Raxacoricofallapatorius!

 

And yes, saying that made me feel better than learning how to say “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” when I was ten.

…My pleasures are simple.

Now. You’ll be pleased to know that I enjoyed this episode more than the last, even though the Slitheen were still around being flatulently sinister. And sort of… cute?

(I will spend forever here, if you let me)

Well, “cute” in the way that baby dolls are cute; not really, and creepy besides.

Anyway, moving on. The reason I like this episode is sort of connected to the bits I liked about the previous episode. Where Aliens of London was about getting Rose and the Doctor to think about what they have done, World War Three forces them (the Doctor, especially) to think about what they will do.

Jackie (seriously, there can never be an end to the love I bear Jackie) confronts the Doctor with questions he can’t easily answer.

(Source)

Truth is, he can’t guarantee Rose’s safety, any more than he can guarantee that the world will be puppies and rainbows until the end of time. We know that; Jackie knows that; the Doctor knows that… But Rose doesn’t seem to know that. Even after what he told her after coming back from the End of the World.

He’s been pretty upfront, I’ll admit…He did say it was dangerous, and that it’s dangerous a lot of the time. But apparently, Rose needs a rider: that he can’t always protect her, or that sometimes, he won’t even be able to (I know, I know—Spoilers!).

Also, this episode gives me two things I will cherish forever: Broody Doctor (although, after Buffy and Angel, the bar for “broody” is set pretty high), and Rose not even hesitating at the thought of dying to save the world.

(Source)

She has faults, I’ll admit, but I love Rose and you can’t take that away from me. And you know? If I were to ship it (which I do, but shush), I think this would be the exact moment where the Doctor said “huh.”

In the end, I’m allowed to stay happy because Rose, the Doctor, and Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North all live! I don’t even know if a missile like that would mean pieces of them all over London in real life, and I don’t care because I wanted them all to live and they did!

You know, now that I think of it, there are three things I will cherish forever:

(Source)

Now that we have all of that out of the way, I think this must be said:

SHAME ON YOU, DOCTOR! SHAME!

You so manipulated Rose just then, what with your plasma storm in the Horsehead Nebula and making it sound kind of like a rollercoaster and actually, I’d kinda love to see what that’s like but that is NOT THE POINT. It seems you’re just as good at finding and using Rose’s weakness against her as you are the Slitheen.

You can’t see me, but I’m making my annoyed face at you right now.

And Rose, stupid girl, you fall for it!

I am watching both of you.

Hmph.

List time!

• “I think you’ll find the Prime Minister is an alien in disguise… That’s never gonna work, is it?” “No.” “Fair enough.”
• LOL @ Harriet Jones’ indignation about being called old and stale.
• “Harriet Jones, I like you.” Me, too!
• “Installed in 1991, 3 inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in.”
  “But how do we get out?”
  [nods] “Ah.”
• I love that the Doctor asks for the secretary’s name. The Tardis Index File tells me it was “Indra Ganesh.”
• “Mickey the Idiot—I may choke before I finish this sentence, but… I need you.”
• “You kiss this man?” Snarky Doctor is the best Doctor. Y/y?
• “I could save this world but lose you.” Look, if I’m not meant to ship it, then stop giving me ammunition!
• Aw, Jackie’s willing to accept the Doctor for Rose’s sake.
• “Um… my mother’s cooking.” “Good! Put her on a slow heat and let it simmer.”
• THE DOCTOR INVITES MICKEY! I know I don’t really like Mickey yet, but this is great! I also love that the Doctor covers for Mickey.
• Jackie bargaining so that Rose will stay. :(
• Jackie counting ten seconds. :( :(

 

Dalek next!

Oh, yay. Fart jokes.

 

Yeah, lemme go on record as not being thrilled about the antagonists of this episode.

Look, I can take camp and cheese. Some of my favorite shows feature helpings of both. We’re okay with that. But it turns out farting aliens are my limit.

And it’s not that I didn’t laugh once or twice, it’s just that… Dude. Farting aliens.

That said, there were things I liked.

Jackie.

(Source)

Jackie Tyler, I adore you. I am so fucking glad we came back to London because I wanted the consequences of Rose just swanning off with the Doctor to be addressed, especially from the point of view of the people left behind.

… Not that kind of “left behind.”

I also liked that rather than the whole time machine thing being exploited (as I thought it would be when the Doctor said “12 hours”), Rose had to deal with the consequences of being gone for an entire year.

I mean, we’ve been pretty cavalier about this whole “traveling” business, but come on… Rose has to realize that it’s quite possible that any one of these trips will go wrong. Like “stuck forever somewhere” wrong, and she hasn’t even bothered to say goodbye to her mother. And sure, she’s got the super-phone or whatever, but phone calls are just not gonna cut it. Especially if you’re dodging questions and lying about where (or when!) you are. Just… No, Rose. No. You sit down and you deal with this.

Oh, and you, Doctor!

(Source)

You can’t just go abducting teenage women without so much as a by-your-leave! This isn’t the sixties, you know!

Oh, and while I’m not too fond of Mickey yet, it’s oh, so very shitty that he was looked at with suspicion the entire time Rose was gone. It makes sense, since he’s (technically) the boyfriend, and he was the last to see Rose before her “disappearance.” But still. Ouch, you know?

And that’s not the only thing. I mean, the guy obviously loves Rose. To not only have to deal with a police investigation, but the fact that you saw your girlfriend leave with some other dude and stay gone for a year, well…

 

And on top of that, the Doctor is rude to him! I have my theories about why, but they’re not exactly confirmed yet, so I’ll hold off on that for now…

Hey, how about a list? Lists are cool.

• “When you say ‘companion,’ is this a sexual relationship?”
• “Nine hundred years of time and space, and I’ve never been slapped by anyone’s mother.” (Source)
• “Every conversation with you just goes mental. And there's no one else I can talk to. I've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it, and I can't say a word. Aliens and spaceships and things... and I'm the only person on planet Earth that knows they exist.”
  [At that moment, a large spaceship flies overhead, crashing into Big Ben and landing in the Thames]
• The Doctor’s so excited!
• I love the impromptu gathering while the Doctor tries to watch TV.
• Harriet Jones. I adore Harriet Jones. I love that she keeps introducing herself, I love that she’s persistent, and I love that she’s the one who first sees the aliens.
• The Doctor gives Rose a TARDIS key!
• “Defense plan delta”? Why is the Doctor talking military?
• Aww, piggy. :(
• “Don’t you dare make this place domestic!” Hmm.
• “You think you know your own name? How stupid are you?” Tut, Doctor!
• Oh. The Doctor’s worked for UNIT. That explains that “delta” business.
• “Take me to your leader.” I LOVE YOU DOCTOR!
• So 10 Downing Street is like the White House, right?
• “Excuse me, do you mind not farting while I’m saving the world?”
• Hey! No trying to kill the Doctor!

 

World War Three up next (possibly tomorrow)!

CHARLES MOTHERFUCKING DICKENS

 

That’s right, this episode has CHARLES MOTHERFUCKING DICKENS in it.

Oh, and? The Doctor is a fanboy! Few things give me pleasure as much as this gives me pleasure.

That said, while this episode is entertaining enough, it took me a couple of tries to like it as I do now.

Cardiff just isn’t that interesting. Well, it didn’t used to be interesting—now I’ve made it a life goal to go there someday. Yes, I’m a dork. We’ve established this, we are moving on.

The thing I like most about this episode (besides Charles Motherfucking Dickens, that is) is that Rose and the Doctor clash over how to deal with the situation at hand (which is dead people walking ‘cause there are aliens inside them, of course) and it totally makes sense that they should, and neither of them is wrong!

Well, not until we find out that the Gelth are lying liars full of lies.

NO. NO, I AM FINE THANK YOU.

*ahem*

The Doctor just lost his entire planet, and all his people—presumably family, too. I totally get why he’d want to save the Gelth at all costs. Especially since they lost their home in the same war he lost his. I don’t think Rose fully understands this, and hell, how could she?

But she does have a point. There’s something fundamentally squicky about using dead people like this. I don’t believe in souls or anything like that, but I can put myself in the shoes of the stiffs’ loved ones. The very reason we have funerals and burials and cremation ceremonies is for closure.

…Not for the dead people, they’re dead and have more closure than they can handle, but us. The living need these things in order to start the process of moving on. It’s a very human thing to do.

But say you have a funeral, you’re all ready to begin the process of starting over and oh, look! There’s grandma, screeching and glowing blue, walking purposefully toward you in the square.

Now you not only have to deal with Nana being “alive,” you have to deal with her being some sort of glow-worm monster.

…Maybe it’s just easier for Rose to see it that way.

 

There’s also Gwyneth. Sure, Gwyneth ends up volunteering, but the Doctor was looking at her as a means to an end for a minute there, and that way lies badness. Not that Rose did any better, what with the condescension (love that Gwyneth calls her out on that, by the way). So the Doctor has a habit of making the decisions he feels are best for everyone, and Rose forgets that in pushing back against that arrogance, she’s also forgetting that other people that are not her get a say.

And the most surprising thing: the Doctor ends up making a mistake. The Doctor is capable of making a mistake! And I can’t even blame him for it, poor thing. I like that he recognizes it, and he sort of apologizes to Rose! For making a mistake he can’t be blamed for making! What?! Oh, Doctor, sweetheart… I—I’m speechless and sad.

And then—if I’m not mistaken—there’s this thing where they’re both grateful to each other (my heart) and then CHARLES MOTHERFUCKING DICKENS IN LIKE A BOSS TO SAVE THE DAY.

Look, I don’t know what Charles Dickens was really like—obviously—but in my mind, he will forever be this.

And then… Gwyneth’s gone.

I should be mad for being made to care about someone and then having them die senselessly (shades of Joss Whedon), but it was… sweet. That may be the wrong word. What I mean to say is that it hurt, but I was proud of (dead?) her for saving the world. She sacrificed herself twice to do so on her own terms, and it seems I kinda like that in a woman.

I… wasn’t expecting any of this at all. Here’s a list, I gotta think for a while:

• I was wondering how they’d deal with Rose’s modern dress in past times. The TARDIS has walk-in closets full of period dress? DOCTOR, I AM FREE AND WILL BRING YOU JOY AND SASS!
• “You look beautiful! Considering.” Whee! And hey!
• CHARLES MOTHERFUCKING DICKENS
• Points for use of the word “phantasmagoria.”
• *scream* “That’s more like it!” Hehe.
• “Navvy”? Look, British people, stop making up words I don’t know.
• “The dead don’t die on schedule!” Charlie, you are awesome.
• By the way, love that Charles Dickens is a skeptic. Hearts forever.
• Is this gonna be a habit of Rose’s; befriending the help?
• Why is Rose thinking more about her father lately?
• “I love a happy medium.” That smile—Doctor, how can I not love you?
• “Time can be rewritten”? I thought that was a no-no. Hmm.
• “She saved the world. A servant girl. No one will ever know.” We’ll know, Rose… We’ll know.
• “My books, Doctor… Do they last?” Aww! I wanna kiss Dickens on the cheek.
• It feels strange wanting someone not to die who’s already been dead for ages. What are you doing to me, Doctor Who?!

 

Next up: Aliens of London!

… And I feel fine!

 

Okay, so I’ve been mostly sheltered from Who fandom, so I have no idea if this is a majority or a minority opinion: I love this episode. I think it is a perfect first adventure for Rose, and I think it gives me just enough information about the Doctor to keep me hooked. Good job, er… who wrote this? Davies? Good job, Davies.

Firstly, I like that the inherent strangeness of this entire situation isn’t allowed to pass unremarked. This entire episode is basically Rose acclimatizing and in that way, it’s kind of like Rose.

However, in Rose, we were recognizably on Earth. There was one alien, and it was—well, I don’t wanna say easy to get used to, but… it kinda was.

Doctor says, “alien,” and we’re like, “cool. Alien.”

But this… this was a procession of aliens. A veritable cavalcade. A cortège, if you will.

And yeah, it takes getting used to. Well, it takes getting used to for Rose. The Doctor’s done this before, he’s all “air from my lungs” and shit. Speaking of… is that—That’s the Doctor flirting! With a walking tree! The Doctor flirts?!

Anyway. Rose not only has to deal with the destruction of her home planet being treated as a gala event, but she also has to deal with the people surrounding her being things so far from her frame of reference that she’s alien. And so it’s no surprise that she feels alienated. Especially if the Doctor won’t just tell her who he is, as maybe a comfort? A point of reference?

She gets that from Raffalo instead, in one of my favorite scenes of the episode.

Rose is obviously relieved that such mundane things as bureaucrats, maintenance, and plumbers exist that she’s able to begin settling in.

However. Talking to Raffalo also makes her realize that besides him being an alien and his having a space-and-time traveling machine, she knows nothing about the Doctor. Like, at all. So—and I love her forever for this—she confronts him. And she doesn’t back down! Well, not until she realizes that pissing off the man(?) with the car keys is maybe not such a good idea.

I also like this episode from the Doctor’s point of view. I like that he’s unable to understand how even a kindness like allowing Rose to talk to her mother can emphasize the sheer otherness of the situation to Rose. I like that he doesn’t understand that even if it’s benevolent, altering someone’s mind kinda requires a permission slip. And this is something I love about Nine. He can make you feel like he’s “normal,” and then you’re reminded he’s an alien. Christopher Eccleston, why did you leave me?!

I also love his scenes with Jabe. Especially when she expresses sympathy for… god, WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, DOCTOR?! I WILL HOLD YOU!

(Source)

Oh! But! This is the episode where I did hear “Time Lord,” and understood it to mean that’s who the Doctor is. First of all, love the name. Second, who are the Time Lords and where are they from and why is the Doctor all sad to be reminded of who he is??

So anyway, after all the hoopla and all the excitement, we get two more of my favorite scenes:

His experience with Jabe softened the Doctor to the point where he tells Rose about the loss of his planet and his people. How it burned like the Earth. So… does the Doctor taking Rose to the End of the World mean that subconsciously he wants to connect? To establish a shared point of reference? To… relate to Rose?

…Oh, my god—the Doctor is lonely!

But despite that (and this why I will love him forever), he gives Rose a choice. He doesn’t ignore her feelings for his own convenience and ease. And Doctor? Exact moment I fell in love with you. Just FYI.

Let’s do a list. I’ve gone too long in this review without a list:

• “You think you’re so impressive.” “I am so impressive!” LOL, he’s like a kid!
• Every time I see the title of this episode, it reminds me of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Douglas Adams, I love you!
• Love the Steward.
• “He’s blue.” “Yeah.” “Okay.”
• The names of the aliens are awesome names. I have trouble choosing a favorite, but I think I like “Face of Boe” best.
• I know I avoided mentioning the actual plot in the review, but… the “last human” is a… uh… Help me out here, Rose:(Source)
• And a jukebox! That plays Tainted Love! And Britney!
• I liked Raffalo. :(
• Can I just say? I love the Doctor’s and Rose’s dynamic together. The teasing, the fighting, everything.
• Although… the Doctor angry?
• Cassandra was born a boy! <3
• Why the hell is there even an option to have the sun filter descend?!
• “The Adherents of the Repeated Meme… J’accuse!” I… kinda love Cassandra?
• She’s a bigot, though. :(

 

One last thing: even after all they were put through by Cassandra, Rose asks the Doctor to help her. I thought that said a lot about Rose’s character. I also thought it said a lot about the Doctor’s character that he didn’t help Cassandra.

I NEED TO LEARN YOU SOME MORE, DOCTOR WHO.

 

Next up: The Unquiet Dead.

Hello, Doctor.

 

Well! We’re here. Here we are. At the beginning of our journey. I actually have no idea how to start this. Except…

Can we talk about how delightful Christopher Eccleston is as the Doctor? I mean, I’m a nu-Whovian, so I have no idea if he draws on older Doctors, but I think he captured it perfectly.

He’s funny, but not in a kiddy way, and he has this way of seeming ageless without seeming old. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain without something to compare it to, so I guess I’ll pick this back up when we meet Ten later on. Still. Let it be said that Nine made me fall in love with the Doctor.

Now. On to the episode itself. First of all, I liked that it’s centered on Rose rather than the Doctor. As someone new to Doctor Who, I was expecting to be bombarded with all this mythology and all these inside jokes that I would just not be familiar with, so I really appreciated that the show made an effort to put me in a place where I’m discovering things just as Rose is.

I mean, I had no idea the Doctor was an alien. That was brand-new information. I also had no idea that the TARDIS was a space/timeship and that it was bigger on the inside. I straight-up thought that he traveled in a tiny box, all smooshed up like in an airplane bathroom. Haha, I’m kinda dumb.

All in all, I think this episode was good for what is was: Exposition Central. The humor worked for me, as did the character introductions, and overall, it made me want to keep watching. Like I said… Success!

And now, for lists!

Things I liked:

• “Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!”
• Jackie. I love Jackie. Can we have more Jackie?
• “Ha. We’re talking millions.”
• “Hmm. That won’t last. He’s gay and she’s an alien.” Doctor, I <3 you!
• Fast-paced dialogue? Always a favorite. Fast-paced dialogue in British accents? ORGASMIC.
• “You’re full of it!” “Sort of, yeah.”
• Okay, I liked Clive. I liked the juxtaposition; conspiracy nut, yet totally normal husband and father. Dead now, though. :(
• “Lots of planets have a North!”
• Love that it took the Doctor forever to realize what Rose was trying to tell him. Super-smart, yet a little slow.
• That tiny look of disappointment when Rose turns down the Doctor is really telling, and I love it to pieces. Already this show is not what I was expecting! Yay, surprises!

Things I noticed:

• The shop is giving Rose “airs and graces”? Wtf are “airs and graces”? Is it like a special bonus on your paycheck?
• That photo of the Doctor at Kennedy’s assassination is the worst. Photoshop. Ever.
• All this hullabaloo, it’s… well, it’s all kinda public, no?
• The Doctor has hints of dismissiveness when it comes to humans. First with Mickey, and then when he addresses the Nestene Consciousness and calls humans “stupid little people.” Not a condemnation, just… something I noticed.
• “Time Lord” is the only thing we understand the Nestene Consciousness say. I missed it the first time, but I heard it this time.

Oh, and can I just say? I work in a shop. One with dummies in it. The creepy kind with heads and no faces. Moving dummies? No forever, thank you. Especially if they all come with that gun thing in their hands. Just. Let’s never go there again, please? Thank you in advance.

 

Stay tuned for The End of the World.

Please allow me to introduce this blog: it’s a man of wealth and—No, wait.

 

Uh, hi. If you’re reading this, you’re probably my friend and/or feel sorry for me, which… Thanks! It’s appreciated, and you are suitably awesome. You may also love Doctor Who as I do, and that is also awesome. Allow me to offer you this cupcake:

So… why Doctor Who?

Well, a couple of reasons: (1) Why not?! and (2) Because it’s fun.

But why Doctor Who for me? Well… I find immortal things endlessly fascinating. And the term “immortal” seems to apply to both this show and its title character, so I am endlessly fascinated times two.

It intrigues me because there are so many things you can do to something/one that doesn’t die, and there are equally as many things you can have that something/one become in order to explore the human condition.

It shouldn’t be a secret—living forever sucks. It has to. It is inevitable for a forever-life to suck. Wellllll, unless you live in Happy Unicorn Rainbow Puppy Land, and I don’t believe we’ve visited that one yet…

So I wanna see what Doctor Who does with my endless fascination, and what it does with the Doctor’s sucky forever-life (generalizing atrociously here; it’s not always sucky, but spoilers!). And this blog is gonna let me share that with you, gentle reader, and also satisfy my vanity. It’s insatiable, my vanity is…

In short, welcome! And ALLONS-Y!