That whole worship-hate attitude about Moffat? Completely seconded. Brilliant episode, laden with terror, humor, complete-and-utter mystery, and compelling-and-worrying character relationship moments. No one writes Who like Moffat. I officially have got to rent Jekyll now, one of his earlier mini-series. Man's a genius.
Is she the universe's biggest hard-drive, camoflaged and hidden by someone who knows better (like her psychiatrist, Dr. Moon?)
That's my guess. Although a "living Library" is a possibility, too. But I suspect she'll turn out to be the core hard drive for the library, even though at this point she seems to be most connected with the security system proper. She talks about "my library" as though it's separate from her, but which she oversees. There's probably something metaphorical about the vast potential of a child's imagination in all of this. We'll see how it turns out next week, I suppose.
But, this woman has a SONIC DEVICE. And, as the Doctor himself says, he doesn't just give those out to anyone. Her sonic also looked, well, homemade. As if it had been constructed piecemeal rather than straight-from-the-factory.
I don't remember the origins of the original sonic screwdriver, but Nine says he built his in Moffat's first run (TEC/DD). And we know that the screwdriver was destroyed in the X-Ray machine in "Smith and Jones," and reconstructed again since then. So, it's very possible that he built River Song's model, as well. The homemade look is somewhat rougher than his usual fare, so I could see it being one he made for a companion. (She does say he gave it to her, doesn't she?) The question we're left with, as you say, is what makes her the (first? only?) companion to have her own sonic device? As a 51st century kinda girl, it might be a matter of being one of the first who is innately capable of using it well?
I just realized that the Professor's sonic blaster might be the same make as Jack's was in TDD
The squareness gun made me grin hugely. I don't think she got that from the Doctor, no matter how useful. Maybe in his later incarnations he's changed his opinion about guns, but somehow I doubt it. (That's why we need a Jack occasionally; someone has to wield the fire power!) Either way, it must have come from Villangard. Perhaps the Library episode happens before Nine destroys it; perhaps (like Jack) she just has one of the remaining guns. Either way, it's a lovely touch.
Plus (this sealed the deal for me) she is very familiar -- too familiar -- with the Doctor to be "just" another companion.
Oh yes. They definitely played up the companion-but-something-more, something closer. Is that merely the way we (the audience) are reading those interactions? Is it indicative of a future relationship, even a future romance? Even though my Nine/Rose OTP self balks at that notion a bit, the Doctor is allowed to love. I wouldn't wish him to never love again.
That said, I'm going to remain unconvinced. After all, she is a product of 51st century morality, the same time period that produced our very flexible and forward Jack Harkness. That intensity (reading his eyes), physicality (the face touch), and general rough-and-ready demeanor may all simply be part of her upbringing. In fact, she reminds me very much of how Jack might approach the Doctor if he met an earlier incarnation. Especially a "pretty boy" incarnation! Her wistful hurt when he doesn't know her, looks right through her, is something I could see from a very close friend as much as a lover.
Though he makes for brilliant two-part episodes, the man should not be allowed to write about mundane things. He makes them terrifying.
Amazing, isn't it? And he's got a thing for dealing with children and children's nightmare particularly. From the monster under the bed (in "Girl in the Fireplace") to the moving statues. And part of the horror of TDD/TEC is the fact that patient zero is a child, a faceless, empty child. Whew.
In case you can't tell, when I start overanalyzing television into tiny bits (as in the above), that means I am officially an obsessed fan.
Hee. Glad I'm not the only one! (And we apparently share a taste in icons, too. Good one for this ep.)
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Date: June 1st, 2008 10:44 pm (UTC)Is she the universe's biggest hard-drive, camoflaged and hidden by someone who knows better (like her psychiatrist, Dr. Moon?)
That's my guess. Although a "living Library" is a possibility, too. But I suspect she'll turn out to be the core hard drive for the library, even though at this point she seems to be most connected with the security system proper. She talks about "my library" as though it's separate from her, but which she oversees. There's probably something metaphorical about the vast potential of a child's imagination in all of this. We'll see how it turns out next week, I suppose.
But, this woman has a SONIC DEVICE. And, as the Doctor himself says, he doesn't just give those out to anyone. Her sonic also looked, well, homemade. As if it had been constructed piecemeal rather than straight-from-the-factory.
I don't remember the origins of the original sonic screwdriver, but Nine says he built his in Moffat's first run (TEC/DD). And we know that the screwdriver was destroyed in the X-Ray machine in "Smith and Jones," and reconstructed again since then. So, it's very possible that he built River Song's model, as well. The homemade look is somewhat rougher than his usual fare, so I could see it being one he made for a companion. (She does say he gave it to her, doesn't she?) The question we're left with, as you say, is what makes her the (first? only?) companion to have her own sonic device? As a 51st century kinda girl, it might be a matter of being one of the first who is innately capable of using it well?
I just realized that the Professor's sonic blaster might be the same make as Jack's was in TDD
The squareness gun made me grin hugely. I don't think she got that from the Doctor, no matter how useful. Maybe in his later incarnations he's changed his opinion about guns, but somehow I doubt it. (That's why we need a Jack occasionally; someone has to wield the fire power!) Either way, it must have come from Villangard. Perhaps the Library episode happens before Nine destroys it; perhaps (like Jack) she just has one of the remaining guns. Either way, it's a lovely touch.
Plus (this sealed the deal for me) she is very familiar -- too familiar -- with the Doctor to be "just" another companion.
Oh yes. They definitely played up the companion-but-something-more, something closer. Is that merely the way we (the audience) are reading those interactions? Is it indicative of a future relationship, even a future romance? Even though my Nine/Rose OTP self balks at that notion a bit, the Doctor is allowed to love. I wouldn't wish him to never love again.
That said, I'm going to remain unconvinced. After all, she is a product of 51st century morality, the same time period that produced our very flexible and forward Jack Harkness. That intensity (reading his eyes), physicality (the face touch), and general rough-and-ready demeanor may all simply be part of her upbringing. In fact, she reminds me very much of how Jack might approach the Doctor if he met an earlier incarnation. Especially a "pretty boy" incarnation! Her wistful hurt when he doesn't know her, looks right through her, is something I could see from a very close friend as much as a lover.
Though he makes for brilliant two-part episodes, the man should not be allowed to write about mundane things. He makes them terrifying.
Amazing, isn't it? And he's got a thing for dealing with children and children's nightmare particularly. From the monster under the bed (in "Girl in the Fireplace") to the moving statues. And part of the horror of TDD/TEC is the fact that patient zero is a child, a faceless, empty child. Whew.
In case you can't tell, when I start overanalyzing television into tiny bits (as in the above), that means I am officially an obsessed fan.
Hee. Glad I'm not the only one! (And we apparently share a taste in icons, too. Good one for this ep.)