Victory of the Daleks: Rewatch Thoughts
Jan. 7th, 2011 06:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
radiantbabyI skipped 'The Beast Below' as I had a lot of stuff on my plate the last few days and, well, I honestly couldn't think of much interesting to say about it. I don't love it or hate it -- it's just overall a bit meh to me.
As for 'Victory of the Daleks':
[reposted from here at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
dwrewatch, mostly for myself]
You'd think we'd seen enough of the Daleks for a while (especially seeing as how much they cost to be used in the show, since the BBC has to pay the Nation estate for them), but, oh well.
And Mark Gatiss -- love-love-love the guy, (usually) love his writing, but he really can't seem to write a decent Doctor Who episode, can he? Bless.
1. What are your thoughts on the new Dalek design?
I'm probably one of the few people in fandom that doesn't mind them too much. They remind me a lot of the big, colorful Daleks from the Cushing movies (which I adore, FWIW) and, honestly, I've always been a bit weak for bold, bright colors (you should see my house). Not 100% sold on the new body style, but I'm sure it'll grow on me, much like the 2005-2009 ones eventually did. I do also like that they match the new Cushing/Hartnell-esque TARDIS in style as well. (That's something I really do like about S5, actually -- all the lovely colors!). I just can't wait to see what the function of The Eternal is. :)
2. Did you like the WW2 setting for this episode? What about Churchill?
I do love a historical and, while WW2 has been done before in Who, I always like it when it pops up (especially since they do something a bit different with the setting every time). The story really could have been set about anywhere, but I can empathize with Gatiss for wanting to set it in a time period that he's a big geek for. As for Churchill, I liked the idea of him being in the episode and I always love seeing the Doctor geek over historical figures, but as much as I adore Ian McNeice, I felt he was a bit miscast and that threw me out of the story a bit.
3. The Doctor seems to react differently to the Daleks every time they show up. Eleven, though, has clearly lost Ten's desire to make friendship bracelets with them. How did you feel about his reaction to and interaction with the Daleks in this episode? How awesome is it when he beats one with a wrench?
IT WAS TOTES AWESOME. Eleven has always been a bit Seven-ish to me, so it was nice to see him channeling a bit of Ace-cum-baseball-bat, like with the Daleks back in Remembrance. He's got an interesting, sparky temper that I find I enjoy in some weird way. I'm really glad he finally gave up trying to make nice with the Daleks. It's always been a losing battle and for me it sucked to see Ten continually banging his head against that wall. I think Eleven's reaction to them was more realistic, more organic to what the Daleks have put him through. It's still definitely a sore spot for him.
4. Was there ever any kind of logical consensus about why Amy didn't remember The Stolen Earth and whether or not she'd remember it post-s5, or has fandom in general given up trying to figure out what did and did not happen in universe 2.0?
Well, S5 has all that focus on memories -- Amy's in particular -- so that was probably just more set up for that arc? My assumption is that either the crack erased her (and the other villagers?) memories of the whole Dalek invasion or that she was simply distracted having a multi-day, roleplaying shagfest with Rory at the time. And then, with the latter scenario, maybe the Daleks avoided Leadworth because the crack probably scared the little tentacles off them? As for post-S5, it's hard to say. I think we might be looking at a clean slate on a lot of things, like the usual Big-Finale-Reset-Button we've had so often these last few years. We'll just have to see what S6 has to hold for us, I guess.
5. The spitfires-in-space! scene: awesomely ridiculous or just plain ridiculous?
You know, I know the skience was all kind of dodgy (which, to be fair, is part of why I love the show), but I love a good, space dog-fight and I actually like that scene. Maybe it was all the Star Wars and other space films I watched growing up, but I thought it was fun and I know, if I were still a kid and watching it, I would have been over the moon. Pew pew pew pew!
6. What did you think of robot Bracewell and the fact that the bomb inside him was defused by the ~power of love~?
I'm still on the fence with that scene. On the one hand, I can sort of see where they were going with it -- Amy using her human empathy to compensate for the Doctor's alien blind spot in said area, negative emotions of pain versus more positive emotions of love (the latter very alien to Daleks and, by extension, Dalek tech?)...but, on the other, it just didn't seem to really work. It had some cute-and-sweet Amy/Eleven moments, though, so I suppose that was ultimately worth it for me.
+ + +
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
Other things I liked:
+ BRACEWELL! Despite the weird 'power of love' scene, I adored him. That might be my love for Bill Paterson shining through (I love him in Law and Order:UK SFM!) or the enchantment of the lovely cadence of his accent at work, but he was one of my favorite parts of the episode.
+ THE JAMMY DODGER SCENE! I love the whole exchange, even as ridiculous as it was. I especially liked when he said to the Supreme Dalek: 'Don't mess with me, sweetheart'. I dunno, just such a classic Doctor moment there.
+ The Daleks creeping around, with the all the shadows on the walls and such. I don't know, but it made my kid!self squee.
+ 'Would you care for some tea?'. Oh my god, I was still working as a barista at a local tea house at the time the episode first aired and it took all my will not to do imitations of that line at customers. Then again, being an American, I doubt many of them would've even gotten the reference. Still, I [heart] that scene SO MUCH!
+ I liked when the new Daleks killed the old Daleks for being impure. That is so true to character for them and I love that show didn't shy away from that.
+ People complained that Amy didn't get called on the fact that she was wearing a mini-skirt, but I was so happy for NO IN-STORY SLUT-SHAMING. W00t!
Other things I didn't like:
+ Gatiss sidelining the companion from the main action again. Not sure why he likes to do that, but it's a common thread in his Who stories. I might have even wibbled a bit when the TARDIS dematerialized and left Amy and Churchill. Poor Amy, no wonder she has abandonment issues.
+ Some good ideas, but lots of poor execution. Maybe Gatiss needed a beta?
+ I wish they would have played up the more Nazi-Master-race aspects of the Daleks being that the setting was WW2, but maybe that just didn't work with the story?
As for 'Victory of the Daleks':
[reposted from here at
dwrewatch, mostly for myself]You'd think we'd seen enough of the Daleks for a while (especially seeing as how much they cost to be used in the show, since the BBC has to pay the Nation estate for them), but, oh well.
And Mark Gatiss -- love-love-love the guy, (usually) love his writing, but he really can't seem to write a decent Doctor Who episode, can he? Bless.
1. What are your thoughts on the new Dalek design?
I'm probably one of the few people in fandom that doesn't mind them too much. They remind me a lot of the big, colorful Daleks from the Cushing movies (which I adore, FWIW) and, honestly, I've always been a bit weak for bold, bright colors (you should see my house). Not 100% sold on the new body style, but I'm sure it'll grow on me, much like the 2005-2009 ones eventually did. I do also like that they match the new Cushing/Hartnell-esque TARDIS in style as well. (That's something I really do like about S5, actually -- all the lovely colors!). I just can't wait to see what the function of The Eternal is. :)
2. Did you like the WW2 setting for this episode? What about Churchill?
I do love a historical and, while WW2 has been done before in Who, I always like it when it pops up (especially since they do something a bit different with the setting every time). The story really could have been set about anywhere, but I can empathize with Gatiss for wanting to set it in a time period that he's a big geek for. As for Churchill, I liked the idea of him being in the episode and I always love seeing the Doctor geek over historical figures, but as much as I adore Ian McNeice, I felt he was a bit miscast and that threw me out of the story a bit.
3. The Doctor seems to react differently to the Daleks every time they show up. Eleven, though, has clearly lost Ten's desire to make friendship bracelets with them. How did you feel about his reaction to and interaction with the Daleks in this episode? How awesome is it when he beats one with a wrench?
IT WAS TOTES AWESOME. Eleven has always been a bit Seven-ish to me, so it was nice to see him channeling a bit of Ace-cum-baseball-bat, like with the Daleks back in Remembrance. He's got an interesting, sparky temper that I find I enjoy in some weird way. I'm really glad he finally gave up trying to make nice with the Daleks. It's always been a losing battle and for me it sucked to see Ten continually banging his head against that wall. I think Eleven's reaction to them was more realistic, more organic to what the Daleks have put him through. It's still definitely a sore spot for him.
4. Was there ever any kind of logical consensus about why Amy didn't remember The Stolen Earth and whether or not she'd remember it post-s5, or has fandom in general given up trying to figure out what did and did not happen in universe 2.0?
Well, S5 has all that focus on memories -- Amy's in particular -- so that was probably just more set up for that arc? My assumption is that either the crack erased her (and the other villagers?) memories of the whole Dalek invasion or that she was simply distracted having a multi-day, roleplaying shagfest with Rory at the time. And then, with the latter scenario, maybe the Daleks avoided Leadworth because the crack probably scared the little tentacles off them? As for post-S5, it's hard to say. I think we might be looking at a clean slate on a lot of things, like the usual Big-Finale-Reset-Button we've had so often these last few years. We'll just have to see what S6 has to hold for us, I guess.
5. The spitfires-in-space! scene: awesomely ridiculous or just plain ridiculous?
You know, I know the skience was all kind of dodgy (which, to be fair, is part of why I love the show), but I love a good, space dog-fight and I actually like that scene. Maybe it was all the Star Wars and other space films I watched growing up, but I thought it was fun and I know, if I were still a kid and watching it, I would have been over the moon. Pew pew pew pew!
6. What did you think of robot Bracewell and the fact that the bomb inside him was defused by the ~power of love~?
I'm still on the fence with that scene. On the one hand, I can sort of see where they were going with it -- Amy using her human empathy to compensate for the Doctor's alien blind spot in said area, negative emotions of pain versus more positive emotions of love (the latter very alien to Daleks and, by extension, Dalek tech?)...but, on the other, it just didn't seem to really work. It had some cute-and-sweet Amy/Eleven moments, though, so I suppose that was ultimately worth it for me.
+ + +
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
Other things I liked:
+ BRACEWELL! Despite the weird 'power of love' scene, I adored him. That might be my love for Bill Paterson shining through (I love him in Law and Order:UK SFM!) or the enchantment of the lovely cadence of his accent at work, but he was one of my favorite parts of the episode.
+ THE JAMMY DODGER SCENE! I love the whole exchange, even as ridiculous as it was. I especially liked when he said to the Supreme Dalek: 'Don't mess with me, sweetheart'. I dunno, just such a classic Doctor moment there.
+ The Daleks creeping around, with the all the shadows on the walls and such. I don't know, but it made my kid!self squee.
+ 'Would you care for some tea?'. Oh my god, I was still working as a barista at a local tea house at the time the episode first aired and it took all my will not to do imitations of that line at customers. Then again, being an American, I doubt many of them would've even gotten the reference. Still, I [heart] that scene SO MUCH!
+ I liked when the new Daleks killed the old Daleks for being impure. That is so true to character for them and I love that show didn't shy away from that.
+ People complained that Amy didn't get called on the fact that she was wearing a mini-skirt, but I was so happy for NO IN-STORY SLUT-SHAMING. W00t!
Other things I didn't like:
+ Gatiss sidelining the companion from the main action again. Not sure why he likes to do that, but it's a common thread in his Who stories. I might have even wibbled a bit when the TARDIS dematerialized and left Amy and Churchill. Poor Amy, no wonder she has abandonment issues.
+ Some good ideas, but lots of poor execution. Maybe Gatiss needed a beta?
+ I wish they would have played up the more Nazi-Master-race aspects of the Daleks being that the setting was WW2, but maybe that just didn't work with the story?
