Time of Angels is detestable, and dull, which is even worse.
My ambivalence about Silence in the Library coalesces into a follow up episode with none of the distracting plot elements and the wit and charm of the first one.
* STRONG!FEMALE! character continues to be poor actual character. I'm not a bad feminist for thinking River Song's a Mary Sue. I just can't tolerate the inexplicable, un-earned textual amazingness of her. I couldn't if she had a dick, either. She knows how to pilot a TARDIS better than (any man!!) not just the Doctor, but Romana, the Master, and every other TL who's ever made a dematerializattion noise.
River is Romana I done wrong. Romana I was lovely BECAUSE she was a bit of an ice queen. She was brainier then the Doctor in some ways, but not unbelievably so. She was flawed, and had some sense of background and person-hood. River's action-heroness and smugness is as vile and unappealing as ever Ten's hubris was, and self-satisfied joke w/ Amy about museums being 'how the Doctor keeps score' is nauseating and non-senscal. What does that even mean? That he counts species he's saved? Are we back to awk Planet of the Dead Adrenaline Junkie Doctor characterization, where the script palpitatingly anounces its EXCITING because viewers at home are too stupid to grok that the game is afoot unless the Doctor's getting all orgasmic at sand storms avec possible earth-destruction while cooing something awkwardly classist at Laura Croft?
* Matt Smith, who I love, is handed a very David Tennant script and left to act his way around it. /Gag/ to 'never put in a trap: MEEEEEEE!'
*Amy Pond still marginalized. While the first episode made me REALLY WANT to get to know her, I don't feel I have done. Not that I necessarily want characterization work to be done via her feelings for the Doctor a la Martha, but I'd like some idea of who she is?
* It's a /point/ for me that, four episodes in, I wouldn't feel comfortable writing either character. Not in terms of voices or characterization. Who's Eleven?
* The weeping angels are over-powered, and Blink looses some of its continuity and charm by their degradation here--it's horror movie sequel effect. In what way are The Kindly Killers the most TERRIBLE THREAT EVAHR AROUND!!? Didn't we do this last week? Weren't there Cushing era COLOR!Daleks? Wasn't I having something like fun?
* On that note: fun. This wasn't any. Not a joke that didn't choke on its own smarm, not a shot that shocked or scared, not a minute of merit. Not an offesively bad episode, but a /dull/ one, which is worse. Better actively bad than terrible blase. RTD? I almost miss Pip and /Jane/ at this point.
* STRONG!FEMALE! character continues to be poor actual character. I'm not a bad feminist for thinking River Song's a Mary Sue. I just can't tolerate the inexplicable, un-earned textual amazingness of her. I couldn't if she had a dick, either. She knows how to pilot a TARDIS better than (any man!!) not just the Doctor, but Romana, the Master, and every other TL who's ever made a dematerializattion noise.
River is Romana I done wrong. Romana I was lovely BECAUSE she was a bit of an ice queen. She was brainier then the Doctor in some ways, but not unbelievably so. She was flawed, and had some sense of background and person-hood. River's action-heroness and smugness is as vile and unappealing as ever Ten's hubris was, and self-satisfied joke w/ Amy about museums being 'how the Doctor keeps score' is nauseating and non-senscal. What does that even mean? That he counts species he's saved? Are we back to awk Planet of the Dead Adrenaline Junkie Doctor characterization, where the script palpitatingly anounces its EXCITING because viewers at home are too stupid to grok that the game is afoot unless the Doctor's getting all orgasmic at sand storms avec possible earth-destruction while cooing something awkwardly classist at Laura Croft?
* Matt Smith, who I love, is handed a very David Tennant script and left to act his way around it. /Gag/ to 'never put in a trap: MEEEEEEE!'
*Amy Pond still marginalized. While the first episode made me REALLY WANT to get to know her, I don't feel I have done. Not that I necessarily want characterization work to be done via her feelings for the Doctor a la Martha, but I'd like some idea of who she is?
* It's a /point/ for me that, four episodes in, I wouldn't feel comfortable writing either character. Not in terms of voices or characterization. Who's Eleven?
* The weeping angels are over-powered, and Blink looses some of its continuity and charm by their degradation here--it's horror movie sequel effect. In what way are The Kindly Killers the most TERRIBLE THREAT EVAHR AROUND!!? Didn't we do this last week? Weren't there Cushing era COLOR!Daleks? Wasn't I having something like fun?
* On that note: fun. This wasn't any. Not a joke that didn't choke on its own smarm, not a shot that shocked or scared, not a minute of merit. Not an offesively bad episode, but a /dull/ one, which is worse. Better actively bad than terrible blase. RTD? I almost miss Pip and /Jane/ at this point.