bigger on the inside

[aria]

Mildly more coherent thoughts on 6x04:

So epershand apparently spent a lot of this episode going "Are you sure ARIA didn't write this?" and it makes me laugh because -- yes. Moffat's Doctor Who is often the Who in my head, but Gaiman's episode -- of course it was full of extremely Gaiman-esque things, like patchwork Auntie and Uncle, and the particular horror of Amy's corridor hallucinations, and the Delirium-ish way the TARDIS began expressing herself, and the general aesthetic -- but it was also just so much the Doctor Who in my head that it's a little scary.

I'm not sure I can break down exactly what made me go "THIS, EXACTLY THIS" but I will at least attempt! For a start, Gaiman understands companions the same way I do. Amy and Rory are there to defend the Doctor from the mad woman biting him, to ask him if he wants to be forgiven and remind him that it's not always good when he gets emotional about things, to hold hands and generally be a team with one another, to understand they're not permanent but rise to the occasion they're given. This is exactly, exactly right.

The oldschool callbacks too were so damn lovely. Distress call cubes a la War Games! The jumbled doomed signals from forever ago and locked away! And I loved the way the Doctor got angry, too, quiet and resigned and sad; I fucking adore Matt Smith. He's so good at terrible and understated. A lot of the Doctor's lines were absolutely on, too; I may have clapped like a seal when he talked about the universe as a bubble and the pocket universe as a smaller bubble on it, or maybe a drain, and he's clearly embarrassed by these metaphors but it's the best he can do. That's the way to do your absurd technobabble: in metaphors that aren't the thing itself but convey it better than a bunch of made-up phrases would.

And best, oh god, the TARDIS. I love her. I've loved her forever, and I adored when the Doctor called her "you sexy thing" back in Eleventh Hour, but oh. Oh TARDIS. Her name is Sexy, and she's his old girl, and she stole him. She stole him. My heart has cracked with love. Every single one of their scenes, starting with the one where she's in the cage and carrying all the way through, were perfect. So, so perfect. I loved "alive" and "hello" but I think best of all was the TARDIS' wonder, looking at the Doctor and discovering that he's so big on the inside. (ETA: OH AND HOW COULD I FORGET: she takes him not where he wants to go but where he needs to go! I am so delighted that this is CANON NOW.) I may ship them harder than I have ever shipped anything in Doctor Who EVER; I mean, Doctor/Master owns my soul and fannish output, but I have so. many. feelings. about Doctor/TARDIS, especially now.

The one very, very Gaiman bit of the episode that I loved to pieces was the crimson, eleven, delight, petrichor password that Amy telepathically sends. Absolutely gorgeous. Also, what d'you know, petrichor is a real word! I have learned a new word, and it's lovely.

Arcy things: I love that Amy's hallucinations addressed the way she absolutely doesn't take Rory for granted and in fact is utterly terrified that he's already done too much and she's going to get him killed. (This is a valid fear considering that Rory's had a fakeout or almost-death pretty much EVERY EPISODE THIS SEASON.) Also, the only water in the forest is the river. That's probably River; I notice, though, that there are therefore no Ponds. I am not sure how worried I am about this.

But yes. I loved it. Loved loved loved. Am probably going to watch a million more times and cry with joy.

Perhaps relatedly, I've had the Marian Call song Good Old Girl stuck in my head. My default assumption is that it's about Kara Thrace (see the "nothing but the rain" line) but oh could it be about the TARDIS instead. Someone needs to vid the hell out of that now we have all this glorious new footage.

Comments

[juniperphoenix]

Also, the only water in the forest is the river. That's probably River; I notice, though, that there are therefore no Ponds.

Ooh, I hadn't thought of the no-Ponds thing. That's a really brilliant observation.

[gehayi]

Well, since the library in which the Doctor met River Song was called the forest of the Vashta Nerada, and since the Ponds were not there in that forest, I think the Ponds are okay. I think that Sexy the TARDIS simply came up with a line for Eleven to tell ever-younger River about their first meeting. Of course, River didn't realize that a library could BE a forest--but it's nice that the TARDIS thought that she deserved some warning so that she wouldn't constantly fear that every time was the last time. It was truly kind of Sexy, actually.

[happydork]

but it's nice that the TARDIS thought that she deserved some warning so that she wouldn't constantly fear that every time was the last time

Awww! I really like that!

[gehayi]

I can see her doing that. After all, the TARDIS knows that River loves the Doctor and keeps saving his life. Besides, River follows the instructions and doesn't leave the brakes on!

[happydork]

I notice, though, that there are therefore no Ponds.

!!!! I never thought of that!

It was such a wonderfully fan-written episode, wasn't it? Canon is so vast and amazing and this episode revealed in that. I'm smiling again just thinking about it. :)

[minkhollow]

It was SO AMAZING.
(Part of me really wants to write a Dr. Horrible crossover now, for great other characters who aren't tethered to the present tense (I fleshed out Hourglass for a couple other fics and she's FUN). Alternately, Mrs. Cake.)

[sophia_sol]

Whereas my default assumption is that Good Old Girl is about the TARDIS because I've never seen BSG. I love that song SO MUCH and it definitely needs a vid to it. There needs to be ALL THE VIDS about the TARDIS!

(also, YES to everything in this post)

[starlady]

It was a stellar episode. And yes, Matt Smith knocked the terrible & understated aspects out of the park. And TARDIS! She was so, so, so awesome.

[gominokouhai]

This, all of this, exactly this.

(Except the Doctor/Master bit. Eww. It takes all sorts, I suppose.)

But it was bloody good, wasn't it?

[sentientcitizen]

Holy crap Sophia and I aren't only people on all the internet who thinks Good Old Girl is about the TARDIS!

...and, er, you also said lots of other thing I agree with, but - that's the important one, yup!

[china_shop]

Oh my god, I looooved TARDIS-as-a-woman! Having trouble with her tenses, and biting the Doctor with such glee! EEEEEEE! Doctor/TARDIS is really my only DW ship, and this was a GORGEOUS variation on it.

(And oh, the moment where they were looking at all the dead TARDISes, and she saw her dead brethren and he saw spare parts -- so PERFECT!)

[katewrites]

YES to the last line bit, it's a little frightening!

And I agree with everything you said here. I was so in love with the actress they got for the TARDIS - spot on and perfect.

[januar]

Also, the only water in the forest is the river. That's probably River; I notice, though, that there are therefore no Ponds.

Ooo, I didn't even think of that. I hope it doesn't mean doom for Amy and Rory.

[sahiya]

This episode made me happy in a way that pop culture almost never does. I love my shows, but so often they don't quite go where I want them to, and this went there, set up camp, and threw a mad party.