Doctor Who 5x04: The Time of Angels

[kerravonsen]

Ah, I ache. (sigh) But I am now caught up.

Well, well, well. Another good one from Moffat.

So we're revisiting two old things: Weeping Angels and River Song.

I dislike this River Song even more than the one we met before. (sigh) If it's so early in her meeting-the-doctor time (note that she was looking near the start of her diary) then how come she knows so much already? It's not like one learns Gallifreyan in five minutes. Even more troubling that she implies that it wasn't the Doctor who taught her how to fly the TARDIS. It doesn't make sense. And it annoys me, because it makes her even more of a Mary-Sue than she was before (a) because she's learned far too much in too short a time (b) she's now a criminal spy (something far more glamorous than an archaeologist) It's as if Moffat decided that he'd better cross River Song with Lady Christina.

(sigh)

Okay, stop dwelling on River Song the Annoying. Even though I'd rather have Liz Ten.

The Church Militant. No, I'm not actually going to get annoyed. The Church has gone astray in a similar fashion before, the most obvious example being the Crusades. That doesn't mean that true Christianity is dead in that time, just in hiding.

And I like that Bishop guy.

Weeping Angels. Cool. Particularly since these ones are a quantum above the ones we met before. So many extra creepy things; "the eyes are the windows of the soul", "can an idea live independently?"
This seems to indicate that they are very much more in the realm of perception than merely being frozen when looked at. Especially considering what happened to Amy, and her hand turning to stone - or she perceiving that her hand had turned to stone. Such a nifty piece of narrative logic.

"There's one thing you shouldn't put in a trap: me."

So, why was the angel trying to make the Doctor angry? This angel seems to want to mess with their minds - which is why it took Bob, because you can't mess with people's minds if you can't communicate.

I wonder if this is the "time of the angels" because this is a time when they have data-ghosts, where the "idea" of a person lives on independently, even if it's only for a few minutes. Unless, of course, that technology wasn't invented until later on in River Song's life.

I expect that they will escape like this: the Doctor smashed the gravity ball, they all jump, and the fragments of the gravity ball makes them all weightless, and they float up to the crashed ship.

Comments

[kalypso]

I was alienated by the transformation of River Song, whom I liked for her down-to-earth practicality, into an over-the-top vamp. A lot of that is because I have a visceral dislike of heavy make-up and high heels, and it's been pointed out to me that her remark to the silver-haired Alistair about "the dance-floor" (plus his dinnerjacket) indicated that she'd adopted this guise specifically to vamp him and thus infiltrate the ship. But to be fair, she did change into something more sensible later, and I'm hoping Moffat can overcome my alienation and win me back to her again.

Given the confusing order of their meetings, she might keep the diary in alphabetical form (it may not be bound, so she could move pages around), eg this story would go under "Byzantium, Crash of". The Confidential documentary drew attention to the fact that she'd mentioned the crash of the Byzantium when trying to work out whereabouts they were in the Doctor's timeline in Silence of the Library, and you could argue that either way: she might mention her early encounters with him first, or the more recent. I incline to the latter, as she seemed more surprised by his not remembering the picnic at Asgard.

[kerravonsen]

into an over-the-top vamp
Ah, yes, you've put your finger on something that was niggling at me that I didn't quite see.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Wow, you caught up fast.

Yeah, River Song does seem rather MS, so much so I even wondered if she was part Timelord since she almost seemed to imply she travels in time too--though as someone pointed out, so sis others in that era, like Jack Harkness.

I liked the Bishop Octavian (and Bob) too.

The voices of the dead reminded me very much of the data storage in the library.

I must have missed the gravity ball. :-P I think I'll have to watch again because there was a lot packed in and I think I missed dialogue as well.

[kerravonsen]

Wow, you caught up fast.
Day off today instead of tomorrow, as there is a meeting I have to go to tomorrow.

I liked the Bishop Octavian (and Bob) too.
I'd forgotten the Bishop's name.

Poor Bob; I knew he was a gonner as soon as we saw him standing alone all by himself.

"How did you escape?"
"I didn't."

I must have missed the gravity ball.
Earlier on in the episode it's mentioned; its the ball that they tossed in the air and it lit up.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

Ah, so I wasn't the only one who thought that about River. Respectable archaeologists don't normally need springing from jail. hat and being able to fly the TARDIS better than the doctor!

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

I dislike this River Song even more than the one we met before. (sigh) If it's so early in her meeting-the-doctor time (note that she was looking near the start of her diary) then how come she knows so much already?

I have enough faith in Steven Moffat to believe that he must have thought of that and have a good explanation for it. Hopefully we well be given that explanation in due course. (Regarding the diary, maybe she only started it - or at least the current volume - after she had already known the Doctor for some time.)