Episode thoughts, just a few days late.
First off, a bit of celebration: I just paid off one of my credit cards today, and as soon as the bill for my other one comes in, I’ll have that one paid off as well, which will leave me with just two manageable monthly bills! *does happy dance* It galls me that I’m paying it off with unemployment money rather than something I earned by working, but at least I’ll be able to put more money aside for moving out of Michigan.
Anyway… Finally got the chance to watch “The Almost People” today. I’d forgotten what it was like to watch a DW episode as it was meant to be aired, without awkward commercial breaks.
Also, the title is giving me a headache. There was a Doctor Who Virgin New Adventure called The Also People, and I keep thinking of that whenever I hear the title. So, here are my thoughts on the two-parter as a whole, and what is to come afterward. Spoilers ahead, obviously.
I don’t have much to say about ‘The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People’, really. They weren’t awful, but they weren’t spectacular, either. So… mediocre, with some good moments and ideas. I did have a lot more thoughts, originally, but then I got to the end with its big reveal, and I’m focused more on that now.
What I liked:
- Ganger!Eleven! (Which makes me think Gangsta!Eleven, and I really don’t want my mind going there…) Maybe I’m a sucker for clones and the moral dilemmas that result, but I really enjoyed this, especially the bit where he was trying to cope with the memories from past regenerations. I like to think he’s out there somewhere with Ganger!Cleaves. And that he kept some of the Flesh’s nifty malleability. I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t get any Doctor/Doctor arguing; it’s always fun when the bicker. After all, this is someone who loves being the cleverest man in the room and he doesn’t seem to like sharing that title with anyone else, even himself.
- Eleven in general. I didn't like that he just left Amy trapped for all those months and woke her up in time for labor (though she may have needed to be awake for that) but that's an issue with the arc itself, not the way Eleven is written in this ep. I have a love/hate relationship with this Doctor. Sometimes, I really like Eleven. Sometimes, he strongly reminds me of a guy I went to high school with who made my life miserable, and it’s difficult to work around that trigger. This series, I seem to be feeling more of the latter, and I hate that. But for these two eps, and ‘The Doctor’s Wife,’ I haven’t had that problem. I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll see more of the Eleven I like.
What didn’t really work for me:
- The whole concept of mining acid made me go, ‘huh?’ I can’t think of any acids that strong occurring in nature, except perhaps for what we produce in the stomach. Acid’s usually man-made, either intentionally or as a bi-product. Okay, so I should know by now not to question Doctor Who science, but this just seemed so bizarre. I’ll just pretend it’s a result of industrialization and chemical waste dumping that’s accumulated over time. Yeah.
- I wasn’t sure what to make of Cleaves. In the first half, she came off as the arrogant, stubborn woman in charge, especially when she came in with that electrical weapon and ‘kill them all‘ attitude. But in the next episode, both of her seemed rather accepting of the Gangers. Or, at least, not particularly bothered.
- There was something a bit ‘meh’ about the episodes in general. Most likely, it’s probably because I’ve seen/read a lot of stories about the ethics of duplicates, and some of them are very well done. It’s one of my favorite themes, actually, so I admit I probably have high standards. And these episodes didn’t measure up. Plus, after Neil Gaiman’s episode, I think anything following it would seem ‘meh’ in comparison.
Now, onto the mid-season finale…
I’ve mentioned it before: I hate it when TV shows have pregnancy story lines. Oh, I accept that they happen, sometimes by necessity such as when the actress is pregnant and there’s no other way to work around it (unless you’re awesome, like early X-Files). Sometimes I even enjoy it, such as when the characters are obviously going to be good, loving parents who want to raise a child together offscreen (I’m not so fond of the ‘we had a one night stand resulting in a baby so we should get together’ storyline.) However, it’s often used as a way to grab ratings, or a way to further female character development, as if motherhood is the only direction they can take with a female character.
Hell, thanks to the wonders of science fiction, I’ve even seen shows with a predominately male cast have male pregnancies. Ish. (I’m looking at you, Quantum Leap.)
Still, I can usually tolerate it, anyway, especially if I love the show.
But this…? No. No.
It doesn’t matter that this was written by Moffat. It wouldn’t matter if it had been written by RTD, or Neil Gaiman, Paul Cornell, Rob Shearman, or any of my all time favorite authors: I hate the mysterious forced pregnancy plot. Hate it. There’s an entire season of The X-Files that I will not rewatch because of Scully’s mysterious pregnancy.
Maybe I hate it so much because it’s like a personal nightmare for me. I don’t want children, and the thought of being held captive where my only use lies in the children I produce against my will makes me sick.
Moffat could have the most unique, awesome plot ever in this finale, and it wouldn’t matter because the whole time, there’s going to be a part of me cringing.
I would love it if I could be proven wrong, and this is actually a wonderful, heartwarming storyline. In fact, I will be hoping for just that, whenever I get the chance to watch the finale (thank you again, BBCA, with your infinite wisdom and one week delays…)