Double your reaction Laz. Absolutely loved it. Though they could have had a
All in all though if we couldn't get the ending in The God Complex this one was the best possible one for the characters.
Double your reaction Laz. Absolutely loved it. Though they could have had a
All in all though if we couldn't get the ending in The God Complex this one was the best possible one for the characters.
"It's better to over analyse than not analyse at all." NM. 2000.
I have two qualms, but merely logically:
But on both problems, at times I do wish I didn't think so much as I do.
Otherwise, terrific episode. Oddly enough that ending seems to have hit me more the morning after than it did immediately last night. I won't describe it more because I won't spoil it but those who did see it...wow, I'm pissed at Moffat for how he played me, in the best way. You bastard.
Also this is the true sequel to "Blink" all those years ago, and I loved Moffat's new addition with the Cherub: Keeping up the tradition of mutating innocent objects and make you forever think twice when you see them. (If they're Angel children, how do Angels have sex without looking at each other? Get onto that smut fanfiction, Internet!)
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I don't know why, but I was unaffected by the episode. Maybe it's because I really haven't liked the direction the series has gone over the last couple of seasons. A little too zany and less about the actual, y'know, adventures. It's like they've been playing their hands too much. "Oh, you like humor in your Doctor Who episodes? Let's add more high jinks!"..."Oh, you thought the weeping angels episode was one of the greatest of all time? Let's give them more episodes so they become less compelling!"..."Oh, you like it when the Doctor brags about how awesome he is? "Swell, let's keep promoting him as the greatest, most incredible Dalek killing, evil thwarting sentient being until it becomes utterly meaningless!"..."Oh, you think River Song is cheeky and appealing? Great! Let's keep throwing her at you until she makes your stomach turn!"
Sorry. I'm just venting here. I'm a huge Doctor Who fan, and I actually LOVE Matt Smith's take. But I really feel like they've lost their way lately. Gone are the amazing episodes of Girl in the Fireplace or The Empty Child or even Love & Monsters. Maybe I just got tired of the love story between Amy and Rory, but I was ready for them to leave. So no tears were shed here with the finale. The good news is perhaps without them, the Doctor can finally experience adventures resembling the episodes of old...bad news is I actually loathe River Song. She's a cocky, ridiculous character, and I couldn't care less that she knows the Doctor better than anyone. I had hoped she died long ago. A preferably painful death (did I mention I don't like her?) Now it seems I must continue to endure her presence. Fantastic.
I know I'm alone regarding all this. But I say it because I love the Doctor. And will continue to watch in hopes it will remind me why I do.
You lost me at Love & Monsters.
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Originally Posted by lazarus
You lost me at Love & Monsters.
Granted, it's different...and normally I would have a problem with so little of the Doctor's presence...yet, I loved it's quirkiness. One of those It's great as long as it's a one time only thing kind of episodes.
Russell T. Davies has many low points in his run, but that episode may be the lowest.
Blink didn't have much of the Doctor, and it's one of the greatest stories in the history of the show.
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To be clear, as I said before, I've never been a fan of the traveling couple dynamic, and many times wished Rory would go away. Having said that, they did a lot of interesting things with it. If you can't see the brilliance in something like The Girl Who Waited, I don't know what to tell you.
But agreed, it went on for far too long. I was much more interested in the idea of Amy's character (meeting the Doc as a child, having her mythology so intertwined with the Doctor's path) and I think in that regard Moffat excelled in the journey he put her through these last 2.5 seasons.
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I didn't say every episode was bad. But man, there were few that were great.
Interesting, Rian Johnson just recently said he would love to direct a DW episode.
Movies recently reviewed by RRA:
Star Trek (2009)
Pain & Gain (2013)
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Jurassic Park III (2001)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
The New RRA: Less Spam, still 100% ruining AD.
BBC has released an unshot scene following The Angels Take Manhattan.
"It's better to over analyse than not analyse at all." NM. 2000.
Why wasn't that shot?
They didn't say why. I'm hoping there's DVD audio commentary on the episode (when Series 7 combined DVD comes out) might get some insight in terms of scenes deleted. As someone said they filmed "Pond Life" but not PS.
"It's better to over analyse than not analyse at all." NM. 2000.
Probably budget or schedule, the usual shit. Really in retrospect this sequence is the logical conclusion and following of course "Blink."
Finally got around to watching "Robot", Tom Baker's debut serial. You know I know some people don't care for Pertwee because he was too serious (or too dull), but I enjoyed that sort of taking this ridiculous universe seriously, but once Baker appears, he's automatically awesome. You just knew he wasn't just a good replacement, but an even better one. Brilliant start.
As for the serial, lunatic scientists nuking the planet with a killer robot, its pretty good but it really drags in the final episode once it becomes a Godzilla story.
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Star Trek (2009)
Pain & Gain (2013)
Oblivion (2013)
Jurassic Park III (2001)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
The New RRA: Less Spam, still 100% ruining AD.
Robot isnt that memorable but Baker's subsequent stories are fantastic. The Ark In Space is a nice proto-Alien, Genesis of the Daleks is mythology -heavy and raises some big moral questions.
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Movies recently reviewed by RRA:
Star Trek (2009)
Pain & Gain (2013)
Oblivion (2013)
Jurassic Park III (2001)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
The New RRA: Less Spam, still 100% ruining AD.
Ummm...Love and Monsters is one of the highlights of the entire reboot. Haters can step. back.
That episode created such a lovingly detailed little universe in one episode. There are some surprisingly effective and detailed character relationships that play out in 45 minutes. Really a burst of creative whimsy. That episode is a nice little examination of the sort of ripples the Doctor and his companion would leave with their travels. The Elton/Jackie relationship in about two scenes has more meat than Moffat struggles so desperately to muster in his whole convoluted, season-long arcs. Also an interesting episode just in terms of the larger picture it paints. Similar to Turn Left in that sense. Really great episodes that kind of expand the frame of the series.
Ugh, I miss Davies' camp sensibility so much. It had so much heart, but never felt labored.
Last edited by kupo; 11-17-2012 at 10:49 AM.
So, finally got around to The Angels Take Manhattan...it was okay? Like, as a standalone episode, I think it was really, really good. But it felt oddly like it underserved both Amy and Rory as companions. And, as much affection as I have for Rory, we all know I'm no fan of Amy. I was just fine to see her go. But even with my general ambivalence toward her character, this still didn't feel like an appropriate send off. Moffat had to go for the tragic angle, but if you're going to go that route, go that route. Don't half-arse it. Frankly, I would have preferred if Amy and Rory just quit traveling with the Doctor of their own will, Martha Jones style. Given their relationship, and their characters' development over their time on the show, they would have been prime candidates for this kind of send off. And given that Moffat tried so desperately to tie these particular two companions into the larger Who mythos, into the Doctor's and River's characters, it would have been nice I think to leave some loose ends to revisit them if necessary. (Obviously, this is Who, so they may well do that anyway...)
Speaking of retcons and glossed over plot points, though: such things are a lot more irksome now that Moffat has taken the reins. And it's because of how exceedingly complex and nuanced he tries to make his narratives. All his fancy plot acrobatics feel entirely weightless once you realize he's making shit up as he goes along, just like Davies did. But such irreverence fit Davies' universe fine. Not so much with Moffat's, and so every little stupid rule sticks out like a really sore thumb. When the Doctor said shit about reading the future making it unchangeable was a majormoment. So was when Rory and Amy changed the future after seeing Rory die just, what, 20 minutes after the Doctor told us that? Lol.
I feel like I complain too much. To be honest, Moffat's DW is still a GREAT show, and about as entertaining/moving an hour of television as you're likely to find anywhere. But he just feels sometimes like he's trying sooooooo hard to make this series something "more," and trying to be more "intellectual," but still taking all the same short-cuts Davies exploited. Just frustrating at times.
Anyway, looking forward to the new companion. I really loved her in the episode she was in earlier this season.
I see what you're saying Kupo, but unlike Martha Jones (who really wanted to pursue her own career), Amy and to a lesser extend Rory were really addicted to the adventure. This was illustrated at the end of The Power Of Three (albeit in a somewhat cheesy way). So yeah, they could have "grown up" and just backed off, but they insisted on going back into the whirlwind, and eventually got tripped, because they're not as smart as the Doctor, and bad luck.
I do agree with your assessment re: Moffat. I think he's done some great things as showrunner, but there are a lot of choices that leave me shaking my head. Hard to say I expected "so much more" in the light of Amy's brilliantly planned arc for season 1, but some of the stuff has been real sloppy.
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