In the third episode of the sixth series of Doctor Who, the TARDIS is marooned on a pirate ship. HOW HAS NU-WHO NOT DONE PIRATES YET? The episode is largely an entertaining and humorous chunk of filler until WHAT IS THAT LAST THIRD. What?!?!?! If you’re intrigued, then it’s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who.
Ok, confession to start off: When I watched the small preview for “The Curse of the Black Spot†at the end of “Day of the Moon,†all my brain could think was YAWN WHO CARES THE DOCTOR IS GOING TO DIE. After coming off of one hell of a series opener, how on earth do you transition to an episode about a pirate ship?
Question: This is how you do it.
That’s not to say that I wouldn’t have loved to seen a fully serialized Doctor Who, a thirteen-part story if you will. But enough of what I watch and read is that way, so it’s nice to have a story that, UNTIL THE END, is largely disposable to the mythology. I add that qualification at the end to make sure it’s clear that this episode itself is not disposable as a whole, but it’s not something a person will probably need at the end of series six. Dramas like this need down time in a way, and the tone of “The Curse of the Black Spot†mixes fairly well between intrigue, tension, and plain goofiness.
Really, I just wanted to see the three of these characters SMILE. After that double-parter, I just needed some joy for a second.
Right from the start, with the Doctor’s ill-used “Yo ho ho!†as our time traveling heroes burst out of the belly of the ship, I could tell that the tone of this episode would be a lot lighter than what we’d just experienced. The story itself is familiar: a beautiful siren is taking pirates about the ship to their graves with her, marking them with the black spot in their palm to signify that they will be taken next. Proving yet again that it’s all in the details, it’s the smaller changes to this story that make it work; it’s those small changes to the myth that also keep the Doctor on his toes.
We’ve seen the Doctor out of his element before (“The Lodger†for instance) (Could Craig Owens please come back?) (I know his story is done, but he’s so awesome and I just want to see more of him.), but Steve Thompson’s story is more about the Doctor being wrong over and over again. The mistakes he makes along the way inevitably get the passengers aboard the ship zapped into nothingness by the siren and, along with the visual cue of the spots, help to give this episode a running tension. (Plus, not being able to have reflections around? Must every inanimate object be used for terror on this show?)
The story itself only really becomes fascinating to me at the very end, aside from my desire to figure out what the siren is. Again, this is perfectly fine for me, as it was nice to sort of “turn off†while watching the episode. If anything, “The Curse of the Black Spot†was a bunch of tiny moments of joy tied together for half an hour. These moments included:
- Amy finding the swords down below the deck, donning an outfit (because seriously, what else would you do?), and then becoming a badass swashbuckler in sixty seconds.
- “Look, “I want to say multi-dimensional engineering, but since you had a problem with sensors, I won’t go there. Look, I’m the Doctor. This is Amy. Rory. We’re sailors! Same as you. Rawr! Except for the gun thing. And the beardiness.
- Amy’s insistence that she did not kill one of the pirates just because she cut him. Do you know where my brain went immediately during this scene? “It’s just a flesh wound!â€
- The Doctor’s slight obsession with pirate laughter. It’s true, though. Only pirates laugh like that!
- Watching Arthur Davrill’s brilliant turn of acting when he was stricken with the black spot and immediately turned into a boisterous, brag-happy Rory. “Cuddle me, shipmate!â€
- The Doctor met Freud. God, I really do love the tiny, minuscule details like this.
- “Well thank God we’re not in the middle of the ocean.†Because sarcastic Amy is a beautiful Amy.
- The introduction of Toby, and his subsequent “disappearance.†I almost said “death,†but we now know that’s not the case. The thing that this episode does well, albeit a bit sparsely, is introduce the son, set him up to be heartbroken, do that, and then KILL HIM IN FRONT OF HIS FATHER. I mean, we do get the very basic elements to that story and nothing terribly in-depth, but I liked it. It was something to add a bit more emotion to Captain Avery’s efforts to save his ship and himself. And I haven’t commented about him yet, so allow me to do so now: I LOVE HUGH BONNEVILLE. I feel like he’s been in EVERYTHING EVER, so I loved that he finally appeared on Doctor Who.
- I noticed that the dynamic changed here just a bit. We’re used to Rory being so worried about Amy’s feelings towards another person, and for this episode, it’s Amy who’s the one who’s a bit freaked out by Rory. Granted, he’s under the spell of the Siren, so it’s not quite the same, but a great deal of this episode is about the strength of the Pond relationship. (That’s right. It’s Rory Pond. DEAL WITH IT.) (No, seriously, not only is this canon, but I saw a few fuckheads on Tumblr trying to whine about how this is unrealistic and ridiculous and HEY SHUT YOUR FACE. For once, a woman gets to keep her last name in a marriage on television. YOU HAVE EVERY OTHER HETEROSEXUAL MARRIAGE EVER ON TV FOR YOU TO DROOL ABOUT. Now, just bring back Canton Delaware III and his hot boyfriend and queer up this show now, please.
- Bringing Captain Avery aboard the TARDIS: Unexpected and pleasant, especially for the way Steve Thompson parallels the two “captains†and their ships.
- Rory, please write a pirate phrase book.
This is essentially what my brain did: I made bullet points of all these funny lines or fascinating scenes and realized afterwards that a largely mysterious plot was what was holding it all together. There weren’t too many (if any at all) overarching themes about hope or loss or scary mythological villains to harp on. (There was one thing, but I’ll get to that at the end.)
So when the Doctor announced that he believed he could reason with the intelligent being that caused all of this, I figured that this is exactly how the episode would end: He’d give some big speech to the Siren. The Siren would relent and give up Rory or some deus ex machina would save them all and they’d part ways.
Here’s why I like Doctor Who so much, and why this episode got saved from being entirely forgettable, aside from some cute lines and scenes: This shit is fucking weird. At no point was I thinking, “Oh shit, this is an episode about parallel worlds colliding in the same point in space!†Not once. When Amy, Captain Avery, and the Doctor woke up aboard what they thought was the same ship as before, I was now more confused than ever. For me, it was just so AWESOME when they realized they were aboard another spaceship. (A small part of me suddenly thought WHAT IF THIS WAS ANOTHER ONE OF THE SILENCE’S SHIPS but then I had to calm down again.)
That’s the real beauty of this show, of the world that they’re allowed to build time and time again. Something like this might have problems with its own internal logic, but not once do we, as the viewer, think that THIS IS AN OUTRAGE AND NOT POSSIBLE. The Doctor is just going to go to weird places and find weird things and weird creatures. It had never even occurred to me that the Siren could have been acting entirely out of a desire to care for the people she was taking.
It’s one of those things where we just get a hint of another world and a whole set of characters, complete with their alien boogies, that we may never revisit again. We only get enough for the story to make sense, and then the shows moves on. We’ll probably never find out what those original creatures were or what sort of technology created that “doctor.†That’s perfectly fine, because we get a poetic story about a father accepting the fate he’s been dealt and staying with his son to take care of him. (Plus, his entire crew is returned to him! That’s pretty cool, too!)
In the case of Rory, who was drowning when the Siren saved him, yet another being finds their life in the hands of Amelia Pond. (Does the Doctor not know CPR? Also, do writers not know that CPR isn’t really used in the way it was used here?) Again, as I said earlier, parts of “The Curse of the Black Spot†acted as a way to show us just how much Rory and Amy Pond love each other. As they take the risk, with Rory’s trust completely in Amy, the Doctor and Amy bring Rory back to the TARDIS and she tries to save his life.
Steve Thompson, HOW DARE YOU MAKE THIS SCENE LAST SO LONG. Did anyone else think they were going to actually kill Rory again in some way? For maybe three or four seconds, I started freaking out because the scene of him not breathing went on WAY TOO LONG. WAY WAY WAY TOO LONG. And then the Doctor got that look on his face, that awfully sad face he gets when he’s given up, which is like NEVER, and I nearly started tearing up.
BUT JK JK JK HE’S ALIVE! Ugh, I would not have forgiven this show had they killed him TWICE in just a year. PLEASE DON’T, THANK YOU.
So, while the whole “pregnant/not pregnant†think is certainly intriguing, we really do need to talk about one thing:
WHO THE FUCK IS THAT WOMAN WITH THE EYE PATCH AND WHY DID SHE APPEAR IN THIS EPISODE AND TELL AMY THAT SHE WAS DOING JUST FINE.
What?!?!?!?!!?! I don’t understand it AT ALL. AT ALL. Is she monitoring Amy? What the fuck for? Before, she said that she believed Amy was dreaming. Ok….is Amy actually asleep somewhere else? I DON’T UNDERSTAND THIS.
(Just a reminder: No spoilers are allowed on this site. If you decide you want to talk about theories of your own, please start your comment off with THEORIES ABOUND so you can warn those who do not wish to read theories. Thanks!)
Short version: Fun, standalone episode that was probably a wee bit too ambitious. Good, not great, won’t be a standout episode in most viewers minds but that’s probably not a bad thing after the opening two-parter and the imminent Gaiman-written hiding-behind-the-sofa episode (that’s not based on any spoilers, but it’s Neil Gaiman finally getting to do Who… does anyone REALLY expect this to be 45 minutes of puppies and raindows?). If this is the worst we get this year it could be one for the ages.
Long version: I liked it, I understand why many won’t. It definitely drags a wee bit in the middle and the third act could have done with a few more minutes. That said I suspect a fair bit of footage ended up on the cutting room floor as it is, hence the vanishing crew member. Ah well, I’d always rather Who was over-ambitious than play it safe. There’s also a few logical gaps, the main one being the pirates with small cuts not coming back, but nothing too horrible (and on that particular one… why would you go back to being outlaws and probably a lonely, painful death when the supplies run out when you can be Pirates. In. Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!)
Interesting take on the Doctor, he’s definitely being show as a fallible character this series and I think that’s probably for the best, “good days and bad days” indeed. I also got some Midnight vibes here where the situation conspired against him being able to get away with giving orders just because he seems to know what he’s doing. Ultimately, I think it’s good for the character to be less than perfect so thumbs up from this long time fan (shades of 7 as well which is always good). Plus the “Toby!” “Rory!” “TARDIS!” bit had me giggling like an idiot… oh Eleven, never change. Supporting cast were great, visuals were stunning yet again (seriously, they’re really knocking it out the park when it comes to sets, camera work etc this year) and the story was solid, if not particularly dramatic.
But let’s be honest, this is more the Amy and Rory show this week and that’s probably a good thing. We’ve had hints of how far these two have come since we first met them but here we get a whole episode of the two together with just personal peril to deal with and they really feel like a genuine couple. Nice to see the roles switched round with Rory being the one in need of defending for the episode, and Arthur was just wonderful in pretty much every scene (and oh how he must have hated reading “Amy gives Rory CPR” in the script…. how many takes did he ‘accidentally’ screw up do we think?). The “Most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” “Oh… tell me I didn’t say that” bit is such a nice way of putting in the sort of thing a normal couple occasionally go through (usually after alcohol is involved) without breaking the sci-fi setting.
There’s no doubt though, surely, that this is Amy’s episode really. I’ve been looking forward to Pirate Pond ever since the first set pictures surfaced and she was hitting River levels of BAMF here. As soon as she gets her hands on that sword she never lets up protecting Rory, doesn’t hesitate to step between him and harm and was fully prepared to dive into a stormy sea to try and save him, lovely stuff. We also get a superb performance from Karen (again…. third episode in a row it’s been so good as to be worthy of note) and she gets to hit everything from comedy through drama and on to tragedy. All of Amy’s abandonment issues and self-doubt are on display and the look on her face when holding Rory after he’s revived is just… wow. No mask there, none of Amy’s usual enforced confidence and kudos to Karen for pulling it off so well. Full marks too for doing ALL the sword fight stuff herself, though I bet the stunt team did a collective ‘oh crap’ when they got their copies of the script. Oh and the little ‘I can’t believe this is working’ grin and swagger after the figure eight stuff in the big sword fight is utterly adorable.
As I said in the short version, not fabulous but good enough and a nice breather before we get hit with a Gaiman next week. Again, I have no spoiler info here, but it’s Neil f’n Gaiman with The Grand Moff as script editor…. personally I’m gonna go buy up shares in any company that makes both regular and adult diapers before next week. And top tip, if you’ve been putting off reading up on the show’s backstory, now would probably be a good time to do so with two Uber-fanboys running the show next week.
Great review, I agree completely! 🙂
I very much agree, and I can't second the Karen stuff enough. People are always talking about how beautiful she is, and say, "Well, she's not really that great an actress, her looks are all I can talk about." In my personal opinion she's definitely a good actor, both in the last season but especially this one, so find some other excuse to talk exclusively about how hot she is.
Hey Mark, just realised why this site (along with the Excellent Radio Free Skaro podcast) is now just about the only Who-related web site I visit… you get it. You treat it as something to be enjoyed and… dare I say… loved for what it is rather than the typical Internet cynicism and that's a rare thing. Thank you sir, long may it continue!
Oh and I've just got to comment on this: "No, seriously, not only is this canon, but I saw a few fuckheads on Tumblr trying to whine about how this is unrealistic and ridiculous and HEY SHUT YOUR FACE."
To borrow a phrase from TV Tropes regarding the end of The Big Bang: "To sum it up nicely: Amy flat-out orders reality to give her back her Doctor, and it does. Not with a begrudging "Why should I?" or even a permissive "Very well, here you go." No, this troper envisions it returning him with more of a cowardly, scared-crapless "Yes ma'am." The totality of existence is officially Amy Pond's bitch. " If you are married to a woman like this and she has a much, much more interesting last name than you YOU DAMN WELL TAKE IT! Besides, "Ameilia Wiliams" kinda… sucks. Suddenly wishing I'd phrased that better…
"Also, do writers not know that CPR isn’t really used in the way it was used here?" – Uh, everyone does remember that this is the show that used CPR to heal blood loss right?
What I want to know about the Woman with the Eye Patch is this: How did she manage to nick Odin's stylish eye wear from the Thor movie and what's she gonna do when he comes looking for it?!?!!!
Great big WORD to the first paragraph (well, minus the podcast thing that I don't know about).
Sorry, I just need to make a quick comment about my shared love for Radio Free Skaro. Sometimes I disagree with them, sometimes they make fun of things that I like, but sometimes, like this episode, they made me like the story more by pointing out the good things and poking fun at the weird bits. So yeah, Radio Free Skaro FTW.
To my shame I didn't grab the latest one today (granted the fact my Macbook Pro is dying didn't help) but will be listening tomorrow. Same here, don't always agree (I tend to trend with Stephen's views) but they work very well together and even in the depths of Fear Her they clearly still love the show. Wish there were more like them and Mark out there to be honest, the web would be a brighter, bouncier place… though we may have to invent stronger keyboards better designed to withstand smashes.
I think there's definitely a market for unsmashable keyboards….
Teehee, I saw Thor the other day and had that exact same thought! Weirdest crossover ever y/y?
Although PLEASE LET THE DOCTOR VISIT THE VIKINGS SOME DAY THAT WOULD BE ~AMAZING~
Has that been done on Old Who?
This is the only DW-related site I visit either, I prefer to keep away from fandoms in general because of the huge potential for annoying fanwank, but this site (and Mark Spoils, so I guess that's two really, but many of the same people) is just so great.
I've got to agree. To such extent everywhere I go is so cynical, and it can take the love out of Who. I'm not asking for perfect reviews, since Doctor Who isn't a perfect show, and criticism is due where criticism is due. But have fun with it, guys! Its our fandom! Enjoy it!
THIS to that first paragraph. This is my happy fun corner of fandom, the only part of it I can stand.
The only other Doctor Who related stuff I go to (aside from tumblr, I think 75% of my tumblr is Who these days) is the starwhales community on livejournal, which was set up solely to give people an area to just enjoy the show without the fanwank. Yes, Doctor Who sometimes has its issues, but if you're going to complain about how awful the show is all the time and how you hate the actors and/or characters… why do you watch it?
I just don't understand those people at all.
Man this episode was bad. I actually got up and walked away from the computer at the end because I was so bored/disappointed I had to wake myself up. Seriously Moffat, I already don't like Amy and Rory that much, you've done little for me personally in the way of giving their characters depth, that I don't care if they die. I especially don't care when you "kill" one of them almost every single episode.
I think this might be worse than Victory of the Daleks for me. At least that episode made me laugh. This one just left me bored. So bored. The characters seemed pretty bored too. "Oh no, that guy is going to die! Let's stand here and half-heartedly yell for him to stop!" And that ending? Made no sense. What a weird plot contrivance that wasn't even interesting and has been done better before. And as I'd already mentioned, I was completely checked out by the time Rory "died" that the last 10 minutes did nothing for me emotionally.
Now, for the good stuff. Umm, pirates are cool? Rory got to act drunk. (And what was the reason for that now I think on it?) Matt Smith was fun as always, especially in the opening on the plank. Yeah, that's all I got. On to next week's episode!
The Siren's song was anaesthetic. I would imagine anaesthetic makes you loopy in the same way that taking large amounts of painkillers would. (That's my idea, anyway.)
I was about to murder people when I thought for a second that Rory had died. AGAIN. I swear, Moffat, if that happens again… (My threats towards Moffat have quadrupled since the start of Series 6 – I'm sensing a pattern – you are terrifying me more than usual, sir…) He is steadily becoming my favourite Series 6 character so if even one hair on his head is harmed, there will be breaking news of a murdering rampage at the BBC. That is all.
All in all, a satisfying ep, I think. The pacing felt a bit disconcerting at first. But, after that rollercoaster of a series opener most things would seem a bit, well, slow.
Hugh Bonneville was unsurprisingly marvelous, I loved him as a Captain Avery.
The Siren? I'm glad we spent most of the ep wondering whether she really was part of a curse or not and the inevitable alien explanation was satisfying. Though it did remind me of the solution/answer/revelation from The Doctor Dances – just an observation. Also, the mirror-ghost-ship was a really cool idea, especially since it explained how the Siren escaped through reflections. My mind went to the youngest member of the Family (Sister of Mine) from Human Nature/The Family of Blood; the Doctor trapping her in a mirror world of some kind – nothing to do with this story, I just connected the two. I thought Lily Cole was good for the part she played; she has the kind of spooky, otherworldly look that fit the story. Plus, I really like her so it was nice to see her on DW.
Eleven himself seemed kind of 'off' throughout the episode. I'm not entirely sure what I mean by that. Just that the first ten-fifteen minutes in I had the feeling I was watching more Matt Smith than the Doctor – does that even make sense? The whole using words like "sistah!" and "groovy!" reminded me more of Matt than Eleven, though it got better for me later on. Maybe I'm just not used to the Doctor being SO WRONG. He obviously has a lot on his mind,though, I can forgive him XD. Also, I think I preferred the Doctor's floppy hair from Series 5 – so much bouncier! Amy’s hair was, of course, utterly envy-inducing.
Speaking of Amy, pirate outfits and cutlasses suit her – though I’m OK with her and Rory’s outfits matching too. And, speaking of Amy and Rory, I’m getting major Ron/Hermione vibes from them– only with opposite hair. XD
Lastly – I SEE YOU THERE, EYE PATCH LADY. So, now I’m fairly convinced this woman is somehow watching over Amy in a hospital room of some kind. That's what she meant by monitoring right? OH GOD I DON'T KNOW! But, other than that? I'm hoping eye patch lady (who is obviously part of the bigger plot of this series) won't be in every single episode cause she totally threw me out of the story on Saturday-it seemed very obvious she was tacked on rushedly. Otherwise, ANSWERS WILL BE NEEDED. And, Amy, you need to tell the Doctor. I’m dreading her seeing the woman again and being interrupted. AGAIN.
P.S. Another pregnancy test? Positive/Negative? Perplexing.
P.P.S. I think an episode where the Doctor meets the newly established Space Pirates is in order. Partly because I think it will be cool. Mostly because I want Hugh Bonneville back.
P.P.P.S. TARDIS/DOCTOR OTP. His love has been cemented with this episode 🙂
"The whole using words like "sistah!" and "groovy!" reminded me more of Matt than Eleven, though it got better for me later on."
Uh, if you'd care for a Watsonian explanation, you could attribute the "forced" quirkyness as Eleven trying to compensate for all the troubles plaguing their minds. Think of it like Ten trying to amuse the Ood with the car-lock-effect on the TARDIS? He's maybe trying to run away from his worries. I kind of view Eleven with a quiet desperation behind a lot of his behavior now.
So I don't have that many thoughts – really, is there anyone who feels motivated to say more about this episode than the last two? I don't mind that this was a filler episode, and easy on the brain, although I prefer the more twisty stuff personally. I like that compulsion to rewatch, and this isn't really that sort of an episode. Which isn't itself bad, it's just not my preference.
So there were some issues with this story: there were pacing issues, there were plot holes, there were possibly weird characterizations (really, the Doctor's so ready to surrender themselves to the Siren? Really, he's just gonna watch Amy try to revive Rory without helping?), but you know what?
<img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/vne7gl.gif">(source)
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/2euhcw3.gif">(source)
THERE. WERE. PIRATES. AMY GOT IN A SWORDFIGHT. BUT BEFORE THAT, SHE EYED A HAT. ELEVEN WORE A HAT TOO. AND REMINISCED ABOUT FRUED'S COMFY SOFA.
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/3helx.gif">(source)
Eleven was generally awkward and endearing in this ep. And Rory acted high. And got shirtless. And the lovely Lily Cole was a siren, and did a compelling job without even having to speak.
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/1zz28hg.gif">(source)
And Amy saved Rory. Multiple times. Because they do that for each other.
<img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/2gvsxtx.gif">(source)
And the Doctor carries the weight of the universe and 900+ years of life on his shoulders. When Amy's performing CPR, but it looks like it's not gonna work, he just gets so sad, and he doesn't break down or anything, he just knows that humans die. Young. And to have to watch someone he loves crying in grief – Matt Smith you are amazing. And then Rory starts coughing, and the Doctor gets this look of relief and stands up. Because, for this moment at least, watching more people die was avoided. Because he was preparing himself to console Amy, I think, but he doesn't have to. So he's happy, but he still has to deal with worrying about Amy. Life is hard, and no one knows that better than a lonely time lord.
Honestly, I didn't expect Rory to die, just because he's already did and he's no Daniel Jackson. But damned if I didn't, just for a moment, worry about him during that scene.
Also, anyone who says Karen Gillan can't act just needs to fucking stop. Same for calling Amy useless, passive, etc. (this is a reaction to general fandom, btw, not anyone specific, and not anyone on Watches).
Other thoughts:
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/sm96z7.gif">(source)
OTP FOR LIFE.
PIRATES IN SPACE! Good for them. Also, I was side-eying that a character of color is the first to die, but everybody lives! So that was an improvement on Blind Banker.
I'm loving the serialized aspect to the season so far. We get a return of the eyepatch woman, we get acknowledgement of past plot points: flashbacks to the Doctor's death, Amy's possibly pregnancy still being unresolved. Having watched the season finale of Fringe the night before watching this episode, Doctor Who being known for it's prior "easy access" in terms of a season arc just seems pretty strange compared to basically every other show, other than comedy, that I watch. I think I just gravitate towards these drawn out stories a lot. So I'm looking forward to this season being a more serialized version of Doctor who.
Enjoyed the running joke of the Doctor's theories being rubbish. I think this is actually quite a good episode example of the "madman in a box" description Moffat so likes. I had commented about the previous ep that we saw Eleven getting humbled, basically. And it continues. I like it. Maybe it's too early to call, but I can see this season contuing the trend and making a theme out of the Doctor being overshadowed, and maybe even defeated. At the very least, the Doctor's death will probably be in the shadows of every episode, whether it's directly acknowledged or not. I know that it'll be on my mind, at least.
I love the domestic aspect of the last scene – the Ponds are saying goodnight and going to bed. Also, we got verbal acknowledgement that bathrooms exist on the TARDIS. That really pleases me for some reason.
"Bacteria" and "virus" are mutually exclusive terms. It was one line, and such a throwaway line at that, but it still pissed me off.
The next ep is gonna kill me, isn't it.
"Also, anyone who says Karen Gillan can't act just needs to fucking stop. Same for calling Amy useless, passive, etc. (this is a reaction to general fandom, btw, not anyone specific, and not anyone on Watches). " – Welcome to my Christmas Card list 😉
"And then Rory starts coughing, and the Doctor gets this look of relief and stands up. Because, for this moment at least, watching more people die was avoided. Because he was preparing himself to console Amy, I think, but he doesn't have to. " – Definately. Also think that maybe 11 is starting to figure out the whole personal space thing and knows that moment should really just be the two of them.
"I love the domestic aspect of the last scene – the Ponds are saying goodnight and going to bed." Rather early. While talking about things that could definately be taken in an after-the-watershed kinda way. Coupled with Pirate's Amy "On your knees" earlier in the ep and I think this almost ranks up there with Christmas Carol in the 'amount of crap slipped under the radar' stakes.
I didn't notice that it was that early, but I did enjoy "Go to bed, Pond!"
Awesome review is awesome. And awesome GIFs, too! 🙂
Also, anyone who says Karen Gillan can't act just needs to fucking stop. Same for calling Amy useless, passive, etc.
THIS x 1000000000000.
"OTP FOR LIFE. "
QUOTED FOR TRUTH. I think that was my favorite part of the episode, which is saying a bit. That relieved backwards hug! xD
Also, anyone who says Karen Gillan can't act just needs to fucking stop. Same for calling Amy useless, passive, etc. (this is a reaction to general fandom, btw, not anyone specific, and not anyone on Watches).
THIS. I swear, if I didn't have this place, I would utterly and completely loathe this fandom. All the unrelenting negativity over every single little thing is beyond annoying, and these repeated slams on Karen/Amy are one of the most irritating. Thank goodness for this place, where it's more about – as Stephen_M put it – enjoying it and having fun.
The weird thing is I really can't see where the knocks on Amy come from any more. First few episodes of Series 5, when it was obvious they were setting her up as a bit broken (what was it, five minutes after Amy came on screen we were told of her rather long history of psychiatrist visits?), I kinda expected some people to miss that part and just complain. But since…. oh, Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone I'd say…. she's been all kinds of awesome.
From a character point of view: got herself out of the Angel from the TV problem and was willing to die alone rather than let the Doctor go down with her. Came up with the plan to put herself in the middle of the bad guys in Venice. Sacrificed herself rather than living without Rory. Got sucked under the earth expecting to die and her last proper thoughts were of Rory. Had to be bodily dragged away from Rory when he died. Fought off a Cyberman with a flaming torch. Refused to leave Auton!Rory despite him begging her to go. Brought her parents back to life. Remembered the Doctor back into the universe while standing up to all those who already thought her crazy. Was / is determined to find a way to save the Doctor despite being told it's not possible. Didn't hesitate to step between Rory and a proven-lethal siren while swashbuckling an entire (albeit reduced) crew of pirates.
From an acting perspective, god where do you start? Rory's two deaths in Series Five probably, her fangirling around Van Gogh, her interaction with Rory when she thinks there's even the smallest chance of him rejecting her, endless comedy moments (the thumbs up in Pandorica is going to take some topping), her grief over the Doctor's death, ALL of the voiceover work in Day of the Moon and more or less everything in Curse. There's always something going on, a lot of it very subtle, and you really can see the evolution of Amy as she gets to grips with her issues through the series.
Eh, who knows, though I do see a lot of double standards when it comes to Amy as a character with a lot of people who knock (not saying here mind, just in a general Fandom sense) bashing her for stuff that they praise Rose for. Think there's also a few who are determined to prove their view of Moffat being a sexist pig is correct and, as a result, are projecting so hard you could point 'em at a wall and show off PowerPoint slides.
Totally agree! Amy Pond is competely awesome! Like someone said, she demanded the universe to give her back her doctor, and the universe FUCKING COMPLIED!
And about the double standards thing, people just need to LET ROSE GO! SHE'S GONE! (Actually, she left a while ago, but even the writers couldn't let her go, and they couldn't let the doctor let her go either.) Nostalgia is dangerous.
I swear comfy seats are Eleven's happy place. He made quite the point of them to Angel Bob as well 😉
I just had a sort of fairly minor epiphany while waiting for this post. Since Saturday I, and most of the internet from what I've seen, immediately filed this episode under the "fun but not really that important" category of Who-episodes. Then I remembered that, hey didn't we assume the same about The Lodger? That it was mostly a light comedy episode (albiet with some scary parts and arc-references jammed in). Look how important that turned out to be. The gist of this is: I will no longer assume that any episode is unimportant.
I had the opposite problem with this episode to the one I had with The Impossible Astronaut. Where that episode felt incredibly short to me this one felt really, really, really long. I remember glancing over at the clock and realising we were only fifteen minutes in yet it felt like it had been on for a lot longer (I don't know, maybe Don't Scare The Hare threw off my perception of time).
I didn't think they were going to kill off Rory, to be honest I was more worried when the TARDIS disappeared. Let's face it they'd be pretty much screwed if they somehow stopped the Siren but remaind TARDIS-less. Thankfully, my OTP was reunited:
<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lku96mTbDN1qa1vu6.gif"/>
I didn't catch it the first time but someone (possibly on the Spoiler blog) pointed out that the Confidential episode showed a different take of the reunion scene in the sickbay where Matt instead calls out "BABY!" to the TARDIS. OTP, is what I'm saying, OTP.
(cont.)
Only Karen Gillan could make BRIGHT PINK tights look that good. Damn her and her amazing legs. I'm one of the many people (including Arthur Darvill if Confidential is to be believed) that are extremely jealous of the grey coat. On a less positive wardrobe note, I realised in rewatching that Rory is wearing two plaid shirts. Really Rory? Amy talk to your husband that's far too much plaid.
I keep trying to think of things to say but, despite my epiphany, I'm still rather 'meh' about the episode as a whole. It was fun but not an instant favourite. I do have on last thought: can we please see Avery and his crew again at some point? Please? I mean SPACE PIRATES! That would be fun!
Neil Gaiman says that Karen's legs are prosthetics, that's the only possible way she could have such long legs.
I will no longer assume that any episode is unimportant.
AGREED. Coming to that conclusion had me wondering if the whole different universes/planes of existence meeting will have later importance, particularly with the Amy/Pregnancy/EyePatch Lady storyline.
I looooved the 'baby!' part. I don't know if Matt thought that up or who did, but I love it a lot. I watched it over and over again. I wish they'd kept it in.
You have a point about the 'unimportant' thing, and we've seen how Moff likes to pull in all the characters from throughout the season (see Churchill, Liz 10 and Van Gogh reappearing in the Pandorica Opens) so maybe we'll get space pirates in the finale.
Oh man, I hope we see Liz 10 again. She is so awesome.
I live in hope that one day we get Liz 10 and River teaming up to travel the universe being BAMFs together. The five seconds of them interacting in The Pandorica Opens was so much fun.
That's a very very good point about not assuming it's unimportant. I agree.
There WAS another mysterious spaceship with no explanation of where it came from. If nothing else, I'd like the Doctor to run into the pirate crew flying the spaceship again at some point in the future.
I joined just so I could post this:
My OTP
<img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/2jeuzk4.gif">
THANK YOU FOR THIS.
DOCTOR/TARDIS OTP!
I've said it before, I'll say it again: Companions come and go but the TARDIS is always by his side…except for in this one where she got dragged off by the Siren.
And those times she was mistaken for a piece of modern art and put on display. 🙂
I swear, they threw this in just to please all us crazy TARDIS/Doctor shippers! 😛
…is there a name for that ship that rolls off the tongue a little easier? Anyone know? Or could someone at least make one up that sounds plausible?
I was going to go for 'Doctard' but…no. Just no.
Tartor? Docdis? This is a really hard ship to combine names.
TARTOR SAUCE
How can I ship Doctor/River, when Doctor/TARDIS is so much more fulfilling??
Doctor/River/TARDIS?
…no? Just me? Okay.
No, I dig Doctor/River/Tardis or even Doctor/Tardis/River (since River seems to have such a great love for the Tardis, too.) I actually sort of love that OT3 as much as the idea of Amy/Rory/Amy OT3.
Doctor/TARDIS/River OT3 all the way.
Definitely not just you. 😛
Best part of the whole ep. 😀
I liked this episode. It was clearly a filler episode, but it was fun none-the-less. Plus there were just so many great quotes in this episode!
Also, why must they always kill or nearly kill Rory. It makes me tear up every time!
Anyways, I don’t have much else to say, so how about some gifs I stole from tumblr!
<img src="http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt56/roxicons5/tumblr_lkuxyj2JbU1qgvngzo1_500.jpg " alt="drwho" />
<img src=" http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkuqehW7pa1qft5… alt="drwho" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/A1zVG.gif " alt="drwho" />
<img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/e11z5v.gif " alt="drwho" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/QheSP.gif " alt="drwho" />
<img src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkuorqF5JQ1qauci5o1_500.gif " alt="drwho" />
Oh My God. RORY IS KENNY. HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT?
YOU BASTARDS!
You know, there are so many shipping vids on youtube. Why aren't there any for Doctor/TARDIS? Someone needs to get on that, stat.
<img src="http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt56/roxicons5/tumblr_lkw5gePBOO1qhwj1ro1_500.jpg" alt="drwho" />
<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkuto2oslP1qax6x6o1_500.gif " alt="drwho" />
<img src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkut2vcOD31qcyimqo1_400.gif " alt="drwho" />
<img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkugclsPH51qbtguuo1_r2_500.gif " alt="drwho" />
<img src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkuqxuO6QM1qgthp5o1_400.gif " alt="drwho" />
<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkupowBBOQ1qzgu6io1_500.gif " alt="drwho" />
<img src=" http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lks2haMndh1qjxe… alt="drwho" />
<img src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkurviUng41qa3psyo1_500.gif " alt="drwho" />
(All stolen from: http://doctorwho.tumblr.com/)
Hey, one of those is a gif I made! It's the alien bogies one. I was SO EXCITED when the Doctor Who tumblr reblogged it!
The Doctor getting ready to swan dive makes me laugh. Does he even know how to swim? I don't imagine he uses the TARDIS swimming pool much.
Seriously, can we stop fake-killing him now please? This is getting really old as doesn't work as drama anymore.
The episode as a whole: Big lump of Meh with some nice moments and a good resolution that saved it from being completely forgettable, though it reminded me a lot of the Empty Child/Doctor Dances one.
Prediction: The woman with the eyepatch will be identified in episode 13. I won't even bother speculating because it probably won't make sense.
What can be said about this about apart from it exist and it isn't terrible. Well it's good to see the Doctor getting everything wrong and I always enjoy it when a writer does a story that doesn't rely on a villain as such. I think villains are overused to begin with. Note to writers: If you're incapable of writing a decent story without a villain, don't even bother writing at all.
Random image of the week, presenting Amy Pond, time-travelling Jedi-Pirate:
<img src="http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv301/vick1986_album/amyjedi-1.jpg">
Oh, oh, hang on a sec… *googles* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL5ud5_K-GY
Seriously, go watch that for some superb rotoscope work and Amy with… oh, just go watch it 😉
Yeah I've seen that before.
Oh my God, that was AWESOME! XD XD XD
This isn't an amazing episode, but it was decent. I'll never pick it out of a lineup to re-watch, but it didn't make me want to stop in the middle of it. I personally found that it was entirely too predictable. The entire episode (I was watching with a friend of mine) we were announcing our theories and 5 minute late they came true. From shiny surfaces, to the captain keeping the crown, to the siren being a medical hologram thingy. I generally expect and prefer more suspense. I don't want to be able to predict things. That's not nearly as fun as having my head explode in surprise. I'm looking forward to the next episode which will hopefully bring Doctor Who back into the realm of surprise and suspense I love so much.
Basically in short: fun little episode that is altogether forgettable. Would watch again only if forcing another person to watch all of Doctor Who.
It was a fun episode. I adore Hugh Bonneville (two of my favorite shows, Doctor Who and Downton Abbey colliding in a perfect storm of awesome? MY LIFE IS PERFECT) and he'd apparently been lobbing for a part on Doctor Who since 2005. So yay!
(Now, if the Doctor and Amy would show up and get slapped around by the Dowager Countess, I might actually drown in squee.)
CAN THEY PLEASE STOP KILLING RORY. LIKE, SERIOUSLY, STOP.
aside from that, i liked this a lot, ridiculous plotholes and lack of making sense aside. BUT DUDE. STOP KILLING RORY.
someone askedd moffat to stop. He said no. I'm serious check his twitter out…
The CPR bit confuses me too. I've decided that it only worked because of TARDIS magic and that's why they wasted a few seconds to carry Rory to the TARDIS.
I like this theory so much that I'm making it my headcanon. *slow claps*
This makes so much more sense, yes.
Seriously! They couldn't have done CPR on the floor of the sick bay?
This is probably my least favourite Eleven episode so far 🙁 I don't know if it's because the first 2 episodes were crazy and mind blowing and awesome or if I've been tainted by the Fringe finale, which was also crazy and mind blowing and awesome, but, to me, this episode just fell flat. My main problem was that I just didn't care about any of the characters (minus our trio of course). I felt this episode was inconsistent in a lot of ways. I don't quite get the reflective surfaces thing. There are a lot of reflective surfaces. Also, it's not like the ocean or the crown would create perfect reflections- the water wasn't still and the images in the crown were distorted. If she could crawl out of those, why not out of the swords or someone's buttons? It also irked me that Amy performed CPR incorrectly. In general, Doctor Who is awesome and a lot of details can be overlooked but really? CPR? Couldn't they at least get that right?
Well, if there's one thing this episode did, it was to finally make Doctor/TARDIS canon once and for all.
Brilliant episode for Matt Smith's comedy skills. "Stroppy homicidal mermaid' indeed. I almost died when he was blowing on the locket and giving a thumbs up. Brava.
I thought this was a fun, silly episode and a much needed break before NEIL GAIMAN BLOWS OUR MINDS HATERS TO THE LEFT PLS.
Question: This is how you do it.
You mean answer?
The Doctor’s slight obsession with pirate laughter. It’s true, though. Only pirates laugh like that!
"Space-yar!"
RPGnet consensus seems to be that the episode was mediocre. Certainly was no "The Impossible Astronaut," but I had fun watching it.
1) Thought for sure that at least one of the following would turn out to be significant: the pentacle, the medallion (beyond shininess), Avery's gloves (hiding a spot? something else?), Amy being the only woman on the pirate ship, or the Doctor being nonhuman (unlike the other victims). Guess the episode was full of red herrings.
2) There were definitely points where it seemed like Murray Gold was riffing off the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack(s).
3) How did Amy do so well in the swordfight? Was it just that they were terrified of getting cut?
4) "We are NOT HELPLESS! Captain, what's our next move?"
5) "TARDIS runs off on its own, that's a bit of a new one." Well, in still-canon stories, anyway. Remember the "Blink" prototype?
6) Seven of Nine again. Amy was alone the first time, in "Day of the Moon," and Rory was asleep this time — but she woke up, and he didn't. The first was before the Silence kidnapped her, so that can't be the cause.
7) It didn't occur to me until afterward, but the bit about the pirates being English is important — they wouldn't have been able to communicate without the TARDIS otherwise.
8) "Feels like something's out there…staring straight at me." I waved at the screen.
9) "I swear he's making half this stuff up!"
10) One thing I did expect to be a red herring, but wasn't, was the reflections — I thought that would turn out to be another mistaken theory. Threw that idea out when the siren came out of the crown.
11) I did start to think at some point that the body count was getting awfully high (especially given the showrunner) and start getting suspicious that they were just transported. Not displeased at having been proved right, though!
12) The Who rule holds: You can include any fantasy being or critter you want, as long as it turns out to be an alien.
13) Why didn't the Doctor, Amy, and Avery land in the sick bay with everyone else? Were all the people with only minor wounds judged low-risk and dumped there to be collected later?
14) Siren song doesn't take effect if you've already been collected. Hm.
15) The Doctor repeatedly made the point that the siren was intelligent — on what grounds the first time, I couldn't tell. The TARDIS was translating for her, yes? (Recalling The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, I assume that she herself wasn't capable of complex language.) Does that mean she could understand them? Did she have the means to realize that if not for saving Toby, she would've done more harm than good — much more? That the crew had been fully capable of healing their own wounds with little trouble the whole time? Why weren't the crew discharged? Why were they discharged at the end? Why couldn't she learn how to remove the water from Rory's lungs, with Rory and the Doctor there to help her?
16) Even I could tell the CPR looked fake. Shouldn't he have gotten a broken rib or two? "Clean, Pretty, Reliable" indeed. (For a moment, I thought they might actually kill him off. Dramatic, much?)
17) So did the siren accept Avery as captain? I can't think of any reason everyone else would've been discharged.
Theories abound in the reply!
7) It didn't occur to me until afterward, but the bit about the pirates being English is important — they wouldn't have been able to communicate without the TARDIS otherwise.
Well with the Tardis in the same physical space,maybe it still would have worked? I mean, there's no real reason to worry cause they WERE english, but I'd be interested to know…
"Feels like something's out there…staring straight at me." I waved at the screen.
Omg THIS. I can't believe I'm still laughing at this. Thank you.
I, too, thought there would be something significant about the captain wearing gloves. Like we'd find out at the end that he was the very first person to be marked but he'd been hiding it and somehow that had brought this doom down upon his entire crew.
#2 – Who isn't ripping off Pirates of the Caribbean anymore (and before that LoTR and Harry Potter)? I hear that familiar chord everywhere now. Not that I hate it or anything but :/
Took me a minute to parse "who" as a pronoun there. 🙂 What is that chord, anyway? Is it a minor one? I can't even tell what keys songs are in.
The part where you thought, "It's just a flesh wound!" ? All I could picture was Draco in A Very Potter Musical going, "I'M BLEEDING! *touches fingers to wound* *holds them out* O_O"
I clearly have a one-track mind.
I found this episode to be rather disappointing. Granted, I wasn't that excited when I saw the previews, but it was still a let-down. The story only got interesting for me when they got on board the spaceship.
Also, I'm rather afraid that if Rory would end up being killed, I wouldn't be phased at all. Until afterwards of course, then I'd just throw a fit and start punching walls. Come on, Moffat; Rory's not Kenny for crying out loud.
That should have been a doctor or indeed a nurse.
re Amy's insecurity, the only part that threw me was that one bit about her being worried that Rory called the Siren the most beautiful thing. So I didn't like that bit. But were there other specific moments that bugged you?
Maybe it was just me, but I got the impression from her delivery of that line that she wasn't actually insecure, more slightly pissed and in a mood to give Rory a hard time. Who among us would be able to resist the urge to give our significant others a hard time if they'd said something stupid while basically high?
I also got the impression she was ribbing him. Watch her face when she repeats "most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" line back to Rory in a sulky voice – she's totally trying to hide her smile and not really sulking. I would probably do the same thing in her situation!
Oooo, maybe, haha. To be honest, I wasn't reaaaally paying attention this episode- too distracted by the wtf-ness of the previous two. When the series is done and all my questions answered I'll have to go back and watch this one!
I was a bit annoyed by that too, since its really hard to hold him accountable. When the guy's been enchanted, its really not his fault. In my mind, I partly gave a Watsonian explanation that she just likes stringing Rory out.
Well, how would you react if your husband called other woman "the most beautiful thing he's ever seen"? 😛 I know I would be quite pissed about that.
It was only that part- it seemed to come out of no where and it didn't seem like a very Amy thing to say. I love Amy and Rory and their relationship, I just wish the writers would stop throwing it in our faces. Although, if they were to actually kill off one of them maybe it would have more impact because we'd be like pssh, this again o_O That would be evil.
It was cool watching the scene with Amy saving the Doctor the second time. Because now I know everyone's freaked out because they can't afford to be scratched at all, then Amy thinking it's cause of her awesome skills and getting all confident-the smile on her face just after she swirls the sword around is just lovely and I get irritated when people say she cannot act because I can totally see her putting two and two together in her head.
So I like this episode as a filler piece, but not a lot more to say about that. I'm not gonna lie though I did not give a shit about that kid or the fact that he was disappointed in his dad-um, being a pirate is an awesome job why don't you stop being an 18th century orphan stereotype.
I can't say that I thought for a second that Rory was going to die, this episode it was all about their relationship: he trusts her, and she manages to save him, for once and everything is good. It was a good moment for them and I'd like to see more of them developing as individuals than the angsty relationship stuff we've had to see from the last two episodes, but I have a bad feeling that won't be the case. Yeah, it really wouldn't have killed the director to google proper CPR before they did that scene but it didn't bother me too much as far as being able to enjoy the scene.
Also: I don't know if this is just me and you don't have to agree, but the Doctor seems to be getting all the good lines this season. I get him being the star of the show and he's just incredibly fun to write for, but I'd like to see more of Amy being funny, cause I miss that.
So I like this episode a lot as a filler piece, but not a lot more to say about that. I'm not gonna lie though I did not give a shit about that kid or the fact that he was disappointed in his dad-um, being a pirate is an awesome job why don't you stop being an 18th century orphan stereotype.
Completely agree. I liked the captain, but I really didn't like the kid. He was awfully whiny. C'mon kid, most little boys would be absolutely thrilled to find out that their dad is a pirate captain!
No kidding he was totally a Percy, but without the humour and charm :/
This episode was kinda average. Not bad really but only sort of good. I think it feels like a let down after the HOLY-FUCK episodes we had before. There was funny lines but it didn't feel like piratey fun or creepy or scary though I'm sure it scared the crap out of the kids watching it. Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is a kids show. I don't have much to complain or talk about. Basically it was just OK.
The bad
Doing CPR wrong.
Did he really forget that he put the shiny reflective crown that he's willing to risk his life for in his coat and then send his son to get the coat? I know he was in a rush what with the storm but that's like forgetting you put a bomb in your coat. I thought it was the compass that was going to be a shiny thing that killed the son (cause you knew it was gonna happen)
FAKE KILLING RORY. AGAIN! I just looked away from the TV. I refused to get sucked into that scene. I'm not having it. I'm not watching Rory die again. Nope. Not happening. They had better not do that again.
The Brilliant
Rory! Shirtless! More Please!
This has officially made me a Tardis/Doctor Shipper. He hugs her! And the look on his face.
Theories abound
I'm sure many many many people will have said this by the time I've finished writing this comment but Eyepatch lady sounds like a midwife so maybe she's a caretaker? that the Silence have got to take care of Amy while she's carrying time head baby and she's periodically checking up on her. Her being a Silence related thing would explain why she doesn't seem to remember her.
When skimming past I somehow misread your comment and thought you said that maybe the Silence impregnated Amy which is why they were using the Eyepatch lady to watch over her O_O NO THANK YOU, BRAIN
That is exactly what I think….or at least it's one of my theories.
SO TERRIFYING. But it would be kind of awesome in a horrible way? I'm torn
That would be quite dark for a kids show. Being impregnated against your will. Not sure if I want to see that in Doctor Who.
It would be terrible. And it would definitely be dark, and I definitely don't know how I'd feel about it. I'm not a fan of pregnancy plots, usually. So really, however this plays out it better blow me away.
WHO THE FUCK IS THAT WOMAN WITH THE EYE PATCH AND WHY DID SHE APPEAR IN THIS EPISODE AND TELL AMY THAT SHE WAS DOING JUST FINE.
Can we discuss how odd this is on a narrative level? Think of someone watching this episode without having seen any others. It works perfectly fine on a filler level, but there is this random scene with a women with a cybernetic eye patch who is never mentioned again. There is no "Previously on" to have explained her. She has no relevance to the episode's plot.
This is not just some throwaway reference to Bad Wolf. This was a bona fide scene in this episode that could have been lifted out without changing it in any way.
I cannot decide whether I think this is shitty storytelling or kind of awesomely brilliant in its disdain of narrative conventions.
(The same goes for the Pregnant/Not Pregnant scan at the end of the episode, which I guess is going to happen at the end of every episode now, like the crack last season. But that's the end of the episode, so I give it more leeway for not having anything to do with the episode at all.)
I personally really like the way the eyepatch woman is included. It's not really something you can miss – it's just so jarring, and it stays on my mind a lot more than wondering 'what's Bad Wolf' or even 'what's the Silence'. As far as laying down a mystery goes, it's just so completely inexplicable right now that I'm all for it.
Whereas I honestly don't care for the possible pregnancy bits – bit too conventional and expected for me. And predictable storytelling as far as New Who goes.
actually.. I missed her. *hangs head in shame*
What I enjoyed about this episode is not so much the episode itself, but where in the season it was placed. The two-part opening was so intense and mind-bendy that I just wanted a fluffy one-off episode so I could catch my breath. If this had come directly after something like "Tooth and Claw" or "The Lazarus Experiment," I might not have liked it as much as I did. I wasn't expecting this to be "OMG AWESOME!!" so I was okay with it (plotholes and all). It's a good enough stand-alone episode and I enjoyed it for what it was.
After the "Toby!" "Rory!" TARDIS!" scene, I knew there would be a flurry of gifs on Tumblr. And I'm so happy that I was not disappointed ^_^ Doctor/TARDIS OTP!
THEORIES ABOUND!
Eye-Patch Lady sounded like she was coaching someone through childbirth (she said something like "That's it, you're doing fine"). I don't know if it's Amy or someone else… Maybe it's Amy in another universe? We have a spaceship and a pirate ship on two different planes of existence here, after all. Just a thought.
That's my theory too. There was a fair bit of "This is how the two ships/same space thing works" exposition that usually doesn't happen in DW, unless it will be important later on.
Thirded. I think that's how this episode is going to be important for the whole story in the future. The results showing pregnant/not pregnant means the scan is getting Not-Pregnant Amy and parallel Pregnant Amy at the same time.
I really enjoyed this episode. Obviously it was very light weight compared to the massive MINDFUCK that was the opening two-parter, but I guess we needed a little breather before next week's Gaiman episode (OMG SO EXCITED!!!). I'm too lazy to type up an eloquent review, so just a couple of thoughts:
Pirate Amy was BADASS.
Nice to see Arthur Darvill being given a chance to stretch his acting range a bit – I loved him being "high on Siren anesthetic song".
Hugh Bonneville was FANTASTIC.
I liked the resolution that the Siren wasn't a villain, but rather just a misguided healing computer program that tried to help.
"Toby!" "Rory!" "The TARDIS!" <3
Mysterious patch-eyed lady – WTF IS GOING ON???!!!
SPACE PIRATES!!! WOOOO!!!!
A subtle musical hint: When the Doctor is looking at the scanner showing Amy's Schrödinger Pregnancy, the music is the Gallifrey theme (or however it's called – the piece that also plays in "The Sound of Drums" when Ten recounts how Master began). That must be a hint, right?
Oooh, thanks for telling us about the music-I didn't realize, and that's so interesting. I pretty much think anything can be a hint!
"I liked the resolution that the Siren wasn't a villain, but rather just a misguided healing computer program that tried to help."
Me too, but it was so similar to the nanogenes in the gas mask two-parter. When she first came on and only took the injured I thought that might be her deal (alien nurse) but then thought, "nah, Moffat's already done that!"
Oops.
For programs running amok, see also: clockwork robots in Girl in the Fireplace; CAL program in Forest of the Dead.
Awkward.
It just kind of threw me off, how he suddenly used words like that….
Well, he did presumably just come from 1969, where I think he'd have heard "groovy" a bit.
Here I go, being all negative again. Believe me, I'm not enjoying it. 🙁
I found "Curse of the Black Spot" to be unconscionably boring – seriously, who can put the Doctor on a pirate ship and make it so freaking dull? Oh, yes, Steve Thompson, aka the writer of "The Blind Banker" can. But hey, at least this time there was no opportunity for blatant Orientalism!
The manic look on Amy's face as she realized the power the sword gave her was hilarious, and I do love it when Karen Gillan gives us a look into the wee craziness within the Pond cranium. But beyond that, this was boring and nonsensical and I didn't care about any of the characters and the CPR scene was so stupid it hurt me inside. That was terrible CPR technique and Amy, who vowed not to give up, did so in about a minute, and it was all so horrible. Ugh. This felt like mediocre fanfic – half the plot elements were ripped from your typical Moffat story (the evil alien is a healer!) and Eleven's voice felt ever-so-slightly off. Why does Steve Thompson keep getting hired?
And if you're fake-killing your characters off literally every week, it's not going to have quite the same impact the nth time around, so no, I didn't care much about Rory drowning, either. Of course he wasn't going to die.
I'm really looking forward to next week. It has to be an improvement on this.
"That was terrible CPR technique and Amy, who vowed not to give up, did so in about a minute, and it was all so horrible. Ugh. "
Hahaha IKR. I get that they wer trying to show he being davastated, but then all I could think about was what Rory said about not giving up and making fun of it and I don't like making fun of Amy Pond who is otherwise awesome.
It's on the level of that bit in Titanic where Rose goes "I'll never let go" and promptly drops Jack into the ocean. Except no, this scene was worse because the dude in question was still alive. AND YOU DON'T STOP CPR AFTER THREE TRIES ARGH. 😛
I have had this thought as well– that the little girl was Amy somehow. Not quite sure if they'll actually go that direction– it would take a LOT of timey-wimey to pull off, but it makes as much sense as anything else at this point.
It was fun and fluffy and, yes, seemed to be made up more of great moments than a great story. However, given the last story that this site dealt with from this writer, I'm being grateful for small mercies. It wasn't the Blind Banker. Anyway, I love the more interlinked episodes that Moffat has introduced since Series 5 because they are so rewarding as the story develops but breathers are nice now and then too. It did feel more like a Classic Who story than the usual which is a bit of a jolt if you're not used to that slower pace (literally, actually. Can't really run around much on a pirate ship).
Argh I walked out of the room to get a drink and missed the ONE SECOND where the eyepatch lady appears. But anyway, I seriously think that eyepatch lady is Amy's midwife. I know that sounds crazy, but if her pregnancy is bouncing around the time stream, then maybe the birth is too?? I think as it gets to later months we'll have freaky instances where Amy goes from looking 7-8 months pregnant, to completely flat, to pregnant again. …Ew.
the stretch marks would be awful 😉
Maybe the fetus/pregnant Amt exists in another parallel universe which closely overlaps the 'real' one, and Amy is seeing glimpses into one where she's hospitalised? IDK, all bets are off right now.
Mark, I have nothing really to add except an appreciation of your enthusiasm for this show. Well, and for the other shows you watch here, but right now, for this show especially. I love that you can watch an episode and find every wonderful thing about it to talk about while still being able to talk about the uneven things without letting those uneven things spoil your enjoyment.
In a lot of ways, it feels like the greater world (or internet, at least) doesn't (or can't) let themselves be simply entertained by something, even if that something wasn't perfect. It sometimes feels like, in an effort to foster discussion (or attention), the good things are overlooked and the bad things are magnified until they overtake the good things and blot out the actual enjoyment of the thing. I think you have the right sense of balance, and I love being here and being a part of it all.
So, thank you. 🙂
Can't say anything useful besides just writing "THIS" in all caps. I don't ask for anything to be perfect, just be fun and enjoyable for the most part.
So much agreement.
Rory's dead. It must be Saturday. But seriously can Canton and Jack meet?! GREATEST SHIP EVER.
<img src="http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x395/iHopeless_Romance/DealWithIt.gif" border="0" alt="Deal With It Pictures, Images and Photos"/>
Brian! I really need to watch Starship soon
omg he is craaazyyyy sexy in it.
Ha, Jack and Canton. Now that would be a meeting to behold.
Thumbs up times infinity.
I loved this episode.
I'd accepted that it wasn't going to be anywhere near as epic and wonderful as the last two and, though I hunger for answers so bad moffat please, it was nice to take a break from the confusion of the series so far and have an episode that actually resolves the questions it starts.
(though, saying that, EYE PATCH WOMAN. WHO ARE YOU.)
I don't know how i'm going to manage this season split.
easily the best moment of this week's episode:
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/A1zVG.gif">
and so, this week's fan art:
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/6hqlqs.png">
<img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/106as8p.png"> <img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/351acnn.png">
That Western look is extremely good for her, IMO. She looked great in that outfit.
As to the woman, I don't know who she is but someone made this connection from last season: http://itmightbehere.tumblr.com/post/5336691426/t…
Also, someone asked Moffat if he'd ever stop killing Rory. Then this happened: http://itmightbehere.tumblr.com/post/5320468189/s…
THIS SHOW. I swear.
The first connection there is false; the EyePatch Lady is Frances Barber, who I love, and the women in Churchill's bunker is not her.
Oh, okay. Darn, because that would have been awesome.
I WISH Moffat would stop killing Rory, if only because every consecutive time it happens I get a little less worried/care a little less.
"Rory's dead. Must be Saturday."
I'm not sure Mark wants to know these things. I think he avoids previews so as to be as surprised as possible.
Sorry, I didn't think that was spoilery in nature. I'll be more careful in the future.
I gotta say, at first I was very, "ho hum, Rory dying again, oh look, it's gonna be CPR: The Wonder Cure, when have we ever seen THAT in fiction, blah blah", but it was saved for me by two things: one, HOW DAMN LONG THAT SCENE WENT ON. Usually they push it to the very limits for ~dramatic tension~ in TV/movies, but you always know the character's gonna come back at the last possible second. DW went PAST the last possible second and into a territory where I honest to God thought they might Kill Rory for Realz.
Secondly, it's a plot device that's been used so much I think it might just be a plot device of its own. I have a feeling that there has to be a reason they'd include a dramatic almost-death-of-a-Pond in a filler ep–personally, I'm thinking there might be a running thread/theme/Thing That Will Need to be Addressed in the fact that both Ponds have so many times come so close to death and losing everything they have, in traveling with the Doctor. I think it may all come to a head with some kind of confrontation about just how much traveling with the Doctor has cost them or almost cost them.
I've seen some people say that it's a bit of a let down, but it came after the first two episodes, which were pretty amazing. But I liked it a lot, it was fun. The thing about Rory dying over and over again is that I know he won't die for real, so it just makes it a little less sad.
I know it's been posted like a million times already, but I loved it. It was awesome, and I do wish they'd kept in the "baby!" line. I'm looking forward to any TARDISness that they throw at us, if they do give it to us.
<img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/169jivs.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
And his face here:
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/2vsn8lc.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
I just want to be like "Don't worry Doctor, you know it'll work out in the end" *hug*
This was pretty funny too
<img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/vh8gfc.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
So, the episode. Well, it was fun; how could it not be? It takes an awful lot of talent to mess up pirates, spaceships, and mermaids which are actual computerised doctors. Well, maybe not that last part, but you get my drift.
I don’t really have an awful lot to say about the episode, so I guess I’ll put remaining thoughts into list form.
-Nice and atmospheric . Love it!
– Amy, it’s awfully good of you to save your boys and all, but did you really feel the need to dress up in an outfit to match the sword? You look great any everything but BEST FRIEND AND HUSBAND BEING KILLED OUT THERE.
– Okay, Hypnotised!Rory is an absolute delight to behold.
– The father/son subplot was sweet, although part of me expected the reveal that the son was actually a girl. Don’t know why. Also, my sympathy for the father was somewhat limited because pirates aren’t just merry people in funny hats, but actual murders and thieves, and if he dropped out of the Navy for that, it wasn’t like he was desperate. But then, I guess that was the point.
– The look on the Doctor’s face when the TARDIS leaves him it’s the saddest thing ever. But when he finds her again:
<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lku96mTbDN1qa1vu6.gif">
Joy forever! (Yes, I ship it.)
– Okay, I know the CPR scene had horrible, horrible CPR, but I’ve come to somewhat accept that on television. I just found it slightly boring, though, because I knew that either a) they’re not going to kill him off or b) he’s already ‘died’ three times, and he’s not even going to be conscious for this one. Loses its impact after a while. XD
– Anyone else slightly leery of setting humans who don’t even know what ‘sensors’ are off in a spaceship with controls completely written in an alien language? Seems like a recipe for disaster, even if literal space pirates are incredibly awesome.
I don't know who that woman with the eyepatch is and you know what? I'm comfortable not knowing. I have theories but I'm perfectly happy just to see what comes of it and not get attached to any firm theory right now. Oddly enough I just got my Mom to watch this ep and this is the first ep of new Doctor Who she's ever seen (she's only seen a handful of eps from the Classic Doctor Who) and her reaction was pretty much "I have no clue what's going on but I love it." She was even anxious at the end with Rory dying which says something about the characters I think that you get so attached to them in an hour.
Honestly this ep was just what I'd figure it would be: a fun romp with pirates that was meant to be relief from the hectic two hour opener. It was honestly just what the doctor ordered…oh, pun.
I wasn't really that sure about this episode at first. Parts of it just seemed too convenient – the swordfighting (although well explained by the tiny cut thing) and then the CPR thing just made no sense at all. Why did he say he would tell her how to do it and then say "Oh it's fine, you've seen it in films" – yes because TV-CPR is so much like real CPR (of course since they are on TV it didn't really matter, but hey). And why couldn't she have done it on the bed thing so that if she was panicking they could just hook him back up again while she got more tips? And yes, Rory dying again. Snore.
But then I was thinking about it over the last few days and I think that even though the means to get there was a bit clunky, it *was* important to the character development as a whole. Amy and Rory's relationship isn't always perfect and easy, it never was – (and what relationship is?) – they both have issues to overcome of their own, and differences which they need to find a middle ground on, and it's lovely to see them coming to the same place on this. It would have been easy for Rory to have let his insecurity take over and get sulky over Amy's relationship with the doctor, instead, he jumps straight into this new world she's been whisked away by and attempts to understand it. He might be a little unsure at first, but he gets into it pretty quickly – especially compared to Amy's initial (and pretty long-running) reaction to her demons which is to run away. Then with the last centurion he overcomes her greatest fear; that people leave and they don't come back. And yet she's still running away from her problems; even when she was worried about the pregnancy, she speaks to the doctor, not Rory. (And again Rory did remarkably well here by not being upset that she hadn't told him first but just understanding straight away.) So I think this episode was important with Amy having to save Rory and him literally trusting her with his life, because it shows that she is starting to overcome his fears in a more direct way, unlike the other instances when she's reassured him almost from afar, in Amy's Choice and Day of the Moon.
Ugh this made sense when I started writing it. I think what I'm trying to say is, Amy has trouble believing people will really stick by her, and yet Rory does stick by her above and beyond the call of duty. Rory's issue is with trusting Amy in general, it's not that he doesn't want to, it's just he finds it really hard to. So to see her prove her trustworthiness here is important, it shows that their relationship is starting to come onto the same page which is nice.
THEORIES ABOUND (I really hope I'm wrong about this!)
Okay, creepy hatch lady. A few people commented on the liveblog and other sites that she had a midwife-y vibe and at first I wasn't convinced because it just didn't make sense her being a midwife if she was checking through a hatch thing and saying that Amy was "just dreaming". Doesn't seem like any kind of midwife or labour I've ever come across. And then it bothered me for ages until I realised what it reminded me of – twilight sleep, which for the uninitiated, used to be a popular form of "pain relief" during childbirth (In 1920s-1960s America particularly D:) which basically means you experience everything, but the drug prevents you from forming memories at this time. (OMG the Silence D:) and can also cause hallucinations. It's pretty horrific (just a warning) if you decide to google for more information. In fact I'm thinking probably a bit much so for a family show. [hopes so]
Bloody hell, is that what twilight sleep is? That's horrible!
First: SPACE PIRATES. THEY WERE SPACE PIRATES. WIN WIN WIN FOREEEEEVVVVEEEERRRRRRR. I just want to know what the amazing Space Pirates get up to after the story, pleaseee.
Second: Man, I saw the Rory fake-dying part coming, and I knew it was only going to be fake-dying, and then he wasn't waking up and I STILL panicked and wondered if maybe I was wrong and they were going to kill him off again. And then he woke up and I was all good. But seriously, it's been done enough now. I love my Rory, Moffat, so please stop with the almost-deaths.
Mark, do you follow many people on Tumblr? I've always wondered because Tumblr tends to be pretty full of spoilers. You don't post a ton over there and you never got spoiled for HP or anything (which shocked me), so I figured you must ~carefully select~ the people you follow or something to avoid spoilers. Because hi, if you followed me you would have gotten spoiled for so many things ages ago.
Anyways! This episode. I know a lot of people didn't like it, but I did. It has the misfortune of coming right after Moffat's crazy two-parter and before Neil Gaiman's episode (I'm guessing that's not spoilery to say, since other people have mentioned it and not been smacked down yet). But I was starting to think it was getting a bit boring with the pirate stuff, water, reflections, blah blah… UNTIL EYEPATCH LADY SHOWED UP AGAIN WHAT. And I liked the twist of the siren actually being a computer-doctor.
But most of all I liked the Amy/Rory moments we got at the end of the episode. I'm getting a little fed up with all the insecurity (Rory thinking Amy loves the Doctor last week, Amy being all put out that Rory called the siren beautiful this week), because really, shouldn't these two really trust each other now? But the ending proves that they do. THE PONDS! <3
Oh, and if people would STOP TRYING TO KILL RORY, I would appreciate it. He died TWICE last season and fake-died once this season already. My heart can't take it okay.
I didn't really make many gifs from this episode, except for these:
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TcX2RDECbKI/AAAAAAAAB54/d2VA5QQqKaA/604_alienbogies.gif">
"Alien bogies!"
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TcX9pQrXNnI/AAAAAAAAB6M/oEIaj-FMqi0/603C_piratecoat.gif">
And this is Karen Gillan in Doctor Who Confidential, demonstrating how her pirate coat swishes! I'm so jealous of her coat. It's fantastic.
That last gif has convinced me that that needs to be my Halloween costume this year. I will wear it to class if I have class that night.
That's interesting. I do remember thinking "Her parents look nothing like her!" in the wedding ep but just put it down to not being familiar with the characters. But if she did regenerate, how come she hasn't regenerated again since then?
So, this wasn't my least favorite episode, but I just felt like it's been… done before.
"OH NO SCARY THING CHASING AND KILLING EVERYBODY OH WAIT IT IS JUST TRYING TO SAVE THEM JKS EVERYBODY LIVES"
Yes, I was genuinely concerned for Rory. I actually threw a pillow at my computer screen and yelled, "STOP KILLING RORY!"
…Woah there, lots of caps lock in that comment.
Well, Doctor Who with pirates was pretty much going to be a scenario of awesomeness for me, no matter what they did with it. Unsurprisingly therefore, I enjoyed it.
History trivia: Henry Avery (or Every, spelling being more erratic in the 17th century) was a real, historical pirate. And the Fancy was his historical ship. He was highly successful in the 1690s, really did loot a bunch of treasure from the Moghul Emperor – or rather from his ships – and pretty much disappeared in about 1696. Unlike most famous pirates, and indeed many of his own crew, Avery was never caught. Most of the others were hanged.
There are a number of theories about where he went to ground with his treasure. None of them hitherto suggested becoming a space pirate in an alternative universe (historians can be so blinkered).
How narrow-minded of them, really.
You totally beat me to that trivia. I found that completely cool… an actual pirate in history who just dropped off the place of the planet. (It must be true. It's on wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Avery)
I thought the CPR scene was drawn out unnecessarily long too.
But if you think about it…
Amy's CPR knowledge is all word-of-mouth, so naturally she'd be pretty bad at it. And bad CPR might take a while to work because… it's bad.
SO MAYBE THIS SCENE WAS TOTALLY BRILLIANT AND WE JUST HAVEN'T REALIZED IT YET.
Or not.
Anyway, really enjoyable episode. It was fun. It had a good story. It had good plot twists. It doesn't seem standout-ish in the grand scheme of Who, but it wasn't BAD.
Todd VanDerWerff from the AV club actually pointed out something really interesting. Episodes 3's of Doctor Who (which the Christmas specials complicate a bit, but are essentially The Unquiet Dead, Tooth and Claw, The Shakespeare Code, The Fires of Pompeii, Victory of the Daleks, and this) are historical episodes stuffed with sci-fi elements that aren't horribly bad (Victor of the Daleks comes THIS close), but leave something to be desired and are disappointing considering the momentum of the first two episodes build.
I can't totally agree with Todd VanDerWerff, I absolutely love Shakespeare and Pompeii. They leave nothing to be desired for me.
Exactly. Amy didn't know how to do CPR, Rory told her how. Clearly she didn't have time to practice.
Is there a fanon nickname for the eye patch lady?
Please don't call her Seven of Nine!
Call her Odinita.
Mostly cause Seven didn't have an eye patch, she just had some mechanical stuff by her eye.
I think I'll call her Patchy unless I find something clever.
NIKKI FURY.
😀
I'm on board with Patchy. It's kind of cute!
😉
Can they please stop almost killing Rory already?! *hugs him*
Pretty much going to be an almost copy paste from my comment in the liveblog:
1. EYEPATCH LADY!!!! What are you, I desperately need to know.
2. That's not how you do CPR. It's 30 chest compressions, then TWO breaths, then 30 chest compressions, etc.
3. The uterus is located more over the sacral vertebrae and in the pelvis, not waaaaaay up there in front of the lumbar vertebrae!! GOOGLE ANATOMY YOU LAZY PEOPLE.
4. Missing crew member! That guy I assume was the Captain's Number One got slashed by Toby and then the other guy ran off, but when we went back to the others, Number One was gone. Puzzling.
I was kind of annoyed that they were all "OH NO, RORY GONNA DIE" but we know he's not because he's going to be in the fourth episode, Neil Gaiman said so.
Also, that crown. I have only once seen a piece of TV jewelry that fake and it was painful. Really guys? Little effort on some basic props.
She's got Schrödinger's Uterus and you're worried about location?
Maybe it's the location that is casing the Schrödinger's Uterus? IDRK
Crown: AMEN.
Good god that was something I could buy for $10 dollars down at the local market. Seriously, You are made in THE UNITED KINGDOM. SURELY THE QUEEN COULD HAVE LOANED SOMETHING.
Hmmm, I don't think i'll be revisiting this one unless it comes to have some huge significance in the season arc… Just a bit boring for me! I think that's not because the episode actually *was* boring, but because I've almost forgotten what regular episodes are like between the Epicness of the season 5 finale and the season 6 openers (surprise, surprise, I didn't like the Christmas special much either). I have to remind myself that this show isn't All Epic, All The Time.
I always assumed he had a Ph.D, not an MD/MBBS.
Well, this is the same guy who tried to catch Amy's baby in Amy's Choice, so I tend not to assume he has actual medical knowledge.
Will the recap of last season thing happen at the beginning of every freaking episode? Love Dr. Who and all but this isn't all "Amy and the adventures of her imaginary friend". Sorry, that just bugs me. : /
At the end, I like to say "And I believe Aang can save the world."
Ugh, do you guys get that? It doesn't appear on the UK broadcast. *Shakes fist* Networks!
Hahaha it figures they'd think so little of us.
Agreed, we get that in Australia too and to me it makes it sound like it's a kid's show.
man, the fandom reaction to this season has been kinda weird. not here, mostly, but like, elsewhere.
that's really all i got. i'm digging it so far. i've never given a show this much faith in leaving me in the dark before, because i tend not to have a lot of faith in writers fulfilling their promises. but last year's finale was utterly satisfying for me, and i think that despite his other problems, moffatt has a handle on constructing a narrative so that we'll get information when we really need it. i don't really want to play the compare and contrast game but here goes – RTD played the seasonal plot game by introducing a phrase into each episode, and then having a big reveal with little to no hints as to what it would mean up until the final episode. this worked excellently with bad wolf (meme theory, ya dig), but i wasn't vibing on it after that – it just didn't really work in the same way, it wasn't as interesting anymore, and it didn't seem as planned or integral to the plot. in season 5, we understood what the crack in the wall meant in the first episode. and then in flesh and stone, we understood another layer of what they meant, and in the finale we are handed all the necessary information to wrap up that specific plot point that was the theme of the season. it's more un-fold-y (buffy fan here). there are layers. and we don't always understand everything, but we understand enough to know where the narrative ends. it doesn't quite wrap up with a bow, but it wraps up with just enough of a hook for the next season.
i just, i dunno. moffat has given us enough evidence that he WILL answer the questions we have, given enough time. i don't know where i'm going with this, i just have a lot of feelings.
I agree completely, this is the sort of seasonal arc I prefer, and I'm okay with getting information gradually over the season. I can see where it wouldn't work for some people, but it suits my style.
I feel you. For some strange reason (given how frequently writers *can* disappoint), I have total faith in the Moff that this is all gonna make sense at some point, and it's probably gonna be mind-blowing. And as much I'm enjoying reading the theories about Amy's pregnancy and Eye Patch Lady, I'm not too concerned because I'm pretty sure they're all gonna be wrong!
I liked bits of this episode but hoy boy
CPR DOES NOT WORK LIKE THAT.
sorry I needed to get that out. I need to find who is responsible and complain to them directly.
unless there is some sort of reason to be revealed why the hell Rory recovers moments after Amy gives up on the CPR. It is Bugging me.
I think this writer does not ship amy/rory, that is the only reason I can come up with for some of the script elements. "Why do I have to save you?" Karen's delivery saves it some but it's awful.
Good things!
Lily Cole as a Siren!
Pirates!
Alien Bogeys!
Doctor/Tardis OTP! Always!
"Disregard my previous theories"!
Pirate Pond!
Shirtless Arthur Davrill!
The look between Amy and Rory when the Doctor bursts in and begins fogging up the pendant!
More good than bad and I liked it except for the WTH CPR bit.
"unless there is some sort of reason to be revealed why the hell Rory recovers moments after Amy gives up on the CPR. It is Bugging me."
Maybe because in the 2000 years that he was "alive" watching over Amy he learned how to save himself in case of things like this…
IDK. It's 12am where I am and I think of silly theories when I'm tired (and I shouldn't be up reading this, but IDC)
Well, this was pretty much a classic filler episode of Doctor Who; low on noticeable character development or arc significance, but rife with adorably Doctor-ish moments and one liners, with a passable if forgettable B-plot. A definite drop in quality after the stellar season premiere, but still, could be worse.
Complaints:
* The resolution of the siren mystery struck me as too reminiscent of the ultimate answer to the gas-mask epidemic of so long ago; a well-intentioned alien medical presence follows its directive and attempts to aid humanity, with its ignorance of human physiology bringing about disastrous consequences and causing it to appear malevolent. In a way, the ship's medical program was also a similar concept to the repair droids from Girl in the Fireplace; logic and human welfare are not even blips on the robotic radar when it comes to obeying pre-set programming. Overall, the alien story here was quite repetitive in a lot of ways.
Thoughts:
* I enjoyed the fact that the episode's creative team pay plenty of homage to pirate cliches without allowing them to dominate the episode; the scoundrelly, wooden-legged, eyepatched pirate crew are all picked off within the first five minutes of the episode, leaving an eerie calm on the vessel, and allowing Captain Avery to develop into a faceted character. Brilliant choice.
* The Doctor's dialogue in this episode is great; the grander, more serious installments really don't allow his wit and talent for random tangents to shine through. "Yo-ho-ho!!!… or does nobody actually say that?", "Freud would say you're compensating, but then you've never met Freud, have you… COMFY SOFA!", "I suppose that laugh is part of the job description!"
* And, of course, the instantly classic: "Rory!" "Toby!" "THE TARDIS!"
* Matt Smith also shines in the brief scene in which the Doctor loses his temper with Avery's greed and, shouting to be heard over the roar of the storm, gives the captain a piece of his mind. Very intense.
* The Doctor's expression of heartbreak when Rory appears to have died is also brilliantly acted; really, the capacity in which this episode fully succeeds is simply that of showing off the Doctor in all of his various moods. He gets quite a lot of humor, a scene of overpowering anger, a scene of devastating sadness, and all spot-on. In that sense and for that reason alone, I would say that this installment is ultimately a success.
And apropos of nothing, but because I need somewhere to rant; can Jacob from TwoP just stop recapping Doctor Who? Like, now? I know that TwoP in general seems to get a kick out of actively despising the shows it recaps (see: virtually all of their Buffy the Vampire Slayer recaps post-Season Three), but Jacob's recaplet for this episode just took it all too far. Thank goodness I have Mark Reads to fall back on.
I hate Jacob, he's why I stopped going to the site at all. I used to enjoy some recaps on the site – like the Pushing Daisies ones were fun to read when that show still aired, sob sob – but I REALLY REALLY hate that guy and it pushed me away for good.
It's funny, I used to LOVE Jacob, but after reading Mark I don't like him as much. Heh. He has some great things to say about Gossip Girl, but I like it much better when he's a fan of whatever he's recapping. The Firefly recaps on TWOP bug me for that reason: whoever wrote them is obviously not a fan.
I just can't get past what he said in the Vincent and the Doctor recaplet, about Eleven "dealing with Vincent's bipolar bullshit". That was the last straw for me. He'd said some things prior to that that I disliked, but that was a whole new level of shitty. I hear he's also said really nasty things in recaps for American Idol, but since I've never had interest in those, I haven't read them to confirm.
Yeah, that's what I mean–after reading Mark's recaps and how hard he tries to avoid ableism, seeing Jacob casually toss things like that around is just grating to me. I actually haven't read any of his Who recaps, or the AI ones–just Battlestar Galactica, Gossip Girl, Caprica, and one other show I can't remember now. I feel like he's had some really genius things to say about relationships and life in a surveillance culture, but I'm not sure I'm willing to wade past all the other crap to get to that stuff anymore.
Funny–I just googled Jacob to see what recaps he had done, and after the obvious link to his stuff, there's a blog post about how the writer HATES Jacob and then a blog post about how the writer LOVES Jacob. Apparently he's a divisive guy.
"dealing with Vincent's bipolar bullshit"
I- wha- no. just. WRONG.
TwoP seems to have a long-standing talent for assigning great shows to recappers who hate them, or, which is almost worse, simply don't care. Like, going back to the subject of the Buffy recaps; if you go over their archives for the first three seasons, they had three or four people with diverse opinions working the show, and we got some great, thoughtful recaps, both positive and negative… and then, all of a sudden, Season Four happens, the show gets tossed to two recappers who don't give a damn, and, if you look at the grading for that season, you'll see that it's… one long string of twenty-four "D"s. Most Buffy fans will agree that Season Four was fairly spotty in terms of quality, but it had close to the same ratio of good-to-bad episodes as previous seasons, and it seems that even if TwoP did hate it that much, they might have had the decency to pretend to care and toss in an "F" or a D-" now and then. But no, they churned out recap after recap without even bothering to give individual episodes different grades, and it became so painfully and embarrassingly obvious that they were merely phoning it in week after week. It looks as if Doctor Who might be headed in the same direction over there; Jacob's recaps for Seasons One and Two were interesting and engaging, if a bit pompous… he went on hiatus for a few seasons, and then the Moffat era came along, and it was immediately plain that Jacob was working off of some preconceived, utterly unfounded opinions about the new series in particular and Moffat in general, culminating in the kind of blind, undiluted bile he spewed in his recaplet of the most recent episode. I'm not sure if the while thing is more sad or infuriating.
Like I said, thank goodness for Mark.
I actually quite like a lot of his stuff–problematic aspects, which totally exist, aside–but I believe Jacob has made the decision to stop handling DW after this week, since it's not really fun for anyone on either side at this point.
Okay, I pretty much have a completely bias view of this episode, because PIRATES! who become SPACE PIRATES! And to boot, the Doctor kisses the TARDIS! And Amy kicks ass with a SWORD! Rory wants to grow a BEARD! As the doctor said not too long ago:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v51/SwimmingTrunks/gifs/e4506ea7.gif">
The only thing that stopped this from being a favorite for me was the weak way all the cool stuff was pulled together. Someone needs to teach Steve Thompson a thing or two about pacing! But regardless, there were enough bits and pieces to love that made this a nice, fun episode for me.
I have mixed feelings about Rory's frequent near-death experiences- I know it might be getting a little repetitive and a little less emotionally wringing, but I find it kind of funny and disturbing at the same time. I wouldn't mind it being a running thing, especially if it's given a line ribbing it- but like someone else mentioned, I could see them doing this to lure us into a sense of safety and then suddenly the other side of that agonizing second where he wakes up never actually comes! Honestly, I think the only reason it is worrying/annoying is because Rory has actually kicked the bucket. Had we not seen that his life can be made expendable, I think we'd treat the badly-done-CPR scene much like I felt about Martha drifting into the sun: tense, but it's obviously not gonna happen! (Though, I guess if you're Mark, you think otherwise. Bless your innocence now gone, Mark.) I mean, I knew Rory would appear in later episodes and I still had that moment where I got a little worried. They're playing with us, and I approve.
Now, just bring back Canton Delaware III and his hot boyfriend and queer up this show now, please.
Well, Steven has said he'd like to bring Jack back.
Even though, yes please to moar Canton. xD
Aside from that-
From the Confidential episode:
Avery: Toby!
Amy: Rory!
Doctor: Baby! (if I heard that part right)
You heard it right, otherwise I heard it wrong. 5 times. (yeah I rewatched that bit because it was too cute…)
I'd like to see old!Canton and his now-husband ('cause it's legal now!). Older gay couples need representation too!
I feel like at some point Eleven MUST need to get bitten in the arse by his habit of sticking any headwear he finds directly on his head.
What sort of bitten in the arse are we talking here? Head lice or head loss? haha. (I really should go to bed now…)
Loss! Something dramatic, like it steals his DNA and does terrible things with it….
THE WOMAN WITH THE EYE PATCH!!! WTF??? She confuses me so freaking much.
My mom was in the room when I was watching this and when I thought Rory was dead, I started murmuring "no no no no no" rapidly, with increasing volume. I told her if they killed him off, I was going to be so pissed (I could never be done with this show; not unless they totally just made the Doctor OOC for no reason).
Theories Abound…ish
Okay, so what will Captain Avery and his crew tell the aliens when they bring the ship back? What if the aliens think they killed the crew? Will the automated doctor/siren tell them what happened? I'm just really worried about the crew and I wonder if they'll end up playing a role later on in the series because Doctor Who does that.
' I'm just really worried about the crew and I wonder if they'll end up playing a role later on in the series because Doctor Who does that.'
Jenny took off in a ship and we haven't heard from her in quite a while!
No, I meant as in this episode seems like it doesn't mean anything (aside from the eye patch lady), but the Lodger has told us that these types of episodes can be deceiving. I didn't mean that DW has a habit of bringing back people who take off in ships.
Although, the part that probably means anything for the larger context of the show is the overlapping dimensions.
Yeeeaaaah I kind of wanted to punch someone for that CPR scene. I DO NOT APPRECIATE EMOTIONALLY MANIPULATIVE FAKE-CPR SCENES THAT GO ON FOR WAY TOO LONG THANK YOU VERY MUCH. KILL THAT TROPE DEAD PLZ.
This episode was silly and fun, but not much else for me. The plot holes irritated me and there were elements that just didn't make sense to me. Like, how is Rory still drowning when his airways were obviously clear when he was on that table. What. If I didn't think too much about it and just enjoyed it as fluffy filler, I could let it slide.
It's just getting so…repetitive. How many times can we watch the Doctor pop his head up "unexpectedly?" And what is this, the fourth time they've fake killed Rory? Gah. When you've done it so many times already…yeah, not so intriguing anymore.
Also, why does Amy take the time to get dolled up in a pirate outfit when she thinks the Doctor is going to be pushed off the ship any second? Grab a sword and go. But no…we have to fetishize her as a sexy lady pirate.
Getting annoyed with finding myself reaching the right conclusions ages before the Doctor. For a brilliant being, he takes forever to have an inkling that it's a hospital. Come on.
And can anyone explain the universe jumping when New Who has made it perfectly clear that hopping between universes under normal circumstances is impossible? Ten burnt up a star just to project his image into another universe.
Sorry, that was a lot of complain-fest. Let's see…I like Hugh Bonneville!
Mark, Mark, Mark, they filmed this in my hometown! SO HAPPEH. Of course, I didn't find out until afterwards or I would have showed up on set and tried to hug the Moff. But still.
Fun, silly episode. I'm a sucker for pirates.
I only had two massive problems with this ep (both gloss-overable with the classic "It's Who, don't think too hard!", but frustrating, because in NuWho I don't have to USE that phrase very much):
1. Rory is a Nestene Duplicate. This means he's made of plastic. Which is WHY HE COULD WAIT A THOUSAND YEARS. Nestene Duplicates don't drown. Seriously.
2. If they needed to kill the reflection on the gold, SMEAR IT WITH PITCH. This is a wooden sailing ship. They have pitch for waterproofing stuff. Seriously. Smear it with pitch, or rub it with soot, or anything to kill the reflection. Also, that broken mirror WAS STILL REFLECTY!!
I hate it when I can spot continuity or thought-process errors that invalidate the whole plot, but that would have been simple to fix if they'd noticed them. It's like Roger Ebert's one-scene fix of the There Are Two Padmas problem in the second new-Star-Wars movie. If a movie critic can fix your movie, you needed to hire a better screenwriter.
Rory isn't a nestene duplicate anymore though, He got turned back in the big reset at the end of last season. Still remembers it all but back to flesh and bone now
As he says at the wedding "…and I was plastic!!)
1. When the universe reset in The Big Bang Rory came back as a human. After Amy brings back the Doctor he says in that ep "I was plastic!" implying that he isn't, now. There have been other lines that imply that is now an alternate history that he can just sort of… tap into?
2. Seriously! No light = no reflection, so just put the reflective stuff in a chest or something! Don't pirates usually keep booty in chests, anyway? I think the Doctor just tossed the treasure overboard to be a jerk because the captain insulted the TARDIS… and because he's a trigger-happy pirate.
1. Thank you, I missed that line.
2. I thought they were just avoiding the 'dirty' option, until Toby polished the medallion. So moffat HAD thought about it, he just ignored it to make an anti-materialist point. :-/
At his best, moffat is awesome. At his worst, he completely ignores certain plot avenues because they would invalidate the point he's trying to make. Note: not deals with them in-character, just pretends they don't exist, la la la la. It's like an idiot plot, only amnesiac? Delusional?
Sooo… what happened to the pirate Toby cut?
I accept this theory as true untill evidence suggests otherwise. thank you.
I haven't been around and reading your reviews for awhile(you were finishing up season two of DW I think?) and I don't much know why. I think in a way I was scared because, generally we agreed, when I read your reviews I could go YES THIS IS HOW I FEEL. As you approached Martha, whom I never cared for, I was reluctant to loose this. So I stopped coming. This makes me sad. ):
I have to say these episodes have been a journey for me.
There is one reason I watched the first episode for season six, as I'd written off the show, the only episodes I'd liked from series 5 were the Vincent episode and the Lodger. Otherwise, and in general I just did not care for 11 and barely tolerated Amy. Rory was okay.
Though, I took everything that happened at the end of 10's time pretty hard and was already bitter about Rose's story being ruined, and then Donna? Then what RTD did to my favorites The Master and Lucy. Uhg. I was angry and there wasn't a way this new Doctor could win me over. (AND HIS HAIR UHG. Also does he have eyebrows?)
I doubt re-watching series 5 will ever change I will still feel that way forever. I think.
But then I saw that Mark would be in series 6 and I ADORE HIM OMG SO MUCH that I had to see it. I committed to liking nothing else like a good little 11 hater.
I'm ruined. I can't even use all the gifs I want to use because my friends might understand whats happened to me. And hate me for it. ):
I've fallen for this season hook line and sinker. I still have my moments, but I feel all in all they have grown into these characters so much. I almost even liked River, and that says so much. (The part where she told Rory about the worst day to come for her actually made me so sad I couldn't bare it, consider that I HATE the episode where this happens.)
This episode was so much fun for me. It felt like I was watching DW again, and I loved it.
This show became so much a part of my life, and hating it killed me guys. Being able to enjoy it again, it is soooo good.
BUT OMG THE PART WHERE HE WAS TALKING TO THE SIREN/NURSE/THING AND FIGURED IT ALL OUT, it was all OMG DOCTOR ITS YOU IT IS YOU.
I didn't feel like his version of the Doctor was forced or horrid or mocking or any of that anymore it just was. <3333
I loved this episode, so much.
Hmm, I just thought of a random new *theory* about the bad CPR storyline.
If Amy really was dreaming/hallucinating, and this is all in her head, it would make sense that Rory said he would tell her how to do it, and then promptly didn't tell her how to do it at all but told her to rely on what she had seen in films – if this is Rory-in-Amy's-imagination, how could he tell her something she didn't already know?
I don't like the idea of it all turning out to be a dream or hallucination since that seems such a cop-out, but there was definitely something off about that scene.
Or maybe it was just lazy writing and I'm overthinking.
This just came up on my tumblr and I felt like you would approve 🙂
“It’s heart-breaking in a way, because you try and tell a story, and stories depend on surprise, stories depend on shocking people, stories are the moments you didn’t see coming – those are what live in you and burn in you forever. If you are denied those, it’s vandalism.” — Steven Moffat (on spoilers)
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THEORIES ABOUND
I love how no one noticed that THE BLACK SPOT SIGNALLED THE PLACE WHERE A TISSUE SAMPLE HAD BEEN TAKEN. THAT SHIP CONTAINS A TISSUE SAMPLE FROM THE DOCTOR. And River made it clear that one single cell from a Timelord would prompt civilizations to strip entire planets apart to find it.
I actually think this episode is hugely relevant. Ship inside a ship: a metaphor for Amy's Schrodinger Pregnancy? Is a parallel Amy pregnant, and both of them are collapsing with each other for some reason? And the TARDIS scan is picking them both at the same time, hence pregnant/not pregnant.
Appears really funny to me personally.
I loved about 2/3 of this episode. I LOVED the siren thing and how she was supposed to get onto the boat through water. That was fucking awesome.
But then it was reflections and that way didn't really work for me.
And then making her like a nurse? I didn't enjoy that at ALL. Having her seem really sinister was much better, that twist didn't work.
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The episodes resolution was far far far too similar to The Doctor Dances for my liking. Also, I do need to watch it again, but I'm sure one of the pirates disappeared as if by crack. No-one else seemed to notice it though, so maybe I just didn't see what happened to him.
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