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salienneSo... I was gearing up to love this special, I really was. Granted, I'm still rather bitter over "Children of Earth", so my patience with RTD's style and themes is wearing a bit thin.
That said, I have yet to dislike a single Doctor Who episode. Hell, I really enjoyed VotD. Fear Her is one of my favorite episodes. And it wasn't like I started off disliking this episode. After all, Adelaide was awesome, and the scene where she recalls the Dalek was breathtaking. The actual "adventure" was also decently paced, and creepy, and exciting. The base felt like a real base. The acting was fantastic, and I could really relate to all the humans right through the moment the Doctor takes them to Earth.
Somehow, RTD managed to make that 'heroic' scene horrifying even before the suicide, and kudos to him. That takes skill.
My problem is: the Doctor's Hyde moment.
There wasn't anything wrong with this character development, per se. The Doctor's power getting the better of him and turning him into an even more disturbing version of the Master?
In theory, that's fantastic. Done well, I would love it and fic it and hug it and do kinky things with feathers and handcuffs and fire, and possibly Bad Wolf and Rose and the Master and Jack and Ianto.
This change has also been foreshadowed for a while. Last of the Lords of Time who sees himself as the final authority on things, the Lonely God (who'd make a terrible god) who needs someone to "stop him". The idea of the Doctor controlling who lives and who dies as monstrous (even as he, well, sort of does). All the Jesus imagery.
It's just...
It just felt so damn sloppy.
In terms of development of this sort, I honestly don't think we've seen any. I never really got the sense that the Doctor was turning into the Master, no matter how tempted he might have been. Growing lonelier and more jaded, yes, but actually becoming carried away by his own power? When has that ever happened except when he's been too depressed to care, and even then, only for a moment? What happened to his horror at what Bad Wolf did, at what he saw the Master do (for a year)? Where the hell has the buildup--not foreshadowing but actual character work--been?
Then we come to this episode.
Why was this his breaking point? After all, we've already seen that the Doctor doesn't need to give up every principle he stands for to cheat time in little ways, so why not just take them to a time and place where time wouldn't be affected too much and make this one of those moments? Why now?
As for the Doctor's change--because that's what it felt like, not development but change--it was just so badly handled. Why did he start talking like the Master? Since when did he start valuing certain people over others? Who the hell has a complete reversal of that sort in an hour (i.e. lookatme, I'm lonely I'm lonely NO I WON THE WAR SO IT'S TOTES OKAY)? Why was it all right to save someone in Pompeii and not now?
In terms of writing, did RTD honestly expect us to have time to read those news articles and realize that her suicide did actually restore history? And why didn't the Doctor realize what would happen after he saved them had she not committed suicide, if he could see those articles? What the hell was up with the hallucination? Why did we leave so abruptly after Adelaide's suicide--it could have been such a powerful moment, but it just felt like we didn't have the time to properly absorb it, to be properly horrified along with the Doctor.
And, really, could RTD be any less subtle? I felt like I was getting beat in the face with the THEME and the CHARACTER CHANGE, from the "little people" to the "I've gone too far" (no, really?).
And even with that heavy-handedness, even with an extra 15 minutes of episode, even after all these seasons, it not only felt rushed--it felt like it came out of nowhere.
The hero corrupted by power and ambition, it's a classic story. It's a powerful story.
And, imo, RTD just didn't pull it off.
I hate being disappointed like this, guys, because I really wanted to be excited for Ten's grand exit. As is, if I didn't dislike Moffat so much, I'd already be looking forward to season 5. :/
ETA: Another issue I have with the Doctor's sudden change: the ways in which it completely contradicts his character.
The Doctor has always valued every life, so why is he suddenly deeming certain lives more important than others?
The Doctor has never ever felt like he won the Time War, so why is that suddenly his perspective? Surely you could accept mastery over time without deciding OMG I WON.
The Doctor has always tried to preserve time, so, again, why now?
I can see how RTD thinks this was all foreshadowed and developed, I really can. The history of saving people, of playing around with time when it's in flux, the saving and glowing blue.
But it just... it wasn't enough for the Doctor to completely change his outlook, his attitude, his values, his being.
If this is supposed to be a weird mind-blending with the Master, then I could believe it. Otherwise... not so much.
That said, I have yet to dislike a single Doctor Who episode. Hell, I really enjoyed VotD. Fear Her is one of my favorite episodes. And it wasn't like I started off disliking this episode. After all, Adelaide was awesome, and the scene where she recalls the Dalek was breathtaking. The actual "adventure" was also decently paced, and creepy, and exciting. The base felt like a real base. The acting was fantastic, and I could really relate to all the humans right through the moment the Doctor takes them to Earth.
Somehow, RTD managed to make that 'heroic' scene horrifying even before the suicide, and kudos to him. That takes skill.
My problem is: the Doctor's Hyde moment.
There wasn't anything wrong with this character development, per se. The Doctor's power getting the better of him and turning him into an even more disturbing version of the Master?
In theory, that's fantastic. Done well, I would love it and fic it and hug it and do kinky things with feathers and handcuffs and fire, and possibly Bad Wolf and Rose and the Master and Jack and Ianto.
This change has also been foreshadowed for a while. Last of the Lords of Time who sees himself as the final authority on things, the Lonely God (who'd make a terrible god) who needs someone to "stop him". The idea of the Doctor controlling who lives and who dies as monstrous (even as he, well, sort of does). All the Jesus imagery.
It's just...
It just felt so damn sloppy.
In terms of development of this sort, I honestly don't think we've seen any. I never really got the sense that the Doctor was turning into the Master, no matter how tempted he might have been. Growing lonelier and more jaded, yes, but actually becoming carried away by his own power? When has that ever happened except when he's been too depressed to care, and even then, only for a moment? What happened to his horror at what Bad Wolf did, at what he saw the Master do (for a year)? Where the hell has the buildup--not foreshadowing but actual character work--been?
Then we come to this episode.
Why was this his breaking point? After all, we've already seen that the Doctor doesn't need to give up every principle he stands for to cheat time in little ways, so why not just take them to a time and place where time wouldn't be affected too much and make this one of those moments? Why now?
As for the Doctor's change--because that's what it felt like, not development but change--it was just so badly handled. Why did he start talking like the Master? Since when did he start valuing certain people over others? Who the hell has a complete reversal of that sort in an hour (i.e. lookatme, I'm lonely I'm lonely NO I WON THE WAR SO IT'S TOTES OKAY)? Why was it all right to save someone in Pompeii and not now?
In terms of writing, did RTD honestly expect us to have time to read those news articles and realize that her suicide did actually restore history? And why didn't the Doctor realize what would happen after he saved them had she not committed suicide, if he could see those articles? What the hell was up with the hallucination? Why did we leave so abruptly after Adelaide's suicide--it could have been such a powerful moment, but it just felt like we didn't have the time to properly absorb it, to be properly horrified along with the Doctor.
And, really, could RTD be any less subtle? I felt like I was getting beat in the face with the THEME and the CHARACTER CHANGE, from the "little people" to the "I've gone too far" (no, really?).
And even with that heavy-handedness, even with an extra 15 minutes of episode, even after all these seasons, it not only felt rushed--it felt like it came out of nowhere.
The hero corrupted by power and ambition, it's a classic story. It's a powerful story.
And, imo, RTD just didn't pull it off.
I hate being disappointed like this, guys, because I really wanted to be excited for Ten's grand exit. As is, if I didn't dislike Moffat so much, I'd already be looking forward to season 5. :/
ETA: Another issue I have with the Doctor's sudden change: the ways in which it completely contradicts his character.
The Doctor has always valued every life, so why is he suddenly deeming certain lives more important than others?
The Doctor has never ever felt like he won the Time War, so why is that suddenly his perspective? Surely you could accept mastery over time without deciding OMG I WON.
The Doctor has always tried to preserve time, so, again, why now?
I can see how RTD thinks this was all foreshadowed and developed, I really can. The history of saving people, of playing around with time when it's in flux, the saving and glowing blue.
But it just... it wasn't enough for the Doctor to completely change his outlook, his attitude, his values, his being.
If this is supposed to be a weird mind-blending with the Master, then I could believe it. Otherwise... not so much.
