Doctor Who: The End of the World

[altariel]

I loved Saturday's episode again, although our digibox didn't record the first couple of minutes in the TARDIS (the bit with the bicycle pump! howls, screams of rage and bitterness!). Good job there's a repeat on Sundays on BBC3.



Lots of funny stuff: the National Trust owning the Earth, the iPod. And of course in the future there will still be space plumbers. Can't stop whistling that bloody Britney Spears tune.

It was the sad bits that got me of course: all the deaths! Jabe (beautiful make-up and costume), the Steward (brilliant make-up), Raffalo (my heroine). I am sad beyond words for the Moxx of Balhoon, keep thinking of that bit of smoke... And, of course, finding out that Gallifrey is gone and the Doctor is the last Time Lord - be still my angsting heart. (How does that work, exactly? Can he not nip back now and then to Gallifrey for a quick cup of tea when he's feeling a bit lonely?) Mr A. pointed out that the Doctor took Rose to see the end of her world so that she could understand how he felt. And he's picked a good companion in Rose - chips definitely help for all manner of things, although I assume they'd be southern chips and so not as good.

Somehow it seems likely that the Earth will end when no-one is looking.



A couple of icons behind the cut, if anyone wants them.

Comments

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

One of the things I like is the way Eccleston's expression sometimes freezes, from being weirdly cheery to something old and alien and sad.

[matildabj.livejournal.com]

Yes! Sooooo good. I missed the very beginning as well.

Snagging the 'I feel fine' icon, if that's OK - I've been wanting a DW icon! Thanks!

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

How does that work, exactly? Can he not nip back now and then to Gallifrey for a quick cup of tea when he's feeling a bit lonely?

I thought that, but steverogerson suggested that the Time Lords had somehow set Gallifrey outside time, or at any rate outside the possibility of time travel - the Doctor's visits there seem to occur in chronological succession, don't they? I can't quite get my head round that, but it makes some sort of sense.

But I don't know how he can be so positive that he's the last. The Master is definitely dead (I ignore anything that happened filmwise). Romana left E space?

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Sorry, there was supposed to be a cynical question mark after "The Master is definitely dead". They can't resist bringing him back, surely?

[kathyh]

It was the sad bits that got me of course

Me too. And the mix of comedy and sadness is just right.

Jabe (beautiful make-up and costume)

She looked amazing and I loved the concept.

And, of course, finding out that Gallifrey is gone and the Doctor is the last Time Lord - be still my angsting heart.

Waahhh... I used to love the Gallifrey episodes. All those actors trying to walk in those wonderfully ridiculous costumes. What's happened to the Master and Romana and Susan...

And he's picked a good companion in Rose - chips definitely help for all manner of things

She's going up my list of favourite companions like a rocket!

Nice icons.

[halimede.livejournal.com]

Brilliantly captioned icons, both. And yes, Raffalo is so cool. :)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Help yourself! Glad you like!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Mr A. said something cryptic the other day about "the web of time" but I didn't quite unravel what he meant - perhaps the Doctor can't move out of his own timeline?

I suppose Susan went through all her regenerations and died on Earth.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Glad you like :-)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I like that too - wonderful example in the first episode after he's going off from Rose's flat: he's been playful with her, then turns away and his face is transformed.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

I've been greatly enjoying the new Doctor. Saturday's episode was so optimistic, despite the Earth blowing up - I loved when the Doctor talked about our culture of fear, and said 'You never consider the impossible - that you survive'. (I probably misquoted that.) And the vision of Earth's living creatures going off-planet and merging with the rest of the galaxy.

How does that work, exactly? Can he not nip back now and then to Gallifrey for a quick cup of tea when he's feeling a bit lonely?

My dad was complaining about that, too. 'How can he lose his planet? He's got a time machine!' :)

[dberry.livejournal.com]

Lots of funny stuff: the National Trust owning the Earth, the iPod. And of course in the future there will still be space plumbers.

My personal favorite was Cassandra's idea that ostriches had 50-meter wingspans and fire-breath. :-)

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

I've been hoping to post about it myself, but I really loved this second episode. More than the first, even.

Another funny line that's stayed with me: the phone call, and "You think that's incredible. You should see the bill."

And yes, being the last. That was a huge shock, and just bowled me over. Dr Who, with angst. Loving this so much.

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

My dad was complaining about that, too. 'How can he lose his planet? He's got a time machine!' :)

It'll be behind the sofa.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

Or behind the fridge. When you lose something, it's nearly always there.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Beyond the fringe.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

That was fun, yes!

Dare I ask - do you remember Dr Who? Have you watched earlier incarnations on video/DVD?

[edge-of-ruin.livejournal.com]

I watched the first Dr Whos from behind the sofa, but I can't say I'm a real long-term fan but I loved this episode too. It had me laughing out loud and I have to admit it brought a tear to my eye as well.

And, what do you know, the Steward went up in smoke :-)

[steverogerson.livejournal.com]

In fact, I think the only way it works if the Time Lords themselves exist outside of conventional time. That would mean that if a Time Lord dies properly (ie doesn't regenerate) then the Time Lord ceases to exist throughout time as we know it. If, as the Doctor said, all the Time Lords have been killed, then in my theory none of them exist anywhere in time.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

But would anyone have any memory of them, in that case?

[dberry.livejournal.com]

Dare I ask - do you remember Dr Who? Have you watched earlier incarnations on video/DVD?

I'm fourteen, so I missed out on the original series as they were being shown. Lucky for me, I've grown up surrounded by sci-fi, and I own about half of the DVDs.

(FWIW, my favorite Doctor is Jon Pertwee and my favorite episode is Resurrection of the Daleks, even if it was a Davison show. :-D)

[steverogerson.livejournal.com]

I don't see why people would not still remember them. And the tree woman did remember them, as did the Doctor himself.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I loved that bit about imagining we might survive. I saw an interview with Russell T. Davies where he said he thought it must be bloody miserable being a child right now, being told the world's going to end (beef, eggs, global warming, whatever), and he wanted to suggest another possibility...

Some suggestions for how the Doctor might be both the last time lord able to travel in time up thread...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I just remembered my other favourite line, about forbidding the use of weapons, teleportation, and religion.

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

Hee! Yes, you can be sure that got a laugh from me, too.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I wonder if they decided to do a living tree to scrub out the memory of 'The Mark of the Rani'! I loved the idea of her giving cuttings from her grandfather; I hope they took cuttings of Jabe too.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

And, what do you know, the Steward went up in smoke :-)

LOL, we thought of you when that happened!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

That is very cool. Mostly I remember Tom Baker (and I think of Davison as 'my' Doctor), but I do remember being so scared by the chanting in 'Planet of the Spiders' that my dad had to start saying "lette!" every time somebody on screen said, "Om!"

What is it you like about Pertwee?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

PS Just seen Hustle for the first time - it's BRILLIANT!! :-D

[dberry.livejournal.com]

Sooner or later, everyone converts to the dark side . . . ;-)

It took the first ten minutes of the pilot show for me to love it. It's slick, polished, and hilarious; and downright bizarre at times!

Which episode did you see?

[dberry.livejournal.com]

I do remember being so scared by the chanting in 'Planet of the Spiders' that my dad had to start saying "lette!" every time somebody on screen said, "Om!"

*giggles*

What is it you like about Pertwee?

Other than the fact that I'm also a Wurzel Gummidge fan? :-D

As the Doc, Pertwee was balanced. He wasn't as grouchy as Hartnell, or as unnecessarily extrovert and flamboyant as Baker. He had the character just like you'd imagine a Timelord to be . . .

I guess I like the storyline of his being exiled for a few seasons as much as I like Pertwee himself. I think involving the Brigadier and UNIT made it scarier -- these aliens weren't just up in space, they were on Earth, and that made me engage with the show a lot more.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It was *great*! I saw the one where they sold the gold mine to the wicked yuppie. The whole thing was a blast. The moment that sold it was when they lifted a shot straight from 'A Clockwork Orange'. Brilliant. And then we watched the one where they rip off the restaurant owner by pretending to be his long lost son.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Of all his stories, I like the earliest Pertwees best: Liz Shaw is one of my favourite companions. Plus the stories are thought-provoking and I like the focuse on the Doctor's interface with government, bureaucracy, the army, etc.

I used to get the novelization of 'Day of the Daleks' out of the library again and again when I was kid.