(no subject)
So I've seen the latest two episodes of Doctor Who. I liked "The Curse of the Black Spot". It wasn't amazing, but I liked the way the Doctor had to keep revising his theories, and it was a nice breather after the massive two-part opener.
"The Doctor's Wife" was fantastic. I'd guessed who the "wife" would be before the episode aired, believe it or not, and therefore was positively gleeful when Idris called the Doctor "Thief". I'd been apprehensive, because some of Gaiman's stuff I love (Coraline, Stardust), but I didn't really like American Gods at all. But all through the episode, I was going, "This is really good!" The characterizations were perfect. There were so, so many good lines. Really, it was like a series of awesome moments, all awesome for different reasons:
--The Doctor reminiscing about a Time Lord friend of his, and it's someone we don't know (and I kind of wish we could have met).
--The bizarre black humor of Auntie and Uncle, such as the deadpan way Uncle protests House killing them. "I'm against it."
--Amy accusing the Doctor of wanting to be forgiven, and he says, "Don't we all?"
--The many, many, many callbacks to the show's history. Didn't weigh things down, just gave an extra jolt of "Hey, I remember that!"
--The Doctor's vicious side. Totally justified. "You gave me hope, and then you took it away. That would make anybody dangerous. God knows what it'll do to me."
--The TARDIS is exactly as mad as the Doctor. And she's not used to existing linearly, which makes her crazier.
--The TARDIS stole the Doctor! The TARDIS stole the Doctor! "I wanted to see the stars, so I stole a Time Lord and ran away." This is right up there with the bit in Changes from the Dresden Files when Mouse... yeah, spoilers, but it was pretty much the same level of heartwarming win.
--Somebody pointed out that Rory handled House's mind games much better than Amy. I like this. I like it when someone can be a rock for someone else. Though I do hope Amy doesn't go down the whole road of "Does he secretly hate me?"
--The Doctor and the TARDIS building a makeshift TARDIS! The TARDIS appreciating the Doctor's knack for doing the impossible! That little gold swirly chasing the old familiar blue box!
--The TARDIS thinks Rory's the "pretty one"! Yes, TARDIS, he is very pretty.
--I did not expect to get such a warm fuzzy thrill at the sight of the "coral" console room, but something about Amy and Rory running up the ramp where Rose, Mickey, Martha, Jack, & Donna once hung out was a treat.
--I can't help thinking: "Crimson, Eleven, Delight, Petrichor" -- does that mean something? (I totally know the smell of dust after rain.)
--"Get him, girl." Do not mess with the Doctor's TARDIS.
--Humans are bigger on the inside. House was smaller on the inside. Yes. Evil is, in the end, pathetically small.
--Matt Smith crying. Oh my. I think my heart broke. There are few moments which justify the Doctor crying. That was one of them.
--"This is when we talked." And I wanted to cry too. She has been his most constant companion. A native of Gallifrey, his home for centuries, older than he, always faithful, fiercely protective, yet mute. Except for that brief time.
--The Doctor calls travelling in the TARDIS, wandering around the universe, "the best thing." Certainly not a bad thing, Doctor. Far from the worst, and certainly suited to you and her.
I read a fan theory once about the Doctor's relationship with the TARDIS, and this episode fits in beautifully. It's that the Doctor didn't know much about TARDISes when he stole his, up until he was exiled on Earth and did a complete tear-down and rebuild in his attempt to get her flying again. I think that Time Lords never thought TARDISes had volition or awareness -- they thought they were alive like a tree is alive. Prior to Three's exile, he didn't talk about the TARDIS like a person, but by "Planet of the Spiders", he was letting her do the landings. I think he learned something few (if any) Time Lords knew, that TARDISes had souls (for a given value of "soul"). He always thought she was beautiful, and he was always proud of her, but that was when he started to love her.
So yeah. Thank you, Mr Gaiman. That was wonderful.