Bowties Are Cool! (ELEVENTH HOUR SPOILERS!!)

[jjpor]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ELEVENTH HOUR - DON'T READ UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET SPOILED!!

Okay, so after the third watch of The Eleventh Hour (yeah, that's right), I've managed to scrape together some semi-coherent thoughts on this. Don't expect anything other people haven't already observed, probably more eloquently, but here goes:

Normally when I squee over NuWho (which I have occasionally been known to do, believe it or not), it's usually over the oldWho fanwank that they manage to shoehorn in. I love that stuff - Doctor montages, random continuity references etc - it makes me feel validated or something. Or something. And I'll admit I did squee fairly hard over the little multi-Doctor sequence towards the end of this, and possibly even harder over the oldschool Sontaran and Sea Devil in the little monster montage just before it. Yep, my old buddy Linx demonstrating that Moffat, at least, isn't scared to remind us that Sontarans weren't always so convincing looking, or indeed so bright blue.

That shouldn't surprise people who've ever read any posts I've ever made about Doctor Who. What is perhaps slightly more noteworthy is that the wank wasn't the thing that made me squee hardest in this episode. Yes, that's right - Eleven is, as he will never tell us again, Da Man. Not as much Da Man as Clyde in SJA, of course (silly!), but certainly coming in a distant second. ;D

Okay, because I'm rapidly turning into the sort of old curmudgeon who derives pleasure from complaining about things, a couple of things I wasn't so keen on to begin with. Everybody's been bashing the title sequence/theme tune, and I'd like to stand out from the crowd on that point, but I really can't. I mean, it's not as if I loved the existing opening titles that much to begin with, so I'm not saying the new green/fiery/lightningy time tunnel is a step down - it just doesn't do much for me. The new theme tune...well, I'll be honest, I've never liked NuWho's theme tunes, going back to 2005 - I don't like the TVM theme either, for that matter. Something about bombastic, orchestral arrangements of the Who theme just rubs me up the wrong way (insert Harkness-esque double entendre here). I was hoping for something more stripped-down and aggressively electronic and weird-sounding. FWIW, I did like it better than the previous tune...when it eventually kicked in, but the extended intro left me cold a bit. Sorry, but if you can't hear the du-dum du-dum, du-dum du-dum like Simm!Master's worst ever hangover, then it just isn't the proper Doctor Who tune.

Which brings me to my next point. Murray Gold - why?! Just why?! He was positively restrained by his own standards, but there were a couple of points (notably that bit with the duck pond for some reason) where he made me think I was watching some sort of gung-ho Michael Bay action movie. I almost expected Eleven and Amy to start walking slowly towards the camera in Team Torchwood arrow formation as big, shiny, phallic fighter planes soared overhead...

Ahem. Anyway, now that I sound like the kind of cranky old duffer who complains about overloud incidental music on TV (I am - see above!), and I've made you think I maybe didn't like it by pouring my bile all over the place, on with the stuff I did like...

ALL OF THE REST OF IT!!! XD XD

Er, short reaction post, eh? Seriously, to elaborate; I loved this episode. I was sort of looking for faults with it when I first watched it, out of some misguided subconscious idea that that's what us oldschoolers are supposed to to, but it's won me over on the subsequent viewings. Seduced me, if you will. Ahem. I loved it, I confess. And I haven't said that about a Who episode since, oh...probably The Unicorn and the Wasp. I liked and admired Waters of Mars, Midnight, Turn Left and Forest of the Dead in between, but I didn't watch them with a big, stupid, squeeful grin on my face.

Unicorn and the Wasp??!!! I hear you say. Okay, it wasn't an all-time classic of Who, and neither to be fair was The Eleventh Hour. But they were FUN! They gripped me and entertained me and made me laugh and didn't annoy the hell out of me even once, and where NuWho's concerned that's a rare achievement indeed. In fact, this might be Moffat's weakest story to date (might!), but to say that suggests that it wasn't good, or enjoyable, or clever, and it was all of those things in its own way.

I think I said in my first brief reaction that this was no great shakes story-wise, as indeed it was not. As a lot of people have pointed out though, this wasn't supposed to impress us with it's dramatic strength or the cleverness of its plotting or even a genius high concept (all things Moffat's become known for); it was supposed to introduce Eleven and his new companion Amy Pond and also make us laugh and scare us a little along the way, and it did this admirably.

To be fair, the story itself was something of a Steven Moffat's Greatest Hits. The whole concept of the Doctor leaping forward through Amy's life was very Girl in the Fireplace (my least favourite Moffat story, believe it or not!), the corner-of-the eye thing and the emphasis on childhood fears was very Blink. The coma patients (a coma ward in a little country hospital?!) were like the patients in The Empty Child. The Doctor scaring off the alien threat purely on the strength of his reputation was very similar to the moment in Forest of the Dead (but very differently played!). And so forth. I don't think that was really important in this introductory piece where the plotty alien-invasion stuff wasn't really the main emphasis. I'll be expecting more in the other eps, though - okay Steve?

What was interesting were all of the little bits that were reminiscent of an RTD season opener/finisher, but done with a twist. If I was an unkind, fanatically RTD-bashing sort of person (me?), I might almost claim that Moffat was gently taking the piss out of the Eleven origin story Rusty would have written had he still been the showrunner. We had the bombastic opening sequence, which proved completely irrelevant to the rest of the story. We had the technobabble saving-the-world-by-laptop bit, and the celebrity cameo, and the big, grandstanding Doctor-faces-off-with-the-aliens finale. Except...the laptop plan actually kind of made sense, and relied for its success on Eleven actually being clever and resourceful rather than vigorous handwaving. And Patrick Moore was kind of funny. And Eleven confronted his foes with a smile and a bit of cocky swagger rather than Lonely God man-pain. And it all worked, and I didn't feel cheated by any of it. Not even once.

Which brings me to the man himself. The boy Smith. He was a bit good, wasn't he? Don't you think? ;D I'm not quite so far gone yet as to be inherently disturbed by the idea of the Doctor being played by and actor who's younger than me, but he was very much an unknown quantity going into this. I can't think of anything I'd seen him in before I heard of his casting. The spoiler clips did something to ease my uncertainty, but there was still that doubt going in. Silly me. He was great. He was the Doctor. That's all I can say really. I was a little bit reminded of the first time I saw Robot - the way Tom Baker just bounces in, firing on all cylinders from the get-go so that you're just forced to give in and stand back, dazed, basking in his self-evident awesomeness. Smith had that effect on me. No; I'm not saying he's the GREATEST DOCTOR EVAR! or anything silly like that, but he did have a hell of a good introduction. Walking straight through/obliterating Ten's image like that , though, was a bit harsh! Naughty Moff!

I also like the way Eleven is written. He is, as promised, bonkers, but he's also fun. No angst. Yet. He loves what he does - he knows he's good at it, as well, and loves that too. His arrogant swagger towards the end of the episode was just great - I like my Doctors to be aware of their own badassedness, provided they don't veer off into full-blown would-be-godhead as Ten seemed in danger of doing at times. And there's more to him than meets the eye. What did all of that business with the screen at the end mean? Your guess is as good as mine, but it's clear that Eleven is keeping something close to his chest, from the audience and also from Amy.

Ah, Amy. Karen Gillan was a bit good too, don't you reckon? I'm fascinated by her face. No, not like that! (although...) It always seems to be doing something. To pull another oldWho comparison out of the air, it reminds me of Mary Tamm - constantly moving and reacting, so that you can see her character's thoughts written there even when her mouth is saying something quite different. All of those little eye-rolls and frowns - very expressive and also quite hilarious at times (in a good way!) And heartbreaking in the bit towards the end when she thought the Doctor had left her again.

And Amy's an interesting character. As others have said, there's something not quite...normal about her, and that's partly down to her personal circumstances, I suspect, and also partly down to her childhood brush with Eleven. I like that everyone in her village knows her as a local "character", even if she is trying her best to be "grown up" ("I can fix that," says Eleven, in one of his best lines). And her feelings for the Doctor, kiss in the trailer aside, seem a little bit less conventional than the usual NuWho Doctor/companion thing as well. There's something a little bit obsessive and dysfunctional there, dare I say creepy. And they're both lying to each other already - this really could get interesting, you know.

And Little!Amy was great too. Child actors who can be convincing without being slightly scary are a rare thing. I felt for the poor little mite, with her dinky little wellies and suitcase and her "Can I come with you?" Awwwww...

Well, that was all a lot of pathetic gushing, wasn't it? You'll be thinking the Moff paid me to write some of that... It's how I'm feeling right now, though. I'm VERY VERY happy in a way I haven't been about NuWho in quite some time. Of course, the next twelve episodes might still kill my enthusiasm - there's always time for that - but, damn, I hope not.

Some mysteries to consider (no, I didn't notice all of these myself, and I don't think there are any other people haven't already mentioned, but they might be Clues):

So, what _did_ cause the cracks in the universe, then, Sophie From Peep Show?

"Silence will Fall" - this season's Bad Wolf, but hopefully with a better payoff?

Why was there an image of the crack from the beginning on the Doctor's screen? And why was he lying to Amy about his reasons for taking her with him?

Why was the issue date on Rory's badge 1990? He's not that old (although some people have suggested a kissogram is a bit of a 90s job too).

If it is the 90s, why does everyone have laptops and camera phones? And the London Eye/Millennium Dome for that matter???

What is it with the prominently displayed MYTH laptop??

And did anyone else think the bit with the duck pond (and the v v dramatic music!) was a bit of a non sequitir? Was it supposed to draw our attention to the fact that there might be something a bit mysterious going on involving a POND??!!

In that vein - what's the betting we're going to find out more about Amy's missing/deceased parents?

GOD, IT'S LIKE CURSE OF FENRIC ALL OVER AGAIN! ;D

So, yeah, I liked it. I liked it better the second and third times than I did on the first view. I am in fact a big, squeeing Eleven fanboy right now and hope Moffat doesn't manage to get me out of that state by the end of the series.

Comments

[greatbriton.livejournal.com]

This was pretty much everything I was feeling about the story but put much better then I could ever put it. hehe

About the Duck Pond. Could it be like the bee thing in Season 4? *shrug* The Duck's Are Gone! That would be a bit of a let down if it were taking from that so obviously.

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that would be a bit disappointing, really... ;D

The other possibility is that it was just supposed to be a nice, quirky little exchange between Eleven and Amy and I am reading far too much into it!

But yeah, I liked this one. Did I mention that? ;D

[herk227.livejournal.com]

I'm ridiculously happy about this ep.

I was so hyped about it, that I was sure I had to be dissapointed, but amazingly enough I wasn't. I loved Amy I loved Eleven and I simply had fun.

(Although they should have kicked out Murray Gold together with RTD, fresh start and all that)

I couldn't agree more with you.

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been trying to keep it upbeat and cheerleading for Eleven since about Xmas, but even so...I always had that doubt, you know? What if it's no different to late-period Rusty?? They're not going to change that much...

And I don't suppose they did change that much, they just seem to be doing the familiar NuWho things in fresher, cleverer ways, and I'm enjoying it so far!

And yeah - I can only assume old Murray has some incriminating material on the Moff or something. :D

[herk227.livejournal.com]

I've been cheerleading since I first saw his hardcore old!skool costume - his bowtie won me over.

Maybe I'm from another planet, too?

[librarylover82.livejournal.com]

Well said JJ! I think that the point of all the references to previous Moffat stories were intended to be continuity anchors; hooks to help viewers who started watching with Ten transition to Eleven and understand that he is the same guy. I love the sense of fun and swagger that he has. I think it is interesting that some people seem to feel that Amy is smitten with him, because that is not how I read her reaction at all. Interested yes; infatuated no.

I actually have a somewhat wacky theory about Amy, but I am afraid to post it because people mock me enough - I don't need to fan the flames. Let's just say that I think it is interesting that we haven't met her aunt.

[clocketpatch]

Post away LL. I'm interested.

And JJ, that's all of the... THE SQUEE! You've put it into word far better. Also, I was flailing after the montage to the point where I didn't notice that bit with the screen, so thanks for bringing it to my attention. Sneaky, sneaky.

Yes, what WAS Eleven really doing on the moon? And why he came back? Because he doesn't always, the Doctor...

Anyway, got to run, if I read anymore reaction posts/ watch that again the squee might just become manifest and kill me. Or something. SQqqqqqqqqquuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

SSSQUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Yes, I know what you mean. I sort of feel like I might come down at any moment and realise it was all a load of rubbish really, but I haven't yet, and until I do I shall continue to SQUEE harder than...well, a very squeeful thing indeed.

And yeah, the mysterious aspect, and the sense that the Doctor is not necessarily telling Amy everything. Where have we seen that before? ;D

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

I think you're right about the continuity thing. My own idea about it being Moffat gently mocking classic RTD-era scenarios is probably more wishful thinking on my part than reality, but having said that next week's looks like a typical Rusty concept (it's probably even set in the year five billion or something daft like that!) - it'll be interesting to see what the new team do with it.

No, I didn't see Amy's interest in the Doctor as being romantic per se, either (or at least not romantic in that sense of the word...); I had it pegged more as a childhood obsession she never grew out of (which is not necessarily a bad thing, the Doctor would argue!) - as others have said, her imaginary friend turned out to be real - who wouldn't be obsessed? Of course, we have yet to see how their relationship will develop over the course of the series.

And fire away with the wacky theories - I love that stuff! I might even have a couple of my own!

[primsong.livejournal.com]

Well, you know - I was going to try to figure out how the heck to encapsulate all the lovely squee-ness aspects of this introductory tale, but now I don't have to! I can just point at your post and say "What he said!"

Yes, yes and yes. And yes - Unicorn and Wasp is a fave of mine for exactly the same reason - and nod nod nod yup. What you said.

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Uh-huh. Yep. *nods* Yes, that's right. Ahah. Yeah. Indeed. :D

Great minds think alike, or so they say!

[akashasheiress.livejournal.com]

I agree completely on the opening theme. I like my Who theme mysterious and spacey, not bombastic. Also, the lightning was a bit overdone, but I do like the new logo.

I did like Eleven a lot, but I didn't really get a ''Yes, that's the kind of guy Eleven is going to be'' feeling like I did with Two, Four, and Ten. It was more of a conglomeration of the Doctor's general traits. That'll probably change next episode, though.

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

The new logo is probably the best thing about the opening titles - it's an improvement on the orange pointy thing, anyway. I thought they were going to have the boy Smith's face zooming at us out of the time vortex like in oldschool, but I guess they didn't want to scare anybody off! ;D

I kid!

I see what you mean - certainly on the face of it the new Doctor isn't _that_ different to the last one, but it's the little changes that make me smile. Mainly the complete absence of angst - shown in the very easy, funny way he discussed little Amelia's difficult home life without feeling the need to share his pain (I didn't interpret the comment about being lucky he didn't even have an aunt as saying he was glad to see the end of Gallifrey or anything - more like he recognises how lucky he is to have the freedom he has, and even if he is a bit lonely sometimes, it's his choice to be, as he even says to Amy towards the end).

I'd agree there is probably more work to be done, but I like what I saw so far. And I was blown away by Matt Smith, by how confident and likeable he was right from the very beginning. And he was _very_ Doctor-like, I thought.

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

You say you want Eleven/Amy - here you go:

http://taykot.livejournal.com/3389.html?view=5949#t5949

I prefer to think that the Doctor _has_ been thinking a lot about Romana over the years, but this story really nails what we've seen of Eleven so far, and it states Romana's reasons for leaving Four when she did very well, I think.

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I meant to say you want Eleven/Romana - I don't think you've expressed an opinion yet on Eleven/Amy! :D

[stellastars]

*g* I'm glad to see I'm not the only person who's already on their third viewing of the episode! (Though you've collected your thoughts far better than I have at this point!) I think the episode's re-watch-ability is a direct result of how much fun (and angst-free!) it was and it's been nice to see so many glee-filled posts about it.

There are certainly a lot of mysteries though... I'm really curious about the 1990s date, especially in relation to the prevalence of camera phones -- that has really thrown me for a loop! Plus, I'm curious with how the concept of the "fairy tale" is going to continue to play out across the season; I'd heard it mentioned in interviews, but was surprised by the direct references in the episode... I think it's going to be an exciting series!

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Yes, fun and angst-free - that's how I'd describe it, definitely. Nothing life-changing, but fun - and a really good way of introducing the new Doctor and his companion(s).

But yes, mysterious... I have theories, you know; strange theories. Like maybe this is a completely false timeline that the Doctor has somehow fallen into (maybe down one of those cracks) - in fact, that this whole universe might be the "trap" the Doctor's talking about in the trailer...or something... What that means for Amy, well, your guess is as good as mine at this point.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering if the 90s references (I'm told the vehicles had 90s license plates as well as Rory's badge being issued in 1990) in combination with the noughties technology is a result of the two lots of time being pressed together?

I'm so glad Karen pressed Moffat and co. into auditioning her wee cousin, 'cos Caitlin was excellent as Amelia.

And Eleven - definitely a mad man with a box!

[eve11]

I'm wondering if the 90s references (I'm told the vehicles had 90s license plates as well as Rory's badge being issued in 1990) in combination with the noughties technology is a result of the two lots of time being pressed together?

oooh, interesting. And also the whole six months vs. 12 years thing, and the shed; the shed was really odd. I know it supposedly got rebuilt and old again but it really looked like the exact same shed!

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Yes, I like that thought - "two bits of time and space that should never touch...pressed together..." or whatever it was that he actually said.

And yeah, little Amelia was great - very well played and written.

I liked that line - I like a lot of Eleven's lines. It's as if Moffat was setting out his vision of what the Doctor is and should be in as simple terms as possible, and it seems it isn't a thousand miles away from my own thoughts on the character. So that was nice. :D

[eve11]

And Eleven confronted his foes with a smile and a bit of cocky swagger rather than Lonely God man-pain.
*snerk* you are cracking me up.

Was it supposed to draw our attention to the fact that there might be something a bit mysterious going on involving a POND??!!
Well there's a duck pond, and then later there's a v-mail to (amy) Pond to DUCK! :D

If it is the 90s, why does everyone have laptops and camera phones? And the London Eye/Millennium Dome for that matter???
Also, Twitter! and camera-phone email. and if it's the early 90's just email in general. Still with the twitter and stuff, was it that big in '08? even if it's modern, the stuff that took place "12 years later" was still 2 years from Amy joining him on the TARDIS. Twitter didn't really take off until ashton Kutcher got it, right?

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Twitter didn't get really big until last year (which makes sense in terms of when Moffat was writing it).

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

I've sort of vowed to stop being mean to Ten now that he's dead, poor fella, but...I'm just a bad person, I guess. ;D

Heheh - yes! I thought of that after I posted the above - duck! It could well be. And there was me creating grandiose conspiracy theories (although I'm kind of hoping they turn out to be true! ;D)...

Someone on the Behind the Sofa review blog called it the Fish Custard Dating Controversy. ;D It doesn't really add up, does it? I hope it does really all turn out to be Significant and not just fans reading too much into things like the hospital badge which could have just been a continuity error (although I don't think that it was...).

[thisbluespirit]

Come on, admit it!

You're not curmudgeonly at all! :-D

Well, I liked it. I loved all the stuff with Eleven and Amelia and Rory's "You made them go away... and then you BROUGHT THEM BACK?" in particular, but I liked lots of it and generally enjoyed the whole thing. I'm waiting fro next week to see how Eleven goes on, because there were lots of shades of Ten, which there would be in this story.

(And, to be awkward, there was one point were I really, really liked the music. Except I can't remember when, where or why, but it was a genius bit of scoring at that moment, I tell you. Maybe that's why they still keep him around? But then, I just tend not to notice scores unless it's Dudley Simpson with a kazoo. :lol:)

Montage, too! :-D

Plus, given my current Press Gang rewatch, I'm seeing shades of things other than DW, old or new. In fact there's a bit of Kenny and Lynda about Rory and Amy (girl and boy childhood friends, with the girl being the bossy one: "She made me dress up as you!"). So... Rory may not have much hope on that front. :-D

I have no theories, clues, or comments. For some reason, unless I get a blinding flash of inspiration, I like to just watch it. Sometimes I theorise in retrospect.

Heh, not long till the next episode!

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

No, not long now!!! ;D

(and shhhh... don't ruin my carefully-cultivated image of curmudgeonliness! XD)

I'm experiencing a bit of trepidation regarding tomorrow's actually - from what I've seen, it's a classic RTD set-some-ridiculously-far-distance-in-the-future-but-everbody-dresses-and-acts-like-it's-2005-type scenario of the sort that really turns me off, even when it's well done like in Gridlock. Here's hoping Team Moff manage to put a bit of a spin on it. I have sudden faith in them after last week's effort! XD

No, but to reiterate all of my above gushing - I thought Eleven was great (or rather Matt Smith was great - as you say, he's still shedding his Tennishness in some ways), as were Amy and little Amelia and Rory. I fear for Rory - he just seems like one of life's loveable losers - things will not go well for him, I suspect! ;D

I don't really notice background music either...until it suddenly starts going Da-Da-Dah-DAH-DAAAHHHHH! all unexpected-like in the middle of an otherwise innocuous scene! I'll listen out for moments of Murray brilliance though in the coming eps, and if I come across any, I'll eat my Gold-bashing words above, I guess...

I like the theorising a little bit too much - I should know better by now - the solutions to those sort of mysteries always end up seeming disappointing compared to the really far-out ones fans made up at the start of the series!