(no subject)

[sebastienne]

I think I have tripped some evolutionary circuit which says "few hours of sleep = danger/hardship >> harder better faster stronger". I feel absolutely euphoric. (Note to self: last time you got addicted to this feeling, you gave yourself glandular fever. Just sayin'!) I want to immerse myself in fandoms (especially the one I am Not Even Posting About In Case Of Accidental Comment-Spoilers) and put on a Grrrlesque show and learn to edit video and see bands and see people and to burn always with this hard, gem-like flame.

I am happy about re-watching NewWho for the indoctrination of deepbluemermaid - and realising that:

i. I'd forgotten how much I like 9th - he's fantastic.

ii. Utopia/Sound of Drums still make me feel as good as they did when they first aired.

iii. Blink doesn't scare me any more; I have become desensitized.

iv. Last of the Time Lords is much, much better than I remember. I'm sure I hated it before; but I'm concluding I must have been wrong, or simply let down by it not being quite what I expected. I found the ending truly moving, this time (even if tinkerbell!Doctor is still very badly realised), as well as seeing a lot deeper into the Master, and Professor Docherty, and oh-did-I-mention-Martha-saves-the-world.

v. it intrigues me how RTD's attitude to belief changes; in the season 1 finale he was essentially saying organised religion = fascism, with the god!dalek and all that - while in the season 3 finale, leap-of-faith unprovable belief ends up saving the world. So baseless belief is only good if you happen to be right? Useful.

vi. Stephen Moffat is a genius.

vii. heh. beard.

Comments

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

It's been said of RTD, by someone who knows him, that for all his protestations of atheism he's really an Anglican - or perhaps a Catholic - and he doesn't know it.

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

It's a theme that I'm seeing more and more in his work, certainly. I'll be looking out for it in the next series.

I'm not sure i'd go as far as to attribute subconscious religion. (Then again, I don't know RTD personally!) I think it can probably by explained by the constant low-level exposure to Christian mythology and ideology that comes from growing up in the UK. Certainly I think that's why it was resonating with me.

[glamwhorebunni.livejournal.com]

You see, I see the endings of Season 1 and Season 3 as both being good representations of Gnosticism. Both have a Demiurgic insane ruler-creator god, the Emperor Dalek and the Master. 1 relies on a lot on the key ideas of Gnosticism (particularly salvation through knowledge/insight), whilst 3 is an exact re-telling of the Sophia myth (Sophia/Doctor, Jesus/Martha and Demiurge/Master are all portrayed perfectly, especially the Sophia & Jesus syzygy).

So yes, I think both of them are totally in line with Gnostic Christianity, there is no change in belief. Sure they emphasis different parts of Gnosticism, Season 1 is more about the individual's struggle and everyday life whereas Season 3 is more about the mythology and society, but both are rooted in Gnosticism.
To resort to Buddhist analogies, 1 is Theravada whilst 3 is Mahayana. That's not really a huge shift in underlying theology, it's just a different perspective.

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

*giggles*

I'm afraid I most definitely do mean 9th, there. I'd forgotten how much I liked Ecclestone! I'm hardly likely to forget how much I like 10th; nor am I likely to overlook 8th, whose books and audio dramas I am currently revelling in like a pit of jelly and lesbians.

(Interestingly, RTD's very own Whovian, Vince in Queer as Folk, did refuse to accept McGann as canon. Why you'd reject anyone that pretty is quite beyond me..)

Nevertheless I concede your final point. I don't think it was particularly good, as an ending, in fact, it's still somewhat excruciating.. but I had an unexpected emotional response to it, nonetheless.

[darwinian-woman.livejournal.com]

I've never been especially irritated by the ending of LotT - deus ex is a long-standing feature of DW plots anyway, and this actually struck me as one of the *less* contrived ones. I guess that's because the whole 'credas ergo sum' thing features so frequently in my favourite fandoms (e.g. Pratchett) that I'm quite prepared to swallow it wholesale, provided that a means for the chanelling of belief has been elucidated - and as we'd already been introduced to the Archangel network and its capacity for mind-control, it didn't seem like such a big step for it to work in the opposite direction. Actually, I was impressed by the amount of forshadowing they'd provided for the last three episodes as a whole - I just wish the concept behind the Toclafane had been a little more original, really....

And, yes, with all the *Marthasquee* and *weepywoedoom* and *slashiness* and *pretty music*, I could have forgiven them most things :)

[the-whybird.livejournal.com]

It's not just you. I found LotT improve hugely upon the second viewing -- the TinkerbellJesus moment at the end was considerably less grating than I remembered it. And as I've said before, I'm willing to put up with basically anything in exchange for the "I forgive you" moment.

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

Are you really online at midnight at your own birthday party?

(Sorry I didn't make it, I got jumped on by Doctor Who geeks and then fell asleep. Hope you had a fabulous time!)

[the-whybird.livejournal.com]

Nope, online at midnight the night before my birthday party :)

And don't worry about not making it. Your presence was missed, but we had a great time nontheless.