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FishyFish

By FishyFish
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Hexx

Hexx

Posted
Posted

Oddly enough I think it's a finale that gets worse on rewatches - mainly as you know it'll set up questions which are never answered or never answered properly. (A big thing during Season 6)

Interesting you pick up the 'something borrowed' line. It also seems to start a trend of clever/funny lines with plot seemingly the mangled to get there.

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kensei

kensei

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Amy was sleeping beside the crack in the universe as she grew up. The idea was that the universe was seeping into her head. Now why she didn't get slowly erased like everyone else that came across them I dont know, bit it's easily hand waved as a temporal or biological phenomenon. Utter nonsense like, but I'm not sure any more nonsense than anything else and a fair bit better than RTDs. As for everything must exist in space time or not, quantum innit.

Watched that a few times and while the loss of the mystery clearly harms it, I think it stands up. There is so much great stuff in it - as well as the things you mention, The Doctor jas a load of great scenes - his pompous speech to the sky that is both thrilling and an inevitable invitation to hubris, his soliloquy to Amy, the dancing.

None of the rest of 11 finale's come close and maybe only Parting of the Ways matches it in Nu Who.

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Gabe

Gabe

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tl; dr: I (mainly) loved Smith's tenure, grew quickly to take Clara to my heart after thinking the end of Amy and Rory was the end of the heart of the show, am really sad he's left with what I perceive to be unrealised potential with Clara.

So.

I don't have a lot of experience with the Doctor. Aside from half-seeing some Sylvester McCoy/Colin Baker/Peter Davidson episodes when my parents used to watch it when I was young (and I couldn't tell you anything about those episodes), I never watched any of the reboot.

Indeed, I only started watching it because I caught short clips from two different episodes - the first was part of the second Angels episode (I saw about 15 minutes of it) and the very last bit of the end of series 5, from the wedding scene. Other than immediately fancying Karen Gillan, I liked Matt Smith's energy and general demeanour.

Because I'd expressed an interest in seeing them at some point I was bought the series 5 boxset for Christmas and, in the main, I loved it. I loved the chemistry between the 3 leads, I enjoyed the series-arc, but I just really, really enjoyed Smith's performances. Series 6 took a more serious tone, but I really enjoyed that too. The dynamic changed a bit as the relationship between the Ponds and the Doctor matured a bit, but I still found it to be a fun journey. I even liked both Corden episodes (sorry.)

I was very late coming into series 7; I've never watched any episodes live (I've always waited for the Blu-rays) so I knew well in advance of seeing it that Amy and Rory were leaving and, as with most change, I was apprehensive. But I was hoping for a good swan-song at least.

And I hated it. I remember posting in here at the time (just after I'd finished 'The Angels Take Manhattan') that those 5 episodes were terrible other than 'Asylum of the Daleks', which at least was interesting (I can't remember if I knew Clara was to be the new companion at the time.) Focussing on the Pond's 'normal lives' felt like the heart of Smith's run was being ripped-out and the actual ending was not only stupid, but lacked any real emotion or punch. It was limp and very disappointing. Because of that I lost interest in the series and was quite happy to ignore the rest of his run.

Ignore it until last week, that is. It had been on my Lovefilm rental list for an age and I figured I'd finish off series 7 and be done with it.

Having now finished 'The Time of the Doctor' this evening and concluded Smith's run I now feel very sad.

The second half of Series 7 was very different to that which came before, and that is totally due to how the relationship with Clara was handled. With Amy, the Doctor's relationship was much more paternal - there was never any hint of any attraction from the Doctor's side and the wonder and amazement also dissipated, quite dramatically so in series 7. With Clara that wasn't the case - there was clear sexual chemistry between the characters which was played on and I really liked seeing that side of the Doctor - it humanised him somewhat and also added some gravitas to the arc they went through.

What is funny, though, is that certainly for the first couple of episodes of Clara's run it really did seem like his heart wasn't in the role anymore. I don't know at what point he decided to end his association, but it seemed like losing Gillan and Darvill did hit him quite hard (I know they were all meant to be very good friends and he probably wasn't expecting them to go when they did - or, rather, wasn't expecting Gillan to announce she wanted to leave). Despite a rather lacklustre start it picked up fast in their short run and had some really touching moments, if not necessarily the strongest episodes.

So watching 'The Time of the Doctor' has left me feeling rather glum. Coleman was excellent and conveyed a better sense of an impending loss than Gillan ever did, the story brought together a number of plot lines in a simple, straightforward way (and Clara's speech to the crack was quite touching) and it was quite a nice send-off without being terribly smulchy.

I feel sad because this pair never really had a chance to grow and I wanted to see if Moffat would ever have them express their feelings in any way (I fully admit to living vicariously through some TV pairings); I feel sad because Smith's performance always entertained me, even when the material he had to work with was weak; I feel sad because this feels like I'm losing touch with a good friend and that hurts a bit.

Clara's speech at the end of the episode was quite poignant, too, because I guess there was something in her real-life situation going on there, as for Coleman this was the end of playing Clara in a certain way ("Don't change!" was both for the character and her - I see that she is allegedly off at Christmas. I felt real sadness in that line - both hers and mine.) Indeed, on the extras ("Behind the Lens") Smith does say he regrets that they didn't get another year at it as they had come on a lot. I wonder if, on reflection, he felt he made the decision to leave too soon?

So, yeah. It's over. Perhaps for me, too, as I'm not really interested in Capaldi, though I know that's unfair without watching it. But then again, I was never interested in the show pre-Smith, so maybe that won't change. I don't know.

The Doctor is dead. Long live the Doctor!

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Mogster

Mogster

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Regenerations are always a really exciting time for Doctor Who though. As much as I loved Smith, it's still really exciting to see what a new Doctor will be like. I'd at least watch the first episode to see what you think. :)

I've been watching all of Smith's run in the run up to the weekend, and finished The Name of the Doctor today. Just Day and Time to go now, and it's been a great ride. I found I enjoyed certain episodes a lot more this time around too, including Journey To The Heart of the Tardis which I thought was awful at the time. Also The Rings of Akhaten was much more fun when I knew what to expect, and that speech is still incredible.

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CarloOos

CarloOos

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So watching 'The Time of the Doctor' has left me feeling rather glum. Coleman was excellent and conveyed a better sense of an impending loss than Gillan ever did, the story brought together a number of plot lines in a simple, straightforward way (and Clara's speech to the crack was quite touching) and it was quite a nice send-off without being terribly smulchy.

I feel sad because this pair never really had a chance to grow and I wanted to see if Moffat would ever have them express their feelings in any way (I fully admit to living vicariously through some TV pairings); I feel sad because Smith's performance always entertained me, even when the material he had to work with was weak; I feel sad because this feels like I'm losing touch with a good friend and that hurts a bit.

Clara's speech at the end of the episode was quite poignant, too, because I guess there was something in her real-life situation going on there, as for Coleman this was the end of playing Clara in a certain way ("Don't change!" was both for the character and her - I see that she is allegedly off at Christmas. I felt real sadness in that line - both hers and mine.) Indeed, on the extras ("Behind the Lens") Smith does say he regrets that they didn't get another year at it as they had come on a lot. I wonder if, on reflection, he felt he made the decision to leave too soon?

So, yeah. It's over. Perhaps for me, too, as I'm not really interested in Capaldi, though I know that's unfair without watching it. But then again, I was never interested in the show pre-Smith, so maybe that won't change. I don't know.

The Doctor is dead. Long live the Doctor!

I doubt anything romantic was ever on the cards, as the 'unrequited romance between the Doctor and his companion' well had already been thoroughly mined by Smith's predecessor. If it's that central relationship you found most engaging though I think you'd probably do well to check out the Ecclestone & Tennant episodes, as ever they can be hit and miss but there's plenty of absolute classics amongst them and Rose remains arguably the most iconic companion.
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Gabe

Gabe

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I doubt anything romantic was ever on the cards, as the 'unrequited romance between the Doctor and his companion' well had already been thoroughly mined by Smith's predecessor. If it's that central relationship you found most engaging though I think you'd probably do well to check out the Ecclestone & Tennant episodes, as ever they can be hit and miss but there's plenty of absolute classics amongst them and Rose remains arguably the most iconic companion.

Yeah, I realise it probably wasn't, but it was a fun little will they/won't they while it lasted.

But it was really Smith that got me - and kept me - watching. I've never been interested in any of the others, so it's unlikely I'll watch any previous incarnations.

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Zio

Zio

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Definitely give Capaldi a chance. I did see the work print of Deep Breath and I was really impressed with Clara in it. It's a real shame if Jenna Coleman really is leaving the role so soon, as the regeneration gives her character a bit more to work with and it seemed to me just in that one episode that there could be some decent chemistry between the Doctor and his companion. Give it a go anyway. I personally absolutely loved Matt Smith in the role. Even as an old school Who fan, he's right up there as one of my absolute favourite Doctors. But I reckon Capaldi could be amazing in this.

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davidcotton

davidcotton

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I wonder if, on reflection, he felt he made the decision to leave too soon?

That feeling is nothing unusual. Apparantly after filming Caves of Androzani, Davison had changed his mind about leaving and went and had a chat with JNT, only to be told that it was too late as all the contracts had been signed.

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Mogster

Mogster

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Well there we go. All of Smith's run rewatched in time for the weekend. :)

The Time of the Doctor seems to get better with repeat viewings. I liked it to start with, but today I think I actually enjoyed it more than Day, which by contrast isn't quite as fun on repeats without the surprises. I really, really love the regeneration too.

"Love from Gallifrey, boys!" :D

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