This is very interesting, and leaves me with a hankering to go read "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock" again. Perhaps especially striking (at least with me) is the following from that poem:
Do I dare Disturb the universe? In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
I thank you for bringing to the fore that which has been quietly whispering at the back of my head, where I'd left my adolescent studies of T.S. Eliot, about Moffat's first season at the helm.
Re: Edited to fix coding errorpromethia_tenkJuly 9 2010, 04:05:26 UTC
When Eliot does that, it works. Not sure Moffat can successfully write a TV series like a poem, in which images fit together to form impressions, and meaning derives from the the act of receiving the impressions.
Television does, rather annoyingly, seem to insist on plots and characters in ways that poetry does not. I think I'm a lot more inclined to give it a pass than the average viewer, but I agree that it might be a problematic way to put a season together.
OTOH, it does feel like a bit of a bait-and-switch. Look! It's a plot-point! Nope, it's not; it's just there to provoke "the feeling of experiencing the work."I think the proof will be in next season. We weren't expecting this kind of storytelling this season and, therefore, to a certain extent, we were all concentrating on the wrong things. Next season, I hope, we'll have a much better idea of how best to approach interpretation, at which point we won't feel so much like we've had a trick played on us. Personally, I rather like what Moffat's doing; it's unlike anything
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Re: Edited to fix coding errorpromethia_tenkJuly 9 2010, 16:51:04 UTC
once it became clear that there were gaps in time that were not mere jump-cuts of the camera, I never doubted that this was a season-long single story. Moffat planted the original seeds in "Forest of the Dead," in the dreamlike sequence in which Donna marries someone and raises children, but experiences breaks in time that we, at first, think are camera cuts.
Would you mind pointing out to me where you saw this happening in this season? Because it was a trick I was expecting and specifically looking out for, and I can't say that I ever saw it.
It has both the luxury of time and the burden of time. Moffat does seem to be making good use of that. I just hope that he's not also being careless and random for the sake of messing with us.I hope so to, but as with any highly-serialized show you decide to commit to, you really do just have to go it on faith. For the moment, I still trust Moffat and believe he's plotting these things out with a lot of forethought. On the other hand, I've been burned before. I think of the shows I've
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dude, this is awesome. t.s. eliot is by far my favorite poet. i think you hit the nail on the head with thematic layering. i'm not saying i'm great at interpreting poetry, but i get chills every time i read the waste land in the same way i do when i watch certain episodes of doctor who.
I'm not super familiar with Eliot, but I think I get what you're saying, and I like it. Especially If Davies gave us the Time War and its subsequent traumas, I think Moffat is doing his darndest to heal us all. YES.
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Sweet.
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Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
I thank you for bringing to the fore that which has been quietly whispering at the back of my head, where I'd left my adolescent studies of T.S. Eliot, about Moffat's first season at the helm.
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Here's a link, if you haven't read it yet and are interested.
http://lannamichaels.livejournal.com/661774.html
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But the quote in it fits the doctor as well. It's what he does. Make a hundred decisions before the taking of toast and tea.
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(The comment has been removed)
Television does, rather annoyingly, seem to insist on plots and characters in ways that poetry does not. I think I'm a lot more inclined to give it a pass than the average viewer, but I agree that it might be a problematic way to put a season together.
OTOH, it does feel like a bit of a bait-and-switch. Look! It's a plot-point! Nope, it's not; it's just there to provoke "the feeling of experiencing the work."I think the proof will be in next season. We weren't expecting this kind of storytelling this season and, therefore, to a certain extent, we were all concentrating on the wrong things. Next season, I hope, we'll have a much better idea of how best to approach interpretation, at which point we won't feel so much like we've had a trick played on us. Personally, I rather like what Moffat's doing; it's unlike anything ( ... )
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Would you mind pointing out to me where you saw this happening in this season? Because it was a trick I was expecting and specifically looking out for, and I can't say that I ever saw it.
It has both the luxury of time and the burden of time. Moffat does seem to be making good use of that. I just hope that he's not also being careless and random for the sake of messing with us.I hope so to, but as with any highly-serialized show you decide to commit to, you really do just have to go it on faith. For the moment, I still trust Moffat and believe he's plotting these things out with a lot of forethought. On the other hand, I've been burned before. I think of the shows I've ( ... )
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