1) You know…Martha’s ‘So this is me, getting out’ reminds me a lot of the Ninth Doctor’s ‘This is me, swanning off!’. I wonder if they did that on purpose.
2) Have been wondering if Sally Sparrow’s journey in Blink parallels Martha’s journey across the whole series. You know, I think it does. Will ponder this.
3) You know what I would change about Doomsday? Rose gets saved from the void in the exact same way, but it’s Jackie who does it, not Pete. Would’ve rounded her story off nicely…
Newslinkiness: Alan Johnston freed. The lunchtime news reporter began today with ‘There was widespread delight all across the nation…’ and that made me grin a lot, because I think I’ve rarely if ever heard a news reporter say that.
The other piece of unexpected but well-recieved news I got today: Catherine Tate is the Doctor’s new companion. I’m pleased (not as pleased as I’d have been if it was a historical companion, but still- maybe that job will go to Kylie Minogue), because I actually quite liked her. And I’d love to see how she reacts to Martha (initial jealousy/bitchiness and then lifelong friendship, I imagine).
Butttttt…dear god, the reaction to her casting has not particularly shown the good side of fandom, I fear. There’s a load of just sheer venom that I don’t get…I can understand not liking her show, or thinking she’s overrated, but she seems (from what I gather, having seen her interview on Jonathan Ross a while back) like a perfectly nice, reasonable, quite ordinary person. And I really hope she never visits the OG. Sigh.
So yes, anyway. And even when you take into account what RTD said about Donna first time around -‘She couldn’t have stayed for long, Donna- she’d get on your nerves. You’d have to radically change the character.’ -the character’s had a whole host of in-story reasons to change…what she went through in TRB is just the start of it, there’s also the whole Saxon thing- although the end of the world didn’t actually happen, everyone is still aware they were manipulated (er, I think.) Yes.
Regarding Rose and Lucy- Okay, so about three days ago I was suddenly struck by a thought and went to post it. Said thought was ‘Since the Master is essentially Ten taken to extremes, what if Lucy Saxon is Rose taken to extremes?’ Then I thought it was silly and didn’t post it. Now I wish I had, because I was right on the money. Damn. Lucy is utterly and thoroughly the dark side of Rose…she says ‘I’ve made my choice,’ just as Rose did in Doomsday, and Harold Saxon calls her ‘my loyal companion’. Dammmmmmmmmmmmmmn.
Regarding Martha- My GOD she is my favourite character. Loved her screaming at the Doctor and blaming him (whether she had a right to or not, I figure most people probably would in that situation), loved her crazy driving and her fear for her family. Also worth mentioning: the Doctor’s last line in Bad Wolf: ‘I’m coming to save you.’, Martha’s last line in this, ‘I’M COMING BACK.’
Freema Agyeman for 11th Doctor! Ahem.
One other thing, though, where’s Leo? He wasn’t with the other three Joneses at the end, so I wonder…Reggie Yates is sort of a bigger ‘name’ than the other three, so it’s possible they’re saving him for something. Maybe in the finale. We’ll see, I guess…
‘Are you asking me on a date? Nuff said.
Regarding God- I don’t know exactly what RTD was saying about American politics in this episode, but he was definately saying something, and I’ll be surprised if it’s good. But what really struck me was the ‘if God wills it…’ line said by the President. Especially since, if I remember rightly, the Doctor had been referred to as a God earlier in the episode…
The Toclafane This is reaching, this is really reaching, but what if they’re the Family Of Blood? ‘Cos one of them sounds like that Daughter Of Mine girl…I wonder.
In the end Ooh! Ooh! I know nothing about music, but I have a music-related observation…at the end, with everything going to hell around Martha…the theme that plays sounds just like a sort of reverse of the Doomsday theme. Which I love. Even I’m wrong, I love. :p
Also, that last shot, of Martha in the field surrounded by destruction…LOVE. Must iconize.
And finally The end of the world set to Voodoo Child? Oh Russell, you sodding infuriating genius.
HE’S THE MASTER I CALLED IT TWENTY MINUTES IN AND I WAS RIGHT YAY ZOMG HE’S NOT ALONE!
Ahem. Er.
So much hyperactive adoration for:
-‘Oh, she was blonde!’, and Martha’s jealousy slowly rising a little. I want so bad for Martha to meet a hologram of Rose, or something, in the finale. Coming face to face with this apparently godlike girl…
-John Simm as the regenerated Master! And he was playing it really…childlike, like all of Ten’s not-so-great qualities (the childishness, the ruthlessness…) taken to the extreme.
-Martha in general. She’s still awesome.
-JACK and his immortality angst and his apparent need to strip in dangerous situations
-The conversation between Jack and the Doctor re: immortality angst
This is, so far, the only episode my entire family has liked. Even my brother loved it, and he’s hard to please.
-Martha is probably my favourite character this series. She’s awesome. She threatens the bad guys with guys, she keeps her cool, that bit of her displaying her medical knowledge almost made me cheer…she rocks.
-That bit with the voiceover, describing what he did to each of the family? Was frankly utterly terrifying. I suspect he was so…unDoctorish to them because if not for them he would never have brought danger to innocent people and broken a woman’s heart. But has he ever acted like that, unable to forgive or anything? Even in Dalek, the Dalek killed itself…
-Poor, poor Jean. I felt awful for her. And those little flashes, of marriage and kids and aged!John Smith…
-I loved ‘He was braver than you, in the end.’ and ‘Tell me Doctor, if you never chose this place, on a whim, would anyone have died?’ Oh, this episode sums up so perfectly what the Doctor really is: capable of saving everyone and destroying everyone at the same time…
-You know, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they repeat this episode on Memorial Day.
Overhead yesterday when passing a blocked-up underpass:
Kid: Maybe they blocked it up to keep in the ghosts! Kid’s mother: _____, you really do watch too much Doctor Who.
Made me grin like a loon. And now…
MY GOD THAT WAS THE BEST OF SERIES THREE HANDS DOWN.
-Eighth Doctor picture in the journal! And some of the others too!
-‘A girl in every fireplace’!
-I quite liked that Rose got a mention, come to think of it. I don’t know why, to be honest. And then I saw the screencaps of the diary and my heart just broke: ‘In my dreams I see her walking away.’ I take that as a sort of hint, somehow, that she’s moved on from crying on the beach- walking away. I don’t know why about that, either…
-The Doctor dances! Again!
-Martha is all kinds of awesome; secretly I hope someone writes Martha/Jenny (was that her name? The other maid?) femslash. It would be so easy to do! Anyone?
-The Doctor’s parents being Sydney and Verity! Oh, that was great!
-And this one struck as being, in a way, the most adult Doctor Who at least since The Empty Child, if not ever…I don’t know why. But oh, I expect the next episode will break my heart.
-Oh, and a special mention for Martha’s ‘He fell in love with a human…and it wasn’t me.’ Awwww, I really felt for her then, although I thought she was a bit sharp with Jean at the end. I couldn’t tell whether she was sincere in her apology or not…
-I apologize for being late for the review party. Straight after the episode, down went the internet. :p
That was all kinds of awesome and my favourite so far. Unfortunately it’s caught me at a knackered moment and I am tired so a coherent review will come tomorrow.
At some point in the near future, I plan to make a fanvid to The Coral’s ‘Don’t Think You’re The First‘ because it is the most perfect song for School Reunion ever written. But said video would include clips from classic Who, and as I am largely ignorant of classic Who, I thought I’d ask you lovely people for help.
What I’m going to do is open the vid with Rose, and then show clips of other companions which match the lyrics. So far I’ve got…
‘To be untouched by the time’- Romana Both instances of ‘So don’t think you’re the last’-Mickey, Donna and Martha (but mostly Martha) ‘While you watch from afar/As your world falls apart’ -possibly Sarah
Can anyone think of what companions would fit other lyrics? ‘Sorrow’ and ‘shame’ -who would fit for one of those? And ‘To hear a thousand violins/As the trial begins’- I dunno about that one.