All Good Things End With A Wedding

Shakespeare taught us that. It's one of the basics of storytelling - comedies end in a wedding and in tragedies everyone dies. So I feel that the title of tomorrow's finale episode of Doctor Who bodes well for all of us hopefuls.

"The Wedding of River Song"

It just gives me shivers. It has to be so good. If it's not I'll cry. But back to Shakespeare's lessons - if you're like me, you've been racking your brain with theories as to how the Doctor is getting out of this one. I mean, it's not a prophecy like the last time and River's already used all her regenerations and can't save him again, and he definitely died. Like died died. They burn his damn body.

So, Mr. Moffat. Where are you leading us? We are following close on your heels, wagging our tails and have been given nary a clue. I hope you're as much a fan of Shakespeare as I am and this title is your slight nod that "don't worry, children, all will be fine." But I'm also enough of a skeptic to think that it's all been terribly misleading. Here are the facts:

Matt Smith signed for the seventh season already. So, realistically, there's some way out of this. River is definitely the Impossible Astronaut and is apparently able to be controlled still by the Silence. We still don't know who the man she kills for sure is, but he's "the greatest man she's ever known," and we assume that's the Doctor, but a fellow Whovian suggested Rory and I think that's fairly plausible as well. They've certainly played enough with the "are we talking about the Doctor, oh no it's Rory" mechanism.

The Flesh are still potentially players in this. I suppose there's also the Jesus theory. I think Moffat has been clever at hiding too many huge clues, and I could very well eat my hat after tomorrow night's episode, but my prediction is spectacular. It has to be. Or I'll cry. Do you want me to cry, Steven Moffat? I didn't think so.

Let's Pick Up the Pace

So it's recently come to my attention that there are two episodes left in series six. Yes. Two. Not five, not even four, but two. If you're like me, you're thinking that the last few episodes have been fun but have really answered very few questions (none, really) and not really advanced the story much. Don't get me wrong, I thought "The Girl Who Waited" was goddam spectacular, truly great television. But I'm anxious to see where this story is going.

Now, before you raise your poised fingers to type scathing comments calling me an idiot for forgetting about the ending of "The God Complex"let's address that. Yes, loved it. Totally threw me for a loop yet it made sense and after I saw it, I sort of thought, "I'm surprised that hasn't happened sooner." But we all know that the Doctor needs his companions and letting go isn't exactly his strongest suit. So I feel adequately prepared for some Whoawesome television (you pronounce that "hwa-sum") starting this Saturday. But let's keep up the pace, yeah?

For those of you who don't watch previews, might want to stop reading now. "Closing Time" seems to be presenting us with the kick in the pants I'm looking for. The return of the Cybermen and better yet, the return of Craig! Steven Moffat, I trust you implicitly and I know you won't let me down...don't let me down.

Two Mad Men With a Box

With the second half of series six of Doctor Who underway on BBC America, I thought it'd be fun to share my thoughts on the most recent Doctors.

There's the constant question...which Doctor is better, the best, more likable. They are constantly being compared to each other. I don't think that's quite the right way to look at it. When the Doctor regenerates, yes he changes physically, but there's very clearly psychological change that takes place. And let's think about it this way - if you died, something would change about you on a mental level as well. You might be grateful, pissed, resentful, overjoyed, relieved. About a million different emotions go into it.
When David Tennant's Doctor arrives, we find him re-awakened. Christopher Eccleston's portrayal is sardonic, angry, and in a lot of denial about the events of the Time War. By the time he regenerates to Tennant, we find that he's moved on to deep sorrow balanced out by a brilliantly curious quirkiness. This is a Doctor who grins like he means it. He says things like "alonzi," eager for plain fun adventure. He handles his foes with less anger and more of a controlled contempt for violence than anything.

Through three seasons, we peel away the layers of this Doctor who thoroughly enjoys life; he's genuinely excited and thrilled to be on this adventure. He's got no time for evildoers, and though he always presents the chance to change, when disappointed he can be ruthless. Which is one reason he needs a companion, to balance him out, remind him why he travels. 

This Doctor makes himself more accessible to his companions and we find that beneath his jovial exterior beat two very feeling hearts. By making himself more amiable, more available to love, he's made himself more open to heartbreak as well. He constantly must tear open the wounds of his past in order to save the people he loves. And that's the kind of thing that changes a man...or Time Lord. Towards the end, we see the Doctor alone, trying to figure out exactly who and what he is, and in one of the most heart-wrenching moments of the show, he's not ready to leave when it's his time to go. He's not done; but it's time.

And so Tennant's Doctor dies and Matt Smith's Doctor is born from the ashes. Right away, there's something a bit mad about him. It's no longer quirky; it's aloof bordering on insanity. Alien. And then there's the anger. I think the madness is a defense mechanism, hiding the anger deep away inside. If he can deflect long enough, maybe he won't think about all the pain he endured so recently, maybe he can forget the sacrifices he's made to save Earth. But that anger sits just below the surface - do anything to make it bubble through and instantly regret it.

A line Matt Smith repeats, "Never had that before," seems to be apt for the changes present in this Doctor. He's never been quite this angry, quite this vengeful, or confrontational. He's lost the people he loves before and now heaven help anybody who comes between him and his companions. The Doctor was always protective of his companions, but never quite to this extent.


This Doctor brings a whole new set of rules. He tends to lie and isn't as opposed to killing (or at least allowing killing) as he was before. I think if this wasn't balanced out with Matt Smith's incredible ability to act like a six year old and nine hundred year old at the same time, we'd lose our affection for him from time to time. He pushes the limits, but hey, the best heroes do.

And the best heroes evolve, which is the beauty of the temporal nature of the Doctor character archetype. A man who can change his face, change his self, but always retains some essence of the same person. 


So for all those imdb message board trolls going, "Tennant is way better, bring him back," or "No, you suck monkey brains, Matt Smith is the best ever," let's all try and remember that you're basically trying to compare performances of two different characters. And that never really works. So just enjoy them both and get on with enjoying this fantastic show.

Doctor Who: Top Ten Scary Awesome Enemies (modern)

EDIT:
So I needed to come back and do an update because (and I am really kicking myself here) I completely forgot one. After all that writing and editing and re-writing. At minimum they get honorable mention, but I really think they belong further down the list so I think a revised top ten would look like this:

Article proper:
What good is any fan blog without an old-fashioned countdown?! This is the first of many planned and hopefully I'll do all of them in time. As I've mentioned before, we're dealing with strictly Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat episodes here. As I become more of a Whovian, I will expand. Don't hate. Also, this is written assuming you are up to date on Who and let this serve as a spoiler warning to you if you are not.

So yes, the scariest enemies, meaning villains, monsters, or otherwise. Starting with:


10. The Monster From "Midnight"

Difficult to find a picture for this. We never actually see the monster from Midnight (or do we?). There's a lot of loud noises, the front of a tram ripped off, and some possession, but no actual monster. The Doctor and Donna visit a diamond planet called Midnight (fun fact), and while Donna soaks up the highly deadly sun, the Doctor hops on a tour bus for a quick eight hour trip. About half way through the journey out, the bus experiences some electrical difficulties followed by some minor possession of one Sky Silvestri (shown above). The begins repeating everything the other passengers say, eventually catching up to speak exactly at the same time and finally capturing the Doctor's voice.

What makes it scary: Well it's genius writing technique, playing on the basest of human fears - the unseen and the unknown. We have no idea what has happened except that something has attacked these people and that it has beaten the Doctor. Take that in for a minute, this monster literally wins. If not for that brave stewardess the Doctor would've been trapped in a state of repetition for who knows how long.

Why it's awesome: I love clever writing. And I love when you give a setting a confined, claustrophobic space and then add more tension. I also love the idea of throwing something completely new and unknown at the Doctor plus terrified uncontainable passengers and he just can't quite win. So simple, but gripping.

9. Rassilon

First of all, that's Timothy Dalton. Need I go on? No, but I will. Rassilon returns in the reboot near the end of Tennant's run as the Doctor in "The End of Time" Parts I and II. He's trying to break from the time lock the Doctor trapped them in and finish his plan to destroy the universe.

What's scary about him: For me, it's mainly the fact that he literally created the Master, or the Master's madness. But I mean, this is a super powerful Time Lord with a major hate-on for the Doctor. None of that is good news.

Why he's awesome: Timothy Dalton.


8. Melody Pond

Okay, so I had a bit of an internal debate on whether or not to include Melody since we haven't seen how this is playing out yet. I do want to draw attention to fact that I'm calling her Melody and not River. Take note of that.

What's scary about her: A trained psychopath, brainwashed to hunt and kill the Doctor, she's dangerous. Melody is also somebody the Doctor is very attached to and that makes her even more dangerous. On top of that, she's at least part Time Lord making her even more dangerous-er. She's at least as smart as the Doctor and at the moment quite a bit less sentimental.

Why she's awesome: Well, River Song is pretty amazing, as is Alex Kingston. So it stands to reason that Melody Pond is awesome, too.

7. The Dream Lord

In the episode, "Amy's Choice," a malevolent Dream Lord forces the Doctor, Amy, and Rory to choose between two given realities, each with a deadly and imminent peril.

What's scary about him: The end of the episode reveals that the Dream Lord is an alter ego of the Doctor, somehow brought to life by the energy of the TARDIS. So hold the phone. That right there is enough for me to go on to say this is freakin' terrifying! Some uncontrolled dark side of the Doctor (you know he's got at least one) walking about reaping havoc?! Come on!

Why he's awesome: Well Toby Jones is just a great actor. Plus the entire concept is great writing.


6. The Vashta Nerada

So I am incredibly upset with myself for going through my entire writing and editing process of this blog and FORGETTING one of the scariest enemies in the whole series. Floggings are in order.

What's scary about them: Well, they could be in ANY shadow anywhere in the universe. "Not every shadow, but any shadow." That's freakin' scary. And there's over a million, million of them that the Doctor is faced with in "Silence in the Library" and that's quite a bit if you ask me. Add to that the fact that they can maneuver and speak through our dead and you've got one terrifying little monster(s).

Why they're awesome: Well more than anything, this is why. But also genius, playing on our fears of the dark. I always knew that was justified.


5. The Flesh

Ah, yes! The Flesh! Part monster, part good guy, part victim! If you're like me and you go back and watch episodes over and over again, you'll notice that the term the Flesh first appears in series two! But they become real characters toward the middle of series six in "The Rebel Flesh" and "Almost People" where they run amok in an acid mine. Even the Doctor has his own Flesh Doctor, who could still be running about (dun dun dun).

What's scary about them: Not only are they silicon-y drones that become sentient in and of themselves, but it's then found that you can be a Flesh and not even know it! Amy for the whole first half of series six is revealed to be a Flesh Amy unbeknownst to us all, including Amy! And then Moffat gets us AGAIN with a FleshBaby! This creations ability to believe it's own lies, blend perfectly, make it totally scary.

Why they're awesome: Again, it comes down to excellent writing and acting. For one, it makes rewatching six totally fun. But the real beauty of the Flesh is the victimhood and its struggle for freedom. Plus, let's hold out hope that the Flesh Doctor can regenerate and that's what got killed on the beach in "The Impossible Astronaut."

4. The Master

The Master. Harry Saxon. One of the most prevalent enemies in Who lore, beautifully portrayed by John Simms in the rebooted series. He shows up time and time again, always going on about the drums going constantly in his head (we find out in "The End of Time" that Rassilon put that drum beat into his brain to instigate madness).

What makes him scary: Definitely one of the most formidable foes the Doctor has ever faced, the Master should strike fear into your heart! He's conquered the world. Twice. Beaten the Doctor a few times, and is a complete lunatic. He's kind of the Joker of the Doctor Who universe.

Why he's awesome: It's not often bad guys are given full circle development, but this character is given his space to roam. John Simms does an excellent job of balancing madness and rage with sympathetic longing for peace.

3. The Daleks

So these guys are not one of, they are the most infamous enemy the Doctor faces. Even his enemies are enemies with these guys. They have no friends. They exist to EXTERMINATE! They first appear in the reboot in the aptly named episode, "Dalek."

What's scary about them: How about the fact that their sole purpose is death and destruction of everything that is not Dalek? Which means everything. Or the fact that even the Doctor is frightened of them? Need I go on?

Why they're awesome: Did you not read what I just said? The Doctor is afraid of them.

2. The Weeping Angels

Steven Moffat introduced us to these bad ladies with "Blink" in series three and I've had one eye open ever since. These creatures exist in a quantum lock, which I don't understand either, but it means that they only exist when you aren't looking at them. Gaze upon them and they turn into stone, blink and they zap you into the past and feed on your unused time energy.

What's scary about them: Aside from the fact that you can't look away even for a split second, and they have gnarly evil faces beneath their pretty angel faces, I guess these guys are totally fine...if you're a moron. I mean, seriously?! The scariest part of these guys is that now whenever I see a statue of an angel, I have to stare at it for as long as possible.

Why they're awesome: Moffat created something that conceivably could already exist in this universe. I mean, I think there'd be stories, but like I said...I bet you stare at angel statues now, too.




And number one???





1. The Silence

I was originally going to place these guys a bit higher up on the list, but the concept just chills me to the bone, so here we are. The Silence. Hinted at for AGES, still not completely understood.

What's scary about them: Well, honestly, what isn't? They look like freaky alien g-men meet dementors, they have existed on our planet since the beginning of time, and they can control humanity through post-hypnotic suggestion. And we don't even know they've done it, because the moment you look away you forget about them. Can't even remember you've seen one. So they definitely could already exist and you'd just never ever know. Even the Doctor can't remember them once he's seen them. Moreover, we found out recently that The Silence is actually a religious order, unknown enemy of the Doctor, trying to kill him, and they believe that Silence will fall when the question is asked.
SCARY

Why they're awesome: In creating these creatures that you can't remember, Moffat has accomplished the terrifying effect of resonance. This is a creature that you put thought into after the show was over, no denying. It's such a genius concept I'm stunned it wasn't done before. Plus we got one of the best moments of Who when the Doctor tricks the Silence into ordering their own executions. Now that is scary awesome. You should be staying up late at night wondering how many of these creatures you've killed. Probably loads. But don't worry they deserved it.


and Honorable mention goes to....

House

Of course this is nearly impossible to find a picture of. This was the most interesting one I thought. Yes, it's House! Not to be confused with Hugh Laurie, from the recesses of Neil Gaiman's fantastic mind comes this sentient asteroid with a taste for TARDIS and mind games. In "The Doctor's Wife," House manages to transfer the soul of the TARDIS into a human woman and posses the TARDIS, with Rory and Amy trapped inside. 

What makes him scary: Well other than the fact that he's basically a really powerful disembodied voice, which is creepy enough, he's able to actually pull the wool over the Doctor's eyes for a bit. So much so the Doctor puts Rory and Amy in harm's way without realising it. 

Why it's awesome: Two reasons. Neil Gaiman. TARDIS becomes a woman. Nuff said.