![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vivdunstanI'm continuing my Matt Smith era rewatch and just got through this batch of episodes, and thought I'd jot down some quick thoughts. Putting them in spoiler space, because they are spoilery for anyone who hasn't seen these, or the rest of that year's episodes.
The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People - this was a frustrating 2-parter, that I enjoyed less on rewatch than originally. The core idea is interesting, but it feels like it's stretched far too thin for a 2-parter. Either it needed trimming down to a single episode, or it needed much more varied content. And even double Doctors doesn't save it. Of course the whole thing is a lead up to the final moments and Amy being revealed as a doppelganger. Which is horrific, and leads in nicely to the next episode. But up till then it's very laboured.
A Good Man Goes to War - this delivers on the River reveal but otherwise I find it a frustrating big bang episode, that betrays the core essence of the Doctor. And is also - again - phenomenally cruel to Amy especially. I wish this could have been written differently. I found it an uncomfortable rewatch for multiple reasons. On plus the Paternoster Gang are introduced here, who are an excellent addition to the series. But otherwise, nope, not very keen.
Let's Kill Hitler - by contrast this one really surprised me on rewatch. I'd remembered it as a mostly daft silly episode. It still is, but it packs an emotional punch. Take away the pantomime Hitler etc bits and there are some real emotional depths there. I also liked pre-regeneration Mels a lot, and wish we'd seen more of her. Though it does feel a bit like pushed rewriting to incorporate her in the story now. Also so many set ups for the end of the series. Yup, it's more significant than I remembered. Though Amy and Rory being chased through the robot's interior feels too reminiscent of the recent Neil Gaiman episode and House.
One thing I'm feeling on rewatch is that New Who series 6 was largely a series split between superb episodes and others that are often poor. When it's brilliant it's phenomenal, with numerous all-time classics in there. And we're not thankfully done with them yet ... But when it's bad it's pretty awful. Which is frustrating. But overall I am enjoying rewatching. And especially intrigued when rewatching things produces responses different from what I remembered from before.
The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People - this was a frustrating 2-parter, that I enjoyed less on rewatch than originally. The core idea is interesting, but it feels like it's stretched far too thin for a 2-parter. Either it needed trimming down to a single episode, or it needed much more varied content. And even double Doctors doesn't save it. Of course the whole thing is a lead up to the final moments and Amy being revealed as a doppelganger. Which is horrific, and leads in nicely to the next episode. But up till then it's very laboured.
A Good Man Goes to War - this delivers on the River reveal but otherwise I find it a frustrating big bang episode, that betrays the core essence of the Doctor. And is also - again - phenomenally cruel to Amy especially. I wish this could have been written differently. I found it an uncomfortable rewatch for multiple reasons. On plus the Paternoster Gang are introduced here, who are an excellent addition to the series. But otherwise, nope, not very keen.
Let's Kill Hitler - by contrast this one really surprised me on rewatch. I'd remembered it as a mostly daft silly episode. It still is, but it packs an emotional punch. Take away the pantomime Hitler etc bits and there are some real emotional depths there. I also liked pre-regeneration Mels a lot, and wish we'd seen more of her. Though it does feel a bit like pushed rewriting to incorporate her in the story now. Also so many set ups for the end of the series. Yup, it's more significant than I remembered. Though Amy and Rory being chased through the robot's interior feels too reminiscent of the recent Neil Gaiman episode and House.
One thing I'm feeling on rewatch is that New Who series 6 was largely a series split between superb episodes and others that are often poor. When it's brilliant it's phenomenal, with numerous all-time classics in there. And we're not thankfully done with them yet ... But when it's bad it's pretty awful. Which is frustrating. But overall I am enjoying rewatching. And especially intrigued when rewatching things produces responses different from what I remembered from before.