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charloweenOkay! Last week I handed in my thesis (woo! ...old news!) and for months upon months I've been telling people: "I will not watch the newest Doctor Who until I finish, 'cause my thesis kind of has a lot of Doctor Who in it, even though the parts that are about DW are actually more about The Master" and by then whoever I'm talking to has gone glassy-eyed on me and I stop talking. Because it's not really all about DW, I just use DW as a convenient example that ate up like 40 pages. So there's that.
THE POINT:
I finally watched the first episode with Matt Smith, after skipping all of the Tennant stuff after that bit with the bus in the desert, a point that should not surprise even the glassy-eyed among you.
And because I promised to, I kept Notepad open while I was watching (and hole-punching my various thesis drafts).
And without further preamble:
5x01, "The Eleventh Hour"
Okay folks - fine, I'm getting to it. At long last, and after writing a thesis kind of about DW, I'm getting around to watching Matt Smith do his thing.
The episode opens well: lots of explosions. I approve. But didn't Big Ben get smashed before? YAY CONTINUITY. I like the new logo, too.
Ohh, if we're back in time, this explains Big Ben being there. (Are we back in time? I think we're back in time or else we'd have had shots of televisions by now.) Is this the first time we've seen the police box lights on? IDK. This heroic music is leading to something great... whee! I don't know if it's good or bad that I expect heroic music this early in an episode to lead to a comedy beat, rather than a hero beat.
Oh, Matt Smith, I'm totally charmed. Even though your face looks like it's still being... finished?
Though after writing a few pages about the usual role of companions this whole her-cooking-for-him thing is funny.
Smith is doing something, acting-y, and I don't know what, but it's familiar, and I don't know why. Yes, how helpful, I know. There's something about how he turns his head. OH I JUST GUESS I'LL HAVE TO WATCH MORE.
Ah! That thing with the glass, and the throwing the water out of the glass, that was great.
And the voice in the wall sounds like a Vogon guard.
None of us should be surprised that he takes too long to come back. Ha.
"Do I have one of those faces that nobody listens to? ...Again?" Double-ha.
In my thesis, I wrote more about the role of alien tech in DW than I did about companions. So. Malfunctioning sonic screwdriver = hilarious. To me.
I like Smith's "What, what what?" better than Tennant's. He doesn't hiss through his teeth like he's mistakenly taken a mouthful of acid. I approve.
Yeah - total Vogons. ...the bypass joke was funnier than just, like, incineration. ...OH GOD! GIANT EYEBALLS.
Duck Pond! Amy Pond? Coincidence? Probably.
In the thesis I also wrote brief footnote snark about belief and allegories of "proper" models of fan expression. So I was right - it really hasn't been long enough since I finished writing. But it's certainly fun watching. And interesting to see people who know this new Doctor's face before the Doctor even really knows his face.
Blah blah plots, planning, plan carried out. Hooray! Epic action sequence is epic. Happy Doctor is happy.
And, hah! Angry Doctor yells at Vogons! Amy likes naked Doctor! Good for Amy. :D (I also do like that he's now dressed like a doctor, 'cause he stole doctors' clothing.)
I think this TARDIS looks more science fiction than the last one. (Amy is totally getting married tomorrow, isn't she?) And a new sonic screwdriver! More merchandising opportunities! 80s retro chic in mass-produced childrens' playsets! /cynical
:D :D :D "I am definitely a madman with a box!"
And that is definitely a wedding dress. And definitely a voiceover confirming that. Wow, thanks.
*waves hand at mega trailer* Daleks fighting for the UK? As they should. There's a website for a hotel/lighthouse in Wales that has a bunch of photos of the hotel/lighthouse in the sidebar, and when you scroll down to the bottom the final picture in the sidebar is a Dalek, which makes you think, "Hey wait: that hotel/lighthouse does kinda look like a giant Dalek!" Trufax.
ON TO EPISODE TWO!
5x02, "The Beast Below"
Ah, modern schooling. Ah, creepy children. Must be Doctor Who!
This new theme song is - ha! - light years from the original stuff.
Oh, sure, he never gets involved. That's a laugh.
"Did he do the thing?" ...does that room not have a ceiling, creepy lady? *looks down, picks my glass off the ground*
I wonder if the Doctor trusts Amy more than others, if he sends her off alone. Or maybe he's just used to being alone.
Liz X! Ha.
I love the Starship UK font and I love the "DON'T PROTEST THIS" speech.
...not really a lot of comments here, though I'm sure this means a lot to people who are more British than I am. Like, people who are actually British. I'm sure it would be lovely to have bad-ass monarchy (which is probably the secret hope of all monarchists). But hand-wringing about a police state? Not really connecting with this plot.
Kind of a cheap "last of its kind" cut to the Doctor there...
But hey, he's got his angryface on. I like this Doctor. He's not still raw from the Time War whatist, he's not doing his damnedest to forget it ever happened, he's ...got his angryface on. :D
...and we're crazy with the mission-statement stuff now. But, you know: acting layers are good. And well-acted. I have a lot of papers to punch and it's making me punchy. ...no kidding.
THE POINT:
I finally watched the first episode with Matt Smith, after skipping all of the Tennant stuff after that bit with the bus in the desert, a point that should not surprise even the glassy-eyed among you.
And because I promised to, I kept Notepad open while I was watching (and hole-punching my various thesis drafts).
And without further preamble:
5x01, "The Eleventh Hour"
Okay folks - fine, I'm getting to it. At long last, and after writing a thesis kind of about DW, I'm getting around to watching Matt Smith do his thing.
The episode opens well: lots of explosions. I approve. But didn't Big Ben get smashed before? YAY CONTINUITY. I like the new logo, too.
Ohh, if we're back in time, this explains Big Ben being there. (Are we back in time? I think we're back in time or else we'd have had shots of televisions by now.) Is this the first time we've seen the police box lights on? IDK. This heroic music is leading to something great... whee! I don't know if it's good or bad that I expect heroic music this early in an episode to lead to a comedy beat, rather than a hero beat.
Oh, Matt Smith, I'm totally charmed. Even though your face looks like it's still being... finished?
Though after writing a few pages about the usual role of companions this whole her-cooking-for-him thing is funny.
Smith is doing something, acting-y, and I don't know what, but it's familiar, and I don't know why. Yes, how helpful, I know. There's something about how he turns his head. OH I JUST GUESS I'LL HAVE TO WATCH MORE.
Ah! That thing with the glass, and the throwing the water out of the glass, that was great.
And the voice in the wall sounds like a Vogon guard.
None of us should be surprised that he takes too long to come back. Ha.
"Do I have one of those faces that nobody listens to? ...Again?" Double-ha.
In my thesis, I wrote more about the role of alien tech in DW than I did about companions. So. Malfunctioning sonic screwdriver = hilarious. To me.
I like Smith's "What, what what?" better than Tennant's. He doesn't hiss through his teeth like he's mistakenly taken a mouthful of acid. I approve.
Yeah - total Vogons. ...the bypass joke was funnier than just, like, incineration. ...OH GOD! GIANT EYEBALLS.
Duck Pond! Amy Pond? Coincidence? Probably.
In the thesis I also wrote brief footnote snark about belief and allegories of "proper" models of fan expression. So I was right - it really hasn't been long enough since I finished writing. But it's certainly fun watching. And interesting to see people who know this new Doctor's face before the Doctor even really knows his face.
Blah blah plots, planning, plan carried out. Hooray! Epic action sequence is epic. Happy Doctor is happy.
And, hah! Angry Doctor yells at Vogons! Amy likes naked Doctor! Good for Amy. :D (I also do like that he's now dressed like a doctor, 'cause he stole doctors' clothing.)
I think this TARDIS looks more science fiction than the last one. (Amy is totally getting married tomorrow, isn't she?) And a new sonic screwdriver! More merchandising opportunities! 80s retro chic in mass-produced childrens' playsets! /cynical
:D :D :D "I am definitely a madman with a box!"
And that is definitely a wedding dress. And definitely a voiceover confirming that. Wow, thanks.
*waves hand at mega trailer* Daleks fighting for the UK? As they should. There's a website for a hotel/lighthouse in Wales that has a bunch of photos of the hotel/lighthouse in the sidebar, and when you scroll down to the bottom the final picture in the sidebar is a Dalek, which makes you think, "Hey wait: that hotel/lighthouse does kinda look like a giant Dalek!" Trufax.
ON TO EPISODE TWO!
5x02, "The Beast Below"
Ah, modern schooling. Ah, creepy children. Must be Doctor Who!
This new theme song is - ha! - light years from the original stuff.
Oh, sure, he never gets involved. That's a laugh.
"Did he do the thing?" ...does that room not have a ceiling, creepy lady? *looks down, picks my glass off the ground*
I wonder if the Doctor trusts Amy more than others, if he sends her off alone. Or maybe he's just used to being alone.
Liz X! Ha.
I love the Starship UK font and I love the "DON'T PROTEST THIS" speech.
...not really a lot of comments here, though I'm sure this means a lot to people who are more British than I am. Like, people who are actually British. I'm sure it would be lovely to have bad-ass monarchy (which is probably the secret hope of all monarchists). But hand-wringing about a police state? Not really connecting with this plot.
Kind of a cheap "last of its kind" cut to the Doctor there...
But hey, he's got his angryface on. I like this Doctor. He's not still raw from the Time War whatist, he's not doing his damnedest to forget it ever happened, he's ...got his angryface on. :D
...and we're crazy with the mission-statement stuff now. But, you know: acting layers are good. And well-acted. I have a lot of papers to punch and it's making me punchy. ...no kidding.
