Doctor Who fic: The Boy Who Waited (8/49)

Title: The Boy Who Waited (8/49)
Rating: PG
Characters: Rory, with appearances from Barbara
Timeline: set between "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang"
Summary: London, 1996. Barbara Wright prepares the Pandorica for exhibit at the National Museum. As the work unfolds, she recounts the lengthy history of the stone box and its loyal protector, the Lone Centurion.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. Everything else is me taking liberties with history.
A/N: A huge thank you to my beta punch_kicker15. This story would still be sitting on my hard drive if it weren't for you.

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( Rory strode over, flinging aside his cape to reveal the sword at his hip. The bandit swallowed nervously as he came up in front of him.  )

"Don't wander off. I'm not just saying, 'Don't wander off.' I mean it."

I had high hopes for this episode, because it was Neil Gaiman, but I've come away with mostly "meh" thoughts.

One quick question. Was it Neil Gaiman's idea to bring back the Cybermen and make them different? Or did Moffat just assign him the story idea?

You know, that's the interesting thing about Cybermen. They always get redesigned. Daleks? They haven't changed much since they were first introduced (major redesign in "Victory of the Daleks" not withstanding), but man, Cybermen have come a long way since "The Tenth Planet". They used to have cloth faces and now they're slick silver, I dunno, ninjas. They're certainly not the mechanical hulks that they used to be. These new ones are fast and agile and are able to learn and upgrade. It'll be neat to see them in a proper, non-introduction episode. If they have new tricks up their sleeves, how will the Doctor defeat them? Sounds like the gold weakness is gone.


But honestly, I was kind of bored by the episode. I didn't really have any "Whoo! Awesome!" moments. The sight of three million Cybermen was cool; never seen that before. There was one shot, with the three rows of Cybermen walking towards the screen, that reminded me of that shot from "Earthshock" after the Cybermen wake up on Brigg's freighter. Probably an homage, no? And the Doctor battling the Cyber-Planner for control of his body was amusing to watch and who doesn't love it when someone gets to slap the Doctor, but everything else is kind of forgettable. I wonder if Neil Gaiman's original script was longer. Probably, knowing him. I wonder if stuff was cut for time that would have made things a little more exciting.

Like, the beginning. The TARDIS just lands and out everyone pops. There's no scene of Angie and Artie reacting to the interior of the TARDIS? No scene between the Doctor and Clara talking about taking the kids into time and space? Wouldn't he be kind of resistant to the idea of taking kids along? Or wouldn't Clara be more worried about where they might end up? Later on, the Doctor's feeling guilty about getting the kids partially upgraded, but it would have more impact if we had seen him saying to Clara, "It'll be fun! Nothing to worry about. They won't get hurt." And now what? So the kids got to take a trip in the TARDIS. Won't they bug Clara from now on, wanting to have a day out with the Doctor again? Or maybe the finale messes things up a bit?

It feels like there's been zero build up to the finale. The only recurring thing is the mystery of Clara, but it's nothing super threatening like last season with the Silence and the Doctor's death. Maybe that's why the season has felt so aimless. Or has Moffat been so focused on the 50th anniversary that he didn't really vet these episodes with his usual level of scrutiny? But something is certainly up next week. Vastra and Strax are back at least, and the Great Intelligence, too. You've got faceless men who kind of look like the Trickster. Relatives of his maybe? And River's back. I wonder if she'll ask him how he's been coping since Amy and Rory left?

And will the finale lead into the 50th anniversary? I wouldn't be surprised if the finale ends on a cliffhanger. You have to make certain people will tune in for the resolution six months later.

Random: Webley was kind of dressed like Willy Wonka. And wow, he just appeared and then ended up doing nothing. His collection was full of monsters they've used in the past and that was kind of neat, but obviously it's just random stuff they had leftover from other episodes. I think they should have taken some of the monsters from the Doctor Who Experience and put them in the background. Now that would have been neat. Poor soldiers were just cannon fodder for the Cybermen; they might as well have been wearing red shirts. More images of past Doctors! Two bad Eleven and his evil twin are standing in the way. That bit would make for a cool icon. And I'm a little disappointed the Cybermen didn't have to rip through cellophane when they woke up in their tomb. ;-) And why does Angie dislike Clara so much? Or is she just your typical moody teenager?

Ooh, will we get to see a quick preview of the 50th anniversary special after the finale? They started filming the thing in, what? April? By now they should have some footage to show.

And when are they going to announce more news about the Doctor Who convention happening in London in November? Come on, guys! I need something to go off of before I start planning flights and hotels.