tardis_stowaway (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tardis_stowaway) wrote2010-06-20 01:25 am
tardis_stowaway) wrote2010-06-20 01:25 am
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Pandorica time!
Prior to watching 5x12, I was reflecting that I was not quite as jittery with anticipation and uncontrolled excitement as I used to be about finales in RTD's era. I've more or less enjoyed every episode this season except the Dalek one. However, Moffat just isn't as character driven as RTD, and it's characters who really get me to give my heart to a a show. S5 has been a great ride, but it's left me just a little bit cold and removed (or, looked at another way, a little less fevered and crazy over a fictional show).
The Pandorica Opens featured some outstandingly exciting storytelling, the return of my beloved Rory (sort of), Amy in mostly non-annoying mode, River finally winning my approval, and quite a cliffhanger. I am awaiting next week with all the patience of the Doctor waiting for Van Gogh to paint in linear time, which is to say none at all. Is it next week yet? The show still might not have 112% of my heart the way Eccleston and Tennant did, but it very much has my attention.
I've been trying to stay unspoiled, so I was totally surprised and pleased as punch to see the opening sequence with zillions of guest stars from earlier this season. One thing that Moffat really does well is actually making use of time travel to construct a story that doesn't take place linearly, and this episode, especially the opening, did a great job with that. Poor Vincent!!! Visions of the TARDIS exploding can't have done his mental health any good. River appears to held in the least competent high security prison EVER. Then we had UNEXPECTED LIZ TEN!!!!!! *cheers* Still skulking about trying to defend the kingdom single-handedly, I see. Carry on, Liz Ten. You rule! River goes to a bar to get a hand from the criminal underworld. (How many fanfics will be written where that vortex manipulator actually belonged to Jack?![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
honorh has a mini one tucked into her episode review) I like the fact that the showed us how River's part of a society where humans and other species coexist.
With this episode, I think I finally like River Song, at least this younger version of her. Rather than attempting to rub her specialness in everyone's faces, she went about her business of being badass. Showing, not telling. Much better. We're seeing more of her criminal side, which I think suits her personality. On a side note, one wonders how many of those Romans she had to snog to convince them that she was Cleopatra.
Fifty foot letters on a cliff face forming a message from the dawn of time? Clearly, it should have been WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. I would have died of crossover squee! Meanwhile, I hope that someone writes fic where the words the Doctor finds are not "hello sweetie" but "bad wolf."
Rory's back! He's rocking a Roman uniform and slaying a Cyberman with a fucking sword! The scene where the Doctor completely takes his presence for granted, hushes him, and doesn't realize how astounding and miraculous Rory is is really far too effective as symbolism for the Doctor's general attitude toward him (and to many of his companions' friends, family, and lovers.) Realizing that Rory was a bloody Auton broke my heart. He tried to save Amy, but it made sense that he wasn't created to let the human consciousness override the Auton programming. But is Amy dead or stunned? If dead, (a) Rory and Amy seem to be going for some world record for greatest number of times dying in each others' arms, and (b) that won't last. The reset button in the next episode is going to be large, my friends. What's killing me is that Rory is still self-aware even as his body acts like a murderous Auton. :'''-(
Holy shit, it's the Evil League of Evil and everyone's there! And they're trying to SAVE the universe! Alas, they're doing it wrong.
The earlier speech about what was inside the Pandorica made it really obvious that it was referring to the Doctor. However, I'd been assuming that some version of the Doctor was already locked in there. Whoops! Unfortunately, the scene where the Evil League of Evil locked the Doctor in the box seemed very slightly off. Partly, it was that I think the choice in music didn't work for me, and partly Smith just wasn't quite 100% selling me on his performance. (Might as well use this space to air my other major gripe with this episode: why so many flashback shots, sometimes of things that just happened? You're treating your audience like slow children.) Ah well.
Did the universe just end? Rassilon's spittle, I think it did. It looked rather like Van Gogh's Starry Night. In the spirit of the almost-H2G2 reference with the cliffs, I'm guessing next week's episode will consist entirely of one brief message: so long, and thanks for all the fish custard.
The Pandorica Opens featured some outstandingly exciting storytelling, the return of my beloved Rory (sort of), Amy in mostly non-annoying mode, River finally winning my approval, and quite a cliffhanger. I am awaiting next week with all the patience of the Doctor waiting for Van Gogh to paint in linear time, which is to say none at all. Is it next week yet? The show still might not have 112% of my heart the way Eccleston and Tennant did, but it very much has my attention.
I've been trying to stay unspoiled, so I was totally surprised and pleased as punch to see the opening sequence with zillions of guest stars from earlier this season. One thing that Moffat really does well is actually making use of time travel to construct a story that doesn't take place linearly, and this episode, especially the opening, did a great job with that. Poor Vincent!!! Visions of the TARDIS exploding can't have done his mental health any good. River appears to held in the least competent high security prison EVER. Then we had UNEXPECTED LIZ TEN!!!!!! *cheers* Still skulking about trying to defend the kingdom single-handedly, I see. Carry on, Liz Ten. You rule! River goes to a bar to get a hand from the criminal underworld. (How many fanfics will be written where that vortex manipulator actually belonged to Jack?
honorh has a mini one tucked into her episode review) I like the fact that the showed us how River's part of a society where humans and other species coexist. With this episode, I think I finally like River Song, at least this younger version of her. Rather than attempting to rub her specialness in everyone's faces, she went about her business of being badass. Showing, not telling. Much better. We're seeing more of her criminal side, which I think suits her personality. On a side note, one wonders how many of those Romans she had to snog to convince them that she was Cleopatra.
Fifty foot letters on a cliff face forming a message from the dawn of time? Clearly, it should have been WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. I would have died of crossover squee! Meanwhile, I hope that someone writes fic where the words the Doctor finds are not "hello sweetie" but "bad wolf."
Rory's back! He's rocking a Roman uniform and slaying a Cyberman with a fucking sword! The scene where the Doctor completely takes his presence for granted, hushes him, and doesn't realize how astounding and miraculous Rory is is really far too effective as symbolism for the Doctor's general attitude toward him (and to many of his companions' friends, family, and lovers.) Realizing that Rory was a bloody Auton broke my heart. He tried to save Amy, but it made sense that he wasn't created to let the human consciousness override the Auton programming. But is Amy dead or stunned? If dead, (a) Rory and Amy seem to be going for some world record for greatest number of times dying in each others' arms, and (b) that won't last. The reset button in the next episode is going to be large, my friends. What's killing me is that Rory is still self-aware even as his body acts like a murderous Auton. :'''-(
Holy shit, it's the Evil League of Evil and everyone's there! And they're trying to SAVE the universe! Alas, they're doing it wrong.
The earlier speech about what was inside the Pandorica made it really obvious that it was referring to the Doctor. However, I'd been assuming that some version of the Doctor was already locked in there. Whoops! Unfortunately, the scene where the Evil League of Evil locked the Doctor in the box seemed very slightly off. Partly, it was that I think the choice in music didn't work for me, and partly Smith just wasn't quite 100% selling me on his performance. (Might as well use this space to air my other major gripe with this episode: why so many flashback shots, sometimes of things that just happened? You're treating your audience like slow children.) Ah well.
Did the universe just end? Rassilon's spittle, I think it did. It looked rather like Van Gogh's Starry Night. In the spirit of the almost-H2G2 reference with the cliffs, I'm guessing next week's episode will consist entirely of one brief message: so long, and thanks for all the fish custard.