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.

[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.

[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?

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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. :)