"Clara, be my pal. Tell me: Am I good man?"

[locker_monster]

Dalek episodes don't thrill me. I'm sorry, but they don't. So this episode was okay but mostly, I came away with "meh".

They did try something different this time and that was sort of neat. A good Dalek. Not that Rusty is a "good" Dalek. All he cares about is wiping out the Daleks. So yeah, on the one hand, the humans have a Dalek on their side and that's going to turn the tide of the fight, but he's fighting for all of the wrong reasons. The Doctor really tried, too, but he's spent most of his life fighting Daleks so it's hard for him to let go of that anger and hatred. It's no wonder Rusty latched on to that. Rusty's line to the Doctor that he's a good Dalek was definitely a call back to "Dalek" and to Nine.

Was anyone else reminded a little bit of "The Invisible Enemy"? Not that the Doctor and Clara had to go inside the Doctor to cure him of a space virus, but the shrinking down part to work out a solution. The second they mentioned miniaturization, I thought, "Where's K9?" And they sort of hung a lantern on the fact that it's like Fantastic Voyage. Also, would there be that much empty space in a Dalek? I'm not criticizing; I'm just curious. Anyone know the inside of computers really well? I mean, there would probably be spaces for tiny humans to walk through, yeah? It's not all wall to wall circuits and stuff.

What I was interested in more was seeing more of Twelve. He's stabilized now so we got more of his personality. Blunt and impatient was what I came away with. His tolerance for bullshit is very low and he will definitely let you know if you annoy him. He still has compassion, but it's buried beneath his abrasive remarks. Give me a few more episodes, though, before I really get a handle on him. He and Clara are still settling, too. I didn't expect her to slap him. Oh, I'm sure there were times where she was tempted to slap Eleven, but she really went for it here. Definitely reminded me of Donna from "The Runaway Bride". They were both "get your head out of your butt" slaps. She is his carer in every sense of the word.

So... Danny. I'm worried that he's only introduced as a way to allow Clara to leave the Doctor. Please, for the love of puppies, do not write out Clara because she falls in love. I hate it when the show does that. Companions deserve better, especially Clara. Yes, Clara deserves to be happy, but her exit should be more heroic than that. And I'm not sure I really buy that she would go on a date with this guy after just meeting him. Or maybe I'm just cynical. It's interesting that Danny is a former soldier. I wonder what the Doctor will think when he meets him. He's had soldiers and warriors travelling with him before, so maybe it won't be a big deal. Though, he does turn away Journey at the end of the episode, so maybe Twelve's tolerance is nil.

I had pictured Danny as a maths teacher and I was right! So he and Clara are the new Ian and Barbara? Because you have the science-y numbers guy and the, um, humanities girl? You know what I mean. Science and History. Math and English. Oh man, it'd be cool if they met Ian and Barbara somehow or at least mentioned them on the show.

I don't know. I'm having a hard time articulating my thoughts. There were some good bits, but in my head it's "just another Dalek" episode.

Random: Will they never allow Phil Ford to write an episode by himself? Come on, the guy wrote for The Sarah Jane Adventures a lot. He can handle this universe. Danny shedding a tear? Ugh, that seemed really ham-fisted to me. There are easier ways to show that he has regrets besides having him cry. So it's been three weeks since "Deep Breath". So it's early January? I laughed when Clara said it had been three weeks since she told the Doctor to go fetch coffee. At least he brought back coffee. ;-) But did he leave her in Glasgow? Was she forced to make her own way home? And Missy makes an appearance again in "Heaven". So she's rounding up all of the people who die while interacting with the Doctor? Is she building an army? Hey, look, the Doctor changes his shirt next week so I guess his look will have subtle tweaks here and there.

Edit: Oh, and you definitely know you like a Doctor if you start fangirling over his hair:

Apologies for the awkward screencap, but I just love Twelve's hair here. He's got a weird cowlick going on there on the right and it's adorable. :-)

Edit 2: Maybe I should watch the episode twice before I put my thoughts down. Clara asking Danny out totally makes sense. It's very Clara. She's bold like that. I wonder if they'll show them having that drink. If they do, I'm sure the Doctor will show up in the middle of it. Ooh, and then he can kidnap Danny in the TARDIS and it'll be like a redux of "The Unearthly Child."

Oh, and I was at the movie theatre this morning to buy some tickets and I noticed that the "Deep Breath" screenings for today were sold out. I was pretty amazed. It's been a week since the episode aired; you'd think everyone would have seen it by now. So, maybe this will encourage the BBC to show the season finale in theatre or something.

Comments

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

I totally thought of "Invisible Enemy"! No reference to it, though, and no reference to the one genuinely good Dalek the Doctor has ever met -- Clara Oswin Oswald. I would have liked to have seen some mention of that, because even if Clara doesn't remember that life, surely the Doctor does. And we in the audience sure do!

I don't know what's going to happen with the Danny stuff. Is he perhaps going to be a companion? They certainly spent a lot of episode time on him.

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

There's a bit of "Carnival of Monsters" in the episode, too, with tiny Twelve and Clara wandering around the innards of a machine like tiny Three and Jo. Actually, now that I think about it, the Doctor gets shrunk down to size more often than you think.

Yeah, I'm surprised they didn't mention Oswin. But maybe that would have been a really awkward conversation.

Having Danny travel in the TARDIS would be nice. I'm always in favour of having male Companions.