At Last.

Doctor Who 4.11
Ever since I was little, I never liked the what-if episodes that show a very different path and life. I don't really know why, but they just leave me feeling very, very sad. So this episode essentially had several strikes against it before it began. But props to me for realizing it was a "what-if" ep from the promo.

So while I may not love the episode like many other people do, I liked it a lot, all things considered. Reasons: Rose and Donna. Donna and Rose. I love those two together! They just played so well off of each other. And Rose! Good to see Pete's World Torchwood taught her well. I was so proud watching her be all expository and technobabbling. She was still Rose, but she had bits of the Doctor worked in with her. The way she strutted around, knowing everything. The way she looked at the trouble and adventure. She had this smile on her face when she explained things to Donna when she ended up at U.N.I.T. Not to mention she did the whole saluting thing that the Doctor did. I love that they had that connection, even though they didn't know it. I think the most Doctory Rose moment was when she told Donna she was "the most important woman in the whole of creation". If that didn't come straight from the Doctor's playbook... I smiled with that line and the way Rose said it. Again, so much like the Doctor. I'm not going to lie, I love that she's adopted much of his personality, not that I blame her, the dude's kind of infectious with his clever words and strutting. Oh the strutting.

Oh lord, I missed Rose. I missed the way she took things on, I missed the way she talked, I missed chavtastic Rose! And what I love even more if that Billie loves being Rose. I watched the Confidential episode, which means this episode was pretty damn important to me, and she just seemed to happy to be back. David was giddy as can be about it, but Billie was so adorable. So this return was planned when she left, I thought RTD had just BSed that, but apparently Billie said the arrangements were made right as she decided to leave, which kind of makes me love Billie even more. Too bad I can't get through an episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl without getting really skeeved out. I'd like to watch her every week, maybe I'll try to watch it more. But back to the cast, David is as adorable as ever. He kept pestering RTD to explain 'Bad Wolf', and the way that he talks about the show is like a fan. Actually, all the actors talk about it like fans, I love that. They just have this keen insight into the story and the characters, it's really impressive.

Oh Doctor Who, I love that you are a family friendly program that isn't afraid to nuke cities and imply genocide! That's what makes this show so brilliant, it doesn't dumb down reality to fit the younger demographic. It really is a show for everyone, adults and children. But not going to lie, this is the kind of episode that would have turned me off of a show for a long time if I saw it when I was 10. I think I had similar experiences when I watched shows that did this, I just got so sketched out that I had to walk away from the show. So... good thing more kids aren't nutty like me, right?

I see a few people wanting to rewatch "The Runaway Bride", because they can't remember why they hated Donna so. I'm more than a little curious myself, I hated her. I just could not stand the sight of her. But watching that little bit included in the episode, and eventually the scene that led to the Doctor's death, that sounded like the Donna we knew. And to be frank, the Donna we saw this week was the angry, shouty, kind of funny Donna that seemed straight out of "Runaway Bride". This week's Donna was very different from the compassionate and caring that makes her a great companion. I'm debating watching it again, maybe I hated that Donna because she was snippy with the Doctor, and nobody does that to our pretty boy. Back to Donna, I was dying seeing her go off on her boss after she got fired. That was so amazing, and stealing the stapler? Perfect.

So... is Donna special? She's got her own unique time signal thingy. Sorry, I didn't pay enough attention during the exposition to really get what that means. So, was Donna teleported to the parallel world? Was she physically in that tent, but her mind went elsewhere? To another Donna in another world? I'm still shakey on the details of how this worked, might just chalk this up to timey-wimey stuff. But back to Donna and her parallel worlds. What role will she play in the big finale? Maybe she's like they key to keeping the universes safe. I'm not going to lie, I wished that Davies seeded this in throughout the series. I understand that not everything is planned in advanced, but this felt distinctly tacked on in this episode. Lets see how this plays out. I'm still worried about Donna, I don't think she's still in the clear, safety wise. Remember, River Song acted like Donna had died when she met the Doctor.

4.12 Preview
OK, I just need to take a moment to flip the fuck out: Sarah Jane - Check. Martha Jones - Check. Jack Harkness - Check. Ianto and Gwen - Fuck Yes! How did I NOT KNOW GWEN AND IANTO WOULD BE IN THE SHOW? Like, that is just so incredible, having those two meet the Doctor (I hope anyway). After all the vagueness Jack gives them, they deserve some info straight from the horse's or Time Lord's mouth. And Martha! And Jack! OK, I am so pumped for Rose to see Jack again. I wonder if she knows she brought him back forever? The Rose we have now is very different from the Rose who absorbed the Time Vortex and saved Jack. I wonder how she'll react, I don't even think she remembers. And Jack's always had a little something for Rose, well to be fair Jack's got a little something for everyone, but Jack will be so thrilled to see her. I keep replaying this moment in my head from "Bad Wolf" when Jack realizes Rose hasn't been vaporized. "Rose could still be alive!" He's going to be happy to see her again.

I know this is a really big longshot, but Gwen/Gwyneth from "The Unquiet Dead"... Maybe it'll come up. Like a line that she looks familiar, or maybe the Doctor will see something very odd about her. Or... you know... it could just be let go.

Rose and Martha! I've been looking forward to this for some time. Mainly because Martha got sick of hearing about Rose. In "Utopia" she had this line when Jack mentioned Rose. "OH! She's blond!" We'll see if Martha's really over the Doctor when his old companion comes back.

Donna and Rose already met, sort of. Now that she knows, or will know, that it's Rose, I wonder if she'll react differently to her. I don't see why, Donna just knew that Rose was gone, so she'll probably be happy for her.

And Rose and the Doctor. Well, we've already seen him be terrified by her warning (loved it!), but I don't doubt that we'll see some incredible hugging. Oh there will be hugging. And tears. Lots and lots of tears, mostly mine. I've only been waiting two years for this, that's all. I wonder if Rose will notice a change in the Doctor. I wonder if the Doctor notices how much Rose has changed? All I know is I can't wait. Is it Saturday yet?

Thought I'd do an update on the Transformers 2 filming. I saw them setting up, and tomorrow and Tuesday will be the shooting days. There was a helicopter with a big round thing attached to its nose, which I'm guessing is the camera, and they were doing aerial shots. It was so cool, the helicopter was flying almost sideways so the camera was facing the college campus. It's looking like my sister, her friend, and I will be getting up super early and spending the day stalking the set. Rainn Wilson will be there, so I'm going to try to get him to sign my second season Office DVD set. Shia is apparently kind of a douche, the PA's described him as "inaccessible", I hope Rainn is much nicer, he seems nice. Check out my Twitter or Plurk pages for updates, I'll be checking in there.