Re: Journey to the Center of the TARDIS

[nobleplatypus]

Man, wouldn't it be nice if we could get character development that wasn't immediately negated by yet another fucking memory wipe? Worst trope ever, Moffat.

WORST.

TROPE.

EVER.

And P.S., Doctor, given that Clara no longer knows you've watched two other incarnations of her bite the dust right in front of you, asking her whether she feels "safe" with you is pretty meaningless, wouldn't you say? Because she can't give you an informed answer? Because you haven't actually told her WTF is going on? Sort of like how you never told Amy she was a ganger for all those months? Because ~solving the mystery~ is more important than giving a grown woman crucial information about herself?

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that some of the most irritating aspects of the last two seasons are happening all over again, but it's still burning my bacon.

At least we got to see more TARDIS, which is never a bad thing.

Comments

[hukbillgoomba.livejournal.com]

It's super annoying on so many levels. My inner geek wants to squee over ALL DAT TARDIS, but the rest is just, urgh.

I mean, the Doctor HAS been manipulative of companions in the past AND HAS BEEN CALLED OUT ON IT AND STOPS. My favourite is Seven and Ace. The pivotal story is The Curse of Frenric where the Doctor has all these plots and schemes but he underestimates Ace and she is cleverer than he thought and so puts a spanner in the works of his plan. He gets annoyed, but Ace fires back at him.

"Ace: You know what's going on.
The Doctor: Yes.
Ace: You always know. You just can't be bothered to tell anyone. It's like it's some kind of a game and only you know the rules. You knew all about that inscription being a computer programme, but you didn't tell me! You know about that old bottle and you're not telling me! Am I so stupid?"

Then the Doctor gives her the information. Because she stood up to him. Because she makes him realise he's been unfair to her. She realises that there's some serious shit going on, but he, too realises that he's been underestimating Ace.
By the time we get to Survival, the Doctor does treat Ace like more of a grown up, he seems genuinely repentant for manipulating her. You'd think he'd have learned.
This is why I have a fanslpanation that the 10-11 regeneration did a number on his brain. Maybe he is a 'mad man' and can't actually control himself. But I doubt Moffat would go as far as to, you know, DEAL WITH IT beyond making any 'mad man' comments a joke, or a hand waving nonesplanation of his stupid actions rather than giving the Doctor some lasting character development.

[nobleplatypus]

Considering that Moffat's approach to the show has been compared to Classic Who (because it's fun and scary and there's less of that emotional nonsense!), it's kind of hilarious to me how easy it is to look back and say, "No, actually, even Classic Who was willing to deal with this shit in a more meaningful way than Moffat ever bothers to."

I also think the whole "the Doctor must hold all the cards at all times" thing would annoy me less if he actually did something with the cards he was holding. It's not as if being cagey has actually helped him figure out the Mystery That Is Clara, so what purpose is served by being cagey? He's keeping his companions in the dark just for the sake of it, not because it's part of some grand plan he has brewing.

[hukbillgoomba.livejournal.com]

Yeah, comparing it to classic Who is problematic. I think, aesthetically, there may be a point. 11 has more of an old school DW look to him, as does the console room and some of the monsters. Even some of the stories have a sort of 80s Who feel to them occasionally. But, no. Take a look at some of the classic stories and they are SO much more complex. Yes, they often have four episodes to flesh characters out, but you get so much more for your time.
You can forgive the classic series for a lot more than you can the new. The old school had a lot of established BBC folks breathing down on everything. They had budget issues and writers were often trodden on. But they tried. Oh god how they tried. Moffat has been given EVERYTHING on a silver platter. The BBC throw money at the show and he just rolls around in his piles of cash like a giggling idiot, throwing up on a sheet of paper and calling it a script.

Excellent point. If the Doctor wanted to find out about Clara he'd ask her. It's not even consistent. He was ALWAYS asking River who she was. Every time they met. She was deliberately obtuse but you can kind of explain some of it away.
Okay, we get a sense in this episode that the Doctor suspect Clara of being 'a trick' or 'a trap'. But still, he should have realised by now that she doesn't know. Keeping it all to himself makes no sense. He's had no reason to keep it secret. But the longer he stays quiet, the creepier it will be when it finally comes out. grumble grumble.

[philosophercat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's a bit sad when the Doctor goes to a psychic first before asking his companion directly...

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Aww. Bummer. Haven't seen it yet but am caught up before this episode and I was liking the semi-season with Clara so far.

[philosophercat.livejournal.com]

To be fair, Clara was awesome in this episode up until the annoying reset. And the TARDIS library porn was most welcome.

[nobleplatypus]

TRUTH. That's why the time reset was especially annoying to me, too. She was doing so well, dang it!

[philosophercat.livejournal.com]

I was really looking forward to the fallout. How/why she would stay in the TARDIS after all of this, a distrustful companion who knows the Doctor's ~big secret~. The problem of keeping her on could be solved with some borrowing from Tegan's story arc. Perhaps that initial damage in the last episode was enough to put something out of whack so they can't return to Clara's time, perhaps.

But no, no. A 'it was all a dream' ending is fine too, I guess.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

I am only here to say that I love your icon just for the crossover reference. (And also, do you still like Five? Because he totally has a cameo in this book I love and I think of you every time he shows up.)

[nobleplatypus]

I will ALWAYS love Five. ♥