Doctor Who Re-Watch - The First Doctor 1963-1966

 Last year we celebrated the 50th anniversary and 800th episode of Doctor Who.  This year, I have decided to watch the entirity of the show in order from the beginning.  Although I have seen (as much as you can see the episodes, since currently 97 of them are missing) nearly every episode of Doctor Who, I had never watched them in the order they were first shown in.  I just finished with all three plus seasons of the First Doctor.

We start out with William Hartnell in the role of the Doctor.  In the very first story he basically kidnaps two school teachers who burst in on him and his granddaughter (who happen to be aliens from another planet and time).

Grandfather and I don't come from Earth.  Oh, it's ages since we've seen our planet.  It's quite like Earth, but at night the sky is a burned orange, and the leaves on the trees are bright silver.  -  Susan (The Sensorites)

Ian and Barbara (the school teachers, both from Coal Hill School, which is where current companion Clara also teaches) and Susan (the Doctor's granddaughter) are the first companions we meet in the show and travel with the Doctor throughout the first season into the second.

As I rewatch these episodes in order, I will go through and point out some of the interesting things throughout each Doctor's runs.

best story:

The Romans 

For me, this was a hard decision.  There were so many stories I love from the first Doctor's era.  I ultimately chose to go with The Romans because I felt that it was the best of the historicals, a genre that basically only occurred in seasons of the First Doctor.  The historicals were stories that took place in the past, and apart from the Doctor, his ship, and his companions, featured no science fiction elements.  All of the historicals are, in my opinion, great stories, but this one is my favorite (and we have the whole thing, unlike many of the historicals which are either all missing or are missing episodes).  This was the first episode that intentionally attempted out and out farcical humor, and it completely succeeded.  At the same time, there were some harrowing and dark moments in Ian's storyline, and the four episode story wove them together masterfully.  This is a great example of early Doctor Who and a ton of fun to watch!

worst story:

The Web Planet

This one was not at all hard for me to choose.  This was the only story that I actively dislike from the first Doctor's run.  While others may complain about The Sensorites and The Gunslingers, I found many admirable qualities in those stories.  I can't say the same about The Web Planet.  A nonsensical story with the most ridiculously cheesy aliens a show about cheesy aliens has ever had, The Web Planet borders on un-watchability.  The sound that the giant ant aliens (Zarbi) make reminds me of a car alarm going off relentlessly for hours at a time.  And the butterfly/bee aliens fight them by yelling the name of the Zarbi in a high-pitched tone for no discernible reason (ZAAAAAAAAR-BI!).  The Doctor's ring gains magical powers, never seen or heard of again, and at six episodes long, the story drags on much longer than it probably needs to.  I wouldn't hate you if you skipped over this story on your watch of the First Doctor.

best TARDIS crew:

Ian, Barbara, and Vicki

This might be a bit of a controversial opinion, but this is when I think that the show really began to work.  Susan is one of my favorite characters conceptually, but I don't think the writers really knew what they were doing with her, so too often she became the damsel in distress, limited to screaming for Ian or her grandfather to save her.  The moments when she actually did something (the reason I love the Sensorites is that Susan actually has something to do!), she shined, but the writers couldn't seem to make it work until they replaced her with Vicki.  Vicki was often what Susan should have been.

Let me get this straight.  A thing that looks like a Police Box, standing in a junkyard, it can move anywhere in time and space? - Ian (An Unearthly Child)

The Doctor's curious, that means we stay.  -  Barbara (The Space Museum)

Why have I got to keep pretending I'm a boy?  Why can't I be a girl again!? - Vicki (The Crusades)

best companion departure:

Susan

Although Ian and Barbara's was probably more emotional of an exit for me (as I've said, I don't think Susan was properly utilized in the show), I still have to go with the first companion departure here.  I'm sure it was a shock for first time audiences to realize that these people wouldn't travel with the Doctor for the duration of the show (but there would be much larger shocks to come!).  Susan's departure led to one of the best moments of the show, as an emotional Doctor made the decision to allow his granddaughter to have a life outside of the constant traveling in the TARDIS (which for the duration of the First Doctor had no way for the Doctor to know where they would end up each time they dematerialized, the travels, from the Doctor's perspective at least, were completely random).

During all the years I've been taking care of you, you in return have been taking care of me. You are still my grandchild and always will be. But now, you're a woman too. I want you to belong somewhere, to have roots of your own. With David you will be able to find those roots and live normally like any woman should do. Believe me, my dear, your future lies with David and not with a silly old buffer like me. One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye, Susan. Goodbye, my dear. - The Doctor (Dalek Invasion of Earth).

most surprising moment:

companion deaths/the doctor regenerates

I have to split this one, because I think the most surprising moment for modern watchers (especially those who have primarily only watched since the regeneration of the series in 2005) is the death of two companions in The Daleks' Master Plan (and yes, I totally consider Sara Kingdom a companion).

















Katarina joined the TARDIS crew after Vicki decided to stay behind and become a part of history (The Myth Makers).  As a Trojan servant, Katarina was completely unequipped to understand what she had become a part of by joining the Doctor and Steven.  She viewed the Doctor as a god (to be fair, so did most of the Greeks in The Myth Makers, who mistook the Doctor for Zeus) taking her to the Place of Perfection (or the afterlife, sometimes referred to as the Promised Land?  Is this a clue that the episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan have been found, Mr. Moffat?).  The difficulties of writing for a character who was so out of time (she didn't even know what a key was) caused the writers to decide to write her off.  They did so quite dramatically.  Taken prisoner in a ship by a stowaway, Katarina either accidentally hit the airlock button jettisoning herself and her captor or sacrificed herself in order to keep the kidnapper from using her to stop the Doctor, Steven, and Bret from working against the Daleks.

 
However, Katarina was not the only companion to die in this story.  After Katarina's death, Sara Kingdom, a space agent, gets caught up with our heroes, The Doctor and Steven, and although she thinks they are traitors at first, she quickly realizes that they are working to stop her boss, the master of the solar system, who is working with the Daleks to take over the universe.  Sara ends up joining the TARDIS crew and even travels throughout space and time before the Daleks are finally defeated.  (Although Sara is only in this one story, she has multiple trips inside the TARDIS and is in more episodes than many that are considered companions, so for me, she unquestionably deserves the title).  Once the Doctor, Steven, and Sara Kingdom foil the Daleks, they are left with the doomsday device the Daleks had been attempting to use.  Sara refuses to leave the Doctor to deal with it alone, and that leads to her undoing.  Whereas the Doctor's physiology allows him to face exposure to the ravages of the Time Bomb, Sara is not so lucky.  She ages to death in just seconds, another casualty to the master plan of the Daleks that the Doctor thankfully thwarted, though at great cost.

As dangerous as traveling with the Doctor can sometimes be, very few companions have actually met their end while with the Doctor.  Two, however, did in season 3, and we have known ever since that your safety while adventuring in the TARDIS is not guarenteed.

However, I think for the audiences watching the show originally, especially in a time before spoilerific media coverage and things like Twitter, the most shocking moment was yet to come.  For the original audiences, there only was one Doctor.  Now, we're quite used to the convention that Time Lords have the ability to regenerate, but the original audiences had no idea that such a thing was possible, much less that it was about to happen.  Ben and Polly watched as the Doctor we had grown to love over the last three plus years slowly changed into someone completely alien from the sometimes grumpy, always arrogant, but still loving grandfather that had won the hearts of everyone who had watched the show.

misc thoughts:

Change had already been a large part of Doctor Who before the Doctor himself changed.  The fact that the producers were able to navigate the first few changes in companions plays a big part in why this show is still on today (with a few years off in between!).  Replacing Susan with Vicki and then Ian and Barbara with Steven, the show nailed the first companion changes.  Replacing Vicki would prove to be more difficult (as we would quickly go through Katarina and Sara Kingdom before spending some time with Dodo, which was the most disappointing companion entrance and exit in show history in my opinion*), but the fact that the show succeeded with the first replacements meant that it could do so again (and would before the First Doctor's time came to an end as Ben and Polly proved to be excellent companions both in their short time with the First Doctor and the rest of their time with the 2nd).

That is the dematerializing control, and that, over yonder, is the horizontal hold. Up there is the scanner; those are the doors; that is a chair with a panda on it. Sheer poetry, dear boy! Now please stop bothering me. - The Doctor (The Time Meddler).

Season 3 is probably my favorite of the First Doctor's seasons, despite the fact that so much of it is missing.  We owe the fans of the show a lot as we are still able to experience the show on some level due to the audio of every episode having been recorded by enterprising fans early on in the show's run before there were such a thing as VCRs, and the work of fans in using telesnaps and promotional photos as well as photoshop and CGI to piece together reconstructions of the missing episode.  The Loose Cannon reconstructions are incredibly watchable and serve as an enjoyable way to experience the episodes that we can't currently actually see.  Although I'm holding out hope that more of these missing episodes will be (or maybe have been) found and will be made available soon.


Until Next Time, I am already into my re-watch of the 2nd Doctor's run (which is going to include my first time seeing the recently recovered 2nd episode of The Underwater Menace!).  As soon as I get to the 3rd Doctor, I'll fill you in with my thoughts of Patrick Troughton and the 2nd Doctor!

*Dodo unceremoniously runs into the TARDIS believing it to be a real police box and is completely unconcerned by its true nature.  Then for her exit, she is hypnotized by the evil robot WOTAN and after being cured by the Doctor heads to the country to recuperate.  We never see her again.

Doctor Who, The Wedding of River Song, first thoughts

What a fantastic finish.  Quickly and easily dispatched the season long death of the Doctor storyline and set up many, many more stories to come.

"Silence will fall when the question is asked."

And the question, well, it has been there from the beginning, hidden, as they say, in plain sight...

The answer has actually been toyed with all season as well.  I mean, there is the obvious answer in terms of "What is the Doctor's real name?" but more fundamentally, who is the Doctor?

A group of people, after all, viewed him as a weapon.  They stole the baby of his companions to turn into a weapon to use against him.

The Doctor frightened them.

Another group has turned the meaning of the word Doctor into "great warrior."

Despite what the Doctor believes he stands for, there are those who view him as something different, and even he must acknowledge that all too often his attempts at a peaceful resolution fail.

But what about all of those that he has traveled with?  Surely they are better for having known the Doctor?

Adric - dead

Rose - lost in a different dimension

Donna - unable to remember  the Doctor or she will die

Okay, maybe not.

The Doctor has begun to doubt that he is good for those that he comes into contact with, so much so that he left Amy and Rory behind and traveled for a time companion-less.

But, on the other hand...

When River refused to kill him, setting up the alternate reality where time was forever stopped and all of history co-existed, River had set out a distress signal, informing the rest of time and space that the Doctor was in trouble, wouldn't anyone help him?

The response was overwhelming.  The Doctor has helped so many people through his long life, and they were all willing to return the favor.

Craig, in last week's episode, made the case that despite the dangers and even sometimes the horrible outcomes, traveling with and knowing the Doctor, having those adventures, would be better than the alternative, and after all, the dangers would be there regardless.

At least the Doctor gave them a chance.

I was reminded of the terrific episode Turn Left in series 4 when Donna was presented with an alternate reality where she never met up with the Doctor.  Instead of saving the world with Donna in The Runaway Bride, the Doctor died and wasn't there for all of the events of Series 3 and 4.

The world was certainly worse for wear.

The idea of who the Doctor is, what the Doctor means, not just to earth, but the entirety of time and space is an important question, and, perhaps, the oldest question.  A question with enormous repercussions.

Outstanding job, Mr. Moffat, I am ready for whatever is next.

A few other things before we're done, that makes two straight seasons that ended with a wedding; although this one was a little less formal than the last, I still got a little emotional.

The Brigadier in The Sarah Jane Adventures

I definitely think my favorite moment was the wonderful nod to Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, portrayed for so long by Nicholas Courtney who passed away on the 22nd of February, one month before the events portrayed in the season finale.  (For more on the significance of the date of the Doctor's death, check out this post by James McGrath).  The fact that this revelation led to the Doctor finally accepting what he had to do was quite touching.


The use of the Tesselector to escape from his death was quite brilliant, made more so by the Red Herring of the Flesh running throughout the season making many of us overlook this solution.

Finally, the question I have is whether the Doctor traveled for nearly 200 years from when we saw him at the end of The God Complex to when he returns to Lake Silencio in the Tesselector.

If you recall, in The Impossible Astronaut, the Doctor claimed to be over 1100 years old as opposed to over 900 years old.

I'm asking the question because of rule number one... The Doctor Lies.

What are your thoughts?  Did the Doctor really take 200 years to say his goodbyes to people like Craig?  Have a few final adventures sans companions?

Or was he lying, and it hadn't really been that long?

That's what I'd like to know.

Until Next Time, while we await the Christmas Special, there is no better time to head back and acquaint yourself with some of the history of the Doctor.  There were 8 of them before Series One with Christopher Eccleston, after all.  (James McGrath suggests the same thing!)

Doctor Who, Closing Time, first thoughts

First off, what are the chances we can get Craig as a full time companion?  He was fantastic, and this episode showed off the comedic talents of James Corden (who returned as Craig from The Lodger) much better than the episode last season which focused more on the Doctor than it did the flat mate.

This time, while the story was ostensibly about some rogue Cybermen trying to re-constitute themselves and then take over the world (YOU WILL BE LIKE US!), but actually, it looked at the idea that's been thrown out these last few weeks indicating that the Doctor was a selfish bastard and that his companions (partners) were worse off for being with him.  And it looked at that idea from the opposite side, that the Doctor needs his companions (partners) both to save the day and to remind him of why it is all important.

Craig argues that the Doctor needs others, and the Doctor certainly needed Craig.

And Craig needed the Doctor.

Not to save him from the Cybermen, because actually Craig does that himself.

But to realize that he can be a good father, that he has that in himself, and he did have it in himself.

Craig is nearly killed by a cybermat

who, by the way look way scarier than they did in classic who...

From the 2nd Doctor era...

From the 4th Doctor's era

but Craig is more concerned about what the Doctor did with Stormageddon (which is by far the coolest self given nickname ever...) than with the creepy thing that nearly killed him.

And while he was nearly turned into the Cyberleader, his concern for Stormageddon allowed him to not only break free of the Cyberman-making process, but also infused their ship with that dreaded thing known as emotion (which is a way better weakness for the Cybermen here in the new series than Gold was in the old).

Craig gives us the argument that the Doctor needs his companions, and while the ending might not have been as happy for Rose or Donna, we see that Amy and Rory's life seems to be going quite well since they left the Doctor.

And after Craig and the Doctor defeat the Cybermen, the Doctor finally heads off towards the end he knows is coming (and gets the Stetson from Craig!)

Which gives us the teaser to next weeks finale showing us that it is indeed River who is in the astronaut suit as well as the answer to why she doesn't remember that she was the one in the astronaut suit when the impossible astronaut kills the Doctor: the Silence.

I'm going to be honest, I have no idea how Moffat will get out of this one, but I'd guess the title has something to do with it...

The Wedding of River Song

I think that it will be epic, but as to exactly what will occur?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Episodes this reminded me off (besides The Lodger) were old Cybermen episodes such as The Tomb of the Cybermen, a 2nd Doctor story that introduced the Cybermats and Revenge of the Cybermen, the last story of the first Tom Baker (4th Doctor) season, which also featured Cybermats (and Cybermats attacking companions or partners, in this case, Sarah Jane Smith).

Until Next Time, I'm sure that the finale will give us a lot to talk about.  See you next week.

Doctor Who, The Doctor's Wife, first thoughts

Sorry, Blink.  Sorry Steven Moffat.  I have a new favorite episode of Doctor Who.

Neil Gaiman's fantastic episode, The Doctor's Wife.

Considering that many of us believe that River could be married to the Doctor, when the title was released, we thought that some more information about the Doctor and River's relationship might be revealed (and I would argue that perhaps it was, but more on that later), or perhaps it might mean that there would be revelation about the Doctor's Time Lord wife, assuming he had one at one point that led to his having a grand daughter, Susan Foreman, who traveled with him when the show began back in 1963.

However, the title seems to be referring to the TARDIS itself, and after travelling together for 700 or so years, the title probably works at least in common law purposes.

House, the junkyard planet outside the universe (voiced brilliantly by Michael Sheen, who played Tony Blair in The Queen and David Frost in Frost/Nixon, and David Frost was, of course, just referenced a couple of episodes ago) lures the Doctor to the planet in order to eat the TARDIS.  First, however, House must remove the matrix from the TARDIS and he places it instead in Idris.

This allows the Doctor and the TARDIS to finally have a face-to-face.

There were many beautiful moments throughout the episode as the Doctor, called My Thief by the TARDIS, and the TARDIS, as always, called Sexy by the Doctor, got to finally have the conversations which for 700 years had been too one sided.

In one fantastic moment, the TARDIS points out that she chose the Doctor as much as he chose the TARDIS, stealing him as much as he stole her.

But the best bit was confirmation of something that I had expected for quite some time.  While the Doctor doesn't always go exactly where (or when) he intends to, the TARDIS always makes sure the Doctor ends up where (and when) he is needed.

(Interestingly enough, another bit of confirmation that we got in this episode was that Time Lords can regenerate into the opposite sex.  Is a female Doctor in the future?)

I also loved that we saw a little more of the TARDIS interior this week, even if it was just a never-ending repetitive corridor.  But the running down those corridors was very reminiscent of Classic Who.

And we also got a return of the TARDIS console from the David Tennant era, so that was nice.

And a TARDIS re-materializing inside that console room.  A TARDIS, incidentally, designed by a young viewer in a contest on the British children's show Blue Peter.

I like to think of it as a TARDIS convertible.

The TARDIS herself was a little out of the regular flow of time, and therefore kept referencing things that hadn't quite occurred yet, such as the smell of rain hitting the dust.

Something she kept repeating as she died might be quite important, "The only water in the forest is the river."

If you did your homework from a few weeks ago, you'll already have re-watched the two part intro of River Song, Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead, so you'll know that River's consciousness is housed, and kept alive, in the Library computer, and you'll know that the Library is referenced as a forest.  Therefore, the line "the only water in a forest is the river" signifies to me that perhaps River's future isn't as bleak as it appears to be from our standpoint.

Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon really highlighted the anguish that River was feeling, since every new experience in her and the Doctor's relationship from the Doctor's perspective is actually the last from her perspective.  And she knows that one day she will see the Doctor and he will have no idea who she is, and she has said that that might just kill her.  We, of course, know that in a way it does.  But maybe it doesn't have to.

Her consciousness is still alive, so maybe there is some hope.  The Doctor saved her consciousness by placing it in the Library, not knowing how important she would become to him, maybe after he knows how important she is to him, he will be able to revive her in some other way and they will finally be able to continue their relationship in a more linear fashion.

Considering that River is in prison for killing a good man and an upcoming episode is entitled A Good Man Goes to War, which is also the mid-series finale, I have a feeling that very soon a lot more about the River/Doctor relationship will be clear to us.

I can't wait to see what happens next.

For an episode of the past to rewatch, I recommend School Reunion, which will give you a chance to remember Sarah Jane Smith but also features a great moment between Sarah Jane and Rose where they talk about the Doctor's relationship with the TARDIS, and, if you can get your hands on it (it has been released on DVD), The War Games, the last story of the second doctor.  It is the story where the name Time Lord is revealed and it is the only other story to include the distress cubes shown in this episode.

Until Next Time, seriously, I believe that was my favorite episode of Doctor Who ever.  Thank you, Neil Gaiman.

Doctor Who, The Curse of the Black Spot, first thoughts

Amy Pond, Pirate

 As always, spoilers if you haven't seen the episode yet...

So, Pirates!

Arrrgh, and such.

Let me start by saying that I did enjoy the episode, it was fun.  The twists were classic (I loved the Doctor continually realizing his theory was off after receiving new information, very much like this series is treating us, I'm sure our theories will also get continually revised. If you watched LOST, I'm sure you understand.)

However, one thing really bothered me, and I wonder if it is just a scene that got cut for time, but the pirate that the Captain's son cuts to keep him at his post (the pirate at the far right of the picture above) just disappears after that. When the storm was raging and Rory and Amy were attempting to furrow sails or whatever it is sailors do I was wondering where the other experienced sailor happened to be, because we never saw the Siren take him.  A little annoying.

Again, I assume that there was a scene showing his fate that got cut for time, and we'll probably see it on the DVD release, but it took me out of the episode some.

The other thing that sort of bothered me, but at the same time didn't really surprise me, was how trusting the Doctor was with these supposedly bloodthirsty pirates.

I can buy that they weren't showing themselves as particularly bloodthirsty or menacing under the circumstances, their entire crew had been picked off one by one in less than a week, but that doesn't change who they fundamentally are.

Captain Avery might be different at heart, and the Doctor, I believe, recognized that, but the point remains, that the Captain had gunned down hundreds if not thousands of innocents as a pirate.  Mysteriously disappearing pirate even makes that clear to Toby, Avery's son.

And yet, the Doctor gives the Pirates a space ship to menace all of the galaxy.  Not sure that was the Doctor's best move ever.

But, I still can kind of believe he would do it.  He believes in people, sees the best in them, and there is good in Avery, I believe, perhaps brought out further by his son, but that doesn't mean there is good in the rest of the crew, and now they are all aboard that space ship, and I have to wonder if the good Captain Avery can keep the bloodthirsty lot in line as they traverse the stars.

Something tells me we'll be seeing these pirates again.

Those two quibbles aside, like I said, it was a fun episode.  I loved the twists throughout, and the explanation for the Siren.  Good stuff.

Plus, in the background, we were given a few more hints that all is not what it might have seemed.

There was the return of strange eye patch lady who can apparently open windows from where (when) she is to wherever (whenever) Amy is.  Last week we saw her in the orphanage, conveniently peering out of the door that would turn out to be where the Little Time Lord was staying.

 

Creepy!

This week, she looked in on them while they were in the magazine, in the center of the ship!

Let the speculation begin on who she is, and where she is watching from.

Is Amy kept captive somewhere and reliving these experiences?  Is all of this somehow a dream in Amy's head while she is captive (I really hope not)?  Are they somehow in Amy's mind watching from inside?

I don't know, but I am sufficiently intrigued since they are appearing this season with more regularity thus far then the crack had last year.

The other thing that struck me as significant was that Rory seemed to be brought back to life by some other means than Amy's less than effective CPR.  She and the Doctor had given him up.  He laid there after they had given up for quite some time.  I believe something else revived him, not Amy.

Something else is going on, something that has the power to completely escape the notice (or at least the knowledge) of the Doctor (because he does seem to know something is off kilter, but I don't believe he has any idea of what).

Whatever it was that brought Rory back from near death might also be what is somehow messing with Amy's body, keeping her simultaneously pregnant and not pregnant, confusing the Doctor and his scanners.

Or, of course, in a few weeks it could all turn out to be something completely different and I will return saying, "Ignore all my previous theories!"

As for episodes from the past to watch this week, I highlight, just for fun, a classic storyline featuring the Doctor and Pirates, The Pirate Planet, the second story from Season 16, which was the Key to Time series; the entire season had an overarching story line where the fourth Doctor and Romana are seeking out pieces of a powerful artifact.  The Pirate Planet is about a planet that has been turned into a pirate ship.  It was written by Douglas Adams, best known as author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and the episode features his signature humor as well.  Check it out, it is on Netflix instant viewing.

Until Next Time, speaking of Sci-fi writers writing Doctor Who episodes, Neil Gaiman's episode is next week, and apparently we will meet the Doctor's mother!  In an episode entitled The Doctor's Wife!  Should be fun!

Doctor Who, Day of the Moon, first thoughts

Remember, Spoilers!


What the....!


Okay, I did not see that coming.

Obviously, as a Time Lord, we are meant to assume that this is the Doctor's child.

And the episode itself showed us that the little girl is supposedly Amy's.

So, we are meant to extrapolate those two things into believing the the child is the child of Amy and the Doctor.

Sorry.  Don't buy it.

Especially with the great Amy and Rory stuff in the episode.

I'm a huge fan of Rory Williams, a huge fan of him ever since he dedicated himself to protecting Amy in the Pandorica for 2000 years.

"I was there." - The Doctor speaking about the Roman Empire.

"So was I" - Rory the Roman.

And the fact that he has access to those memories, and that Amy is aware of that dedication as well, makes it impossible for me to believe that Amy and the Doctor are going to procreate.

Especially considering the moment we witnessed between River and the Doctor.

How heartbreaking was that?

"First time for everything!" - The Doctor

"And also the last." - River Song

It's strange, because in a way it is also exciting.  For us, it is a beginning.  River and the Doctor's relationship has moved on to a new level.  For her to kiss him like that means that their relationship is that type of relationship for her, meaning that it is about to be that for the Doctor.

Which gives another reason to think that there is no chance that the little girl Time Lord is the daughter of the Doctor and Amy.  Not only are Amy and Rory rock solid, but the Doctor and River appear headed that way also.

What if the little Time Lord is the daughter of River and the Doctor.  And, as I postulated last week, River is the daughter of Amy and Rory.  Meaning that the picture Amy saw was a picture of the little Time Lord's mother as a baby.  River Song, as an infant, in the arms of her mother (the Little Time Lord's Grandmother), Amy Pond.

I like that theory.

Anyway, a few of the other things in the episode that were interesting,

I loved the ways they remembered their encounters with the Silence.

And the way they solved the problem of the Silence was awesome.  Love when the show uses huge historical moments in such clever ways.

So, it appears that the Silence aren't really the mystery of the series, the child Time Lord is.

The Impossible Astronaut.

Great red herring.

Also, how great was the Doctor being imprisoned in Area 51?

Pretty cool.

Not really sure what episode might help in understanding, but I can tell you what episode it made me think of...

The Doctor's Daughter, from Season 4.

Until Next Time, Can't wait for next week.  The Doctor, Pirates, and mermaids.  Cool.

Doctor Who, The Impossible Astronaut, first thoughts

As River Song would say,

SPOILERS

IF you haven't watched the episode yet, perhaps now is not the time to read this post.  It is written with the understanding that you have already seen the episode.

So.... if you're still here....

I'll get started.

And there really is no other place we can start other than where the episode really got going...

With the death of the Doctor

When it was announced that one of the main four characters would die in the opening, speculation seemed to center on River and Rory.

I believed all along that it would be the Doctor.

My theory was that we would see where the Matt Smith incarnation of the Doctor would die.  Meaning when Matt Smith finally left the role, it would come back to this.

Rory died last year (brought back first as an Auton and later thanks to the rebooting of the universe courtesy of an exploding TARDIS), so I didn't think it would be him.

And we all know when River dies, as it happened in Series 4 way back when we and the Doctor first met her.  (Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead, and I'm wondering now if the title of the first episode was a little more significant than we realized.)  More on that in a little bit.

Obviously Amy is safe, so clearly that left the Doctor.

And the Doctor it was. But he is killed again right in the middle of his regeneration cycle, meaning he doesn't regenerate and is dead for real.

Ignoring for the moment what an inconvenient loophole that is for Time Lords, I find it hard to believe that this is really the end for the Doctor.

As Amy pointed out, "Time can be rewritten," and that seems to be an important theme in Moffat's work.

Hell, the Christmas Special this year was primarily based on that idea.  (And I'm loving that it is on as I'm writing this.  Thank you BBC America.)

Then there is the fact that the Doctor went to this death quite willingly, admonishing Amy, Rory, and River to let it happen.

"I've been running, faster than I've ever run, and I've been running my whole life.  Now it's time for me to stop."

Admittedly, that sounds a little final, so maybe the Doctor even believes this is for real; that he has to actually die, but time, as we all know is quite wibbly-wobbly, and there is more to this than that of which we are aware.

Therefore, the question is raised, how will they get around this?  I have a feeling that that is what the majority of the first half season arc will be about.

The other question raised by the frantic opening, is what exactly the Doctor was hoping to accomplish with his frenetic running around attracting the notice of Amelia Pond throughout history (and remaining oblivious to Rory even as the Doctor in a cool fez waved to him from the middle of the Abbot and Costello movie)?  Clearly the Doctor was up to something with all of that running faster than he's ever run before.

Just before the Doctor is killed, we discover that this Doctor (the Stetson wearing Doctor, Stetson's are cool) is actually two hundred years older than our Doctor, and after we see his death, we find out that our Doctor is blissfully unaware of the future that supposedly awaits him, giving Amy, Rory, and River knowledge that he doesn't have.  Knowledge that will apparently set in motion the death the of the Doctor, but presumably save the world as well.

Having a Doctor from 200 years further in the future set up an exciting moment, for the first time ever in our sight, and probably the only time in their relationship, the Doctor and River each know all about their relationship, whatever exactly it is.

Later in the episode, River opens up a little bit to Rory about how difficult their relationship is.  When River first met the Doctor, he knew everything about her although she had never seen him before.  When the Doctor first met River (in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead) she knew everything about him (including his true name) even though he had never seen her before.  They've been traveling in opposite directions the entire time, except for this brief moment.  The end of the Doctor's life (although still before the end of River's), so he has already met the River who had never met him.  He and River, for the only time ever, are approximately in the same place as far as their relationship is concerned.  Too bad it doesn't last very long, and a few remembrances of Easter Island and Jim the Fish are all that we get to see because their are bigger fish to fry or dams to build, since that apparently is what Jim the Fish is doing.  (I apologize for the fish fry pun.)  It is a great moment, made even more poignant when River talks to Rory about the difficulty of traveling in different directions.

"The trouble is, it's all back to front.  My past is his future.  We're traveling in opposite directions.  Every time we meet, I know him more; he knows me less.  I live for the days I see him.  But I know that every time I do, he'll be one step further away.  The day's coming when I'll look into that man's eyes... my Doctor, and he won't have the faintest idea who I am.  And I think it's going to kill me."

Which, of course, in a way it does.

River Song is a fantastic character, Alex Kingston plays her masterfully, as that monologue was expertly given, and I love how we are riding along with the Doctor in this relationship, learning a little bit more about River with each meeting, knowing some things about her future that she does not, but recognizing that she knows a lot more about the Doctor's future than he does, and that we really still don't know who she is at all.

Now, of course, Amy and Rory know some things about the Doctor's future of which he is unaware as well, and that sort of shakes up the dynamics inside the TARDIS a little bit, Amy and Rory having such important information that the Doctor isn't privy to.

Not sure how long that will play out, especially since the episode ends with Amy trying to kill the little girl/impossible astronaut.  I'm pretty sure the Doctor won't let that attempt go without an explanation.

Right before then, Amy announces she's pregnant.  But she seems to give it a lot more import than just a normal announcement of impending birth, as if there is something sinister about this pregnancy.  She tells the Doctor that this is information that can't wait, which gives it a lot of import considering everything that is going on at the time, including her knowledge of the Doctor's impending death.

Why do you think that is?

Here's an interesting thought, considering that Amy's last name is Pond, a body of water, what if River (also water related, hmmm) is actually the daughter of Amy Pond?

I don't know.  Seems plausible though, doesn't it?  There is clearly something hugely (no pun intended this time) important about the baby in Amy's belly.

I think that the reason she felt she had to tell the Doctor about being pregnant is because the Silence in the bathroom told her to.  "You must tell the Doctor what he needs to know and what he must not know."  Obviously what he must not know is about his impending death, and apparently what he needs to know is about her pregnancy.  Since the Silence is somehow controlling Amy, making her tell him, that could explain the urgency with which she tells him at such an inopportune time.

Speaking of, what were your thoughts on the Silence?

An enemy that you forget as soon as you stop looking at them are pretty intriguing.

At least they suit up.  They are classy if deadly, scary aliens.

Last season, we were warned that "The Silence Would Fall."

We still aren't exactly aware of what that might mean, but its possible that silence already has fallen, but since you are only aware of the aliens while you see them, most of the time we forget completely that these aliens are everywhere.

Much like the tunnels behind the warehouse our fearsome fivesome (with the outstanding addition of Mark Sheppard, who played Badger on Firefly, Romo Lampkin on BSG, and has also been in The X-Files, Star Trek: Voyager, Dollhouse, Chuck, and Supernatural, in other words, pretty much every awesome sci-fi thing ever) arrive at towards the end of the episode.

Which, of course, brings us to the interesting discover that Rory and River make down there.

Look familiar?

It appears to be the same TARDIS room featured in last season's episode The Lodger.

Where the Doctor got a roommate.

This is what I'm really loving about Moffat's tenure on the show so far.  Everything matters.  The title of the very first River Song episode seems to play into what's happening now, almost three years later.  What seemed to be an episode outside of the greater arc last year apparently has everything to do with the arc this year.  Every little thing matters.



With that in mind, I figure that at the end of each of these first thought posts I'll suggest an episode (or three) that is worth a closer rewatch based on what we just saw.

Clearly, for this episode, that is The Lodger, but the first two River Song episodes, Silence of the Library and Forest of the Dead, might be worth a gander as well.  You can't really go wrong with those outstanding episodes anyway.

Until Next Time, the series is off to quite a breathtaking start, and I can't believe it will be a week  before we find out what happens next.  Remember, Look Behind You!

Some More on Sarah Jane

I am still feeling shock and sadness at the passing of Lis Sladen.  There have been quite a few tributes in the past day that really get to the loss many of us are feeling.

I realized as I thought about why this has hit me so hard that Sarah Jane Smith has been a part of my life practically my entire life.

I first was introduced to Doctor Who by watching random Tom Baker episodes on PBS (usually completely out of order, which meant the greater stories the episodes were a part of were completely lost on me, but it was fun and slightly scary so it didn't bother me too much that I never really knew exactly what was going on), and on many of those episodes, Sarah Jane was the companion.

A plucky reporter, that despite being human and (gasp!) female, often showed the same bravery and abilities as the Doctor himself, Sarah Jane was a strong character that stayed with me throughout my life after the Doctor and I lost touch (or PBS stopped showing episodes).

When Doctor Who returned in 2005, I was very excited, but didn't have BBC America, and therefore was late getting back to the party.  I always meant to, but it took Netflix putting all of the first four seasons for me to get caught up in time for season 5.

However, a couple of years after the return, Russell T. Davies started a spin-off series featuring my favorite companion, Sarah Jane Smith.  The first season of The Sarah Jane Adventures actually aired on SciFi (now known as SyFy), and that was a channel that I had.

I actually watched The Sarah Jane Adventures before I watched any NuWho. 

It was as if she had never left my television screen.

Sarah Jane started on Doctor Who in 1973, and as recently this season has been on The Sarah Jane Adventures.  Elisabeth Sladen has been playing this character longer than I have been alive, and I have been a fan of this character and connected to this character since I was a child.  It is rare that a person is tied to one character for such a long period of time, and when someone has been connected to a character for such a long period, it shouldn't be surprising that myself and so many others feel so connected to her and therefore, feel this loss so keenly.

Three of the still living Doctors who have had Sarah Jane as a companion, Tom Baker, David Tennant, and Matt Smith, have paid tribute.

From Tom Baker's website

Sarah Jane dead?  No, impossible!  Impossible.  Only last week I agreed to do six new audio adventures with her for Big Finish Productions.

She can't be dead.  But she is: she died yesterday morning.  Cancer.  I had no idea she was ill; she was so private, never wanted any fuss, and now, gone.  A terrible blow to her friends and a shattering blow for all those fans of the programme whose lives were touched every Saturday evening by her lovely heroic character, Sarah-Jane Smith.

Happy memories with Lis.  Here we were having fun during a filming break.
 Picture © James Clevett

Lis Sladen was very important to me, you know. When I joined the little world of Doctor Who, Lis was already a star.  She had an enormous success with Jon Pertwee.  She was good pals with the Brigadier, our beloved Nicholas Courtney; she knew all the regular directors.  She was adored by Barry Letts, the producer who cast her in the role.  She always said she was Barry's girl.  It was for that reason she decided to leave the show.  But it was not necessary at all.  The fans adored her, Philip Hinchcliffe, our new and glamorous producer, adored her, so did David Maloney, her favourite director.

Terry Walsh, the regular stunt man adored her.  Once in deep, dark Wooky Hole caves Lis was almost swept away in a small boat, fifty feet from a terrifying black hole that looked like the entrance to hell.  In a flash Terry Walsh dived in and caught the boat and all was well, thanks to the devotion of Terry.  Lis was safe and and the show could go on.

Here we are on Bessie right at the beginning of my time on Doctor Who.  
Picture courtesy of the BBC

So when I replaced Jon Pertwee, it must have been an anxious time for Lis; it was a very anxious time for me.  Following in the big footsteps of Jon was daunting.  Tom Baker?  Never heard of him.  And so we started on the first story under Barry Letts as director.  We did the location stuff first and I just obeyed orders; running about, with the Brigadier and that silly car Bessie Trotwood, I think it was called: too small for me, but also in its own way a "character". Jon loved cars.  

 

But back in the rehearsal room things were quieter and there was time to put in little details, time for Lis and me to get acquainted, time for me to try and make a little mark, so to speak.  And Lis laughed at my silly antics; yes, she did, she laughed me to success.  We both came from Liverpool, that small detail helped.  We both loved old movies.  And quite suddenly Lis and Ian Marter and Tom Baker were a trio.  It is so consoling when one is sad and bereft to remember the good times, the laughter, the glamour; yes, the glamour: we three switched on the lights at Blackpool!   A very great honour.  We performed a little melodrama directed by (guess who?) yes, David Maloney! And now Lis was adored by Ian Marter and Tom Baker too.

 

Switching on the Blackpool illuminations.  Picture © Blackpool Council

 

And it never ceased. And in the evenings Lis, would simply disappear back to wherever we were staying and the rest of us would often be raucous!   And too soon she decided to leave; no fuss at all, all was calm.  And Philip Hinchcliffe gave her lovely farewell party at the Hilton.   Those sweet memories of happy days with Lis Sladen, the lovely, witty, kind and so talented Lis Sladen.  I am consoled by the memories.  I was there, I knew her, she was good to me and I shall always be grateful, and I shall miss her.

From David Tennant

I just can't believe that Lis is gone. She seemed invincible. The same woman who enchanted my childhood, enchanted my time on Doctor Who and enchanted generations who have watched her and fallen in love with her – just like I did. I feel very honoured to have shared a TARDIS with Sarah Jane Smith, and I feel very lucky to have shared some time with Lis Sladen. She was extraordinary.

From Matt Smith

What struck me about Lis was her grace. She welcomed me, educated me, and delighted me with her tales and adventures on Doctor Who. And she also seemed to have a quality of youth that not many people retain as they go through life. Her grace and kindness will stay with me because she had such qualities in abundance and shared them freely. I will miss her, as will the world of Doctor Who and all the Doctors that had the good pleasure to work with Lis Sladen and travel the universe with Sarah Jane.

Finally, in closing, it seems appropriate to show Sarah Jane's farewell scene from Doctor Who.  She asks the Doctor not to forget her, small chance any of us could.  She also says she will say hello to the Brigadier, which is a wonderful moment, considering that the Doctor Who universe just lost him as well.

Farewell Sarah Jane Smith, farewell Lis Sladen, thank you for all you have given us.

For Sarah Jane

Sarah Jane Smith, the Doctor's truest companion, was brought to life by the amazing talent of Elisabeth Sladen, who passed away suddenly today.  The last companion of the third Doctor (probably my overall favorite Doctor)

 
and the first companion to Tom Baker's iconic, scarf wearing fourth Doctor (the first Doctor I ever saw on television, and the intro to the series for an entire generation)

Sarah Jane Smith was Doctor Who to many many people.

With the return of the series in 2005, Sarah Jane returned to the series in the David Tennant episode in Series 2, School Reunion.

The return of the popular character led to Sarah Jane getting her own spin-off show, The Sarah Jane Adventures, which has run for four fantastic and award winning seasons.

The Sarah Jane Adventures saw David Tennant guest as the tenth Doctor in the third season, and saw Matt Smith guest as the Doctor in the fourth season in an episode that also featured the Doctor's companion that directly preceded Sarah Jane, Jo Grant.

By also being a part of the 20th Anniversary Special The Five Doctors (which had a different actor playing the first Doctor since William Hartnell had passed away), Sarah Jane has been a companion alongside all but the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth doctors.

Longtime fans of the show are no doubt feeling a great loss today.

I know that I am.

Sarah Jane Smith, you will be missed.

Rest in peace, Elisabeth Sladen.  My thoughts and prayers are with your friends and family who are feeling this loss even more greatly than your many fans.