Doctor Who - Waters of Mars
Thanks to my new personal hero girlfmkitty over at tennant_love, I got to watch a dl of Waters of Mars instead of having to wait a whole month for it to air on BBC America! So...
NOTE: THIS IS VERY SPOILERY, SO DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN WATERS OF MARS YET!
First:
OMGOMGOMG THE DOCTOR'S BAAAACCCKKKK!!!!!!! HE'S BACK HE'S BACK HE'S BACK!!!! OMGYAY!!!!!!
*SQUEE* *FLAIL* *THUD*
Ahem. Now that I've gotten that out of my system...sort of...
I have been dying to see this for so long and the anticipation has built to such a level that I thought there was no way WoM could ever live up to my hopes, but I was totally floored!
It didn't start out as all that much. The first half was very normal Who with lots of episode deja vu. So many callbacks. "Impossible Planet"/"Satan Pit" especially. All the classic elements. Cutesy little bits and angsty touches. I lost track of all the Donna-specific callbacks. Just the idea of the Doctor on Mars makes me think of her, and then the otherwise irritating segway (sp?) thing? Of course, the claims of leaving were new, but I just didn't believe he would. We got good 'n creepy baddies, despite some really lame practical effects (seriously guys, the hose is right there, would it have killed you to spend five minutes at least fuzzing it out?). Likable crew in peril. Quirky Doctor quips. The comforts of the familiar, deceptively sedating. Then right at the halfway mark, it shifted into something else entirely.
Once the Doctor starting explaining what he knew to Adelaide, his "consolation" speech, WoM reached a whole new level. The performances were beyond brilliant. DT was masterful, as always, so the real surprise delight was Lindsay Duncan and her heart-breaking Adelaide Brooke. Can I just say how much I love her now before I get to the really weepy part? She was spellbinding and she and DT elevated each other to new heights.
It's amazing to me how much DT can convey with the slightest expression. And how affecting was it to see him so still?! Watching the crew scrambling as they prepared to evacuate. Just standing there. Guh! And then walking away.
And then the airlock scene. OMFG the airlock scene! Adelaide's empty threat and the Doctor's love for her. The Pompeii guilt! The Doctor's agony in explaining, and the dawning realization of Adelaide. By the time he started describing her granddaughter's flight ("she flies out there like she's trying to meet you"), I began to loose it. The second Adelaide said she will not die in that broken way and asked the Doctor for help... OMG "What's going to save you?" "Captain Adelaide Brooke." "Damn you." SOB!
As he walks away, listening to the screaming and dying, Stefi switching on the vid of the niece and nephew one last time, the acts of heroism, and Adelaide's refusal to give up... *flailing sobs* Jesus Christ! The sheer torment on the Doctor's face, the way he reacts to every cry of the crew, the absolute torture of it all! *dies* And all the while you want him to save them, you want desperately for him to save them all, yet you know just as he does that he mustn't... It broke me. And it broke the Doctor.
I think the only thing that saved me in this scene was getting pulled out of the moment by the fire of the explosion all around the Doctor. Look folks, I know how much we all love the motif of the Doctor and fire when he's gone over the edge and yes, he looks extra scary awesome with all those flames, but it's fucking Mars. Trace oxygen. Seriously?
As much as I wanted him to be heroic and for Adelaide and the others to live, the reasoning the Doctor had to adopt to break the rules to get there and where that leads him... To quote the Doctor, "Many things about this are not good." When he bursts in I love how his hero's theme music is just slightly off. And off he goes, in total quirky, crazed, scary, pain and rage war mode. But this is so much worse. Because this time he's not really going medieval 900+ Time Lord warrior against some terrible foe or even death itself. This time, he's declared war on all that was once sacred to him. He crosses the line not even the daleks would dare. And when he takes them to Earth, it's all wrong. He's all wrong. The way he angrily asks for thanks, that scary-mad edge to every moment, even in his smile at the snow. His contempt. The Doctor dismissive and egotistical beyond anything we've ever seen. Little people. The Time Lord Victorious. I have never been so scared for and of the Doctor. Jesus fucking christ. He is one terrifying badass mofo, yo. Seriously, though, this proves more clearly than ever two truths about the Doctor: 1) he desperately needs a companion to keep him in check, and 2) the events of "Journey's End" shattered something deep inside him. The Doctor is broken and getting more fractured by the minute.
I love Adelaide for standing up to him. I love her wisdom and her anger and her horror. I love her courage. I expected her to demand to be taken back, I even thought she might disappear to let herself remain officially dead to protect the timeline, but I didn't expect her calmly walking into the house and immediately shooting herself until it was too late. There was that brief moment as she draws the gun, when for a split second, I think we were supposed to wonder if she might shoot the Doctor to stop him. But I never thought for even that moment that she would. Adelaide was too good for that. She sacrificed herself. She restored the timeline. She stopped the Doctor. Guh!
And then the Doctor falls apart. This new, last refuge, his little mini-regeneration to make himself into something that could keep going when it's all finally become too much, crumbles. And he's naked and alone and terrified. So terrified of death. And yet, you can see that little touch of longing, longing for death. Beneath the fear, there's this piece of him that just wants it all to be over. To become someone else or finally cease to be entirely. But the fear wins. And the rage wins. That last little spark of defiance at the end. And as sad as that is, there's a hope in it, too. But we know it won't be enough.
If anyone needs me, I'll be sobbing and fetal in the corner until Christmas. And by the looks of the End of Time previews, for much longer than that.
Note: I'm sure I'm even more rambly and incoherent than usual. Part of it is the undeniable emotional wallop of WoM. Part of it is that I'm reaching the 36+ hours without sleep mark. But, Doctor Who flailage must go on even in the face of sleep deprivation. Also, I have to head to a faculty meeting now. *headdesk*
.
NOTE: THIS IS VERY SPOILERY, SO DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN WATERS OF MARS YET!
First:
OMGOMGOMG THE DOCTOR'S BAAAACCCKKKK!!!!!!! HE'S BACK HE'S BACK HE'S BACK!!!! OMGYAY!!!!!!
*SQUEE* *FLAIL* *THUD*
Ahem. Now that I've gotten that out of my system...sort of...
I have been dying to see this for so long and the anticipation has built to such a level that I thought there was no way WoM could ever live up to my hopes, but I was totally floored!
It didn't start out as all that much. The first half was very normal Who with lots of episode deja vu. So many callbacks. "Impossible Planet"/"Satan Pit" especially. All the classic elements. Cutesy little bits and angsty touches. I lost track of all the Donna-specific callbacks. Just the idea of the Doctor on Mars makes me think of her, and then the otherwise irritating segway (sp?) thing? Of course, the claims of leaving were new, but I just didn't believe he would. We got good 'n creepy baddies, despite some really lame practical effects (seriously guys, the hose is right there, would it have killed you to spend five minutes at least fuzzing it out?). Likable crew in peril. Quirky Doctor quips. The comforts of the familiar, deceptively sedating. Then right at the halfway mark, it shifted into something else entirely.
Once the Doctor starting explaining what he knew to Adelaide, his "consolation" speech, WoM reached a whole new level. The performances were beyond brilliant. DT was masterful, as always, so the real surprise delight was Lindsay Duncan and her heart-breaking Adelaide Brooke. Can I just say how much I love her now before I get to the really weepy part? She was spellbinding and she and DT elevated each other to new heights.
It's amazing to me how much DT can convey with the slightest expression. And how affecting was it to see him so still?! Watching the crew scrambling as they prepared to evacuate. Just standing there. Guh! And then walking away.
And then the airlock scene. OMFG the airlock scene! Adelaide's empty threat and the Doctor's love for her. The Pompeii guilt! The Doctor's agony in explaining, and the dawning realization of Adelaide. By the time he started describing her granddaughter's flight ("she flies out there like she's trying to meet you"), I began to loose it. The second Adelaide said she will not die in that broken way and asked the Doctor for help... OMG "What's going to save you?" "Captain Adelaide Brooke." "Damn you." SOB!
As he walks away, listening to the screaming and dying, Stefi switching on the vid of the niece and nephew one last time, the acts of heroism, and Adelaide's refusal to give up... *flailing sobs* Jesus Christ! The sheer torment on the Doctor's face, the way he reacts to every cry of the crew, the absolute torture of it all! *dies* And all the while you want him to save them, you want desperately for him to save them all, yet you know just as he does that he mustn't... It broke me. And it broke the Doctor.
I think the only thing that saved me in this scene was getting pulled out of the moment by the fire of the explosion all around the Doctor. Look folks, I know how much we all love the motif of the Doctor and fire when he's gone over the edge and yes, he looks extra scary awesome with all those flames, but it's fucking Mars. Trace oxygen. Seriously?
As much as I wanted him to be heroic and for Adelaide and the others to live, the reasoning the Doctor had to adopt to break the rules to get there and where that leads him... To quote the Doctor, "Many things about this are not good." When he bursts in I love how his hero's theme music is just slightly off. And off he goes, in total quirky, crazed, scary, pain and rage war mode. But this is so much worse. Because this time he's not really going medieval 900+ Time Lord warrior against some terrible foe or even death itself. This time, he's declared war on all that was once sacred to him. He crosses the line not even the daleks would dare. And when he takes them to Earth, it's all wrong. He's all wrong. The way he angrily asks for thanks, that scary-mad edge to every moment, even in his smile at the snow. His contempt. The Doctor dismissive and egotistical beyond anything we've ever seen. Little people. The Time Lord Victorious. I have never been so scared for and of the Doctor. Jesus fucking christ. He is one terrifying badass mofo, yo. Seriously, though, this proves more clearly than ever two truths about the Doctor: 1) he desperately needs a companion to keep him in check, and 2) the events of "Journey's End" shattered something deep inside him. The Doctor is broken and getting more fractured by the minute.
I love Adelaide for standing up to him. I love her wisdom and her anger and her horror. I love her courage. I expected her to demand to be taken back, I even thought she might disappear to let herself remain officially dead to protect the timeline, but I didn't expect her calmly walking into the house and immediately shooting herself until it was too late. There was that brief moment as she draws the gun, when for a split second, I think we were supposed to wonder if she might shoot the Doctor to stop him. But I never thought for even that moment that she would. Adelaide was too good for that. She sacrificed herself. She restored the timeline. She stopped the Doctor. Guh!
And then the Doctor falls apart. This new, last refuge, his little mini-regeneration to make himself into something that could keep going when it's all finally become too much, crumbles. And he's naked and alone and terrified. So terrified of death. And yet, you can see that little touch of longing, longing for death. Beneath the fear, there's this piece of him that just wants it all to be over. To become someone else or finally cease to be entirely. But the fear wins. And the rage wins. That last little spark of defiance at the end. And as sad as that is, there's a hope in it, too. But we know it won't be enough.
If anyone needs me, I'll be sobbing and fetal in the corner until Christmas. And by the looks of the End of Time previews, for much longer than that.
Note: I'm sure I'm even more rambly and incoherent than usual. Part of it is the undeniable emotional wallop of WoM. Part of it is that I'm reaching the 36+ hours without sleep mark. But, Doctor Who flailage must go on even in the face of sleep deprivation. Also, I have to head to a faculty meeting now. *headdesk*
.