NYC, and the Impossible Astronaut

[raven]

Forward momentum, chaps! Do not even ask about the issues I had getting into the city this morning. Do not even ask. Luckily I have a fairy godmother in the shape of Shim. But I am in New York on macadamanaity's couch and I am blissed out on rum and wine and some other things.

Also Doctor Who ohmygod Doctor Who. I am strangely, faintly bitter that I had to wait a whole eight hours after it was shown in the UK to see it, and also we hate BBC America, we do, how many commercial breaks, come on.

But. Oh, oh, oh. Doctor Who. Here are the things I really liked:

-The beginning! The way we don't actually know when this is set - whether this is a month, a year, or several years after the end of "The Big Bang", and we don't even know if the Doctor, Amy and Rory went on tonnes of adventures after that and if they did what they all were. But the Doctor waves at them through history, and all is well.

-And the picnic, and the spaceman (who reminds of the Solway Firth Spaceman every time I see it), and I was like, "Is that..." and it was regeneration fairy dust, and that was... a death. Rory saying, "Let's do it properly" - that was a beautiful touch, and I loved the visual of the boat on the water.

-This Doctor has friends now. Three whole people he can call. Oh, Eleven, I love you so much.

-Also, Canton is a fabulous character and all that being quietly sardonic is fab.

-The aliens are so scary. They are very, very scary. The suits make them even scarier. It's like the Gentlemen in "Hush". Scary. And the idea of aliens whom you forget when you're not looking at them is amazing, I love it. Star Trek did it, but benevolently, because it's Star Trek and a show for adults that doesn't want to scare your pants off and give you nightmares for the rest of your life (which will be long, because you're five).

-The little girl. Is she American? Is she Scottish? She's very creepy. I have to admit to wondering, since the preview: is she Amelia? I don't know she could be, but if you go to the effort of making sure the little girl you cast is Scottish...

-I'm not sure what I think about the whole River thing at the moment. Because I am an unashamed Doctor/River shipper, I wrote fic about it and everything, I want them to live happily ever after, and if they're drifting further and further apart in time.... well. Well, I don't approve. River Song! I love her. For the record and all that, I really do.

-Amy's pregnant? She's feeling "a bit sick"? But River says that once as well, in this episode. I am intrigued. I haven't been this excited about a television show in months. Yaaaay, Doctor Who!

Tomorrow! Brunch, and probably another windswept grey New York day, and I'm cheerful. It feels good to be in the city; earlier in the day I got a Lindt bunny for the Siren and a cheap necklace from Forever 21 for myself, and I got a purple nail polish from somewhere on Madison and just felt the small-town itch lift. Feeling much better, and so so glad I didn't cancel this trip down. Back up north in the evening, but let's not talk about that.

Comments

[cscottd.livejournal.com]

And the idea of aliens whom you forget when you're not looking at them is amazing, I love it.

I loved the bit where River and Rory are in the alien control room (which looks like the one from The Lodger) and Rory looks outside, sees the aliens, freaks out and then turns around and says "Nothing there."

Amy's pregnant? She's feeling "a bit sick"? But River says that once as well, in this episode.

That puzzled me a bit. When Amy first said she felt sick, I thought of pregnancy, but then when River said it too, I just assumed it was something the aliens were doing instead... then Amy told the Doctor that she was pregnant, so now I'm not sure what the sickness is about.

[amchau.livejournal.com]

My present theory is that the sickness is alien-produced, but because Amy's forgotten the aliens, she's imagining a pregnancy in order to explain it. Either that or the aliens want to harvest children and have impregnated both Amy and River.

[mi-guida.livejournal.com]

Ah - see, I thought that Amy being pregnant was what she wanted to tell the Doctor in the Space and Time Comic Relief episodes, because she wanted to tell him something them, but never got chance; maybe she'd only just found out then, and this is the two months later, so she's three months gone (it looked like she was showing a bit, though, so maybe she's further along?).

My theory was that the aliens make you feel sick, but when Amy said it we were meant to think she was pregnant, then River feeling it was to throw us off the scent, because then clearly Amy isn't pregnant - except she is. Or something.

[darksideofstorm.livejournal.com]

The Doctor did mention at the beginning that Amy had gained a few pounds...

[mi-guida.livejournal.com]

Yup - and there was at least one shot where her hands/arms were against her shirt pulling it tight and it looked to me like there was a slight round of a pregnant stomach (by which I mean, she doesn't look to have put on any weight anywhere else on her body, and this was a very smooth curve on her abdomen, which I'd associate more with pregnancy than her having just put on a bit of weight that only went to her stomach, but I could be wrong)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Me neither! I'd think it were all a complete red herring, if it weren't for the fact Amy had something to tell the Doctor at the beginning of the Comic Relief special...

(Wait, but then, why would she tell the Doctor before Rory? I am confused.)

[gamesiplay.livejournal.com]

Hi Sara! Hi Iona! Rum + wine = I approve this message. :)

[macadamanaity.livejournal.com]

Hiiiiiiiiii!

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Hiiiii. I am awake now honest.

[littlered2.livejournal.com]

The aliens reminded me and my sister of the Gentlemen as well - the suits really do make them that much worse. Argh. Poor, poor children watching it; I hope they won't be permanently scarred.

I want River and the Doctor to live happily ever after! They are great and I love them, and I don't want River to be sad.

I don't believe that Amy is pregnant - the fact that she only felt sick immediately after seeing the alien, and that the same thing happened to River, suggests something else. But we shall see on Saturday.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Yes, but but but, Amy had something to tell the Doctor at the beginning of the Comic Relief special, too! So I am less inclined to think it is a total red herring. But it is all so delicious to speculate on. :)

[littlered2.livejournal.com]

Aha, yes, good point! Although I got the impression that quite a bit of time had passed between the two - that said, Doctor Who chronology is so confusing that that's a completely unconfirmed guess.

[feanna.livejournal.com]

Well, I think it'd be only natural for the aliens to make people feel sick or something like it, because: See them = Huge adrenaline rush!, Look away = Forget, but adrenaline still there? Of course it didn't seem to work that way for the women in the bathroom.

I've been asking myself whether the little girl is in fact Amy's (and Rory's I assume) daughter. Which would make the cliffhanger all the more horrifying.

Another amusing idea would be if River were Amy's daughter, not that I really think this.

[littlered2.livejournal.com]

Well, I think it'd be only natural for the aliens to make people feel sick or something like it, because: See them = Huge adrenaline rush!, Look away = Forget, but adrenaline still there? Of course it didn't seem to work that way for the women in the bathroom.

Although the woman was less scared of the alien than Amy was.

[feanna.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she thought it was a coworker/friend in costume, didn't she? I mean that WOULD be the reasonable thing to assume if you didn't know that Aliens existed for real. I'm sure most people seeing something like that Alien would go: AKFJSAKJD WTF! OMG, you scared me, great costume! (And then look away and forget if it IS that Alien.)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

The woman in the bathroom didn't have the adrenaline rush the same way, though - she thought every time she saw it that it was a person in a costume, so you still might be right about that.

River being Amy's daughter would be weird, but kind of delightful. :)

[lauds.livejournal.com]

I love River SO MUCH. I am still pretty new to this Doctor Who malarkey (have only been watching since Eleven) so was devastated when kuteki told me we already know how it ends for River and it is not very nice at all. I love the chemistry/dynamic Eleven and River have and then she went all sad and serious with Rory and broke my heart a little. I intend to hunt for happy AUs or fics which somehow get her out of that fate. Surely it can be fixed?

omg I think I have somehow become a Dr Who shipper, what.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Without spoiling it too much, the episodes where River first appear, she's a very, very different person: she's clearly older, more mature, with a long and exciting life behind her. I think it's great seeing her get younger, more outrageous and unpredictable with time. I wonder if the Doctor thinks the same?

I ship Doctor/River SO MUCH! I never shipped anyone in it before but OH. River.

[tau_sigma]

OMG such love. Such, such love for this wonderful, silly show. *loves on it*

I, too, am not sure about River - I'm not sure I want to know who she is! I'm not sure it can live up to expectations. Umm.

I'm also unsure about the whole pregnancy thing - it's interesting, it's never been done before, which is nice - but it makes me think that Amy might leave, which I don't want, and then Rory will leave, and then I will cry. Because I love Mr and Mrs Pond a whole lot.

The little girl definately sounded American to me.

I love the aliens, but am a little annoyed at the BBC for giving them a name (on the website) with such implications - to me, it's kind of spoiler-y. I wouldn't have immediately associated them with anything other than 'first episode, new aliens' if they hadn't given them that name. (Sorry to be cryptic, but I don't want to accidentally spoiler-ish someone else.)

WHY IS IT NOT NEXT WEEK ALREADY? I will be paid, the royal wedding will be over, there will be more Who. Next week is looking such a good place right now (barring the return to work and, oh yes, a presentation argh).

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Same! I have heard so much theorising about River - this one is my favourite theory (http://archiveofourown.org/works/155644) - that I don't think it can live up to expectations. And I, too, was very annoyed at the BBC for that. And because they put it on the website everyone else thought it was fair game for spoilers.

You have seen it now, haven't you! Oh, fie upon time differences.

[tau_sigma]

Oh, that is perfect! It had never occurred to me, but it is perfect. (Ys, I am reading fic on my lunchbreak. Oops.)