30 + 1 Thinkies about "Flesh and Stone"
Happy May Day, everyone! Whether yours involved car bombs, riots, maypoles, bonfires, none of the above or ALL of the above, I hope it was joyous!
We all know the rules of the game, yes? And we all know that spoilers make brain kittens rip your throat out and feast on your blood cry? Yes? Wonderful.
1) We left our adventurers in DEADLY PERIL, which, y'know, this being Doctor Who, isn't that surprising. The Doctor was last seen firing a pistol, a move which seems the visual equivalent of a sound bite. It's custom designed to be taken out of context and used as a promo, get it? *Brain kittens thwap Spider* HEY! That's the first time the kittens have thwapped me one even before I started playback! *Spider grumbles*
2) I still don't like the new theme music.
3) Hi, Doctor! Aaah -- sonic screwdriver sighting ALREADY! DRINK! *Spider chugs beer* We're getting off to a flying start! All the playing with gravity is brilliant! But my gods, are we moving quickly. That's the best thing about watching the second half of a two parter -- there's no wasted time diving into the action.
4) "There's no way to override them. It's impossible." "How impossible?" "Two minutes." LOL! That's the kind of thing that makes me believe that River Song has known the Doctor for a very long time indeed. Well done!
5) The angels are still scary! Whee! "I absolutely trust him." "He isn't some kind of madman?" "...I absolutely trust him." *snicker* One thing Moff can do is write dialog, that's for sure. And River Song is NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS. *Brain kittens cue OMINOUS MUSIC*
6) "I am good with time." *Spider puts that quote in icon file.* "Release the clamps." RELEASE THE KRAKEN! *ahem* Sorry. "It's a forest." "It's an oxygen factory." I can't go on quoting every good line; this witty banter is too witty! ... and, hmmmm.... most have been River Song quotes. Very interesting.
7) OMG AMY IS COUNTING DOWN. That is so awesome! Oh, and the treeborgs are cool too.
8) "A forest in a bottle, a spaceship in a maze, have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?" Wow. That just MELTED me. It's as if all these adventures are just the Doctor showing off for a girl. *hearts!*
9) ANGEL BOB! MBWAHAHAHA! Okay. I don't like the idea of the angels having a "voice". I can see why it might be useful to the writer, and the angels are Moff's toys and he can do what he wants, blah blah, but anything that gives the angels motivation and explanation just takes away from their freakiness. And besides: ANGEL BOB! MBWAHAHAHAHHA!
10) Crack in the wall! DRINK! *Spider chugs beer*
11) Okay, okay, maybe we're supposed to like River Song after all. W'ever.
12) "For fun, sir." See, that's what I don't like about ANGEL BOB. I don't want to understand the motivations of the angels. There are some villains you want to learn about; you want them to be more rounded characters. That even applies to the Daleks to some extent. But it doesn't work for Angels! Angels are the things that go bump in the night! They should not have a voice, even by proxy. I'm still wondering why you can't just smash them with a sledgehammer -- *Brain kittens thwap Spider* OW!
13) "Explain." Nobody speaks like that. I think there's something going on here. WHAT? If she opens her eyes she dies? WHAT? See what I mean? This whole angel thing is getting far too convoluted.
14) RESPECT THE THING. YES.
15) Okay, this is when I have to stop playing that I'm watching the ep for the first time, because this is the scene with the DOCTOR'S JACKET. When he leaves Amy he doesn't have his jacket on because the Angels grabbed it. Then he comes back almost immediately and he's wearing the jacket again and behaving in a very different way than he does before or after. The first time I watched this ep I honestly didn't notice, but since then my flist has positively erupted. Does he or doesn't he? Is he or isn't he? Is this some kind of wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimeyness, or simply a continuity error? On this, my second viewing, I am more inclined to side with Team Timey-Wimey. This is the Doctor coming back to this point in time from later in the series timeline for some as-yet-unknown reason. However, since my batting average with predictions is in the toilet, it'll probably turn out to be nothing. Onward!
16) AHA. In the very next scene, the Doctor is seen walking with River Song and Father Rambo, and he is not wearing the jacket. Timey wimeyness, for sure.
17) There's a whole lot of plot going on, and I don't give a hang about it. However, I love watching the stop-motion movement of the Angels. It's such a simple effect, and so creepy!
18) DON'T OPEN YOUR EYES, YOU SILLY GIRL. *Brain kittens thwap Amy*
...AND ANOTHER THING: While we're on the subject -- *Brain kittens thwap Spider* OW. What? Don't think I haven't noticed Amy's RED HOODIE or the fact that she's making her way through the DEEP MYSTICAL WOODS where there are DANGERS. *Brain kittens growl at Amy, light candles on the Rose Shrine where the FIRST and ORIGINAL Red Hoodie still is, um, enshrined*
19) "Marco." Polo? No, Pedro. *snicker* Oooh, the soldier is losing his memory of the other soldiers! That's so -- OMG FATHER RAMBO HAS BEEN TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL! You are so right, Father Rambo, I don't trust River Song as far as I can OH NO SHE DIN'T! This ep is just rocketing along! Did we just hear his neck crack? AWESOME! *Brain kittens do the samba*
20) WOW! The Doctor just WENT OFF at River Song. "The forest is full of Angels. Walk like you can see." Oh, she has to stay on the path and not be tempted by what she might see along the way? But how will she keep from tripping over the anvils strewn in her path? "They'll assume you can see them." WHAT. RIGHT. ANGELS CAN NOT TELL WHETHER YOUR EYES ARE OPEN OR CLOSED. ANGELS ARE CONFUSED BY EYELIDS. SRSLY. I'm filing this with Angel Bob under FUK DAT.
21) Amy wears Converse high tops, just like -- AMY YOU IDIOT IT'S RIGHT THE FUCK IN FRONT OF YOU. STOP BEING SUCH A -- OMG ANGELS ARE MOVING! AAK!
Huh... until now the episode has used lighting or camera angles to prevent us (the viewers) from seeing the Angels when the characters in the show weren't looking at them. This is the first time the viewing audience's eyes don't count as *Brain kittens thwap Spider* OW. FINE. W'EVER.
22) DEUS EX RIVERSONGIA. And Ha bloody ha about the "I could kiss you" line. Okay, I'll give it to her. She hasn't been a total tooth-grinding chore this episode and despite what anyone says to the contrary, I'm not a rabid Rose OTPer. Anymore. As far as Eleven is concerned.
Stop looking at me like that.
23) ANGEL BOB, I PRESUME. From now on, whenever I see a Weeping Angel, I will think of it as Angel Bob. THANKS EVER SO, MOFF.
24) All right, the banterly banter between the Doctor and River Song is starting to feel less like an icepick to the eye socket. Aren't I generous?
25) So all the drama with the Angel in Amy's mind just went away in the BLINK OF AN EYE? HA! I crack myself up sometimes. CRACK! HA! I did it again! *Brain kittens thwap Spider* OW.
26) OH ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT SHE CAN JOKE ABOUT THE HANDCUFFS TOO. Gaaaaaahhhhh... However, she does NOT get a pass for the bit with the Pandorica and the fairy tale because that's just dangling bait in front of the Doctor and going, "Nyah nyah, boo boo, can't touch this, boo hoo!" For shit's sake, woman, if you can't talk about it, DON'T FUCKING TALK ABOUT IT.
27) By the way, where the heck is that beach? Never mind, they're back in Amy's garden now. I love how the door is TARDIS blue. *hearts*
28) Aaaaaand, the Doctor and Amy hanging out in her bedroom. AWK. WARD. I MEAN HO SHIT! HA! Amy is totally off her nut, but it's AWESOME! I know this is something else that's going to cause total meltdown among the fandom, but she is chasing him around the bedroom and he's being being totally CLUELESS and I'm loving every second of it. Hee! Oh, and see her being all loopy? She's gone mental. Yup, there goes the Doctor dragging her into the TARDIS to "get her sorted out". *Brain kittens cue up the Marvin Gaye* HA!
29) Dear Mr. Moffat: You don't have to hit us over the head with the flashback anvil. Really. You could consider giving us the full information the FIRST time, and then TRUST US TO FIGURE IT OUT OURSELVES. Yes, even the nine-year-olds can do that. It ain't rocket science.
30) In conclusion: Lots of fun, but it's starting to feel like a steady diet of leftovers. We've had Daleks and Angels and the Intergalactic Woman of Mystery, all from previous series. I'd really like to see something other than Moffat's Greatest Hits.
And a Plus One for the next ep: Having strippers at your stag party is so passe. All the cool guys have vampires.
We all know the rules of the game, yes? And we all know that spoilers make brain kittens rip your throat out and feast on your blood cry? Yes? Wonderful.
1) We left our adventurers in DEADLY PERIL, which, y'know, this being Doctor Who, isn't that surprising. The Doctor was last seen firing a pistol, a move which seems the visual equivalent of a sound bite. It's custom designed to be taken out of context and used as a promo, get it? *Brain kittens thwap Spider* HEY! That's the first time the kittens have thwapped me one even before I started playback! *Spider grumbles*
2) I still don't like the new theme music.
3) Hi, Doctor! Aaah -- sonic screwdriver sighting ALREADY! DRINK! *Spider chugs beer* We're getting off to a flying start! All the playing with gravity is brilliant! But my gods, are we moving quickly. That's the best thing about watching the second half of a two parter -- there's no wasted time diving into the action.
4) "There's no way to override them. It's impossible." "How impossible?" "Two minutes." LOL! That's the kind of thing that makes me believe that River Song has known the Doctor for a very long time indeed. Well done!
5) The angels are still scary! Whee! "I absolutely trust him." "He isn't some kind of madman?" "...I absolutely trust him." *snicker* One thing Moff can do is write dialog, that's for sure. And River Song is NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS. *Brain kittens cue OMINOUS MUSIC*
6) "I am good with time." *Spider puts that quote in icon file.* "Release the clamps." RELEASE THE KRAKEN! *ahem* Sorry. "It's a forest." "It's an oxygen factory." I can't go on quoting every good line; this witty banter is too witty! ... and, hmmmm.... most have been River Song quotes. Very interesting.
7) OMG AMY IS COUNTING DOWN. That is so awesome! Oh, and the treeborgs are cool too.
8) "A forest in a bottle, a spaceship in a maze, have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?" Wow. That just MELTED me. It's as if all these adventures are just the Doctor showing off for a girl. *hearts!*
9) ANGEL BOB! MBWAHAHAHA! Okay. I don't like the idea of the angels having a "voice". I can see why it might be useful to the writer, and the angels are Moff's toys and he can do what he wants, blah blah, but anything that gives the angels motivation and explanation just takes away from their freakiness. And besides: ANGEL BOB! MBWAHAHAHAHHA!
10) Crack in the wall! DRINK! *Spider chugs beer*
11) Okay, okay, maybe we're supposed to like River Song after all. W'ever.
12) "For fun, sir." See, that's what I don't like about ANGEL BOB. I don't want to understand the motivations of the angels. There are some villains you want to learn about; you want them to be more rounded characters. That even applies to the Daleks to some extent. But it doesn't work for Angels! Angels are the things that go bump in the night! They should not have a voice, even by proxy. I'm still wondering why you can't just smash them with a sledgehammer -- *Brain kittens thwap Spider* OW!
13) "Explain." Nobody speaks like that. I think there's something going on here. WHAT? If she opens her eyes she dies? WHAT? See what I mean? This whole angel thing is getting far too convoluted.
14) RESPECT THE THING. YES.
15) Okay, this is when I have to stop playing that I'm watching the ep for the first time, because this is the scene with the DOCTOR'S JACKET. When he leaves Amy he doesn't have his jacket on because the Angels grabbed it. Then he comes back almost immediately and he's wearing the jacket again and behaving in a very different way than he does before or after. The first time I watched this ep I honestly didn't notice, but since then my flist has positively erupted. Does he or doesn't he? Is he or isn't he? Is this some kind of wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimeyness, or simply a continuity error? On this, my second viewing, I am more inclined to side with Team Timey-Wimey. This is the Doctor coming back to this point in time from later in the series timeline for some as-yet-unknown reason. However, since my batting average with predictions is in the toilet, it'll probably turn out to be nothing. Onward!
16) AHA. In the very next scene, the Doctor is seen walking with River Song and Father Rambo, and he is not wearing the jacket. Timey wimeyness, for sure.
17) There's a whole lot of plot going on, and I don't give a hang about it. However, I love watching the stop-motion movement of the Angels. It's such a simple effect, and so creepy!
18) DON'T OPEN YOUR EYES, YOU SILLY GIRL. *Brain kittens thwap Amy*
...AND ANOTHER THING: While we're on the subject -- *Brain kittens thwap Spider* OW. What? Don't think I haven't noticed Amy's RED HOODIE or the fact that she's making her way through the DEEP MYSTICAL WOODS where there are DANGERS. *Brain kittens growl at Amy, light candles on the Rose Shrine where the FIRST and ORIGINAL Red Hoodie still is, um, enshrined*
19) "Marco." Polo? No, Pedro. *snicker* Oooh, the soldier is losing his memory of the other soldiers! That's so -- OMG FATHER RAMBO HAS BEEN TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL! You are so right, Father Rambo, I don't trust River Song as far as I can OH NO SHE DIN'T! This ep is just rocketing along! Did we just hear his neck crack? AWESOME! *Brain kittens do the samba*
20) WOW! The Doctor just WENT OFF at River Song. "The forest is full of Angels. Walk like you can see." Oh, she has to stay on the path and not be tempted by what she might see along the way? But how will she keep from tripping over the anvils strewn in her path? "They'll assume you can see them." WHAT. RIGHT. ANGELS CAN NOT TELL WHETHER YOUR EYES ARE OPEN OR CLOSED. ANGELS ARE CONFUSED BY EYELIDS. SRSLY. I'm filing this with Angel Bob under FUK DAT.
21) Amy wears Converse high tops, just like -- AMY YOU IDIOT IT'S RIGHT THE FUCK IN FRONT OF YOU. STOP BEING SUCH A -- OMG ANGELS ARE MOVING! AAK!
Huh... until now the episode has used lighting or camera angles to prevent us (the viewers) from seeing the Angels when the characters in the show weren't looking at them. This is the first time the viewing audience's eyes don't count as *Brain kittens thwap Spider* OW. FINE. W'EVER.
22) DEUS EX RIVERSONGIA. And Ha bloody ha about the "I could kiss you" line. Okay, I'll give it to her. She hasn't been a total tooth-grinding chore this episode and despite what anyone says to the contrary, I'm not a rabid Rose OTPer. Anymore. As far as Eleven is concerned.
Stop looking at me like that.
23) ANGEL BOB, I PRESUME. From now on, whenever I see a Weeping Angel, I will think of it as Angel Bob. THANKS EVER SO, MOFF.
24) All right, the banterly banter between the Doctor and River Song is starting to feel less like an icepick to the eye socket. Aren't I generous?
25) So all the drama with the Angel in Amy's mind just went away in the BLINK OF AN EYE? HA! I crack myself up sometimes. CRACK! HA! I did it again! *Brain kittens thwap Spider* OW.
26) OH ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT SHE CAN JOKE ABOUT THE HANDCUFFS TOO. Gaaaaaahhhhh... However, she does NOT get a pass for the bit with the Pandorica and the fairy tale because that's just dangling bait in front of the Doctor and going, "Nyah nyah, boo boo, can't touch this, boo hoo!" For shit's sake, woman, if you can't talk about it, DON'T FUCKING TALK ABOUT IT.
27) By the way, where the heck is that beach? Never mind, they're back in Amy's garden now. I love how the door is TARDIS blue. *hearts*
28) Aaaaaand, the Doctor and Amy hanging out in her bedroom. AWK. WARD. I MEAN HO SHIT! HA! Amy is totally off her nut, but it's AWESOME! I know this is something else that's going to cause total meltdown among the fandom, but she is chasing him around the bedroom and he's being being totally CLUELESS and I'm loving every second of it. Hee! Oh, and see her being all loopy? She's gone mental. Yup, there goes the Doctor dragging her into the TARDIS to "get her sorted out". *Brain kittens cue up the Marvin Gaye* HA!
29) Dear Mr. Moffat: You don't have to hit us over the head with the flashback anvil. Really. You could consider giving us the full information the FIRST time, and then TRUST US TO FIGURE IT OUT OURSELVES. Yes, even the nine-year-olds can do that. It ain't rocket science.
30) In conclusion: Lots of fun, but it's starting to feel like a steady diet of leftovers. We've had Daleks and Angels and the Intergalactic Woman of Mystery, all from previous series. I'd really like to see something other than Moffat's Greatest Hits.
And a Plus One for the next ep: Having strippers at your stag party is so passe. All the cool guys have vampires.