wildcard_47: (curse you)
wildcard_47 ([personal profile] wildcard_47) wrote2008-06-01 12:47 am

Steven. Moffat.

You are a freaking genius.

AND I HATE YOU!! You and your damn cliffhangers!

Also, (for those of you who have just watched) answer me this. Why is the little girl a conduit to all the inner workings of the Library? Is she the universe's biggest hard-drive, camoflaged and hidden by someone who knows better (like her psychiatrist, Dr. Moon?) Is she the living Library -- the backup system for the millions of years of knowledge stored in those books?

Additionally, why does everyone's friendliest ER doc (aka, Professor River-Song) show up as an anthropologist, who has a TARDIS-shaped journal full of "spoilers" and a sonic SCREWDRIVER??? If she were simply a future companion, that link I could get. She knows the Future Doctor and she obviously knows the history of Donna (as her successor, maybe?) 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. Why would the Doctor help her build -- or help her understand how to build -- a piece of Time Lordian technology if she's just a regular old human?

Plus (this sealed the deal for me) she is very familiar -- too familiar -- with the Doctor to be "just" another companion. She told Donna that having him look through her, without recognition, "killed her". Not hurt, not annoyed, but "killed". Not a word that's thrown around lightly. She also stroked his face. Stared into his eyes and said he "looked younger than she'd ever seen him". That observation seems fairly insignificant on the surface, yet to notice the imperceptible change of a person's eyes -- a change which runs deeper than the color, or the structure, but hinges on recognizing and understanding the emotions and age of the person behind the eyes -- means that she's been able to peer very closely at them -- at him -- before. Which could be very intimate, in any sense of the word.

Edit: I just realized that the Professor's sonic blaster might be the same make as Jack's was in TDD, Season 1. Both blasters are 51st century, presumably from the Villengard factory-turned-banana-grove. So, does this mean that Nine has not yet blown up that factory? Or, does it mean that the Professor has access to those types of weapons (through an organization like the Time Agency, or through her future association with the Doctor?)

Grr. I still hate Steven Moffat right now. Though he makes for brilliant two-part episodes, the man should not be allowed to write about mundane things. He makes them terrifying. Case in point, I am now more than a little suspicious of gas masks, statues of angels, and shadows.

P.S. 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. Whee. :)

[identity profile] tkurogrym.livejournal.com 2008-06-01 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
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.)

[identity profile] wildcard-47.livejournal.com 2008-06-01 11:33 pm (UTC)(link)
After all, she is a product of 51st century morality
That's true. But I read into those origins through her general actions/mannerisms more than I did with her later, one-on-one interactions with the Doctor. The flirting, the banter, the simple ease with which she talked to him -- that could easily be chalked up to 51st century standards.

My thing was, whether she is a very close friend or future love interest, there seemed to be something deeper in those actions which couldn't be explained by her 51st-century physicality and intensity alone. She was so earnest, so passionate about showing that she knew him, and wanting that same type of recognition in return. She didn't try to play off his clueless reaction to her as lightly as Jack might have, if he somehow found himself in a similar situation.

Sigh. And on top of that, I keep getting more and more nervous for Donna's future as a companion. All this talk of her own possible ghosting is making me antsy. *frowns*

[identity profile] tkurogrym.livejournal.com 2008-06-02 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I know. I honestly read River Song the exact same way. I'm just trying to put another spin on her -- even though I'm not opposed to her as a future love interest. As I say, the poor man's allowed to love again. And she seems able to handle him. ;)

I don't think Donna's gone yet. (The node is too bizarre for a companion death, which Moffat of all people would know how to play for every once of drama.) And I know no companion gets to stay forever. (And didn't she just jinx herself a couple episodes back by saying she'd do just that? Sigh.) But I really, really don't want to see her go. So so much fun, so sharp and witty and yet also able to see right to the heart of this skinny, angsty alien. Beautiful combination. I can't imagine the writers wanting to give that up just yet! (And we need much more Wilf, too. Heh. Finally, a family member who APPROVES of the Doctor!)

Of course, I wouldn't have ditched Rose after just two seasons, either. And Eccleston would've been signed on a multi-season contract. So what do I know?

[identity profile] elvenlaughter.livejournal.com 2008-06-02 01:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Again, watch the trailer. Donna is around for a couple more episodes, full bodied and alive.

[identity profile] tkurogrym.livejournal.com 2008-06-02 02:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Like I say, I don't think Donna's dead yet. I'll even go as far as to say I'll bet she finishes the season. My concern isn't that Moffat will get rid of her, but that the writing's on the wall for her to be gone by the end of S4 ... or midway through the hiatus year, at the latest. If so, I'll be unhappy about it! :)

Heck, if you watch the trailer, alt!Donna is coming from Pete's Universe. Which will be very, very interesting...

[identity profile] elvenlaughter.livejournal.com 2008-06-02 02:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I still haven't caught the alt!Donna bit. Whereabouts in the trailer is that?

[identity profile] tkurogrym.livejournal.com 2008-06-02 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
In all fairness, I didn't see her at first, either. Someone posted a set of screencaps and I thought, "What trailer were you watching? I didn't see that."

She's in there twice. The first clip is quick flash about 2/3 of the way through. Ten leaps the barricade, we see a Dalek close-up, then there's a mechanical contraption with what looks like a rough-n-tumble version of Donna standing in front. Lights on either side flare. She's wearing a battered brown coat, purple turtleneck, jeans. Definitely the red hair is a bit of a giveaway. But I didn't believe it was her until the close-up -- which happens in the quick flashes of different images shortly thereafter. The flames in the TARDIS, Ten looking panicked, then Donna again - same red hair, differently styled, same clothing as the first clip. Then Ten reaching out for something/someone and the cut to Rose's "It's only just beginning."

[identity profile] elvenlaughter.livejournal.com 2008-06-03 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
Hmm. I'll have to check that out. Are you sure it's not just... Donna in a different episode?

[identity profile] tkurogrym.livejournal.com 2008-06-03 02:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Nope. Absolutely not sure. Tell me what you think when you see her clothing. It doesn't look like our usual Donna fare -- nor does the (apparently) short hair. It looks like something from ... somewhere else. The end of the universe comes to mind, actually, with that coat. So, is she alt!Donna or Donna from a different episode under very different circumstances? No idea. Alt!Donna is the guess since Rose is coming back, but it could be anything.

I just heard a radio interview with Tennant in which he was asked "Has Catherine Tate signed for another season?" He dodged the question neatly by saying that "Donna has quite a story arc during the remaining episodes of this season." (paraphrased)

*needs more Donna icons*

[identity profile] elvenlaughter.livejournal.com 2008-06-04 01:50 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not convinced, actually. She just has a ponytail. You can see the tail of it in the close-up. I froze the screen there, and it just looks like there's something strange and light-filled going on... maybe connected to where she disappeared to at the end of Silence in the Library? Hmm. Anyway, I didn't think she looked significantly different, at least not enough to merit calling her alt!Donna. I guess we'll see, though.

[identity profile] tkurogrym.livejournal.com 2008-06-04 02:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Fair enough. And I did notice the pony tail when I finally froze it on that one image. Hope you're right. Alt!Donna seems to be a popular notion, but the fandom isn't often right. ;) They also think that River Song is a variety of ludicrous things, including the Master regenerated, Jenny regenerated, etc. (Most interesting one so far? The Doctor's biographer from the future, who's spent a lot of time with him and developed quite a relationship. Connects nicely to the fact that they landed initially in biographies and that Ten "loves biographies!" Heh.) Alwyas fun to speculate on the possibilities, whether they turn out right or wrong. ;)

*returns this regularly scheduled blog back over to [livejournal.com profile] wildcard_47 after a brief takeover!*
Edited 2008-06-04 14:37 (UTC)

[identity profile] elvenlaughter.livejournal.com 2008-06-04 03:02 pm (UTC)(link)
That's an interesting idea, the biographer. Hmm...

[identity profile] wildcard-47.livejournal.com 2008-06-05 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
*snatch* I'm reclaiming my blog!

I'm interested in the whole alt! vs. regular!Donna conversation you've got going here. But, if River Song is actually not going to be a companion, I'd love for her to be the Doctor's biographer. That would be kind of fun.

the Master regnerated, Jenny regenerated, etc.
Hahahahaha.....oh, fandom. *giggles some more*

[identity profile] elvenlaughter.livejournal.com 2008-06-02 01:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I read all of your conversation with Beane before posting, and I absolutely agree on all counts. Moffat terrifies me with his cleverness. And about the sonic screwdriver River uses, I thought it looked old and worn, like it had been used an awful lot, and maybe clumsily repaired at some point... maybe I'm wrong, but itjust seemed to me evidence of its age. Did he give her an old one, and make himself a better model? I dunno.

I'm almost too scared about everything to be excited for next week. A part of me is feeling a bit like Bella right now (never again! I hate this show! Curse you all for getting me involved!) and yet I'm about to go rewatch for the pictures on CALlie's wall. I'm such an addict, but at least I know I have a problem. That's the first step to recovery, right?