Flailing like Kermit on Crack

[neadods]

Yes, this is definitely time to open up that can of industrial-strength squee!

So, does anyone need me to explain grits? Or at least describe them, because I can't really figure out why you'd do that to good corn. "Hey, let's take this foodstuff that dries quite nicely and soak it in LYE instead! That sounds nummy!"

The Irish are not allowed to gag. Corned beef is equally gross. Delicious, but gross.

*ahem* I'm babbling about grits because when I think about the ep I get totally incoherent. OMG, so much WIN! I adore how Rusty references old school, then polishes it up and adds that little extra bit of shine - not only did he finally make the Doctor outright admit that there should have been an L plate* on the TARDIS all along, we finally, finally get an explanation of why the Doctor picked that moniker, and it's so, so characteristic! Yes, he's the man who wants to make people better. He always has been. He wanted to make his people better (mostly by being a gadfly, but still); he makes his companions better, stronger, faster or dead; he made the universe better through the ultimate sacrifice and exile.

And the Master! I've been moaning all along that I didn't want to see the Master back because he's such a two-dimensional villain. Well, he's two-dimensional no longer! (Or at least he has a better backstory than "I am determined to prove a villain.") Words fail me at that slasheriffic phone call. In the immortal words of Rupert Giles, "The sub is rapidly becoming text." Oh yeah, they were at it like bunnies. But then, they always have. Which is why this macro made me laugh like a hyena when I saw it.

Okay, the imperial attitudes of the current actual President give me the wiggins, but the "I'm taking charge here, bitch" scene (complete with the terrific UNIT theme) was 100% win. ETA: As a comment on violetisblue's LJ reminded me, there is one big flub. Nevermind that the BBC grasp of the typical American is about as accurate as the Big Finish grasp of American accents. We wouldn't be fully dressed or staring in silent shock at the screen. All this is happening at the crack of "my God, why am I awake?" for just about all of our time zones (except for Hawaii, who's still staggering in drunk from the night before), so anyone who's bothering to be awake would probably be in their PJs. And our reaction to seeing the President toasted on TV (aside from the cheers of the hard fringes of the opposite party) would be about 10 seconds of silent shock and then everyone would look at their watch and say "nuclear warhead impact in 5... 4... 3..."

And while I'm kind of sorry to see that it was a false spoiler that Sarah Jane Smith was already in the van they were dragging the Jones family off in, it's such a relief that the spoiler that they would reference Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's death was also bogus.

Come to think of it, the whole set of spoilers I linked to pretty much got blown away. Heh.

The language geek in me is thrilled to the tips of my gerunds to see someone who actually knows what "decimate" means! But the music geek is confused. That song they played? I went to iTunes and checked out songs called "Voodoo Child" but couldn't find anything that sounded like it. Don't see a music credit in the end scroll either, which I thought would be illegal. Who did it, what was it called, and am I going to have to go to amazon.co.uk or Waterstones to get the CD?

The only thing I'm left wondering (aside from "Holy Decimation, Batman! How are we gonna get out of this?") is how long it's going to take for the wank that Martha "ran away" hits the net.

I was never a patient woman. Waiting for next Saturday is going to kill me. (But at least it's not up against the Shore Leave masq. again this year. That would seriously slay me dead!)

Ye gods, I really do turn 14 again in this fandom.

And then there's this episode's deep thought, now that my brain is coming back online from the squee. "You looked into the Time Vortex, Rose. No one's meant to see that." Except that *everyone* who's a Time Lord has to see it. As a child. Is some of the Doctor's inability to master some basic Time Lord skills, like piloting the TARDIS and controlling the end result of regenerations due to his fear of the vortex? He ran away. Obviously, that didn't disqualify him for the Academy; he (eventually) scraped through, but is that childhood terror the reason why he freaks out at the idea of anyone seeing the vortex? Especially since it might have started to blow out a non-Gallifreyan's brain, but he admits that it "inspired" others of his people instead of turning them all into pint-sized nutters with a Zeus complex?

*L plates = "STUDENT DRIVER" signs.

Comments

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Yes, she did run away, and I didn't like that

I don't actually see her as running away, although I knew that could look that way, especially in comparison to Rose, who never, ever budged from the Doctor's side save that syringe to the ass).

I don't see that she calculated that her best way of helping was to get off the ship.

I figure, Jack gave her a direct order. One which the Doctor does not countermand (that's kind of what I saw in her going to him - waiting to hear if he had a plan so cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel.) The Doctor had no ideas, Martha had none - we can watch her mentally flailing for alternatives - and with those two wells of inspiration dry, she followed Jack's command.

A little fuzzy on why she didn't bring Jack along, especially since he knows how to work the thing and there's nothing *he* can do up there either except re-enact the Gastlycrumb Tinies for the Master's amusement.

And for once no Daleks in the season finale

I do not know any spoilers for the last episode, but I'm still not going to be sure of that until the end credits roll. Rusty may try to milk the contract to the last drop, although I hope not!

It's now officially canon!

Doctor/Jack - and just about Doctor/Master too - for the win!

[wendymr.livejournal.com]

I think it's because she didn't bring Jack along that I'm convinced she was running away. Bringing Jack would mean they could work together to find a way out. On her own, what could she do? Jack understands the technology here, and pretty much what the Master is up to - maybe not as well as the Doctor, but better than she does, and she has to have noticed that. Plus he knows how to use the wrist computer!

Plus I think her panicky 'I'm going back up there' (or whatever it was she said then) reinforces the running away for me: she realised it was even less safe on Earth, so she decided she'd get back up where she might be safer (or where Jack and the Doctor could protect her).

I'm really trying to cut her some slack, because she's the one most personally and directly affected by all of this - her family's lives in danger, her flat blown up (and, hey, the Doctor's blown up Rose's job, Jack's ship and now Martha's flat!). But I still can't quite get past the whinging and that escape. :(

Ah well. Maybe next week will show me why I should like her again.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I need to rewatch and see if if was possible for her to cross the room and get back to Jack or not.

As for "I'm coming back," I'm classing that one along with "I'm coming for you, Rose," and "Someday I shall come back. Yes, I shall return." - less AIIEEE and more "I'm coming to help you."

On her own, what could she do?

And that's the million dollar question that we have to wait a #$()*!! week to get answered!

My fantasy is that she teams up with the underground that Sarah Jane and the Brigadier have already set up and the three of them, Franklin, Washington, and the horse, kick booty. That isn't going to happen, but that's what keyboards are for...

Dang, I've got the chamelion-arched Romana one, and that one, and the "What is Torchwood up to" one - this is going to be the ep that launched a thousand fics!

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

My thought? Jack wanted to stay- to try and protect the Doc. If he's there as an alternative "Play toy", maybe the Doc won't get beat up so bad?
(ooooh... that could come out SOOO wrong,.... or so right!)
(I think) He sent Martha away for twofold reasons- if she's on the outside,- there's still hope of getting help. She a smart one. Further- the Doc can take a lot of punishment and survive- even in his advanced years and Jack can just come back from teh dead... Martha? Despite the strength of her heart and courage- she gets dead once- that's IT.
And to top the icing with a dollop- he also knows that they BOTH will be stronger if she isn't there as a hostage. He just removed the cliche "I won't torture you directly- but I WILL torure your female friends!" Which- we KNOW would break Jack and the Doctor both into crawling on hands and knees and licking the Master's boots...
(Not that some people would mind that.... It's just Not my cup of tea- thank you!) :)

[fyrdrakken]

That's a good thought, regarding Jack trying to protect the Doctor. My own thought as to why send Martha out of there without him was that the Master was far more likely to let her go (because as far as he knows she's harmless on her own, because the only thing that interested him about her was that she's the Doctor's current Companion and now he's got the Doctor and doesn't need the girl as a hook) but would probably work a lot harder on finding an escaped immortal 200-year-old former-Time-Agent Torchwood head.

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

TRUE, an escaped Jack would be an Obvious Threat to the Master. I'm betting he's got something in that cute little armband that will help her down on the planet, while he plays "distraction" up on the ship...

I recall his line in Series one about "I wish I'd never met you- Doc, I was much better off being a coward."
And part of me goes "You were never a coward, Jack."

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

BTW?... LOVE That Icon! :D

[fyrdrakken]

There are a number of gorgeous icons posted to various communities in the last week that took advantage of that CGI sequence -- I decided I wanted one, and was pretty much spoiled for choice as to the crop (and text font) that I liked best. (I wound up raiding this set, which I note had three choices of Gallifrey icons amongst many lovely others.)

Brain--- circles,--- circles ---brain

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

Of course- on further thought, part of me wonders why the Master has never learned from the Multiple times he has underestimated the female Companions of the Doctor....
Jo, Sarah, Tegan and Nyssa and More have ALL gotten the drop on him.
(Course- I should know better to ask that question after his comments about being shot by a bug, and a GIRL at that, and how "Inappropriate" it was to die that way...)
So- GIVEN His apparent misogyny, it makes his "Marriage" even MORE suspect...

OK- Brain going in circles now... ACK!!!

Re: Brain--- circles,--- circles ---brain

[fyrdrakken]

That's actually been a good argument for the cracktastic theory that "Lucy Saxon" is in fact a chameleoned Romana (which I'm one of the lovers of, in large part due to wanting Romana back anyway) -- that Saxon is so apparently fond of her (rather than his usual Old School pattern of being quite willing to seduce a woman to get his ends but also being quite contemptuous of them), and that the Doctor's "and his wife?!" reaction was indicative of how OOC it would be for the Master to marry a mere human.

Re: Brain--- circles,--- circles ---brain

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

YEah- unless they are gonna throw canon OUT the bloody window and suddenly make the BOOKS Canon (Which creates SO many Paradoxes that the entire Universe should just fold up and go *BOOM* right now...) It Can't be Romana...
However- if you look at the fact that the Master has been called a "Master of Disguise," (though I've never seen it... :P) and Lucy is just part of that disguise... THAT makes a twisted sort of sense, because I don't think he'd have any problem with a human as an "Accessory", like a pair of shoes.

The Doctor could be confused because it would be beyond his comprehension to treat a human that way. (Even if he DOES take Martha for granted...)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

PS - and now that I'm waking up a little more the "When the Doctor ran" story and the "Why did he take Susan" stories are shaping up.

This really is going to be the ep that launched a thousand fics, and they just might all be mine!

[wendymr.livejournal.com]

Woohoo! Neafic! :)

And, yes, Martha could have got back to Jack. I watched that bit again earlier (mainly for the music at that point, which is just gorgeous and haunting), and she leaves the Doctor, dropping his hand (he looks hurt), and staggers backwards across the room. There seems to be a clear route to Jack, but she doesn't take it; just stands there shaking, looking around her, and then hits the wristcom.

I really, really want to believe her 'I'm getting back there' (or whatever it was) means she's changed her mind and wants to find a way to help. I hope so. Well, I'm sure that's what RTD has in mind. But I wonder if what he's really been trying to show us all along this season with Martha is what happens when a companion is pushed too far: continually slighted and compared unfavourably to her predecessor, her crush pointedly ignored and even slighted (the when you fancy someone and they don't even know you're alive line), dumped in untenable situations without even an apology. Then Jack arrives and suddenly she's relegated to even less importance to the Doctor, because it's clear that Jack is much more knowledgeable - suddenly she finds herself being ordered around by him as well. Plus Jack knew Rose too, so yet more wonderful-past-companion stuff to deal with. And now she's back home, her parents are being arrested, her flat's blown up, she's on the wanted list and she knows none of it would have happened if she'd never met the Doctor.

So... yeah, still trying to cut that slack, but I would find it fascinating if this really is RTD's point: an object lesson for the Doctor in companion relations as well as in not interfering with history (Harriet Jones' downfall, which created the void Saxon/Master was able to fill).

[neadods.livejournal.com]

what happens when a companion is pushed too far

That would certainly be a new dynamic. Martha's had a more uphill climb than any other companion I can think of, including Turlough - and HE was trying to kill the Doctor and the Doctor knew it! If the theory that "Rose" is this year's "Bad Wolf" then we still need a payoff for that - and if it's not true, then RTD has been pouring gas on a companion war in the fandom for jollies (he's been a fan forever, he cannot possibly have not forseen it) which is unprofessional in the extreme.

an object lesson for the Doctor in companion relations

I've waiting for two seasons now for the Doctor to realize that he is responsible for most of his current problems, including the loss of Rose, and I have yet to see a glimmer of it. That's making me quite frustrated. The Doctor can be clueless, but he's not supposed to be a dick. Yeah, he's backed down from Mr. "No second chances" by giving those chances to the last possible people he should be trying to help - a dalek and the Master - but Ten has yet to acknowledge onscreen that he's screwed up pretty seriously. Even Nine had that gobsmacked moment of "I caused this" on Satellite Five.

But last night I did forgive the Doctor for Harriet Jones. Well, no, forgive is *not* the right word, because Harriet was *right* and he idly changed history because he got his pants in a bunch. But in retrospect, I doubt that even Harriet at full power would have been able to hold off the Master once he decided to move in. The Doctor made it marginally easier, but once the Master appeared, I think things would be about where they are anyway.

I'm still trying to figure out Lucy Saxon. There is something bone-deep wrong in her, and I can't figure out what it is.

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

The Master's a Misogynist- always has been. (See previous comment about how he ALWAYS underestimates the Female Companion,) and for him- with THAt proclivity- to be Married?!?!
yeah- I don't think she actually exists... I think she's a really good hologram.

[fyrdrakken]

Oh, I'm definitely liking the idea of Martha as textbook example of mishandled companion. Because I really want to see some more of the Doctor's own mistakes coming back to bite him in the ass, like Torchwood and the gap in power created by Harriet Jones' ousting. And because I just don't see RTD as putting in the effort to give a satisfying end to the emotional arc that would have Martha contently returning to his side.

[wendymr.livejournal.com]

And yet she does return to his side, apparently - seems she's back next year, and there was that photo from filming way, way back with Martha and the Doctor apparently saying goodbye to Jack. So... how? And is it going to be resolved properly?

Jack sending her away so she can't be used against him and the Doctor... yeah, that makes sense. Still feeling Martha was a bit... well, not very brave, that's all. Not that I can really hold it against her, cos I'm not convinced I'd have done any better!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I'm not convinced I'd have done any better!

There is that drawback in having the audience identify with the companion - somehow the companions are always just that bit smarter and braver and have waaaaaay more endurance than any of us really would! :>

[fyrdrakken]

Yeah, that's basically what I'm afraid of, another "Doomsday" ending where RTD is quite happy at how he wound things up but a bunch of us are pissed off because of the wrenching sexism.