{"id":40242,"date":"2013-12-30T18:08:31","date_gmt":"2013-12-31T01:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/12\/30\/tv-review-the-time-of-the-doctor.html"},"modified":"2013-12-30T18:22:04","modified_gmt":"2013-12-31T01:22:04","slug":"tv-review-the-time-of-the-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/12\/30\/tv-review-the-time-of-the-doctor.html","title":{"rendered":"TV Review: “The Time of the Doctor”"},"content":{"rendered":"
Finally watched (thank you, Amazon Prime) the Final Doctor Who Matt Smith Eleventh Doctor All The Feels Ever<\/i> episode. And …?<\/p>\n

s
p
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i
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e
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s<\/p>\n

s
w
e
e
t
i
e<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

(No, really.)

1. The first ten minutes of Doctor Who<\/i> rom-com reminded me of my biggest gripes with the Eleventh Doctor and Moffat's showrunning. \u00a0It (mostly) got better from there, but the Christmas \/ Turkey \/ Boyfriend \/ Clothing \/ Family thing just put me off my feed.<\/p>\n

2. While I understand the desire for this particular ep, I just don't think Moffat has the discipline for Grand Epics. Fairy Tales, sure, so a mysterious Town Named Christmas (which should be very annoying\u00a0in its mysterious origins, but simply wasn't amidst all the other fantasy) makes "sense," but turning that into a multi-century Legend of the Doctor just felt like "I can't be bothered with all the details, let me just cut to the good bits" from Moffat.<\/p>\n

3. All that said, the Aging of the Doctor, in both make-up and Matt Smith's acting, was very, very nicely done, with some neat little Hartnell influences to go with it.<\/p>\n

4. Handwaving Most Epic Battle Time War Redux Doctor Vs. Dalek Action. \u00a0Honestly, I hope we don't see Daleks \u00a0again (or Cybermen), for three years. Really. They've been overdone to the point of becoming generic bad guys, which is not<\/i> what they should be.<\/p>\n

5. Though I did like Handles.<\/p>\n

6. So is the whole Trenzilore \/ Death \/ Destruction \/ Graves thing now something that's not happening? \u00a0Or … not happening the same way? \u00a0Or … um, I missed that. And\/or stopped caring.<\/p>\n

7. I did figure out (probably after 90% of the studio audience) the Way Around the Regeneration Limit thing they were going to do. Which was (sloppy writing\u00a0implementation aside) a nice bow to canon.<\/p>\n

8. I find it interesting \/ amusing that everyone was going on after the 50th Anniversary Special about how Finding Gallifrey was going to be the Twelfth Doctor's Big Thing — and we end up with the next story being about that and how it would be a Bad Thing and (maybe?) writing it off. Okay.<\/p>\n

9. Is it written into Doctor Who's series bible that Mothers of Companions Are Always Really Annoying? \u00a0Because, damn …<\/p>\n

10. Is it my fevered imagination, or is Tasha Lem, the Mother Superious, actually a regeneration (re-incarnation?) of River Song? Start with the massive computers in common, and a couple of interlocking comments about psychopathy, ability to access and pilot the TARDIS, and throw in a past torrid romance, and a present fierce loyalty …<\/p>\n

(Not surprisingly, I'm not the only one who picked up on this. Apparently it's quite the hot debate in some circles.)<\/p>\n

11. The final regeneration sequence was quite nice, though I'm sorry Old Eleven got a factory reset beforehand, and I'm not thrilled with using Regeneration Energy as\u00a0\u00a0bolts of Power Cosmic. \u00a0Just saying. But the memories, the bow tie, the not-quite-gratuitous return of You-Know-Who (in memory), and the unexpectedly snap-crack regen was well handled.<\/p>\n

12. I already like Peter Capaldi \/ Twelve. \u00a0Though he keeps looking like Hugh Laurie to me for some reason. The ironic-given-the-soliloquy memory lapse may be indicative of a long-term difference in this regeneration, and, if handled properly, could be a plus. \u00a0I'd like a Doctor who doesn't immediately know everything in an irksomely-plot-manipulative fashion (or, when faced with something he doesn't know, having it feel\u00a0irksomely manipulative as well). \u00a0We'll see.<\/p>\n

In sum, it was a grand wrap-up, with enough really cool bits to overcome the parts that rubbed me (long-standingly) the wrong way. \u00a0I'm willing to forego some internal logic in order to enjoy a wrap-up of Eleven and His Greatest Foes. I'm pleased with what's been laid to rest, and am looking forward to what comes next.\ufeff<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

View this post on Google+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finally watched (thank you, Amazon Prime) the Final Doctor Who Matt Smith Eleventh Doctor All The Feels Ever episode. And …? spoilers sweetie … (No, really.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts","category-media-tv-doctor-who"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31656,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/09\/rewatching-the-eleventh-doctor.html","url_meta":{"origin":40242,"position":0},"title":"Rewatching the Eleventh Doctor","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 9-Dec-12 8:21pm","format":false,"excerpt":"(Okay, apparently if I post things into a Community, even if it shows up in my profile stream, Google+Blog doesn't pick it up. Which doesn't seem to match the last time I tried this, where I forwarded something from Public to the Doctor Who Community and it double-posted to my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":137404,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/10\/30\/the-doctor-who-title-sequences.html","url_meta":{"origin":40242,"position":1},"title":"The "Doctor Who" Title Sequences","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 30-Oct-18 12:43pm","format":false,"excerpt":"A nearly complete collection, but at least all in one video. Fascinating the evolution of the graphics, the logo, and the music over the years.This collection (https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLKEzuOOEQvYOS3BTuM_hduSguL07ETZm6) has them all as individual videos, including the newest for the Thirteenth Doctor (https:\/\/youtu.be\/7lUz0xU5d9g) and the rare Christmas Variant for the Twelfth Doctor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39808,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/11\/26\/talking-about-regeneration.html","url_meta":{"origin":40242,"position":2},"title":"Talking About Regeneration","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 26-Nov-13 8:33am","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Doctor Who\" fans have loved debating over regenerations for the Doctor -- how many he has, how many he has had, which ones count, what about River, what about the War Doctor, what about --Now Moffat has weighed in, throwing in an added (and odd) complexity regarding the Tenth Doctor's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13665,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/10\/30\/talkin_bout_regeneration.html","url_meta":{"origin":40242,"position":3},"title":"Talkin’ ’bout Regeneration …","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 30-Oct-08 6:11am","format":false,"excerpt":"Word's come down confirming that David Tennant will leave Doctor Who\u00a0after all the various 2009-2010 one-off specials. The Guardian newspaper this evening broke the story prematurely, reporting on their...","rel":"","context":"In "Doctor Who"","block_context":{"text":"Doctor Who","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/franchises\/media-tv-doctor-who"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/tardis.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":40053,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/12\/14\/the-regeneration-carol.html","url_meta":{"origin":40242,"position":4},"title":"The "Regeneration Carol"","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 14-Dec-13 2:34pm","format":false,"excerpt":"A lovely love end-of-the-Eleventh-Doctor variation on \"Baby, It's Cold Outside\" by the \"Not Literally\" crew.(via +Les Jenkins\u00a0at\u00a0http:\/\/stupidevilbastard.com\/2013\/12\/the-doctor-in-regeneration-carol\/)\ufeff View this post on Google+","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17143,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/04\/18\/the-new-doctor.html","url_meta":{"origin":40242,"position":5},"title":"The New Doctor","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 18-Apr-10 3:11pm","format":false,"excerpt":"We wrapped up Game Day yesterday with a group viewing (a few hours timeshifted) of the first episode of the new season (and new ) lead of Doctor Who. Not bad. Not bad at all. I want to watch it again, as it was late, I was tired, and I'd\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doctor Who"","block_context":{"text":"Doctor Who","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/franchises\/media-tv-doctor-who"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/tardis.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40242"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40244,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40242\/revisions\/40244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}