Two and four to go, respectively. Must be the clones.

[captainsblog]

We've finished Episode 6 (of 10) of Orphan Black, and I'm partway through Episode 11 (of 13) of Doctor Who Series 7.  These have been fed to us, ostensibly, by BBC America for each of the past six Saturday nights. It seemed a good time to recap where they-all have been and where they're going:



Eleven's said the G-word twice, at least, in the past three weeks. It's getting old. As, I have to say, is the current set of eps.

Compared to SBD (Standard Broadcast Drivel, not Silent But Deadly), the recent scripts from Gatii and Crosses and Thompson (oh my!) are pure gold. But yo, Moff! Where's the beef arc?

We took a trip to the Moff Eisley Cantina in Episode 7. Then went 20,000 Fezzes Under The Sea for Cold War's reboot of Red October. There followed a week with a ghost (who wasn't) and a week with an android (who also wasn't). Eleven had more than his share of killer lines, plaintive looks and Timey-Wimey climaxes, but as "Crimson Horror" again returns us to the Land of "Okay, We're Victorians so We Are Not Amused Or Even Reactive To Silurians In Our Midst," I have to ask:

Where are we going and how the hell did we get in this TARDISbasket?

I know, I read someplace that Moff was moving away from the arc-heavy sequence of Series 6 into a more episodic format for 7. Fine. Dandy. Wibby-wobbly, even. But Clara's sticking out like a sore Companion- suddenly having bursts of courage, and prescience, and other words ending in "E," and the scripts zoom in on it only to pull back to "she's just a girl!"

I should probably just wait for Neil Gaiman to sort it all out next Saturday, or for Moff himself to do so in the finale.





(Today is Michael Palin's 70th birthday- thank you, Dan'l- so the reference is timely-wimely;)

Hannah Sarah and her Sisters have progressed nicely these past few weeks. We now know much more about Soccer Mom- mainly, her name (Allison), her quest (figuring out who's monitoring her) and her favourite weapon (a glue gun- OW!). Likewise, Nerd Clone is now finally clearly identified as Cosima, who wound up spending the episode with French Lady (who Eleanor cleverly identified as being a clone of Allison's Nosy Neighbor Ainsley, which may be the case, even though they're credited- so far- as being played by different actresses).

I think we've seen the last of Vic the Dick. Given how quickly he's running out of hands, I'd highly recommend it.

Here, too, the arc seemed to stall- but not as much. Allison's husband, despite his hour of pain, seems out of the loooop. Paul seems more in it. And the object of Cosima and French Lady's interest, who we will refer to as L. Ron Voldemort, clearly has SOMETHING to do with what's going on....



but they've got two extra weeks to sort it out, but without a Gaiman in sight, so place your bets on which will make more sense by the end.

Comments

[platypus]

For a less arc-heavy season, "WHO IS CLARA" comes up an awful lot, and it's starting to interfere with my enjoyment of Clara and the Doctor's relationship. I'm not convinced this wouldn't all be more fun if she were just Clara and there were no ~mystery~ around her. Although I did enjoy Oswin in the Dalek episode, and would not have complained if that version had come along.

It all feels a bit jerky this year, with no two-parters and the big season break and the switch in companions... I'm having trouble getting immersed in it. The momentum's sorta not there. I still love Eleven quite a lot, but I don't think this'll be a favorite season unless it really pays off. I hope that Clara's identity actually turns out to have a point, at least. I'm interested in how Gaiman writes a standard Who episode, since his last one was clearly The Fannish Thing He's Wanted To Do Forever, but it'll take a lot to get me interested in Cybermen.

[glenmarshall.livejournal.com]

I'm enjoying 11 and the current season, but not as much as 10 in general. I'm hoping Clara turns out to be something more than a plot device.

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The clones had damn well better sort out their raison d'etre soon, as the continual ratcheting-up of chaos is getting boring.

[mikailborg.livejournal.com]

I'm enjoying the season in general, but I admit that I'm not impressed with the way the Clara "mystery" is being handled. It's not interesting and is feeling very tacked-on, as though all the scripts were done long before the "mystery" element were added.

On the other hand, the ending of "Cold War" reminded me of what I love about the general philosophy of Who, and I can't say I'm tired of Vashtra, Jenny, and Strax at all. So I'm having fun.