Doctor Who, season 5

[travisjhall]

Well, I'm caught up on Doctor Who now. After seeing two episodes of the latest season on free-to-air TV, then missing the next two, I gave up on it and waited for the DVDs. They were released last week, and I've been steadily churning through the episodes (starting with re-watching the first two).

Comments

[aphephobia]

Aw... that's a shame: I really liked the first couple of episodes that I saw, and I loved Amy, too. (I honestly do NOT get the fandom's hatred of her... then again, it tends to shellack the companions a LOT. The Amy!hate I've seen has been about her being sexual and clever, and conventionally pretty, and there were Mary Sue accusations, too [which I'd dispute because she doesn't steal thunder from the Doctor in the way an MS would have]; the Martha hate was again about her being clever and attractive [and there were a couple of instances of racism], and the Rose!hate was one her for being "fat," for being stupid, for being attracted to the Doctor, and there was often a heavy dose of classism mingled in with all that too.)

Also, thankyou for not being really spoilerish with your description. I could still watch the rest of the series and get what you're on about without feeling like you've ruined it by revealing huge amounts of plot stuff. :)

[travisjhall]

If you want to see it, I've got this set of DVDs sitting around that will just gather dust now. Give me a few days to finish watching the specials, and figure out a way to get it from me, and you'd be welcome.

It is definitely worth the watching. I have enjoyed all five seasons and the specials of the New Who, and thought this was stronger than the worst of the previous, though weaker than the strongest.

[travisjhall]

Oh, yeah, regarding Amy, it probably also helps that I find her smoking hot. Rose was attractive enough I could see why the Doctor was attracted, but had I known Amy in real life a decade and a half ago... well, I'd probably have pined over her but never worked up the courage to mention it. Definite pining, though.

[capnoblivious]

What I liked about the Doctor-Amy-Rory dynamic was that it wasn't a simple jealousy triangle. Amy was attracted to the Doctor, but her relationship (and relationship potential) was very different to the same with Rory.

The Doctor was offering her a wider world, a bigger picture - but Amy, more than any other companion, was actually going to have to give things up for that. Previously there's been lip service to the idea, but it's always been no contest - why would you not go with the Doctor, when all you're giving up is boring mundanity? Amy had a real choice, and ultimately arranged it so that she could choose both.

[travisjhall]

I saw something a little different in Amy's behaviour. At least to me, it seemed that her travel with the Doctor was as much about fleeing from her not-quite-as-mundane-as-might-be-hoped life on Earth as it was about seeing the wonders of the universe.

Look at her interactions with the Doctor during her first travels with him... She concealed for several adventures her impending wedding, even when he directly asked what was important about the next morning. She doesn't wear the engagement ring. She shows obvious signs of attraction to him. Then, in response to trauma, she tries to cheat on her fiancé - doesn't say, "Take me home to see Rory," but "Take me home so I can show you just how naughty I intend to be."

When the Doctor responds by arranging for her to spend time with Rory, she doesn't make any attempt at all to acknowledge or smooth over her behaviour, despite everyone knowing she's been caught out.

It's classic relationship-sabotaging behaviour, even right down to self-sabotaging the self-sabotage (because if you really just

[capnoblivious]

Yep, Amy arranged to have both, but the part that needed arranging was the relationship with Rory, not the opportunity to travel.

Exactly. :)