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icepixieI finished more than half my Mongols paper at work tonight, so I felt justified in taking a couple hours off to watch the last two eps of S1 New Who. Oh my GOD, I had no idea overgrown pepperpots sporting plungers and eggbeaters could be so TERRIFYING. I suddenly understand all the stories of kids hiding behind the couch when the Daleks showed up. AUGH. There may, possibly, have been some screaming into my hand at the end of "Bad Wolf."
The 'droid versions of Anne Robinson and Trinny & Susannah were pretty freaky, too, particularly the chainsaw in one of the latter's arms. (Though what that realistically has to do with plastic surgery...) That whole episode was kind of an exercise in terror, really. I feel certain I missed about half the jokes and gags associated with the reality TV shows being a.) not in Britain and b.) not a fan of such things, but I'm equally certain that what I got was more than entertaining enough. (Dude, what the hell was that glittery plastic cactus all about?)
TPTW didn't really hang together as well as BW, IMO. Mostly, I don't buy that Jackie would have gotten the truck for Rose; she'd want to keep her daughter safe at all costs, even if Rose's spirit is crushed; she probably thinks Rose will get over it in a matter of months. (Granted, this is without seeing the WWIII/Aliens of London two-parter; I may be off the mark here.) Mickey, I can totally see helping. Jackie, not so much.
As for Rose's Bad Wolf messages...why? Would she really have given up if she hadn't seen them? She still would have known where to go, and I feel certain she would have still had the drive. And she'd seen how to do it with the Slitheen example from "Boom Town." Was there something I missed there?
Also, is there a particular reason the Doctor had to take the time vortex from Rose? From "Boom Town," it seems that looking into the heart of the TARDIS gives the viewer their heart's desire; hence the Slitheen woman got to start her life over from egg on up. Then it was over, no other effects. Why not for Rose? If her objective was to keep the Doctor safe, and she did it, then why did he have to take the time vortex from her? (And don't say "Because Christopher Eccleston was leaving the show"! *g*) Maybe because Rose had to take it into herself to do what she did, and that made it a special case and changed the rules, but... That was a bit sloppy, which didn't exactly ruin the impact of the whole ending for me, but did sort of dull it a bit. Particularly because they'd gotten so many things note-perfect earlier in the episode and in BW; I particularly liked Fitch realizing that Jack had lied to her about the bullets working, telling him as such through her walkie-talkie, and then his reaction. Brilliant. The Daleks showing up behind Lynda and blowing out the window was also done so well; it's what they're all about, sneaking up behind you and surrounding you and overtaking you completely. And the Doctor just collapsing over the bit of dust he thought was Rose...wonderful.
The Daleks finding God was actually pretty funny, if only in light of the Cylons doing the same on BSG. Heh.
But yeah...that would not be out of place on a movie screen. I'd love to see that on a big screen, actually. Hmmmm. Yeah, definitely fantastic. Can't wait for S2.
The 'droid versions of Anne Robinson and Trinny & Susannah were pretty freaky, too, particularly the chainsaw in one of the latter's arms. (Though what that realistically has to do with plastic surgery...) That whole episode was kind of an exercise in terror, really. I feel certain I missed about half the jokes and gags associated with the reality TV shows being a.) not in Britain and b.) not a fan of such things, but I'm equally certain that what I got was more than entertaining enough. (Dude, what the hell was that glittery plastic cactus all about?)
TPTW didn't really hang together as well as BW, IMO. Mostly, I don't buy that Jackie would have gotten the truck for Rose; she'd want to keep her daughter safe at all costs, even if Rose's spirit is crushed; she probably thinks Rose will get over it in a matter of months. (Granted, this is without seeing the WWIII/Aliens of London two-parter; I may be off the mark here.) Mickey, I can totally see helping. Jackie, not so much.
As for Rose's Bad Wolf messages...why? Would she really have given up if she hadn't seen them? She still would have known where to go, and I feel certain she would have still had the drive. And she'd seen how to do it with the Slitheen example from "Boom Town." Was there something I missed there?
Also, is there a particular reason the Doctor had to take the time vortex from Rose? From "Boom Town," it seems that looking into the heart of the TARDIS gives the viewer their heart's desire; hence the Slitheen woman got to start her life over from egg on up. Then it was over, no other effects. Why not for Rose? If her objective was to keep the Doctor safe, and she did it, then why did he have to take the time vortex from her? (And don't say "Because Christopher Eccleston was leaving the show"! *g*) Maybe because Rose had to take it into herself to do what she did, and that made it a special case and changed the rules, but... That was a bit sloppy, which didn't exactly ruin the impact of the whole ending for me, but did sort of dull it a bit. Particularly because they'd gotten so many things note-perfect earlier in the episode and in BW; I particularly liked Fitch realizing that Jack had lied to her about the bullets working, telling him as such through her walkie-talkie, and then his reaction. Brilliant. The Daleks showing up behind Lynda and blowing out the window was also done so well; it's what they're all about, sneaking up behind you and surrounding you and overtaking you completely. And the Doctor just collapsing over the bit of dust he thought was Rose...wonderful.
The Daleks finding God was actually pretty funny, if only in light of the Cylons doing the same on BSG. Heh.
But yeah...that would not be out of place on a movie screen. I'd love to see that on a big screen, actually. Hmmmm. Yeah, definitely fantastic. Can't wait for S2.
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Date: 2006-02-24 08:00 am (UTC)As for your questions...
The Message: I looked at that as a tautology. Rose left those messages to guide her because she'd seen those messages guiding her all along. (For more on tautologies, see my Who ficlet at my writing journal,
The Vortex: I don't believe it's as simple as 'it gives you your heart's desire'. The Vortex is unpredictable, the Doctor says...but all its powers are rooted in time. It wound the Slitheen's personal time back. With Rose, it went inside her, gave her a control over time...but that's not a power the human body can stand to hold, so it would've killed Rose if the Doctor hadn't taken it inside himself. And then it killed him, only as a Time Lord he gets to regenerate.
POTW vs. BW: When I first watched the eps, I too didn't quite think POTW held up as well as the setup in BW. I *love* Bad Wolf. The Doc's speech to the Daleks at the end makes me cheer. POTW, first time I saw it...the ending is SO Deus Ex Machina. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I'm not sure I can put that sense into words, but the deus felt more right.
I think it might've been helped along by seeing the "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" vid, actually. :?P
So now...have you seen the Children in Need short yet? *g*
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Date: 2006-02-24 06:35 pm (UTC)I can see that. But still, she didn't need them to guide her, and that's what I'm objecting to; all that leadup in the whole season, and it wasn't strictly necessary. I don't mind the mind-bending she-saw-them-so-she-wrote-them-so-she-saw-them of it, but I'd like to feel that it served a purpose.
(For more on tautologies, see my Who ficlet at my writing journal, elrandir, he said shamelessly.)
Heh. Nice ficlet. Question for you, after reading it...d'you think it would fly to have Rose be the type of christenings/weddings/funerals CofE-goer that seems to be rather common? I may possibly have an idea involving her and the Doctor and a visit to Chartres in the fourteenth century, see... (This is what happens when you're singing a requiem mass for choir, I suppose. *g*)
The Vortex: Hrm. While I admire your logical explanation, it still irks me that it needs to be explained outside the story. You know what I mean?
the ending is SO Deus Ex Machina.
I actually didn't have any problems with the Rose Ex Machina ending. It felt very natural that she would do something foolhardy like that to go and save her Doctor, and they'd already set up the heart of the Tardis in the previous episode, so there was no surprise clean-up ending, at least as I saw it.
So now...have you seen the Children in Need short yet? *g*
Watched it last week, actually. :) The Christmas Invasion was my second episode; I decided since I knew all the spoilers anyway, I'd just work backwards (particularly as I don't have three of the S1 episodes, and thus couldn't go in order unless I were willing to wait for the SFC airings). I love David Tennant to bits. :)
no subject
Date: 2006-02-24 07:05 pm (UTC)Rose as a special occasions CoEer sounds about right to me, especially considering Father's Day. And I look forward to the fic. *g*
The Vortex: *Shrugs* To me it made sense just from the things the Doctor said in the ep.
And yeah, David Tennant rocks. Can't wait for the full season! (Rumor now has it for April...)