Waters of Mars

Nov 16, 2009 09:34

That was pretty good, really.

just one little thing )

doctor who

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Comments 43

mind_the_tardis November 16 2009, 16:16:36 UTC
Yup, he failed by virtue of being slightly dumb. But I think you could reason it out with him being in a power-hungry rush and, ha, time be damned, he'll just put 'em right back where they came from.

Or you could just say RTD went IT IS MORE INTERESTING THIS WAY TIME BREAK and man-handled the plot. Which is nothing new. He could have fixed it all by throwing in some reason why he couldn't take them elsewhere. A time-glitch-thingie or sommat. And he didn't. Explanations are definitely not his strong point.

Not to mention the episode's the same scrappy-team-in-an-enclosed-environment-with-an-outside-threat-and-a-time-limit-but-just-trying-to-get-home dynamic he's done in PotD and Midnight before. It's new ground only in character development, but, Lordy, it was a flashy, lovely rush of character development.

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shobogan November 16 2009, 17:15:36 UTC
True, but there was ample time before the mad rush of power corruption. (Speaking of, I'd have rather he heard lots of people dying instead of "last of the Time Lords" over and over and over.)

...Point. It IS RTD. Drama first, logic somewhere in the twenties. (I'd still like to know how Adelaide's granddaughter knew she died a hero in the original timeline. Ten just skipped from "they never knew why" to that.)

Yes, I will forgive a lot for them finally acknowledging Ten's hubris.

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mind_the_tardis November 16 2009, 23:07:59 UTC
Yeah, the whole "last" babble was a bit much. But I do think the point of the episode was that he finally went, wait, I keep saying I'm the last, but what does that really mean? It means all those laws I've been trained to only apply if I want them to, and maybe I don't. So I feel it made sense. Though perhaps no voiceover would have been better.

And, yes, there was plenty of time for him to just vwoorp them away. That plothole really does gape.

Heh, yeah. "You blew up a base for no known reason, and were apparently honored for that \o/ Go, logic?"

I have gradually gotten used to RTD. He lacks in explanation, but he does seem to have a good handle on character development and creating moments with emotional punch and grip. I'm hoping he'll kill Ten with the same intensity as he killed . . . all sorts of characters in Children of the Earth.

I have no idea what he's doing with the Master and I WANT TO KNOW. Now.

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tromana November 16 2009, 16:42:16 UTC
He could have just transported them to some other planet.

...but Charley! It didn't matter where in the Universe she was - there were still problems with the fact she survived an event that no one was meant to survive. And she wasn't 'important' going by what the Time Lords in Neverland were saying... hm. I posted more on my LJ about this because of this post.

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shobogan November 16 2009, 17:12:12 UTC
I never got that one either! Well, maybe when they decided to contact her boyfriend (or, er, try) like idiots. (I love those two, but really.)

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ficciones November 17 2009, 01:11:29 UTC
I agree. I mean, at the later point, I think he had quite simply snapped and was powertripping about Time, but...

and there is the Charley logic, but then, they got away with it for Pompeii. So why not this?

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shobogan November 17 2009, 04:50:52 UTC
Yeah. He wasn't thinking logically then, but before...

He should know that on the face of it history isn't always what you expect. He's taken advantage of that before!

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ficciones November 17 2009, 13:09:23 UTC
Logical thought has never been one of this regeneration's strong points, though.

Multiple times! But on the bright side, they really acknowledged at least half of his amazingly epic character flaw? I mean, I wasn't surprised when he snapped, exactly. It was more of, "Well damn, so he finally broke!" moment.

New theory: Eleven pulls a Seven and is in fact responsible for killing Ten to prevent him from becoming the Valeyard! Ten retreats to Six's part of the unconscious and Six ends up kicking him out, which results in Ten bothering Five. Right up until One comes and finds them both. (Actually, considering I swear he got hit on the head in that explosion and is hallucinating all of this shiznit now, that might be true. Sort of like an Oods of Christmas Future moment. Pay no attention to the regeneration behind the curtain!)

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shobogan November 17 2009, 17:41:59 UTC
This is a point. Still!

Yes, I'm definitely glad of that. I'm not at all surprised from a character standpoint, but pleasantly surprised that RTD finally went all the way there, even if the method was flawed.

...That might actually make me not hate that plot. XD

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astronomia November 17 2009, 01:13:52 UTC
Yeah that's my big thing. I mean, uh, nuclear explosion on Mars? Proooobably not going to have any bodies. At all. I kept saying that the whole time.

If not for that key thing, I really did enjoy it. The best special so far, I think. Not pointless fluff, not as plotholey (from one viewing, anyway).

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shobogan November 17 2009, 04:51:53 UTC
I BET WE WERE CHANTING "but...but..." TOGETHER.

That I definitely agree with. The plot was a bit been there done that, but at least it was executed fairly well.

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notusachan November 17 2009, 04:24:42 UTC
I'll... post my thoughts on WoM once the Eights in my headspace stop LOSING THEIR COLLECTIVE SHITS OVER IT.

I mean Ten was turning into some combination of like, idk, Grandfather Paradox and the Master or something idk but it was batshit and Charley and and Zagreus and fjklaksjdf and who the hell does he think he fucking is and the moment when his memory changed and kljlkjsjlkasdjlkfjlkajlkakjlgae. etc etc etc.

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shobogan November 17 2009, 04:49:10 UTC
I FIGURED EIGHT MIGHT. "Do you remember HOW BIG OF A BAD IDEA THIS IS." The paralell is even bigger as I think Ten fell for Adelaide a wee bit. ('Course, do did I, so...)

you should write that freak out/lecture

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notusachan November 17 2009, 04:59:17 UTC
Secretly that's the plot of the Christmas specials. Paul McGann shows up to BITCHSLAP THE HELL OUT OF David Tennant. And it's a bitchslap so epic it triggers a regeneration.

He learned it from Lucie.

I don't think I could get it coherent enough to write out.

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shobogan November 17 2009, 05:14:58 UTC
I would watch that over and over.

Lucie can grade him on it. (I am almost done season two! POOR AUNTY PAT.)

Maybe Five could help! Though really, he's all just /SIGH OH DOCTOR, because he gets it, really, but COME ON, TEN, SNAP OUT OF IT BEFORE YOU BREAK THE UNIVERSE.

or d!Five could help. "WHEN I SAID TAKE CONTROL I DID NOT MEAN LIKE THIS, DUMBASS."

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