Doctor Who 5x01 - The Eleventh Hour
Apr. 10th, 2010 01:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lightcastleSo as peaseblossom said, "The Doctor as Peter Pan" isn't all that much better than the tiresome "The Doctor as Vengeful God" thing RTD wouldn't let go of.
Firstly, some non-spoilery thoughts.
1) Eleven is ok. He is, thankfully, not nearly as pretty boy here as I feared from his earlier work and pictures. While the producers may be happily talking about how it is like Harry Potter and Twilight, my fear that they had decided the *sole point* of Doctor Who was teen girl sighing seems overblown. He's far more a Cripin Glover, all weird angles and gawkish limbs, even if they are still playing the "he is an instant sex symbol to his companion" thing. He's still manic, but seems a bit more playful right now, so that's ok. (I'd prefer a composed yet odd Doctor, but it seems I'm not likely to ever see that again.) Basically, he is as meh to me as Tennant was at the beginning, so he might win me over to acceptable after all.
2) Karen Gillan is lovely, but then we knew that from when she was an oracle in season 4. While I generally don't object to excessive shots of delightful legs on a stunning redhead, I really do hope we get more from her than some open-mouth gaping and looking cute. Doctor Who has a less than stellar record on this front, however. Still, she has a season to become as awesome as Donna, although whether or not she can if they are going to go right to the "pining for the Doctor" route is debatable.
As for the episode itself? Meh. There were some nice touches, but a lot of it felt very retread and heavy handed in a way I don't expect from Moffat. The whole "meets the girl little and again grown up" thing was done in Girl in the Fireplace. Also, THAT girl didn't become a crazy stalker obsessed with him from one meeting. That really bugged me. She has no life of her own? She's "The Girl Who Waits"? Really? About the only redeeming thought there was the hint at the end that he didn't pick her to come because he's lonely, but that this all indicates some importance. (Tell me he's not acting cagey when answering her "Why me?" question, and that portentious shot of the monitor/scanner thing.)
Wow, Moffat like fangs A LOT, doesn't he?
As a "pass the torch" moment, the hologram series of Doctors was lovely and well done.
I like that we're getting the arc words out of the way early, but it was really a sledgehammer of plot, wasn't it?
Some of the throwbacks to earlier seasons were pretty good, some seemed forced. I like the more playful Doctor, but the Peter Pan thing feels off. Maybe, as was said, because it doesn't work without a Victorian child. Also, if I get Peter Pan redux, I want Wendy to become a Pirate and fly away with the ship. ^__^ All the "you don't have to grow up" and "now you fly" stuff was grating. I know Moffat wants to view the Doctor as a fairy tale, but if that's the case I want something more Grimm and Perrault than this.
Still, there is always hope, and I am enough of a Doctor Who geek to not give up on it so quickly.
Firstly, some non-spoilery thoughts.
1) Eleven is ok. He is, thankfully, not nearly as pretty boy here as I feared from his earlier work and pictures. While the producers may be happily talking about how it is like Harry Potter and Twilight, my fear that they had decided the *sole point* of Doctor Who was teen girl sighing seems overblown. He's far more a Cripin Glover, all weird angles and gawkish limbs, even if they are still playing the "he is an instant sex symbol to his companion" thing. He's still manic, but seems a bit more playful right now, so that's ok. (I'd prefer a composed yet odd Doctor, but it seems I'm not likely to ever see that again.) Basically, he is as meh to me as Tennant was at the beginning, so he might win me over to acceptable after all.
2) Karen Gillan is lovely, but then we knew that from when she was an oracle in season 4. While I generally don't object to excessive shots of delightful legs on a stunning redhead, I really do hope we get more from her than some open-mouth gaping and looking cute. Doctor Who has a less than stellar record on this front, however. Still, she has a season to become as awesome as Donna, although whether or not she can if they are going to go right to the "pining for the Doctor" route is debatable.
As for the episode itself? Meh. There were some nice touches, but a lot of it felt very retread and heavy handed in a way I don't expect from Moffat. The whole "meets the girl little and again grown up" thing was done in Girl in the Fireplace. Also, THAT girl didn't become a crazy stalker obsessed with him from one meeting. That really bugged me. She has no life of her own? She's "The Girl Who Waits"? Really? About the only redeeming thought there was the hint at the end that he didn't pick her to come because he's lonely, but that this all indicates some importance. (Tell me he's not acting cagey when answering her "Why me?" question, and that portentious shot of the monitor/scanner thing.)
Wow, Moffat like fangs A LOT, doesn't he?
As a "pass the torch" moment, the hologram series of Doctors was lovely and well done.
I like that we're getting the arc words out of the way early, but it was really a sledgehammer of plot, wasn't it?
Some of the throwbacks to earlier seasons were pretty good, some seemed forced. I like the more playful Doctor, but the Peter Pan thing feels off. Maybe, as was said, because it doesn't work without a Victorian child. Also, if I get Peter Pan redux, I want Wendy to become a Pirate and fly away with the ship. ^__^ All the "you don't have to grow up" and "now you fly" stuff was grating. I know Moffat wants to view the Doctor as a fairy tale, but if that's the case I want something more Grimm and Perrault than this.
Still, there is always hope, and I am enough of a Doctor Who geek to not give up on it so quickly.
