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[personal profile] eve11


Guys, you had me all worried as I was skimming reaction posts... and maybe my expectations were low or something, but I loved this episode to death. I loved every minute of it. Dunno if it was just me, but it had a crazy Old School Who feeling; I loved the Master, and he totally reminded me of like, Geoffrey Beevers in the Deadly Assassin-- over the top, insane, and a total evil villain. But at the same time there's something more there, and holy crap, I really love the idea that the drums are like, the Time Lords who have stored themselves in the Master's head and are waiting to re-awaken. But now, it's Time Lord v. Human, right? because the Master's set the initial template, I can just see the Time Lords instituting some diversity and using the Human Race to bring themselves back instead. And f-ing awesome... Timothy Dalton as the Time Lord narrator-- wow.

And Donna and Wilf, and the cactus aliens and the Doctor are the only humans left on Earth, heck, how creepy and crazy is that? I guess I was prepared to see something "over the top" from skimming some reaction responses, and maybe that expectation was enough to let me get over the crack-i-ness of the Master imprinting himself across everyone and go straight to the horrific creep show factor of it, but wow, I thought that was pretty damn brilliant, and really also a throwback to the craziness of the Old School too. Also, they threw me for a loop because I thought that the lady in the suit that Wilf kept seeing was possibly a new version of the White Guardian, and that the narrator was the Black Guardian, so it threw me when he was revealed to be a Time Lord. Wow.

(BTW, Has anyone here listened to "Mission of the Viyrans"? That's Five and Peri and deals also with the whole "people transforming into someone else" and it is wicked creepy. It is only 25 minutes long but it is f-ing brilliant.)

I loved Wilf, I loved the Silver Blanket (I'm getting that wrong, because I can't remember the name, but I loved it). The cafe scene between the Doctor and Wilf was really good, really heartbreaking. Everyone brought their A game, acting-wise. I thought that the stand-offs between the Doctor and the Master were well done. I liked the cactus aliens, and even the multi-billionaire creepy bad guy, and how the Master totally let himself be considered "restrained" until it didn't suit him anymore. John Simm was really good in this; I liked this portrayal of the Master much better than the end of season 3. Ha!

The only thing I didn't like (and I didn't like it when they did it in 'Contact' either) was inserting Barack Obama into it. WTF? Can't we just go with a fake President? ALSO, do Brits really care that much about the US president that it's like, "Oh, the President will be talking today", and they don't even bother saying, eg, "The President of the US"? That seemed off to me. I can understand Americans thinking that, but the idea that the British populace is waiting for the American President to save them all from recession.... um, that strikes me as rather annoying.

Other than that, though, I loved it to pieces. Is it next week yet????

Date: 2009-12-26 04:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] astrogirl2.livejournal.com
It really was complete crack, IMO. But in the end it was entertaining crack. As I was just saying to someone else, I was having major Ainley flashbacks through the whole thing. And even though Ainley's Master occasionally annoyed me back when, I found it rather amusing and pleasantly nostalgic. His ridiculous new superpowers are kind of stupid, but, hey, whatever. It's crack. I can go with it. I think. :)

But now, it's Time Lord v. Human, right? because the Master's set the initial template,

Ooh, that might be. Good thought. I was too busy laughing my ass off to try to make any actual sense of the plot, I have to admit. :)

I loved Wilf, I loved the Silver Blanket

The Silver Cloak! And awesome name for an awesome group.

The only thing I didn't like (and I didn't like it when they did it in 'Contact' either) was inserting Barack Obama into it. WTF?

Yeah, that struck me as weird and a little disconcerting, too. Not least because I was sort of going, "Um, is this really how the UK sees Obama? Uh, dudes, yes, I personally happen to think that our current president is an infinite improvement over the last guy, but he is not a magical pixie." In retrospect, though, I think it was an attempt at topical political humor that just didn't quite work.

Date: 2009-12-27 03:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] astrogirl2.livejournal.com
I think maybe superpowers just strike me as inherently cheesy. Combined with RTD's demonstrated ability to take a half decent idea and kind of ruin it by adding extra glowiness and levitation, and I think my initial eyerolling impulse was entirely understandable, whatever the tradeoff. :)

I loved the "Master of disguise stuck in the face of the Prime Minister" line.

That was a great line, yes. :)

Date: 2009-12-26 05:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jenlev.livejournal.com
*word* *WORD* Frelling WORD!

I'm going to have to watch it again this afternoon while becoming shut in by the Fabulous Wintry Mix of weather.

Date: 2009-12-27 02:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jenlev.livejournal.com
I'm going to miss David Tennant. But I also think I'll end up liking the new Doctor as I tend to appreciate them all. Still.....Tennant has been interesting to watch. :)

Date: 2009-12-26 05:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kay-brooke.livejournal.com
I was in a weird situation where I actually loved all of it, too, but I'm so disillusioned with RTD's finales that I'm kind of dreading next week.

Wilf was so awesome. I want to keep him forever. That scene in the cafe between him and the Doctor was just amazing. And I have always loved John Simm as the Master, the crazier the better. What I'm not too hot about are the Time Lords; I never really liked them in old school, either. But I guess their reappearance is sort of a logical conclusion to everything that's come before, even if I don't like it. It was a great cliffhanger, though.

The insertion of Obama was very weird, in that I'm surprised they chose to put in an actual political figure. Up until now the political figures on DW have always been fictional (if obviously based on real-world figures). That doesn't even touch the question as to why the British public were all sitting down to watch. After thinking about it a bit, I agree with what [livejournal.com profile] astrogirl2 said above: the whole thing seemed like an attempt at political commentary that fell kind of flat. And if they had to insert Obama, why the extended scenes where they had keep coming up with ways to hide his face? I kind of liked the shot of him walking into the press conference with his back to the camera, because it was like, yeah, that's supposed to be Obama. And that was okay because he'd been mentioned half a dozen times in the episode already. But they should have left it at that.

Date: 2009-12-27 04:10 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gromit77.livejournal.com
Agree on the Obama thing - not sure why they didn't go with the "we got a semi-lookalike of the current office-holder but we're not making direct reference to that individual" route.

Also, I thought they could have cut the "I'm everyone" scene at the end by several shots, but the very last reveal more than made up for that with me.

Final thoughts ... the final shot reminded me of the Star Wars prequels (hopefully it will prove better!)

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