9 posts tagged “captain jack harkness”

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.

I am so not used to seeing Billie Piper on a major US network. OK, so Showtime isn't your ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox, but it's still bigger than Sci-fi or BBC America. All these commercials for Secret Diary of a Call Girl are making me feel both awkward and happy. I mean, awk because it's Rose Tyler in her skivvies, but excited because it's ROSE FUCKING TYLER. Oh I hate the fangirl in me.

In other news: new Doctor Who this week. I have some hope for "Midnight", and then... ROSE! Hurray! So here's what I'm wondering: We know that there will be those specials next year, so who will be the companion? Martha's got her own life, but she could pop up when the Doctor visits Earth. Donna may or may not be around for it. Billie's got her own show, though I don't know what's going to happen past the second series. I think she's filming it now, so ostensibly she could come back for a special, but don't hold your breath. So... new mini companions? Jack? I guess maybe it'll be more obvious after the finale, where I'm sure Davies will tack on a completely unnecessary "cliffhanger" which will interrupt the emotional end and my post-Rose crying.

Ugh, Sci-Fi: please stop putting BSG on giant hiatuses: No new BSG until 2009. OK, to be a little more fair, it seems this is because of the post production needed for each episodes, which are kind of CGI-heavy.

So, I think I'm going to get the iPhone. I just need to jump, get it over with, you know? Stop thinking, stop ruminating, just do it!

I love plurk! It's like twitter, but with more interacting with users. It's hard to meet people via Twitter, but with Plurk it's really easy.

Today it finally warmed up enough for me to wear just a fleece, not my big ass parka. I had my hopes up for an end to this fucking winter. Of course it's getting cold again and it's supposed to snow towards the end of the week. Yay.

Torchwood 2.12
Wow! Torchwood kinda pulled a Lost with this one, not that there's anything wrong with that. Actually, it worked wonderfully! For me, the biggest disappoint last series was the "mystery" of Jack. And by mystery, I mean things we knew from Doctor Who but were teased with for 12 episodes. So, FINALLY we get some backstory. Sure it was brief, but we had some awesome drunken Jack. "First I'm going to kiss him[the Doctor], then I'm going to kill him", which kinda made my life.

And as with any allusion to Doctor Who, my heart jumped when that tarot card girl (wasn't she in "Dead Man Walking") told Jack he wouldn't find the Doctor until the world turned to ice. Anybody catch that awesome reference to "Utopia", as in the end of the universe? As in everything turning to ice? As in the best episode ever? *breathes*

So Jack was involved with Torchwood when they were out for the Doctor and when they were still sketchy and evil. Interesting. Nice to see him making a stand against Torchwood London, I mean they were pretty evil, too bad they were destroyed and all. Could have been a nice Frenemy for the Doctor/Jack.

Oh Toshiko... Loved the British Gitmo. So her back story was pretty boring, we know she's hard working, quiet, shy, impressionable... Didn't really say much, except Jack rescued her, seeing her genius and all. It's been a few days since I saw this episode, and her story was the one I remembered the least.

IANTO! I'm not imagining he wasn't always as awesome as he is this series. I mean, coffee boy? So first series, loved the callback. And he was funny, which was nice. Funny and persistent! Puppy!Ianto amused me to no end. I was a little irked by the awkward Jack falling on Ianto moment, because back in the beginning of the first series, there wasn't any of the sexual tension (that I remember). So that moment felt retconned. But other than that, loved his past.

Owen :-( As if I needed another reason to completely adore his character, he had a sad love story. Nice how everything about his character is falling into place... It's as if they're preparing to end this zombie arc... To be honest, I'm not sure I'm ready for Owen to leave, but maybe that's what Davies is getting at. He's lulling everyone into thinking things are getting back to normal, and then Owen will just cease to be. And I'll be a sad mess, because it'll be a shock and, if I know Davies, tragic.

And we're left with the return of John Hart, which I've been waiting for! After Marsters' first episode, I kept looking for when he was coming back, I mean we had this whole Grey bit to tidy up. Then we're at the second to last episode, and I was getting confused... Of course he would show up in the last few minutes... with Jack's hermano! Looks like next week's going to be fucking awesome: lots of things going boom!

So it's almost April, and my nerd-sense is telling me that Doctor Who should be starting up soon. So I went online, and Wikipedia has a start date of April 5th! That's the Saturday after next! It's the day after the Torchwood finale! And since Torchwood has been fucking incredible, I have a glimmer of hope for this Donna-infested series...

And then Battlestar Galatica is starting up April 4th, so my little lull in TV activity is finally ending, which is good? I don't know, I've managed to get a bunch of homework done during this blackout. But then again, I've also started watching reality shows, which is evil.

Finally, on the Joss Whedon return to TV front, Dollhouse is starting to cast, and DUDE, Helo (Tahmoh Penikett) from BSG's been cast! Yay!

OK, here's the deal, I stumbled upon some Twilight set pictures, and I think I'm going to have to actually read this series, at least the first book. Those hilarious Canon Wikipedia descriptions are too hysterical to overlook, plus Robert Pattinson is so adorable in those pictures, even if his hair is slightly orange and his pancake makeup is a little intense. I promise I won't talk about it with you if I detest it.

For all those celebrating Bunnies and Peeps, happy Easter!

Lost 4.08
Wow, that Kevin Johnson dude is pretty intense. He was so intense we got an entire episode flashback, give or take a bit of roughing up by Sayid and some Ben trickery and a reminder that Michael was kind of an asshole for killing Libby and Ana Lucia for virtually no reason (other than to rescue Ben, but that plan wasn't the best). Boy, that was all so long ago, I mean, when was the last time ANYBODY on the show mentioned Libby? I mean, Hurley was involved with that chick, you'd think it would come up. Same goes for Charlie, I mean, Claire's done NOTHING, can we at least get a breakdown, plz?

On to the plot! Michael and "WAAAALLLTTT!" made if off the island, Michael told his 10 going on 15 year old son that he killed two people. Let's just stop there. WTF Michael? Like that would EVER be a good idea? EVER! Any-who, Michael, due to his estrangement, tries to kill himself, and totally fails. Here's a questions, M? If you want to die so badly, why not just drive that car into the fucking water? You were by a harbor. Of course, the production costs would have been higher, and the island won't let you truly kill yourself, so I get it. So yeah, the island apparently puts your name down on an Anti-Suicide pact. Go island, promoting mental stability since 1980! What with your apparitions of dead people, time-looping, and fucking smoke monsters, you are the picture of sanity.

So Michael's a little down, and is so not helped by Libby coming in and checking up on him. Ah, man I really wanted a meaningful Libby appearance, like a Widmore-inspired, Desmond boat giving one. But alas, she's just either a dream or an island manifestation. That's my running assumption, the island takes the form of dead people. OMG THE ISLAND IS THE FIRST! *goes to post it on every forum possible* Then Tom comes along. Oh Tommy, my favorite LGBT Other! But I know you're into dudes and all, but you said Kate wasn't your type? She's everyone's type, dude. I'm straight and she's my type! Well, it was good to see him back, anyways. He enlists Michael to sabotage the evil Widmore freighter of doom. And he had proof! Or not! This screencap shows that Widmore only paid $450,000 for the Boeing 777, despite it going for a nice $200 million. Now the order form says it was decommissioned, but that's some heavy depreciation right there. You'd think it would still break $10 mill. This sounds like another of Ben's lovely tricks, because I doubt Michael's gonna know that. But freighter people bad! I hate that I'm still flip flopping. The Captain is a total douche who shoots things with machine guns, but then there's Ben. Enough said.

So Michael embarks on this suicide mission on the boat. Miles shows up for 30 seconds, which is enough time to call Michael out on the Kevin Johnson bullshit and to tell us that most of the people aren't who they claim to be. Hm... Why that sounds EXACTLY like Lost and the Losties! Why, does that mean we'll get some shady character flashbacks! *gasp* Michael tries to blow up the ship, gets a Looney Tunes inspired pop-up flag, telling him Not-Yet. Oh, and before, Libby, aka the First, aka the island tells Michael not to do it. Did I mention I wanted more Libby?

Anyways, Michael gets a call from Walt, and by Walt I mean Ben. I loved that (mock) surprise Ben displayed upon learning that Michael activated the bomb. It's such a Ben thing to beat Michael down with why he's such a terrible person. Love it. So Ben admits there are innocent people on that boat, something Michael probably didn't realize, paving the way for Charlotte and Daniel to join the good guys. Come on, you know it's going to happen, right? I'm not insane, right? Well, I am, but my theory's not, right? They're displaying the same kind of awesomeness that Juliet (I know you disagree anythingbutgrey) displayed when she was Othering it), and she went over to the good side, well sorta. She was playing both sides and still is kinda taking Ben's orders. So Sayid, not capable of seeing his Ben-puppet future, turns Michael in to Captain Douchebag, who didn't seem too shocked. Honestly, I wanted Michael to be killed, right then and there. I could have used some awesome Regular status for one episode killing. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. And it would have been mean: I heard Harold Perrineau was really hurt when he wasn't asked to return for season 3. So maybe Michael wouldn't have been the best choice for that.

So who was that "big" death? Well, I had low expectations when I read that Damon Lindelof made a snide reference to that ABC promo. If it were a big death, I figured it: a. Wouldn't have been revealed, like Libby and Ana Lucia's offings, or b. Wouldn't have been mocked by the producers. But Karl? Really? Him? I kept a close look at the clock, which told me after Michael's outing to the Captain that there were 5 minutes left for a death. Then Karl, Rousseau, and Alex went off to this "Temple", so I knew it was so Karl. Eh, no big. Then Danielle gave her little heartfelt bit to Alex, then boom, she's gone. So poor little Alex. I'm aboard with the peeps who think this was a Ben set up. But it could be the freighter people, Ben did say that the Widmore lemmings might try to use her. By coming out with her hands up, proclaiming "I'm Ben's daughter!" that could be the perfect thing for them. And Lapidus has been off on mysterious helicopter demanding missions. Could they be dropping off more and more weapons and people? But it makes more sense for it to be Ben's hombres, I mean, how convenient is it that Karl, whom Ben dislikes, gets offed first. Danielle, I'm not sure, maybe Ben is having parenting jealousy.

Random notes:

• Desmond sure has been quiet, am I the only one who wants him to say something to make clear that he's not past!Desmond or that he's re-stuck in time?
• It seems unusual that Michael would be put on the Kahana so easily, wouldn't Widmore be on the lookout for spies. And dude, Michael's face is probably online somewhere as a victim! I feel like background checks are part of the process to get onto not-Penny's-Boat.
• Love how Ben paints himself as the picture of moral supremacy, I mean, it's not like he partook in any sort of mass murder or Dharma genocide, right?

Good thing this wasn't the season finale! Cuse and Lindelof said this was the equivalent of ending when Michael shot Libby and Ana Lucia... That may be just a little bit of an over statement. I wouldn't say this cliffhanger was all that earth shattering, which is why this would have sucked. I find that episodes that aren't season finales that are made season finales, tend to fail as such. Plus, this wasn't such a strong episode, I mean, it had its moments, I loved Sawyer reminding all of us how much of a dick Michael was for killing those two Tailies. I'm glad Michael's got a purpose that doesn't involve Walt. All this time on the island, it's "WAAAALLLTTTT" and "MY SON!" and other things. Finally, we're seeing Michael contributing to the plot, other than killing people and getting his son back.

I'll see you in 33 days Lost!

Eli Stone 1.08
Whee! I really, really liked this episode. I know I've been a little irked by the unquestioning acceptance by Stone of his visions, so I'm very pleased by this plot development. He's finally telling some people, and realizing just how insane all this sounds. I mean, the only reason he jumped on this prophet bandwagon was because of the guru. I hope this leads to a more reluctant Eli, who maybe sees some purpose, but isn't immune to aggravation.

Music! I'm not going to lie, I was a little let down in the beginning by the lack of music. I was pretty pumped by the idea of George Michael singing in his living room, but after that the music took a backseat, and Eli had less catchy visions. Well, I loved this week's musical number, probably because the two people singing weren't really all that great singers. Don't get me wrong, I love the Victor Garber numbers, because he's extremely talented and awesome, but it's nice to have some variety in the mix. Plus, it just sounds so much fun, to basically break into song week after week. Next episode seems to be George Michael inspired (the dude's guesting in it!) and I'm expecting music fun. I think if the producers move in a more lyrical direction, they can make it their staple. "It's like Boston Legal, but with a prophet... and musical numbers!" Now that's a show I can watch.

Torchwood 2.09, 10, and 11
I briefly want to talk about how ridiculous 2.09 was. I mean, REALLY? Gwen, pregnant with alien spawn, HAS to get married? AND JACK LETS HER? I mean REALLY! HELLO WRITERS! Wake up and smell reality (I know it's hard when you're working on Sci Fi), that WOULD NEVER WORK. And John, stop phoning it in. Your shape shifting Alien was pathetic. I was laughing hysterically, because you looked like you just wanted to go home to your husband that day. Heh. I put off watching this episode because I was still in love with 2.08 and I knew this would suck. And it did. I ended up watching it because I wanted to see the previews for the next episode, hoping that was better. Erm... it was better, but still not good.

2.10. Here's my problem with some Sci Fi shows. I get you've got a rift and aliens and altogether really crazy shit going on, but CARDIFF ISN'T A HELLMOUTH. OK? The rift doesn't give you the excuse to make circus people turn themselves into movies and steal people's "last breaths". That's more of a supernatural thing and not so much a rift thing. I mean, I guess we can assume these circus folk were aliens, but I'm guessing not. They did pull out the 'ole "rift activity" gag at the theatre, but it didn't fly for me.

This episode felt like Torchwood's pathetic attempt to do Doctor Who's "Blink". The end with that film canister was eye-rolling at best. Again, this isn't "Blink". Another forgettable installment. The main reason I watched this episode was to see the preview for the next episode...

2.11 aka FINALLY A GOOD EPISODE! Don't get me wrong, I had my small problems: like I always assumed the rift was a two-way street, but maybe that was me. And the rift is correcting its mistakes? Really? Do you know how cosmically improbably that sentiment is? Very. But it was nice to see Andy, who is kind of awesome, calling Gwen out on her lack of Gwen-ness and she went into what made her part of Torchwood to begin with, her humanness. I hadn't really noticed if she's been colder, but I certainly didn't feel her reaching out on a human level like she did during the first series.

Jack was nice, albeit a little too quick to let Gwen bring over the victim's mother. The just was a bad idea. Bad. Bad, and shame on Jack for not stopping it. Thought Gwen phrased it well, making Jack think about Grey. Why does everyone who comes back through the rift go mad? I mean, they could end up somewhere nice, maybe in the past, on Earth. Not everyone is going to be scarred and insane... right?

Oh, and Jack/Ianto naked hide and seek. Yes plz! Ianto's "He always cheats" was both amazing and hysterical. Loved the invite for Gwen to join, welcome back Man-Whore Jack. I kinda missed you. And Ianto, always amazing.

 I totally didn't realize that there was a Torchwood episode last night, so now I'm off to download that and watch. Judging from the preview after "Adrift", it looked kinda awesome, and maybe like we'll get a Jack backstory! Hurray!

Walking to class, I thought the wind would blow me over. It was that kind of winter day. With this writer's strike dragging on, I've found I have some free time. So what better way to fill it than with more TV.

Torchwood 2.02
Finally, an episode I loved. Jack was back being cool and smooth in the face of danger. That's the Jack I've come to know and love. Then there's the awesomeness that is Ianto. Seriously, when did he get so fucking amazing? Faithful Torchwood viewers, let me know if this Ianto's always been here and I've been too annoyed to notice it before.

Plot-wise, the episode was strong, emotional and possibly planting an arc somewhere. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) an invasion sometime in the future. Please work a story arc...

I'm still surprised that Americans love Torchwood so much. This episode made me slightly less surprised, but still, BBC America's #1 show?

Mad Men
I'd heard this was the best show on television, so I finally checked it out. It's an awesome show. I love how everyone who isn't white and Christian gets jokes about them. I think it's a brilliant demonstration of how far we have come as a society since the 1960's. Ever wonder what the world would be like without consequences for sexual harassment? Seriously, check out the show. Most films and shows made about this era are basically smoke-free. Well, Mad Men doesn't believe in that. Part of me wonders if the show is exaggerating some of the social habits of the time. I mean, was everyone smoking all the time? Were Jewish people really that outcasted? Were all women objectified? Assuming the show isn't exaggerating anything, it really is painting a very different picture of the 1960's than we get from most forms of media. Fascinating.

Blackpool
David Tennant, marry me. Just. Marry. Me. Singing, Murder, Cute Head Bobbing, David Tennant. Clearly one of the greatest things ever to grace the tube. Kinda makes me want Doctor Who on now.  Even with Donna.

And because this makes the whole world better:

Hee new Lost Thursday!!! Then I'm so watching Eli Stone, because anything involving George Michael spontaneously singing clearly is the most amazing thing ever. Sad thing about Eli Stone is I know nothing about the plot and I have no clue if there will be epiphany related musical numbers every episode. Personally, I really hope so.

Torchwood 2.01
What is your problem Davies? Why must you make Jack so a tool once he steps foot in Cardiff? Remember Jack on Who? Remember how cool and badass and charming and all together fucking awesome he was? Where's that Jack on Torchwood? I mean what IS HIS PROBLEM? I get the not-dying thing can upset a man, but I thought by the end of "The Last of the Time Lords" he had accepted his not-death thing. And Jack was back on point on Who. He dropped the dreary, dark, quasi-brood but not in an Angel-good way act. I thought you learned your lesson about annoying Jack.

WRONG. Granted Jack did have some moments (hot man-love with James Marsters was a high point), but he was back to mopey. To be fair, I did wipe "The Last of the Time Lords" from my mind, so I don't recall if he lost the spring in his step there, but I seem to recall him leaving on a high note. That scene with Jack melodramatically telling Gwen he "saw the end of the world" damn near made me gag. And Gwen/Jack is beyond lame. I mean, Gwen's got Rhys, and Jack should be flirting with everything. Maybe it's just the lame writing that makes it seem like they have 0 sexual chemistry.

I think Torchwood needs to go more for the funny. That part is working out, but Jack awkwardly asking out Ianto... no. NEWSFLASH: Jack is not an awkward high schooler.

Here's another thing: I know Jack isn't big on past sharing, but this is getting ridiculous. I mean, you dump part of Jack's past in Cardiff, and you don't reveal... jack? I hope this isn't another season of "Let's tease answers, then reveal all on Doctor Who as an afterthought!" Unfortunately, a big part of me thinks that's going to be the case.

Does anybody know WHY this is one of BBC America's highest rated show? Anybody?

Oh and if we ever learn who Gray is, I'm betting it is Jack's daughter or sister or son.

Martha needs to be on the show NOW, unless Davies plans on mope-ing up her character, too.

Ok, lots to talk about, mostly Doctor Who

Doctor Who 3.13

I felt that this would suck. I wasn't looking forward to this like I was to "Utopia" or "The Sound of Drums." I just knew this would suck deep down. *sigh* I have several reasons for this, most of which lead down a path of Martha vs. Rose, which led to a fascinating conversation with anythingbutgrey. If I cared enough to rewatch every painful episode, I could formulate a solid case to argue. Unfortunately, I guess I'll just go with what I know, and have to defend myself. But, we'll save that nasty bit for the end. I had quite a few different problems with this episode aside from Martha Jones, the legend.

-- The Doctor. You know, I know Davies wanted us to feel sorry for the Doctor, but I hated feeling sorry for him. It just made me feel uncomfortable. Once again, I know this is what he wanted. I just wasn't a fan of seeing Gollum in a cage. But the Doctor got better, which leads to my next point.

-- Deus Ex Machina. This was a horrible Deus Ex Machina, like on levels we haven't seen since Alias. I mean, "Think: Doctor" Fuck that. Hey, listen, they can be pulled off. Just because you're going to have a bunny out of a hat ending doesn't mean it has to suck. Let's just look to my second favorite episode ever, "The Parting of the Ways": That was a Deus ex Machina if I'd ever saw it. Rose absorbs the heart of the TARDIS and Jack is brought back and all the Daleks are turned to dust. See, problem solved. But it was amazingly executed and, yes, I cried. This was just bizarre. Destroy the Paradox Machine and then time reverses itself? REALLY? WOW, because that's ridiculous and makes no sense. Like, that's bullshit even for Sci Fi. And somehow everyone on the ship remembers. "Eye of the storm" my ass.

-- The Christmas special. I know it hasn't even started, but that teaser with the Titanic just sounds dumb. "Voyage of the Damned". A special worse than "Runaway Bride"? We might have a winner. You know, that's kinda mean of me, seeing as we did only see 3 seconds of ship, but I'm angry and bitter, so I'll react as I like.

-- JACK AS THE FUCKING FACE OF BOE. GRRRRRR. This pissed me off, one of those revelation where I was like "ABSOLUTELY NOT". Sorry, I just wanted to believe Jack will be like Jack forever, which would be a nice thought. I get that it makes sense, but the whole revelation bit was just stuck in there. I mean it was completely random. "Oh I used to be known as The Face of Boe." WHAT WAS THAT? Ugh, I don't even want to think how Jack became that. I also don't want to know how Jack ended up with the ability to have children (the Face of Boe was pregnant at one point in time). I mean, just... Ew. Although, Cassandra wasn't the last human, Jack/Boe was.

-- Utopia. Poop. I really wanted to have some sort of happy ending. I like those "Everybody lives," stories. Although, how can you avoid the end of the Universe? Pretty impossible. But I did say we'd have to see those last Humans again. But it was really sad to have them be the metal orbs.

-- Well, I've avoided it as long as I could, but alas, we've reached my Martha Jones rant. First, I like Martha, I do. But I've had problems with her, or rather, problems with Russell T. Davies handling of Martha. Most of my issues are with him, actually. But first, why I'm so disappointed. I've been used to Martha following and obeying the Doctor. We'd been seeing her do that all season. That's what she believed she had to do, as a companion. I don't blame her, I'd be doing the same. Then we had "Utopia." For the first time, Martha Jones had really heard about Rose. Prior to that, it had just been Rose this, Rose that, but never "Rose risked her life to save to save the world and did it against the Doctor's wishes." But in Utopia she did, and Martha had this look of understanding, like "That's why Rose is Rose to the Doctor." I thought that Russell was building up to some major Martha Jones climax. And at the end of "The Sound of Drums," we had seen Martha telling off the Doctor about her family and then at the end she was on her own. Or so we thought. I thought it was Martha Jones, saving the world. Turns out it was Martha Jones, Minion of the Doctor. Ugh. Her big adventure was to tell a story? Sorry, I expected her to do something on her own. And I expected it to take less than 1 year. What a let down, I thought this would be Russell's way of saying, "Martha Jones can now have the Doctor's respect." Maybe in a way she did, but certainly not in the way Rose did. I just wanted this to be Martha's moment, and it wasn't. After all, it was the Doctor's.

Maybe the Doctor and Martha will have a different relationship now. I mean, maybe Martha's big moment wasn't to save the world, maybe it was to leave the Doctor. The Doctor's a cocky character, and what a metaphorical slap in the face to have one of his ladies leave him. That was Martha having a mind of her own. But still, no big, huge, giant, Martha Jones-saving the world, which for me, was a letdown. Le sigh.

I wrote that review a few days ago, and I'm still reeling from the finale. Then this morning I read that Kylie Minogue is going to costar in the "Voyage of the Damned." Ick. I've got nothing against her, per se, I just have trouble trusting musicians who want to act. I know Billie Piper sings and all that, but generally they suck. It's just such a random casting choice. So I was pissed about that this morning, then anythingbutgrey asks me if I know about the new companion. Turns out Martha's gone for the first half of the fourth series. She's off doing some Torchwood episodes, then back to Who. So who gets to fill Martha's shoes? Catherine Tate. Yup, she's back playing Donna, the bride who annoyed me to death. Since "The Runaway Bride" aggravated me so much, I won't be rewatching that when it airs this Friday on Sci Fi. Therefore I won't have an opportunity to decide if Donna was indeed as obnoxious as I thought she was. So I guess I should give her a chance, like I gave Martha, when I was prepared to despise her before "Smith and Jones." Morale of the story? Russell T. Davies fucking hates me.
In the mean time, I'm just going to watch this bit with Catherine Tate and David Tennant, since it amuses me to no end. Oh, I finally got a digital camera after wanting one for years and years and years. 10X Optical zoom bitches!

Doctor Who 3.11

I've now watched "Utopia" like 6 times plus the Confidential episode. That's a record, even for me. I'm now calling "Utopia" my favorite Doctor Who episode ever. It's just perfection. So after watching it for the billionth time, I have a lot of detail-oriented observations.

Let's start with Martha Jones. Poor girl, she had to listen about how great and amazing Rose was all episode long. But alas! Martha now knows why she's not as good as Rose. As far as she knew, Rose was just a favorite, not super special. The Doctor revealed everything anyone needs to know about Rose in order to see why Martha is no Rose. Rose risked her life and disobeyed the Doctor in order to save his life and eventually Jack's. It's something Martha never really considered. She just listened and followed the Doctor. We haven't had an incident with Martha like what happened in "Father's Day," no almost end of the world because of Martha. She's just been a stray dog with the Doctor. But Rose... she was so much more. She had these instincts and seemed to figure things out and she even managed to save the day once or twice. We all knew this, but now Martha does. That look on Martha's face when the Doctor reveals Rose is trapped is key. She has this dawning of understanding and pity. The Doctor and Rose were forced apart, and Martha gets it. She also gets the sacrifice that Rose made. That's why I think Martha is going to do something remarkable in the finale. I think she will save the world and earn not only the Doctor's respect, but ours. After the bit with Jack fixing the couplings, Martha commented: "I don't understand half the things he's saying." It just shows how much the Doctor is keeping from her. It's not unlike what Nine did with Rose. He was very guarded with her, actually he was pretty condescending. But after he regenerated, Ten kept Rose in the loop. He explained things, he even let her take the lead on occasion. I think if Martha does step up and risk her life, I think we'll see a much different relationship between Ten and Martha. I think they will be more like comrades than just the Doctor and his companion, not unlike with Rose. But I think Martha will always know she's living in the shadow of Rose.

I'm doing this next bit based on one line the Doctor said to Jack. He said if a Time Lord absorbed the vortex, he would become a vengeful god. Hmm... Just noting it, perhaps the Doctor or the Master will take that power. The Master certainly is crazy enough to do it, what with all the regeneration energy flowing through him.

How on Earth (or Malcassairo) will the Doctor, Martha, and Jack escape the Futurekind. Two words: Vortex Manipulator. That thing on Jack's wrist burnt out, but luckily, the Doctor's got his handy-dandy sonic screwdriver.

Final note: Jack said he arrived back on Earth in 1869. Another thing that took place in 1869: Gwyneth and the Gelth. That's right, it all comes back the "The Unquiet Dead" and Gwen/Gwyneth. I feel like a crazy conspiracy theorist with this, but Jack could have very well met up with Gwyneth in Cardiff. He did say he got shot at Ellis Island, which means that he could have come from Great Britain to the States. Maybe I do have a reason to watch Torchwood after all.

Doctor Who 3.11

I'm so happy right now. I'm calling this one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes, if not my favorite episode, ever. I'm just so elated at everything. Finally, a picture perfect episode. It's been so long, I forgot just how amazing this show can be. Amazing and brilliant. And I love how everything this season built up to this point, even seemingly mundane things.

First: As soon as the Professor started to look ill, I was like: Time Lord regeneration. But it soon became apparent that other things were going on, as the Professor seemed unaware of anything Time Lord-ey. I mean, he looked completely blank at the mention of it. Then, when he mentioned the drums, or maybe sooner, it hit me: He rewrote his biology! Exactly what the Doctor did in "Human Nature"!!!!!! How amazingly brilliant! Then everything fell into place and parallels started to form. The Professor was brilliant, far more intelligent than any creature (except maybe the Doctor) we'd met. Then he had this own Martha, who had her own little crush on her Time Lord. I'm just in complete awe of the setup! I guess each season had an mid-season episode that led up to the finale: Season 1 had "The Long Game" with Satellite 5 which led up to the Daleks in the finale, Season 2 had "Rise of the Cybermen"/"Age of Steel" which led up to the tearful finale, and now we have this. I'm just stunned by the brilliant subtlety of this plan.

Another thing: The last few episodes last season had mentions of Rose dying in battle, or leaving loved ones behind, which were major clues about her fate. This season we had "Blink". That amazing episode had one of the funniest sounding phrases: "a big ball of wibbly-wobbly...timey-wimey...stuff." I never thought it would lead up to this episode, in which Mr. Saxxon, whom Martha had previously seen and heard, turned out to be a newly regenerated Time Lord. See, timey-wimey stuff. The Master was there all along, just Martha and the Doctor weren't there to see him regenerated yet. Hee!!!!

So after that logical analysis, I'm going to get to the point: ROSE. Lots and lots of Rose nostalgia, but the good kind, not the mopey-Doctor, fan upsetting kind. Good old Jack and Doctor reminiscing about how the former got to be immortal. You know, standard chat. It was so nice to see the Doctor freely chat with someone. I mean, with Martha, he was guarded, even she knew that. "Good 'ole Rose," she quipped, knowing that she would never be let in like she was. Hell, even Jack knew it. Everyone knew the connection. The Doctor and Jack had some catching up to do, and both of them (esp. Jack, he basically revealed NOTHING during the entire first season of Torchwood, more on that later) needed to talk. Words cannot express the feeling of joy that filled me when Jack and the Doctor embraced after revealing Rose wasn't dead. It was so sweet, then of course, it was sad when the Doctor finally admitted that Rose was trapped. It was the first time I recall where the Doctor said it for what it was: Rose would much rather be by his side, and if she could she would. It was a revelation that needed to happen, and I'm glad Jack was there.

OMG JACK! Gah, he's back as the same old manwhore. God I missed that. He was just so...emo on Torchwood. The Jack we knew and loved was fun-loving, despite some dark things. Except Torchwood just went with the dark, and we got this stranger: Jack Harkness. But this is the Jack I wanted. I was so thrilled to see John Barrowman on the opening bill. So fitting, I was beaming. It was great to see the Doctor and Jack back together. On a side note, Tennant and Barrowman have great chemistry, wouldn't mind seeing Jack show up more with the Doctor, actually I wouldn't mind him leaving Torchwood, this was much better.

OK, I'm going to get to my one aggravating problem, but it's not about the episode, it's about Torchwood. I watched 13 episodes of a pretty bland, uninteresting show to learn what I learned in this episode in 60 seconds: How Jack got from Satellite 5 to Cardiff. You know, you'd think that because Jack worked at Torchwood, he could share more about himself. It's not like he's working at a paper company or something. They're dealing with giant rat-like things and Godzilla-esque monsters. Hearing about a 51st century 100-something year old bisexual time traveler wouldn't be too shocking... you know all things considered. Instead Jack just made vague references and allusions to his past, most of which we (the viewer) already knew from watching Season 1 of Doctor Who. Basically, Jack had a time-hopping thing that brought him back to the late 1800's, and he had to live until he could meet up with the Doctor in 2008. That explains Jack's flashback to WWI in a Torchwood episode. I never quite got that one until now. The point was, 13 episodes later, and the most we learned about Jack was in one line in a Doctor Who episode. Maybe I should just watch Doctor Who and wait for Jack to come back to get more answers, like about his time at the Time Agency, or any answer about the whole Gwyneth/Gwen confusion. Certainly sounds like a plan.

I'm just so thrilled with this episode, and there was so much I just adored about it. I'm actually going to watch it again. Yeah, I loved it that much. Definitely my favorite of the season, definitely one of my favorites of all time, and it could actually be my favorite episode of Doctor Who, and it had Martha in it!