(no subject)

[sebastienne]

yo, group intellect:

here's a thing.

"da-da-da daa" is morse code for "v".

the Master's gasmask has a "v" symbol on it.



this same symbol appears on a box to the left of the tardis.



if we assume that whoever these "toclafane" are have been manipulating the Master with their drums for a very long time.. might whatever they turn out to be have some connection to the letter "v"? my old-who-fu runs out on me here.. i'm off to do some wikipediaing.

ETA: on my search to find screencaps to emphasise the above points (they came from the delightful larissa_j, by the way), I have discovered a few more instances:

on the backs of the chairs and on wall panels in the aircraft carrier (designed by the master):





is there even one on the conference table?



the Master's MoD tech is covered in these "v"s. The sound of drums is morse code for "v".

Am I off on a schizotypal episode, or is there something in this?

ETA2: ok, so the aircraft carrier is called "Valiant". Might explain all the Vs (admittedly, in the case of the gas mask, only with some difficulty)- or might be yet another example of the Vs popping up everywhere.

Comments

[dyddgu.livejournal.com]

I mentioned on another post elsewhere about that rhythm (or not-quite-that-rhythm, it sounds more towards the rhythm of the dr. who theme than Beethoven 5) being used for a propaganda campaign in WWII - people were encouraged to tap out "V for victory", using the rhythm of Beethoven 5. The first three taps sound to my ear far more of a triplet than three quavers to me, but that is splitting hairs.

[neoanjou.livejournal.com]

Humm -

My thought process:

* Gas mask 'v' - upside down, red and blue - possibly a stylised Union Flag?
* Tardis / decorations 'v' - damnation; even looks the same as the gas mask 'v'... probably something, although the 'Valiant' explanation makes sense.
* Drumming - mixed feelings - I know that the first few chords of Beethoven's Fourth (?) 'Da Da Da Duh' were used during the war to announce things relating to spying ('V' Day?) which would add credence to your theory, but this seems a bit obscure. Da Da Da DaH! just seems a fairly routine pattern for drumming to me. Doesn't one always emphasise the final note in 4/4 time?

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

it's a pretty standard marching beat, i agree. my probing suggests that it is the base rhythm of the Doctor Who theme tune, for example.

and it's entirely possible that the "v"s are just a minor set desinger's little joke, and mean nothing.. but i'm a conspiracy theorist at heart!

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

i'm with you on the triplet thing; but i figure that making it triplets/crothchet makes it fit standard 4/4 more easily.

thanks for the WWII info, that's really interesting!

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

"my probing" - or, indeed, dyddgu's comment above.

[ex-leighwoos982.livejournal.com]

Is it the new UNIT logo? UNIT would be supplying the PM with special gas mask type stuff.

Or simply the emblem from the (Fuckin' Helicarrier!!) Valiant- British designed so would have the Union Jack incorporated.

[glamwhorebunni.livejournal.com]

The Time Lords had several designs inside circles? Possibly just a random co-incidence.

But you're definitely right about that tricolour V. That symbol was used lots, and must be deliberate.


Oh, and that gasmask error (having it one way up, then the other way) really bugs me.

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

you mean like the seal of rassilon



and the LazLabs logo (which, incidentally, appears to appear on the Master's ring)



?

One theory that I'm seeing crop up again & again is that the Time Lords turned the Master into a kind of "sleeper agent" with those drums, to guarantee their return from any destruction in the Time War - and these little spheres (named after the Time Lord fairy tale) are their means of return. Interesting...

[ex-leighwoos982.livejournal.com]

Oh thank GOD someone else noticed the LazLabs/Rassilon similarity. I Am Not Alone.

Also they kept the classic Timelord costume! Yeys!!

And more UNIT is always good. Growing up without any who I had novels and comic books to show me the world of the Doctor, where UNIT tended to do more and be cooler. Kind of like Action Man, but with aliens.

[ex-leighwoos982.livejournal.com]

"
One theory that I'm seeing crop up again & again is that the Time Lords turned the Master into a kind of "sleeper agent" with those drums, to guarantee their return from any destruction in the Time War - and these little spheres (named after the Time Lord fairy tale) are their means of return. Interesting..."

Doesn't he say "A NEW TIME LORD EMPIRE BWAHAHAHA" at the end of TSOB?

[ex-leighwoos982.livejournal.com]

TSoD, sorry

[vass]

What dyddgu said about V-for-Victory.

[frank-snow.livejournal.com]

Usually the emphasis is on the first beat of a bar (and not just in 4/4, although in beats like 6/8 it starts to become more complex, in which emphasis is placed on the first and fourth beats). Hence when it's counted out it's more like ONE two three four, ONE two three four &c.

At any rate, that rythm isn't counting four beats. It's only counting two - a triplet followed by a crotchet. The emphasis is on the fourth "beat" simply because it's longer.

[darwinian-woman.livejournal.com]

Probably not amazingly significant, but that ominous four-note pattern at the beginning of Beethoven 5 is often described as the "rapping of fate" motif. Various later composers (notably Mahler and Shostakovich) referenced the same rhythmic signature as code for "arghfateohthehorrorsdoomwoeDOOM!"....

[stronglight.livejournal.com]

I just assumed it was the Dr Who theme...

My little sis has an elaborate theory - which is far-fetched but kinda cool, that the circle things have v similar voices to the (?sp) Gelf, seen when 9th Dr and Rose went to Victorian Cardiff and met Dickens. These were removed by someone played by the same actress as Torchwood!Gwen, whose character was then called Gwyneth... Could be just a Martha-esque recasting but my sis suggests that Gwen is related to Gwyneth and the Torchwood team will thus return to help out in the next episode and Gwen will be key.

I like the sleeper agent thing. I assumed that the sound of drums was the result of some kind of brain washing, etc, and was meant to be some kind of trigger to the master, but wasn't sure what its purpose was intended to be.

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

not just similar voices - one of the voice actors is actually the same.

the whole "one for each human" thing seems gelth-like, with there being 6bn of them. but i had completely forgotten the Gwen/Gwyneth connection...

oooh! nifty interesting conspiracy theories!

[mi-guida.livejournal.com]

Retconning the fact that they used the same actress? Could be, but Sophie and I are holding fire on that one. We're more interested in what part Leo is going to play in all of this, and who exactly "Boxer" is....

[arifirh.livejournal.com]

Recurring Vs? Perhaps, but to me it's perfectly clear that the Master's plans revolve entirely around children's television. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50-w_Nggq3E)

[sugar-and-space.livejournal.com]

Oh gods, please no torchwood cast...

[mi-guida.livejournal.com]

I'm really hoping not. S tells me they have definitely said that there is no relation betweeen Gwen/Gwyneth, they just used the same actress and it doesn't mean anything.