Comments | retsuko: Doctor Who: Xmas Special 2013

retsuko

Doctor Who: Xmas Special 2013

Dec 26, 2013 20:28

Uhm.

Uhm...

( What did I just watch? Besides spoilers, of course. )

that isn't how i'd tell this story but o, fannish babblery, tv shows: doctor who

Comments 4

wshaffer December 27 2013, 05:16:47 UTC

Yeah, I was overall underwhelmed, although I enjoyed the regeneration itself and the bits with Clara's family and the scene where they first arrive in Christmas. On the whole, it tried to tie up too many plot threads that didn't really need tying up. However, any episode whose basic summary is "Merry Christmas, kids! I'm killing the Doctor!" was always going to be a bit tricky to do.

retsuko December 27 2013, 16:01:37 UTC

Yes, the bit with Clara and the Doctor both compulsively telling the truth was well done, and played to both of their acting strengths. :)

And, yeah, I totally get that there's a challenge in telling the Regeneration story... I just wouldn't have made it so maddeningly unclear, and I think clarity could have been achieved with a few more lines of exposition.

ladybird97 December 31 2013, 01:50:15 UTC

Yeaaahhh, that's about it. It was filled with all kinds of things that have disappointed me about Moffatt's writing: portentous-sounding-but-inane poems, overuse of past plots (weeping angels? again? really?), Manic Pixie Dream Clara, twists that are supposed to seem clever but really don't hold together.

sigh.

I agree that the truth-telling scene was funny (although why didn't that turn into an actual plot point?) and Matt Smith is a very good actor. And I must admit, I misted up when Amy reappeared. Amy! We got to see Amy!

lady_of_mists January 1 2014, 16:01:49 UTC

I had some issues where I spilled diet ginger ale all over myself and the chair that I was sitting on at the ending of the show, as well as the fact that I came to the show late, so I didn't really understand half of what was going on. When I tried to watch it later, I kept falling asleep. Of course, part of it was knowing that Matt Smith was definitely leaving the series, so some of the element of surprise was gone. Just not my favorite episode, I guess.