My quick thoughts-
Jebus, that goodbye montage was incredibly long. WE GET IT RUSTY YOU'RE LEAVING TOO.
I assume that's what the extra 15 minutes was for.
Some
good moments- almost all of them were Wilf and Doctor related. I thought that was a cool way to wrap up the
He Will Knock Four Times
thing, since I'd been assuming it was the Timelord heartbeat.
New Doctor: DO NOT WANT.
Yeah, I figured the same as Nora for
Wilf not changing. Location location location.
Now, my experience in my adult life with the Doctor changing was weird, because I came in late to Eccleston's reign, was immediately charmed by his long gangly legs and Northern accent and big ears, and possibly Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways were the second and third eps that I saw. Or maybe there were some fanvids that I saw that were all heartbreaky with Rose and Nine, but mostly Ten. So, the transition between the doctors, I was already prepared (spoiled) for. And the transition itself within the show was quick, unforshadowed, and the dude that popped out at the end was hysterical and was something entirely new. So for that transition I was actually more familiar with Ten than Nine when I finally sat down and watched New Who from it's beginning. But I don't think that that makes up for the difference in my reaction this time around.
With EoT2
it's been telegraphed, foreshadowed, anvilled, in the specials and in the press for what feels like years, and I have to say that I started feeling a little RotK with it's twenty endings, and then the meta of this being whatsisface stepping down and turning things over to Moffat, and so having to rehash the season finale with all the reunions with the past companions (although I did enjoy the Tatooine? bar vibe with Jack) and that hysterical thought I had a week ago about Kenny and South Park? Not so funny this week. Will he die like Spock in the glass room? Nope. Will he die in the snowy street like the unwritten fic in my head? Nope?
Okay, the "I don't want to go" broke me, but then 11 was on my screen doing an amateur riff on Tennant's Ten and going over the top with it. Did not like. It was then that I really wanted a Derek Reese ending. Bullet to the head, he's dead, move on.
If you think about it, this swan song makes
The Lord of the Rings wrap up look Cliff Notes. (Heh, and it is so very wrong that I'm not the only one to make this same compariosn, only more succinctly). From Journey's End on, there has been way too much fucking time wasted and stretched.
I really enjoyed the show up until
Matt Smith's entrance, and the Cactus chick was absolutely awesome. Donna felt wasted, Martha and Mickey were hot, although I'm sad about her medical boyfriend (assumption).
Until I get a grip on myself, the lingering taste in my mouth is
DO NOT WANT.
and
I'm still hungry.
Wow. All you impatient folks who couldn't wait 'til tomorrow!
I wonder if John Simm got an extra pay packet for playing 94% of the cast.
I wonder if John Simm got an extra pay packet for playing 94% of the cast.
Walk-on rates for each character would probably set him up for life.
Someone mentioned a while back about confusing John Simm with Simon Pegg, which is something that I did quite often back when they first came onto my radar. I don't think it was the looks, per se, but the names. Common first name, short odd last.
EOT2: I think one of the novels established
The Doctor's father was Time Lord, and his mother was human. Which leaves Mysterious Time Lord woman as Romana. Of course, they do not treat the novels as canon, so who knows. And Who may know if they will ever tell us who she was meant to be, but I don't.
Speaking of Simon Pegg,
wasn't he first in the queue having his book signed by Jessica Haynes-Stevenson? Must rewatch. I liked the fact that she showed up. "Were you?"
.
The Guardian review specifically says that
Claire Bloom played the Doctor's mother, and as reviewers have access to press packs, I'm going to assume that this is indeed the case. For a minute there I did think it might be the aged Timelord part of Donna (à la Jack/Face of Bo), but that might have been too complicated even for RTD
.
Part One was something of a disappointment for me, so I'm glad that
they pulled it out of the bag for Part Two, even if the valedictory ending went on too long. In the Confidential, RTD said that he assumes the new crew won't be using the old characters, so he wanted to wrap it up for everybody, which is fair enough
.
EOT2:
Jesus, that was self-indulgent. I think I feel dirty. Also, since when did Martha marry Mickey? Although they both looked awesome, I must admit.
Seriously, it just went on and on and on and ON. And I just watched the end of ROTK tonight, so I know from going ON AND ON. I'm ready for the end of the Rusty era. But that said, my first thought about Matt Smith's performance was: too much Tennant. I really wish they'd gone for a totally different type instead of another lanky wacky-haired young guy.
Oh, and also re Cactus Gal -- omg that was NINA! I kept trying to figure out where I knew her from. Awesome!
OK. As usual, I tend to think otherwise. God, just, give me a moment here, would ya? I'm still all teary, and it's a very good thing I type this, and you don't hear me sniffle in real time.
This was not the ending I was hoping for. While my expectations to EoT p.1 were huge, and indeed I was happy with most of what happened, I had none regarding to part 2. What would they be able to do that will make me gasp even more, cry (as in yelling, not as in crying) and get emotional over with that sense of wonder that part 1 didn't make me feel/react to? The computer stayed turned on during another not-getting-much-sleep-due-to-fever night, to get me the ep.
My sense of wonder, and any credit I ever wanted Ten to have, just as the credit he wanted to give to the Timelords, are gone. Devastated. I remember that last week someone mentioned that Nine had so much more dignity in him, and humor, when his time came. I didn't believe it until I watched part 2, where I saw Ten retreats into his most childish appearance ever. His way or the highway, which almost made me think that everything Ten ever was was a childish, overrated Doctor who couldn't face mature decisions unless when they were his decisions. It took me several long minutes to remind myself that it's not the case. This is not the Doctor, the Ten I loved. This is not the character that made me lose hours of sleep, from ecstasy about a new episode, or just browsing the internet to read reviews, commentaries, YouTube clips. And the more the ep. continues, the worse it got. Snapping at Wilf, despite I continue to dislike him, is not Ten. His death was not Ten, and I'm almost furious that Tennant's exit was the scared little boy who didn't want to be alone. Ten, IMO, was so much more.
Disliked: Wilf. The end of The Master. The use of the return of the Timelords for what, 40 minutes of an ep? That shit could last for a season! Also, what I rambled about in the previous paragraph. Ten's "reward" (oh, come on! That's no way to do a goodbye sequence montage!). All of the hints of Ten's "improper" relationship with humans (if that's improper, your entire series is improper, genius!).
Lurved:"Worst. Rescue. Ever!" (you see? THAT is my Ten). The master. Donna's mom, at times. The Ood. And the last, but hardly, hardly the least: ladies and gentlemen, the Cactus Gal ("that's racist!") rocked my world. Damn, she could have been a great sidekick. I know I'd love to see her again. Hell, she might have been the only character I could relate to in this... arrgh, I cannot believe this is the end of Ten. You know, just watched the ep, it'll take me time to accept it.
If you read so far, surely you'll understand why I can't wait for Matt Smith/Moffat era to start. I liked, not loved, his entrance ("I'm a girl...?"). Right now anything would be better, just to remove the aftertaste of disappointment over Ten's ending.
Somebody tell me I'm wrong. Convince me it was a good ending. I do not wish to remember Ten like this. Fuck you, RTD. Fuck you.
I need a hug. Or a strong drink. Could do both.