The DW Christmas Special review/meta.

[elisi]

I love A Christmas Carol, to begin with. Really, it's almost part of my DNA I think. You see, when I was growing up, my mother would read one 'ghost' aloud every Sunday in advent (and then the actual Christmas Day on the fourth Sunday), so I know it nearly by heart even though it's been a while since I have actually sat down and read it. (Every year she had yet greater difficulty reading Tiny Tim's death, and I don't blame her. If that doesn't make you cry you have a heart of stone. Even the muppet version makes me all choked up...) Also I love adaptations. The Muppet one is fabulous. The 3-D animated one with Jim Carrey almost made me pinch myself in astonishment at how faithful it was. Scrooged is hilarious and wonderful, and so on...

I'm not really going anywhere with that, I just wanted to mention it. Because I know and love that book, so f.ex. when the phrase 'surplus population' popped up I nearly bounced with joy. :) (I'll get to that later.) Anyway I shall start my proper 'review' now. Many spoilers under cut.


The Meta
I am going to start off by quoting this bit of copperbadge's review of 'The Vampires of Venice':

'One thing I truly love about this show and kinda didn't think about till just now was that while it doesn't always follow the same formula, you do sometimes see a formula pop up repeatedly, one of which is the one where the Doctor vows halfway through an episode to kick someone's ass all over town and then proceeds to do so. I love this mainly because once he has sworn to kick ass, there's a great pleasure in watching him figure out how the ass is to be kicked and then execute his plan of kickassage.'

I mention this because this was exactly the way this episode started off... The standoff between Kazran and the Doctor was rather reminiscent of the Doctor's interactions with Signora Calvierri (well, without the flirting), and that wonderful line that I rather loved in the trailer - "Remember, whatever happens tonight, you brought it on yourself' - is perfectly in line with this, and the Doctor officially throwing down the gauntlet. And then... then we get the opposite of 'Because you didn't remember her name': The old man can't strike the child. And the Doctor realises that there is more to him - that he is redeemable after all. (Loved the Sherlocking!) You know, I think he probably had a plan, originally, some way of kicking Kazran's ass all over town if he wouldn't co-operate. And then instead he throws it out of the window and chooses to look for a different way. It's like a bait-and-switch in terms of plot. :)

And then we get the fish, swimming round the lamp post, and Christmas carols playing and everything clicks into place... Love the fish, btw. Love, love, love. Plus the fog - the whole feel of the place - was so Dickensian that I almost melted...

The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite dark already: it had not been light all day: and candles were flaring in the windows of neighbouring offices, like ruddy smears upon the palpable brown air. The fog came pouring in at every chink and keyhole, and was so dense without, that although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were mere phantoms. To see the dingy cloud come drooping down, obscuring everything, one might have thought that Nature lived hard by and was brewing on a large scale.

Which brings us to the Christmas carol playing over the loud speakers, which makes the Doctor decide to cast himself as the Ghost of Christmas Past... Some have described this as the Doctor basically writing self-insert fanfic, and that's pretty close to the mark. But it's more than that, considering the way storytelling is Moffat's leitmotif. The Doctor at the end of S5 quite literally becomes a story, and nothing more, until Amy brings him back. We have River Song, the keeper of his story, carrying his tales around in a book. (There is even echoes in RTD's era... John Smith: "What am I then, nothing? Just a story?") Writing himself into people's lives is what he does. Young Kazran is sad that he doesn't have a story about the day the fish came... ("Everyone has a story."/"But you don't...") and within minutes the Doctor has given him one! (A shark in his bedroom, no less.) But this is it... Stories are how we communicate, how we view the world. And - by the way - re-writing history, making the protagonist watch his own story unfold as his past is changed? I don't have the words to describe the level of delight this causes me. The timey-wimey-ness is clever, of course, but it's the story that's the point. (Or, in other words: The timey-wimey-ness is transport. The *story* is the amazing thing!) And whilst I'm on this topic I must take a moment to admire the way in which the story, 'A Christmas Carol' is used by the Doctor to save the day, re-writing Kazran's life story - inspired by an actual Christmas carol, that he hears. And then the day is saved by Abigail singing a Christmas carol. It's like a Moebious strip, the whole thing folding in and around itself. Or - it's a story that's bigger on the inside. ;)

For the next bit I'm going to quote Matt Smith: “The Doctor loves Christmas [because] it’s showcasing humans at their most open and giving and kind…everything The Doctor’s about.” I absolutely love that this Christmas episode confirms that unequivocally, because I had this exchange going round my in my head:

COPPER: Rather ironic when this is very much in the spirit of Christmas. It's a festival of violence. They say that human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's barbaric.
THE DOCTOR: Actually, that's not true. Christmas is a time of -- of peace and thanksgiving and...what am I on about? Christmas is always like this.

I'm not sure that's completely correct - I have a recollection of him saying 'my Christmas is always like this' - but whatever the case, I love that here he gets to have numerous happy Christmasses (one after the other), full of fezzes and scarves and bowties and fun travels with a happy young boy and a gorgeous young woman, and that he embraces it so joyfully, so completely sure that Christmas is good! I'm not trying to put Ten down, btw. But I'm trying to pin something down, a difference of perspective...

These are only generalisations, of course, but I think that RTD's view of heartache is generally something that comes from the outside, breaking people's happiness. Moffat has a more organic view - the crashing space liner is only a catalyst, and is saved with no loss of life. The loss in the episode is in-built, unavoidable, a part of life to be accepted, not fought against. (It's that water metaphor again. Do you try to fight it, or do you flow with it?) Oh! I know! I was going to save this for its own post, but it fits here (promethia, this is all yours, really):

It's the difference between 'pure science' and 'applied science': Applied science is the exact science of applying knowledge from one or more natural scientific fields to practical problems. Many applied sciences can be considered forms of engineering. Pure science, also called basic science, is the exact science of the development of scientific theories. This research is done at times without consideration of their application, and at other times aims to answer phenomena and possible mechanisms proposed in applied science. It is the counterpart of applied science.

Now Ten's era, I think, is generally applied science - there is a problem, and the Doctor finds a way to solve it. Eleven, on the other hand, tends to look at the whole system until he understands it, and then knows how to work with the system to change things. I'm not saying these are cast iron rules or anything, but the way he deals with Kazran illustrates the difference rather beautifully: At first the Doctor's going to fight him, using force to make him do what he wants. But then - using knowledge gained from observation - decides to instead use the system (re-writing Kazran's life) in order to achieve his means. So, I think that's it: RTD mostly uses outside forces to alter things, and Moffat mostly uses things inherent in people's lives. What do you think? (ETA: I think that these are probably just two modes of storytelling, and they both use both, they just tend to favour one over the other. Also RTD is character-led and Moffat story-led etc.etc. Really, I'm just rambling.)

Anyway - there are things that cannot be altered...

Which brings me to Abigail. I have to say, that when DW fridges a woman, it does it quite literally, and there is certainly something about the beautiful woman who gets taken out once a year but in the end has to die that's... problematic. But, she undoubtedly works in the story. Plus, if we see her as the Tiny Tim stand-in, she doesn't survive just because she gets a rich benefactor (plenty of shades of Vincent here), which again ties in with what I said above. Particularly the very beginning, when Kazran calls her unimportant, only to end up having her become the most important person in his life. Like I said - 'surplus population' is a key phrase:

    'If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race,' returned the Ghost, 'will find him [Tiny Tim] here. What, then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.'
    Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted back by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.

It's about everyone being important - not for what they can do, or their talents, but for who they are.

But I also thought of something else re. Abigail. When the Doctor asks about the numbers on her box, she says: "You say you are a doctor - are you one of mine?" Which made me wonder if the reason her family amassed such a big debt was in order to find a cure for her. And also why poor Kazran couldn't - her family had already tried everything.

Of course, there were infinite shades of 'To the Last Man' in the Abigail/Kazran love story, but it rather highlights the differences in story telling I was trying to pin down above. Abigail's illness is an unalterable part of her life. Poor Tommy is a victim of circumstance, or fate, Torchwood and the rift coming in and changing his life without him having much say in anything. Abigail volunteers to be frozen (because she can't have a life anyway). It's not a case of one being a better kind of story, they're just different. And in the end they both save the day. :)

Oh! That reminds me: One of the most touching parts was all the passengers singing ("They're singing for their lives..."). There's something absolutely beautiful in that (shades of 'Gridlock'). And I just adored the ending and the 'Sky Full of Song'. Which made it snow... *deep happy sigh* I've had the tune stuck in my head ever since, and I am impatiently waiting for someone clever to put it up on youtube. So pretty. Plus, it's the theme used for the 'sleigh ride'.

But, there is also Kazran himself of course. "I learned life's most invaluable lesson!"/"Which is?"/"Nobody comes!" Except then someone does... Moffat really does this bit brilliantly, but - just like with Amy - knowing the Doctor doesn't automatically lead to a *better* life, just a different one. "An old friend of mine once took a very long time to explain that life isn't fair." And that final confrontation... The Ghost of Christmas Future indeed. Really, just masterful. In the original, of course, Scrooge is already a changed man by the time the third ghost shows up - the visions of the future appertain to the man he was, and work to re-enforce his resolve to change. Kazran, on the other hand, has ended up hardened in a different manner... A manner which makes it easier for him to break down barriers, but still, a very different story.

Going back to the Doctor again, I love how once more this episode demonstrates the madness that is his life. He has a whole adventure with new friends, going to all kinds of places and having a lot of fun, whilst Amy and Rory are in deadly peril for an hour... Is it any wonder that he tends to be absentminded, going off on strange trails of thought? That's how his life is.



Sundries/Squee

- Darcy, a few days before Christmas, caught one of the trailers for the Special. Realising it featured Michael Gambon, he was convinced that they would 'waste' him and not give him anything interesting to do. (He's still bitter that they had Derek Jacobi and then didn't use him as the Master, instead going with John Simm. He does not appreciate Simm's particular talents, I'm afraid.) After we'd finished watching, however, he turned to me and said: 'Now that was miles better than any other Christmas Special they've ever done. Just infinitely better writing. Plus the new guy is a far better, and more interesting, actor!' So, yeah, he's a Moffat fan. (If he could read this he'd tell me that he's not a 'fan' of anything. He just has taste! ::insert withering look:: Sadly, DT's ability to radiate pain really didn't work on him at all...) Ah well, I'm not complaining. The sheer relief of not to have to brace myself for rolled eyes after every episode is something I'm enjoying rather a lot.

- I think we need look no further than Kazran's initial speech to find Moffat's opinion on the current government. Just sayin'.

- "Christmas Eve on a rooftop, saw a chimney, my whole brain just went "Why the hell not?" Eleventy, I love you too much for words.

- Oh goodness, too many brilliant things to count, I'm realising. The sleigh ride, the card tricks, the sky full of fish (so beautiful!), the fezzes, the psychic paper shorting out, THE DOCTOR MARRYING MARILYN MONROE!!!!, the shark in the bedroom (Moffat's childhood fear!), all the brilliant, brilliant lines - esp 'halfway out of the dark', etc. etc.

- "It's this, or going to your room and designing a new kind of screwdriver. Don't make my mistakes." I love, love, LOVE how the Moff is stealthily pushing a Doctor/Master agenda here. Best comment on this was by tabula_x_rasa, who almost made me choke with this exchange:

"Theta, where are you going?"

"I have a lot of shelves to put up!"

- Eleven's face after the "Better a broken heart, than no heart at all."/ "You try it then!" exchange. Ten would have done that thing of looking like a man-shaped ball of pain, but Eleven just goes very quiet and says nothing. Partly, I think, because he understands that other people's pain and empathy really don't mean much at all when you, yourself, are hurting. Yet another lesson learned from having been Ten... (And as for the 'If you had only one day left with your beloved, which one would you choose?', then my mind instantly thought: 'Well I didn't get a choice, so - of course - it was the day the Daleks decided to destroy the universe. And after the day had been saved, I dumped her off in a parallel world and told her to marry my clone. So really, don't complain, it could be much, much worse!' But I doubt Kazran would have appreciated that...)

ETA: OMG! owlsie just made me realise... "The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean - you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit. You took me to Darillium to see the singing towers. Oh, what a night that was! The towers sang, and you cried."

Oh Doctor! Every story is your story, isn't it?

- The trailer. OMG the trailer. There was all the awesome parts (naked!River, the Doctor in the Oval Office ordering jammy dodgers and a fez, the Stetson, River shooting the Stetson off his head, Amy and Rory and an Ood with green eyes and the proto-TARDIS we saw in The Lodger (I KNEW IT!!!!!), Musketeers, bearded!Doctor... And yet there were weird scary things with big heads and Amy (and River) with odd little lines drawn on their bodies, and Amy screaming and Rory not reaching a door in time. And I'm curling up into a little ball, going 'Don't break the pretty, don't break the pretty, don't break the pretty...' because we've had one happy ending and I'm not counting on TWO, and Amy and Rory are the logical targets for badness, since both River and the Doctor are safe due to their continued stories and I am full of anticipation and worry. (I am a Buffy fan, and thus scarred for life...)

ANYWAY, that is all for I HAVE to stop now.

Comments

[adriana-is.livejournal.com]

This. All of it.

And, I haven't seen the trailer. Is it on youtube, do you know?

Yes, I immediately thought of Ten when the broken heart line came up. He would have been all kinds of emo while Eleven was more stoic but it was all in the eyes. :(

[elisi]

This. All of it.
:) Thank you!

Yes, I immediately thought of Ten when the broken heart line came up. He would have been all kinds of emo while Eleven was more stoic but it was all in the eyes. :(
He's just so quiet when he's sad. Very private. Very stoic. Much more inaccessible than Ten, in many ways.

And, I haven't seen the trailer. Is it on youtube, do you know?
As a matter of fact, it is right here:

[adriana-is.livejournal.com]

oh yay!! Thank you! I can't wait for the new season!

[elisi]

My pleasure! (I knew where to find it, so it was no trouble at all!)

And new season looks good, but scary...

[promethia_tenk]

He's just so quiet when he's sad. Very private. Very stoic. Much more inaccessible than Ten, in many ways.

This strikes me as a very "go with the flow" kind of thing too. RTD/Tennant/Ten created solutions and projected emotion--it was a matter of pushing in both cases. Moffat/Smith/Eleven discover solutions in the environment and don't so much project emotions as create a space for them to well up out of the viewer.

[elisi]

Oh. That's very good. I like it. And might explain why people find it so hard to connect - some people quite simply need to be/expect to be pushed/have things explained. I remember back before Children of Earth aired there were three Torchwood radio plays. One of them had Ianto speaking to an unconscious Jack, and a lot of people went 'Oh I see, so that's what their relationship is all about.' Which made me scratch my head because it had all been right there on screen the whole time! And yet they hadn't been able to see it... (Jack/Ianto is the 'ship that could have been written entirely for me - it's all in the little gestures, the way they look at each other, the implications of things unsaid. *happy sigh*)

[deird1]

It's been blocked on copyright grounds! *cries*


I'm never going to get to see this thing...

[elisi]

Never fear, I'm way ahead of copyright people... :)

[solitary-summer.livejournal.com]

These are only generalisations, of course, but I think that RTD's view of heartache is generally something that comes from the outside, breaking people's happiness. Moffat has a more organic view - the crashing space liner is only a catalyst, and is saved with no loss of life. The loss in the episode is in-built, unavoidable, a part of life to be accepted, not fought against.

Of course, there were infinite shades of 'To the Last Man' in the Abigail/Kazran love story, but it rather highlights the differences in story telling I was trying to pin down above. Abigail's illness is an unalterable part of her life. Poor Tommy is a victim of circumstance, or fate, Torchwood and the rift coming in and changing his life without him having much say in anything. Abigail volunteers to be frozen (because she can't have a life anyway).

I think you're right about this. I'll have to think about it when it's not past midnight, but, yes.

[elisi]

I think you're right about this. I'll have to think about it when it's not past midnight, but, yes.
I'm very happy that you think so - even if half-asleep I'm sure you'd be able to spot faulty deductions. :)

[promethia_tenk]

If that doesn't make you cry you have a heart of stone.
Heh. Guilty ;-)

The standoff between Kazran and the Doctor was rather reminiscent of the Doctor's interactions with Signora Calvierri (well, without the flirting) . . . then we get the opposite of 'Because you didn't remember her name': The old man can't strike the child.
Ooo, very nice. And once again the key with Eleven is having an individual to invest in--just this time it was the "villain." Somewhat irrelevantly, I feel compelled to point out that: 1) Rosanna did have a pretty valid point to what she was doing whereas Kazran seemed to be operating solely on spite and 2) I'm now disappointed that we didn't get any Doctor/Kazran flirting.

And then we get the fish, swimming round the lamp post, and Christmas carols playing and everything clicks into place... Love the fish, btw. Love, love, love. Plus the fog - the whole feel of the place - was so Dickensian that I almost melted...
The entirety of the production design . . . magic, as I said. Utter magic. My favorite thing about fantasy stories is the world creation and atmospherics and this was Grade A on both counts.

And - by the way - re-writing history, making the protagonist watch his own story unfold as his past is changed? I don't have the words to describe the level of delight this causes me. The timey-wimey-ness is clever, of course, but it's the story that's the point.
O_O brilliant

And whilst I'm on this topic I must take a moment to admire the way in which the story, 'A Christmas Carol' is used by the Doctor to save the day, re-writing Kazran's life story - inspired by an actual Christmas carol, that he hears. And then the day is saved by Abigail singing a Christmas carol. It's like a Moebious strip, the whole thing folding in and around itself.
It is a rather brilliant way of conflating songs and stories, isn't it? Which are, of course, both ways of conferring meaning. And then Abigail's song contrasts these with Silence and we get songs/stories/togetherness/snow!/calm skies(water)/happy aquatic creatures vs. Silence/isolation/locked up skies(water)/shark attacks and-- and-- and-- . . . *flails* (expect meta) And there's an Ood in the trailer!!! *flails some more* And Kazran has a machine that controls the flow of the skies *flail* that the Doctor will have his name all over given time and a crayon *flails forever*

I think that RTD's view of heartache is generally something that comes from the outside, breaking people's happiness. Moffat has a more organic view - The loss in the episode is in-built, unavoidable, a part of life to be accepted, not fought against.
Ooo, nice insight.

And I can tell this is running over even without hitting, "post," so I'm gonna move on to a new comment!

[promethia_tenk]

Now Ten's era, I think, is generally applied science . . . Eleven, on the other hand, tends to look at the whole system until he understands it, and then knows how to work with the system to change things.
Love the analogy.

But then - using knowledge gained from observation - decides to instead use the system (re-writing Kazran's life) in order to achieve his means. So, I think that's it: RTD mostly uses outside forces to alter things, and Moffat mostly uses things inherent in people's lives. What do you think?
I think I'm gonna have to sleep on this one. Cause that's definitely true in this story, but 1) sometimes the basic science solution doesn't involve components of people's lives at all (the solution to the Angels episodes, for example, was pretty purely impersonal in its mechanics--even if it had important personal implications) and 2) I feel like Moffat must be using this story and Amy's rewriting as a set-up for similar sorts of messing around in someone else's personal timeline in season 6 that will go badly wrong. There were sort of dark undertones to what Eleven was doing here and Kazran voices objections to it all when he's talking with Amy. I guess what went on with Kazran is an excellent example of trying to work with the system, but is this the Tao? Perhaps not. Oooo--also, the system kept fighting back--first by making Kazran miserable because of Abigail instead, then by making him unable to control the machine anymore. And then ultimately there was still a price to be paid (Abigail's life)--but there is always a price . . . And now I'm thinking about Amy again and fixing her life and what's wrong with her this season. /ramble

Which made me wonder if the reason her family amassed such a big debt was in order to find a cure for her. And also why poor Kazran couldn't - her family had already tried everything.
Oooo . . . lovely. And there's something nice in there about fighting so hard to prevent the inevitable that you ultimately stop living (the enemy isn't change or death--it's stasis), which I guess was the same point they were making with Kazran hoarding her last day alive, and THEY LITERALLY FROZE TIME I'M SO HAPPY I COULD SPIT. *flail* (expect meta)

And I just adored the ending and the 'Sky Full of Song'. Which made it snow...
*flails again* Song, Elisi! And water. The skies aren't horrible and dangerous, they don't need to be controlled with a machine, but can be soothed with song instead! I love allegories so much . . . uh, you may have noticed.

He has a whole adventure with new friends, going to all kinds of places and having a lot of fun, whilst Amy and Rory are in deadly peril for an hour... That's how his life is.
Lol--bigger on the inside, indeed!

Partly, I think, because he understands that other people's pain and empathy really don't mean much at all when you, yourself, are hurting. Yet another lesson learned from having been Ten...
I do like reminders that there may have been some benefit to all Ten's suffering.

And I'm curling up into a little ball, going 'Don't break the pretty, don't break the pretty, don't break the pretty...' I am full of anticipation and worry.
HALF WAY OUT OF THE DARK! (Also, there was something in Abigail's song about letting in the shadows.) Actually, I've gotta say that I do have my fears for Amy and Rory too (and for the Doc and River--I could see things getting dark and ugly there), but I think I have a lot of trust that in Moffat's writing anything bad that happens to them isn't going to be simply HORRIBLE AND MEANINGLESS, which is the thing that really bothers me with angsty storylines.

Anyway, yay, I'm glad you got this up. Loved hearing your thoughts on this one. Cracked up over your love for the Dickens original--should have seen that one coming, lol. I suppose I can continue to associate with you, although if anyone ever questions me on the matter I shall have to deny everything ;-)

[elisi]

Love the analogy.
I owe it to Darcy! (And you, of course.) He was talking about a programme he saw on this, and about how with the recession funding is drying up for pure science. And yet about 95% of new inventions come from pure science, from quite simply learning to understand how something works... And it struck me that this was exactly what you've been saying about Eleven standing back and working out the whole system.

2) I feel like Moffat must be using this story and Amy's rewriting as a set-up for similar sorts of messing around in someone else's personal timeline in season 6 that will go badly wrong. There were sort of dark undertones to what Eleven was doing here and Kazran voices objections to it all when he's talking with Amy.
You know what really struck me about that conversation? Amy explaining what the Doctor was doing, ending with 'He was trying to do it nicely.' Made me flail rather a lot, I can tell you.

Oooo--also, the system kept fighting back--first by making Kazran miserable because of Abigail instead, then by making him unable to control the machine anymore. And then ultimately there was still a price to be paid (Abigail's life)--but there is always a price . . . And now I'm thinking about Amy again and fixing her life and what's wrong with her this season. /ramble
Rambling good! But yes - I'm not saying that one approach is *better* than the other (well Ten braking all the rules in WoM is an extreme example of 'applied science' and clearly wrong. Have you read kaffyr's meta on that ep? You must have) - um where was I? Yeah, there's always a price.

Oooo . . . lovely. And there's something nice in there about fighting so hard to prevent the inevitable that you ultimately stop living (the enemy isn't change or death--it's stasis), which I guess was the same point they were making with Kazran hoarding her last day alive, and THEY LITERALLY FROZE TIME I'M SO HAPPY I COULD SPIT. *flail* (expect meta)
Meta!!!!

*flails again* Song, Elisi! And water.
RIVER SONG!!!! *g*

The skies aren't horrible and dangerous, they don't need to be controlled with a machine, but can be soothed with song instead! I love allegories so much . . . uh, you may have noticed.
LOL! I can't explain how FABULOUS it is to have someone to talk to who gets as excited as me about stuff like this. ♥

Lol--bigger on the inside, indeed!
It's a metaphor inside a metaphor inside a metaphor...

I do like reminders that there may have been some benefit to all Ten's suffering.
I do my best! :)

HALF WAY OUT OF THE DARK! (Also, there was something in Abigail's song about letting in the shadows.)
I really, really, really want her song! I've barely made out any of it yet, 'cause I don't have the time...

Actually, I've gotta say that I do have my fears for Amy and Rory too (and for the Doc and River--I could see things getting dark and ugly there), but I think I have a lot of trust that in Moffat's writing anything bad that happens to them isn't going to be simply HORRIBLE AND MEANINGLESS, which is the thing that really bothers me with angsty storylines.
*nods a lot* I look forward to talking Torchwood with you. Oh yes. ;)

Anyway, yay, I'm glad you got this up. Loved hearing your thoughts on this one.
Loved your comments and look forward to what you come up with! (I love who anything I write is always just the starting point.)

Cracked up over your love for the Dickens original--should have seen that one coming, lol.
*laughs* It's a WONDERFUL BOOK! *nods firmly*

I suppose I can continue to associate with you, although if anyone ever questions me on the matter I shall have to deny everything ;-)
Seems the only way forward...

[elisi]

Heh. Guilty ;-)
You need to read the book! So there.

Ooo, very nice. And once again the key with Eleven is having an individual to invest in--just this time it was the "villain."
Indeed. :) As the Moff said: 'Usually the Doctor fights the monster - this time he has to redeem it.' (Or words to that effect.)

1) Rosanna did have a pretty valid point to what she was doing whereas Kazran seemed to be operating solely on spite and 2) I'm now disappointed that we didn't get any Doctor/Kazran flirting.
LOL! And very much yes to the first one.

The entirety of the production design . . . magic, as I said. Utter magic. My favorite thing about fantasy stories is the world creation and atmospherics and this was Grade A on both counts.
They built their city from the spaceships they came in... <3

O_O brilliant
*beams*

It is a rather brilliant way of conflating songs and stories, isn't it? Which are, of course, both ways of conferring meaning.
I've been thinking about this recently, re. River's surname. Her name is Song, and songs carry meaning and tell stories. And having grown up in a country where ballads are a living part of the culture, once created to teach history/morality, this is very apt. Also I'm thinking about the teaching ballads of Pern (tell me you've read Anne McCaffrey?)... I'll leave it there. :)

And then Abigail's song contrasts these with Silence and we get songs/stories/togetherness/snow!/calm skies(water)/happy aquatic creatures vs. Silence/isolation/locked up skies(water)/shark attacks and-- and-- and-- . . . *flails* (expect meta)
\o/ I knew I was only scratching the surface and am EAGERLY looking forward to your thoughts! (Esp all the fish/water stuff. I tried to work it out, but it kept slipping out of my hands.)

And there's an Ood in the trailer!!! *flails some more*
WITH GREEN EYES!!!

And Kazran has a machine that controls the flow of the skies *flail*
Write about this and I'll love you forever...

that the Doctor will have his name all over given time and a crayon *flails forever*
That line about the crayon damn near killed me with love!

Ooo, nice insight.
Thank you! :)

[promethia_tenk]

You need to read the book! So there.
Ah, but I have. It was a long while ago, but I was curious and wanted to see if it really was the *story* or just the adaptations I'd seen. Also, it's my rather arbitrary belief that everyone gets two authors they're allowed to hate with vehement irrationality. Mine are Dickens and Steinbeck :-P

's ok, though. The stone heart goes rather well with the lack of soul I've been told I have because I don't like Edward Scissorhands ;-)

They built their city from the spaceships they came in... <3
Really?!? <3 Did they mention that somewhere? I seem to have missed it.

I've been thinking about this recently, re. River's surname. Her name is Song, and songs carry meaning and tell stories. And having grown up in a country where ballads are a living part of the culture, once created to teach history/morality, this is very apt. Also I'm thinking about the teaching ballads of Pern
*nods* I think all those meaning-giving devices (also names, definitions) and also teaching, reasoning, and (of course, since it's the Doctor) TALK, are going to end up loosely conflated in opposition to the Silence.

(tell me you've read Anne McCaffrey?)
No . . . /timid

\o/ I knew I was only scratching the surface and am EAGERLY looking forward to your thoughts! (Esp all the fish/water stuff. I tried to work it out, but it kept slipping out of my hands.)
I'm gonna let it brew for a bit, and I feel like I always need grist from other people's reactions to really get my thoughts going (thank you . . .), but when I was watching the episode for the first time, it was like Moffat was just standing there calmly slotting piece after piece right into the whole framework I've been mulling over for the past, what, nine months? I'd been a bit, not worried exactly, but a little thrown when all the water imagery seemed to drop out of the second half of season five and particularly that it didn't come back in the finale in any big way, but this . . . *FLAIL*

I think the fish are essentially just people/life in general, with all their life-cycle-y-ness, and some people who find them scary and dangerous and think children are too young to see them and that they need to be controlled and some people who find them fascinating and wonderful. And the fish are a story . . . everyone has a story about the fish.

And Kazran has a machine that controls the flow of the skies *flail*
Write about this and I'll love you forever...
That's how boredom was invented! How could anyone ever be bored when there are ice crystal clouds and fish to be seen (and all of time and space, and worlds with people!) but then someone with authority and power decided that it all needed to be controlled . . . Reminds me of what Ten said to the Master about not needing to own time and space, that it was enough of a privilege just to see it. And of the Time Lords and their stasis and control of all time and the Doctor's instinctive understanding that this was wrong which wars with his fluctuating temptations to try to control it all himself and his desires to use such power as he has for the good . . . *flail, flail*

[owlboy]

>>... Is it any wonder that he tends to be absentminded, going off on strange trails of thought? That's how his life is.

He's like the ultimate in ADHD. Yeah, you can't lead that kind of life and have structured, organized, linear thought processes. I think that's why some people like the timey-wimey and some people hate it and find it confusing - they can't make the leaps. Moffat's storytelling is often non-linear even without timey-wimey in it, which i really enjoy.

>>So, I think that's it: RTD mostly uses outside forces to alter things, and Moffat mostly uses things inherent in people's lives. What do you think?

Yes, Moffat does this in Press Gang as well. There's an episode that focuses on a character who, up until that point, had been extremely selfish and money-oriented, constantly trying to sell stuff and rip people off, even his friends. Then he finds out a little girl is being abused, and has a bit of a meltdown because he doesn't know what to do about it. In the end, he ends up using his own talents at selling to help her and others and redeem himself. It's brilliant.

>>Oh! That reminds me: One of the most touching parts was all the passengers singing ("They're singing for their lives...").

"but it isn't working." "so why are they still singing?" "we haven't told them." ow, my heart..

>>Eleven's face after the "Better a broken heart, than no heart at all."/ "You try it then!" exchange.

When Kazran asked "how do you choose?" and Eleven looked like someone had reached into his chest and crushed his heart, I immediately thought of River, and the sadness he didn't show at her "must it always end this way?" line.

Fantastic meta, my brain is still short circuiting over this episode so I can't really form any coherent thoughts about it, all i know is that i adored it and I've watched it a ridiculous amount of times already

[promethia_tenk]

There's an episode that focuses on a character who, up until that point, had been extremely selfish and money-oriented, constantly trying to sell stuff and rip people off, even his friends. Then he finds out a little girl is being abused, and has a bit of a meltdown because he doesn't know what to do about it. In the end, he ends up using his own talents at selling to help her and others and redeem himself. It's brilliant.

! <33333 Do you happen to know which one?

[owlboy]

"A Terrible Thing" it's a two parter, and it's in the Veoh link I posted.

Press Gang keeps coming up in everything I post about SM now. I can't help it. It's so damn good. All the Moffat tropes are there, and he wrote it in his twenties and flhgf I'll stop before I get way off topic.

[elisi]

He's like the ultimate in ADHD. Yeah, you can't lead that kind of life and have structured, organized, linear thought processes
*nods a lot* And - if he spent all the Christmasses with little Kazran and Abigail FULL OF WORRY about Amy and Rory and how things would turn out, he'd go mad. So the detachment is also a coping mechanism - he doesn't look back or ahead, because if he doesn't live fully in the now (OMG I got engaged to Marilyn Monroe!) he can't live at all.

I think that's why some people like the timey-wimey and some people hate it and find it confusing - they can't make the leaps. Moffat's storytelling is often non-linear even without timey-wimey in it, which i really enjoy.
That's a good observation. And yeah, I'm right there with you! :)

Yes, Moffat does this in Press Gang as well.
I really need to watch that...

"but it isn't working." "so why are they still singing?" "we haven't told them." ow, my heart..
I KNOW! And it was such a throwaway line... *clutches heart*

When Kazran asked "how do you choose?" and Eleven looked like someone had reached into his chest and crushed his heart, I immediately thought of River, and the sadness he didn't show at her "must it always end this way?" line.
I read that, and my jaw dropped, and then I added this to the post:

"The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean - you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit. You took me to Darillium to see the singing towers. Oh, what a night that was! The towers sang, and you cried."

Oh Doctor! Every story is your story, isn't it?

Fantastic meta, my brain is still short circuiting over this episode so I can't really form any coherent thoughts about it, all i know is that i adored it and I've watched it a ridiculous amount of times already
I have only watched it twice, but WANT to watch it over and over... Darn this family. ;) Anyway, thanks for the compliment, although (as always with Moffat) I feel like I've only scratched the surface.

[owlboy]

>>he doesn't look back or ahead, because if he doesn't live fully in the now (OMG I got engaged to Marilyn Monroe!) he can't live at all.

Oh yeah. Matt S has talked about this, if the Doctor wasn't bouncing around the universe like a clown, he would probably do himself in. :/ I wonder how crazy being chained up by the MiB's will drive him..

>>I really need to watch that...

Yeeees you doooo.

>>I read that, and my jaw dropped, and then I added this to the post: ...

osffgshg :(

>>I have only watched it twice, but WANT to watch it over and over

I've watched it twice just today...once under the influence of...substances. That was an experience, let me tell you.

GDI is it April yet?

[promethia_tenk]

I read that, and my jaw dropped, and then I added this to the post:

I'll also point out that Abigail's line to Kazran when she steps out of her ice pod for the last time is a mirror of River's to Ten at the beginning of the Library eps:

"Look at you--you're so old now!" *hand to cheek*

cf: "Look at you--you're so young!" *hand to cheek*

And there's a certain parallel with both women pretty much willingly going to their deaths to save 4,000-some people.

I think the interesting thing, though, is that in some ways the Doctor still has the decision of that last day to make (the Singing Towers), but in some ways he's already lived the last day and therefore doesn't have to hoard up time against it--he got it out of the way first, which frees him up to not make Kazran's mistakes.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

I think that RTD's view of heartache is generally something that comes from the outside, breaking people's happiness. Moffat has a more organic view - the crashing space liner is only a catalyst, and is saved with no loss of life. The loss in the episode is in-built, unavoidable, a part of life to be accepted, not fought against.

Oh, I love this. Love the applied/pure science analogy too.

If he could read this he'd tell me that he's not a 'fan' of anything. He just has taste! ::insert withering look:: Sadly, DT's ability to radiate pain really didn't work on him at all..

Bah. BUT HOW.

Eleven's face after the "Better a broken heart, than no heart at all."/ "You try it then!" exchange. Ten would have done that thing of looking like a man-shaped ball of pain, but Eleven just goes very quiet and says nothing. Partly, I think, because he understands that other people's pain and empathy really don't mean much at all when you, yourself, are hurting.

OH DOCTOR. :( :(

[elisi]

Oh, I love this. Love the applied/pure science analogy too.
Thank you. It's a very interesting analogy I think. :)

Bah. BUT HOW.
He is IMMUNE!

OH DOCTOR. :( :(
owlsie's comment made me realise something (and I added it to the post) - the Doctor does have that *exact* choice to make in the future ('which day?'), although, his life being what it is, it has already been decided: "The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean - you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit. You took me to Darillium to see the singing towers. Oh, what a night that was! The towers sang, and you cried."

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

You know, I wasn't too fond of this year's Christmas episode - it felt far too much like they'd gotten an order to write an episode featuring guest stars and tailor the plot to them. Abigail was basically and literally stuffed in the fridge for most of the episode and never really moved past being a plot device - at which point, to quote a phrase, "I don't care" what happens to her and her old man (as good as the final showdown between the Doctor and Kazran was). Also, not nearly enough Amy and Rory. Basically - I agree with your take on the Doctor writing himself into others' stories, and that's a great theme to explore - especially for Eleven, who can do what Ten couldn't (and make mistakes Ten wouldn't) simply because he's so charmingly irresponsible that he breaks the psychic paper when he claims to be a responsible adult. I just think he could have picked a better story to write himself into. :)

That said, there was a lot of pretty great stuff. Matt Smith continues to rock, and, well, fish! Also, the Doctor finally got real snow for Christmas rather than ash from a blown-up spaceship. Also, actual screencap from Wikipedia a few minutes after it aired:

[elisi]

You know, I wasn't too fond of this year's Christmas episode - it felt far too much like they'd gotten an order to write an episode featuring guest stars and tailor the plot to them.
Huh. All I know is that Moffat was in SUNNY LA, couldn't write a thing, so after two days drew the curtains, set the A/C to *freezing*, wrapped up in all his clothes, downloaded every Christmas song he could think of, and then tried to write... :)

Abigail was basically and literally stuffed in the fridge for most of the episode and never really moved past being a plot device - at which point, to quote a phrase, "I don't care" what happens to her and her old man (as good as the final showdown between the Doctor and Kazran was).
Ah but I liked that fact that some things couldn't be changed - I was invested in the story, not the characters. (Although I guess in many ways it comes down to 'watching the show that the writer is writing'.)

Also, not nearly enough Amy and Rory
A lot pf people have said this, and it makes me happy! :)

Basically - I agree with your take on the Doctor writing himself into others' stories, and that's a great theme to explore - especially for Eleven, who can do what Ten couldn't (and make mistakes Ten wouldn't) simply because he's so charmingly irresponsible that he breaks the psychic paper when he claims to be a responsible adult. I just think he could have picked a better story to write himself into. :)
Well *I* thought it was a cornucopia of delight and magic, so there! *wanders off full of cheer, like Scrooge's nephew*)

That said, there was a lot of pretty great stuff. Matt Smith continues to rock, and, well, fish! Also, the Doctor finally got real snow for Christmas rather than ash from a blown-up spaceship.
IT WAS A HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

Also, actual screencap from Wikipedia a few minutes after it aired:
Ahahahahahahahahaha! Fantastic! *profound love*