tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post1429142270708476473..comments2024-03-25T19:18:14.047-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Doctor Who, "Journey's End": All together nowAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-75059788878028497442008-08-06T20:03:00.000-04:002008-08-06T20:03:00.000-04:00Sorry to double-post, but it just hit me, and as a...Sorry to double-post, but it just hit me, and as a died-in-the-wool Anglophile I should be ashamed. The title, "Journey's End," is the front half of an old English saying, "Journey's End in Lover's Meeting." Clever old Russell T. Davies, to find a double-y, perhaps triple-y apt caption for the end of his and Rose's journeys.justjoan123https://www.blogger.com/profile/03333328551629388436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-91574617510334135152008-08-06T14:53:00.000-04:002008-08-06T14:53:00.000-04:00I just watched the last three episodes of DW in qu...I just watched the last three episodes of DW in quick succession and I have a totally shallow question that's driving me nuts. What the frell is up with Billie Piper's voice? She sounds as if she has had major oral surgery. That or a mouth full of mush. Has anyone else noticed, or is it just me? I quite like the new makeup, as the old spider-eyes mascara was always a problem, but this is way disturbing.justjoan123https://www.blogger.com/profile/03333328551629388436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-32983278231493651172008-08-04T19:27:00.000-04:002008-08-04T19:27:00.000-04:00"However, Rose was left by 'her' Doctor in the par..."However, Rose was left by 'her' Doctor in the parallel universe with another Doctor who was not quite the same. He could express his feelings for her, but he also has a bit of Donna in there (and perhaps that's what lets him be emotionally more open to Rose?)"<BR/><BR/>Um, no one's mentioned how squicky it is that a man's and a woman's consciousness merged, and in one body stayed merged (remember no one had to erase any memories from Doctor Two), and that Rose was handed off to that male/female hybrid?<BR/><BR/>I mean Donna wasn't the most accepting woman on the planet, emotionally or sexually. Will that possible homophobic distance from another woman actually affect their new relationship?<BR/><BR/>Conversely, would *Rose* be gunshy mashing lips with a prole girl's consciousness partially expressed in a copy of her true love's body? <BR/><BR/>I know, I know, it would be more subtle than that, but none of the sexual politics could be or would be explored, and considering what they took away from Donna to have Doctor Two happen, that's a damn shame.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-22402261422528513902008-08-04T13:41:00.000-04:002008-08-04T13:41:00.000-04:00"-- this despite the fact that all the advance pub..."-- this despite the fact that all the advance publicity about David Tennant doing "Hamlet" and this forcing "Doctor Who" to do nothing but TV-movies for 2009 should have made it clear the guy was staying in the role."<BR/><BR/>As I understand it, it is the budget cuts across the BBC that resulted in the "specials-only" 2009 offerings, and Tennant was able to take advantage of that to return to theatre. Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures have also been affected, as have other parts of the BBC such as news and current affairs, natural history programming etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-87781411890310667112008-08-04T13:29:00.000-04:002008-08-04T13:29:00.000-04:00I'm in the UK and the cliffhanger at the end of th...I'm in the UK and the cliffhanger at the end of the previous episode had me in open-mouthed shock for some minutes. I can't remember the last time I was so shocked by the ending of a TV programme (possibly it was Blake's 7 a *long* time ago!!) I knew that Tennant was going to be back for the specials, but I suddenly had doubts. Perhaps his appearances would be as flashbacks, or he would only appear for a short time? However, I decided he would not be regenerating, but only because he'll get a more spectacular send off scene when he goes, and because in the Confidential Tennant mentioned in passing being on set with Davros. I just don't understand why SciFi spoiled the cliffhanger. It makes no sense on any level. Don't they want the best possible viewing figures for their shows?<BR/><BR/>The Confidential also showed a version of the HumanDoctor/Rose kiss that was much more expressive than what was included in the episode - an interesting choice.<BR/><BR/>I don't know that Rose *did* get a happy ending. It could be viewed that way, if you want it to. However, Rose was left by 'her' Doctor in the parallel universe with another Doctor who was not quite the same. He could express his feelings for her, but he also has a bit of Donna in there (and perhaps that's what lets him be emotionally more open to Rose?) Viewing the Confidential, it isn't apparent that viewers were necessarily meant to find this a happy or easy resolution. It is up to us what we make of this ambiguity.<BR/><BR/>Donna's fate was heart-wrenching, but the Doctor couldn't do anything else. How could he let her die, given who he is? And from an external perspective, this is a children's show that also appeals to adults. You can't show a character choosing suicide over a happy - if oblivious - life. It is also easier to bring back a character who is still alive than one from the dead, so I am hoping Donna will return one day. I've loved all of the companions but she has been my favourite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-32152214639567953652008-08-04T11:38:00.000-04:002008-08-04T11:38:00.000-04:00I'm not sure the decison to include or not include...I'm not sure the decison to include or not include the Daleks will rest entirley with Moffatt. Like it or not, the Daleks are closely linked with Doctor Who in the UK and they do tend to generate a lot of publicity and ratings for the show. And with a year off between series, that might be enough time to let them rest and come up with new evils for them to be about.<BR/><BR/>As for the finale, I found it typical Davies writing. He sacrfices plot for the emotion of things. He wants to give Rose a happy ending and he does. But he also brings up some interesting ideas and then completely fails to follow through on them. It's almost as if he writes down every idea that comes to him and tosses them all in, rather than taking a few and expanding on them. Here you have a half-human/half-Time Lord character who is angry and born of war...and you leave him in the other universe with Rose to temper him. A Rose that has become more hardened and cynical since being left there. It makes you wonder if the Doctor has done parallel world any favors in that these two might now play off each other and corrupt each other into tryants or villians who wreak havoc on this parallel Earth.Michael Hickersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08283539524957605129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5514176400462928742008-08-03T22:37:00.000-04:002008-08-03T22:37:00.000-04:00The Torchwood and Sarah Jane cross-overs were a bi...The Torchwood and Sarah Jane cross-overs were a big disappointment for me. The tones of those shows are far too different. The Torchwood team just isn't the Torchwood team in the family-friendly, killing-as-a-last-resort Doctor Who universe. And, even if there was no direct interaction, there is simply no way Torchwood and K-9 should appear in the same episode.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-52595221818616150542008-08-03T22:33:00.000-04:002008-08-03T22:33:00.000-04:00Aren't any of Donna's friends going to ask where s...Aren't any of Donna's friends going to ask where she's been? Isn't she going to be confused by news stories about the Earth having been kidnapped? Isn't she going to be surprised she doesn't have a job?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-60886426952911810982008-08-03T22:10:00.000-04:002008-08-03T22:10:00.000-04:00"Did previous Doctors get anxious about changing?"..."Did previous Doctors get anxious about changing?"<BR/><BR/>Not that I recall, and I saw several of them in the original series. But keep in mind: the Doctor is running low on regenerations. In the original series, Time Lords had a limited number (12 or 13; I can't recall), and he may be concerned about throwing away his 10th so soon, especially when his 9th didn't last so long. Of course, I'm sure that if the series runs long enough to use up his regenerations, they'll come up with an excuse to get around it (the Time War caused him to attain infinite regeneration?).<BR/><BR/>How did I feel about the episode? Well, let's put it this way: a friend of mine missed it, and I was going to show her my recording. "It's an hour and a half -- well, actually, one hour for the episode and a half hour to wrap everything up." Seemed like the storyline wrapped up too quickly, leaving the episode to tread water for the rest of the time.<BR/><BR/>That said: Loved, loved, loved Donna with the Doctor's brain, spewing technobabble flawlessly. Loved the Doctor-2 picking up Donna's accent and mannerisms. <BR/><BR/>Amusing that they beat the Daleks by, essentially, reversing the polarity of the neutron flows -- by changing the thing so that, instead of destroying everything except the Daleks, it destroyed only the Daleks. And yes, I liked the Daleks saying "exterminate" in German.<BR/><BR/>Other than that... meh. I was expecting that Doctor-2 would sacrifice himself to save the universe, thus fulfilling the "one will die" prophecy without actually killing anyone. Or Donna would die, fullfilling what they've been saying for weeks. But no, the "one will die" was just a lie, or a mind-f***, whatever. And Donna doesn't seem to be quite as special as everybody has been hinting. Bleh. <BR/><BR/>Sorry, the Rose/Doctor-2 resolution made me want to yack. And no, I don't get why she had to go back to the parallel world, other than to get her out of the Doctor's hair.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-20485335584805566162008-08-03T12:35:00.000-04:002008-08-03T12:35:00.000-04:00did the central plot with Dalek Caan make sense to...<I>did the central plot with Dalek Caan make sense to anyone? Caan traveled through time into the Time War and rescued all the Daleks even though he knew (and says several times) that the Doctor was just going to kill them all again? </I><BR/><BR/>I think I can do this: First, Caan didn't rescue any daleks. He rescued Davros, who created the new army from his tissue, the way he created the original Daleks from his own Kaled race.<BR/><BR/>But Caan, when slipping into The Time War had to stare into time itself and was forced to confront all of The Daleks' actions throughout time and conclude they were evil.<BR/><BR/>Having been driven mad and accepting the rebuilding of the Dalek race as part of his inevitable timeline, he realizes the only proper end the Daleks could have would be at the hands of their original enemy, The Doctor (who dithered and sloppily botched his initial genocide attempt at their beginning). And Fate drives him to manipulate events so that both his creator, Davros, and his destroyer, The Doctor, are confronted by the ultimate results of their actions. (Davros is too proud, of course, to accept that his great creation would recognize itself as unworthy of existence. But still fun to try to show him.)<BR/><BR/>Not that I don't think there was plenty of poppycock, and that the TARDIS dragging the Earth across space and time is one of the most retarded things I've ever seen. But I like the idea of The Self-Immolation of the Daleks (now there's an episode title!), and that they'd need The Doctor's help in achieving that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-36230146221719045752008-08-03T07:37:00.000-04:002008-08-03T07:37:00.000-04:00Thank you, antid oto! I've been trying to make sen...<I>Thank</I> you, antid oto! I've been trying to make sense of this and every time I end up with a headache. There should at least be a <I>bit</I> of sense or internal logic in things like this, and this finale lacked it.<BR/><BR/>Dunno, maybe the setup was too good, but this episode felt forced, empty and way too artificial. The DoctorDonna, or DonnaDoctor, or Doctor Ten-and-a-half was just plain silly. The big tear in the universe was in the end just the Tylers coming back so Rose could get an end to her story (FINALLY) when her story was actually pretty awesomely closed back in season 2. The gathering of EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING RTD EVER USED didn't actually go anywhere. And once more, RTD 'killed' a companion without actually killing her.<BR/><BR/>Big, loud and dumb. It did it for me when I saw it, but it really doesn't hold up. But huge props to Catherine Tate. Who knew!dark tylerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13461345493748899275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-106259018361751032008-08-02T23:52:00.000-04:002008-08-02T23:52:00.000-04:00I realize it's in bad form to complain about a log...I realize it's in bad form to complain about a logic hole in an episode that was such a mess in so many ways, but I've been waiting to ask this for weeks, since I also watched via...alternate means: did the central plot with Dalek Caan make sense to <I>anyone</I>? Caan traveled through time into the Time War and rescued all the Daleks even though he knew (and says several times) that the Doctor was just going to kill them all again? And Caan did all this, and the Daleks created a universe-destroying planet-weapon, just to make a point to the Doctor about how he corrupts the humans who follow him? Was that supposed to be what happened?<BR/><BR/>I'm not usually this geeky about details, but it's been bugging me.Antid Otohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08507369612619066715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-6219260885555792572008-08-02T21:04:00.000-04:002008-08-02T21:04:00.000-04:00http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/ar...http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/<BR/>article1467855.eceKLEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467293647066420525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-90990209737758886352008-08-02T21:03:00.000-04:002008-08-02T21:03:00.000-04:00http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/ar...http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article1467855.eceKLEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467293647066420525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-61421026149497020442008-08-02T20:57:00.000-04:002008-08-02T20:57:00.000-04:00Dalek's speaking German was brilliant - things tha...Dalek's speaking German was brilliant - things that are ridiculous and overwrought become sublimely so in German!<BR/><BR/>And sorry to burst everyone's bubble about Martha joining TW - it's clear that's where she was intended to go - <BR/>http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article1467855.eceKLEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467293647066420525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-74505185271522748252008-08-02T19:21:00.000-04:002008-08-02T19:21:00.000-04:00I thought it was pretty bad except for the last fi...I thought it was pretty bad except for the last fifteen minutes where there was some real character moments and emotion instead of not particularly interesting sci fi mumbo jumbo.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-70281758039310368992008-08-02T19:02:00.000-04:002008-08-02T19:02:00.000-04:00Definitely felt like Davies was wrapping up his ru...Definitely felt like Davies was wrapping up his run here, which I felt was kind of nice. Tennant and Tate both were excellent as always. I wish all the cameos could have had more plot meaning (even Rose just stood around most of the episode before getting her kind-of-silly-resolution with the doctory clone), but it was fun to see everybody again nonetheless. Plus it set Mickey up to where he can be used again down the line, which is great news by me.<BR/><BR/>Not sure how I feel about Donna's fate. Was taking away her memories the doctor's call alone, or did I miss a part where she asked him to fix it by any means necessary? Great reactions though by Donna's family. Wilf in particular has been fantastic all season, and Donna's Mom always seemed very real, if not terribly likable.<BR/><BR/>Lastly, John Barrowman continues to amaze me by being spectacularly awful whenever he's called on to do something dramatic (ie: reacting to the appearance of the daleks last episode, torchwood in general), but so amazingly fun and enjoyable when given something funny (ie: hitting on Harriet Jones, Former Prime Minister or debating nicknames while hugging Mickey). I really can't think of another actor with such an extreme divide in ability between comedy and drama.<BR/>-LanceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-83440435489607911052008-08-02T10:22:00.000-04:002008-08-02T10:22:00.000-04:00Well, I guess it seemed a lot weaker to me than to...Well, I guess it seemed a lot weaker to me than to everyone else. The CloneDoctor/Rose ended just grated on me. It drained "Doomsday" of its power and just stank of fanfiction. I realize that RTD <I>lurves</I> Doctor/Rose but I agree with Moffat.<BR/><BR/>I hated the way Martha was used. Agyeman is such a beautiful and magnetic actress that it was palatable, but the only way I was able to stomach it was to believe that Martha was bluffing the whole time and never meant to use the Osterhagen Key.<BR/><BR/>Donna's ending was better; it was RTD at his nimble, facile (I mean that in a good way) best. The explanation even made faux-science-sense.<BR/><BR/>What I liked? Well, everyone acted his of her <I>tuchas</I> off. Tennant and Tait's mirror sequence was not only beautifully done, but exquisitely paced. Catherine Tait's portrayal of Donna's breakdown was great, and harder to do than she made it look. The characters from the different seasons/series were well-integrated. Davros final accusation to the Doctor had some real weight behind it.<BR/><BR/>Final opinion? I liked it, but there were some flaws that kept me from loving it.ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02705796697198412139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2396740367041766262008-08-02T07:36:00.000-04:002008-08-02T07:36:00.000-04:00I remember being a little distracted by the last s...<I>I remember being a little distracted by the last scene between Donna and the Doctor. It seems unrealistic that she would be so dismissive; I definitely would have expected a more "what's this, a handsome man in my parlor?" vibe, if not actual flirting. In fact, she was downright rude.</I><BR/><BR/>I thought that, too, for a second, and then remembered that Donna has never found The Doctor attractive; he's much too scrawny for her liking. So even if he was some random guy in her mom's house, she'd be dismissive of him.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-36147028742075740752008-08-02T05:34:00.000-04:002008-08-02T05:34:00.000-04:00When Doctor Donna emerged after having been shot b...When Doctor Donna emerged after having been shot by Davros I turned to my husband and said, "Look! a Donna es Machina!" But truth be told, I just didn't care.<BR/><BR/>I didn't care that things kept perfectly happening at the exact right moment, I didn't care that the Doctor 2 & Rose's ended was so sappy (I still cried), I didn't care that the whole Rose must live on alta-world and Mickey gets to live on Earth with Cap'n Jack and Martha. I just didn't care. I still loved every moment of it.<BR/><BR/>And I'm wrecked about Donna. Not just because it's a fate worse than death, but because it means we don't get to see Donna and the Doctor anymore. I keep thinking maybe she can temp for Ianto in Torchwood...but it's just not the same. She won't be our Donna.<BR/><BR/>But: Love Daleks speaking German, love all the compainions running the Tardis (and the Doctor telling Jackie not to touch anything...I wish she had punched him for that one. Jackie has proven to be a far stronger and smarter person than the Doctor gives her credit for), loved Donna, even as Doctor Donna, still trying to cop-a-feel off of Cap'n Jack.<BR/><BR/>I never watched the original series, although my husband did, and he said he felt like this was a wonderful end to the whole thing (although he's excited for Series 5 and the movies) and I agreed. I loved how they ended this series, as opposed to 1, 2 & 3, with simply the Doctor, alone in the Tardis. The Lonely God.Grunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03308246886810700890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-14987299635335553702008-08-02T04:45:00.000-04:002008-08-02T04:45:00.000-04:00About two-thirds of the way through this episode, ...About two-thirds of the way through this episode, with reality bombs and planetary transmitters and half-mad prophet Daleks, I found myself thinking, "Everyone says Davies is better at the emotional stuff than the sci-fi--dunno if this is better sci-fi, but I'm certainly not feeling any emotion." I was pretty bored through most of the middle, frankly.<BR/><BR/>But then the Doctor 2/Donna interactions began, which were adorable--Tennant and Tate do pretty good imitations of each other--and I started getting interested again. I was ambivalent about the Rose ending--meh. Didn't kill me like the last visit to Bad Wolf Bay, which left me sobbing like a teenager. I assume the Doctor's child who will die is Doctor 2--what more direct child could he have?<BR/><BR/>But Davies totally destroyed me with the Donna ending, and the final conversation between Wilfred and the Doctor. It is a truly tragic end for Donna; she deserved better than that. I'll miss Catherine Tate--I think she's been a brilliant companion.<BR/><BR/>Has there been any speculation on who the new Companion might be? The Doctor, I feel, will be quite damaged in Season 5, having said goodbye to Rose and Donna forever in the same day...Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01288100796201737845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-13866106879948845092008-08-02T03:22:00.000-04:002008-08-02T03:22:00.000-04:00A lot was a cop-out and touchy feely and shipperfu...A lot was a cop-out and touchy feely and shipperful. <BR/>And thats what Davies does, incredibly well. Even when I was watching Rose accept her Doctor-2 and I knew this was a cop out and stupid and everything else mentioned above, I cried.<BR/>Its a weird balance that Davies can hit, that I would place money on Moffatt failing at. There are these gratuitous pay-offs, that are just too much (entirety of the new Who teams coming together, the hand being a basic panacea for all hell breaking loose) that still make you kinda happy and emotional and pleased with the show. God only knows how he gets away with it.<BR/>And the Donna-Doctor Doctor-Donna play was exactly what Catherine Tate and David Tennant did all season: be brilliant together. They just amped it up and made you prematurely miss Donna even more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-39871272682417613182008-08-02T01:42:00.000-04:002008-08-02T01:42:00.000-04:00Moffat on Rose and Doctor-2 on Earth-2: "You've g...<A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaboP4IE8nE" REL="nofollow">Moffat on Rose and Doctor-2 on Earth-2</A>: "You've got to give the Doctor credit for dumping a slightly clingy girlfriend."Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02438138745372633266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-16363587367528449922008-08-02T01:20:00.000-04:002008-08-02T01:20:00.000-04:00As far as Caan's prediction that the most faithful...As far as Caan's prediction that the most faithful companion would die, I'm thinking he was talking about himself and his relationship to Davros. Because any other explanation seems unfulfilling.Toby O'Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06999037844031101965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-88447986888841212172008-08-02T01:15:00.000-04:002008-08-02T01:15:00.000-04:00I remember the first time I saw a picture of Tenna...I remember the first time I saw a picture of Tennant as Doctor Who, having no idea who he was or how he'd play the character, and thinking: "That guy looks really cool."<BR/><BR/>Yeah, the severed hand has been in play not only on this show but on Torchwood, so this felt like a payoff. The fake regenration might seem like a cheat, until you consider that the whole regeneration idea itself is a cheat.<BR/><BR/>And now I'm going to pop in my Jekyll DVD...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com