The Idiot Box: TV Season 2009/2010

[Crafty_Pat]

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I thought maybe his mother, but the way the Doctor answer's Wilf's question about her identity with a camera cut to Donna in her white dress seems too telling.

I assumed mother at first as well but that would (possibly) violate the Doctor's (now-canonical) statement from the movie - unless of course she was a human transplanted to Gallifrey before the war. Or he was lying. Or they're applying the canon selectively.

It seems odd to me that Davies would insert that big a mystery into his final episode, especially with him claiming not to want to continue writing for the show. And following on my post after Part 1, I find myself surprised (pleasantly so) that it didn't all end with a cold reboot, and even more surprised the Time Lords didn't stick around into Moffat's run. I guess I shouldn't be - it's rare one showrunner preps work for another - but of course this makes the mystery woman seem all the more out of place. 

The Season 5 trailer is strong and my faith in Moffat remains unshaken. I hope I get over the uncertain feeling I have about Smith quickly (it took me about half a season to get over the same feeling about Tennant) but regardless I find the prospect of new frontiers exciting.

[Mister Andersen]

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I know why they're there, but I really wish they'd give the Daleks a rest (this year really doesn't count)

[Crafty_Pat]

Thanks much for the spoiler tags, Andersen. I'm looking forward to being (mostly) surprised.

[ThunderMonkey]

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I thought maybe his mother, but the way the Doctor answer's Wilf's question about her identity with a camera cut to Donna in her white dress seems too telling.

I assumed mother at first as well but that would (possibly) violate the Doctor's (now-canonical) statement from the movie - unless of course she was a human transplanted to Gallifrey before the war. Or he was lying. Or they're applying the canon selectively.

It seems odd to me that Davies would insert that big a mystery into his final episode, especially with him claiming not to want to continue writing for the show. And following on my post after Part 1, I find myself surprised (pleasantly so) that it didn't all end with a cold reboot, and even more surprised the Time Lords didn't stick around into Moffat's run. I guess I shouldn't be - it's rare one showrunner preps work for another - but of course this makes the mystery woman seem all the more out of place. 

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At first, I thought that the woman in white was the White Guardian of Time.

I'm putting my age with that one.

[Crafty_Pat]

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At first, I thought that the woman in white was the White Guardian of Time.

I'm putting my age with that one.

As am I, for understanding you.

[Mister Andersen]

That was a guess a lot of people made.

[Crafty_Pat]

Glee Renewed for a Second Season (yay!)

[Wolverine]

Vinnie Jones appearing in Chuck is excellent cameo casting. Even with the cutsie talk.

[Sletchman]

Vinnie Jones appearing in Chuck is excellent cameo casting. Even with the cutsie talk.

Yup, I enjoyed it [and EP 1-3 of season 3 as a whole] a lot.

[Wolverine]

Yup, I enjoyed it [and EP 1-3 of season 3 as a whole] a lot.

Absolutely. It's good to see there's at least one show on NBC that's firing on full cylinders this season.

Oh, and Adam Baldwin in 'disguise' made the missus very happy

[Mister Andersen]

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Possibly the most frustating and least enjoyable episode to date.

My problem lies not with the stranding of Rush as it's incredibly obvious that he is inevitably going to return in the alien shuttle -- which, btw, seems a good match for the one we see detaching from Destiny at the end of "Air".

Rather there are two things that bug the shit out of me.

The first is just how retardedly stupid and unsympathetic it made far too many of the characters look as they clumsily stab each other in the back in a scrabble for power courtesy of a set-up so obviously contrived by an outside party in an effort to destablise the current power structure that it defies belief anyone could take it at face value.

The second is that I think they've made a terrible and possiblly fatal mistake turning Rush into such an outright villain. Part of what sells this series is the ambiguity surrounding him -- what does he know and when does he know it, what's he really up to, how far is he wiling to go, how mistaken in their assumptions about him are the others going to be? They've now removed that factor in the least interesting possible manner (compare to the events of "Time" where Rush is either trying to save his own skin or taking a terible risk for the benefit of the others).

But, for the sake of argument let us allow the farce with the misplaced gun at the beginning of the ep to play out. However, even after a thorough search the gun cannot be found, ramping up the suspicion and the fear and the tension, splitting people into factions based on who they think is behind it all. Later, while the away team are discovering the shuttle, Eli uncovers only the evidence that *someone* entered the room outside the Kino's POV and deactivated it before removing the gun: good news that there's no murderer, but now someone has a secret.

On the way back to the gate, Young and Rush are straggling behind, and there *is* a rockfall that traps Rush. With time running out, Young attempts to free him until Rush pulls the gun and forces him to leave. Young calls him a murderering bastard before stepping through, but Rush never conforms the accusation or explains how he got the gun. As before, Young simply says Rush was trapped and had to be left behind to avoid giving the impression of a summary execution having been carried out, at which point Eli shows up and reveals that there was no murder and that the data about the Icarus-planet might have been falsified (something I also thought they revealed the truth about far too soon).

It still gets you Rush stranded and Young seen by the audience to be lying to the others, but it keeps the ambiguity about Rush intact, making him look sinister rather than villainous.

[Crafty_Pat]

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I feel the climax has much more to do with Young than with Rush. It revealed how Young is really willing to go to be rid of Rush, and IMO that makes him at least as much a villain, and as a result supports the ambiguity of the series - especially when you consider that Rush will inevitably gain sympathy when Young's actions are revealed.

[Desertpuma]

Which is the lesser of two evils?

[Krensky]

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Considering there's a villain external (mostly) of the ship coming in the second half of the season, I really think it's way. It also serves to establish the parameters of villainy. Young will do anything to protect his people. Even sacrifice them. Rush will do anything to research the ship.

Things will settle back down with an external threat.

[Mister Andersen]

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I feel the climax has much more to do with Young than with Rush. It revealed how Young is really willing to go to be rid of Rush, and IMO that makes him at least as much a villain, and as a result supports the ambiguity of the series - especially when you consider that Rush will inevitably gain sympathy when Young's actions are revealed.

I don't see Rush gaining any sympathy at all -- he's been caught out with one humoungous lie as it is, and has just inconvenienced everyone as a result of framing Young for murder. Rush being subjected to a fatal sanction, be it summary execution or exile, was inevitable.