dbskyler: (Time Lord)
[personal profile] dbskyler
LESS THAN A WEEK TO ELEVEN!!!!!!!

Ahem. Now that I have that out of the way, it's time for me to continue with my 10 favorite Tenth Doctor episodes countdown. Today it's the seventh installment, "Fires of Pompeii."



This is the episode that made me fall in love with Donna. I was pretty "meh" about her in both "Runaway Bride" and "Partners in Crime" -- not dislike so much as not really caring much about her one way or the other. But this episode is when I finally started to really appreciate her, and like her, and want to see more of her. I also love the moral dilemma in the episode, and the whole notion of a "fixed event" and what that means for the Doctor as a Time Lord -- and as the last Time Lord. "Because that is how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not." That's such a fascinating concept, and I love that we get that little insight on the Doctor's view of time. The plot is clever, and there was some real suspense generated, and mystery over how these soothsayers who really do see into the future somehow can't see the volcano erupting. Then of course there was the end, which was epic and emotional and showed us yet more wonderful insights into these characters.

Now on to my favorite parts:

-- The "what if you say something in Latin?" moment. Actually, I really like the whole scene and how it adds to what we know about TARDIS translations. It's funny, too.
-- The Doctor's reaction to the TARDIS being missing. I also love that it was sold as "modern art" in homage to that wonderful scene from "City of Death." It's nice when the writers are fellow fans!
-- Donna arguing with the Doctor about evacuating the city: "TARDIS, Time Lord, yes." "Donna, human, no."
-- The humor. There were great moments of humor throughout, but my favorite two were "Didn't you think of moving away? Then again, San Francisco" and "It must be awful being a prophet, waking up every morning. 'Is it raining?' 'Yes, it is, I said so.' Takes all the fun out of life." (I see I really liked the dialogue, too. Okay, I'll attempt to stop putting in all these quotes.)
-- The water pistol, and then the Doctor being all Time Lord-y about Pompeii as a fixed event.
-- The Doctor's realization that he's the one that causes Vesuvius to erupt, and then Donna putting her hands over his on the lever. What a moment.
-- The Doctor leaving everyone to die, and Donna begging him to go back and save someone, and then the Doctor saying how he can't go back to save Gallifrey. So, so poignant. I also like that he did go back and save the family in the end.

Next up: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead. (Yes, another two-parter treated as one episode.)

(no subject)

Date: 2011-04-07 07:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curuchamion.livejournal.com
DONNA PWNS. Period. I've seen something like... three episodes with her (I pretend to know way more about Who than I do), and even I know that. ;-)

(no subject)

Date: 2011-04-07 11:40 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dbskyler.livejournal.com
Oh, oh, you've GOT to see more Donna! Well, you already knew that. Fit it in somewhere around seeing more Brigadier, and more Sarah, and more Romana, and more everyone, really.

Profile

dbskyler: (Default)
dbskyler

November 2022

S M T W T F S
  12345
6789101112
1314 1516171819
20212223242526
27282930   

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags