Sitting on ice while the clock is watching, losing face/ Dreaming of a better space in time... - Doctor Who 6x10 "The Girl Who Waited" Review

How much did I love this episode? Very much!

See, it can be so simple: the Doctor, Rory, Amy, some robots, white walls.

First of all: the color scheme (lots and lots of white, Amy in pastel colors) was brilliant. It was so pretty.

But let's talk about the story first.



summary The Doctor takes the Ponds to some awesome alien planet - that isn't really awesome at all but consists of white rooms and doors - Amy has to go back because she forgot her cell phone in the TARDIS (although the Doctor doesn't approve of her Twitter addiction). Meanwhile, the Doctor and Rory have pushed the green button and enter a room, the door closes, when Amy arrives she pushes the red button (why the hell would anyone push a red button when there's a green one that looks much friendlier) and ends up in some other room. They can see each other via a giant magnifying glass. Amy is caught in a different time stream though, one that's much faster than the Doctor's and Rory's. Robots aka Handbots arrive and we learn that they're in a hospital or rather, hospice for the Day Plague (kills you within a day). Basically, you can watch your loved ill ones live their life in the faster time stream instead of just watching them day within a day. Rory and Amy are human and immune, however, the Hanbots' medication can kill them. The Doctor and Rory hurry back to the TARDIS to save Amy - who is waiting - and the Doctor locks onto her time stream so that they can find her. But, when Rory arrives in Amy's time stream she has aged 36 years and is a BAMF warrior woman. Also, she's very bitter and hates the Doctor for letting her wait so long (AGAIN!). She refuses to help Rory find young!Amy because that would mean she never existed. However, in the end, together with the Doctor (who stayed in the TARDIS) they manage to merge the time streams, so that two versions of Amy exist now. They fight some Handbots to get to the TARDIS, however, young Amy gets knocked out by one of the Handbots, Rory carries her to the TARDIS, forgetting about old Amy. The Doctor locks the door behind them, leaving old Amy outside because two Amys cannot exist within the TARDIS. Now Rory has to chose between them - basically, this episode is Rory's equivalent of "Amy's Choice". In the end, however, old Amy makes the choice for him. /summary

I already said that I loved the looks of this episode. Also, when Amy finds the garden, it's really beautiful, very green, making it look a bit like "Amy in Tim Burton's Wonderland".
Karen Gillan looked beautiful in this episode (even aged by 36 years). Her white face, the pastel clothes, the white walls and her beautiful ginger hair contrasted wonderfully.

The Handbots made for really creepy non-villains. Anything faceless is always creepy. Plus, they fact that they're not evil, they want to give you medicine, it's "an act of kindness" that kills you. Also, their hands, looking like real hands in rubber gloves, were kind of eery. I used to read the "Goosebumps" books by R.L. Stine when I was a kid and there was one about a boy who goes to a music school that's populated by robots - the only thing you cannot make for a robots are the hands, that's why the teacher brings in students, and then kills them to use their hands for his robots. That's what I had to think of when I saw the Handbots' hands, which made it even more creepier. These Robots' hands looked really real.

I loved Rorybot though. Reminded me a bit of Wilson in "Cast Away". He had a really cute face. I just wonder what exactly Amy did with the Rorybot. I mean, it's a HANDbot ;)
I felt a bit bad for Rorybot when Rory and Amy kissed before his ... well... eyes. Must have felt pretty left out, poor thing.

Oh, and I loved the whole Amy/Rory love story. This episode really made you see how much they loved each other.

For example when young Amy and old Amy were talking about Rory: "You know when, sometimes you meet someone so beautiful, and then you actually talk to them and five minutes later, they’re as dull as a brick? Then there’s other people, and you meet them and you think, ‘Not bad; they’re okay.’ And then you get to know them, and their face sort of becomes them, like their personality is written all over it. And they just turn into something so beautiful. Rory’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever met."
In the beginning of series 5 it always looked Rory was only second best to the Doctor whom Amy couldn't have, but she actually, really truly loved him all along.
And then when both Amys have to think the same thought so that their time streams could merge and they both think of the "Macarena" cause that's when her and Rory kissed for the first time. Awww.

And that scene in the end, when the Doctor locks old Amy out of the TARDIS and forces Rory to chose. I had tears in my eyes. Poor Rory. Poor Amy. I don't think it was all that much of a coincidence that this scene kind of mirrored the Doctor and Rose in "Doomsday" (separated by time and that wall). Because the emotion, and the very strength of emotion was the same: The Doctor and Rose knew they had lost each other forever, just like Rory and old Amy knew that they would now be separated, that version of Amy ceasing to exist just like Rose ceased to exist in the Doctor's/our world. Oh God and it was heartbreaking, Rory having to chose between to versions of the woman he loved, his wife, his Amy.
Some people might say it was evil of the Doctor to lock old Amy out and forcing this decision on Rory, and it was certainly a cruel thing, but I don't think it was easy for him either. But he's a Time Lord, and he is forced to make these decisions on a day-to-day basis. He doesn't want to, but he has to. And two Amys in one time stream couldn't exist, just like the two versions of the Doctor couldn't exist in one universe. And yes, it is hard sometimes, making these decisions, but that's the way it is. They had to sacrifice old Amy to save their Amy.
Of course this is still "Doctor Who" and they couldn't actually make Rory (or the Doctor) decide over life and death of Amy. And that's why old Amy made the decision for them, telling Rory not to let her in. "The look on your face when you carried her. Me… Her. When you carried her away. You used to look at me like that. I’ve forgotten how much you loved me. I’ve forgotten how much I loved being her. Amy Pond. In The TARDIS. With Rory Williams."

See, that's the stuff I've been missing so much since Moffat took over the show. Russell T Davies just loved that kind of emotional drama, and so did I. I'm glad to see that "Doctor Who" still has that, these hidden gems in between the complex River Song/Doctor's death story arc.
One whole episode, free of anything relating to either River or the Doctor's death (yup, I enjoyed last week's episode, but there was still that song in the end, alluding to the Doctor's death).

I also loved, that despite the heavy emotions, and the heartbreak, there were still some fun bits. Like the Rorybot, or the Doctor and the cool camera-glasses he made Rory wear, or Rory looking at that one statues boobs or the Doctor sticking his tongue out to Rory and Amy at the very end. Because I think we also need these moments. The feel-good moments. It's the mix that makes "Doctor Who" as amazing a show as it is.

Also, I was really happy for Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, cause this episode really let them show what they're capable of as actors. I mean, Karen was awesome as old Amy and Arthur's emotions in the end...
I say it again, I love these two. I don't want the Doctor to travel with them until the end, there should be a change, but I'm gonna miss them. And I will want them to come back, guest starring, just like Captain Jack and Sarah Jane and Martha did.

Something else: Watch "Doctor Who Confidential", Arthur was especially adorable in this one.


Yeah, I really liked this episode. Showed that you don't need famous guest stars, or huge fancy locations to tell an entertaining story.

Please, I want more of this.





btw. Cookies for the person who can tell me where my title comes from. Don't google!

We're dead... AGAIN - Doctor Who 6x08 "Let's Kill Hitler" and 6x09 "Night Terrors" Reviews

Okay guys, let's talk about Doctor Who for a minute: As most of you will know, I do have a slight problem with Steven Moffat's way of running the show, especially since series six. Looking back on series six, there was only one episode (out of seven in the first half) I really truly enjoyed and that was “The Doctor's Wife”, written by Neil Gaiman way back before series five actually aired and Moffat started to go through with his master plan to mind-fuck us.

Now, I know lots of people really enjoyed last week's episode “Let's Kill Hitler” - and I was really looking forward to it too, spending almost the whole summer without Doctor Who - but I thought it was kind of disappointing. I don't want to say it was a bad episode, but... I don't quite get the whole euphoria.
So, I really enjoyed the beginning, Rory and Amy driving their mini through that corn field to call the Doctor via corn circles. Funny! Also, Eleven looked quite dashing in that coat.
And I really enjoyed seeing young Amy and Rory – so cute – and basically how they got together, even though I thought Mels was really annoying.
Apart from that: I'm kind of fed up with Moffat's obsession with World War II. It was nice in “The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances”, I could handle “Victory to the Daleks” (because Mark Gatiss is a great writer, the tea daleks were fun and I liked – that version of – Winston Churchill) – but the Doctor has to whole of time and space at his hands and should be able to travel somewhere else. But I could live with that, too. It's a British show after all, and I know they love the topic.
So... let's kill Hitler.
I admit, the Doctor saving Hitler's life by accident was kind of funny, and Rory punching him in the face was really badass. (I love Rory, he's awesome!) And then – remember this is an episode called “Let's Kill Hitler” - we just put Hitler in the cupboard and forget about him?! Seriously?! And he cannot come out by himself again, or is found by someone? No? Sorry, I kind of all that a plot hole, right there, Mr. Moffat. I just feel this problem should have been solved somehow.
But I guess Hitler wasn't important anymore, now that Mels regenerated into... River Song. Or Melody Pond. Whatever. Because Mels' sole purpose in life is to kill the Doctor and what better way to get near him than to befriend your parents/ his friends while they're still children? So... Melody Pond was actually named after herself. Yeah...
Ok, Moffat's obsession is beginning to annoy me. It seems his whole plan for the series (beginning way back in series five) is only centered around the Doctor and River Song, and how they get together and how the Doctor dies. Where are the fun stories of traveling to the past and the future, fighting monsters, meeting famous people (other than Hitler, whom we haven't really met and solved crimes with – not that I'd want that, I know that wouldn't work – but just put away in a closet), getting to see funny aliens and having adventures? I miss that. But where was I?
Oh yeah, River Song – who doesn't know she's River Song yet – poisons the Doctor by kissing him (it was actually a cute kiss, I loved the little pucker thing Matt did with his lips there) and then runs off. So the Doctor is dying – AGAIN! And while the Ponds are all badass, following River on a motorbike, the Doctor seeks help from his TARDIS. And Moffat decides to crush some fangirl hearts.
We were promised cameos by Rose, Martha and Donna – and Moffat didn't exactly break this promise, letting them show up in the form of holograms the TARDIS's voice interface shows the Doctor after he requests to see “someone he likes” (other than himself, whom he obviously doesn't like). So he gets first Rose, then Martha and then Donna, whom he rejects because “guilt!” until he gets little Amelia Pond (because apparently he hasn't screwed her up yet). But... as nice as it was to see the Doctor (or at least the TARDIS) remembered Rose, Martha and Donna, it was really sad to see them reduced to just that one association GUILT! They did have nice times, fun times, didn't they? These were and still are brave women without whose help the world would have ended more than once before. They were his friends! (Yes, totally citing Harry Potter here but it's true) So, I thought it was a little insulting to just reduce them to this one, negative, feeling. *shakes fist* Moffat!!!!!
To be honest, I could't care less about this whole Amy and Rory within that Amy robot thing. Their “I love you” hug when they thought they'd die was very sweet, but really, that whole robot assassin story was only a little, unimportant subplot, or so it felt. It was like Moffat thinking “Oh, I need a little bit of plot around the River/Doctor stuff, let's just take a time traveling robot steered by tiny people that tries to take out evil people throughout history” (btw how Star Trek did the inside of that robot look?).
So, the Doctor is still dying, but nonetheless has time to change into his dinner frock and top hat – yes, the Sonic Cane was really cool and Matt looked dashing in that outfit but that's so not the point – to mess a bit with River Song. And River/Mels/Melody finally realized that the Doctor is a good man and she doesn't want to kill him because one day they'll be in love and so she uses all her remaining regenerations to save him. Just like that.
And after she's recovered she studies to become an archeologist to be able to find the Doctor throughout history.
Problem: Amy and Rory don't seem to have a problem with leaving their daughter (which is still weird) once again – after making it the Doctor's most important mission to find their Melody. Seriously? It's that easy?
Second: River Song, who started out in series four being really quite badass and becoming more and more so during “The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang” and “The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon” - and I really came to like her – is now building her whole life around the Doctor. Everything she does is because of and centered around him. Independence? Emancipation? Badassery? Yeah... not much to zero. *shakes fist* Moffat! Btw, this episode and the whole way she acted in it really made me dislike, even hate River Song. She was nice while making a few guest appearances but it's getting too much. This is still Doctor Who not The River Song and Doctor Show. Sorry.

Here's a review that pretty much says what I've been thinking for quite some time now. (Except that I don't mind Alex Kingston all that much)



But...
HOW LUCKY ARE WE TO HAVE MARK GATISS?

Yes, he wrote this week's episode “Night Terrors” which was everything I always loved about Doctor Who. This episode was funny, scary, it had HEART.
The Doctor gets called to a child's bedroom because said child is scared of monsters. It's the most basic plot, but it's the essence of the show. The Doctor fighting monsters, making scared children sleep sound again. Of course, the scared child in this particular case turns out to be an alien cuckoo's egg, who puts everyone that scares him into his closet, or, rather, into the doll house in his closet where they're going to be turned into real scary wooden dolls (btw the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver still doesn't do wood).
The episode involved the Doctor being funny, the monsters being really scary – it's more scary when it's something domestic, something that could really happen, the Ponds being badass. Seriously, Amy with that frying pan just like Rapunzel in Disney's Tangled and Rory fighting the dolls (plus Amy doll) off with a mop – priceless! Also Rory's “are we dead? Again!” was hilarious. Furthermore, I really love Matt Smith interacting with children, he's so good at that! And Jamie Oram who played little George is the most awesome kid ever! (Watch the Doctor Who Confidentials episode, Jamie is the bestest!) I also really liked that what George was actually scared off was being rejected by his (foster) parents and that all it needed to make the “Night Terrors” go away was for his dad to accept him as his son. As I said: something for the heart.
And yup, this giant-headed dolls scared the shit out of me.
Mark Gatiss, you're a hero! Bless this man!
(although I'm fairly sure Moffat made him put that nursery rhyme with the clock ticking for the Doctor in there at the end. After all, he's still following his master plot to kill the Doctor...)

Also, some observations I made:
The CLOSET: Hitler was put in a closet in the last episode, now we have monsters put in the closet. Coincidence? Or Moffat master plan?
The Doctor wasn't wearing the new coat anymore but went back to his usual tweed and bow tie. So... I was thinking: Maybe we're dealing with more than one Doctor (from different points in time) here. It would be classic Moffat. And the clothes are indicating that. Just a thought.
There's also a lot of the Doctor running around separate from the Ponds. Foreshadowing of an upcoming separation? Will the Ponds leave? Will there be new companions? I really wouldn't mind. I do love the Ponds, I enjoy watching them, but so far Eleven spent almost two series with them and it would be interesting to see him interact with someone new. It was nice seeing him with George's dad, it was also nice seeing him in “The Lodger”. It's about time. (Oh God I will miss Amy and Rory!)


So, yeah, Doctor Who still is some kind of roller coaster ride for me. I miss Russell T Davies. I always will. It's not the loss of David Tennant so much, I do enjoy Matt Smith as the Doctor, but Moffat's plots drive me bonkers.