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Post by Riff on May 14, 2006 16:21:14 GMT -5
"I think Jack would like this dance, Doctor." "I'm absolutely certain he would. But who with?" Creepy episode with a fantastically lighthearted ending! Sometimes one has to have a happy ending. The Doctor cetrainly did. Interesting isn't it? The story moves from something truly dark to "feel good". During the more grim scenes in "The Empty Child" especially, the idea that things could turn out like this would seem almost ridiculous. Everyone triumphantly alive and well at the end, the Doctor euphoric, him and Rose dancing around the TARDIS to "In the Mood" - all this is a massive shift in the story's dynamic, but the ep pulls it off.
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Post by Riff on May 14, 2006 16:22:32 GMT -5
"Who says I'm not red bicycle when you were twelve?" That's a lovely touch.
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Post by Riff on May 14, 2006 16:34:45 GMT -5
Also: the best thing about the last scene was the Doctors look of utter glee when he says he can dance. The other best thing was Nancy's face when Rose gives her hope for the future. Julia, ready to give up staying clean, except for getting Anna off to Prom *laughs* As Rose says, "Doesn't the universe implode or something if you dance?" In canon, the character has always been asexual. With it's theme of "dancing", this ep does not only say "sex is life" - it breaks one of the most sacred taboos in science fiction. ;D I can imagine outraged (and also asexual) DW fans trying to deal with this. Reactions might range from the murderous to the more moderate: "It's really just about dancing. Literally. It is!" Having said all that, it seems that, like a cigar, sometimes dancing really is dancing. It may be premature to jump to conclusions. But I'll say no more until the finale.
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Post by Riff on May 14, 2006 16:36:35 GMT -5
And danced with Rose. I like dancing Doctor. Is there sparkage between the Doctor and Rose? Not Whovian--but very sweet.Agreed Whatever there is between them, it's not easy to pin down.
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Post by Riff on May 14, 2006 16:42:01 GMT -5
Everybody lives. Could be dangerous. I wouldn't worry too much. For some reason, the nanogenes didn't reverse the genetic damage of the aging process. So. It begins. ;D
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Post by Karen on May 14, 2006 18:39:18 GMT -5
Jack is very pretty. I knew this was going to start. ;D ;D
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Post by Karen on May 14, 2006 18:41:35 GMT -5
Muuuuuummmmmy. Are you my mummy? It seems they hit a nerve with that. There's something psychologically disturbing, something fundamentally horrible about it. The overall gloom of the Blitz heightens this. I'm sure the Blitz left quite a few orphans.
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Post by Karen on May 14, 2006 18:45:31 GMT -5
Also: the best thing about the last scene was the Doctors look of utter glee when he says he can dance. The other best thing was Nancy's face when Rose gives her hope for the future. Julia, ready to give up staying clean, except for getting Anna off to Prom *laughs* As Rose says, "Doesn't the universe implode or something if you dance?" In canon, the character has always been asexual. With it's theme of "dancing", this ep does not only say "sex is life" - it breaks one of the most sacred taboos in science fiction. ;D I can imagine outraged (and also asexual) DW fans trying to deal with this. Reactions might range from the murderous to the more moderate: "It's really just about dancing. Literally. It is!" Having said all that, it seems that, like a cigar, sometimes dancing really is dancing. It may be premature to jump to conclusions. But I'll say no more until the finale. Interesting. Is there no room in canon for change?
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Post by Riff on May 15, 2006 3:48:44 GMT -5
It seems they hit a nerve with that. There's something psychologically disturbing, something fundamentally horrible about it. The overall gloom of the Blitz heightens this. I'm sure the Blitz left quite a few orphans. And bereaved parents.
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Post by Riff on May 15, 2006 3:52:23 GMT -5
*laughs* As Rose says, "Doesn't the universe implode or something if you dance?" In canon, the character has always been asexual. With it's theme of "dancing", this ep does not only say "sex is life" - it breaks one of the most sacred taboos in science fiction. ;D I can imagine outraged (and also asexual) DW fans trying to deal with this. Reactions might range from the murderous to the more moderate: "It's really just about dancing. Literally. It is!" Having said all that, it seems that, like a cigar, sometimes dancing really is dancing. It may be premature to jump to conclusions. But I'll say no more until the finale. Interesting. Is there no room in canon for change? That depends on who you ask. ;D One view would say that sex in the show is wrong, and any suggestion of it involving the Doctor himself is a heinous crime against the character. Another would say that introducing sex into DW makes as much sense as showing people using the lavatory - it just isn't relevant. Another view is that the show has always been a hotbed of repressed sexuality. None of these really ring true. The Doctor's comment of "I think you can assume at some point I've 'danced'," does ring true. I would say that what this ep does is argue that the Doctor is a sexual being, though it also suggests that he hasn’t been sexually active for some time. His dancing is a bit rusty. But, as I said, I have to conclude that dancing sometimes really is dancing. Or at least no more than flirtation. Bearing certain things in mind, the idea of a non-platonic ‘ship is very open to question, but I can say no more right now. In a sense, the ep tries to have it both ways. Just like Captain Jack. ;D
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Post by Spaced Out Looney on May 15, 2006 7:36:14 GMT -5
It's interesting watching the two episodes through a second time. The first episode is still creepy, but in a different way. I really like episodes that are interesting the first time when you don't know what happens, and the second time through when you do. The second time, one's sympathies (or at least mine) were more with the Gas Mask Kid rather than Nancy. Rather than the creepiness coming from some kind of unstoppable zombie, it comes from fears of shame of acknowledging one's offspring. Interesting.
I got that the Zombie kid was targeting Nancy specifically by the end of the first episode, but I totally didn't put it together that she was actually Jamies mom, not his sister. I got a motherly vibe, but I was thinking more "surrogate mother," mostly because the actors didn't look far enough apart in age to possibly be mother and son. There were several shots of the Doctor in the first part where you could see the wheels turning in his head as he was figuring it out, but of course, I missed all those the first time through.
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Post by Rachael on May 15, 2006 9:21:49 GMT -5
"Just this once, EVERYONE lives!"
I loved this episode.
And The Doctor happy - really happy, not just mocking - adorable.
Plus, with the dancing...oh. my. goddess.
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Post by Rachael on May 15, 2006 9:23:13 GMT -5
Jack is very pretty. Kind of like Tom Cruise before he lost his mind and became creepifying. The Doctor is prettier, though.
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Post by Rachael on May 15, 2006 9:48:16 GMT -5
Everybody lives. Could be dangerous. I wouldn't worry too much. For some reason, the nanogenes didn't reverse the genetic damage of the aging process. You can't fix something if you don't know what it started out as. Once something is mutated, it's mutated....
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Post by Lola m on May 15, 2006 10:50:47 GMT -5
Jack is very pretty. I knew this was going to start. ;D #smirk# How could it not? I mean, you know us . . .
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