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Smile (DW S10.2)
This is very brief, and mostly just writing SOMETHING...
Smile (& The Pilot)
Human colonists from the doomed planet Earth do not have an easy time.
I know people have compared Smile to The Happiness Patrol, but in that episode the happiness was politically enforced. This is technology malfunction; a different kind of story.
It’s also a story about the future of the human race:
BILL: I've got to know. The people who came here, were they the last people? Were they our last hope?
DOCTOR: Earth was evacuated. But there were a number of ships. I've bumped into a few of them over the years.
Wonderful gif set here comparing The Beast Below and Smile, and the companions’ reaction to discovering the future of the human race. It’s also worth noting that it’s the first proper adventure for both of them.
Going back to the Classic show, there is of course Ark in Space and Frontios, both of which deal with human colonists from a doomed planet Earth. (There are probably more, those are just the two I happen to know & remember at this point in time.)
And in both stories, the humans are under attack.
So yeah, mini robots that will kill you for being sad seems like par for the course.
I ought write something about seeing and being seen, which was of course one of Twelve’s main themes:
DOCTOR: You can't see me, can you? You look at me, and you can't see me. Have you any idea what that's like? I'm not on the phone, I'm right here, standing in front of you. Please, just, just see me.
Deep Breath
The Doctor noticing Bill, Bill noticing Heather, and then a whole episode about perception and the way we communicate our moods (emojis), and how the technology isn't able to understand things properly.
Also links with 'the Smilers' in The Beast Below and how they too turned nasty. (The Beast Below was a lot more political, and I wonder if anyone's done a proper comparison w/The Happiness Patrol?)
(Also appreciating the Egyptian bits, hoping there will be more of that, and the lack of straight white men.)
The Doctor
The thing that struck me is how someone could go straight from the Seventh or Eighth Doctor and onto Twelve and be none the wiser as to there having been a Time War. (I am sure it’ll be brought up, but it’s a thing in the past, not something for the Doctor to angst over.)
I know I talk a lot about Moffat rebooting the show, but it’s lovely to see it in action. The Doctor is once more the renegade, and he doesn’t particularly like his home or his people. He fits into his university office as snugly as Professor Chronotis did into his in Shada. (You should read Shada because it's very good.)
Bill
I like Bill.
I don’t really have any deep thoughts or meaningful things to contribute. I want it to be Saturday so I can watch her again. She’s delightful.
A few Tumblr links, as Tumblr is good at bite-size posts:
Hey, so, um... talk about your handle on Bill. What do you think of her?/half a handle, i said. quicktake guesses
Personal take
Plus one about Heather:
This isn’t a ghost story, it’s a love story!
And finally, the sassy one! ;)
Nardole
Best quote is by Promethia:
I love how he's like 'so I got beheaded and attached to a robot and then you dug me out and recorporealized me, so let me chide you like a Jewish grandmother.'
I am already looking forward to him meeting Missy: "Oh, you're going to kill me, aren't you? Well, here we go again."
Also good post on how the companions reflect the audience
Smile (& The Pilot)
Human colonists from the doomed planet Earth do not have an easy time.
I know people have compared Smile to The Happiness Patrol, but in that episode the happiness was politically enforced. This is technology malfunction; a different kind of story.
It’s also a story about the future of the human race:
BILL: I've got to know. The people who came here, were they the last people? Were they our last hope?
DOCTOR: Earth was evacuated. But there were a number of ships. I've bumped into a few of them over the years.
Wonderful gif set here comparing The Beast Below and Smile, and the companions’ reaction to discovering the future of the human race. It’s also worth noting that it’s the first proper adventure for both of them.
Going back to the Classic show, there is of course Ark in Space and Frontios, both of which deal with human colonists from a doomed planet Earth. (There are probably more, those are just the two I happen to know & remember at this point in time.)
And in both stories, the humans are under attack.
So yeah, mini robots that will kill you for being sad seems like par for the course.
I ought write something about seeing and being seen, which was of course one of Twelve’s main themes:
DOCTOR: You can't see me, can you? You look at me, and you can't see me. Have you any idea what that's like? I'm not on the phone, I'm right here, standing in front of you. Please, just, just see me.
Deep Breath
The Doctor noticing Bill, Bill noticing Heather, and then a whole episode about perception and the way we communicate our moods (emojis), and how the technology isn't able to understand things properly.
Also links with 'the Smilers' in The Beast Below and how they too turned nasty. (The Beast Below was a lot more political, and I wonder if anyone's done a proper comparison w/The Happiness Patrol?)
(Also appreciating the Egyptian bits, hoping there will be more of that, and the lack of straight white men.)
The Doctor
The thing that struck me is how someone could go straight from the Seventh or Eighth Doctor and onto Twelve and be none the wiser as to there having been a Time War. (I am sure it’ll be brought up, but it’s a thing in the past, not something for the Doctor to angst over.)
I know I talk a lot about Moffat rebooting the show, but it’s lovely to see it in action. The Doctor is once more the renegade, and he doesn’t particularly like his home or his people. He fits into his university office as snugly as Professor Chronotis did into his in Shada. (You should read Shada because it's very good.)
Bill
I like Bill.
I don’t really have any deep thoughts or meaningful things to contribute. I want it to be Saturday so I can watch her again. She’s delightful.
A few Tumblr links, as Tumblr is good at bite-size posts:
Hey, so, um... talk about your handle on Bill. What do you think of her?/half a handle, i said. quicktake guesses
Personal take
Plus one about Heather:
This isn’t a ghost story, it’s a love story!
And finally, the sassy one! ;)
Nardole
Best quote is by Promethia:
I love how he's like 'so I got beheaded and attached to a robot and then you dug me out and recorporealized me, so let me chide you like a Jewish grandmother.'
I am already looking forward to him meeting Missy: "Oh, you're going to kill me, aren't you? Well, here we go again."
Also good post on how the companions reflect the audience
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She's not used to anyone genuinely *caring*. But she's not angry about it, just resigned.
And also Nardole as the seasoned audience stand-in is excellent.
IKR? I hadn't thought of that, but it's v. clever.
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I definitely want more Nardole.
I like your 'being seen' theme.
The Doctor is once more the renegade, and he doesn’t particularly like his home or his people.
It is interesting how people with a serious history with old-Who nearly all speak of the Doctor as a rebel. For me, having only any serious history with new-Who, I have never thought of him that way. For me he is the lonely god, the protector who appears from nowhere and stops terrible things happening when you most need him, the person who can find order and beauty and love in the most desperate situations. I can still see that in Capaldi. He is less sad since the Time War reboot, but that is all. And for me if he is rebelling against something it isn't terribly clear who or what, it feels more like just running away than rebelling or being an actual renegade.
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The posts I linked to mention certain points I'm sure, but she's smart, inquisitive, tends to ramble, is very personable and approachable, has not had an easy time of it (mother died young, no father) but hasn't become bitter or angry. She is terribly excited & happy to get to go places. These are all appealing character traits. :)
I don't like Bill but also can't put my finger on why. Maybe this is a thing. Unless it's the hair - I am sure I find the hair very annoying.
Well a lot of people like her specifically because of the hair - sadly it's not all that usual to see black people with 'natural' hair. Looking forward to seeing if you'll like her better when her hairstyle changes.
I definitely want more Nardole.
He's just delightful!
I like your 'being seen' theme.
It's a theme that's been around for a good while, and I really need to expand on it more, but my brain isn't co-operating at the moment.
It is interesting how people with a serious history with old-Who nearly all speak of the Doctor as a rebel
I have no history with Old!WHo. Didn't even know the show existed before I came to the UK in my gap year, and when the show returned I had picked up something about a box that was bigger on the inside, an alien in a long scarf and Daleks... ;)
For me he is the lonely god, the protector who appears from nowhere and stops terrible things happening when you most need him, the person who can find order and beauty and love in the most desperate situations.
Those things (well, the Lonely God apart) are what make him such a rebel. The Time Lords had (and still have, presumably) a strict policy of non-interference. And the Doctor ALWAYS interferes. (Of course, they would occasionally make use of him.) A bit like a Lord angry at benefits sanctions and the growing inequality who decides to just upend the system and distribute money to the poor. On no one's authority but his own, because it's a moral imperative!
it feels more like just running away than rebelling or being an actual renegade.
He is ALSO running away. :)
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Not really picking up on either. It's a bit tell not show at this point. Hopefully that will improve.
Definitely one of the things I find most offputting about her personality.
Not relevant to if I like someone.
Ditto.
Hadn't really considered that she was in any way entitled to be bitter or angry so the lack of it doesn't really act in her favour for me.
The bubbliness is annoying for me. Shades of Rose. I am hoping it wears off soon.
This week was better, next week's previews also look better. I can just about cope with sticking up above, but sticking out to the sides always looks ridiculous to me, regardless of whether it is achieved naturally or by artificial means. Doubtless I was traumatised in my youth by someone in an 18th century wig.
Maybe I don't see him as a rebel precisely because I don't know what these Time Lord rules of time actually are, so it is hard to see how he is rebelling against them.
One person's moral imperative is another's narrow-minded bigotry. One of the reasons I liked Thin Ice (review to follow when I have time) is because the Doctor rows back from making his own moral pronouncements and lets Bill work through the issues for herself and then choose their actions. That produced a moral crunchiness I liked.
Nope, don't want to talk politics. Basingstoke.
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Well, liking or disliking someone is very personal. She might grow on you, she might not. /pragmatic
ETA: Here's someone else's list. No need to reply to this, it's more if you want to see why other people like her, not trying to convince you.
Doubtless I was traumatised in my youth by someone in an 18th century wig.
LOL.
One person's moral imperative is another's narrow-minded bigotry.
Oooh yes.
One of the reasons I liked Thin Ice (review to follow when I have time) is because the Doctor rows back from making his own moral pronouncements and lets Bill work through the issues for herself and then choose their actions. That produced a moral crunchiness I liked.
He has grown!! (More thoughts on this in *my* own post also, later!)
Nope, don't want to talk politics. Basingstoke.
It was more grasping the nearest example. A better example might be from The Beast Below:
DOCTOR: Because this is what I do, every time, every day, every second. This. Hold tight. We're bringing down the government. [He brings his fist down on the Protest button]
The Doctor is essentially a Trickster character. A short snippet From a post by
I especially like the [Trickster] character because he is often *not* the protagonist or hero, but the other fellow--the catalyst or outsider whose unexpected arrival and unpredictable behavior turn the world upside down and get the story rolling. And sometimes even tell the story.
Trickster is not just one of the most entertaining and fascinating characters in myth and fiction, he is also the one who plucks the strings of Story, makes music out of words, and sets the world resonating.
(I have so much meta on this, which I shan't inflict on you. But it's one reason I love the character so much. The show isn't about good vs evil, like in some super hero tale, but about *stories*.)
And if I had ever been aware of Basingstoke, then I had forgotten. Thank you.
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Which is one of the great things about Doctor Who - if something (Doctor, Companion) doesn't work, you can just wait and the next one might be a much better fit.
so I am getting reacquainted with the feeling of looking forward to Doctor Who each week rather than feeling like I have to because I want to keep up on things.
This makes me happy. :)
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The way your image is perceived from the outside has been key. (Bill and Heather looking into the puddle and noting their reflections are WRONG.) I live for this postmodern shit!
Re: “this isn’t a ghost story” — I already can’t possibly imagine a better end to Bill’s arc than her flying off to explore the galaxy with her puddle gf. Let it be so.
And I’m glad I’m not the only one who low-key loves Nardole. I maintain he’s a hoot.
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Well, this thing that I have just posted should be right up your alley. :D
Re: “this isn’t a ghost story” — I already can’t possibly imagine a better end to Bill’s arc than her flying off to explore the galaxy with her puddle gf. Let it be so.
How awesome would it be to have TWO of Moffat's companions end up travelling the universe with their girlfriends after they left? Gayest showrunner ever!
And I’m glad I’m not the only one who low-key loves Nardole. I maintain he’s a hoot.
River obviously instructed him not to let the Doctor get away with anything! :D
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Happy, happy, happy!*smile*
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I really loved that the robots communicated in emojis - I can see that happening....
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If I didn't have a parental invasion, I'd totally be combing through Tumblr for a large collection of gifs showing off her brilliantly daft face and its many expressions. <3
I really loved that the robots communicated in emojis - I can see that happening....
Totally! Probably at around the time we become senile and thus we can't communicate with anyone!
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That's it. ('This is a kindness' <- The Girl Who Waited) And it's a great warning - don't jump to conclusions.
The Doctor tells Bill about his promise but doesn't really tell her. When Bill asks what happens if he gets lost or stuck in space/time, his response is "that would be terrible so I don't think about it". Bill's "WTF" response is priceless.
Adults don't normally operate like that...
Bill is someone who wants to confront problems head-on and at least understand if not fix them. The Doctor has a more roundabout way of dealing things.
Unless he can blow stuff up. He's all for that.
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Unless he can blow stuff up. He's all for that.
Blowing stuff up isn't fixing the problem though, it's getting rid of it, which is not exactly the same thing...
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She probably files it away under 'alien & thus weird'. ;)
Blowing stuff up isn't fixing the problem though, it's getting rid of it, which is not exactly the same thing...
An excellent distinction.