Friday 18 March 2011

Doctor Who: Space and Time (Comic Relief Special)

Amy: “Okay kids, this is where it gets complicated.”

Sound familiar? It should do. It was the same line Amy used in last year's season finale. This year, instead of a Children in Need special, we got a Comic Relief special. Same idea, same station, roughly the same length, just a different charity. Same wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey goodness, though. And two Amy Ponds! Be still my beating heart.

I always knew Amy's skirt would get them into trouble one day. Or more accurately, Rory trying to look up it. Obviously, despite being married to the saucy devil, he's still intensely interested with what's up there. Who can blame him? Even the Doctor tried to steal a cheeky peek. I liked that Steven Moffat managed to take a fanboy obsession (the length of Amy's skirt), and base a whole episode around it. Let's face it, it was a story which needed to be told.

Since this was an episode written specifically for Comic Relief, it contained more than the usual sprinkling of frivolity. In fact, you could almost argue that it was a spoof. As well as taking the piss out of Amy, Moffat managed to poke fun at his own often convoluted writing style. True, it offered little of note to Doctor Who's ever expanding history. But it did give us the show's first ever threesome joke. Which ain't to be sniffed at.

I'm not sure how much of the plot made sense. I didn't really grasp why the TARDIS went from being stuck in a time loop, to its outer shell suddenly drifting forward in time, nor did I really understand how future Doctor knew to pull the wibbly lever, but these are piffling trifles. Tonight's episode was all about raising money for the needy in the UK and Africa. Hopefully it did its bit.

Other Thoughts:

-- I can't imagine why Amy would slap Rory for thinking of a threesome. She was totally flirting with herself. This is a subject which clearly demands further exploration. (Possibly in a three-parter.)

-- The plot (if indeed it can be called that) felt like a parody of the season five finale 'The Big Bang.' Only more ludicrous.

-- I loved Amy's self-obsession. I dare say that driving test gag has set the women's movement back several decades, but it's for charity... so all is forgiven.

-- Props to Karen Gillan for being so funny. Actually, despite its semi-tongue-in-cheek content, the whole cast did splendidly. And £73.1M raised so far. Well done gang!

-- For those of you who didn't get to see it, you can watch it legally on the BBC's YouTube channel. Part one is here and part two is here.

Quotes:

Amy: 'He's jealous because I passed my test first time.'
Rory: 'You cheated, you wore a skirt.'
Amy: 'I didn't wear a skirt.'
Rory: 'That would have worked, too.'

Amy: 'It was my skirt, my husband and your glass floor.'

Amy: 'I don't understand.'
Future Amy: 'Neither do I.'
Amy: 'But you just said it.'
Future Amy: 'No, I'm repeating it. I'm just remembering what I heard myself say when I was standing where you are now, and repeating it. I'm just repeating this, too. And this. And this.'

Amy: 'I still don't understand.'
Future Amy: 'You still don't.'

Doctor: 'We could end up with two Amy ponds forever. And then what would you do?'
*Amy slaps Rory*

Amy: 'Do I really look like that?'
Future Amy: 'Yeah. Yeah you do.'
Amy: 'I'd give you a driving licence.'
Future Amy: 'I bet you would.'

Doctor: 'Oh, this is how it all ends. Pond flirting with herself. True love at last. Sorry Rory.'
Rory: 'Absolutely no problem at all.'

Doctor: 'The wibbly lever!'

Doctor: 'Pond. Put some trousers on.'

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