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Another weekend, another round-up
I wonder what it says about me that when I get a phone call for the first time in ages, it's to list all the songs the third Doctor has sung over the course of his seasons. Or what it says about my friends who call to ask such questions, for that matter.
Also, the opening ceremonies for Eurovision begin this evening. I am mentally preparing by living in denial and planning to re-listen to Bang-Bang-A-Boom! sometime before Saturday.
Other than that, life is deceptively easy at the moment, but that's probably because I have reached a point where I'm blissfully ignorant about the amount of work I should be doing, like... actually going to work. I mostly doze in the sun and eat strawberries and honeycomb melon. I'd probably feel dreadfully guilty and unproductive if I hadn't already steeped in fretting for so long I've come out on the other side as completely indifferent.
Mum's birthday is in a bit more than a week, so before I go on any shopping sprees (haha, because that's something I do so often - but I really need new clothes now) I should sort that out. Not that there's a hurry, seeing as she'll be on Cyprus by the time the big day rolls around.
Aaaand the weekly Who round-up:
Caerdroia: You know how everyone and their mother says that Caerdroia is the best thing since sliced bread? Everyone and their mother is right. There are twirling rabbits and COWS. But mostly Paul McGann acting his heart out and some really great characterisation.
The Next Life: Eh. I... guess... it wrapped up the Divergent arc satisfactorily?? But I can't say I cared much for the plotline itself. It's not even that it was neccessarily bad, just THREE GODDAMN HOURS of a script I'd stamp with the phrase "I don't caaare" in big red letters if someone asked my opinion on it.
I'm not sure how to interpret the endings of the (surprisingly many) villains in this piece. Also, C'rizz characterisation is shot to hell and will only become more nonsensical from this point on, if Terror Firma is anything to judge by.
The Game: Five has a hero! Who is played by William Russell! And accidentally gets recruited to play lieral war games (ahah)! Fun, political intrigue-y and a bit sad times. Also notable for a villain I quickly came to actively loathe, not the least because he enforces a certain squick of mine (that tbh dampened my enthusiasm a bit near the end, because... big squick).
Catch-1782: Ah, this started out so well. I'd be perfectly happy to have the events of part one played out over the course of an entire audio: Mel and Six go to a black tie event. Mel and Six bicker. Mel has a bumbling scientist uncle and Six coos at cats. And then everything is ruined by timey wimey plot.
It's not even that the plot itself is contrived, but that the writer removes all of Mel's agency and thereby everything that could be potentially interesting about it-- which has some very skeevy consequences (that aren't actually dealt with either).
Three's a Crowd: I. Eugh. No. It's dull and feels heavy-handed when trying to deal with potentially interesting concepts in the beginning and then it just deflates into a tropey alien mess. Also, Five makes some incredibly bad life decisions that the audio seems to ignore. It does have Deborah Watling, but that isn't enough.
Unregenerate!: Sylvester McCoy hams it up to eleven and Mel gains a companion in the shape of a cabbie/ex-bouncer. The plot is rather different, and thoroughly enjoyable-- and I do love who the villains turn out to be.
The Council of Nicaea: If this audio was a book I would've thrown it into the wall. Several times over. It's not so much the plot as that the entire conflict is based on Erimem acting in a way that's OOC, irresponsible and makes no goddamn sense in the context of her character.
Terror Firma: Did... did the story quality just magically improve once we exited the Divergent? (Probably not, but it certainly feels that way). I think I actually like this better than Davros, if we're going to talk Davros-related releases; it does some interesting things with several characters, as well as introducing some fabulous angst fuel that doesn't feel trite or over-used. Eight is overjoyed to be back in the proper universe and it shows.
The only downside is possibly that C'rizz's characterisation is spiralling in on itself beyond salvation and... possibly that there are some characters introduced in this and their impact on the Doctor that will never be explored further? But it remains to be seen.
Also managed to squeeze two special releases in there; Her Final Flight (which was ok, nothing special) and The Veiled Leopard (EVERYTHING I WANT IN AN AUDIO, which is apparently: fancy dress parties, heists and inter-companion friendship/snarking. Eheu).
Finally, this week's episode:
I can begin by saying that this is hands-down the best episode of the season. It's just... good. It's good! I have no real complaints! But I do have observations (and, okay, maybe one complaint).
First off, the setting in this is really strong. This is what I think Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS should've been more in line of; it's scary and whimsical, much like dreaming. The actual setting has very little impact on the story itself, but it provides a unique and exciting back-drop for the events and makes it more interesting to watch.
Likewise, the side characters have strong personalities and become more memorable for it; Clara's young wards do come off as a bit one-note, but they're not exactly given much screentime either.
Clara takes what is probably the most active role for her so far, what with taking charge of an entire platoon of future Imperial soldiers; she truly is the boss. Actually, it was almost a bit... unprecedented? But I guess she simply hadn't been in a position of authority before; Clara works with children, she does strike me as someone who would be very aware of her own as well as other people's positions of authority (official or not). Having worked with children myself, there are few things more frustrating than being met with a lack of respect for doing one's job by people who think they know better than you.
Which is probably why I find it a bit questionable that the Doctor without anyone protesting gives her such a powerful position over people who, despite having messed up in their field, do have training and to some extent field experience... then again, the decision to blow up the planet does turn out to be the only feasible one in the end.
The Doctor! Matt Smith acts his little heart out in this one, which is a joy to see. The mindscape was pretty cool, too; it was nice to see the Doctor in pretty extreme peril for once (alas, it was not for the companion to save him this time...).
About the Cybermen themselves, I found them... neat, I guess? I do understand where people who go "finally the Cybermen are properly scary again!" come from, and I don't mind the technological advancements they've made (it makes sense, in a way) but 1. Cybermen of this strength only really work in isolated stories and I hope this doesn't become standard, and 2. it didn't do much for me, mostly because this is not what I find scary and fascinating about the Cybermen. The Cybermen are human. That's what makes them frightening, their cold logic and unrelenting drive to survive; they're all that human ingenuity, innovation and survival instinct the Doctor admires turned sour. I guess I was just expecting more of that rather than upgrades?
Love the cybermites. And the Cyberplanner clearly hasn't watched the same show as us if he didn't see the Doctor cheating coming approx. a hundred miles away. On the other hand, the emotiona manipulation of LURVE felt kind of unnecessary; it's gratuitous in the same way that Victorian!Clara snogging the Doctor was. Why does it have to be romance? Why can't it have been something, oh I don't know, that actually played into Clara's psychology that would've made her hesitate, made us think? Surely there would've been enough material for that inside the Doctor's head.
The last line was just. No. That's worse than the Sonic boner in last week's episode. I don't know what that line is doing there and call me a frigid bitch but I don't want it or anything like it on this show either.
TL; DR not perfect, but then again nothing is. With the exception of some minor things it was perfect, well-paced, and just all around exciting fun.
Also, I've been putting off the Classic Who watch for a while, but today I finally ventured into the Patrick Troughton era (which, together with Tom Baker's two last seasons, is the only one I haven't watched) with Power of the Daleks. Will hopefully get through The Highlanders tomorrow (JAMIE!).
(I've still only watched one season and a half of Blake's 7. And have s. 5 of SJA left. Ahahaha. *Rolls away*)
Also, the opening ceremonies for Eurovision begin this evening. I am mentally preparing by living in denial and planning to re-listen to Bang-Bang-A-Boom! sometime before Saturday.
Other than that, life is deceptively easy at the moment, but that's probably because I have reached a point where I'm blissfully ignorant about the amount of work I should be doing, like... actually going to work. I mostly doze in the sun and eat strawberries and honeycomb melon. I'd probably feel dreadfully guilty and unproductive if I hadn't already steeped in fretting for so long I've come out on the other side as completely indifferent.
Mum's birthday is in a bit more than a week, so before I go on any shopping sprees (haha, because that's something I do so often - but I really need new clothes now) I should sort that out. Not that there's a hurry, seeing as she'll be on Cyprus by the time the big day rolls around.
Aaaand the weekly Who round-up:
Caerdroia: You know how everyone and their mother says that Caerdroia is the best thing since sliced bread? Everyone and their mother is right. There are twirling rabbits and COWS. But mostly Paul McGann acting his heart out and some really great characterisation.
The Next Life: Eh. I... guess... it wrapped up the Divergent arc satisfactorily?? But I can't say I cared much for the plotline itself. It's not even that it was neccessarily bad, just THREE GODDAMN HOURS of a script I'd stamp with the phrase "I don't caaare" in big red letters if someone asked my opinion on it.
I'm not sure how to interpret the endings of the (surprisingly many) villains in this piece. Also, C'rizz characterisation is shot to hell and will only become more nonsensical from this point on, if Terror Firma is anything to judge by.
The Game: Five has a hero! Who is played by William Russell! And accidentally gets recruited to play lieral war games (ahah)! Fun, political intrigue-y and a bit sad times. Also notable for a villain I quickly came to actively loathe, not the least because he enforces a certain squick of mine (that tbh dampened my enthusiasm a bit near the end, because... big squick).
Catch-1782: Ah, this started out so well. I'd be perfectly happy to have the events of part one played out over the course of an entire audio: Mel and Six go to a black tie event. Mel and Six bicker. Mel has a bumbling scientist uncle and Six coos at cats. And then everything is ruined by timey wimey plot.
It's not even that the plot itself is contrived, but that the writer removes all of Mel's agency and thereby everything that could be potentially interesting about it-- which has some very skeevy consequences (that aren't actually dealt with either).
Three's a Crowd: I. Eugh. No. It's dull and feels heavy-handed when trying to deal with potentially interesting concepts in the beginning and then it just deflates into a tropey alien mess. Also, Five makes some incredibly bad life decisions that the audio seems to ignore. It does have Deborah Watling, but that isn't enough.
Unregenerate!: Sylvester McCoy hams it up to eleven and Mel gains a companion in the shape of a cabbie/ex-bouncer. The plot is rather different, and thoroughly enjoyable-- and I do love who the villains turn out to be.
The Council of Nicaea: If this audio was a book I would've thrown it into the wall. Several times over. It's not so much the plot as that the entire conflict is based on Erimem acting in a way that's OOC, irresponsible and makes no goddamn sense in the context of her character.
Terror Firma: Did... did the story quality just magically improve once we exited the Divergent? (Probably not, but it certainly feels that way). I think I actually like this better than Davros, if we're going to talk Davros-related releases; it does some interesting things with several characters, as well as introducing some fabulous angst fuel that doesn't feel trite or over-used. Eight is overjoyed to be back in the proper universe and it shows.
The only downside is possibly that C'rizz's characterisation is spiralling in on itself beyond salvation and... possibly that there are some characters introduced in this and their impact on the Doctor that will never be explored further? But it remains to be seen.
Also managed to squeeze two special releases in there; Her Final Flight (which was ok, nothing special) and The Veiled Leopard (EVERYTHING I WANT IN AN AUDIO, which is apparently: fancy dress parties, heists and inter-companion friendship/snarking. Eheu).
Finally, this week's episode:
I can begin by saying that this is hands-down the best episode of the season. It's just... good. It's good! I have no real complaints! But I do have observations (and, okay, maybe one complaint).
First off, the setting in this is really strong. This is what I think Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS should've been more in line of; it's scary and whimsical, much like dreaming. The actual setting has very little impact on the story itself, but it provides a unique and exciting back-drop for the events and makes it more interesting to watch.
Likewise, the side characters have strong personalities and become more memorable for it; Clara's young wards do come off as a bit one-note, but they're not exactly given much screentime either.
Clara takes what is probably the most active role for her so far, what with taking charge of an entire platoon of future Imperial soldiers; she truly is the boss. Actually, it was almost a bit... unprecedented? But I guess she simply hadn't been in a position of authority before; Clara works with children, she does strike me as someone who would be very aware of her own as well as other people's positions of authority (official or not). Having worked with children myself, there are few things more frustrating than being met with a lack of respect for doing one's job by people who think they know better than you.
Which is probably why I find it a bit questionable that the Doctor without anyone protesting gives her such a powerful position over people who, despite having messed up in their field, do have training and to some extent field experience... then again, the decision to blow up the planet does turn out to be the only feasible one in the end.
The Doctor! Matt Smith acts his little heart out in this one, which is a joy to see. The mindscape was pretty cool, too; it was nice to see the Doctor in pretty extreme peril for once (alas, it was not for the companion to save him this time...).
About the Cybermen themselves, I found them... neat, I guess? I do understand where people who go "finally the Cybermen are properly scary again!" come from, and I don't mind the technological advancements they've made (it makes sense, in a way) but 1. Cybermen of this strength only really work in isolated stories and I hope this doesn't become standard, and 2. it didn't do much for me, mostly because this is not what I find scary and fascinating about the Cybermen. The Cybermen are human. That's what makes them frightening, their cold logic and unrelenting drive to survive; they're all that human ingenuity, innovation and survival instinct the Doctor admires turned sour. I guess I was just expecting more of that rather than upgrades?
Love the cybermites. And the Cyberplanner clearly hasn't watched the same show as us if he didn't see the Doctor cheating coming approx. a hundred miles away. On the other hand, the emotiona manipulation of LURVE felt kind of unnecessary; it's gratuitous in the same way that Victorian!Clara snogging the Doctor was. Why does it have to be romance? Why can't it have been something, oh I don't know, that actually played into Clara's psychology that would've made her hesitate, made us think? Surely there would've been enough material for that inside the Doctor's head.
The last line was just. No. That's worse than the Sonic boner in last week's episode. I don't know what that line is doing there and call me a frigid bitch but I don't want it or anything like it on this show either.
TL; DR not perfect, but then again nothing is. With the exception of some minor things it was perfect, well-paced, and just all around exciting fun.
Also, I've been putting off the Classic Who watch for a while, but today I finally ventured into the Patrick Troughton era (which, together with Tom Baker's two last seasons, is the only one I haven't watched) with Power of the Daleks. Will hopefully get through The Highlanders tomorrow (JAMIE!).
(I've still only watched one season and a half of Blake's 7. And have s. 5 of SJA left. Ahahaha. *Rolls away*)
no subject
and yes! i love terra firma also, and it is like 'thank GOD, for that - things will now proceed to be fun and clever again', although charley sort of excuses the way everything's been really boring in 'caerdroia' by telling c'rizz that the doctor has been really sad without time. so that's why the stories have sucked. or similar. (i do also kiiiind of like the not-plot element parts of 'the next life'. the doctor gets some cracking lines, and one of the cliffhangers is grace threatening him with sex, which is hilarious).
i also really like 'the game!' although i was stupid enough not to ever twig that that was william russell. neeever mind. it is really sweet. i hear it's not very well regarded, but this is not so in my household.
and you hate the ones i hate! phew, this is all brilliant. i love having my opinions backed up by someone who has actually interacted wit the material recently/knows a thing or two about good stories.
on a different note -
i LOVE series 5 of sarah jane (and it is only three stories). the final episode, which isn't even supposed to be the final episode, is so BRILLIANT as a final episode. i think it's absolutely brilliant. and obviously 'the curse of clyde langer' is spectacularly good, too.
and series 2 of blake's 7 is the best series of blake's 7! (although 'voices from the past' is pretty bad, and i like 'the keeper' for reasons like 'jenna is awesome' and 'avon suggests to blake that they could rule the universe together' rather than because it is good in the strictest sense).
no subject
I might be more lenient with the Divergent if the Doctor's angst actually made any goddamn sense (you can't keep saying that "time doesn't exist!" and then talk about... time. That's obviously passing). Bleh. Terror Firma felt like it was trying to be all the things the Divergent arc played up-- a bit dark, mindfucky, and quite honestly sad -- but did this better partly because it has a fair share of humour too (re: The Next Life, in the end all I could think was: what kind of Lovecraftesque family life was it Rassilon left behind in Scherzoverse to fight the Time War...).
William Russell made everything even sweeter. And sadder. It was nice to see the Doctor so emotionally affected by an event that doesn't feel contrived on the writer's part; especially Five, who despite some very emotional beats on the show often appears to remain stoic (stiff upper lip and all that).
Re: Three's a Crowd, I thought to myself: "is it shallow to want to hate a story just because Five slags off Tegan in the beginning?" But then it was legitimately bad, so all was well. Also I am very flattered to be considered a person who knows things about good stories.
I should really get around to the last of SJA-- I watched the first four seasons in... probably less than a week. I don't know why I haven't, actually; it's a really good show after all. But then it will be over and I will be sad. :c
It's not that it isn't good or that I don't like it, I just-- have lots of things I want to watch and then I get side-tracked and never finish anything? Meh.
LET'S NOT EVEN TALK ABOUT BOOKS I still haven't finished The Dark Path (and I don't really want to, because then I can pretend that the Master's inevitably terrible origin story doesn't actually happen).