Spoiler free review: Doctor Who Finale

[cyrano]

You say "There is a mine in Wales, where they discovered a prodigious vein of Handwavium."
You say "It's now completely tapped out."
You say "Steven Moffat used it all in one season."
Jihgfed says "You can't exhaust all of a mine's handwavium: some new technique which doesn't stand much scrutiny is always developed to allow you to extract more."
You say "I think that's where he's going with the next season."

Comments

[scarywhitegirl.livejournal.com]

We've got just the last episode to watch. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I have a plausible explanation for something from the previous episode, but it probably won't be the case. And where are the rest of the companions?! Don't they know they all need to show up to save the Doctor in every season finale?! (I WANT ROSE NOW!!!!!!)

This message may be brought to you by a slight lack of sleep.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Alas, as we all know, great big season end reunions only include those from this producer's reign. We haven't got a big draw, so we got stuck with River, the Queen, Vinnie, and Winnie.

[senatorhatty.livejournal.com]

If you're looking for plausibility in a show that features time travel with consequences that vary depending on story effect, you are perhaps looking for the wrong thing.

Though I admit the end was a little weird, I enjoyed it.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I think what I find particularly frustrating about Moffat's direction is his strong tendency to lean on aesthetics and emotion rather than plot and storytelling. Did the Daleks make a robot and plant a bomb inside him? Have him think happy thoughts so it doesn't explode. If four stone angels were cool, wouldn't a whole army of them be cooler? Let's write that episode! And while I think it worked well in 'Empty Child', I felt it was because there was actually a credible reason for the cool image 'a hundred people in creepy gas masks surround the doctor'.
While there have definitely been parts I enjoyed, I find this season to have far too much of the "I do believe in fairies" problem solving technique that marred the end of Series 3 for me. I may just have to step away from it, and let other people enjoy it.

[senatorhatty.livejournal.com]

Certainly, if you don't like it, don't watch it.

I don't entirely agree with your implied assertion that aesthetics and emotion are somehow exclusive of plot and (especially) storytelling. THAT SAID, the part of me that wants to turn shows into games hates that there doesn't seem to be a consistent set of rules by which stuff works in the Moffetverse. While I clearly enjoy the show more than you, I do echo your frustration. Just not as loudly.

I felt the need to poke at your spolier free review because there isn't much in it that would allow someone who doesn't spend time talking to you to understand what the specifics of your complaint are to see if they could view the series from the lens of those specifics.

Now I have viewed it, and the nice thing is that I now feel no real need to re-watch the series! Thanks!

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it would have been clearer if I'd said "without plot and storytelling" because I agree that the two in tandem make the best stories. (I think my recent viewing of 'Inception' falls into that category.) And I am fairly certain that amazing things can probably be done using only aesthetics and emotion, but this may not be the milieu for such efforts.

And if I had actually written a review about my dissatisfaction instead of being lazy and clipping a clever bon mot from a conversation elsewhere, it definitely would have been more useful. But I am, at heart, a lazy man. (:

Thank you for making me work, and keeping me honest.