WARNING: THIS ANALYSIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT WATCHED DOCTOR WHO OR AT THE VERY LEAST HAVE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Hi there! Happy Valentine's Day Whovians! It's Day 14 of my NaBloPoMo challenge, and today we're finishing off Series 1 with the Christmas Special that links Series 1 and 2 (and which is counted as part of Series 2 for production purposes), "The Christmas Invasion."
This episode is the first proper adventure for the newly-regenerated Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant, and is the first time he is credited in the opening credits. Sadly, he is asleep for most of the episode, since he's still not fully regenerated and thus can't stay awake for long periods of time. But when he does finally properly arrive on the scene, he does so with all the aplomb you'd expect, making it clear that The Doctor is Back.
Having already seen the Christmas Special for Series 2, I noticed that this Christmas Special makes use of mechanical Santas as well. I don't know if intergalactic villains in this series just like using those or if it's just a Christmas Special thing.
Due to the Doctor being ill, this episode is the first time we actually hear an alien language in the series (possibly just in the reboot series), due to the fact that the TARDIS translation field is nonoperational. Thankfully, we have Alex, secretary to the Prime Minister, and his handy-dandy tablet's translation program to help translate the alien speech (because apparently the BBC didn't want to invest in subtitlers, which would have been easy enough I would think).
Speaking of the Prime Minister, Harriet Jones returns in this episode! And this time, she's now Prime Minister of Britain, just as the Ninth Doctor predicted previously. She spends most of her time with UNIT (an organization that figured prominently in the Third Doctor era, when the exiled-to-Earth Doctor worked for them, but has appeared elsewhere, like in "Aliens of London" and "The Power of Three") trying to figure out what the aliens want with Earth. She is once again a well-played character, even with the running gag of her showing her ID to people and them replying "Yes, we know who you are." In the last scene, where she authorizes Torchwood to fire on the departing Sycorax ship, Penelope Wilton does a good job defending her position against the less-than-happy Doctor, nailing the necessary emotion.
The Sycorax, the enemy-of-the-episode, are basically these aliens (from where we don't know) that kinda reminded me of the Tusken Raiders from Star Wars, but with these weird bug-like helmets:
It's not really clear why they're on Earth to begin with, though the Doctor does mention they're drawn to the energy he's currently bursting with due to not being fully regenerated yet. (If you wonder why the Doctor occasionally exhales golden energy in this episode, that's why). The Guinevere One unmanned space probe (love the Arthurian name btw), which Harriet Jones helped get up into space, is also a reason given in the episode for their presence, and is how they were able to gain control over the blood of people who are A-positive and make them stand on the edges of roofs, ready to jump off. (Please tell me I am not the only one who thought of bloodbending when this issue of "blood control" came up. I can't be the only Whovian who's also an Avatar: The Last Airbender fan).
(The image above is from The Legend of Korra, the sequel series to Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it works for my point).
I was a little confused how, when the TARDIS translation field started working again, Harriet and her secretary Alex were able to hear the Sycorax leader speaking English. The translation field supposedly works on a telepathic level and - as far as I can tell - affects those who have been in the TARDIS, which both Rose and Mickey have. Harriet and Alex have not, however. I guess since the TARDIS was close by, maybe it affected everyone in the vicinity of it, including Harriet and Alex.
The episode contains a rather funny line referencing The Lion King that I caught the source of before the Doctor even realized it (the line is from the film's theme song, "Circle of Life"):
DOCTOR: Well, yeah,
you could, yeah, you could do that, of course you could. But why? Look
at these people. These human beings.
Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and
blinking step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen.
More to do than. No, hold on. Sorry, that's The Lion King. But the point
still stands. Leave them alone!
I also liked the running gag about the Doctor finding strange food items in his dressing gown, which are attributed to Jackie Tyler's boyfriend Howard (for whom she bought the dressing gown - and the pajamas the Doctor wears throughout the episode) getting hungry when he's sleeping. First he finds an apple and later a satsuma (a type of orange thought to be of Japanese origin, which, appropriately for this episode, is also called a "Christmas orange"). He also mentions that him wearing the dressing gown is "very Arthur Dent," which is apparently a reference to the protagonist of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (I looked it up). The Doctor's very up on his pop culture, it seems.
Not much else to say about this episode. I did, however, like the little homage they wrote in to show that the Tenth Doctor still had the memories of Nine: his line "And it is going to be [pause] fantastic." ("Fantastic," of course, being the Ninth Doctor's catchphrase).
Well, that does it for Series 1. Series 2, allons-y!
First Impression of the Tenth Doctor
Again, as with Rose, this episode actually isn'tthe first time I've seen Ten - that honor going to the first episode I posted an analysis of, "Love & Monsters." But this is his proper "introduction" episode so I was able to get a better feel for him in this episode.
Now, I've said before that I like Ten a lot. I'm hoping I don't jynx myself like I did with Nine, where I went into Series 1 expecting to like him and came out of it disappointed. But, unlike Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant got a lot of time to perfect the Doctor (3 full TV seasons plus the specials between Series 4 and 5), so I'll have more time to ease into him. (As I posted in the last post, even Eccleston admitted recently he didn't really have enough time to develop the character in just one season).
What we see of Ten in this episode -- which actually isn't a lot because he mostly sleeps -- is still really good. He manages to save the day even though he's still figuring himself out. And he shows that he has learned stuff from his time with Rose and become a better man, a man who cares about humans, as evidenced by his speech to the Sycorax telling them what to tell others about Earth:
DOCTOR: By the
ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of
time. And when go you back to the stars and tell others of this planet,
when you tell them of it's riches, it's people, it's potential. When you
talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this. It is
defended.
It's also worth noting that even alien life is important to this Doctor, since when Harriet Jones authorizes Torchwood to fire on the Sycorax ship, he is pretty angry:
DOCTOR: That was murder.
HARRIET: That was defence. It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago.
DOCTOR: But they were leaving.
HARRIET: You said yourself, Doctor, they'd go back to the stars and tell
others about the Earth. I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the
time.
You come and go. It happened today. Mister Llewellyn and the Major, they
were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping.
In which case we have to defend ourselves.
DOCTOR: Britain's Golden Age.
HARRIET: It comes with a price.
DOCTOR: I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run as
fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming. The
human race.
HARRIET: Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf.
DOCTOR: Then I should have stopped you.
HARRIET: What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?
DOCTOR: Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones, because I'm a completely new
man. I could bring down your Government with a single word.
I think this is going to be a good Doctor, Ten. I just hope I'm right. Cause I didn't like Nine because he was a jerk, and I don't care for Eleven because he feels too inhuman to me, so hopefully Ten will be just right.
***
NaBloPoMo Special:
The Love of the Doctor and Rose Tyler
Part Fourteen: New Face, Same Doctor?
Since the theme of
NaBloPoMo this month is "Love and Sex" (probably because of Valentine's
Day), I feel compelled to write something about love in my posts. Hence,
since I am exploring Series 1 and 2 in this challenge, I am going to
write a little special essay throughout the month about the growing love
between the Doctor and Rose. Please note I am in no way an expert on
relationships.
Definitely can't skip the love talk on Valentine's Day!
In this episode, a sort of transition episode between Series 1 and 2, Rose is in a lot of doubt about her relationship with the Doctor, since now that he's regenerated, he doesn't seem like the Doctor she'd grown to love. She's finding it hard to accept that, despite his new look, he's still the same old Doctor she's been traveling with. And to be honest, I get it. If I'd fallen for a man like she'd fallen for the Doctor, and then some wrench gets thrown in the works and he no longer seems to be who I thought he was - especially if he doesn't even LOOK like the guy I fell in love with, I'd be pretty thrown for a loop too.
We don't get much on the Doctor's end this time around though, as he's asleep for most of the episode, and when he wakes up, he's still adjusting to his new self and plugging into all his past memories. But he and Rose still share a sweet moment at the end of the episode where they hold hands and try to decide where they'll go next, which is nice.
Well, Series 2 is a-comin'. What will it have in store for the show's star couple? We'll see!!
***
We're over the halfway mark! Tune in tomorrow for Day 15 of my NaBloPoMo challenge!
WARNING: THIS ANALYSIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT WATCHED DOCTOR WHO OR AT THE VERY LEAST HAVE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
That spoiler warning is key this time, so BE WARNED.
It's here, ladies and gents...the 2012 Christmas Special!!!! All those Countdown posts have been leading to this.
I swear, I have never been so excited to write an analysis for this blog. I mean, I liked writing the other posts, but for some reason this one makes me really excited. I don't know why. Maybe it's the Christmas spirit?
OR MAYBE IT'S JUST THAT THIS EPISODE IS AWESOME.
Now, granted, I literally just finished watching it a short while ago, so I'm still in that mood you get when you've just seen/watched/experienced something cool and exciting. But I'll try to remain calm.
So anyway, this episode is set in Victorian London and looks like it could've come from Dickens or Sherlock Holmes or something. Which is pretty awesome. Even the Doctor's "Victorian" outfit looks Dickens-like, as I said before. A good setting for the storyline. It just goes to show you don't need the future and alien spaceships to make a Doctor Who episode cool. (Then again, "The Power of Three" totally proved that anyway by being set almost entirely in our world and our present).
The episode begins with a little kid who won't play with the other kids, and is instead making a snowman alone. One thing I noticed is that, as the scene comes on, it says "England 1842" on the ground. Is Doctor Who taking cues from Fringe now? (Fringe is famous for its text that hangs in the middle of the air to announce location changes).
And just as the kid is making the snowman, the snowman starts to talk to him. Notice that it just repeats what the kid says. That's important for later.
We fast-forward fifty years to 1892. The boy we saw has now grown up and is now Dr. Simeon. And played by this guy named Richard E. Grant, who I have never heard of. Apparently, he has been in a lot of things, and he's no stranger to the Doctor Who universe: he played the "Quite Handsome Doctor" (a version of the Tenth Doctor) in the parody sketch Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death in 1999 and later played a Shalka version of the Ninth Doctor in the 2003 webcast Scream of the Shalka, which was intended to continue the continuity from when the show stopped in 1989 as well as the 1996 TV movie, but which was shelved as "unofficial" once the series was revived in 2005. Here he is a villain. It's interesting later on that a Moriarty reference is made in his presence, because he does strike me as what Moriarty is like in the original Sherlock Holmes stories, as well as in the new Sherlock Holmes films with Robert Downey, Jr and Jude Law. Anyway, we see him collecting some snow in jars with swing tops. He then brings them into a room with a huge clear globe inside filled with snow.
That "office" of his (as the Doctor calls it later) is a really nice set. Cause of course it's a set; we all know this. It looks very historically appropriate. Even the clear globe thing looks historically accurate (though for today's purposes it's probably made of plastic or plexiglass...while early forms of plastic did exist in 1892, it was not as common as it is today, so it's unlikely Dr. Simeon would have made that globe out of plastic). They did a really good job there.
I nearly squeed when I heard the voice of the snow. IAN MCKELLEN!!! (Though BBC America screwed up in the credits and credited him as "Iam McKellen"...oops). My family and I just saw The Hobbit last night (as I mentioned), so his voice is fresh in my head. This voice is more like McKellen's "angry Gandalf" voice, or maybe his Magneto voice. It actually sounds a lot like Christopher Lee, strangely. So some people may have thought it was him. It's odd to see McKellen in a villain role -- the only one I primarily know him for is of course Magneto from X-Men, in which he was up against the equally amazing British actor Sir Patrick Stewart as the main hero, Professor Xavier. But he does a really good job.
So anyway, this far into the episode we know this guy is bad news and so is that snow. Not to mention we already saw some scary snowflakes falling onto Earth. Oh and he then summons snowmen to eat all the working-class men he hired to help him collect samples of the snow. Nice fellow, isn't he?
I also noticed that Simeon says "winter is coming," which of course automatically made me think of Game of Thrones - "Winter is coming" is the motto of the House of Stark in that series and the book series it is based on, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Odd that I noticed that since I only got through about 1/4 of the first book before giving up on the series.
Oh and we meet the Doctor's friends in this scene - Vastra, her assistant Jenny, and Strax - who are seen briefly trying to figure out what Simeon is up to. They do confront him, but Simeon scoffs at them, and suggests that "Dr Doyle" (a reference to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) is basing his stories about Sherlock Holmes on Vastra's exploits, but that people would be shocked to learn "Holmes" is really a woman. (The multiple Sherlock Holmes references in this episode are great, especially since this is 1892; Sherlock Holmes debuted in 1887 and was truly becoming popular at around this time due to the Holmes short stories Doyle was publishing in serial form at the time. It's also been noted by people that the Holmes references are likely in reference to the fact that Steven Moffat, writer of this episode and current showrunner for Doctor Who, is also lead scriptwriter for Sherlock, another recent popular British series that has found a strong American audience).
I think this is where the new opening sequence comes in. People have noted it's similar to some of the older sequences, and that showing the Doctor's face in the sequence hasn't been done since the original 1963-1989 run. Mostly I just thought it was pretty cool, especially the end where the TARDIS flies toward you and then opens its doors onto the scene. That kind of reminded me of the scene transitions in the English dub of Sailor Moon. For some reason. The theme music is also remixed, supposedly, and you can hear some difference though it doesn't seem like a huge change to me.
We then switch to another scene, a shot of a tavern/bar called "The Rose and Crown." A door opens, and out steps...JENNA-LOUISE COLEMAN! I recognized her face immediately from "Asylum of the Daleks," though in this case she's dressed in a fancy, red Victorian dress. I was excited when she showed up, because I knew Jenna was going to be the new Companion moving forward, so I wanted to see what she'd be like in her first episode as a Companion. She steps outside and sees a snowman that wasn't there before, and asks a passing man if he made it. The man turns around...and it's the Doctor! Matt Smith looks a lot better when his face doesn't look like it was carved out of marble. I don't know if it was the lighting, the makeup, or what. Anyway, he checks out the snow with his trusty Sonic Screwdriver and a pair of glasses after Jenna's character brings it to his attention, and decides it has some kind of memory. (Some people have pointed out that the glasses he's wearing are Amy Pond's reading glasses from "The Angels Take Manhattan"...it's kinda cool that he still has them!) Jenna's character wants to know more, but apparently the Doctor's not in the mood for adventure. He asks for her name and she introduces herself as Clara. He says that's a good name and to keep it, before striding off. He gets in a carriage and Clara follows him. Through the Doctor's conversation with Vastra through some sort of primitive telephone, she learns he is called "the Doctor," and drops in on him from the top of the carriage, asking the classic question (supposedly called the "First Question"): "Doctor who?"
Realizing Clara has followed him, the Doctor locks her in his carriage and asks Strax, who he meets at another location, to retrieve a special worm that, when touched, erases about an hour of your memory - though if it bites you, it can take lots of your memory away - so that Clara will forget she met him. Unfortunately, Strax is kind of a buffoon and forgets to handle the worm with the proper gloves, resulting in him losing his memory instead. The Doctor and Strax then try to get the worm back while Clara watches, only for Strax to lose his memory again when he forgets to use the gloves again, as shown when Clara finds the gloves herself.
Unfortunately, at this moment the mutant Snowmen attack the Doctor and Clara. Because the snow has a telepathic field that responds to the thoughts of those around them, they keep multiplying because Clara is thinking about them. The Doctor realizes this and tells Clara to imagine them melting. She does, and soon the Snowmen have melted and they are drenched with water. The Doctor then realizes if he uses the worm on Clara, she will forget his advice on how to stop the Snowmen, so he lets her go.
Then there is a pretty funny scene where the Doctor heads off and Clara follows him to some park. He then puts up his hands and jumps and a ladder comes down, which he then ascends a short distance before disappearing into thin air. Who knew the TARDIS had a ladder? Clara, ever the curious one, attempts the same maneuver. For some reason, I thought I'd seen a scene like this before in a movie, but I can't remember what movie. Anyway, somehow she manages to jump in the right way and the ladder descends for her as well. She climbs it until she reaches its top, at which points she waves to the people on the street before realizing they can't see her. She then turns to find a spiral staircase going up, which she ascends. I liked the spiral staircase for a couple reasons. One, because it was completely period-appropriate for the setting in its styling. And two, because, as you can see very well in the wide shot of the stairs against the sky, the design resembles the double-helix shape of DNA - and DNA is a key part of the bad guys' plan in this episode.
Clara reaches the top of the staircase and finds the TARDIS. I like that it retained the wear and tear it sustained in "The Angels Take Manhattan." I think it shows the depth of the Doctor's sulking over the loss of the Ponds - he hasn't even addressed the issue of the damage to his own precious spacecraft. It also goes with his declaration that he's basically retired. Anyway, the ever-curious Clara dares to knock on the TARDIS door, though after doing so she hides so the Doctor can't find her (which he tries to do) and finally runs back down the stairs, though she leaves her shawl behind, which the Doctor finds.
This adventure apparently inspires Clara, and she leaves her job at the bar to go back to her old job, from which she had been temporarily absent, as Alice Montague, governess to the children of Captain Latimer. (Given her curiosity, that her cover name is Alice is interesting, because Alice from Alice in Wonderland was curious too, and that book was around in 1892. Queen Victoria's daughter's name was Alice also, so the name would've been popular during this period. The meaning of it is "noble, of the noble kind." The name Montague has literary ties too, of course, from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. Its meaning is "from the sharp or steep mountain"). I liked the contrast between her barmaid attire, which was bright and colorful, and her governess attire, which was dark and black and proper. Actually, the style of her dress is very period-appropriate; if you watch movies about governesses of the 1800's - like Jane Eyre, for example - this seems to be the type of attire governesses wore back then. It's also mentioned in the scenes that follow that Clara switches her voice for this job, using a more proper British accent, her "secret voice" being more of a Cockney accent. (It may be a play on the fact that Jenna-Louise Coleman is from Lancashire, just like Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston - if you ever wondered why the Ninth Doctor had a North Country accent, that's why. It may also be a reference to the Cockney character Coleman played in the 2011 mini-series Titanic). She finds out Francesca, Latimer's daughter, has been having bad dreams about their previous governess, who died after falling in the pond outside the house about a year previously. The kids show Clara the pond and she notes that it's still frozen over even though all the other snow has thawed.
Francesca's brother mentions that she "needs a Doctor," which gives Clara an idea. She returns to the park where she found the ladder to the TARDIS and starts yelling for the Doctor, despite the fact that people are looking at her funny. Just then, Madame Vastra's assistant Jenny notices her, and realizing what she is trying to do, takes her to see Vastra. Strax is funny here with his line to Clara about not leaving because she will get obliterated and then offering to take her coat. Clara then talks to Vastra, but because Vastra believes truth can only be spoken in single words, Clara is forced to get creative with her answers to Vastra's questions in order to answer using only one word. I also liked Vastra's line "lies are words, words, words," because it made me think of a scene from Hamlet (which, as I said before, is my favorite Shakespeare play) where Polonius asks Hamlet what he is reading, to which Hamlet replies "words, words, words." I have to say, that must've been a tough scene to write, finding a way that Clara could respond to the questions using only single words. But Jenna-Louise Coleman pulls it off. And Vastra explains the Doctor's situation to Clara: that the Doctor was once a hero, a savior of worlds, but that he suffered great losses that hurt him, and he has now chosen isolation to avoid "the possibility of pain's return." This is interesting, because throughout Series 7 we have seen how the Doctor traveling alone has a bad effect on him, and at the end of "The Angels Take Manhattan" Amy Pond's final message specifically tells the Doctor to not travel alone, because she can see what it does to him. River Song also warned him at the end of that episode not to travel alone. Yet in this episode the Doctor has done just that - chosen isolation. And we see the effect it has on him even more clearly in this episode - he is a moody, bitter old Scrooge, lost in his thoughts and memories (when Clara says "but we were just getting acquainted," he says sadly, "Those were the days"), and seems to have lost his old sense of adventure. It's only when he actually dares to be with people that his better nature starts to come out again. Vastra decides to test Clara. She asks Clara to give her a message to give to the Doctor to explain the danger she is facing and why she needs his help - but she can only use one word. We see Clara's face, then the scene jumps to later that day (as it is night where the Doctor is), with the Doctor taking a call (on a very traditional phone) from Vastra. And that's when we learn the word that Clara chose: "Pond." Now of course she means the pond that the governess drowned in. But think about it: the word "Pond" would be an extremely important word to the Doctor at this point in time, since he just lost Amy and Rory. Somehow, without knowing it, Clara chose the one word for her message that would be sure to get the Doctor's attention. Which I love. I love that that word was the key word in all this. Then comes a funny scene where the Doctor visits Dr. Simeon pretending to be Sherlock Holmes, wearing the classic deerstalker hat and matching coat and carrying the classic Holmes pipe (none of which are Holmes canon by the way; they came about due to movie and TV adaptations). He attempts to do deductions like Holmes, but fails miserably. Which is kind of funny for someone who supposedly knows everything because he is aware of all of time at once. He manages to wake up the snow monster and learns that it is the Great Intelligence. Apparently, this is a throwback to the era of the Second Doctor, the first time the Great Intelligence appeared as a villain, and this episode contains many canon elements about the Intelligence and supposedly resolves the mystery of how they got on Earth, which was unanswered back then (making this episode a sort of prequel to the Great Intelligence adventures of the Second Doctor's era). Simeon demands that his servants seize the Doctor, but the Doctor escapes through a window. Oh, and we also discover in this scene that the Sonic Screwdriver, famous for unlocking doors, can also lock doors. The Doctor then heads to the Latimer house to examine the pond, where Strax makes fun of him by calling him "Mr Holmes," which is pretty funny. Clara sees him from the window and tries to gesture for him to come in, but the Doctor, fighting his urge to get involved in an adventure, decides he's going to gesture that he's leaving. Instead, somewhat unconsciously, he gives her a thumbs up. Clara then comforts the children by telling them about the Doctor, calling him a man who lives in the sky and makes sure no children have bad dreams. Francesca mentions she's had bad dreams, to which Clara responds that he's been on holiday, but he's back in business now. But just when Clara thinks the Doctor's coming, she and the children are instead confronted by a weird woman made out of ice, a reanimation of the children's former governess who drowned in the pond. They flee but are trapped in what seems to be a parlor. Just when the Ice Woman seems to have the upper hand, a puppet in a nearby puppet theater starts talking, and we see the familiar green light of the Sonic Screwdriver. The Ice Woman breaks into smithereens, and the Doctor pops up from behind the puppet, declaring that "that's the way you do it" and telling Clara his Screwdriver has a new "antifreeze" function. He examines the floor and confirms the ice creature is destroyed.
But, unbeknownst to him, Simeon is waiting outside, and using a device connected to his carriage, sprays the house with snow, reanimating the Ice Woman just as Vastra, Jenny, and Strax arrive. In the meantime, the Doctor happens to catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and realizes he is wearing a bow tie. I thought this was cool, since a bow tie is a signature part of the Eleventh Doctor's outfit. He attempts to dismiss it, saying he must've just put it on out of habit. But I thought it was cool that he was unconsciously going back to his old habits. Just goes to show the Doctor has certain irresistible urges that crop up even if he's trying to suppress them. Which makes him very human. At any rate, this moment includes a funny scene where Clara looks out the window and sees the snow hitting the house, while the Doctor is still looking in the mirror:
CLARA: It's cooler. DOCTOR: Yes. It is, isn't it? [He admires himself in the mirror] DOCTOR: It is very cool. Bow ties are cool. [He smiles]
(Lines obtained via this post from the Doctor Who official Tumblr)
Unfortunately, just as this occurs, the Ice Governess breaks through the barrier and grabs Clara, pulling her down off the cloud where the TARDIS is parked, and Clara drops the key on the TARDIS floor. The Doctor, in shock, calls her name.
Vastra and company look outside the window to find Clara on the ground, having fallen from the sky. Vastra does a scan with some device and determines that Clara is dead. This made me sad, because I was afraid that this was going to be the end of her time as a Companion, and it had barely started. But then I knew that couldn't be right. At any rate, the Doctor arrives just then, materializing the TARDIS around Clara's body. He brings her into the house, where Strax is able to bring her back to life temporarily using some sort of technology. The Doctor manages to wake Clara up, and they briefly talk. Clara mentions how Vastra told her he had been a savior of worlds, and asks if he is going to save this one too. He asks if she will go away with him if he does. She says yes.
This moves the Doctor to action. He kisses Clara on the head saying, "Well then, Merry Christmas." He then collects fragments of the Ice Governess in a tin box and shows it to Simeon, who is still waiting outside, and tells him "I'll see you at the office." Simeon then departs, heading back to his office, only to find the Doctor and Vastra already there. A confrontation ensues, in which the Doctor realizes the Intelligence has been using Simeon all this time, and flashbacks of Simeon's original encounter with the Intelligence are shown. Remember how I said to take note that the snowman only repeated what the kid said? Well, this is why: the snow only mimics what others say. (The Intelligence itself does not seem to do this, however). Seeing the connection, the Doctor prompts Simeon to grab the tin, only to reveal that the tin does not in fact hold the ice crystals but the Memory Worm from before. The Doctor assumes that, by erasing Simeon's memory, the Great Intelligence, which got its foothold for this attack through a parasitic connection with Simeon, will also be obliterated - much like how in "The Angels Take Manhattan" Amy and Rory created a paradox that erased Winter Quay from existence.
Well, for once, the Doctor is wrong. The Great Intelligence somehow manages to hold on to existence, and takes control of Simeon's body in a weird, scary zombie-esque fashion. Zombie-Simeon gets the better of the Doctor and attempts to strangle him while also freezing his face.
Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Clara is dying, and begins to cry. She tells Captain Latimer that his children are scared, and that he should comfort them. He insists that children aren't his expertise, but she says they are now.
Outside, the snow turns to rain. The snow in the globe starts going ballistic, and Zombie-Simeon loses his control over the Doctor, eventually dying. Vastra and the Doctor realize the snow in the globe is turning to rain, and go to the window. Opening it, they taste the rain, and Vastra comments that it's salty. The Doctor realizes it's not rain, but tears (tears are salty? Since when?). He realizes the snow was still psychically connected to Clara, and that something must have happened at Latimer's house. He and Vastra rush back.
When they arrive, Strax informs the Doctor that Clara has only moments left to live. He runs to her side, comforting her, and gives her the TARDIS key back. And then, with her last breaths, she says:
"You clever boy."
This phrase sparks a moment of recognition in the Doctor. Because, of course, the last thing Oswin said in "Asylum of the Daleks" before the Doctor left her was, "Run, you clever boy."
Unfortunately, Clara still dies. At her funeral, the Doctor realizes he never knew her full name. And then he reads it on the tombstone:
The Doctor heads back to the TARDIS, joyfully activating the controls, and yells: "Clara! Oswin! Oswald! Watch me run."
And then, we return to the same graveyard, but in modern times. A black girl calls after a friend, "Stop! Where are you going? Don't you think this place is creepy?"
The camera zooms in on a girl with familiar-looking hair. She then turns around - and it's Jenna! Or Clara or Oswin or whatever her name is. She then says, confidently, "No. I don't believe in ghosts." And...the episode ends. Well, actually it led right into a "Coming Soon" trailer highlighting what's to come in Part 2 of Series 7, all tied together with the tagline "Right then, Clara Oswald. Time to find out who you are." (Well, and also the tagline "I'm the Doctor. I'm an alien from outer space. I'm a thousand years old, I've got two hearts, and I can't fly a plane!" LOL). It also features the Doctor's classic question to Companions, which he asked to both Rose and Amy, among others: the question of where the Companion wants to go and what she wants to see, which is a nice touch. Here's the trailer:
This episode got me really excited. Like the Doctor, I am really curious to find out who Clara really is and how she could possibly have multiple lives. Is she like River Song, someone who can encounter the Doctor in multiple places in time? Or is reincarnation involved? (I don't believe in reincarnation; I'm just putting the idea out there). Or could she have some Time Lord traits (again, like River Song) and be able to regenerate into different people? We won't know for a while yet.
So the official Doctor Who Tumblr confirmed Series 7 Part 2 will be coming to us in 2013, but didn't give an exact date. (One commercial on BBC America, highlighting all the new shows coming up in 2013 on the channel, also confirms this, and even has a cameo at the end from Matt Smith, where he says "It's going to be epic"). But "the offseason belongs to the fans," they have declared, and they're going to be posting every day till the show returns to keep the fandom active. I like how appreciative they are of the fandom, not just in England but everywhere in the world. I'm definitely going to use the offseason to become even more of a Whovian. Soon, I think I won't be as much of a novice. :)
Well, that's it. Hope you enjoyed this analysis. I can't wait to see what Series 7 Part 2 brings!
(Oh, and given the revelation of Clara's full name in this episode, I have edited the "Companions: Clara" label for this blog accordingly. It is now "Companions: Clara Oswin Oswald." Sorry if that spoils anyone. I also updated the "Next Doctor Who Episode" section of the footer).
Started writing around 3pm, then took a break and finished later.
WARNING: THIS ANALYSIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT WATCHED DOCTOR WHO OR AT THE VERY LEAST HAVE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Merry Christmas Eve! Welcome to the seventh and final Countdown to Christmas post (since tomorrow's Christmas after all). Since my family has plans for tonight, I figured I'd post this early in the day. This time I'm analyzing the second of the two prequels for the 2012 Christmas Special, "Vastra Investigates."
Again, there's not a lot to say about this prequel, since it's really short. But it is more like a proper episode, with a title card and everything. Basically, it involves Vastra, Jenny, and Strax investigating...something. We're not shown what, except that it seems that in this scene they've caught their culprit, with the help of the police, since Strax is shown handcuffing somebody at the very beginning. Strax mutters some stuff about his dislike for humans (to comedic effect) and threatens to hurt the guy he's handcuffing until the policeman tells him not to, saying he has officers on the way. The policeman then thanks Vastra for her help and inquires if her "skin condition" hurts (Vastra is Silurian, so she has reptilian skin). Jenny explains that it's not a skin condition -- it's just skin, and Vastra explains that she is from an intelligent reptilian race that lives under the Earth's crust. Jenny adds that Vastra was accidentally awoken by an extension of the London Underground being built. The policeman takes this in stride (somehow). Vastra then mentions that she made the mistake of falling in love. The policeman asks if she fell in love with the "Turkish fellow" (meaning Strax, who this guy thinks is Turkish). She says no, and then he realizes she means his daughter (not sure what that means).
Vastra and Jenny get back in their carriage and laugh about the previous exchange. They then discuss the Doctor and Jenny says she wishes he would help, and that he can't sulk in his box forever. Vastra, however, sympathizes with the Doctor, and says that we all experience heartbreak, so "imagine if you had two" (referring to the Doctor having 2 hearts). They then ride away.
Again, an interesting setup for the Christmas Special. Can't wait to watch it tomorrow. Turns out my DVR has it set to record at 6pm even though it's advertised as at being on at 9pm, so I may have the post up earlier than I thought. It depends on what plans my family has for tomorrow night.
WARNING: THIS ANALYSIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT WATCHED DOCTOR WHO OR AT THE VERY LEAST HAVE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Welcome to Day 6 of the Countdown to Christmas series! It's the home stretch, people. Just tonight, then Christmas Eve, then Christmas!
So tonight I am analyzing "The Great Detective," the prequel for the 2012 Christmas Special that debuted at the Children in Need event. Doctor Who has been known for doing some special for this event every year, and this year they kept up that tradition. Thankfully, this prequel and the next one got captured by my DVR at the tail end of the recording of the Doctor Who Brit List special, so I didn't have to go online to watch it.
There's not a lot to say about this prequel. It's like the length of a teaser trailer for a movie. Basically, it shows a short scene featuring the Doctor, Silurian Madame Vastra, a Cockney maid type named Jenny Flint who acts as her assistant, and this Sontarian named Strax whose face is said to be "too horrible to be photographed." The opening narration says that in Victorian London, there was a story about someone called "The Great Detective," that being Vastra. Vastra, Jenny, and Strax are introduced. Then the narrator tells us of a mysterious fourth member of the group - and in walks the Doctor, in an outfit straight out of Dickens. And he is in a foul mood. Vastra and her lackeys try to get him interested in investigating some strange phenomena, but he won't have it and leaves. That's really all that happens.
I think this was a good setup for the special, based on what we know of the special. During the sneak peek of "The Snowmen" during the Brit List special, it's mentioned that the Doctor is in a Scrooge mode, since he's still devastated about losing the Ponds. And this bit shows that beautifully.
I have to admit, Strax was pretty hilarious. He kind of reminded me of Gru from Despicable Me, who famously wants to steal the moon. His naming of the people of the Moon as "Moon-ites" may be a reference to early sci-fi stories in the 20th century which referred to people from the Moon as "Selenites," the name deriving from the Greek moon goddess Selene.
Well, that's all for this post. Check back tomorrow for the last prequel and the last Countdown post (since the next day would be Christmas itself). Merry Christmas!
I've been thinking. And I think, instead of writing the Series 7 posts and leaving them in draft till I finish the rest of the series, I will write and post them this week. We are just over a week away from Christmas, after all, so the Christmas Special is coming fast. So it'll be a sort of "Countdown to Christmas." How does that sound?
In other news, Doctor Who won the TV Guide Fan Favorites Cover contest, meaning that Matt Smith is gracing the cover of the latest issue. The cover story deals mostly with the history and fandom of Doctor Who, but also reveals a bit about the Christmas Special, mostly stuff we kind of knew already from the trailer. But some new stuff was revealed as well. The new companion's full name is Governess Clara Oswin. The article also hints at a definite connection between her and Oswin Oswald, the character Jenna-Louise Coleman played in "Asylum of the Daleks." Specifically, the article says: "Coleman actually debuted in this fall's premiere as Oswin Oswald, a brainiac techie trapped inside a Dalek. How one woman becomes the other will presumedly be answered in the December 25 Christmas episode, which is set in Victorian London." We also find out from this article why the Doctor's in Victorian London in the first place - he's been hanging out there to deal with his grief over losing Amy & Rory. It's clear that the Doctor takes losing his Companions hard. (We see a similar reaction from the Tenth Doctor over losing Rose). But then he does say in the Dream Lord episode that he chooses his friends carefully.
The article also gives a hint of what's ahead for Series 7 part 2. The episode Neil Gaiman wrote will be part of it, and will feature the return of the Cybermen. There will also be a special entitled An Adventure in Space and Time to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the franchise. Steven Moffat is quoted in the article as saying he's got huge plans for the actual anniversary celebrations, but won't say what they are.
Oh and also, for those of you Whovians still looking for Whovian Christmas gifts, the DVD of Series 7 Part 1 is now out in stores. I saw it at Target the other day.
So look forward to those Series 7 posts this week!
Written & posted via Blogger for iPod/iPhone, with some edits done via desktop version
I know I said I'd likely be on hiatus this month, but some important details have been revealed by the BBC regarding this year's Doctor Who Christmas Special, which I have picked up from the ever-so-helpful pop culture newshounds over at LeakyNews.com, a blog spun off from the popular Harry Potter fansite The Leaky Cauldron.
So...first off, the episode will air on Christmas Day as usual.We also have an episode title; just a couple days ago the official Doctor Who Twitter account confirmed it will be called "The Snowmen." We do know from previous information it will be set in Victorian times and that a new Companion will be introduced to replace the departing Amy & Rory Pond, and that she is a girl, and she will be played by Jenna-Louise Coleman. And, according to the first proper trailer for the episode (also just released), her character will be named Clara. Coleman also played Oswin Oswald in "Asylum of the Daleks," the Series 7 premiere, making the Christmas Special her second episode of the series. It is unknown whether her character as a Companion and her character in "Asylum of the Daleks" are the same person (though in a bit introducing the trailer Matt Smith and Coleman joke about that possibility). Coleman is primarily known for her four years on Emmerdale, a British soap opera set on a farm in Yorkshire, as Jasmine Thomas.
A prequel for the Christmas Special was also aired by the BBC, called "The Great Detective," which can now be viewed online. You can see more at LeakyNews via the link below, as well as watch the prequel and the trailer.
Just wanted to share that news! There's only a little over a month till Christmas, so not much longer to wait yet!
WARNING: THIS ANALYSIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT WATCHED DOCTOR WHO OR AT THE VERY LEAST HAVE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
And with the end of Series 2 proper, we come into something no Doctor Who series/season can do without: the Christmas Special. This particular special, called "The Runaway Bride," is set after the events of "Doomsday" and is teased somewhat at the end of that episode with an unknown bride randomly appearing in the TARDIS.
The episode begins on Earth in London, at a rather lavish church wedding. The bride (who we later learn is named Donna) is all set to go down the aisle, when all the sudden she dissolves into golden dust. Next thing she knows, she's onboard the TARDIS, wedding dress and all, to the surprise of both her AND the Doctor.
As for the Doctor, we last left him alone on the TARDIS, orbiting around a supernova out in the middle of space somewhere, grief-stricken over having lost Rose. (Well, she's still alive. She's just in a parallel world that for some reason even the Doctor has no access to, and is considered dead in her home world). And while he's lost in thought, Donna appears. This is the moment teased at the end of "Doomsday," where she appears and the confused Doctor asks her who she is.
Anyway, neither Donna or the Doctor has any idea how she got in the TARDIS. I mean, he's orbiting around a supernova, so it's not like she could've just walked in or something (and besides, the Doctor carries the keys to the thing - btw, I find it odd that he has to use actual keys to unlock the door; you'd think the Time Lords would have created some more complex lock system for their TARDISes). Donna, meanwhile, is pretty freaked out and wants to leave, but the Doctor points out that they're in space and so she can't just leave. Then the subject of him having traveled with someone else (Rose) comes up, and the Doctor sadly admits that he lost her, but doesn't elaborate. And frankly I think Donna could care less. She just wants to get back to her wedding.
So the Doctor obliges and takes Donna back to London, though he's still stumped as to how she got onto the TARDIS. Donna tries to get a taxi back to the church but learns she must pay extra cause it's Christmas Day. The Doctor gets in with her and then they ride a bit, but get off a short time after, with Donna mad about the higher fare she had to pay. Then, all the sudden these creepy Santa guys show up and seem to be interested in Donna. Donna looks for another cab while the Doctor wanders off assumedly to get her some money for the cab. He finds an ATM and, through the wonders of the Sonic Screwdriver, is able to get the ATM to give him money without using a ATM or debit card. (This reminds me of the movie Race to Witch Mountain, where the kids were able to use their powers to get money out of an ATM). Then he sees the creepy Santas, and provides a distraction to the locals by making the ATM eject wads of cash (again thanks to his trusty Screwdriver) while he pursues the Santas. Donna meanwhile has found another cab and is on her way to the church, but unbeknownst to her, the cab is actually being driven by one of the crazy Santas. The creepy Santa bypasses her stop and takes her out onto a freeway, going who knows where.
The Doctor, meanwhile, has figured out the Santas are after Donna and pursues the cab she is in with the TARDIS. A hilarious scene ensues where he tries to get her out of the car, she won't jump, etc., etc. We also learn that, despite being a great time-and-space-traveling spaceship, the TARDIS doesn't actually fly all that well through normal air. Also the Sonic Screwdriver can unlock the locks on a normal Earthling car. Though I guess that makes sense.
The two rest on top of a building, in which scene the Doctor admits to Donna that the TARDIS is a spaceship. She thinks he's from Mars (classic human reaction). The Doctor, figuring that the Santas are tracking her, gives her a ring that he says will "biodamper" her, making it so the Santas can't find her. (In a nice wedding homage, he slips it on her finger with the words "With this ring, I thee biodamper"). After a short dialogue, Donna admits that her wedding guests probably aren't having that much fun without her.
The Doctor still isn't sure what the Santas want with Donna, though he now knows it must have to do with the huon particles. He gets Lance and Donna to take him to H.C. Clements. Through some research he finds that H.C. Clements is owned by the Torchwood Institute, that pesky "anything that's alien is ours" organization that appeared in the Series 2 finale and which is the subject of the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood. He discovers the building has a secret basement, which leads to a secret tunnel under the Thames River. Down there they find a big hole that seems to go down forever, seemingly into the center of the Earth.
Oh and by the way they also find a big honking spider with a creepily human face. She's the main bad guy for this episode. Earlier in the episode she is seen approaching Earth in a spaceship shaped somewhat like a Christmas star. That scene reminded me so much of the Sailor Moon S movie scene when Snow Kaguya is approaching Earth. Not sure why. Maybe because the spider lady's face reminds me of Snow Kaguya's? Turns out she's the Empress of the Racnoss, a spider-like species that the Doctor says are from the Dark Times but which were wiped out back then by the Time Lords - or so he thought, I guess. She seems to be responsible for the pit; there's something down there that she wants. Meanwhile, Lance is revealed to actually be in cahoots with the Empress (how that happened I have no idea) and has actually been dosing Donna for months with huon particles via the coffee he's been making for her every day. How did he get said particles? Well somehow the Empress figured out how to make them synthetically. Not sure how but apparently she used some of that basement space to do so.
The Empress intends to throw Donna into the pit, but the Doctor saves her and they escape. The Empress decides to then use Lance instead and begins feeding him huon particles against his will. The Doctor and Donna meanwhile head back to the TARDIS, since the Doctor wants to find out what the Empress is looking for down in the depths of the Earth. He takes them back billions of years to when the Earth was just forming, and discovers that a Racnoss ship somehow managed to wedge its way into the center of the Earth back then. The two return to the present, but Donna gets caught by the Empress and the Empress's robotic lackeys (a.k.a. the robotic Santas, now as hooded robots) hold the Doctor at gunpoint. The Doctor then reveals that he is not from Mars, as Donna had told the Empress he was, but from Gallifrey. This reveals to the Empress that he is a Time Lord, at which she is furious because the Time Lords destroyed her kind. The enraged spider lady then brings her ship to Earth - where the unsuspecting Earthlings believe it to be a Christmas star. (It is Christmas Eve, after all). But then said "star" starts firing at anything that breathes. Yeah, ok, not so good.
Long story short, the Doctor manages to flood the place and escape with Donna. Unfortunately, they learn that they drained all the water out of the Thames. Oops.
The Doctor takes Donna home so her parents can know she's all right, but not before offering her the chance to travel with him. She declines. He finally does tell her more about Rose, before letting her go and flying off into the sky. End of episode.
I have to admit, Donna kinda annoyed the heck out of me. And I know I'll be seeing more of her, because she's going to take the Doctor up on his offer after all later on in Series 4 and become his Companion. Hopefully she gets better later on. But in this episode she was just annoying. Maybe because all she really cared about was her wedding, and so she whined a lot. She also did not seem to get along with the Doctor at all. Again, this might all change in Series 4.
I don't have much else to say about this episode. I did sympathize with how devastated the Doctor was over Rose though. I'd be too!
Well, that's it for this episode! Now on to Series 3!
Are you a Doctor Who fan (a.k.a. Whovian)? Do you like analysis? Do you mind reading the musings of a ridiculously analytical geeky girl with a degree in Literature and Writing?
Well, then welcome to TARDIS Thoughts, an experiment of sorts. See, I'm new to this whole Doctor Who thing. But I have always been someone who notices every detail and overanalyzes everything. So I thought that maybe, for the heck of it, I would start a blog where I could record my thoughts on the episodes I've seen - from my catchup of the old episodes to my thoughts on the upcoming Series 8. And that's what this is.
So, if you feel up to it, stick around and read my crazy thoughts. My TARDIS Thoughts.
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