Maybe baby..?
May. 9th, 2011 11:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
caz963I've tried to hide spoilers in this. I'm not saying anything that's not in the public domain, but just in case...
Okay. As a way of trying to stop myself from thinking too hard about what might or might not happen in next week's DW, and about what might be this (highlight to read) thing that will make us look at the series' mythology differently (according to the current issue of DWM) I've decided to post about something that's been bothering me increasingly over the past few weeks.
If you love Amy, you might want to stop reading this right now. Please bear in mind that I'm expressing AN OPINION - which doesn't happen to be favourable towards her; but I'm always happy to hear opinions that differ from mine when expressed politely :-)
I know it's a contentious issue, and I'm sure there's an explanation - but for some reason, I'm really unhappy about the pregnancy plotline.
I've been trying to work out just why it bothers me so much, and I really can't quite put my finger on it, so if any of you have any ideas/comments/similar concerns, I'd be really glad to hear them as it might help me to reach a conclusion that makes sense rather than just being a "because I don't like it" answer.
What I've come up so far is this.
1. I don't think pregnancy has ever been touched on in DW before in this way (i.e, one of the main characters being/not being preggers). Not that "it's never been done" is a reason NOT to do something, but I'm just not comfortable with pregnancy being made, well - A Plot Point. And then, I'm not comfortable with it being made into A Plot Point in a show of this nature. I hesitate to get into the "it's a kid's snow / it's a family show" argument, but it's undeniable that a large proportion of the audience is made up of younger viewers and IMO, it's just not the sort of storyline in which kids are likely to be all that interested.
2. Chatting to a friend earlier, she said "I don't think Amy even loves Rory, so why should I care if she's pregnant?"
For me, that's part of it, but it's also yet another instance of Amy being used as a means to further the plot rather than being made into a fully rounded character. I know we're only three episodes into s6, but I'd hoped I'd be able to warm to her more this series as she's now "back on track" - she's not the girl whose life doesn't make sense any more; she has a family, she has Rory (although God knows why - she treats him like shite) and I thought that now that mystery has been cleared up, she'd be easier to like.
Sadly, that hasn't happened yet. At best, she's not annoying me as much so far, but I suspect that's just becasue having a Team of Three instead of Two means she gets a bit less screen time
3. This show isn't called Amy Pond. Once again, we're being hammered over the head with how SPESHUL Amy is while still being given no real reason as to why we should think so. Or rather, why we should think she's MOAR speshul than any of the Doctor's other companions. Moffat has already said (highlight)that something will happen which will change Amy and the Doctor's relationship forever ... which would mean a lot more if I actually gave a damn about her. As with the last series, I think he's so preoccupied with making her fit with the demands of the plot that he's forgotten to give her a character. And he's doing the same thing again with the "is she or isn't she?" thing - placing her somehow at the centre of things for no (as yet) discernible reason. Donna Noble may have been referred to as the most important woman in the history of creation, but that came pretty late on in the series and even Donna herself thought it was bollocks. And while one could argue that with both Amy and Donna, their "special-ness" was becuase they happened to be in the right place at the right time, I think it's also true to say that Donna showed her awesome pretty early on, knowing when to push and when to let something go; "don't you hurt him"; "you can stop now" - and so on.
Whereas with Amy - EVERYTHING about her (supposed) "special-ness" is to do with her being in the right place at the right time. She was "odd" and knew so many things about the Doctor that she really shouldn't have - her life didn't make sense because the universe had been bleeding into her head through the cracks. And now... it seems there's another Plot revolving around where she is and the company she keeps.
I know there are people out there who love her and think she's awesome, but I still can't see it. I keep hoping...
4. I'm not mushy when it comes to babies or kids, but I do think that being pregnant is an incredible thing and as I've said above, I'm just not comfortable with it being made into A Plot Device. I know that some shows do it all the time - but this isn't Eastenders. I've seen all the theories about alternate time lines etc. and they're interesting and may turn out to be correct but at the end of the day, it all boils down to one thing.
If Amy is pregnant (and either knows on some level that she is, or suspects she is) then she's being a tad irresponsible running around the universe, fighting pirates and facing Certain Death on a regular basis.
And okay, so she might NOT be pregnant. But the point is that she MIGHT be - and as anyone who has been trying to conceive will tell you, even at the point where you don't know either way, you're beginning to exercise caution and do everything you can to minimise risks to that (possible) life.
And also - what the hell is the Doctor doing? This is a man who values life in all its forms to the extent that he would - and has, frequently - put himself in harm's way to protect even ONE life. Whatever Amy knows or suspects or doesn't know - HE KNOWS. He knows she might be expecting a child and yet makes no attempt to ... maybe not dissuade her or persuade her to go home - at the very least, suggest she takes a pregnancy test!
So there you have it. Anyone else out there got any similar concerns?
Okay. As a way of trying to stop myself from thinking too hard about what might or might not happen in next week's DW, and about what might be this (highlight to read) thing that will make us look at the series' mythology differently (according to the current issue of DWM) I've decided to post about something that's been bothering me increasingly over the past few weeks.
If you love Amy, you might want to stop reading this right now. Please bear in mind that I'm expressing AN OPINION - which doesn't happen to be favourable towards her; but I'm always happy to hear opinions that differ from mine when expressed politely :-)
I know it's a contentious issue, and I'm sure there's an explanation - but for some reason, I'm really unhappy about the pregnancy plotline.
I've been trying to work out just why it bothers me so much, and I really can't quite put my finger on it, so if any of you have any ideas/comments/similar concerns, I'd be really glad to hear them as it might help me to reach a conclusion that makes sense rather than just being a "because I don't like it" answer.
What I've come up so far is this.
1. I don't think pregnancy has ever been touched on in DW before in this way (i.e, one of the main characters being/not being preggers). Not that "it's never been done" is a reason NOT to do something, but I'm just not comfortable with pregnancy being made, well - A Plot Point. And then, I'm not comfortable with it being made into A Plot Point in a show of this nature. I hesitate to get into the "it's a kid's snow / it's a family show" argument, but it's undeniable that a large proportion of the audience is made up of younger viewers and IMO, it's just not the sort of storyline in which kids are likely to be all that interested.
2. Chatting to a friend earlier, she said "I don't think Amy even loves Rory, so why should I care if she's pregnant?"
For me, that's part of it, but it's also yet another instance of Amy being used as a means to further the plot rather than being made into a fully rounded character. I know we're only three episodes into s6, but I'd hoped I'd be able to warm to her more this series as she's now "back on track" - she's not the girl whose life doesn't make sense any more; she has a family, she has Rory (although God knows why - she treats him like shite) and I thought that now that mystery has been cleared up, she'd be easier to like.
Sadly, that hasn't happened yet. At best, she's not annoying me as much so far, but I suspect that's just becasue having a Team of Three instead of Two means she gets a bit less screen time
3. This show isn't called Amy Pond. Once again, we're being hammered over the head with how SPESHUL Amy is while still being given no real reason as to why we should think so. Or rather, why we should think she's MOAR speshul than any of the Doctor's other companions. Moffat has already said (highlight)that something will happen which will change Amy and the Doctor's relationship forever ... which would mean a lot more if I actually gave a damn about her. As with the last series, I think he's so preoccupied with making her fit with the demands of the plot that he's forgotten to give her a character. And he's doing the same thing again with the "is she or isn't she?" thing - placing her somehow at the centre of things for no (as yet) discernible reason. Donna Noble may have been referred to as the most important woman in the history of creation, but that came pretty late on in the series and even Donna herself thought it was bollocks. And while one could argue that with both Amy and Donna, their "special-ness" was becuase they happened to be in the right place at the right time, I think it's also true to say that Donna showed her awesome pretty early on, knowing when to push and when to let something go; "don't you hurt him"; "you can stop now" - and so on.
Whereas with Amy - EVERYTHING about her (supposed) "special-ness" is to do with her being in the right place at the right time. She was "odd" and knew so many things about the Doctor that she really shouldn't have - her life didn't make sense because the universe had been bleeding into her head through the cracks. And now... it seems there's another Plot revolving around where she is and the company she keeps.
I know there are people out there who love her and think she's awesome, but I still can't see it. I keep hoping...
4. I'm not mushy when it comes to babies or kids, but I do think that being pregnant is an incredible thing and as I've said above, I'm just not comfortable with it being made into A Plot Device. I know that some shows do it all the time - but this isn't Eastenders. I've seen all the theories about alternate time lines etc. and they're interesting and may turn out to be correct but at the end of the day, it all boils down to one thing.
If Amy is pregnant (and either knows on some level that she is, or suspects she is) then she's being a tad irresponsible running around the universe, fighting pirates and facing Certain Death on a regular basis.
And okay, so she might NOT be pregnant. But the point is that she MIGHT be - and as anyone who has been trying to conceive will tell you, even at the point where you don't know either way, you're beginning to exercise caution and do everything you can to minimise risks to that (possible) life.
And also - what the hell is the Doctor doing? This is a man who values life in all its forms to the extent that he would - and has, frequently - put himself in harm's way to protect even ONE life. Whatever Amy knows or suspects or doesn't know - HE KNOWS. He knows she might be expecting a child and yet makes no attempt to ... maybe not dissuade her or persuade her to go home - at the very least, suggest she takes a pregnancy test!
So there you have it. Anyone else out there got any similar concerns?
no subject
Date: 2011-05-10 10:05 pm (UTC)I think they should have just crashed the TARDIS through the window (not make it dematerialize - but literally use it as a battering ram). Then all drama could be avoided. Which brings up another thing ... at the beginning of the ep, Ten lectures Rose and Mickey about the temporal instability of the fireplace, i.e. that seconds in France are years on the spaceship. Then, not hours later, he is shocked to discover that Reinette is dead bc ... seconds in France are years on the spaceship. That's lame.
Eh, I think they did it. *shrugs*
I never thought they did, which is why I'm glad Moffat cleared the air on that. Like .. the line is "but first I shall make him [the King] jealous." How to do that if they're off in a private room? Moff went on in the interview to say that he thinks they just went to the party and had the time of their lives drinking, flirting, dancing (upright lol), which was already my head canon .. that's probably the only time Moffat and I will ever share an opinion about anything. (It feels ... weird).
I don't think it'd be fair to make Rose have to listen to his pain on that one.
Idk how much "pain" there was, kwim? Although it was intense, he only knew her for a few hours, tops. It's like ... with Rose we see he moped f o r e v e r. With Martha, it's in the dialogue that felt immensely guilty after the fact for being so mean to her. With Joan, he felt badly enough that he went back to ask Verity if she had been happy. But here? He clearly had a bit of an infatuation with Reinette - I don't think anyone could argue that. But was he moping for 30 minutes? A day? Does he build an interdimensional flying toaster an hour later and never give it a second thought? XD
And they're all laughing and joking at the beginning of the next ep like nothing had ever happened.
I mean the very next one (Rise of the Cybermen), where the first time you see them they're cuddled up on the jumpseat and Ten has his arm around her, and they're laughing hysterically.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-10 10:11 pm (UTC)I thought it was that the fireplace kept skipping each time it reconnected and he thought he'd fixed it at the end? I may have, erm, timed it all once to see if time really did move faster there.
Although it was intense, he only knew her for a few hours, tops.
Which was all ~symbolicalness~ of how mayfly we humans are to him, no? I remember on the commentary at the time Moff seemed to think the Doctor wasn't going to be allowed to cry or mope over anyone so he had to find other ways of showing his pain in teh episode.
I mean the very next one (Rise of the Cybermen), where the first time you see them they're cuddled up on the jumpseat and Ten has his arm around her, and they're laughing hysterically.
I try to forget that scene cos they were bitches in it and I wanted to smack them upside the head :( And it is the very-next-one where they've forgotten that Mickey ever happened. Fine for the Doctor, he's got previous characterisation of never mentioning people, but Rose seemed weird like someone had stolen her memory or something.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-10 10:19 pm (UTC)But that following on directly from Rose's DNW Mickey at the end of SR would have made much more sense,
no subject
Date: 2011-05-10 10:37 pm (UTC)Yes. Exactly. I don't really have a problem with that so much, because that's what people who are newly-into-each-other tend to do even in real life, so I just chocked it up to that.
But it's interesting to note that their self-squee is largely what got them in trouble with Queen Victoria, who then created Torchwood, which was ultimately what tore them apart. So in a way, they created their own demise by acting that way.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-10 10:35 pm (UTC)Idk, he mentions a loose connection at both the beginning and the end of the ep though. Edit -- I was wrong about something in an earlier post (I type too fast!!) After he left Rose and Mickey and Reinette is a few months older he marvels that seconds = months, but he doesn't say it TO them.
Which was all ~symbolicalness~ of how mayfly we humans are to him, no?
Which makes **total** sense that it came right after SE, since that kind of highlight's Ten's phobia about the whole wither-and-die thing. But - and yes, I'm overthinking this, but w/e - the wither-and-die thing HAD to have been at the front of his mind in an in-character Ten. He had to know he couldn't keep Reinette long as a companion - he knew everything else about her biography, surely he knew she was supposed die soon. She was too important to history, which was the point behind the ship being named after her at all. Maybe it was intended to be a one-or-two trip deal? He didn't invite her until she indicated she didn't want him to leave, so maybe he was thinking that all along and was just bummed he didn't have a chance for even that? Idk.
Then again, Tennant says in the ROTC commentary that had she come onboard as a companion, that his personal canon is that she would have been turned into a Cyberman in Pete's World. So either way, she was hosed. XD
but Rose seemed weird like someone had stolen her memory or something
Clearly they were starting on the series arc with the Silents a few episodes early ... she just didn't remember!!! >.^