I'm Never Saying That Again.
This series of Doctor Who has been frustrating me, because I think Matt Smith is fantastic as the Doctor - far better than David Tennant, possibly better than Christopher Eccleston, although I'd have to rewatch Nine's series to be certain - but I haven't been enjoying the writing as much as I did in the RTD era. My enthusiasm, high at the beginning of the series, ebbed away over the next few weeks, until watching Doctor Who was just something I did, rather than something I particularly looked forward to.
And then came 'Vincent and the Doctor', and I settled unenthusiastically in front of the television, and, to my surprise, I adored it.
And then 'The Lodger', which was good fun, and then 'The Pandorica Opens', which I thought was fantastic, and yes, Doctor Who, yes, keep this up!
- As I've said, I think that Matt Smith is a fabulous Doctor. I came into Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston, who I thought was excellent. In the David Tennant era, I came to rather dislike the Doctor and became disillusioned with Doctor Who until the fourth series, when Donna firmly installed herself in my heart and made me care again. Even then, though, I was only really watching for the companion; now that Smith has brought his endearingly clumsy, scatterbrained, deeply uncool approach to the role, I'm watching for the Doctor himself.
- Unfortunately, I'm not at all sure about Amy Pond, which I think is part of what's preventing me from returning to the enormous fannish love I held for Doctor Who back in 2005; I adored the relationship between the Ninth Doctor and Rose, but in this series I have trouble caring about Amy. I feel that her character changes to accommodate the plot of the episode. The series is almost over, and I still don't feel I really have a sense of her personality. Is she compassionate or completely unable to take anything seriously, even when people are dying? An inability to take things seriously is a perfectly valid characterisation, but it should at least be consistent. Does she care about Rory? Does she take him for granted? Does she see him as an obstacle to the life she wants? Put Amy in any hypothetical situation, and I wouldn't be able to tell you how she would react. I can't love her if I don't know who she is.
- RIVER IS GREAT. I didn't really take to her in the 'Silence of the Library' two-parter, possibly in part because Moffat's habit of shoving characters he didn't create out of the way in favour of showing off those he did annoys me (PARTICULARLY WHEN DONNA NOBLE IS INVOLVED. You don't sideline Donna Noble! Why would you sideline Donna Noble?), but in this series she has been excellent. I think someone on my flist suggested that she might be a future incarnation of the Doctor, which is unlikely to be canon but a rather delightful idea.
- I am very fond of Rory. He is terribly sweet. I wish we'd been able to see more of his interactions with the Doctor, because they seem to have a closeness that we haven't really had a chance to see developing. My main reaction to the ending of 'The Pandorica Opens' was a great big 'nooooooooooo' at the realisation that Rory wasn't real. (And then Auton-Rory tried to fight his true identity! Bless him.)
- Actually, after 'The Pandorica Opens', I don't know what to believe. Were the events of that episode and those events only fabricated from Amy's childhood memories, or is the situation larger than that? Did Rory really exist? Did Amy really grow up? I assumed at first, when the Doctor asked Amy whether it bothered her that her life didn't make any sense, that he was referring to the fact that it made no sense after Rory had been stripped out of it, but perhaps it's something more sinister even than that. There have certainly been implications throughout the series that there is something Not Quite Right with Amy.
- In 'The Lodger', when Craig and Sophie accosted the Doctor as he was trying to sneak off without interrupting their snogging, was anyone else expecting them to propose a threesome? Was - was anyone else a tiny bit disappointed when they didn't?
- My housemate and I have decided that the next series is going to be about River Song and Donna Noble saving the universe together, whilst the Doctor is trapped in the Pandorica. Every episode ends with a shot of the Doctor in his prison, saying, '...hello?'
A few nights ago, I dreamt an episode of Ashes to Ashes with FLYING MOTORBIKES and RIVER SONG PILOTING ONE OF THE FLYING MOTORBIKES and RORY WILLIAMS ALSO BEING THERE IN SOME CAPACITY and ALEX REMINISCING ABOUT HER FIRST GIRLFRIEND and GENE FINDING THE INFORMATION THAT ALEX HAD A GIRLFRIEND EXTREMELY DISTRACTING. It was grand. Possibly not very true to eighties technology levels, but grand nonetheless.
And then came 'Vincent and the Doctor', and I settled unenthusiastically in front of the television, and, to my surprise, I adored it.
And then 'The Lodger', which was good fun, and then 'The Pandorica Opens', which I thought was fantastic, and yes, Doctor Who, yes, keep this up!
- As I've said, I think that Matt Smith is a fabulous Doctor. I came into Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston, who I thought was excellent. In the David Tennant era, I came to rather dislike the Doctor and became disillusioned with Doctor Who until the fourth series, when Donna firmly installed herself in my heart and made me care again. Even then, though, I was only really watching for the companion; now that Smith has brought his endearingly clumsy, scatterbrained, deeply uncool approach to the role, I'm watching for the Doctor himself.
- Unfortunately, I'm not at all sure about Amy Pond, which I think is part of what's preventing me from returning to the enormous fannish love I held for Doctor Who back in 2005; I adored the relationship between the Ninth Doctor and Rose, but in this series I have trouble caring about Amy. I feel that her character changes to accommodate the plot of the episode. The series is almost over, and I still don't feel I really have a sense of her personality. Is she compassionate or completely unable to take anything seriously, even when people are dying? An inability to take things seriously is a perfectly valid characterisation, but it should at least be consistent. Does she care about Rory? Does she take him for granted? Does she see him as an obstacle to the life she wants? Put Amy in any hypothetical situation, and I wouldn't be able to tell you how she would react. I can't love her if I don't know who she is.
- RIVER IS GREAT. I didn't really take to her in the 'Silence of the Library' two-parter, possibly in part because Moffat's habit of shoving characters he didn't create out of the way in favour of showing off those he did annoys me (PARTICULARLY WHEN DONNA NOBLE IS INVOLVED. You don't sideline Donna Noble! Why would you sideline Donna Noble?), but in this series she has been excellent. I think someone on my flist suggested that she might be a future incarnation of the Doctor, which is unlikely to be canon but a rather delightful idea.
- I am very fond of Rory. He is terribly sweet. I wish we'd been able to see more of his interactions with the Doctor, because they seem to have a closeness that we haven't really had a chance to see developing. My main reaction to the ending of 'The Pandorica Opens' was a great big 'nooooooooooo' at the realisation that Rory wasn't real. (And then Auton-Rory tried to fight his true identity! Bless him.)
- Actually, after 'The Pandorica Opens', I don't know what to believe. Were the events of that episode and those events only fabricated from Amy's childhood memories, or is the situation larger than that? Did Rory really exist? Did Amy really grow up? I assumed at first, when the Doctor asked Amy whether it bothered her that her life didn't make any sense, that he was referring to the fact that it made no sense after Rory had been stripped out of it, but perhaps it's something more sinister even than that. There have certainly been implications throughout the series that there is something Not Quite Right with Amy.
- In 'The Lodger', when Craig and Sophie accosted the Doctor as he was trying to sneak off without interrupting their snogging, was anyone else expecting them to propose a threesome? Was - was anyone else a tiny bit disappointed when they didn't?
- My housemate and I have decided that the next series is going to be about River Song and Donna Noble saving the universe together, whilst the Doctor is trapped in the Pandorica. Every episode ends with a shot of the Doctor in his prison, saying, '...hello?'
A few nights ago, I dreamt an episode of Ashes to Ashes with FLYING MOTORBIKES and RIVER SONG PILOTING ONE OF THE FLYING MOTORBIKES and RORY WILLIAMS ALSO BEING THERE IN SOME CAPACITY and ALEX REMINISCING ABOUT HER FIRST GIRLFRIEND and GENE FINDING THE INFORMATION THAT ALEX HAD A GIRLFRIEND EXTREMELY DISTRACTING. It was grand. Possibly not very true to eighties technology levels, but grand nonetheless.