Thoughts About Davros, Daleks and All Things Donna
I’m almost a week behind on Who because last week I was out of commission for most of the week. I still plan to write about “Turn Left”, but probably more as a look at the character of Donna in general. But tonight I’m finally sitting down, steeling myself for misery and watching last Saturday’s UK ep.
I’m being very kind and putting a TON of spoilers behind a cut-tag. A lot of random thoughts about “The Stolen Earth”, blatant speculation about Saturday’s finale, and pretty much the entire two series of Torchwood. Oh, and all the other shows that John Barrowman and Billie Piper are in. You lot had better be watching “Secret Diary of a Call Girl” on Showtime, right? However, I’m not as kind as you might think I would be towards Rose in the following missive. So if that offends, *shrugs*.
- I wonder who got the fun of deciding whose name went after who’s this week in the opening credits. I mean, obviously David Tennant would be #1 and Catherine Tate would be #2 as main Companion (sorry, but she is.) But isn’t John Barrowman a little more famous than Freema? And Billie Piper and Elisabeth Sladen must have previous deals in place to have last billing. Or something. It’s probably weird that I’m obsessing about title credits. Maybe that’s a news thing.
- Seeing the whole gang together, all on one show, was just amazing. I have to admit I haven’t watched all of Sarah Jane’s Adventures on Sci-Fi yet, and I’ll be the first to admit I’m a relative Who newbie. But I didn’t realize until I saw the surviving Torchwood members together how much I grew to love that show too.
- It’s a bit maddening that the TW characters got more character development as secondary characters on another freaking show, though. I mean, Gwen’s scene on the phone with Rhys said more about their relationship than 12 freaking eps that largely dwelled on the “love triangle” aspect.
If TW doesn’t do well in its new incarnation (and I’m honestly hoping on one level that it doesn’t, since I think Jack and Ianto’s relationship’s about to be thrown out like bathwater, and that really bothers me) I would like to see Gwen in the Whoverse more. Eve Myles deserves the chance Freema got this series to establish her character as more than a rejected love interest to a dreamy man.
- BTW, has anyone written any smutty Jack/Sarah Jane fanfic yet? Links? Please????? Score one for the cougars.
- I’m actually going to see Gareth David-Lloyd at Dragon*Con this year. I hope I get the chance to tell him how happy I am that Ianto loves trashy TV too. If you ever miss Johnny Carson, go looking on YouTube for guys like Jeremy Kyle and Parkinson and, IMHO, Ant and Dec. *ducks from flying tomatoes*
- There is no way that Billie Piper walking down a street with a big-ole gun is not awesome. Although anytime I see her walking on a street, I will now forever be reminded of this video. Damn you, Joe!
- John Barrowman, if you ever find this through a Technorati search or something, please, please, I beg you — do NOT let the BBC put you on one more reality show. You need to be in another drama. You could read the phone book and every straight woman or gay man on earth would tune in, but you NEED to find a starring role in something like “Jekyll” — something edgy and possibly risky for the good-guy image. And I say this as someone who watched every week of “I’d Do Anything”. You do a great job presenting too, but you actually have the chance to make the next step.
- *pauses to cry for five minutes over the “exterminate” scene. Hands BAFTAs to JB and ES, who pretty much eliminated much competition in the supporting actor categories*
- I was previously looking for where I could buy an inflatable Dalek like the one crowd-surfing at the end of this incredible Orbital mix of the DW theme.
However, I am fairly certain that if I shared my apartment with a Dalek, I would never sleep again. Seriously. It would be like being stuck in a 1-bedroom with my worst ex ever, or being forced to be in the cast of UK Big Brother. Which is what my personal version of hell will be like in the afterlife. *shudders*
- How jarring was it to go from Jack and SJ, who were basically saying last rites, to Donna in the TARDIS, who has no idea in hell what she’s about to meet. Dontcha think Rose could’ve given Donna more than two words last week? A girl needs a little warning beyond “darkness” mumbojumbo.
You’d also think that whilst the Doctor and Donna were sunning themselves pre-”Midnight” that he might have sat her down and filled her in on the basic history, beyond the amount he’d obviously discussed Rose with her OC. She knows much more now than she did as the bride of long ago. She’s even seen more of his future than anyone has, except Rose and her connection to the TARDIS.
Credit should be given that Donna handled the naivete very well. She just accepts that there’s a lot she’ll never know and is okay with that. *starts thinking about fanfic again*
- All the talk this week on the forums is about how dicey BP’s accent was last week and how much it improved this week. It didn’t bother me that much last week, but Billie finally showed the chav Rose we knew this week. But she’s changed. Michael, are they planning to write books about her backstory and what happened between these years? I know we’re getting a little of it here, but that would make some great book fodder.
BTW, if you want to meet my polar opposite on most things in modern Whoverse, check out Michael’s blog. I say that with love, because he’s seen much more Who than I’ve any comprehension of. And we’ll never agree on CT, I’m afraid.
- Speaking of whom…I think I like Donna best when an alien species is treating her like dog crap and she looks in their eyes and sets them straight on who she thinks they need to be paying proper attention to.. I think this is why the Doctor is treating her like an equal in a way we didn’t see with Rose for ages. She’s a human who has earned his respect, and there don’t appear to be tons of those around. And that always ends up getting him into trouble…
- Oh, Harriet. I thought you were going to turn into the Doctor’s human enemy, like I thought Luke might until the end of “The Poison Sky”. Thank you for not being evil. I thought someone might try to make a political statement, since Harriet was very much modeled upon HRC at one point.
- If you are a classic Star Wars fan and you aren’t watching DW (I’m talking to you, yes, you) remedy this now. Davros = the Emperor at his most evil, which is mostly in the books.
- I am going to sue the BBC for the heart attack they just gave me with the Dalek and grandpa and Rose. Okay, no I won’t, but damn you RTD! That was just mean.
- *cries for 10 minutes after the scene where the Doctor goes quiet and Donna finally gets really scared*
- Chain thought — I’m actually finally getting really, really excited about the X-Files movie. Scared at what madness Chris Carter will dredge up this time, but at least he didn’t write the script. There will be a post on this later.
- *Laughs when Rose is jealous of Martha. Hahaha. Drinks one for Martha and other brainy women everywhere* This whole thing is very ironic, except that you know she’ll be the one who saves the day in the end. Or at least that would be the obvious route. It’s obvious that he’s going to need something that only she possesses from the TARDIS link.
- After the last five minutes, I am now convinced that RTD is evil, evil, EVIL. Well done, but goddayum, you really are going out all-guns-blazing.
And you should’ve let Rose at least hug him first, evil Dalek scum. You know he’s not freaking dead.
- I have a feeling I should be a lot more afraid of Davros than I currently am. I got the complete terror over the invasion, and frankly this ep will be murder on conspiracy theorist types who see the same thing happening now. But that’s not a debate for this blog. I’m not sure if the Dalek super-protos somehow failed in conception, or if I just need to go back and watch the origins of Davros. I suspect it’s #2.
I have now progressed to talking to fictional characters, so before I devolve into a torrid Mary Jane fanfic involving Jack, Ianto and a really great hour or so inside the TARDIS, I should stop. Or at least let y’all write one for me in the comments. Creativity and smuttiness encouraged. Collaborative writing at its best!
EDIT: Now seen this week’s Confidential, which told me 1) David Tennant’s shaggable factor went up about 100 points with his new black hair, and I didn’t think that was possible, 2) Peter Davison is seriously hot in this tame geeky way 3) the guy who voices the Daleks is really cool, and 4) RTD is really, really evil. But if you’re a Ten/Rose shipper, you’ll love the end. *rolls eyes*
