Tag: rory

Doctor Who 6×7 – A Good Man Goes To War

As River would say: Spoilers!

Demon’s run… when a good man goes to war.

The Doctor is a legend that is known throughout time and space. All who know of him, know what he is capable of. Now one of his best friends is in trouble, and he is determined to do everything in his power to save her and her newborn child, Melody.

We find out a lot of things in the midseason finale of Doctor Who. First, we learn that the baby shows traces of Time Lord DNA, even though the father is Rory. This is explained as being due to the fact that she was exposed to energy from the time vortex while on the TARDIS.

The other big reveal comes at the end when we finally learn that River Song is really Amy’s daughter. I had heard this theory before, but I never gave it much credence. I guess this just goes to show that no theory is too crazy when dealing with Doctor Who and their madly brilliant writing team.

When I did my review of the first two episodes I had a bit of a mad theory myself. I believed that River was the one who killed the Doctor. When we saw that it was the girl in the spacesuit, however, it seemed to end that as a plausible idea. I am now resurrecting it based on the new evidence we have collected tonight. Assuming that the girl in the spacesuit is Amy’s daughter (which we seem to be), and knowing that River is the adult version of the child, I now feel I can confidently say that River does indeed kill the Doctor on that lakeshore. She said once that she killed “a very good man,” and I would argue that it doesn’t get much better than the Doctor.

That’s it for all the major reveals. The only thing you really need to know about the episode itself is that the Doctor and Rory gather an army to rescue Amy and her child, which partially succeeds. At the end of the episode, Amy is safe but the baby has been taken. We know everything will be alright because of River’s existence. We just don’t know how it all plays out. The next new episode is scheduled for September, so we’re going to have to keep busy this summer by watching the new season of Torchwood, which begins July 8th on Starz.

Doctor Who 6×6 – The Almost People

Caution: Spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk.

When last we left off, the copies were ready to go to war with the originals, and the Doctor found a copy of himself. This week we got the conclusion, plus an introduction to the mid-season finale.

Before I begin with the actual episode recap, I have to take a minute to say how excited I was for Matt Smith to get the chance to play two different versions of the Doctor in this one. One Doctor is crazy enough. Two of them had the potential to be hilarious and mind-blowing, and did not disappoint. It was great watching them finish each other’s sentences, like real twins might. It was also cool getting the behind the scenes look at how they do scenes where one person is playing two characters. I have always thought Smith was a good actor, but I have a new level of respect for him after this episode.

As fascinating as it was watching the Doctor interact with his copy, it was just as interesting watching Amy’s relationship with the real Doctor versus the copy. She was obviously more affectionate towards the real Doctor (or who she thought was the real one) and clearly only trusted “her Doctor”. They also touched on the question if the copy is the one we see die at the lakeshore, but based on the ending I would say that is a negative. Personally I’m not sure how I would have felt if they had gone that route. On one hand it could have been seen as clever, but on the other hand it could have been seen as a bit of a cheat. It’s probably best they give us another explanation for how he gets to that point.

With all the interactions between people and their copies, we got to continue our look from last week at what makes us human. Jen’s copy asks the question, “Who are the real monsters?” after showing Rory how the Flesh are discarded. While I agree that humans discarding the Flesh like they’re things is not right, I also think that starting a war is the wrong response. Even one of the copies recognizes that revenge is not the answer. That anyone (human or copy) who chooses violence as a solution is the real monster. It is great seeing the copies work with the originals in the end to fight the only real monster left. It is especially great how the Doctor proves what prejudice does to us by switching with his copy. It shows how perception changes how we view things, and that once you eliminate that prejudice you become more open to an idea or person you may previously had viewed as different.

Doctor Who is no stranger to discussions of humanity. When they talk about an “act of weakness” vs an “act of humanity” it goes back to what the Doctor always sees as an essential part of humanity – the ability to feel. Our emotions (love, joy, sadness, anger) are what separate us from everything else and make us human. I have always loved that the Doctor takes us through all of time and space and introduces us to countless different species just to teach us silly humans what the best and worst parts of ourselves are.

In true Doctor Who fashion, we save the biggest surprise for the end. Surprise 1: Amy isn’t really our Amy – she’s another Flesh copy. Surprise 2: Our Amy is extremely pregnant and about to give birth in an unknown facility. The woman we have been seeing appear throughout the season is guarding our Amy in said facility. The copy still had a connection to the original, and was thus able to see this at times. This means that our Amy has been missing for essentially all of season 6 up to this point. One would normally ask how Rory was unable to recognize his own wife for so long, but after seeing Amy make the same mistake with the Doctor it is easier to understand. We needed to experience the Flesh for ourselves to fully appreciate this.

Next week will be the possible conclusion to this story. I say “possible” because we might find where Amy is hidden, but we’ve already been told this one ends in a horrible cliffhanger. We’re also supposed to (finally!) find out who River is. I realize our friends in the UK have already seen this one (and some of you were impatient and streamed it). I ask when you leave comments to please not spoil for those who are waiting till it airs in their area. Otherwise, I look forward to your commentary.

Doctor Who 6×4 – The Doctor’s Wife

Warning, spoilers, blah blah blah

For many, this may very well be the most anticipated episode of Doctor Who ever (or maybe I’m over exaggerating due to the crossing of fandoms). Personally, I have been waiting to see this episode since Neil Gaiman announced he would be writing one. Originally his episode was supposed to be part of season 5, but it had to be pushed to this season due to budget issues. You can follow the whole story on Neil’s blog. But enough backstory. It is time for the actual review/recap of this episode.

First off, this episode brings us back the Ood AND sets up a great story. It takes us to the end of the universe after getting a message from another Time Lord. It takes the soul of the TARDIS and puts it in someone’s body. And all of this happens before the title music starts.

After just about the best cold open I can remember seeing on this show, things progress even further. (Side bar: can I just say how exciting it was seeing the words “by Neil Gaiman” where the writer’s name goes? Because it was fantastic!) Sorry, but a lot of this review is just going to be why Neil Gaiman is amazing and how much I love his writing. I’m not sure how many guidelines he was given for this, but the storyline was absolutely brilliant. Not only that, but the characters who inhabit this world-beyond-worlds are all mad and wonderful. Something else great about this episode is the dialogue, which is also brilliant.

Amy: You want to be forgiven
Doctor: Don’t we all?

Followed by a very funny line about the Doctor being a Time Lord not actually meaning he knows what he’s doing, which is delivered perfectly by Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. I couldn’t even begin to produce all of the brilliant quotes I loved here in this review, but this is an example.

The story progresses and take the TARDIS away with it – along with Amy and Rory. The Doctor is left not knowing what to do, which is a “new feeling” for him, and I am left with chills literally running down my spine. As the Doctor calls the human form of his TARDIS “sexy”, I am left wondering who had more fun in this process – Neil while he was writing this episode or the viewers who got to enjoy one of the maddest and most wonderful episodes of Doctor Who that only the mind of Neil Gaiman could create. It’s something I can only describe as “Alice in Wonderland wonderful”. The whole episode felt like a fairy tale that had jumped down the rabbit hole and taken as for a ride across the universe. It was certainly an adventure I won’t soon forget.

Something else magical we get here comes in the form of a blast from the past. We get to see the TARDIS console from back during David Tennant’s run as the tenth Doctor. It was a nice little trip down memory lane, albeit a brief one.

Final note – I know we’ve said before that the TARDIS was a living thing but it was magical to actually see her come to life and get to interact with the Doctor (and save the day in the end). I’m sure it was a dream come true to write this episode. He also wrote a dream in itself in that he gave the TARDIS life and a voice and let her say hello to the Doctor.

Doctor Who 6×3 – Curse of the Black Spot

Arr, matey. There be spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution.

This week’s episode of Doctor Who takes us on a pirate adventure. When I heard there were going to be pirates in this one, I immediately started making references to Paul & Storm’s “Captain’s Wife’s Lament” in my head. (Warning: that link has a bit of foul, piratey language in it)

This episode brought us pirates and curses and a siren out for blood. Of course the Doctor and his companions end up right in the middle of it all.

“Ever look in the mirror and think you’re seeing a whole other world. Well this time it’s not an illusion.” – the Doctor

The story: There is a siren attacking the pirate ship. We eventually see that she is not really attacking the crew, but is actually a doctor looking after the sick and injured. She travels from another dimension using reflections. The reflections act as portals between the two worlds.

This episode is a lot more fun than the previous two. True there’s still danger, but we also get some of the playful fun back in this one as well. The Doctor having a contest of whose ship is better and joking with the captain of the pirate ship brings us back to a lighter version of the Doctor that we were missing for most of the two part premiere.

Of course there were some serious moments as well. For one, my heart nearly stopped when Amy was trying to resuscitate Rory. Note to the writers – you’re not allowed to even joke about killing him again for the rest of the season!

Another serious note comes with the secrets Amy and the Doctor are keeping from each other. For Amy, she is keeping the knowledge of the Doctor’s future death. When the Doctor says “We’ve all got to go sometime,” you can see the look on her face and the weight this knowledge has placed on her. As for the Doctor, he is keeping his own secret about Amy’s unusual pregnancy.

Our recurring theme for this season seems to be the one-eyed lady that Amy keeps seeing. First we see her in the orphanage during “Day of the Moon” and now on the ship in this one. She seems to be trying to communicate with Amy, but any concrete explanations will most likely be saved until either the midseason cliffhanger or the finale.

 

Doctor Who 6×2 – Day of the Moon

Before I begin this review, I just want to say I’m sorry for the delay in posting. I’m finishing my last couple weeks of school, and trying to balance keeping everything up to date here. This is my review of the conclusion of the 2-part season premiere of Doctor Who. As usual, there are massive spoilers included. Read at your own risk.

The last thing we see in part 1 is Amy shooting at the astronaut. We start this episode 3 months later. The Doctor has been taken to Area 51 and everyone else is running from Canton. It’s all very confusing until we realize it’s part of a plan Canton has worked out with the Doctor and everyone.

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor comes up with another brilliant idea and implants things in each of their hands that will record what goes on around them to remind them when they encounter a creature and warn them of past incidents they will have forgotten. Between the jump in time and all the issues characters have with memory loss, this episode does a fantastic job at making the viewer question what is real and what is an illusion.  One is never sure if they can trust what their senses are telling them.

One thing we can trust in this episode is in Rory and Amy consistently making me cheer for them. When Rory says that Amy can always hear him and knows that he is coming for her, it reinforced my belief that they are the best couple EVER. Rory is especially great now that he’s lived all that time as the “last centurion”. It gives him something in common with the Doctor, which is an extra long past trailing behind him. The difference is that Rory did that all for the love of a woman. How can you not love someone for making that big a sacrifice?!

Speaking of couples, Matt Smith and Alex Kingston have fantastic chemistry in this episode! Their banter when they drop in on the Silence and Amy is absolutely priceless. This is the first time I can really picture the two of them becoming a couple, as is suspected will be the case eventually.

Going back to the actual episode, how the Doctor solves the problem of defeating the Silence and the memory issues is one of the most brilliant yet simple ideas ever. Canton records a Silent saying that humans should kill their kind on sight, and the Doctor inserts it into the broadcast of the moon landing. This is a brilliant idea, and also brilliant on the part of the writers. For one thing, the entire world was watching this broadcast, so there is no worry about someone missing this. The other bit of brilliance is that it “explains” the gap that the broadcast we are familiar with had.

The “end” of this episode isn’t really the end though. We are still left with many questions. First up – Amy’s pregnancy. She thinks it was a false alarm, but the Doctor’s scans are confusing. At times it showed positive, at other times it was negative. What’s up with that? We also seem to be hinting that the little girl in the space suit might be Amy’s daughter. There is a lot of mystery here, because she also seems to be a Timelord, based on the fact she regenerates at the end of the episode. My best guess is that traveling in the TARDIS for so long will have had some effect on the pregnancy. I highly doubt we’re going to try to say Amy had a child with the Doctor, not after all the work they’ve done making Amy and Rory into the strong couple they are now.

The other two mysteries left unsolved involve the Doctor. One is that River obviously remembers a timeline that has been altered some. This is based on the fact that the Doctor was surprised when they kissed because it never happened before, even though River seems to believe this should not have been a first occurrence. The other mystery revolves around the Doctor’s death at the beginning of the season. It looks like my theory was off and it was really the girl in the space suit that did it. What was her motive though? And is this event still going to happen after all the other changes that have been made to the timeline?

That concludes my review/recap of this episode. Feel free to comment on anything here, or ask your own questions that I may have overlooked.

 

Edit: I was reading the review of this episode over at Nerdist, and we both have the same thoughts about Amy and Rory as a couple, so I decided to share.

“A lot of attention was paid this episode to Rory still feeling inadequate when compared to the Doctor and believing still that Amy would rather be with the Doctor than him. By the end of the episode, Amy proves twice that she loves Rory and Rory alone and THAT, my friends, had better be the end of it. I suppose it was necessary that Moffat address the issue, but I’ll be very happy to not have to deal with a perceived love triangle anymore. Rory is awesome and has more than earned a place in both the TARDIS and Amy’s life. So there.” – Kyle Anderson, Nerdist.com

I agree that it was good to address this issue in the beginning, but this really needs to be the end of it. I would add that when Rory and Amy finally leave the show, it needs to be them going off to some countryside together and living happily ever after. No more love triangles, and NO MORE DYING. That is all.

Doctor Who – The Big Bang

Lots of stuff happened in part 1 of our 2-part series finale, with lots more left to digest in part 2. Let’s just skip through a quick SPOILER ALERT and get down to it, cause there’s lots to discuss.

We left The Doctor being locked in the Pandorica, which turns out was basically a prison that every other species in the Universe made for him, while lots of other bad things happened simultaneously (TARDIS blowing up, etc). With the fate of the Universe hanging in the balance, the stakes have never been higher than right now. And it’s all up to little Amy Pond to set everything right.

Things I loved about this episode: I loved the opening and slowly seeing what the after effects of last week’s episode were for the rest of the Universe. And I loved all the signs that were left for mini Amy (and having the two Amys meet). I also loved using the complexities of time travel to help solve the problem. And I loved Rory the Robot playing his part in protecting Amy – hell, I loved just having him back in general. And I loved the analogy of “rebooting the Universe” as if it were a computer. Basically I loved everything about this episode. There were moments of fun mixed in with all the tension and pressures of the Big Problem. (example – The fez The Doctor wears for bits of the episode). It was an ending Steven Moffat should be proud of. When River says our solution will make it so The Doctor will never have been born, a part of me was sad and scared (even though I knew there had to be a way to fix it). To be nervous about something even knowing it can’t really be the end, that takes real talent. That is the kind of genius that Steven Moffat has brought to Doctor Who.

Five-star moment of the week – without a doubt it had to be watching The Doctor rewind through his timeline. The moment when we see him talk to Amy from back during The Time of Angels and realize she is the key to keeping him from blinking out of existence for good was possibly one of my top moments in Doctor Who history (and there have been a lot of good moments, you have to admit). Flash to her wedding (which I was really happy to see finally happen) and her remembering The Doctor back into existence and you get one of the best nights with The Doctor ever.

What did you think of the series finale (or the series in general)? Sound off in the comments section below.

Doctor Who – Cold Blood

Sorry for the late recap here, folks. (I seem to be saying that a lot lately). Once June is over there will be a lot less going on, so the last few Doctor Who episodes will be watched when they are actually on. For now, enjoy this recap of Cold Blood. It was part 2 of the episode from the week before.

*I’m sure it goes without saying but – SPOILER ALERT*

The Doctor and his female companion (not Amy) have both been taken by the Silurians underground. He tries to negotiate a peaceful solution, but the Silurians just counter with a proposal of their own – his execution. Meanwhile, Amy has escaped from her Silurian captors and is in search of The Doctor. And the Silurian that had been taken by our human group is trying to provoke them into killing her in order to fuel conflict between the two species. Yet again I have to say how much I love these stories about human nature. I said in last week’s recap how the Silurians always seem to really bring this out. I have loved all the flashbacks to past situations, and continued to do so with this episode.

Eventually the whole group gets reunited, but only to be captured again. The leader eventually realizes what is going on and tries to settle the issue peacefully though. Other things I love about the Silurians – the fact that some of them actually want to be peaceful about this. Just like us humans, some are more violent than others. It’s great to see this portrayal that not all aliens are bad. That different does not have to be a bad thing.

Back to the story though – Things are looking bad for our heroes with the death of the Silurian they had captured. The Doctor gives another of his epic speeches about the future being dependent on what happens today and Amy gives about the same reaction I would – “Well, no pressure there.” Brilliant!

Other things I liked about this episode – how half of it was from the point of view of the lead Silurian. And how said Silurian actually seemed to be willing to work with the humans at a peaceful solution. He actually wanted them all to work together. IR students, take note. Peaceful negotiations actually work when both sides are willing to bring something to the table. True there will always be radicals in every group, but they usually represent the minority. A strong leader who is willing to work towards a change can do remarkable things.

On the other hand, sometimes that one radical can really mess things up. The lesser of the group becomes the representative of the whole race. One human makes a mistake and it has the potential to destroy everything. All because they choose the violent solution. See, people, violence never solves anything. I was really disappointed that a peaceful solution was in sight and then destroyed by one human. The Doctor has always had to let the Silurians down, and I really wanted to see some redemption for him here. I did love the idea, however, of making it so they would get another chance at sharing planet Earth 1,000 years from now. Hopefully that is enough time for the human race to sort itself out and finally learn how to co-exist with other species.

Final bit of academics for the day – how were Rory and Amy both on the hill if Rory dies here? I guess you’re going to tell me that time traveling changed things but that will just lead to a huge paradoxical debate (which are fun but take up loads of time that I don’t really have here). I mean, Rory doesn’t just die – all the memories of him get wiped. Maybe that makes it less painful for Amy, but that doesn’t necessarily make it better. I was angry at Rory’s death, and Amy should be too. I really wanted the two of them to make it till happily ever after.

The final scene where they reveal the piece of the TARDIS suggests very big things are going to happen in the last few weeks. Make sure you stay tuned, because you’re not going to want to miss a single second of it.

Doctor Who – The Hungry Earth

Sorry for the late recap, but I have class on Saturdays now. I know, lame, right? Anywho… without further ado, here is your recap of The Hungry Earth. *insert usual SPOILER ALERT here*

This week gave us part one of the two part episode which brought back the classic Who villains, the Silurians. If you were a fan of the original series, the last time you saw these guys was during Warriors of the Deep, which featured Peter Davison as The Doctor. Our Doctor’s adventure with them starts with a “big mining thing” and his natural curiosity that has gotten him into trouble countless other times before.

In terms of the Silurians, past encounters have been due to research or military bases that have awakened the creatures. This time it is a drilling project that does it.

While The Doctor and Amy is directly dealing with the danger, Rory gets sucked in to a problem that is connected with the Silurians underground activities (and we use the term “underground” in the literal sense here). There are bodies in the graveyard that have gone missing, and one of the townsfolk have asked Rory to figure out why.

Something I have noticed in watching both the current series and classic Who is that humans tend to be very foolish on the show and rarely ever trust The Doctor, even though he usually knows best how to handle the situation. There was more of this seen in this episode, especially from one person in particular. I love that the kid trusts The Doctor almost immediately but his Mom is skeptical throughout the show. It just goes to show how perceptive kids can be and how easily they except even the most impossible of scenarios. It’s a shame we tend to lose this as adults. Perhaps Doctor Who can be a lesson to try to keep the inner child from dying within us all.

Back to the matter hand though… Our bit of sunshine through the rain – when they are trying to get inside the one building but the door sticks:

Rory: Can’t you just sonic it?
Doctor: It doesn’t do wood.
Rory: That’s rubbish.
Doctor: Oy! Don’t dis the sonic!

Words to remember, folks. Words to remember…

It is worth noting that we don’t actually get our first glimpse of the Silurians until halfway point. That should have been our first clue this would be a two-parter (assuming you hadn’t read about it somewhere before). It also takes about this long for The Doctor to figure out who (or what) they are dealing with.

It is always fun watching The Doctor interact with different species, but it is especially true with the Silurians. They have been on Earth since before even the human race and have always fascinated The Doctor as a race. He also has always regretted not being able to negotiate a lasting peace between the two species. “Nobody dies today,” he says. Fans of the classic series remember the last encounter with the Silurians and you will know just how important it is to him to keep that promise.

Part 1 of our adventure ends thus: The captured Silurian says one of our group will kill her and ignite a war between the two species. Meanwhile, The Doctor and his TARDIS are dragged underground where the rest of the Silurian tribe is (which turns out is really an entire civilization). Oh, and Amy is in danger of being dissected by a member of said tribe.

Will The Doctor be able to keep his promise and keep Amy and the rest of them from dying? You’ll just have to tune in next week to find out.