In the thirteenth and final episode of the fifth series of Doctor Who, the impossible has happened: The universe has ceased to exist. In it’s place, a strange and slightly altered parallel universe has grown from the TARDIS exploding. A young Amelia Pond, who still believes in stars, becomes in involved in an increasingly complicated plot to restore the world that disappeared. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who.
Steven Moffat, this show is unmistakably yours.
As I am now at the end of series five and one special away from reaching a real-time Doctor Who reality, I’ve largely lived in the world of Russell T Davies. He certainly deserves the credit for bringING this series back to the public at large and doing so in a way that respects where Doctor Who came from. It’s a daunting task and there’s no denying that.
At the same time, with the level of popularity that the show had reached by the end of series 4, thanks largely in part to Davies, Tennant, Piper, Agyeman, and Tate, I sense that Steven Moffat had a gigantic set of shoes to step into. He’d had a good run writing for the show anyway, and that definitely helped. But how do you make a show your own after four years of intensely complex mythology? All of the old characters and companions were gone and Davies tenure was definitely over by the finale of “The End of Time.”
I commented during my review of “The Eleventh Hour” that it was pretty obvious that there were a few things incredibly “new” about the Eleventh Doctor and his brand new companion. (Actually, one of those things, in regards to cinematography, I can’t actually talk about until…Wednesday. Teehee.) Still, the character of the Doctor wasn’t invented by Moffat, nor was it created by Matt Smith. What’s so beautiful is that none of this matters. Over the course of thirteen episodes of the fifth series, we’ve been given one of the best Doctors of the entire series’s run, a companion who is just as important (and sometimes more so) than the Doctor, and a cast of side characters who only accentuate how well-written this new chapter of the story is.
And what a story it is. I’m reminded of a certain twist during LOST, which I’ll avoid talking about because I wouldn’t dream of spoiling it, where everything we’d seen before was now re-contextualized in a new light that gave the story a brand new meaning. With “The Pandorica Opens,” I think this may have been the most original and fascinating use of the “It’s-All-In-Your-Head” trope that I have ever seen. It helps that it’s not precisely that trope, as Moffat definitely twists it to be this fucked up, series-long con on the audience. But even aside from that, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a harrowing and awful cliffhanger in my whole life! (Awful meaning REALLY FUCKED UP, not BAD QUALITY) The sheer finality of the last couple minutes of “The Pandorica Opens” help to shape “The Big Bang” in ways that allow this finale to take us to places we would have never seen.
I mean….Amy died! The Doctor is trapped in the Pandorica! River Song exploded in the TARDIS! And how can the Doctor merely undo these things? It’s the end. We have watched the universe EXPLODE OUT OF EXISTENCE. !!!!!!!!!! “The Pandorica Opens” could have easily ended before the Pandorica closed, before Auton Rory shot Amy, before River song opened the door to stone. However, by giving these characters such definite endings long before the whole story is told, Moffat can now explore a completely separate world and universe. Literally.
SO YEAH. AN ENTIRE NEW WORLD. The universe collapses and disappears and a new earth grows into existence instead. In this alternate world, there are no stars, no planets, no other galaxies. Earth is a solitary thing, and Moffat takes us directly back to where we began: the house of young Amelia Pond. Even without the Doctor, in this strange world grown in a lonely universe, Amy still can’t help but gaze into the sky, waiting for someone to come. Does she subconsciously miss the Doctor? Does she still remember him deep inside of her mind? I really love that this starts off with Amy, because while the negative aspect of the series-long con was built on Amy’s memories, now we get to see creation due to her imagination.
I don’t want to turn this review into a giant summary because I’d rather spend time talking about what the first half of “The Big Bang” does. Much like “Blink,” a large part of this episode involves the creation and execution of multiple ontological paradoxes, stemmed from the Doctor’s desire not only to get himself out of the Pandorica, but to save Amy in the process. Feeding on the same curious desire that caused the “new” Amelia Pond to draw stars in the sky, the Doctor leads Amelia to the National Museum, where we learn of the alternate world that’s cropped up in place of what used to exist. The Pandorica is there, and when Amelia finally touches it, she activates it and….she steps out. Well, the older version of her. Which…WHAT. HOW CAN SHE BE INSIDE THE PANDORICA. ISN’T SHE DEAD.
What transpires after this can best be described in two words: entertaining and brilliant. As we watch the complex method in which time travel allows the Doctor to escape the Pandorica, get Amy inside of it, and visit his own time stream to save his life is one of the more gripping collections of scenes on this entire show. It’s just plain fun to try and piece the time line together, especially while one happens chronologically and for the Doctor happens out of order. Well….one Doctor. Both? Bah, I’m already getting confused.
But I don’t call this brilliant because it’s complex. Working out a complex plot in a way to avoid plot holes dealing with time travel is certainly a feat in and of itself, but that’s not what I’m complimenting here. As the Doctor uses River’s time vortex manipulator to pop back in time to give himself the crucial information or physical objects he and others need to get where they are (ONTOLOGICAL PARADOXES, I LOVE YOU SO), I couldn’t ignore the growing sense of dread I was feeling. I don’t think that the first half of this episode was particularly whimsical or anything, but it was fairly impossible not to watch these scenes with a grin on my face. You feel hope. You feel like the Doctor will actually make it out alive and find a way to reverse time and everything will be ok and there will be hugs and Jammy Dodgers for all. So, in this sense, Steven Moffat uses joy to build dread. WHO DOES THAT. SERIOUSLY WHAT IS GOING ON IN HIS BRAIN.
Before we discuss what that dread leads to, it is important to acknowledge Rory. Beautiful, brilliant Rory. The Girl Who Waited now has The Boy Who Waited. I know my black heart is frozen with hate, but I could not deny how romantic and amazing it is that Rory, even as an Auton, waits TWO THOUSAND YEARS by Amy’s side to protect her. No, let it sink in, and try to conceive of the idea. Two. Thousand. Years. Rory, you are seriously brilliant.
Annnnnnnddddddddd that’s when everything starts to fall apart. Well, in an ordered way, I suppose, since we learn that the Doctor intended for things to end up this way. When the Doctor shows up in front of all them and dies, just before whispering something key to himself, and the universe further begins to collapse. Young Amelia disappears, the future Doctor is dead, and they have just twelve minutes until whatever happens that kills the Doctor happens. (Wow, that sentence is a mouthful.) And that…phew, there is a lot going on here, isn’t there? Thankfully, Moffat’s script never seems bogged down by the weight of the plot, which is incredibly complicated at this point. But I think that the emotion that gives this all a specific context is what saves it.
Plottiness aside, as we come to realize the “sun” is actually the exploding TARDIS, that River is not actually dead, and that the Doctor also did not die from the Dalek attack, this episode jettisons into UNBELIEVABLY FANTASTIC pretty much immediately. In a way, it felt like the ending of this series almost could have been the ending of the entire show, or at least the end of this specific Doctor. The Doctor’s regeneration or actual death could have been placed on screen and I would have believed it. Willing to sacrifice his entire existence to save the universe, the Doctor straps himself into the Pandorica, planning to put himself directly into the explosion of the TARDIS so that the universe can be restored throughout time. In the process, he’ll have to seal himself on the other side of the Time Crack. Never existed. Ever.
How fucked is it that Amy always had parents, but the Time Crack erased them from her memory? As the Doctor moves back over the current series, revisiting crucial scenes, I was shocked at how much series five was re-contextualized with this moment. Moffat had easily planned this all along. Amy Pond literally made no sense, and it was due to the crack in her wall. Ugh, ok, my throat is getting all funny and weird, just thinking about that scene in 1996 where the Doctor puts The Girl Who Waited to bed. THIS IS SERIOUSLY SO SAD.
And this is also why I love the definitive nature of the cliffhanger in “The Pandorica Opens.” Without it, would we have seen Amy wake up on June 26, 2010, her timeline restored, to watch her wedding to Rory? To see her “meet” her parents again, to see her slowly remember pieces of the Doctor, the bow tie, the suspenders, the image of River Song delivering her wedding gift…that speech she gives at her wedding is MONUMENTAL.
“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…”
Amy remembers the Doctor. And that small act restores him, and I know it’s really cheesy, but it is such a goddamn beautiful moment. I DON’T CARE. Ugh, this episode. The Doctor has returned, Amy and Rory are married, and more adventures in the TARDIS await. I am perfectly fine with a series ending without loss for once. It finally feels right.
THOUGHTS
- Be forewarned, I have A LOT OF THESE.
- OK SO RIVER IS MARRIED. AND TO THE DOCTOR? Or someone else? And what the fuck is up with River Song? WHO IS SHE? Ugh. Well, I do like that there are still unanswered questions at the end of series five. Gives the show a much grander scope and feel.
- Who are the Silence? Why didn’t we find out who they are?
- I was genuinely surprised there was no Captain Jack Harkness in this episode. But the fifth Doctor seems to have completely moved on from all his old companions, yes?
- That scene during “Forest of the Dead” that was shown to be the Doctor rewinding through time and begging Amy to remember was strange at the time, but I thought nothing of it. FUCKING AMAZING.
- I want to go to Space Florida. 🙁
- “I dated a Nestene duplicate once. Swappable heads. Do keep things fresh.”
- “It’s a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool.” PLEASE WEAR THIS AGAIN IN THE FUTURE. Fuck the haters.
- “I don’t trust that Richard Dawkins.”
- I didn’t notice this until the second time around, but in the Lone Universe Earth, there are penguins. In the Nile.
- Watching Rory punch the Doctor in the face = joy. Never thought I’d type that.
- “Raggedy Man, I remember you, and you are LATE FOR MY WEDDING!”
- “Oh, it’s all mouths today, isn’t it?”
- MUST QUOTE THIS: “It’s funny, I thought if you could hear me, I could hang on somehow. Silly me. Silly Doctor. When you wake up, you’ll have a mum and dad, and you won’t even remember me. Well, you’ll remember me a little. I’ll be a story in your head. But that’s ok. We’re all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? Because it was, you know, it was the best: a daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away. Did I ever tell you I stole it? Well, I borrowed it; I was always going to take it back. Oh, that box, Amy, you’ll dream about that box. It’ll never leave you. Big and little at the same time, brand-new and ancient, and the bluest blue, ever. And the times we had, eh? Would’ve had. Never had. In your dreams, they’ll still be there. The Doctor and Amy Pond…and the days that never came. The cracks are closing. But they can’t close properly ’til I’m on the other side. I don’t belong here anymore. I think I’ll skip the rest of the rewind. I hate repeats. Live well. Love Rory. Bye-bye, Pond.” OH MY CREYS.
- UGH I LOVE DOCTOR WHO. “A Christmas Carol” is tomorrow, new series starts on Wednesday, and then DW liveblogging series 6 begins on April 23!!!!!
Excuse me while I clog the comments…
WE'RE BACK AT THE BEGINNING?!
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THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS STARS?!
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LEAFLET?!
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AMY INSIDE THE PANDORICA?!
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DOCTOR?! FEZ?! MOP?!
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DEAD DOCTOR?!
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THE TARDIS IS THE SUN?!
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RIVER DATED A NESTENE DUPLICATE?!
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DALEKS FEAR RIVER?!
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BIG BANG 2?!
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THE DOCTOR BACK IN THE BYZANTIUM FOREST?!
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THE DOCTOR IS GONE?!
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AMY HAS PARENTS?!
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WEDDING?!
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AMY REMEMBERS HIM BACK INTO EXISTENCE?!
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RIVER, DOCTOR, MARRIAGE?!
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THE SILENCE IS STILL OUT THERE?!
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I CAN'T EVEN.
I can't stop laughing.
THIS COMMENT. All the lolz. 😀
It's a beautiful synchronicity here. Gorgeous.
Four for you, Rewritten Coco. You go, Rewritten Coco.
None for Gretchen Wiener.
One of the things I adore about this season is the little moments that tell us a great deal about the characters. One is during the phone call Amy makes to Rory before the wedding, when she says, "Are you only saying yes because you're scared of me?" and he says "…yes." and she responds with "love you."
(AND RORY IS NOT THE LEAVING TYPE. Not ever. Amy's crazy can't drive him away. Because he's not the leaving type.)
She'd said in Amy's Choice that she loved Rory and she never told him. But in the reboot universe, she clearly tells him ALL THE TIME. That "love you" wasn't a momentous thing, it was normal. Small. Simple.
I also like the "determining the year from Little Pond's height and hair." I think there's an interview where Karen was thinking that Amy was thinking "Dude, I had that haircut?" but I always took it as "based on height and length of hair, I determine it is about 1996. Also, complicated."
And my favorite small moment of Matt's is the "I have this fez, suddenly. I don't- I don't know what I ought to do with it, so on the head it goes." I know there's a gif of it somewhere, and I totally do that. Sometimes it's mixing bowls.
I never really thought about the significance of that "love you", before this. That is an AWESOME observation. This season really is all about the subtle characterization and I really adore it as well.
Also, gif!
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THAT'S THE ONE! Thank you! (Seriously, I do that.)
Well… umm…. I may have been a TAD premature when saying The Pandorica Opens was perfect because this, if anything, is even better. Finally, FINALLY, we have a proper timey-wimey finish to a series that’s based on time travel and, better still, Moffat manages to come up with a ton of stable time loops that actually work, there’s virtually no cheating going on here. And those bits that ARE a bit iffy (Amy being able to touch her younger self) are explained in-universe so no problems there either (that particular case Amy and Amielia aren’t quite the same person, Amy after all grew up with a sky fall of stars).
The tone is wonderful, going from rip your heart out moments (“you’d have laughed at that… please laugh”) to wonderful comedy in a heartbeat yet somehow still feeling totally natural and true to what Who should be. The resolution of the cliffhanger is SUPERB, I didn’t see a single soul guess that one before it aired and the callbacks to the start of the series work perfectly. The traditional running through corridors is done very well indeed, the… hmm, I’m just gonna end up praising the whole damn thing aren’t I? Okay, change of tack, the top 4 things in no particular order:
1) River. Oh River, you BAMF you. Let’s make this clear for a second, she took on a Dalek one-on-one, made it go “Oh Crap” and beg for mercy… Who the hell is this woman?!?! She’s also a great character to have around as it lets the writer shift some of the exposition away from the Doctor and, in so doing, open up a world of possibilities (such as having the Doctor effectively out of the action for a good five to ten minutes in the finale). More importantly though she’s an interesting character, always seeming to throw up another question when you think you’ve got a handle on her and is a ton of fun to watch. Alex is having a blast here and it shows, thank god they got her for the role and can the 23rd of April hurry the hell up!
2) Amy. I’ve made it very very clear in the past that I adore Amy but she gets to shine here. It’s a mix of great character stuff and wonderful delivery from Karen but the moment she sees the story of the mysterious Roman Centurian and puts everything together…. breaks your heart. The last, what, ten minutes or so though… we’ve been building up to that moment at her wedding all series and it’s SUCH a satisfying moment. Being able to stand there, in front of (presumably) everyone she knows and have the confidence to say they’re wrong, she’s right and reality better damn well give her back HER Doctor right now (the best bit is it DOES!)… considering everything she’s gone through in the last 14 years of her life finding the courage to do that is a punch-the-air moment. The fact it’s done to that wonderful soundtrack and the TARDIS Vworp’ing in almost in time to ‘something old…’ just makes it a true crowning moment of awesome. And then I dissolve in hysterics when she tries to look down at the Doctor’s finger on her lips… god knows why, it’s just a fantastically funny look. Oh and for future reference to the costume department: Never ever ever cover up Karen’s hair ever again, even with a translucent veil. It’s a crime against all laws of god and man.
3) Matt Smith. I’m making a slight distinction on this one because while the Doctor is remarkable here and kicks all kinds of ass (easily his best finale performance since the show came back) Matt managed to go above and beyond even that. His performance in the scene with young Amielia telling her the story of the TARDIS in her bedroom is genuinely spellbinding… young body, old soul and you have to remind yourself to breathe. At the same time we get a comedy performance that seems so natural you buy it completely with the fez, mop and all the other silliness going on. The sheer depth and subtlety and emotion on display here is just a thing of joy and Moffat should immediately begin the cloning process. And, while we’re on the subject of Matt and the Doctor, I just want to talk to RTD for a moment. This, THIS, is how Ten should have gone out god damnit! None of this whiny emo nonsense, throwing himself into the void saving all of reality with a smile on his face and an Alonsy on the air. Mutter mutter grumble.
4) Oh dear… this should be Arthur, it really should. Rory gets a wonderful part here and Arthur is great but… sorry, I’ve got to go with the production team. This episode (and the Pandorica Opens) looks GORGEOUS. There’s no way you’d guess this is a TV show in some scenes and the lighting, costume and design departments are all working together here to an almost astonishing degree. The shot on the roof where the Fez is cruelly killed off is a great example, it looks wonderful, ALL the cast look great and Karen in particular is almost shining. Then we have the wonderful greens of the Pandorica, the subdued lighting in Amielia’s bedroom and on and on and on.
"Moffat should immediately begin the cloning process."
Absolutely. I normally say that about Karen Gillan more than Matt, but this whole cast goddamn.
"Never ever ever cover up Karen’s hair ever again, even with a translucent veil. It’s a crime against all laws of god and man."
QFT.
No no, Moffat can clone Matt Smith, I've already got the Karen cloning well in hand. Got the burlap sack ready and everything….
Haha, this somehow made me think of the scene in "The Little Mermaid" where Ariel is human and dresses herself in a cast-off sail. Good times.
Agreed on all points. 🙂
Oh Big Bang, how I love thee. Let me count the ways!
I love you for your ~TWWW~ closed time-loop madness, http://www.flickr.com/photos/bladewood/4745071483…
And your humor.
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I love your Amys,
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(Cont’d)
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And your Rorys.
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Your Rivers,
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(Cont’d)
And your Doctors.
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I love that you made me cry all the tears during my favorite sequence in all of Who,
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(Cont’d)
And punch the air with triumphant laughter and sheer joy!
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I love your change in tone, and pace, and your intimate scale.
I love your music,
Amy’s Starless Life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvmlnRRzGFM
I Remember You: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq_dBvckHWQ
And your fairytale ending to a fairytale season.
But most of all, I love that you left me with a huge grin on my face, yearning for more!
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ONWARDS!
Btw, this is a fantastic article on Amy’s character arc and development: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/12/moffats-women-am…
Epic gifspam is epic and a thing of pure beauty!
Seconded!
Amazing gifs! I'm just gonna sit here and watch the Doctor dance forever! Yay time loops!
BEST. GIFSPAM. EVER!!!
Beautiful! Simply beautiful!
I couldn't have said it any better myself.
FLAWLESS GIFSPAM.
Blegh, school project going on- so I'm just going spam images, and links.
SUMMARY OF EPISODE:
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Rory and Amy:
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OMG THOSE GIFS ARE BEYOND AWESOME!!!
Especially the first.
You're my tiny little dad!
I love Amy and her tiny little dad! Excellent gifs!
Pure brilliance. Especially Ror-E.
Loving the Rory/Amy gifs, particularly the first three 🙂
River Song and general:
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The HP comparison is EPIC and PERFECT!
The HP picture is utterly perfect, and those "EXTREME ADVERTISING GQ MOTHERFUCKER" (I don't know what to call it) are great.
Links:
Doctor Who Confidential: Matt and the Fez
Doctor Who – Test Drive music video
Doctor Who Series 5 summed up in 2 minutes to 'Can-Can'
A general macro-ish summary of The Big Bang
Oooh, the Can-Can one. So good. It sounds cheesy, but SO GOOD. I have it on my desktop and watch it whenever I have two minutes to burn. It makes everything wonderful.
Another recommendation: And I Must Scream. The Doctor is locked into the Pandorica… non-spoilery line: "It occurs to him five minutes later that he is still screaming and his throat is not sore."
That's… kinda terrifying. Fantastically so.
I KNOW. Thank you TV Tropes Fanfic Recommendation page, for making me VERY UNCOMFORTABLE and also QUITE A BIT SCARED.
Oh man. I've definitely read that one, and have it in my bookmarks. It really is deserving of it's title.
“OK, kid. This is where it gets complicated.”
The Big Bang is everything you could ever want in a Doctor Who finale; all the timey-wimey goodness that Steven Moffat can offer with just a pinch of angst and drama that we’d grown used to in every finale of New Who.
A few of my favourite things from the episode:
“A lump of plastic with delusions of humanity.”
“Will she be safer if I stay? […]Then how could I leave her?”
“Why do you have to be so…human?” “Because, right now, I’m not.”
Rory waiting for Amy 2000 years. The Lonely Centurion guarding the Pandorica, protecting Amy from every threat until the time came for her to return. And I’m glad the Doctor acknowledges that sacrifice:
“2000 years. The boy who waited. Good on you, mate.” Don’t make me cry again, show!
“I’m sorry, my love.”
“Hi, honey, I’m home.”
“And what sort of time do you call this?”
We may have no clue who River Song is but I love her wifey/husbandy banter with the Doctor in this episode. Also:
“What in the name of sanity have you got on your head?”
“It’s a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezes are cool.”
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I love the fez! Please come back, fez!
Now for…Amy and the Doctor!
*Continueeeed*
Amy and the Doctor. This was my favourite part of the episode. The relationship between the Doctor and his companion has always played a huge part in Doctor Who but I feel Amy’s and the Doctor’s has been highlighted in a special way throughout Series 5 and especially during their conversation before the Doctor throws himself into the heart of the explosion:
“Amy Pond. The girl who waited. All night in your garden. Was it worth it?”
He takes the time, the last precious moments he has to live, to explain to his best friend exactly how special she is. “Amy Pond. All alone. The Girl Who Didn't Make Sense. How could I resist?” He takes the time to make her remember her family, to make sure she’s not alone when she wakes up in this new universe without him.
“Hello, universe. Goodbye, Doctor.”
Soon, during the rewinding and erasing of his time stream, the Doctor returns to the first night he met Amelia Pond. His special bond with Amelia is again highlighted; picking the girl who waited up, tucking her in bed and telling her his story. His story about the big and little, old and new, stolen and borrowed Blue Box:
It's funny. I thought if you could hear me I could hang on somehow. See me. See the old Doctor. When you wake up you'll have a mum and dad. And you won't even remember me. Well. You'll remember me a little. I'll be a story in your head. That's okay. We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? 'Cause it was, you know. It was the best. The daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away. Did I ever tell you that I stole it? Well I borrowed it. I was always going to take it back. Oh, that box. Amy, you'll dream about that box. It'll never leave you. Big and little at the same time. Brand new and ancient and the bluest blue ever. And the times we had, eh? Would have had. Never had. In your dreams they'll still be there. The Doctor and Amy Pond. And the days that never came…”
And, finally, his goodbye:
“The cracks are closing. But they can't close properly 'til I'm on the other side. I don't belong here anymore. I think I'll skip the rest of the rewind. I hate repeats. Live well. Love Rory. Bye bye, Pond.”
I like to think if he’d continued the rewind, we’d see his life and all his old companions. But one goodbye, to Amy, was enough.
And Amelia Pond, that special girl, the Girl who Waited, didn’t forget him or his story. She remembered him, just as she remembered her family, just as she remembered her own Boy who Waited:
“When I was a kid I had an imaginary friend. The Raggedy Doctor. My Raggedy Doctor. But he wasn't imaginary. He was real. I remember you. I remember! I brought the others back; I can bring you home too. Raggedy Man, I remember you and you are late for my wedding! I found you. I found you with words like you knew I would. That's why you told me the story. The brand new ancient blue box. Oh clever. Very clever. Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. Something blue.”
And so ends Series 5, my favourite series of Doctor Who. Possibly because it’s the first one I’d ever seen in its entirety. Probably because it’s been one the most consistently brilliant stories of Doctor Who. And definitely because of Matt Smith, who is, without a doubt my Doctor.
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Goodbye, Series 5!
Bring it on, Series 6!
"And so ends Series 5, my favourite series of Doctor Who. Possibly because it’s the first one I’d ever seen in its entirety. Probably because it’s been one the most consistently brilliant stories of Doctor Who. And definitely because of Matt Smith, who is, without a doubt MY Doctor. "
THIS.
And then River makes me break my heart with this line: "He doesn't really know me yet. Now he never will." It makes the Library eps all the more poignant – she's already lived through this whole ordeal in that two-parter, and so she's already wondered by the Library eps what it would be like to lose the Doctor without him really getting to know her the way she knows him. And then, later in her future, it turns out that her last act will be to sacrifice herself for a version of him that doesn't even know or trust her. The way River called Ten so young at the Library now makes me think of how much older and wiser River must have been then. In a way, she's sort of been ready for it. Okay, she wasn't ready for the Doctor to meet her for the first time, but she was ready to accept her fate at loving a man who doesn't know her, and sacrificing her life for a man who she simply has to trust will learn to know and trust her. She has the maturity to accept the situation for what it is, and the patience to interact with someone who doesn't actually know her, no matter how well she knows him. In all the episodes we've seen her in, River hasn't been with her Doctor. It really is a heartbreaking story for the two of them, and it makes me so eager to see River much earlier in her life where she doesn't get the Doctor or get why he's so interested in her.
The Doctor going back into his time stream is amazing and gives us some of the loveliest scenes from this show ever, in my opinion. Firstly, let me just say that we on the spoiler board spent a fair amount of time discussing how important it was that no one spoil the Flesh and Stone jacket!Doctor for Mark. Bravo, Moffat, cause that was one of the best bits of detail I've seen on this show, and it makes rewatching S5 a joy.
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/2wgvs77.gif">(Source)
Sometimes people say Moffat doesn't do character development, or that he doesn't do themes. Are these people even watching the same show that I am? Look at this season. Look at Amy and Rory coming together and finding each other in a way they never achieved before. Look at little Amelia, alone in a big house, unafraid of the strange man who landed in her backyard. Look at how she grew into an adult with abandonment issues and how she was robbed of a proper childhood. And so she ran off the Doctor before her wedding day, because that's what someone who's had such a fucked up life as Amy did needs to do for herself: she needs to experience the adventures with the Doctor that she never got as a child, and because people kept telling her it wouldn't happen, and that it was a fantasy. Amy Pond has commitment and abandonment issues, so at the first opportunity she gets, she runs away from her real life, because it's scary and has let her down before, and instead goes on a fantastical adventure with an unbelievable man.
That's the point – travelling with the Doctor is a fantasy and a fairy tale and a magestic story that feels unlike anything else. Look at the TARDIS – a great big blue spaceship and time machine dressed in vibrant blue wood that looks unreal.
And so Amy/Amelia wakes up, and there are stars, and she has parents, and the Doctor was just a dream. Because the Doctor and his TARDIS are too good to be true. Because Amy Pond was running from her life, and people aren't allowed to do that – they have to grow up sometime.
(continued)
But then Amy remembers, because sometimes life can be a fairy tale, and the most fantastical things can be true. With the help of a fairy godmother (who is so amazing and magical as to be a fantasy herself), giving her a wonderful wedding present (and one of the best props created for this show), Amy Pond fucking remembers the Doctor. As the Doctor said in The Eleventh Hour, you should never grow up. Sometimes, people are allowed to go off on those fantastic journeys, and they don't have to look back; they don't have to be boring, stable adults living a normal life. Amy Pond is mad and impossible, and her life was never destined to be ordinary. Sometimes, the stories are real, and grown-ups can take off on their wedding day with their imaginary friend, with their lovely new spouse, and MARRIED COUPLE IN THE TARDIS, FUCK YEAH!
<img src="http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/2770/dwamyweddingbookcry.gif">
<img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/vobyg3.gif">
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/nflkyw.gif">(Source)
Look, I'm a Doylist, and even I can see and appreciate what Moffat has been doing with the story, even if I'd rather talk about other things like gender roles and Amy's sexuality and River's awesomeness and Rory's insecurities, and what that all means in today's world.
But to bring in the Doylist standpoint, Amy remembers the Doctor, and as a stand-in for the audience, Doctor Who lives on, even when it was cancelled and no one thought it would ever come back – some fans remembered the show and never let go, and we have those fans to thank, who became writers and producers and all the rest, and gave us new Who and brought me a show I utterly fell in love with. It's Amy, who created her comics and dolls, and had pretend adventures and cosplay, who brought the Doctor back. AMY IS FANDOM, AND SHE REPRESENTS OUR POWER, because it's fans of the show, like Moffat and RTD and just about everyone else involved since 2005, who brought this show back to life.
And to talk about those gender roles, it's the woman who gets to be the one with commitment issues, and gets to be the one to run away from marriage, but who ultimately learns to embrace her lovely new spouse. And it's the guy who gets to be insecure and worried about his importance to her and the stability of their relationship. It's Amy who gets to be sexual and confident and who gets to do this on her wedding day:
<img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/34hz88o.gif">
I'm sure some people hated it, but you know what? Amy's Choice told us that no, Amy doesn't have to choose; she can have both of these fantastic men in her life at once. Choosing the Doctor was choosing Rory, and there's nothing stopping her from having them both.
And it's Rory who gets to be Mr. Pond.
<img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/2zee63q.gif">
Even though RTD gave us THE GAY AGENDA, the Doctor/companion roles were surprisingly heteronormative during his reign. I really love that Moffat has given us Amy and Rory, and River and the Doctor, which represent two of the most non-heteronormative relationships I've ever seen on television (fuck you, gender roles!). And I really can't wait to see what he's going to do with the four of them in S6.
In conclusion, RIVER FUCKING SONG:
<img src="http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/2023/dwriverhairspoilers.jpg">
This is a beautiful comment <3
Even though RTD gave us THE GAY AGENDA, the Doctor/companion roles were surprisingly heteronormative during his reign. I really love that Moffat has given us Amy and Rory, and River and the Doctor, which represent two of the most non-heteronormative relationships I've ever seen on television (fuck you, gender roles!). And I really can't wait to see what he's going to do with the four of them in S6.
This. All of it.
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If I even started I would end up quoting your whole comment back at you. Never enough +1.
BRAVO for this whole comment.
First, that gif of Amelia… ;______;.
IT'S FUNNY CAUSE THEY'RE TOTALLY NOT HETERONORMATIVE AND THEY'RE BASICALLY ROLE PLAYING. And that's why I'm okay if they're ever married. Non-conventional relationships FTW.
So agreed. Their dynamic is new and interesting and I just love it.
River of Tears is probably my favorite piece of music out of the whole season. So, yay!
Sometimes people say Moffat doesn't do character development, or that he doesn't do themes. Are these people even watching the same show that I am?
Word to all of that. I just simply can't wrap my mind around it.
Even though RTD gave us THE GAY AGENDA, the Doctor/companion roles were surprisingly heteronormative during his reign. I really love that Moffat has given us Amy and Rory, and River and the Doctor, which represent two of the most non-heteronormative relationships I've ever seen on television (fuck you, gender roles!). And I really can't wait to see what he's going to do with the four of them in S6.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
And there, I basically did what psycicflower said she would do, and quoted your whole comment back. 😛
&you;
I LOVE YOU.
OMG the last part- I copied a bit to QFT, but then I kept reading and I might as well copy the whole thing the way I was going! But yes yes YES to Amy and the idea that the whole remembering plot is sort of metaphorical for the show and its fans, and yes to the lovely non-heteronormative relationships! Seriously, guys, does it matter that Moffat says stupid shit in interviews when he gives us nearly the opposite on the show?
I have a tendency to use gifs a lot right around the time I get them, and I was going to use it in my own post and probably will- but you deserve it too. Have a creepy River expressing my stalker-like appreciation for this review:
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This was a incredibly beautiful comment. I won't highlight my favourite parts because I'd just copypaste everything.
Have all the upvotes!
<img src="http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af132/xsaturated/Random%20Gifs/2iagcqe.gif"/>
In other news, you are beautiful and eloquent. I especially agree with your comments about gender roles in this current series, because it's so true.
This post was a thing of beauty. I come baring gifts…
<img src="http://i44.tinypic.com/2up9r9i.jpg">
But to bring in the Doylist standpoint, Amy remembers the Doctor, and as a stand-in for the audience, Doctor Who lives on, even when it was cancelled and no one thought it would ever come back – some fans remembered the show and never let go, and we have those fans to thank, who became writers and producers and all the rest, and gave us new Who and brought me a show I utterly fell in love with. It's Amy, who created her comics and dolls, and had pretend adventures and cosplay, who brought the Doctor back. AMY IS FANDOM, AND SHE REPRESENTS OUR POWER, because it's fans of the show, like Moffat and RTD and just about everyone else involved since 2005, who brought this show back to life.
This is one of my favorite comments in all of Mark Watches history. Thank you.
Well, shit. Thank you.
Mark, this seems like a really good time to say: thank you SO much for doing this. It's been an absolute joy seeing your reaction to Who (and initial rumblings are you may have picked a very very good time to get caught up…) and so refreshing seeing someone set out to enjoy something rather than tear it to shreds to prove their analytical skills (sadly seems to be the way of t'nterwebs).
More importantly perhaps you manage to be consistently entertaining and thought provoking, although I have learned not to be drinking anything while reading your reviews for fear of needing to replace keyboard / laptop / iPad.
Thank you again, really looking forward to seeing Series 6 along with you.
Seconding this as hard as I possibly can. Admittedly, I'm new to the whole "Mark Watches" scene, but I've been rereading his Doctor Who stuff, and it's great. Thanks, Mark!
ITA with this. This whole project has been enormously fun anf has given me anew perspective on this show that I love so much. Mark and all of the commenters here, YOU ARE ALL AMAZING!
Seconded!
ALL THE THANKS TO YOU, MARK! *hugs*
This so much. It was so much fun watching someone else become sucked into the Whoniverse. Kind of like watching it all for the first time again.
MARK WATCHES DOCTOR WHO IS NOT OVER. I will continue this with the new series and have some surprises along the way.
Thank you, Stephen, and everyone else. This has been amazing.
Thank YOU! Thank you so much for watching this series and giving us all a place to be the wacky fun commenters we are, it's been such a wonderful experience and I'm glad it's not over. This place is why I was so seriously devastated that I lost internet from Friday till earlier today: I wouldn't have cared so much if it hadn't been for my missing of all of you and your reviews, Mark. I can't wait to experience series six together!
Heh, oh we know it's not over Mark (you think it's that easy to escape us?) but if we wait for you to finish before saying thank you we'll be waiting a loooooooooooong time! There's something like 400 books (including novelizations), at least another couple of hundred audio adventures, a load of comic books and, of course, the classic series.
The only pain is that live blogging S6 will pretty much exclude us UK types who will be safely tucked up in bed by then 🙁 Ah well, we can catch up afterwards (and will there be an additional review like you've done for Fringe?).
I can't agree enough. This has been the best! <3
When I first saw this episode I actually didn't like it 🙁 🙁 I know, I know, I'm ashamed m(_ _)m But that was because I didn't realize that the Silence story line wasn't actually over and I thought the Moff wasn't going to explain what the Silence was. Once again, I was wrong and Moffat continues to own my soul and mess with my mind (SO MUCH WIBBLY WOBBLY TIMEY WIMEY I CAN'T HANDLE IT'S TOO AMAZING)
I'm also still not 100% convinced/don't completely understand Big Bang 2. It just seems SUPER CONVENIENT that when the universe is restarted, things work out exactly the same as they did before. Maybe that's just what happens when you use a TARDIS to restart the universe 🙂
Overall, I think it's the best series finale of nu-Who and I bow to Moffat. Seriously. HE WINS EVERYTHING. And even though I do miss Tennant, how can I not love Eleven?
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I mean, LOOK AT THIS DANCE MOVE!!!
EVERYBODY DO THE DRUNKEN GIRAFFE!
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Last of the music from me since I don’t have the soundtrack for the next episode. My absolute favourite from the episode is The Sad Man With A Box It’s a gorgeous piece and a great companion to ‘The Mad Man With A Box’ from the start of the series. My other favourites are The Patient Centurion You And Me Amy I Remember You which are all amazing.
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/9apf5v.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"> ‘Where’s the Dalek?’ ‘It died.’
River Song can make a Dalek beg for mercy. Aside from the fact that it’s a BAMF thing to be able to do, because that goes without saying, it does also make me more curious about River’s history. The Dalek assumes that it’s safe low on power and without shielding because the Doctor’s companions show mercy but not only do the Daleks know of River but they know she’s apparently not quite regular companion material.
<img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/kbykgw.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"> ‘Hi, honey. I'm home.’ ‘And what sort of time do you call this?’
I love the dynamic between the Doctor and River and I love their banter. Much like with River’s death in ‘Forest of the Dead’ I feel so bad for River having to cope with the fact the Doctor doesn’t know her as well as she knows him at a moment when the Doctor’s going to be erased from existence. She deals with it and gets on with what she has to do but it still makes me sad and shows the downside of the relationship between the Doctor and River, whatever form that relationship takes. I do love their conversation at the end of the episode with the Doctor loving to dance at weddings and not peeking in River’s journal but I especially love the ’Are you married, River?’. Like the Doctor’s going to get a straight answer about his future from River.
(continued)
This is probably my favorite season finale from Doctor Who, though the competition is tough. Still, I just love this finale from start to end.
I love that we begin with little Amelia but this time, the Doctor doesn’t come. I loved the bit about Amelia thinking there should be stars, and the therapist (I think?) talking about how there were star cults and Richard Dawkins. It was funny. And the museum was interesting, with the Daleks and penguins. I like that Amelia was sneaky enough to hide. And when the Pandorica opened and Amelia was inside, I was just like “HOLY SHIT!”
And then, Rory and Amy. I like that Rory was just sitting there talking to her dead body. Because really, what was he supposed to do? And then the Doctor shows up. I know a lot of people are bothered by the fact that the Doctor saves himself blahblah paradox but I, personally, love that kind of thing. And I love that he kept popping in and out and Rory was just like ?! every time.
So he lets the Doctor out of the Pandorica, which is nice. I like that Rory was the one to do so. And I love the moment where he brings the Doctor to see Amy and the Doctor says that he doesn’t have time to save her and Amy isn’t that important and Rory punches him. Yay, Rory! And of course, it was actually a ~secret test~ by the Doctor. So they stick Amy in the Pandorica and Rory decides to stay because he is a very romantic Nestene Duplicate. I like the Doctor’s list of warning to him.
Amy and little Amelia are adorable. I love how little Amelia is so no-nonsense and Amy is sort of weirded out by her younger self but doesn’t really focus on it. A lot of people had issue with the fact that they were able to touch no problem, but I’m okay with it since the universe is collapsing and so normal rules don’t apply. Also, they aren’t completely all that similar anymore- Amy grew up with stars and Amelia did not. So, I’m cool with it, though a line of explanation would be nice.
The scene where Rory returns is just the most amazing thing. It is! When Amy is reading about the “lone centurion” (did you really spend all that time in only one outfit, Rory, or did you put it on for special Pandorica occaisons?) and gets all teary, it is just the saddest thing. Then the Dalek comes alive and Amy tries to shield Amelia with her body, which is sweet. Then the Doctor arrives but can’t really do anything. But the reveal where the security guard drops the flashlight and opens his hand and it’s ~RAWRY HI RAWRY~ is the most amazing thing. And then their reunion is the cutest. FINALLY. And heehee at the Doctor being all weirded out by their kissing. “Breathe!”
And then on the roof, River. God, I love River and I think Eleven kind of does, too. The way he looks at her when he appears in the TARDIS~ And then she blasts his fez with Amy. Hee hee. Of course, then the Dalek shows up again and everything becomes intense. The look on River’s face when the Doctor gets shot, oh my. And the way Amy looks at her when she says she’ll catch up. I love Amy and River’s relationship, too, by the way. They seem to have this understanding of each other in an odd way and obviously both respect each other. In the earlier episodes, Amy looked up to River but now I think they are a bit more on equal footing- River is younger, for one, and Amy has been through a lot more.
And then, the scene with River vs the Dalek. Hooooo. I love her. I love how she has all the emotions under the surface but is still so damn scary. Also, it’s a good way of showing that River is not a “female Doctor”. She isn’t, even remotely. She’s River fucking Song, and you should check your records again. “What happened to the Dalek?” “It died.” She made it beg for mercy and killed it anyway! Damn.
The whole Pandorica plan is awesome, I must say. I’m not usually so big on long drawn out goodbyes, but these ones served a purpose. The Doctor and Amy’s conversation is so important. Where did her parents go? She doesn’t even remember. The crack had been eating her life, bit by bit. The line where he tells her that she’ll have her parents, she won’t need her imaginary friend anymore = SADNESS
(cont)
Now, the rewind. THE REWIND. EEEEEE!!! Space Florida! Craig’s house! THE BYZANTIUM’S FOREST. THAT WAS THE FUTURE DOCTOR AHHHH. So, when these episodes aired in real time and the Silence two parter aired, people noticed that ~hmmm~ when the Doctor left Amy he didn’t have his jacket on anymore, but when he returned to hold her hands and ask her to remember, he did. So, the Jacket!Doctor conspiracy theories were born. Moffat even released a statement being like “Whoops, production error~ means nothing~” because TV creators really like to troll their fanbase nowadays. BUT YES JACKET!DOCTOR OMG
And then the rewind ends with him telling Amelia the story of him taking the TARDIS. Oh, clever Doctor, clever. And then Amy wakes up and it’s her ~wedding day~. And she has parents! Also, if you want proof of how much she changes based on growing up without the crack, just compare this section to the end of Amy’s Choice. In Amy’s Choice, she says she never told Rory she loved him. Never. She did and he obviously knew it enough to get engaged, but she couldn’t say the words. In this episode, she is able to say she loves him, off hand, at the end of a phone call. She loves him and it’s not scary to say. It’s comfortable.
And then, the wedding. River’s blank diary is all the sads. I love the red and white theme of the wedding. And then, of course, Amy starts talking about the Doctor and everyone thinks she is nuts, but then he shows up! And then Rory remembers! Yaaay. Question: does he remember all his years as an Auton? Because it would be romantic but also a bit sad if he did. Maybe it’s kind of a blur.
Then! The Best. Scene. Ever. Also known as: Eleven Dances Hilariously. IT IS THE BEST MOST HILARIOUS THING. And he teaches kids to dance. Eleven is amazing with kids.
And then his conversation with River. Again, the way he looks at her convinces me he has a total crush on her. But then she gets all mathematician’s answer on him, heehee.
Finally, Amy and Rory join him on the TARDIS. I love that they are in total agreement about that. And yay, Team TARDIS is back together! I love a three person TARDIS team, I tell you what. And I like that Amy and Rory got married. ALL THE HAPPY IN THE WORLD.
I loved this series so much!
And then Rory remembers! Yaaay. Question: does he remember all his years as an Auton? Because it would be romantic but also a bit sad if he did. Maybe it’s kind of a blur.
I think he does. We see him say, "It's the Doctor. How could we forget the Doctor?" Then, when Amy is climbing over the table, we hear Rory add, "I was plastic. He was the stripper at my stag" or something. How much detail he remembers, I don't know, but he definitely remembers being plastic.
Finally, Amy and Rory join him on the TARDIS. I love that they are in total agreement about that. And yay, Team TARDIS is back together! I love a three person TARDIS team, I tell you what. And I like that Amy and Rory got married. ALL THE HAPPY IN THE WORLD.
Multiple companion Team TARDIS FTW!
Like I said Friday, my favouritest Doctor Who finale. I just love so much about it.
Rory, Rory, I just love him. He’s so great. He loves Amy so much and wants to be there for her and stick with her no matter what. And Roman Rory looks pretty hot, I’ve got to say.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/uwWgC.png" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />
And even though this picture’s been edited a bit, I’ll say now that I really love the colours and the lighting in both of these episodes, it’s just wonderful.
I love security guard Rory. I’m pretty sure I screamed out loud when I first heard/saw him.
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I love how much he loves fezzes. He’s been pulled through the crack and it’s what he thinks about first. And I love that they added the extra Space Florida scene.
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I love this speech so much, I think it’s my favourite of Eleven’s. He just seems so old during it, like a tired grandpa telling his grandkid a story.
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Funny. Thought that if you could hear me, I could hang on somehow. Silly me… Silly old Doctor… when you wake up, you’ll have a Mum and Dad. And you won’t remember me. Well, you’ll remember me a little. I’ll be a story in your head. That’s okay; we’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one. ‘Cos it was, you know. It was the best. A daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away. Did I ever tell you that I stole it? Well, borrowed it; I was always gonna take it back. Oh, that box, Amy. You’ll dream about that box. It’ll never leave you. Big and little at the same time. Brand new and ancient. And the bluest blue ever. And the times we had. Would’ve had. Never had. In your dreams they’ll still be there. The Doctor and Amy Pond. And the days that never came. The cracks are closing. But they can’t close properly ‘til I’m on the other side. I don’t belong here anymore. I think I’ll skip the rest of the rewind. I hate repeats. Live well. Love Rory. Bye-bye, Pond.
I love Amy’s “Raggedy Man, I remember you and you are late for my wedding!” bit a lot, and I love the Doctor coming out of the TARDIS all dressed up in his tux and top hat.
I love his dancing so much too. He’s o wonderful and awkward, teaching his dance to the kids.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/dgKyI.png" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />
(from the commentary)
I also love when Rory and Amy are slow dancing and Rory’s holding her shoes. So nice. And you can see that they are just so in love, it’s so cute.
And the great part of the wedding being on June 26th was that that was also the air date of the finale. I love that.
Wedding pictures of Mr and Mrs Pond and Matt and Karen Visit New York in the reply!
I never noticed Rory holding her shoes before. I didn't think it was possible for them to get any cuter.
<img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/2dsjv2s.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
<img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/303aahj.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">. ’Shut up… it's my wedding.’ ‘Our wedding.’ I know it’s only meant as a joke line but given where Amy started in ‘The Eleventh Hour’ with all her fears and doubts, it’s nice to see her owning to her wedding. I don’t think there’s much I can say about Amy and Rory other than just look at them. The Girl Who Waited and the Boy Who Waited. Mrs and Mr Pond
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While I love all the characters and the wibbly wobbly timey wimey ness of the whole story and I know I’ve left out loads, but I think one of the main things that I really love about this episode is that finally we have a finale that ends happy all round for everyone involved.
EVERYBODY LIVES!
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’Shut up… it's my wedding.’ ‘Our wedding.’ I know it’s only meant as a joke line but given where Amy started in ‘The Eleventh Hour’ with all her fears and doubts, it’s nice to see her owning to her wedding. I don’t think there’s much I can say about Amy and Rory other than just look at them. The Girl Who Waited and the Boy Who Waited. Mrs and Mr Pond
There was also the scene where she calls Rory and is the first one to say "I love you". Thats the part I really notice and i am surprised no one else has mentioned it (that I have seen).
Yay The Drunken Giraffe!!!
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(Source)
I love that gif so much. All the +1s!
BREAKING NEWS: STEVEN MOFFAT'S KILL COUNT IS NOW IN THE NEGATIVES AND THERE IS PROBABLY A WEEPING ANGEL BEHIND YOU
In other news, this is, without about, my favorite Doctor Who finale. From the open- with the wham line "You know there's no such thing as stars", the Dalek in the museum, and the sudden appearance of (alive!) Amy in the Pandorica, you know shit is most certainly about to get real in the best way possible. This episode an emotion rollercoaster, going from a sobbing Rory begging Amy to wake up to the Doctor carrying a mop and wearing a fez babbling about the time-y wime-y without a breather. Speaking of…
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RAWRY PAWNCH!
Seriously, everything Rory does in this episode is wonderful. From being the most badass and loyal of guards to swooping in at the last minute shooting up Daleks to looking utterly dapper in his grey suit, Rory is the most awesome of awesome people. He also gets some of best lines in the episode: "Trust the plastic!" and "He was the stripper at my stag party… I was plastic…". I believe everyone was contractually obligated to go "oh, Rory" at least once when this aired. He even shoots a Dalek! Speaking of….
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River Song: HBIC or what? As a brief note, it makes me really happy to see all the River love in blog-ma-thing. I can certainly understand how others may not like the character, but most of the criticism of her that I've seen is directed at her concerns her looks, her gender, and her weight. Personally, I love everything about River- her mystery, her ease with her sexuality, her confidence, the fact that she isn't intimidated by the Doctor, and her strength. The scene where she threatens the Dalek has a great little callback to Forest of the Dead ("I'm the Doctor, look me up"/"I'm River Song, check your records again") and makes me love her even more.
Amy's also sweet in this episode. When I rewatched this series, I kept in mind that Amy was subconsciously mourning the family that she'd lost in the cracks, just like how she had mourned Rory. It just makes her an even bigger woobie, what with her abandonment issues. Karen Gillan also gets some great lines: "You're my tiny little dad!" as well as "Raggedy Man, I remember you, and you are LATE FOR MY WEDDING! ". Again, I still can't understand how people say Gillan can't act- she's utterly brilliant. Something cute to note is the way Amy says "I love you" to Rory- it’s clear that in this timeline, she has said it and had it said to her a lot.
Nothing needs to be said about Matt Smith. I hate the way people throw this around, but I'm pretty sure that Eleven is my Doctor, or at least my NuWho Doctor. He's just got that perfect combination of alien and warmth that makes me love him. And he's the BEST DANCER EVAR.
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Special love to the poor, poor TARDIS, who just hasn't caught a break (getting hijacked by Creepy McWeirdVoice and blowing up? poor baby). Not only does she save River and become the catalyst for how the Doctor saves the day, but think about this. When we saw the TARDIS last episode, she'd been forced to land somewhere enclosed to prevent River from getting out. In this episode, she's in the sky. Conclusion? While burning alive, the TARDIS used the explosion to propel herself to the one place where she could help her Doctor- to burn as the sun, warming Earth and waiting for him.
There's all sorts of things that make this episode great. My favorite might be how as the whole world falls apart, fairytales and myths are what hold it together. The wedding was sheer joy, as is the fact that we have a MARRIED COUPLE ABOARD THE TARDIS (a full TARDIS is a happy TARDIS)! I honestly think this is the happiest finale of NuWho. But if this was all "tl;dr" for you…
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I LOVE EVERYTHING OH GOD WHEN DOES THE NEXT SERIES START
That Dalek image is the funniest thing I've seen for weeks, helped by my brain adding in an off-panel screech of rubber as they hand-brake turn their way out of there. Thank you so much!
Heh, I know what you mean. Thanks!
THIS. Awesome image. 😀
I made it :]
tardis-owl.tumblr.com
"As a brief note, it makes me really happy to see all the River love in blog-ma-thing. I can certainly understand how others may not like the character, but most of the criticism of her that I've seen is directed at her concerns her looks, her gender, and her weight. Personally, I love everything about River- her mystery, her ease with her sexuality, her confidence, the fact that she isn't intimidated by the Doctor, and her strength. "
I love the River love too. But people complained about her weight?! What the fuck. I mean, I knew about the other aspects of people's criticism, but I never saw that one before.
Yeah, I don't quite get it either. Supposedly, Alex Kingston is (and this isn't me here) "too fat and too old parading around like a twenty-something". It was a conversation I had over on LJ (never will you find such a hive of scum and villainy) where someone said that, especially when compared to Karen Gillan, Alex Kingston was too heavy to be a potential love interest for the Doctor.
Never mind that there's nothing wrong with people having different body types, or that saying nonsense like that is just rude and ridiculous- I'm still trying to wrap my head around Kingston being overweight.
"too fat and too old parading around like a twenty-something".
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I … just …
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Does not compute.
omg where did you get that gif of paget brewster. <3
WTAF. WTAF. WTAF.
"too fat and too old parading around like a twenty-something"
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Not a single part of that makes any sense whatsoever.
What the FUCK? People call Alex FAT??? Are they insane??? She has gorgeous feminine curves, that's what she has!
Apparently some people think that there's no middle ground between being stick-thin and obese… Pffft…
If she's fat, then I sure am, as I'm pretty similar in body to her. Wow. You just can't please people, can you? I also love that she's a woman who is mature and is 100% SMEXY.
Head -> Desk
See I look at that completely the other way round: here's a woman in her late 40's sharing screen space with a 23 year old who even looks good in pap photos. Frankly, and there's no nice way to say this, most women would seem somewhat… less when in the same shot as Karen. Yet Alex easily holds her own on-screen and is just fabulous in every way. Certainly you'd NEVER guess her actual age from seeing her on-screen.
That said… umm… how can I put this… I think there's quite a bit of judging on looks going on. Certainly I've seen some VERY catty comments directed at Karen which don't have a basis in reality, Matt's been skewered for being less pretty than David… feels more like bloody Hollyoaks fans than sci-fi at times.
Special love to the poor, poor TARDIS, who just hasn't caught a break (getting hijacked by Creepy McWeirdVoice and blowing up? poor baby). Not only does she save River and become the catalyst for how the Doctor saves the day, but think about this. When we saw the TARDIS last episode, she'd been forced to land somewhere enclosed to prevent River from getting out. In this episode, she's in the sky. Conclusion? While burning alive, the TARDIS used the explosion to propel herself to the one place where she could help her Doctor- to burn as the sun, warming Earth and waiting for him.
TARDIS love for ever and ever!
The TARDIS deserves lots of love, for the show couldn't go on without her! Almost literally, in fact. (I subscribe to the "TARDIS is sentient" school of thought)
Someone may have said already but you have to watch Time and Space from this year's Comic Relief.
Also is there going to be another Classic Who? Or any more in the future?
Words cannot describe properly how much I love this episode. 🙂 But I'll try, anyway.
First, the whole wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey resolution via a closed time loop. BRILLIANT. Yes, it's a bit of a cheat. But it's a classic time-travel trope, and I love the way it's been used here (for the record, it was also the solution in "Blink", only more convoluted and not as obvious as here).
Second, the FEZ!!! The fez is awesome, and Matt Smith is awesome for making even a fez look cool. Yes, fezzes are cool!
Third, Rory.
"Why do you have to be so… human?"
"Because right now I'm not."
OH RORY, SO MANY TEARS AND LOVE THERE. <3333333333
Fourth, the wedding. Matt Smith in a white tie tuxedo looks DROP DEAD GORGEOUS. White tie Eleven >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Black tie Ten, y/y? And isn't Augustus Pond just the perfect name for Amelia's Dad? 😛
Fifth, the dance. OH MY GOD, THE DRUNKEN GIRAFFE DANCE.
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BEST. THING. EVER. I'm so going to do that at my own wedding, whenever it may be! 😀
Sixth, the mysterious dialogue between River and the Doctor at the end. Love the little "meh" sound he makes when she vanishes. 😀
But the thing I love about this finale is that it doesn't end in a sad or depressing or melancholic way – there's no regeneration, no companion leaving, no tears all around, just a "goodbye" from Amy to her home and off we go! 😀 AND now we have proper two full-time companions! And they're a married couple! Yay! Incidentally, I HOPE SO MUCH there will be a "Come along, Ponds!" line in Series 6, referring to Amy and Rory! 😛
This comment is going to be full of unpopular opinions, so… fair warning. In short, I am not a fan of this episode. Although I thought the first part of this story was an enjoyable episode that seemed like it would be a good set up, I think that this episode is a major disappointment. Basically this episode is like Amy’s crack in her wall. Except instead of fixing the metaphorical crack (the confusing and nonsensical plot), Moffat has used spackle (snappy dialogue) and wallpaper (confusing time loops/timey wimey nonsense) to cover it up instead of actually trying to explain things and then he just crossed his fingers and hoped that the fact that none of it made any sense would go unnoticed. I feel like this is the emperor’s new clothes.
But to keep this comment from being a total buzz kill, I should spend a bit of time talking about the things that I DO like about the finale. Firstly, I love Caitlin Blackwood. She’s really a fabulous child actor, and Matt Smith just works really well with kids. I think he has more chemistry with kids (ew not in that way) than he does with adults. That scene where he’s telling sleeping bb!Amelia the story in her bedroom is probably the best in the whole episode. It’s lovely.
Secondly, I adore Rory.
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And I love this exchange between Rory and the Doctor.
Doctor: Why do you have to be so human?
Rory: Because right now I’m not.
Rory is fabulous and flawless. Being so loyal and staying with Amy throughout the years. SO SWEET. And their reunion in the museum was epic and lovely.
Three, I do love the wedding scene because a) as much as I side eye the whole Amy remembering the Doctor back into existence, I love a good play on words so I love the Tardis being something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. And I love the Doctor’s Dorky Dad Dancing. And yeah, it is nice to end a series on a note that isn’t ENDLESS DEPRESSION AND LONELINESS.
In general, I’m just not a fan of plots where characters have to do something because they’ve already done it. The Doctor goes back in time to give Rory the screwdriver because Rory told him that he did. Or that he goes back to tell Rory to put the sonic screwdriver in Amy’s pocket because Rory tells him that’s what he did. I just think that’s it’s cheap. So that started the episode with a few eye rolls from me. But the real problem for me comes in figuring out exactly what happened when the Doctor went into the explosion and what ramifications it has on the show as a whole.
Ok, it has been established throughout this series that going into the crack literally means that a person is erased from time and never existed. This is what the Doctor keeps saying. This is why the Angel disappears from Amy’s eye. The Doctor again confirmed that going into the crack means that the person never existed in the previous episode where he was reunited with Rory.
THEN WHY THE FUCK DOES THE HUMAN RACE EXIST? It’s been established time and time again that being involved in that explosion erases you from ever existing. How can a person be erased from time and yet nothing around them be changed? We saw in “Turn Left” how even a year without the Doctor basically led to the collapse of humanity. The Doctor has been involved in so many key human events (including sparking evolution in The City of Death, I think), that humanity should just not exist when tDoctor doesn’t and thus Amy shouldn’t be around to remember the Doctor and bring him back into existence. Speaking of which Amy remembering to bring the Doctor back is the weirdest dues ex machina ever. It just doesn’t make all that much sense. HOW does Amy’s remembering bring back the Doctor? Is she just super special because of the crack her in wall? HOW does that mean that she ca he n remember better than others? Is it because she traveled in time? So did Rory. I just don’t get it, so we just kind of have to hand wave it away and just accept that it works the way it says it does with no real reason to believe that it’s true.
It’s nice and convenient that the universe is imploding at every point in time and space, but Earth manages to hang on for 1800 years so that Amy can be born and go to the museum to let her older self out and begin that whole timey wimey sequence.
Also, I just really don’t understand how the two universe thing works. Didn’t Amy say in “The Eleveth Hour” that the reason she moved to Leadworth was because she lost her parents? But apparently she already lived there and they were eaten by the crack? Ah well. Maybe I’m misremembering and confusing myself.
Hm. I think that this should really fundamentally change Amy’s character in series 6. Because a lot of people have said that Amy tends to be a bit closed off and caustic because she lost her parents at a young age and was abandoned by the Doctor (thus her being mean to Rory and having supposed abandonment/commitment issues), but now that never happened. I mean, maybe she has a memory of those things happening, but she also has the lived experiences of those things NOT happening. So… yeah. With the new universe, Amy should be quite different, right? Anyway, back to figuring out what is actually going on here.
Basically there is Universe A (everything that happened on the show up through the big bang version 2.0) and the universe B (the universe that exists at the end of TBB with human!Rory and Amy with parents). But where does the division begin? In 300 AD (or whenever it is) when everything explodes (except it’s not just exploding there, it’s exploding at all points in time?). But Rory and Amy and the Doctor remember the events of Universe A, but it didn’t happen anymore right? So in the future the UK is still going to be abusing a space whale, I guess. How far back does this go? Did series 1-4 exist in Universe A, but not B? But doesn’t Amy only bring back what she remembers? And didn’t she say in “Victory of the Daleks” that she didn’t remember the events of TSE? Sooo… did that not happen? Is there no Cloen running around with Rose? But then how does River fit in? Because for her the Angels episodes take place in Universe A, but after TBB, right? THIS IS ALL SO CONFUSING.
Like, idk. See this is where the whole River having a circular storyline sucks. The Doctor knows that River knows about the Pandorica. She mentioned it back in series 4 and again earlier in series 5. So yeah, the Doctor knows that in the future in River’s time line she remembers this event, so he must know that the universe didn’t get destroyed and that he saves the day. Meh. I guess we just hand wave that with time can be rewritten and don’t think too hard about anything because then everything just turns to mush.
And how did River know to bring the book to spark Amy’s memory? She theoretically wouldn’t have remembered the Doctor… so why did she know to know to Amy’s wedding. Unless she DID remember the Doctor in which case why did Amy need to remember if River already did?
So in conclusion, this episode is a fun ride, but if you try to think about it on any level beyond basic enjoyment it just gets horribly confusing. I am so glad to be rid of the stupid crack plotline. Bring on series 6!
I actually agree with pretty much all of your points. I enjoy this episode but whenever I try to think of the logic behind any of it, it makes my head hurt and I get frustrated so I just don't.
I agree with all of this. The escape from the Pandorica really annoyed me but i've learned to leave my critical faculties to one side when watching Doctor Who.
Argh, now I'm thinking too hard about it. Could it be that because the Pandorica had the particles of Universe A, Universe B was created and proceeded identically? I'm not sure how that explanation would exclude the Doctor, but whatever. This is probably why Moffat came up with wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff in the first place. I really enjoyed the episode though, so I can let the logical inconsistencies go. It was fun and it has a happy ending. And a dancing Doctor.
I'd love to see if Amy's character changes, even if it's a little bit, now that her past has been fixed. Or will she still be the same because she remembers the Universe A past? Series 6 should be fun!
I get your points about things not making sense. Oddly, your whole rant on the matter made me think of an episode of The Big Bang Theory (hahaha….) where Leonard buys a Time Machine prop thing and tells Sheldon he wishes he could use it to go back in time and stop himself from buying it, which Sheldon explains means he wouldn't have had the time machine to be able to go back and stop himself. It's all logic. Which makes sense. You can't go change something if it will effect the present because that will mean the thing didn't happen to cause you to change it. (if that makes any sense I applaud you, cos I gave myself a headache trying to write it). But here's how I look at it: It's a TV show. With TV I (me personally, IDK about other people such as yourself) use it to be entertained. I watch Grey's Anatomy and IDC if their medical stuff isn't real. I like being entertained by it. Same with Doctor Who. It entertains me and brings me happiness. I go to school and study things that are logical and make sense, so at the end of the day I want to come home and be entertained, even if it doesn't make sense. That's the way this kind of TV show should be. It wouldn't be Doctor Who if it always made sense. It would be Doctor How. Or something like that.
Though, it has made me think of things differently when I've been writing things. I wanted to write a story involving time travel and I realized the only way it would work would be a bit weird and confusing, but I wouldn't want people to say "Hey, that wouldn't work because she went back and changed the past so that now she wouldn't have had a reason to go back." And sure, all the details I've started working on to try and make it make sense are still confusing even to me, so I may never actually get much farther in that story that way, but at least I've tried. And maybe if I can't make it make sense, I can make it entertaining.
And I just have to say that I love that you can explain why you dislike or disagree with the rest of us. I have RL friends who can only ever say to me "Well, I don't like this" but can't explain or tell me why. It's a "Just because" thing with them and it drives me insane. So, thank you for being able to say "I don't like this and this is why." Makes it more fun to converse.
Oooo, so are there 2 separate universes?? I assumed they stayed in the same universe when the Doctor restarted time but I guess that makes no sense because they ARE fundamentally different. I always thought of it as like, Universe A is a car with broken bits. Big Bang 2 was like taking Universe A to the shop, taking it apart, and then reassembling it with fixed parts. It's not a whole different car, it's just the version that works properly. Although, I don't understand how Big Bang 2 guarantee that events play back exactly the same way (minus the parts that needed to be ~fixed~) instead of creating a Universe B which would be like an alternate universe similar to the one seen in Turn Left or the alternate universe in Fringe.
The more I think about it the more confused I get 🙁 When I first saw this episode I didn't like it either, but it seems like Moffat might explain things in Series 6, so now when I watch it I try not to think about things too much
Oi, guys, no down voting kthx ]:
CRACKTHEORY TIME! Maybe the River that brought the book to Amy was a different River? So, if it wasn't for River from a different time line coming in and giving Amy the book, she would never remember the Doctor. Thus, another paradox is made.
I really like this theory. It would make sense, given who River is…
I think a lot of this comes down to YMMV. While this episode isn't the most externally sound thing, I feel like it runs on a sort of internal logic that makes sense to me, but I can understand how someone else can look at it and see a landscape pocked with plot holes. Just want to address a few quick things, whether they help or not. In no particular order:
1.Didn’t Amy say in “The Eleveth Hour” that the reason she moved to Leadworth was because she lost her parents? But apparently she already lived there and they were eaten by the crack?
I think you are misremembering. She says, "No, had to move to England. It's rubbish." And then the Doctor asks where her mom and dad are, and she says "Don't have a mum and dad. Just an aunt." These two statements are adjacent, but I don't think it's ever implied that they correlate.
2.Universe A and Universe B can co-exist simultaneously- the unique bit being that they also co-exist simultaneously in the memories of a few of their common inhabitants. Universe A begins imploding in 2011, where the Tardis is. The earth is the eye of the storm, and collapses last. There is no division between them at any point in time. They both happened at all points in time, even though Universe A is from the Doctor and his companion's standpoints, no more- a dream. The similarities and differences between them have yet to be established, but we've got series 6 to infinity and beyond to explore that– did you really expect them to accomplish that sort of exposition in 10 minutes?
3.Amy is special because not only did she travel through time and space, time and space traveled through her. The universe was on display in her dreams, running through and making an impression upon her subconscious. That she can conjure up the Doctor or her parents from the crack is iffy, but follows the theme of the power of memories throughout this series– like I said, internal logic.
4. Time CAN be rewritten, time loops CAN be broken, the Doctor has no idea how to keep continuity with the River that told him about the Pandorica intact. =drama. When time and space is folding in on itself, creating a paradox doesn't make much of a difference. The Doctor can fail, creating a paradox, which then gets destroyed when the universe collapses. The stability of that timeline is probably the least of his worries.
I think it's more that the memory of the person is erased from time. For example, with the soldiers in the weeping angel episode, everything they did still happened, but their comrades forgot them. Amy forgot Rory, but the Doctor remembered that he still existed, and thus everything with him in it still happened. The Doctor, even though he explodes in the Tardis, still existed, but no one remembers him. Maybe it's rooted in the philosophical idea of did something happen if no one remembers it.
I understand your issue with the paradoxes, too, but those are sort of par for the course with time travel stuff. Opinions differ between people, but for me, I think the Rule of Cool works with most of this episode.
But it's NOT that the memory of the person is erased from time. I could forgive it it it was just Moffat failing at precision of language and kept having the characters say that people were being erased from time itself when he just meant memory. But it's actually vital to the Angels story. The reason that Amy doesn't turn into an Angel by the end of the episode is because the Angel is no longer in her eye because they all fell into the crack and therefore never existed. So, Moffat DOES mean that the person is supposed to have never existed… and yet somehow the world around them does not change.
I think the angel in her eye fell into her crack, thus moving out of her head, and so Amy didn't turn into an angel.
I do believe going in the cracks means people stop remembering them, not that their entire existence got erased from the universe. That's the most consistent explanation, given Amy exists when her parents were eaten, or the ring still exists when Rory's eaten. So I do think it's an imprecision of language.
How did that specific Angel fall out of Amy's eye/mind? Did she open her eyes when they were falling? I can't remember how that scene played out 🙁
I thought it disappeared because the Angels fell into the crack and the whole race disappeared from time, which makes no sense because (as Karen pointed out) the whole human race should cease to exist. If the crack erases that particular being from existence but memory brings them back, why wouldn't the Doctor and his companion's memories of them bring them back? When the Angels disappear it's not like the group is going "Why are we here again?" They clearly have some memory of the Angels.
aksdjf'asdkfja; this comment makes no sense :/
Only explanation I've got is that we've seen that time travellers are somehow an exception, and the Doctor and Amy and River especially.
Honestly, the logic is debatable, but I do believe Moffat's intention is that the crack eats someone at that specific point in time, then erases people's memories of that entire person, but without erasing that person's history from actual existence. That's most consistent with what he's shown us, imo.
Oops, I also forgot that the Angel in Amy's eye is Angel Bob who still existed physically outside of Amy's mind. Makes a bit of a difference, haha *shame*
I do hope Moffat explains things further in Series 6 or publishes some tell-all book in the future that will explain all this because I cannot wrap my brain around it o_O
THIS. The cracks are careful snackers.
The angel in Amy's eye was a memory of an Angel, an image so that when it fell its existance was erased from her memory, even if she was still able to remember the events.
thanks for pointing this out! I completely forgot that it was Angel Bob in Amy's mind, not some random Angel that climbed in there and ceased existing in the physical world
I don't remember it being Angel Bob at all! In fact, I'm pretty sure it was just some random angel.
Naaah, it was Angel Bob from the scene with the TV in the room thingy. She got locked in.
Yep, bang on. It's VERY clear that it's the memory of that person / thing that gets wiped out (otherwise… uh, how does Amy even exist?) but unfortunately I've seen a LOT of simply wrong interpretations of this series that are then hung on to as gospel truth. After many attempts to explain where they've gone wrong I've now given up.
The short version is there's VERY little cheating going on, all the time loops are stable time loops and nothing breaks when you map out the logic. There's a couple of very very minor nitpicks you can make but that's about it.
It took me a few hours of thought to figure it out. At first I had thought Moff had gone and broken all of the ~*RULES*~. By the third viewing it all made sense.
Forgot to post this- you might have seen it posted by other people, but this is where I got the idea of the memory being erased rather than the actual person- http://www.denofgeek.com/television/529293/explai…
Some of it is still a little wobbly, particularly how in the heck Rory is still there, but I'm hoping the next series will give us some answers.
I've been thinking about this cause i can't deal with theis kind of hole either and I think i have figured it out (for myself at least). I've mentioned Crackland, the place where forgotten people go, and i believe that people are frozen in time there until the memory eraser fails and they are dragged out by someones memories. The Crack can't hold onto them if they are remembered. (The only thing I can think of to compare it to is the movie The Forgotten)
Oh my God, that Prince Ali macro! Fucking perfect!
"I didn’t notice this until the second time around, but in the Lone Universe Earth, there are penguins. In the Nile." – Oh more than that. Dinosaurs in the Ice and American B17 bombers attacking London at the very least, history is generally screwed up.
"Who are the Silence? Why didn’t we find out who they are?" – Because Moffat is a clever, evil, sadistic, wonderful, fear-devouring monster and knows that if you're carrying your cast over to the next series you can set up plot threads waaaaay in advance and avoid wasting setup time in the new series. Or, possibly, he forgot. Find out on the 23rd 😉
Real life computer shenanigans will not keep me from commenting, no way sir. So here are my jumbled thoughts about this episode.
I LOVE IT SO OMG!!!
I think the thing that makes me love it the most is that, aside from a few side characters at the very beginning and end it's the Doctor, Amy (and Amelia), Rory and River by themselves getting shit done. It's the four (five if you cont Amelia seperately) characters that we know best interacting for 30 odd minutes and i's WONDERFUL to watch.
(cont.)
Oh Rory, ILU forever. It was in rewatching that I remembered, the very first scene of him, talking to the dead Amy, was released during the week before this episode aired and watching it was the moment that I started absolutely loving him. It was the little side-eye at Amy before "you would have laughed at that" which did me in. The Lone Centurion part still makes me tear up.
I've sadi it before, I'll say it again, FUCK YEAH RIVER SONG! Only person to make a Dalek beg, well besides Donna (who had them calling out for help in Journey's End). At this point I'm not sure if I even care what her relationship woth the Doctor is as long as we get more scenes of Alex and Matt together. The "Honey I'm home" and "are you married?" scenes are just wonderful.
Speaking of Matt, WHY SO GOOD WITH KIDS? As with Eleventh Hour his interactions with Caitlin Blackwood are adorable, especially the scenes of puttng her to bed. He's jst so warm and caring and it's so lovely to watch.
Possibly one of my favourite character moments for Amy is, after she successfully demands reality give back the Doctor, that she climbs over the table instead of just going around it. It's a tiny detail but one that always makes me smile.
"That's my TARDIS burning up, that's what's been keeping the Earth warm." I wouldn't expect anying less of her tbh. I'm more than happy to chalk up why Earth and the moon are the last things left to the TARDIS specifically trying to keep them safe as long as possible.
Oh the Fez, I'm sure someone else will have quoted Beth Willis' speech on the Fez and why it had to die from the Confidential so I'll just say YES TO MORE FEZ! Despite what River and Amy, the hat-murdering fiends, might think. His tophat from the wedding might be even better though. Actually everyone looks so gorgeous in their wedding clothes.
Something that took me a while to catch, love the matching red accents on Amy(scarf and gloves) and Amelia's (cardigan and wellies) costumes. Seeing them side by side really highlights how much of a resemblance there is between them. Oh and, Amelia Pond is smrter than everyone, "no such thing as stars." indeed.
I really love this season finale. It's by far the happiest of the new series, it's the first finale that doesn't end with the Doctor regeneration, or a companion leaving. I hope Rory and Amy never leave.
P.S. 'OH MY CREYS' is so very accurate for the ending.
<img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ldumpae8SI1qbiueao1_500.jpg">
(source)
It really is. 'BRB CRYING FOREVER' would be another great description.
Wonderful. From the failure of the Tardis to crash in young Amelia's garden, Amy being in the Pandorica (did not expect that) and the Doctor suddenly appearing to the grieving Auton-Rory wearing a Fez and carrying a mop. It was full of surprises, big and little. Little Amelia being thirsty because somebody had stolen her drink in order to give it back to her when she complained that she was thirsty.
And all of the speculation about the Doctor wearing his jacket in the Forest on the Byzantium, just when he was shown as being in his shirt-sleeves having escaped from the Angels. Half a series spent wondering if this was a continuity slip or something else. Brilliant.
Ah and Amy, no wonder she didn't make sense. Whole chunks of her life had been taken from her by the crack. Now we have an Amy who had parents (who were able to afford a rather better wedding reception than Rory's earlier description of the village hall and the salsa band, but then a bride's parents do traditionally pay for the wedding and now she has those). But more than that, in Amy's Choice she had married Rory in the imaginary future, was having his child, but had never told him that she really loved him. Now she phoned him up on the morning of their wedding day and told him that she loved him and it's clear from Rory's reaction that this wasn't unusual. She'd clearly often told him that (just as he'd told her that he loved her). The Doctor did intend to fix Amy's and Rory's relationship, now he's obviously succeeded. Rory is remembering too (his "I was plastic and he was the stripper at my stag do" shows that), but Rory might also remember 2,000 years of staying out of trouble – badly.
And finally we learned that the Doctor dances – very badly!
Now Mark, time to introduce the sneaky little journalist who somehow managed to break into Steven Moffat's house to interview the man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs1mIAMTE0c&
Yay for ArmyTedd! A sneakier cameramna you'll never meet. 😉
I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but the Earth shown at the beginning of this episode isn't a parallel Earth or a new Earth grown out of nothing. It's the same Earth, it just hasn't been sucked into the crack yet. However, the other stars and people and places in time HAVE been so that changes the history of Earth, like it changed Amy's history when Rory was sucked in. So the universe is still in the process of collapsing throughout time when the episode starts. At least that's what I've always thought.
THIS FINALE WAS GODDAMN AMAZING. BEST FINALE OF THE SERIES, AND ONE OF THE BEST I'VE EVER SEEN.
It was glorious – giddy, humorous, serious, heartbreaking, and it made me grin like mad.
My heart broke when the Doctor said goodbye to Amy, and then it broke again when he told the bedtime story to Amelia. His acting was absolutely fantastic, and that scene always gets me. (But between those scenes I was rejoicing on my couch because I CALLED THE FUTURE DOCTOR. I SAW THE JACKET. AWWW YEAAAAAH.
I cannot express just how much I enjoyed this finale. I couldn't go to bed for a few hours afterward just because I WAS SO GIDDY.
BRING ON S6, MOFFAT!
Oh, and the speech the Doctor gave at little Amelia's bedside… It had me in tears. Matt looked unbelievably ancient there, more ancient than Chris or David ever did. A biggest "IN YOUR FACE" to all those naysayers who complained about his youth.
I have to agree. So many time through this series Matt has managed to look ancient despite being so very young, and this was the culmination of it all. It was such an 'old man saying his goodbyes, world weary and ready to go' thing. That scene breaks my heart every single time I see it.
This:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmGHAl8j5b0
Watch it. Do it.
All the thumbs up.
OH MY GOD HE'S WEARING A FEZ 😀
Oh that speech. <3 I love you, Eleventh Doctor.
River is a cold woman, with her brutal fez-icide. I like her character but the "Mercy!" scene bugged me. After the Time War, how is anyone more frightening to them than The Doctor?
I love Rory!!
ASDFGHJKL YAY. This episode is just so brilliant.
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First, I just want to say that I love Little Pond. That actress is fantastic. She has the best expressions.
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"Welcome back, Rory Williams!"
I love that the Doctor tested Rory to make sure he was really dedicated to Amy. But I was SO MAD at him the first time I watched it. What do you MEAN Amy Pond isn't important?
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So much of the season was actually about Amy, and the key to the whole thing was that by remembering, you can bring people back. Amy saved Rory and the Doctor by remembering them even when they should have been erased from time.
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ALSO HI RIVER SONG SO BADASS DALEKS BEG FOR MERCY.
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And the wedding! I love Amy remembering her raggedy Doctor, and "You may absolutely, definitely kiss the bride." And the Doctor reuniting with Rory by calling him Mr. Pond. THE PONDS. <3
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Also, this:
<img src="http://bookling.tumblr.com/photo/1280/4136255529/1/tumblr_liq59s5rEV1qfs8qm">
Which I did not make, but I found it on Tumblr.
D'aww. Except Rory is infinitely better than Snape, haha.
I'm going to follow your excellent example and just list it.
1. Plenty of people have punched the Doctor, but as far as I know, Rory is the only one to get both audience and DOCTOR approval for doing so.
2. Rory does not receive any kind of gift from the Doctor except the promise that maybe, someday, Amy will live again. He guards the Pandorica without any kind of help. Rory achieves greatness without the Doctor, through his own pure love and dedication. He is also the only male New Who companion so far to have made it beyond one series.
3. THE FEZ. Nothing else needs to be said.
4. "I'm River Song. Check your records again." When a Dalek is scared of someone, you know they've done some evil things. Even while River is being awesome, Moffat is reminding us that she isn't necessarily a good guy.
5. Eleven's goodbye speech to Amelia. Somehow, Matt Smith manages to sound like a grandfather speaking with a young man's throat. It is beautiful, understated, and it brings tears to my eyes.
6. HAPPY ENDING. YES! FINALLY! THANK YOU, MOFFAT.
7. Rory and Eleven in wedding suits. Mmmm…
8. River and the Doctor inches away from ravishing each other. I swear my tv screen was smoking slightly from the UST.
9. What is The Silence?!
10. Married Couple On The TARDIS.
11. Guess what? You can be 27 and be one of the best Time Lords ever. Guess what? You can be married and still have adventures. It's not the end of your life. It's only the beginning.
I love you, but especially for the last point.
Right back at you and FML, I forgot to mention the wonderful moment where Rory covers the Doctor with his jacket.
Yes. I love Rory's respect for the dead. It was the same back in 'Cold Blood' when he covered up Alaya's body and insisted they bring her body back to her people.
This is my favorite list.
Awww, thank you!
This list is the best list. ILU.
Thank you! But I can't believe I forgot the wonderful moment where Rory puts his jacket over the Doctor.
Point 4, v. def. That scene makes her UTTERLY TERRIFYING as far as I'm concerned.
Exactly. Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.
Best list ever <3
Should have Rory covering the Doctor with his jacket on there but oh well!
Yes to the last point. Total yes.
I love that 'Brand New Day' music video so much. It's like joy incarnate.
I have a question: Mark, are you going to do liveblogs of the new series or regular reviews? If liveblogs, does anyone know where I can watch along if I don't have BBC America? I usually just watch the episodes the next day On Demand but I don't want to miss the livebloggy goodness!
If I'm remembering right from last year, there's usually a download/stream up somewhere within a few hours, so you'd be able to watch that when it's on BBCA. If you did that, you'd have to pause for commercials of course. Don't know how well the odds are of having a live stream for BBCA.
I can't express my love for this episode without reducing myself to incoherent babbling.
Instead, enjoy this pretty picture I made:
<img src=http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad311/Chritter710/Doctor/fd81b39c8df6d0e96ca53101f08ced91_14.jpg>
(Original artist: Spune. Also, thanks for the help lovely people over at the spoiler blog)
Oh, so that's where that "Rose loved drugs" thing was from!
All the upvotes.
That is amazing!
ROFL that's awesome!
The Latin's a little wonky there, is it from an online translator? I'm not trying to be snarky, you are awesome for making this. I want it to be the BEST MEME IT CAN BE even if I'm way too late for this to be at all relevant… also I just really love geeking out over Latin.
Anyway, I would like to suggest: "Haecne psychotropica vendunt?" "Rose psychotropica amavit!"
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OMG the "Keep Calm" .gif is awesomesauce!
That scene during “Forest of the Dead” that was shown to be the Doctor rewinding through time and begging Amy to remember was strange at the time, but I thought nothing of it. FUCKING AMAZING.
I was so nervous you missed that! I noticed on my second watch that he was wearing his coat but I was unsure if it meant anything. Moffat is a genius!
Hail to the Raggedy Doctor, with his brilliant mind.
Hail to Amy Pond, the girl who remembered.
Hail to River Song, the woman shrouded in mystery.
And Hail to Rory Williams, the boy who waited.
RORY! God, I fucking love Rory so much, and since it was ALL BECAUSE OF THIS EPISODE I could not share my feelings with you. Well, ok, and also The Pandorica Opens, but since I can never sort the two-parters out in my head I do not allow myself to comment until you've seen both parts.
Also, Moffat is an evil genius. Why have one arc word/phrase when you can have two and then leave one unresolved, thus torturing the hell out of your audience while they wait for months and months to find out exactly what the Silence is and WHAT THE $#%& HAPPENS WHEN IT FALLS. Honestly, I die a little of suspense every time I remember that the whole Silence thing is still out there. For all we know, he may string us along another whole season or something.
I think that silence already did fall– the universe was destroyed and filled with empty, silent nothing.
But SOMETHING hijacked the TARDIS and caused it to explode. What? Who? How? We don't know.
The next season will be split into 2 halves, so I have no doubt Moffat will torture us again with another terrible cliffhanger. D:
Oh my god, the wedding photos are ADORABLE.
I agree with so much of what you said, but:
thanks largely in part to Davies, Tennant, Piper, Agyeman, and Tate,
Nooo! So quickly we've forgotten the majesty of Chris Eccleston!
Poor Nine 🙁
Nooooo! No forgetting Nine!
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Does anyone know somewhere online where I can watch "A Christmas Carol" for free? It's the only new Who episode I haven't seen and I don't know of any place where it's available. Thanks.
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/mccg29.gif">
(here's a youtube link, although the video is a mirror image of the actual ep in order to get by youtube's video-recognition system)
Thanks!
Not free, but it's $1.99 on iTunes if you're in the US.
I just did a video search for it. If I remember correctly, there's a person on veoh.com who has all of this past series up, but I think you might have to download Veoh Player or something like that.
ETA: http://www.veoh.com/watch/v20686248fHN2Q4G6
First of all, I love how clever Moffat was even in naming the episode! Big Bang (2), in which the (2) denotes not only that this is the second half of a two-parter, but also that it is "Big Bang 2," as the Doctor says.
This is one of my favourite episodes in the entire show. It certainly is my favourite finale – partly because of the amazing cliffie of the "Pandorica Opens," in which All Hope Is Lost, partly because RORYRORYRORY BE STILL MY HEART, and also just because of the combination of awesome timeline twisting and clever dialogue and so many exploding-brain moments.
I hadn't noticed anything odd with the scene in "Forest of the Dead" the first time I watched it, which was awesome because it just made the moment in the finale so much more mind-blowing.
I love the fez. I love how the Doctor puts it on just because it happens to fall into his hands when he knocks over an exibit, and yet as soon as he puts it on it becomes a part of him in such a way that, when he sits up after his timeline begins to unravel, he includes it in his checklist of necessary limbs (arms, legs, fez). "I can buy a fez" is such an AWESOME line. PLEASE DO, DOCTOR.
Can everybody in the world dance like the Doctor, please? What a blast that would be!
I mentioned Rory above, but I have to say more because RORYILOVEYOU. Look at him, just look at that wonderful, beautiful, heartbreaking Rory! He punched the Doctor because to him, Amy is more important than the whole universe! He waited for 2000 years because Amy would be safer! He pulled the Pandorica from a burning building! He didn't lose his humanity even after he learned he was plastic! RORY YOU ARE AMAZING. My heart nearly broke all over again at that moment when I thought he had melted down while pulling the Pandorica from the fire. BUT HE WAS ALL RIGHT. HE WAS A SECURITY GUARD! And I love him in the wedding scene – "The Doctor – we'd forgotten the Doctor. How did we forget the Doctor?"
Also, favourite moment by far is the very end when the Doctor is ready to leave, and he clearly thinks he's going to be on his own (I haven't seen the classic Who but I'm sure at least a few of his companions have left him in the past because they decided to get married and settle down, right?). Only Amy and Rory are going to have none of that! They admonish him for trying to sneak off! He teases them with a well-timed phone call! And then it's time to say goodbye – so Amy opens the TARDIS door and shouts goodbye to the world!! <333
And because it's fairly safe to assume the Doctor won't get the Ponds back the same night they left, it does make me wonder how confused the rest of the family/wedding guests would be.
"Did they leave on their honeymoon, then?"
"The car's still parked outside. Did they take a cab?"
"They missed their flight – where could they be?"
"And that Doctor fellow, he's slipped away, too. You don't think -"
"I don't know what to think. I've had too much to drink."
In conclusion, I love this show SO VERY MUCH, and I can't wait until the next season starts up again on the 23rd. SO CLOSE.
LIKE RAINBOWS AND SUNSHINE.
But without the whole heartbreaking bit before the end.
Talk about a season ender!
I have to repeat something I've said on the spoiler blog, because it's been my favorite thing about this episode. First, let me preface by saying that I'm quite a fan of all of RTD's time on the show. I think he did a brilliant job, and there's not one episode that I will not rewatch. So this isn't me hounding him or whatever.
That said, every. single. series. (up to and including the specials) ended in the saddest and most depressing way possible. Actually, the only series that had any sort of upbeat, not-really-tragic ending was Series 3, and that's still kind of a downer. And since you the viewer is already sad that the show's going off-air for months and months, it's just neverending tears.
But this? This is not only a happy ending, it's kind of a ridiculously happy ending. Like, we've got a good, solid ten minutes of wrap-up, and it's all just… joyous. I love that!
Plus, it's clearly an ending, but it's not a final ending. Like, things are wrapped up, but there's definitely momentum and excitement for things to come.
Basically, for me, the happy fun party atmosphere at the end is the way to send off the show for the hiatus — smiling and wishing for more.
As for, well, everything else, I don't think there's a thing I don't love about this. I said before that "The Eleventh Hour" is my favorite episode, which it still is. But, this two-parter, boy oh boy, has it recently jumped up high on the rewatch list. It's just so… ultimately happy, and they're all just wonderful, and I love it all.
Also, someone who has art skills really needs to draw a comic/image of Rory doing a 'bro-fist' with Wall-E.
My only issue with the episode was the existence of the Earth, too. If all the stars had been destroyed, let alone the sun supernovaing, how could the Earth remain? I just shrugged it off as Tardis magic because I was enjoying the episode, but it still makes as much sense as Amy Pond. OH WELL.
I'd love for them to go to Space Florida if only to see how they top the weirdness of Actual Florida.
Somehow I imagine dolphins walking on land with sunglasses in Space Florida. Is that weird?
Not at all, and I hope there are some space manatees, too!
The Doctor explains it as being the "eye of the storm". Everything was destroyed around the earth but the Earth was preserved, for 2000 years at least.
The plothole that bugged me most was that Rory didn't fossilize. I suppose it could be put down to him having a soul or not being near the Pandorica but without the Nestene consciousness he shouldnt even be able to move.
I'm not gonna argue if it means we get Rory.
I can't help wondering if those 2000 years were as long as our 2000 years or if they were compressed just like how the world was compressed. On one hand, it would make more sense if they were, on the other, I wouldn't want to diminish Rory's sacrifice like that.
Works for me. And hey, if Amy's love and memories can bring everyone back, why not let Auton Rory's heart and soul keep him around.
His sheer Rory-ness overrode simple limitations like physics.
Favorite scene: all of them. Especially the wedding.
Though I have to say I'm getting a lil' tired of Moffatt's obvious love for ontological paradoxes, er, timey-wimey.
Oh, and don't forget to watch the mini episodes from Comic Relief "Space" and "Time" after "A Christmas Carol" (why couldn't they have come up with a more original title, btw???)
This finale was almost perfect. I absolutely adored the fact that the episode put so much focus on the characters, negating the need for a real villain. Sure, there's a Dalek, but he's certainly not all that important in the grand scheme of things. In fact, he's really more of an interesting plot device to give the Doctor the idea for using the Pandorica. I also really loved that Series 5 as a whole has a thematic focus on fairy tales and the importance of memories.
Matt Smith has me 100% sold on him being an old man. He is just so good at projecting emotion through his eyes (doors to the soul and all that), and his mannerisms while speaking…I can't say enough about him.
Plotwise, how ridiculous is it that the storyline of the series is actually transcending past Series 5 and into the next? The Silence sounds creepy.
Rory as a companion is The Best Thing.
"It's a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool."
"Legs, yeeeeees. Bow-tie: cool. …I can buy a fez."
"Hello everyone! I'm Amy's imaginary friend…but I came anyways."
The Doctor: Why do you have to be so… human?
Rory: Because right now I'm not.
And of course, Matt Smith's ridiculously, unimaginably fantastic monologue.
"It's funny. I thought if you could hear me I could hang on somehow. See me. See the old Doctor. When you wake up you'll have a mom and dad. And you won't even remember me. Well. You'll remember me a little. I'll be a story in your head. That's okay. We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? 'Cause it was, you know. It was the best. The daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away. Did I ever tell you that I stole it? Well I borrowed it. I was always going to take it back. Oh that box. Amy, you'll dream about that box. It'll never leave you. Big and little at the same time. Brand new and ancient and the bluest blue ever. And the times we had, eh? Would have had. Never had. In your dreams they'll still be there. The Doctor and Amy Pond. And the days that never came."
The bolded parts make me teak up every time. EVERY TIME.
And much to everyone's delight, we get to see Eleven interacting with children one last time. God, I love Series 5. And Series 6 is so close, it's driving me mad. Can't wait!
PS: Your commenting system is driving me bonkers, it loves to log me out/time out my session/piss me off. It's why I've been so quiet lately. =(
The daft old man who stole a magic box.
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I'm so late, but I love this part the most. And I love the resolution of "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue." I can't believe I never saw its connection to the TARDIS before.
As I won't be here tomorrow, I just want to take this opportunity to say how much I have loved Mark Watches Doctor Who and I'm sad its over. Woohoo! Doctor Who party!
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Oh, and here's an mvid! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF9bhesMPlE
And another! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_tt5UZKFVg” target=”_blank”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_tt5UZKFVg
Can we get a Roman-based hipster doctor up in here?
Oh, we really need one! Give me some time, I'll see what I can do.
Also, I have so much love for Murray Gold's Sad Man with a Box.
Oh God, that first one, with the tears in his eyes and he looks so ancient and tired, OH GOD ELEVEN DON'T CRY.
I KNOW. SAD ELEVEN IS NOT ALLOWED.
When his voice thickens and I see the glitter in his eyes, I start choking up. Never fails.
And so ends my favourite series of Doctor Who EVER … well, so far. I can say that reasonably definitively because I grew up with Doctor Who (and had such a crush on Five when I was a teenager) and while I adored the show and was ecstatic when I heard it was coming back and have enjoyed every single episode ever since it reappeared (okay, MOST of them anyway), I wasn't heavily invested til this series. Never before has a TV show stressed me out from one half of a two-parter to another. Never before have I actually cared more than intellectually how they were going to resolve a storyline. But by the time The Pandorica Opens aired I was so invested in all these characters that I was literally on a knife edge for that whole week wondering how they were going to fix things for these characters who I had grown to love. Amy was dead, River was probably dead too, the Doctor was in a prison and poor Rory was left holding the body of the woman he loved and had just killed … and was plastic. I'm a little over-invested in Rory but his storyline in particular had me sobbing. He'd died twice and now he was responsible for taking a life.
Then this episode aired and it made me all the happies in the world. There had been a real sense that we could lose it all and yet the ending – it was happy and was pretty much everything I had ever wanted in Doctor Who. Everyone lived and Rory was on the TARDIS fulltime and there was a wedding and Amy got to have both a husband and her adventure. It was just about the most perfect ending possible. I honestly don't see how the new season can better this and I get the feeling that even if this coming series is better technically and story-wise or whatever that it can't eclipse the love I have for series 5.
Matt Smith quickly became MY Doctor despite the fact that Tom Baker had always held that spot. Within 20 minutes of the opening of The Eleventh Hour I was a convert, not just to Eleven but to Moffat. I thought then that I couldn't love Matt Smith's Doctor more, but apparently I was wrong. There's something about this episode that just makes me adore him even more. From the comic (oh the fez and the dancing and the timey wiminess) to the dramatic and tragic (forever sobbing over that speech to wee Amelia and jacket!Doctor made me heart ache this time around) he just knocked it out of the park. I just hope that we get to keep him as Doctor for a long time to come because Eleven has a firm grip on me and I don't want to lose him anytime soon.
Everyone lived and Rory was on the TARDIS fulltime and there was a wedding and Amy got to have both a husband and her adventure. It was just about the most perfect ending possible.
No matter what else happens, Series 5 will always be the series where we got our happy ending. And they can't take that away from us. *hugs*
"Remember what I told you when you were seven."
"What did you tell me?"
"No. No. That's not the point… you have to remember."
such is the confusion when this show uses "series" to mean what many of us would call a "season."
They really do!
I will always love the BBC for releasing those wedding pictures. They're just perfect and adorable.
Can we just have a party thread?
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/kretch1967/gifs/Doctor%20Who/-mandiblestumblr.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
(I love how he dances. Probably because I dance quite similarly!)
YES! I LOVE DOCTOR WHO! PARTY TIME!
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PARTY!
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I just watched Space and Time and it was…confusing. But I loved it!
And it just hammered in the fact that April 23rd is so far away!
(WIBBLY LEVER!)
I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to delete this for spoilers. I'm not sure if Mark has seen Space and Time yet, but just to be sure.
Oh, sorry! I didn't realize!
It's all good. Like I said, he might have seen them already. I'm not sure.
That vid is so cute, and I LOVE the wedding photos. Thanks for linking to them!
I don't think anyone's posted this gif yet, which surprises me.
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I also made a Dawkins blingee, cause it makes me laugh.
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Somehow I've never seen that Rory gif. :O
*steals*
Loling forever at blingeed!Dawkins.
your Dawkins blingee is flawless, I can't upvote you enough 🙂
River Song made a Dalek beg for mercy. A DALEK. Beg. For mercy. Who the hell is this woman?
I'm beginning to think that you just don't fuck with anyone called River.
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Fuck yeah, can't touch these BAMFs.
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I've said it before, but my head canon is that River Tam and River Song are one and the same. They both come from the future, after all, and are completely bad ass.
MAYBE SHE'S A TIME LORD. So the two Rivers are different regenerations, but equally badass. 🙂
That would explain how she's lived so long. River Tam is from the 26th century, River Song is from the 51st.
Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you.
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
There are so many, many things going on in this episode – and for the end of Series 5 in general.
First – the fez! (For the record, I love the fez! This was just the only fez-related image I had handy)
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Second – On that note, this was posted on the Wikipedia page for "Fez" soon after this episode aired. Obviously, it's no longer there, but it gave us a few laughs
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Third – The Doctor's bedtime story to little Amelia – ALL THE TEARS!
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Fourth – AMY REMEMBERED!! SHE BROUGHT THE DOCTOR BACK FROM BEYOND THE CRACKS!! NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A LITTLE GIRL AND HER IMAGINARY FRIEND!! THE DOCTOR CAME TO HER WEDDING!! AND… his dancing??
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Fifth – This is the result of having two of my fandoms living side-by-side on my LiveJournal flist: http://vimeo.com/13864554
Sixth – How awesome is it that Amy and Rory are still in their nice wedding clothes when they take off in the TARDIS? BEST HONEYMOON EVER!
Seventh – I found this soon after I watched this finale and it says so much about how much this show means to me as well as so many others. I didn't write it, but it puts everything so beautifully. And read the comments as well: http://steamshovelmama.livejournal.com/15878.html
Eighth – Something I would have liked to post on the "Vincent and the Doctor" review, but it was too spoilery. But it's now safe to view and goes along with my previous bullet point (at least, in terms of its poignancy): http://vimeo.com/17067805
Ninth – "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" TOMORROW?? YAY!!
Tenth – "DOCTOR WHO" IS THE MOST AWESOME SHOW IN THE WORLD Y/Y?
Eleventh – MARK IS LIVEBLOGGING SERIES 6??? IS IT APRIL 23RD YET???
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The Wikipedia entry is hilarious. Love it!
That fez article hijack is just wonderful. I hadn't heard about that before!
So. Because Verizon is a shitty, shitty ISP that employs incompetent shitheads, my review of TPO is way late and entirely useless, and because my entire week and weekend was a series of unfortunate events, I don't have a proper review, and I doubt I can get into that headspace in a hurry now. So. I'll list all the things I love about the episode, and close with a copy/paste from a meme answer on the spoiler blog that I think does well enough to convey my ~feelings~ on the moment.
– FEEEEEEEEEEEEZ
– EVERYTHING EVERYTHING EVERYTHING
– I cry too at the scene with Eleven putting Amelia to bed and telling her a fairy tale. Anyone who can watch that and still say that Matt Smith can't act, or that Moffat doesn't write emotional scenes, well… they're wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong… wrong wrong wrong wrong… THEY'RE WRONG! [/Dr. Cox]
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– Crazy Little Thing Called Love! Yay, Queen! 😀 😀 😀
– YEAH THE FOREST SCENE WE ALL WORKED HARD TO KEEP YOU IN THE DARK, MARK 😀 😀 😀 I'm so proud of us for pulling it off! I loved that scene even when it was just a bit strange to me, cause it was just so sweet, and learning its true significance just made me love it even MORE. Bravo, Moffat!
– "I found you. I found you in words, like you knew I would. That's why you told me the story, the brand new, ancient blue box. Oh, clever, very clever."
This entire scene is just the very definition of beautiful to me. It begins with Amy receiving the now-blank diary from River Song – who is acting in the role of fairy godmother – and beginning to realize that something is wrong, that someone isn't there who should be. In a parallel to a scene from Pandorica Opens, she begins crying without knowing it at first, and Rory this time assumes it's because she's happy, but no, she's sad, and she has no idea why. As her father makes his speech, she looks around the room, seeing things that begin to trigger her memory of the Doctor: a bow tie, braces, and finally the diary itself. With everything in place in her mind, she stands, and makes a speech to everyone about her imaginary friend and how he was in fact real, ending with a shouted declaration that she remembers the "raggedy Doctor" and that he is late for her wedding.
There's a slight pause, enough to make both her and the audience wonder if perhaps she's just humiliated herself in front of everyone for nothing. But then – the wind begins to blow from nowhere, the tables shake, and Murray Gold's fantastic score kicks in, under Amy's monologue above. As Rory asks her what's going on, we begin to hear the familiar sound of the TARDIS materializing, and as she recites the old wedding verse in response to his question, we see it appear before our eyes. Through the power of memory, and thought, of words and stories, she has called the Doctor back into existence, setting things back to the way they should be.
It's a perfect, wonderful scene, straight out of a fairy tale, which of course fits right into the "sci-fi fairy tale" feel that we've been given all series long by Moffat. It's a climax that makes sense, and is a very clever and emotionally satisfying way of using the concept of the power of words and stories. Things have been leading up to this from the very beginning, and it does not disappoint. It's one of the many reasons why Pandorica Opens/Big Bang are far and away my favorite series finale.
SO YEAH. LOVE THIS TARDIS TEAM. LOVE THIS SERIES. LOVE THIS FINALE. HATE VERIZON. LOVE YOU ALL.
When I wrote out my comment, I remember thinking, shit, arctic_hare could explain the fairytale thing so much better than I can. So I am le sad at the lack of wall o' text. But yes to what you said here, at least.
Thank god/ELSOS for the spoiler blog, and for hosting the meme.
And I've said it a couple of times already, but glad you're back.
🙁 Sorry. I'll try and put together something longer later on tonight, I'm just so frazzled right now. I wanted to have SOMETHING here, at least.
WE LOVE YOU TOO. <3
Speaking of Moffat and fairy-tales, have you read this blogpost: http://georgemann.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/moffat… ? Because it is awesome.
Not yet, no!
<3
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Wilf hug for shitty ISP getting in the way.
OKAY I just remembered something that I had wanted to put down in a real review:
"Why do you have to be so… human?"
"Because right now I'm not."
Maybe not physically, Rory, but I think on the inside, where it really counts, you are. "Beast" on the outside, human kindness within. Two layers to him, just like so many other things in this series. And part of what makes him so is Amy's memories of him, her feelings for him. I compared the Autons in general in my TPO review to toys who believed they were real; here, a "toy" really has become Real, through love, much like the Velveteen Rabbit in one of my favorite childhood stories. It's a really sweet part of Rory's story, and I love it.
RORY THE VELVETEEN RABBIT. Oh, brilliance.
It's okay, you had to go on the other side of the Lodger crack to make they all closed, right? It happens.
Glad you're back. =)
WE LOVE YOU TOO! (okay so my own technological woes mean I didn't actually realise you were gone until just before the review went up but for the five or ten minutes before you resurfaced I was very sad)
"Yay, Queen!"
Queen makes everything better, even things that are already wonderful. Adding Queen just make them that much better.
Brain's too frazzled by major RL issues to write a review in any kind of order, but I'll try to jot down a few stray thoughts as they come to me.
I love how the pre-titles cliffhanger is like the Oldest Conjuring Trick in the Universe. Man is locked inside box. Woman comes out of box. Presto! But just to prove it's not real magic, we get to see how the trick is done, which somehow makes it *more* amazing, not less.
*Amy's character development – her emotional development – is played out beautifully, by both script and actress. She's no less feisty, confident and strong, but her softer side is starting to bloom. She physically gets much closer to Rory in this episode. Her issues haven't all magically disappeared, meaning there's still room for more growth, but there's been a definite positive shift.
*Rory is just beyond awesome. The Boy Who Waited – Two Thousand Years protecting Amy. To paraphrase Churchill, "I don't care if you're an Auton. Are you a man?" Well yes. Yes he is. Forget Jeff – Rory is the best man. (Well, actually he's the bridegroom, but he's also the best man. It's like multitasking.)
*Matt Smith's Doctor, like the TARDIS, is brand new and ancient at the same time. So young, yet so old. So wise and so silly. He's the madman with a box who didn't just save the Universe – he created a better one. And he did it all for one girl…so that she could have a Mum and Dad, a normal childhood, a fabulous wedding…and forget all about her imaginary friend. Except of course she never did forget. Not really. She remembered her raggedy Doctor and found the TARDIS in words.
This chapter is ending, but the fairytale never ends. There are still unanswered questions. Some of them may even be answered soon, we might even think we've guessed some of them, but this is Doctor Who we're talking about…do you really think it could be that simple? Time will tell. It always does.
Steven Moffat didn't create Doctor Who. This show is nearly 50 years old, but Moffat has made is seem very new without in any way diminishing its past glories. Quite the reverse RTD shied away from bold references to Classic Who, for perfectly legitimate reasons.
This is such a lovely comment! <3
"I love how the pre-titles cliffhanger is like the Oldest Conjuring Trick in the Universe. Man is locked inside box. Woman comes out of box. Presto! But just to prove it's not real magic, we get to see how the trick is done, which somehow makes it *more* amazing, not less."
This is fantastic. Never thought of it in those terms before.
Karen pointed out the huge, huge problems that I have with this episode (I don't mind time loops in a general sense, but I hate closed time loops because it just DOESN'T MAKE SENSE that the Doctor got out of the Pandorica!). But, aside from looking at the logic of the episode, I enjoy it.
I laugh every time (well, every time except the first) when Rory's talking to dead Amy and says, "So, the universe ended. You missed that. 102 AD. I suppose this means you and I never get born at all. Twice in my case." Aw, Rory.
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Moffat just said on twitter the other day about Matt: "The extraordinary thing about Matt Smith is that, of all the Doctors, he's the best at being OLD." I totally agree. He has such a range, sometimes his Doctor is running around and excited like a child and sometimes he seems the complete opposite. The scene where he's sitting by Amelia's bed telling her the story of the blue box? It's really, really difficult to remember that Matt Smith is just 27 in this scene. He could've passed for my grandfather (except then I'd feel really weird about all the thoughts I've had about him…). He's got so much talent and I'm glad that we're getting to see him use it.
And on the subject of Amelia, the young actress who plays her is wonderful as well! She's even got the same facial expressions as Amy down (in one shot, I actually forgot it wasn't Karen Gillan). I hope we get to see her continue her career into something amazing.
I agree with both you and Karen regarding the logic problems in this episode. I love that Moffat is so willing to use time travel, but I think he uses it a bit too much here. It doesn't really ruin my enjoyment of the series or anything, but it does keep this two-parter from being perfect IMO.
I love the line "And the days that never came," because it's a neat callback to Five's "To days to come" from Time Crash. I get so sad thinking about how not only would Eleven have never existed, but Five and Ten and every other Doctor wouldn't have existed either. Sarah Jane probably never did any alien investigating, and we wouldn't have to worry about what Donna could or could not remember because she really would have never done any of it. Which reminds me, does this mean Handy wouldn't exist in the other universe?
And speaking of Sarah Jane, Mark I really think you should watch the SJA episode "The Death of the Doctor."
"I get so sad thinking about how not only would Eleven have never existed, but Five and Ten and every other Doctor wouldn't have existed either."
I had that moment when I first watched this episode too. Especially when the Doctor is just ready to leave little Amelia and he has that line "I think I'll skip the rest of the rewind" – I just wanted to cry because I realized that this meant the Doctor never existed, so all those other stories and adventures that I love never happened 🙁 But Amy remembered him and the Doctor came back and everything was wonderful!
(It's interesting that you connected Five's line from "Time Crash" here because Steven Moffat wrote that as well. I have no idea if that was intentional or if it's just that's how Moffat's brain works – but it's marvelous)
Yes. "The Death of the Doctor" ties in so well with… well, it'll hold Mark over until April 23. Or whenever Series 6 starts up on BBCA.
So I suppose when the entire universe ceases to exist, the Doctor yells, "We have to go baaaaaaack!"?
That scene during “Forest of the Dead” that was shown to be the Doctor rewinding through time and begging Amy to remember was strange at the time, but I thought nothing of it. FUCKING AMAZING.
Much like the time the entire Internet obsessed over the fact that Rory's badge had the wrong date on it, there was a whole awesome hullabaloo after that episode because if you look closely, it's not just that the scene feels strange, it's that HIS SLEEVES ARE DIFFERENT. You can tell he's not wearing the same jacket he was wearing just a few minutes ago. The badge thing turned out to be a production error, so it wasn't clear this wasn't ALSO a production error, so it is AWESOME that it was intentional. I wonder if Moffat thought people would notice.
I love their wedding photos, SO CUTE
I adore most things about this two-parter (it's one of my very favourite stories in Doctor Who ever), but everyone else has said everything I could possibly say about it about five times more eloquently than I could, so I'm not going to put my fingertips through that kind of strain. As soon as I mention one thing, I'll mention another, and then another, until five hours have passed and I remember that I've got to do a lot of work in the morning.
But one really weird detail that I'm quite fond of, is I love that although there is a Dalek in the story – and it's basically the only villain, aside from the Silence (possibly? I genuinely don't know! Are they responsible for the cracks, perhaps? Anyone's guess), in no way, shape or form is this a Dalek story. It's the Doctor's, Amy's, Rory's and River's story. That's fantastic. The dalek is used minimalistically, which is very effective after the explosive finales, and while The Big Bang is as elaborate and timey as they come, at its heart it's just four people being brilliant in a museum. The stakes are higher than ever before and the plots more complex, and yet it feels so much more character-focused and breathes so much more easily than any of the prior finales. Big and small. Absolutely glorious.
Wonderful, amazing finale.
BEST DOCTOR WHO FINALE IN THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING!
And some of my favourite Series 5 videos.
The best one I've ever seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi0tAVhtLf4 – Let It Fall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1v1BgUSmXQ – Fireflies (Eleven & Amy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1v1BgUSmXQ – Here Comes The Sun (Rory & Amy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qTr25NjCoU – Airplanes (Amy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhnZRyjtW2c – How Far We've Come
That Fireflies vid is one of my very very very favorite. Another one I love is "The Light" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL-HjqUNa68
The Silence as in the noun, Mark. The abscence of noise. What made you think it was a someone?
Trock song for this episode. Check it out!
"Big Bang 2" by Charlie McDonnell http://www.youtube.com/user/EEMGEEBeauty#p/u/3/j9…
Yaaaaaay I'm back from the US for this episode! And…now I can't think of what to say. Except maybe that I think that with 4 RTD finales under the show's belt, the Moff does epic and exciting much better….maybe it's the lack of plot holes. But my favourite part? A HAPPY, NON-SOUL DESTROYING finale!
Boom.
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No no no I refuse to do this again. I mean, three times is just beating a dead horse.
Can't we j
What happened to echinodermanicus? Is this because of that light? I
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Nooo!!! Not the numbers! We have to get out of here.
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Me too!!!
I actually watched the video before I watched the episode. I was so fraking confused
I watched his video about Doctor Who and decided I should give it a shot. And then when he posted this video, when I realized what it was about, I didn't watch it, so I could see it after I saw the episode. I just didn't realize that episode was so far away from where I was. ha ha.
I am not ashamed to say my response to this episode was me shouting at the TV "oh my god, OH MY GOD! OHMYGOD!!!!!! I forgive you. I forgive you EVERYTHING!!! OH! MY! GOD!"
Because after the wretched reset button finales and every thing that went wrong with the end of ten, I couldn't quite trust that Moffat would pull it off.
But he did. I LOVE this episode. LOVE the Doctor telling Amy we are all stories. LOVE wee Amy being fierce. LOVE Rory waiting for the girl he loves. LOVE Amy's wedding speech. LOVE RIver terrifying Daleks.
Fantastic.
I sadly do not live in the UK, nor do I have BBCA………. 🙁 so I can't participate in the liveblogs
Oh, I thought you were going to watch one more Classic Who. Couldn't you go out on the first story ever? PLEASE?????????????????????????????
Mark — you must make sure to watch the mini-episodes from Comic Relief following the Christmas Special. You can see them here:
http://io9.com/#!5783593/doctor-who-reveals-the-real-problem-with-amy-ponds-short-skirts/gallery/1
PFFF. "The wibbly one!"
:O Is this the one with the thing about Amy? Cause I've been looking for it but I can't find it…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JtuEa_OPc -> Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkmiefoRcfU -> Part 2!
I will admit that some of my love for series 5 is because it was so goddamn refreshing to me. And I risk sounding like a broken record as I've voiced this so many times: but what other show has the power to revitalize itself like Doctor Who? One could say, while other shows go stale and run themselves into the ground, Doctor Who is always metaphorically rebooting universes from exploding TARDISes! I love it.
Since I didn't watch 1-4 in real time, I can't really say how I felt about anticipating those finales, but by the End of Time (Parts 1 &2), finales were at least equal parts dread and excitement, probably more on the dread side with a dash of praying to Santa that RTD might ditch bells and whistles in favor of a tighter, more coherent story. But The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang were a different animal, and that animal was just what I needed. Favorite. Finale. Ever.
To repeat what I said Friday- we have a large, universal threat, but with a much smaller focus so it seems less grandiose and overdramatic, and much much more dangerous. The Dalek, much like the parts of the Cyberman, is much more intimidating here than the Daleks as a whole have been in their last few appearances (this includes, of course, Victory of the Daleks). Once again, less is more.
Not to say there isn't a lot going on: there is. The episode is stuffed to the brim and there's barely any room to breathe from the opening credits until they find the Doctor wired up to the Pandorica for his suicide mission. But because it's all one focused plot, not cutting from this person doing this over here to that baddie being menacing over there, Moffat has given himself the luxury of complexity. We have all the emotional beats without any of them feeling terribly manipulative.
For your consideration: Two scenes between Amy and the Doctor. The first, when the Doctor wants to talk to Amy before he goes off. Here he is, abandoning her for the third time in their relationship, in order to give her the greatest gift anyone could- her parents, her childhood, her life. "You'll have your family back. You won't need your imaginary friend anymore." How awful is that? If anyone thinks that Amy should now be completely free of abandonment issues, I do not agree and this is why. She goes back to the life she should have, but just as she felt the sadness of Rory's death even after he never existed, she will live her whole life still dreaming of the Doctor, knowing somewhere in her heart that one of the most important persons in her life has left her again, disappeared in a flying box. GOTCHA INDEED, ASSHOLE! =(
The second, when the Doctor talks to a young Amelia in her sleep. Reading the comments, I know I'm like the billionth person singing praises about this scene so I will try not to be too repetitive. It's so beautifully written, so excellently acted– I've said that David Tennant can wreck me when he cries, well, Matt Smith can wreck me when he's not crying.
And then the wedding! We end the series on a happy note (if a precariously happy one, with River and the Silence looming ahead of us)! See? See? You can have heartbreak and tragedy and awfulness and still end in a good place while setting up for next series! See?! I have a feeling even without the happy couple joining him, the Doctor leaving on his own would not be so sad and lonely as it's been the past four years.
Which leads me to something I want to touch on: the Eleventh Doctor does not have a strong character arch yet. That's not to say he doesn't change- I think after all he's experienced through the last 13 episodes, he's come out more hopeful, less jaded, and a little more able to see the wonders of the universe through his own eyes. By fixing the mess that had been made of Amy's life, he too has learned that things can be fixed, that happy endings are absolutely possible, even in the midst of sad ones. But I would agree with anyone who says he didn't have a character arc– yet. (We had four plus series with Ten, guys. This time in his tenure he was just coming off the event that would shape him for the next three series and some specials. Saying anything about Eleven not getting development is a little premature.) This is actually quite refreshing to me! Since the reboot, we've seen companions, one-off characters, and even the whole of the Time Lords themselves thrown under all sorts of different types of buses not for their own development, but so we could explore how it would effect the Doctor. Now, the Doctor is the main character so I understand that's going to happen to a degree, but all those other characters were just that- also characters, and a lot of them (*cough*DONNA*cough*) deserved better. Series 5 manages to introduce and somewhat develop the Doctor, introduce and complete a character arc for one companion while adding little pieces to the arc of another while memories are falling through cracks. And guess what? I can't think of one significant character that was put through the wringer in a way that didn't do something for their own story instead of wholly being for the purpose of someone else's. Agency and respect were abounds. I love it.
If this series asked to marry me? I would say
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Miscellanious:
-LOL guys the Doctor was texting while he was driving the Pandorica into the explosion. SOMEONE SHOULD WARN HIM OF THE DANGERS OF TEXTING AND DRIVING.
– RIVER IS AWESOME, HATERS TO THE LEFT OF THIS COMMENT. (Hang out in the margin I guess?) I love watching her facade fall when Amy tells her the Doctor's dead. I love her ruthlessness, the mystery surrounding her, and the fact that after the last scene I wonder if she's not his wife and maybe just a stalker that he hasn't filed a restraining order against yet. A River of Tears is such a wonderfully creepy piece of music. I'm pretty sure it's being played backwards? Parts of it at least.
– "How could we forget the Doctor? I was plastic, he was the stripper at my stag…" ILU RORY NEVER CHANGE.
-I disagree with the people who think Amy going in for a kiss at the wedding means she hasn't changed enough. She was a kissogram, for one thing, for another, this has been shown to be part of her personality, and I'm pretty sure if Rory has known her since they were kids, he knows exactly what he's gotten into. For a third, it is a wedding, I think there was probably some drinking involved (at least by the time of the shrubbery proposal). For a fourth, you are not them and they are not you. You don't have to be them and they don't have to be you. They've got their own thing and it works for them. You may not relate to it, but they're staying on, so you're going to have to
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-LOL guys the Doctor was texting while he was driving the Pandorica into the explosion. SOMEONE SHOULD WARN HIM OF THE DANGERS OF TEXTING AND DRIVING.
I LOVE YOU DEEPLY <3
"If anyone thinks that Amy should now be completely free of abandonment issues, I do not agree and this is why. She goes back to the life she should have, but just as she felt the sadness of Rory's death even after he never existed, she will live her whole life still dreaming of the Doctor, knowing somewhere in her heart that one of the most important persons in her life has left her again, disappeared in a flying box."
FLAWLESS.
"See? See? You can have heartbreak and tragedy and awfulness and still end in a good place while setting up for next series! See?!"
YES.
And it's a little long to quote, but the second paragraph of the second comment is so much win, it's basically my manifesto of why I prefer S5 so much more to S1-4.5.
And then everything else is superb too. (And I didn't say it before, but I think your Roman icon is the best.)
Aww, thanks!
And thanks again!- I've kind of gotten pretty attached to my romanized self. =( it's going to be sad to put it away.
I love all of your comments, swimmingtrunks. <3 Seriously, THIS to your whole comment, but particularly this part:
I can't think of one significant character that was put through the wringer in a way that didn't do something for their own story instead of wholly being for the purpose of someone else's. Agency and respect were abounds. I love it.
A++
I love this review and want to marry it and hug it and squeeze it. <3
For a fourth, you are not them and they are not you. You don't have to be them and they don't have to be you. They've got their own thing and it works for them.
Brilliantly put.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmGHAl8j5b0 I HAVE BEEN WAITING ALL SEASON TO POST THIS 🙂 I didn't think Doctor Who could get any more amazing, but then Charlie appears with a ukulele and is MAGICAL.
Check out this brilliant trock song about River Song theories. It's great.
"The Who the Hell is River Song"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57b9JDUpYwY
"Matt Smith is supermegafoxyawesomehot."
<3
AWESOME!
I re-watched The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang yesterday before I went to the library and I was filled with such child-like joy. I love the ending to this series so freaking much. Eleven is my favorite Doctor.
Best bit of the ending was the Mr. Pond exchange.
"That's not how it works."
"Yeah it is."
"…yeeeeah, it is."
We all knew it.
Just for reference…
The entire episode is timey-wimey, the Doctor's dancing? Clearly wibbly-wobbly.
*sighs* So I missed the party, and I'm feeling far to sleepy to come up with a coherent, long comment. I will say this. I absolutely love this episode, and I feel that this is the best finale New Who has had. I loved the timey-wimey and how the scene in the forest made us re-evaluate the older episode. I love Rory's dedication, and it makes Amy/Rory one of the only couples I actively ship. I love the beautiful moments of humour (The FEZ!), I love the cinematography, I just adore it all.
Matt Smith really blows the acting out of the park, and I think where this is most evident is when he's saying goodbye to little Amelia. To everyone who says that Moffat can't write emotional scenes, that is such a complete evidence ot the opposite. You had such a sense of sadness but also quite bravery and age, its wonderful.
As for the scene where Amy brings the Doctor back; like Mark said, its cheesy. In many ways its very similar to TinkerBell Jesus Doctor. But I felt that it was set up so much better, the writing so much fresher, and the combination of cinematography, acting, music and the swell of the TARDIS noise just made it so much more enjoyable to watch, as apposed to breaking out laughing because a little house-elf Doctor started glowing.
As for the scene where Amy brings the Doctor back; like Mark said, its cheesy. In many ways its very similar to TinkerBell Jesus Doctor. But I felt that it was set up so much better, the writing so much fresher, and the combination of cinematography, acting, music and the swell of the TARDIS noise just made it so much more enjoyable to watch, as apposed to breaking out laughing because a little house-elf Doctor started glowing.
I have been trying to reconcile this with myself- Amy's remembering the Doctor versus TBJD, and why I love one but loathe the other. I say THIS to all your points plus some internal logic and specificity of request. ("I remember you so you exist!" compared to… "Doctor"….? Doctor what?)
I think I may have posted this before, but I was discussing the same thing on Gallifrey Base a while back and I was pretty pleased to finally put into words precisely what it is that irks me about the "DOCTOR!" solution. So yeah, my two cents, but apologies if this isn't a new discussion point.
>>> Yes, it made narrative sense, with psychic manipulation being the entire premise of the Master's plan in the first place. But "tuning into the psychic network" doesn't sound plausible to me, regardless of how long he was given, and I think the effects of chanting "DOCTOR" were a little too… focused, given how non-specific the command was? A bit like trying to fix a motherboard using a sledgehammer. There's no finesse. The Master's plan was a. significantly less fiddly, with the only hypnotic message being the much simpler "trust him," and b. implemented off-screen, so we can assume that there was a lot of fiddly technical wizardry going into it, just as the laser screwdriver will have been painstakingly built from the ground up. <<<
Regardless of how long the Doctor had, it wasn't really foreshadowed that he'd be able to "tune into the psychic network." It feels a bit of an asspull – whereas things being resurrected through the power of memories had been absolutely foreshadowed, here, with Rory coming back, and the very premise of the cracks – the same cracks that ate the Doctor – being that they erase you from the memories of the victims. Not to mention, the execution of the resurrection in LOTTL was a bit twee.
That said! I adore LOTTL aside from that scene. I even like the paradox machine snapback – it's neat, tidy, makes sense, and was foreshadowed. Dobby Doctor – brilliant. Making the Doctor feeble and decrepit and old was a masterstroke. The entire episode is sheer joy except that two-minute-or-so long sequence. But the Big Bang is still miles better. :p
Ahhh…. The drunken giraffe… My sister and I have done that dance at several weddings this year! We're spreading the soon to be world-wide dance craze.
End of series 5: The universe ceases to exist and is replaced by something even more bizarrely inexplicable.
Rebooting the show like that was probably the smartest thing Moffat could have done: now he has a real blank slate to work with.
Looking forward to my first real-time series, but I really hope Moffat is done with the "I solved the plot because my future self handed me a cheat sheet" gimmick. Not that this is bad in itself, but it should be used in small doses IMO.
So what you're saying is, someone found out the Question to the Ultimate Answer? I wonder what it was…
Whilst I love this finale, and River and everything, by this point I think Moffat has sor tof shot his NEW IMPROVED Daleks in the foot.
Apparently better than the previous ones, the new paradign's "achievments" to date have been to:
a) run away (Victory!)
b) form an alliance with LESSER speicies (something the previous ones would never consider)…
c)resulting in them helping erase all of reality
d)beg for mercy.
New Daleks? Not so impressed!
Drat, not logge din and computers being odd, so couldn't edit. To clarify… erase all of reality ever including themselves. 😉
In fairness, C) was the old ones' objective in Journey's End. The new ones accidentally brought about what the old ones abjectly failed to do.
Although, admittedly, in Journey's End the daleks were also aiming for continued existence on their own part.
Please please tell me that you will post traditional reviews also for the new shows from April onwards? For some reason intensedebate and my computer Do Not Get On and so if it was *just* liveblogs I will be very sad. And you don't want that, do you?? Do you???!
OK forget the guilt trip :p but would love even just summary reviews of your thoughts on the new ones 🙂
I absolutely love this episode. The wedding line at the end brings the doctor back. so obvious when you read his speech but never put two and two together! also river song made a dalek beg for mercy. OMG WTF.
Only negative thing is Amy's mum is so annoying!
How is Amy's mum annoying? I thought she was a breath of fresh air after Sylvia.
As I said, it's perfectly fine in small doses, and I loved it in "Blink". I just hope it won't be overused.
Oh right, Google wins. Blast! At least we have LAST AIRBENDER TO CONSOLE US KERMIT YAAAAAAY
So. psyched. That show is probably one of my favorite animated ones ever.
Airbender?! EEEE!
This episode aired (and took place on) my 20th birthday. It was a VERY cool birthday present. And then afterwards I got a TARDIS cake 🙂
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Crud that didn't work.
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Made this a when you were half way through series 4 and then I forgot to send it when you finally finished this series.
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Gotta, say, I gushed about the 'something borrowed something blue' line more than I've gushed about anything on TV before. So cheesy. So Fucking Brilliant
Good blog! I truly love how it is simple on my eyes and the data are well written. I am wondering how I might be notified whenever a new post has been made. I’ve subscribed to your RSS feed which must do the trick! Have a great day!