Amy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
such_heights) wrote2008-04-26 09:44 pm
such_heights) wrote2008-04-26 09:44 pm
Entry tags:
Remix & Doctor Who 4x04: The Sontaran Stragetem
So, Remix reveals today! I remixed ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rian219 to produce The Tyranny of Petty Things (The Unconquered Skies Remix) [HP; Remus/Sirius; PG-13], which I shall repost here and talk about sometime next week. It was spotted alarmingly quickly by avendya, possibly because she has spies in my brain - Ave, let me know what you'd like as your smartypants prize and I'll get on it.
For tonight, though, Doctor Who!
HI MARTHA HI I MISSED YOUUUU! I feel the need to admit at this juncture that evil!Martha is kind of hot. Seriously. Also, she had gorgeous hair this whole episode. People, how is she so awesome? I want charts and diagrams and statistics and picspams, plz. ♥
Similarly - DONNA FREAKING NOBLE. YOU ROCK MY WORLD. Getting the Colonel to salute! Winding the Doctor up! Being fantastic with Martha! My love knows no bounds. Donna has a lot more knowledge about the Doctor and his history than Rose or Martha ever did, and thus her decision to go with him is a lot more level-headed in some ways. She doesn't go with him because she wants to be a hero, she just wants to see more of the universe, and that's going to involve her being a lot more badass along the way but that never means she takes leave of the common sense she's so grounded in. This is, after all, the woman who stepped out onto an alien world for the first time in her life, shivered a bit and went back inside to get a coat because she is prepared for these things and did I mention I love her?
What I'm enjoying about Series Four is the way it's a meta-arc about What It Is to be a companion. In Series 1, a lot of the focus was on Rose, I think, and on learning about just how the hell this Doctor man was, for new viewers. Series 2, it was the Doctor&Rose as a unit that was gradually being set up to take a massive fall, so in Series 3 the focus really shifted to the Doctor by himself, with the storylines they used reflecting that - the whole 'just one trip' arc plus episodes like 'Human Nature' and bringing the Master back, with nothing that was as Martha-focused the way that plotlines like 'Father's Day' and the discovery of Pete's World were for Rose. There's a lot I could say about that, actually, but my point is that now we're really starting to question just what a good idea it is to go travelling with the Doctor in the first place. Rose is 'lost', he 'destroyed half of Martha's life', and Martha is clearly concerned for Donna when she meets her. Add that to the weird prophecies that are flying around the place, and Donna's going to be more than a little freaked. I don't think this is the last time she's going to mention the idea of going home.
Also, I'm beginning to wonder if we're going to see more parallels than I'd previously thought between Rose and Martha, when Rose comes back. Because Martha's been hardened and changed and a little broken by her experiences and I suspect that maybe Rose will be the same, even though the nature of those experiences is quite different. Hmm.
Anyway! Back to this week before I start going into full-on companion essay territory.
I really, really love the Sontarans. I think maybe it's a hangover from my Star Trek days but there's just something about the honourable warrior race that I rather enjoy - that's it, I think, the fact that their motivations and limits are clearly laid out and their actions make sense within their own code of ethics, which is terribly helpful from a plotting perspective.
The supporting characters in this were in general made of win - loved everyone from UNIT, Ross especially was fab, and in general I liked the organisation much more than the Doctor seemed willing to allow. On that note, I think he's starting to take his anti-gun thing a leetle far, I mean really. As long as you blow things up more imaginatively because you happen to be a super genius then that is apparently fine. Especially, I think, coming from Torchwood, who are much less together than UNIT, seeing the Doctor being so scornful is sort of weird. I'd like people like that around to counter against alien threats, please!
Annoying child genius boy is annoying. I hope he either goes psychotic or heroic next episode, because currently he's the least developed guest character.
WILF IS AMAZING. And noooo, he is in peril! Eeep! Tying up the loose ends from the Christmas specials with him and Donna's mother (does she have a name yet?) was great fun.
Basically, I really enjoyed this, and is it Saturday yet? :D
rian219 to produce The Tyranny of Petty Things (The Unconquered Skies Remix) [HP; Remus/Sirius; PG-13], which I shall repost here and talk about sometime next week. It was spotted alarmingly quickly by avendya, possibly because she has spies in my brain - Ave, let me know what you'd like as your smartypants prize and I'll get on it.For tonight, though, Doctor Who!
HI MARTHA HI I MISSED YOUUUU! I feel the need to admit at this juncture that evil!Martha is kind of hot. Seriously. Also, she had gorgeous hair this whole episode. People, how is she so awesome? I want charts and diagrams and statistics and picspams, plz. ♥
Similarly - DONNA FREAKING NOBLE. YOU ROCK MY WORLD. Getting the Colonel to salute! Winding the Doctor up! Being fantastic with Martha! My love knows no bounds. Donna has a lot more knowledge about the Doctor and his history than Rose or Martha ever did, and thus her decision to go with him is a lot more level-headed in some ways. She doesn't go with him because she wants to be a hero, she just wants to see more of the universe, and that's going to involve her being a lot more badass along the way but that never means she takes leave of the common sense she's so grounded in. This is, after all, the woman who stepped out onto an alien world for the first time in her life, shivered a bit and went back inside to get a coat because she is prepared for these things and did I mention I love her?
What I'm enjoying about Series Four is the way it's a meta-arc about What It Is to be a companion. In Series 1, a lot of the focus was on Rose, I think, and on learning about just how the hell this Doctor man was, for new viewers. Series 2, it was the Doctor&Rose as a unit that was gradually being set up to take a massive fall, so in Series 3 the focus really shifted to the Doctor by himself, with the storylines they used reflecting that - the whole 'just one trip' arc plus episodes like 'Human Nature' and bringing the Master back, with nothing that was as Martha-focused the way that plotlines like 'Father's Day' and the discovery of Pete's World were for Rose. There's a lot I could say about that, actually, but my point is that now we're really starting to question just what a good idea it is to go travelling with the Doctor in the first place. Rose is 'lost', he 'destroyed half of Martha's life', and Martha is clearly concerned for Donna when she meets her. Add that to the weird prophecies that are flying around the place, and Donna's going to be more than a little freaked. I don't think this is the last time she's going to mention the idea of going home.
Also, I'm beginning to wonder if we're going to see more parallels than I'd previously thought between Rose and Martha, when Rose comes back. Because Martha's been hardened and changed and a little broken by her experiences and I suspect that maybe Rose will be the same, even though the nature of those experiences is quite different. Hmm.
Anyway! Back to this week before I start going into full-on companion essay territory.
I really, really love the Sontarans. I think maybe it's a hangover from my Star Trek days but there's just something about the honourable warrior race that I rather enjoy - that's it, I think, the fact that their motivations and limits are clearly laid out and their actions make sense within their own code of ethics, which is terribly helpful from a plotting perspective.
The supporting characters in this were in general made of win - loved everyone from UNIT, Ross especially was fab, and in general I liked the organisation much more than the Doctor seemed willing to allow. On that note, I think he's starting to take his anti-gun thing a leetle far, I mean really. As long as you blow things up more imaginatively because you happen to be a super genius then that is apparently fine. Especially, I think, coming from Torchwood, who are much less together than UNIT, seeing the Doctor being so scornful is sort of weird. I'd like people like that around to counter against alien threats, please!
Annoying child genius boy is annoying. I hope he either goes psychotic or heroic next episode, because currently he's the least developed guest character.
WILF IS AMAZING. And noooo, he is in peril! Eeep! Tying up the loose ends from the Christmas specials with him and Donna's mother (does she have a name yet?) was great fun.
Basically, I really enjoyed this, and is it Saturday yet? :D
no subject
So much wonderful dialogue in this, absolutely. Now we just need some kind of resolution with Martha next week or so and I'll be quite content. The Doctor is definitely learning and doing right by Donna, but I think it's harder for him to make amends retroactively and he needs to far more directly than he's done so far. It's all very good recommending her for jobs and telling Donna how great she is but he needs to say as much to her, too. *crosses fingers*
Donna+TARDIS = win! Why have we never seen that before, it's such a great idea!
They absolutely are partners in crime and it's wonderful to see. Donna's reactions to him are just so refreshing and make for some really excellent dynamics with everyone they come into contact with.
And oooh Martha's development is so very juicy, I really hope fandom comes up trumps with the fic once this plot's concluded. Because she's changed so much and we've only seen bits and pieces as to why - and you're quite right, it's not all good and maybe even a little morally ambiguous? This fills me with joy. Rather like with Jack, they did something to her that changed her utterly and now she's back and different and it's all so interesting. I really hope she stays in the Whoverse for a long, long time, because they seem to be setting her up as someone with recurring staying power, and I'd love that.
... ah, yes. Quidditch. I would hate to say that I'd forgotten about that, because that makes me sound like a bad, bad team member, but, um. I will get back on that right away, in any case!
no subject
Actually this episode has confirmed for me something that I thought of her episodes last season. Last season I thought the episodes were well written but ruined by some bad production ideas and some slightly disappointing casting. So far with neither of these problems I'm loving her stuff, although I'm waiting with baited breath for the conclusion as last time didn't make that much sense. But I'm super-excited to find out.
Yep - a resolution is needed and word on the retroactively thing. I think the Doctor had to mess up as much with Martha as he did, to learn how to make things right with Donna - it still kind of sucks for Martha though, although thankfully she was strong enough to get through that (and I'm not really complaining as I loved Martha's arc). I was saying to someone in a comment recently that I see the Doctor/Martha as one of those relationships that would have been perfect but they just met at the wrong time.
Actually do we know that the Doctor really did recommend Martha for UNIT now, he seemed a little surprised to find her now - although maybe that was just the scale of the operation now. It did strike me this could have been a set up by someone else...
I loved the Donna and Tardis thing so much, I've been waiting to see that - because it was always one of those issues sort of raised by Girl in the Fireplace - what happens to the companion if the Doctor's lost and has no idea how to use the Tardis. Also Donna would completely demand to be taught.
:D
no subject
Ohh I really hope she's done something good for next week - this episode was nice set-up, so hopefully as long as there aren't any giant face penises or other such tomfoolery (I still have nightmares, I swear) then we're all good. I did love 'To The Last Man' so she's definitely back in my good books anyway.
Totally agree with you on bad timing - another interesting thing I've read recently is the idea that actually maybe Donna should have gone with him at the end of 'Runaway Bride' and might have been a better rebound companion, because she wouldn't have taken as much as nonsense and so on. Practically, of course, they had no idea they could get Catherine Tate for a whole series, but still. If that had happened then the Doctor and Martha team might have had a chance to be much more awesome.
Oooh, set up, I am intrigued. I'm not sure, because absolutely he did seem a bit nonplussed by the whole thing. And Martha never actually got it confirmed it was him, it was just "an impeccable source". Ooh, ooh, now my conspiracy theories are going wild, hurray!
Exactly! Donna would not get left around with no idea how to get herself out again, no siree. :D
no subject
I'd forgotten about To The Last Man - but yes great as well, she's a bit of a star on the quiet. But no, don't even get me started on the human Sek design - because, just for starters, if you're going to have a character that's meant to be hugely charasmatic you absolutely must not cover their eyes completely *head desk*.
I think it probably would have been better for both the Doctor and Martha if Donna had travelled with the Doctor first - but maybe not so much for the storytelling of the show. Although then they could have gone and picked up Ianto and formed Team Awesome!
Re: In Which I Capslock Probably Too Much
Ughhhh I have eviscerated the whole sorry mess from my memory, more or less. The one bum note in the whole of S3.
asda;lsdjkas Martha + Ianto + Doctor (+ Jack, yes?) = SO MUCH WIN I CANNOT PROCESS.