Doctor Who - Season 7 Hopes
Within a few hours Season 7 of Doctor Who premieres. To say I was disappointed in last season would be an understatement. I've already gotten my vitriol reactions from the mess out on rhoda_rants's blog (sorry for that!) so I'm hoping this season can wash away all the bad. But to do that, Doctor Who is going to have to do a few things.
1. Get rid of the Ponds
I know it's their last season--everyone's confirmed this. Make it their last season for real. Hell, kill one (Amy) off. Make it matter that they came back for a handful of episodes because they had a great send-off in "The God Complex". In fact, I thought the whole purpose of that episode was for the Doctor to realize they had to leave--they had to get lives outside of him and the TARDIS. That he was being selfish for being so involved with their lives, and if he didn't separate himself from them, he would lead them to their demise. So, please, get rid of the Ponds. Rory can live--he's died enough times. I wouldn't be too upset if Amy bites it, though.
2. No season-long arcs
Moffat, you have some strong talents. You're good at creating creepy atmosphere that's wrought with tension. You've created some of the most memorable episodes: "Blink", "Forest of the Dead", "Silence in the Library" and creatures: the Weeping Angels and the Silence. You cannot create a mystery and sustain it over 12 episodes. You try to make it too complicated, too all consuming. You direct us to the clues that come with their own neon lights that read "THIS IS IMPORTANT!" Time travel is tricky enough without you forcing red-herrings that turn into giant plot holes large enough to park the Death Star in.
Let's look at the facts: Season 1 we had "Bad Wolf"/Season 2 was "Torchwood"/Season 3 was "the Master/Harry Saxon"/Season 4 was "Doctor/Donna". These were all little clues mentioned in passing that most--if not all--nobody knew what they meant until the final episodes. The last two arcs have all the subtlety of an anvil. (It really was a miss-step making the audience think the Doctor was going to die. If this was the 50th anniversary, I might've bought it.) Also, if we get one more finale that has something to do with the destruction of time, I'm going to lose it. Find another schtick, for Time Lord's sake!
(Here's a prediction: I bet Amy will be fridged and that'll be the arc of the back-half of the season.)
3. Be true to your characters
Nothing drove me more nuts during the last season than all the character inconsistencies. Now, I know some episodes were shuffled around because of the summer break. But seriously, after their daughter, Melody, is taken by the Silence, the Ponds have nothing to say? They aren't angry? They don't blame--even for a little bit--the Doctor? No--no, they just believe that the Doctor will find her and bring her home. But then he shows up without Melody and they're all, "S'Okay. You tried. Hey, let's visit the Third Reich!" (Seriously, where did the Doctor go? What was he doing? What was the point of him leaving?) For as much as Moffat shoves down our throat how much of a badass Amy is, she seems pretty la-di-freaking-da with Melody hanging with the Silence, who had already kidnapped Amy and did who-knows-what on her while she was pregnant. And you, Rory, I expected more from you.
This was just one of the many instances where characters did something just for the sake of it happening/moving the plot along. Time Lord forbid we spend any time dissecting Amy and Rory's emotional trauma after watching the Silence abscond with their newborn child. And I'm sorry, for someone who's supposedly a badass, I don't buy for one second that Amy's just waiting around to be rescued. Especially when we get a proactive Amy in "The Girl Who Waited" who takes on the Kindness and proves she can function outside of the Doctor's presence. Where was this badassery at Demon's Run? But, of course, that characterization is wiped away when the Doctor and Rory come to her rescue...again. And River. Poor, poor River. How the hell did her character get so fucked up when Moffat was the one who introduced her in the first place way back in Season 4? What the ever-living fuck happened?
So, after typing all this up, herein lies the crux of my complaints: I do not care about the characters. Probably because they don't feel like real characters. The only one really fleshed out is the Doctor; but I don't know how much of that is Moffat's doing or simply because we've had him for six-plus seasons. In Seasons 1-4, the companions had lives outside of the Doctor. Boring lives that included families, friends--people waiting for them at home. The Ponds have nothing. During the Season 5 finale, Amy gets her parents back and we see some brief, sweet moments between them. And yet there has been no mention of them since. I don't know what's going to happen to the Ponds after they leave...and frankly, I don't give a damn.
Other Quick Things:
--Stop using "timey-wimey" to explain things. You are a science fiction show--use science!
--Let's retire the Weeping Angels. They were great for a one-off episode; not so much in their follow-up appearance.
--Can we get some other time periods other than World War II? Every season we pay a visit to WWII England (oh, but we got WWII Germany last season) and it's tiresome. You know what would also be awesome? Getting some multicultural settings. I know I'm guilty of being fascinated by Anglo-Saxon history. Do not be like me. Let's visit the Ottoman Empire. You know who'd be a kick to hang out with? Genghis Khan. We could go to Ancient China or Japan and see samurais. We could, you know, acknowledge that Earth is a diverse planet.
From the little I've read about the new season, it seems like most of these requests will be met. Although it doesn't matter what the writers promise. They need to follow through with their promises. Hopefully they treat this season like a fresh start.
1. Get rid of the Ponds
I know it's their last season--everyone's confirmed this. Make it their last season for real. Hell, kill one (Amy) off. Make it matter that they came back for a handful of episodes because they had a great send-off in "The God Complex". In fact, I thought the whole purpose of that episode was for the Doctor to realize they had to leave--they had to get lives outside of him and the TARDIS. That he was being selfish for being so involved with their lives, and if he didn't separate himself from them, he would lead them to their demise. So, please, get rid of the Ponds. Rory can live--he's died enough times. I wouldn't be too upset if Amy bites it, though.
2. No season-long arcs
Moffat, you have some strong talents. You're good at creating creepy atmosphere that's wrought with tension. You've created some of the most memorable episodes: "Blink", "Forest of the Dead", "Silence in the Library" and creatures: the Weeping Angels and the Silence. You cannot create a mystery and sustain it over 12 episodes. You try to make it too complicated, too all consuming. You direct us to the clues that come with their own neon lights that read "THIS IS IMPORTANT!" Time travel is tricky enough without you forcing red-herrings that turn into giant plot holes large enough to park the Death Star in.
Let's look at the facts: Season 1 we had "Bad Wolf"/Season 2 was "Torchwood"/Season 3 was "the Master/Harry Saxon"/Season 4 was "Doctor/Donna". These were all little clues mentioned in passing that most--if not all--nobody knew what they meant until the final episodes. The last two arcs have all the subtlety of an anvil. (It really was a miss-step making the audience think the Doctor was going to die. If this was the 50th anniversary, I might've bought it.) Also, if we get one more finale that has something to do with the destruction of time, I'm going to lose it. Find another schtick, for Time Lord's sake!
(Here's a prediction: I bet Amy will be fridged and that'll be the arc of the back-half of the season.)
3. Be true to your characters
Nothing drove me more nuts during the last season than all the character inconsistencies. Now, I know some episodes were shuffled around because of the summer break. But seriously, after their daughter, Melody, is taken by the Silence, the Ponds have nothing to say? They aren't angry? They don't blame--even for a little bit--the Doctor? No--no, they just believe that the Doctor will find her and bring her home. But then he shows up without Melody and they're all, "S'Okay. You tried. Hey, let's visit the Third Reich!" (Seriously, where did the Doctor go? What was he doing? What was the point of him leaving?) For as much as Moffat shoves down our throat how much of a badass Amy is, she seems pretty la-di-freaking-da with Melody hanging with the Silence, who had already kidnapped Amy and did who-knows-what on her while she was pregnant. And you, Rory, I expected more from you.
This was just one of the many instances where characters did something just for the sake of it happening/moving the plot along. Time Lord forbid we spend any time dissecting Amy and Rory's emotional trauma after watching the Silence abscond with their newborn child. And I'm sorry, for someone who's supposedly a badass, I don't buy for one second that Amy's just waiting around to be rescued. Especially when we get a proactive Amy in "The Girl Who Waited" who takes on the Kindness and proves she can function outside of the Doctor's presence. Where was this badassery at Demon's Run? But, of course, that characterization is wiped away when the Doctor and Rory come to her rescue...again. And River. Poor, poor River. How the hell did her character get so fucked up when Moffat was the one who introduced her in the first place way back in Season 4? What the ever-living fuck happened?
So, after typing all this up, herein lies the crux of my complaints: I do not care about the characters. Probably because they don't feel like real characters. The only one really fleshed out is the Doctor; but I don't know how much of that is Moffat's doing or simply because we've had him for six-plus seasons. In Seasons 1-4, the companions had lives outside of the Doctor. Boring lives that included families, friends--people waiting for them at home. The Ponds have nothing. During the Season 5 finale, Amy gets her parents back and we see some brief, sweet moments between them. And yet there has been no mention of them since. I don't know what's going to happen to the Ponds after they leave...and frankly, I don't give a damn.
Other Quick Things:
--Stop using "timey-wimey" to explain things. You are a science fiction show--use science!
--Let's retire the Weeping Angels. They were great for a one-off episode; not so much in their follow-up appearance.
--Can we get some other time periods other than World War II? Every season we pay a visit to WWII England (oh, but we got WWII Germany last season) and it's tiresome. You know what would also be awesome? Getting some multicultural settings. I know I'm guilty of being fascinated by Anglo-Saxon history. Do not be like me. Let's visit the Ottoman Empire. You know who'd be a kick to hang out with? Genghis Khan. We could go to Ancient China or Japan and see samurais. We could, you know, acknowledge that Earth is a diverse planet.
From the little I've read about the new season, it seems like most of these requests will be met. Although it doesn't matter what the writers promise. They need to follow through with their promises. Hopefully they treat this season like a fresh start.