Illustrated thoughts on Doctor Who 4x12

[kaliha]

Oh, so it's not the end of the world then?

The Doctor had made his hair look extra excited on purpose

That's a rare sight this days

A milkfloat. An actual milkfloat. Although this one isn't selling the bread and pop that our local milkie does.

How strange, a long and lingering shot of the not!Fighting Hand

I wonder why that is? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm............

People these days, they'll take anything not nailed down

But pinching the entire earth? That's just cheeky. And leaving a few boulders is just a kicker.

Meanwhile, back on earth

Wake up Marfa!! You've got a world to save, again.

To be honest, you can't really tell if it's more or less untidy than normal.

There's only so much tidying Ianto can/will do. I do note that Jack's moved his desk again. If only he spent as much time saving the world as he does reorganising his office. Mind you, Sarah Jane's place doesn't look much better

Wilf knows more than he realises and blames it on aliens

Because, let's face it, it's going to be. His comment to Sylvia about the aliens taking the wimmins first did make me chuckle. And in true Dalek-basing style he's armed with a bat (although he's going down the cricket bat route rather than a baseball bat).

Ooh, lookit all them planets

However it does appear that only the Earth has large bodies of surface water and continents.

The Doctor is impressed by the Ocean's Eleven audacity of the planetary theft

Well, there's only one thing to do when there's a crime, report it to the police. So it's off to see the Judoon Platoon on a different moon.

Ianto does what a lot of the rest of us would do when we've been planet-napped

Enjoy a nice little bit of Paul O'Grady. It's surreal but it does highlight the fact that even when the biggest alien event that even happens to the human race happens people carry on like normal. You still have a million channels of rubbish and chat shows and porn filling the airwaves, people will still be blogging OMG! Look at the sky! and people will still be off down the pub to get sloshed.

We may not get Rhys but we do get a mention of him

And that's better than nothing. I'm a bit perturbed by the fact Gwen's wearing a red shirt. People who wear red shirts meet an unfortunate end in Sci Fi. It's like a law or something.

Do you like my gun?

It is an impressively large gun. Rose has definitely come prepared. And is again wearing exactly the same clothes. I presume there is a point to this and it's not just BBC Wales budget cuts. I'm assuming that for Rose all the meetings we're having with her is happening on the same day for her but with days/weeks/months of time passing for Donna. A bit like what it was like for Madame De Pompadour on the 'slow path'.

Sadly all the phones are working denying Ianto the chance to snark

In fact, Ianto is very unsnarky all the way through this episode. Although it's good that when the shit hits the fan Martha immediately calls Jack (well, he's the second person she calls, obviously).

Not the voice you want to be hearing

Yes, this is all terrifying and everything. But I couldn't help but think of this youtube video:

Thanks fandom, you've completely destroyed my fear of the Daleks. Well done.

The only sentient being to managed to kill Jack for real

It's no wonder Jack thinks that there's no hope for them. He's faced down the Daleks and lost before. And considering Jack thinks that "Torchwood is ready" they are woefully under-prepared for something like this. Then again, how do you prepare for something like this.

Poor Sarah Jane

She must have thought that she's never see this. It must be a terrible realisation to face.

This is a very nice looking bit of special effects. Yay!

Of course, this is just a normal evening in London. Looting, drinking in the streets, giant flying saucers and running and screaming...

Another finale, another swanky new Dalek

Although I have already seen one in a fancy dress shop in Cleethorpes weeks before now. It's another one of those terribly-kept secrets the production team are so fond about. They use them to keep the more secret things secret.

DoctorDonnaFriend

What the heck was going on with the sudden alien language. And a really silly sounding on at that. (Although I have heard the local kids chanting it when they've been playing out this week so I think I can see the reasoning behind it). Donna joins the ranks of women in Who who own fab coats.

Hey that's where Owen fought Death and won!

It's amazing what a pouffe and a bit of blue mood lighting can do to a place. And bless the Doctor, why go around a bit of furniture when you can jump right over it.

Make the most of your glasses porn!


Now that's pretty!

Why would anyone want to nick Clum? (Unless the Daleks are Peter Kay fans?)

He does do a good shocked face


I really do like this special effect

That's two that the Mill have done that I liked this week. This is good.

Do you get the feeling this key will be very important next week?

Do you think it slots into a massive red reset button?

Project Indigo isn't the sexiest looking teleportation device.

In fact it looks suspiciously like a parachute. How on earth do they shrink it down to the size of a wristwatch?

He's also got his 'gutted' face down to a tee

Oh Jack, I've missed you on Doctor Who, I really have.

Ianto mirrors the fan reaction

Well a proportion of them anyway.

Insane Dalek is insane

Oh Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! what on earth happened to you? You think they could have built him a nice new shell to keep him safe in. He looks a bit vulnerable.

I am sorry for your loss still to come

Oh Donna, the foreshadowing hasn't been good for you this year. I noticed quite a few people commenting that Donna's heartbeat sounds like the Sound of Drums, but I couldn't really hear that (I blame my rubbish telly, the speakers are going), however, I did think that the 'heartbeat' (which I assume was supposed to be Donna's sounded a bit off. A bit doubled.

Bring back your shiny blue box!

The Doctor loves to make friends and influence people. This is not going to reflect well on him at some random point in the future when he needs help from the Shadow Proclamation.

There's Daleks on the streets of London!

Actually, I think I've used that caption before. Sorry.

Wilf Mott - hero!

Oh Wilf, where on earth did you get a paintball gun from? And clever you for thinking to impair their eyestalks. I am greatly impressed by your quick thinking. In fact you'd be a perfect companion. How are you with running?

Damn you Dalek!

They got little hoverboots to get up stairs and now they have little sonic windscreen wipers to clear their eyestalk. Damn them and their evolution!!! Mind you you can still snap off the eyestalk, but that's a little bit too close combat for my liking.

At least great big guns still work on Daleks

Good thing Rose happened to happen by with a great big gun.

This week's Rose is a bit of a combination

She's got flashes of S1 and S2 Rose, plus the more Doctorish Rose.

Harriet Jones, saviour of the world?

Oh Harriet, I've so missed you. But I think there is something amiss. Her 'identification' looks suspiciously like psychic paper. it looks like a photocopy. It certainly doesn't look legit. I don't know, maybe there's nothing to it and it's just to create a bit of a visual joke, but still I am suspicious.

The Doctor's secret army

And what a motley bunch they are. And somewhat scattered too. I wonder if Rose knows the truth about Jack. I know she mentioned him last week in Donna's parallel world, but Jack could still be alive in an alternate world. Does Rose know that Jack is immortal and that she brought him back? I wonder if it'll even be brought up? Hang on. She does know he's alive, the Doctor told her in the CiN special. But surely she must wonder how he managed to get from 250,000 back to 2008 (just like the rest of us)? And since when did Sarah Jane have a son? you know, all those important questions.

Jealous Rose is jealous

or put out that she couldn't join in the video chat. It all depends on how you look at it.

The world may be ending but Jack is still on the pull

Don't you ever change Jack.

Harriet Jones, saving the world

But how did she develop a subwave network? She can't have done it all alone? oh the suspicions, they are mounting.

Ianto points out the flaw in Harriet's plan

The flaw where Harriet is sure to die. It's only a little flaw.

I was honestly expecting Team Torchwood to have a little 3-point plug socket in the side of the Rift Manipulator


Hands up who called it?

Shame, the BBC missed a trick there. How cool would it be to ring and actual number and it go straight through to Martha's voicemail (on account of it being Martha's phone)?

Torchwood, subtle as always

Mind you, thanks to the Daleks people are unlikely to notice the fact that massive electromagnetic rings were emanating from the water feature.

It was felt by people watching with me

that this bit was a bit silly and the special effects were a bit bod. I felt that that was a bit harsh.

It's a time honoured way of getting a signal

I feel i ought to pint out here that Rose asked her 'Control' (presumably Mickey with a couple of laptops attached to the machinery in alt!Torchwood) to 'shift' her to some new co-ordinates, so she is using the Ghost Shift technology to get around then?

That's an unexpected new feature of the TARDIS

It doesn't usually do that when it's going into the future. If it did the Doctor and Donna wouldn't have any eyebrows.

The suspicious part of me thinks that this is part of a trap

transferring control over to Torchwood makes their completely secret completely obvious to Dalek eyestalks. I hope all the UNIT bases are a little bit better disgusied.

The Cult of Skaro come to spread the good word

Only they won't take a "no" for an answer.

And the Daleks know who she is

More than just a cheap joke?

An why shoot out the camera?

Like I said it's all suspicious (also worth noting in this bit that Martha's movements on the screen don't match her actual movements)

Oh hello! Fancy seeing you lot here!!

Jack could look a tiny bit happier to see him. I did laugh when the Doctor went "oh that must be Torchwood". What gave it away, Doctor? Was it the massive sign behind Jack? Hmm?

And who's the pretty boy in Torchwood

The Jack Harkness charm strikes again. You know what, I was sat on the sofa with this massive dopey grin on my face seeing this lot all together again. Well, sort of together anyway.

Who is the Three-fold man?

Oh Dalek Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!! what have you seen? How is the Doctor three-fold? (Does this have anything to do with the rumours that we'd see the Eighth and Ninth Doctor's with our current chappy? Rumours that appear pretty impossible on the face of things but is the only thing that could fit based on the stuff we know, from rumours, lies and the misinformation to have come out of BBC Wales).

hello there peeps!

Oh, it's Davros, not Stavros (ask yer mum). He's actually just as creepy as I remember.

Millions of kids have nightmares for about a week

And it's only abut 7.30 too.

The Daleks play Catch the TARDIS

But like Dick Dastardly, they're not very good at it.

Gwen and Ianto realise the game is up

I said that Gwen shouldn't have worn red.

Jack gets his teleporting skillz back

Lock up your sons and daughters! Jack Harkness is back on the prowl. Well, once he's done saving the world anyway. It's amazing how a quick chat with the Doctor gets him all gee-d up to save the world.

Jack Harkness - what a guy



This is a bit of an unfortunate cap

Unless Mr Tennant glows like that all the time. Maybe he does, and we've just not noticed.

David does a good line in shocked faces.

This rates about an 8 on the Tennant Shocked Scale.

Surprise Surprise!

You thought she was on the other side of a void you couldn't cross, but we've brought her here tonight!

And so begins an epic run

It's like the end of a Romantic Comedy or something. I was honestly waiting for a Dalek to drop from the sky onto one or other of them. (I know, it makes me such a bad fan)

But instead the Doctor got a glancing blow off a Dalek ray gun

But it's okay, it was only a glancing glow. Look, hardly any of him was greened out. He'll be okay, won't he? Won't he? gah!

Jack Harkness - always late to the party

If only he'd turned up a few moments earlier.

O hai Rose

Nice to see you again. Don't mind me, it's just a flesh wound. get us a cuppa, I'll be fine, y'know the free radicals and all.

Poor Donna

I don't think the Doctor's had his "oh by the way, if I get killed it's not permanent, but I could end up with two heads" talk with Donna just yet.

Rose is a bit gutted at the outcome of her mission

I hope she remembered to wear waterproof mascara.

Noooooooo, stop glowing!

You've got a world to save and Daleks to insult. Don't make us get Donna's slapping hand out. Your fighting hand has no chance against it.

Noooooooo, Sarah Jane

I was ready for a cliffhanger scream of music right about here.

I'm going down fighting just like Owen and Tosh

Oh Gwen, you're so fierce! She also looks a lot more comfortable holding a gun than Ianto does.

D: ): )':



What did I just tell you about not glowing?

Donna, please ready the slapping hand.

Nooooooooooooooooooo!

I can't wait until next week to find out what is going on. It's ages until Saturday, even on Tuesday when I'm writing these. Pah.

In Conclusion
I was a little bit worried about having so many different characters shoehorned into the episode that the plot would suffer in the face of all the cameos, but it actually all worked rather well. It would have been nice to have Martha and Sarah Jane in the TARDIS too, and I hope we do get the chance to see all of them there at some point next week.

I've got this weird fluttery tummy. It's the same sort of excitement I used to have as a kid when the Doctor's changed. Don't get me wrong, I adore the Tenth Doctor greatly, but I'm very excited by the idea of a new Doctor; what would he be like? Would he be rude and ginger?

And I still have suspicions over Harriet Jones. I really hope that they are unfounded. I get the distinct feeling that they're not though and that makes me sad.

8.5/10

Comments

[bana76.livejournal.com]

Something's wrong and I can't reaaaad!

[llembas.livejournal.com]

I was about to post the same thing but your icon is making me LOL!! I don't even know why I think it's so funny. BUT IT IS! I don't even know who that guy is!



(also, kali! I could read most of it, it was only the bottom half that was messed up for me!)

[bana76.livejournal.com]

Haha, I'm glad it made you laugh. That's Kenneth from 30 Rock. He's pretty awesome. :D

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

I fail at HTML.

Back to HTML school for me.

[bana76.livejournal.com]

I don't even want to read it anymore. TOO LATE!

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

you're such a hater! OMG!

*emo!tear*

[catyuy.livejournal.com]

I loved this.
But couldn't read most of the last part because the code was still in the post and I got all confused.

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

Yeah sorry about that. I obviously still fail at HTML (although it was perfect on the preview, so instead I'm blaming LJ)

[steviesun.livejournal.com]

I loves your icon. Loves it so completely. But I have watched Labyrinth too many times.

[cheesygirl.livejournal.com]

Yup, the last part of the post isn't showing up. Fixy soon pls?

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

fixed it. I blame the daleks.

[lixa-turner.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. I was very suspicious about Harriet Jones, and then felt terribly guilty when the Daleks came to kill her. I dunno - the thing that really jarred for me was when she told them not to use the key, and said "and that's an order". I don't think she would order them like that.

[aryas_zehral]

Hi.

You have one of those "irreprable invalid mark-up" messages.

Also, yes I do think that key is going to slot into "a massive red reset button". *smile*

S.

[aryas_zehral]

While I was scrolling away I noticed your comment "Oh Gwen, you're so fierce! She also looks a lot more comfortable holding a gun than Ianto does." and my thought was that she did get that gun handling lesson from Jack back in S1 while Ianto, by the time he started handling guns, would probably have gotten a bit distracted while having a private lesson with Jack. Lol.

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

Well Gwen was hardly completely focused n the lesson with Jack Harkness and his 51st Century pheromones in such close proximity.

[lm-jillybean.livejournal.com]

Like you, those watching in our house were convinced Harriet was in league with the Daleks or something. Still am.

I would love to see Nine. I'd love to see anyone but Neil Morrisey bearing the legend of 'Doctor' on this show. If Robert Carlyle appears and goes a bit Northern and miner-strike-ish on us I might combust into a small pile of goo.

(Oh - and Ianto would only be mirroring my fan reaction if he impaled himself on a spike while simultaneously garrotting Jack. But my Torchwood hate grows more irrational by the day . . . I think I need help)

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

"A milkfloat. An actual milkfloat. Although this one isn't selling the bread and pop that our local milkie does."

I'm still in awe that you guys have MILK DELIVERED. Hell, ANYTHING DELIVERED. And I'm jealous.

"However it does appear that only the Earth has large bodies of surface water and continents. "

We have a VERY WET planet :D

FIX THE REST! :D I want to read it :D

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

It's all fixed. I don't know hat went wrong. It looked fine on the preview.

We get loads of stuff delivered still, it goes to show how inherently lazy we are :D

[alawston.livejournal.com]

The subwave network was, I think, created by that bloke off Keeping Up Appearances that survived Voyage of the Damned, she mentioned his name. And half the secret army are scattered between Ealing and, um, Chiswick. I've not been one to moan about the range of locations depicted by the new series, but even I have to snark at a loyal band of the Doctor's friends scattered across the Richmond branch of the District Line...

Good catch on the psychic paper parallel though, I remember thinking something was a bit off with that gag but couldn't put my finger on it.

[steviesun.livejournal.com]

I'm very excited by the idea of a new Doctor; what would he be like? Would he be rude and ginger?

No, because Sam's still doing Robin Hood. And I don't want a ginger Doctor unless it's Sam. And I'd love to see him do a rude Doctor. It would be very fitting after everyone being so rude to Much.

Sorry, can't help it all this talk of a new doctor and just so want Sam to play the Doctor at some point.

[chicklet73.livejournal.com]

I am STILL laughing at the Dalek Rickroll.

(and I am still denying the regeneration LA LA LA I SAW NO GLOWING)

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

Rick Astley is this year's REAL big bad.

[sal101010.livejournal.com]

I've read a honking great big spoiler that I refuse to believe cause it's pants, but a lot of your suspicions are things that I read there or that I thought too. Only three days to go and a wedding reception to escape from. I'm seriously considering asking the bride and groom to make sure there's a tv there!

[dune-drd.livejournal.com]

Poor glowy Doctor, I really hope he gets better.

Btw, got your letter today and I'll definetly participate if I find those 6 additional people... this might take a while, though :/

[glitteraddict89.livejournal.com]

That street where The Doctor and Donna land the TARDIS is the road just up from my Aunty and Uncle's house in Cardiff!

I really liked this episode, and yes, jealous Rose is jealous. I knew something bad was going to happen with the slo-mo running... that's why you should *never* run in slow motion. Tut tut.

Harkness charm indeed!