Some thoughts on "Waters of Mars":
Nov. 15th, 2009 10:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skywaterblueI was spoilered out to all ridiculous, but when I FINALLY managed to download this, immediately after I watched it I thought it was the best episode ever. Except when I watched it again immediately after with my brother, I decided the first half hour is really draggy. So no, "Midnight" is still my favorite.
Like I said, enjoyed it a shit-ton, though the first half hour is standard and kind of slow. He walks away from the base for what seems like FOREVER.
There was a nice sly Biblical allusion (aside from, you know EDEN) in that the first two to die are Cain and Stone. And that the Doctor loves Adalaide for refusing to shoot her own men. I also thought fun that even though all the other characters of color die in like, the first fifteen minutes, the Asian tech girl and the Medic who are flirty face with each other live and get married. No guilt at all for offing Tosh and Owen, I suppose.
"Time Lord Victorious". Brr. Far creepier a line than the earlier "The laws of time are mine, and they will obey me!"
See, unlike others I always bought this as a realistic characterization. Even in his most exile-y, The Doctor has always fundamentally believed in Time Lord superiority. The only amazing thing is that it took him SO LONG to realize that he's the one who makes all the rules now. Time Lords are best when they're coded as minor gods, and the only reason the Doctor hasn't acted as one is by choice. The interesting thing about it was that the Doctor realized that what he had done was wrong, which I think is the first time in this series he's ever acknowledged that there is something more fundamentally wrong with manipulating the humans around him than in how it makes him feel emotionally.
Also, Adelaide commits suicide. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since a plot point of last season was the Doctor offing himself in grief.
As far as the major plot point goes (Adelaide must die so her granddaughter invents warp-drive): first time Doctor Who's ever REALLY reminded me of Star Trek. What with the insistence that the Earth is in a shitty place, that Adelaide believes that going to the stars can unite people, and a one-world government forming up, etc etc. The base even has United Federation of Benetton accents. I'm not sure exactly why a Dalek would insist on not exterminating a baby!Adelaide, however, as uh, the whole Dalek Master Plan that season was to completely obliterate the universe. Unless the Daleks are trying to keep the timeline TIDY just in case they fail.
So yeah, really enjoyed it.
Like I said, enjoyed it a shit-ton, though the first half hour is standard and kind of slow. He walks away from the base for what seems like FOREVER.
There was a nice sly Biblical allusion (aside from, you know EDEN) in that the first two to die are Cain and Stone. And that the Doctor loves Adalaide for refusing to shoot her own men. I also thought fun that even though all the other characters of color die in like, the first fifteen minutes, the Asian tech girl and the Medic who are flirty face with each other live and get married. No guilt at all for offing Tosh and Owen, I suppose.
"Time Lord Victorious". Brr. Far creepier a line than the earlier "The laws of time are mine, and they will obey me!"
See, unlike others I always bought this as a realistic characterization. Even in his most exile-y, The Doctor has always fundamentally believed in Time Lord superiority. The only amazing thing is that it took him SO LONG to realize that he's the one who makes all the rules now. Time Lords are best when they're coded as minor gods, and the only reason the Doctor hasn't acted as one is by choice. The interesting thing about it was that the Doctor realized that what he had done was wrong, which I think is the first time in this series he's ever acknowledged that there is something more fundamentally wrong with manipulating the humans around him than in how it makes him feel emotionally.
Also, Adelaide commits suicide. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since a plot point of last season was the Doctor offing himself in grief.
As far as the major plot point goes (Adelaide must die so her granddaughter invents warp-drive): first time Doctor Who's ever REALLY reminded me of Star Trek. What with the insistence that the Earth is in a shitty place, that Adelaide believes that going to the stars can unite people, and a one-world government forming up, etc etc. The base even has United Federation of Benetton accents. I'm not sure exactly why a Dalek would insist on not exterminating a baby!Adelaide, however, as uh, the whole Dalek Master Plan that season was to completely obliterate the universe. Unless the Daleks are trying to keep the timeline TIDY just in case they fail.
So yeah, really enjoyed it.
