#Doctor who season 5

[interstellar-wanderer]

Whovians and specially all River Song fans, a HotD fan started live tweeting while watching DW season 5 and 6, and oh boys it has brought so many memories back, but most importantly and I'm happy to announce they got to AGMGTW TODAY WITHOUT ANY PREVIOUS SPOILERS!!

link to the thread

[bluesakura007]

*Cruisin On Down Main Street intensifies to the DW theme’s beat*

[toadbuns]

Sketching while watching doctor who🤓 i love this show sm

[anthony-crowleys-left-nut]

i'm sorry but if you wouldn't guard me with your life while i'm in the pandorica for 2000 years do you even love me

[kskfkakkldnsna]

I need to know how many people tried fish fingers and custard in 2010.

I need numbers

[hxlbrook]

I'm still not over this

[ye-olde-tardis]

I can just tell that Jamie is gonna be in my top five companions list pretty soon. There's just something about him.

[miniskirtandgogoboots]

[frndly-nbh-enbee]

wild that there’s an episode of doctor who that’s just like “what if james corden was perpetually out-rizzed by the most autistic man alive” like yassss steal bustopher’s job bestie, make the allistic suffer by being sexy and not understanding social scripts king <3

[clever-boy]

I think about the Beast Below episode an ungodly amount because it just shows how kind the Doctor is. I know there are other episodes that also show this but Beast Below has my heart.

The fact that the Doctor knew exactly what was going on because a child was crying, then going through everything to see why this was happening. Then the heartbreaking discovery of the star whale. How the star whale came from the stars to help the children- because it was so old and so kind just like the doctor

I know this is like base level stuff but god- such a good episode

[local-apollo-kid]

I want to be lifted tenderly and tucked into bed with the same kind of gentleness the doctor picked Amy up with in The Big Bang

[polaritydisturbed]

The Eleventh Hour Thoughts

I’m currently re-watching Doctor Who with some friends who have never seen it before, and instead of talking their ears off with my thoughts, I figured I’d start writing them down. We started with Nine, but I didn’t think to review the episodes until now, so here we are with The Eleventh Hour. 

This episode is one of those clear jumping-on points for the show—new Doctor, new companion, new show-runner, new aesthetic. And in terms of introducing the Doctor, it’s probably one of the best. Eleven isn’t my favorite Doctor, but this is absolutely one of my favorite introduction episodes for a Doctor, if that makes sense. Compare it to The Christmas Invasion, which is much more about how people react to the Doctor’s absence than it is about introducing Ten himself (though the final third of that episode is still one of my favorite Doctor Who moments ever). The Eleventh Hour, on the other hand, is entirely about establishing Eleven—his personality, his quirks, his relationship to the world—and it does an excellent job of it.

Amy Pond, in this episode, isn’t really here to be her own character yet; she’s primarily an audience surrogate, meant to show us how the Doctor is viewed and interpreted. And that’s fine. This episode isn’t trying to introduce us to Amy Pond as a fully fleshed-out companion—that’s what The Beast Below is for. Here, she’s more of an obstacle for the Doctor to overcome, literally at times (she physically restrains him twice). Rory, at least, has a bit more influence on the plot, noticing that coma patients are up and walking around, which is an important moment. But overall, I do wish Amy and Rory had more agency in the events of the episode.

One of my favorite details in this episode is how the Doctor becomes interested in the crack in Amelia’s wall. Not because it’s a strange phenomenon on its own—he’s seen countless oddities across time and space—but because Amelia is afraid of it. This is a little girl who wasn’t scared of a raggedy man crashing a blue box in her garden, wasn’t scared when he made a mess of her kitchen, and wasn’t even scared when he started pulling food out of her fridge to see what he liked. But she was scared of the crack in her wall. That tells the Doctor that something is wrong in a way he can’t ignore. And then he clocks something even more unsettling: it’s the middle of the night, someone in the house should have woken up by now, yet Amelia is completely alone. That moment, when the Doctor shifts from playful to serious, is one of the best character beats in the episode—it’s that instinctive empathy, that ability to read people and situations at a glance, that makes him so compelling.

One thing I didn’t fully appreciate when I first watched Eleven’s run was just how nuanced Matt Smith’s performance is. There are so many small details in how he interacts with the world that I completely missed as a kid, and re-watching it now, I find myself really enjoying aspects of his performance that I initially overlooked. The humor in this episode is also fantastic—there’s a wonderful balance of absurdity and charm that makes Eleven immediately likable, even if you’re not sold on him yet.

But let’s talk about the editing. One thing that really stood out to me on this re-watch—something I don’t remember being so jarring as a kid—is just how intense the editing can be. There are moments where it’s genuinely disorienting, like the sweeping camera movements in the park when the Doctor is putting things together. The way the camera zips around characters, paired with quick cuts and the overuse of Dutch angles, feels almost too stylized, to the point where it pulls you out of the moment rather than immersing you in it. I get the intention—it’s meant to emphasize how fast the Doctor’s mind works, how he’s making these rapid-fire connections—but sometimes it overstays its welcome. The same issue crops up with the way the show uses flashbacks to over-explain what the Doctor has figured out. Instead of trusting the audience to keep up, it replays moments we literally just saw to reinforce the clues, which feels unnecessary and a little condescending. A little bit of this is fine, but The Eleventh Hour leans on it just a bit too hard, making some sequences feel more exhausting than exhilarating.

One aspect that feels a little unclear to me is the Doctor’s reasoning for taking Amy with him. Beyond the intrigue of the crack in her wall, there isn’t much explanation for why he wants her as a traveling companion. It almost seems like he’s drawn to the idea of her—the girl who waited, who saw him as something mythical—rather than getting to know Amy for who she really is. I just wish there had been a stronger moment that showed why he saw something in Amy beyond the mystery surrounding her.

On a more aesthetic note, this is my second-favorite TARDIS interior. Eight’s will always be my favorite (The TV Movie had no business going that hard on production design), but I love the fairy tale feel of Eleven’s first console room. It looks like a mad scientist’s playground, and that fits his whole vibe perfectly. Also, this is my favorite Sonic Screwdriver design—the glowing green, the steampunk-esque claw, the way it flicks open dramatically—it’s just the perfect blend of whimsical and functional.

[firephoenix2305]

This is a Rory Williams appreciation post

Because I have recently finished season 6 and I need to shout about it to someone.

(Disclaimer: Severe season 5 and 6 spoilers ahead. If you haven't watched them yet, run away very very fast. Or don't, it's up to you. But you have been warned)

Okay, don't get me wrong. I love Amy, she's great. And I love The Doctor, because well, he's The Doctor, and also Matt Smith, so he's great too.

But.

But. But. But

If I had to pick a favorite...

Rory. Fucking.Arthur. Williams.

I don't even know where to start with this man.

The way he loves Amy. The way he cares about her more than the entire goddamn universe. The way he DOES NOT BUDGE from her side even when she kisses another man the night before their wedding, then proceeds to severely third-wheel him in a very Mickey Smith sort of way for the better part of two episodes (which in retrospect isn't really that much, but STILL) and takes her sweet time to realize she is in love with him.

We are talking, ladies and gentlemen, about the Last goddamn Centurion. This is a man who willingly lived through every single second of 2000 years of human history only to protect Amy Pond. 2000 years without so much as a wink of sleep, or rest, or any synonym of the word. How does this man's heart not physically burst from the sheer amount of love he has for Amy?!?!

I just...I want one. I want a Rory. Does anybody know where I can find a Rory? Pretty please?

And another thing. I'm not sure what it was that Rory did to the writers of this show but JESUS CHRIST. Why so much hate?

And just to prove I'm not even exaggerating, here's a brief summary of some of the things which have happened to this poor guy in seasons 5 and 6. (From the point where he officially joins Amy and The Doctor in the TARDIS onwards, that is)

- S5E7. Killed by the Eknodine in the Dream Lord's fake reality. (And given that horrible ponytail, btw)

- S5E9. Murdered in cold blood by a rogue Silurian, then absorbed by a time crack and hence deleted from the memory of the entire universe. (Being murdered obviously wasn't enough, no)

- S5E13. This is a big one. Revived as an Auton, realized Amy doesn't remember him, then when Amy finally does remember he unwillingly kills her because of his programming (which he eventually breaks free from), stays with the Pandorica for 2000 odd years and finally, after all of that, gets erased from reality. Again. (But it's okay because The Doctor has rebooted the universe, so real Rory came back. Or, rather, never left in the first place. Doctor Who is complicated, okay?!)

- S6E3. To start off the season well, he drowns and practically dies, and is then transferred to a spaceship healing facility where he is essentially hooked to a live support system until Amy brings him back to life.

- S6E4. Tortured and "killed" by the thing controlling the TARDIS, who had a blast warping time and making him go crazy and ultimately making him die of old age. (Not sure if it even counts as a death, but his rotting skeleton was there, so I'm counting it)

- S6E6. Finds out that his wife is not actually his wife but is instead a bunch of sentient flesh which is pretending to be his wife; and that his actual wife is nine months pregnant and currently giving birth to their daughter God knows where. (I did say it was complicated).

- S6E7. Finds Amy and baby Melody, only to lose Melody to the creepy eye patch lady because having lost Amy in the exact same way the previous episode clearly wasn't enough torture for him.

- S6E10. Has "other" Amy (the older version) absolutely hate his guts for something which isn't his fault at all, and has to re-convince her that she loves him. Again. (Seriously, Amy?). Then, he has to sacrifice the other Amy to save his Amy, which was extremely painful for him. (Man, this season gets weirder and weirder, doesn't it?)

- S6E13. Suffers inhumane amounts of pain and almost dies (again) when he lets himself be electrocuted by the eye patch thingy to give Amy, River and The Doctor time to escape. (I know this wasn't technically the same Rory that went through all those other things, but I decided to include it anyway)

AND I HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED SEASON 7 YET. Give the man a break! And stop killing him, for God's sake!

(I know this won't happen, because although I haven't watched S7 I accidentally spoiled the whole weeping angel business to myself, so yeah)

And lastly, this scene >>>

Do. Not. Fuck. With the roman.

I just love him.

That is all. Thanks for hearing me out, I feel better.

(@capinejghafa was the furthest back I could track these gifs, but I don't know if they were the one who made them).

[neripiche]

I just saw The Eleventh Hour and dear god the quality is so much better than the other seasons. I have to say though, I was really liking the shitty effects, they were fun. When I saw the intro I was literally in shock.

Matt Smith is so good!!!! I didn’t have much faith in him as The Doctor (he’ll always be Daemon Targaryen to me) but that was a really really good first episode.

I also loved Amy but probably something tragic is gonna happen to her at the end of the season, as it always does. I don’t wanna keep crying with this show.

[anthony-crowleys-left-nut]

rory williams aka the greatest partner who ever lived (stills from @eIevenriver on twitter)

[ourteyeseen]

I have been really struggling to draw and I feel like my art progress has been going down but who cares here’s a silly little study of the 11th doctor