new who

[kaydeefalls]

There was a new episode of Who! It was fun! I really like Clara! The last shot of the Woman In Charge (didn't catch her name) kind of broke my heart, actually. She sounded so lost. She'd been in this thing's thrall since she was just a little girl, and now she's "restored", and, ugh, all the unexpected feelings about that.

One thing that rubbed me entirely the wrong way, though, was the plane. Which I feel weird complaining about, because I feel like I'm being overly sensitive or something, and I don't consider myself someone who has any real triggers, so, I dunno. And I think in some ways American cultural sensitivity about 9/11 does go too far (see: the "justification" of two completely unjustifiable wars, etc). But as a New Yorker who lived here on that date and was pulled out of my high school class to watch the live footage on TV and wondering if anyone I or my friends knew was down there and not knowing what was going to happen next, the image of a passenger jet hurtling down with a purpose is just...a very, very visceral thing for me. And, again, I feel like I have LESS sensitivity about that than a lot of other people I know. But that was...not good to watch. It felt like a very cheap shot. IDK, it's not that I'm angry about it. It just made me feel incredibly uncomfortable in a way that jarred horribly with the sort of lighter madcap feel of the scene itself -- like, I'm supposed to find the Doctor's not knowing how to fly a plane amusing, I think? Or Clara's fumbling with her mug? But, ugh, really no. That's like a nightmare come to life, and not in the fun creepy-scary way. I know 9/11 was more than a decade ago, but, um, still maybe too soon for me.

Comments

[lutamira]

yup, yup, yup. I had a very similar reaction to the plane scene. At first I was like, 'wait, what? they are doing this?' And:

like, I'm supposed to find the Doctor's not knowing how to fly a plane amusing, I think? Or Clara's fumbling with her mug? But, ugh, really no. That's like a nightmare come to life, and not in the fun creepy-scary way.

was totally where I was at too. I had to keep reminding myself through the scene that it was supposed to be funny and another doctor saves the day moment, rather than this horrific tableau of some madman running up the aisle of the plane to break into the cockpit.

[king_touchy]

still maybe too soon for me.

I wonder if humorous references to 9/11 will always be too soon.

It felt like a very cheap shot. ........ that jarred horribly with the sort of lighter madcap feel of the scene itself -- like, I'm supposed to find the Doctor's not knowing how to fly a plane amusing, I think? Or Clara's fumbling with her mug?

Me, too. I felt like the show said, "The Doctor can use his goofy ways to fix your most terrifying situation." As an American, it felt really personal. I wonder if there are elements in other episodes (like WWII bombings) that resonate with Brits? It was a brief moment, though. I shrugged it off.

The episode was fun, but I have little excitement for the show. I've seen other reviews with similar apathy, and a lot of it seems to be aimed at how we're seeing the same story over and over. I think it's been well established that the Doctor is a lonely old fellow. And I like Clara fine, but I miss that the Doctor had two companions. How about three for a change, even short-term (I know it's hard to juggle too many characters in a plot0. I think it'd be cool if he had a companion obviously not from Earth. The preview for next week looks interesting because it's not Earth, so there's that.

[rabid_bookwyrm]

I was in America, and in highschool, but I lived in California and the attacks on September 11th have never sat as close to my bones as I know they do for others who were closer. So I actually didn't think about that at all during that scene - I was mostly ticked because it takes years to learn to pilot a commercial jet and you don't just yank on the yoke and hope it goes right! It was sort of all rolled into Eleven is being all hopeful and manic and Clara is being all wide eyes and perky which is fine enough but it still feels like they're trying a little too hard, which was my main reaction to the episode.

So anyway - there's a different take on the whole thing. I liked it more than the Christmas episode (ugh) but much less than a lot of other episodes from other seasons.