serial killer alien hiding in there.
-The Beast Below: If the first episode was Matt Smith's, this one was Karen Gillan's. It shows us from nearly the beginning what sort of character she is. I'm liking the trend of companions taking more initiative. I can't really remember Rose ever doing much on her own. Martha seemed a bit along for the ride too sometimes, but she had a few bits where I could see why the Doctor liked her. Donna was out of her league on a lot of things, but she had the most going for her when it came to thinking up ideas that ended up solving things and generally keeping Ten on his toes. Now we have Amy, who is arguably more ..."together" than the Doctor, who can be spazzy and single-minded. I liked the fact that it was her who figured things out and acted on it herself. Eleven was impressed, and so was I. Plus she's a hot Scottish ginger, so squee. :3 This was also a first evidence with the new Doc of the series-spanning theme of the doctor being kinda emo. The Doctor meets an entity somewhat similar to himself, and rather than let him live in pain and loneliness decides to kill him, echoing, I think, what he would want for himself were the tables turned. But the Star Whale is more like the Doctor than he thought: "all that pain and loneliness, and all it did was make him kind". I nearly lost it at that. Plus I just can't deal with plots involving animal abuse very well to begin with.
-Victory of the Daleks: This one was a mixed bag. On the one hand it had two of the most epic Dalek-related bits I've ever seen. "WOULD YOU CARE FOR SOME TEA?" Tea-serving Daleks and Eleven beating one up with a wrench. I loved that. But then we get the Angry Skittles. They've grown on me since then and I can tolerate them if I remind myself that they're the unique Daleks and the grunts probably won't be rainbow-flavored. I liked the dichotomy set up between what the Doctor thought exemplified being "alive" versus what Amy thought. Being in pain versus being in love. This is the framework of a few things that I think will carry through a lot of the series with Eleven: The Doctor on some level hates himself, and Rory is the best thing in Amy's life. This was also the first open clue that "something is very wrong about Amy". Plus, fighter plane battle in space. Oh my god. :D
-The Time of Angels/ Flesh and Stone: The Weeping Angels are back and creepier than ever. FFFFFUUUU-! This one stood out as River's first episode with the new Doctor. There was that bit where she lands the TARDIS without it making the noise. That's either a throwaway, or a clue as to who or what she really is. (I actually can't remember if the TARDIS is making the noise when she's piloting it in The Pandorica Opens, but it was too busy exploding anyway...) Something about her in that Little Black Dress getup makes me think of Lady Gaga. I don't know what it is. Probably the futuristic/retro thing she's got going on. It was a good intro to the whole greater River mystery, and a good scary thriller. The Angels are really just my most favorite villains for the creepy factor now. And I love the Doctor even more for the way he fearlessly mocks them. "I made him say 'comfy chairs' :D" Even then, they are so creepy. Just imagining a monster that can't be killed, can "kill" you with a touch, can reanimate your consciousness, and infect your mind to turn you into one of them, and the only way to fight them is to deny a natural reaction. The Daleks aren't that scary, in comparison. Daleks are just emotionless contempt, pretty much. They're going to kill you because you're not them, period. Angels are sadistic. They play with their victims to make them afraid because they think it's funny. And sometimes they let you live with the life they leave you with. Chills. Also, a bit of Fridge Horror for you all: "That which holds the image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel." This goes for your TVs and computers. Don't blink. >:3
-The Vampires of Venice: This was pretty much just Rory's intro episode, to me. We get to see him doing something other than follow after Amy wondering what the fuck is going on. It's shown a bit in the first episode with him taking pictures of the "coma patients". This is also the first bit of him proving he's the guy for Amy. Not many people have stood up against the Doctor with the intensity he did and walked away. He also calls the Doctor out on one of his most subversive traits. People try harder to be "worthy" of him, taking unnecessary risks. The darker side of "the man who makes people better". I also loved how the Doctor was flailing about how cool the "vampires" were. And him flashing his library card instead of the Psychic Paper. I loved the little detail that it was a picture of the First Doctor. It was a nice tie-in, and a reminder to anyone who had come in on Tennant that the character has been played by a lot of other actors before him. Fangirls can be awesome and make great fan pics, but they can also be scary when it comes to the "not MY Doctor" shit. Anyone who stopped watching because Ten left is missing out on an amazing piece of TV. My only gripe is with the stock bird noises after the storm is stopped and the overly done cheering. That bit would have been better without that, I think.
-Amy's Choice: This episode sort of stands on its own for me in terms of where it is in the time line, (aside from the fact that it's the only one with all three in the same place, Rory being either on Earth, dead, or plastic in the other episodes), but that's probably because it technically is set entirely in the TARDIS. The episode has a lot of little threads that tie in with everything else. First and foremost, it proves beyond any doubt that Amy and Rory are OTP. "How can it be real if he's not here? If this is real, then I don't want it." Again, nearly lost it. I think that sentiment rings true to anyone who's lost someone that close to them. Also, another subtle "the Doctor hates himself" bit. His line "There's only one person who hates me as much as you do" to the Dreamlord, paired with his explanation that the Dreamlord was himself. It took me a visit to TV Tropes to realize that one. Also probably foreshadowing of the Valeyard I guess.
-The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood: I'm pretty sure the Silurians are my favorite race from this series now. The fact that they're not aliens and they are technically not "invading" makes them deeper than whatever monster of the week is terrorizing the countryside. I liked it that this time, there is no clear enemy, really, as both sides have their goods and bads. Well, no clear enemy, besides racism. I can't really comment on more than that. It is what it is, what happens is what happens. Two peoples with equal claim to the planet who are equally in the wrong and in the right clash. Wacky hijinks and manslaughter ensue. All throughout it, I was hoping "please let this end well", then the lizard girl gets tazed and I'm all "Fuck." I had watched the episodes out of order, so I knew Rory wasn't going to stay dead, but it still seemed kind of off. It was like "OK, he got melted in the other episode, so what's going on here? Is this for real-real or for play-play?" And then he comes back as a Ken doll so I guess it was for play-play. I liked the ending bit with the Doctor talking to the mother. Really brought up the fact that he's been a grandfather, even though he doesn't look like it now.
-Vincent and the Doctor: My only real commentary is on the ending. I bawled. ;_; As an artist myself, I was right there with Vincent as he watched everyone in the museum looking at the art. His art. His art that in his own time, is completely disregarded. I think every unappreciated artist has had that sort of fantasy at one time or another. That feeling of vindication that comes from the thought that "this is my life's work, and people like it. People get it." Also, when he was describing how he sees the world, I pretty much just "got it". I liked how it was handled and delivered. And the part where the night sky starts turning into Starry Night was just...WOW. Visual effects. You're doin' it right. Then the nature of the monster got to me a bit. Abandoned, blind, lashing out simply because of its nature. Its final words being an admittance of fear kinda kicked me in the crotch a little. Plus this was a "animal being hurt" thing too, a little.
There was also the humor bits, which were well appreciated in an episode as goddamn depressing as this one.
-The Lodger: Ignoring the wackiness in the episode for a bit, this one was surprisingly plot-intensive. That is, unless the proto-TARDIS was a gigantic asspull. My personal theory on it was that a piece of the TARDIS from the explosion fell back in time through the crack we see in the apartment and started growing there. The reason it grabbed the Doctor as a "suitable pilot" was because it recognized him, but it wasn't "fully grown" yet so wouldn't be able to handle him. TARDISes also have perception filters and holographic projectors so there's more evidence towards that. If this is true, then this episode might have been the first episode to feature a TARDIS without its Chameleon Circuit active.
About the plot. The new Doctor seems to have a better time of dealing with humans, even if he's more eccentric. Hell, Ten nearly got thrown out of an airlock because he couldn't get anyone to trust him. I guess Ten was just in the wrong place on the Uncanny Valley. Not human enough, not alien enough. There is very obviously something off about Eleven. It's endearing to the other characters, and when the weird shit starts happening, I think it makes it easier for them to accept it. Desensitized, I guess. The psychic headbutt probably helped too. ...I just now noticed, it looks similar to what the Master did to Ten. I guess it doesn't have to be as forceful with other Time Lords? :P
-The Pandorica Opens: Life in plastic! It's fantastic! Come on Rory let's go party ah-ah-ah-yeah! :D This episode had a certain level of epic to it. Everyone the Doctor has ever screwed over makes an appearance, Rory is back as a Ken doll, and we get more River. Moffat seems to like having the Doctor give lots of "don't fuck with me" speeches. He gave one to the Vashta Nerada, the Atraxi, and the Angels, and it's interesting to see one where it ultimately goes wrong. His swaggering had the exact opposite effect in that he pretty much just got up there and said "I'm the Doctor. I'm here to fuck you up. All your worst fears about me are true, and more." It might signal a rethinking of the "I'm the fucking Doctor" speeches. Kinda hope not, those are great. It also raises the question of what kind of species could build something like the Pandorica. I personally think it's a collaboration based on Atraxi prison cells. That Restoration Field looks like what they used to catch Prisoner Zero. The episode was a good first part to the finale. It starts off, you're thinking "oh, he's gonna fight everybody" but then everyone shows up and just kinda stands there. They've won. The Doc is beaten and he's seemingly trapped forever. And then every single star in the universe explodes, Amy is shot, River is stuck in a continuously exploding TARDIS, and you're left wondering how this can possibly be resolved.
-The Big Bang: This is where things get complicated... And how. The universe is saved simply because it was possible for it to be. The Doctor is able to go back in time to get himself out of the Pandorica, because he had gone back in time to get himself out of the Pandorica... Everything the Doctor did was in reaction to what his future selves had done, but for them to do that, he would have had to know what to do already, and...I still don't quite understand it all, so I'm just gonna comment on River making the Dalek lick her boots and call her Mistress. Who the fuck are you, River Song??? Not even the Oncoming Storm can make a freaking Dalek shit itself with fear like that. Series 6 better make her measure up to her hype. I liked the tie in to previous episodes, like with the scene in Flesh and Stone. Also the marriage rhyme being tied to the TARDIS. That was awesome. "old, new, borrowed, blue"... I never thought about that.
And now, let us pause to mourn the lose of a beloved character. ...The Fez. RIP Fez ;_;
-A Christmas Carol: "I'm sorry. I saw a chimney on Christmas Eve and my brain just went what the hell." I really, really liked this. It was just an incredibly fun story. Unlike previous Christmas Specials, it actually had something to do with Christmas. And wasn't some big important peril. It had enough danger to make it exciting but the danger wasn't the main focus. In the previous episode, the Doctor was pretty much along for the ride when it came to all the crazy timey-wimey going on, but this time he gets to orchestrate it all. My favorite funny bit has to be when he tries to convince Young!Kasran that he's a "responsible adult". Even the Psychic Paper calls bullshit. The Christmas Eve Montages were funny, and The Fez even makes an appearance. Plus, flying shark. OMG. "You humans. You always pick the boring way to do things." You could have flying sharks as pets!
So, episode-by-episode:
-The Eleventh Hour: This was a solid first episode for a new Doctor. It showed the different points of his personality, and also demonstrated what the new guy can do. Tennant's first episode was spent out of commission for most of it, but Smith comes out swinging. No TARDIS, no screwdriver, 20 minutes to save the world. No problem. I will take umbrage with one thing. BACON IS FUCKING AMAZING. HOW DARE HE THROW IT OUT. D: I liked the reveal of grown-up Amy, even though I knew who she was from watching the episodes out of order and general internet stuff. Just two lines, really, and you understand what happened. The villain was sufficiently creepifying. Weeping Angels, Vashta Nerada, and now Prisoner Zero. Moffat just seems to know how to make a fucked up monster that will terrify you and not let you sleep. Anybody who has a big house with closets in out-of-the-way places probably went to check them all, then jump at every movement they catch from the corner of the eye. You never know, you might have a eel-piranha serial killer alien hiding in there.
-The Beast Below: If the first episode was Matt Smith's, this one was Karen Gillan's. It shows us from nearly the beginning what sort of character she is. I'm liking the trend of companions taking more initiative. I can't really remember Rose ever doing much on her own. Martha seemed a bit along for the ride too sometimes, but she had a few bits where I could see why the Doctor liked her. Donna was out of her league on a lot of things, but she had the most going for her when it came to thinking up ideas that ended up solving things and generally keeping Ten on his toes. Now we have Amy, who is arguably more ..."together" than the Doctor, who can be spazzy and single-minded. I liked the fact that it was her who figured things out and acted on it herself. Eleven was impressed, and so was I. Plus she's a hot Scottish ginger, so squee. :3 This was also a first evidence with the new Doc of the series-spanning theme of the doctor being kinda emo. The Doctor meets an entity somewhat similar to himself, and rather than let him live in pain and loneliness decides to kill him, echoing, I think, what he would want for himself were the tables turned. But the Star Whale is more like the Doctor than he thought: "all that pain and loneliness, and all it did was make him kind". I nearly lost it at that. Plus I just can't deal with plots involving animal abuse very well to begin with.
-Victory of the Daleks: This one was a mixed bag. On the one hand it had two of the most epic Dalek-related bits I've ever seen. "WOULD YOU CARE FOR SOME TEA?" Tea-serving Daleks and Eleven beating one up with a wrench. I loved that. But then we get the Angry Skittles. They've grown on me since then and I can tolerate them if I remind myself that they're the unique Daleks and the grunts probably won't be rainbow-flavored. I liked the dichotomy set up between what the Doctor thought exemplified being "alive" versus what Amy thought. Being in pain versus being in love. This is the framework of a few things that I think will carry through a lot of the series with Eleven: The Doctor on some level hates himself, and Rory is the best thing in Amy's life. This was also the first open clue that "something is very wrong about Amy". Plus, fighter plane battle in space. Oh my god. :D
-The Time of Angels/ Flesh and Stone: The Weeping Angels are back and creepier than ever. FFFFFUUUU-! This one stood out as River's first episode with the new Doctor. There was that bit where she lands the TARDIS without it making the noise. That's either a throwaway, or a clue as to who or what she really is. (I actually can't remember if the TARDIS is making the noise when she's piloting it in The Pandorica Opens, but it was too busy exploding anyway...) Something about her in that Little Black Dress getup makes me think of Lady Gaga. I don't know what it is. Probably the futuristic/retro thing she's got going on. It was a good intro to the whole greater River mystery, and a good scary thriller. The Angels are really just my most favorite villains for the creepy factor now. And I love the Doctor even more for the way he fearlessly mocks them. "I made him say 'comfy chairs' :D" Even then, they are so creepy. Just imagining a monster that can't be killed, can "kill" you with a touch, can reanimate your consciousness, and infect your mind to turn you into one of them, and the only way to fight them is to deny a natural reaction. The Daleks aren't that scary, in comparison. Daleks are just emotionless contempt, pretty much. They're going to kill you because you're not them, period. Angels are sadistic. They play with their victims to make them afraid because they think it's funny. And sometimes they let you live with the life they leave you with. Chills. Also, a bit of Fridge Horror for you all: "That which holds the image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel." This goes for your TVs and computers. Don't blink. >:3
-The Vampires of Venice: This was pretty much just Rory's intro episode, to me. We get to see him doing something other than follow after Amy wondering what the fuck is going on. It's shown a bit in the first episode with him taking pictures of the "coma patients". This is also the first bit of him proving he's the guy for Amy. Not many people have stood up against the Doctor with the intensity he did and walked away. He also calls the Doctor out on one of his most subversive traits. People try harder to be "worthy" of him, taking unnecessary risks. The darker side of "the man who makes people better". I also loved how the Doctor was flailing about how cool the "vampires" were. And him flashing his library card instead of the Psychic Paper. I loved the little detail that it was a picture of the First Doctor. It was a nice tie-in, and a reminder to anyone who had come in on Tennant that the character has been played by a lot of other actors before him. Fangirls can be awesome and make great fan pics, but they can also be scary when it comes to the "not MY Doctor" shit. Anyone who stopped watching because Ten left is missing out on an amazing piece of TV. My only gripe is with the stock bird noises after the storm is stopped and the overly done cheering. That bit would have been better without that, I think.
-Amy's Choice: This episode sort of stands on its own for me in terms of where it is in the time line, (aside from the fact that it's the only one with all three in the same place, Rory being either on Earth, dead, or plastic in the other episodes), but that's probably because it technically is set entirely in the TARDIS. The episode has a lot of little threads that tie in with everything else. First and foremost, it proves beyond any doubt that Amy and Rory are OTP. "How can it be real if he's not here? If this is real, then I don't want it." Again, nearly lost it. I think that sentiment rings true to anyone who's lost someone that close to them. Also, another subtle "the Doctor hates himself" bit. His line "There's only one person who hates me as much as you do" to the Dreamlord, paired with his explanation that the Dreamlord was himself. It took me a visit to TV Tropes to realize that one. Also probably foreshadowing of the Valeyard I guess.
-The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood: I'm pretty sure the Silurians are my favorite race from this series now. The fact that they're not aliens and they are technically not "invading" makes them deeper than whatever monster of the week is terrorizing the countryside. I liked it that this time, there is no clear enemy, really, as both sides have their goods and bads. Well, no clear enemy, besides racism. I can't really comment on more than that. It is what it is, what happens is what happens. Two peoples with equal claim to the planet who are equally in the wrong and in the right clash. Wacky hijinks and manslaughter ensue. All throughout it, I was hoping "please let this end well", then the lizard girl gets tazed and I'm all "Fuck." I had watched the episodes out of order, so I knew Rory wasn't going to stay dead, but it still seemed kind of off. It was like "OK, he got melted in the other episode, so what's going on here? Is this for real-real or for play-play?" And then he comes back as a Ken doll so I guess it was for play-play. I liked the ending bit with the Doctor talking to the mother. Really brought up the fact that he's been a grandfather, even though he doesn't look like it now.
-Vincent and the Doctor: My only real commentary is on the ending. I bawled. ;_; As an artist myself, I was right there with Vincent as he watched everyone in the museum looking at the art. His art. His art that in his own time, is completely disregarded. I think every unappreciated artist has had that sort of fantasy at one time or another. That feeling of vindication that comes from the thought that "this is my life's work, and people like it. People get it." Also, when he was describing how he sees the world, I pretty much just "got it". I liked how it was handled and delivered. And the part where the night sky starts turning into Starry Night was just...WOW. Visual effects. You're doin' it right. Then the nature of the monster got to me a bit. Abandoned, blind, lashing out simply because of its nature. Its final words being an admittance of fear kinda kicked me in the crotch a little. Plus this was a "animal being hurt" thing too, a little.
There was also the humor bits, which were well appreciated in an episode as goddamn depressing as this one.
-The Lodger: Ignoring the wackiness in the episode for a bit, this one was surprisingly plot-intensive. That is, unless the proto-TARDIS was a gigantic asspull. My personal theory on it was that a piece of the TARDIS from the explosion fell back in time through the crack we see in the apartment and started growing there. The reason it grabbed the Doctor as a "suitable pilot" was because it recognized him, but it wasn't "fully grown" yet so wouldn't be able to handle him. TARDISes also have perception filters and holographic projectors so there's more evidence towards that. If this is true, then this episode might have been the first episode to feature a TARDIS without its Chameleon Circuit active.
About the plot. The new Doctor seems to have a better time of dealing with humans, even if he's more eccentric. Hell, Ten nearly got thrown out of an airlock because he couldn't get anyone to trust him. I guess Ten was just in the wrong place on the Uncanny Valley. Not human enough, not alien enough. There is very obviously something off about Eleven. It's endearing to the other characters, and when the weird shit starts happening, I think it makes it easier for them to accept it. Desensitized, I guess. The psychic headbutt probably helped too. ...I just now noticed, it looks similar to what the Master did to Ten. I guess it doesn't have to be as forceful with other Time Lords? :P
-The Pandorica Opens: Life in plastic! It's fantastic! Come on Rory let's go party ah-ah-ah-yeah! :D This episode had a certain level of epic to it. Everyone the Doctor has ever screwed over makes an appearance, Rory is back as a Ken doll, and we get more River. Moffat seems to like having the Doctor give lots of "don't fuck with me" speeches. He gave one to the Vashta Nerada, the Atraxi, and the Angels, and it's interesting to see one where it ultimately goes wrong. His swaggering had the exact opposite effect in that he pretty much just got up there and said "I'm the Doctor. I'm here to fuck you up. All your worst fears about me are true, and more." It might signal a rethinking of the "I'm the fucking Doctor" speeches. Kinda hope not, those are great. It also raises the question of what kind of species could build something like the Pandorica. I personally think it's a collaboration based on Atraxi prison cells. That Restoration Field looks like what they used to catch Prisoner Zero. The episode was a good first part to the finale. It starts off, you're thinking "oh, he's gonna fight everybody" but then everyone shows up and just kinda stands there. They've won. The Doc is beaten and he's seemingly trapped forever. And then every single star in the universe explodes, Amy is shot, River is stuck in a continuously exploding TARDIS, and you're left wondering how this can possibly be resolved.
-The Big Bang: This is where things get complicated... And how. The universe is saved simply because it was possible for it to be. The Doctor is able to go back in time to get himself out of the Pandorica, because he had gone back in time to get himself out of the Pandorica... Everything the Doctor did was in reaction to what his future selves had done, but for them to do that, he would have had to know what to do already, and...I still don't quite understand it all, so I'm just gonna comment on River making the Dalek lick her boots and call her Mistress. Who the fuck are you, River Song??? Not even the Oncoming Storm can make a freaking Dalek shit itself with fear like that. Series 6 better make her measure up to her hype. I liked the tie in to previous episodes, like with the scene in Flesh and Stone. Also the marriage rhyme being tied to the TARDIS. That was awesome. "old, new, borrowed, blue"... I never thought about that.
And now, let us pause to mourn the lose of a beloved character. ...The Fez. RIP Fez ;_;
-A Christmas Carol: "I'm sorry. I saw a chimney on Christmas Eve and my brain just went what the hell." I really, really liked this. It was just an incredibly fun story. Unlike previous Christmas Specials, it actually had something to do with Christmas. And wasn't some big important peril. It had enough danger to make it exciting but the danger wasn't the main focus. In the previous episode, the Doctor was pretty much along for the ride when it came to all the crazy timey-wimey going on, but this time he gets to orchestrate it all. My favorite funny bit has to be when he tries to convince Young!Kasran that he's a "responsible adult". Even the Psychic Paper calls bullshit. The Christmas Eve Montages were funny, and The Fez even makes an appearance. Plus, flying shark. OMG. "You humans. You always pick the boring way to do things." You could have flying sharks as pets!