Series 7 Special - "Pond Life" (Webisodes)

The countdown to the Twelfth Doctor announcement is ticking! Just half an hour now as I write this. Anyway, while I wait, I'm catching up on posts, and here's one for the special series of webisodes that connect the Series 6 Christmas Special and Series 7: "Pond Life."

This series was originally released as five separate webisodes on the BBC's website from August 27-31, 2012, leading up to the premiere of Series 7 in September. Later, the five episodes were combined into one "omnibus" version. Both are available on the official BBC YouTube Channel; I recommend the omnibus just cause that way you can watch them all together in one video. Less choppy of an experience.

I have to say, these webisodes are pretty funny. Well, the last one is a little sad at the end, but mostly they're funny. Just short little vignettes (about a minute long apiece; the omnibus version is about 5 minutes long) detailing the life of the Ponds. The one thing that ties them all together is that throughout the series, The Doctor is trying to get back to the Ponds, but keeps failing to do so due to the TARDIS's helmic regulator being on the fritz. Meanwhile, he talks to them by phone and fills them in on what he's doing.

The first episode in the series is Pond Life April. In this segment, The Doctor calls the Ponds to check in on them, and fills them in on his recent adventures. He surfed some impressive fire falls to get away from some Sontaran soldiers, met Mata Hari in a hotel in Paris (who he calls an "interesting woman;" given his slightly embarrassed tone of voice as he reports this, and the fact that we see Hari drop her clothes, who knows what happened there), and laid down some backing vocals on a rap song. He then promises that he should be there any day now (while frantically running around the console flipping controls), but says the helmic regulator is acting up so he can't say precisely when he'll be there. Then, as the camera zooms out to show the Ponds' phone/answering machine combo, we hear him suddenly realize he's crashed into Ancient Greece, followed by a crash. Amy and Rory, meanwhile, are sitting down with some wine while this is going on, and just as we hear the crash, Rory presses the stop button on the answering machine. Amy then looks at him, unperturbed, and says "The Doctor." They then clink glasses and drink.

Next comes Pond Life May. The Ponds are in bed when all the sudden the TARDIS arrives. The Doctor, without even thinking, barges into their bedroom (though once he realizes this, he covers his eyes...the fact that Amy appears to be at least partially naked in this scene may have something to do with this). The Ponds are quite obviously angry at the intrusion:

RORY: What's going on?
AMY: Doctor! Bedroom!
RORY: We have a rule about the bedroom.

The Doctor is apologetic, but tells them the Earth is in danger, that they have to go save it while there's still time...before realizing the Ponds have no clue what the heck he's talking about. He then realizes the helmic regulator acted up again and he's arrived too early for that particular adventure. He then leaves, but Amy calls after him, saying he can't just leave, and don't they need to know about this danger? He then returns, and assures them that the future is fine, don't worry about it, and that they should go back to sleep (while, meanwhile, clips play showing that he is totally lying and the future will not be fine - the clips shown, by the way, are from the Series 7 episode "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," which at this point had not aired yet).

The TARDIS departs, and the Ponds lie awake in bed, while Rory mutters, "I really hate it when he does that."

Third is Pond Life June. This is a really short scene which starts with Rory heading to the bathroom in the morning. But when he opens the door, something shocking is in there, and he rushes out. Amy then comes out, but Rory won't let her in the bathroom. After a few moments, he finally lets her in, and they both see an Ood sitting on their toilet. The Ood, in a perfectly happy voice, asks if he (it?) can be of any assistance. Amy and Rory look at each other awkwardly, unsure what to make of this:

RORY: Ood on the loo.
AMY: Yeah.

The next one, Pond Life July, is a direct sequel to the previous webisode and features the Ponds on the phone with The Doctor to tell him about the Ood. He tells them he rescued the Ood from the Androvax Conflict and was taking it back to the Ood Sphere, and that it must've wandered into the Ponds' flat when The Doctor stopped by before (in Pond Life May).

(Hold on...the special is coming on! Right now, there's just a placeholder saying "Stay Tuned for the Live Announcement of the 12th Doctor," which means there must be a delay in the simulcast...will write while I'm waiting, and once it starts, I'll write during commercial breaks, if there are any).


(Ok, it's started!!)

(Ok guess there aren't going to be commercial breaks...will continue after the special's over)

(Ok the special's over...more on that in another post!)

Sorry about that, didn't want to miss the special (although technically, I was recording it, in case I forgot to watch it, so I could've waited and finished the post first, but I didn't want to get spoiled later today so I decided to watch it live).

Sooo..anyway, The Doctor asks the Ponds if the Ood is being any trouble. We then see a montage of the Ood doing what Oods do best, which is serving. The Ood hands Amy her laptop and Rory his lunchbox (I love that he has this childish lunchbox) as they head out the door, then we see him making the beds, hanging the laundry, and cleaning the windows. Rory feels awkward, telling The Doctor that the Ood seems to think he's their butler. The Doctor tells him it's fine, that Oods are conditioned to serve, and to just let him do his thing, and promises to pick the Ood up that evening. He then realizes a power drain has occurred that could cause the TARDIS to implode and hangs up. The Ood then gives the Ponds their tea (or "infusions," as the Ood calls them), while they eat breakfast awkwardly:

RORY: I feel so guilty.
AMY: Just eat your breakfast.

Finally, the fifth and final episode of the series, Pond Life August. Despite the name, the episode primarily features The Doctor, although the end leads nicely into "Asylum of the Daleks." As it starts, The Doctor is fixing the light on top of the TARDIS, whilst leaving yet another phone message for the Ponds, and apologizes again for not coming by, claiming the helmic regulator is on the fritz again. He then fills them in on adventures again, saying he got hit by an arrow (or maybe the regulator did; the context is confusing) on Hastings Hill, rode a horse in 11th-century Coventry, and may have accidentally invented pasta a bit too early. He also took the Ood home. He also says he stopped by their place one day, but they were out. (This scene is kind of sad, because it's rainy and The Doctor looks SO disappointed).

Then, in a slightly concerned voice, he asks about them:

DOCTOR: Everything's all right, isn't it, with you two? Course it is. Ponds always fine. Just worrying unnecessarily. Anyway, just call me if you need me.

But, as we see, the Ponds are not fine. We see Rory leaving the house, looking angry, and Amy running after him, with tears in her eyes. (Supposedly she is mouthing the words "I hate you," but it's hard to tell). Seeing as the Ponds are on the brink of divorce in "Asylum of the Daleks," I think it's safe to say they're having marital problems here (also, in "Asylum of the Daleks," it's implied that Rory has moved out of their apartment, which he seems to be doing here).

The Doctor says goodbye and then stares at the phone for a few moments. Then, reconsidering his message, he points the Sonic at the phone receiver, erasing his message. Shortly after, Amy arrives home alone, checks the answering machine, and sees there are no messages on the answering machine. She leans against the counter and sighs, clearly upset, and says:

AMY: We need you, raggedy man. I need you.

And that's the end of the series of webisodes.

Like I said, mostly a really funny set of episodes, but has some sad parts. Worth a watch, definitely!

Quotes from The Doctor Who Transcripts.

Special Post: Matt Smith's Departure and the Twelfth Doctor Announcement

As many of you reading this blog may know, Matt Smith - the wonderful young man who has played the Eleventh Doctor since New Year's Day 2010 - is leaving the show. His last episode will be this year's Christmas Special. This being a major event, I thought I should post a special post here about it.

I meant to post this back in June, after it was first announced that Matt Smith was leaving, but never got around to doing so. At any rate, writing it tonight will do, as tomorrow we find out who will replacing Matt at the helm of the TARDIS, in a live, half-hour special called Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor. It's airing at 7pm on BBC One and will be simulcast in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. (Possibly elsewhere as well, but these are the countries where the simulcast has been confirmed). Here's a trailer for the special from BBC America:

   

The nice thing about the event being simulcast is that all of us will get to find out who the Twelfth Doctor will be at the same time, which eliminates the possibility of spoilers, like you get with the regular Doctor Who episodes, which air at different times (though all on the same day). 

I admit, way back in June, when I heard Matt was leaving the show, I was just as shocked as anyone else. I think I've said on here that Eleven isn't my favorite Doctor. Ten gets that honor. And I've said good things and bad things about Matt Smith and his performance as The Doctor. I was just re-reading my posts about Series 7 Part 1 earlier today, and I realized how much I disliked Eleven back then. Now, months later, I feel differently. The 2012 Christmas Special and Series 7 Part 2 changed my mind about Eleven; I've warmed up to him now. (That and this fanfic I've been working on that stars Eleven, which forced me to actually think about him as a character). He's still not my favorite, and I doubt he ever will be. (Granted, after I watch Series 5 and 6, my opinion on that may change). 

In the past several months, I have realized that Matt Smith truly is a gifted young man. He really can act, and act well. And it's because of this that he went from being a nobody in 2009, when he was cast, to a much-beloved Doctor now 4 years later. With him came Steven Moffat as showrunner and a much darker hue to the show in general (at least based on what I've seen so far). And with him came great Companions in the forms of Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Alex Kingston, and Jenna-Louise Coleman (Jenna Coleman now...sorry) as Amy Pond, Rory Williams, River Song, and Clara Oswald respectively. Each Doctor brings something new to the show, and Matt has brought his something in spades, giving us a young, rather hyperactive, childish Doctor who likes to wear bow ties and fezzes and Stetsons and a worn-out suit with patches stolen from a hospital (or fancy purple Victorian-esque suits with top hats), enjoys eating fish custard and Jammie Dodgers, and is married to a woman whose timeline is all out of whack who also happens to be Amy and Rory's daughter. (And yes, I can say this having not seen Series 5 and 6...I'm spoiled enough on those seasons that I have an inkling of what goes on in them). 

So am I going to miss Matt Smith? Absolutely. But I know I still have the two specials left to see him in, and I'm sure Moffat will send him off in proper fashion come Christmastime (it was confirmed in a recent Comic-Con panel that Moffat is writing this year's Christmas Special). Apparently, according to the Wikipedia entry for the Christmas Special, that episode will also be the 800th episode of Doctor Who, which will make the send-off for Matt extra special. Also, I just realized the Complete Seventh Series DVD and Blu-Ray will be released in the UK and Europe on October 28, which is Matt's birthday. (And also mine...that's right, Matt and I share a birthday!)

But now we have the Twelfth Doctor to look forward to. It's 12:06 a.m. right now as I type this sentence, meaning that the special announcing the Twelfth Doctor is in slightly less than 11 hours from now, my time. And you know what? I can't wait. I'm tired of all the speculation (and believe me, there has been a LOT); I just want to find out who it is already. This is the first time I've been able to be part of the lead-up to a new Doctor's run, so I want to enjoy it while I can. I want to find out who the next Doctor will be, and spend the next few months letting that revelation sink in, and possibly watching other things with him (or her; many people think we'll get a female Doctor this time around) in it so I can get used to him (or her) beforehand. Personally, I am hoping for Ben Whishaw:

Ben Whishaw has long been a favorite for the role of Twelve. I loved him as Q in the latest Bond film Skyfall. He's also been in other movies like Perfume: The Story of a Murderer and Cloud Atlas and has a fair amount of TV experience, including playing the main character in the TV series The Hour. Plus, he's close in age to Matt, so the transition between Doctors will be a little smoother if he's cast. 

Honestly though, I think I'm mature enough to be happy with whoever they picked. I'm not sure about the female Doctor idea; I mean, I'm not against it (I'm writing a story right now myself that stars a female Time Lord), but it would be such an abrupt change. Still, if, as Jenna has said, the 50th Anniversary Special is going to send the show in a whole new direction, I suppose anything's possible. Also, one of the Doctor Who audio dramas stated that, in order for a Time Lord to change sexes when regenerating, he or she has to commit suicide. Whether Moffat considers this canon or not, I just can't see Matt's Doctor doing that.

I'm more open to the idea that we might get a person of color as the next Doctor. Like the female thing, we also have never had a Doctor of color. We had Companions of color (Martha, Mickey, Rosita from "The Next Doctor," Rani from The Sarah Jane Adventures) but never a Doctor of color. I would be open to that idea. I like the idea of an Asian Doctor for some reason. (Maybe because the Time Lady in the aforementioned story I'm writing has one regeneration where she looks Chinese). One of the favorites for Twelve is black, though I forget his name.

So, let's enjoy these last few months we have with Matt before he turns in his bow tie and fez (or not; I have a feeling he'll talk someone into letting him keep those) and takes a bow. And let's get excited about what is to come, especially once we know who Twelve is (which is now in about 10 1/2 hours my time). Allons-y, as Ten would say.

Series 7, Episode 14 (Series 7 Finale): "The Name of the Doctor"

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. 

Sorry for the belated post...had hoped to post this closer to the finale but that didn't happen.

Anyway...here, finally, is my analysis of the episode we all waited for for ages: the Series 7 finale, "The Name of the Doctor."

Words can hardly describe how epic this episode was. And yet, it was confusing too - I was left very confused after the first time I watched it and had to discuss it to death with fellow Whovians and watch the episode itself a second time before I felt I could do an analysis of it here.

I think part of the confusion is that this episode is sort of a "Part 1" of a longer story, a story which will likely be continued in the 50th Anniversary Special that will air on November 23, since Matt Smith said this episode leads into the 50th. Not all the questions raised in the episode are answered, and even the ones that are don't seem like they're fully explained.

Anyway! Plot!

This episode begins in a rather epic fashion: ON FREAKIN' GALLIFREY.

And by "a very long time ago" (which I admit kinda made me laugh which I initially saw this as a promo photo on Facebook, because it made me think of the classic Star Wars motto "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away"), they mean a LONG time ago. This is First Doctor era, folks. Gallifrey (specifically the famous Citadel) in its PRIME. For comparison's sake, here's what the Citadel looked like during the Time War (from "The End of Time, Part Two" - which granted I have not seen, but since the Wikipedia article on this episode pointed out that we saw the Citadel destroyed in that episode, I figured I'd hunt up the picture anyway):

In this scene, we actually get to see the First Doctor and Susan about to leave Gallifrey in the TARDIS they stole, which is pretty awesome since we never saw that in the show. But just as they are about to (whilst an alert has begun to go off due to the theft), they are stopped by a mysterious (and familiar-looking) young woman, who tells The Doctor he's "about to make a very big mistake."

This is followed by a monologue from Clara, interspersed with clips of her falling through the Time Vortex and various clips of the different Doctors and of her in various period looks:

CLARA [OC]: I don't know where I am. It's like I'm breaking into a million pieces and there's only one thing I remember. I have to save the Doctor. He always looks different.
(The sixth Doctor walks across behind her.)
CLARA: Doctor!
(The fourth Doctor walks past her, scarf flying.)
CLARA [OC]: But I always know it's him. Sometimes I think I'm everywhere at once, running every second just to find him.
(The seventh Doctor is dangling from the ice cliff on the lower levels in Dragonfire.)
CLARA: Doctor!
CLARA [OC]: Just to save him.
(The third Doctor drives past in Bessie.)
CLARA: Doctor!
(The second Doctor, in his fur coat, runs past her in a palm-fringed park. She tries to follow, but falls onto a clear surface, where the fifth Doctor is floating beneath her in the reactor chamber in Warriors of the Deep.)
CLARA: Doctor?
CLARA [OC]: But he never hears me.
(The Eleventh Doctor in Victorian clothes, in Snowmen.)
CLARA: Oi.
CLARA [OC]: Almost never. I blew into this world on a leaf.
(The leaf that blew into the face of her father, that made him meet her mother.)
CLARA [OC]: I'm still blowing. I don't think I'll ever land. I'm Clara Oswald. I'm the Impossible Girl. I was born to save the Doctor.

What is this all about then? A hint?

We're left to wonder, sadly. We then go to 1893 London and Vastra visiting a prisoner named Clarence DeMarco, who begs her to use her influence to save him, which she refuses to do, as he is a serial killer. He buys her trust - and a stay on his execution - by giving her information on The Doctor (how he obtained said information is not revealed, though maybe it will come out in the "Clarence and the Whispermen" special that is supposed to be included on the Complete Seventh Series DVD set when it's released later on this year). Distressed by this information, Vastra takes action: she and Jenny (minus Strax, who has the weekend off and has decided to spend it getting into fights with big burly guys in Victorian Glasgow) decide to initiate a "conference call" across time and space, via the use of an unidentified soporific drug administered via a candle that puts you into a dream/trance state. She sends out invitations to said call to Strax (via telegram), River Song (via an unknown method) and Clara (via a letter). Significantly, Clara is about to make a soufflé when she finds the letter (yet another reference to the "Soufflé Girl" motif with her).

The whole "conference call" business is a little weird. It makes sense, but it's not something that, to my knowledge, has ever happened in the show before. And it's not clear how the heck River got there, since it was hinted prior to the episode airing - and is revealed later in the episode - that the River Song in this episode is a post-Library River, in other words a manifestation of the data ghost Ten uploaded to the Library's computers in "Forest of the Dead."

Anyway, this conference call. We learn that DeMarco traded Vastra very serious information in exchange for his life: space-time coordinates for a place said to be the location of "the Doctor's biggest secret." He describes it with the words: "The Doctor has a secret, you know. One that he will take to the grave. It is discovered." Vastra also mentions that he got her to trust him with one word (those who have seen "The Snowmen" will remember that Vastra believes truth can only be expressed in single words): Trenzalore.

Yes, THAT Trenzalore...the one we heard about in Series 6. From the prophecy:

DORIUM: On the Fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely, or fail to answer, a question will be asked. A question that must never, ever be answered. 
DOCTOR: Silence will fall when the question is asked.
DORIUM: Silence must fall would be a better translation. The Silence are determined the question will never be answered. That the Doctor will never reach Trenzalore.  
...
DORIUM: But you're a fool nonetheless. It's all still waiting for you. The fields of Trenzalore, the fall of the Eleventh, and the question.
DOCTOR: Goodbye, Dorium.
DORIUM: The first question. The question that must never be answered, hidden in plain sight. The question you've been running from all your life. Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor Who. 

River recognizes the implications of this immediately (though I have no clue how she knew about it, OR Vastra for that matter...I guess since it was a prophecy The Silence believed in strongly, and River was nominally involved with The Silence at one point, maybe she heard about it from there).

But just when you think the group's going to discuss this thing further, Jenny starts panicking, sensing a ghostly presence near her astral body. She realizes she forgot to lock the door, and that strange beings are attacking her. She declares, in a thin voice, that she thinks she's been murdered, and fades away.

River takes charge and shocks Team Vastra awake - Vastra with a slap (which has a funny backstory if you watch the behind-the-scenes clip for this episode) and Strax by splashing water (or maybe champagne, since she had summoned some for herself) in his face. Simultaneously in London and Glasgow, Vastra and Strax fall under attack by strange men in top hats and tuxedos, with white, waxy faces and almost vampiric teeth, and are captured (while Jenny is shown lying dead on the floor).

Meet new villains The Whispermen, everyone:

Oh man those guys give me the creeps.

The Whispermen somehow make their way into the astral-plane conference call as well, surrounding River and Clara. They taunt the pair with the words "Tell the Doctor," after which Clara asks them what they're supposed to tell him. A hologram of the Great Intelligence (with the face of Dr. Simeon, as in the Series 7 premiere) then appears, and utters these words:

HOLO-SIMEON: His friends are lost for ever more, unless he goes to Trenzalore.  

Basically meaning, "Doctor - if you ever want to see Team Vastra again, you have to go to Trenzalore." As in the one place he's not supposed to go - a fact River vehemently points out in response to Simeon's statement.

Suddenly, The Doctor's voice breaks into the scene, and Clara wakes up, only to find The Doctor in her house, walking around blindfolded and calling for Artie and Angie. He realizes she's there, and tells her he agreed to watch the kids while their father went next door, and that they had wanted to go to the cinema, but he had said no, they needed to wait till Clara woke up. Clara removes his blindfold and reveals he's been duped: they got him to play Blind Man's Bluff so he'd be blindfolded and not see them sneak off to the cinema. This frustrates the Doctor, who calls them "little Daleks," but his look quickly changes when he sees Clara's face, and he asks her what's wrong.

A jump cut later, Clara is making tea and has apparently told the Doctor everything that occurred at the conference call. The Doctor is distraught over the fate of his friends, to the point of tears (something we rarely see from him!), and ultimately runs out of the house. Clara follows him, finding him under the console room of the TARDIS. He sadly says he always suspected what Trenzalore was, but never wanted to actually find out - but that River always knew what it was. He connects Clara directly to the TARDIS's telepathic circuits (pay close attention to that - it becomes important later) so as to retrieve the coordinates DeMarco gave from her memory. After he does so, Clara pushes The Doctor about Trenzalore:

CLARA: Okay, what is Trenzalore? Is that your big secret?
DOCTOR: No.
CLARA: Okay, what then?
DOCTOR: When you are a time traveller, there is one place you must never go. One place in all of space and time you must never, ever find yourself.
CLARA: Where?
DOCTOR: You didn't listen, did you? You lot never do. That's the problem. The Doctor has a secret he will take to the grave. It is discovered. He wasn't talking about my secret. No, no, no, that's not what's been found. He was talking about my grave. Trenzalore is where I'm buried.
CLARA: How can you have a grave?
DOCTOR: Because we all do, somewhere out there in the future, waiting for us.
(They go up to the console.)
DOCTOR: The trouble with time travel, you can actually end up visiting.
CLARA: But you're not going to. You just said it's the one place you must never go.
DOCTOR: I have to save Vastra and Strax. Jenny too, if it's still possible. They, they cared for me during the dark times. Never questioned me, never judged me, they were just kind. I owe them. I have a duty. No point in telling you this is too dangerous.
CLARA: None at all. How can we save them?
DOCTOR: Apparently, by breaking into my own tomb. 

Which they then proceed to do, a process which takes the bulk of the episode. They get to Trenzalore (after a LOT of resistance from the TARDIS, who knows all too well what Trenzalore is and that The Doctor should not go there), which, it turns out, is a pretty freaky-looking place:

The TARDIS having refused to land, The Doctor's only option is to crash-land onto the planet, which he does by turning off the anti-gravs (the only thing the TARDIS hasn't turned off yet) with his Sonic.

They land finally and walk out into a dark and scary graveyard, which The Doctor identifies as a battlefield graveyard, with different-size gravestones depending on the rank of whoever's buried there:

The graveyard is dominated by a massive monument in the form of a TARDIS, which, as it turns out, is The Doctor's tomb -- AND his TARDIS from the future:

(Apparently he never will get that Chameleon Circuit fixed).

Clara and The Doctor then proceed to break into the tomb. Oh, and just in case we forgot about her, River shows up again!

She looks really substantial for a data ghost, if you ask me. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that was River, alive and in the flesh, standing there.

River accompanies the two into the tomb, supposedly seen by only Clara, who has a mental connection to her from the conference call. (I say "supposedly"...more on that later).

Meanwhile...Vastra and company wake up inside the antechamber of the massive tomb. Strax, in classic Strax fashion, starts barking military orders:

STRAX: This base is surrounded! Lay down your weapons and your deaths will be merciful!
...
STRAX: This planet is now property of the Sontaran Empire. Surrender your women and intellectuals.

Vastra, on the other hand, could care less about Strax's military ambitions - cause she's found Jenny, her beloved wife, and she's dead. Nothing Strax's handy-dandy Sontaran handheld medical scanner/defibrillator can't cure, though; soon enough, she's back to normal. Well, as back to normal as you can be after being revived from lethal, shock-induced cardiac arrest. They don't have time to celebrate, though, because they are soon confronted by Whispermen once more. And guess who their leader is:

Well, hi there Dr. Simeon. Or Mr. Great Intelligence, rather, taking the form of Dr. Simeon (as shown earlier in this episode and in "The Bells of Saint John").

This brings on a confrontation between Vastra and Simeon:

SIMEON: I see you have repaired your pet. No matter. I was only attracting your attention. I presume I have it.
VASTRA: Doctor Simeon. This is not possible.
SIMEON: And yet here we are, meeting again, so very far from home.
JENNY: But he died. You told me.
VASTRA: Simeon died, but the creature that possessed him lived on. I take it I am now talking to the Great Intelligence?
SIMEON: Welcome to the final resting place of the cruel tyrant. Of the slaughterer of the ten billion, and the vessel of the final darkness. Welcome to the tomb of the Doctor.

We then cut briefly to The Doctor, River, and Clara - who get in the tomb but are pursued by Whispermen - before cutting back to Simeon, Vastra, and the others, where Simeon proceeds to give us backstory on Trenzalore:

SIMEON: It was a minor skirmish, by the Doctor's blood-soaked standards. Not exactly the Time War, but enough to finish him. In the end, it was too much for the old man.
JENNY: Blood-soaked?
VASTRA: The Doctor has been many things, but never blood-soaked.
SIMEON: Tell that to the leader of the Sycorax, or Solomon the trader, or the Cybermen, or the Daleks. The Doctor lives his life in darker hues, day upon day, and he will have other names before the end. The Storm, the Beast, the Valeyard.
VASTRA: Even if any of this were true, which I take the liberty of doubting, how did you come by this information?
SIMEON: I am information.
JENNY: You were a mind without a body last time we met.
VASTRA: And you were supposed to stay that way.
SIMEON: Alas, I did.
(Simeon pulls at his face, to reveal that he is an empty shell. His clothes tumble to the ground, then a Whisper Man steps forward and becomes him again.)
SIMEON: As you can see.

Oh yeah, The Whispermen are basically just lifeless shells for the GI to inhabit. And any of them can take on Simeon's appearance. Creepy much!!

The Doctor and Clara make it into the upper parts of the tomb, when all the sudden Clara starts feeling dizzy:

DOCTOR: Hey, it's okay. You're fine. The dimensioning forces this deep in the Tardis, they can make you a bit giddy.
CLARA: I know, I know. How do I know? How do I know that?
DOCTOR: Clara, it's okay. You're fine.
CLARA: Have we, have we done this before? We have. We have done this before. Climbing through a wrecked Tardis.

Yes, you have, my dear Clara. In "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS." Remember how I said to pay attention to the fact that The Doctor directly connected Clara to the TARDIS's telepathic circuits, in order to get the coordinates for Trenzalore? Well, that connection went deeper than expected, and now her memories of the events of "Journey" - which she shouldn't even remember because The Doctor rebooted everything - are starting to reemerge:

CLARA: You said things, things I'm not supposed to remember.
DOCTOR: We can't do this now. The Tardis is a ruin. The telepathic circuits are awakening memories you shouldn't even have.
DOCTOR [memory]: Why do I keep meeting you?
DOCTOR: Clara.
DOCTOR [memory]: The Dalek Asylum. There was a girl in a shipwreck and she died saving my life. And she was you.
DOCTOR: Clara.
DOCTOR [memory]: In Victorian London there was a governess, who was really a barmaid, and she died. And she was you.
DOCTOR: Clara? Clara, what's wrong?
CLARA: What do you mean, you keep meeting me? You said I died. How could I die?
DOCTOR: That is not a conversation you should even remember.
CLARA: What do you mean I died?

The transcript doesn't do it justice; you really have to watch the scene. It's very well edited together, with the flashbacks and everything, and the panicked way The Doctor reacts to the fact that she's remembering these things.

Anyway, The Whispermen start coming after the two of them again, so they don't have time to dwell on this revelation. They make it to the antechamber where Simeon and the others are, and a rather epic scene ensues where Simeon reveals the only way to open The Doctor's tomb is if The Doctor says his name, something he refuses to do. Simeon tries to blackmail him into it by having The Whispermen attack Vastra, Jenny, Strax, and Clara. The Doctor is clearly disturbed by this, and finally literally begs Simeon to stop:

SIMEON: Doctor who?
DOCTOR: Please! 

Ironically, just after he says "Please," the tomb's doors open, much to the surprise of everyone, The Doctor most of all.

Everyone in the room assumes The Doctor said his name, since that's the only thing that can open the doors (this led to a popular meme online where people claimed The Doctor's real name was "Please"). But, as it turns out, he DIDN'T say his name. But if he didn't, who did?

Well, we all know there's only one other person who knows his name, now don't we?

Yep, River's the one who said it. Only we didn't hear her say it. So we still don't know what it is. Pooh.

RIVER: The Tardis can still hear me. Lucky thing, since him indoors is being so useless.
STRAX: Why did you open the door, sir? I had them on the run.
DOCTOR: I didn't do it. I didn't say my name.
RIVER: No, but I did.

The confusing part here is that River enters the scene from inside the tomb, which leaves one to wonder how the heck she got in there to begin with. Maybe she got in by speaking The Doctor's name earlier, or maybe she can phase through walls since she's a ghost. Not sure.

Anyway, Simeon, eager to see inside the tomb, prompts The Doctor to show them in:

DOCTOR: ...Now then, Doctor Simeon, or Mister G Intelligence, whatever I call you, do you know what's in there?
SIMEON: For me, peace at last. For you, pain everlasting. Won't you invite us in?

Now, as the viewer, you might think, what the heck is he doing, letting the GI into his uber-secret tomb? In retrospect, I wonder that myself. I guess he figures there's no point in refusing to let him in, since Mr. GI will probably force his way in anyway.

So The Doctor pushes the doors open with both hands and leads the party in. They then proceed up a staircase (the same one we saw leading down to below the console in The Doctor's regular TARDIS, notably) into the console room. Or, rather, what's left of it:

Nothing but a derelict console room, with railings overgrown with plants (I'm assuming those are plants anyway) and that big glowing column in the center where the console itself would usually be.

I admit, I was quite surprised by this. I was expecting a tomb in the traditional sense. Like with a coffin or a dais with his body on or in it. It's not like Time Lords don't do traditional tombs, after all; in "The Five Doctors" we see the Tomb of Rassilon, and in Doctor Who: The Movie The Doctor is taking The Master's ashes to be interred on Gallifrey, which means they must do cremation as well. Not surprisingly, The Doctor recognizes that the others (and the viewers) are wondering this, and says:

DOCTOR: What were you expecting, a body? Bodies are boring. I've had loads of them. Nah, that's not what my tomb is for.

So instead of a body, there's this glowing column of light, all twisted and thorn-like. Despite this, Jenny calls it beautiful, while Strax, being Strax, asks if he should destroy it. (A welcome funny line in a very serious scene). The Doctor then explains:

CLARA: Doctor, explain. What is that?
DOCTOR: The tracks of my tears.
SIMEON: Less poetry, Doctor. Just tell them.
DOCTOR: Time travel is damage. It's like a tear in the fabric of reality. That is the scar tissue of my journey through the universe. My path through time and space from Gallifrey to Trenzalore.

"Tracks of my tears" likely referring to the famous Smokey Robinson song:

   

Anyway, to prove his point, The Doctor zaps the column with his Sonic, and we start to hear voices coming from it, representing all the Doctors up to this point:

DOCTOR 1 [OC]: Have you ever thought what it's like to be wanderers in the fourth dimension?
DOCTOR 4 [OC]: Do I have the right?
DOCTOR 6 [OC]: Daleks, Cybermen, they're still in the nursery compared to us.
DOCTOR 2 [OC]: There are corners of the universe that have bred the most dangerous things.
DOCTOR 9 [OC]: You were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
DOCTOR 10 [OC]: I'm the Doctor. I'm from Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous
DOCTOR 11 [OC]: Hello, Stonehenge!
DOCTOR: My own personal time tunnel. All the days,
DOCTOR 3 [OC]: It was the daisiest daisy I'd ever seen.
DOCTOR: Even the ones that I, er, even the ones that I haven't lived yet. 

The audio we hear, by the way, comes from, in order: "An Unearthly Child," "Genesis of the Daleks," "The Ultimate Foe," "The Moonbase," "The Parting of the Ways," "Voyage of the Damned," "The Pandorica Opens," and "The Time Monster." (Thanks to Wikipedia for this list).

However, just about now, the paradoxes and such that make this tomb the one place The Doctor should never go catch up with him, and he collapses:

The GI, taking advantage of this, decides he's going to step right into this glowing time tunnel. Which, it's implied in the dialogue, he's been planning to do all along anyway:

DOCTOR: No. No. No. What are you doing? Somebody stop him!
SIMEON: The Doctor's life is a open wound. And an open wound can be entered.
DOCTOR: No, it would destroy you.
SIMEON: Not at all. It will kill me. It will destroy you. I can rewrite your every living moment. I can turn every one of your victories into defeats. Poison every friendship. Deliver pain to your every breath.
DOCTOR: It will burn you up. Once you go through, you can't come back. You will be scattered along my timeline like confetti.
SIMEON: It matters not, Doctor. You thwarted me at every turn. Now you will give me peace, as I take my revenge on every second of your life. Goodbye. Goodbye, Doctor. 

 The GI then steps into the beam and is consumed by it.

That is one creepy shot right there.

A rather scary sequence ensues as the GI wreaks his revenge on The Doctor, striking him all over his timeline. We see him appear in pretty much every place we saw Clara show up in the cold opening, plus a few others (like a scene from the First Doctor episode "The Aztecs"). And The Doctor feels it, oh does he feel it. He writhes as the GI does his work, while Vastra monitors the GI's actions (somehow...how she does it is not explained), which worries Clara:

CLARA: What's wrong with him? What's happening?
VASTRA: He's being rewritten. Simeon is attacking his entire timeline. He's dying all at once.

However, one of the places Vastra mentions being The Doctor dying in is the Dalek Asylum, which rings a bell for Clara due to her memories from "Journey" having returned. Finally, The GI finishes his work, and the glowing column turns red:

Vastra (who apparently knows everything) realizes what this means:

VASTRA: Oh, dear Goddess.
JENNY: What's wrong?
VASTRA: A universe without the Doctor. There will be consequences.

She rushes out with Jenny, where she points out that stars are disappearing as a result of The Doctor's timeline having been rewritten (basically stars and planets The Doctor had saved, but which now he hasn't saved thanks to the GI turning all his victories into defeats). But it's not just stars that are affected. Jenny, whose life The Doctor had saved in a previous episode, disappears. Strax, now not remembering he and Vastra are friends (their friendship having also come about thanks to The Doctor), runs out and tries to attack her. She pleads with him to remember their friendship, but fails to move him. She then lifts her weapon to shoot him, but before she can, he too disappears, since, like Jenny, he would be dead if not for The Doctor.

Clara, meanwhile, is cradling the dying Doctor, and tries to ask him what to do:

CLARA: The Dalek Asylum. You said it was me that saved you. How? Victorian London. How, how could I have been in Victorian London?

After the scene with Vastra, Clara looks at the timeline and decides she must save The Doctor, whatever it takes. This leads to a great scene between The Doctor, Clara, and River (who pops in again unannounced):

CLARA: I have to go in there.
DOCTOR: Please, please, no.
CLARA: But this is what I've already done. You've already seen me do it. I'm the Impossible Girl, and this is why.
RIVER: Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't.
CLARA: If I step in there, what happens?
RIVER: The time winds will tear you into a million pieces. A million versions of you, living and dying all over time and space, like echoes.
CLARA: But the echoes could save the Doctor, right?
RIVER: But they won't be you. The real you will die. They'll just be copies.
CLARA: But they'll be real enough to save him. It's like my mum said. The soufflé isn't the soufflé, the soufflé is the recipe. It's the only way to save him, isn't it?
(River's image nods.)
VASTRA: The stars are going out. And Jenny and Strax are dead. There must be something we can do.
CLARA: Well, how about that? I'm soufflé girl after all.
DOCTOR: No. Please.
CLARA: If this works, get out of here as fast as you can. And spare me a thought now and then.
DOCTOR: No, Clara.
CLARA: In fact, you know what? Run. Run, you clever boy, and remember me.
DOCTOR: No. Clara! 

Despite his protests, our plucky Impossible Girl goes through with it anyway. Of course.

The sequence from the cold open plays again, with some new scenes added. But now we have the proper context: that sequence is showing how Clara is split into thousands of pieces across The Doctor's timeline, and that with these echoes she intends to save The Doctor from the GI's scheme.

She ends the montage by saying:

CLARA [OC]: I just know I'm running. Sometimes it's like I've lived a thousand lives in a thousand places. I'm born, I live, I die. And always, there's the Doctor. Always I'm running to save the Doctor again and again and again. Oi! And he hardly ever hears me. But I've always been there. 
...
CLARA [OC]: Right from the day he started running.  

There's a whiteout, and we return to the tomb, with The Doctor alive and standing once again and Jenny and Strax alive. River is still there too, unseen by everyone but the viewer. But Clara, of course, is gone. The Doctor, naturally, wants to save Clara by entering his own timestream, but both Vastra and River tell him not to. He insists, and finally River's ghost begs him:

RIVER: There has to be another way. Use the Tardis, use something. Save her, yes, but for God's sake be sensible.

She then tries to slap him, but he, amazingly, catches her hand before she can!

River is shocked. Remember, the whole episode she's been saying that only Clara can see her. But if that's so, how was The Doctor able to catch her hand?

BECAUSE HE CAN SEE HER. 

That's right. And, we discover, he's been able to see her the whole episode. He just pretended he couldn't. 

RIVER: How are you even doing that? I'm not really here.
DOCTOR: You are always here to me. And I always listen, and I can always see you.
RIVER: Then why didn't you speak to me?
DOCTOR: Because I thought it would hurt too much.
RIVER: I believe I could have coped.
DOCTOR: No, I thought it would hurt me. And I was right. 

As you might imagine, learning this fact - that he could see her the whole time - makes watching the episode a second time even more painful, because you suddenly pick up on the moments where he clearly ignores her presence. On a first viewing of the episode, you assume it's because he can't see her, but once you know he can and could the whole time, those moments seem way more sad.

The Doctor and River then kiss, passionately:

Mind you, they haven't kissed (that we know of) since their wedding in Series 6...and that wasn't even a real kiss, it was just to fix the messed up timeline...this, however, is a real kiss. A real, loving, reciprocal kiss.

The Doctor then awkwardly realizes that, since nobody in the room can see River but him, that kiss must have looked rather odd. And indeed, Vastra and Jenny look a little weirded out (while Strax is showing no emotion whatsoever):

The Doctor and River then talk in what I think is the most awesome scene I've seen of the two of them so far. If anything screams "The Good Ship Eleven/River," it's this scene:

DOCTOR:...There is a time to live and a time to sleep. You are an echo, River. Like Clara. Like all of us, in the end. My fault, I know, but you should've faded by now.
RIVER: It's hard to leave when you haven't said goodbye.
DOCTOR: Then tell me, because I don't know. How do I say it?
RIVER: There's only one way I'd accept. If you ever loved me, say it like you're going to come back.
DOCTOR: Well, then. See you around, Professor River Song.
RIVER: Till the next time, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Don't wait up.
RIVER: Oh, there's one more thing.
DOCTOR: Isn't there always?
RIVER: I was mentally linked with Clara. If she's really dead, then how can I still be here?
DOCTOR: Okay, how?
RIVER: Spoilers. Goodbye, sweetie.

That moment when she says goodbye is tear-worthy. It's really, really sad. Because she says it like she really, really means it. :(

After this, as Vastra and co watch, The Doctor steps into his own time tunnel.

Clara, meanwhile, is still falling through the Vortex. Finally, she lands in a strange, old-looking, empty room, bathed in yellow and brown hues:

As she tries to get her bearings, ghosts of the previous Doctors run past her, as if running away from something. Finally, The Doctor - her Doctor, the Eleventh - manages to reach her, if only by voice, and informs her that he's inside the timestream himself, and that because of this the timeline's collapsing in on itself (which is what all the other Doctors are running from). Clara tells him to get out then, but he refuses to until he gets her out of there. He then says he's sending her something from her past, telling her to hold onto it tightly, as it will help her get home. But what is this mysterious thing?

Well, does this look familiar?

Yep, it's the famous leaf from "The Rings of Akhaten"! And here I thought the leaf wasn't going to end up being significant beyond that episode. Boy was I wrong.

Clara grabs the leaf, and finally The Doctor is able to appear bodily before her.

She stumbles toward him, as he encourages her:

DOCTOR [OC]: Clara! Clara! Come on. Come on, to me, now.
DOCTOR: You can do it. I know you can.
CLARA: How?
DOCTOR: Because it's impossible. And you're my Impossible Girl. How many times have you saved me, Clara? Just this once, just for the hell of it, let me save you. You have to trust me, Clara. I'm real. Just one more step.

She manages to reach him, and nearly collapses into his arms. The white column reappears. But just as The Doctor prepares to take her back through it, Clara sees a man standing a few feet away, his back to them:

Clara asks who he is, but The Doctor says "never mind" and tries to distract Clara from the stranger. Clara insists, and finally, The Doctor tells her:

DOCTOR: He's me. There's only me here, that's the point. Now let's get back.
CLARA: But I never saw that one. I saw all of you. Eleven faces, all of them you. You're the eleventh Doctor.
DOCTOR: I said he was me. I never said he was the Doctor.
CLARA: I don't understand.
DOCTOR: Look, my name, my real name, that is not the point. The name I chose is the Doctor. The name you choose, it's like, it's like a promise you make. He's the one who broke the promise.
(Clara faints.)
DOCTOR: Clara? Clara? Clara!
(The Doctor picks up Clara in his arms.)
DOCTOR: He is my secret.

The stranger then speaks up, and The Doctor responds:

NOT DOCTOR: What I did, I did without choice.
DOCTOR: I know.
NOT DOCTOR: In the name of peace and sanity.
DOCTOR: But not in the name of the Doctor. 

The Doctor then turns away, Clara in his arms, back toward the white glowing column, looking somewhat disgusted. As he does, the stranger turns around, and we see an old, bearded man, dressed in simple clothes, who looks at the camera. As he does, text appears:

And with this cliffhanger, the episode ends, followed by a card that reads, "To Be Continued, November 2013" (referring to the 50th Anniversary Special).

Honestly, you should just watch that last scene. I don't think I probably did it justice describing it. Normally, I wouldn't post clips from actual episodes here, just teasers or trailers (cause I'd rather you watched the episodes via legal means) but since BBC America posted this video, I suppose it's all right to share:


Overall, a great and satisfying finale, and worth watching more than once (you really should, because I was confused out of my mind after the first time I watched it). Makes me excited for the upcoming Anniversary Special (which will clearly be "Part 2" of this story, as I mentioned at the beginning), and what it might reveal. Especially about this mysterious "John Hurt Doctor" (who has since been revealed to be a Doctor between 8 and 9).

This episode is more poignant now, actually, because, as you may have heard, Matt Smith is leaving the show. Given that the next two episodes he'll be in are both specials - the 50th Anniversary Special and the 2013 Christmas Special - "The Name of the Doctor" is his last normal episode as The Doctor. And what an episode to end his career as The Doctor on. Well, in terms of normal episodes I mean, ones that aren't specials. I mean, it's a whammy of an episode, so full of drama and suspense and feels, with so many well-written scenes - and Matt Smith pulls it off brilliantly. As our local sportscaster Jerry Coleman likes to say, "You can hang a star on that one, baby!"

Steven Moffat wrote this episode, as I mentioned before that he would. I'm glad he handed off "The Crimson Horror" to Mark Gatiss so he could focus on "The Bells of Saint John" and this episode. The two connect in several ways (the famous "I don't know where I am" line pops up again, for one). And like I said, there are many well-written scenes in here -- which is why I think I included so many quotes. The dialogue really speaks for itself here. (No pun intended). Moffat has done himself proud on this episode for sure.

So...finally, after long last...I have completed this analysis. Which has been months in the writing, because I started it then kinda abandoned it halfway through. My bad. (If the post sounds disjointed, this is why). Anyway, enjoy it now that it is done. Fantastic, Allons-y, Geronimo!

My next new episode to analyze will be the Anniversary Special, obviously, but I won't be idle. I still have Series 3-6 of New Who to catch up on -- which I want to do by the anniversary -- plus I have some Classic Who episode posts yet to write, and will likely write more as time goes by. So as I watch those, I will post analyses of them. Once I get caught up with New Who, I will focus on Classic Who catchup and on the new episodes yet to come -- the 50th Anniversary Special, the 2013 Christmas Special, and the upcoming Series 8, starring Jenna-Louise Coleman (or rather, Jenna Coleman, as she goes by now) as Clara Oswald alongside the as-yet-unannounced Twelfth Doctor, which according to BBC One, is coming next year:

*NEWS* We can confirm that we have commissioned a brand new series of #DoctorWho for 2014: http://t.co/3ARLQAlPNN
— BBC One (@BBCOne) May 19, 2013

Till next time!

Doctor Who pictures from GRANDECAPS. Quotes from The Doctor Who Transcripts.

Series 7 Special: "She Said, He Said: A Prequel"

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.  

Hello again. It's a big day in the world of Doctor Who - the day the Series 7 finale airs, the episode that Steven Moffat has said will change the show forever. It actually airs in less than an hour where I live, except that I won't be able to watch it live, as I said in the last post.


But before posting on the finale itself, I want to post an analysis of the short 3 1/2-minute prequel that was released for it, called "She Said, He Said." If you haven't gone and watched it yet, I suggest you do so before reading this...I'd rather you did, even with the spoiler warning on this post (which I put on all my analysis posts anyway, mostly for the newer fans like me who are still catching up with the old episodes). You can watch it on YouTube here.

So..basically this prequel takes place in a strange, museum-like room, and consists of two monologues - one from Clara, one from The Doctor - addressed to the camera. In each, the person who is speaking starts out talking about his/her feelings for the other - feelings that appear to be romantic in nature, which should get all the Eleven/Clara (a.k.a. "Whouffle") shippers excited.

But then, the mood quickly changes, signaled by these words that appear in both monologues:

You get used to not knowing. I thought I never would. I was wrong.

This then leads into both Clara and The Doctor (in their respective monologues) revealing to the viewer that they know each other's identities and secrets, and that they found out this information "the day we went to Trenzalore."

I have to say, this clip got me so intrigued and excited for the finale. This clip, confirms, if nothing else, that the Doctor's biggest secret (his name, most likely) will be revealed, as will Clara's identity. It's also suggested we'll find out why The Doctor left Gallifrey to begin with (Clara asks him "What set you on your way and where are you going?" and then later says "I know where he began and where he is going"). The Doctor also seems to be having doubts about Clara, since although he claims she's perfect, perfect in every way for him, always exactly what he needs, he also says, in a worrisome tone, that she's "too perfect." As in too good to be true. Hmm...

I will admit, seeing the frozen, silent forms of first The Doctor and then Clara was pretty creepy, but I assume it serves some purpose in the scene, though what I'm not exactly sure. Maybe it's supposed to be like they're in the same room but on opposite sides of some invisible wall?

Also, if you look close, you can see props from various Series 7 episodes scattered hither and yon in the background. In Clara's part, you can see the rocket mechanism from "The Crimson Horror," Webley's chessboard (complete with Cyberman) from "Nightmare in Silver," The Doctor's painting of Clara from "The Bells of Saint John" and the big seal thing that was on the wall of the pyramid in "The Rings of Akhaten." There's also something that looks like the headset from "Hide" that the psychic girl wore to open a door into the pocket universe, but I'm not sure whether it's it or not cause it's blurry. In The Doctor's part, you can see Clara's Victorian governess dress from "The Snowmen" as well as a sign for The Rose and Crown, the bar Clara worked for in that same episode, plus the Anti-Cyberman gun from "Nightmare in Silver" and the bike from "The Rings of Akhaten."

Looks like somebody raided the prop department...

Also, here we have firm confirmation that Trenzalore, which Moffat had told us was happening, IS happening, and sooner than we thought. The idea of Trenzalore dates back to Series 5 (or maybe 6) and was the whole reason why The Silence was trying to kill The Doctor -- to keep him from going to Trenzalore, where, according to a prophecy, "silence must fall when the question is asked" - a question which was revealed at the end of Series 6 to be "Doctor who?". And it was also revealed that when the question is asked, The Doctor cannot lie or refuse to answer.

Anyway...just watched this again for this post and to prepare for the finale...GAH CAN'T WAIT!!

A Series 7 Part 2 Analysis Mega-Post

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.

Ok. The finale is today...actually it has already aired in the UK. It will be airing where I live shortly. Although I will not be able to watch it live cause I'm going to this Beatles tribute show I got a ticket for off Amazon Local. Will watch it when I get home probably.

Now, since I am so far behind with the Series 7 Part 2 analyses, I decided, oh WTH, I'm just going to do an analysis mega-post, analyzing multiple episodes at once. I will probably never do this again. In fact I hope I don't have to. But I just don't have the patience to do separate posts for four episodes in one go right now. Cause it takes at least 2 hours to do each, and I don't have that much time before I have to leave anyway.

So...here goes.

Series 7, Episode 10: "Hide"

I'm not sure how I feel about "Hide." I wouldn't say it's my favorite of the season. It was written by the same guy who wrote "The Rings of Akhaten," but it wasn't nearly as good of an episode by any means.

The episode is supposed to be a good, old-fashioned ghost story. But in the end, the ghost ends up not being a ghost at all, but this time-traveler from the future who's stuck in a pocket universe. And the psychic girl in the story has a connection to her by blood, which is why they are able to sense each other. As interesting of an idea as that is, I would have rather had it be a regular old ghost story. But that never happens in Doctor Who, cause of course The Doctor doesn't believe in ghosts. Still, modern-day Clara's first line in the show (from the end of "The Snowmen") was "I don't believe in ghosts," so it would've been interesting to see that belief tested.

Also, the ending of this episode seemed very rushed and honestly didn't make any sense. They seriously could've cut out all that nonsense about the monsters who were in love and just focused on the bit about the time-traveler who looks like Martha Jones. (She does!) I didn't get the part either where we find out the whole reason The Doctor was there in the first place was to find out if Psychic Girl could give him any clues on Clara's identity. It's not a bad scene writing-wise, but it is kinda a letdown. It could've been either written differently or maybe weaved into the episode instead of being sprung on us at the end.

On the bright side, this episode did have some nice Clara/Eleven scenes. And the scenes of The Doctor alone in the forest -- the source of the famous line from the Series 7 Part 2 trailers "I am The Doctor, and I am afraid" -- were very well-acted by Matt Smith. People complain that Eleven seems to HAVE to make speeches all the time, but you know what? Any time he gives a speech, Matt Smith nails it. The speech in "The Rings of Akhaten" particularly. He had quite a bit of theater experience before being cast as The Doctor, and I think it shows. (Maybe I'm just saying this having done live theater myself. And it's kinda part and parcel of acting in the UK that you do theater no matter what - something we really don't do in the U.S. But still). Also, the scene where Clara's trying to get the TARDIS to help her save the Doctor was a really great scene on Jenna-Louise Coleman's part.

So, it's an iffy episode for me. ^_^


Series 7, Episode 11: "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS"

Ever since I heard about this episode, I was eagerly looking forward to it. This was also the first episode I had the opportunity to see live, though I actually did not see it live cause I was doing something else while waiting for it to come on and lost track of time. As soon as I realized my mistake, though, I promptly stopped what I was doing to watch it.

I really liked this episode. The BBC promised we'd see more of the TARDIS than ever before, and they did not disappoint. Mostly what we saw was through Clara's eyes as she wandered around, lost in the TARDIS, and tried to stay one step ahead of these creepy zombie creatures.

The best room we saw, by far, was that library...

I'd heard we would see the library, and so I was really happy when we finally did. And it's this big, multi-floored, old-fashioned place, which just seems absolutely perfect. It's exactly as I thought it would be. Now, granted, it could have been more of a high-tech sort of setup, kind of like the Jedi Archives from Star Wars: Episode II:

And that would've even made sense. But the old-fashioned look is just better. The Time Lords are an old-fashioned sort.

And how awesome was that liquid Gallifreyan encyclopedia?!

Now, ok, it seems weird for an encyclopedia to be in liquid form, I guess. But it was just kinda neat. And apparently, if tipped over, they exude a sort of mist in which voices can be heard, as we see when Clara knocks one over by accident. (BBC One confirmed that the voice we hear is that of Timothy Dalton, a.k.a. Rassilon from "The End of Time"). At any rate, they kind of reminded me of the prophecy orbs in the Hall of Prophecy in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

Also, I noted after looking at a screenshot of that bit again recently that there are actually drawers beneath the shelf with the Encyclopaedia Gallifreya on it. Wonder what's in those drawers?

There was a little confusion about the library scene in that Clara finds a book called The History of the Time War, which theoretically only The Doctor could have written since he is the only remaining survivor of the Time War. And assumedly such a book would be in Gallifreyan, which is the one language the TARDIS doesn't translate. Yet, even the title on the cover of the book is in English:

The labels on the Encyclopaedia Gallifreya bottles are also in English, which is weird seeing as those would definitely be in Gallifreyan even if the book wasn't. Not sure if this is a production error or not. I suppose it will make more sense once I see the finale and find out who Clara really is. (We ARE going to find out! It's been confirmed!)

Also, we find out at the end of the episode that Clara read The Doctor's name in the Time War book. And we know it must've been his real name, based on how he reacts:

CLARA: I don't want to forget. Not all of it. The library. I saw it. You were mentioned in a book.
DOCTOR: I'm mentioned in a lot of books.
CLARA: You call yourself Doctor. Why do you do that? You have a name. I've seen it. In one corner of that tiny
DOCTOR: If I rewrite today, you won't remember. You won't go looking for my name.
CLARA: You'll still have secrets.
DOCTOR: It's better that way.

But...none of this matters, because of the ending.

Okay, so the ending of "Hide" was weird, but the ending of this episode was worse. What I think happened was that the writers wrote themselves into a corner, creating a situation that they couldn't figure out how to fix. So what do they do? Insert a convenient "return to the past now" button to reset everything back to the beginning. As if the entire episode didn't happen. What. The. Heck. Really?

By "return to the past now" I mean like what they do in one of my favorite shows, a French animated series named Code Lyoko. Whenever the damage that XANA (the evil AI that was the main enemy) did needed to be fixed, or someone found out about the factory and stuff and needed to have their memory erased, or what have you, Jeremie would activate a time reversion program on the supercomputer, which was activated using the command "Return to the past, now" and a keystroke. Therefore, everything would revert to before the incident, but Jeremie and co. would retain their memories of the event. Here's what it looks like in the new half live-action/half animation Code Lyoko series Code Lyoko Evolution, to give you an idea of what I mean:


The ending aside, though, it was a great episode. The salvage crew were also really great, and the storyline for them was really great. The twist about Tricky - that he was not really an android but actually the brother of the other two, who had been seriously injured in a salvaging accident and lost his sight and memory, but who was restored to life using cybernetic parts - threw me for a loop.

Also, the Doctor looks nice without a jacket. He should dress like that more often.

Series 7, Episode 12: "The Crimson Horror"

This was I think one of my favorite episodes of this season, as creepy and horror-movie-esque as it is. Unlike the last two episodes, it had a proper ending. Plus it has more the air of an old-time mystery story than it does a sci-fi story, much the way "The Angels Take Manhattan" and "The Snowmen" did, which is quite fun. And, despite guest star Rachael Sterling saying beforehand that it would be camp, it doesn't seem camp at all. "Camp" means something's over-the-top, effeminate and exaggerated, and the episode doesn't seem that way at all.

Also, this episode was different in that instead of being from The Doctor and his Companion's point of view, it's told from the point of view of The Doctor's friends Vastra, Jenny, and Strax - or "Team Vastra" as I like to call them. (It seems the more proper name for them is the "Paternoster Gang," after the street where Vastra's home is located in London, Paternoster Row). And I have loved Team Vastra since I first saw them in "The Snowmen." Neve McIntosh, Catrin Stewart, and Dan Starkey make a great team. Dan Starkey in particular I swear must be the funniest man alive, the way he delivers Strax's particular brand of deadpan Sontaran humor. He can take a line about something totally un-funny, like grenades or trenches of acid, and make it seem absolutely hilarious.

The reveal that The Doctor had himself fallen victim to the "Crimson Horror" was definitely a shock:

Yeah, not a huge fan of Red Zombie Doctor.

But he "healed" himself in the end, and seeing him work with Team Vastra again was quite a treat. There wasn't enough of it in "The Snowmen." Of course, I haven't seen "A Good Man Goes to War" yet, so I'll get to see it again there, as well as in today's finale, in which Team Vastra is also supposed to appear.

There wasn't really anything for Clara to do in this episode, unfortunately. But Jenna handled the role well anyway, as she does with excellence, and I liked her in that last scene with the kids a lot. Some people have wondered why that scene was there, but I thought it was a nice way to set up for the finale by making Clara aware of Victorian Clara for the first time (via a photograph). It also helps to explain why the kids she is a nanny for, Angie and Artie, show up in the next episode, "Nightmare in Silver" - they basically blackmail her into letting them travel with her and The Doctor, saying that otherwise they'll tell on her to their dad.

One vibe I got from this episode is that it seemed very Edgar Allan Poe-like. And as if the feel of it wasn't enough, there's this line from villain Mrs. Gillyflower:

GILLYFLOWER: Can I offer you something? Tea? Seed cake? Oh, a glass of Amontillado? 

Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" anyone?

The whole religious basis of Mrs. Gillyflower's plan was, I admit, rather disturbing for me. While stories of people using doomsday messages to lure people into a plan like this are not unheard of, it was still unsettling, as a Christian. But I went with it, somehow. You have to remember these are just fictional stories.

Also, the storyline with Ada...oh man. I love that, even though she was blind and helpless herself, she still had the mercy to save The Doctor from being thrown into the river like the other rejects and instead kept him hidden away, defying her mother to take care of him. And even though he was in a zombie state that whole time, he remembers her, and he returns the favor:

(Ada is still crying in the corner when the Doctor and Clara enter.)
ADA: Who is that? Who is there?
(The Doctor takes her hand and runs it over his face.)
ADA: You. It's you. My monster. You've come back. But you're
DOCTOR: Warm. And alive, thanks to you, Ada. You saved me from your mother's human rubbish tip. Now then, what's wrong?
ADA: She does not want me, monster. I am not to be chosen. Perhaps it was my own sin, the blackness in my heart that my father saw in me.
DOCTOR: Ada, no. That's nonsense. Stupid, backward nonsense, and you know it. You know it.
CLARA: What is it?
ADA: Who is that?
CLARA: I'm, I'm a friend. A friend of his.
ADA: Then you are fortunate indeed. It isn't good to be alone.
DOCTOR: Now, Ada, I need you to tell me something. Who is Mister Sweet? Ada?
ADA: Oh, dear monster
DOCTOR: Please, tell me.
ADA: I cannot. Even now, I cannot. I cannot betray Mama.
DOCTOR: Well, come with us, then. There's something you need to know.

DOCTOR: Now, Ada, I'd love to stay and help clear up the mess, but
ADA: I know, dear monster. You have things to do.
DOCTOR: And what about you?
ADA: Oh, there are many things a bright young lady can do to occupy her time. It's time I stepped out of the darkness and into the light.
DOCTOR: Good luck, Ada. You know, I think you will be just
(He kisses her cheek.)
DOCTOR: Splendid.

Overall, a great episode. After this episode aired, a rumor started that Team Vastra might get their own spin-off (I think this came about from Matt Smith's comment in one of the "inside look" clips where he said they should have their own show). I hope they do, because I would for sure watch it.

Mark Gatiss was the writer here again. I swear, that man is brilliant. Actually, one of the "Inside Look" clips revealed that Steven Moffat was going to write the episode originally, but found he just couldn't make it work, so he passed on the work to Gatiss. I'm kinda glad, actually. Not that Moffat couldn't have handled it; he did write "A Good Man Goes to War" after all and thus more or less created Team Vastra. But I think he was smart to hand it on and to focus his talents instead on writing the two episodes he wrote for this season - the opener "The Bells of Saint John" and today's finale.


Series 7, Episode 13: "Nightmare in Silver"

Otherwise known as the Cybermen episode by Neil Gaiman that we've heard so much about.

This episode got so much hype leading up to it, it's not even funny. I mean, I've never even read anything by Neil Gaiman, or even seen his other Doctor Who episode, "The Doctor's Wife." But from reading all the hype leading up to this episode, I was really excited to see it. Even though the Cybermen for me are the scariest monsters ever.

Gaiman said early on that, when given the job to write this episode, he was given this mission by Steven Moffat: "make the Cybermen scary again." And I say, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. This was the first episode to feature the Cybermen since "Closing Time" in Series 6, and the first time I'd seen them since the Series 2 finale (and most of "The Tomb of the Cybermen"), and they are definitely scary again. They got a sleek, new look, for one:

Plus, now apparently they can use any kind of organic parts, not just human parts, to make their Cybermen. Which makes them even more of a threat.

Essentially, this is an episode much in the same vein as "The Tomb of the Cybermen," in that it involves a group of people who believe the Cybermen to have been extinct for years, only to find out they are very, very wrong. In that episode, the story was set in a scary tomb on Telos, the Cybermen's home planet, while here it is set at Hedgwick's World of Wonders, which is, according to The Doctor, the greatest amusement park that ever is or will be - or at least it was:

Matt Smith was amazing in this episode, if only for the reason that he basically had to play this Jekyll/Hyde thing the majority of the time thanks to The Doctor getting turned into a Cyber Planner. (This is represented by this weird Cyberman tech embedded on his face). The story of Jekyll and Hyde is one Steven Moffat is very familiar with - he did a whole miniseries based off of it named Jekyll. And I'm familiar with it myself now, having seen the Jekyll & Hyde musical not long ago. Basically, the Cyber Planner consciousness/programming keeps trying to take over The Doctor's brain, but the real Doctor keeps fighting to retain control of it, resulting in him switching back and forth between the two personalities. It was a big story twist - and a quite remarkable plot seeing as Gaiman had said in some interview that he'd originally had trouble finding something for The Doctor to do in this episode. And Matt Smith pulled it off in excellent fashion. It must have taken SO much work for him to get that right. But whatever time he spent doing that was time well spent.

Remember how I said in the last episode Clara didn't have much to do? Well, that's definitely not true of this episode. In this episode, she is right in the middle of the action, along with her two charges Angie and Artie, who also got taken along for the TARDIS ride in this episode (as a result of their blackmail from "The Crimson Horror"). The Doctor puts her in charge of the forces fighting the Cybermen, and she leads them with ease (and perhaps a bit of snark), even though she's probably never had authority over anything in her life except the kids she nannies for. The famous shot of her with the Big Honking Gun from the Series 7 Part 2 trailers is from this episode, and boy does she handle that gun well.

Much of this episode involves The Doctor playing a game of chess against the Cyber Planner:

The stakes being that the Cybermen get The Doctor's mind if he loses (including knowledge of time travel), while if The Doctor wins, he gets to keep his mind, AND the Cybermen will release Angie and Artie, who they have partially converted. Not only is it crazy to see someone play chess against himself, but as the episode climaxes and we suddenly realize that there are actually millions of Cybermen hidden on the planet, the chess game actually begins to directly affect the battle outside, which is kinda cool.

In the end, the Doctor wins the game, the Cybermen are destroyed, and The Doctor, Clara, and the surviving members of the resistance movement escape. The unassuming little man Porridge (played by Warwick Davis) is revealed to in fact be the Emperor of the empire in whose era the story is set, though he admits he doesn't like being Emperor, which is why he hid out on the planet - as well as the fact that he feels responsible for the deaths of those in the galaxy the Empire blew up in order to defeat the Cybermen about 1,000 years earlier. I did not expect that he would be the Emperor. That was a complete shock to me. I didn't even think we'd meet said Emperor. It was kinda cool, though, and Warwick Davis plays it well.

Some fans have complained about how, in the ending scene, The Doctor doesn't protest Porridge and co. blowing up the planet with all the Cybermen still on it. And I see their point; that does seem like something he would be VERY against. Remember, this is the same man who not only was forced (more or less) to blow up Gallifrey, but also got really, really angry at Harriet Jones for ordering the Sycorax to be shot down in "The Christmas Invasion" and at his own cloned self (the Meta-Crisis Doctor/Tentoo) for committing genocide against the Daleks in "Journey's End." Yet he doesn't protest at all. My only guess here is that it's because only the Cybermen are there -- no innocents are left, since all the non-Cybermen survivors of the fight are on board the Emperor's flagship with him. And honestly he doesn't like the Cybermen, and never has - though he doesn't hate them like he hates the Daleks - so maybe he doesn't really care what happens to them. Oh, and also he does technically give a reason for the planet needing to be destroyed:

DOCTOR: Out of my head and redistributed across three million Cybermen right now, and about to wake them all up, kill us and start constructing a spaceship. We need to destroy this planet before they can get off it.

Warwick Davis, one of the primary guest stars for the episode, was really great. I'd seen him before ages ago in Willow and then of course in Harry Potter as Flitwick and Griphook. He really portrayed Porridge as this funny, yet poignant character, and it was easy to sympathize with him, which is what you want out of a character like that. Bravo!

In short, the episode was brilliant. Brilliantly written. Well done, Mr. Gaiman.

***

Okay, so that's my mega-post. Hope you enjoyed it! I'll post an analysis of the finale prequel "She Said, He Said" next, followed by an analysis of the finale itself - called "The Name of the Doctor" - ASAP after I see it.

Geronimo!

Doctor Who pictures from GRANDECAPS. Quotes from The Doctor Who Transcripts. Jedi Archives picture from Culture Virtuelle. Harry Potter pic from Nerdapproved.