![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
SFF: Doctor Who The Power of the Doctor
Of course I've watched it
And it's an absolute mess of an episode.
Good stuff:
Ace! Mel! Tegan! FiveEightSixySeven (it was Zagreus all over, "..the moment has been prepared for..." Also, Cornell's Timewyrm: Revelation)! Kaaaaate! Yaz was so utterly brilliant! The dude who shot the Master!
It was actually quite fun to watch Yaz basically save the Doctor, so the Doctor could go save everyone else. Yaz flying the TARDIS! =D
Ace knowing where all of the weapons were in the UNIT building! And her bat! And nitro999!
And Tegan's determination and stroppiness was beautiful. I've missed her so, and I'm so so glad they got her to come back.
Tegan and Ace and their Investigating Shit early on! Love it.
JO MARTIN AUUGH. I really really love her version of the Doctor, and I WANT A SPINOFF. Just. Every second she's on screen that I've seen has been absolutely brilliant.
The meeting at the end with Jo, Ian, etc.! That was so lovely to see them all, and so heart-rending, at the same time.
The micro-transmitters were stupid, but fun, and Yaz's "Look at your hand." isn't related to them, but felt like a direct Silence call-back.
Also, Yaz made me cry when she did, I tried not to, and failed. And while I'm ok with the ice cream and all, I wanted a kiss. :/
I'm reminded: I liked the curlicues on the Cybermen.
Thing I'm ambivalent on: Tennant. As much as I disliked his Doctor at times, I actually like easily he steps into the part, and it was almost great to see him again.
A Dalek defecting. I suppose it happens. Occasionally. Kaled pride? I just wish it wasn't wrapped up in, "Dalek Defector is too fucking stupid to live."
Things I'm meh/mildly disgruntled on:
That said, this could have been a bit longer, there was so much going on, and there was no time to breathe at all. The pacing was horrific. Also, longer would have given more time with Tegan and Ace, and maybe more cameos. But more time, even if it was just running up and down corridors, would have been nice.
What the actual fuck was the point of the thousands of stairs in the UNIT building? Like, they were a massive waste of time and energy. It didn't even look cool to shoot them, or have action scenes around them. Just blah.
Speaking of the UNIT building, it's now a pile of rubble filled with regenerating Cybermen. Good job, you totally stopped the cyber menace. Really.
And all of those dead troops will make great conversions. Body count in this episode must be in the hundreds.
There's also thousands of Daleks trapped inside exploding volcanoes.
Like. Did no one think this through?
The answer is that, no, no one thought it through because they were running on "wouldn't this be kewl." logic, which meant the number of truly stupid people in the episode was astronomical. I couldn't keep count the number of times people made completely stupid as fuck decisions.
Kate: taking the Master captive and a) not immediately rendering him unconscious is fucking unconscionable. Did these people not learn anything from the last time they took this maniac captive? Did Kate fall in the shower and hit her fucking head? No, I'm sorry, you're taking someone into custody, who you know has a HISTORY OF FUCKING YOU OVER AND KILLING PEOPLE WHILE IN CAPTIVITY, and all you do is, like, throw him in a cell with some rent-an-hour guards?
UGH.
Science leads? Right into killing hundreds of people and endangering the planet, apparently. Those military protocols and procedures weren't just for shits and giggles (and yes, they'd failed, but once they failed, they were updated! You had Missy killing people on a fucking plane, why would you leave someone like that conscious?)
Here's the thing: Tegan keeping the doll, actually makes sense and works for me. But as soon as it started growing, WHY THE FUCK DID NO ON IMMEDIATELY STOMP ON IT? FFS, there are hundreds of troopers AND ACE wearing fucking BOOTS. It was a fucking two-inch tall cyberman, I don't think even it would survive stomping. And if it did? AT LEAST SOMEONE DID SOMETHING INSTEAD OF STANDING AROUND WITH THEIR THUMBS IN THEIR ASSES while it took five minutes to grow bigger!
Yaz not shooting the Master when she takes him at gunpoint near the beginning. Just fucking shoot him--don't have to kill him, but putting a bullet in his shoulder would certainly put a crimp in his fucking plans. Please, put us all out of our misery. You know how he counts on people being predictable? That means that no one ever shoots him.
It's like, the Doctor knows that he is fucking with her and instead of taking a step back and looking at the whole picture, she's ignoring EVERYTHING but one-upping him. And it's bullshit and gets thousands of people killed.
Back to Kate, but less Kate, and more the weird uncomfortable torture porn aspects of the Cyber conversions. Like, they had a couple of dudes shoved in, but we didn't get a very... visceral experience. And then they stuck Kate in one, and it was full-on, rapey torture porn. Or as much as they can sneak in before the watershed. Really put me off.
I mean. That was the implication. Now we're going to rape you for your information. Just because it was her mind and not her body doesn't make it any less awful.
So, I love the concept of a Companions Support Group. but I am fucking incandescently angry that of course, it is fucking Graham, the wise older white male, who started it. And I'd thought Dan leaving meant that there'd be no dicks in the TARDIS. Whoops, sorry, can't let the white men in the audience not have someone to identify with! And, hey, they all get to flirt with Ace, too, like they wanted as teens!
Um. So. Now we come to the elephant in the review. And I'm sorry. I know everyone thinks he's amazing (and Sacha Dhawan is fucking nailing it out of the park, I don't deny that! He is amazing and brilliant, and I hope this is a great milestone in his career!). But I fucking hate this version of the Master. Possibly as much as I hate Simm!Master. Not sure yet, I haven't re-watched the Ten Era Simm!Master (he was toned down a bit during Moff's reign, so he wasn't as awful).
But he grates on me like nails on a chalkboard, and the second-hand embarrassment when he danced to I Can't Decide... Or whatever it was.
And I wanted to like him - I've seen tons of gifs over the year or so, and I liked that he was apparently kinda manic/fast-talking, bubbly, etc., like Thirteen was.
However, I don't. And I spent a lot of time turning the sound down or fast-forwarding to escape his monologues.
And now I'm contemplating just never watching any of his episodes. I haven't ever watched the last two Ten & Martha episodes, either (I think I usually go on about Tinkerbelle!Jesus!Doctor, but the bigger truth is Simm!Master's everything). I can hold out, when the consequence is being annoyed for 90% of the episode.
(my one hope is that in five or six years, I'll manage it, and maybe even like him. I warmed up to BBC Moriarty, after all. Sort of.)
And finally, the last annoyance: Thirteen regenerates into the Master, and he keeps her clothing. YES. Props to Dhawan pulling that off (and the silly mix of everyone's clothing later on).
And then, Thirteen regenerates into Tennant and... changes clothing. :/
NO. It's especially awful since I dislike her costume, and was looking forward to seeing Tennant look like a child. (I like the pieces separately, except for the capris. I hate those on women in real life, too)
Sigh. But practicalities tell me that Tennant is too wide to fit her costume, and they probably didn't see the point in the outlay for even just the shirt for a ten-second sight gag.
And it's an absolute mess of an episode.
Good stuff:
Ace! Mel! Tegan! FiveEightSixySeven (it was Zagreus all over, "..the moment has been prepared for..." Also, Cornell's Timewyrm: Revelation)! Kaaaaate! Yaz was so utterly brilliant! The dude who shot the Master!
It was actually quite fun to watch Yaz basically save the Doctor, so the Doctor could go save everyone else. Yaz flying the TARDIS! =D
Ace knowing where all of the weapons were in the UNIT building! And her bat! And nitro999!
And Tegan's determination and stroppiness was beautiful. I've missed her so, and I'm so so glad they got her to come back.
Tegan and Ace and their Investigating Shit early on! Love it.
JO MARTIN AUUGH. I really really love her version of the Doctor, and I WANT A SPINOFF. Just. Every second she's on screen that I've seen has been absolutely brilliant.
The meeting at the end with Jo, Ian, etc.! That was so lovely to see them all, and so heart-rending, at the same time.
The micro-transmitters were stupid, but fun, and Yaz's "Look at your hand." isn't related to them, but felt like a direct Silence call-back.
Also, Yaz made me cry when she did, I tried not to, and failed. And while I'm ok with the ice cream and all, I wanted a kiss. :/
I'm reminded: I liked the curlicues on the Cybermen.
Thing I'm ambivalent on: Tennant. As much as I disliked his Doctor at times, I actually like easily he steps into the part, and it was almost great to see him again.
A Dalek defecting. I suppose it happens. Occasionally. Kaled pride? I just wish it wasn't wrapped up in, "Dalek Defector is too fucking stupid to live."
Things I'm meh/mildly disgruntled on:
That said, this could have been a bit longer, there was so much going on, and there was no time to breathe at all. The pacing was horrific. Also, longer would have given more time with Tegan and Ace, and maybe more cameos. But more time, even if it was just running up and down corridors, would have been nice.
What the actual fuck was the point of the thousands of stairs in the UNIT building? Like, they were a massive waste of time and energy. It didn't even look cool to shoot them, or have action scenes around them. Just blah.
Speaking of the UNIT building, it's now a pile of rubble filled with regenerating Cybermen. Good job, you totally stopped the cyber menace. Really.
And all of those dead troops will make great conversions. Body count in this episode must be in the hundreds.
There's also thousands of Daleks trapped inside exploding volcanoes.
Like. Did no one think this through?
The answer is that, no, no one thought it through because they were running on "wouldn't this be kewl." logic, which meant the number of truly stupid people in the episode was astronomical. I couldn't keep count the number of times people made completely stupid as fuck decisions.
Kate: taking the Master captive and a) not immediately rendering him unconscious is fucking unconscionable. Did these people not learn anything from the last time they took this maniac captive? Did Kate fall in the shower and hit her fucking head? No, I'm sorry, you're taking someone into custody, who you know has a HISTORY OF FUCKING YOU OVER AND KILLING PEOPLE WHILE IN CAPTIVITY, and all you do is, like, throw him in a cell with some rent-an-hour guards?
UGH.
Science leads? Right into killing hundreds of people and endangering the planet, apparently. Those military protocols and procedures weren't just for shits and giggles (and yes, they'd failed, but once they failed, they were updated! You had Missy killing people on a fucking plane, why would you leave someone like that conscious?)
Here's the thing: Tegan keeping the doll, actually makes sense and works for me. But as soon as it started growing, WHY THE FUCK DID NO ON IMMEDIATELY STOMP ON IT? FFS, there are hundreds of troopers AND ACE wearing fucking BOOTS. It was a fucking two-inch tall cyberman, I don't think even it would survive stomping. And if it did? AT LEAST SOMEONE DID SOMETHING INSTEAD OF STANDING AROUND WITH THEIR THUMBS IN THEIR ASSES while it took five minutes to grow bigger!
Yaz not shooting the Master when she takes him at gunpoint near the beginning. Just fucking shoot him--don't have to kill him, but putting a bullet in his shoulder would certainly put a crimp in his fucking plans. Please, put us all out of our misery. You know how he counts on people being predictable? That means that no one ever shoots him.
It's like, the Doctor knows that he is fucking with her and instead of taking a step back and looking at the whole picture, she's ignoring EVERYTHING but one-upping him. And it's bullshit and gets thousands of people killed.
Back to Kate, but less Kate, and more the weird uncomfortable torture porn aspects of the Cyber conversions. Like, they had a couple of dudes shoved in, but we didn't get a very... visceral experience. And then they stuck Kate in one, and it was full-on, rapey torture porn. Or as much as they can sneak in before the watershed. Really put me off.
I mean. That was the implication. Now we're going to rape you for your information. Just because it was her mind and not her body doesn't make it any less awful.
So, I love the concept of a Companions Support Group. but I am fucking incandescently angry that of course, it is fucking Graham, the wise older white male, who started it. And I'd thought Dan leaving meant that there'd be no dicks in the TARDIS. Whoops, sorry, can't let the white men in the audience not have someone to identify with! And, hey, they all get to flirt with Ace, too, like they wanted as teens!
Um. So. Now we come to the elephant in the review. And I'm sorry. I know everyone thinks he's amazing (and Sacha Dhawan is fucking nailing it out of the park, I don't deny that! He is amazing and brilliant, and I hope this is a great milestone in his career!). But I fucking hate this version of the Master. Possibly as much as I hate Simm!Master. Not sure yet, I haven't re-watched the Ten Era Simm!Master (he was toned down a bit during Moff's reign, so he wasn't as awful).
But he grates on me like nails on a chalkboard, and the second-hand embarrassment when he danced to I Can't Decide... Or whatever it was.
And I wanted to like him - I've seen tons of gifs over the year or so, and I liked that he was apparently kinda manic/fast-talking, bubbly, etc., like Thirteen was.
However, I don't. And I spent a lot of time turning the sound down or fast-forwarding to escape his monologues.
And now I'm contemplating just never watching any of his episodes. I haven't ever watched the last two Ten & Martha episodes, either (I think I usually go on about Tinkerbelle!Jesus!Doctor, but the bigger truth is Simm!Master's everything). I can hold out, when the consequence is being annoyed for 90% of the episode.
(my one hope is that in five or six years, I'll manage it, and maybe even like him. I warmed up to BBC Moriarty, after all. Sort of.)
And finally, the last annoyance: Thirteen regenerates into the Master, and he keeps her clothing. YES. Props to Dhawan pulling that off (and the silly mix of everyone's clothing later on).
And then, Thirteen regenerates into Tennant and... changes clothing. :/
NO. It's especially awful since I dislike her costume, and was looking forward to seeing Tennant look like a child. (I like the pieces separately, except for the capris. I hate those on women in real life, too)
Sigh. But practicalities tell me that Tennant is too wide to fit her costume, and they probably didn't see the point in the outlay for even just the shirt for a ten-second sight gag.
no subject
I feel like that reveal kind of cheated Jodie out of a proper regeneration scene.
Also you're not missing much on skipping the last 2 eps of season 3. Well, the sound of drums wasn't bad (unless as you say you hate Simm!Master), but LOTTL was so cringeworthy in every squicky aspect (at least for me) that it ruined it. Stopping at Derek Jacoby's regeneration is pretty wise, I'd say.