Doctor Who 7x05: The Angels Take Manhattan

[kerravonsen]

I cried. I actually cried.

All through the episode, the tension was high enough that I was muttering "oh shit" to myself quite a lot.
Intense.

I'm not sure I can be particularly coherent about this episode.

First of all, I'm glad Moffat was not cruel. He didn't separate Rory from Amy, he didn't make them die young, and he didn't make them forget their lives with the Doctor. And judging from previous departures on Who, any of those could have happened.
Yes, it is sad and poignant that they can never see the Doctor again, and that he can never see them again, but it's a bearable sadness.
And it is really no surprise that Amy chose to be with Rory rather than the Doctor. If it came to a choice between "real life" with Rory, and "Doctor life" without Rory, she would choose Rory. Over and over again, both Rory and Amy choose to sacrifice themselves for each other, as long as we've known them.

As for the Angels plot, I think this one was closer in feel to the original "Blink" than was "The Time of Angels"/"Flesh and Stone". It hit the right notes. The Noir atmosphere contributed to the tension. I was beautifully taken by surprise that the book the Doctor was reading aloud from... was actually a message from the past. I wasn't expecting that at all.

There were other things that fit well:
- the temporal interference which prevented the TARDIS from landing; perfectly logical if the angels are sending lots of people back.
- that a paradox would destroy the angels.

Loved:
- the emotional stuff between the four of them; the Doctor, River, Amy, Rory.
- the whole scene on the roof with Rory and Amy
- the whole scene in the graveyard with the Doctor and Amy at the end

Ah, Moffat, you kick us in the hearts.

Interesting remark by River that there should only be one psychopath per TARDIS. Obviously she's implying that the Doctor is a psychopath, and I object to that.
However, I do agree that River... would not make the ideal companion if it was just her alone, because she wouldn't be a restraining influence on him; they are too alike in some ways. She isn't an "everyman" character, and the Doctor needs someone who is an "everyman" character to keep him grounded.

I actually liked River in this episode. I don't always like her.
Some day I may actually sit down and watch the River episodes in River-chronological order. It would be an interesting exercise.

So how did the Doctor manage to delete himself from every database in the universe? I mean, yes, Oswin deleted him from the Dalek databases, but that wouldn't have affected the others. Oh well, whatever. (handwave, handwave)

All caught up now.

Comments

[lizbee]

I like to think the Doctor has been going around to all the equivalents of Wikipedia in the universe and editing the entries about him. Aaaaaaaaaall of them.

And I handwaved River's "psychopath" remark as being (a) exaggeration, but also, in being programmed from infancy to be his greatest enemy, she grew up mirroring him in many ways, so as much as she loves him, I think a lot of that programming lingers. Most people who grow up with the Doctor (Amy) have an illusion that he's perfect and noble, and that's shattered by knowledge of his failings. For River it's the other way around: she learned that he was in fact a good man.

[kerravonsen]

For River it's the other way around: she learned that he was in fact a good man.

Good point.

[kalypso]

I've just been sobbing through The Last Days of the Ponds. It's curious, I noticed this before when Catherine Tate left; I was calm during the episode, but became quite tearful watching her say goodbye to the production team on set in Confidential. I was emotional watching The Angels Take Manhattan, but the tears really hit me watching this documentary.

[kerravonsen]

Oooh, thanks for the link!

[kitkat71483.livejournal.com]

Blink was I think still the premiere 'Angels' episode. I loved the characters, I loved the video 'easter eggs' that actually turned out to be a conversation. I loved the whole thing. (And part of me all the way up to the end wondered if Sparrow would become a companion...ah well)

And, the Weeping Angels episode, well, it is one of the most terrifying creatures for me. And, when I think about it, the ones from Blink, I mean, really, they didn't kill you...they just sent you back in time so you could 'live yourself to death' as the good Doctor said. But, those are still the scariest ones for me. Maybe because it was the first introduction to them?

[kerravonsen]

I think "Blink" was the scariest/best of the three adventures with the Weeping Angels, yes. And possibly that's because it was the first one, but not wholly so. For one thing, it was more tightly written, with few if any plot-holes.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

I think the Statue of Liberty as an Angel was a step too far. Apart from anything else it isn't even made of stone. Besides it just seemed silly, not scary, in spite of the teeth.

The pathos with Rory and Amy was good and it was great they did end up together. It was a good way to bow out. Though considering Moffat said he changed the original ending. I'm now curious as to what the first ending would have been.

I really liked the cherubim which my family thinks is weird. :¬D

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Just got done watching this one. Tense, yes, indeed. Downright freaky. I agree that this was more along the lines of "Blink," which is fantastic.

When they made the Statue of Liberty reveal, my immediate reaction was, "That's just wrong." Heh.

I agree that it was a satisfactory ending for Rory and Amy. Poignant, yes, but it did not leave me completely devastated the way Donna's exit did. They had a "happy ending" in that they were together, living life.

I agree with you about River. Sometimes I like her, sometimes not so much. And usually when she shows up, I end up thinking about how we met her at the end of her life, and she's in the computer on the library planet.

I kind of want to see a change-up episode with a weeping angel--one that, rather than killing and feeding indiscriminately, is sort of a renegade and actually sets itself up as a protector of some sort. The question then becomes: whose time juice would it feed on.

Anyway, I agree. Nicely played ep, indeed.

[kerravonsen]

When they made the Statue of Liberty reveal, my immediate reaction was, "That's just wrong." Heh.

I think Moffat just couldn't resist. It's the kind of thing that gets the kids hiding behind the sofa.

The question then becomes: whose time juice would it feed on.
That's a key question, and would have to be answered satisfactorily or the whole idea wouldn't work.

Mind you, all three of the Angel adventures are inconsistent in their lore about the Weeping Angels. Not hugely inconsistent, but little things don't fit.
1) In "Blink", they are described as psychopaths and assassins, who are forever alone, because as soon as they are observed, even by their own kind, they turn to stone. Yet in the other two, they obviously aren't "alone" because they can communicate with each other, cooperate, make plans. And in the third one, they can apparently feel pain and communicate that to other angels.
2) Three ideas in "The Time of the Angels/Flesh and Stone" seem to have been dropped or forgotten: (a) that an image of an angel turns into an angel, and (b) that if you look into their eyes, they can turn you into one of them, (c) that if you behave as if you can see them, they behave as if they are seen.

Actually, it occurs to me that a good weeping angels story might be to set the adventure in Greco-Roman times, or slightly later, and create a Doctor-Who-ish explanation for all the Greco-Roman statues with their heads and arms knocked off - that it was done as a way of killing or crippling a bunch of Weeping Angels. After all, just because they're invulnerable when they're stone, doesn't mean they won't die if they wake up without a head. Even if they're like zombies and just keep going, it does make things more difficult if one can't see one's prey.

[kitkat71483.livejournal.com]

The Greco-Roman statues idea is brilliant! Maybe one day...


I always thought the differences with the Angels was because of their developement/evolution. I thought I remembered in the second one with the ship that crashlands with the Angels on board that something was said about this being them at their closest to their evolving into a life form? Maybe I'm remembering it wrong though.

Making the ones in Blink a watered down version of the older ones?