(S04E09) In our last episode, the Doctor and Donna were trapped on a planetary repository of books called The Library along with a archaeological team and a microscopic, carnivorous species that hides in the shadows called the Vashta Narada. And somehow, all this is linked to a little girl who seems to be watching the events within the Library the same as the viewer.And now, part two.
Steven Moffat delivers in his Herculean task of writing a second part of a fantastic episode that is every bit as good as the first part. We learn that the little girl is actually the planetary database called CAL (patterned after a little girl named Charlotte Abigail Lux), who managed to save the 4,022 survivors of the Vashta Nerada invasion as data in an enormous hard drive. The same fate had befallen Donna at the end of the last episode.
There were a few very interesting aspects of this episode that really struck me. The first was River Song's relationship-to-be with the Doctor. Since they "initially" meet in her past, the actress will have to appear younger to pull it off properly. Or perhaps the whole "time is always in flux" concept in Doctor Who will reign supreme and timelines will change to prevent the whole thing from happening. Or, they'll just forget about it (just like it's been forgotten that some day the Doctor will have to become Merlin).
Second, we got to see Donna live her dream. It seems that for all her wishes for travel and excitement, her true heart's desire is to settle down with a nice man and have a family (wearing the exact same wedding dress from her first appearance, apparently). It's a lifestyle choice that seems to be downplayed in the Who-niverse as a valid alternative. I hope she achieves it at the end of her character arc.
Third, why do the Vashta Narada have to eat? They survived a hundred years without anything to feast on, yet they consume like zombies on the rampage once fresh flesh shows up. My guess is that they don't consume for nutrition but rather to learn. Essentially, rather than reading or writing or listening or watching to learn, they consume and absorb the knowledge. It would certainly fit into the library theme of the episode. It would have also made it extra-important that they did not eat the Doctor.
Wasn't that a great bluff at the end? The Vashta Narada had the Doctor dead to rights, and his reputation saved him. Apparently, from eating all those people, the Vashta Narada learned to browse the Internet without even requiring a computer.
I loved how Charlotte reacted with her head in a pillow when the deformed face of Miss Evangelista was shown. It's exactly the sort of reaction that Doctor Who monsters always got out of children. In effect, we're watching a child watch an episode of the show. That's utter brilliance.
The theme of the Doctor's true name is once again revisited. I hope the current and future producers of the show don't do anything as stupid as reveal the Doctor's real name. That would be the final nail in the coffin regarding the character's mystique.
Exactly how is it saving a life (or group of lives) when you turn them into electronic impulses in a virtual reality machine? Beats the alternative, I suppose.
In CAL's home there was a picture of a blond girl with a wolf next to it. A little more foreshadowing.
River Song could still return, and not just as a prequel. She just needs a new body.
Here's what we have. A frightening enemy. A sinister mystery. A possible flame for the Doctor. An excellent episode.
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-27-2008 @ 10:16PM
Claire said...
I still find River Song a bit annoying. Though I think I want to know why she's so important to the Doctor later in his life.
But besides that, it was heartbreaking to see Donna's "husband" try to shout her name before he was teleported away. It would be nice for them to meet again, give Donna a happier ending than Rose or Martha or any number of other companions. it would explain why River didn't know her.
Reply
6-27-2008 @ 10:21PM
Oreo said...
This episode just pissed me off, we didn't figure out who the woman was, and Donna's "husband" just got transported. I know they will most likely use these plot points over the next few years but I would have liked something. RIver said The Doctor's real name and he said "Only someone would know that...", who would know that?
Reply
6-28-2008 @ 12:20AM
PB said...
I like to be super romantic and think that the Doctor was going to say "Only someone would know that ... if I was in love with them" or something equally smarmy :-)
Great episode. I really liked it.
6-29-2008 @ 2:38PM
BaS said...
Of the theories that were made as to who River Song was, the two I favor are that she's either a relative (I think mother is most often discussed, as his mother would know his true name as she named him and in the movie apparently he said he was part human on his mother's side), or that she's his apprentice. I assume with Moffat taking over after the specials that this character will be brought up again. Though she was somewhat flirty, her comments didn't quite have the "romantic relationship" feel to them, 'the last time you visited' and whatnot, that's not something you'd say to a spouse.
6-27-2008 @ 11:40PM
Ed said...
His name is Ian.
Reply
6-28-2008 @ 7:00AM
Jim said...
Hey, who turned out the lights?
Well that was a few weeks ago in the UK and I enjoyed this episode. Did anyone else think 'Scooby Doo' though when the spacesuits were walking? (I'm trying not to give any spoilers here for the people who haven't seen it yet).
Reply
6-28-2008 @ 7:17AM
mj said...
Why on Earth would anyone prefer a 'normal married life' to being with the Doctor? Not me. It was kind of sad to see the guy stutter her name and be transported. River, on the other hand, is a royal pain. I don't like her at all. I doubt he could be in love with her, because she is, again, a royal pain, and much too full of herself, rather like Martha Jones, another royal pain. I really believe Rose is the one he loves, with Sarah Jane high on the list, too. By the way, I just saw the trailer for the season finale, and all I can say is....(mouth dropping open), gasp!!!
Reply
6-28-2008 @ 1:15PM
a58447 said...
I rather like River Song. Alex Kingston is always great. And what did you expect from a woman in the Doctor's future to be like? A shrinking violet? Hardly.
Reply
6-28-2008 @ 2:42PM
Ian said...
Pretty much they are setting up the way Donna departs from the show.
Great thought provoking episode. Strangely there is to be a new SciFi series this fall (think it's on Fax) re a spaceship crew in a Virtual Reality situation while the ship is on an extended voyage. And of course something syrange happens. Such a similar theme.... If this is the quality of writing to be expected in the future this is good news and moves DW to a new level of entertainment. I was getting fed up of too many aliens in schools type scripts.
River? If the Doctor is rather older when he meets her how long wll it be b4 she shows up again? That makes it diffuclt to pay this theme out IMHO. ALso they gave too much away so this storyline will be oh so predictable.
Reply
6-28-2008 @ 5:37PM
Edward said...
Or we may never see this storyline play out...
6-28-2008 @ 4:13PM
Alex - A.S. said...
I thought this was rather weak writing from Moffat. I love Alex Kingston, so this is not a jab at her, but I did not feel invested in River Song at all. I also felt like the Doctor was a little slow in figuring out things before the audience. That's not supposed to happen.
So, yes, this was a letdown compared to the first part.
Reply
6-28-2008 @ 9:58PM
jaerisk said...
Moffat + The Docter = Awesome
Reply
6-29-2008 @ 12:07AM
mrbooze said...
On The Doctor being Merlin at some point:
That has to have already happened, since it had to have been the Sylvester McCoy Doctor who did it. Otherwise why would anyone recognize him as Merlin when they saw him in the Battlefield episode.
Reply
6-29-2008 @ 1:45PM
Smiley said...
The Doctor and River Song were married. If you didn't figure that out, you are not smart enough to watch television.
Reply
6-30-2008 @ 1:19PM
Tom said...
I have to say I'm quite taken back by the River Song 'hate.' I thought she was a brilliant character and Kingston played her with great emotion.
I too have read some of the unusual speculation as to her identity -- she's Rose, she's Captain Jack in another body, she's his Human Mom, she's the Seventh Doctor's companion Ace. None of that really makes sense simply because she said very clearly "yes, I know him. There's only one problem. He hasn't met me yet." I think folks are overthinking her identity and like Occam's Razor (sp?) the simplest theory is the right one -- she is a future companion of the Doctor's -- and most likely a love interest. The difference here of course is that we got her 'final chapter' first rather than her origin. But as she said, such is life of traveling with a Time Lord.
I have a very strong suspicion we will NEVER see River Song again in this series. Based on the little snippets we got in the two episode-arc, there's so much 'history' between the two -- and so many layers to it -- it will be impossible to truly do it justice. Most likely River's adventures with the Doctor will be the ones that happen 'off screen' -- those stories we assume happen between the episodes we watch. Perhaps someone will do novels or audio books. But I almost hope that they leave her shrouded in mystery.
That being said, of course I'd watch, listen or read ANYTHING that comes out with more of River's story.
Reply
7-02-2008 @ 10:34AM
Karen said...
"Exactly how is it saving a life (or group of lives) when you turn them into electronic impulses in a virtual reality machine?"
Because they were saved like you save a file. That was the Doctor's point when he realized what had been done to them--that the message wasn't that they were "safe" but that they were "saved." The computer treated them like data, in order to get them out of harm's way.
I'm also surprised by the River hate. I liked her a lot.
Reply
7-12-2008 @ 8:58PM
Gordon Werner said...
I really liked this two-parter ... but "Blink" has to be the only episode that really freaked me out (of any Dr. Who episodes I have ever seen)
Love that one.
Reply