tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post6012405565880739603..comments2024-03-27T08:49:38.786-03:00Comments on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery: Doctor Who #954: Kill the MoonSiskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-70951430056257346362014-11-26T12:38:28.547-04:002014-11-26T12:38:28.547-04:00Fans of New Frontier unite!Fans of New Frontier unite!Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-13913140793630604102014-11-26T12:30:23.892-04:002014-11-26T12:30:23.892-04:00"and that this creature - which I almost want..."and that this creature - which I almost want to call the Great Bird of the Galaxy"<br /><br />You win, sir. You win all the points. Best reference EVER. :-)Andrew Gilbertsonhttp://www.nolinecinemas.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-7570850571838594362014-11-24T09:04:07.307-04:002014-11-24T09:04:07.307-04:00I like that, Anon. Where DO the faces come from?
...I like that, Anon. Where DO the faces come from?<br /><br />Just as, perhaps, the 5th Doctor decided not to let everyone walk all over him anymore and chose an a-hole's face, i.e. Maxil's.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-25906750368940548362014-11-24T08:09:32.183-04:002014-11-24T08:09:32.183-04:00Wasn't thqat explained in the episode as being...<i>Wasn't thqat explained in the episode as being possible due to the involvement of the Sisterhood of Karn? So presumably it's not something any old Time Lord could do at any time.</i><br /><br />The Sisterhood of Karn let the Doctor choose, yes. My point wasn't that the Doctor can choose, so much as it's likely-ish that, in any given regeneration, he could end up young or old, soldier or scholar, male or female, albeit with little ability to direct the outcome. Roll of the dice.<br /><br />That said, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a little subconscious direction at work. Like maybe it's no coincidence that the Doctor ended up with the same face as that Roman he saved despite breaking "the rules", as a reminder that he can choose to be a good man. Who knows.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-40135765182588491002014-11-24T06:38:03.938-04:002014-11-24T06:38:03.938-04:00Doctor Who's relationship with science fiction...Doctor Who's relationship with science fiction has always been, at the very least, fluid. I suppose the science fiction approach is to have rules, but then try to work around them. DW sometimes tries to have rules (there are fixed points in time that can never be changed), and then sometimes shrugs them off (oh, we can ignore the fixed points in time this episode because "amusing line").<br /><br />I suppose a Star Trek equivalent would be a rule where the Enterprise can't go faster than Warp 9.6. In a dire emergency, Geordi can do some [TECH] and get it up to 9.8 for 10 minutes. That's fine. What wouldn't be fine is if he got it up to 9.8 because it was Worf's birthday and they needed to buy him a cake.<br /><br />Anyway, I did have a point. And it was that I can swallow an awful lot of science fantasy in the name of magic/wonder/feeling like a child again. But the moon is a giant egg that then hatches and produces an identical moon? No. Sorry, just no.LiamKavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996095233681105682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-19070928402214165072014-11-24T01:02:31.535-04:002014-11-24T01:02:31.535-04:00My thought was that the Doctor was being a bit coy...My thought was that the Doctor was being a bit coy about what he did or did not know about what was going to happen. I figure he knew that 2049 was the year that humanity began its spread across the universe, but didn't know what exactly caused that. Having to abandon the Earth because of the Moon blowing up is as plausible reason to leave as the birth of a space-butterfly rekindling their interest in exploring the cosmos. <br /><br /><i>(like how, when 8 turned to War, he could choose age / gender / temperament, so presumably all of those are possibilities whenever a Time Lord regenerates).</i><br /><br />Wasn't thqat explained in the episode as being possible due to the involvement of the Sisterhood of Karn? So presumably it's not something any old Time Lord could do at any time. But there again, there's the whole Romana II situation, though I'm inclined to wave it off as Romana having a bit of fun with the Doctor by using one of those holographic projector things from "Time of the Doctor."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-61639122179055197012014-11-23T18:02:08.714-04:002014-11-23T18:02:08.714-04:00"Though I wouldn't call these plots "..."Though I wouldn't call these plots "bad" because they work in terms of theme, which is important to me, but at the expense of logic sometimes."<br /><br />Yes, you're right, plot wasn't the right choice of word. Bad execution of the sci-fi perhaps? But, yeah, it doesn't really matter as everything else clicks so well.Paul Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139741602510560760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-73169405928291481732014-11-23T11:56:37.928-04:002014-11-23T11:56:37.928-04:00The science here is nuts; they could have scienced...The science here is nuts; they could have scienced it better by having a small neutron star creature in a chamber inside the moon rather than the moon being the egg shell itself. But I don't watch for the science anyway. (Protip: the moon exerts a subtle gyroscopic force on the earth and keeps the earth from just tumbling out of control. Get rid of the moon and the earth loses its seasons, meaning all land plant life gets messed up, meaning all land life dies.)<br /><br />Did not feel this was an abortion-centric episode, though in the US, it's hard not to sniff politics even in a simple story about moon creatures.<br /><br />Okay, so about the Doctor forcing Clara to make a tough choice. Here's how I see it:<br /><br />1) The Doctor is more comfortable making choices if he can see the outcomes, or can see that there won't be any sweeping consequences. This was not one of those moments, so ...<br /><br />2) Should it even be the Doctor's decision? On the one hand, the Doctor is the only Time Lord in the universe; he's got to realize how biased he is when it comes to unique specimens. On the other hand, this decision does steer the direction the human race will take. Sounds to me like this is a decision that humans should make.<br /><br />I do think that, as of the next episode, Clara should explicitly forgive the Doctor for making her make the tough call for once. (Spoiler: it won't happen.) That said, whether or not the Doctor was sincere about knowing Clara would make the right choice, it sure sounded phony.<br /><br />One more detail that they mentioned in passing: the Doctor doesn't know the rules on his new set of regenerations. We've all assumed he gets exactly twelve more, but this is uncharted territory. The rules on regeneration are hazy under the best of circumstances, and we only learn about them when Time Lords gloss over them in conversation (like how, when 8 turned to War, he could choose age / gender / temperament, so presumably all of those are possibilities whenever a Time Lord regenerates).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-29990568572742576182014-11-23T10:54:51.191-04:002014-11-23T10:54:51.191-04:00(just look at the My Little Pony episode Feeling P...(just look at the My Little Pony episode Feeling Pinkie Keen, where an atheist writer managed to tell a story with the message of "Scientists should admit that God exists" by complete accident)."<br /><br />Yes, that's totally a reasonable interpretation of a story about someone determinedly ignoring years of accumulated observable evidence because it doesn't fit her beliefs of how magic is supposed to work.Toby'chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01298458468488781568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-24141082046805516072014-11-23T10:46:28.484-04:002014-11-23T10:46:28.484-04:00I loved this one while watching it, but the more I...I loved this one while watching it, but the more I thought about it the more it fell apart. And the abortion stuff doesn't help at all. I'm perfectly willing to accept that it's all accidental (especially since from what I understand, the issue is far less of a controversy in England as the country has more or less settled on a pro-choice position), but my position on this sort of thing is that I shouldn't have to do homework to know what the writer wanted to say, and if it's not clear from the story itself, it's their fault (just look at the My Little Pony episode Feeling Pinkie Keen, where an atheist writer managed to tell a story with the message of "Scientists should admit that God exists" by complete accident).<br /><br />And so what we're left with is a story about Clara overriding the votes of the entire world due to the pro-life stance initially dictated to her by a man, which proves to be the correct choice. Kirk Cameron nods his silent approval. At least there's a bunch of good character stuff along the way.Ryan Lohnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-26186723019739651122014-11-23T10:26:35.608-04:002014-11-23T10:26:35.608-04:00It was originally pitched for the 2011 season, so ...It was originally pitched for the 2011 season, so for Matt Smith and Amy (would Rory have been the Courtney character?).<br /><br />As for how far in the future, if we make Lundvik the same age as Hermione Norris, she would be 47 at this point. Say her mom had her when she was 25, and HER mom had her when she was 25 (30 is more likely in both cases, I know), then her granny would be 62 today. Using her mum, who would be 37 in 2014 makes more sense. But then the MOST sense would be for Lundvik herself to have used Tumblr, as she would be 12 today. Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-72897401159602332602014-11-23T10:09:27.959-04:002014-11-23T10:09:27.959-04:00For me, it's the best series since Season 26 (...For me, it's the best series since Season 26 (at least in terms of my IMDb scores). Pretty conflicted about this one though, for most of the same reasons you listed, plus a couple of others. I get the feeling this was supposed to be set a lot further in the future, from the joke about Lundvik's grandmother using Tumblr.Toby'chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01298458468488781568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-3746260352974306862014-11-23T09:48:56.758-04:002014-11-23T09:48:56.758-04:00I agree. I'd rather have strong character mome...I agree. I'd rather have strong character moments - especially as the actors can more than handle them - than good plots. Though I wouldn't call these plots "bad" because they work in terms of theme, which is important to me, but at the expense of logic sometimes.<br /><br />This is definitely the best series since Series 4 (Ten and Donna), and I personally like it better.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-85188709017127957472014-11-23T09:38:04.296-04:002014-11-23T09:38:04.296-04:00This episode sums up the series for me. Exceptiona...This episode sums up the series for me. Exceptionally brilliant character stuff and performances but a plot that's complete bobbins. Not a problem for me though as I feel the character stuff and performances have been so strong it's made the whole series top notch. I'd rather Moff have sorted out the dialogue and characterisation than the plots. The days of River Song talking like a movie trailer all the time ("That man, that wonderful man etc") feel very far away.<br /><br />Loved this series, loving revisiting it on your blog dude. :) Paul Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139741602510560760noreply@blogger.com