Doctor Who and the LOOK AT THE SKY

[spatch]

(oh, don't worry. I ain't spoiling shit.)

SCENE 1
EXT. LONDON - NIGHT
(CHARACTER 1 and CHARACTER 2 are standing around outside. There has been a DISTBURBANCE somewhat resembling an EARTHQUAKE, or at least a TECHNICIAN SHAKING THE CAMERA.)

CHARACTER 1
What was that?

CHARACTER 2
(gazing up in awe and terror)
Look! Look at the sky!

CHARACTER 1
That was like nothing I've ever been through. What happened?!

CHARACTER 2
(continuing to look up in awe and terror)
Character 1, look at the sky!

CHARACTER 1
I'm so scared! What has happened?

CHARACTER 2
(trembling mit der fear)
Look at the sky!

CUT TO:

SCENE 2
INT. ANOTHER PART OF LONDON - NIGHT
(CHARACTER 3 and CHARACTER 4 are experiencing the same CAMERA SHAKING.)

CHARACTER 3
(walking over to the window)
That was so weird!

CHARACTER 4
I hope everyone is all right. What's it like outside?

CHARACTER 3
(gazing out in fear and awe)
Oh my. Character 4. Come see. Come look at the sky.

CHARACTER 4
What is it?

CHARACTER 3
(completely improvising at this point because her portion of the script had mustard stains on it)
My god. Look at the sky.

CHARACTER 4
What? Are we okay? What's going on?

CHARACTER 3
(having received the thumbs-up from Russell T. Davies, continues to improvise)
Look. At. The. Sky.

CHARACTER 4
What's happening?! Tell me!

CUT TO:

SCENE 3
INT. SOMERVILLE, MA - NIGHT

SPATCH
(surprised at finding himself hollering at the TV screen)
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THAT'S HOLY, JUST DO WHAT SHE SAYS AND LOOK AT THE FUCKING SKY.

CUT TO:

[SCENES 4 and 5 OMITTED - SAME AS THE FIRST TWO, ONLY WITH DIFFERENT CHARACTERS]

CUT TO:

SCENE 6
(Here we have a MONTAGE of the previous EIGHT CHARACTERS all gazing up in AWE and FEAR and WONDER and holy crap I'm gonna WET MYSELF it's so scary. What are they looking at? WHAT DO THEY SEE? OH MY GOD, WHAT DO THEY SEE? The CAMERA slowly PANS UP to reveal the source of their fear... THE COVER OF A BOSTON ALBUM.)

I have to hand it to Russell T. Davies. He's an incredibly talented and sage writer. He has this incredible knack of recognizing formulaic, repetitive situations -- such as, oh, I don't know, people gazing upwards in fear -- and then writing an episode of Doctor Who which features almost nothing but that, for the sole purpose of parodying the formulaic. Where before he would have been happy with just one shot of people out in the street staring up in terror, he now puts in four scenes, chuckling all the livelong day. Where before he'd have just one character comforting another in a moment of uncertainty and impending doom, now he's got no less than three characters comforting three others, often one shot right after the other, right down to the "put right arm around, kiss on forehead" action. One lucky fellow gets to comfort two people at the same time, which would've been surprising except I am rather certain the concept of a threesome is not alien to him.

At any rate, it is perfectly clear to me that Rusty is taking the piss out of his own writing, and going out with a laugh rather than with a rolling of the eyes.

At least, that's what I choose to believe, so don't try and convince me otherwise. I am in heavy denial here.

Comments

[kalibex.livejournal.com]

eh heh heh.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

Next week they're gonna get rescued by an army of Slitheen commanded by Adric, the Abzorbaloff, and that penis thing from that one Pertwee serial.

[fancycwabs.livejournal.com]

Since I don't watch Dr. Who, I'm going with Urinetown



There's a heart in the sky
There just is don't ask why,
It's the SKY!

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

The CAMERA slowly PANS UP to reveal the source of their fear... THE COVER OF A BOSTON ALBUM.

YES.

I keep thinking this when we watch Dr. Interrogative. Without having the right words to express it. Thank you. Phew.

[fourcoffees.livejournal.com]

This was the first episode in this series for which I've truly have had to say:

That was shite.

Not even the time elf episode really bothered me, but this. was. shite.

Half the episode wasted on what you said, and all the cameo crap nobody cares about, and then AGAIN with the same old.

Next week's better be really, really good.

[tenlegspider.livejournal.com]

The cameos made me happy, especially Sarah Jane and her alien kid. I want to watch more Sarah Jane Adventures now.

I just wish I could take Daleks sort of seriously.

[spatch]

I ought to write an entry about the things I did like about this episode because there were indeed quite a few; Sarah Jane and her kid (and Mr. Smith's fanfare) were among them.

I also loved what the Medusa Cascade turned out to be, and the whole off-by-a-second deal.

Among other things.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

The off-by-a-second deal gets used a lot in classic Doctor Who and in other places, and it always bothers me, because, you know, if the whole Earth were out of sync by a second with the rest of the universe, it wouldn't be entirely absent; the Earth from one second ago would still be there. (Allowing for the whole planet's motion, of course, which is unclear in this case.)

[spatch]

In this case I'm perfectly happy to put the "off by a second" into the same implausible-but-worth-using-anyway category as "reversing the polarity of the neutron flow." It may not be as big on the technobabble, but it's a great conveeeeeeeenience device.

[fourcoffees.livejournal.com]

Amusingly, German pulp sf series Perry Rhodan transported the solar system ahead in time by 5 (or 15?) minutes at some point during the 1970s (when it was written).

[zhym.livejournal.com]

I'd be quite comfortable not seeing Rose or a Dalek again for a long, long while after this season is over.

Two years of post-Rose companions have shown that Rose really wasn't all that. Compared to Donna and Martha Jones, both of whom were skilled and useful in their own ways, Rose is the Kate Capshaw of the new franchise.

Also, the Daleks have been done to death now, and have lost their menace. Oh, more Daleks. Great job killing the entire race there, Doc. If only Nine had known, he could have saved much angst (but then, Eccleston angst is great angst). If I remember correctly, this is the last year of New Who's license to use the Daleks, and I won't miss them.

Finally: anyone want to give odds that the mumblewhatsis key is a big fat reset button? You know how RTD loves the shiny, candy-like reset button.

[dskasak.livejournal.com]

Finally: anyone want to give odds that the mumblewhatsis key is a big fat reset button? You know how RTD loves the shiny, candy-like reset button.

Crap. Didn't think of that.

I'm thinking that the one-second out-of-sync bit will allow things to happen that won't carry through when Earth and the other planets are brought "back into sync," such as a botched regeneration or even a degeneration into an earlier incarnation of the Doctor. However, I fully expect both Rose and Donna to die in the final episode, and at this point, I'd be more upset about the latter than the former.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

I finally saw this episode and I'm even more amused.

I have not yet seen the final one, though.