Mysteries of the Library

[clair_de_lalune]

"Oh, I'm thick! Look at me, I'm old and thick! Head's too full of stuff - I need a bigger head!"
--The Doctor, Silence in the Library

Silence in the Library was the episode of Doctor Who broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel last night. It was about an enormous library in the 51st century taking up an entire planet. Nothing else was on the planet except

Comments

spoilery thoughts

[jaderabbit]

Sweety thinks that the little girl and the archaeologist are the same person. I'm not so sure.

I am hoping that Professor River Song will turn out to be a descendant and not Yet Another Potential Love Interest.

Re: spoilery thoughts

[clair_de_lalune]

--Sweety thinks that the little girl and the archaeologist are the same person. I'm not so sure.--

Was there anything in particular that made him think so or is it just that he thinks it would be an interesting twist? I'm with you in doubting that...if she was the little girl, she would have to have forgotten all about it...

--I am hoping that Professor River Song will turn out to be a descendant and not Yet Another Potential Love Interest.--

I understand that this is something not appreciated by longer term Doctor Who fans. (I'm very new to the show.) It doesn't bother me because relationships with other people, friends, enemies, lovers or potential lovers, are what allow a character to grow. The Doctor could end up having only relationships with friends and enemies, but having relationships with lovers or potential lovers will allow his character to grow in entirely different ways. An online friend recently said of Doctor Who:

DW isn't character-driven and the characters aren't particularly three-dimensional: they are locked

Re: spoilery thoughts

[jaderabbit]

You're probably right. I wouldn't call my grandpa "pretty boy" either.

I don't think the Doctor is static, and I don't think he ever has been. He can't change *too* much, but each Doctor is different. And I agree that the relationship with Rose definitely changed the 10th Doctor.

I'm given to understand that the former Doctors had a more avuncular relationship with their Companions. Given that one of these looked like Peter Davison, that seems hard to swallow. Were all the girls blind? But I think the pendulum has swung too far the other way. Rose loved the Doctor; Martha loved the Doctor; and although she tries to hide it, I think Donna loves the Doctor. Then we get the Family of Blood stuff with another romance, and it just starts to get a little old to me. It would be really nice if his next companion were just not interested in him.

Re: spoilery thoughts

[clair_de_lalune]

--He can't change *too* much, but each Doctor is different.--It's funny, though, because having seen the transition from the 9th Doctor to the 10th Doctor (not just the regeneration, but the Tennant's incorporation of some of Eccleston's traits into his early performance), I absolutely believe that the 9th Doctor and 10th Doctor are the same person. Obviously, he'll be somewhat different because the actors are different, though. Still, certain components of his personality, who he essentially is, must stay the same. His self-confidence, his slight arrogance, his genius, etc

Donna Noble

[cynodd]

I'm interested in what River Song had to say about Donna Noble. Very interesting how she was sort of startled and excited to find out that Donna was herself, but then clams up when Donna asks her about whether they'd met before, too. And her clamming up was in a very sort of "well, you're dead" kind of way. Of course, the twist could be that she means something entirely different by her reactions, but doesn't want to muck up the time stream. And "Donna Noble has been saved."

Re: Donna Noble

[clair_de_lalune]

Yes, I was very interested in that, too. I wasn't sure, either, if her reaction meant that something bad happens to Donna or she was just trying not to let anything slip.

Re: Donna Noble

[cynodd]

Could be either, but they made it look more like the former, while leaving the latter an open possibility, I think. Does seem to imply that Donna Noble will be important enough that the Doctor talks about her in the future with River Song. This could be for a number of reasons, but most notably that she's a companion of some duration or that she dies some horrible death.

Don't know which I'm betting on, or which I'd like to have happen. :) Not that I wish bad things on Donna, whom I kind of like, but that it makes for interesting television if she dies tragically.

Re: Donna Noble

[clair_de_lalune]

I kind of doubt that she would be subject to some horrible death, since this show is always supposed to be appropriate for children. However, I suppose she might still die in some non-horrible manner that would be tragic.

[cynodd]

Good night, BTW. :) Gotta get up early tomorrow to check on the labyrinth I created for tomorrow's service. Hoping it doesn't rain.

My mom is watching HRT tomorrow during my presentation that I'm now calling "atheists on parade." We'll go to Detroit later in the day to pick her up. But we now have a hospital chaplaincy BBQ to attend. And there's the basement issue to deal with (see my post on my lj). So tomorrow night for more Who or Buffy seems like it's getting less and less likely. Monday is probably open. I have a pastoral care thing in the a.m., but that's it. And the basement will probably still be in progress.

[clair_de_lalune]

It looks nice and bright out now - the sun woke me up 2 hours before my alarm clock was set to go off. Hopefully, it will still be sunny when you have your service. :)

The Redheaded Girl called yesterday and wanted me to go see some Chinese acrobats with her and her husband this evening and I told her I'd call her today to decide if it will work with my nebulous pre-existing plans, so if you can't hang out, that's fine. I may be too tired for the Chinese acrobats, though. I got about 5 hours of sleep last night and will still be subject to being paged a lot this evening. I don't know if it would be acceptable to have to get up and down during the performance, if I was paged - probably not. That didn't occur to me yesterday, as I was talking to her about it.

Sorry to hear about your basement water issues!

[fullmoon_dreams]

I loved this two part story, but don't like to say any more because you don't appear to have seen the second part yet.

I do think it is one of my favourite stories of the series, though the finale trio of episodes (of which we had the first last night) is looking absolutely fantastic and if next week's episode is as good as the trailer makes out it will probably be my favourite ever.

[clair_de_lalune]

No, the second part will be broadcast here next Friday. I'll have to post about it again after that, so we can talk all about it. :-D

I saw a bunch of LJ "reaction post headlines" to the episode you just saw where you are (last night, I think). There was lots of stuff about Donna's awesomeness. And, based on what you say here, I'm very much looking forward to it!

Unfortunately, though, I don't know when I'll be able to see the last 2 episodes of the series. I'll be in the UK when they're broadcast here in the US, but they will already have been shown there weeks before... :(

[fullmoon_dreams]

That is nasty timing for you. I would suggest holding off on watching the third from the end of the series until you have all three together in that case. Last night's episode ended in a cliffhanger and I am cursing the seven day wait for the next episode.

Donna (Catherine Tate) was very good in last night's episode. She pretty much carried the episode and did a great job of it.

[clair_de_lalune]

Yeah, very nasty timing, that. The episode last night really ended in a cliffhanger? I thought that the third from last episode was supposed to be a stand-alone episode...oh well. :-/

Considering how long the wait was for the resolution of the HBP cliffhanger, though, I think I could take watching the show and waiting 3 weeks to see the last 2 episodes...I'll have my Dad tape them for me. Alternatively, if Doctor Who is available on iTunes in the UK, I might be able to download the 2 episodes there and watch them on my laptop. :-D

[corvus_coronis]

The new DH series is coming back to Australian television next week, which pleased me greatly :D

[clair_de_lalune]

Excellent! You'll have to post your thoughts on the episodes, then...

Do you get the Christmas special at Christmas or with the beginning of the new series?

[corvus_coronis]

Not sure, I'll see for myself this sunday :)

[clair_de_lalune]

If you get it at Christmas, you should have seen it already because it precedes the events at the beginning of series 4. So, you'll probably see it this Sunday, then: "Voyage of the Damned". I thought that episode was a lot of fun! :)