New Earth

[altariel]

Drive-by post as we stop over in the middle of an unremitting dining schedule (yesterday, today, tomorrow). Gambit meets Powerplay meets Terminus meets The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas! And a massive array of tombs - foreshadowing?

communicator wrote about touch, and touch was so important this week: not just the Doctor's cure, passed from hand to hand, and then the hug he gives the young woman, but Cassandra's experience within the infected woman's body, which humanizes her. (RTD said in Doctor Who Confidential afterwards that she snogs the Doctor because she's back in a body and he's there - and, well, you would, wouldn't you?)

I loved the Face of Boe who was calm and, well, textbook enigmatic, and had the most beautiful music.

Cassandra's death, holding herself in her arms, was terribly moving. The Doctor intervenes not just on a societal scale, but on the individual level, making someone better than they had been before. I loved the continued sterling defence of multiculturalism, and change as something not to be feared but embraced. A green crescent moon and not a red cross. Things that can make a new Earth.

I'm worried though about all the New Humans taken off for 'cataloguing' by the NNYPD: what will happen to them? Already I'm envisaging the continued human rights abuses that will be taking place, or perhaps I shouldn't worry so much. But is this another example of the Doctor leaping into a situation and leaving it before seeing the consequences of his cure? Will the Lonely God be clobbered by nemesis if hubris is what he's got?

Comments

[matildabj.livejournal.com]

I nodded and nodded as I read this. Insightful as always! This was such a wonderful start to the new series.

[communicator.livejournal.com]

I was struck by the importance of touch too

[kathyh]

Excellent review.

Will the Lonely God be clobbered by nemesis if hubris is what he's got?

Hubris is exactly the word I was looking for when I was thinking about the episode. I don't believe other Doctors have quite believed they were a god before, but I thought there were signs that this one did. It's almost sure to come back to bit him.

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's a lot of food. I hope you're enjoying it.

(I can't read the rest of the post yet!)

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Excellent review.

I'm worried though about all the New Humans taken off for 'cataloguing' by the NNYPD: what will happen to them? Already I'm envisaging the continued human rights abuses that will be taking place, or perhaps I shouldn't worry so much. But is this another example of the Doctor leaping into a situation and leaving it before seeing the consequences of his cure?

Maybe he will return in a year or two's time (New Earth time), and find that he needs to put things right? In other words, could there be a story arc in the making here?

I enjoyed the links to the gastronomic porn. :) Nothing but the best for you this weekend, I see.

[manna]

I have to say, I liked the theory of the episode a lot better than the implementation. I don't think 45 minutes was enough space for everything RTD was trying to do with it. Having watched the Confidential afterwards, I ended up thinking 'could've used a good betaing', because for me what he was saying about the episode didn't quite match up with what we actually got.

[gair.livejournal.com]

Cassandra's death, holding herself in her arms, was terribly moving

Seconded - in fact thirded, as Gerald cried for like half an hour after the episode finished. (I started crying at the opening theme music, as I usually do, but finished earlier.)

I agree about the NNYPD (very scary) and the Lonely God.

[raspberryfool.livejournal.com]

I thought it was a shame they killed off Cassandra, she might have made an interesting villain - or even anti-hero - for the Doc. I thought she was a little like Avon, alerting the hero to the fact that there was someting wrong and then following her own agenda (ie a new body / survival).

Still, that's the last i'll see of it for a whilst as it's back to a TV-free room in Plymouth soon. But i'll catch up eventually i'm sure...

[aervir.livejournal.com]

What a lovely review!

Despite the ubiquitous and rather touching (um, pun probably intended) symbolism of touch, I was a bit underwhelmed by the episode, though, because it felt too rushed and RTD's plot was, as always, more than a little dodgy.

But then, I got David Tennant in the shower, so I shouldn't complain too much.

Hope you enjoyed your dinners!

And completely OT: Your new default icon is hilarious.

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

hmmf. so did I. but whenever I have a favourite character they generally get killed off.

"Moisturise me" is my new catchphrase, though.

[edge-of-ruin.livejournal.com]

Ah, I can never get enough of healing hands ...

Bon appetit to you and Mr A!

[kerravonsen]

I thought she was a little like Avon, alerting the hero to the fact that there was someting wrong and then following her own agenda

Hmmm. But she's still not as interesting as Avon. She lacks both the brilliance and the wit.

[owl]

Will the Lonely God be clobbered by nemesis if hubris is what he's got?

Lois and the Doctor. Now there's a mindbending thought. However, the fifth—was it the fifth—Docotr would look totally at home on a cricket pitch. :)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I just reread Cricket Term :-) Yes, the fifth doctor was the cricketing one!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I was tearing up when people started walking into showers to get cured.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

it's back to a TV-free room in Plymouth soon

Argh! That is not fair!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I thought the episode was joyous and happy and fun, exactly what I wanted from the season-opener. Plot is not necessarily what I watch Doctor Who for, as this weekend's viewing of 'Genesis of the Daleks' proved *snores through middle 3 episodes*

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Seen it yet?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

(And glad you like the new icon *g*)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I don't think 45 minutes was enough space for everything RTD was trying to do with it.

I'm wondering whether we were getting some story arc set-up.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Bon appetit to you and Mr A!

Thanks, it was all fabulous! I'm looking forwards to trying some of his experiments as a result...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the links to the gastronomic porn. :) Nothing but the best for you this weekend, I see.

It's a hard life, but I struggle on. Glad you enjoyed the links :-)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

A friend commented at the weekend that she thought the 'untouchability' of the plague victims was an allegory for AIDS.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed the review! I'd add The Brain of Morbius to that list of episodes at the start too, having thought a bit more. It was so much fun, a great season-opener.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I don't believe other Doctors have quite believed they were a god before, but I thought there were signs that this one did.

Interesting too that it comes after the destruction of the God of Daleks. I might be overthinking this.

[manna]

I hope so. The cats, the human clones, and Cassandra all got rather rushed through, I felt. It'd be nice if some of it got a bit more detail and exploration later.

Although I'll be well impressed if they manage a convincing future explanation for the horrible, horrible science :-)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'll be well impressed if they manage a convincing future explanation for the horrible, horrible science :-)

As they say in Bored of the Rings: "Oh, alas. Alack."

[raspberryfool.livejournal.com]

That's about my lot - give me a taster of something good and then snatch it away. Le sigh!

It's not all bad though - i'll have a lot of college work to do and I don't need the distraction - i'd never get anything done if i had a TV there!

[gair.livejournal.com]

Eek! I didn't spot that! ::tears up a bit::

::sighs happily with teh joy:: Russell T Davies can even make me better from Martin Amis! (Who wrote a book called Time's Arrow which steals an idea from Slaughterhouse 5 to write about the Holocaust backwards in time, so people come out of showers alive, but it is a horrible bad book which if you haven't read you shouldn't.)

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

I have!

I enjoyed it, though not, perhaps, as much as I'd hoped. I think that may be to do with my expectations. As I just said to Kalypso, it's easy to forget that the first couple of episodes of last season weren't on the level of the best later on. It was quite rushed, there was some unnecessarily appalling science (and I'm not even a scientist), and it may take me a little longer to get used to DT as the Doctor. But, on the plus side, I thought Billie Piper did a splendid job, there seemed to be much plot-arc potential being set up, and I found the endings - both the cure and Cassandra's death - very moving.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I read Time's Arrow but it was at a point where I was forgetting pretty much everything I read. Result.

(BTW, I am keeping a booklog now in another journal, if that's at all interesting: altarielbooklog)

[gair.livejournal.com]

Yayy booklog!