"Let's Kill Hitler" - This was a fun episode. The 'twist' was predictable, and I can see where people are coming from with their complaints about suddenly introducing a best friend we've never heard of before, but that's okay. It was just a silly fun episode and I enjoyed it for the humour even if the plot was somewhat questionable.
"Night Terrors" - It was okay. Not as scary as I had hoped from the glimpses of the dolls in the previews. A little weak on plot, again - it almost felt like they came up with the concept and wrote all the dollhouse parts first and then threw in a story to fit around it at the last second.
"The Girl Who Waited" - This was beautiful. Man. So many emotions. I think this was also a more important episode than people are giving it credit for. The really key thing that happens in this episode is that it shows that Amy doesn't need the Doctor any more. It's the way things go with the companions. They start out as a kissogram with no great ambitions or aspirations. Then they meet the Doctor and he makes them better. And then one day he lets them out of his sight for 36 years and they can fight robots and make their own sonic devices all on their own. Amy would never do those things staying with the Doctor. Sure, she'll have all of time and space open to her, but she'll just spend it following the Doctor around and tweeting pictures of the second nicest planet. It's time for her to go, because she's hit the point where the Doctor is holding her back.
"The God Complex" - I also really liked this episode. Again with the emotions! I just like emotional episodes, I guess. I would really love to know what was in the Doctor's room. Someone had posted a description of the cloister bell which mentioned it sounding when the TARDIS itself was in danger, which got me to thinking that maybe the TARDIS in danger was his greatest fear. But then I remembered that his reaction was "who else?" so I'm not entirely sure that reconciles. Who knows. Maybe some day we'll find out.
"Closing Time" - So much fun! I don't really have much to say about it. Lots of fun. Hilarious. Good.
"The Wedding of River Song" - Mixed feelings on this one. I'm kind of impressed by how much they packed into a single episode. As with "Let's Kill Hitler," I loved the funny bits. My only real complaint would be that it felt a little trite to bring Amy and Rory back for bit parts where they barely remembered the Doctor/each other. Other than that, it was fun. Not as serious as season finales generally are, but that's okay. We don't need to be serious all the time, right?
Looking forward to Christmas!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Torchwood: Miracle Day
It's almost been too long since I finished Miracle Day to really write about it properly, but luckily I made myself some point-form notes to work from, so I can at least give a few thoughts on it.
I thought Miracle Day was really good overall. It wasn't the best show on television ever or anything, but I enjoyed it. Especially in comparison to past seasons of Torchwood.
Oddly enough, if there's on thing that stood out about this season to make it better, it was that finally, finally, after three seasons of antipathy, the managed to make me care about Rhys. I actually like him now. I think he's a good character. I like the fact that he's married to Gwen. I used to always wish he wasn't part of the show because he was a big whiny jerk and really pretty boring and I just didn't like him. But now I do! So good job on that.
A lot of my commentary on this is similar to what I said about Children of Earth. The focused season arc on one main story really worked. I think Torchwood is just the sort of show that works better in that style as opposed to a bunch of stand-alone episodes. And again, good use of secondary characters. I mean, the subplot around Gwen's parents was great... and Jack's old lover... it was all just good.
I also thought the main concept of it was brilliant. Usually in 'disaster/crisis' type shows, the situation is that something is going to kill everyone, and this was just the perfect reversal and you sort of have to wonder why it hasn't been done before (I'm sure it has, but it's not a common thing, and I haven't ever heard of it being done, so it basically hasn't...)
Also I was really appreciating their use of the implied romance between Jack and Gwen. This has been an element of the show since the beginning, but it has never amounted to anything. Not that it was huge here, but there were definitely times when it was clearly important. Especially when Gwen took Jack hostage, it actually felt as though that romance was a factor into their decisions and behaviours during that scene. I liked that they finally given at least a minor payoff that little undercurrent that they've bothered to keep up for all these years.
Overall: So pleased!
I thought Miracle Day was really good overall. It wasn't the best show on television ever or anything, but I enjoyed it. Especially in comparison to past seasons of Torchwood.
Oddly enough, if there's on thing that stood out about this season to make it better, it was that finally, finally, after three seasons of antipathy, the managed to make me care about Rhys. I actually like him now. I think he's a good character. I like the fact that he's married to Gwen. I used to always wish he wasn't part of the show because he was a big whiny jerk and really pretty boring and I just didn't like him. But now I do! So good job on that.
A lot of my commentary on this is similar to what I said about Children of Earth. The focused season arc on one main story really worked. I think Torchwood is just the sort of show that works better in that style as opposed to a bunch of stand-alone episodes. And again, good use of secondary characters. I mean, the subplot around Gwen's parents was great... and Jack's old lover... it was all just good.
I also thought the main concept of it was brilliant. Usually in 'disaster/crisis' type shows, the situation is that something is going to kill everyone, and this was just the perfect reversal and you sort of have to wonder why it hasn't been done before (I'm sure it has, but it's not a common thing, and I haven't ever heard of it being done, so it basically hasn't...)
Also I was really appreciating their use of the implied romance between Jack and Gwen. This has been an element of the show since the beginning, but it has never amounted to anything. Not that it was huge here, but there were definitely times when it was clearly important. Especially when Gwen took Jack hostage, it actually felt as though that romance was a factor into their decisions and behaviours during that scene. I liked that they finally given at least a minor payoff that little undercurrent that they've bothered to keep up for all these years.
Overall: So pleased!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Every day I'm Hufflin'
So I got into Pottermore a while ago. Actually it was quite a while ago now... I am bad at blogging. Anyway. I would say I enjoyed the experience overall, and I may share some of my thoughts on it more generally later on, but for now I'm just going to talk about the most important part: sorting!
I didn't really go in with strong expectations about which house I would be placed in. It's been a long time since I was a big enough fan to actively identify with any of the houses. I didn't really have a house preference, either, aside from sharing Harry's request of not Slytherin. I really wasn't too worried about that, though, since I am neither cunning or ambitious.
I am also not brave. Like really really really not. So I guess I was pretty sure I wouldn't be a Gryffindor. I was okay with that.
Probably some of my friends would be shocked that I'm not a Ravenclaw. When I was actually 11, or heck, even 5 or 6 years ago, I would have been surprised by that too. I wouldn't have been too surprised if it had come out that way, because I'm still a nerd and an introvert and can often be found with my face in a book. But I don't crave wisdom the same way I used to. I don't value knowledge and intelligence above all else.
I was really not surprised when the yellow and badger appeared on my screen:
I spent a while thinking that introverts can't be Hufflepuffs because making friends is not our strong suit and we don't always like super-socializing but then I remembered that that's not really what Hufflepuffs are like. Hufflepuffs are loyal and true and hard working. That aligns most closely out of all the houses with my idea of what makes a good person and how we should interact with the world around us.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Doctor Who: Unanswered Questions
I will be blogging some thoughts on the back half of series 6 soon, but for now, here are as many unanswered questions as I can come up with. They are loosely grouped by topics that are somewhat related.
Why does River know the Doctor's name?
What is the one time that he can tell someone his name?
What happens at the fields of Trenzalore?
Does the fall of the Eleventh refer to the Eleventh Doctor, or is that a red herring?
Doctor who?
Why must that question never be answered?
Why does Amy remember the clerics from The Time of the Angels/Flesh and Stone after they stopped existing, but can't remember Rory after he stops existing?
In The Wedding of River Song, why does Amy remember the Doctor and their adventures, but barely remembers Rory?
Is Amy's extraordinary memory actually an important thing with a reason and stuff, or just a useful plot device?
Why does Rory keep dying?
Who blows up the TARDIS/why/why specifically on the Ponds' wedding day?
Why does River remember the Doctor after the universe resets in The Big Bang? And why don't her memories bring him back? Why does it have to be Amy?
How does old!Canton "know" that it definitely is the Doctor and he definitely is dead, and how did he know to be there without opening his letter?
Is flesh!Doctor still out there, and will we ever see him again?
Is there any significance to the clothing "clues" in the back half of series 6 (bow-tie colours, shoes, jackets, tuxedo)?
Who exactly is Madame Kovarian and what is her motivation for working with the Silence?
Why does Kovarian refer to the never-ending war with the Doctor? What makes her think they are at war?
Why did the Time Agents take two years of Jack's memories?
What ever happened to Jenny?
Does Eleven ever go help Rose Tyler with her homework?
(The theme for the last group is "questions that will probably never be answered")
Why does River know the Doctor's name?
What is the one time that he can tell someone his name?
What happens at the fields of Trenzalore?
Does the fall of the Eleventh refer to the Eleventh Doctor, or is that a red herring?
Doctor who?
Why must that question never be answered?
Why does Amy remember the clerics from The Time of the Angels/Flesh and Stone after they stopped existing, but can't remember Rory after he stops existing?
In The Wedding of River Song, why does Amy remember the Doctor and their adventures, but barely remembers Rory?
Is Amy's extraordinary memory actually an important thing with a reason and stuff, or just a useful plot device?
Why does Rory keep dying?
Who blows up the TARDIS/why/why specifically on the Ponds' wedding day?
Why does River remember the Doctor after the universe resets in The Big Bang? And why don't her memories bring him back? Why does it have to be Amy?
How does old!Canton "know" that it definitely is the Doctor and he definitely is dead, and how did he know to be there without opening his letter?
Is flesh!Doctor still out there, and will we ever see him again?
Is there any significance to the clothing "clues" in the back half of series 6 (bow-tie colours, shoes, jackets, tuxedo)?
Who exactly is Madame Kovarian and what is her motivation for working with the Silence?
Why does Kovarian refer to the never-ending war with the Doctor? What makes her think they are at war?
Why did the Time Agents take two years of Jack's memories?
What ever happened to Jenny?
Does Eleven ever go help Rose Tyler with her homework?
(The theme for the last group is "questions that will probably never be answered")
Monday, September 26, 2011
Torchwood: Children of Earth
I think that giving Torchwood a shortened season might be the best thing that could have happened to this show. Having a focused arc with one concentrated story resulted in huge improvements. The story-telling was much stronger and more compelling.
I also liked the addition of families for Jack and Ianto. There's an argument to be made that throwing in those characters now was an obvious ploy to get our emotional sides, but I don't care. I say better late than never. Seeing a character through the eyes of another character who has an emotional connection to them helps the audience make an emotional connection to them. Before now, we only got to make emotional connections to the characters based on their relationships with each other, and they didn't always have great emotional connections with each other. The addition of families just made everything so real, and took us outside of the isolated little Torchwood-world and showed us the real consequences of the things that were happening.
I also think they made excellent use of secondary characters. Usually these sorts of characters are only around for one episode, which makes sense in the format of the show, but I find they rarely have time for the secondary characters to get fleshed out properly. In Children of Earth, though, they did this really well. Lois Habiba was brilliant, and also John Frobisher's storyline was also incredible.
All of this introduction of families and good use of secondary characters really worked to give the whole series an emotional depth that it had previously lacked. The show become richer and more complex, and I found it was so much easier to immerse myself in the story and make a real connection with the characters once their world was fleshed out a little bit more.
Overall, I quite enjoyed Children of Earth. It was certainly a huge improvement over the first two seasons, and it was finally successful in making me really care about the characters and become invested in the story.
I also liked the addition of families for Jack and Ianto. There's an argument to be made that throwing in those characters now was an obvious ploy to get our emotional sides, but I don't care. I say better late than never. Seeing a character through the eyes of another character who has an emotional connection to them helps the audience make an emotional connection to them. Before now, we only got to make emotional connections to the characters based on their relationships with each other, and they didn't always have great emotional connections with each other. The addition of families just made everything so real, and took us outside of the isolated little Torchwood-world and showed us the real consequences of the things that were happening.
I also think they made excellent use of secondary characters. Usually these sorts of characters are only around for one episode, which makes sense in the format of the show, but I find they rarely have time for the secondary characters to get fleshed out properly. In Children of Earth, though, they did this really well. Lois Habiba was brilliant, and also John Frobisher's storyline was also incredible.
All of this introduction of families and good use of secondary characters really worked to give the whole series an emotional depth that it had previously lacked. The show become richer and more complex, and I found it was so much easier to immerse myself in the story and make a real connection with the characters once their world was fleshed out a little bit more.
Overall, I quite enjoyed Children of Earth. It was certainly a huge improvement over the first two seasons, and it was finally successful in making me really care about the characters and become invested in the story.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Torchwood: Season 2 Wrap-Up
The end of season 2 improved, I think. I loved having the focus on Owen for so many episodes in the later part of it; he was such a great character, and the finally did something interesting to him... even if that something was kind of weird. ALSO the episode where he couldn't save the old man because he didn't have breath for CPR was just ridiculous. If he was taking, he was clearly breathing. I mean. Come on.
"Fragments" was a lovely episode. I really enjoyed getting to see everyone's backstory (including the pterodactyl!), and I wish they hadn't waited until that late in the process to give us some of those nice details that helped make the characters feel more real. It almost felt like they stuck that one in at the end just to heighten the emotional connections in time for the deaths in the next episode.
The finale was a bit of a let-down, I found. Jack's backstory is not easy to connect to emotionally. The only time we really ever heard about his brother was in "Adam," and then at the end he shows up and it's supposed to be a big deal. I mean, as far as evil plots go, his was fine, but the fact that he was Jack's brother didn't add much to it, in my opinion.
"Fragments" was a lovely episode. I really enjoyed getting to see everyone's backstory (including the pterodactyl!), and I wish they hadn't waited until that late in the process to give us some of those nice details that helped make the characters feel more real. It almost felt like they stuck that one in at the end just to heighten the emotional connections in time for the deaths in the next episode.
The finale was a bit of a let-down, I found. Jack's backstory is not easy to connect to emotionally. The only time we really ever heard about his brother was in "Adam," and then at the end he shows up and it's supposed to be a big deal. I mean, as far as evil plots go, his was fine, but the fact that he was Jack's brother didn't add much to it, in my opinion.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Torchwood Again
So I'm now five episodes into season two and my impressions after the season premier have so far not been disappointed. This season is just so much better than the first one.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate Owen Harper? He is so good. I loved him in "Meat," and he is just the most adorable little dork in "Adam." So good.
I'm appreciating that we're getting more background story on Jack. He's such a complex and interesting character and you could have shows about him forever and still not know everything. I really hope we get to find out what happened in the two years that the Time Agency erased his memories.
I also like Gwen a lot more this season. She's really pulling together as a character that I can like.
Also Ianto! Now that he's actually an important character they had to give him a personality, and he's funny! I love it. Funny is good.
There are still some inconsistencies that bother me, like Ianto's wishy-washy love life. He went from being so depressed about Lisa and in constant distress about it, to being in love with Jack, to in "Adam" still being upset about Lisa. I mean. I know time passed and he moved on but still hasn't completely let go and that makes sense but I guess because we don't see a whole lot of that progression, it's a little jarring when it does come up. The same is also true of Tosh, who, one episode, is crazy about a soldier who gets unfrozen four times a year, and then in the next one she's falling all over herself to make Owen sandwich.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate Owen Harper? He is so good. I loved him in "Meat," and he is just the most adorable little dork in "Adam." So good.
I'm appreciating that we're getting more background story on Jack. He's such a complex and interesting character and you could have shows about him forever and still not know everything. I really hope we get to find out what happened in the two years that the Time Agency erased his memories.
I also like Gwen a lot more this season. She's really pulling together as a character that I can like.
Also Ianto! Now that he's actually an important character they had to give him a personality, and he's funny! I love it. Funny is good.
There are still some inconsistencies that bother me, like Ianto's wishy-washy love life. He went from being so depressed about Lisa and in constant distress about it, to being in love with Jack, to in "Adam" still being upset about Lisa. I mean. I know time passed and he moved on but still hasn't completely let go and that makes sense but I guess because we don't see a whole lot of that progression, it's a little jarring when it does come up. The same is also true of Tosh, who, one episode, is crazy about a soldier who gets unfrozen four times a year, and then in the next one she's falling all over herself to make Owen sandwich.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I saw this movie with some friends about a week ago and I have been meaning to write about it ever since. As you can see from my discussion of... everything else I write about here, I'm not much for reviews, but I do like to share my thoughts.
This was kind of a strange movie, in my opinion. I've never seen Planet of the Apes or any of the other movies in the franchise, so for me it's kind of a standalone thing. It just didn't seem to flow quite right. Basically it was separated into three distinct parts.
The first part would be entitled "James Franco and His Adorable Pet Ape are Adorable," and was character development of motives on the part of Franco's character.
The second part is "Tom Felton is a Dick and Caesar Gets Pissed," which was character development on the part of Caesar and his motives.
The third part is "Apes Learn to Talk and Then Fuck Shit Up," which is exactly what it sounds like.
So the first part and the second part flowed together pretty logically, but then the third part came and I wasn't really sure quite way the apes were being so violent or what they were really trying to accomplish and it was all a little bit confusing.
That said, the first two thirds were a pretty good movie, and anything starring James Franco and Tom Felton can't be too bad, right?
This was kind of a strange movie, in my opinion. I've never seen Planet of the Apes or any of the other movies in the franchise, so for me it's kind of a standalone thing. It just didn't seem to flow quite right. Basically it was separated into three distinct parts.
The first part would be entitled "James Franco and His Adorable Pet Ape are Adorable," and was character development of motives on the part of Franco's character.
The second part is "Tom Felton is a Dick and Caesar Gets Pissed," which was character development on the part of Caesar and his motives.
The third part is "Apes Learn to Talk and Then Fuck Shit Up," which is exactly what it sounds like.
So the first part and the second part flowed together pretty logically, but then the third part came and I wasn't really sure quite way the apes were being so violent or what they were really trying to accomplish and it was all a little bit confusing.
That said, the first two thirds were a pretty good movie, and anything starring James Franco and Tom Felton can't be too bad, right?
Thursday, August 11, 2011
More Torchwood
I made it through to the end of season one. I have to say that the finale was pretty disappointing.
"Oh look, bad shit is happening and we can't stop it."
"Hey, we're having visions telling us to do this... it must be the right thing to do, even though it's what caused the problem in the first place."
"Oh look, that thing we did made things worse."
"Now that we've made things worse, though, we can easily stop it in about 5 seconds because Jack is immortal."
"Oh no, Jack's really dead."
"Oh no, actually he's not."
I don't know, I guess I was just looking for a little more suspense, and excitement. It was very... mundane. Predictable. I was not impressed.
I have, however, seen the premier of season two, and I was very impressed by it. I think it was the best episode of the show so far. Clever enemies! Fast-paced plot! More about Jack's past! I think I actually have hope for this show now.
"Oh look, bad shit is happening and we can't stop it."
"Hey, we're having visions telling us to do this... it must be the right thing to do, even though it's what caused the problem in the first place."
"Oh look, that thing we did made things worse."
"Now that we've made things worse, though, we can easily stop it in about 5 seconds because Jack is immortal."
"Oh no, Jack's really dead."
"Oh no, actually he's not."
I don't know, I guess I was just looking for a little more suspense, and excitement. It was very... mundane. Predictable. I was not impressed.
I have, however, seen the premier of season two, and I was very impressed by it. I think it was the best episode of the show so far. Clever enemies! Fast-paced plot! More about Jack's past! I think I actually have hope for this show now.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Torchwood Update
I'm almost finished season one of Torchwood. I'm up to "Combat," which means there are only two episodes left in the season. It feels like it's taken a really long time, but that's okay. I don't really feel like doing episode analyses, but here are some random thoughts:
I really liked the Gwen/Owen relationship, and I'm sad that it's over now. I think it was partly because Owen was so sweet toward Gwen compared with how he is toward everyone else, and that really won me over.
I'm never sure whether or not I like Gwen. She's kind of useless and has a tendency to do things wrong, but in a way that makes her more real. On the other hand, she does often disobey/challenge Jack, and as she showed in "Combat," she doesn't take shit from her boyfriend, either, so I do respect that about her.
I can't decide about Tosh either. In "Greeks Bearing Gifts," the only episode where we really learned anything about her, we discovered that she was always the one to feel left out and unliked by the others, and she is overwhelmed by work and sensitive and... basically a combination of Ianto and Gwen.
I'm excited to see what sort of crazy season finale RTD dreamed up for this show... will it compare to the Doctor Who tearjerkers? I guess I'll find out within the next few days!
I really liked the Gwen/Owen relationship, and I'm sad that it's over now. I think it was partly because Owen was so sweet toward Gwen compared with how he is toward everyone else, and that really won me over.
I'm never sure whether or not I like Gwen. She's kind of useless and has a tendency to do things wrong, but in a way that makes her more real. On the other hand, she does often disobey/challenge Jack, and as she showed in "Combat," she doesn't take shit from her boyfriend, either, so I do respect that about her.
I can't decide about Tosh either. In "Greeks Bearing Gifts," the only episode where we really learned anything about her, we discovered that she was always the one to feel left out and unliked by the others, and she is overwhelmed by work and sensitive and... basically a combination of Ianto and Gwen.
I'm excited to see what sort of crazy season finale RTD dreamed up for this show... will it compare to the Doctor Who tearjerkers? I guess I'll find out within the next few days!
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