More Who (yeah that's about all I'm gonna be about for the next 11 weeks)
Someone over at the TWOP forums pointed out that Donna reminds them of Barbara, only louder.
Me: "....THAT'S why I like her so much!"
In other unsurprising news, still miss Barbara :( Actually this ties in with what I was talking about with Bri today, how old Who companions were so much more independent than new ones, and how pleased I am that Donna is taking us back in that direction. YEAH INDEPENDENT COMPANIONS WHO ARE A MATCH FOR THE DOCTOR!!
As an example: I watched "The Web Planet" recently. Don't be fooled by the negative hype, it's actually not a bad episode if you're good at imagining that people dressed in giant bug costumes are really giant bug aliens. Also I heard a lot about how "ZOMG Hartnell has a huge line fluff in part two!!! ZOMG it's so embarrassing!!" and then I watched it and if I hadn't been told in advance, I wouldn't have noticed it. Seriously, it didn't come off as 'old senile William Hartnell forgets a line and has to be prompted' it came off as 'the Doctor pauses dramatically.' Old school fans are so over-sensitive *eyeroll*. I liked the alien atmosphere effects, except that coupled with how grainy the picture was in the first place, I sometimes felt as if I were peering through a fog (or needed to adjust my contacts) whenever they were aboveground. Anyway, enough about that, on to the companion stuff that I said I was gonna talk about.
In this episode, for starters, the Doctor sends Ian off, alone, across a planet that even the Doctor has never been to before, to find a place that they know only the name of and rescue Barbara. I...can't even imagine him doing that now. It's actually funny because Ian ends up meeting this Menoptra girl and falling underground and meeting these primitives and generally getting hopelessly lost and Barbara rescues herself. And then at the end of the episode when it seems all is lost, Ian and his little force of primitives and one Menoptra pop out through the floor...just in time for Barbara to save everyone. Yeah. You made a real contribution there, Ian :P Also of note in the 'Old Who companions could take care of themselves, and, indeed, were expected to' category is that *Barbara saves everyone.* What was the Doctor doing at this point? Lying in an unconscious heap on the floor, moaning occasionally. Yeah. When was the last time *that* happened in a new Who episode? Lemme think...NEVER. Seriously, I'm thinking back, and the last time I can remember that the Doctor didn't Save The Day (capitals compulsory) is in Blink. And even then, he had to leave step-by-step instructions and hints.
Also, fresh from the Crack Theories department (chaired by Bri, although I wholeheartedly want this one to be true): The "She is returning" may not refer to Rose. This coupled with "There is something on your back" meaning there's something about Donna that she doesn't know could equal Donna is Romana?? GOD I HOPE SO I MISS HER ;_; Also it would fit her personality, although Romana doesn't tend to be as shouty. But the whole 'equal for the Doctor who fights with him about how to do things' is Romana to a T. Here's hoping...
Me: "....THAT'S why I like her so much!"
In other unsurprising news, still miss Barbara :( Actually this ties in with what I was talking about with Bri today, how old Who companions were so much more independent than new ones, and how pleased I am that Donna is taking us back in that direction. YEAH INDEPENDENT COMPANIONS WHO ARE A MATCH FOR THE DOCTOR!!
As an example: I watched "The Web Planet" recently. Don't be fooled by the negative hype, it's actually not a bad episode if you're good at imagining that people dressed in giant bug costumes are really giant bug aliens. Also I heard a lot about how "ZOMG Hartnell has a huge line fluff in part two!!! ZOMG it's so embarrassing!!" and then I watched it and if I hadn't been told in advance, I wouldn't have noticed it. Seriously, it didn't come off as 'old senile William Hartnell forgets a line and has to be prompted' it came off as 'the Doctor pauses dramatically.' Old school fans are so over-sensitive *eyeroll*. I liked the alien atmosphere effects, except that coupled with how grainy the picture was in the first place, I sometimes felt as if I were peering through a fog (or needed to adjust my contacts) whenever they were aboveground. Anyway, enough about that, on to the companion stuff that I said I was gonna talk about.
In this episode, for starters, the Doctor sends Ian off, alone, across a planet that even the Doctor has never been to before, to find a place that they know only the name of and rescue Barbara. I...can't even imagine him doing that now. It's actually funny because Ian ends up meeting this Menoptra girl and falling underground and meeting these primitives and generally getting hopelessly lost and Barbara rescues herself. And then at the end of the episode when it seems all is lost, Ian and his little force of primitives and one Menoptra pop out through the floor...just in time for Barbara to save everyone. Yeah. You made a real contribution there, Ian :P Also of note in the 'Old Who companions could take care of themselves, and, indeed, were expected to' category is that *Barbara saves everyone.* What was the Doctor doing at this point? Lying in an unconscious heap on the floor, moaning occasionally. Yeah. When was the last time *that* happened in a new Who episode? Lemme think...NEVER. Seriously, I'm thinking back, and the last time I can remember that the Doctor didn't Save The Day (capitals compulsory) is in Blink. And even then, he had to leave step-by-step instructions and hints.
Also, fresh from the Crack Theories department (chaired by Bri, although I wholeheartedly want this one to be true): The "She is returning" may not refer to Rose. This coupled with "There is something on your back" meaning there's something about Donna that she doesn't know could equal Donna is Romana?? GOD I HOPE SO I MISS HER ;_; Also it would fit her personality, although Romana doesn't tend to be as shouty. But the whole 'equal for the Doctor who fights with him about how to do things' is Romana to a T. Here's hoping...