Days like crazy paving

[usuallyhats]

Can I continue with my writing-about-Doctor-Who streak? I watched "Dragonfire" last night, so let's see.

• I had a big grin on my face for a lot of the first episode: something about the dynamic between Our Heroes in the café scene in particular really worked for me. I loved that Mel believed Glitz at first, but was resigned rather than surprised or outraged to find out he was lying. Also I laughed a lot at "the real McCoy" because I am easily pleased.


• What on earth does the Doctor think he's doing to get himself into the episode one cliffhanger? Really, what is going on there?


• And why does Mel go off with Glitz at the end? She's already travelling the universe and having adventures! Maybe she feels like with Glitz she has the chance of a) being more of an equal partner and b) reforming him a bit. I think it'll work out ok: she can bring out his better nature, and he will give her the chance to be a bit wilder and have more fun, and I love the idea of them zooming around the galaxy being space pirate Robin Hood types, but still, her motivations here are somewhat obscure. (Apparently one of the NAs claims that the Doctor hypnotised her into wanting to leave because he didn't think she could handle the struggles ahead. I DISKARD THIS UTERLY. She absolutely could, and I don't buy the Doctor not trusting his companions to rise to the occasion, whatever it is.) Her actual leaving scene was lovely, though. Nose bopping! And how quietly sad and resigned the Doctor is, and Mel hinting that he should take Ace on instead...


• OF COURSE THE DRAGON SHOOTS LASERS FROM ITS EYES, WHY WOULDN'T IT? (also, aw at it rescuing the little girl!)


• Iceworld looked lovely. I realise I am grading on a curve, here, but I really thought the sets were great.


• About Time described this story as a mixture of deft wordplay and daft slapstick, or something along those lines, which explains why I liked it so much. I enjoy The West Wing for similar reasons: it is about 75% snappy dialogue and 5% People Falling Over. (The other 20% is patriotism, sentimentality and pontificating, which I generally like less.)


• I cannot get over the Doctor and the security guard and their philosophical conversation. BEAUTIFUL.


• HI ACE HI. I just love everything about her, her joy and her defiance and her fear and her ridiculous slang and her SECRET REAL NAME. I also liked the fact that she and Mel don't hit it off straight away, but do grow to care about each other. I wish we'd had more episodes with the two of them, it would have been great, and also THINK OF THE FEMSLASH.


• What else do I need to say about "Dragonfire"? IT WAS GREAT. I LOVED IT. SEND MORE.

(On an unrelated note, is anyone else having problems with Google Docs? I had to recode soniclipstick from scratch yesterday evening because the document with everything I'd done earlier had disappeared. Annoyingly said document reappeared this morning. Too late, Google Docs, too late!)

Comments

[nentari]

Yay Dragonfire!

What on earth does the Doctor think he's doing to get himself into the episode one cliffhanger? Really, what is going on there?
That was absolutely pointless and nonsensical. It reminds me of a feature in the Trial of a Time Lord box set about cliff-hangers where the people discussing the subject (mainly New Who writers) were facepalming at it and wondering if the fact the Doctor is hanging on a cliff was meant to be a meta joke.

The Ten Doctors webcomic shows a really brilliant vision of how the dynamic of Glitz and Mel travelling together would be, with him doing something really dodgy behind her back and later on receiving the lecture of a lifetime - and taking it like a scolded little boy.

Ohh Mel and Ace together were lovely. I especially love their reaction when they first see the dragon, with Mel screaming and Ace going from O_O to :D - it defines their differences wonderfully, without it making one better than the other.

I'm having trouble with GDocs too, though with me documents refuse to load altogether. It's annoying, as I rely on it a lot for role-playing.

[usuallyhats]

Hah, yes, that's about the only thing that cliffhanger has going for it!

Ooo, I'd forgotten about that bit in The Ten Doctors! Maybe I should reread it.

They were! I loved the bit where Mel really got into the throwing nitro-nine thing. ♥

Argh, how frustrating! I haven't had that problem yet, just the disappearing document (and things refusing to accept that I'd retitled them. And the upload button intermittently refusing to work).

[such_heights]

AAAAAAAAAAAACE! :D

[usuallyhats]

SHE IS SO GREAT. :DDDD

[some_stars]

I LOVE DRAGONFIRE. I think it's severely underrated, both on its own merits and as a brilliant start to Ace's arc, containing all the themes and imagery that are going to develop over the next two seasons. And that philosophical conversation with the security guard is one of the first things I remember watching when I started on classic Who (a whole...five years ago, in those distant misty days), and it charmed me so utterly.

(That "cliffhanger" is the one thing that makes me cringe every time, though. I can't even be ironically fond of it. IT'S JUST SO DUMB.)

[usuallyhats]

I agree - I was mostly looking forward to it because ACE, but it's an excellent story in its own right too.

And that philosophical conversation with the security guard is one of the first things I remember watching when I started on classic Who (a whole...five years ago, in those distant misty days), and it charmed me so utterly.
It's such a perfect moment - anyone who'd seen the program before would be expecting the Doctor to do something unexpected, but then the guard's reply is really unexpected. ♥

(That "cliffhanger" is the one thing that makes me cringe every time, though. I can't even be ironically fond of it. IT'S JUST SO DUMB.)
I couldn't get over how long they spent on it! I was sitting there going "Doctor. What are you doing? What... what are you DOING?". /o\

[riverdresses]

OMG THIS SERIAL. :D I really enjoyed it when I saw it a year or two ago (before I really became more of a hardcore Seventh Doctor kind of girl, so my feelings about it are fairly pure, in a sense), as a-new-to-me Ace serial & as my first television introduction to Mel, who I loved from the audios & STILL loved here. :D

And why does Mel go off with Glitz at the end? She's already travelling the universe and having adventures! Maybe she feels like with Glitz she has the chance of a) being more of an equal partner and b) reforming him a bit. I think it'll work out ok: she can bring out his better nature, and he will give her the chance to be a bit wilder and have more fun, and I love the idea of them zooming around the galaxy being space pirate Robin Hood types, but still, her motivations here are somewhat obscure.

I definitely agree that in the end, Mel's motives for leaving Seven are a bit hazy, but you offer some lovely thoughts as to her motives. (brb, running off with them & holding them close forever) I do like Mel wanting to help make Glitz a bit of a better person (IDK, but I just hate saying that she wanted to 'reform' him for some reason; it rubs me the wrong way & I wish I knew why!) & wanting to do more sort of concentrated good in her travels (aaaah, I hope that makes sense!). & I definitely think that they can both learn from each other very nicely. ♥

(Apparently one of the NAs claims that the Doctor hypnotised her into wanting to leave because he didn't think she could handle the struggles ahead. I DISKARD THIS UTERLY. She absolutely could, and I don't buy the Doctor not trusting his companions to rise to the occasion, whatever it is.)

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THIS. This IS Seven we're talking about & you KNOW how much he trusts his companions. More NA facts for me to disregard, lalalala . . .

I cannot get over the Doctor and the security guard and their philosophical conversation. BEAUTIFUL.

MY VERY FAVOURITE KIND OF SEVEN MOMENT. :D :D

HI ACE HI. I just love everything about her, her joy and her defiance and her fear and her ridiculous slang and her SECRET REAL NAME. I also liked the fact that she and Mel don't hit it off straight away, but do grow to care about each other. I wish we'd had more episodes with the two of them, it would have been great, and also THINK OF THE FEMSLASH.

ACE'S INTRO SERIAL IS JUST ONE OF THE BEST COMPANION INTROS EVER. We definitely learn what kind of person she is & we definitely see potential for growth. O, Ace. ♥
& YES PLEASE! to any & all Ace/Mel femmeslash! I definitely shipped them more than a wee bit by the end. :D

[usuallyhats]

(IDK, but I just hate saying that she wanted to 'reform' him for some reason; it rubs me the wrong way & I wish I knew why!)
I think the word has a lot of baggage when you're talking about a female character wanting to reform a male one, even knowing that Mel wants Glitz to be a better person not because she's a woman but because that's how she is - she sees the good in people and wants them to be better than they are.

wanting to do more sort of concentrated good in her travels
Yes! Something more sustained than "turn up somewhere, save the day, slope off again when no-one's looking".

This IS Seven we're talking about & you KNOW how much he trusts his companions.
Exactly! My attitude to spin-off canon is pretty pick and mix, and that's one bit I won't be picking.

We definitely learn what kind of person she is & we definitely see potential for growth.
*nods* She's established so well right from the start. ♥

[everlasting-day.livejournal.com]

Also, Kane melting is really cool and gross!

The ending of episode one makes more sense in the script/novelisation (which is fab, albeit surprisingly darker) - the idea is that the Doctor comes to the end of a cliff path and attempts to climb down some ledges and gets stuck. It's still a bit daft, but it seems vaguely in character for early Seven. And then on telly we just get him inexplicably climb over a railing when he could still go straight ahead and dangle from his umbrella. I don't even.

But otherwise, really, really fun story! Mel's leaving makes no sense, but I like her goodbye scene. And yey, Ace!

[silly-cleo.livejournal.com]

OT but ICOOON. She's so pretty!

[usuallyhats]

YES. I think if they'd lingered on it for ages I'd've thought it was a bit much, but as it was, it was great.

Ah, that does make more sense. It's so ridiculous as shot - the Doctor knows how far the drop is, how tall he is and how long his umbrella is, and yet it doesn't occur to him until it's far too late that it might not be a good idea. And he's on Iceworld! They could've just had him slip and fall! Oh dear.

[zurcherart.livejournal.com]

I do love Mel's goodbye.

That goofy story has a lot of charm. And I do like that bratty, little girl a lot. She's a mischievous one.

Well, I think the reason Mel went with Glitz starts with an S and ends with an X. One of the NAs says Ace lost her virginity to Glitz (can't remember if it's one of the few I read, or one I read about). I will DISKARD that as studiously as the hypnotism thing.

[usuallyhats]

Me too - that's one of those bits of semi-canon that my brain just refuses to accept every time I see it. :/

[cosmic-llin.livejournal.com]

And why does Mel go off with Glitz at the end?

Well, it's clearly because Mel understood that Ace needed the Doctor more than she did, and she was ready to go off and have her own adventures (Glitz was just an excuse, she ditched him ten minutes later). She knew that the Doctor was relying on her too much having got so used to having her competent, bad-ass self around (just look at the way she does most of the adventuring these days while he just sort of wanders about poking things), and that the only way he'd reach his full potential in this incarnation was to have a younger, less experienced companion who really needed his guidance and needed for him to act like a responsible adult.

Perhaps I have thought about this too much.

[silly-cleo.livejournal.com]

ILU. ;)

[usuallyhats]

:D! I love that.

[silly-cleo.livejournal.com]

OMG that is the GREATEST description of the west wing EVER. :D

Also awww, man, I remember when I saw this one I felt so gipped we didn't get more Seven an Ace an Mel. I wish they had sent more.

[usuallyhats]

:D *bows*

Yessss. There's not even a nice gap to shoehorn more of their adventures into. BOO. (Maybe they could meet up again later? :D?)

[livii.livejournal.com]

When I eventually ever finish my initial watch (I still have...13 or 14 episodes to go, all recon ones, sigh) I should rewatch this one. I wasn't thrilled by it at the time but I've since fallen much more in love with Mel. Well, I mean I liked it, but it's funny - I end up loving things even more when it's been a while because I start remembering only all the good bits from various stories together. Which works out, I suppose!

::uses femslashiest Ace/Mel icon available::

[usuallyhats]

::loves that icon!::

Ooo, yes, this is definitely a good one to rewatch, I think. I really love Mel and she had some lovely scenes. ♥

I still have...13 or 14 episodes to go, all recon ones, sigh
Oh no! That's a slightly daunting prospect. Some of them are pretty good, though! I really liked "Fury From The Deep", iirc.

[thisbluespirit]

Hee. I am so waiting for this to come out on DVD. I like it more than I think I should.

The cliffhanger. This, even though it is badly done, is actually more sense-making than everyone thinks, because the Doctor is trying to get down to the next level & seeing if he can climb down. It's not as clear in the actual version as in the novelisation (which I read first, so I knew what he was doing anyway), but you see that he and Glitz (and then Ace and Mel) do find another way down. It isn't very clever to try climbing down an ice wall with just your brolly, but he is at least trying to go in the right direction. Also, there are lots of nods to media studies and film, so I think the presence of a literal cliffhanger is not accidental. It just wasn't done well. (Everybody's names are media studies/film things, including Ace, of course. But I expect About Time told you that anyway, because it is wonderfully and insanely detailed. With entertaining typos scattered about.) I read the book while studying A-Level media studies, so it was kind of weird. I don't exactly know why, though.

Also, I like the dragon. :-) And Kane's melting face. The Doctor reading The Doctor's Dilemma (or whichever book it is Sylvester's found this week with Doctor in the title).

Mel leaving with Glitz is random. I'm not sure whether it beats the possibility of Peri marrying Brian Blessed, but it certainly makes Leela staying with Andred look perfectly logical. (And the NA was Head Games by Steve Lyons, and no, I didn't like it much, either, from that point of view. Or the theory it also put forward that Seven 'murdered' Six for corresponding reasons.)

[usuallyhats]

because the Doctor is trying to get down to the next level & seeing if he can climb down
That does make sense, but the way it's shot makes it seem like he'd be able to see how far it is fairly easily! Oh well.

But I expect About Time told you that anyway, because it is wonderfully and insanely detailed. With entertaining typos scattered about.
It did indeed! It's a great book (series of books!): I don't always agree with it, but I'm always interested in what it has to say.

The dragon was lovely. ♥ I didn't spot what the Doctor was reading, will have to keep a better eye out next time!

Peri and Brian Blessed at least had a few sweet moments! I do like Leela/Andred, but it doesn't make a huge amount of sense. I wish they'd both left with the Doctor at the end, then had a few adventures getting to know each other and falling in love.

(And the NA was Head Games by Steve Lyons, and no, I didn't like it much, either, from that point of view. Or the theory it also put forward that Seven 'murdered' Six for corresponding reasons.)
... D:

[thisbluespirit]

Yes - giant sheer cliff of ice, Doctor! Do not attempt to scale with only your brolly! But there is narrative sense in the script. Just. :-)

Oh, yes! I agree. Its essays are pretty marvellous, in general, and all the 'where does this come from' sections especially thought-provoking. I'm really glad Tat Wood seems to like the McCoy era, as well.

I love Leela/Andred. Peri and Brian Blessed worries me. She will be squashed! Or deafened! Peri, was this what you were preparing for with Six all that time? I suppose it does sort of make sense. It may be because I am quite a small person in rl that I tend to see 'married to Yrcanos' as definitely being a fate worse than death. But... what Mel sees in Glitz (who was, after all, really quite unpleasant the first time we met him) is also a mystery. Love in the DW universe. It is stranger than even in rl.

I have a sort of love/horror thing with the NAs. :-)

[usuallyhats]

Love in the DW universe. It is stranger than even in rl.
Especially in the eighties! At least with Leela/Andred the actors knew where it was going in time to put some flirting in in the background...

I have a sort of love/horror thing with the NAs. :-)
:D Me too! I've only read a few, and some of them were great, but some aspects of them just make me go "...oh no!"

[thisbluespirit]

I read the NAs when they were new, or ish, anyway. I might have read enough to say I've read most of them (although I'd have to do a count or something to check). So it was kind of a great read one month, horror at what they'd done to everyone the next - and everyone insisting this was official canon forever and ever now. (:lol:) But overall, there was a lot of cool stuff in there. Just rather more angst than I think the Whoniverse can take. :-)

[usuallyhats]

and everyone insisting this was official canon forever and ever now. (:lol:)
:D It is nice being able to treat it as pick and mix canon and just keep the good bits.

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, pic'n'mix canon is by far the best - I'll have Benny, and Ace on a motorbike, but no side-helping of angst, thank you. :-)