Doctor Who: Father's Day
And to follow, the Review of 'Father's Day'
Well, I've watched it twice and I'm still ambivalent.
This is an episode to experience, rather than analyse. Let yourself go with it, accept that it's slightly OTT emotionally, and it's a good romp. Dig into it, and yeauch - schmalz!
What annoyed me most was the playing down of the real theme of the story in favour of the Big Emotion Stuff. When someone dies, part of the grieving process is the longing, yearning to be able to go back and change history. Knowing that you can't is part of the acceptance of the reality of life. We didn't need 45 minutes of in-yer-face weepies to remind us.
The unasked questions scream:
if Rose didn't plan to save her Dad's life, why the hell would she want to go back to the moment of his death? She's never known him - and 'being there for him as he died' wasn't exactly going to give her that chance was it? Far more realistic if she's asked to go back to the week before he died, so she could meet him and find out who he really was. Wouldn't have made for all the weeping, though.
After 900 years around humans why has the Doctor apparently learned bogg all about how important their relationships are? Heck, it was kind-a predictable that Rose wouldn't be able to watch someone die - let alone her dad. Couldn't he at least have given her a stern talking to about not changing the time line before he let her out of the TARDIS?
Not that it was all bad. The 'period drama' was nicely underplayed. I was a bridesmaid in peach in 1989, and I wore those little fake flower hair pins, too. Curious to see Rose in denial about her realtionship with the Doctor - since she's apparently going to pick up another boyfriend next week.
And the b theme. Ahhh... the b theme. Does anyone else wonder if the original script majored on this, until RTD, with his penchent for what he called in 'Confidential' "DrAma" edited it down to play up the emoting?
See. what this story was really about was not changing the time line. The timeline was changed, and it didn't matter. No, what it was about was 'an ordinary man: the most important thing in the universe'. 'You two, on a street corner two o'clock in the morning, getting a taxi home'. It was about affirming that the huge, earth saving, galaxy shattering events are not really where it's at. Life (with a capital L) is rooted in the ordinary. And yeah, that was the best bit.
Well, I've watched it twice and I'm still ambivalent.
This is an episode to experience, rather than analyse. Let yourself go with it, accept that it's slightly OTT emotionally, and it's a good romp. Dig into it, and yeauch - schmalz!
What annoyed me most was the playing down of the real theme of the story in favour of the Big Emotion Stuff. When someone dies, part of the grieving process is the longing, yearning to be able to go back and change history. Knowing that you can't is part of the acceptance of the reality of life. We didn't need 45 minutes of in-yer-face weepies to remind us.
The unasked questions scream:
if Rose didn't plan to save her Dad's life, why the hell would she want to go back to the moment of his death? She's never known him - and 'being there for him as he died' wasn't exactly going to give her that chance was it? Far more realistic if she's asked to go back to the week before he died, so she could meet him and find out who he really was. Wouldn't have made for all the weeping, though.
After 900 years around humans why has the Doctor apparently learned bogg all about how important their relationships are? Heck, it was kind-a predictable that Rose wouldn't be able to watch someone die - let alone her dad. Couldn't he at least have given her a stern talking to about not changing the time line before he let her out of the TARDIS?
Not that it was all bad. The 'period drama' was nicely underplayed. I was a bridesmaid in peach in 1989, and I wore those little fake flower hair pins, too. Curious to see Rose in denial about her realtionship with the Doctor - since she's apparently going to pick up another boyfriend next week.
And the b theme. Ahhh... the b theme. Does anyone else wonder if the original script majored on this, until RTD, with his penchent for what he called in 'Confidential' "DrAma" edited it down to play up the emoting?
See. what this story was really about was not changing the time line. The timeline was changed, and it didn't matter. No, what it was about was 'an ordinary man: the most important thing in the universe'. 'You two, on a street corner two o'clock in the morning, getting a taxi home'. It was about affirming that the huge, earth saving, galaxy shattering events are not really where it's at. Life (with a capital L) is rooted in the ordinary. And yeah, that was the best bit.