Review/analysis/adoration of ‘Time Crash’
Note: RL ate me, so I’ve only read a couple of ‘squee!’ posts - if my meta is just a rehash of what others have said before then I’m sorry. But it wasn’t a rip-off. :)
If you've not seen 'Time Crash' you can watch it here. (Spoilers for end of S3)
Snap!
So, how much squee/meta can you get out of 8 minutes? Dunno, but let’s see, yeah? After all I’m the person who wrote meta on 5 pages of a comic book...
Basically, I think ‘Time Crash’ is one of the most brilliant, funny, deeply layered and cleverly written things I’ve ever seen. It is also the *perfect* coda to S3...
There are few things on TV that I love as much as I love the second half of S3, but it *is* very dark and angsty (which is one reason I like it of course!). The Doctor’s loneliness is emphasised even more than before, because he gains - and loses - the one person in the whole universe who was like/understood him. And then in the end both Jack and Martha leave him...
Enter Time Crash:
First of all, I just have to say how wonderful Ten’s reaction to Five is - it’s that sweet nostalgia and delight that comes whenever you find something old that you’d almost forgotten, and suddenly a whole specific time springs to life in your mind - memory upon memory lighting up. And also there is what the Doctor does better than anything - exuberance. I love the way he almost bounces - it’s so incredibly endearing. Maybe it’s a trait that came about because of DW being ‘a children’s show’, but I couldn’t imagine him any other way. Few people get that much pleasure and wholehearted enjoyment out of life.
*
Ten: “Oh! The back of our head! Sorry, sorry - it’s not something you see every day, the back of your own head. Mind you - I can see why you wear a hat. I don’t want to seem vain, but could you keep that on?”
Gah! *profound love* All the stuff before is brilliant too - esp. ‘Not many men who can carry off a decorative vegetable’, but the hat thing just *shines*. ‘I don’t want to seem vain...’ - because of course he *is* vain! It’s one of the reasons I love him so. From ‘Fear Her’:
Rose: “Aren't you a beautiful boy?”
The Doctor (beams): “Thanks! I'm experimenting with back-combing.”
Then he notices Rose is talking to a cat.
:)
*
Ten: “Oh here they come - the brainy specs! You don’t even need them! You just think they make you look clever!”
*more profound love* And as I said - he’s so vain! *squishes the Doctor*
*
Five: “It’s like there are two times zones at war in the heart of the Tardis - that’s a paradox!”
And just how much do I love that shout-out to The Master’s Paradox Machine? He of course *changed* the Tardis so it upheld just such a paradox, without blowing holes in the universe...
*
Ten: “Hey I’m the Doctor - I can save the universe with a kettle and some string!”
Heh. (I’ve never watched Old Who - please tell me if that’s a specific shout-out. That would make it even better!)
*
Five: “Oh no - you are... a fan!”
The meta-ness of that just *kills* me. And of course it’s hilarious!
*
Five: “Look - it’s perfectly understandable, I go zooming around space and time, saving planets, fighting monsters and being - well, let’s be honest - pretty sort of marvellous.”
And Ten just *soaks* it all up - he is brilliant, he knows it, and doesn’t mind basking in his own glow one bit. *loves him some more* It actually reminds of something the_royal_anna once wrote about Cordelia. Because the Doctor is very Cordy-like...
Cordelia radiated the most infectious, wonderful joie de vivre. She had that quality of expecting to be liked, and it *is* an appealing quality, for all it doesn’t sound that way. People that set out to be liked are never as likeable as people that take it for granted that they will be.
See? That is Ten all over. :)
*
Five: “Far *too* brilliant - I’ve never met anyone else who could fly the Tardis like that!”
Ten: “Sorry mate, still haven’t!”
And it just doesn’t stop being funny... the concept is just too fabulous! (Note to self: Try to get hold of ‘The Five Doctors’.)
*
Ten: “...Timelords in funny hats and The Master - oh he just showed up again! Same as ever.”
Five: “Oh no - really? Does he still have that rubbish beard?”
Ten: “No - no beard this time. Well... a wife!”
I shall forgo talking about the joke (in all it’s shippy glory), even though it is brilliantly brilliant and utterly fabulous. Because this does something far more important - it gives Ten the closest he might get to closure on the subject of the Master.
As I said above, he was alone for so long, and then, when the Master came back, he promptly made sure that *everyone* hated him. I think Ten’s friends knew(/understood?) that the Master was important to *Ten*, but personally they all detested him - he was the one who imprisoned them, killed millions of people, enslaved the world, burned Japan, and hurt the Doctor - we saw Martha’s family bond in their shared hatred f.ex... Basically the Doctor did not have a single person to talk to about *his* feelings.
Enter Five!
Upon hearing about the Master, he doesn’t say: “Oh no! Not that horrible, evil, murderous fiend!” No, he says: “Does he still have that rubbish beard?” Because well - he’s just The Master...
ETA: It struck me that the way in which Five replies "Oh no - really?", Ten might as well have said "And Aunt Agatha got blind drunk and made a right fool of herself at Christmas, as usual!"
See the only person who knows exactly how the Doctor feels about the Master is the Doctor - and here he gets a chance to talk to himself! And I can’t explain just how happy that makes me, or how much I think he needed that.
It’s brief, yes, and silly, but that’s sort of the point... the end of S3 is so full of tragedy and drama and OTT emotions, that this little exchange is perfectly fitting in its understatedness. Oh! You know what it is? It’s ‘Fire bad, tree pretty’; it’s ‘We destroyed the mall? I fought on the wrong side’; it’s ‘I signalled her with my eyes!’
I love my shows. :)
*
Five: “What can I say? Thank you Doctor.”
Ten: “Thank you!”
Five: “I’m very welcome.”
Heeeee! And... aw. Dear Five, you have no idea how much *you* helped Ten!
*
And then - when Five has faded away - Ten rushes to flick a switch and gets him back - if just for a moment. Gets a chance for a proper goodbye, gets to say what he needs to say. And after the far too abrupt death of the Master, where there wasn’t enough time and the Doctor futilely railed against what he couldn’t change... This is just *so* right and wonderful. And exactly what he needs. *hugs Ten*
*
Ten: “You know - I loved being you. Back when I first started out I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you’re young. And then I was *you*...”
This is one of my favouritests things ever at all! It’s like the most *perfect* fanwank, except it’s canon!!!!!! Steven Moffat is my new God. (When it comes to fandom, I definitely go in for a whole gallery of deities.)
*
Ten: “Snap!”
*dies and is dead and will never come back to life* Also: *melts*
*
Ten (David Tennant/Steven Moffat): “Cause you know what Doctor? You were *my* Doctor!”
As I said - my cup overfloweth with metaness. And sniffles.
*
Five: “To days to come.”
Ten: “All my love to long ago.”
And now I have tears in my eyes... bother. Stupid, wonderful show.
*
Finally:
Five: “Oh Doctor - remember to put your shields up!”
Gorgeous, gorgeous continuity and also an explanation for *why* the Titanic could crash into the Tardis...
*
So, these were my thoughts. Hope you liked. Isn’t meta shiny? *g*
Oh and it's Little Miss M's birthday today (OMG she is 9!!), so I'll probably be slow in replying to comments. But I'll get there!
If you've not seen 'Time Crash' you can watch it here. (Spoilers for end of S3)
Snap!
So, how much squee/meta can you get out of 8 minutes? Dunno, but let’s see, yeah? After all I’m the person who wrote meta on 5 pages of a comic book...
Basically, I think ‘Time Crash’ is one of the most brilliant, funny, deeply layered and cleverly written things I’ve ever seen. It is also the *perfect* coda to S3...
There are few things on TV that I love as much as I love the second half of S3, but it *is* very dark and angsty (which is one reason I like it of course!). The Doctor’s loneliness is emphasised even more than before, because he gains - and loses - the one person in the whole universe who was like/understood him. And then in the end both Jack and Martha leave him...
Enter Time Crash:
First of all, I just have to say how wonderful Ten’s reaction to Five is - it’s that sweet nostalgia and delight that comes whenever you find something old that you’d almost forgotten, and suddenly a whole specific time springs to life in your mind - memory upon memory lighting up. And also there is what the Doctor does better than anything - exuberance. I love the way he almost bounces - it’s so incredibly endearing. Maybe it’s a trait that came about because of DW being ‘a children’s show’, but I couldn’t imagine him any other way. Few people get that much pleasure and wholehearted enjoyment out of life.
*
Ten: “Oh! The back of our head! Sorry, sorry - it’s not something you see every day, the back of your own head. Mind you - I can see why you wear a hat. I don’t want to seem vain, but could you keep that on?”
Gah! *profound love* All the stuff before is brilliant too - esp. ‘Not many men who can carry off a decorative vegetable’, but the hat thing just *shines*. ‘I don’t want to seem vain...’ - because of course he *is* vain! It’s one of the reasons I love him so. From ‘Fear Her’:
Rose: “Aren't you a beautiful boy?”
The Doctor (beams): “Thanks! I'm experimenting with back-combing.”
Then he notices Rose is talking to a cat.
:)
*
Ten: “Oh here they come - the brainy specs! You don’t even need them! You just think they make you look clever!”
*more profound love* And as I said - he’s so vain! *squishes the Doctor*
*
Five: “It’s like there are two times zones at war in the heart of the Tardis - that’s a paradox!”
And just how much do I love that shout-out to The Master’s Paradox Machine? He of course *changed* the Tardis so it upheld just such a paradox, without blowing holes in the universe...
*
Ten: “Hey I’m the Doctor - I can save the universe with a kettle and some string!”
Heh. (I’ve never watched Old Who - please tell me if that’s a specific shout-out. That would make it even better!)
*
Five: “Oh no - you are... a fan!”
The meta-ness of that just *kills* me. And of course it’s hilarious!
*
Five: “Look - it’s perfectly understandable, I go zooming around space and time, saving planets, fighting monsters and being - well, let’s be honest - pretty sort of marvellous.”
And Ten just *soaks* it all up - he is brilliant, he knows it, and doesn’t mind basking in his own glow one bit. *loves him some more* It actually reminds of something the_royal_anna once wrote about Cordelia. Because the Doctor is very Cordy-like...
Cordelia radiated the most infectious, wonderful joie de vivre. She had that quality of expecting to be liked, and it *is* an appealing quality, for all it doesn’t sound that way. People that set out to be liked are never as likeable as people that take it for granted that they will be.
See? That is Ten all over. :)
*
Five: “Far *too* brilliant - I’ve never met anyone else who could fly the Tardis like that!”
Ten: “Sorry mate, still haven’t!”
And it just doesn’t stop being funny... the concept is just too fabulous! (Note to self: Try to get hold of ‘The Five Doctors’.)
*
Ten: “...Timelords in funny hats and The Master - oh he just showed up again! Same as ever.”
Five: “Oh no - really? Does he still have that rubbish beard?”
Ten: “No - no beard this time. Well... a wife!”
I shall forgo talking about the joke (in all it’s shippy glory), even though it is brilliantly brilliant and utterly fabulous. Because this does something far more important - it gives Ten the closest he might get to closure on the subject of the Master.
As I said above, he was alone for so long, and then, when the Master came back, he promptly made sure that *everyone* hated him. I think Ten’s friends knew(/understood?) that the Master was important to *Ten*, but personally they all detested him - he was the one who imprisoned them, killed millions of people, enslaved the world, burned Japan, and hurt the Doctor - we saw Martha’s family bond in their shared hatred f.ex... Basically the Doctor did not have a single person to talk to about *his* feelings.
Enter Five!
Upon hearing about the Master, he doesn’t say: “Oh no! Not that horrible, evil, murderous fiend!” No, he says: “Does he still have that rubbish beard?” Because well - he’s just The Master...
ETA: It struck me that the way in which Five replies "Oh no - really?", Ten might as well have said "And Aunt Agatha got blind drunk and made a right fool of herself at Christmas, as usual!"
See the only person who knows exactly how the Doctor feels about the Master is the Doctor - and here he gets a chance to talk to himself! And I can’t explain just how happy that makes me, or how much I think he needed that.
It’s brief, yes, and silly, but that’s sort of the point... the end of S3 is so full of tragedy and drama and OTT emotions, that this little exchange is perfectly fitting in its understatedness. Oh! You know what it is? It’s ‘Fire bad, tree pretty’; it’s ‘We destroyed the mall? I fought on the wrong side’; it’s ‘I signalled her with my eyes!’
I love my shows. :)
*
Five: “What can I say? Thank you Doctor.”
Ten: “Thank you!”
Five: “I’m very welcome.”
Heeeee! And... aw. Dear Five, you have no idea how much *you* helped Ten!
*
And then - when Five has faded away - Ten rushes to flick a switch and gets him back - if just for a moment. Gets a chance for a proper goodbye, gets to say what he needs to say. And after the far too abrupt death of the Master, where there wasn’t enough time and the Doctor futilely railed against what he couldn’t change... This is just *so* right and wonderful. And exactly what he needs. *hugs Ten*
*
Ten: “You know - I loved being you. Back when I first started out I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you’re young. And then I was *you*...”
This is one of my favouritests things ever at all! It’s like the most *perfect* fanwank, except it’s canon!!!!!! Steven Moffat is my new God. (When it comes to fandom, I definitely go in for a whole gallery of deities.)
*
Ten: “Snap!”
*dies and is dead and will never come back to life* Also: *melts*
*
Ten (David Tennant/Steven Moffat): “Cause you know what Doctor? You were *my* Doctor!”
As I said - my cup overfloweth with metaness. And sniffles.
*
Five: “To days to come.”
Ten: “All my love to long ago.”
And now I have tears in my eyes... bother. Stupid, wonderful show.
*
Finally:
Five: “Oh Doctor - remember to put your shields up!”
Gorgeous, gorgeous continuity and also an explanation for *why* the Titanic could crash into the Tardis...
*
So, these were my thoughts. Hope you liked. Isn’t meta shiny? *g*
Oh and it's Little Miss M's birthday today (OMG she is 9!!), so I'll probably be slow in replying to comments. But I'll get there!