Comments | beccatoria: Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut

beccatoria

Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut

Apr 25, 2011 13:07

Okay, so I'm writing up this episode reaction because if I don't, next week, I will regret not having Said Stuff, but honestly, my overwhelming reaction is that...I wanna see the other half before I have an overwhelming reaction. I feel like I've seen half the story - even more so than most two-parters. Like, seriously, I have NO IDEA what's ( Read more... )

i demand an ending before i respond!, how is she real?!, doctor song, stooopid speeches, i call shenanigans, doctor who

Comments 14

pellucid April 25 2011, 14:07:49 UTC

I love your shiny brain, just so you know. *squishes*

And I'm not sure I have much to add that I haven't said in comments elsewhere, but I will mention that the idea that this is post-Pandorica for River, too, is very canny observation and I think makes a lot of sense. (Also, was River there for one of my favourite lines of Rory's--"In fairness, the universe did explode"? She was, wasn't she? And she didn't act like she didn't know what he was talking about.)

Anyway. Suspending judgment and waiting to see how it all plays out!

RIVER FUCKING SONG, OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

beccatoria April 25 2011, 20:33:38 UTC

Awwww, yay I love your shiny brain moar. ;)

And yeah we've pretty much talked ourselves out about this from all angles between us, haven't we? But I'm glad you like the notion of it being post-Pandorica - and a VERY good point about her line to Rory. I hadn't thought of that, and it's circumstantial given that River is good at following her own rules/lying/not questioning what she knows are spoilers, but I think it is good supporting circumstantial evidence. YAY.

Anyway. Suspending judgment and waiting to see how it all plays out!

*CROSSES FINGERS*

RIVER FUCKING SONG.

sabaceanbabe April 25 2011, 14:38:13 UTC

ITAWTC. Times eleventy. ;)

And one other thing. Is River 48?

beccatoria April 25 2011, 20:36:53 UTC

YAY! :D Eleventy. ♥

Alex Kingston is 48 yeah (though srsly HOW?!) but I don't think we know how old River is. I half expect her to have a kind of longer life than usual - she does come from the same era as Liz X who we know had Science for Long Life and while she's the queen and lived, apparently, thousands of years, we've also met other human characters in the Whoniverse we are quite long-lived from the future. So I guess I wouldn't be surprised to discover River was like, 200 or something either. Though I kind of doubt it'll even be a plot point.

beccatoria April 26 2011, 11:30:28 UTC

Ahahaha - while rereading this I only just got that that wasn't a random question but a reference to the number I threw into the post. *facepalm* ...I rock.

Sorry - that was because, in the real world, Doctor Who the show is 48 (started in 1963). So I just meant that the Doctor has been established as a character for 908 years in-universe and 48 years in the minds of the viewers.

Which coincidentally means that Alex Kingston was born the same year Doctor Who started.

WE GOT THERE IN THE END. ;)

ladymercury_10 April 25 2011, 16:01:53 UTC

It's almost every companion's story and I loved Amy's version of that because unlike, say, Rose, for the first time in the new series I felt like it wasn't romantically exploitative in terms of power balance, and that the ways in which it was exploitative were explored.

Ooh, interesting. How so?

beccatoria April 25 2011, 20:48:08 UTC

I'm not sure which bit you're querying, so I'll try to be comprehensive! I don't generally like using the role of companion as a romantic interest because I feel the power imbalance is crippling. You have this much older guy, these generally very young girls, getting shown the whole universe, but utterly dependent on that guy in that context, and generally desperate not to have to leave this glamorous exciting life, and yet, inevitably, because of the format of the show, they will be, and they'll be, well, not literally replaced but...still kind of replaced. Probably with another girl with a crush on the Doctor. That's one of the reasons why I can get on board with Doctor/River - because I feel she isn't dependent on him to maintain her own life in a way of her own choosing.

In Amy's case, I thought it was interesting that Moffat chose to acknowledge the romantic mystique of the Doctor directly by having Amy project that onto him, but have the Doctor not reciprocate and not take on that role of exploitative older guy ( ... )

ladymercury_10 April 25 2011, 21:52:20 UTC

Oh, yes, you're making lots of sense. That covers my question quite nicely. :)

I think that's a really good assessment of the companion relationship and its inherent problems. Thanks for sharing!

beccatoria April 26 2011, 11:33:12 UTC

Yay! Thank you! :D

tellitslant April 25 2011, 22:12:03 UTC

I greatly appreciate all the logic you applied to the bits we all hated. I choose to believe you are 100% right always.

Thinking on it, we do get a bit of River shaping the Doctor in, for example, his opening the TARDIS door with a snap of his fingers. It's a veeeery tiny thing, but it does show that the possibility for some change is there. Maybe. Hopefully. :/

I am so impatient for next week omg. MORE RIVER. MORE FLIRTING. POSSIBLY KISSING. :DDD

beccatoria April 26 2011, 12:24:14 UTC

Awww, yay. I'm glad that my obsession with Explaining Things is useful to someone somewhere. ;)

Yes! The finger snapping is a much better metaphorical expression of this. I mean, like I said, I don't really think that they will do it to a level that satisfies me, but at the same time, I don't think it's coincidental that River's reaction to Ten - in Moffat's own words, more or less - is that he's the whiny teenager version of the man she know, he's not finished yet, he's too young. So like, I think that the idea is that he grows into the man she loves. I just...don't think the show has the scope to really show that to a level that will appease me. But...better some than none?

BUT YES. NEXT WEEK. WHY IS IT NOT SATURDAY YET. IF THERE IS KISSING I MIGHT ACTUALLY DIE AND HAVE TO INVITE MYSELF TO MY OWN WAKE AND THEN EXPLODE THE UNIVERSE TO RESURRECT MYSELF ONCE MORE.

(The comment has been removed)

beccatoria April 26 2011, 13:30:36 UTC

I am also totally Who'd out. ALL THE REACTION POSTS! It's lovely but...I feel like I've got nothing left to say! Except that the more I think about it the more I really do think it was...well, overstating to introduce. It's interesting because looking back, I have similar feelings about The Eleventh Hour, in that it's very Davies-like in it's structure and writing in places, which disappointed me but was, in retrospect, very obviously a conscious decision with regards to transitioning the viewers the way I think this probably is re: new/casual viewers? Eh, anyways. I guess we'll see by the end of the season?

As to your comment on the sadness, though, I DO actually have something to say about that! Shockingly, I agree with you, but also I think I can explain why it's less emotionally affecting, and I think part of that is it's not meant to be? I mean, obviously it is meant to be Very Sad and I'm sure that there are others who found it Much Sadder than me. But the S5 finale is the emotional climax of a season long storyline ( ... )