Science-fiction shows: Doctor Who, Torchwood, Stargate: Atlantis

[butterfly]

Oregon had extremely high winds last night, so our power went out for about three hours. Luckily, it's all on again now and I hear that the storm should pass by the time Saturday has rolled around.

Tonight, the Doctor Who episode is Fear Her. It's possibly the flirtiest episode of Season Two. It features two hugs, the Doctor getting jealous over Rose's attention to a cat, a seriously flirty conversation, and a romantic walk while fireworks burst overhead. It's also a mirror of The Idiot's Lantern, showing that Rose reacts to possibly losing the Doctor in a similar way that he reacted to possibly losing her.

I watched and enjoyed last week's Torchwood (Random Shoes), though not as much as some of the earlier episodes. Random Shoes felt... oddly out of place, as it seemed to completely ignore the relationship changes that had happened earlier (Gwen/Owen and Jack/Ianto). Certainly, I don't expect Gwen/Owen to last forever, but considering the big deal it was made of in both Countrycide and Greeks Bearing Gifts, it's a bit odd just to drop it (and it was just there in the background in They Keep Killing Suzie, but it was still mentioned). They just skipped from Owen cuddling Gwen post-trauma to them sniping at each other the way they did before Countrycide. It's odd. And slightly random! So, that may be appropriate.

Oh, and I've actually been watching the new Atlantis episodes as they become available for download. Didn't really feel like talking about them until this most recent one, Tao of Rodney. I adored this episode, so freaking much. Rodney actually being in a near-death place where he'll articulate to his friends how much he cares for them is complete love. I don't think that there's anything in this episode that did not inspire the love from me. What he said to Radek, about the bubble of hostility he uses to protect himself, really made me want to give him about ten-thousand hugs. And I love how he left people speechless with how much he really did care and how much thought he put into showing that to people.

And, wow, I loved his conversation with John. He just needs to double-check that they're good, and then John is the one that gets all the practical stuff to deal with after Rodney dies, because Rodney trusts him with everything. Yeah, they're good. And I love how uncomfortable John is, with Rodney talking about his death, and John just doesn't want to go there. And, yeah. If there are any unsaid things in that particular friendship, they're on John's side, not Rodney's.

Comments

[herself_nyc]

Re: Gwen/Owen, I think that kind of sexual affair burns out very quickly--I thought it was a nice touch actually to see them a bit on each other's nerves so quickly after the consummation.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Well, the weird thing for me is that they made such a big deal about the two of them getting together. And it was very important in the next episode. And then mentioned in the episode after that. And then, here, it just seemed like there were in the same place they were before all the sex. I don't doubt that they could end quickly, it's just odd that it apparently went out with such a whimper when they made such a point out of it starting and what that meant for Gwen (cheating on Rhys and all). Character-wise, I feel like I missed an episode.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Fear Her - just love the shiny happy of D/R in this ep. *sigh*

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

They're so happy with each other in this episode. The love is so strong.

[bunni2001.livejournal.com]

John luffs Rodney so much. :) They're so boyfriends.

[grimorie.livejournal.com]

I love Fear Her! Because of everything you said and because Rose really does make a good detective and Rose gets to use a pick-axe! Plus, I love the moment when the Doctor grabs the marmalade and proceeds to snack on it and Rose clears her throat and gives him a Look.

You can really tell that the Doctor relies on Rose to call on him on his rudeness, I love it!

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

And, yeah. If there are any unsaid things in that particular friendship, they're on John's side, not Rodney's.

YES. I thought Rodney's feelings for John were obviously strong but oddly innocent, uncomplicated, whereas John's -- well, for one thing, why would he even feel the need to add the clarification he loves Rodney as a friend at all when it was already obvious from Elizabeth's "We love you all" and no one would have thought any different, anyway? NOW they very well might, and not without reason. *eg*

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

There is quite a bit of speculation that episodes have been rearranged in the broadcast order - see also the way that the events of Cyberwoman go completely unmentioned the following week in Small Worlds but are then heavily discussed in the early scenes of Countrycide.

Fear Her aroused extreme hatred from people who thought the ending was too sentimental, but it's one of my favourite S2 eps.

[blueswan9.livejournal.com]

I adored how Rodney approached each person with so much thought put into what he wanted to say to them, and how he might say it. There were so many wonderful moments when my love for Rodney just bubbled right over, particularly in the scene with Ronon. That one made my heart go boom.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you may be right on that!

Which means that the broadcasting people are annoying me. I hate watching things out of order.

*sigh*

I do love Fear Her. And considering the angst to come, the sentimentality was nice to get. It's good for them to get a happy ending every now and then.

[librarianstales.livejournal.com]

Fear Her was an awesome episode. I found the bit where the doctor causally mentions he was a father once interesting. I can see someone expanding that in a fanfic nicely.

The Tao of Rodney was made of awesome. It was such a thoughtful episode and really did dig into who Rodney was as a person. Poor scared Rodney, one suspects he brags and boasts about his mad science skills because he feels that is all that is good about him. :(

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

In the very first series of Doctor Who in 1963 the Doctor's original companion was his grand-daughter Susan. His reaction to Constantine's line about having been a father and grandfather in Empty Child is a definite nod to old school fans about that. If you want to write fic about the Doctor's offspring I'd suggest doing a bit of research on Susan via the Doctor Who Wikipedia section, which is a really well-developed and fantastic resource.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

He does! They are! John just doesn't want the others to know about it (silly, silly man).

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Rose is so wonderful in this episode -- she detects things and figures things out and gets to both use fun violence and also be sweet and helpful with the mother and Chloe. And the Doctor and Rose work so well together here -- you can just see how much they love being together.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Until John opened up his mouth, he was included in the friendly 'we all' that Weir put them in. And then John had to try to distance himself when he clearly cares about Rodney enough to switch right back into calming mode a second later, and it brings up questions.

[librarianstales.livejournal.com]

Yup, I'm familiar with Susan. That is exactly why I liked that line. That and the fact that while we know of the Doctor as a grandfather, we don't know anything about his children (as far as I know). It would be interesting what kind of father he was, but no, I am no interested in write fanfic about it.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

He really, really did. He wanted to show people he cared about them and actually thought about the best way that they'd be able to understand it. So much love, considering how he tries to keep up his walls most of the time.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Fear Her was lovely. And I'd love to know more about his kid(s), too. How many did he have? Did he have any other grandchildren apart from Susan? Lots of possible questions.

The Tao of Rodney was made of awesome.

Yes. It was wonderful to see Rodney and how he's grown and how much he cares about these people. I have so much love for him.