DOCTOR WHO: "School Reunion" (once more, with feeling)

[rj_anderson]

Okay, I think I've calmed down enough to give an actual sort of review:

As I made pretty plain the first time around, I loved this episode. In fact, it wouldn't be going too far to say that it just might be my favorite episode of the new series, and the one that finally sealed two suspicions that had been growing in my mind:

1. I prefer Ten to Nine; and
2. I would like to whack Rose upside the head.

Both those statements require some qualification, however. I find Ten more authentically, classically, delightfully, convincingly Doctorish than Nine was -- not that I ever disliked Nine or doubted that he was the Doctor exactly, but something about the leather jacket and the cropped hair and the superficial toughness never quite rang true for me. Eccleston is a splendid actor and I don't think casting him to launch the new series was in any way a mistake, but he was quite markedly different from his predecessors in many ways. Whereas with Tennant I'm feeling more like, "Oh, yes, this is what I always loved about the Doctor." And yet, as others have pointed out, that burgeoning hubris and that diminished capacity for mercy are quite un- Doctorish qualities in a lot of ways, and there's bound to be a comeuppance somewhere down the line.

As for Rose, I don't mean that I want to injure her in any way, so I wouldn't want to whack her with anything too harsh. A big, wet, fairly fresh flounder would do nicely, though. She's so "Wah! It isn't all about meeeee! Why isn't everything about meeeeee?" and I really don't have a lot of patience with that. Sure, she's been through a lot with the Doctor, and he really ought to have told her he'd had other companions along the way (although considering how ready he's been to invite others along for the ride, you'd think Rose would have been smart enough to figure that out long before this), but I'm finding her possessiveness and petulance quite irritating at times. Especially in comparison to the splendid, classy, elegant woman who is...

My Sarah Jane. Oh, Sarah Jane, I always loved you, even when I was a child, and I love you even more now. Sure, the "I waited for you" stuff was a bit of a retcon, but I don't think it's too extreme of one. In an emotional and romantic sense she may have been waiting for the Doctor, but the fact that she's still working as a journalist, still investigating, still courageous and proactive, makes pretty plain to me that in other ways she certainly has been going on with her life. She isn't a pathetic figure, more of a faithful and hopeful one, IMO. She believed in the Doctor so strongly that she felt sure he would come back one day.

Also, if I could look even half as fabulous in my late fifties as Lis Sladen does? My word, I'd take that any day. I have never looked that good in a pair of jeans, ever. And her hair is lovely. She turned in a terrific, moving, very believable performance in this episode, and the chemistry between her and Tennant really sparkled. I realized a couple of weeks ago that I'm not so much Ten/Rose as I am Ten/Anyone, but now I think I might have to amend that to Ten/Anyone-but-Especially-Sarah-Jane. Because she is just that smashing.

K-9!!! As a kid I thought he was annoying and an insult to my intelligence as a young viewer ("Do they really think I need some silly robot dog to make me watch this show? As if!"). However, I was almost as delighted to see him as Ten was, and even though he didn't have a whole lot of screen time, I found his final sacrifice very touching. Plus, having him there brought the unexpected delight of seeing Anthony Stewart Head stop chewing the scenery long enough to snarl about the "shooty doggy thing" and that was too splendid for words.

Oh, was there a plot? Well, not much of one really, and what was there didn't make a whole lot of sense. However, unlike "New Earth", the characterization and dialogue in this episode was so fabulous that I honestly didn't care what the characters were supposed to be doing or why, so long as they kept on doing it. David Tennant was clearly having the time of his fannish life with this episode, too -- at his first meetings with Sarah Jane and K-9, you could practically see the "ZOMG!!!" written on his forehead -- and I found his unbridled delight in the whole exercise contagious.

A perfect episode? No. Have there been better written ones? Certainly. Nevertheless, it was the first episode of the new series where as soon as it was over, I wanted to go back and watch it again -- not just select bits but the whole thing from beginning to end -- and for me as a viewer, it really doesn't get much better than that.

Comments

[yunitsa.livejournal.com]

My flatmate vervassal and I had much the same reaction, although rather less coherently. I actually had tears standing in my eyes at the death and resurrection of a little tin dog. And as Sophie commented, if they're going to keep exploring the emotional undercurrents this well, one really doesn't need fanfic. Sarah-Jane was so very awesome.

I quite like Rose, even when she's being self-centered and whiny - it makes her not-perfect and real. Plus, she must be 19 or so, so it's understandable that she'd have a lot of growing up to do. That's one of the reasons why, while I'm a fan of Doctor/Rose in theory, I hope it doesn't happen for some time yet.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

I saw it last night at a friend's house. These new ones are the only Who they've ever seen, whereas I'm a fan of the original, so answer lots of questions for them :) I'll admit I was quite teary at K-9's death, and extra teary by the time the episode ended.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

if they're going to keep exploring the emotional undercurrents this well, one really doesn't need fanfic

And this is exactly why I feel no need to fic the new series. I'm too contented with the way the emotional lives of the characters are being handled -- I just don't have that sense of restlessness or slight frustration that inspires me to write fic. Or, perhaps I should say, the areas in which the new show makes me feel a little frustrated are not the kind of thing I would want to write fic about.

But yes, Rose is certainly real in a lot of ways, immaturity and all, and Billie Piper is an excellent actress. I'm also quite surprised at how much I've come to like Jackie and Mickey, both of whom annoyed me terribly the first time I saw them.

[kerravonsen]

Nevertheless, it was the first episode of the new series where as soon as it was over, I wanted to go back and watch it again

Yes, me too. Exactly.

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

Word word word, with a side of word.

And while the plot itself was pretty weak (Dear Giles, the answer is 42), it seems to be setting up a lot, beyond teh hubris and Torchwood.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

"Also, if I could look even half as fabulous in my late fifties as Lis Sladen does? My word, I'd take that any day."

My God, yes. He wasn't lying when he told her she looked wonderful, too.

And wonderful in an entirely un-American-actress way; real face, real lines, every one earned and shining her personality through.

[serenasnape.livejournal.com]

Excellent write-up. Being only a smidgen older than Rose makes me feel protective towards her sometimes, in a sort of "awww, you have so much growing up to do in the next couple of years!" way. So I think I forgive her whininess in much the same way as you would a friend or younger sister.

I was in tears for quite a lot of that episode - K-9, Sarah-Jane asking why the Doctor didn't come back, the Doctor talking about watching someone you love die, and when he actually said goodbye to Sarah-Jane ... Basically, I am a sap.

And your new icon is beautiful.

[babelmira.livejournal.com]

I loved the character parts, but hated the plot...at least, I think there was a plot, but I did have a migraine, and passed out shortly afterwards.

"You're a bad dog."

"Affirmative!"

I heart K-9. Can you tell?