"No way!" "Yes way...Appian way!"
Well, today I had to get up at the buttcrack of dawn (a.k.a. 5:15 a.m.) to proctor an engineering exam along with lordtravis. It pays pretty well, and isn't very demanding, but it's still like 12 hours of a Saturday gone. (And certainly if I'd known that our paper deadline was going to be extended till Sunday, I wouldn't have done it...as it is I'm having to finish it up now, weo.)
BUT! It's new Doctor Who day, so that makes everything okay! And to make it even more awesome, they end up in Pompeii on volcano day. :D
...okay, that was a TOTALLY AWESOME episode, and now Donna has gotten her requisite "you can't save everyone, history happens this way" speech; it's the same speech Rose got in "Father's Day," but on a much larger scale. (Surprisingly, Martha never got it...maybe because the only real historical episode where it could happen was the "Human Nature"/"Family of Blood" two-parter, and while there were touches of that with the WWI kids, Martha had enough on her plate worrying about the Doctor and herself without worrying about them, y'know? XD
Also can I just say how much I love Donna? Looking at Pompeii (thinking it's Rome) and going "It's so...Roman!" Also I enjoy her curiosity; most companions have just accepted the TARDIS translation circuit, after the whole "wtf it's in my head?" thing, but Donna actually seems to be trying to figure out how it works. And her attempt to use actual Latin to a shopkeeper, and receiving as a response "Me no speak Celtic," was kind of the funniest part of the episode for me. XD
Her acerbicness even in the face of imminent execution is very Sarah Jane-esque; she actually is reminding me quite a bit of Sarah Jane so far this season, in a good way (is there any other way to be like Sarah Jane?). And Catherine Tate is actually quite a good dramatic actor, as expected (you don't get into the RSC strictly on funny voices and comic timing)...her telling the Doctor "never mind us" gave me chills, and she managed to really sell the scene with her begging the Doctor to go back and save SOMEONE. Also, how sweet was Donna pulling the lever with the Doctor, to share responsibility for the eruption? Totally sweet, that's how sweet.
As for the Doctor, OMGWTF WATER PISTOL. Seriously, only Ten-inch can look badass while running across fake rocks holding a fluorescent yellow water pistol. Similarly, "just us girls" is never a phrase I thought I'd hear the Doctor say. And it seems like we're getting a serious return of the Gallifrey-angst (makes sense, after the end of last season); clearly when he's talking about how he can't go back and save anyone, he's not talking about Pompeii. This also makes me think that the "disappearing planets" thing may have to do with the Time War or its aftereffects (though honestly I imagine it'll probably have to do with slippage between their world and Rose's world).
Also, HOLY SHIT but the Doctor referenced having been partly responsible for the fire that burned down Rome in Nero's reign...which, of course, was shown in the First Doctor serial "The Romans."
As for the Doctor and Donna together, so cute! The hugging! Donna's appreciativeness of his water pistol ("I bloody love you") gave me a bit of worried pause, but they still seem to be staying just mates, in the non-romantic sense. ALSO BROTHER AND SISTER SPARTACUS FTW
Now for the non-Doctor and Donna parts of the ep: the production values are AMAZING, and in general it was just really well-written and well-made and you find yourself really liking the token pseudo-companions-for-the-episode (Caecilius Metellus [I know I got that wrong] and his family). Occasionally the "Look, the ancient Romans are just like us!" schtick gets kinda cheesy, but nevertheless it does achieve its aim of being kinda hilarious. And awww, the new household gods. XD
Also, god, but the Latin jokes. The guy with the stone right arm is "Lucius Petrus Dextrus"? XDDDDD
Also enkiae totally needs to watch this, because there's lots of crazy soothsayer ladies high on volcano gas who like to sacrifice people. XD
Finally, I had thought the backlit-Doctor-in-TARDIS "come with me" bit from the trailer was specifically shot for it, but it turns out it's from this episode! Also, maybe I'm oversensitive because of Dobby!Tinkerbell!Jesus Doctor at the end of last season, but did it seem slightly messianic to anyone else? (Well, he DOES end up a god at the end.)
And while I'm Who-posting, some linkspam...
Let's Positive Linking, Gallifreyan Edition!
- For those of you unfamiliar with what Donna mentioned last week about the bees disappearing, this is in fact based on a real-life phenomenon.
- An interesting post on what Donna knows about the previous companions, which has a lot of interesting spec about Donna's role that makes me excited. :D
- Another Donna post about how the character of Donna hasn't really changed since her first appearance in "The Runaway Bride," just perception of her and her situation have.
- Finally, some spoilery finale speculation that has me totally excited for the finale. HOW CAN THEY PULL OFF THIS MUCH IN ONE EPISODE, SERIOUSLY
BUT! It's new Doctor Who day, so that makes everything okay! And to make it even more awesome, they end up in Pompeii on volcano day. :D
...okay, that was a TOTALLY AWESOME episode, and now Donna has gotten her requisite "you can't save everyone, history happens this way" speech; it's the same speech Rose got in "Father's Day," but on a much larger scale. (Surprisingly, Martha never got it...maybe because the only real historical episode where it could happen was the "Human Nature"/"Family of Blood" two-parter, and while there were touches of that with the WWI kids, Martha had enough on her plate worrying about the Doctor and herself without worrying about them, y'know? XD
Also can I just say how much I love Donna? Looking at Pompeii (thinking it's Rome) and going "It's so...Roman!" Also I enjoy her curiosity; most companions have just accepted the TARDIS translation circuit, after the whole "wtf it's in my head?" thing, but Donna actually seems to be trying to figure out how it works. And her attempt to use actual Latin to a shopkeeper, and receiving as a response "Me no speak Celtic," was kind of the funniest part of the episode for me. XD
Her acerbicness even in the face of imminent execution is very Sarah Jane-esque; she actually is reminding me quite a bit of Sarah Jane so far this season, in a good way (is there any other way to be like Sarah Jane?). And Catherine Tate is actually quite a good dramatic actor, as expected (you don't get into the RSC strictly on funny voices and comic timing)...her telling the Doctor "never mind us" gave me chills, and she managed to really sell the scene with her begging the Doctor to go back and save SOMEONE. Also, how sweet was Donna pulling the lever with the Doctor, to share responsibility for the eruption? Totally sweet, that's how sweet.
As for the Doctor, OMGWTF WATER PISTOL. Seriously, only Ten-inch can look badass while running across fake rocks holding a fluorescent yellow water pistol. Similarly, "just us girls" is never a phrase I thought I'd hear the Doctor say. And it seems like we're getting a serious return of the Gallifrey-angst (makes sense, after the end of last season); clearly when he's talking about how he can't go back and save anyone, he's not talking about Pompeii. This also makes me think that the "disappearing planets" thing may have to do with the Time War or its aftereffects (though honestly I imagine it'll probably have to do with slippage between their world and Rose's world).
Also, HOLY SHIT but the Doctor referenced having been partly responsible for the fire that burned down Rome in Nero's reign...which, of course, was shown in the First Doctor serial "The Romans."
As for the Doctor and Donna together, so cute! The hugging! Donna's appreciativeness of his water pistol ("I bloody love you") gave me a bit of worried pause, but they still seem to be staying just mates, in the non-romantic sense. ALSO BROTHER AND SISTER SPARTACUS FTW
Now for the non-Doctor and Donna parts of the ep: the production values are AMAZING, and in general it was just really well-written and well-made and you find yourself really liking the token pseudo-companions-for-the-episode (Caecilius Metellus [I know I got that wrong] and his family). Occasionally the "Look, the ancient Romans are just like us!" schtick gets kinda cheesy, but nevertheless it does achieve its aim of being kinda hilarious. And awww, the new household gods. XD
Also, god, but the Latin jokes. The guy with the stone right arm is "Lucius Petrus Dextrus"? XDDDDD
Also enkiae totally needs to watch this, because there's lots of crazy soothsayer ladies high on volcano gas who like to sacrifice people. XD
Finally, I had thought the backlit-Doctor-in-TARDIS "come with me" bit from the trailer was specifically shot for it, but it turns out it's from this episode! Also, maybe I'm oversensitive because of Dobby!Tinkerbell!Jesus Doctor at the end of last season, but did it seem slightly messianic to anyone else? (Well, he DOES end up a god at the end.)
And while I'm Who-posting, some linkspam...
Let's Positive Linking, Gallifreyan Edition!
- For those of you unfamiliar with what Donna mentioned last week about the bees disappearing, this is in fact based on a real-life phenomenon.
- An interesting post on what Donna knows about the previous companions, which has a lot of interesting spec about Donna's role that makes me excited. :D
- Another Donna post about how the character of Donna hasn't really changed since her first appearance in "The Runaway Bride," just perception of her and her situation have.
- Finally, some spoilery finale speculation that has me totally excited for the finale. HOW CAN THEY PULL OFF THIS MUCH IN ONE EPISODE, SERIOUSLY