Doctor Who: Speculation Wanted. (Spec WITHOUT Spoilers, please!)

[apple_pathways]

I've now watched each of the first two episodes of the new season twice. I have Questions and Concerns. I would like to know if other people share my questions and concerns, and if they have any clever speculation they'd like to share as to the answers. Let me know your thoughts! But please: NO SPOILERS FOR UPCOMING EPISODES!



Before I start, let me just reassure everyone: I also have much love for these episodes! The Silence? Doctor/River? Doctor cuddling Rory coming out of the body bag? Regenerating seven year-olds in spacesuits? Amy's HAIR? Etc. etc. SQUEE! I love this show like WHOA, so don't think because I'm picking it apart it means I'm not still madly infatuated with its genius. I always analyze the ones I love! (If you'd like to share your squee for anything I've forgotten in the comments, please do!)

Now, on to my Concerns:

1. Since when is the Doctor Ok with all the guns and violence?

One of the things I've always loved about Doctor Who, and about Ten in particular, was the Doctor's dedication to peace and non-violent solutions. (Incidentally, one of the things that has always annoyed me about Doctor Who, and Ten in particular, is how often the Doctor benefits from the violence committed by others without being called on it. People are killed, sacrificed, and entire races annhilated, and the Doctor gets to stand by and ring his hands about the tragedy of it all, all the while soaking up the credit for saving the day, despite the fact it's never explored exactly how he would have achieved the same results without violence. Anyway.)

There are guns all over this episode, and the Doctor never so much as blinks. It used to be he couldn't stand to be in the same room with a gun! (I suppose this has to do with the show being set in America, where naturally, we're all used to having guns waved around all the time. *eyeroll* Yes, the Trigger-Happy American stereotype did bug me, but then I do realize that we don't get to stomp all over the world with our guns and our bravado and not get called on it occasionally. So moving on...)

I'm not so sure I like the wild west gunslinger direction our River is taking. I know it's been happening for awhile, but I think there was altogether too much shooting in these episodes, and it started to get to me.


2. Speaking of shooting: WTF is up with Amy shooting a little girl IN THE FACE, and then it just getting hand-waved away the next week?

This better come back later and have Significance. I don't like the idea of Amy shooting at children as a cheap stunt to end the episode on a dramatic note.


3. Amy's Schroedinger's Pregnancy

Someone needs to help me with the timeline. Ok, so:

Amy tells the Doctor that she didn't want to tell Rory she thought she was pregnant, because she was afraid she might have been pregnant while travelling in the TARDIS, and she was worried the time travel and whatnot might have affected the baby.

At the beginning of The Impossible Astronaut (TIA), Rory mentions it has been two months since they've seen the Doctor.

This means, for Amy to have been pregnant while travelling in the TARDIS, she'd have to be at least 3 months along when she tells the Doctor she's pregnant.

3 months is just...a long time! It's a long time to think you're pregnant without having a doctor confirm it (and to start prenatal care). It's also a long time to hide the fact you think you're pregnant from your new husband. Finally, it's a bit far in for an "OMG I'm pregnant!" "Oops, my bad, I'm not"-kinda scare.

And then, AND THEN: they spend a further three months in America hunting down The Silence before the events of Day of the Moon (DOTM). Which means, if Amy is pregnant, she is about SIX MONTHS along at the end of DOTM. I know it's some weird, timey-wimey, Schroedinger's pregnancy, but still: shouldn't be showing, even if she's only intermittently pregnant?

4. While we're on the subject, about them spending 3 months hunting down The Silence before DOTM: whuh? Why? And why haven't they changed their clothes? My brain hurts!

5. Aliens. In. Suits. WHY??? They have no need to Blend In. WHY ARE THEY WEARING SUITS???

Here's what I want the answer to be: that suits are actually a totally alien clothing choice, and another example of how The Silence have manipulated humanity. It would go a long way toward explaining why all (Western...) men dress alike when they want to look smart.

Other fun things that might be worth speculating on: If Amy's occasional bouts of nausea are a result of her Timey Wimey pregnancy, does this mean River is also Intermittently Pregnant, as she exhibited the same symptoms? What's up with the picture of Amy and the baby? Are the other pictures on the nightstand supposed to be Amy as a little girl? (They do look like old pictures of Karen...) If there is a baby, is it Rory's? (IT HAS TO BE, RIGHT? RIGHT???) Why does the little girl have super powers of regeneration??? ETA one more: who's the lady in the eyepatch looking out of the little girl's room at the orphanage?

HOW AWESOME IS THIS SHOW?

:D

Comments

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

The thing about the Doctor and guns, is that his hate for them tends to vary from incarnation to incarnation (or showrunner to showrunner!) - plus, if you're an old Who fan, like me, you tend to take it more in your stride because - Hello? - River is not the first crack shot in the TARDIS (that would be Sara Jane) or the first companion who uses violence to achieve a result (Ace and her nitro!)

Previously, the Doctor was someone who disapproved of violence as a first resort, but didn't exactly take it off the table either...

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

That's a good point, and something I didn't consider: I will admit, I haven't watched much Classic Who.

Undoubtedly, a lot of his changes in attitudes and personality can be put down to a change in actors, and a change in showrunners. But if you view the Doctor as one character (instead of 11 separate ones), can't you also assume a sort of progression of characterization? I mean: how much of his personality is permanent? What parts of him are consistently The Doctor?

One of the things I liked best about New Who was the Doctor's dedication to non-violent, peaceful solutions. Sure, there's always been violence and shooting: I just would have expected a moment of disapproval, even if it were just a throwaway line!

And his history of travelling with women who use weapons brings me back to my big irritation with Ten's run: that the Doctor benefits from the violence and aggression of others while maintaining a non-violent stance. It's all very well and good to call yourself a peaceful pacifist when you're travelling with a woman who carries explosives! It's something that's not really ever dealt with on the show, and I'd be interested to see how it's approached.

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

The thing is, I'm not really sure if it was progress with Ten. For me, Ten's great sin was hubris. He decided that it was his way or the highway, and if this caused pain and suffering along the way...well, that was the price to pay for travelling with the Doctor.

Take, for instance, the Doctor's reluctance to kill the Master, and the results. Sure, not many remember what happened during the year-that-wasn't, but the scars left on Martha's family are horrific.

Nine's inner conflict almost seemed more mature to me. Nine always asked himself if he had the right. Ten just assumed he did.

There is a hint of bitterness to Eleven's character, which I find very interesting. There is also a lot more grey in him than Ten. To me, it's a bit of a relief after all that absolutism.

And you'd think, from all this, that I hated Ten! I didn't - I just never thought he was always right :-P

As for the Timetot - I'm thinking Amy's prenancy is a misdirect, and the Timetot is River or River's child or...

[Puts on tinfoil hat]

ZOMG! It's Romana!

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

The thing is, I'm not really sure if it was progress with Ten.

I didn't mean progess in the sense that each version of the Doctor is necessarily better than the last, but that rather his personality might evolve over time, and some of those changes might be permanent. I would think an aversion to guns, developed over many years and so late in his life, would be something that sticks. But then, I'm probably assuming way too much about Time Lord personalities and how they work!

In any case, I totally agree with your summation of Ten! He did view himself as some sort of higher authority, and often acted broadly without taking the time to wonder if he was right. What always bothered me the most about him was all this angst and compassion he felt for all life, without really acknowledging his own role in the suffering. How often would someone else act as Deus ex Machina for him, swoop in and take out the baddie, leaving him free to pontificate on the evils of violence and the needlessness of death?

And you're totally right about The Master: that would have been a perfect opportunity to explore the other side of the Doctor's pacifism. When you've got as much power as the Doctor does, refusing to act can has as big (or bigger) consequences than acting.

Anyway, food for thought! (I have a feeling the show would be dull and depressing as hell if it contained as much philosophizing as I look for!)

As for the Timetot - I'm thinking Amy's prenancy is a misdirect, and the Timetot is River or River's child or...

[Puts on tinfoil hat]

ZOMG! It's Romana!

SEE, this is the kind of speculation I love! ♥ *puts on own hat* Romana would be cool! I always thought New Who's decision to do away with all the other Time Lords (save The Master( was rather rash. I'd be over the moon if there more of them floating around...