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kiki_engI feel like it's been longer than it actually has been since I've written about Doctor Who, probably because the show's in a pretty different place now than it was then, and also because I am so thrown by this season's schedule; April means a new season and there's a new story arc but not a new season and it is weirding me out.
There's a thing, now, and has been for a while, where I spend a chunk of my time watching Doctor Who angrily cursing at it. I love Doctor Who, but not this Doctor Who, is where I am now, I think. I go into each episode much more wary and less willing to be charmed by it.
I hadn't talked about Who for a while until last weekend, when I'm pretty sure that every time it came up I descended into angry ranting. Part of that has been me saying that I want a different showrunner. I have a strong sense that the number of women involved in production has been decreasing since Moffat took over, and, just, I have a lot of unhappiness that has been coming out as "Gone. I want him gone." I feel like Moffat's going to be sticking around for a while, though. I look at the new opening credits and the way they're looking more and more like the old credits, like the credits Moffat grew up watching, and think he is never going to leave. I don't feel like Moffat's done with Doctor Who, or close to being done with it.
So, Doctor Who is apparently something that I need to talk about, that I have feelings about that I need to get out. I jotted down reactions in pen and ink when I watched the first two episodes a couple weeks ago and am transferring the ones that still make sense to me, so: vomit-y not always positive episode reactions under the cut.
The Snowmen
I'm amused at the use of text to establish setting, the writing in the snow.
...and I basically fell instantly in love with Oswin again because I am apparently weak to the whole somewhat snarky historical bar-worker aesthetic/trope.
His glasses and grouchiness amused me a lot. (I think, on reflection, that the grouchiness is an Old Who/Tom Baker thing that is being brought back.)
The new credits amuse me. I feel like there is a vague lava-lamp vibe happening and am sort of waiting to see if they become progressively trippier like the old ones did.
"I resent your implication of impropriety. We are married." ♥
...I like the way Strax is supposed to return the person he can't remember to a place he can't logically remember. (Fail.)
:D Spiral staircases are awesome.
I want Oswin to be Mary Poppins, among other things.
"Do not attempt to escape or you will be annihilated. May I take your coat?" ♥ Strax.
Okay, so that Oswin would say "Pond" was so, so, obvious. (Agh.)
DEERSTALKER. (*settles in to wait for the rest of the hats to appear*) Also: Cosplaying.
"Good evening. I'm a lizard woman from the dawn of time and this is my wife." ♥
...and, wow. The doctor didn't give him a choice. He just- That's so dark, what he did, and, you know, that's not my doctor.
The Bells of Saint John
Okay, so this is the 90s tech episode. (I sort of can't believe that they are actually doing this episode.)
I like how he changes his clothes, like, clearly the wardrobe was what led to him not getting the reaction he wanted.
I am so excited at getting to see more of the TARDIS' interior. I basically want an entire episode where all they do is hang around in the TARDIS and be domestic.
...he really needs to be wearing better protective gear on his motorbike.
...which is apparently Sirius Black's motorbike. (Awesome.)
"Come back tomorrow. Ask me again."
I really don't feel like this episode was done well; I think that it failed to live up to the potential of a 90s tech episode. I think it was clumsy, and I also think that there should have been rollerblades/skateboards/biking stunts and just generally 90s-ness.
The Rings of Akhaten
...I really dislike Oswin's parents' romance. I sort of feel like I've seen this Hallmark made for TV movie, if that makes sense? ...and they don't seem to be real people, like, I do not feel that they exhibited any real character traits besides being a certain type of romantic. (...and, yeah, I'm a Beatrice/Benedick fan, not a Hero/Claudio fan, so...)
I find it kind of creepy that the Doctor apparently hung out in the 80s to make sure that Oswin was conceived in the usual way.
Why does the translator not work? This is bullshit. I get that this is supposed to be funny, but this is bullshit.
I feel like the Doctor on a flying thing like that happened in Old Who. ...or possibly Star Wars is confusing me somehow.
Hello, Indiana Jones.
Okay, I am charmed by the Lewis Carrol-quoting in spite of myself and being generally cranky.
I like the uniforms of the three hissing reptilian-type things.
"That's what I'll do; I will tell you a story."
The switching screens for Oswin thing in this episode really reminds me of Amy's pregnant/not pregnant thing.
I... feel like Doctor Who is becoming/has become a lot more simplified. Like, RTD's Who, for me, was all about character journeys and this new Who feels more like clunky adventure episodes, and like there's less respect for the viewer's intelligence. I feel so cranky about everything right now, and also like I'm not expressing my crankiness properly somehow, which is also making me cranky, which is kind of amusing. ...and I also feel kind of apologetic for the crankiness thing, which is ridiculous, but I am really not used to feeling this conflicted about a show that I am watching; it's a new experience for me, and I'm processing. Slowly. *hands*
There's a thing, now, and has been for a while, where I spend a chunk of my time watching Doctor Who angrily cursing at it. I love Doctor Who, but not this Doctor Who, is where I am now, I think. I go into each episode much more wary and less willing to be charmed by it.
I hadn't talked about Who for a while until last weekend, when I'm pretty sure that every time it came up I descended into angry ranting. Part of that has been me saying that I want a different showrunner. I have a strong sense that the number of women involved in production has been decreasing since Moffat took over, and, just, I have a lot of unhappiness that has been coming out as "Gone. I want him gone." I feel like Moffat's going to be sticking around for a while, though. I look at the new opening credits and the way they're looking more and more like the old credits, like the credits Moffat grew up watching, and think he is never going to leave. I don't feel like Moffat's done with Doctor Who, or close to being done with it.
So, Doctor Who is apparently something that I need to talk about, that I have feelings about that I need to get out. I jotted down reactions in pen and ink when I watched the first two episodes a couple weeks ago and am transferring the ones that still make sense to me, so: vomit-y not always positive episode reactions under the cut.
The Snowmen
I'm amused at the use of text to establish setting, the writing in the snow.
...and I basically fell instantly in love with Oswin again because I am apparently weak to the whole somewhat snarky historical bar-worker aesthetic/trope.
His glasses and grouchiness amused me a lot. (I think, on reflection, that the grouchiness is an Old Who/Tom Baker thing that is being brought back.)
The new credits amuse me. I feel like there is a vague lava-lamp vibe happening and am sort of waiting to see if they become progressively trippier like the old ones did.
"I resent your implication of impropriety. We are married." ♥
...I like the way Strax is supposed to return the person he can't remember to a place he can't logically remember. (Fail.)
:D Spiral staircases are awesome.
I want Oswin to be Mary Poppins, among other things.
"Do not attempt to escape or you will be annihilated. May I take your coat?" ♥ Strax.
Okay, so that Oswin would say "Pond" was so, so, obvious. (Agh.)
DEERSTALKER. (*settles in to wait for the rest of the hats to appear*) Also: Cosplaying.
"Good evening. I'm a lizard woman from the dawn of time and this is my wife." ♥
...and, wow. The doctor didn't give him a choice. He just- That's so dark, what he did, and, you know, that's not my doctor.
The Bells of Saint John
Okay, so this is the 90s tech episode. (I sort of can't believe that they are actually doing this episode.)
I like how he changes his clothes, like, clearly the wardrobe was what led to him not getting the reaction he wanted.
I am so excited at getting to see more of the TARDIS' interior. I basically want an entire episode where all they do is hang around in the TARDIS and be domestic.
...he really needs to be wearing better protective gear on his motorbike.
...which is apparently Sirius Black's motorbike. (Awesome.)
"Come back tomorrow. Ask me again."
I really don't feel like this episode was done well; I think that it failed to live up to the potential of a 90s tech episode. I think it was clumsy, and I also think that there should have been rollerblades/skateboards/biking stunts and just generally 90s-ness.
The Rings of Akhaten
...I really dislike Oswin's parents' romance. I sort of feel like I've seen this Hallmark made for TV movie, if that makes sense? ...and they don't seem to be real people, like, I do not feel that they exhibited any real character traits besides being a certain type of romantic. (...and, yeah, I'm a Beatrice/Benedick fan, not a Hero/Claudio fan, so...)
I find it kind of creepy that the Doctor apparently hung out in the 80s to make sure that Oswin was conceived in the usual way.
Why does the translator not work? This is bullshit. I get that this is supposed to be funny, but this is bullshit.
I feel like the Doctor on a flying thing like that happened in Old Who. ...or possibly Star Wars is confusing me somehow.
Hello, Indiana Jones.
Okay, I am charmed by the Lewis Carrol-quoting in spite of myself and being generally cranky.
I like the uniforms of the three hissing reptilian-type things.
"That's what I'll do; I will tell you a story."
The switching screens for Oswin thing in this episode really reminds me of Amy's pregnant/not pregnant thing.
I... feel like Doctor Who is becoming/has become a lot more simplified. Like, RTD's Who, for me, was all about character journeys and this new Who feels more like clunky adventure episodes, and like there's less respect for the viewer's intelligence. I feel so cranky about everything right now, and also like I'm not expressing my crankiness properly somehow, which is also making me cranky, which is kind of amusing. ...and I also feel kind of apologetic for the crankiness thing, which is ridiculous, but I am really not used to feeling this conflicted about a show that I am watching; it's a new experience for me, and I'm processing. Slowly. *hands*
(no subject)
Date: 2013-04-19 08:58 am (UTC)But I do just agree with you entirely. What you say about Moffat seeming to settle in is definitely the way I feel when I look at where the show is going, and also just the way he talks aobut the show in interviews. He is so far from done with this show yet, and yeah it makes me really sad, because I'm finding it harder and harder to care -- like, at least with Amelia I felt like I cared, and possibly cared too much, but now that Clara is just new and different and someone I don't know in the same way, and I'm seeing how Moffat is repeating some of his worst ideas about Amelia in Clara (like meeting her as a child, urgh!), I'm just starting to feel bored.
I also just feel like, as you say, that even as Moffat is trying so hard to make everything huge and overly dramatic and "Look at my intricate story arcs, I'm so clever!" that yeah -- the single episodes feel like really clunky action adventures. And Boy's Own Adventures at that. Like, dinosaurs! on a space ship! with a great game hunter! Or an entire episode on a submarine?!? It's so gimmicky and essentially pointless -- and I mean, trapped in a vessel with a deadly predator is a time honored trope for a reason, and they handled that spectacularly in Midnight. I do appreciate that the show has a budget that means they can do fancy things, but then it seems like all they ever do with it is pointless visual stuff, like a giant smiley-faced sun? or a motorcycle in London for NO REASON. Why, Moffat? Why?
I think I may have seen your cranky and raised it to angry? Sorry!
(I'll be a bit AFK this weekend, so apologies in advance if I'm late to reply.)
(no subject)
Date: 2013-04-19 02:22 pm (UTC)I think that I am not getting bored so much as progressively angrier/more unhappy as things pile up, because, yeah, Moffat does have patterns.
Moffat's women are mysteries. (...and now I am sort of wondering if there is an Eleven vid to Mysterious Girl.) Nine and Ten chose to travel with people they met and liked, whereas Eleven with Amy, River, and now Oswin, Eleven has been all come with me, girl, I wanna solve your mystery. I think that is a thing that probably says things about how Moffat views women.
I haven't read a lot of interviews with Moffat. There's this thing where following links to his interviews generally ends up making me unhappy.
What bothers me about Moffat's intricate story arcs that are all look at this intricate story arc, PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEEEE, I am so clever, is that I don't feel like they are as clever as Moffat wants me to think they are. I loved a lot of his early episodes under RTD, because they were neat and tidy and interesting, but I find his story arcs are subtle like the shark music in Jaws; there is an element of "I am about to do a trick - is everyone watching?" that makes me less likely to let him get away with hand-waving anything - "If you are so clever what are these holes doing here?" - or "Yeah, it was pretty obvious you were gonna pull that scarf out of your sleeve, also, relatedly: that scarf came out of your sleeve." (less is more, basically)
I think Moffat's writing for the kid he was. I don't think he's writing for me.
My cranky is sort of mixed in with anger, so, yeah, no worries.
Have a good weekend!
(no subject)
Date: 2013-04-24 06:46 am (UTC)I haven't read or watched many interviews either, but quotes kind of pile up on tumblr, and then I've been watching The Doctors Revisited (the BBC America specials), and they're nothing if not pretty great insights into how exactly Moffat views each single Doctor as well as the show as a whole. The way he talks about old episodes, and the way he explains the Doctor's character, is really interesting (and infuriating) in light of his own decisions as show runner. But yeah, I'm usually angry afterwards. But I watch for the Classic Who.
I read a really, really interesting take-down on tumblr, I can't remember if I reblogged it? Basically it's written by a girl who started watching Doctor Who at 6 years old, who lays into Moffat for not trusting her intelligence as a viewer. I mean, if someone that relatively young is feeling insulted...! Why I Don't Enjoy Doctor Who As Much As I Used To (spoiler for the title of the season's final episode).
But, yes, I agree so much that Moffat is writing for his OWN past self. Pretty literally, if you read that post I linked!
(no subject)
Date: 2013-04-24 02:44 pm (UTC)I did not know about the BBC America specials. They sound like a cool idea for introducing more people to Who, though I think I will be giving them a skip.
*nods* You did, and I reblogged it from you. It made me want to write a disappointed letter to the BBC.
There's a Bill Watterson quote out there somewhere about how he wrote his comics, that he had this six year old kid talking about art and quoting philosophers, and people commented on that, wondering that he shouldn't be writing down because of the six year old kid, and Watterson's response was something about how, as a kid, he had never felt that way, had never considered himself less a person in that way. I am mangling this (it is probably in the preface of one of his books) but I think he is right, basically.
Being a child wasn't a barrier to appreciating Calvin & Hobbes. I also was a person when I was a child, which I think is something that people grow up and forget, that children are people, that they have intelligence and reason and feelings and motivation.
I think that when creators make the choice to write for children, to simplify and put things down at what they consider to be their level, what they're often doing is creating a less complex, less intelligent show. I think that's a reflection of the creator, frankly.