I LOVED this episode. It felt very different from the last season, which felt very different from the RTD seasons. Since I wasn't all that enthralled with last season (I liked it, but wasn't glued to it as I was with most of RTD's stuff), so the change didn't bother me
( ... )
I really enjoyed last season, but I don't think I was quite acclimated to all the changes yet. I think if I went back and re-watched the series again, I would have quite a different reaction. This had a very different feel to it, but I liked it. I love when Doctor Who does the edgier emotional stuff (which is why I liked 10, but 11 may just surpass 10 if this keeps going).
You know, they did just enough front loading (I'm not sure if Amy's monologue was just a US thing), that gave you enough of an idea of what is going on. They shorthandedly explained River Song while advancing her story. The lure really was in the complexity rather than dumbing it down.
Double entendres sometimes sail on past me, even though I am an adult! Just tell him it was a classic Who reference. He'll be okay. My brain accepted this until I came on the internetz.
River has a complexity I adore. Alex Kingston makes her character wonderfully relatable and deeply remote all at once. Not an easy task by any means. I want to know more~~~~!
I'm not even sure she's an archeologist. :) IA she's complex. I love her.
And yes, Amy's monologue was just a US thing. I do think they crafted this episode to draw in the US Buffy/Xfiles crowd. The market for this show in the US is not kids, it's teens/young adults (and I'm none of these, though my offspring fall into all catagories, lol).
* Totally missed the screamer line implications the first time. I thought it was a classic Who homage to the shrieky companions.
I can't remember Doctor Who having quite so much blatant innuendo in the past, but I can't say I didn't like it. I think we need to see a little of that with River and the Doctor if they do, in fact, turn out to be married at some point.
And if River turns out to be a future version of the Doctor, per you pet theory, then LOL whatisgoingon. ha!
I think the married thing is a bit too obvious at this point, to be honest. Unless River is Romana. Then all is forgiven. Not that I am a closet shipper or anything...*cough*
Again, I can only agree! I think the whole Doctor-River thing is becoming more interesting and more complex as time goes on, which can only be a good thing. And agreed - very different tone to the RTD era. The darkness feels properly dark here, and real. The monsters in this are light years away from things like the Slitheen, really.
I love that they have a few multiple season arcs going on right now. It was something I wasn't really sure I was missing until it was added in because it just makes everything feel more cohesive and there is a purpose to things. I love the stand alone adventures, but this pleases my desire for narrative complexity.
Yes, no Slitheen here, thank God. Ironically, Moffat's writing reminds me of a comment RTD made about J.K. Rowling teaching the writers the necessity of not writing down to children. And he has not here at all. Something feels like it is genuinely at stake and that there is a very real chance of it not working out alright.
And River completely intrigues me now. I'm going to need to go re-watch her series 4 episodes in an attempt to glean what I can from them...after I finish marking student papers...probably.
Yes, it's real long-term storytelling. I have a sort of niggling suspicion that it might be putting off casual viewers, but how many casual viewers are left by this point anyway? I don't care - as you say, the mysteries and greater narrative arcs are extremely pleasing really.
Yes - all the stuff about "time can be rewritten" is I think there to remind us that you know, just because you think things are predestined to work out one way...don't bank on it. It reminds me of old Who legend Robert Holmes's claim he always pitched his stories at "intelligent fourteen year olds" too.
;D But yes, it's all very mysterious and I suspect the fans who want it to be a straightforward romance etc are going to be disappointed - I get the impression the whole thing is going to end on a whump. I mean, it started on a whump, so appropriate really.
I ended up rewatching it too and am still amazed by little things I missed on the first go-around. I think the subtlety is played really well by all of them, even Amy in that chilling moment where she keeps repeating that he's dead while the others are planning. Also, Matt Smith's acting choices keep blowing me away and I love how he and Alex Kingston play off each other.
While I haven't seen much of the past series, I think eleven's whole journey while being very fairytale-ish has been much darker (I kinda love it!) even if the angels terrified the hell outta me. Also, I have to say, I haven't been so headfucked by a show in a long time so kudos to Moffat. Have you seen his new Sherlock btw? I think it's part of what pulled me into watching the new DW, plus it's very very shiny!
also: this makes me laugh and helps me cope with the sheer creepiness of the silence thingies.
Or have River be 12 and then there are all kinds of mind breaking craziness stuff going on.
Don't know if River can be 12, because there was this big section where she said... *looks for quote*
Trouble is, it's all back to front. My past is his future. We're travelling in opposite directions. Every time we meet I know him more, he knows me less. I live for the days when I see him. But I know that every time I do he'll be one step further away. The day's coming when I'll look into that man's eyes-my Doctor-and he won't have the faintest idea who I am. And I think it's going to kill me.
Which *totally* happens in Silence in the Library. Erm... almost literally.I must prefer her to be Romana instead of 12, because her being 12 would mean that she would have to forget about being 11 and before. Unless... Cameleon Arch? Should we be looking for a fob watch on her person in the near future? But bleh. If that were the case, wouldn't the Doctor be crossing his own timeline? I dunno
( ... )
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You know, they did just enough front loading (I'm not sure if Amy's monologue was just a US thing), that gave you enough of an idea of what is going on. They shorthandedly explained River Song while advancing her story. The lure really was in the complexity rather than dumbing it down.
Double entendres sometimes sail on past me, even though I am an adult! Just tell him it was a classic Who reference. He'll be okay. My brain accepted this until I came on the internetz.
River has a complexity I adore. Alex Kingston makes her character wonderfully relatable and deeply remote all at once. Not an easy task by any means. I want to know more~~~~!
Reply
And yes, Amy's monologue was just a US thing. I do think they crafted this episode to draw in the US Buffy/Xfiles crowd. The market for this show in the US is not kids, it's teens/young adults (and I'm none of these, though my offspring fall into all catagories, lol).
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I can't remember Doctor Who having quite so much blatant innuendo in the past, but I can't say I didn't like it. I think we need to see a little of that with River and the Doctor if they do, in fact, turn out to be married at some point.
And if River turns out to be a future version of the Doctor, per you pet theory, then LOL whatisgoingon. ha!
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But Alex Kingston for 12...? Yes?
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Yes, no Slitheen here, thank God. Ironically, Moffat's writing reminds me of a comment RTD made about J.K. Rowling teaching the writers the necessity of not writing down to children. And he has not here at all. Something feels like it is genuinely at stake and that there is a very real chance of it not working out alright.
And River completely intrigues me now. I'm going to need to go re-watch her series 4 episodes in an attempt to glean what I can from them...after I finish marking student papers...probably.
Reply
Yes - all the stuff about "time can be rewritten" is I think there to remind us that you know, just because you think things are predestined to work out one way...don't bank on it. It reminds me of old Who legend Robert Holmes's claim he always pitched his stories at "intelligent fourteen year olds" too.
;D But yes, it's all very mysterious and I suspect the fans who want it to be a straightforward romance etc are going to be disappointed - I get the impression the whole thing is going to end on a whump. I mean, it started on a whump, so appropriate really.
Reply
While I haven't seen much of the past series, I think eleven's whole journey while being very fairytale-ish has been much darker (I kinda love it!) even if the angels terrified the hell outta me. Also, I have to say, I haven't been so headfucked by a show in a long time so kudos to Moffat. Have you seen his new Sherlock btw? I think it's part of what pulled me into watching the new DW, plus it's very very shiny!
also: this makes me laugh and helps me cope with the sheer creepiness of the silence thingies.
Reply
Don't know if River can be 12, because there was this big section where she said... *looks for quote*
Trouble is, it's all back to front. My past is his future. We're travelling in opposite directions. Every time we meet I know him more, he knows me less. I live for the days when I see him. But I know that every time I do he'll be one step further away. The day's coming when I'll look into that man's eyes-my Doctor-and he won't have the faintest idea who I am. And I think it's going to kill me.
Which *totally* happens in Silence in the Library. Erm... almost literally.I must prefer her to be Romana instead of 12, because her being 12 would mean that she would have to forget about being 11 and before. Unless... Cameleon Arch? Should we be looking for a fob watch on her person in the near future? But bleh. If that were the case, wouldn't the Doctor be crossing his own timeline? I dunno ( ... )
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