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remindmeofthe) wrote2008-06-14 08:24 pm
remindmeofthe) wrote2008-06-14 08:24 pm
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Doctor Who!
HOLY FUCK THAT WAS CREEPY. OH MY GOD WHY DOES THIS SHOW WANT ME TO BE AFRAID.
Also, that was quite weird, as I was expecting this to be the Doctor-lite ep, as the tenth ep has been the last two series, but instead it was only Donna-lite. Which is sad. I'm guessing from the previews that next ep will be Doctor-lite, though.
In other news, THAT WAS FUCKING CREEPY. Wow. From lighthearted to WHAT THE LIVING SHIT in the first ten minutes. One minute, I'm giggling as the Doctor says, "I guess we'll all have to talk to each other!" and grins, and the next I'm staring at the screen as hard as I can because I just can't look away. That was intensely atmospheric and suspenseful. I even stopped being distracted by the Ricky Gervais-alike, which is pretty impressive.
One of my big scare squicks is the slow reveal of a face, because as a general rule that face has been badly mutilated or changed somehow and I cannot abide creepy face changes. And I still couldn't look away as the ep took its sweet time allowing us to see Skye's face. I usually at least cover my eyes, but I couldn't. I'll admit, it helped knowing that this aired at like six in the UK so it couldn't be anything too horrific, but I still expected - something. And I swear, seeing that there was no change to her face at all may well have been scarier, both in the moment (when I was expecting a sudden change still, or a lunge or SOMETHING), and in the long-term. I don't think the rest of the episode would have had quite the same impact if she hadn't looked completely human.
And the sibilant quality of her voice underscoring everyone else's - so subtly done at first that I wasn't sure what I was hearing, just that it was something. I wonder how much extra rehearsal the face-to-face scenes with the Doctor needed.
The sociology of the episode was interesting; nothing groundbreaking, but interesting and adding to the tension. I loved the Doctor's speech about, basically, making a horrible first impression. It was so him. Sure, it might kill us all, but what if it doesn't? Won't we all look foolish then? And everyone else's reaction to him. Things tend to be moving so quickly in episodes that the Doctor is able to take control of situations simply because people are so relieved that someone seems to know what's going on and how to handle it. Here, though, these people have had time to think, and be afraid, and get paranoid, and get ugly with fear. It was really, really interesting to see and be reminded that often the Doctor can only do what he does because people let him and help him. If people banded together against him, more often than not he wouldn't be able to do anything. That's what happened here, and someone else had to save the day.
Recurring themes: Dead, empty planet, check. Appearance from Rose, this time so tantalizingly close to the Doctor, check. Mentions of the past (the Doctor mentioning Rose to Skye and reciting her, Martha's, and Donna's names), check.
And I like that it remained a mystery, because some things just are. It could also turn out to be part of the three-episode arc starting next week. I can't wait to find out. I also can't believe there are only three episodes left. Didn't the series just start?
HOLY FUCK THAT WAS CREEPY. OH MY GOD WHY DOES THIS SHOW WANT ME TO BE AFRAID.
Also, that was quite weird, as I was expecting this to be the Doctor-lite ep, as the tenth ep has been the last two series, but instead it was only Donna-lite. Which is sad. I'm guessing from the previews that next ep will be Doctor-lite, though.
In other news, THAT WAS FUCKING CREEPY. Wow. From lighthearted to WHAT THE LIVING SHIT in the first ten minutes. One minute, I'm giggling as the Doctor says, "I guess we'll all have to talk to each other!" and grins, and the next I'm staring at the screen as hard as I can because I just can't look away. That was intensely atmospheric and suspenseful. I even stopped being distracted by the Ricky Gervais-alike, which is pretty impressive.
One of my big scare squicks is the slow reveal of a face, because as a general rule that face has been badly mutilated or changed somehow and I cannot abide creepy face changes. And I still couldn't look away as the ep took its sweet time allowing us to see Skye's face. I usually at least cover my eyes, but I couldn't. I'll admit, it helped knowing that this aired at like six in the UK so it couldn't be anything too horrific, but I still expected - something. And I swear, seeing that there was no change to her face at all may well have been scarier, both in the moment (when I was expecting a sudden change still, or a lunge or SOMETHING), and in the long-term. I don't think the rest of the episode would have had quite the same impact if she hadn't looked completely human.
And the sibilant quality of her voice underscoring everyone else's - so subtly done at first that I wasn't sure what I was hearing, just that it was something. I wonder how much extra rehearsal the face-to-face scenes with the Doctor needed.
The sociology of the episode was interesting; nothing groundbreaking, but interesting and adding to the tension. I loved the Doctor's speech about, basically, making a horrible first impression. It was so him. Sure, it might kill us all, but what if it doesn't? Won't we all look foolish then? And everyone else's reaction to him. Things tend to be moving so quickly in episodes that the Doctor is able to take control of situations simply because people are so relieved that someone seems to know what's going on and how to handle it. Here, though, these people have had time to think, and be afraid, and get paranoid, and get ugly with fear. It was really, really interesting to see and be reminded that often the Doctor can only do what he does because people let him and help him. If people banded together against him, more often than not he wouldn't be able to do anything. That's what happened here, and someone else had to save the day.
Recurring themes: Dead, empty planet, check. Appearance from Rose, this time so tantalizingly close to the Doctor, check. Mentions of the past (the Doctor mentioning Rose to Skye and reciting her, Martha's, and Donna's names), check.
And I like that it remained a mystery, because some things just are. It could also turn out to be part of the three-episode arc starting next week. I can't wait to find out. I also can't believe there are only three episodes left. Didn't the series just start?
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