For what it's worth, here's her contemporary reviews of Capaldi's final three:
World Enough and Time
The Doctor Falls
Twice Upon a Time
World Enough and Time
The Doctor Falls
Twice Upon a Time
Class series one discussion thread (spoilers)
- Thread starter JoeZhang
- Start date
I must admit, her blog is compulsive reading. Even when i don't agree with her (and I seemingly don't agree with her dismissiveness towards the Pertwee era, or the obvious bias she has for the McCoy era), she has a lot of excellent points to show, and she's actually a great writer. Thanks for posting those links, Allyn!
On Saturday I was at the grocery store, and for no reason as all I went in the Dollar Tree next door. There I found the complete Class on DVD. I'd watched Class when BBC America showed it in the spring of 2017, I didn't feel like buying it then, but for a dollar I could plug a barely existing hole, one small enough for a Shadowkin to slip through, in my collection.
So, I binged Class over the weekend.
I didn't dislike Class four years ago, and rewatching it my opinion improved to a grudging admiration. It was decent enough, even though I'm thirty years past its target audience. But it's actually too short -- it doesn't have room to breathe -- and giving all of the characters have tragic backstories and torture porn levels of trauma felt tiresome and uncreative.
Also, Charlie is a deeply unsympathetic character. His relationship with Quill is major league fucked up, as many have noted over the years, and his lack of self-awareness on that point, not to mention his defensiveness when it was pointed out, was a problem. I was unmoved by his "sacrifice" in the finale.
I said the series was too short, which I mentioned on Twitter yesterday. What I realized while binging the series is that if Class had 13 episodes, the 8 episodes we have are the meta-plot mythology episodes -- 1, 2, 5, the 7-8 midseason two-parter, and 11, 12, 13. The ones we're "missing -- 3, 4, 6, 9, and 10 -- would be the character episodes, some monster-of-the-week, some not, that show the core cast and their relationships in more "normal" circumstances that aren't built around the metaplot. There were little things in the first three episodes -- the teens being teens, chatting on the phone and in video chat, etc. -- that completely disappear when things kick into gear.
It's unfortunate that we'll probably never know what happened with that cliffhanger. So let's talk about that.
We end the series with April's soul in the Shadow-King's body, Charlie devastated because he used the Cabinet of Souls, Tanya and Ram are orphaned, Quill free of her enslavement and also great with child, and the Governors preparing for "the arrival" of something (possibly Weeping Angels, or was the Angel under the control of the Governors).
On the one hand, it's a bunch of whatthefuckery. On the other hand, it completely upends the series and pointed toward something really ambitious. And I was amazed by how steeped this was in Doctor Who mythology.
Consider the Cabinet of Souls. It's the Matrix -- the Classic Who Matrix, not the Wachowski Sisters Matrix -- crossed with the Moment. I had the thought a couple of times that, maybe around the third season, there would have been a reveal that Charlie's people and the Time Lords were connected in some deep way. Yes, we see what his people really look like in the first episode, but there could have been genetic manipulation or technological help at some point long ago.
Or Miss Aimes' Metaphysical Engine. It's a TARDIS that explores dreams instead of time and space. I wondered, were she and The Governors she worked for another time-active power, perhaps one that filled the conceptual space in the absence of the Time Lords post-Time War? I thought of the Ferutu, the Council of Eight, the Klade, even The People.
And the resolution... well, the Doctor engineered that, didn't he? Did the Doctor rescue Charlie and Quill -- and the Cabinet of Souls -- not to save them but to manipulate Charlie into a position where he would have to use the Cabinet to destroy the Shadowkin? The seventh Doctor did that kind of shit all the time. He wouldn't genocide an enemy, but he'd maneuver someone else into a position where they would. This made me wonder which Doctor rescued Charlie and Quill, but Twelve is absolutely capable of that level of manipulation; I am firmly convinced that a future Twelve manipulated Clara into a relationship with Danny so that Danny would be in a position to take care of the Cybermen problem for an earlier Twelve. I'm also amused by the idea that the Doctor (might have) unwittingly dropped one of his schemes right in the laps of a potential enemy (the Governors).
I can think of a couple of solutions to the April problem. I feel like the one the series would have used was that April could turn the Shadowking's body into shadow and then reconstitute it as April.
I have no idea where Quill's magical pregnancy was going to go.
I kinda feel that around season four, there would have been some sort of mini-Time War centered on Coal Hill between the Doctor (and their allies) and the Governors, with the kids taking various sides. I could see the Governors actively recruiting one of the kids -- Tanya, most likely -- and then someone, maybe April or Ram, leveling the critique against the Doctor that Gwen Cooper makes in Children of Earth -- "Where were you?"
I don't know that I need to see any of these characters again, but damn, I would like some resolution to the Governors. Oh, and I feel like the Shadowkin could have been a part of Time Lord Victorious; they feel like something that's been around since The Dark Times.
Overall, it's flawed but it generally worked for me.
I think the Eruditorum for the McGann/Hurt/Eccleston years will be the last one I buy (ie., support on Kickstarter). I don't enjoy her Who writings any longer. Reading essay after essay of, "This isn't what I want, it's not aimed at me, and it's not woke enough," has become really old.
I'm partial to the idea that Two/Jamie/Zoe were a non-exclusive throuple in various combinations, though maybe that's reading the actors -- Doctor Who being something they did during the week between partying and carousing -- into the roles a little too far...
So, I binged Class over the weekend.
I didn't dislike Class four years ago, and rewatching it my opinion improved to a grudging admiration. It was decent enough, even though I'm thirty years past its target audience. But it's actually too short -- it doesn't have room to breathe -- and giving all of the characters have tragic backstories and torture porn levels of trauma felt tiresome and uncreative.
Also, Charlie is a deeply unsympathetic character. His relationship with Quill is major league fucked up, as many have noted over the years, and his lack of self-awareness on that point, not to mention his defensiveness when it was pointed out, was a problem. I was unmoved by his "sacrifice" in the finale.
I said the series was too short, which I mentioned on Twitter yesterday. What I realized while binging the series is that if Class had 13 episodes, the 8 episodes we have are the meta-plot mythology episodes -- 1, 2, 5, the 7-8 midseason two-parter, and 11, 12, 13. The ones we're "missing -- 3, 4, 6, 9, and 10 -- would be the character episodes, some monster-of-the-week, some not, that show the core cast and their relationships in more "normal" circumstances that aren't built around the metaplot. There were little things in the first three episodes -- the teens being teens, chatting on the phone and in video chat, etc. -- that completely disappear when things kick into gear.
It's unfortunate that we'll probably never know what happened with that cliffhanger. So let's talk about that.
We end the series with April's soul in the Shadow-King's body, Charlie devastated because he used the Cabinet of Souls, Tanya and Ram are orphaned, Quill free of her enslavement and also great with child, and the Governors preparing for "the arrival" of something (possibly Weeping Angels, or was the Angel under the control of the Governors).
On the one hand, it's a bunch of whatthefuckery. On the other hand, it completely upends the series and pointed toward something really ambitious. And I was amazed by how steeped this was in Doctor Who mythology.
Consider the Cabinet of Souls. It's the Matrix -- the Classic Who Matrix, not the Wachowski Sisters Matrix -- crossed with the Moment. I had the thought a couple of times that, maybe around the third season, there would have been a reveal that Charlie's people and the Time Lords were connected in some deep way. Yes, we see what his people really look like in the first episode, but there could have been genetic manipulation or technological help at some point long ago.
Or Miss Aimes' Metaphysical Engine. It's a TARDIS that explores dreams instead of time and space. I wondered, were she and The Governors she worked for another time-active power, perhaps one that filled the conceptual space in the absence of the Time Lords post-Time War? I thought of the Ferutu, the Council of Eight, the Klade, even The People.
And the resolution... well, the Doctor engineered that, didn't he? Did the Doctor rescue Charlie and Quill -- and the Cabinet of Souls -- not to save them but to manipulate Charlie into a position where he would have to use the Cabinet to destroy the Shadowkin? The seventh Doctor did that kind of shit all the time. He wouldn't genocide an enemy, but he'd maneuver someone else into a position where they would. This made me wonder which Doctor rescued Charlie and Quill, but Twelve is absolutely capable of that level of manipulation; I am firmly convinced that a future Twelve manipulated Clara into a relationship with Danny so that Danny would be in a position to take care of the Cybermen problem for an earlier Twelve. I'm also amused by the idea that the Doctor (might have) unwittingly dropped one of his schemes right in the laps of a potential enemy (the Governors).
I can think of a couple of solutions to the April problem. I feel like the one the series would have used was that April could turn the Shadowking's body into shadow and then reconstitute it as April.
I have no idea where Quill's magical pregnancy was going to go.
I kinda feel that around season four, there would have been some sort of mini-Time War centered on Coal Hill between the Doctor (and their allies) and the Governors, with the kids taking various sides. I could see the Governors actively recruiting one of the kids -- Tanya, most likely -- and then someone, maybe April or Ram, leveling the critique against the Doctor that Gwen Cooper makes in Children of Earth -- "Where were you?"
I don't know that I need to see any of these characters again, but damn, I would like some resolution to the Governors. Oh, and I feel like the Shadowkin could have been a part of Time Lord Victorious; they feel like something that's been around since The Dark Times.
Overall, it's flawed but it generally worked for me.
I think the Eruditorum for the McGann/Hurt/Eccleston years will be the last one I buy (ie., support on Kickstarter). I don't enjoy her Who writings any longer. Reading essay after essay of, "This isn't what I want, it's not aimed at me, and it's not woke enough," has become really old.
I'm partial to the idea that Two/Jamie/Zoe were a non-exclusive throuple in various combinations, though maybe that's reading the actors -- Doctor Who being something they did during the week between partying and carousing -- into the roles a little too far...
You've watched Class, too? I'm watching it right now! I'm binging it along with the audios, as well. I'll respond to the Class subject once I'm done, so
TO
BE
CONTINUED!
EXCEPT for Hell Bent, which is somehow the best Doctor Who ever. Shrug.
I don't disagree with her central issues with the Chibnall era (its dreadfully dull and tries too much to be RTD but without the imagination or the mad ideas), but I do find her continual deference on Talons triesome. We get it, its racist. I'm not racist for loving that story though, and that doesn't inherently make the story a case FOR racists.
I kid, but ya know, maybe not.
TO
BE
CONTINUED!
I never thought of buying the volumes, but from I read, the Eccleston book will include many excliusives? In any case, her incredible love for Moffat's Who is clearly in display, and as much as I've come to appreciate him during his marathon (he's very different from RTD's straightfoward Who, and once you expect that, its fine), I think she's way too easy on some stories like Mark Gatiss' latter stories or too hard on entries like Under the Lake, which is excellent but she seemingly hates. And I never hated Kill the Moon like many, but its clear that the central conceit kills any good intention in it, thus making it lesser than its individual parts. Really, the moon as egg should just not have been approved. Yet Sandifer defends it as one of the era's best.
EXCEPT for Hell Bent, which is somehow the best Doctor Who ever. Shrug.
I don't disagree with her central issues with the Chibnall era (its dreadfully dull and tries too much to be RTD but without the imagination or the mad ideas), but I do find her continual deference on Talons triesome. We get it, its racist. I'm not racist for loving that story though, and that doesn't inherently make the story a case FOR racists.
There's no denying the Fourth Doctor and Romana had something. Both Romana's in fact.I'm partial to the idea that Two/Jamie/Zoe were a non-exclusive throuple in various combinations, though maybe that's reading the actors -- Doctor Who being something they did during the week between partying and carousing -- into the roles a little too far...
I kid, but ya know, maybe not.
I literally found the DVD set for this show at a Dollar Store recently and bought it. I doubt I'll do more then watch the Doctor cameo, but for $1 I definitely had to get it (I also got the Blu Ray for Torchwood Season 2 at the same store, and both the Part 1 and Part 2 DVDs for Doctor Who Series 8, I get really lucky with that store sometimes).
I've made some interesting DVD finds at Dollar Tree, like the 3D Blu-Ray of the movie-format "Dark Water/Death in Heaven."
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