Someone's in my library!
Jun. 1st, 2008 05:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
charloweenDoctor Who, 4x08.
An episode with discussions about spoiler warnings, mysterious creatures who robotically repeat a phrase over and over, cutting observations about the Doctor's personality ("figures you like biographies, always got a death at the end"), and general unrepentant meta... yeah, we're in Steven Moffat land.
The "I point and laugh at archaeologists" line was genius, especially since later in the episode we know that she would have known what his reaction would be.
With Donna and this Mysterious Archaeologist, the poor Doctor is getting positively big-sistered to death. For a character who's used to seeing himself as the intellectual/evolutionary apex of whatever situation he finds himself in, it's quite amusing to have the poor guy up against these women who aren't afraid of him or too in love with him to poke a little fun. The privilege of that big-sister/older-woman perspective is that they can look at the Doctor... and he doesn't like to be looked at. He's got too many layers and barriers and shells to be comfortable with someone piercing all of them. He gets all squirmy when he's not in control. Adorable!
Accent spotting: DT got a bit Scottish at one point. Tee hee.
I did laugh at his "Donna, let me explain..." right before he teleports her away. First it was a bwahaha, but then... not so much. Poor Donna.
I'm not entirely convinced that that the story suits a two-parter. Yes, it's quite nice to give a plot the space it deserves - unlike, say, "The Doctor's Daughter", which was horribly rushed - but all the tension and build-up created in a horror story like this gets dissipated when you have a week in between. Yes, there's the mystery of How That Woman Knows The Doctor, and the problem of How to Get Out of the Library, and the How to Un-save Donna, and the WTF Little Girl/Robot. They all seem like puzzles I want answers to, rather than interesting plot threads I'm eager to see resolved. (I have been in a bit of an impatient mood lately, so I'm willing to believe it's just me.) What I mean is: kind of a weak ending and a lame promo for next week.
What I am enjoying is the way I love the Doctor's physical relationship with furniture. It's delightful - he climbs over desks or hops down off something and I giggle. It's just a little acting thing that suggests alieness, youthfulness, and a cheerful disregard for meaningless customs.
Also: in the last few days I've watched the first 10 episodes of The Dresden Files. 1) love the hockey stick; 2) Claudia Black guest starred, which means Claudia Black was in Toronto! Eeeeee!; 3) there were some quite good episodes in there, "Soul Beneficiary" in particular.
An episode with discussions about spoiler warnings, mysterious creatures who robotically repeat a phrase over and over, cutting observations about the Doctor's personality ("figures you like biographies, always got a death at the end"), and general unrepentant meta... yeah, we're in Steven Moffat land.
The "I point and laugh at archaeologists" line was genius, especially since later in the episode we know that she would have known what his reaction would be.
With Donna and this Mysterious Archaeologist, the poor Doctor is getting positively big-sistered to death. For a character who's used to seeing himself as the intellectual/evolutionary apex of whatever situation he finds himself in, it's quite amusing to have the poor guy up against these women who aren't afraid of him or too in love with him to poke a little fun. The privilege of that big-sister/older-woman perspective is that they can look at the Doctor... and he doesn't like to be looked at. He's got too many layers and barriers and shells to be comfortable with someone piercing all of them. He gets all squirmy when he's not in control. Adorable!
Accent spotting: DT got a bit Scottish at one point. Tee hee.
I did laugh at his "Donna, let me explain..." right before he teleports her away. First it was a bwahaha, but then... not so much. Poor Donna.
I'm not entirely convinced that that the story suits a two-parter. Yes, it's quite nice to give a plot the space it deserves - unlike, say, "The Doctor's Daughter", which was horribly rushed - but all the tension and build-up created in a horror story like this gets dissipated when you have a week in between. Yes, there's the mystery of How That Woman Knows The Doctor, and the problem of How to Get Out of the Library, and the How to Un-save Donna, and the WTF Little Girl/Robot. They all seem like puzzles I want answers to, rather than interesting plot threads I'm eager to see resolved. (I have been in a bit of an impatient mood lately, so I'm willing to believe it's just me.) What I mean is: kind of a weak ending and a lame promo for next week.
What I am enjoying is the way I love the Doctor's physical relationship with furniture. It's delightful - he climbs over desks or hops down off something and I giggle. It's just a little acting thing that suggests alieness, youthfulness, and a cheerful disregard for meaningless customs.
Also: in the last few days I've watched the first 10 episodes of The Dresden Files. 1) love the hockey stick; 2) Claudia Black guest starred, which means Claudia Black was in Toronto! Eeeeee!; 3) there were some quite good episodes in there, "Soul Beneficiary" in particular.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-01 11:36 pm (UTC)