Doctor Who 4x10 - Midnight

[such_heights]

Oh! Oh, that was incredible! Wow! Fantastically atmospheric and an inspired plot for a companion-less Doctor. I don't feel like I have all that much to say about this one other than it was brilliantly done and really, S4 is shooting into the stratosphere about now. A few notes:

* Ack, Rusty. Did you just give us an evil dead lesbian? Really? And kill off two out of three non-white characters? *sigh* Those squicky tropes appearing once again being the only off-note in an otherwise totally wonderful episode.

* Excuse me while I make dolphin noises at that opening! DONNA AND THE DOCTOR, YOUR LOVE IS EPIC AND AMAZING. They just-- *hands* You know what I mean, yeah? Yeah. Eeee! And then the end, oh the end. A beautiful coda, and my goodness how much I want the two of them to go travelling around the universe forever and ever. Doctor & Donna is my TARDIS-travelling OTP even more after this, even though she was barely there.

* A really nice chance for us all to remind ourselves of how great the Doctor is as well, I think. I know I get distracted by the awesome of the characters surrounding him and sort of take his role for granted from time to time, so it was good to focus in on him here, and without any epic Time Lord angst or similar still highlighting just what a strange position his life experience puts him in. And David Tennant continues to knock it out of the bloody ballpark. ♥

Comments

[krabapple.livejournal.com]

I did love the episode, so yay!

As for the tropes, yes, I do agree. It helped me quite a bit, though mileage varies, of course, that although the hostess was killed (as was the mechanic), she was the brilliant one who figured it out and did what she thought had to be done. (I suppose that if you want to take it far enough that a black woman sacrificed herself for the Doctor, well . . . you could and people undoubtedly will, but I don't really see it that way.) And Dee Dee was the voice of reason all along.

But then again, I'm American, so I have a totally different perspective going on. In some ways, I'm just happy to see people of color *on* a show, and playing roles that could have been cast in any way.

I think we should all kidnap Jethro. Or that he needs to start a band. One or the other. :)

[such_heights]

Yay indeed!

Yeah, as these things go it was hardly one of the worst examples. The unnamed hostess and Dee Dee were both good characters with agency, which helps a lot. I think that British TV has a habit of making a conscious effort to create a good mix of characters in ensemble dramas, which is great, and then not really thinking things through after that point. We'll get there.

Oh, he's totally in a band! And his parents think it's some ridiculous teenage phase, but after being shaken up after his experiences on the planet he starts getting into it and writing all these haunting space-rock songs that start to make some real inroads in the underground until he's a bona-fide rockstar, yes. :D

[sambethe.livejournal.com]

In some ways, I'm just happy to see people of color *on* a show, and playing roles that could have been cast in any way.

Hrm, I feel the same way about it and was wondering if the Brits notice it or have a different take on it. But, yeah, generally I'm so pleased to see the backgrounds and occasional foregrounds filled with so many people of color that I forget to even look at how they are used.