Voyage of the Damned

[vilakins]

I've read one review already, but I suppose I should post before I read more.

Sorry to all the DW fans on my flist, but the special left a bad taste in my mouth. Greg liked it, but then he enjoys disaster films and docos.

I wasn't keen on watching anyway because it was the Titanic, and I was unreasonably (and wrongly) pleased to see it was a spaceship. After that, it was too predictable. I could tell straight away that rich bastard would survive just to piss the viewers off, that Foon would die because her husband had, and that Max was the baddie (though I thought it was for insurance). I didn't see Astrid, Copper, RTD's latest Mary Sue (anagram of TARDIS), biting the [star]dust though. He could have let her take the cyber thingy down with her because that would have killed Max. The Doctor could have given her a fast tour of the universe and dropped her off somewhere. Or at least left her in the well. As it was, it was really rather sickeningly soppy.

It's obvious (esp from the body count) that RTD has watched B7--perhaps too much--but teleport bracelets, 'Information', and a Travis well were not enough to cheer me up for more than a brief time. I did rather like London being deserted, the ascent with angels for sheer corniness (Superman fists!), the Queen in her dressing gown with corgis, and the midshipman was utterly lovely, as was Banakafalata (which I've probably spelled wrong). I was pleased he survived. The fun bits didn't seem part of such a bleak show though; just tacked on to not traumatise the kids too much.

I disliked the fat jokes deeply. Racism is no longer shown on TV (and a bloody good thing too) but it's still fine to laugh at fat people--and females for that metter--on screen and in RL. I hate you more than usual, Rusty, and that's an impressive feat.

I also spent a lot of time being pissed off at the illogic. OK, the Titanic and the crew's uniforms etc were a copy of the original down to the four funnels, but how come almost everyone was human--and had human names like Astrid, Alonzo, von Holt, Max Capricorn--when Earth was a primitive planet for tourists to cruise by? How come Alonzo could hardly stand after being shot but seemed unharmed later? I hate illogic in a story.

I'm pleased Copper got to live on Earth, but what amounts to a tinkly bit doesn't make up for the cynicism of the rest, and it's pretty bad if I cling to one for consolation.

Bah humbug.

I shall continue to watch DW because there have been some wonderful episodes from other writers and I have a slim hope that Donna won't go shmoopy. Just piss off already, Rusty, and leave it to others.

Comments

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

It definitely wasn't a "good episode" It was definitely "Titanic" meets "Poseidon adventure"! The sizist jokes were unfunny but intentionally so, the Doctor made it clear that it was so. I would have been happier if Mr Moneybags HAD bought it but then he would just sit back and let everyone else do the "heroic" stuff.
The heavenly hosts did provide some unintentional humour. I also found the "ships engines" funny too - straight out of the Galaxy Quest concept of a spaceship - being powered by big twirly thing in the middle.
As for Astrid's heroics - why didn't the silly woman jump off at the last minute? All too Mary Sue and soppy too.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

why didn't the silly woman jump off at the last minute?

I wondered that too! It wasn't exactly going very fast. Maybe she had to keep her foot down.

As for the nasty jokes, he wouldn't write a character being racist. That should be the criterion to apply to stuff like that.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

Even if she had to keep her foot down as soon as the front end was over the edge sheer momentum and weight would take care of the rest. She didn't HAVE to stay on and go over with it. it wasn't going fast.

If the intention was to highlight that that sort of treatment was WRONG then you could write a character being racist. The same way being sizist is wrong and I thought it was made clear that it was wrong too. If you are trying to highlight something you do have to refer to it.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Making them go "Ooh, food!" in the middle of it all was not doing that.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

I missed that bit! Had to check on the Duck.

[mossymermaid.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this was a poorly written episode. I really wanted to like this episode, but the logic holes were too big to overlook it.

I mean, the shot bridge officer? That was such a biggie. And the whole girl (Astrid) sacrificing her life for the good of the doctor. Again? And why did the female electrician (in purple) need to jump of with the angel?

I didn't care for any of the characters. The whole thing was *meh* for me.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

And why did the female electrician (in purple) need to jump of with the angel?

I suspect because she didn't want to live anyway, with her husband dead.

Those two weren't bad characters but they were so poorly served by the food jokes and Foon being so stupid as to spend that much on phone calls (so the planet Sto is just like Earth then, phones and all?) to win a competition. I liked Banakafalata and the midshipman a lot, but the whole gunshot wound thing undermined Alonzo's scenes. They should have made it a slight wound in the arm or something and then him hit his head going down; he'd recover OK from that. The writing was just sloppy.

The SFX though? Awesome.

[mossymermaid.livejournal.com]

Hello there. You're right about the purple duo. I liked them instantly, but they weren't developed as they should. I was sorry to see her jump, but by then it had just become the standard disaster movie. I was wondering who was going to die next (as in, predictable).

Banakafalata was fun, with his insistence on having his full name and his flirting with Astrid. There were nice touches, but the writing was sloppy.

Good SFX. Also, at least they didn't roll out Davros. When Max came out in his wheelchair I was expecting the Dalek to come out. At least they avoided including that. Interesting villain.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

by then it had just become the standard disaster movie

Which I hate. And a Merry Christmas it was to all the viewers, esp the kids. I think they nicked more than teleport bracelets and "Information" from B7. :-P

Max was a predictable villain too given we'd been hit over the head with his gold-toothed smile and name several times. The only real surprise for me was that Astrid died and Alonzo didn't.

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

Racism is no longer shown on TV (and a bloody good thing too)

I haven't seen this yet, but is it true that the first person to die is (as the cliche goes) the expendable black character?

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, and the red one (literally) wasn't far behind. The survivors were all white men. What I meant was that there aren't nasty racist verbal jokes any more, but woman and fat people (the latter in this case) are still fair game.

Still fair game....

[mossymermaid.livejournal.com]

I've been trying to think of the characters who have had heroic deaths (to save the day/save the doctor) and the only male companion I can recall who has done that is Captain Jack. And he was brought back. (I might have missed a few heroic male companion deaths, but for one I'm not convinced Adric's death was heroic or to "save the day" he just wanted to solve an equation...)

The others like Astrid, or Gwyneth (unquiet dead) etc etc stay dead.

[san-valentine.livejournal.com]

From a prosaic point of view, having established the connection between the doctor and female lead, she had to be written off at the end of the story because the BBC can't afford to hire Kylie for an entire season.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

True, but like Donna in her special, she could have refused to go once she knew more about the Doctor and how dangerous he was, or decided to stay on Earth with Copper, or just asked to be taken somewhere safe to begin a new life afterwards. And really, why does a Timelord fall for humans anyway? It diminishes him.

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

I liked the midshipman the best :0) I slept through the first 20 minutes, was horrified when I woke up, then realised I probably hadn't missed much.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

[laughs] Yeah, it was a disaster film, but In Space.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I finally got round to watching it last night (it seems more appropriate to watch Doctor Who on a Saturday), and confess I finished it thinking "Bring on Donna". What this show needs is some stroppiness and standing up to the Doctor. And Martha Jones, as long as she's got over the unrequited love nonsense.

Could have been worse, though. Given that everyone kept mentioning in the previews that Astrid was an anagram, I feared she might turn out to be some kind of embodiment of the Tardis, and we know who that was last time. Actually, did RTD manage to get through a whole 71 minutes without mentioning that person? That would be a record.

Because I didn't see it until Saturday, and I'd watched The History Boys (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_Boys_%28film%29) the previous night, as soon as the Midshipman came on I thought "Good heavens, Rudge!" I knew it was him even before his cap came off to reveal those sticking-out ears. I've since worked out that the reason why two other cast-members in The History Boys were so familiar is that they appeared in (different) episodes of Life on Mars. It's a small planet.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Martha Jones, as long as she's got over the unrequited love nonsense.

We can only hope.

Actually, did RTD manage to get through a whole 71 minutes without mentioning that person? That would be a record.

He did and it must be!

I saw 'The History Boys' after I paid for our purchases yesterday, and said to Greg we'd rent it next time we went in. :-)

[fangrrl-squees.livejournal.com]

but teleport bracelets, 'Information', and a Travis well were not enough to cheer me up

Oh good, so it wasn't just me spotting the B7 parallels.

I even commented that this must have been the most depressing Xmas/near-Xmas programming since Blakes 7 ended...

I agree with you re: not letting RTD anywhere near a keyboard when it comes to this show. 'Tis odd, really, as I've quite enjoyed other things he's written. Ah well - never let a fan loose on their favorite fandom, I suppose. :)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yeah, not a fun Christmas show for the kids (or adults) was it? I could tell before I watched it because of presence of a Titanic but I went and watched anyway. Sigh.

Yes, the danger of Mary and Marty Sues (and even planet Sues) is too great. Look at Rose's initials, almost everything happening on earth, a vastly powerful alien being besotted with us and certain humans like RT and Astrid, the anagram of TARDIS (and he didn't even go anywhere with that). And I hate, hate, hate the way he pushes his own nasty little prejudices and beliefs at us: fat people, ugly or old people not being worth as much as young, pretty ones, nihilism, atheism...

I am delighted by Donna though. She looks real, she's not covergirl material, she's not besotted herself, and she's most definitely got a mind of her own. She rocks--and will keep me watching.