N-S6E11: The God Complex

The premise of this episode was fun and clever.  A hotel with a room for everyone, though you really don’t want to find it.  Rooms pull of so many things for so many people.

Sad clown with a balloon (looks like it was played by Matt, but I’ve heard it’s not).

Lucy Hayward, 214, that brutal gorilla, drops papers

Commander Halke, defeat

Tim Heathe, having photo taken

Lady Silvertear, Daleks

Paige Barnes, other peoples’ socks

Tim Nelson, balloons

Noddist Prince, saberwolves

Royston Luke Gold, Plymouth

158, gym teacher

Joe Buchanan, ventriloquist dummies, cufflinks

Howie Spragg, pretty girls, glasses

Rita, disappointing family/failing

Gibbis, 216, weeping angels

Amy, 7, that the Doctor won’t return

Doctor, 11, ??? [do not disturb sign]

I noticed that when people were taken by the minotaur, they often left things behind, which are noted on the list above: Lucy’s papers, Joe’s cufflinks, Howie’s glasses – why?  What was the point in them leaving things in the hallways after they were taken?  Were they a form of the person’s faith being left behind?  It would explain the cufflinks.  Maybe Lucy wrote to address her faith?  As for Howie’s glasses… no idea.  He needed them because of all the reading he did on the conspiracy theories?

Quotes!

Doctor: “She’s threatening me with a chair leg.  I’ve never been threatened with a chair leg before – No, hang on, I tell a lie.”  Points if someone can find which episode he was threatened with a chair leg in; if there actually is one, that would be rather amusing.

Things Gibbis says because Gibbis has the most entertaining mindset in the episode:

“We’re lining all the highways with trees so the invading armies can march in the shade.”

“Resistance is exhausting.”

“All I want to do is go home and be conquered and oppressed, is that too much to ask?”

Doctor: “It’s as I thought, it feeds on fear.  Everything—the rooms, Lucy’s note, even the pictures in reception—has been put here to frighten us.  So we have to resist it.  Do whatever you have to.  Cross your fingers, say a prayer, think of a basket of kittens.  But do not give in to the fear.”

This whole episode is an allusion to the Doctor himself and several exchanges refer to it:

Doctor, talking to the minotaur: “You have lived so long even your name is lost.”

Rita: “Why is it up to you to save us?  That’s quite a god complex you have there.”

Doctor: “I brought them here.  They say it was their choice, but offer a child a suitcase full of sweets and they’ll take it.  Offer someone all of time and space and they’ll take that, too.  Which is why you shouldn’t.  Which is why grown-ups were invented.”

Rita: “All of time and space, ’eh?”

Doctor: “Oh yeah.  And when we get out of this, I’ll show you, too.”

Rita: “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but whatever it was, I have a feeling you just did it again.”

Doctor, translating the minotaur: “‘An ancient creature, drenched in the blood of the innocents.  Drifting in space through an endless shifting maze.  Such a creature, death would be a gift.’ Then accept it.  And sleep well.”  He pauses as he stands to walk away.  “‘I wasn’t talking about myself.’”

Several things came up during the episode:

Rory finds the fire escape, which was interpreted as him not having faith in anything.  One would think after all that’s happened that he would at least have faith in Amy, but that doesn’t seem to be the case – which I find rather satisfying after how often she’s treated him like crap.  Go Rory!

Also, Rory has the Sonic all the time in this series and suddenly now he’s got the mop.  Give him time and he’ll turn up with the Fez and then we’ll have Nurse Who instead of Doctor Who.

Another quote brings something else to light that seemed a bit odd:

Doctor: “Pond!  Bring the fish!”  There’s a bowl of goldfish that keeps appearing throughout the episode and after Amy’s instructed to bring the fish with them, Gibbis is seen during the phone call with Rita stealing and eating the fish – why are they so important?  Why did they have Rita’s death conincide with Gibbis eating the fish?  Why parallel those events?

Also, if the weeping angels were really Gibbis’s room, he should have been in line after Rita and before Amy.  He found his room before she did.  He was active; the Doctor did not cut the food supply as boasted at the end of the episode.

Many of the Doctors fears came to a head in this episode, from his room to having to break Amy’s faith.

Doctor, looking in room 11: “Of course.  Who else?”

The TARDIS’s cloister bell can be heard in the background.  What does the Doctor fear?  Losing the TARDIS; losing time and space; losing his place keeping order.  What does the Doctor have faith in?  The TARDIS.  She doesn’t always take him where he wants to go, but she does take him where he needs to go.  She’s the one constant in his life.

Doctor: “I stole your childhood and now I’ve led you by the hand to your death.  But the worst thing is I knew.  I knew this would happen.  This is what always happens.  Forget your faith in me.  I took you with me because I was vain.  Because I wanted to be adored.  Look at you, glorious Pond.  The girl who waited for me.  I’m not a hero.  I really am just a madman in a box.  And it’s time we see each other as we really are.  Amy Williams.  It’s time to stop waiting.”

Back on Earth, in England, we have SADFACE DOCTOR!

He comes to drop Amy and Rory off and then goes about his usual selling points.  Amy has to be the strong one and tell him no, that she wouldn’t accompany him again.

When the Doctor stands in the doorway of the TARDIS, it creaks.  Is this to accentuate how old they are?

As the TARDIS vanishes:

Rory: “What happened?  What’s he doing?”

Amy: “He’s saving us.”

And just like that, faith restored.

It was odd, watching the end of this episode.  I wasn't spoiled for what was coming.  It came as rather a shock Amy and Rory's time was up.  Being the new fan of Who I am, they were my first companions; this is the first time I've witnessed the end of a journey.  But it's really not the end for them.  There's still too many loose ends to wrap up before the end of the season.

N-S6E10: The Girl Who Waited

This was a great episode that could have been a lot better with a little thought.  Minor things, granted, enough to be bothersome buy not enough to detract from the enjoyableness of the installment.

Quotes!
Love the rip on today's generation at the beginning of the episode - hinted at earlier with the mention of the number one destination being the planet of coffee shops.

Amy: “Have you seen my phone?”

Doctor: “Your phone?  Your mobile telephone?   I bring you to a paradise planet two billion lightyears from earth and you want to update ...Twitter?”

Amy: “Sunsets, spires, soaring silver colonnades; it’s a camera phone.”

Doctor: “Glasses are cool, see?”

Are you genuinely promoting glasses or trying to appease the hipsters?

Rory: “Bit of earth, bit of alien, bit of whatever the hell that is…”

Looking through the gallery and commenting on odd alien art - something bubbly.

Amy: “And there he is, the voice of God.”

Are we foreshadowing The God Complex here?

This episode was more about Rory than Amy and it was wonderful being reminded what a sweetheart he is.

Rory: “I don’t care that you got old.  I care that we didn’t grow old together.”

Rory: “Two Amys together, can that work?”

Doctor: “I don’t know, it’s your marriage.”

Doctor: “What’s the nasty Amy done to you, dear?” to the TARDIS.

Doctor: “There can only be one Amy, which one do you want?  It’s your choice.”

Rory: “This isn’t fair.  You’re turning me into you.”

Way to place that moral dilemma on Rory, Doctor.  He obviously knew from the start and passed the blame off, which undoubtedly came up again later when young Amy woke up and asked where old Amy was.

I have to ask why they didn't just give the handbots eyes.  Obviously it needed its head to be filled with tranquilizer guns and no eyes to advance the plot.  Beyond that, it was totally a design flaw that they didn't have eyes.

When Rory left the green anchor room to find Amy in the red waterfall room, he should have wound up in a different time stream from both Amy AND the Doctor.  Again, it didn't happen so the plot could advance, but it would have been nice if they'd kept it consistent.

I loved that for once, FOR ONCE, Amy was focused on Rory.  She told him she loved him before they split to let the saving commence.  For once, she put her faith in Rory to save her instead of the Doctor (because the Doctor couldn't, due to Gen7, but that's beside the point [also, shouldn't Amy and Rory have had residual disease on them when they entered the TARDIS again?  Wouldn't that have affected the Doctor?].).  She (both of them) believe that Rory's the most beautiful man she's ever met, and not just in the physical way.  Also, as an aside, their first kiss had something to do with the Macarena, which is adorable.

When they finally make it back to the TARDIS, Rory kicks the doors open to make his entrance and I couldn't help thinking, "They open out the way!"

A new meme seems to be emerging: Rory dies all the time; Amy's fake all the time.

One of the things that bugged me about this episode was how quickly old Amy changed her gears at the end. She was so desperate to go with them, to keep living, but then when Rory's about to unlock the door and let her in, she tells him not to.  I guess they could explain it away that she traveled so much with the Doctor, she knew deep down that it couldn't happen, but it was still a break in character.

What bugged me the most about the episode was how bitchy Amy was about having to wait a whole 36 years, and that she bitched about it to Rory of all people.  Her waiting for them 36 years has absolutely nothing on Rory the Roman waiting 2000 years.  It was insult to injury and just plain insensitive.  Someone obviously forgot that fact about Rory when they wrote this episode.

Things to think about:

-Why does the Doctor keep giving Rory the screwdriver?  This has happened on multiple occasions and Tennant was so offended when River had the sonic in series 4.  Is there something special about Rory that he keeps getting his hands on it or what?  Are we going to be tuning into Nurse Who in the future?

-How did Amy make a sonic?  Where did she get the parts, how did she know how to assemble it, how did she get it to function?  How does one go about making a sonic from random parts?  Are they all getting Time Heads?

N-S6E9: Night Terrors

This episode is the reason I'm so far behind on posting.  The most meh episode I've seen.  It's got a few stand-out lines, but there's really nothing worth talking about.  Even the confidential had to half-fill itself with stuff completely unrelated to the episode to use its time.

Little things:
Mention of Jim.  Does he happen to be a fish?

For some reason "pantophobia" greatly amused me.

Quotes!

I absolutely loved that they made fun of themselves with Rory in this episode.  They recognized that they've killed him off far too often and let him be exasperated about it.

Rory: “Augh.  We’re dead, aren’t we?  We’re dead - again.”

Rory: “This is probably 1700-and-something.”

Amy: “Yay, my favorite year.”

Doctor: “No, not in the cupboard, why not in there, George?”

Because someone forgot to let Hitler out.  Seriously.  There's too many opportunities to remind people that Hitler's still in the cupboard.

Rory: “This is weird.”

Amy: “Says the time-travelling nurse.”

Doctor: “Stupid Doctor.”  -whacks self in the head-  “Ow.”

My favorite quote from the episode (and one of two things worth watching it for, in my opinion):

Doctor: “I’m not just a professional, I’m the Doctor.  It means I’ve come a long way to get here, Alex, a very long way.  George sent a message, a distress call if you’d like, and whatever’s inside that cupboard is so terrible, so powerful that it amplified the fears of an ordinary little boy across all the barriers of time and space.  Through crimson stars and silent stars and tumbling nebulas like oceans set on fire.  Through empires of glass and civilizations made of pure thought and a whole terrible, wonderful universe of impossibilities.  You see these eyes, they’re old eyes and one thing I can tell you, Alex: Monsters are real.”

Alex: “You’re not from social services, are you?”

Doctor: “He’s a Tenza, remember, he’ll be whatever you want him to be.”

Now there’s a power to abuse.  With how much influence parents have over children already and how they destroy an individual's sense of self with their expectations, that's really sending a message.  I guess George is going to be perfect, then.

And of course, the nursery rhyme.  Because it's not full of plot, nope, not at all.

“Tick tock goes the clock

And now what shall we play?

Tick tock goes the clock

Now summer's gone away.

Tick tock goes the clock

And what then shall we see?

Tick tock until the day

That thou shalt marry me.

Tick tock goes the clock

And all the years they fly.

Tick tock and all too soon,

You and I must die.

Tick tock goes the clock

We laughed at fate and mourned her

Tick tock goes the clock,

Even for the Doctor.

Tick tock goes the clock

He cradled her and he rocked her.

Tick tock goes the clock,

Even for the Doctor...”

Things to think about:

-What’s with the glass eye?  Is it Madame Kovarian's?  Did she hide it away so she could wear that blasted eye patch?