Lo, for I have seen "Voyage of the Damned"

[eve11]

Man, they weren't kidding about the whole "damned" thing, were they? Aside from the approximately 1,920 people who perished with no mention whatsoever in the story, there was still one heck of a body count, omg. It was season 21-worthy. Kinda dark for a christmas special, and I think although it tackled the same themes that the previous special did, it lacked something that the other one had to keep it light. It was an okay homage to the disaster movie, but I wish it had been a bit better of a Whovian episode. Not to say there weren't things I didn't like about it, but it seemed (possibly aptly) like a flash in the pan. With these episodes, I kind of get the Farscape-season-4 feeling; there is so much possibility that always seems to go by the wayside.

So, tidbits:

- Was anyone else reminded of the Eternals at the beginning? I was kind of excited that they might actually have run with that idea. See above notion of possibility going nowhere.

- Thank you Doctor, for bringing up exactly what I was thinking-- why name it the Titanic? I kind of loved this strangely human-yet-alien society of Stowe, with their gala parties and their inept Earth knowledge.

- I actually really liked the first twenty minutes or so, the setup, meeting the cowboy couple and the banker, and the strange little red dude (he was cool btw), and Kylie Minogue-- being an unapologetic Yank, I have absolutely no idea who this woman is, which probably was a good thing. Anyway I suppose she did alright with the material she was given. The material, on the other hand... eh.

- Dr. Copper was fun. Poor Earth scholar-- how wrong was he? On the other hand, it's kind of an easy writing trope, I suppose, too. The confused alien. Still, I liked the scene down on the planet, how the Doctor gave Astrid some shore leave.

- Midshipman Frame was awesome. Though, I have no idea what goes through a writer's head when they merrily write someone getting shot in the chest, then getting progressively better and more mobile as they have to lurch around. As someone on the flist or a who_daily link mentioned, didn't the Master get shot in that same place? I suppose Stowe-ian anatomy might be a bit different.

- The showdown on the bridge-thing. Sigh. That scene went on forever, half the cast died, and yet it still managed only to be a bit banal. What a downer. I really wanted Cowboy couple to live. And the end... violetisblue I think this is probably your 'wtf' moment? I was just confused. I thought the Doctor was giving up-- it was an incredibly cheesy visual (um, we should be used to these by now), but actually it was kind of cool to have him burst onto the bridge at the end.

- So, it makes me wonder how many times one-off companions have just blithely thrown themselves into pits of flame for the sake of the Doctor. I mean, in season 21 lots of people got killed, but it wasn't in blind sacrifice to a guy they've just met, it was still within the context of their own lives. It doesn't pan out. If it'd been me, I would have been like, "Oh, deck 31 eh? Have a good time, thanks!" and tried to find some lifeboats. But there just wasn't enough characterization, interaction, etc., to make those decisions work! They did a good job of that last year with Donna-- she was as selfish and as clueless as ever, and the Doctor got to save her, which was cool. Flip it around this time, and it just doesn't work. Donna, I miss you! I'm so glad you're coming back next season!

- The message, overall, nobody gets to choose who lives and who dies, is a good one, but at the same time, um, hey! This is the Doctor! He's 903 (ish) and a Time Lord and he can f-ing do ANYTHING! Including, if he set his mind to it, rescue a set of folks from the belly of the starship Titanic. What I don't like about this is that RTD seems to have sacrificed the Doctor's characterization in order to prove a point. With a big freaking sledgehammer. That was an interesting hero-tale, and maybe it would have done well as a Die Hard movie or The Towering Inferno, but aside from some quick-thinking and sonic-screwdrivery madness, I didn't catch THE DOCTOR out of the generic disaster-movie leader in this one. Which I think was my main problem with the episode.

- The ending was kind of sweet, though it bothers me that the Doctor didn't offer Copper a ride to where he might have wanted to go. Young perky blondes need only apply? Come on!

- So the whole Astrid=Tardis thing was a red herring? Bummer. That might have been interesting. It would have at least given the whole kissing thing a different tack. Rusty, you've got one story you seem to be writing over and over-- please try something new.

So, overall, it was an hour of Doctor Who, which always manages to entertain at some level, but I wish they'd gone a level up from where they did. I've decided that I'm rather through with RTD episodes. But luckily, all we need to do to trap him forever is encase him in a paper bag and hand him a pen, since God knows he can't write himself out of one.

Comments

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the episode in a sort of 'meh, okay, that's an hour of looking at pretty people and interesting aliens' way. The Doctor felt a bit off to me, like David Tennant was having trouble connecting to the character, but that could have just been bad writing.

Kylie Minogue was a pop singer in the eighties. She did
'The Loco-motion'. I think she was a bit of a one-hit-wonder here in the States but apparently she has continued her career in Australia. I hadn't heard anything about her in years and I thought it was really strange that they were casting her in Doctor Who, but according to Wikipedia, she started out acting and turned to singing almost by happenstance.

I loved some of the other guest appearances - Geoffrey Palmer as the Captain and Clive Swift as Mr. Copper, in particular.

It felt like RTD was trying to recreate the same sense of loss the Doctor was feeling in last year's Christmas special, but without the same heart. It never fully panned out, leaving the whole thing to fall flat.

And yeah, I felt the same disappointment that the Doctor would take the young, sweet thing with him without giving it a moment's thought, but after dropping Mr. Copper off in a deserted field on a planet he's proven to know nothing about, he announces that he travels alone and won't even make sure the poor guy can find a place to stay the night.

I have high hopes for Donna as a companion, however. She's an acerbic, strong-minded woman who won't fall in love with the Doctor and look upon him as her hero or knight in shining armor. She thinks he's an idiot, a dangerous idiot who needs someone to keep him out of trouble. As long as they keep her like that, but remember to have a sense of humor and not make her an unbearable shrew, it should be a good season.

As soon as Astrid asked the Doctor if she could tag along, it was like a big bell started tolling a death knell over her head. It was all over for her.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

okay, that's just weird. That last line was supposed to be in the middle somewhere, not just dangling at the end like a half-forgotten thought. Thor was lying on the keyboard while I was typing. We'll just blame it on him.

[eve11]

It's all Thor's fault. Bad kitty!

[eve11]

It felt like RTD was trying to recreate the same sense of loss the Doctor was feeling in last year's Christmas special, but without the same heart. It never fully panned out, leaving the whole thing to fall flat.


My thoughts exactly. And yeah, I should have known Astrid asking to go along was a death knell, but I was still kind of wondering if she was some aspect of the TARDIS (astrid=tardis, plus a speculative rumor I'd heard earlier), so I was wondering if she'd pull through somehow.

The series four trailer looked pretty cool though. I am quite excited to see Donna again! :)

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Kylie Minogue is huge as a singer/popstar/cult figure in the UK (probably moreso than here in Australia, methinks) and given her style over the years, appearing in the TV version of a Christmas pantomine (albeit a very bleak one, which is very very British) would totally work for the English audience, I'm sure.

Can't act for all the Christmas toffee in China, and never could...

[eve11]

thanks for the info :) lol at your icon to. I think she did okay; there's only so much one can do with the Rose "blonde girl in dead-end job who wants to see the world" character ;)

Actually I liked it better the second time viewing.

[darthticklish.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed it (even though that space yuppie guy survived), but I guess I'm easy to please as far as Who goes, having survived multiple viewings of the TV movie. Maybe it's drifting into predictability, but as soon as the heav'nly hosts appeared, I said, "Well, they'll be killing people in a few minutes," and I wasn't wrong, was I? Very reminiscent of Robots of Death in their mannerisms and voices, which was sorta cool. And you're spot-on about Copper deserving a trip on the TARDIS; makes the Doc look rather lecherous that he was tripping over himself for Astrid but giving the poor old man the cold shoulder.

And for as much of a dope as I found Donna to be before, I'm sort of glad to see her coming back. Ooh, and Sontarans at last, that'll be fun.

[eve11]

I liked VoTD a bit better the second time through. Not to say there aren't problems with it, but it was definitely entertaining.

And for as much of a dope as I found Donna to be before, I'm sort of glad to see her coming back. Ooh, and Sontarans at last, that'll be fun.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Sontarans! And yeah, I'm hoping Donna will make the show more adventurous and less painful love story.