Mama, just killed a man
So, maybe it's just me, but does anyone else notice that music is never included randomly in new school Doctor Who?
Okay, so maybe it's not that clear. Remember "End of the World?" You can't tell me that "Toxic" and "Tainted Love" are coincidences. No, they're perfect descriptions of some of the nuances of Rose's blossoming feelings for ten... and I daresay that "Tainted Love," played during the premiere episode ofthe Face of Boe, could be considered foreshadowing for Jack's being left behind in "The Parting of Ways." I'm not familiar enough with ELO's catalogue to really speak to what happened in "Love and Monsters," but I can speak about the music used in Season 3. "Voodoo Child" by the Rogue Traders is more than just "here come the drums, here come the drums!" It reflects a number of things going on in the episode, including the wacked out BS that's going on inside of Saxon's head and the twisted relationship between him and the Doctor. (Just calling him Saxon so I don't have to cut yet). And I'm sure I've missed other lyrical songs.
And then of course, there's the musical motifs for all the characters, like Rose's song, which has been being used to great effect during the latest season even where Rose isn't around. It was also done a bit in Season 1, using it when she wasn't around, like when the Doctor saved the day in "End of the World." Actually, it seems to come up any time things are sort of Bad Wolf-y. And then there's Donna's and Martha's themes, which aren't used half as well, especially not Donna's, not given what we found out on Saturday night.
So, "Turn Left" features an interesting moment of pop cultural infusion. At one point in the episode, some minor characters burst out into "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. ariastar mentioned this in a positive way, and that made me think a little more about it--I almost missed it, due to years of watching Wayne's World and being too busy WTFing at the episode. I have an idea.
So the gist of the incident, for the foregetful or spoiler prone, is that after the Titanic (fuckin max capricorn) blew up the whole South of England, the Nobles ended up relocated to Leeds and living with a stereotypical Italian family. Donna goes out to yell at them for making noise while she's trying to sleep, but finds that her Grandpa's singing with them. Somehow, Donna and Sylvia end up singing along with them, and the song they're singing is "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Now, perhaps this seems kind of random... And Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the sort of fundamental songs of Western Culture, I think. Everyone knows it, everyone loves it... It's sort of a staple. It unites parents and children, people all over... It's a classic, an agreed upon classic. I can't count the number of times I saw it on Wayne's World when I was just a little girl and wished that I knew the worlds or understood what was so magical about it, even though I could feel the magic. I remember so many times, going places in the car with my mom and singing along together, failing to match Queen but unashamed of our participation. At least over here, in the U.S., it's like a rite of passage. Part of the fabric of our culture. The presence of this scene in Doctor Who tells me it's probably the same over the U.K., with the song but... what does it mean?
It's a pretty straight, nearly literal application of the song, really. I mean, let's run through some of the lyrics, courtesy of The Magic Page.
Is this the real life, is this just fantasy
Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
An obvious statement on the weirdness of the Turn Rightiverse, but also an allusion to what the Doctor and Rose implied about how reality bends around Donna: "no escape from reality." Donna is reality, fantasy bends around her.
Open your eyes , look up to the skies and see
The scene is set roughly during the Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky.
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low
Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me
...to me
Donna's a temp, and before the Titanic blew up London, she lived a pretty carefree life. A lot like my one aunt, actually, but that's neither here nor there.
Mama, just killed a man, put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Donna's "choice" to turn Right essentially killed the Doctor. Apparently whoever Lance dosed in lieu of her wasn't that compelling, and died early or didn't challenge the Doctor. The Doctor didn't get pulled out of his rage.. and it's been suggested that he might even have let himself die. Still...
Mama oooh... Didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters
Essentially what Martha does in the normal universe, but with added meaning here, as she sacrifices herself at the point of divergence to ensure that she turns Left. The line also elicits some of the whole despair, "nothing we can do" attitude pervading the episode. "I'm just a temp!"
Too late, my time has come, sends shivers down my spine
Body's aching all the time
Goodbye everybody, I've got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama oooh (any way the wind blows)
I don't want to die, I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all
LOL LORRY.
I see a little silhouetto of a man
Rose, who's essentially become the Doctor?
Scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the Fandango
Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening me
Look at that entrance, folks.
Galileo (Galileo)
Galileo (Galileo)
Galileo figaro (Magnifico)
But I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me
He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
More of "Donna's just a temp," and she does get spared when London goes up.
Easy come easy go, will you let me go
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go, let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go, let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go, let me go
Will not let you go, let me go
Will not let you go let me go
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
Mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go
LOL Rose being persistent.
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me
The Bug?
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye
So you think you can love me and leave me to die
Oh baby, can't do this to me baby
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right out of here
LOL Lance?
Nothing really matters, anyone can see
Nothing really matters, nothing really matters to me
Any way the wind blows....
I'm... not sure what to make of this one.
Anyway, what I just did there is pretty crude, but I think it illustrates a nice point: That song isn't just random, selected for popularity. It's thematically connected to the episode--to someone taking responsibility for what they've done in order to find safety and a sense of identity, one that defies conventional norms and tragedy alike. I think it also forsehadows the widely predicted undo of Donna to her pre-Doctor self: "nothing really matters to me."
So there you have it. Proof that I need to get to work on my homework.
Okay, so maybe it's not that clear. Remember "End of the World?" You can't tell me that "Toxic" and "Tainted Love" are coincidences. No, they're perfect descriptions of some of the nuances of Rose's blossoming feelings for ten... and I daresay that "Tainted Love," played during the premiere episode ofthe Face of Boe, could be considered foreshadowing for Jack's being left behind in "The Parting of Ways." I'm not familiar enough with ELO's catalogue to really speak to what happened in "Love and Monsters," but I can speak about the music used in Season 3. "Voodoo Child" by the Rogue Traders is more than just "here come the drums, here come the drums!" It reflects a number of things going on in the episode, including the wacked out BS that's going on inside of Saxon's head and the twisted relationship between him and the Doctor. (Just calling him Saxon so I don't have to cut yet). And I'm sure I've missed other lyrical songs.
And then of course, there's the musical motifs for all the characters, like Rose's song, which has been being used to great effect during the latest season even where Rose isn't around. It was also done a bit in Season 1, using it when she wasn't around, like when the Doctor saved the day in "End of the World." Actually, it seems to come up any time things are sort of Bad Wolf-y. And then there's Donna's and Martha's themes, which aren't used half as well, especially not Donna's, not given what we found out on Saturday night.
So, "Turn Left" features an interesting moment of pop cultural infusion. At one point in the episode, some minor characters burst out into "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. ariastar mentioned this in a positive way, and that made me think a little more about it--I almost missed it, due to years of watching Wayne's World and being too busy WTFing at the episode. I have an idea.
So the gist of the incident, for the foregetful or spoiler prone, is that after the Titanic (fuckin max capricorn) blew up the whole South of England, the Nobles ended up relocated to Leeds and living with a stereotypical Italian family. Donna goes out to yell at them for making noise while she's trying to sleep, but finds that her Grandpa's singing with them. Somehow, Donna and Sylvia end up singing along with them, and the song they're singing is "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Now, perhaps this seems kind of random... And Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the sort of fundamental songs of Western Culture, I think. Everyone knows it, everyone loves it... It's sort of a staple. It unites parents and children, people all over... It's a classic, an agreed upon classic. I can't count the number of times I saw it on Wayne's World when I was just a little girl and wished that I knew the worlds or understood what was so magical about it, even though I could feel the magic. I remember so many times, going places in the car with my mom and singing along together, failing to match Queen but unashamed of our participation. At least over here, in the U.S., it's like a rite of passage. Part of the fabric of our culture. The presence of this scene in Doctor Who tells me it's probably the same over the U.K., with the song but... what does it mean?
It's a pretty straight, nearly literal application of the song, really. I mean, let's run through some of the lyrics, courtesy of The Magic Page.
Is this the real life, is this just fantasy
Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
An obvious statement on the weirdness of the Turn Rightiverse, but also an allusion to what the Doctor and Rose implied about how reality bends around Donna: "no escape from reality." Donna is reality, fantasy bends around her.
Open your eyes , look up to the skies and see
The scene is set roughly during the Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky.
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low
Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me
...to me
Donna's a temp, and before the Titanic blew up London, she lived a pretty carefree life. A lot like my one aunt, actually, but that's neither here nor there.
Mama, just killed a man, put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Donna's "choice" to turn Right essentially killed the Doctor. Apparently whoever Lance dosed in lieu of her wasn't that compelling, and died early or didn't challenge the Doctor. The Doctor didn't get pulled out of his rage.. and it's been suggested that he might even have let himself die. Still...
Mama oooh... Didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters
Essentially what Martha does in the normal universe, but with added meaning here, as she sacrifices herself at the point of divergence to ensure that she turns Left. The line also elicits some of the whole despair, "nothing we can do" attitude pervading the episode. "I'm just a temp!"
Too late, my time has come, sends shivers down my spine
Body's aching all the time
Goodbye everybody, I've got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama oooh (any way the wind blows)
I don't want to die, I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all
LOL LORRY.
I see a little silhouetto of a man
Rose, who's essentially become the Doctor?
Scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the Fandango
Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening me
Look at that entrance, folks.
Galileo (Galileo)
Galileo (Galileo)
Galileo figaro (Magnifico)
But I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me
He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
More of "Donna's just a temp," and she does get spared when London goes up.
Easy come easy go, will you let me go
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go, let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go, let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go, let me go
Will not let you go, let me go
Will not let you go let me go
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
Mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go
LOL Rose being persistent.
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me
The Bug?
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye
So you think you can love me and leave me to die
Oh baby, can't do this to me baby
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right out of here
LOL Lance?
Nothing really matters, anyone can see
Nothing really matters, nothing really matters to me
Any way the wind blows....
I'm... not sure what to make of this one.
Anyway, what I just did there is pretty crude, but I think it illustrates a nice point: That song isn't just random, selected for popularity. It's thematically connected to the episode--to someone taking responsibility for what they've done in order to find safety and a sense of identity, one that defies conventional norms and tragedy alike. I think it also forsehadows the widely predicted undo of Donna to her pre-Doctor self: "nothing really matters to me."
So there you have it. Proof that I need to get to work on my homework.