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Have belatedly decided to catch up on Merlin now that the series is over and I can watch it all together. I didn't watch when it started because my uncle had just died and I could tell that things were about to get serious. Or a bit more serious than they have been, anyway. I have done a blow-by-blow commentary and then a summary of my thoughts if you just want to read what I thought of the episode.

( Part One )

( Part Two )

( Thoughts )

Current Mood: contemplative

Okay. Deep breath. I'm going to try and be as objective as possible. *wrestles fangirl back into her straight jacket*

Let's BREAK IT DOWN!

"We're looking at writers now. We're going to spend two to three years to get it right," he said. "It needs quite a radical transformation to take it into the bigger arena."

Uh huh. Okay. This seems fair, as it can be quite frustrating to have films that would have been great as tv episodes but are overstretched to meet the standard feature time. (Although you could just make a SHORT film.) I am a bit leery of the implication that DW doesn't translate well to the big screen in general but okay.

"Doctor Who" follows the adventures across space and time of a super-intelligent alien in human form, who battles a variety of cosmic bad guys aided by plucky human companions.

The Doctor doesn't go looking for a fight (unless you're talking about Ten in his Time Lord Victorious mode). He just won't run away from one. There's a difference.

"The notion of the time-travelling Time Lord is such a strong one, because you can express story and drama in any dimension or time," Yates said.

Yes! I agree! As long as you keep what made the character so beloved in the first place.

"Russell T. Davies and then Steven Moffat have done their own transformations, which were fantastic, but we have to put that aside and start from scratch," he said.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Does this mean you're going to completely ignore what RTD and Moffat have done? I'm going to state the obvious and say that would be a BAD IDEA. Doctor Who has always been a show that's played fast and loose with its own continuity... but that is not the same as completely abandoning it. Unless Yates means something like Gallifrey Academy: First Class. I think I'm not alone in saying I would certainly be willing to give THAT idea some room (especially if you got Fassbender to play the Master and McAvoy to play the Doctor, haha), but I don't see the point of rebooting the TV series while it's STILL ON AIR and it's still doing the business when it comes to ratings/DVD sales/merchandise etc.

They already tried that with the DW movie back in the 90s. And the only good thing to come out of that movie was Paul McGann (and Sexy in her steampunk phase). There are so many things that could go wrong with this movie that I actually feel a bit sick contemplating the prospect.

"We want a British sensibility, but having said that, Steve Kloves wrote the Potter films and captured that British sensibility perfectly, so we are looking at American writers too," he explained.

Honestly, this is the part which really pissed me off. No, Yates, he did NOT capture it 'perfectly'. Making Ron say 'bloody' every other sentence and sticking 'mental' in there a couple of times does NOT mean he captured the British sensibility. You want proof? Harry Potter hugging people in the movies left, right and centre when Harry Potter in the books finds it hard to show any kind of spontaneous physical affection AT ALL! (It's not that he doesn't care about people; he just wasn't hugged after his parents died. AT THE AGE OF ONE. Excuse me while I have a little cry.)

I do like Yates as a director, but I'm worried about who's going to write the script. I think there are some good American writers out there. But they would have to understand and love the show. They would need to understand, in the words of Craig Ferguson, that this show is about the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism. Look at those last four words and then think of Hollywood. Do you think anyone in that town could understand that concept?

Current Mood: anxious

( In my head, this episode goes pirates bla bla bla siren bla bla treasure bla bla storm - OMG HALF NAKED RORY and that's about it )

( Hide and seek (you won't catch me around here)... what'd you say? That you only meant well? Well, of course you did! )

Current Mood: accomplished

I attempt to do a serious review of these two episodes but mostly fail because MY BRAIIIIIIIN MOFFAT. (I now think Moffat feeds on overheated fan brains. His ambition is to create the ultimate brain smoothie. He is basically like a superzombie.)

( The Impossible Astronaut )

( Day of the Moon )

Current Mood: confused

I.LOVE.these.episodes.

One, in hindsight they are full of great big anvils about what is going to happen to Donna. The look on River Song's face when she realises who Donna is; the ending of Silence in the Library with Donna's face on the node saying "Donna Noble has left the Library; Donna Noble has been saved" when, in order to save Donna, the Doctor has to make her 'leave the Library' and basically wipe her mind of all the information she's acquired over Series 4; the fact that Donna spends most of Forest of the Dead living in a fantasy world because Doctor Moon has put her brain to sleep and how she will live the rest of her life with a part of her brain sleeping; Lux's statement that "a half life is better than no life at all" which must influence the Doctor where Donna is concerned in Journey's End. Oh yes, there are indeed rampant spoilers in these episodes, but you only see them when you rewatch.

Two, there is a massive love of reading and books running through the two episodes which every bookworm will love. CAL is a descendent of both Alice and Dorothy Gale, exchanging a real world for a fantasy one. The scene were the Node delivers the Head Librarian's message to the Doctor and Donna is an echo of the scene in Fellowship of the Ring where Gandalf reads aloud the last days of the Moria dwarfs, ending with the ominous "They are coming." And they (the shadows) are coming. Doctor Moon telling CAL "the real world is fantasy and your nightmares are real" - come on, this is what every child suspects! Books can be more real to children than life because they contain superreality and truth and you never forget the books which mark your life and mind, whether they're well written or badly written.

Three, these two episodes ARE like a 'Greatest Hits' set for Moffat, but since they were written about the time he knew he was going to be taking over as showrunner and David was deciding whether to stay or not, I think they are like a showcase for him. Here is what Moffat can do: scary monsters; meta writing that isn't clumsy (the whole discussion on spoilers between the Doctor and Donna, then the Doctor and River Song); strong (if irritating) female characters; strong foreshadowing; multiple layers; bittersweet endings; moments of true horror - the moment where Donna's children disappear from their beds in the blink of an eye has to be one of the most terrifying moments in New Who, I went cold and I don't have any children; messages about the thoughtlessness of humans (the forest of the Vashta Nerada must have covered a whole planet in order to produce that many pages, and yet there was no research into the ecosystem and lifeforms of that particular planet, which also ties in nicely with the theme of planets disappearing) balanced with how humans can do great and wonderful things (River Song sacrificing herself).

Four, the Doctor is put in the position that Reinette occupied in Girl in the Fireplace: this mysterious person appears in his life, knows everything, won't share that knowledge. I think River Song was deliberately designed to be a little irritating: that's how the Doctor often comes across, jumping in and rattling off orders, telling everyone he knows best. It's a bit different when someone does that to him. And even though you get the repetition of "Everybody lives", it comes at a price. Unlike in The Doctor Dances, this time, people are not revived and reborn. Their bodies remain dead. The Doctor can only give them a half life, but it's still better than no life at all. Just as he will do for Donna.

Current Mood: lazy

Here is my new Doctor Who video. It took a while to make because it's a) a longer song and b) I was using two episodes this time instead of just one. I don't think it's as sharp as my Master one but I think it has more emotion and I'm proud of the last minute and a half (the pairing of those images and this song is what inspired me to make this video in the first place).

Comments and critique are most welcome! I know there is still a lot of talky-face but at least I have learned how to slow down the video. :D

Current Mood: hopeful
Current Music: The Streets Are Ours - Richard Hawley

Hey, look at that, it rhymes. Okay, this is a mixture of blow-by-blow commentary and proper review. I had to get it out there before Series 5 comes along because I had a brainwave on how to improve the Longest Regeneration Ever(TM). Namely, make it into a twenty minute introduction for Eleven. :D

( This should be... SPECTACULAR! (but it wasn't) )

( How To Improve The Farewells )

Current Mood: thoughtful

( The Testing of Merlin and Morgana )

Current Mood: busy

( The Curse of Cornelius Sigan )

( The Once and Future Queen )

( The Nightmare Begins )

( Lancelot & Guinevere )

Current Mood: busy

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SERIES 3 OF TORCHWOOD. DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN IT OR ARE HAPPY TO BE SPOILED.

( A man who can't die has got nothing to fear. So you watch out, and you keep watching. )

Current Mood: sad

I have to preface this by saying that I watch The Tudors mainly because it makes me laugh inside: it is history as written by Jackie Collins and usually, I'm okay with that. Usually, it doesn't try to be serious and it gets away with it becuase the actors are pretty and some of them (Natalie Dormer, James Frain) are even good at what they do. But I just watched the seventh episode and I have to have a little rant about some of the things I saw.

( Warning, long rant ahead )

I know that The Tudors is not meant to be taken seriously, I know that. But I can't forgive basic mistakes like that, I just can't.

Current Mood: enraged

Rarely has an episode been so appropriately titled (The Parting of the Ways from New Who S1 is another), because from reading about it and hearing about it, this episode caused a lot of pain for a lot of people. And I can understand that.

( Spoilers )

Actually, here's a poll for the... two people who watch Doctor Who and Bones on my flist:

[Poll #1251351]

In other news: guess who's coming to the Cheltenham Literary Festival? That's right: John Barrowman. Guess who's going to see him? That's right. Me. *smirk* You may all hate me now.

Current Mood: blah
Current Location: The Living Room

I have just seen the last episode of Torchwood, Exit Wounds. All I can say is...

( Spoiler warning )

Warning: watch with a box of tissues ready.

Current Mood: crushed

Here's what I've been watching over the past two months or so. I don't talk about television much, mainly because I prefer to read and listen to the radio, but I do have a few favourites.

( Television )

Oh yeah... I also bought an apartment. ^^

Happy Birthday to