Doctor Who

I think this is quite possibly my favorite season of Doctor Who yet. There were definitely some dud episodes, but I'd say it had the same number of brilliant ones as usual, and I thought the pay-off in the finale was much better than RTD's brand of wrapping things up.

The only thing is that I wish they'd set up Amy's parents coming back a little better. I don't mind the happy ending, and it was mentioned in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it sort of way that Amy's parents had disappeared because of the crack, but it would've been nice to build that up a little bit more.

But I loved the Doctor bopping around in time, I loved the fez (and I loved River for blowing it to bits), and I loved that Amy's memories could bring back the Doctor - this show has played around with memory a lot, in mostly negative ways (most prominently with Donna), and so it was a nice reversal to have memories actually save the day. Plus, the Doctor's subliminal message using the "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" to describe the TARDIS was clever.

Overall, I loved the different feel of the season, less sci-fi and more fairy tale - which is weird, because I'm way more into sci-fi than fantasy, but for some reason it suits Who better. I think it's because of the aura of the Doctor as an age-old legend, like River's line about hating good wizards because "they always turn out to be him." There's always been that sense of the Doctor being present throughout history, someone people called on in times of trouble, but this season really crystallized it.

Matt Smith has totally grown on me, especially in that way he has of conveying alienness and incredible age while looking so young. I hesitate to say he's better than David Tennant (whom I think of as "my" Doctor) - he's just different, and it's such a delight watching him.

Amy is by far and away my favorite companion, no matter what age she is. I love her feisty, outspoken attitude - even at seven she's giving the Doctor what for. And, this needs to be said, I love her red hair. She's... a lot like Donna, actually, but with less baggage. And I especially loved the dynamic of having Rory around. Would you believe it, I've finally found a Who ship! I am so in love with Amy/Rory it's not even funny.

I am one of those people who thinks the Doctor should be asexual. I do recognize the attraction of a hot, funny, brilliant guy who's basically the awesomest awesome who ever awesomed, so I don't mind companions crushing on him, but (a) when it's whiny and schmoopy "twu wuv" angst like Rose and Martha, it's ANNOYING, and (b) the Doctor should never, ever return the attraction.

I was worried there for a while, when it seemed like they were not only setting up Amy's attraction to the Doctor, but even after Amy chose Rory, it seemed killing him off was a convenient way to shuffle Rory off-stage and make way for a Doctor/Amy romance. So I cannot tell you how happy I was to see Rory come back. (OMG HE WATCHED HER FOR 2000 YEARS!!! They are EPIC!) I liked how the finale echoed their earlier exchange, when Amy calls them "my boys":

Rory: [scoffs] We are not her "boys."

The Doctor: Yeah, we are.

Rory: Yeah, we are.

Then later, we get:

Rory: I'm not Mr. Pond. That's not how it works.

The Doctor: Yeah, it is.

Rory: [glances at Amy] Yeah, it is.

This time, it's not about the three of them - it's Rory and Amy, with the Doctor on the outside. As it should be. And I am super-excited about a married couple as companions.

I even liked River Song, and her relationship with the Doctor intrigues me. I can see how she could be annoying, being better at Doctoring than the Doctor, and how she's all coy about the future, but she's also kinda badass and I like that. At first it seemed very Time Traveler's Wife-ish, which was a pretty terrible movie (I didn't read the book, but I hear that was terrible, too), but I think it's way less creepy of a set-up here. River is a time traveler, too, and not just living solely for the Doctor, and that makes a huge difference.