This Weekend: Another Summary
Apr. 7th, 2013 04:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regndoft- Etruscans happened. Our teacher for this course is quite lovely, he has a way of talking about things and making them seem fun (well, they are fun, but you know what I mean). Apparently he'll be in Provence the upcoming week holding guided tours about the ancient Greek colonies there. So, no classes with him until the week after.
- Had to pull out of![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
unconventionalcourtship due to surprise!assignment. I was all set to speed-write a draft, and then I had to speed-write two pages on Hellenistic literature instead. *Fistshake*
- Baked more cookies.
- Listened to more audios. Will probably type up more quick!reviews at some point soon.
- Had a Doctor Who watchalong with all my favourite people present. <3 We watched The Gunfighters (which is even more hilarious than I remember it being) and The Curse of Peladon (which is also WONDERFUL and layered and has the Venusian lullaby, augh).
- More Doctor Who!
One of the things New Who is frequently accused of being is "all flash and no substance", relying too much on visual effects and emotional manipulation rather than complex storytelling. And while I think there are examples of that, I don't agree with those who think this week's episode was just another example of that.
(Also, if we're going to be very flash... you can just as well go all out and make it this beautiful. The alien world and its inhabitants are lush and detailed; the music is gorgeous and complements the episode, fills a function, rather than being there for the sake of an emotional score.
Like, I don't appreciate some of the exaggerated pathos of the new series, but there are also times when the emotions on the show are very real and important and when some fans dismiss it all as cheap way of making people have ~*the feels*~ I think they start being too cynical; Doctor Who has a lot of heart, it would be difficult to love otherwise.)
First off, I adored the portrayal of religion in this episode. Doctor Who, due to the nature of the show, has always been rather anti-religious; certainly in the classic series the evil cults run rampant even in episodes where evil cults have no business being, and openly religious characters are usually antagonists or simply gullible.
The Rings of Akhaten doesnt give us an elaborately constructed alien religion (it only has 45 minutes to work with, after all), but it does give us a taste of that religious system, its core and impact on the population. When the Doctor tells Clara about their creation myth and she asks if it's true, he doesn't dismiss it as superstitious nonsense; merely that that's what they believe, and that it's a nice thought.
Likewise, the religious practise, the Queen of Years, aren't vilified - the only villain in this episode is the parasite using these people to feed itself. Yes, the Doctor deconstructs their faith - telling Merry how just because it can eat your soul it doesn't mean it's a god - but he doesn't come off as condescending in doing so. It's just the way the Whoniverse is constructed; there are no gods, not as such. And people believing otherwise should be fine.
The reference to Susan made me d'aww; imagining One and Susan on Akhaten is just... aah. Is it just me, or was Eleven even a bit One-ish in this episode? Maybe it was the scatter-brained "yes, yes, yes" in the marketplace (but I'd love for Eleven to have a grandfatherly relationship with Clara, complete with noseboops!).
Speaking of One, the Doctor even gets two nice monologues in this, which... guys, I was so set on not caring because Tumblr spoiled me and the-Doctor-as-god imagery is getting really old and over-the-top to me. I was going to be cool.
...
I cried
God how I cried
Clara was also lovely in this episode-- I love that she loves books and is good with kids and-- I could probably do without the dead parent (seriously though, why are all the parents on NuWho dead/divorced/erased from the fabric of space-time?) but still! I love that she's her own person and makes that clear to the Doctor and calls him out on his being a total creeper. Four for you Clara, you go Clara.
Not good things about this episode: the Doctor needs to stop creeping. The Vigil were really unnecessary and felt glued on for merchandise reasons. They never explained where the Grandfather was from, which-- I think it's okay to leave gaps sometimes, as long as it's not a plothole, but it made the confrontation in the pyramid rather inconsequential except as a reason for exposition, a monster and a (admittedly very wonderful) monologue about the value of life.
Also, someone really needs to JN-T that sonic screwdriver soon. This isn't the worst use of it, but it's kind of the drop that made my cup run over.
Conclusion: yes it's a bit flashy, but it was also really really wonderful. I'm actually enjoying the new episodes so far, which is a novel experience (sadly).
NEXT WEEK:
MOTHER
FUCKING
ICE WARRIORS
\o/
- Had to pull out of
unconventionalcourtship due to surprise!assignment. I was all set to speed-write a draft, and then I had to speed-write two pages on Hellenistic literature instead. *Fistshake*- Baked more cookies.
- Listened to more audios. Will probably type up more quick!reviews at some point soon.
- Had a Doctor Who watchalong with all my favourite people present. <3 We watched The Gunfighters (which is even more hilarious than I remember it being) and The Curse of Peladon (which is also WONDERFUL and layered and has the Venusian lullaby, augh).
- More Doctor Who!
One of the things New Who is frequently accused of being is "all flash and no substance", relying too much on visual effects and emotional manipulation rather than complex storytelling. And while I think there are examples of that, I don't agree with those who think this week's episode was just another example of that.
(Also, if we're going to be very flash... you can just as well go all out and make it this beautiful. The alien world and its inhabitants are lush and detailed; the music is gorgeous and complements the episode, fills a function, rather than being there for the sake of an emotional score.
Like, I don't appreciate some of the exaggerated pathos of the new series, but there are also times when the emotions on the show are very real and important and when some fans dismiss it all as cheap way of making people have ~*the feels*~ I think they start being too cynical; Doctor Who has a lot of heart, it would be difficult to love otherwise.)
First off, I adored the portrayal of religion in this episode. Doctor Who, due to the nature of the show, has always been rather anti-religious; certainly in the classic series the evil cults run rampant even in episodes where evil cults have no business being, and openly religious characters are usually antagonists or simply gullible.
The Rings of Akhaten doesnt give us an elaborately constructed alien religion (it only has 45 minutes to work with, after all), but it does give us a taste of that religious system, its core and impact on the population. When the Doctor tells Clara about their creation myth and she asks if it's true, he doesn't dismiss it as superstitious nonsense; merely that that's what they believe, and that it's a nice thought.
Likewise, the religious practise, the Queen of Years, aren't vilified - the only villain in this episode is the parasite using these people to feed itself. Yes, the Doctor deconstructs their faith - telling Merry how just because it can eat your soul it doesn't mean it's a god - but he doesn't come off as condescending in doing so. It's just the way the Whoniverse is constructed; there are no gods, not as such. And people believing otherwise should be fine.
The reference to Susan made me d'aww; imagining One and Susan on Akhaten is just... aah. Is it just me, or was Eleven even a bit One-ish in this episode? Maybe it was the scatter-brained "yes, yes, yes" in the marketplace (but I'd love for Eleven to have a grandfatherly relationship with Clara, complete with noseboops!).
Speaking of One, the Doctor even gets two nice monologues in this, which... guys, I was so set on not caring because Tumblr spoiled me and the-Doctor-as-god imagery is getting really old and over-the-top to me. I was going to be cool.
...
I cried
God how I cried
Clara was also lovely in this episode-- I love that she loves books and is good with kids and-- I could probably do without the dead parent (seriously though, why are all the parents on NuWho dead/divorced/erased from the fabric of space-time?) but still! I love that she's her own person and makes that clear to the Doctor and calls him out on his being a total creeper. Four for you Clara, you go Clara.
Not good things about this episode: the Doctor needs to stop creeping. The Vigil were really unnecessary and felt glued on for merchandise reasons. They never explained where the Grandfather was from, which-- I think it's okay to leave gaps sometimes, as long as it's not a plothole, but it made the confrontation in the pyramid rather inconsequential except as a reason for exposition, a monster and a (admittedly very wonderful) monologue about the value of life.
Also, someone really needs to JN-T that sonic screwdriver soon. This isn't the worst use of it, but it's kind of the drop that made my cup run over.
Conclusion: yes it's a bit flashy, but it was also really really wonderful. I'm actually enjoying the new episodes so far, which is a novel experience (sadly).
NEXT WEEK:
MOTHER
FUCKING
ICE WARRIORS
\o/
no subject
Date: 2013-04-07 08:19 pm (UTC)also, yes, to the screwdriver business.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-07 08:37 pm (UTC)because then I can see what people who aren't on my f-list think. I wasn't planning on crying, I had resolutely decided not to cry, and then... Matt Smith's acting happened. And Murray Gold's score. And writing. And everything. Gdi (it was rather nice though, it was a long time ago the new series made me cry).The worst offender was The Power of Three, btw. But I think that was quite obvious.