Not much progress

[shivver]

I did start working on NaNoWriMo, but didn't get very far. One of the problems is that yes, I do play an MMO, and yes, my husband loves to tempt me with "So-and-so and his girlfriend are logged in. Let's go do some dungeons!" especially since he cannot remember from day to day that I am actually trying to do this very difficult task. No, it's not his fault at all that doing the dungeons is so appealing; it's certainly my fault for caving in. I just need to learn to say no.

I have found that two of my friends are NaNoing, too. They are real authors, not a hobbyist like me, and they do original works, not fanfic. I've done a virtual fistbump with them.

As I write, my story seems kind of stale and bland. Hopefully it's just the first chapter though, and I have to remind myself that the first chapter is meant to seem stale and bland - the point is that hopefully the reader will note the inconsistencies I've written into it and realize that something is very wrong.

I was going to write a review of "The Zygon Invasion", but though I'm on the fence about the episode (really need to see how it turns out to judge), there was enough terrible in it that if I do write, it'll sound like I just hate it. I don't.

I will say a couple of things, though. First, I'm disappointed with Osgood. I loved her because, in "The Day of the Doctor", she was the timid scientist who was very observant and plucky when she needed to be, and I agreed that she could be a great companion. Now she's this mystical, wise, maybe-human maybe-Zygon, and what was great about her is gone. Second, I'm just going to headcanon that Clara has been a Zygon since "The Day of the Doctor", because that would explain her wild character shifts, bizarre obsessions with the Doctor's character flaws and (oddly) wanting to be the Doctor, and her unbelievable, inhuman attempts to manipulate Danny and the Doctor since that episode. Third, I'm hoping that the non-rebellious Zygons are going to appear - perhaps the Kate we saw is one of them (which would explain her rather extreme reaction to the rebellion and would make me happy, since I already have been disappointed in the character since her introduction in "The Power of Three" and was upset that she's fallen even further here), and she managed to overpower the woman in Truth or Consequences and has now taken her form.

Comments

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen Who yet...need to do that soon. And need to work on my own NaNo!! Such pretty distractions everywhere!!

*HUGS*

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Yup, the distractions are always the problem. Got distracted again last night, but at least I got more words down than the first day. :)

[dm12.livejournal.com]

You have an intriguing second point; it would explain a lot, wouldn't it? As for your point about the non-rebellious Zygons, yes, it would be nice if the "silent majority" would actually speak up and take control of the situation. As they say, all it takes for evil to succeed is when good fails to do anything about it....

Interesting claim that all they want is to be able to be themselves in public. So why didn't they negotiate that one first? Did they even try? People are comparing this situation to ISIS, let's explore that one a bit. Is that all ISIS wants? Doesn't seem so. They don't want to come into a society and just "do their own thing." They come into a place, raze it to the ground (all of the ancient artifacts are destroyed). What they do to the people is even worse; they must convert to their way or die (or, in the case of the women, become slaves and forcibly converted, and tortured). The church reference wasn't so far off. It used to be that all holy places/schools/hospitals were places of sanctuary and no one would violate them. Not anymore. Schools, hospitals, churches all become weapons repositories.

So, if that was all the Zygons wanted, probably something could be arranged. If it is supposed to be a full parallel to ISIS, then peace with them may not be possible. That said, the Zygons who are against this revolution need to act, all of them, to counter it forcibly. If they don't act.... let's just say that the problem will take over.

We will need to see what happens in the second part. "Peace at all costs," though, is not an option. Even the Doctor knows that sometimes you have to nip the problem in the bud to save everyone else. (Taking away that decision he had to make perhaps changed him, and not necessarily for the good.)

As for NaNoWriMo, it's early in the month. Congratulations on the attempt, keep on trying!

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

I'm really not sure what to think about the whole parallels to real-world situations. If this is really supposed to be a parallel to ISIS, it's really simplifying everything to the point of being not relevant at all.

I would love to see this turn into a major decision point for the Doctor, but I don't think that the show has the mettle to sacrifice humans to make a larger point.

[dm12.livejournal.com]

It really is simplifying it way too much. Really? All they want is to be able to appear in their natural form without doing any harm to those around them or requiring others to bow to their wishes/way of doing things? If that is what they are trying to equate ISIS (and other groups like them) to, they are sadly mistaken. A kumbaya, let's all sit around with a cup of tea (or coffee) and talk it out, is not going to work. It's either surrender or die, if you choose that option.

Unfortunately, there are times when one must fight, and the Doctor must make a very difficult decision here. If he chooses to let it go, he will sacrifice all the humans and probably many of the Zygons as well. Of course all of this depends on him surviving that rocket to the plane he's on. (Right, like it's ever going to work...) Those "silent majority" Zygons should really deal with this, if they are a majority and if they can.

i suspect some sort of miracle cure, though, to avoid the really tough decisions that would have had to be made. Still, if they went this far, maybe they will go all the way. One can live in hope!

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

I expect that there will be some tidy solution that will make sure that the humans aren't sacrificed to the Zygons, but I don't know what that will be. I do have a theory on how the Doctor survives the rocket - it's in my reply to alumfelga on this post, but I warn you now that my husband considered it very likely and termed it a spoiler, so don't look if you don't want to know. :)

I just really hope that this doesn't end in the Doctor talking the rebel Zygons down. Too much talking this season.

[dm12.livejournal.com]

Yes, I saw it and responded to it as well.

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Oh! I saw the response and just assumed it was alumfelga. Sorry! :)

[alumfelga.livejournal.com]

Second, I'm just going to headcanon that Clara has been a Zygon since "The Day of the Doctor", because that would explain her wild character shifts, bizarre obsessions with the Doctor's character flaws and (oddly) wanting to be the Doctor, and her unbelievable, inhuman attempts to manipulate Danny and the Doctor since that episode.
Funny thing, I've just read a comment that said pretty the same about the Twelfth Doctor :) Is the phrase "it was actually a Zygon" going to replace the old "the Doctor lies"? How long it's going to be until we don't need such "explanations" because everything makes sense?

I see your point about Osgood, I liked the acting, though.

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

I thought about the possibility of the Doctor that went to Turkmenistan being a Zygon, and it would explain one of the major unexplained discontinuities in the episode: why did the Doctor choose to take a plane there, rather than just hop the TARDIS there? Of course, that means that a Zygon had to willingly sacrifice himself to be the decoy (because they must have known that the Doctor would be a target). So yes, I expect that that version was a Zygon, and that's an acceptable plot point within the confines of just this episode. Before that, though? No, I'm sure that the Doctor hasn't been a Zygon for a long time before that. That would just be dumb - along the lines of the "it was just a dream" reveal done in other shows to retcon whole storylines.

Random thought that occurred to me today: UNIT decided to split up their forces to cover Britain, Turkmenistan, and New Mexico, taking hours to travel there during a major emergency rather than take the TARDIS, keep the team together for defense, and keep an eye on each other. Interestingly, it was day in all three places at once.

Hm, as I think about it, yes, the Doctor we saw in Turkmenistan has to be a Zygon, leaving him back in Britain to deal with Zygon!Clara, or otherwise toodling around in the TARDIS fixing things in various places. Then with NewMexico!Kate being a Zygon, we can have all the main characters survive! Yay! (That's sarcasm, by the way.)

[dm12.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I remember that one! Wasn't that "Dallas?" The whole season was a dream (or nightmare)... that said, the thought that maybe this is a Zygon version of the Doctor, set up as a target for the rebels, might make sense. Because why would the Doctor take a plane when he could get there by TARDIS? Maybe he's a decoy while the Time Lord Doctor is going back in time to figure out how/when this all started and put a stop to it then, before it gets out of hand. Hmm... Perhaps he already suspected that Clara was one of the rebel Zygons?

But then there goes Zygon Doctor, Osgood (?) and Zygon prisoner.... wonder what that will do?

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Yup, "Dallas", though I think at least one other show might have done that, too. I remember seeing that episode when I was a kid (my mom loved that show) and even then, I thought it was dumb. "Newhart" spoofed it very famously and very well.

If my theory is right, I'm sure the Doctor is in Britain trying to fix the situation from behind the scenes. I'll be very disappointed, though, if the Doctor knows that Clara was a Zygon through anything other than personality clues. It's already been set up that Zygons are perfect doubles - Ten was unable to detect any difference between the two Elizabeths, and he of all incarnations should be able to detect if there's a difference in sight, smell, or (giggle) taste. This is not like the Martha clone, who was substantially different from her original. Similarly, the double Kates, Osgoods, and McGillops couldn't tell who was who.

I'll be very surprised if the show has the Zygons dying on the plane get turned into martyrs that inflame the rest of the Zygon population. I don't think they'll think that far ahead.

[dm12.livejournal.com]

True... he certainly couldn't tell by taste, could he? Even Ten, who licked everything in sight! That didn't seem to work as well for the other incarnations (I wonder why?). Twelve did mention he once snogged a Zygon, although wasn't it the other way around?

You're probably right about them not going so far as to martyring any Zygons.

[alumfelga.livejournal.com]

I didn't think of it seriously... until now.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

Hybrid!. I said it so just in case no one notices when that word is mentioned. Not.

Osgood - How you describe her is how I feel about Donna. At least in regards to how her DNA was altered.

Clara - I support your headcanon. Didn't really care how she handled some things after "Kill the Moon". I don't even know when Amy was switched with the ganger.

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the "hybrid" line drew an "Aw, COME ON!" reaction from both me and my husband.

I can certainly see how the DoctorDonna development can be offputting. The DoctorDonna was interesting for the few minutes that she existed, but to me, would not have been a good character had she been allowed to survive. It was Donna, the plain and simple human, that was the interesting and compelling character.

I always wondered about when Amy got switched. It had to be before "The Curse of the Black Spot". Madame Kovarian's tech must have been pretty damn impressive, being able to maintain the ganger through going back in time and to different planets, and even going to a different dimension (House's little pocket dimension).

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

I'd prefer if the on-going mystery theme was address in a more subtle way. I think in terms of storytelling it would be better to show then tell.

Donna was perfectly fine as herself that's why the Doctor kept telling her she was brilliant. She just lacked confidence. It was sad when the duplicate/meta crisis Doctor (I don't know whats his real title) realized she still didn't believe it.:(

They never show exactly when Amy was switched. Madame Kovarian's tech was not explain either. These were hand waved to established how River Song came to be.

I kept getting distracted by your userpic as I was typing this.:)

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

:D I was so enchanted by the faces he was making during Catherine Tate's part of the interview, I ended up making a bunch of icons of them.

To be honest, I think that's Moffat's way of storytelling - he did the same thing with showing the crack at the end of each episode in S5 and the random shots of Kovarian's eyes in S6, with neither giving much information about what was actually going on. It's just much more blatant because this time, it's in the dialogue and sounds very forced. (Not that RTD didn't do this - his Bad Wolf and Torchwood arc were the same, though both placements were far more subtle.)

It was really sad when Meta said that. Donna never realized her own worth. (I think most people call him Tentoo? Or maybe the Duplicate Doctor? I refer to him as the Metacrisis Tenth Doctor - well, Meta, because that's a lot easier to say/type - but I think I'm in the minority.)

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

I always enjoy seeing David and Catherine doing interview's together.:) David has quite a range of facial expressions. He pulled some doozie's as the Metacrsis Doctor.

Speaking of Meta, he is also referred to as Blue Doctor or Handy. I wished Donna had been able to name him properly like she did with Jenny, so we could avoid this confusion. Maybe I should just post an opinion poll to see which one is most preferable?.

I agree with your explanation of Moffat's storytelling. If this was on a audio book or on radio, maybe it would worked but it's not so why shoehorned it into the dialogue?.

I think the "Harold Saxon" one was the most creative with the political posters in "Smith and Jones". Although Rose being in the background of series four was not so subtle.

The fact that the Doctor is oblivious to how Donna really feels makes it sadder. But at least he knew where her low-self esteem came from and told Sylvia off for it.

The only time Donna believe in her self-worth was when she had the Doctor's mind. Then she paid the price after saving the universe!
That was so unfair.:(

The Doctor didn't have to work too hard with Clara on making her feel special. Although the show has also labelled her a "control freak".

Anyway, I'll just keep watching the show and see how this "Hybrid" theme pays off.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Good luck with NaNo! ♥