(no subject)

[sapote]

Well, sort of caught up. I committed a bit of apostasy and skipped parts of episodes, because, um. The writing was bad. And it was annoying me. But by 42 I was staying in my seat instead of wandering around doing dishes and yelling at the screen, and I thought Human Nature was quite good. I do not like Martha, though. I tried. I am still trying. But her whole "secretly in love with the Doctor" thing? She's what, seven, ten years older than Rose, and a lot more accomplished, and yet she's so much duller. I think perhaps they're trying to replicate that transition Rose went through, where first she followed Nine around like a lost puppy and then, by Ten, was very nearly his equal. But Nine had that spectacular gravity about him: I could see a far more mature woman than Rose being pulled into his orbit. I know that there is a little somewhat-fuzzy canon about the Eighth Doctor - Ninth Doctor regeneration, but in my head, when it happened the Doctor was alone, and he'd been alone for a long time before or after it. The Ninth-Tenth Doctor, on the other hand, didn't almost-die by himself: he was with someone who cared about him, and I think that affected his transition. The gravity shifted, and while Rose orbited around Nine, she and Ten orbited around each other. But Martha just doesn't have any gravitational force of her own, not yet, and Ten is not being written in a way that makes up for it. To me she comes off as following him because she needs to follow something, not because he in particular has swept her off her feet.

Plus I liked the gentle, affectionate subtext of s1 / s2: this whole actually saying straight-out "Doctor, I am in love with you" is making me insane.I prefer it when they pause significantly, talk about dancing, and I can believe that the TARDIS is the site of a transtemporal polyamorous tangle that rivals Torchwood's but is much friendlier. When Martha makes the subtext text, I feel like I already know exactly how the story's going to end: the way these things tend to on tv. There's no space to read it as something far more interesting. Also, I'm afraid that things will be said that sort of retroactively invalidate my reading of, for instance, the relationships in S1.

I hope to be pleasantly surprised, though.

In conclusion, I miss Rose. Can you tell?

But that aside, Blink was freaking amazing. I always love the innocent bystander episodes. And the statues were freaking terrifying. I jumped. Several times. And maybe shrieked a little. I felt like the plot was really tightly-written and cool and worked kind of the way I feel like temporal paradoxes should work. And the premise behind the angel things was interesting. The end was sort of cheesy, but it's Doctor Who, and frankly for good writing I will put up with a bit of camp. Steven Moffat, you are amazing.

I wish this thing was always written by the same four (good) writers, but I'm sure there's a complicated tv reason why some shows have writing teams and some shows are completely potluck. And speaking of, is Torchwood series 2 really not going to air until 2008? How, how am I supposed to wait that long?

In real life news, today I did yoga and made tamales. Flavors: cinnamon-raisin, blackberry, chocolate, spinach curry, pizza, and black bean. I haven't got the dough consistancy quite right, but I am still well-pleased.

Comments

[rilestar.livejournal.com]

I have never eaten a tamale. I don't really know what a tamale is. But those flavours sound *awesome*. I've had a serious thing for cinnamon lately. I'm drinking Chinese Cinnamon Spice Tea, I've got cinnamon Tic Tacs and I'm craving another cinnamon hot chocolate like I had last Monday ... *drools*

Interesting to read your Doctor Who troubles. I've not seen any of David Tennant except the Christmas episode, but I've heard a lot of anguish from family/friends who *wish* they could love it, but can't quite manage it this season.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

A tamale is a little bit of flavoring steamed inside a big ole lump of corn dough. Traditionally they're a way to make meat go further, and they are surprisingly difficult to get where I live. I was five miles from the best El Salvadorean restaurant in my state all week, but I never got a chance to go there and get my corn-products fix, so now I'm trying to make up for it on my own *g*

Cinnamon is supposed to be good for a lot of health things, right? I have heard somewhere that it prevents diabetes.

The writing on DW is so uneven right now. I think the problem is not that it's bad but that it's been so good that I'm surprised when I find myself yelling "my dog could write better dialogue!" at the screen.

[rilestar.livejournal.com]

Hmm, kinda like Chinese steamed buns, then, except corn. Sigh. I love corn, but my stomach most definitely does not agree. No tamales for me :-(

According to wiki (the source of *all* knowlege :-)) cinnamon is good for digestion, high in antioxidants, etc. The diabetes thing was apparently actually cassia, which is a related species (also known as "Bastard Cinnamon"!)

Hee! You're a tv yeller, too, huh? My friends all think I'm weird for abusing the tv.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

I am actively forbidden to talk to the television around one of my parents. It is difficult. I even yell at my yoga videos.

[lavilleperdue.livejournal.com]

I did not know that tamales could come in so many flavors!! That is amazing. Very nice. :)

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

Hee, well, I have heard that there is a restaurant in Mexico City that does almond cream tamales and pizza tamales etc, but until I get there or buy their cookbook, I am completely making things up. Which makes me quite pleased. (The chocolate tamales, btw, did not turn out great, but the pizza ones are awesome).

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

Thank you, you've nailed what's been irritating me about this season. Martha is the Elizabeth Weir of Doctor Who: I want to like her, I really do, I've been told that she's smart and useful...I just don't see much of it. And I don't like her instantly being in love with the Doctor and saying so. Ugh.

Stephen Moffat = awesomeness.

Having said that, the statues were deliciously creepy! Right after I watched it, I stumbled onto a Miller Lite commercial with moving statues. I may possibly have screamed a tiny bit.

And dammit, now I want tamales.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

Man, that's exactly it. She's a Weir. That is so sad. I have read somewhere that the nameless internet "they" felt that the show was too Rose-centered, so I could see writing a new companion who kind of takes a back seat, but still. And the chemistry-free Instalove makes her look hella needy. This is where I put on my Crazy Fangirl hat and say it's not that she's actually needy, she's just being written wrong. Heh.

My dream team Doctor Who / Torchwood writers would be Davies, Moffat, Matt Jones (because The Impossible Planet was brain-eatingly cool) and... okay, Gareth Roberts, on a trial basis, because The Shakespeare Code showed serious potential.

Man, are you lucky enough to live in a tamale-selling location? We have terrible freezer-section tamales, and bags of Maseca, and that is it. Thus the cooking experiments.

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

1) wow, I sure don't stop with the character-ranting.
2) The statues: indeed cool!
3) I say Man, more than I should

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

The ubiquitous unseen "they" are full of shit! (Uh, unless I'm one of them, in which case they're brilliant.) I *liked* the Rose-centric stuff - I didn't always like her, but I could usually identify with her, just a little. (Sometimes in a cringeworthy way, but not the point.)

It might be a Crazy Fangirl tinfoil hat...but that doesn't mean they're not writing her wrong.

That's a fabulous dream team. God, I wish this show had longer seasons.

And I am not only fortunate enough to live near good tamales, I am fortunate enough to live in a city that will have a Latino food festival this summer. Yayhooray.

Man, bring on the character-ranting. (I don't stop with it either, and I say "dude" far more often than is probably age-appropriate.)