Just wanted to say ‘hello’. Timetot (newbie). Found out about the forum from The Guardian review. Was totally capitvated by the echoes from 10’s speech near the End of (his) Time, had to come checking.
And also I had to write how much I’m LOVING season 9 (35 in old money).
I struggled a lot with the Matt Smith seasons, more often than not coming to the end of a story and despairing for the ignorant sexism, over-complicated ‘heady’ plots with scant emotional punch (The Doctor’s Wife an exception, and on recent rewatching, Vincent and the Doctor too), and the near facile way with which characters and death were treated (they’re dead with overblown music… oh now they’re back… Rory, Strax, Clara…). I stopped posting BLT because I felt I must be out of kilter and didn’t want to ruin the joy for other fans. A friend started watching from The Eleventh Hour and was loving on it all, so vive la difference.
But to be able to sit down and tap my words out in utter joy for Season 9, is a HUGE relief. I haven’t felt such overwhelming love for all involved with the show since Season 4. I love the soul it blasts out on full amp: the politics it answers, the warmth and humour, the menace and the medicine. Capaldi is never less than dazzling as he channels Tom Baker’s alien distance, Hartnell’s nimble gaming and Pertwee’s coat. Coleman has been so commanding, I found myself more than assisted in rubbing out the whole Impossibly (bad) girl arc and the psyche101 character-by-numbers of Season 8. Michelle Gomez’s Missy has blown decades of Masters out of the water. There are women writing and directing and Sarah Dollard’s Face the Raven is gold as far as I felt it. I loved the echoes of Neverwhere and more than that, the feeling that this was death, inescapable and vital. This is what it’s all about.
Loving the season. Each story just grows better.
Sorry if I’ve taken up too much space.
