Wartys Dr. Who First Watch

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I don't want to watch a next season

Oh.

So you did the finale.

I'm sorry, Warty.

I'm so, so sorry.

Bad Wolf Bay.

But really, Warty, this is you, experiencing part of the pain of watching this show.

It gets worse. I'm sorry.

Right now, I've lost a Doctor AND a Companion, and I'm just sitting here waiting for the current season, and I start crying whenever I think of what I just lost.

You just lost a companion. Buck up Buttercup.

For one thing, Ness ain't lyin. The sheer amount of AMAZING Season 3 episodes is off the chain. That "Blink" thing everyone talks about? That's S3. And "Family of Blood" omg.

Basically, you just went through puberty. There were some high points in the first two seasons, but shit just got real. Now it's time to grow up.

I know the pain exists. I know what it feels like. I empathize with a face pressed against that closed wall between alternate universes.
But now, NOW, the story begins. Now you're in it. Doctor Who is about to happen.

I don't want to talk about it.

LMFAO.

I'm sorry. Seriously, I am.

I am
not
laughing

OMFG Kelly, we seriously posted that at the exact same time

Warthawg1 wrote:

I am
not
laughing

But okay, okay, all funny Rose memes aside, I know, Warty.

I know.

Being Not Manly myself, I sobbed like a child.

But we had Rose to take us through one transition, and now we have the Doctor to take us through the next.

Good things coming. Loss is a part of life, especially when you're over 900 years old and had to genocide your entire species and hang out with mortal humans all the time.

I will say, the Doctor is not just going to shrug and move on from this. Rose is a part of him forever from this point forward, and it shows in many ways. And he goes through a period where he's really, really not okay.

You'll see.

Take your time, process, and then move forward.

Next up is a Christmas special, then S3 starts and you meet the next Companion. I'm curious as to your opinion on her.

I'm probably not going to like her.

Warthawg1 wrote:

I'm probably not going to like her.

Then it won't bug you when she's gone. I did not miss her in the slightest.

I really preferred Eccleston's chemistry with Rose more than Tenant's and wish he could have stayed through her arc.  He was more of a father figure and protector and I thought their friendship appeared deeper and more genuine.

TBC wrote:

Warthawg1 wrote:

I'm probably not going to like her.

Then it won't bug you when she's gone. I did not miss her in the slightest.

Good.. I'm sort of tired of losing people I love. I won't mind this if I don't, lol

MrBill60 wrote:

I really preferred Eccleston's chemistry with Rose more than Tenant's and wish he could have stayed through her arc.  He was more of a father figure and protector and I thought their friendship appeared deeper and more genuine.

I think when it transcended to the new Doctor, friendship became more.
The father figure became the image of dad that little girls see in men they
fall in love with when they see it in a younger more physically relatable figure.

I totally got the dad/big brother transition.

S3 Christmas Special

I'm over it now, because I'm always alright.


Man... Christmas sucks in England. I mean for reals.. 

I enjoyed this episode after a wee bit of skepticism. What I liked most was Donna
acknowledging how terrible it can be to be with the Doctor, and saying "no". I also though
the Doctor showed how the loss of Rose affected him in a manner that didn't greatly piss me
off.

Anyway... Christmas in England is awful.

Lmao, it really is just the worst.

It's the reason The Ramones wrote "Sedated"

LMFAO.

I suddenly thought of "Turn Left" and want to say, Warty, you have no idea.

But, you'll see.

I'm going to rewatch this Christmas Special tonight, and comment then.

I loled really hard when I read it because I had just rewatched Voyage of the Damned...

Christmas definitely sucks in England.

Definitely stay indoors during Christmas in England, or wear a helmet in case of falling debris.

Watching "The Runaway Bride."

"What?"

"Inside the Tardis."
"That's not even a proper word, you're just saying things!"
<3 Donna <3

Hell of an intro.
And seriously, the rapport between her and the Doctor from the first scene. I'm overwhelmed.
I honestly am not sure if I've ever rewatched this episode. (Spider and all).

The Doctor's face when Donna is holding Rose's shirt, though.
I think that's the darkest we've seen him so far.

And then the fun part of the episode, how quickly Donna takes over She has the Doctor running all around the place, frantically trying to get a cab and make phone calls and find money to get her to her wedding.

I love the kids in the car watching the Tardis chase down Donna's taxi. Some of the funniest episodes are Christmas Specials.

"With this ring, I thee bio-damp."

Doctor scanning Donna: "You're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important."
That random line gives me chills. Foreshadow.

Then there are the hilariously bad special effects of the Racnoss.

"The head of human resources."
"This time... it's personnel"
Yet people still watch this show Oh, lord, the bad puns.

The Doctor gives the Racnoss a chance. I'll find you a planet, for you and your children, just end this now. So impartial.

Pockets that are bigger on the inside

"Doctor. You can stop now."

OMGGGGGG the tank says "Orders of Mr. Saxon. Fire at will." SO MUCH FORESHADOW.

Of Lance: "He deserved it." *Doctor just looks at her* "No he didn't."

Doctor giving his... "you could always... come with me" and getting turned down flat.
That doesn't happen often.

Quote :

DOCTOR: But you've seen it out there. It's beautiful.
DONNA: And it's terrible. That place was flooding and burning and they were dying, and you were stood there like, I don't know, a stranger.

Quote :

DONNA: Am I ever going to see you again?
DOCTOR: If I'm lucky.
DONNA: Just promise me one thing. Find someone.
DOCTOR: I don't need anyone.
DONNA: Yes, you do. Because sometimes, I think you need someone to stop you.

Okay, so, summing up.

First off, some people hate Donna, I fucking love her to the Lost Moon of Poosh and back.

She's such an Everyman. Gets excited over the new flavor of Pringles.
Rose was special, she was the Bad Wolf, she was so gutsy and adventurous and in love with life.
The next companion you're about to meet, she's very intelligent and beautiful and refined, despite the, well, no spoilers.

But Donna. "You're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important."

But she is isn't awed by the Doctor. She's barely impressed by "Spaceman." She has a level head that is rarely seen in this show, particularly the sense she shows by being scared to death of the madness that just rolled into her life. And she is not at all worried about slapping him in the face when he needs it. At the same time, she has a deep vein of compassion in her, to where even after her fiance devastates her with betrayal and basically says the most cruel and hurtful things anyone can hear, she still concedes that his end was not satisfying for her.
But she's just a temp, in Chiswick, being extremely ordinary and crass and not important. I love how every London-Alien-Emergency, she missed it, being hungover or in Spain, etc.

Catherine Tate (Donna) carries this episode so well, though. It's an absolutely absurd episode, with horrifyingly bad special effects and puns, fuckin out-there with the "the earth is formed around spider egg pod," ridiculous storyline. She makes it good by being so genuine. And yeah, the rapport with Tennant is amazing. They work so well together without needing sexual tension or attraction.

And she makes him stop.

We saw some real darkness in the Doctor this ep. Eccleston did darkness very well, but Tennant is really just now trying it on. And while Eccleston's darkness tended to be borne of rage and pain, Tennant has a coldness that exceeds anything Eccleston did. As foreshadowed in his line from his first episode, "No second chances... that's the kind of man I am." When the Racnoss gave up her chance, he murdered her children in flood and fire, and stood there watching with a savage kind of satisfaction.
10 is "always alright." He's able to compartmentalize the pain that he felt as 9. As much as I love 9, 10 has more depth to him-- he's grown and changed. Rose opened him up and re-connected him with life. She brought him back from the abyss that he was staring down after losing his world and all of his kin (at his own hands). I think that's a large part of 10's playfulness and humor and compassion. But as much as Rose can help, she can't wash the blood from his hands or the stain of it from his soul, it's all still there-- just buried deep. And sometimes, amidst his licking everything and running about in his Converse shoes and marvelling at monsters as beautiful and giggling at the random chances of his strange life, those deep buried ghosts rise up again.

Being alone is bad for him. Dealing with only himself is bad for him. Then he's left to who and what he really is. He needs someone to rein him in, to reflect their innocence and youth and wonder onto him, to pull him back from the abyss, to make him stop.

But it's not going to be Donna. Not when she's just scared to death.
Will you ever see her again, though?
If you're lucky.

Just watched "Turn Left", S4E11

spoiler:

I'll probably get back on it later tonight

mI liked Catherine Tate in this episode, but I think I she would have
become annoying quickly had she become the next companion.

10 has some more depth, but I am not sure that's all Tenant himself.
There's been an improvement in the writing, and just normal character
growth.

Okay...

So.... I like Martha

The episode itself was sort of background noise for me. Just a setting to introduce her.. and I think
I said the same thing when Rose was introduced. The part of the eppy at the beginning with the
tie was clever. It was only really necessary in that it sort of explains
why she didn't freak when she listened and heard two heart-beats.. she began that procedure already
curious because of the earlier events. That sort of shows the Doctor is willing to bend those rules of
intereference he talks about. It just being a parlor trick to show her he could travel in time at the end
of the show just doesn't make a ton of sense. He could have shown her that any number of ways, and by
then I am not sure he even needed to do that at all to convince her. 

Of course though he had to give her a reason for that earlier experience that didn't fly in the face of
his claims about what he could and could not do.

The plasmavore sucking his blood out didn't make much sense either.. no amount of CPR would have
overcome a lack of blood, but I'm fine letting that nonsense go. It is about character development and
relationship and in that regard the episode did it's job.

There were some fine subtle moments with the Doctor remembering Rose, and with checking out Martha
as a possible replacement. It was almost like one long job interview if you pay attention to those
subtleties.

The stuff he said about not needing a companion was rubbish.. especially now. He's hurt, lonely, and in need of a companion now more than ever... and this entire thing was a job interview. I never even got the sense he felt any genuine danger. Instead, it seemed he just used this as his chance to find and interview that new travel-mate without having to run adverts on the telly and rent an office.

Warthawg1 wrote:

Okay...

So.... I like Martha

That's good. *polite smile*

Quote :

and this entire thing was a job interview. I never even got the sense he felt any genuine danger. Instead, it seemed he just used this as his chance to find and interview that new travel-mate without having to run adverts on the telly and rent an office.

LMFAO, I like that.

I'm going to rewatch this one today. I remember enjoying it, especially the "parlor trick" part.

Okay, starting S3.

Going to try really hard to not to be too mean about Martha

Watching the opening scene, I'm automatically contrasting Martha with Rose. Rose was kind of adrift in life, working boring low-pay job, had the "every day is the same" introduction with the alarm clock, only child living with her mom, slacker boyfriend, missing something in life.

I'm right away struck by the difference in Martha's life... she is a medical student, working towards a career, big family with her siblings, divorced parents (and dad's trophy girlfriend). She doesn't invoke the same sense of yearning for adventure or change that Rose did. She's got her shit together.

Her introduction to the Doctor is him randomly coming up to her on the street, "Like this," taking off his tie, and then stalking away. (Not quite as momentous as the Doctor taking Rose's hand and saying "Run!")

I love his "shhh, don't tell" wink at her when she picks up two heartbeats.

And then, yes, very like a job interview, lol. She impresses him by thinking rationally when everyone is panicking, and isn't afraid to follow him outside despite the danger. His face, lol "Good. Come on."

Her "I had a cousin at Canary Wharf who never came back" thing is a little nod to the fact that Freema actually did play a minor character in that episode, lol.

The Judoon introduced! Intergalactic police rhinos. I like them. Maybe just because they have a neat language. Plus, terrifying dude, then assimilating the language, testing him for species, then drawing a little sharpie x on his hand is somehow funny to me.

The vampire-alien's first victim that we see was Dr. Stoker. Cute nod to Bram, there.

Martha finds the alien feasting on Stoker, and finally gets the *Hand-Grab* "Run!"

10 hopping the excess radiation through his body is one of the funniest Tennant moments ever, for me.

And then the Doctor putting some non-human on her mouth. This is why I can't be too mean about Martha-- with that type of introduction, I can't blame her a bit.

The radio interview with the other med student: "It just proves Mr. Saxon is right. There is other life out there." And then there's the "Vote Saxon" poster right behind her. Good times.

Martha of the Tardis: "Not much room, we'd be a bit intimate." Probably the first time anyone's ever been disappointed that it's bigger on the inside.

And the "just one trip." He always says that. (Except with Rose, lol)

Looking over the season as a whole... and you have a lot of shit episodes to get through, lmao.

It's like the entire first half of the season is some of the worst stuff ever (with the possible exception of "Gridlock") including the definite worst two-parter ever, and then the second half of the season is just awesome-ep, awesome-ep, awesome-ep, awesome-ep.

So, prepare yourself for that. Don't pay too much attention to anything until "42."

And I'm trying to figure out some reason why you can't skip "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks," and not coming up with much. I would normally never say skip anything with Daleks, but oh my fucking god those are terrible episodes. I guess if you did "Love and Monsters" you can do those two, but... I'm so, so sorry.

I'm not terribly excited about rewatching "Shakespeare Code," but I guess I'll go ahead and have it playing in the background while I clean the dining room.

*cough*pond backstory*cough*

For some reason Martha always looks like she's smiling when she's running away in terror. Loved the actress in Sense8.

I love the actress. The character... well...

Don't listen to Vonnegut. Martha's wonderful. How can you listen to someone who likes Negan afterall? May as well like Charles Manson.

Martha is awful. Just awful. I had to restrain an ew when Warty started talking about her.

Martha's one of my favorites. But I always like the people many don't and don't like the ones many do. I'm weird like that.

What do I remember about the hospital episode?

I like how Martha's just a regular person who the Dr happens to run into when he's drawn to the hospital for other reasons.

I like how Martha examines the Dr and looks a little perplexed at both the two hearts and the Dr's wry smile.

Evenso, I like that Martha is initially skeptical and needs to see some evidence that things are the way the Dr claims they are. But I also like how Martha deduces things based on science and then, with a little encouragement from the Dr, ventures out on the patio.

The Judoon of course. They're great.

I like the villain and her running henchmen. I also like the victim Dr. Stoker. He's played by Roy Marsden who had a stint as Adam Dalgliesh in the a series of BBC murder mysteries. He's much more deliberate and frankly likable as a police detective than as a pompous hospital bigwig.

I like all the general running around and how people tried to cooperate and the one young doctor who nervously bravely served as communications ambassador.

I loved the scene where the Dr. had to get rid of radiation via his sneaker.

As for whether Martha should have been able to revive the Dr. I say that the Dr. had a physiological method of storing blood in one of his hearts for just such an emergency. Come on folks, if an island can offer time travel and the ridiculous Dharma storyline, then the Dr can be revived after a harmless little blood syphoning.

And then the lines: It's raining upsidedown... We're on the bloody moon...

And the subterfuge kiss. I'd kiss either of them to be honest. The Dr for sure. But Martha because she's cool.

I'm sure there's more stuff. But the Shakespeare episode is more of a delight. I'll just do a list of the episodes on whether I liked or loved or meh'd them.

Smith and Jones: liked
Shakespeare Code: loved and a loved and a loved
Gridlock: loved
Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Dalek: gotta agree---deeply meh'd. Although it's one of the first times people see Andrew Garfield if that's any consolation.
Lazarus Experiment: liked
42: loved and a loved and a loved
Human Nature/Family of Blood: loved and a loved and a loved
Blink: loved and a loved and a loved and a loved (Sally Sparrow played by Carey Mulligan and of course The Weeping Angels)
Utopia: liked (but loved the Blue woman and her idiosyncratic speech patterns)
Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lord: meh'd because I hated hated hated John Simm as The Master. Give me Anthony Ainley any day.

John Simm is awesome and we're married in my head, fuck you forever, but otherwise I agree with your episode list.

I  wish Sally Sparrow became a companion, plus i just love her name.

Sally Sparrow is one of the coolest characters in Dr Who history. She's a major part of why Blink is one of the best episodes ever.

Vonne: As for Jon Simm, you'd be better off marrying (in your head) Gluttony from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Simm overacts so much that he may as well be singing opera.

You just don't like super hot villains.

Emma wanted to watch some Doctor Who today with me while I was cleaning the bedroom (she's seen a handful of episodes over the past few years) and asked for the one that my T-Shirt is about. [I had a T-Shirt made on cafepress some years back that just says "The Angels Have the Phone Box"]

So we watched "Blink" just now.

She loved it.

I loved it.

I want Warty to hurry up and get there.

My advice is to go right to Blink. It's a standalone episode that doesn't reference any episodes that come before.

...then when you come to it in order, you can watch it again.