Warning! This Contains Spoilers For: Sherlock (Seasons 2 and 3's finales, specifically), Supernatural (mainly season 9), The Avengers (and to an extent Agents of SHIELD), Thor: The Dark World, Game of Thrones, and Doctor Who)
You know, I kinda did...
So, the last episode of Sherlock season 3 has aired in America, and revealed the next cliffhanger: Moriarty (or as I've started calling him here: "Scottiarty") is alive as well. I kinda suspected it (Moffat kept insisting he was dead a little too much for me). So, I figured this was a perfect time to discuss something of a trend/trope that seems to be cropping up in the movies and TV shows I like: The Fake Out Death.
Yes, it seems that a lot of shows are using this. They pretend to kill a character (or in some cases, legitimately kill) a character, only to bring them back. And to be honest, it's gotten kind of old.
I started feeling this when I saw Thor: The Dark World for the first time. As many who saw that know, somewhere around the third act, Loki is apparently impaled through the chest and killed by Skurge. It's sad (legend says you could hear Tumblr collectively go comatose with shock), but then at the end it's revealed Loki has survived being mortally wounded, and has in fact taken Odin's place (literally).
Now, besides me wanting more explanation as to how Loki survived, I felt a little bored with this sort of thing. It seemed to me like it came up too much in the last two years.
Two big offenders of this are Doctor Who and Supernatural.
I read a very interesting post (that I highly recommend), that brings up how Steven Moffat doesn't really "kill" many characters off in Doctor Who, when you think about it. Heck, the most notable example is Rory. Every time he got killed, he seems to come back. When he finally did bite it, it was that he just died years after being time-displaced (long story). Not being killed (presumably).
It's Rory, Amy. It's 33.3% of his shtick.
Heck, Moffat's undone THE ENTIRE FRIGGIN' GENOCIDE OF THE GALLFREYANS AND THE DALEKS!
There was also the recent Christmas Special where The Doctor regenerates, but the whole episode The Doctor goes on and on about Eleven being his last regeneration, and that if he dies at the time of the special, it's forever, yadda yadda. Yeeeah, we already knew about Capaldi being the next Doctor. But that's more an issue of false/failed drama than anything else.
Supernatural does it worse, though. While the show has an infamously high death toll (at this point, it's easier to count the living characters), there has also been quite a bit of characters un-dying. Especially in season nine, where we not only have Cas briefly die in one episode, but the next bloody episode Charlie freaking dies for a few minutes. While it's nice when a beloved character comes back (especially with the dwindling number of reoccurring characters), I think this is also a flaw with the show. It starts getting harder to accept the legitimate deaths when they arise. Seriously, let Death do his job, writers!
Maybe, Death. Maybe...
I think this is one of the things I like about Game of Thrones: that when they kill a character, they stick with it. There's not even that "I'm a main character/regular" immunity. Nope, sorry, Ned! Being on the poster won't save you now! And don't get me started on the Red Wedding (there's one way to wrap up a subplot). Heck, the one time they had a "revival" it went bad and ultimately led to that character having to die for good. Death is death.
Now, am I completely against bringing characters back from the dead? No. I can accept some of them.
What? It's not too soon, anymore!
Let's take one of the most famous "recent" examples: Sherlock's faked suicide at the end of season 2. We knew he was alive at the end of the episode (heck, anyone who'd read "The Final Problem" knew he'd live...) Besides the inevitability of this, I was fine with it because it had weight to it. There was the aftermath for everyone, the suspense of how everyone would react to seeing him again, the mystery of how he did it... It worked to the story's advantage and had repercussions. (Heck, I'm actually looking forward to seeing what they do with Moriarty's return in season 4. The story opportunities...)
There's also The Avengers, where Coulson "died"...
XD I love this bit from the gag reel...
That also had weight. It helped motivate the team to get their crap together. But it also had ambiguity. We couldn't be sure that Coulson was coming back. All we had was confirmation that Fury lied about Coulson's trading cards being on his person when Loki impaled him through the chest (yeah, I'm starting to believe people in the MCU can't be killed by impalement...). It also provides an early mystery in his spin-off, Agents of SHIELD. Heck, even when it's revealed how he's alive, there's the ramifications of Fury playing God and Coulson dealing with this reveal.
My problem with Loki's "death" in Thor: The Dark World was there was little weight, I felt. He died and it was just: "Welp! On to the next thing!" (The same could be said of Frigga's death, but that's another thing). It doesn't leave much impact.
I guess what I'm saying is: writers, if you're going to kill a character and bring them back, at least let there be ramifications or some degree of weight to it. Or, if not, at least use Fake Out Deaths sparingly. And please, just cool it on them for a while, okay? Okay. We're good.
Well, today is the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. I would have planned something bigger, like a list of my favorite companions, a new top 9 episodes list, or a big squeefest over The Ninth Doctor and why he deserves more love from the mainstream and ohmygoshEcclestonpleasecomebackanepisodeIlovedNinesomuch. But no. I'll leave it short and simple.
I only started to watch the show about two years ago, and I've only fully watched New Who, but I still love this show. There's sort of an optimism to it. That there will be somewhere there to stop the big scary things we encounter. That a strange but wonderful character will wisk you away on an adventure. Someone showing you both the beauty and the terror of the universe and running alongside you. They'll take you from the humdrum and the terrible places you don't want to be, and find you special. There's also the fantastic about it, seeing the strange new worlds and strange new monsters. Seeing the new while also encountering the old. It's fun escapism.
The Doctor is a great character, a constant, but yet ever-changing. He has the distinct honor of being reinterpreted multiple times, all within the same story.
People probably wonder how it turned out to last so long, and I think to anyone who watches it, it's obvious. It's a gem in the geek community, and if enough watch it, the world. What is it with the British and giving us timeless classics?
Maybe the show will continue another 50, maybe not. But one thing's for certain: like all good things, it will live on.
So, I think I'll leave this amazing video I found, with one of the best speeches from the show. Happy 50th, Doctor Who. We raise our sonic screwdrivers to you...
Okay, so I know Marvel May hasn't been working out as well as I hoped. (I didn't know I'd be this busy, and that last Elementary review kinda burned me out, leaving me unwilling to get to the next two X-Men... :( I'll try and do better these next few days...) Anyway, I kinda wanted to talk more about a show that's become very dear to me. And by talk, I mean plead for help...
You see, I've become hooked on Hannibal. It's great. It brings me joy to watch. And, on Twitter (no, not telling y'all what my Twitter name is...) I've been hanging out with the fanbase, and we are all incredibly nice people, considering we watch a show named after cannibal serial killer. But we're also really worried, too. You see, we haven't gotten word on whether or not our beloved Thursday Night Obsession is going to make it to next season. We're supposed to get word by June 1st, but that only gives us one more week to do anything. We've had pretty successful Twitter campaigns, but we can't be sure.
So, I'm going to make a plea. I've been trying to covert people on my Pintrest, but I think I can use my blog for this, too. Please watch this show! It's bloody brilliant!
I've even prepared a plea/case for at least four of the fandoms to convince them why they should give Hannibal a chance...
"SuperWhoLockibal"? Eh? Eh?
ELEMENTARY
Okay, I know you guys know I'm not exactly the biggest fan of this show. It's just not for me. But, think about it: your show wrapped up for the season last week. You have a huge gap in your Thursday plans and DVRs. Why not fill it with another show. It's just reruns now of Elementary, you won't miss anything. Besides, if you couldn't check out Hannibal because it was on at the same time, now you can. Your show is safe, it's getting another season. So why not help a show that's on the bubble?
Plus, Will Graham is a bit like Sherlock, in that he's gifted at what he does. Plus, he's troubled but kinda cute. Kinda like Millerlock is troubled. And, Will's played by Hugh Dancy, who's British, but is really good at covering his accent. I couldn't even tell.
I'm just saying, you need something to fill the void.
SHERLOCK
Ah, my people! Long have we suffered in this hiatus! Our sanity has been worn to it's very fibers, and worn thinner still! But, hark, I have found something that has filled the whole in my heart, Hannibal! It has proven to be a show on par with Sherlock in quality. It's like America's equivalent to Sherlock in that regard. It's clever, it's great to look at. And it has murders! Lots and LOTS of murders!
As I told the Elementary Fandom, Will Graham is cute, gifted, but troubled, girls! And again, played by a British actor... Just saying. Also, he has lots of dogs.
And, if you're missing Moriarty, Hannibal is deliciously creepy. Mads Mikkelston does great at his job. His Hannibal a lot more subtle than Scottiarty, but he's also strangely likeable. Heck, he might be the sanest person on the show! No lie! And, yes, he's strangely kind attractive, too. I'll admit. Plus, he dresses sharply. STUPID HANDSOME CANNIBAL!
...What am I doing with my life?
DOCTOR WHO
Again, our show won't be back until November 23rd, the 50th Anniversary. What else do we have to do? Our buddies Sherlock and Supernatural don't have anything else out for now. Merlin ended last year. And I think Hannibal deserves a try, Whovians. I don't know how else to bait you that I haven't already used, yet. Handsome guys, cleverness, Oh wait! But it also has creepiness! Lots and lots of creepiness! You thought Moffat gave you nightmares? Wait until you see what Brian Fuller and his crew cook up (pun partially intended)... I elaborate in my plea to Supernatural...
SUPERNATURAL
You, too, my friend, have to wait for your next season, and Hannibal is great. You want nightmare fuel? We GOT nightmare fuel! The death tableaus are so creepy and gory. They aren't so horrifying that it's indecent, but they are still pretty creepy for primetime. How do people made into slowly dying comatose mushroom farms, bodies made into angels, human cellos, and totem poles of bodies sound? That make up for scary monsters? Speaking of which, next week's episode? The killer hides under the beds of his victims and drags them under. *nods* That sounds like sweet dream fuel, eh? It'll keep your need for horror whetted.
***
And, I can't believe I'm going to make a plead to this side of any fandom, but...
Fans of slash pairings! Those who ship stuff like Johnlock, Merthur, Destiel, etc. May I present you to Hannigram?
(Okay, before I go further, I want to make it clear that I don't ship it. I'm not a big "ship guy/guy pairings" girl. I may jokingly ship something/joke about a guy/guy pairing. And, if I'm being honest, there are some of those pairings I like as guilty pleasures, at least. But I don't ship Hannigram. I can kinda see where they're coming from, but I don't. But, I'm not all "RAWR! YOU SHIPPERS MAKE ME SICK!" about it. I'm at the point in my life as a fangirl where I'm like, "*shrugs* Shippers gonna ship." It's inevitable. I have a whole post planned on shipping...)
Yes, we have Hannigram. The fandom ships a cannibal serial killer with a empathic mental case. One's a sharp dresser and I guess qualifies as a bad boy, the other is a handsome woobie you want to hug and make everything okay for. (I can't believe I'm writing this...) They have some moments. And did I mention they both have a surrogate daughter of sorts, Abigail Hobbs? Heck, this week, Hannibal outright said, "we are her fathers now"! (I'm breaking down laughing. I'm really doing this? I'm going this far?) That alone is fanfic fuel, shippers!
Okay, I gotta stop... I can't keep that up anymore...
***
But see? I love this show! I just want it to do well! I don't want it to be one of those shows ended in it's prime, when it had so much more to offer. While shows that have gone on too long and don't deserve it anymore get to go on, like say Two and a Half Men (oh, sweet lord, let it die, CBS! It's not good anymore!) Please, please, PLEASE watch it! For the love of quality TV!
(Dang it, why do I always find out birthdays AFTER they happen?)
Anyway, yesterday was the 49th birthday of an actor I like: Christopher Eccelston. I've brought him up a lot. He played The Ninth Doctor on Doctor Who, and was my first and favorite Doctor.
I can't wait to see him in Thor: The Dark World as Malekith. I really need to see more stuff with him in it, I feel bad I haven't. Like, I really want to see this biopic he was in about John Lennon called Lennon Naked, as Lennon. (It also has Andrew Scott in it as Paul McCartney, so that's a bonus...) Anyway, I think he's a good actor and I want to see more stuff with him. (Like, say, Sherlock with him as Moran? Please? I heard you want to experiment with original villains, Moffat and Gatiss, but you can still do that and have Moran! Please?)
Anyway, happy (belated) birthday, Eccleston! You fanTAStic actor.
Well, a couple months ago, I wrote a post with some crack-y theories as to how Cumberlock survived falling from a building in "The Riechenbach Fall" episode of Sherlock. Well, I got more ideas! So here they are, back by no one's demand!
- Molly had a Phoenix Down
- Molly captured a Reaper. (Somewhere across town, either Anderson, Donavan, or Sebastian the guy from the stock market fell down dead...)
- The Oswin Oswald Effect, or alternatively...
- The Rory Williams Effect
- He had a Ganger
- The Bad Wolf brought him back
- Deal with the Devil. 'Nuff said.
- His body died, but his spirit travelled outside of time and he was eventually reborn as Sherlock The White
- He was Moriarty's horcrux, and when he died, he had the chance to come back, and did so.
- A wizard did it
-Molly was a former Weapon X scientist, and loaded Sherlock up with a healing factor
... And finally...
-He just has the same immortality comic book characters have. They're dead a while, then they come back by some weird contrivance.
Hey, you know what? I feel like finally MSTing something again! This is another one of Sue Mary's works (we all remember "her", right?) But this time, she takes into the world of Doctor Who... I think... It's madness. (Madness? THIS! IS! TROLLFIC!)
Well, in the words of Eleven, Geronimo!
(EDIT: I Fixed this because I was having issues with the font color, it should be all good now! :D)
Doktor Hoo is a pretty cool dude eh doesnt afraid of anything. But wat wud happen if an evil one? Or Supahman was dere? That was the inpiration for this story!
...Well, I'm sure this will be a well-written piece of literary masterpiece...
Doctor Huh?
A Originial an Offisial Fanfict by Soo Maree
...Or not...
City Town, Plaent Earf, ats place da Daily Bungle noos was getting made with peoples like Lowes Layne and Cark Kentle.
I visited City Town, Plaent Earf once! It was nothing like the brochure.
“SOPT TEH PRESSES!” Goonzo elled to lowd sonds. “Sum body is rubbing the bank!”
...Um... o-kay... so some weirdo's rubbing the bank... must be a slow news day. Does the guy think he's going to get a genie?
Also, WHO THE HECK IS "GOONZO"? Is that like Gonzo from The Muppets? Do they all work for a muppet?
...That would be awesome.
Chlark new wat he had 2 do so he jumped ot the winnow and landed at fone booth. He go inot the fone booth and taked off all his cloths. Leetle did anyone no Clark Kempt was aslo… SUPAHMAN!
Ohmygosh my mind is totally blown! I mean, who ever thought the guy who looks just like Superman in glasses was actually Superman? Next you're going to tell me Jim from IT and Richard Brook on Sherlock are both Moriarty. Or that Bruce Wayne is Batman or something crazy like that...
Bu when Clark as fooly nakd some1 sayd “WAT ARE U DOIN IN MY HOSE!?!”
...Wait, I thought Superman wore his suit under his clothes...
...And what is he doing in a someone's hose? ...I'm disturbed to know about your sick personal life, Supes...
A man of british and so much bowtie was stare at hims.
GREATEST. ELEVENTH DOCTOR DESCRIPTION. EVAH!
Eh had a majik scroodiver that was mad of siense.
GREATEST. SONIC SCREWDRIVER DESCRIPTION. EVAH!
“I am tryin to chanje to supa mode why U here?” Supes asked bakk. “I am DOCTOR HOO I life here in da Fone Booth its call TURDIS and go on space ventures.”
Ahem... there are so many things wrong with this.
He's just "The Doctor".
Technically, it's a Police Box, and
It's spelled "TARDIS".
...Carry on.
Also:
“Well I haft o stop a bnak rubrery.” Auperman titened his pecs to show he was s a strung heero. “NO! U will be my companon and we wiil fite my evil twin Doctor Huh?!”
I like how The Doctor's more or less kidnapping him. But if I've learned anything from The Nostalgia Critic, it's that if he calls it an adoption, it's okay! :D
Supearamn didant like this develtement and pressed body against the fone booth winnow to so pepole cold see him and no he was in danger “HEY U KIDDIES HELP ME IM BEEN KIDNAPPED!”
Yes, oh Man of Steel! Ask the small children to help you. They will surely be assets...
...
...Wait...
Supes yelled to sum kiddies but Supeaman was still covered in naked so teh kiddies only saw his huge ‘kelp bunny’ and balls so they were tramartized and scared for life an experimented wif all the otters.
...
Uhh...
...
...I have no proper way to react to this...
Da TARTIS got a big rosacea unner neath that blowed up to make it floo up to hier and it wass in spaece Doctor Who sat at Superman “Wach out there isp ace traffic.”
"But Doctor, couldn't we just go through the time stream to a time where space traffic isn't so bad? This is a time machine, right?"
"No, this is ace traffic. Completely... Different. You can't avoid it. It's a fixed point. Plus, it's so... acey-wacey..."
And they was caut in a traffik jum. The Normanty flied if by and hit space fone booth so Doktor Hoo got angried “Hey stope doin that Mormondy!!!!!i13”
What the HECK is a "Normanty"? Or "Mormondy"? Whatever...
“Its not my falt dat my game endin is bad I am not sorree!” Commamary Shepared grubeed and floo off but the exhast made TURDIS span sidewise and not get no were.
Oh, it's from thse Mass Effect game I've never played. With that ending I keep hearing about. Since I have little knowledge of the series besides that, I'm just going to nod and laugh politely... “OH no I AM have a sickly!” Supemon blowed up chunks all over DOKOTR WHO was really mad at the dirty of his place.
Man, Digimon have gotten weird since I've watched it...
“Stop burfing up my playse u jerk!IU!IO” Superman did not sorry at Docta becos he was relay made n’ ungry at the supanap.
"I barf in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries."
"Is there someone else I can adventure with?"
"No. Now go away or I shall spray you a second time..."
Bajck on Earth the bank rub was goin down supper bad.
"I keep rubbing this inanimate object, but nothing's happening! I WANT MY DANG GENIE!" “Gife me alls da money or ill shot yuo all up!2o”
THREATENING THE GENIE WITH VIOLENCE WILL NOT COMPEL IT TO COME TO YOU!
Tihs was no orindary rubber it was… DOCTOR HUH!!!!
What a twist! “OK OK heers all are monee just dot kill us weer good dudes.” The bak manajerk did so much of handing the mones. “I will rub all the banks and becos I HAVE ROSACEAS!!! All the pepole gapped at his huge rosaceas reddy to fire an kill.
What kind of freaky skin condition do you have? Is it a Time Lord thing? None cold stop Doktor Huh or cold they….?
No. No they can't. Maybe someone warmer, though...
Meenwhile at the same time Doktor HOO an Spuman were still in spase lookin for Doctor Huh no noin that hes rubbing the banks!
Well, that would probably be awkward for The Doctor, knowing he's related to a weirdo who rubs banks.. “He is cloose now.” But sum robots that was like trasscans but not amd had plujer wepons attacked.
Oh, no. Tell me they're not... Superman codant used his powers becos he was nekked an didant want pepole to see him like that. Still? Eleven, what is it with you and not properly clothing people when you go on your first TARDIS adventures together? “Oh no thoss robots!” Doktor used his majerk crewdriver to make a spase helmut to go to out and combat wif dem.
Hey, it's that Sonic Screwdriver power we've never seen! And yet, it still can't do wood...
The robost fired bad stuff at Doctor Hoon but he had a sheelds to they refelcted back to kill a few. “EXSANGUINATE!!!IO1~~1111”
NO! It is... The Daleks! (And they aren't robots. They're more like aliens in robot suits/alien cyborg thingies... (that's putting it scientifically)) Sai the robots and they fried rosaceas at Doktor Woos place were Superman was. A big rosacea hittled him rite in da face and it mades Supes supah angory.
"NO!! MY BEAUTIFUL FACE HAS A SKIN CONDITION! YOU WILL PAY!!!" (I apologize to anyone with rosacea, I mean no offence, BTW)
“All rite its time for wat I lik to call: DA KRYPTONIAN SLUSHY!11io!” Auper floo in thru space and sarted to kill them but taking the robots an put ebtween his pekkz to skwish them all hard till they was like slussy.
Superman just crushed some Daleks in between his pecks.
Superman just crushed some Daleks in between his pecks.
...Wrap your head around that. Doctor Who was ver impressed at powerful move. “Now dat was a REEL FITE. Yur more powaful than I thotted, Supermens.” Doktor What congratulationed with British integrity.
"...congratulationed with British integrity." That is the greatest phrase in this whole fic. “ALLER TI FOWND DOKTOR HUH!” Sayd the TARDIS space commuter. “HE IS RUBBING THE BANK!!iuo1”
OHMYGOSHWHATATWISTIHADNOIDEA!
Supes and Doktah gapsed, the bank was it the hole time?
Yes, now run before it tags you! (Lame joke is lame)
“Well don’t worry then we can just kill him qwick.”
Bu-but the Doctor doesn't like killing. Unless it's Daleks 'cause they're evil.
...
...Wait...
And the TADRIS killed Doktor Huh with a orbital strike to kill him.
Greatest Anti-Climatic Ending Ever!
“Thanks Dock, now we both win.” So Doktor Who and Supperman wents off to have lots of more coold adventares!
YAY! Remember kids: when someone kidnaps you, don't worry! They'll lead you on cool adventures in their spaceship!
...
Wait...
THE END FOR NOW
(mayebt more latter but ony if u revyoo guyz like rthis 1)
Sadly, there probably won't be, for our dear Sue Mary got kicked off of fanfiction.net because of Critics United. (Long story short, they're kind of the "Stop Having Fun, Guys" of the site and led to the deletion of several fics that were written solely for fun/entertainment, including all of Sue Mary's and "her" alter ego Marissathewriter's work. Even though they clearly weren't serious. And yet, stories that are genuinely horrible still got to stay. While horribly hilarious ones got the boot. There is no justice on the interwebs...) Though you can still find some of "her" work on Tumblr.
Anyway, this is, as usual, a terrible fic. A terribly hilarious one. Well, glad I finally finished this one. Now to continue my draft clearout...
Howdy, y'all! With all my Sherlockian fangirling/critiquing/rambling/etc.-ing, I realized I've neglected Doctor Who. And I've kinda wanted to do a list of my favorite episodes so far. Besides, this month's the new Christmas Special with the new companion and all, so it's great timing.
The personal rules for my list are this:
I obviously can't count episodes I haven't seen yet, so all the "Classic Who" is excluded (though I do plan to someday watch them. But Netflix is keepin' me down, man! They only have a few of the "Classic" series). This will be all "New Who" (Everything from the revival in 2005 to now): from "Rose" to "The Angels Take Manhattan". Thus, the "New" and the "So Far" in the title.
I'm counting all two-parters as one episode. For obvious reasons. So you won't see something like, say, "Aliens in London" on here and "World War Three" not. (Not that I'm even putting that two-parter on here. Heck no! I'm just using an example.)
Okay, with that out of the way, let's start my current list of the Top 9 Doctor Who Episodes. Why top nine? Because Nine is fantastic... Well, Geronimo!
(Beware: Possible Spoilers, read with caution)
9. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (Series/Season 7)
So, a thousand-year old time-traveling alien, a 20th century hunter, an Egyptian queen, a Scotswoman, a roman, and his dad all walk into a spaceship...
This was just a fun episode. I mean, it's The Doctor, The Ponds, Queen Nefertiti, a 20th Century big game hunter, and Rory's dad having an adventure on a spaceship filled with DINOSAURS! How is that not awesome? How? I really enjoyed watching this one. For example, I loved seeing Amy being a sort of pseudo-Doctor when the group gets split up. That alone raised her up a few clicks on my list ranking the companions. (Sorry, Rose, Amy's just better...)
Plus, for me, it was an Anglophile Nerd Menagerie of Squee! First of all, there's Rupert Graves, AKA Sherlock's Lestrade, playing the hunter, Riddell. Who is a character I like and want to see again. Then, there's Mark Williams, who I know from Harry Potter as Mr. Weasley, playing Rory's Dad, Brian. Again, a very likable character. (Though now I have this whole headcanon about Rory secretly being Charlie Weasley.) Oh, and there's David Bradley, another actor who's been in Harry Potter (he was Mr. Flitch), as the villain, Solomon. Solomon was a jerk and deserved his fate. (*sniff* I will never forget you, Tricy...)
Anyway, not much left to say but the obvious joke: I AM SICK OF ALL THESE MOTHERJUMPIN' DINOSAURS ON MY MOTHERJUMPIN' SPACESHIP!
8. New Earth (Series/Season 2)
"Rose, I have a feeling things are going to go wrong..."
This on was just plain fun and funny. It reminds me of the good old fun days of Ten's (David Tennant's) tenure as The Doctor, before "The Waters of Mars" special made me disappointed in him. Anyway, The Doctor and Rose go on their first official adventure together to the future, and the planet New Earth. Specifically, New (New New New New New New New New New New New New New New) New York. The Doctor was called to the hospital to meet someone. And we run into a blast from the first season's past, Cassandra!
The big thing I liked were the bodyswap shenanigans. I'm always a sucker for an episode where characters trade bodies, especially since we get to see the actors get to be "other" characters for a day. And this one was no exception. My favorite scene is when Cassandra takes over The Doctor's body, and Tennant is just hamming it up:
A fun episode for a Doctor I used to admire, "New Earth" is out of this world.
7. Angels Take Manhattan (Series/Season 7)
Seriously, no one was watching The Statue of Liberty in the City That Never Sleeps? YOU HAD ONE JOB, NEW YORK! ONE JOB!
The best way to describe this episode is bittersweet. The final episode with The Ponds, this was the episode every fan I knew was trying to emotionally prepare for. What happens is Rory falls victim to the Weeping Angels while he, Amy, and The Doctor visit New York, and is sent back to the 1930's. Amy and The Doctor go back to save him, natch, and meet up with River. And there's a book detailing the events of the story before they happen in-episode.
Again, it was bittersweet, this episode. First of all, we learn that River is now a professor (anyone who's seen "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead" knows why this is sad.), and, of course, The Ponds leave. But I think it's sort of sweet how they left, since at least they were together. And, personally, I think they had the least "terrible" of most of the Official Companion Farewells. Think about it: Rose was left in an alternate universe against her will, Jack got ditched without any explanation from The Doctor until they met again, Martha was driven away by Ten's Rose Angst, Mickey... well, he left voluntarily, but that doesn't count, Adam was kicked out and left a freak of modern science (but he was a jerk, so can't say he didn't deserve it. He's kind of an un-Companion anyway...), and DON'T get me started on how Donna went. The Ponds, however, they at least got to stay together.
"The Angels Take Manhattan", the episode that made the fans weep like The Angels.
6. The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon (Series/Season 6)
One of these things is not like the others...
Wow, I have a lot of Eleven episodes here. Anyway, in this episode, Amy, Rory, and River witness the apparent future death of The Doctor. Then The non-future, non-dead Doctor takes them back to 1969 America, around the time of the Moon launch. Its there they meet The mysterious Silence. But they can't remember them once they've seen them.
I feel this is another good opener episode for the show under Moffat's control. (You'll see another example later). The Silence are a legitimately creepy concept. It's awesome.
Speaking of awesome, River Song is freaking awesome in this one. Especially the "Day of the Moon" part. I decided here that she was one of the best companions ever. Also, I really dug Canton Everett Delaware III, the temporary companion this episode. This guy was awesome, too. Again, there's another companion I would love to see pop up in another episode soon. After all, he said in the beginning after the Doctor "died" that it was the last time he'd see them (as in The Ponds), not necessarily The Doctor...
In short, this was awesome.
5. The Doctor's Wife (Series/Season 6)
The Doctor and his oldest and most constant Companion...
Oh, boy, I liked this one. The Doctor, Rory, and Amy go to another dimension, when suddenly, the TARDIS goes dead. That's when we meet a woman who claims to be The TARDIS...
This episode had great writing. I absolutely loved The TARDIS, who was so delightfully quirky. And I loved her interactions with The Doctor. But most of all, I loved that this episode was written by none other than Neil Gaiman, one of my favorite writers and creative idols. I'm really excited that he's coming back to write another episode for season 7. I'm hoping he'll become like Moffat was in the Russel T Davies Era: writing really good episodes once a season, and hopefully becoming head writer next? Please? I'd love to see him with his own Doctor...
Well, nothing else to say but, it's Gaiman, he's never let me down before...
4. Bad Wolf/The Parting of Ways (Series/Season 1)
The Last Stand of The Ninth Doctor
Finally, my favorite Doctor appears on here! Anyway, this was the finale to the first season, and the final episode with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor. In it, he, Jack, and Rose end up on a series of deadly game shows on Satellite 5, and need to escape. And a familiar enemy returns.
Okay, first of all, this episode had Captain Jack Harkness, my favorite companion, of course that makes this episode 20% cooler. I loved him here. And his part where he says good-bye to Rose and The Doctor, thinking he's going to die, was sweet. Man, I wish he'd gotten a few more episodes.
Plus, he got to kiss The Doctor. Good for him!
Also, I thought it was a fantastic send off to Nine, and Eccleston's acting was superb. It's sad he didn't stay longer, especially since by that time he'd thoroughly grown on me. *sigh* If only I knew for sure why he left, the Internet's no help. In fact, the second time I watched "The Parting of Ways", probably about the "absolutely fantastic" speech, I almost cried! And I can probably count on one hand the times a movie or show has done that to me as far as I can recall. That is impressive. Well done, Davies and Eccleston. Well done.
"Bad Wolf/The Parting of Ways": A parting that was sweet sorrow.
3. The Eleventh Hour (Series/Season 5)
Well, you seem like a perfectly fine person to go on an adventure with...
Here's one I've mentioned before! The newly-regenerated Eleventh Doctor arrives at the home of young Amelia Pond, who's having trouble with a mysterious crack in her wall. After the Doctor helps, he decides to make her his companion, but first he needs to leave and go do something. He arrives a wee bit late... A wee twelve years too late... And that's the least of his problems...
It was the first episode with Matt Smith as The Doctor, and Moffat as head writer. I thought it was great kickoff. It was funny, it was cool, and it won me over to Eleven. Moffat's writing was great as usual, and it seemed like nothing could go wrong! The series was in great hands!
Which was also, admittedly a problem for the episode, in retrospect. It was almost too good. Since all the episodes after this one that season seemed to fall flat to me that season.
Well, almost all of them...
2. The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang (Series/Season 5)
"Come at me, bros! .... Okay, I'm never saying that again, either..."
After what seemed like a fairly so-so season, we get a great season finale. The Doctor and Amy are called back to 102 AD by River Song. There, they find The Pandorica, said to be holding the most fearsome being in the universe. Also, the universe is being destroyed, all of the Doctor's enemies have gathered, and Rory is a Roman now. Romans are cool. Things are about to get real...
It was well-written. And, after seeing the mediocre season and "A Scandal in Belgravia", this episode sort of restored my faith in Moffat as a writer. Plus, even though I knew there were two seasons after this and everyone'd be fine, I still got invested and had to wonder: "How're they going to get out of this?"
River and Rory were brilliant and awesome this episode. I fell in love with both their characters this episode.
And my number one episode... Should come as no surprise to some of my readers, but anyway, here it is...
1. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (Series/Season 1)
:') I miss you...
I love this episode so much! The Doctor and Rose go back to WWII-Era London following a mysterious object. There, they meet the charming rogue Captain Jack Harness, and face a "child" who's infecting everyone with a strange affliction.
There are so many reasons that I love this one. First of all, Captain Jack Harkness. I loved this guy right off the bat. He is still my favorite companion. Second, Moffat's writing. It's a very well-written episode. It's fun, it's dramatic, and it's heartwarming. I remember checking to see how long I had so I could see part two. Something that didn't happen with the first two-parter this season.
A big was one Eccleston's acting. He was fantastic. The "everybody lives" scene was just so amazing. I loved seeing him so happy at the end. It cemented him as my favorite Doctor.
Most of all, it was what officially made me a fan of the show. Up until this episode, I thought Doctor Who was alright, but I wasn't in love with it. Then this came along. I saw how awesome the show could be. I realized I liked this episode. It made me a Whovian. So, of course I'd put it as my favorite episode.
---
So, those are my favorite episodes as of 2012. I hope you enjoyed, and hey, what are some of your favorites?
Last year at Thanksgiving, I wrote some "thank you" notes (in the style of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon). So this year, I'm going to do it again! And boy, do I have a lot of people to thank!
*Que Thank You Note Music*
Thank You, Joss Whedon,
For for making the BEST. SUPERHERO MOVIE. EVER.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, "Final Act" from Sherlock's Soundtrack,
For keeping me sane while fighting freaking Young Xehenort in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. I could've killed someone if not for you!
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance,
For making me a fan of Riku.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Skepkitty,
For doing your blog, The Half-World. It's always entertaining to read your MSTs.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Sherlock,
For finally convincing me to read the books, and subsequently making me a Sherlockian.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Robert Downey Jr.,
For being awesome. 'Nuff said.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Guy Ritchie,
For making one of the best movie series EVER!
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Hans Zimmer,
For being a fantastic composer!
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Joan Watson/Lucy Liu,
For being awesome!
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Christopher Eccleston,
For being my favorite Doctor. You, sir, are fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Steven Moffat,
For writing both my favorite Doctor Who episodes and favorite Sherlock episode.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Neil Gaiman,
For being a fantastic writer.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Mark Gatiss,
For writing my second favorite Sherlock episode, and being Mycroft.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Jude Law,
For setting my Watson standards, and just being neat.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Martin Freeman,
For RIPPING MY HEART OUT IN "THE REICHENBACH FALL"! ...Oh, and being charming...
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Benedict Cumberbatch,
For being wonderful.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, buddy2blogger,
For being the closest thing to a regular I have here, following my blog, and reading my Sherlock posts.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, UnicornSlayer,
For reading and commenting on that fanfic of mine. And encouraging my use of gifs. And following me.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Lythium33,
For the commenting conversation on the end of the world. It was really fun talking to you. Oh, and for following me!
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Anonymous (however many people you are),
For the comments. Especially my old friend who I know is (one of the) anon(s). I miss you!
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, Insane Guy of DOOM,
For killing me off spectacularly in that trollfic of yours! That made my life!
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, ASBuisnessMagnet,
For actually commenting here. And the shout-out and cameo in your fanfics!
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, TROXA and xion-puppet,
For more or less reassuring me that my Xion-defending post wasn't a terrible rant-y thing to post after all...
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, abby.spiaggi, OGO, and Neelam Ali,
For following this little blog of mine.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Thank You, My Family and Friends,
For being wonderful family and friends. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to be in my life.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
And...
Thank You, All My Readers I Failed To Mention Earlier,
For taking the time to read my ramblings, ravings, and rantings (oh my!).
I appreciate you guys.
Sincerely,
Loveable Freak
Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Enjoy your holiday, however you celebrate...
Hey, guys. I'm still... misplaced at the moment. But, I managed to hijackborrow a computer to type this post I had sitting around. So, I copied from the "Notes" app of my iPod onto Blogger from my device, and revised it here. But enough behind-the-scenes...
I really like Doctor Who. I loved Nine (Christopher Eccleston's Doctor). I enjoyed Ten (David Tennant's Doctor), at least until "Waters of Mars" (Series 3 was a tad boring, too, at least until Captain Jack and The Master came in/returned).
However, I'm not enjoying Eleven's (Matt Smith's) run as much. I recently finished "Cold Blood", but I'm just not as excited as I thought I would be to see the next episodes.
I'm not sure why, so let's try and pinpoint the reason.
1. Strong Opening
I loved Eleven's first full episode, "The Eleventh Hour". It was a fun episode full of great moments. A great introduction. But everything else has felt, well, not as amazing as that first episode. The episode I was closest to liking so far was "Vampires of Venice". It's almost as if the first was too good, in my opinion. So it set the bar too high for me.
2. High Expectations
I'm rather fond of Steven Moffat as a TV writer. After all, he wrote my all-time favorite Doctor Who episode(s): "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" (AKA the episodes where I fell in love with Nine). And my favorite episode in series one of Sherlock, "A Study in Pink". So, when I learned he was head writer for series 5-beyond of Doctor Who, I was pretty excited to get to series 5.
But so far, none of his episodes (save "Eleventh Hour") have been fantastic. I know, Moffat's not a perfect writer and can't please everyone. For example, the episode he wrote for Sherlock series two, "A Scandal in Belgravia", was probably my least favorite of that series (mostly because I wasn't 100% sold on his version of Irene Adler. But my least favorite episode of all is "The Blind Banker", just for the record).
I've just come to expect more from him, that's all.
3. Eleven Isn't What I Expected
I was expecting Eleven to be more, well, wacky. I was expecting more: "Bowties are cool!" and "Geronimo!" out of him. I guess I thought he'd be more of an adult child, if you know what I mean. More like the beginning of "Eleventh Hour". He's not as funny as I thought he was going to be.
I was also expecting to looooove Eleven. After all, his first episode went well. Same with Ten. I liked his first episode(s). But in the end, Nine was still my favorite. It's like one of those times where you hear about someone and people say you're going to love this guy, so you think they're going to be awesome, and you build them up in your mind as being fantastic. Then you finally meet them in real life, and they just sort of fall flat of what you were hoping they'd be like. (Not to say you can't hear about people and they turn out to be as awesome as they hoped, I'm just saying sometimes this could happen.)
Ironically, I thought I wouldn't like Nine, he didn't give me much of a good impression initially. Then I warmed up to him, juuuust in time for him to regenerate. *sigh* The TARDIS isn't always bigger in another Doctor's run...
Funny, the Doctor I thought would be my favorite is not, and the one I thought I'd like the least is the one I love the most. Strange, how life works.
4. Spoilers
Pintrest is a wonderful thing. It's introduced me (in a way) to people with the same interests as me, it's what got me to check out Sherlock and Doctor Who in the first place, and has piqued my interest in other things, like Supernatural. (Great, just what you guys need, for me to become a "SuperWhoLockian", or I guess it'd be "SuperAvengerWhoLockian", if that's considered official...)
Unfortunately, as most people are further ahead in the show than I, a lot of the stuff pinned has spoilers for the show. Specifically, where I am right now.
I can't just not follow or look at the pins, because there's no spoiler warnings (unless it's a video). And there's stuff on the Doctor Who boards about the other Doctors, and I don't want to miss out on them (especially stuff showing my man...erm...Time Lord Nine love). It is a quandary. (Oh, it's nice that this is probably the worst source of angst for me...)
Besides, I'm curious in nature. It's my downfall in places like TV Tropes with those hidden, blocked-out spoilers.
Anyway, in short, I know who River is. I know who Amy chooses. I know about Rory's... Erm... "reputation". Some of the ooh and ah is gone. Granted, spoilers aren't always bad (I knew about REICHENBACH! *scare chord* *thunder clap*, but I still nearly cried when I saw the end), but maybe the many Eleven spoilers have taken my enjoyment away.
So, what's to blame for my dissatisfaction? Is it the bar set by the first episode? Hey, it kept me watching, didn't it? My standards for Moffat? Nobody's perfect. My expectations for Eleven? Eh, gave me something to look forward to, and incentive to power though "rough patches" ... Spoilers? No, the people can't always be careful to make sure everyone isn't spoiled. And guess after a certain period of time, it's shouldn't be so bad to spoil something that's been out there for a while. I just don't know.
But who knows? Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. I'm only almost done with series five. It could get better.
Whovians of the Internet (especially the ones who've had similar thoughts to mine)! Tell me, does it get better? Please let me know!
So, this week my brother was playing the classic Super Mario Bros. 3. And we noticed how the Boos stop and shield their face when you look at them, but when you look away, they chase you. At that point, I had a silent revelation:
Can't look at you.
Don't attack when you look at them.
Attack when you're not looking.
The Boos are obviously relatives of The Weeping Angels. So any image of a Boo becomes itself a Boo. And you can't look them in the eyes, because they will infect you by implanting an image in your mind.
Muah ha ha! Sweet dreams, Mario fans who are also Whovians!
Ilove Doctor Who. It's a fantastic show. It and Sherlock are my two favorite TV shows right now, and I really enjoy it.
So far, The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) is my favorite. Wait, wait, hear me out, Ten and Eleven fans! Don't get me wrong, I like Ten and Eleven, but Nine has a special place in my heart right now. You see, he was my first Doctor.
At first, I wasn't so fond of Nine, he was alright, but very rough around the edges. Then came "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances". Those are my personal favorite episodes. Why? Well, there was the fact Moffat wrote it, Captain Jack Harkness made his debut...
...And Nine was just so happy at the end:
"Everybody lives, Rose. Just this once! Everybody Lives!"
That, and the fantastic smiles, were what finally, completely sold me on the show. I continued to enjoy the series/season after that.
Then, there was his tragic "death" (regeneration, whatever) at the finale:
"....You were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I..."
It's very sad to me that he didn't get at least another series. I mean, he seemed to be finally be fully adjusting from the Time War (in a way), and then, FWWOOOOM! New Doctor: "Now where was I? Oh yeah, Barcelona..." (Not that I dislike Ten. I liked him, too. I just didn't like what happened to him towards the end (Specifically, his behavior at the end of "The Waters of Mars" special, that disappointed me), poor guy went through a lot, too.)
(There's also the fact Jack only got a few companion episodes, but that's another post...)
I would love it if Nine got to have another appearance. Like, for example, in the 50th Anniversary Special, or a multi-Doctor story (a la "The Three Doctors" or "The Five Doctors"). I would like to see his reaction to his regenerations. It would most likely have to be a pre-"Rose" Nine, if they did a multi-doctor story, since I think it would cause all sorts of timey-wimey, plot-holey, continuity issues.
Honestly, I think Eccleston should get one last hurrah as The Doctor. After all, I feel we barely got to know him during his brief tenure.
Anyone else want to see a reappearance of Christopher Eccleston's Doctor for a multi-Doctor story?
So, I know a lot of Whovians want David Tennant to carry the torch for the 2012 Olympics in London. 'Cause, you know, he did it in Doctor Who,at the 2012 Olympics. But, sadly, I heard the current James Bond got the job.
But don't despair for the space-time continuum, fellow Doctor Who fans, I recently saw the episode where The Tenth Doctor (hey, anyone notice how meaningful David TENnant's name is, since he was The TENTH Doctor?) does this ("Fear Her"). He took up the torch AFTER the original runner passed out. He wasn't the initial guy.
So, obviously, what'll happen is Bond will pass out, and Tennant will rush in and carry the torch, light the cauldron, thus saving the day.
