Hey, Doc, See You in Six Months
For the finale of New Who's series five yesterday, I have decided to recap what I enjoyed and didn't about this brand new series.
i. My overall feeling about the episode
ii. Positive thoughts about the episode
iii. Negative thoughts about the episode
001. The Eleventh Hour
i. Very much enjoyed.
ii. I really thought Matt Smith burst into the role of the Doctor really well in this premiere episode; he gave the role just enough quirk and wit to make it reminiscent of our past Doctor, Tennant, but unique enough that it wasn't a replication. Amy's character was a delightful mix of Donna and Rose, I thought, where she was a spitfire ginger with a maturation story. Prisoner Zero's ability to create copies of others was neat; while we got to see the Doctor pick his new outfit and tell the alien guards that Earth is protected (Oh, hey there, The Christmas Invasion).
iii. The prison guards of Prisoner Zero were giant eyeballs flying in icicles. I get the reason for the eyeballs, but it was a really stupid idea.
002. The Beast Below
i. Enjoyed.
ii. Witty banter, first real outside of Earth alien encounter, creepy masks - yep, this episode has it. The Doctor was even more twitchy and quirky (and I swear Matt Smith plays him sort of like an autistic savant sometimes) and just plain weird. Amy got to branch out on her own for a little bit, which is nice to see that the companions don't depend on the Doctor for everything. Smith brought out the beloved angst, sadness, and loneliness Tennant's Doctor often gave. The subjects of torture, survival at any cost, and morality and ethics came into play, and it was nice to see that the Doctor always had difficult decisions to make and it's hard on him; plus, there was a nice warm hug at the end.
iii. I still don't understand the masked robot things. And slowing down the Queen's body clock is ridiculous.
003. Victory of the Daleks
i. Thought it was okay.
ii. The Doctor got to take Amy back in time (WWII, again?) and we meet our first historical figure in the series. That's all I got.
iii. The whole plot was, I'm not going to lie, slightly off putting. Also, the new Dalek design has gotten ridiculous; not only are they skittle coloured, but they are also ten times bulkier. How is that in any way helpful in exterminating? The whole robotic scientist created by the Daleks was also stupid. For him to stop exploding by thinking of the feeling he has when he thinks of his (made up) first love was not only ludicrous, but it was just plain unscientific; never in a million years would that be rational.
004. The Time of Angels
i. Enjoyed a lot.
ii. Great to see the Weeping Angels again, even if they do scare me to death. River Song was also nice to see; though I am unsure of where I stand with her character (I like her character, I'm just not feeling her relationship with the Doctor - it's too soon after Rose for me). The new attributes the angels acquired were fairly cool, where an image of an angel becomes an angel. The whole rush of fear you get because you remember Blink is fabulous. The colouring was also great.
iii. As always, the mystery of Doctor River Song is constantly nagging, and the fact that clergymen became gun-toting badasses made it hard to remember that they are in fact clergymen.
005. Flesh and Stone
i. Enjoyed a lot.
ii. Pretty much as aforementioned. The added information about how the crack is erasing bits and pieces of time and that all life forms are threatened by it was good so that we could still be interested in this story arc. Keeping Amy's eyes closed for the majority of the episode showed how much faith and trust she had in the Doctor, which is always nice to see; plus, it kept things fresh. Also, we got to finally see how Amy reacts to certain events that happen in her life, give her some depth.
iii. The Doctor didn't actually save the day. The crack in the universe did.
006. The Vampires of Venice
i. Enjoyed.
ii. The opening to this episode was near perfect in its wittiness - I mean, the Doctor popped out of Rory's stag party cake and told him his fiancée had tried to kiss him. We got to officially meet Rory as an important character (and isn't he just lovable?) and watch him vie for Amy's affections. A lot of the vampire mythology was kept in tact for once.
iii. Vampires are a poor choice with Twishite and rampant preteen girls and their mothers' love for it happening. Not to mention the vampires were actually alien fish from space. Definitely not a cool twist. The ulterior motive of the vampire leader was truly antifeminist and a bit degrading.
007. Amy's Choice
i. Enjoyed.
ii. It was like watching a good M. Night Shyamalan film, where there aren't slightly ludicrous twists at every turn only some. The different dream states were intriguing; you just wanted to know which one was the real one. The man who played the Dream Lord was quite creepy, but not overly so; and he gave off a very mysterious vibe, which is good. The dream dangers were also fun, especially the killer grans and gramps. The continuity of the dreams was clever, and so were the chirping birdies that signaled sleepy time. Amy provided some entertainment with her faked labour pains.
iii. Rory dying in one of the dreams was very unwarranted. It was needed for the plot to progress any further, but that was just mean to poor Amy. Of course, I also thought the Doctor would just regenerate if they crashed the van in reality. I also didn't think the paradoxical supernova wasn't given enough urgency or at least didn't feel as if it were more dangerous than killer alien retirees. There was also Rory's little ponytail; gross.
008. The Hungry Earth
i. Thought it was okay.
ii. The mystery of the holes in the ground swallowing up people made you rub your chin in thought. The fact that Wales gets some screen time as itself was nice, too. By getting the Silurians to return, it revealed them to all the New Who fans and younger generations. Also, the cute little romance between Nasreen and Tony was refreshing.
iii. If the people just shut down the drill, the whole thing could have been prevented, so this episode kind of felt like a waste of time. The writing was also a bit poor.
009. Cold Blood
i. Thought it was less than okay.
ii. We found out not as many people died in this episode, which was nice. More of Rory's character was shown, and same with Amy's.
iii. Ambrose just constantly needed a punch in the face. Rory dying was also very uncool and unappreciated; after all, he did "die" in Amy's Choice a couple episodes earlier and it's like getting a second kick in the face except this time you know he's really died. Especially since the Doctor was about to disarm the Silurian bitch and he would've regenerated anyway. Seriously, Chris Chibnall, you need to find another profession.
010. Vincent and the Doctor
i. Enjoyed it a lot.
ii. This episode had a whopping huge task of taking on the theme of loneliness and sadness, more so than The Beast Below had. Tony Curran was a fantastic Vincent van Gogh, and his flirtations with Amy was a treat. It was also nice to see how Rory's death has affected Amy no matter if she can't remember him. The prevalent loneliness and sadness that Vincent, the Krafayis, Amy, and the Doctor all have in their souls made it one of the most touching episodes. Vincent's upset when hearing that the Doctor and Amy were leaving soon was heartbreaking; and when the Doctor and Amy take Vincent to le Musée d'Orsay and have him hear Dr. Black (hee, Bill Nighy) call him one of, if not, the greatest painters of all time pretty much made me tear up. Amy's sadness when she realises they haven't changed anything after dropping Vincent off back home is a tearjerker and the wonderful, feel-good hug that follows is wondrous.
iii. The alien looked ridiculous. No chicken-like alien is going to frighten me, even if it is invisible and deadly.
011. The Lodger
i. Very much enjoyed.
ii. James Corden was a joy to watch as always (for me anyways), and his crush/love was pretty much the crutch of the episode. The mystery of the stairs was nice, but sort of played as backburner for the budding romance between Craig and Sophie. The Doctor as a lodger gave a nice domestic approach to the situation, which is new and fresh, as were all his excellent adventures into domesticity. How much Craig didn't want to change the way his life was at that moment was both sweet and reminiscent of human nature. Also, topless Doctor, hello!
iii. The alien bad guys were once again uninteresting and a bit dorky. A makeshift TARDIS spaceship that needs a pilot? No, thank you.
012. The Pandorica Opens
i. Very much enjoyed.
ii. River's back, so it means it's bound to be all timey-wimey and to remind you to bring your brain to this episode. Good to see Rory again because he's such a doll, and the season had a sort of overall melancholy without him. The Pandorica was a clever use of Pandora's box and there was quite a twist attached to it. River's hallucinogenic lipstick was fab, and Amy's remembrance of Rory was long awaited and deserved.
iii. Rory turns out to be a plastic; I am disappoint. All of the Doctor's enemies joined forces to put him in the Pandorica? That is both irrational and highly unlikely; it should only ever be reserved for fanfictions.
013. The Big Bang
i. Enjoyed it a lot.
ii. Showing how the world would be like without stars and whatnot was nice, but too brief. The return of little Amelia Pond was great, since she did such a lovely job in The Eleventh Hour, and having both older Amy and little Amelia in the same place at the same time was hohoho amusing. Plastic!Rory's devotion to Amy was endearing and heartwarming, and it really just made me love the boy more. Also, the Doctor wore a fez, which River promptly destroyed. River Song's mercilessness towards the Dalek and her BAMF personality just made me like her character more. The Doctor's self-sacrifice was touching and encapsulated all that we should love about the Doctor; he is just so unbelievable unselfish. He also goes backwards in his own timeline and sees the fixing of the cracks in time, only to end back out where little Amelia has nodded off to sleep and to carry her in. The story he told her was clever; he's a smart cookie that Doctor. To be honest, I was a little afraid that Rory would forever be a plastic, but Amy fixed all that. The couple got married, which is the real highlight, and Amy remembers the Doctor back into existence. (Hee, the Doctor's dancing!) I very much loved the Doctor calling Amy the girl who waited and Rory the boy who waited 2,000 years; it just shows how perfect they are for one another.
iii. All of reality conforms around Amy's memories of it, so it's a bit confusing. Plus, if all of the surrounding stars and planets, etc., got destroyed because of the TARDIS fracturing time and space, then it only seems logical that Earth should also not exist. Oh, you can tell they're not real physicists.
Top 5 favourites of this season:
1. Vincent and the Doctor
2. The Big Bang
3. Flesh and Stone
4. The Eleventh Hour
5. The Lodger
Overall:
I know you're still butt-hurt about Tennant and RTD, but this was a pretty good season. Steven Moffat did not ruin it; I found all of his stories, even back when he was only a guest writer, to be fantastic works of fiction and very exciting. He clearly cares a lot about his work. The only regret is that out of all the characters, Amy got the least backstory and so didn't really grow as a character. Hopefully, we'll be able to see more of that next season though.
tl;dr? Yeah, me neither.
Jocelyn.
乔斯林.