I agree, some of the episode did sound more like it was written for Ten rather than Eleven. I was particularly struck by Amy's interactions with the Doctor, actually - the whole 'Don't get emotional' bit sounded more Rusty-era than Moffat.
But still, awesome, awesome episode. So much love for Suranne!TARDIS. How can one person be that gorgeous?
It was more the LOOK AT ME, I AM AN ANGRY ANGSTY TIME LORD grumpiness and bitchiness that I wasn't so keen on, because we got enough of that with the first four seasons and I've been so glad that we've mostly been rid of it with Eleven. A bit of grump is okay because that's what the Doctor always does, but it was starting to edge a bit too close to that. I mean, I didn't want to punch the Doctor yet, so that was good, so it wasn't like it was horrible. But I did notice those certain Angry Timey elements in there some fanboys just love to write and which are, by now, pretty old. So that was a bit disappointing because it didn't show anything new (neither did the TARDIS corridor scenes, sadly partially because the "oh look, Amy is faced with the prospect of a dying Rory" thing has been done so many times already). Eleven's interactions with Idris!TARDIS were new, though, and that's where it got interesting
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I'm probably easier on this stuff than most, but I felt like his anger and angst were justified (unlike with Ten where it seemed like he was ALWAYS angry and angsting). Those Time Lord distress-calls-in-boxes were pretty distressing.
God, I loved the TARDIS, LOVED HER. When I saw the episode title, I thought it was going to be about River Song, but wow! Of course she is!!!
I agree the boxes were very distressing and he had the right to be angry. Maybe it was that, my Rusty PTSD and the fact that he had other grump and angry modes all throughout the ep, so he was grumpier than Eleven has been so far. But like I said, Matt's grump is preferable to the endless endless grump and teeth-gritting of Rusty's Docs. Those boxes made me go :O and they were just one of those moments that will stay with me forever. That was so terrifying.
I felt the title was unfair considering his Gallifreyan wife/whoever Susan's gran may have been, but of course, the TARDIS is the love of his life, so that works, too. And yes, Idris/Suranne was just perfect, perfect, perfect:D
Yeah, the Amy and Rory running through corridors bit felt a bit... meh, but the whole Doctor/TARDIS interaction - absolutely gorgeous. For some reason I *adored* that she called him her Thief and there were a couple of scenes with the two of them that were just... heartbreaking I guess, for want of a better words, but in kind of a good way...
I loved the "Thief" thing:). I was all AWWWWWWWWWWW at it. I also loved the way the script was performed and directed, as Suranne's twitchy, jerky, erratic way of playing the TARDIS-inside-a-human-body really stood out. The acting was just splendid. And I've never seen Eleven wibble that much when he had to say goodbye to her!
And lollerskates at the bunk beds! There were so many great laughs in this episode. The comic timing has been so great in Eleven's era so far. It's a massive delight:)
Suranne's twitchy, jerky, erratic way of playing the TARDIS-inside-a-human-body really stood out
I thought it was a good mirror of the TARDIS flight actually - doesn't really do smooth ;)
Eleven wibble that much when he had to say goodbye to her!
I think it made it worse that it wasn't goodbye, it was hello. They mean so much to each other, but it's 700 years before they even get to say hello and it was such a brief one too - relatively speaking.
Matt Smith has superb comic timing and it never seems overdone, which is impressive.
You know, I can totally see why the angsty Time Lord anger stuff might feel out of place and more like it belongs in RTD-land, but, wow, Matt Smith plays it so very differently than Tennant (and so much more to my taste, ultimately, despite my respect for Tennant's angsty face acting abilities), that it never occurred to me to see it that way. I also do think it's a bit more restrained than such things tended to be in Tennant's day, which seems to be the general trend and which I like a lot.
I guess it's *because* it's been so much more restrained in Eleven's era that it stood out to me--plus, I admit flinching because of so many bad experiences of ranty grumpy Doctorness, you know? Even if it wasn't nearly as bad as Ten at his worst, it already started to push those trauma buttons and something in me went "oh no, here we go again"... but thankfully, it didn't turn out to be so bad. A part of it is, I think, because Eleven is ultimately so loveable and so cuddly and goofy and funny that I can never really buy him being *scarily* angry, like I would with the RTD Docs. If that makes any sense. It's more like a young man version of grumbly grumpy Pertwee or Tom?
Matt really was great with the emotion in this. I love him so. By the end, I just wanted to give him a big, huge hug.
Yeah, when you get sensitized to stuff like that, it's much harder for it to work for you. I think I have exactly the opposite reaction, though. I like seeing moments like that from Eleven, precisely because, well, he's Eleven and he's already made me feel all happy about the way he does it, compared to Ten and I just go in expecting more of that.
And, aww, yeah, the man really does need a hug. Preferable from his TARDIS. :)
It's hard for me to trust after having been beaten up so many times!
But yes, this episode had so many classic moments. I'm sorry if my comments have sounded too negative, BTW, because one tends to notice the weaknesses more when they are next to really amazing bits. I enjoyed the episode, really:). That part where the Doctor asked who Idris was and she said "I say [VWORP VWORP]" was just jaw-dropping. And how much do I love the fact that *she* chose *him*?
From what I understand, some of what was wrong in this episode wasn't originally supposed to go that way. Apparently budget constraints really took their toll on the plot. For example, the Ood wasn't supposed to be an Ood originally, but a whole new monster. The corridors weren't gonna be corridors, but distinct separate rooms. (Can you believe, however many years later, that Doctor Who still has to resort to running around in corridors due to budget constraints? The more things change...) Finally, the 9/10 TARDIS was originally supposed to be an older TARDIS from Old Skool Who.
That said, anything with Idris!TARDIS was amazing. It was the greatest love story ever told. A Thief and his big blue box.
I really wouldn't be surprised. If I'd set a story inside the TARDIS, showing different rooms would be the whole point. It's a shame they couldn't do more with that. Like, I would've made Amy and Rory run into some Victorian drawing room and suddenly books start falling off the shelves and bombarding them and shit like that. That's kind of what I'd expect from Gaiman as well, so I assumed budget restrictions were a problem, yeah.
It was a good episode, though. Idris!TARDIS was just wonderful. And you can't really go wrong with The Suranne.
Yeah. I agree with all your criticisms. Actually, someone said that very little went on in this ep, and they're right. It kinda was filler. I also suspect it was a "cheap" episode. That said, it was good filler. At times it was amazing.
I think the 10-like 11 behavior bugged me less than it did you because...well, because we are different people lol. That said, it did make me go a little, "Oh, dear. How's Eleventy gonna handle this?" I think I was okay with it because there was no way he couldn't get mad. And he didn't really angst forever. I mean, the moral to this story was that the Doctor has the TARDIS evenm when he has no one else. And that's not a sad thing! Ten wouldve cried a single emo tear about it, and told Amy all about how she wasn't Rose.
Also, Doctor/TARDIS in this ep gives me the most joyous feeling. Seriously. I am actually about to watch it for the fourth time.
I thought the title was a bit unfair on Susan's gran and all that, even though I think the Doctor is a polygamous space tart anyway. But really, this was a wonderful way of doing the whole chick!TARDIS thing. Good old Neil!
Having seen so much of the old TARDIS!chick thing in fic and that over the years, I really forgot that TV Who had never really touched it before. And Suranne Jones and Neil Himself and the Matt Smith did it WONDERFULLY!
Last night I had to check the clock and do the math before I realized I was about to hit "play" for the sixth time inna row. Then I hit "play" again.
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But still, awesome, awesome episode. So much love for Suranne!TARDIS. How can one person be that gorgeous?
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God, I loved the TARDIS, LOVED HER. When I saw the episode title, I thought it was going to be about River Song, but wow! Of course she is!!!
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I felt the title was unfair considering his Gallifreyan wife/whoever Susan's gran may have been, but of course, the TARDIS is the love of his life, so that works, too. And yes, Idris/Suranne was just perfect, perfect, perfect:D
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I may have sporfled at the bunkbeds though :)
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And lollerskates at the bunk beds! There were so many great laughs in this episode. The comic timing has been so great in Eleven's era so far. It's a massive delight:)
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I thought it was a good mirror of the TARDIS flight actually - doesn't really do smooth ;)
Eleven wibble that much when he had to say goodbye to her!
I think it made it worse that it wasn't goodbye, it was hello. They mean so much to each other, but it's 700 years before they even get to say hello and it was such a brief one too - relatively speaking.
Matt Smith has superb comic timing and it never seems overdone, which is impressive.
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Matt really was great with the emotion in this. I love him so. By the end, I just wanted to give him a big, huge hug.
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And, aww, yeah, the man really does need a hug. Preferable from his TARDIS. :)
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But yes, this episode had so many classic moments. I'm sorry if my comments have sounded too negative, BTW, because one tends to notice the weaknesses more when they are next to really amazing bits. I enjoyed the episode, really:). That part where the Doctor asked who Idris was and she said "I say [VWORP VWORP]" was just jaw-dropping. And how much do I love the fact that *she* chose *him*?
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That said, anything with Idris!TARDIS was amazing. It was the greatest love story ever told. A Thief and his big blue box.
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It was a good episode, though. Idris!TARDIS was just wonderful. And you can't really go wrong with The Suranne.
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I think the 10-like 11 behavior bugged me less than it did you because...well, because we are different people lol. That said, it did make me go a little, "Oh, dear. How's Eleventy gonna handle this?" I think I was okay with it because there was no way he couldn't get mad. And he didn't really angst forever. I mean, the moral to this story was that the Doctor has the TARDIS evenm when he has no one else. And that's not a sad thing! Ten wouldve cried a single emo tear about it, and told Amy all about how she wasn't Rose.
Also, Doctor/TARDIS in this ep gives me the most joyous feeling. Seriously. I am actually about to watch it for the fourth time.
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MY PARADIGMS HAVE SHIFTED.
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I thought the title was a bit unfair on Susan's gran and all that, even though I think the Doctor is a polygamous space tart anyway. But really, this was a wonderful way of doing the whole chick!TARDIS thing. Good old Neil!
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Last night I had to check the clock and do the math before I realized I was about to hit "play" for the sixth time inna row. Then I hit "play" again.
Squeeing forever now.
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