Comments | kalena_henden: Doctor Who S4 Review

kalena_henden

Doctor Who S4 Review

Oct 23, 2011 17:38

Russell T Davies, how do you do it? Yet again another Doctor Who season finale which successfully made me cry. (It's currently 4 for 4 now.) Not just misty-eyed single tear down each cheek but lip-quivering, blotchy-faced, Rudolf-the-red-nosed-reindeer-sniffling, tears-like-waterfalls, blanket-clutching, silent sobbing.

( thoughts on S4 )

doctor who, tv

Comments 11

jadestrick October 24 2011, 04:12:19 UTC

I concur with ALL OF THIS. I LOVE Ten and Donna, but ONLY as friends. And I firmly believe that no companion goodbye was EVER this heartbreaking. I was a bloody WRECK for days after this finale.

And we're on the same wavelength. I STILL don't care for River.

Is this the first time you're watching it?!?!? Have you watched Torchwood and Sarah Jane too?

kalena_henden October 26 2011, 19:05:36 UTC

Yes, definitely ONLY as friends. One of my favorite things about their relationship is that it was platonic. It's the second most heartbreaking companion goodbye for me, S2 Rose is still number one. It had me in a salty puddle on the floor.

I'm trying to reserve judgement on River but so far it's not looking good.

Yup, this is the very first time watching through the new series. It's taken me a couple of years to get to this point. I'll watch a season and then not pick-up the next one for a year. But I was a Doctor Who fan as a kid, Tom Baker era. My parents loved it.

I haven't seen Torchwood or Sarah Jane yet. First things first. lol

jadestrick October 26 2011, 22:34:34 UTC

I think the fact that it IS platonic makes it even more heartwrenching. And I love Rose fromt he depths of my heart, but Donna's departure was the WORST. Probably because Catherine Tate and David Tennant have SUCH good chemistry.

I can honestly say I never watched the old series. Rusty watched a little, but I didn't discover the wonder of scifi till later in life anyway.

It's actually a good thing you haven't yet. I had a friend who watched Torchwood first and I yelled at him. :D Once you watch Who you'll definitely see the nods in Torchwood. (i.e. "Vote Saxon" \o/)

iwillrememberu October 24 2011, 07:39:39 UTC

The Doctor/Rose. [sigh] This has been at the heart of show for 4 seasons, even when she's not there she has been on his mind affecting his choices. I like the solution of second human/timelord hybrid Doctor. However, there were so many emotional stages to work through in Rose chosing the hybrid Doctor that they were not able to get through in time without making the audience feel she was cheating on The Doctor. Especially since Mickey got to stay in our world.

Word. Except, I didn't really feel that Rose cheated, but more that the Doctor left her the way he said he never would (2x03). That's why this ending didn't really work for me. I love RTD for trying to give us a happy ending, he was the biggest Rose/Doctor shipper of all, but it was still very sad and upsetting ( ... )

iwillrememberu October 24 2011, 07:42:39 UTC

Also,

Plus I'm not really feeling River Song and I know she will have a fairly major role in the future of the series

That's my main problem with the Moffat era. I really can't stand her :(

kalena_henden October 26 2011, 21:25:36 UTC

Even when I wrote that cheated wasn't exactly the word I was looking for but I couldn't think of a better one. I like your explaination better: he left her. I feel like bursting into tears right now just thinking about it. Yes, I love that RTD tried for the happy ending.

True, Rose did what she had to for the love of her life and to save the universe. Even though the hybrid!Doctor only has one life, both he and Rose are so adventurous. Part of me can see them settling down the way the Doctor almost did in "Family of Blood" but the other part sees them exploring far off places even without the Tardis.

Oh, good. I look forward to seeing Wilf again!

iwillrememberu October 27 2011, 21:56:44 UTC

Yeah, the very thought that he left her behind makes me want to cry... It's quite tragic because we know how much he loved her.

Part of me can see them settling down the way the Doctor almost did in "Family of Blood" but the other part sees them exploring far off places even without the Tardis.

I believe there was a deleted scene where the Doctor gave his clone a little fragment of the tardis, which could in time "grow" and become a real tardis... so, no doubt, Rose & Clone!Ten had *some* fun.

Thread 5

annalouwho October 25 2011, 19:08:33 UTC

Hey, you're right, I'm 4 for 4 for the Davies era too! I thought maybe I didn't cry at "Last of the Time Lords," but then I remembered the Master dying in the Doctor's arms (ugh my god that kills me). But Donna's ending really destroys me the most. It's so awful to think of her never remembering all the incredible things she's seen and done nor knowing how truly amazing she is, but that's actually what I kind of love about it. I think it's brilliant in how painful it is. And what really makes it work for me is when the Doctor is sitting with Donna's mother and Wilf and he's like, "For a time she was the most important woman in the universe," and her mom says, "She still is; she's my daughter," and the Doctor just looks her straight in the eye and says, "Then you should tell her that once in a while." Seriously, I hate Donna's mother. Donna doesn't need to save the universe every five minutes to be amazing; she's amazing for just being who she is. Donna is my favorite ( ... )

kalena_henden October 31 2011, 23:59:04 UTC

I still was more heartbroken for the S2 finale. I think it was just a better crafted story. Ten/Rose on opposite sides of the wall and then Rose hearing a whisper of his voice calling her through time, traveling the country to find its orgin and the whole epic beach scene where he gets cut off from declaring "i love you." [falls into a weepy puddle]

But that doesn't diminish how much I felt Donna's fate.

It's so awful to think of her never remembering all the incredible things she's seen and done nor knowing how truly amazing she is, but that's actually what I kind of love about it. I think it's brilliant in how painful it is.
THIS! It kills me but I agree, it's brilliant.

And what really makes it work for me is when the Doctor is sitting with Donna's mother and Wilf and he's like, "For a time she was the most important woman in the universe," and her mom says, "She still is; she's my daughter," and the Doctor just looks her straight in the eye and says, "Then you should tell her that once in a while." Seriously, I hate Donna's ( ... )

annalouwho November 1 2011, 01:37:59 UTC

Well, see, what I think made "Doomsday" so brilliant is that even though it was absolutely heartbreaking, we still knew that Rose was going to be fine, no, that she was going to be amazing even without the Doctor. There were so many times throughout Series 2 where she was separated from him and had to stand on her own two feet, and she was a strong woman and a hero all by herself. Then in Series 4 we learn that she has spent the previous years trying to rip a hole in the universe so that she can get her boyfriend back? I hate it. I just feel like it invalidated her whole character arc in Series 2.

And, oh my god, the worst bit of Doctor self-righteousness was in "The Doctor's Daughter" when he was like, 'You should model your society after me!! Because I would never shoot anyone with a gun!!' Like, WHATEVER, MR. DOUBLE GENOCIDE. THROW ANYONE INTO A BLACK HOLE LATELY? I adore the Doctor, and I love when he's fucked up, but not when he's like that.