New Who 2x01

[sapote]

Seriously, no wonder England has a reputation (in my faith-crazed country) as a secular place. You've got Dr. Who!

No, I'm not trying to really bring the crazy, I'm just saying that he's an incarnated immortal being who cures lepers. Seriously, Russell T. Davies, I might have to dock some athiest points for that.

I mean, one of the reasons I'm falling hard for the Whoverse is that its hero actually makes moral choices I agree with (you would not believe how hard it is to find heroes who I don't think should actually be in jail for war crimes, no wait, you would believe it). I hope a little dose of "he's like Jesus, in a way" doesn't spoil it for me.

I am still suspending judgement on Ten. To be honest, before I started watching, I expected to prefer the later, cuter Who, just like I preferred the later, cuter Ray. I definitely haven't fallen hard for Ten, but he is an adorable, bouncy little fellow. I like his shoes? I am a little annoyed that they ditched the guy with the chemistry right before the body-swapping makeouts, but ::represses Doctor vs. Doctor feelings:: I will enjoy the shiny, dammit.

I am hoping to actually get caught up, because I have never (seriously) watched a show as it happened. I've always watched whole seasons at once, usually from a closed canon. And it would be nice to be able to spread out the squee over a longer period of time, instead of all of it happening over one weekend.

Also: do we just assume there are other rooms in the TARDIS that we never see, or do they exist in a timeless sort of state where they never have to sleep or eat or go to the bathroom?

Comments

The Doctor is dead, long live the Doctor.

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

This fic: http://community.livejournal.com/time_and_chips/1076872.html
conveniently summarizes the the fannish feeling of cheating on the old Doctor with the new Doctor. (Also? Hello, porn.)

The TARDIS is bigger on the inside. I prefer to think that there are lots and lots of rooms that we never see. Sometimes fandom interprets this as "there's a pool, and lots of other cool stuff".

Also, if you want to cement your Tennant love, go looking for Viva Blackpool. It's a 6 episode (or thereabouts) show from the BBC. He's a detective, and it's a murder mystery police procedural set in the British equivalent to Las Vegas. With musical numbers. It's as f**ked up as it is awesome. It's hard to find, but so worth it: your brain will boggle, but you will love him. (Especially as he eats an ice cream cone.)

Re: The Doctor is dead, long live the Doctor.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

Yay porn! Man, you bring the recs, don't you? Thanks!

See, the TARDIS is bigger than a police box, yes, and my cousin, when we got into an argument about whether the Millenium Falcon was cooler, said that it can be whatever shape it wants on the inside, too. I don't know if he was making that up to score points off Han Solo, but it would be cool if there was, like, a Room of Requirement thing going on. (yes, this is the cousin who is Rodney McKay.) I kind of like the timeless-state idea, though.

Oh god, I am looking for Viva Blackpool now, because I think I need that in my life.

Re: The Doctor is dead, long live the Doctor.

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

Do you want more recs? 'Cause I could do a whole freakin' post. Sometimes I err on the side of restraint. (Dunno why.)

And good luck finding Viva Blackpool; it was on BBC America last year, so maybe it'll turn up. Last I knew it wasn't on region 1 DVD.

I attempted to process the question of which is cooler: the TARDIS or the Falcon. And then my brain exploded. (And then I wondered if anywhere there exists Ninth Doctor/Han Solo fic. If so, I shall report back.)

Re: The Doctor is dead, long live the Doctor.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

I have also had a conversation, with people from the very same gene pool, about who is a bigger space tramp, Captain Jack or Han Solo.

Apparently all it takes is a little speculation and it's pretty much a fair fight.

I am always, always pro-recs posts.

Re: The Doctor is dead, long live the Doctor.

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

While I am unsucessful in finding Nine/Han (YET!!), I am making a Whovian recs post.

God knows when it will go up, but hey: good intentions, road to hell, etc.

Re: The Doctor is dead, long live the Doctor.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

\o/

[rilestar.livejournal.com]

I think they did actually have a pool inside in one episode ... there are huge amounts of rooms. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space! They explored it a bit in the fourth and early 5th doctor episodes... there was a room called the zero room at the heart of it, which was used to stabilise the doctor at the beginning of his transformation between fourth and fifth. Also, there are bedrooms, dressing rooms etc.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

man, I would like to see those. The new TARDIS is cool looking ::only vaguely recognizes the old TARDIS:: but I am one of these people who has to know where they sleep, eat, and use the bathroom, or my geek needs have just not been met.

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

Well, there have to be more rooms because in the Unquiet Dead the Doctor gives Rose a whole series of directions in order to get to the wardrobe. Since the internet has failed me, I did a quick rewatch and he says things like fifth door on the left. Honestly, I would be upset if there wasn't a giant Beauty & the beast sized library there.

I will spare you my Tenth Doctor wibbling, but it seems that without my will, he has grown on me. Somehow. I believe that it is his superpower.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

oh! I remember that! I guess it's like Torchwood, where we see two whole sets but we believe it's a vast complex?

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

You mean the Hub is not so massively large that you can travel all around Great Britain without leaving? Well that ruins my 'they walk to Glastonbury where they have been keeping Arthur and Merlin since they are clearly aliens' fic. Damn.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

see, it totally could be. Just like the Doctor is apparently all "I has invisible pool," Torchwood Cardiff could totally be like the Sunnydale tunnels. I mean, the Weevils have to get around somehow.

I am now to "The Impossible Planet", with the ridiculously hot Torchwood science crew. ::happy sigh:: Oh, show!

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

Yes! The whole world was under those tunnels, not just Britain though. That's why it was ridiculous when Angel was all 'I'm gonna have to get on a ship and leave you, but here's a pretty ring' when what he should have done was said, 'I'm a taking a car in the tunnels. See you in two days'.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

hah! Yes. Though also, that would have meant no tinfoil-windshield Spike, and that's about my third-favorite Spike moment all series.

I hated that fecking ring, but then, Buffy is the only show I could actually get into ship wars over, so I will just wave my tiny, impossible Buffy/Faith flag and move on. *g*

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

Buffy/Faith, woo! (little woo?) I was actually considering the ramifications for tinfoil Spike, but I mean, he's kinda crazy and it's hard to get yourself hands on transportation that fits in a sewer AND carries your belongings, so he might have still had to drive anwyay.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

true! Spike had very important luggage. Evil luggage. It all makes sense now.

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

Is the luggage itself inherently evil? Or does his presence, what's the word, imbue it with the evil. Is it evil if it's not carrying something of his?

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

now that is a philisophical question for the ages.

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

Don't I know it. I miss Buffy. I sometimes wish that I could go all maudlin drunk and really pine for all of my shows and characters that are gone. Does that make me more than normal weird?

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

see, I never knew Buffy as an open canon. It always had a beginning, a middle, and an end for me. I don't even know how I'm going to feel when shows that I've known as they happened start to end.

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

I'm worried that I'll watch the last episode of SG1 and refuse to come out of my room for a ridiculously long amount of time. I mean, I've been watching it ten years. It's so weird, I never thought about it, but there are very few shows that I've been totally obsessed with that I didn't watch as open canon. Hmm. Must ponder.

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

I seem to be having "technical difficulties" with chat. But OMG world of yes did I see those episodes.

But is just me, or do we seem to be afflicted with a small case of TARDIS ex machina?

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

TRUE.
Many moments of "I didn't know it could do that! How very convenient."

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

I think I'm a little hard on that episode(s) because it was probably my favourite. I mean, really solid, didn't leave any loose threads, everything was really tightly written. And then it got to the speechifying about 'what is evil?' 'what is good?' and I wanted to stab it just a little. Just a little! Interesting bit about how his people made black holes. I think more should be made of that *hint hint* I just loved it because it really felt like REAL scifi, the kind that just doesn't happen on tv. The kind you have to walk up hills both ways to get.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly, actual sci-fi. Like those Asimov's magazines I used to read as a kid. Or like Firefly, without the side of cowboys. They had me at "rocket", really.

::reflects on fact that apparently Dr. Who was still not nerdy enough until they had an actual rocket::

And the secondary characters were so well-drawn and well-played, and I love it when that happens.

Probably the second time I watch it, I'll get picky. Right now I'm just all "rocket! They had a rocket!"

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

I was more like, 'black hole! OMG world of yes to the max!' And then I was all, 'ooh, weird alien script that EVEN THE TARDIS cannot translate' (I'm a total sucker for the ancient script stuff). And then it just got more and more awesome. I mean, you had to know the Ood were going bad, but the way it was done and how it was maintained was just so many levels of awesome. It's just. I have THEORIES about black holes, what they can do, how to use the Schwarzfield radius to your advantage, and ditto for the Hawking effect. There is no bad there (unless you yourself have passed the Schwarzfield radius and cannot escape).

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

I was seriously eleven the last time I put thought into black holes, but the first thing I thought was "it's gravitational time dilation! They're not actually in orbit, they just think they are while they're stuck there for all eternity! That sucks."

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

Oh man, teenager for all eternity. That sucks out loud. I don't know, I've just always liked them. They are key to my theory of recharging a ZPM. What episode are you on now?

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

I am so delighted that you have a ZPM charging theory. I have all kinds of theories about John Sheppard and wider cultural archetypes, but I don't have any ZPM theories.

There is a big new squee post up for x08 and x09 on the main lj, and after that, I really couldn't handle any new episodes tonight. Tomorrow, no doubt, I will begin anew. At this rate I will be caught up by next week \o/

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

Tomorrow I'm holding a mini viewing party with my Doctor Who converts to watch the seventh episode. I'm excited for your almost catchupedness. Are your theories about John Sheppard going to make it into a story? If not, I'd love to hear them.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

oh, they're messy and mostly come from the SGA fandom hivemind - the sheepherd and the martyr myth, the hero and the deathwish, that sort of thing. I would be surprised if they're not in most of my stories, but spelling them out is a job for meta.

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

I feel the urge to go meta! meta! the same way that people say chug! in terrible movies and at the parties where I am bored the entire time.