The Doctor is the most adorably emotionally messed up character ever.
Even though she barely knows how to turn on the computer and probably has never heard of LiveJournal, much less knows I have one, I’ll say it anyway: Happy Birthday to my mommy! =)
***
I've been stalling on updating for the past week because I promised myself the next thing I'd post would be the ginormous post-episodic Doctor Who post I've been meaning to finish. Given that the next new episode is airing tomorrow/later today, I figured, sure, the best time to finish my intelligently analytical thoughts is at 2 AM after working my third consecutive 8-hour closing shift. Bring on the coherence.
Doctor Who: 4x04- 'The Sontaran Stratagem'
Admittedly, I was wary about this episode as soon as I found out that Helen Raynor wrote it. I was not expecting good things from the writer who burdened us with 'Daleks in Manhattan' and 'Evolution of the Daleks.' Thankfully, this wasn't as painful as those. Still painful, yes, but not as painful. There were individual elements I definitely enjoyed--most notably the character development--but the storyline itself? *face palm*
The Good
* Martha Jones(!): Now, I'll admit I was never Martha's biggest fan, but I did like her more towards the end of S3 when she did less moping about the Doctor not looking at her that way and more being awesome. Someone (I forgot who--whoops) pointed out that the things Martha did to help the Doctor were really long-term: being stuck in 1969 long enough to need to get a job and a flat in 'Blink,' pretending to be a maid for three months in 'FoB'/'HN,' and walking the world in The Year That Never Was in 'TLotTL.' In the end, she had the courage and foresight to recognize that a one-sided love wasn't worth it, even if the object in question was the Doctor, and walked away of her own accord. And then she went off, started saving the world from aliens her own way, and snagged herself a tasty pediatrician who saved her life in a forgotten timeline.
So here's Martha--a little older, a little wiser, a little more hardened. It's a far cry from the tiring googly-eyed puppy love that permeated most of S3. (Granted, it's not like she knew about how much Rose means to the Doctor and how traumatizing losing her was for him. She didn't even know Rose was trapped in a parallel world until 'Utopia.' For all she knew, Rose got tired of the Doctor and left him for her family. This is why I find it fascinating that the Doctor's been so up front with Donna about pretty much everything. But I digress. That's for another bullet point.) I'm ecstatic that Martha grew up and did what the Doctor couldn't do while she was around: get over it. Martha is over him. It's clear in her eyes and the way she talks to him that he is no more than a good friend who gave her invaluable experiences. (And no I don't like her more now because she's not a "threat to the Rose/Doctor 'ship." I like her because she has come into her own, just as her character deserved to be in S3.)
* Martha and Donna Meet: You know, I expected the awkwardness between Martha and the Doctor, but I never expected the two women to fight, especially not when Donna doesn't care for the Doctor like that and Martha has moved on. I expected it to be more like Rose and Sarah Jane's eventual rapport: friendly chit-chat at the Doctor's expense. I'm glad that's what we got right off the bat.
* Ross (thank you, DW LJ communities for keeping up with details such as names when I cannot): I adored this James Franco look-alike. I'm not even completely sure why. I think it was the beret.
* The Doctor geeking out, using puns, and even correcting grammar is one of the most adorable things ever.
* Atmos SatNav System: Okay, it's an interesting concept that something so seemingly innocuous such as an OnStar-like device can weed its way into so many vehicles and lead to the world domination by an alien race. I'll give Raynor that much.
The Bad
* Donna's mother: Okay, I get that she's just "mom naggy" and that my annoyance for her is no different than my annoyance towards Jackie in early S1. Still. Sweet jeebus, she grates on my last nerve. She makes Francine Jones look pleasant. And I never thought I would say that.
* THE ENTIRE STORY LINE THAT FAILED TO BE INTERESTING, especially the whole clone thing. I mean, seriously? Evil clones?
* EvilClone!Martha: I will continue to see this as a tiring storyline until it proves worthwhile. It'll take something special to convince me otherwise. *smacks Alias for traumatizing me with stupid clone storylines*
* Funky-faced kid who runs the school: (I can't even bring myself to re-watch the episode to find his name) Why must so many Americans (not that the actor's accent was very convincing, mind you) on this show be portrayed as eeeeevil? Van Statten, that guy who turned out to be PenisHead!Dalek Sec in Raynor's last episodes, and ...other evil Americans whose names escape me. Anyway, this kid was far too cartoonish for my liking.
The Ugly
* The Potato Heads Sontarans: Look. I'm by no means an Old Skool Who fan (I swear I'll get to those old series on my Netflx queue). Still, I'd imagine that if a classic villain is memorable enough to bring back, they'd have an interesting reason behind it, not just the ol' "We want to take over your primitive planet for our dastardly means!" blah blah again.
* The Blue Suit of Doom and Emo: Why do all of Helen Raynor's episodes involve this damn suit? Granted, David Tennant makes that horrid thing work well enough. I just associate it with all of the angst and emo of S3.
* Sonic Screwdriver: It takes a special episode to make me annoyed with the Sonic Screwdriver. "It's deadlocked!" is becoming less and less of a viable excuse for why it can't be used. It's come to the point where I wince slightly every time it's on screen.
The Squee
* Donna(!!!): Just when I thought I couldn't love this woman any more, she goes and becomes Super Temp, right down to introducing herself when the Colonel didn't ask and demanding a salute. Awesome? Yes. Yes, I think it is. Also, "He is too skinny for words. You give him a hug, you get a paper cut!" Hee!
* David Tennant is about twelve thousand shades of hot: Even though it's been said many a time, it bears repeating.
* The Doctor-Donna Relationship: I always thought these two would get along famously if given a chance. I just never thought they would be so fantastic together with the banter and the brother-sister dynamic they have going on. Which brings me to...
* The "Please don't leave me, Donna" speech: Oh, poor Doctor. He has such abandonment issues. I just want to give him and Rose a hug and then pack them away in a room full of cotton balls. It just goes to show how much guilt he holds when his automatic assumption is that Donna wants to go home for good (even though they just had that conversation at the end of the last episode; where fore art thou, continuity?). He never even asked her to stay; he just wistfully listed all of the places he wanted to take her and thanked her for saving his life. That moment was beautiful and sweet and oh-so hard to watch because the Doctor is so messed up.
It's so fantastic to see how he's grown emotionally, how he now verbalizes a lot more of his emotions to Donna than he ever did to Martha--though that might have something to do wth the fact that Donna never dwells on emotional conversations for too long, instead diffusing the situation with a well-timed quip--or in this case, a bad name. It probably helps that she was the only one who saw him when he was most emotionally raw in 'TRB.' But really, I think it has more to do with the fact that he had more time to build the emotional walls before meeting Martha. In any case, the Doctor really isn't holding back too much. It's odd yet nice to see.
The Wha?
* The Doctor let Donna drive the TARDIS? Upon seeing this, my sister and I simultaneously exclaimed, "Even Rose never got to fly the TARDIS!"
* For a while, the episode just didn't seem like a Who ep. It wasn't just one element, either; more like a bunch of wrong things that made everything seem a little off. Aside from the pointed lack of the Doctor and dark visual tones, I can't put my finger on what exactly felt wrong.
* Why did Wilf get into the car? I think I missed something. It went from (supposedly) exciting panic to--BAM!--Wilf decides to get into the evil smoking car. What?
* OMG, GUYS, JUST SMASH THE DAMN WINDOW OPEN.
The Things That Make You Go "Hmm..."
* The Sontarans weren't allowed to fight in the Time War? Interesting. Perhaps the Time Lords wanted as few militant species involved as possible. Couldn't have been fun for the "best soldiers in the galaxy" to not be invited to the fun.
* "Is that what you did to her? Turn her into a soldier?" I have a feeling this line will come into play later in the season in relation to another returning character. Call it a hunch.
* Medusa Cascade: I'm not exactly sure what it is, and I'm far too lazy to understand the explanations on doctorwho, but I do know that it's been mentioned in a total of (at least?) three episodes this season. A clue to the rest of the season? Perhaps.
* I'm getting a little nervous for what the season's end will bring. The way the emotional arc is being set up--and without going too deeply into my finale theories--I'm finding it difficult to imagine a plausible reason for Rose to leave the Doctor again.
Funny that the most *face palm*-inducing episode of the season (so far?) gets the longest review post, but there you go. Up next...
4x05- 'The Poison Sky' (a.k.a. The Episode That Was Actually a Rip-Off of the Best Bits of a Dozen Previous Episodes')
Just to prove a point, I thought I'd see how many references I could spot. I'm only slightly ashamed to admit I came up with 95% of these episode numbers and titles off the top of my head.
* Well, at least Sylvia figured out that someone should just smash the damn window instead of trying to sonic the bumper or screaming uselessly.
* I loved the "Are you my mummy?" bit far more than I probably should have. That moment alone almost made me completely forgive Helen Raynor for that Dalek extravaganza last season. Almost. [References: 1x09-10- 'The Empty Child'/'The Doctor Dances']
* The Valiant? Seriously? Are we saving money by reusing effects shots? I was caught so off guard that I missed the explanation of why it was there in the first place. I half expected John Simm to descend via a very long rope ladder. (Side note: How amazing would that have been?!) [Reference: 3x13- 'The Last of the Time Lords']
* The Doctor surreptitiously communicating with Donna via videofeed looked a tad familiar. [Reference: 2x06- 'Age of Steel' with Mickey in the zeppelin]
* I'm still not totally sure what the Doctor meant when he was nattering on to EvilClone!Martha about not wearing a "Clone" t-shirt in front of Captain Jack. In any case, I appreciate any reference to Jack [References: Any S1 or S3 episode with Jack, Torchwood]
* I sorely doubt the Doctor's hand in a jar in the TARDIS has been in the console room all this time because Donna would've mentioned it by now [References: 2x00- 'The Christmas Invasion,' 3x11- 'Utopia,' a couple of Torchwood eps]
* The Doctor's "What? What?!" in the TARDIS was also a bit familiar, but at least this one didn't involve any season-ending cliffhangers. Or Kylie Minogue. [References: 2x13- 'Doomsday,' 3x13- 'The Last of the Time Lords']
* "I'm really glad you didn't say 'belittle' 'cause then I would've had a field day." Because the Sontarans are short. Get it?!
* Well, at least the Doctor has a knack for recognizing when his companions aren't his companions. [(Possible) Reference: 2x01- 'New Earth' with Cassandra!Rose]
* I noticed that David Tennant did a lot of intense, big-eyed staring in this one. Not that it's a new thing. I just figured I'd count it as another reference. [Reference: Every Ten episode ever]
* ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSS! Why?! The Doctor hasn't had a male on the TARDIS in a while. He would've made a great companion! He could've saved planets and universes! He could've made the Doctor wear a matching beret! He could've broken my inability to imagine Ten in a slashy pairing! Ross/Ten could've been the best 'ship ever! (BTW, my finger slipped when I was typing "Ross" and, funny enough, made me type "Rose." Does it still count as a Freudian slip if it's typed?)
* With the sky burning like that, shouldn't everything be super hot? Shouldn't all of the tall buildings, you know, burn? On that note, did the fire hurt the Ozone layer, too? And what happened to all the birds in the sky? Did they all suffocate and fall to the ground? God, I love Who skience.
* *Heaps on a few more shovels of Donna Love* She knocks out a potato head, sneaks through an enemy warship, and fixes the transport. Then she goes and awesomely smacks the Doctor after his failed almost-suicide. I challenge every forthcoming writer to make Donna more awesome. I don't think it's possible.
* Wilf! I love him! Why can't the Doctor and Donna take him on one trip? Possibly without any running. Like on a pretty leisure planet. He'd love that for sure.
* Sweet monkey fish sticks, Rose appearing on the TARDIS screen scared the bejeesus out of me. I didn't expect much of a Rose mention at all in this episode, much less a (very) brief appearance by Ms. Tyler herself until the end of the season. Her desperate silent yelling for him through the screen a la S2's 'The Idiot's Lantern' proves that she really is looking for him, not just accidentally traipsing all willy-nilly between universes. [And for the sake of uniformity with the previously listed references--Reference: 2x07- 'The Idiot's Lantern']
* Speaking of Rose, I'd love to believe that Rose is looking for the Doctor because she lurves him the mostest and wants to be with him forever and have his Time Babies, but the urgency with which she was calling him has to mean that she's desperately looking for him for a reason bigger than herself. Something has gone or will go horribly wrong in her universe, if not both universes, and she needs the Doctor to help. I'd bet anything that we've already gotten hints of what this problem is, and we'll get an even clearer explanation in Episode 11.
* I find it interesting that the Doctor gave the Sontarans a choice at the risk of his own life. Granted, it's going along with his emotional arc this season in which he's taken back his "no second chances" deal and, in fact, tried to save the baddies. At the same time, if I'm not mistaken, this is the first suicidal tendency of his we've seen all season, as opposed to S3, when he practically begged every episode to be killed--most notably in 'Evolution of the Daleks,' where he offered himself to the Daleks, like, twice. What the hell, Raynor? Stop trying to kill him!
* Was Martha really going to leave just like that? Refuse another trip in the TARDIS because she has her own life to get to and flounce off to the door without some sort of meaningful goodbye or hug or even a backwards glance? In any case, with her stuck on the TARDIS, it looks like we'll be getting a preview of Companionpalooza in the next episode. Maybe the Hand in a Jar can pretend to be Jack. I'm sure there's some sort of crude "Because Jack feels everyone up" joke there that I'm not quite articulating.
All in all, I enjoyed this episode far more than the previous one. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that half of this ep consisted of references to other, better-written episodes. Just sayin' that I don't know why they keep letting Raynor do two-parters in which she kills the image of a classic Who villain.
Can't. Frakkin'. WAIT. For next week's episode. I've been hearing good things about it for a while now, most notably how David Tennant has some fantastic emotional scenes.
I doubt this daughter was conceived or born the human way (LOOOOOOOMS!) or even that it would be this incarnation's child, given her age. Still, for a split second, I was sent into a momentary panic when it occured to me that this blonde girl could be a product of Rose and the Doctor, whose DNA were possibly taken during an offscreen--or, hell, even an onscreen--adventure. Then, I thought of the aforementioned logic and that Rose is a bottle blonde, and calm was restored.
The general squee'ing among Rose/Doctor 'shippers aside, I could only imagine how the fandom would absolutely explode if this girl is the product of anything related to Rose--the outrage, the annoyance, the thinly veiled threats against RTD's life. It would be fun to watch it from the outside, but man, would there be carnage inside fandom walls.
***
*sigh* It’s nearly 3 AM. I really need to fix my sleeping schedule.
***
I've been stalling on updating for the past week because I promised myself the next thing I'd post would be the ginormous post-episodic Doctor Who post I've been meaning to finish. Given that the next new episode is airing tomorrow/later today, I figured, sure, the best time to finish my intelligently analytical thoughts is at 2 AM after working my third consecutive 8-hour closing shift. Bring on the coherence.
Doctor Who: 4x04- 'The Sontaran Stratagem'
Admittedly, I was wary about this episode as soon as I found out that Helen Raynor wrote it. I was not expecting good things from the writer who burdened us with 'Daleks in Manhattan' and 'Evolution of the Daleks.' Thankfully, this wasn't as painful as those. Still painful, yes, but not as painful. There were individual elements I definitely enjoyed--most notably the character development--but the storyline itself? *face palm*
The Good
* Martha Jones(!): Now, I'll admit I was never Martha's biggest fan, but I did like her more towards the end of S3 when she did less moping about the Doctor not looking at her that way and more being awesome. Someone (I forgot who--whoops) pointed out that the things Martha did to help the Doctor were really long-term: being stuck in 1969 long enough to need to get a job and a flat in 'Blink,' pretending to be a maid for three months in 'FoB'/'HN,' and walking the world in The Year That Never Was in 'TLotTL.' In the end, she had the courage and foresight to recognize that a one-sided love wasn't worth it, even if the object in question was the Doctor, and walked away of her own accord. And then she went off, started saving the world from aliens her own way, and snagged herself a tasty pediatrician who saved her life in a forgotten timeline.
So here's Martha--a little older, a little wiser, a little more hardened. It's a far cry from the tiring googly-eyed puppy love that permeated most of S3. (Granted, it's not like she knew about how much Rose means to the Doctor and how traumatizing losing her was for him. She didn't even know Rose was trapped in a parallel world until 'Utopia.' For all she knew, Rose got tired of the Doctor and left him for her family. This is why I find it fascinating that the Doctor's been so up front with Donna about pretty much everything. But I digress. That's for another bullet point.) I'm ecstatic that Martha grew up and did what the Doctor couldn't do while she was around: get over it. Martha is over him. It's clear in her eyes and the way she talks to him that he is no more than a good friend who gave her invaluable experiences. (And no I don't like her more now because she's not a "threat to the Rose/Doctor 'ship." I like her because she has come into her own, just as her character deserved to be in S3.)
* Martha and Donna Meet: You know, I expected the awkwardness between Martha and the Doctor, but I never expected the two women to fight, especially not when Donna doesn't care for the Doctor like that and Martha has moved on. I expected it to be more like Rose and Sarah Jane's eventual rapport: friendly chit-chat at the Doctor's expense. I'm glad that's what we got right off the bat.
* Ross (thank you, DW LJ communities for keeping up with details such as names when I cannot): I adored this James Franco look-alike. I'm not even completely sure why. I think it was the beret.
* The Doctor geeking out, using puns, and even correcting grammar is one of the most adorable things ever.
* Atmos SatNav System: Okay, it's an interesting concept that something so seemingly innocuous such as an OnStar-like device can weed its way into so many vehicles and lead to the world domination by an alien race. I'll give Raynor that much.
The Bad
* Donna's mother: Okay, I get that she's just "mom naggy" and that my annoyance for her is no different than my annoyance towards Jackie in early S1. Still. Sweet jeebus, she grates on my last nerve. She makes Francine Jones look pleasant. And I never thought I would say that.
* THE ENTIRE STORY LINE THAT FAILED TO BE INTERESTING, especially the whole clone thing. I mean, seriously? Evil clones?
* EvilClone!Martha: I will continue to see this as a tiring storyline until it proves worthwhile. It'll take something special to convince me otherwise. *smacks Alias for traumatizing me with stupid clone storylines*
* Funky-faced kid who runs the school: (I can't even bring myself to re-watch the episode to find his name) Why must so many Americans (not that the actor's accent was very convincing, mind you) on this show be portrayed as eeeeevil? Van Statten, that guy who turned out to be PenisHead!Dalek Sec in Raynor's last episodes, and ...other evil Americans whose names escape me. Anyway, this kid was far too cartoonish for my liking.
The Ugly
* The Potato Heads Sontarans: Look. I'm by no means an Old Skool Who fan (I swear I'll get to those old series on my Netflx queue). Still, I'd imagine that if a classic villain is memorable enough to bring back, they'd have an interesting reason behind it, not just the ol' "We want to take over your primitive planet for our dastardly means!" blah blah again.
* The Blue Suit of Doom and Emo: Why do all of Helen Raynor's episodes involve this damn suit? Granted, David Tennant makes that horrid thing work well enough. I just associate it with all of the angst and emo of S3.
* Sonic Screwdriver: It takes a special episode to make me annoyed with the Sonic Screwdriver. "It's deadlocked!" is becoming less and less of a viable excuse for why it can't be used. It's come to the point where I wince slightly every time it's on screen.
The Squee
* Donna(!!!): Just when I thought I couldn't love this woman any more, she goes and becomes Super Temp, right down to introducing herself when the Colonel didn't ask and demanding a salute. Awesome? Yes. Yes, I think it is. Also, "He is too skinny for words. You give him a hug, you get a paper cut!" Hee!
* David Tennant is about twelve thousand shades of hot: Even though it's been said many a time, it bears repeating.
* The Doctor-Donna Relationship: I always thought these two would get along famously if given a chance. I just never thought they would be so fantastic together with the banter and the brother-sister dynamic they have going on. Which brings me to...
* The "Please don't leave me, Donna" speech: Oh, poor Doctor. He has such abandonment issues. I just want to give him and Rose a hug and then pack them away in a room full of cotton balls. It just goes to show how much guilt he holds when his automatic assumption is that Donna wants to go home for good (even though they just had that conversation at the end of the last episode; where fore art thou, continuity?). He never even asked her to stay; he just wistfully listed all of the places he wanted to take her and thanked her for saving his life. That moment was beautiful and sweet and oh-so hard to watch because the Doctor is so messed up.
It's so fantastic to see how he's grown emotionally, how he now verbalizes a lot more of his emotions to Donna than he ever did to Martha--though that might have something to do wth the fact that Donna never dwells on emotional conversations for too long, instead diffusing the situation with a well-timed quip--or in this case, a bad name. It probably helps that she was the only one who saw him when he was most emotionally raw in 'TRB.' But really, I think it has more to do with the fact that he had more time to build the emotional walls before meeting Martha. In any case, the Doctor really isn't holding back too much. It's odd yet nice to see.
The Wha?
* The Doctor let Donna drive the TARDIS? Upon seeing this, my sister and I simultaneously exclaimed, "Even Rose never got to fly the TARDIS!"
* For a while, the episode just didn't seem like a Who ep. It wasn't just one element, either; more like a bunch of wrong things that made everything seem a little off. Aside from the pointed lack of the Doctor and dark visual tones, I can't put my finger on what exactly felt wrong.
* Why did Wilf get into the car? I think I missed something. It went from (supposedly) exciting panic to--BAM!--Wilf decides to get into the evil smoking car. What?
* OMG, GUYS, JUST SMASH THE DAMN WINDOW OPEN.
The Things That Make You Go "Hmm..."
* The Sontarans weren't allowed to fight in the Time War? Interesting. Perhaps the Time Lords wanted as few militant species involved as possible. Couldn't have been fun for the "best soldiers in the galaxy" to not be invited to the fun.
* "Is that what you did to her? Turn her into a soldier?" I have a feeling this line will come into play later in the season in relation to another returning character. Call it a hunch.
* Medusa Cascade: I'm not exactly sure what it is, and I'm far too lazy to understand the explanations on doctorwho, but I do know that it's been mentioned in a total of (at least?) three episodes this season. A clue to the rest of the season? Perhaps.
* I'm getting a little nervous for what the season's end will bring. The way the emotional arc is being set up--and without going too deeply into my finale theories--I'm finding it difficult to imagine a plausible reason for Rose to leave the Doctor again.
Funny that the most *face palm*-inducing episode of the season (so far?) gets the longest review post, but there you go. Up next...
4x05- 'The Poison Sky' (a.k.a. The Episode That Was Actually a Rip-Off of the Best Bits of a Dozen Previous Episodes')
Just to prove a point, I thought I'd see how many references I could spot. I'm only slightly ashamed to admit I came up with 95% of these episode numbers and titles off the top of my head.
* Well, at least Sylvia figured out that someone should just smash the damn window instead of trying to sonic the bumper or screaming uselessly.
* I loved the "Are you my mummy?" bit far more than I probably should have. That moment alone almost made me completely forgive Helen Raynor for that Dalek extravaganza last season. Almost. [References: 1x09-10- 'The Empty Child'/'The Doctor Dances']
* The Valiant? Seriously? Are we saving money by reusing effects shots? I was caught so off guard that I missed the explanation of why it was there in the first place. I half expected John Simm to descend via a very long rope ladder. (Side note: How amazing would that have been?!) [Reference: 3x13- 'The Last of the Time Lords']
* The Doctor surreptitiously communicating with Donna via videofeed looked a tad familiar. [Reference: 2x06- 'Age of Steel' with Mickey in the zeppelin]
* I'm still not totally sure what the Doctor meant when he was nattering on to EvilClone!Martha about not wearing a "Clone" t-shirt in front of Captain Jack. In any case, I appreciate any reference to Jack [References: Any S1 or S3 episode with Jack, Torchwood]
* I sorely doubt the Doctor's hand in a jar in the TARDIS has been in the console room all this time because Donna would've mentioned it by now [References: 2x00- 'The Christmas Invasion,' 3x11- 'Utopia,' a couple of Torchwood eps]
* The Doctor's "What? What?!" in the TARDIS was also a bit familiar, but at least this one didn't involve any season-ending cliffhangers. Or Kylie Minogue. [References: 2x13- 'Doomsday,' 3x13- 'The Last of the Time Lords']
* "I'm really glad you didn't say 'belittle' 'cause then I would've had a field day." Because the Sontarans are short. Get it?!
* Well, at least the Doctor has a knack for recognizing when his companions aren't his companions. [(Possible) Reference: 2x01- 'New Earth' with Cassandra!Rose]
* I noticed that David Tennant did a lot of intense, big-eyed staring in this one. Not that it's a new thing. I just figured I'd count it as another reference. [Reference: Every Ten episode ever]
* ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSS! Why?! The Doctor hasn't had a male on the TARDIS in a while. He would've made a great companion! He could've saved planets and universes! He could've made the Doctor wear a matching beret! He could've broken my inability to imagine Ten in a slashy pairing! Ross/Ten could've been the best 'ship ever! (BTW, my finger slipped when I was typing "Ross" and, funny enough, made me type "Rose." Does it still count as a Freudian slip if it's typed?)
* With the sky burning like that, shouldn't everything be super hot? Shouldn't all of the tall buildings, you know, burn? On that note, did the fire hurt the Ozone layer, too? And what happened to all the birds in the sky? Did they all suffocate and fall to the ground? God, I love Who skience.
* *Heaps on a few more shovels of Donna Love* She knocks out a potato head, sneaks through an enemy warship, and fixes the transport. Then she goes and awesomely smacks the Doctor after his failed almost-suicide. I challenge every forthcoming writer to make Donna more awesome. I don't think it's possible.
* Wilf! I love him! Why can't the Doctor and Donna take him on one trip? Possibly without any running. Like on a pretty leisure planet. He'd love that for sure.
* Sweet monkey fish sticks, Rose appearing on the TARDIS screen scared the bejeesus out of me. I didn't expect much of a Rose mention at all in this episode, much less a (very) brief appearance by Ms. Tyler herself until the end of the season. Her desperate silent yelling for him through the screen a la S2's 'The Idiot's Lantern' proves that she really is looking for him, not just accidentally traipsing all willy-nilly between universes. [And for the sake of uniformity with the previously listed references--Reference: 2x07- 'The Idiot's Lantern']
* Speaking of Rose, I'd love to believe that Rose is looking for the Doctor because she lurves him the mostest and wants to be with him forever and have his Time Babies, but the urgency with which she was calling him has to mean that she's desperately looking for him for a reason bigger than herself. Something has gone or will go horribly wrong in her universe, if not both universes, and she needs the Doctor to help. I'd bet anything that we've already gotten hints of what this problem is, and we'll get an even clearer explanation in Episode 11.
* I find it interesting that the Doctor gave the Sontarans a choice at the risk of his own life. Granted, it's going along with his emotional arc this season in which he's taken back his "no second chances" deal and, in fact, tried to save the baddies. At the same time, if I'm not mistaken, this is the first suicidal tendency of his we've seen all season, as opposed to S3, when he practically begged every episode to be killed--most notably in 'Evolution of the Daleks,' where he offered himself to the Daleks, like, twice. What the hell, Raynor? Stop trying to kill him!
* Was Martha really going to leave just like that? Refuse another trip in the TARDIS because she has her own life to get to and flounce off to the door without some sort of meaningful goodbye or hug or even a backwards glance? In any case, with her stuck on the TARDIS, it looks like we'll be getting a preview of Companionpalooza in the next episode. Maybe the Hand in a Jar can pretend to be Jack. I'm sure there's some sort of crude "Because Jack feels everyone up" joke there that I'm not quite articulating.
All in all, I enjoyed this episode far more than the previous one. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that half of this ep consisted of references to other, better-written episodes. Just sayin' that I don't know why they keep letting Raynor do two-parters in which she kills the image of a classic Who villain.
Can't. Frakkin'. WAIT. For next week's episode. I've been hearing good things about it for a while now, most notably how David Tennant has some fantastic emotional scenes.
I doubt this daughter was conceived or born the human way (LOOOOOOOMS!) or even that it would be this incarnation's child, given her age. Still, for a split second, I was sent into a momentary panic when it occured to me that this blonde girl could be a product of Rose and the Doctor, whose DNA were possibly taken during an offscreen--or, hell, even an onscreen--adventure. Then, I thought of the aforementioned logic and that Rose is a bottle blonde, and calm was restored.
The general squee'ing among Rose/Doctor 'shippers aside, I could only imagine how the fandom would absolutely explode if this girl is the product of anything related to Rose--the outrage, the annoyance, the thinly veiled threats against RTD's life. It would be fun to watch it from the outside, but man, would there be carnage inside fandom walls.
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*sigh* It’s nearly 3 AM. I really need to fix my sleeping schedule.