TIME LORD OF THE RINGS

Not sure what it is this week, whether it's the unseasonably warm weather here on the East Coast of the US that has us cranking up air conditioners or the wave of negativity that crashed down on Who Land after the broadcast of "The Rings of Akhaten" that set me off, but I am finally gathered and writing my thoughts on the episode.

We have The Doctor starting his investigation in to “The Twice Dead Woman” by going back into Clara’s past, back as far as her parents’ first meeting, and after his witnessing their meeting, engagement (via leaf that blinded Clara’s Dad), the birth and eventual adolescence of Clara (nice job on that), he is no more the better for his poking into her past proclaiming her to “be impossible”.

And yet there she is.

This episode was a mixed bag for me, parts were good and there were parts that were a bit too formulaic.  Maybe I’m being too hard on this episode, but onto . . . . . . . . .

WHAT I LOVED

The entire first three minutes, basically the "The Life Of Clara".  It was sweet and sentimental and it answered a lot of questions, which is a good thing, and even I shed a bit of a tear when Clara did at her mom's graveside.

NO SPECIAL DATES HERE - THAT I KNOW OF

We had  a potential return of The Doctor's Venusian Akido after his being hit in the head by a ball kicked by a very young Clara - nice touch.

Definite kudos go to the young lady who played Merry, I wish I had been that together at 10 years old (here's what else she's been in  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223/?ref_=tt_cl_t5 )

Queen of the Years

WHAT I LIKED

All of the aliens. The Millennium FX prosthetics crew must have had continuous orgasms when the orders for aliens came in for this episode, and they did a great job.  

I ESPECIALLY LIKED THAT RED EYED GUY

. . . . . as did The Mill with their CGI efforts.  Definitely a bravo for the special effects.

The Doctor comparing an event that happens every thousand years in the Rings of Akhaten to "Pancake Tuesday", that terribly British version of Mardi Gras, the day before everyone is supposed to clamp down and give up all kinds of things for Lent.  While the rest of the world is feasting on all kinds of craziness and drinking themselves numb, the Brits and their other former colonies are having pancakes (from the looks of them they look more like French crepes, not like real American Pancakes.

REAL AMERICAN PANCAKES!

Back to Clara's story - I like that she seems to have been born and, up to her first run-in with The Doctor, in "The Bells of Saint John", seems to be a pretty normal (aside from her lack of Internet knowledge), mid-20's woman. All of the stops in her life . . . . . .  .

After The Doctor tells Clara that she reminds her of someone. . . .someone who died. . . .  Clara's retort . .  "I'm not going to be a bargain basement stand-in for someone else . . . I'm not going to compete with a ghost!"

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

As much as I liked the bazaar scenes with all of the aliens, Clara’s first trip aboard the TARDIS was reminiscent of Rose’s in “The End of the World”, with the Doctor’s companion being exposed to all kinds of aliens on their first trip.

In the Rings of Akhaten there were layers upon layers upon layers of appeasing the local sun (more on that later).  There were there guys (who I actually thought were cool looking):















Then this guy:

Just to get to this guy - the Grandfather . . . 

That is a sun which will be put out by a leaf













QUESTIONS
OK - so The Doctor and Clara basically put out the sun that keeps the Rings of ZAnkhaten together and then get out of town.  In other words - they save the denizens of the Rings from "The Grandfather" and then leave them to their entire solar system to collapsing.  Seems a bit weird to me.
FAVORITE LINES
Not once, but twice, The Doctor took on the concept of organized religion, which I found interesting.  First, on their arrival in the Rings when  The Doctor was explaining what the deal with the Rings was.

Doctor: Seven world orbiting the same star, all of them sharing the belief that all life in the universe originated here, on that planet.

Clara: All life?

Doctor: In the Universe.

Clara: Did It?

Doctor: No, it's what they believe, it's a nice story.

The second was his  "Cabbages and Kings" pep talk to Merry.

THE CONTINUING MYSTERY OF CLARA
We still have no idea who the "shop girl" is who gave Clara that IT support number, but some theories have popped up from either IMs or in chats with other Who fans.

Our suspects are . . . . Rose (a shop girl), River (not a shop girl but who has time travel capabilities so could know the actual identity of Clara - it would not surprise me if that were the case and that she knows that Clara - in the end - makes The Doctor immensely happy), Sally Sparrow, not seen since "Blink", but another "shop girl".  I definitely get the feeling that whoever it was who gave Clara the support number to The Doctor's phone is known to us, as in she's appeared in the series before.

A friend posited that it might be Susan Foreman, The Doctor's granddaughter, since she was mentioned in this episode, and I think it's possible, but very unlikely since she was left off in 22nd century Earth (even accounting for her appearance in "The Five Doctors"), but I guess The Doctor could have dropped her off in 2013.

The TARDIS key . . .. as mentioned before.  The Doctor, in a bit of a fake reaches into his pocket and hands Clara not the key to the TARDIS, but the ring she traded into to the Crazy Dog Talking Moped Lady, which i all kinds of full of Clara's memories of her mom.

WELCOME TO THE SNOG BOX

We’re finally back into Season 7 (Series 7 for the Brits reading this – I will never understand that) and we’re with The Doctor and his beginning of his search for the “Twice Dead Woman”, Clara “Oswin” Oswald.  Eight glorious weeks of being once again in the Whoniverse and I love it!

The BBC and Company even provided us with a prequel - in case you missed it - here it is (it was kind of predictable).

Overall it was a good, not great, episode.  It was a good start to this season’s two issues.  As season 6 started with the Ponds and the origins of River Song as well as their having to deal with The Silents, season 7 gives us the mystery of Clara and the establishment of “The Great Intelligence” as, as we call it here in America, this season’s “Big Bad”.

I think in this series of reviews, I’ll add a new section dealing with the mystery of Clara and my speculations as to what her deal is.  Enough babbling and on to . . . . . .

WHAT I LOVED

We’re back!  Once again my friend to the show that might not end – Doctor Who!  After far too long a break from the Christmas episode (OK, OK – it could have been longer if Easter was later this year), we have The Doctor and The Mystery of the Multiple Claras to try to solve.

WHAT I LIKED

Clara actually – as far as we know – survived the episode – so as of right now – she is not the “Thrice Dead Woman”.

I'm not sure what they did to Matt Smith for his time as the monk in this episode - but he seemed a bit softer in the face and hair - and I actually liked it a lot better - not to say I hate his normal look - just liked the Monk look better - must have been the hair and that it had a less sleek look.The Doctor: "It's 1207."
Clara: "It's only half past three.  Am I calling a different Time Zone?

The Doctor: “You really sort of are.”

Amy was busy writing in her time!  Nice touch.

The never ending phone cord

The Doctor’s Dresser Drawer

Nice reference to one of the few actual Police Boxes left - the one at Earl's Court:


Mahler: "Are we sure this time?  Earl's Court was an embarrassment."

The essential British motorcycle - the Triumph! 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
Just a nit picky thing like . . . .

It seems that everyone in London has forgotten what a Police Box is.  Anyone who referred to the TARDIS (aside from Clara) referred to it simply as "The Blue Box" - just seemed kind of weird.

That whole silly "Doctor Who" thing when The Doctor first arrived to see Clara at the door, seemed too silly.

I'm still not sold on the latest TARDIS interior - I think it's the spinning "rotors" at the top.  I get the Gallifeyan script on the and near the doors, but the old familiar up and down of the "Time Rotor" (which in hindsight really made no sense) that I am missing - now that we have a Time Rotor that actually rotates - on 3 levels no less.

BEST LINES

Clara: "When you say ‘mobile phone’, why did you point at that blue box"?

The Doctor: "It’s a surprisingly accurate description."

The Doctor:  "Human souls trapped like flies in the world wide web, stuck forever, crying out for help."

Clara: "Isn’t that basically Twitter?"

Clara: "Clara Oswald for the win!  Oswin!"

The Doctor: "I can't tell the future I just grew up there."    I think this is what he said.

Hmmmmm - we look like Time Lords - or Time Lords look like us????  I'm referring to what The Doctor told Amy in their 1st off world adventure "The Beast Below" when he told her that humans look like Time Lords.  This is why I look at this bit of a throw away line:

A confession - with the 50th anniversary coming up - I sketched out a story where I proposed that the original Gallifreyans were human colonizers - who through  a series of massive events - became the Time Lords - even called it "The Golden Moment" in honor of the Golden Anniversary - it all made basic sense on paper - just never really fleshed it out.  Could Moffat have been laying clues all along???

QUESTIONS

Just who was that shop girl who gave Clara the number for the “best Help Line in the Universe”?  Perhaps a certain Doctor Song????  Not sure River would pop back to be a "shop girl" - she seems a bit old for that - but who knows - maybe "shop girls" over in England grow to be old LOL  But then again - River can flit through time and space - could have been her

The only actual shop girl that we know is Rose Tyler.  Not sure what department Rose worked in at the department store she worked at  - perhaps Electronics?  But that would mean she would have have to have had to have come back from the parallel Earth where the 10th Doctor left her with his sort-of self.

“That wasn’t a leaf, that was page 1” -  What the heck does that mean?????

THE MYSTERY OF CLARA
I've talked to a few local friends about just who Clara is - some think she is a creation of the Daleks (in a reversal of our souffle loving entertainment officer on the ALASKA).  I think that's laughable - not really - I just don't think that's it.

What do we know about the three iterations of Clara?

2 mentioned souffles
2 have been governesses/nannies
3 have said the magic words "Run you clever boy and remember"
1 had a double life - governess and bar maid

My theory - of this moment - is that she is a creation of The Great Intelligence - she has no idea of this of course - and different versions of 1 master version of Clara Oswin Oswald - exists somewhere - a place that will not be arrived at until the 8th episode in this run - the untitled (as yet) episode that will - according to Moffat - both reveal something we never knew about the Doctor and will lead straight to the 50th Anniversary special in November.

It could be that there is a 3rd player in this game - someone aside from The Doctor and The Great Intelligence who is controlling Clara - we'll see as we go along.Let me know what you think :-)

Jayne