mrv3000 | (no subject)

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Yeah, the second half of this did drag a bit. (I'm wondering if part of the problem was too quick of editing cuts between scenes where nothing really happened. Maybe they should have let individual scenes run longer? Eh, maybe that would have made it worse and the editing was their way of trying to jazz it up.)

The mother got a bit ugly, didn't she? To show an opposite to the Silurians, I'm sure. Anyway, I was disappointed that they didn't go ahead 1000 years then. Why didn't they do that for the 2nd half? Or something.

I'd been spoiled for Rory long ago, so that wasn't shocking or anything. It is getting annoying seeing that damn crack turning up everywhere they go. But at least the crack didn't destroy the Silurians for them or anything, like with the Angels. Handy monster-cleaning crack! (I already can't remember - did the Doctor ever get emo about genociding the Angels? GENOCIDE, DOCTOR!)

So Rory's been sucked into the crack, preserved until a later date. Bye bye, Sane One. There will probably be much Kermit flailing without you.

But yay! I feel like I'm starting to see some honest emotion in Eleven!

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Basically my one reaction to this episode other than *yawn* (like seriously, that negotiation scene? boooring) was "RORRRRRYYYY!!! NOOOOO!!!".

At this point he was really the one thing that I liked about series 5 (Matt Smith's portrayal of Eleven did grow on me though!), so I was super pissed and bitter that he was being taken away from me. Also, killing off Rory twice in the span of three episodes? That's not on.

Yeah, pretty much all of this.

I was also severely unimpressed with the erased from time thing. I figured he'd be back, but I hated the idea that in the meantime we were supposed to just accept Whacky Shenanigans with Van Gogh rather than this being a motivator for Amy character development because she couldn't remember him, couldn't remember the loss and therefore couldn't develop. They ended up handling it a little better in VATD than I thought they would, but in the week leading up to VATD I was basically just like GOD SHOW I SPENT SO LONG DEFENDING YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME :| :| :|

Looking back I still think the crack sucked as a plotline. It doesn't make sense and it erases (LOLOL) opportunity for character development by erasing the experience. It is sort of symbolic~ly Moffat-y in that sense, where the neat-o puzzle literally takes away from the characterization.

I still dislike the crack as a plot line because it turns the Doctor into an idiot. Like, he knows it's a Thing, probably a very bad Thing, and it takes him FOREVER to decide, "Hey, maybe I should go try and find out what is up with this very bad Thing that seems to be happening." It just makes him seem really incurious and blase about something that you'd think he'd be all up in the second it presented itself.

Do you sometimes remember that time everything went TOTALLY DEAD SILENT at the end of VOV and then no one thought about it for an entire series?

YEAH.

This is definitely the risk of having a season-long arc like this. If it's made too obvious, then they wind up looking like giant dunces for not noticing and/or caring. You can't simultaneously say to the audience HAI EVERYONE LOOK AT THIS IT IS SUPER IMPORTANT AND IT KEEPS POPPING UP IN LIKE EVERY EPISODE DON'T YOU WISH YOU KNEW WHAT IT WAS AND WHAT IT MEANT? HUH? DONCHA? IT'S A REALLY BIG DEAL! IT'S SO MYSTERIOUS! LOOK AT IT! While simultaneously having your characters looking at that same thing and going, "Meh."

Yeah. I was really relieved when the Doctor and co noticed the crack again in the Angel episodes, but then NOTHING REALLY HAPPENED about it and idk it was too much, and they are all taking their sweet-ass time investigating the Silence (or is it the Silents?) now.

I've noticed a few times this series where the Doctor has had to do something stupid - where I'm frowning that if I'm smarter than that, then the Doctor really should be smarter than that. But then the moment passes and it flits out of my mmind.

This is one of my biggest problems with the "paper" reveal in the Library episodes. JFC TEN COME ON TREES = PAPER IT ISN'T HARD WHY DOES IT TAKE YOU SO LONG I AM NOT A TIME LORD

YES. I generally don't like to think about the Library episodes as there's so much in them that make my brain bleed. There's lots of "WINDMILLS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY" going on in my mind.

Also, he has a piece of the TARDIS! That he pulled from the crack! It doesn't occur to him that something happens to the TARDIS at some point in the future THAT IS CRACK-RELATED and he should maybe look into that???

It is sort of symbolic~ly Moffat-y in that sense, where the neat-o puzzle literally takes away from the characterization.
SO TRUE. I think that this is especially true in the finale of series 5, but yeah... that's all I'll say for now.

It's a whopping deux ex machina and is a big cheat. I feel like I can't quite pass final judgment on it yet though until I see the rest.

Fortunately I knew it was coming (and know he comes back, but don't really know the details), so I wasn't all stabby. :D

WATCH OUT, KALI HAS A LOT OF FEELINGS THIS EVENING AND SHE'S NOT AFRAID TO USE THEM

Really though, I totally hated Amy's "bored now" negotiation montage like a lot and then Rory got cracked and I didn't know if he'd be back or not but at that point he was the only person on the TARDIS that I really liked so I had a big, big sad.

WATCH OUT, KALI HAS A LOT OF FEELINGS THIS EVENING AND SHE'S NOT AFRAID TO USE THEM

EEEEK!

Really though, I totally hated Amy's "bored now" negotiation montage like a lot

I didn't really think about it when I was watching, but it was such a little kid move.

and then Rory got cracked and I didn't know if he'd be back or not but at that point he was the only person on the TARDIS that I really liked so I had a big, big sad.

I'm glad I know generalish spoilers about him for the future, otherwise I'd probably be ticked too.

lol I'm such a crabby old person. I wanted to be like, "Sorry if being appointed one of two representatives of THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE is boring for you, Amy." I think it's one of the many series-5 moments that was probably supposed to be light comic relief but instead made me cranky. *shakes cane*

I liked it mostly because I was like AMY POND FEELS MY PAIN

XD Can we have another representative, please?

I really loved the scene where Amy was freaking out about Rory, and Eleven had to drag her into the TARDIS, and then try to help her remember. Angst FTW.

I don't think he actually genocided the Angels, did he? I figured there's bound to be more of them out there somewhere in the universe.

I'm not sure if he genocided the Angels. Maybe not. (But still! XD)

LOL this episode. So forgettable in the grand scheme of things. I enjoy Kali's rage about it though since while it is not my favourite, it doesn't bring my butthurt fanrage in the same way that, say, GitF does.

The crack plotline makes no sense though. I briefly tried to derive some Cloen/Rose angst out of it but then my fic brain broke. So.

My bête noire are the Library episodes. Ow. My brain.

Yeah, I think I was combining my "OMG so BOOOOORED" feeling about this episode with the previous one. The previous one is actually relatively interesting, by comparison. This one, though. I still don't remember most of what happened in the first 3/4ths of it.

But yeah, despite the fact that the end part MAKES NO SENSE (like, is there some reason why the Doctor can stick his arm into the crack and pull out evidence of future TARDIS explosion, but Rory gets sucked into it - other than the Doctor's inherent Time Lord-ness, anyway?), I do love it for all the reaction/emotion we got from Eleven and Amy. Also, it confirmed for me Rory's awesomeness - just in time for him to disappear, of course, but that wasn't unexpected. :-)

It is the magical crack of awesome! Not to be confused with RTD's magical awesome crack. XD

Seems some aspects of the crack erase, but others are just doors to other areas of time and space (like the Vampires travelling through the crack). It would be nice to have some sort of consistent rule book with the dang thing, though.

A saving grace of this episode (and the flaw was in part the editing, IA), was 11. I love episodes that focus on what's going on in his heart (more than in his mind, though that's fun, too). There were little character bits with 11 where Matt was allowed to shine. Sometimes he's on "image of doctor" instead of "real character" but that's the writing. Times when we get to see "real character" he does soooo well.

Overall kinda boring, but not bad. Just... kinda boring.

Except for that end. Yikes. You see it as Rory "preserved" in the crack? that's an interesting take. hmmm.

Yeah, that's what I've been getting a lot - a sort of flat characterization of the Doctor. But there have been more and more moments where he seems like a flesh and blood character instead of simply an idea of one. It's nice.

I really agree here-- and it's one of my problems with series five. But it's not Matt's portrayal- you give him meaty stuff to work with and he does really well. I loved his anger in VotD and TBB (flashes of nine). And the flashes of self loathing in AC. All made him familiar to me, even though he's a "different number". But it seems most of the stories don't focus on the doctor anymore-- he's a figure in the story. It's only "slightly off" that way- not a lot. But it's noticeable. I don't know if you saw the Sarah Jane Adventure with 11 in it yet- very different that way. Matt certainly can deliver.

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