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Doctor Who: S14 themes (Episodes 1-6)
Many spoilers from Space Babies to Rogue, but none for the new episode. I watch Doctor Who on a Saturday night with my family, the way the gods intended, so I haven't seen it yet. ^_^
I guess I just wanted to write down my thoughts before we head into the final two episodes, which appear to be a two-parter.
There are many themes. Adoption is a major one, as is Fear. However I feel that Stories is the main one. I don't have the energy to do a deep dive, so here are a just some Cliff Notes. (It took AGES to remember the term 'Cliff Notes', my brain is so tired... /o\)
Anyway, here goes. I might add to this.
Space Babies: Stories are important. And here a story (the Bogeyman) became *real*.
The Devil's Chord: We have the non-diegetic line, and the whole dance number at the end. This is definitely the best argument in the 'are they in a tv show?' theory. Also Ruby has a song inside her, and she plays her own theme on the piano!
Boom: The space marines have been told a story about their adversaries, the whole war is a lie. The Doctor calls them out on their blind faith, but also acknowledges that we need meaning in our lives.
73 Yards: "That's what we do, all of us. We see something inexplicable and invent the rules to make it work. Mankind saw the sunrise and created God. Or we saw the arrival of a Sontaran, one or the other." <-STORIES CREATE MEANING. ("I'll be a story in your head. But that's okay. We're all stories in the end.")
Dot and Bubble: Like in 'Boom' stories can also be damaging. The inhabitants of Finetime cling to the [racist, colonising] story they have been brought up with even though it will lead to their death. Stories can save or doom you. (From my post on the S5 finale: "Doctor Who is a fairy tale, told to a whole country. A fairy tale for the age of television, and more powerful for that maybe? A story that today’s children are having told to them, just like their parents and grandparents had. A wonderful story about the daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away.")
Rogue: Leaving aside my insanely shippy heart, then the whole episode is about stories. The Chuldur are playing out stories, literally, and are a massive Doctor & Companion mirror. I'm thinking of when Ruby follows Emily and watches the confrontation between Emily and her suitor ("Oh my Bridgerton!"), but the people in question are literally acting out a story, taking the whole thing a step further. Oh, I just realised that this reminded me of:
"Because you don't need to own the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough."
The Chuldur are not content with observing, they want to experience it all for themselves. Which ties in with Maetro and the way they wanted the music for themself, not caring that they destroyed the world in the process. They are writing the script as they go along.
Also on the story front, then apparently the use of modern music within the episode is something that's done in Bridgerton. There are so many layers. How deep does it go?
And I haven't even touched on the snow or the breaking of the 4th wall or... *waves hands* It's a very short season, but very dense.
One of the main themes of Moffat Who was stories, so it's with a strange sort of disbelief to realise that we are back in this territory, that we are going to this endless well once more and interrogating the show all over again. We are back to Impossible Girls and trying to determine what our story is. To pull out this always perfect quote:
What, then, does Moffat add to this lineage? What does Moffat propose to bring to Doctor Who’s alchemy? A story about the relationship between people and their stories. One that proclaims that when faced with a diseased and rotting story the solution is to simply tell a new one – a better one. One that rejects silence, that treats storytelling as a moral duty and its absence as a moral obscenity. And perhaps most crucially, one that is about a symbolic ascension. Because in the end, the way in which Amy saves Britain’s soul is by finally becoming a creature of narrative and fairy tale, and by embracing that role. How do you save the world from its own intrinsic evil? By being amazing, breaking the rules, and, when the narrative points to something awful, telling a different sort of story.
The Alchemists of the Middle Ages Made Transmutation Their Main Aim in Life (The Beast Below)
~
So, about that shippiness... I can't remember ever falling for a ship so fast and so hard. Also I'm not sure we've ever had the Doctor in what is essentially a rom-com. It's amazing. The best way I have found of phrasing it is that this Doctor dances.
Just a couple of Tumblr posts:
Gorgeous gif set showing the Rogue & River parallels and UTTERLY destroying my heart.
Jonathan Groff answering the question of which spaceship he would choose - his own or the TARDIS. HIS FACE. That SMILE.
In conclusion, I am 100% not normal about this episode. I have watched it 4 times so far, soon to be 5.
As fundamental shifts in being a fan go, this is quite something. I now have three people I ship the Doctor with:
The Master (the Doctor's ex/best enemy)
River (the Doctor's wife)
Rogue (the Doctor's fiancé.)
(x)
~
ETA: I feel I should say something about Ruby (who is wonderful and whom I love and '73 Yards' is incredible), because she is very much made up of stories, just looked at the Christmas Special and all the echoes of 'It's A Wonderful Life'. I am deeply curious as to what she is. Also here's to companions being Best Friends and not love-interests!
(Disabling comments because... no energy, sorry.)
I guess I just wanted to write down my thoughts before we head into the final two episodes, which appear to be a two-parter.
There are many themes. Adoption is a major one, as is Fear. However I feel that Stories is the main one. I don't have the energy to do a deep dive, so here are a just some Cliff Notes. (It took AGES to remember the term 'Cliff Notes', my brain is so tired... /o\)
Anyway, here goes. I might add to this.
Space Babies: Stories are important. And here a story (the Bogeyman) became *real*.
The Devil's Chord: We have the non-diegetic line, and the whole dance number at the end. This is definitely the best argument in the 'are they in a tv show?' theory. Also Ruby has a song inside her, and she plays her own theme on the piano!
Boom: The space marines have been told a story about their adversaries, the whole war is a lie. The Doctor calls them out on their blind faith, but also acknowledges that we need meaning in our lives.
73 Yards: "That's what we do, all of us. We see something inexplicable and invent the rules to make it work. Mankind saw the sunrise and created God. Or we saw the arrival of a Sontaran, one or the other." <-STORIES CREATE MEANING. ("I'll be a story in your head. But that's okay. We're all stories in the end.")
Dot and Bubble: Like in 'Boom' stories can also be damaging. The inhabitants of Finetime cling to the [racist, colonising] story they have been brought up with even though it will lead to their death. Stories can save or doom you. (From my post on the S5 finale: "Doctor Who is a fairy tale, told to a whole country. A fairy tale for the age of television, and more powerful for that maybe? A story that today’s children are having told to them, just like their parents and grandparents had. A wonderful story about the daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away.")
Rogue: Leaving aside my insanely shippy heart, then the whole episode is about stories. The Chuldur are playing out stories, literally, and are a massive Doctor & Companion mirror. I'm thinking of when Ruby follows Emily and watches the confrontation between Emily and her suitor ("Oh my Bridgerton!"), but the people in question are literally acting out a story, taking the whole thing a step further. Oh, I just realised that this reminded me of:
"Because you don't need to own the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough."
The Chuldur are not content with observing, they want to experience it all for themselves. Which ties in with Maetro and the way they wanted the music for themself, not caring that they destroyed the world in the process. They are writing the script as they go along.
Also on the story front, then apparently the use of modern music within the episode is something that's done in Bridgerton. There are so many layers. How deep does it go?
And I haven't even touched on the snow or the breaking of the 4th wall or... *waves hands* It's a very short season, but very dense.
One of the main themes of Moffat Who was stories, so it's with a strange sort of disbelief to realise that we are back in this territory, that we are going to this endless well once more and interrogating the show all over again. We are back to Impossible Girls and trying to determine what our story is. To pull out this always perfect quote:
What, then, does Moffat add to this lineage? What does Moffat propose to bring to Doctor Who’s alchemy? A story about the relationship between people and their stories. One that proclaims that when faced with a diseased and rotting story the solution is to simply tell a new one – a better one. One that rejects silence, that treats storytelling as a moral duty and its absence as a moral obscenity. And perhaps most crucially, one that is about a symbolic ascension. Because in the end, the way in which Amy saves Britain’s soul is by finally becoming a creature of narrative and fairy tale, and by embracing that role. How do you save the world from its own intrinsic evil? By being amazing, breaking the rules, and, when the narrative points to something awful, telling a different sort of story.
The Alchemists of the Middle Ages Made Transmutation Their Main Aim in Life (The Beast Below)
~
So, about that shippiness... I can't remember ever falling for a ship so fast and so hard. Also I'm not sure we've ever had the Doctor in what is essentially a rom-com. It's amazing. The best way I have found of phrasing it is that this Doctor dances.
Just a couple of Tumblr posts:
Gorgeous gif set showing the Rogue & River parallels and UTTERLY destroying my heart.
Jonathan Groff answering the question of which spaceship he would choose - his own or the TARDIS. HIS FACE. That SMILE.
In conclusion, I am 100% not normal about this episode. I have watched it 4 times so far, soon to be 5.
As fundamental shifts in being a fan go, this is quite something. I now have three people I ship the Doctor with:
The Master (the Doctor's ex/best enemy)
River (the Doctor's wife)
Rogue (the Doctor's fiancé.)
(x)
~
ETA: I feel I should say something about Ruby (who is wonderful and whom I love and '73 Yards' is incredible), because she is very much made up of stories, just looked at the Christmas Special and all the echoes of 'It's A Wonderful Life'. I am deeply curious as to what she is. Also here's to companions being Best Friends and not love-interests!
(Disabling comments because... no energy, sorry.)