DW Rewatch - 3x12, The Sound of Drums
Feb. 28th, 2010 04:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
caz963We’ve got David Tennant and John Barrowman. And now John Simm as well. It’s fangirl heaven, isn’t it?
As is usual, the baddie gets all the best lines, and Simm makes the most of every single one of them. He’s charming, funny and terrifying at the same time – totally unhinged and, apart from being a psychopath, rather awesome :-)
This is also the culmination of Martha’s story. I’ve come to like her more and more over the course of this rewatch and one of the things I’ve liked about her relationship with the Doctor is the incredible amount of trust he put in her, right from the word go. And that carries on right the way through the season – in 42, Human Nature/Family of Blood and especially, here. Yes, she was in love with him, which at first I found rather annoying, but fortunately, that didn’t stop her from doing all the things she needed to do, even the things which put him through sheer hell!
At the end of Utopia… the Master has regenerated and pinched the TARDIS, leaving our heroes stuck at the end of the Universe trying to hold off a bunch of bloodthirsty Futurekind. One of those great DW cliffhangers from which there’s seemingly no way out.
But…
He’s the Doctor. Of course he found a way to get them out!
Space hoppers have their uses, then :-)
It seems there’s a sort of Time Lord radar…
Martha’s remembered where she’s heard that voice before
Yes, Prime Minister
The Master and his wife?
Things continue to slot into place –
She worked for Lazarus, now at Number 10. That connection is made clearer later and explains the mentions of Saxon in The Lazarus Experiment.
Happy face.
Not happy face.
Back at Martha’s, there is much hair ruffling and confusion
While at Number 10
The Master and his friends
Time for tea.
Out!
Well, tea… and explosions
Not surprisingly, after almost getting blown up, Martha phones her Mum – and is not pleased at being told not to. Even though, of course, the Doctor is right and it’s a trap.
They arrive just in time to see Martha’s parents being carted off in a van
The Master has the TARDIS. He’s taken Martha’s family away and destroyed her home; and sent Gwen and the rest of Jack’s team off on a wild goosechase. He’s completely isolated all three of them. Very clever.
And he can find them wherever they go. Scary.
Anyone looking for slashy comments – you’re in the wrong place. (Although the Are you asking me out on a date bit is funny :-) )
I was the only one who could end it. And I tried. I did. I tried everything.
Typically, the Doctor is desperate to help
Also typically, the Master is having none of it. He’s more interested in how it felt to have committed double genocide.
Not very nice, one would have thought.
Possibly scarier than all that though, is the fact that the Doctor looks to be at a complete loss.
Ah, chips. The universal panacea. I think we’ve seen this incarnation of the Doctor munch his way through more food than all of his past ones put together. Perhaps the production team thought he needed feeding up.
His expression there… *sigh*
Time for a quick look at ‘home’ - the Shining World of the Seven Systems. As we know, the Doctor’s relationship with his people has never been an easy one; in the past they’ve locked him up, exiled him and elected him President (!), so it’s been a bit blow hot, blow cold to say the least. But this might be the first time the Doctor has intimated that, despite the way he speaks of the Time Lords and of his home planet, not everything in the garden was rosy. His simple response to Jack’s statement - But all the legends of Gallifrey made it sound so perfect. speaks volumes - Perfect to look at, maybe. Makes me think of his later comment to Wilf about the way he’s chosen to remember the Time Lords – remembering the good rather than the bad.
Another of those “little “scenes that, for me, have become the real highlight of the revamped Who. Oh, I love all the explosions and monsters and special effects, but the bits where the characters just sit and talk, not just for exposition, are what makes it work so well on so many different levels.
And on another tangent - Murray Gold’s music in these episodes is, quite simply, wonderful. For my money, he’s the John Williams of TV and the stuff he’s producing for the show just gets better and better. The fact that he’s still involved with Series 5 is giving me something to look forward to.
Two of the best music cues of the season are found in this episode - Gallifrey, Our Childhood Home, (part of which is heard as the Doctor talks about the children being taken to look into the schism) and the theme that represents Martha’s Journey in the “missing year” – Martha’s Quest - (the theme comes in around 1.18) and it’s beautiful and brings a lump to the throat every time.
Also running throughout the episodes (and the entire season – and which comes back regularly in S4) is All the Strange, Strange Creatures, another favourite of mine.
Why the Master is bonkers
I just love the way he says Oh, the ones that ran away. I never stopped! - while continuing to stuff his face
And now he’s getting’ his geek on!
It’s like when you fancy someone… Oh, Doctor…
You, too, huh?
Heh. But also, very true – doesn’t that kinda sum up the way we all feel about the Doctor? Whichever incarnation is your preferred one, we’re all in love with him in one way or another, aren’t we?
Armed with the perception filters, our intrepid heroes head off into the night…
(To the sound of the ‘Quest’ theme I linked to above. This wouldn’t be the same show without the music, I’m convinced of that).
DOCTOR:
Don’t run. Don’t shout. Just keep your voice down. Draw attention to yourself and the spell is broken. Just keep to the shadows.
JACK:
Like ghosts.
DOCTOR:
Yeah, that’s what we are. Ghosts.
Well, you know what it’s like. New job, all that paperwork. I think it’s down the back of the settee. I did have a quick look. I found a pen, a sweet, a bus ticket and uh…have you met the wife hah!
Again with the funny and the scary.
The Doctor’s the only one who doesn’t want to kill the Master.
I’m not here to kill him. I’m here to save him. I know it’s a cheesy line, but it’s so true to who the Doctor is – Ten especially, I think.
Anyone else reminded of Captain Scarlet?
I spent quite a while explaining to Elinor what a paradox machine was, and why the Master needed it. (And yes – I know it’s not real!)
Jelly babies. Heh.
Oh, all right then. It’s me. Ta-da! Sorry. Sorry, I have this effect. People just get obsessed. Is it the smile? Is it the aftershave? Is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I don’t know. It’s crazy!
We meet at last, Doctor. He loves saying that.
The girlie and the freak.
All the way from prison! (Eat your heart out, Eamonn Andrews!)
How to shut him up? Well, many have tried…
Boys and their toys…
Here. Come. The. Drums.
All I can really say at this point, is well done the make-up department!
Back on Earth, one hell of a task ahead of her, Martha witnesses the (literal) decimation of the population.
And so it came to pass…that the human race fell and the Earth was no more. And I looked down upon my new dominion as master of all and I thought it…good.
I was going to try to recap both episodes together, but I think this is already long enough.
So...
To Be Continued ;-)
Screencaps from Sonic Biro, The Medusa Cascade and Demon-cry.net.
As is usual, the baddie gets all the best lines, and Simm makes the most of every single one of them. He’s charming, funny and terrifying at the same time – totally unhinged and, apart from being a psychopath, rather awesome :-)
This is also the culmination of Martha’s story. I’ve come to like her more and more over the course of this rewatch and one of the things I’ve liked about her relationship with the Doctor is the incredible amount of trust he put in her, right from the word go. And that carries on right the way through the season – in 42, Human Nature/Family of Blood and especially, here. Yes, she was in love with him, which at first I found rather annoying, but fortunately, that didn’t stop her from doing all the things she needed to do, even the things which put him through sheer hell!
At the end of Utopia… the Master has regenerated and pinched the TARDIS, leaving our heroes stuck at the end of the Universe trying to hold off a bunch of bloodthirsty Futurekind. One of those great DW cliffhangers from which there’s seemingly no way out.
But…
He’s the Doctor. Of course he found a way to get them out!
Space hoppers have their uses, then :-)
It seems there’s a sort of Time Lord radar…
Martha’s remembered where she’s heard that voice before
Yes, Prime Minister
The Master and his wife?
Things continue to slot into place –
She worked for Lazarus, now at Number 10. That connection is made clearer later and explains the mentions of Saxon in The Lazarus Experiment.
Happy face.
Not happy face.
Back at Martha’s, there is much hair ruffling and confusion
While at Number 10
The Master and his friends
Time for tea.
Out!
Well, tea… and explosions
Not surprisingly, after almost getting blown up, Martha phones her Mum – and is not pleased at being told not to. Even though, of course, the Doctor is right and it’s a trap.
They arrive just in time to see Martha’s parents being carted off in a van
The Master has the TARDIS. He’s taken Martha’s family away and destroyed her home; and sent Gwen and the rest of Jack’s team off on a wild goosechase. He’s completely isolated all three of them. Very clever.
And he can find them wherever they go. Scary.
Anyone looking for slashy comments – you’re in the wrong place. (Although the Are you asking me out on a date bit is funny :-) )
I was the only one who could end it. And I tried. I did. I tried everything.
Typically, the Doctor is desperate to help
Also typically, the Master is having none of it. He’s more interested in how it felt to have committed double genocide.
Not very nice, one would have thought.
Possibly scarier than all that though, is the fact that the Doctor looks to be at a complete loss.
Ah, chips. The universal panacea. I think we’ve seen this incarnation of the Doctor munch his way through more food than all of his past ones put together. Perhaps the production team thought he needed feeding up.
His expression there… *sigh*
Time for a quick look at ‘home’ - the Shining World of the Seven Systems. As we know, the Doctor’s relationship with his people has never been an easy one; in the past they’ve locked him up, exiled him and elected him President (!), so it’s been a bit blow hot, blow cold to say the least. But this might be the first time the Doctor has intimated that, despite the way he speaks of the Time Lords and of his home planet, not everything in the garden was rosy. His simple response to Jack’s statement - But all the legends of Gallifrey made it sound so perfect. speaks volumes - Perfect to look at, maybe. Makes me think of his later comment to Wilf about the way he’s chosen to remember the Time Lords – remembering the good rather than the bad.
Another of those “little “scenes that, for me, have become the real highlight of the revamped Who. Oh, I love all the explosions and monsters and special effects, but the bits where the characters just sit and talk, not just for exposition, are what makes it work so well on so many different levels.
And on another tangent - Murray Gold’s music in these episodes is, quite simply, wonderful. For my money, he’s the John Williams of TV and the stuff he’s producing for the show just gets better and better. The fact that he’s still involved with Series 5 is giving me something to look forward to.
Two of the best music cues of the season are found in this episode - Gallifrey, Our Childhood Home, (part of which is heard as the Doctor talks about the children being taken to look into the schism) and the theme that represents Martha’s Journey in the “missing year” – Martha’s Quest - (the theme comes in around 1.18) and it’s beautiful and brings a lump to the throat every time.
Also running throughout the episodes (and the entire season – and which comes back regularly in S4) is All the Strange, Strange Creatures, another favourite of mine.
Why the Master is bonkers
I just love the way he says Oh, the ones that ran away. I never stopped! - while continuing to stuff his face
And now he’s getting’ his geek on!
It’s like when you fancy someone… Oh, Doctor…
You, too, huh?
Heh. But also, very true – doesn’t that kinda sum up the way we all feel about the Doctor? Whichever incarnation is your preferred one, we’re all in love with him in one way or another, aren’t we?
Armed with the perception filters, our intrepid heroes head off into the night…
(To the sound of the ‘Quest’ theme I linked to above. This wouldn’t be the same show without the music, I’m convinced of that).
DOCTOR:
Don’t run. Don’t shout. Just keep your voice down. Draw attention to yourself and the spell is broken. Just keep to the shadows.
JACK:
Like ghosts.
DOCTOR:
Yeah, that’s what we are. Ghosts.
Well, you know what it’s like. New job, all that paperwork. I think it’s down the back of the settee. I did have a quick look. I found a pen, a sweet, a bus ticket and uh…have you met the wife hah!
Again with the funny and the scary.
The Doctor’s the only one who doesn’t want to kill the Master.
I’m not here to kill him. I’m here to save him. I know it’s a cheesy line, but it’s so true to who the Doctor is – Ten especially, I think.
Anyone else reminded of Captain Scarlet?
I spent quite a while explaining to Elinor what a paradox machine was, and why the Master needed it. (And yes – I know it’s not real!)
Jelly babies. Heh.
Oh, all right then. It’s me. Ta-da! Sorry. Sorry, I have this effect. People just get obsessed. Is it the smile? Is it the aftershave? Is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I don’t know. It’s crazy!
We meet at last, Doctor. He loves saying that.
The girlie and the freak.
All the way from prison! (Eat your heart out, Eamonn Andrews!)
How to shut him up? Well, many have tried…
Boys and their toys…
Here. Come. The. Drums.
All I can really say at this point, is well done the make-up department!
Back on Earth, one hell of a task ahead of her, Martha witnesses the (literal) decimation of the population.
And so it came to pass…that the human race fell and the Earth was no more. And I looked down upon my new dominion as master of all and I thought it…good.
I was going to try to recap both episodes together, but I think this is already long enough.
So...
To Be Continued ;-)
Screencaps from Sonic Biro, The Medusa Cascade and Demon-cry.net.
