Liveblogging the latest SJA

[neadods]

I wanted so much to squee myself senseless, but this was as much everything I hate about an RTD script as what I love about one.

Why send a squad of armed soldiers into the suburbs to announce a death, even that one? What the heck do they expect Sarah Jane to do, blow up the Earth in mourning? Seriously, here I was all set to squee and RTD lives down to my worst fears of him going senselessly over the top before the opening credits.

I don't care what they call it; that thing is a Skesis.

I like how they're handling Luke. Yeah, they don't have a lot of Tommy Knight's time this season, but they haven't just patted him on the head, sent him off to Oxford, and forgotten his existence.

"I don't think he's dead." Well, there's a switch from classic Who! Admit it, Sarah Jane, you were always crying over the idea of the Doctor having croaked, even after you saw him regenerate.

You're a good man, Haresh. A very good man, considering the nonsense you get from your wonky neighbor.

Okay, the UNIT theme does make me squee. Unreservedly. So does a mention of Liz! Now this is the best of what RTD can do, I'll grant that. LIZ! ONNA MOON!

Four! Three! It's just something in my eye, really. I'm not choking up at all.

Jo! Don't ever change! Actually, you haven't, not one bit, and it's wonderful. And thank you RTD, for having Sarah Jane and Jo start laughing and hug and compliment each other. Now THAT'S how companions are supposed to do it! Damned shame you forgot that before Once again the kiddie show is more mature than the family show.

And Jo gets to have a huge family and a happy life. (Figures; the kiddie show is the only one with the only intact, happy families before the Ponds.) That's the way it's supposed to be. Traveling with the Doctor is supposed to make you better when it's over, not make you miserable. Yeah, Jo has a right to have a pang, but to hug Sarah Jane and plan to be brilliant in tandem? THAT'S what ex-companions do, not snipe at each other!

Metebilis Three mention! Drink! Peladon! Aggador! Drink! And more laughter and hugs instead of one-upping each other? WHY COULD SCHOOL REUNION NOT BE LIKE THIS?

Crawling through a ventilation shaft? I may have squeed just a tiny bit. Now all we need is a quarry scene and someone reversing the polarity of the neutron flow.

Eleven! "Right now... ooo... he's in a lot of trouble." The Doctor certainly hasn't changed. Only Seven could think ahead, really. "It's like you've been baked." Not ginger, but still rude. C'mon Doctor! You've seen Sarah Jane relatively recently and you go wibbly over her, and Jo gets "you've been baked"? Someone still a tad jealous of Professor Jones?

A QUARRY! \o/ And an escape through ventilation shafts! Oh please, oh please, oh please, reverse the polarity. Please?

"It's a planet on a honeymoon. It married an asteroid." I must admit, RTD does beautiful Doctor piffle. But then, just because RTD also can't allow sheer joy for the sake of joy even in the kiddie show, he has Sarah Jane asking a question that you'd think she'd've brought up a regeneration or two ago. And then doubles down the depressive drama by giving Jo one of those "even though I had a happy life it kinda wasn't really because the last showrunner has a thing about pining women and has a problem with life on Earth" speeches and suddenly I'm so glad RTD is gone because I am so damned tired of that! Oh, and heap depression on the Doctor's head.

I don't miss any of that. I don't miss it one bit and I'm seriously sorry that it hasn't been stabbed in the heart and ripped out of this episode. Why does the Doctor have to give her the "it's a wonderful life" speech? Seriously, why can't RTD let ONE SINGLE COMPANION look the Doctor dead in the eye and say "I had a wonderful life with you and you showed me how to have a wonderful life without you and I lived it to the fullest"?

This is why RTD is on my shitlist. (This and turning Torchwood into underage snuff.) Because even the companion who left by her own choice to follow her own bliss suddenly gets saddled with lifelong regret that must be magically healed by the Doctor.

FUCK. THAT. This one scene is wiping out any squee I had, and what's really sad is, RTD so obviously meant it to be the uplifting "maybe life on Earth doesn't suck after all" moment.

But it's not like Jo was considered fit to make that decision on her own, apparently.

Oh, wait, and even in the kiddie show with the one big happy family RTD can't leave his shattered family issues out of it. Because the Joneses may be together, but they aren't *together* together, and being activists = being bad, neglectful parents.

I am so very tired of RTD's issues. I'm even more tired of him bringing them up in every single damned plot.

Not even the ventilation shaft joke is going to cheer me up now. The mood has been killed.

Considering the hysteria around possibly casting a man of color or a woman as Eleven, I'm surprised that the big wank now is over the number of regenerations and not "I can be anything."

Am I the only one who notices that the current key to the TARDIS is not the key as either Sarah Jane or Jo remembers it?

Okay, I am enjoying the retrospective, especially Jo's Earthly travels. But I'm still mad at RTD. Especially with Jo saying how much the Doctor meant to her while not giving a message to her own friggin' grandson who's only standing right there.

"If that day ever comes, I think the whole Universe might shiver." It may be Matt talking, but I'm hearing RTD's voice, not the Doctor's.

"Find yourself a fellow." I'd love to hear that as randy Jo talking, but once again, I'm hearing nothing but RTD's "you're nobody until you have somebody to love you" trope rearing its head yet a-friggin'-gain.

Sarah Jane's tracked down the other companions! Fanon becomes canon!

Would have been the perfect episode if it hadn't become a laundry list of RTD's standard personal issues.

Comments

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Yup - that's pretty much how my response went as well - it could've and should've been so good - and would've been in any other writer's hands. *wants to smack RTD upside the head, then take away his computer and hands so he can no longer write such crap.*

[neadods.livejournal.com]

It's becoming paint by numbers, isn't it? Fanservice, followed by "my life is nothing without you, a little more fanservice, something emotionally swelling, shattered family, Doctor makes grand speech because nobody else is allowed to, fanservice.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Yup! I'm sorry, but I just think the man's a menace to the Whoniverse and the sooner someone puts their foot down and stops him writing for it, the better!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

He can do some things right... but damnit, they come with such baggage that I can't focus on what's right for the forest of what's wrong.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I know some of my FList were really really excited about the episode before it aired - but I couldn't be, because it was penned by RTD.

[tiggerallyn.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one who notices that the current key to the TARDIS is not the key as either Sarah Jane or Jo remembers it?

No, you're not. I almost think it would have been better if they had remembered the old key, and then the Shansheeth couldn't get it to work. :)

Also, did you notice that the resolution was basically the same as Children of Earth? Feedback to the alien mind machine, which causes the whole thing to go kaplooey?

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I almost think it would have been better if they had remembered the old key, and then the Shansheeth couldn't get it to work

For a split second, I thought that *was* the plan, then I saw the Yale key taking shape.

Also, did you notice that the resolution was basically the same as Children of Earth?

It would take about three hours to list all the SF plots resolved by that ploy, even if I limited myself to starting with Zoe doing it in whatever the name of that episode was. Cliche-o-rama, and I notice that the comment about "once their memories are drained they die" was conveniently forgotten as the Doctor ordered them to go ahead and drain their memories.

Is it so much to ask that a plot be internally consistent for 40 minutes?

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

It was The Invasion where Zoe blew up the computer by putting it into an infinite loop.

Is it so much to ask that a plot be internally consistent for 40 minutes?

Of course, silly! It's penned by RTD - what makes you think he'd start being consistent now?!

[tiggerallyn.livejournal.com]

Of course, silly! It's penned by RTD - what makes you think he'd start being consistent now?!

QFT! :)

Here's my own thoughts on the story; I enjoyed it in the moment, but it had serious problems and was, without doubt, the weakest outing for Matt Smith's Doctor.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Heh!

Thanks for the link...

[neadods.livejournal.com]

RTD’s great problem as a writer, in my view, is that he favors the emotional beats of the story over the plot beats

Quoted for great truth.

[jeff-morris.livejournal.com]

Of COURSE UNIT shows up with a fully military contingent. What part of "secret organization" don't you understand?

I was especially touched with Sarah's thoughts re: Harry. I had a great experience with Ian during the 1986 TARDISCON and I was just utterly devastated when word of his sudden death came around.

My own thoughts about the difference between Jo & Sarah versus Rose & Sarah was that in this case it was two former companions as opposed to a past and current--one who had absolutely no idea that the Doctor had a long line of previous companions and thought she was "speshul".

In case you didn't notice, I grew to loathe Rose, I really did.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

What part of "secret organization" don't you understand?

I'd like to know what part RTD doesn't understand... but I already knew it, so it's best for the blood pressure not to go there.

in this case it was two former companions as opposed to a past and current

Even so, Rose had seen the Doctor pick up other travelers before, sometimes at *her* request (Adam, attempted Mickey). So the idea that she wasn't the first required a between-episode lobotomy, really.

[jeff-morris.livejournal.com]

Even so, Rose had seen the Doctor pick up other travelers before, sometimes at *her* request (Adam, attempted Mickey). So the idea that she wasn't the first required a between-episode lobotomy, really.

How so? It's not like he ever spoke of others. As far as she knew she was "first". Because she was "special". (gag)

I don't know if you ever saw the old Time-Log parody story "Trapped To Death" (which was a send-up of a notorious hurt/comfort story called 'Deathtrap'). It begins literally with "The Doctor was dead. He was very very dead. He was so dead you'd stub your toe on him if you tripped over his body." It continues with Sarah Jane going nuts, reading her angsty poetry by his grave, etc....until the Doctor shows up, because of course he wasn't dead.

This was running through my mind the entire first episode, and I loved Sarah's expression upon hearing the news: "Pull the other one, it has bells on it."

[neadods.livejournal.com]

It's not like he ever spoke of others. As far as she knew she was "first".

Nine to Rose, The Doctor Dances: "I've travelled with a lot of people, but you're setting new records for jeopardy friendly."

[jeff-morris.livejournal.com]

Well now, this is a bit embarrassing, given that I just found and rewatched that episode this past weekend. :)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Yes, you ought to be embarrassed!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

PS - I hadn't heard of Trapped to Death. Sounds like a hoot!

[jeff-morris.livejournal.com]

Oh, trust me, what made it bad was that it was such a dead-on parody of the original.

The Companions of Doctor Who had such a talent base, starting with Cheryl Duval and going from there. I still have that zine, which features a sketch she did of Adric carving a cyber-pumpkin with Nyssa looking on and saying "You know, you're really sick..."

[neadods.livejournal.com]

The Companions of Doctor Who had such a talent base, starting with Cheryl Duval

Ohhhh yeah. I worked w/Cheryl back in the day.

[stoplookingup.livejournal.com]

I really think that you can sum up Rusty's version of DW with, "Female human companion seeks affirmation from the Doctor." Though I suppose it could be argued that Donna gets a different twist on that theme: "Female human companion fails to adequately seek affirmation from the Doctor; is mindwiped."

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I really think that you can sum up Rusty's version of DW with, "Female human companion seeks affirmation from the Doctor."

Pretty much, yup.

[wendymr.livejournal.com]

I almost feel as if we watched different episodes! I still don't care for Eleven (which was really disappointing as I went into the two-parter hoping that he might appeal more to me now, but that wasn't the case), but I did enjoy the story, and all the little beats to the long-ago and more recent past.

Rather than try to explain how I saw some of the things you really disliked, I'll just link to selenak 's review, which says it so much better than I could. Especially her commentary on Jo telling the Doctor that she always hoped he'd come back - of course she would have, but that so does not exclude her having a brilliant life regardless!

Anyway, I liked it, fwiw, and loved seeing an RTD script again - it had everything I really missed about S5.

Sorry for all the edits - LJ is screwing up selenak's nick :P

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Boy, LJ was really fighting you, wasn't it?!

I've seen a lot of squee on my flist for the episode. Obviously, I didn't share it. I'll admit the man can write well for emotion; I just dislike the emotions that he always chooses to portray and how he gets the audience there.

[mtgat]

So we have a long, convoluted plot about faking the Doctor's death, building a rocket ship to shoot his remains into space (?), not to mention constructing a machine that can create matter out of human memory (which would be dead useful so we'll never see it again), with a UNIT co-conspirator who made me miss Agent Johnson a lot.

I am gearing up in a rant explaining this to my sweetie, who doesn't even watch any of the three shows, who breaks in before I can get to the same point: "Why didn't they just take Martha's key?"

RTD: enamored with villains whose plots are super-convoluted so the heroes look more awesome unraveling them with the deus ex machina ending. I was mostly sad because I do think "Invasion of the Bane" is one of the best things modern Who has done.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

RTD: enamored with villains whose plots are super-convoluted so the heroes look more awesome unraveling them with the deus ex machina ending.

Yeah. *sigh* It's all whatever gets the emotions jumping the most at any point, and never, never, ever about logic or internal consistency.

[mondyboy.livejournal.com]

I can't say I can disagree with too much of what you've said here. The fan sank stuff is all so wonderful. But the actual plot is nonsensical. What happened to draining them of memories? And why go through the whole charade when all they needed to do was plug them into the machine? I mean the UNIT lady who was in on it woud have known at the very least that SJS had the memories to make the key.

The stuff about Jo pining for the Doctor is bloody annoying. So is the activist = neglectful theme. What sort of message is that sending to kids. That having parents who care about the planet is bad because they might run off to protest and
leave you with a dotty grandmother.

That said, the little continuity moments, even the roll call of companions at the end was nice and sweet. Interesting though that Mel and Ace don't get a mention. Or even Grace.