7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOILERS)

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by Samurai8472, Apr 27, 2013.

?

Grade "Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS"

Poll closed Jun 6, 2013.
  1. Geronimo!

    39 vote(s)
    33.1%
  2. Good

    46 vote(s)
    39.0%
  3. Average

    24 vote(s)
    20.3%
  4. Not worth salvaging

    7 vote(s)
    5.9%
  5. This episode should have stayed in the center of the TARDIS

    2 vote(s)
    1.7%
  1. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2001
    Location:
    Behind Enemy Lines
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    ^Did you not see the Christmas special?

    "I'm a lizard woman from the dawn of time and this is my wife..."
     
  2. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    The Wormhole
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    Plus, earlier in the episode when Vastra and Jenny are confronting Dr. Simeon one of them says "we're married."

    Personally, that needs to be explained a bit better. Was Victorian England really progressive enough to recognize marriage between a human and a reptile?
     
  3. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2001
    Location:
    Behind Enemy Lines
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    Well I reckon the Doctor probably took them to another planet where it is legal...maybe :)
     
  4. Mister Fandango

    Mister Fandango Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2012
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    As opposed to what? The Doctor can't get married now unless he hunts down some legal documents from Gallifrey and finds a Time Lord judge to put a stamp of approval on it?

    Whatever. My point is that the Doctor is in a fucking intimate relationship. Sure he flirts and whatnot, just like River does with anything that has a pulse, but he's not the type of person to go and actually cheat. Physically or emotionally. And yes, it's a very unconventional marriage, but what do you expect from the Doctor? Nevermind that he gets incredibly uncomfortable and quickly-changes-the-subjecty whenever flirting gets too intense.

    It's like you guys have this really weird idea of who and what the Doctor is as a person, then get pissed off because you start making random shit up to go with it. It's mind boggling. The Doctor is married and the Doctor is an inherently good and moral person. He's not some scumbag sex fiend trying to fuck everyone he meets.
     
  5. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    The Wormhole
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    That just creates more problems. Say for whatever reasons they have to present papers proving they're married. "I've never heard of this Raxacoricofallapatorius place you claim to have been married."
     
  6. ATimson

    ATimson Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2003
    Location:
    Andrew Timson
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    I did but I totally forgot that awesome line, in the midst of the "meh" that was the rest of the episode. :p
     
  7. Slugboy

    Slugboy Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2004
    Location:
    Dominion space
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    It isn't the interspecies part that is bothersome, but rather the vast difference in evolutionary levels, intelligence levels, etc. I can't imagine a Time Lord making any sort of meaningful connection with a human.

    Okay, you win. :) Although she doesn't marry anybody in canon, it is heavily implied (in The Invasion of Time) that she and Andred, a Time Lord, fall in love with each other. Also, in the First Doctor serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Susan leaves the TARDIS due to a romantic attachment to a human (David).

    So I suppose that there have been canonical instances of human-Time Lord relationships. To me, it seems like a "normal" person having a romantic relationship with a severely mentally disabled person, but I suppose canon is not on my side.

    As an aside, in The Doctor's Daughter, when Jenny asks Donna if she and the Doctor are together, she replies, "What? No. No. No way. No, no, we're friends, that's all. I mean, we're not even the same species. There's probably laws against it." But the line was more of a joke than a canonical pronouncement.
     
  8. Konata Izumi

    Konata Izumi Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2013
    Location:
    Helsinki, Finland
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    Actually I think he'd rather make love than spew venom at people who do. He is inherently good after all and mostly free of major cognitive biases.
     
  9. Venardhi

    Venardhi Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Location:
    The Great Wide Somewhere
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    And you've missed my point entirely. As well, it would seem, of the overall implications of their relationship by the way they actually behave towards each other. A single scene in an alternate universe does not define them. A River near the end of her timeline may well be heartbroken if she ever saw The Doctor in love with someone else, but they simply aren't compatible for any sort of long term committed relationship and have accepted that, in spite of what they feel for each other (and some might argue exactly what and how much they each feel for the other, considering their very different experiences) and chosen specifically not to try to force it by staying together. This happens to real people all the time, just without the time travel aspect to consider.

    Believe what you will, but this all seems rather obvious to me.
     
  10. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 1999
    Location:
    Switzerland
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    Now that's a bit of a paradox, because there is - maybe you've heard of it - a television series which is all about a Time Lord who spends all his time making meaningful connections with humans, and never seeking the company of more evolved species.
     
  11. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2000
    Location:
    QC, IL, USA
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    Indeed. Perhaps other Time Lords wouldn't be able to form these kinds of meaningful relationships with humans, but the Doctor loves humans. There's a reason he keeps going back to Earth.

    Besides, at this point it has been several hundred years since the Doctor ended the Time War. He's been the only Time Lord (more or less) in existence that whole time. He's bound to start becoming a lot more humany wumany over the years as he spends more and more time with humans.

    What I found funny about Matt Smith's arc with the Ponds was how much he almost "devolved" over time. He started as this old man who was sort of like a father figure to Amelia Pond, but over time, as Amy and Rory grew up and the Doctor kind of became like their son. At the end of "The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe," when he shows up at the Ponds' house for Christmas, I felt more like he was their long-lost son who ran away from home, too scared to come back for fear of what they might think of him, only to return to find that they still loved him very much and just wanted him home.
     
  12. Ar-Pharazon

    Ar-Pharazon Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2005
    Location:
    Far North Chicago Suburbs
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    If it was an issue, do you really think a marriage certificate would trump the whole lizard woman thing? :guffaw:
     
  13. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2004
    Location:
    Gov Kodos on Mohammed's Radio, WZVN Boston
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    And River already died, so there's that...
     
  14. Thestral

    Thestral Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2009
    Location:
    East Tennessee
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    ^ Indeed. He's not stepping out on his wife because from his perspective she's already died. Well, she died when he first met her, but that is he'll never see her again after that last date they had where he gave her the screwdriver. So he's basically a widower - is he not allowed to move on. Assuming the wedding counted of course, which is fine by me. ;)

    I actually really like this part of Eleven's relationship with the Ponds. It's not consistently portrayed or perfect, but it's something that's very unique and I like it.
     
  15. Slugboy

    Slugboy Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2004
    Location:
    Dominion space
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    I just figured out this whole "no touching" rule now. The Doctor wasn't saying that people shouldn't touch each other in general. Rather, he was specifically addressing the two Van Baalen brothers (Gregor and Tricky the "android"), telling them that they shouldn't touch each other. Here's why:

    There were three zombie creatures...a standalone zombie creature, and two zombie creatures that were always connected together (like they were conjoined twins). The Doctor refers to the standalone creature as "she", which I figure means he has a pretty good idea it is future Clara. Therefore the twin creatures must be Gregor and Tricky. In order for the twin creature to form, Gregor and Tricky had to be holding onto each other to be fused together like that. The Doctor figures that if the two brothers don't touch each other, there is no way the twin creature could be formed at the moment (since it must be formed at some future time when they are touching), and hence it would delay the formation of the twin creature (preventing the already-occurred timeline from occurring). Notice that once Gregor and Tricky do touch each other (when Gregor grabs Tricky by the arm) they burn and fuse together to form the very twin creature. (this is Time re-asserting itself)

    I agree, it's not the greatest reasoning, but I think that was what the writer had in mind when he wrote the scene.
     
  16. Venardhi

    Venardhi Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Location:
    The Great Wide Somewhere
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    You're forgetting the Doctor one, with the hand melted/stuck to its face.
     
  17. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2004
    Location:
    Gov Kodos on Mohammed's Radio, WZVN Boston
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    There are three zombies, the twin, one holding its face, and the last which has both hands free. So, yes, I'd say The Doctor comes to that realization when he sees the creature holding its face in the same way he is after telling Clara about how he'd been trying to save her.
     
  18. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2009
    Location:
    Great Britain
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    I don't get it? The Looms confirm that The Doctor and Susan are biologically related. It's just that Time Lords reproduce differently to us.

    I prefer The Doctor's sexuality to be ambiguous and alien, rather than that of a traditional romantic leading man. It makes him more interesting and helps him stand out from the other main heroes out there.

    If "The Doctor's greatest secret" ends up being a reference to The Other I'll give Moffat a fuckton of praise.
     
  19. Photoman15

    Photoman15 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2001
    Location:
    The sunny shores of Trenzalore
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    Except the Loom crap is just that. I know Who canon is not like Trek canon, but I disavow Lungbarrow as having any connectiion with the truth of Who. Looms are for the Loons.
     
  20. EliyahuQeoni

    EliyahuQeoni Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2007
    Location:
    Redmond, Oregon, United States of America
    Re: 7X10 Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS(Grading/Discussion)(SPOIL

    Technically yes, but with a twist. In the series, Susan was The Doctor's granddaughter. End of discussion. In the NAs Time Lord's are loomed and don't have children or grandchildren (Because of some curse). Susan is The Other's granddaughter. She is "biologically related" to the Doctor because the Other threw himself into the Looms (For reasons that make little sense) and was re-loomed/re-incarnated as The Doctor. This has the nice effect of making them related, sort of, and making sure that the Doctor never had any of that icky sex with a girl.