I'm not obsessed. It's just a hobby. I CAN STOP ANYTIME I WANT.
*shifty eyes*
Ahem. Well, since the ficcing bugs have bitten, I've found myself with the unexpected drive to write - now, for once, accompanied by a few actual ideas!
Of course, one of those ideas involved Genesis of the Daleks, which meant I had to watch it in its entirety instead of just watching clips and reading the recap over and over.
And another one of those ideas involved Two, Eight, and another old-school Doctor (I haven't decided yet). Which meant I had to watch them both in action. For research purposes, of course.
Since I'm still working on my previous pile o' meta (hopefully I'll have a little of that done by tonight), I'll just post my initial thoughts in handy-dandy bullet-point form.
Tomb of the Cybermen:
-I am ever so on board the H.M.S. Two/Jamie. I've got a deck chair and a drink with a little umbrella in it, too.
I mean, really. There's an awful lot of unnecessary touching going on there. And it makes me happy.
-Victoria is so cute. I wish to cuddle her like a kitty. And she says "Oh, fiddle!" when she gets mad, which just makes her even cuter. And apparently, she can hit a Cybermat with one shot the first time she picks up a gun. Not bad.
That said, lying down in the Cyberman's charging chamber? With Sinister Snippy Woman right by the controls? Not her brightest moment.
-Guys, the Cybermats weren't really that big. You could have leaped over them, or kicked them away, or something. Although I'll admit it would be very icky waking up with one of them on your chest.
-Old-school Cyberman voice = still creepy. Occasionally unintelligible, but creepy nonetheless.
-I am properly offended that all the "good guys" were white, whereas the people of vaguely Indian origin were involved in an evil magical cult and the black guy was a "noble savage". Oh, sixties. *shakes head*
-Easily the best part of the episode: Two's conversation with Victoria about their families. The bit about only remembering them when he wants to just killed me. It's another moment when we really get a sense of just how ancient the Doctor is, of how much he's experienced and how much he's lost by leaving his home (and his granddaughter) behind.
-I ended up reading the comments on the episode (which I normally don't because a lot of them are stupid), and I'm going to have to agree with one of them: So, now that the Doctor's sealed up the tomb, the next innocently curious expedition party is going to die by electric shock. There's no way he hasn't considered that.
Of course, would anything else would have worked? Would anything less have kept people away from the tomb?
-I heart Two. "Well, now I know you're mad. I was just making sure." (Although even better than that is when he makes a terrible "metal breakdown" pun and then apologizes to Jamie for it. Hee.)
-----
Genesis of the Daleks:
-I love how all the Other Time Lord has to do is say "Daleks" to get the Doctor's attention. What I also love is the Doctor's surprised/annoyed expression when he realizes that they're already on Skaro.
-Sarah Jane went through this entire adventure in high-heeled boots. I am in awe. Also, any and all screaming she did was under entirely understandable circumstances. Bravo, young lady.
-You know, I'm rather fond of Harry. "Why is it always me who puts a foot in it?" Why indeed. However, I think he handled everything this serial threw at him rather well, and I love how he refuses to back away from the landmine the Doctor steps on.
-Woah. They're not even being subtle about the Kaleds = Nazis thing. Not necessarily a bad thing, though.
-It was very easy to notice the parallels between Davros' voice and the Daleks, but am I alone in thinking that the Kaled officers, particularly Nyder/Needa/Davros' bespectacled assistant, talked like Daleks too? They had the same syllable breaks, in some cases the same intonation...Davros was just an exaggerated version, really.
-Davros is an excellent villain, and I very much look forward to the rest of his stories. He manages to be so menacing even when he only has the command of one hand, because you just know that no matter where he is or what he's doing, he's about to press a button and rain robotic death down on you. And he can switch from calm and polite to as violent as his Daleks in the space of a minute.
-Creepiest bit, though? The totally silent Dalek in the first episode. Given that I'm so used to them screaming like a broken Hitler doll (not my phrase), the sight of one firing and moving without saying a word - a simple killing tool, lacking even the Dalek's characteristic rage - was quite chilling.
-I...actually found Tom sort of attractive when he was in his shiny metallic suit. What is wrong with me?
-Speaking of which - "Hello! Could you help me? I'm a spy." *giggle*
-I seem to have this knack for picking stories where the Doctor suffers horribly. I mean - Claws of Axos: The Comfy Chair of Axos and the Disco Strobes of Pain. The Mind of Evil: Hooked up to the Keller Machine twice. Spearhead from Space: Shot in the head. Well, he is - look where it hits him. The Deadly Assassin: Interrogated by over-enthusiastic guard, sent into the Matrix, then shot twice, deprived of water, and almost drowned. And now Genesis: Electric fence. Criminy.
-The "have I the right?" scene? Handled beautifully, and takes on a very sad irony in light of the Time War, where the Doctor is forced to wipe out the Daleks (and, quite possibly, the Time Lords) anyway. I find it worthy of note that, despite the grappling with his conscience, he ends up blowing up the incubator (though he doesn't have much choice in the matter, after a Dalek drives over the wires). Is it because he knows that this won't completely wipe out the Daleks, since some survive in the bunker? Or, given enough time in that first scene, would he have let the wires touch anyway, no matter how much it disgusted and horrified him?
-Doesn't make it any better that some of the incubating Daleks sound like they're crying. I mean, obviously they're not, and it's not like you can feel much sympathy for them, given what they are, but...they sound like they're crying. Like babies. Which, essentially, they are.
-Also wonderful: the scene with the Doctor being questioned by Davros, and the scene immediately following it. That he gave up all those secrets, all that information that could make the Daleks invincible, to save Sarah and Harry...it's a little scary, really, because what if they hadn't got the recording back? What if that information had been at the Dalek's disposal? And Davros' reaction to the virus question could have been really cheesy (the whole "big villainous I-is-evol speech" and the like), but I thought it played fairly well. And it's made all the more twisted by the fact that the question was meant to rein in Davros, rather than encourage him.
-Doctor? Honestly? Something good coming from the Daleks? I think you might just be trying to make yourself feel better. Which is interesting, from a characterization perspective, but...still.
-----
Doctor Who: The Movie
-A ha ha ha cheesy Nineties theme music what.
-I'm not entirely fond of the Old New TARDIS. I like the new console, but I'm less fond of the gigantic, heavy-looking doors and arches. They seem too weighty, too...massive is the wrong word, but that's basically what I mean. I mean, I know that their mass has no bearing on the TARDIS itself, but even the new TARDIS looks lighter and cleaner, in an organic way. It doesn't look like a random cathedral is hurtling through space.
-I'm with McCoy on this one. That was quite an undignified end for the Doctor. Poor Seven. :(
-Paul McGann is so pretty. :) I hate to sound shallow, but he is. And he has this lovely, soft voice, especially when he first starts talking to Grace. "Hearts. Plural." *melts*
In fact, the only reason I can tolerate the uber-cheesy "Who am I!?" scene is because he's wearing naught but a sheet. That makes everything better.
-While we're on the subject, though, how did a naked, barefoot, newly regenerated, and rather skinny Eight manage to kick down a morgue door?
-I...I...I didn't hate Roberts!Master as much as I thought I would. See, if he hadn't been the Master, I think I would have been sort of okay with him. The reason I didn't like him was mostly that his characterization was completely inconsistent with all the Masters before or since. He was an okay, if very campy, villain. But he wasn't the Master.
For starters, the Master would NOT don the ceremonial robes of Gallifrey. I mean, maybe there are some circumstances under which he would have to, but if he wasn't doing anything else but offing the Doctor? No way.
Also, it would have been nice if they hadn't switched on his Godzilla voice for the last ten minutes he was in the movie.
-grumble grumble stupid Americans and their Obligatory Love Interests grumble. I'd like to apologize for my country of origin's psychotic compulsion to give every movie hero EVER a love interest, even if said hero is the Doctor. Grumble.
-That said, I didn't hate Grace. I wasn't overly fond of her, and her first few scenes were cheesier than Velveeta (I hereby call an ABSOLUTE BAN on characters with a single, obviously fake tear rolling down their cheek. NOBODY DOES THAT.), but I did like the fact that she told the Doctor to come with her at the end of the movie. And she at least could figure out what "dimensionally transcendental" meant, to an extent.
-I did sort of like Chang Lee, though. Not sure why. Maybe it's that he wasn't completely stupid; he figured out what the TARDIS key was, and he knew when to disbelieve the Master. What was that the Doctor gave to him at the end of the movie, though?
-The Doctor is not half-human not on any side it was a quirk of a single regeneration or a botched Chameleon Arch transformation the Doctor is absolutely not half-human la la la I'm not listening.
-I'll just fess up: the police officer motorcycling into the open TARDIS and then running back out in terror made me giggle. Just a little.
-y helo thar gratuitous continuity reference jelly baby.
-You know, if I had to make a list of the Doctors most like Ten, I think Eight would be near the top of the list. Telling people hints of their own future, especially - that reminded me of Ten. I know other Doctors did that too, but Eight seemed almost...playful about it, sometimes.
-And now to hunt down some audio dramas.
-----
Ahem. Well, since the ficcing bugs have bitten, I've found myself with the unexpected drive to write - now, for once, accompanied by a few actual ideas!
Of course, one of those ideas involved Genesis of the Daleks, which meant I had to watch it in its entirety instead of just watching clips and reading the recap over and over.
And another one of those ideas involved Two, Eight, and another old-school Doctor (I haven't decided yet). Which meant I had to watch them both in action. For research purposes, of course.
Since I'm still working on my previous pile o' meta (hopefully I'll have a little of that done by tonight), I'll just post my initial thoughts in handy-dandy bullet-point form.
Tomb of the Cybermen:
-I am ever so on board the H.M.S. Two/Jamie. I've got a deck chair and a drink with a little umbrella in it, too.
I mean, really. There's an awful lot of unnecessary touching going on there. And it makes me happy.
-Victoria is so cute. I wish to cuddle her like a kitty. And she says "Oh, fiddle!" when she gets mad, which just makes her even cuter. And apparently, she can hit a Cybermat with one shot the first time she picks up a gun. Not bad.
That said, lying down in the Cyberman's charging chamber? With Sinister Snippy Woman right by the controls? Not her brightest moment.
-Guys, the Cybermats weren't really that big. You could have leaped over them, or kicked them away, or something. Although I'll admit it would be very icky waking up with one of them on your chest.
-Old-school Cyberman voice = still creepy. Occasionally unintelligible, but creepy nonetheless.
-I am properly offended that all the "good guys" were white, whereas the people of vaguely Indian origin were involved in an evil magical cult and the black guy was a "noble savage". Oh, sixties. *shakes head*
-Easily the best part of the episode: Two's conversation with Victoria about their families. The bit about only remembering them when he wants to just killed me. It's another moment when we really get a sense of just how ancient the Doctor is, of how much he's experienced and how much he's lost by leaving his home (and his granddaughter) behind.
-I ended up reading the comments on the episode (which I normally don't because a lot of them are stupid), and I'm going to have to agree with one of them: So, now that the Doctor's sealed up the tomb, the next innocently curious expedition party is going to die by electric shock. There's no way he hasn't considered that.
Of course, would anything else would have worked? Would anything less have kept people away from the tomb?
-I heart Two. "Well, now I know you're mad. I was just making sure." (Although even better than that is when he makes a terrible "metal breakdown" pun and then apologizes to Jamie for it. Hee.)
-----
Genesis of the Daleks:
-I love how all the Other Time Lord has to do is say "Daleks" to get the Doctor's attention. What I also love is the Doctor's surprised/annoyed expression when he realizes that they're already on Skaro.
-Sarah Jane went through this entire adventure in high-heeled boots. I am in awe. Also, any and all screaming she did was under entirely understandable circumstances. Bravo, young lady.
-You know, I'm rather fond of Harry. "Why is it always me who puts a foot in it?" Why indeed. However, I think he handled everything this serial threw at him rather well, and I love how he refuses to back away from the landmine the Doctor steps on.
-Woah. They're not even being subtle about the Kaleds = Nazis thing. Not necessarily a bad thing, though.
-It was very easy to notice the parallels between Davros' voice and the Daleks, but am I alone in thinking that the Kaled officers, particularly Nyder/Needa/Davros' bespectacled assistant, talked like Daleks too? They had the same syllable breaks, in some cases the same intonation...Davros was just an exaggerated version, really.
-Davros is an excellent villain, and I very much look forward to the rest of his stories. He manages to be so menacing even when he only has the command of one hand, because you just know that no matter where he is or what he's doing, he's about to press a button and rain robotic death down on you. And he can switch from calm and polite to as violent as his Daleks in the space of a minute.
-Creepiest bit, though? The totally silent Dalek in the first episode. Given that I'm so used to them screaming like a broken Hitler doll (not my phrase), the sight of one firing and moving without saying a word - a simple killing tool, lacking even the Dalek's characteristic rage - was quite chilling.
-I...actually found Tom sort of attractive when he was in his shiny metallic suit. What is wrong with me?
-Speaking of which - "Hello! Could you help me? I'm a spy." *giggle*
-I seem to have this knack for picking stories where the Doctor suffers horribly. I mean - Claws of Axos: The Comfy Chair of Axos and the Disco Strobes of Pain. The Mind of Evil: Hooked up to the Keller Machine twice. Spearhead from Space: Shot in the head. Well, he is - look where it hits him. The Deadly Assassin: Interrogated by over-enthusiastic guard, sent into the Matrix, then shot twice, deprived of water, and almost drowned. And now Genesis: Electric fence. Criminy.
-The "have I the right?" scene? Handled beautifully, and takes on a very sad irony in light of the Time War, where the Doctor is forced to wipe out the Daleks (and, quite possibly, the Time Lords) anyway. I find it worthy of note that, despite the grappling with his conscience, he ends up blowing up the incubator (though he doesn't have much choice in the matter, after a Dalek drives over the wires). Is it because he knows that this won't completely wipe out the Daleks, since some survive in the bunker? Or, given enough time in that first scene, would he have let the wires touch anyway, no matter how much it disgusted and horrified him?
-Doesn't make it any better that some of the incubating Daleks sound like they're crying. I mean, obviously they're not, and it's not like you can feel much sympathy for them, given what they are, but...they sound like they're crying. Like babies. Which, essentially, they are.
-Also wonderful: the scene with the Doctor being questioned by Davros, and the scene immediately following it. That he gave up all those secrets, all that information that could make the Daleks invincible, to save Sarah and Harry...it's a little scary, really, because what if they hadn't got the recording back? What if that information had been at the Dalek's disposal? And Davros' reaction to the virus question could have been really cheesy (the whole "big villainous I-is-evol speech" and the like), but I thought it played fairly well. And it's made all the more twisted by the fact that the question was meant to rein in Davros, rather than encourage him.
-Doctor? Honestly? Something good coming from the Daleks? I think you might just be trying to make yourself feel better. Which is interesting, from a characterization perspective, but...still.
-----
Doctor Who: The Movie
-A ha ha ha cheesy Nineties theme music what.
-I'm not entirely fond of the Old New TARDIS. I like the new console, but I'm less fond of the gigantic, heavy-looking doors and arches. They seem too weighty, too...massive is the wrong word, but that's basically what I mean. I mean, I know that their mass has no bearing on the TARDIS itself, but even the new TARDIS looks lighter and cleaner, in an organic way. It doesn't look like a random cathedral is hurtling through space.
-I'm with McCoy on this one. That was quite an undignified end for the Doctor. Poor Seven. :(
-Paul McGann is so pretty. :) I hate to sound shallow, but he is. And he has this lovely, soft voice, especially when he first starts talking to Grace. "Hearts. Plural." *melts*
In fact, the only reason I can tolerate the uber-cheesy "Who am I!?" scene is because he's wearing naught but a sheet. That makes everything better.
-While we're on the subject, though, how did a naked, barefoot, newly regenerated, and rather skinny Eight manage to kick down a morgue door?
-I...I...I didn't hate Roberts!Master as much as I thought I would. See, if he hadn't been the Master, I think I would have been sort of okay with him. The reason I didn't like him was mostly that his characterization was completely inconsistent with all the Masters before or since. He was an okay, if very campy, villain. But he wasn't the Master.
For starters, the Master would NOT don the ceremonial robes of Gallifrey. I mean, maybe there are some circumstances under which he would have to, but if he wasn't doing anything else but offing the Doctor? No way.
Also, it would have been nice if they hadn't switched on his Godzilla voice for the last ten minutes he was in the movie.
-grumble grumble stupid Americans and their Obligatory Love Interests grumble. I'd like to apologize for my country of origin's psychotic compulsion to give every movie hero EVER a love interest, even if said hero is the Doctor. Grumble.
-That said, I didn't hate Grace. I wasn't overly fond of her, and her first few scenes were cheesier than Velveeta (I hereby call an ABSOLUTE BAN on characters with a single, obviously fake tear rolling down their cheek. NOBODY DOES THAT.), but I did like the fact that she told the Doctor to come with her at the end of the movie. And she at least could figure out what "dimensionally transcendental" meant, to an extent.
-I did sort of like Chang Lee, though. Not sure why. Maybe it's that he wasn't completely stupid; he figured out what the TARDIS key was, and he knew when to disbelieve the Master. What was that the Doctor gave to him at the end of the movie, though?
-The Doctor is not half-human not on any side it was a quirk of a single regeneration or a botched Chameleon Arch transformation the Doctor is absolutely not half-human la la la I'm not listening.
-I'll just fess up: the police officer motorcycling into the open TARDIS and then running back out in terror made me giggle. Just a little.
-y helo thar gratuitous continuity reference jelly baby.
-You know, if I had to make a list of the Doctors most like Ten, I think Eight would be near the top of the list. Telling people hints of their own future, especially - that reminded me of Ten. I know other Doctors did that too, but Eight seemed almost...playful about it, sometimes.
-And now to hunt down some audio dramas.
-----