Review #DoctorWho Series 7

I never posted my review of Doctor Who's latest season! I was so caught up in the 50th Anniversary Special (and the Who-love that kept me going all that week) that it completely slipped my mind.

Amy & Rory. I have to say, Rory completely grew on me. I still don't like Amy, I don't like the oblivious way she treats Rory who deserves so much better. But then love is blind and I don't begrudge either of them the love and relationship they have. It's the romantic in me.

Continuity issues: So space and time traveling Rory didn't awaken the Dalek in Asylum of the Daleks by touching it (like Rose did in Dalek) but the loud noise of him tripping did?

John Crichton was in a Town Called Mercy! (Ok, the fabulous Ben Browder for those who never watched the awesome show Farscape.) And I loved the theme there, the parallels with the Doctor and that alien doctor. Very apropos.

Clara. Clara, Clara, Clara. I don't know how to feel about her.

I mean I watched all her episodes and I didn't have that instant dislike as I did with there. I did have several very enlightening discussions with fellow Whovians (love that word!) about Clara and her possible connection to Rose/Bad Wolf. There were at least 3 dropped hints (perhaps more I missed) throughout her half of the series that I found interesting especially given her 'purpose' in the Doctor's life.

Amy, but I'm still now sure how I feel about her. She did little to endear her to me but then she wasn't off-putting either. Kind of just...

All very circular.

Still, I'm not sure I like her.

But I am sure I want to know more about the Fields of Trenzalor! Oh yes. Very sure I want to know all about that. It doesn't even matter to me if we learn the so-called 'real' name of the Doctor. Names aren't important except to others. I can tell 3 people I'm Jane and 4 people I'm June, and it's only a means for other people to identify me.

I know how I am and that's all that matters.

The Doctor is the Doctor, it's who he is and how he identifies himself and his 'real' name is only a means for his enemies to use and abuse, and for others to spread descent through his friends.

The finale not only set up the Day of the Doctor (which was awesome in ways I feel foolishly giddy for saying) and the rest of the series with the new Doctor. I'm looking forward to the Christmas Special in a few weeks!

#Review Doctor Who Series 6 #SaveTheDay

The Eleventh Doctor is certifiable. Definitely crazy. I like it, but it's such a change from the previous seasons and the flow inherent in them, that I don't feel there's a connection. It's disconcerting. I don't like it. Overall it felt as if this series was a race with bad crashes and a few stellar moments. With still that same disconnect I felt in Series 5.

I loved the Christmas special, A Christmas Carol, it touched on the Doctor's past without recapping too much and showed the depth of pain he carries as well as the acting talent of Matt Smith. Kudos there!

And the overall arc with River's origins and the whole past/present thing is really good. I like the Silence, even if the connection between episodes isn't always obvious (which is fine) or coherent (which is not). I get the feeling Steven Moffat has fantastic far reaching ideas but can't quite get there story-wise. But the time travel aspect is really cool and works well with River.

Also the fine line between human and what may be if given a chance. Or what's sentient and what evolves. And those two reasons are why I watch science fiction and the reasons I enjoy it so much. As always, I can do with less Rory and Amy, but I forebear despite the repeated attempts to bang over my head how much they're in love and how they'd wait for each other and on and on. I get it.

My favorite episode of this series was The Doctor's Wife. It may have had that same frantic, mad race around the story of the week but the emotion, the bond, the love so present was touching. Absolutely adored it!

Plus the return of Craig. I don't know why, but I love Craig and his story! It makes me laugh and the Doctor is so different around it. Can't put my finger on why or how, but the 2 episodes with Craig were among my favorites.

I'm still a little confused as to why the Doctor had to marry River. I don't object, just am curious. It didn't seem to serve a purpose other than to provide a physical closeness for the pair of them so she'd understand what was truly happening. Did I miss something? (Hopefully!)

#Review Doctor Who Series 5 #SaveTheDay

It didn't take me long to warm up to Matt Smith, but I'm thinking that had more to do with his phenomenal acting than the writing in the first few episodes. Not their best. By far not the best.

Sure, the Doctor is a pro at running, but this season feels more like a Let's skip any and all character development, character memory, or future characterizations and hop around like a loon.


Yes, yes, different feel to the entire series, but then Steven Moffat is at the helm now. Different writer/producer, different flavor. I miss the old flavor.

Still, I feel there's something distinctly lacking in this particular series. I love the overall arc with River Song and the banter between the Doctor and River is fantastic, but there's still something off. Something that keeps me disconnected.

It took me 4 days to get through Hungry Earth and Cold Blood. Four days! I watch 3-5 episodes at a time in my mission to finish all 7 series (and every single special) before November 23's 50th Anniversary special. Four days for 2 episodes is way too long.

And frankly I didn't pay all that much attention to the Van Gogh episode. It's Vincent van Gogh (played by the amazing Tony Curran with guest-guest star Bill Nighy) for crying out loud and I didn't care! What was his purpose? For the Doctor and Amy to show him that whole madness is only depression and you're a genius? There was no connection, despite the theme that carried through from the previous famous-person guest stars.

I've watched Charles Dickens (a lonely and broken man who reclaimed his zest for life), Queen Victoria (an arrogant queen who required and demanded help but did more to change the future of Doctor Who than any other), William Shakespeare (a pompous fool with a wicked mind and maybe a will to change), and Agatha Christie (a lonely woman with no self-confidence who was shown to be the brilliant deducer of mystery we think of her as) and in each of those enjoyed the overall episode as well as the individual sparks and quirks that made up the Doctor and his companion and their quest to solve an alien mystery.

Why am I so ambivalent to this series? Why do I not care? Why do I feel as if I'm watching this to get through it in the hopes Series 6 is better?

Could be Amy. (No offense to Karen Gillan.)

There's nothing about her that screams I'm a worthy companion for the Doctor. Nothing. Since I couldn't put my finger on exactly why I wanted Amy to die a horrible and painful death several times over, I thought it was me. There was no transition from the 10th Doctor to the 11th as there was from the 9th to the 10th, no continuity, not even a vague mention of the previous seasons.

No Doctor screaming pain from the Daleks who always come back and pop up everywhere, only the seemingly burning question of why Amy didn't remember them. Really? That's the burning question? Not the I killed my people to stop the Daleks and they've returned? I lost friends and companions and people I love to them? Not how the hell did they survive again?

Nothing. There's not even a brief mention of anything from any of his previous incarnations (let alone the most recent 2) until Vincent and the Doctor when the TARDIS prints out a list of the Doctors starting with the first.

I admit, I didn't (and don't) like that, but there's more to it. More to my nearly instant and total dislike of Amy. And what's a girl to do but search online for why I hate Amy Pond? Surely others (who have watched the show first run and had more time to process this) have answers!

Yup. Lots of answers. There's talk of sexism, of one-dimensional characterization, of Amy supposedly being the 'pretty' companion, prettier than others (which I adamantly disagree with!), etc. I think my favorite paragraph out of all I've read is this one from SPARK Movement:

It is also sad that I can’t describe to you how much Amy plays the role of damsel in distress, or how often she’s blamed for problems not of her making.  Not to mention how much she is sold to viewers because she is more “beautiful” than other companions. But I digress; there are other important topics to discuss.

Steven Moffat, the current writer for Doctor Who, calls Amy a ‘fierce’ girl. Amy speaks her mind, looks good, and is bold, but, when Doctor Who plotlines are examined, Amy is only superficially fierce. Amy wants adventure and enjoys it, but she is portrayed as needing the Doctor to find it for her and to save her from any difficulties. She seems to need the Doctor to awaken her ‘fierce’ qualities, reinforcing the idea that a woman must depend on a man to bring out the interesting parts of her character. Amy is, in reality, a damsel-in-distress rather than a ‘fierce’ heroine.

Overall, I had a very difficult time getting through series 5 (or series 6 if we're counting the David Tennant Specials as a separate season). It was all jumbled with more contained episodes that had very little to do with characterization than all previous series combined.

As I said, I did enjoy River Song, she's got enough character to make up for the lack of it from both Any (and Rory who I find so inept and utterly forgettable and is it any wonder Amy forgot him?) and the Doctor. Plus she makes me laugh. The Lodger was funny in a I've forgotten every single moment of my previous lives way and The Pandorica Opens featured River again so automatically made it excellent. I say automatically, but it really was excellent on its own terms.

Like really excellent in a WOW this is why I love science fiction and Doctor Who way. Even if the 2nd part Big Bang ruined every fantastic, wonderful point Pandorica Opens made. I can't even begin to describe the continuity issues, plot creators, and paradoxes inherent in that finale.

Onto Series 6 where I understand it to be a "timey-wimey, headache inducing, I must watch this again before the 50th Anniversary and hope it makes sense". This is a quote from my cousin. I promised I'd watch Series 6 with her so we could discuss, analyze, dissect, and hope for the best!

#Review Doctor Who 10th Doctor Specials #SaveTheDay

There were 3 specials:

The Planet of the Dead which could be skipped. It had really great and funny moments between the Doctor and UNIT, contrary to his normal interactions with them in his 10th incarnation. But I hated the ending and thought it took away from the Doctor's character. It really just didn't mesh with what the character arc we've already seen. Plus I really didn't like Lady Christina.

Waters of Mars. Excellent, oh just fantastic. This is also a very dark episode, very very dark and it's so well done. The Doctor is alone and certainly not at his best. His choice? Change the history (future) of Earth and hence the entire solar system, galaxy, and universe...or watch people die. He's helpless. This isn't the first time he's had to make that choice but it's significant in that he has no companion to show him another way--that choice he continually speaks of. And words....every word Russell T. Davis chooses for the Doctor is deliberate. But then they usually are.

What would you do? Better yet, would you be able to watch it happen? Or would you succumb and try to change things knowing the consequences?

The End of Time

I stayed up until nearly 1am watching this because once you start there's just no stopping!

First I have to ask: What's with these mothers? Every single one of them is a self-serving harpy with no respect for their daughter or said daughter's choices. "I don't want you to do that so I'm going to tell you I'm going to be all alone and you must stay with me." Jackie Tyler, Francine Jones, and Sylvia Noble all used their "I'm your mother" card to berate their daughter's choices, belittle their daughter for said choice, and go from being a concerned mother (which I'm not knocking) to a mother who'd rather their daughter never do anything and stay with them than experience life. I have very little respect for them.

The Master returns in another fantastic performance by John Simm. Love him! Even if there isn't any singing and dancing. Pity. The Master says something there that makes me think it's really about the whole Who-verse. Not just him, not just that incarnation or regeneration, but the Doctor. Very specifically the Doctor. When I say Mr. Davis doesn't use words arbitrary? Totally meant it.

"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die." (End of Time part 2)

Got me thinking. The Ninth Doctor was born from war and died for love. The Tenth Doctor was born from love and sacrifice. What did he die for? The first thing the Tenth Doctor saw was Rose (The Parting of the Ways) and the last thing he saw was Rose (End of Time part 2). He died for love, hope, friendship, yes. But most of all his belief in himself, in right and wrong, and in the choices he's made. He can't change the past, he knows this, accepts this (sorta), it's his Prime Directive (kinda), but still...still. What if?

There's always a choice. Except when it's the end and there isn't. There really isn't.

What does that make the Eleventh Doctor? He's born from sacrifice and hopelessness. Makes me wonder what kind of man he's going to be.

This also marked the end of Russell T. Davis tenure at Doctor Who. I'll miss him, his way with words, his sneaky little plot points, his understanding of both the Doctor and the companions who help the Doctor along in his journey. Mr. Davis, you're a master, a true master. The threads you weave throughout each season and multiple seasons is unparalleled.

Oh...and your ability to make me cry. I'd hate you for that, but it isn't often a TV show can make me teary-eyed let along cry. You've managed it in the finales of Series 1, 2, 4, and The End of Time. If we say these were 5 series, then you aren't doing bad, 4 of 5 endings really got to me. Not that I didn't love the end of Series 3, the end with David Tennant and John Simm was exceptional. Because who else but the Master can pull off the crazed evil of dancing and singing his way through the finale?

As I said...phenomenal.

#Review Doctor Who Series 4 #SaveTheDay

Oh, where to begin. Where oh where...Christmas Special! Voyage of the Damned was the Christmas Special where the Doctor didn't have a companion but a space ship replication of the Titanic rammed through the TARDIS. They never did explain how that happened or how the TARDIS was fixed. I watched it, didn't have to, probably won't rewatch it.

Let's skip ahead. Donna Noble.

The overall arc wasn't about the Doctor (though it was, it really was) but more about Donna. His best friend, the woman who brought him back from the brink and gave him nothing but friendship to heal him and help him.

I really like Donna, she's brash, loud (really loud!), and forceful. And her journey is one to watch and love. Every companion who travels with the Doctor changes in some way. Rose found love with the Doctor and her compassion for others helped the Ninth Doctor change from a warrior to lover. Jack found his way from flitting (or flirting) through space and conning everyone and everything he could into a true hero--who looked great in just about everything. Or nothing. Martha found a sense of self-worth and courage she needed to be more than she'd imagined--she moved from grasping at her own imaginings and a slim hope at something with the Doctor to making her own life.

Donna is a tragic figure. She regretted her decision not to travel with the Doctor after her farce of a wedding in Runaway Bride and searched for him. She's still loud, still brash, and heaven help anyone who crosses her, but by the 2-part finale The Stolen Earth and Journey's End, she knows her own worth and how to use that to help. Mostly the Doctor, because that's what best friends do.

Her ending as a companion really was beautiful in a hopeless, heartbreaking, and utterly fitting kind of way.

Now then, The Doctor himself...there are hints at stories to come, at friendship and love and a future where he's not alone. Which is good, because he's lousy at being on his own. Makes too many mistakes, forgets why he's traveling and exploring in the first place, and why he visits and not just hides away and watches from the shadows.

There are hints at hope, even when he's absolutely crushed and saying goodbye.

The final episode is aptly titled: Journey's End. I feel they rushed the 2-part finale; better to have skipped  Midnight (though it was a fascinating character study) and had the order be Turn Left (excellent story! Just...wow), then a 3-part finale.

Still, this was truly a goodbye. There's no one left. They've chosen different lives (Jack, Mickey, Martha, and Sarah Jane) or a life the Doctor has chosen for them for other reasons (Rose). And Donna. Oh, Donna. So important and yet so unconvinced she's worth anything at all. Your potential was finally reached, finally seen, and then...the end.

Once more a Doctor Who finale had the ability to make me cry. Excellent writing, excellent acting, and excellent...goodbyes. *sniffle*

#Review Doctor Who Series 3 #SaveTheDay

Running. Not in the let's go for a run or even let's run from the bad guys who are trying to kill us for a wide variety of reasons and/or turn us into pick-your-creature. Running from...that's the theme of Series 3, of all of them actually. Running.

It's the first word the Doctor uttered in this new series, the very first word we hear out of him in Series 1's Rose. "Run!" And he hasn't stopped since.

The Doctor is running and he's so damn good at it he can't stop. Or doesn't want to. Or both.

Sometimes I think he's running in search of something, but it's so elusive and so evanescent, so fleeting, that the Doctor can't grasp it. But it's not. He thinks he is, thinks he's running in search of something, but he's not. He's always running away.

And it's heartbreaking to watch.

I didn't really mind Martha, she's a decent transition from Rose and all those messy (human) emotions between Rose and the Doctor which were so fantastic to watch grow. But she lacks a quality about her that makes her more than a mere audience tool to see the universe through new and wondrous eyes.

That and she so clearly hopes for more despite not getting it. No idea where the sudden I'm in love/lust with him came from when he was so clearly grieving Rose, but Martha grabbed that single emotion and held tight. Shame. I think she did deserve better, in fact, she did deserve better and should've had more confidence to grab for something more.

All in all, not my favorite season, but the overall arc was great! And those last 3 episodes of the season totally rocked. If you've seen this season, tell me you didn't totally crack up and rewind that part with the Master singing.

Don't get me wrong, but the individual episodes were weak. Though the first episode (Christmas Special: Runaway Bride) introduces Donna Noble and isn't a Martha episode, it's so important to the Doctor. Because running doesn't leave behind those things you're running from. They're always right there, haunting you.

A freaky, terrifying episode, Blink, features in just about everyone's nightmares and Captain Jack returns! Because who doesn't love Jack Harnkess?

#Review Doctor Who Series 2 #SaveTheDay

So, Series 2 of Doctor Who. I admit, after the heartbreaking ending of Series 1, I needed a couple days to continue on. Am I glad I did. Before I sat down and watched Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, David Tennant was my favorite; he's still the crazy, talkative Doctor I love but now I see so, so much more after watching and emphasizing with the Ninth Doctor. (And if you haven't seen David Tennant in Spies of Warsaw, do so. The Alan Furst book is fantastic and I think the adaption wasn't bad in bringing the book to life as a miniseries.)

Yes, the regeneration is a tad jarring, but overall Mr. Tennant embodies a slightly lighter but just as damaged Doctor. With crazy hair (and new teeth). The relationship between Rose and the Doctor evolves to a heartbreaking conclusion. Thanks, guys, for ripping my heart out twice in 2 seasons! Sheesh.

But the overall arcs are excellent as always, the supporting cast adds an emotional layer that make this more than a science fiction show where things blow up and aliens run amok. Which is actually what I love most about Doctor Who--the fact that the day can be saved without a Rock/Bruce Willis-type swooping in to save the day with the obligatory 5 explosions per minute.

Though something usually does go boom.

In the end, it's the characters that make this work. Characters and a deeply entrenched need to do better, be better, and heal the wounds of war and loneliness. Most especially loneliness, a theme we see revisited over and over, not just in Classic Who companions (School Reunion with Sarah Jane Smith) but in both Rose and the Doctor--together and separately.

#Review: Doctor Who Series 1 #SaveTheDay

Background: I used to watch Doctor Who on PBS reruns ages ago with my mom. Don't remember too much about it, but I remember enjoying it. Gotta love a man who can travel through time and space in a police box that's bigger on the inside. I mean how cool is that?

Then they rebooted it. Or I guess continued it but for a new century and a new audience. I admit, I didn't watch it when it first premiered. Didn't like the doctor, didn't like the reboot, wasn't going to watch it, blah blah blah.

Then my cousin started watching it and insisted I do as well. I resisted. For a long time. Then I gave in. Oh, wow, am I glad I did! All my grousing about not liking that first Doctor? I totally and unreservedly take it all back! Christopher Eccleston, I've done you a great disservice. (And wow, what great eyes!)

To say I watched all of Series 1 in record time is a bit of an understatement. You have to watch it all, there are so many things that come out it's amazing I resisted as long as I did. And I'm amazed that so many others feel as I once did that this Ninth Doctor isn't the best. Yes. Yes he is. And there are many reasons he's like he is and they make me love him more.

It's become a bit of an obsession really.

I've read up on all the past Doctor. Who episodes thanks to a fantastic (*G*) Wikia page and really find it a shame this Doctor's regeneration wasn't in more seasons. I think they could have done so much with the damaged character he was.

So, the review: Fantastic! Utterly fantastic!

If you like science fiction with a maniacal, time traveling, world hopping, genius with a dead sexy accent and a way of finding trouble and saving the world, then this is the show for you. Series 1 not only delves into the history of Doctor Who but also a new era, a new man so to speak, and all the scars and damage he has from a past that's only hinted at. Mr. Eccleston did a great job in portraying a classic Doctor as well as the more flawed aspects of this new and fascinating Doctor.

A lot of people I've recently talked to about my Doctor Who obsession also don't like Rose. I don't see why not. She may have been a shop girl who worked in a retail store, but she had class and spunk. She's observant and selfless and doesn't take a back seat when there's lives (including hers and the Doctor's) to be saving. She's compassionate and yes, naive, but she also holds the qualities of an Every-Woman. The 'normal' woman with the chance to do things the rest of us only dream of. And she acts like we hope we can in those sorts of situations.

Captain Jack Harkness...yum. Now I watched Torchwood at least Miracle Day, and frankly was always a tad confused. So many things are cleared up. But if you haven't watched Torchwood yet, definitely do so but only watching Doctor Who.

All in all, a definite watch. Sure, there are crazy aliens all dressed up in blue or flying out of the sky, but as with the best of science fiction, those are the metaphors for life. The life here on Planet Earth where good, bad, and grey exist along with the rest of us.

Guest: Shelly Holt, paranromal romance, and science

My name is Shelly Holt and I live in the middle of the harsh and unforgiving Mojave desert. I write my stories looking out of a window that shows sweeping desert views. Outside is a barren and severe landscape, yet inside my head lives a world filled with exotic shape-shifters come to life, pulled from the pages of myth and legend, ready to entice and seduce any reader brave enough to take them on.

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Tasting Fire is not your average paranormal shape-shifting romance.  Twenty thousand years ago a thermophilic (heat loving) bacteria that lives only in hot springs, infected primitive nomads in many parts of the world.  The bacteria when ingested orally allows the infected individual with just the right genetic makeup to add a secondary DNA sequence to their own genetic code.  Over the course of thousands of years this little bug has given rise to the many different legends of shape-shifting that have evolved on nearly every continent.  Tasting Fire is the story of how one species in particular, the Pari of central Asia, fought to stay hidden and what happens when they are revealed to the world.

Where to buy:

Amazon

 Blurb

Shape-shifters have always walked the earth. Shrouded in myth and folklore, hiding in the shadows, watching and waiting. Advances in modern science are now about to reveal them to the world. Kai Tenzin is the self appointed leader of the Pari people. He and his kind evolved from the most reclusive predators on earth, the Asian Snow Leopard. They live and hunt in the most fearsome and rugged terrain known to man, the Himalayas. As a young man, Kai left his small village where the mountain touches the heavens, determined to do anything to protect his people. When he is forced to enlist the aid of the beautiful American scientist Dr. Rae Hales, the last thing he expects to find is a woman who will ensnare his heart and endanger them all. Their action-packed adventure will take them around the world to discover the truth behind the legends and reveal the future of humanity.

Excerpt

 Rae took an admiring look at the vista below as she dropped her heavy pack on the ground.  The mountains in the distance looked purple and the desert brush spread out below them like a master oil painting.  It was awe inspiring to human eyes.  Rae wondered what would it look like to a snow leopard.  She suddenly realized many a biologist would sell their very soul for the opportunity she had at that moment.  Rae turned to Kai who had been sitting on the ground with his pack and fishing around for lunch and asked him  “what is it like when you're in your Shan form out in country like this?”  

 Kai rewarded Rae with the most brilliant smile she had yet seen to grace the handsome shape-shifter's face.  He seemed truly delighted to discuss the subject with her.  Kai stood up to answer Rae's question.  He addressed the human scientist.  “It's like nothing you can imagine Rae.  Every sense is in tune with the planet.  See that tree over there” he pointed a few yards away at an ancient gnarled pinyon.   

“Yes”  Rae replied.  Kai walked up behind Rae and put his hands on her shoulders and directed her to look even closer at the tree.   

He whispered intimately in her ear as if they were in a church or another sacred space “when you look at that tree with your limited human vision, the average person can certainly appreciate its form and color.   A biologist like yourself would ask what type of tree is it and how old it is.   A philosopher might ask who may have sat underneath it in the past or who might sit underneath it in the future.  All of you might even wonder when will it die.  That's the limit of your human perception.  When you're in Shan form every single leaf will bid you a glorious greeting as you walk up to the tree for the first time.  Every drop of sap tells you the history of the tree's life like an intimate biography written in the utterly sensual language of scent.  The tree itself will tell you if it's healthy or sick.  You can smell if the water that nourishes it is bitter or sweet.  If you deeply pay attention you can smell every animal that has ever been there.” 

 Kai looked to Rae like he was experiencing a spiritual moment and Rae suddenly realized he was.  The enthralled shape-shifter continued to explain to Rae the nuances of the animal world  “when you are ready to move on to another place you reach up with your powerful claws and dig deep into the bark to mark the tree with your scent.  It's added harmoniously to the scent of hundreds of other animals.  You do this not just to mark your hunting territory, but to tell every animal after you have left this world that you lived and breathed here at one time in the great mystery that is life.  That is your only immortality in the animal world.  There are no monuments to mark a man's ego, or family albums for a mother to remember her children by, but neither is there hate, nor fear of the future or regret of the past.  You are fully alive in each and every moment.  It's a wonderfully free existence.  I wish I could truly share it with you... words, words pale in comparison.”   

 Kai looked so happy at that moment.  Rae was so moved by what he had just shared with her that all she could do was reach out and touch his wrist. “Thank you!” she whispered.  Kai nodded at her in acknowledgment, but he was too emotional to even speak.