Proper reaction posts - not a thing that is going to happen.

[neveralarch]

I just don't have good opinions about Doctor Who. Or, I do, but they boil down to oh, I didn't like that, oh, that's nice, oh my god these people are so messed up, oh agh terrifying.

So this is another historyish reaction post.

When I first saw the New York skyline, my first reaction was "no way is that 1969." It just looked too big and bright. So I went in search of pictures.



(Photo from September 1969) So the basic shape is about right. Same kind of buildings. I think it was really the lights that threw me off.



(April 1970) Nope, the lights were right too. I think the big difference is just that I'm used to seeing the sixties and seventies (and eighties, for that matter) through low-quality film and faded paper. Life on Mars generally kept things to a muted color scheme that really kept that image for me. Doctor Who, on the other hand, is keeping it vibrant and high-quality, and it looks wrong even though it's pretty accurate. I'm not sure which way I would go, if I was making a show.

Meanwhile, I was so proud of Who for getting the Americans right this time, and then they pulled out Doctor Renfrew. I know actors can fake accents. I know they don't have to be perfect. I just want to say that if you're only casting one American with an accent outside the newscaster-standard, your go-to guy shouldn't be a Canadian who has lived in England since his twenties. (Full disclosure - my accent is newscaster standard, going into midwest when I'm in that area. But I can still tell when a Floridian accent is being mangled.)

Nixon! Oh man, I was flailing at the Doctor. All those comments about trust are not what you give to Tricky Dick. It's scarily plausible - not in a tin hat way, but in a 'some things happened to make Nixon believe he wasn't safe and couldn't trust anyone and it spiraled from there' way. Doctor Who, you are hereby welcome to play in American history. I forgive you as a whole for the 'Ben Franklin was president' incident.

ALSO, interracial gay relationship! I did this -> \o/ and my face went like this -> :D . If it turns out that Canton's partner is also Russian, then everyone was right! I love it when that happens.

ETA: ALSO, ELEVEN'S BEARD. Best_enemies denizens may have coincidentally just learned of my (purely platonic) love for beards, and then Eleven was wearing his outfit and hadn't shaved yet, and I was like 'can he stay that way forever, please?'

Comments

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Yes, I like your idea that the Doctor's little pep talk at the end might tip Nixon into full-blown paranoia - and the best part is the Doctor's not even doing it on purpose! :D "Oh, Tricky Dick, they'll never forget you..."

I spprove of the Russian too sentiment, but I think my fanon now is that Canton's significant other is the black Secret Service guy we were talking about last week. No idea how they've managed to keep it under the radar, but still... :)

[neveralarch]

I think that was what they were going for - there are a few other comments like "trust only me" and "make sure to record everything that happens in this room" that were obviously foreshadowing the later years of Nixon's presidency. I love it when Doctor Who plays with the more subtle details of history like that, rather than always doing 'okay we went to space because aliens made us do it' and other big things.

I didn't even think of that! Oh man, Canton/Secret Service guy OTP, for serious.

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I watched it again and laughed when that scene came round - it explains everything! ;D As you say, quite a subtle treatment of the history there without being too heavy-handed.

Yes, it's the S6 OTP! ;D

[pride1289.livejournal.com]

I also love beards. :3

(the rest of your review was awesome too! love it~)

[neveralarch]

Haha, and Matt Smith's beard just looked so good on him! I wasn't expecting that. And I'm glad you liked this silly review that ignores all of the actual plot. I was pretty convinced that the world needed NYC skyline photo comparisons.