Wednesday, July 07, 2010

DOCTOR WHO: I [heart] Amelia Pond

As part of my LOST recovery program, I've been catching up on the newest season of DOCTOR WHO, via onDemand, or inDemand, or whatever it is. Matt Smith as the Doctor took a little getting used to, but I've quickly come to like his take on Doctor-ness. I sometimes see a little DR. HORRIBLE in him, and would *love* for an American Who (as unnecessary as that is—they tried it a few years back tho, didn't they?) to be played by Doogie. Or maybe Desmond. =)

I kind of adore Amy Pond, altho I do agree with the Doctor that she should've kept on with "Amelia," much more of a... fantastic ring to it, y'know. My biggest problem with the new episodes is the odd, somehow uneven and Who-inconsistent, maybe even careless, writing. I just knocked off the Angels (of "The Angels Have The Phone Box") two-parter and while I love the return of their brand of menace, I'm annoyed with the apparent re-writing of their capabilities. They were perfect assassins in "Blink," who would be quantum-locked or whatever once they were observed by any other creature, but unobserved, could move and act freely. Their MO—a touch would sap their quarry of temporal energy (or something), providing sustenance for them and at the same time sending their unknowing victim backwards in the time stream. A very nichey, simple, and wonderful concept. There's no mention of time-shunting being the fate of the Angels' victims, a fate that allows for some great "Easter eggy" possibilities for warnings and messages from the past (a la "Blink"). Lost opportunities. Now, tho, they're also capable of RING-like propagation—anything that sees them eventually becomes one of them. Or wait, is it that anything that sees one of them becomes a statue? I mean, what was happening to Amy, would she have BECOME an Angel assassin or an inert stone statue?

I hafta say, I *like* RINGU / THE RING, and RING-ness for a good scare. Really, tho, such a spin could've been saved for use as an aspeect of an *all-new* Who threat. Did NOT have to crowbar it into an already elegant menace. Bleah. So unnecessary and annoyingly inconsistent.

On the other hand, the "return" of River Song is kind of fun, especially given the crap place we "last" saw her. Is she human? Long-lived? Something else? And I like the cracks in time. Sort of Bad Wolfy meets CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Do the places the Doctor and Amy visit end up beign consumed by these cracks? Is spacetime disappearing behind them?

The revelation of a busted-up TARDIS is pretty frickin heavy. Inspires a hope that the Doctor has to face himself, or a possible future self, gone desperate or dark, in an upcoming episode or finale.

Poor Rory. Did the Doctor HAVE to pick up another bride-to-be?

Still... All-in-all, I am digging the fun.

Keep on keepin on~

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