December 26th, 2007
It’s my site and I’ll talk about whatever I damn well please.
It also helps that nearly every anime is either over or on hiatus for the next week and a half, so there’s nothing to talk about in Japan-land except Comiket 73… which I’m still working on putting together a pack o’ stuff.
Impressions:
Voyage of the Damned was the annual Doctor Who Christmas special to kick off the new year. Last time we left the Doctor, he had just said good bye to his previous companion, Martha, but before the TARDIS could get in motion, the SS Titantic crashed into the side of it. I have to admit that I’m a little disappointed with the bait and switch here of the actual Titantic with just a space cruise liner of the same name, but that actually turned out to be something of a running joke as the humanoids vacationing from the planet Sto had a very warped concept of humanity and Christmas in general. It was almost like Halloweentown’s version of it… where the people of UK segregated themselves into the bad and the good and then waged war against Turkey before eating the losers for Christmas dinner while worshiping the terrible god, San-Ta, in fear of his terrible claws. Of course, things quickly go wrong as the angelic Host (robotic guides/assistants) go berserk and the captain drops the shields while magnetizing the hull, causing meteorites to perforate the ship. It’s up to The Doctor, his tour group, and Midshipman Frame to stop the ship from falling to the Earth and wiping out all of humanity.
I’ll just concentrate on the first half here (it was 71 minutes long so I’m splitting things up), but it was not exactly the most creative Doctor Who plot ever. Whenever there are robots/Cybermen/Ood, you can be certain that they’re going to go berserk. It’s like a law of Doctor Who. Kylie was alright as Astrid, though she almost immediately fell into the role of startstruck admirer of The Doctor, which I’m getting pretty tired of. I absolutely loved that the British had abandoned London on Christmas Eve as a nod to the previous two specials when aliens invaded. The only people left were a few nutjobs and the Queen (this will be important later).
The standout characters for me in this first half were almost all of the men. Bannakaffalatta is quite the fun and strange little character, and Midshipman Frame is the dogooder fighting through being shot and out of his element to try to do whatever he can. I swear, the guy looked like he had a sucking gut wound for awhile, but pulled it together and was indispensible to everybody else. I also have a soft spot for the self-centered jerks like Rickston Slade. When there’s a disaster at hand, he’s concerned about himself and surviving. None of this altruistic "we have to help everybody live." That just seems so much more realistic and human to me. Thumbs up to you three.
Summary’s just in bullet point form ’cause I’m doing it mostly from memory/caps. Part 2 will be up in an hour or two, I need food.
The Doctor expels the Titantic’s bow from the TARDIS and discovers that he’s on a spaceship on a cruise around Earth from Sto.
The captain excuses his entire staff to go to the party. Newbie Midshipman Frame stays behind, telling him that regulations state two people must be on the bridge at all times.
The Doctor gets the 411 on the voyage from the robotic Host that he’s on Max Capricorn’s ship, etc etc.
Wealthy Rickston Slade bumps into Waitress Astrid Perth and has booze spilled all over him. The Doctor takes the chance to befriend her.
A bunch of rich snobs are making fun of a pair of gaudy tourists who won tickets. The Doctor uses his screwdriver to shoot champaign all over the rich snobs and befriends Morvin and Foon von Hoff.
The first tour down to Earth is announced. The von Hoffs hurry off and The Doctor grabs Astrid and follows, using his psychic paper as their ticket.
After Mr Copper gives a very incorrect history of Christmas, they teleport to London only to find it empty… everybody having abandoned it in fear of another alien attack.
Frame sees meteroites approaching and warns the captain, who pulls a gun on him, magnetizes the hull and then shoots him.
The tourists are beamed back up. The Doctor senses something is wrong, hacks into the ship and sees the approaching meteorites.
He tries to warn the staff, but they drag him off. All the tourists (including the red midget alien Bannakaffalatta) follow, trying to speak on The Doctor’s behalf. After looking outside and seeing the meteorites and asking the Host what it means ("Information: You’re Going to Die"), Rickston also follows.
The meteorites hit the ship and everything goes to hell.
The Doctor’s group is alive (except for one of the stewards). The remaining steward goes to get help and opens a door to the vacuum of space, getting sucked out. The Doctor seals up the breach.
The Doctor looks out the breach and sees the TARDIS floating down to Earth. Oops.
The Doctor calls the bridge and a badly bleeding Frame responds (captain was killed by falling debris). The Doctor tells him how to keep the engines from failing. Everybody decides to head to the bridge.
Rickston demands to know why The Doctor is in charge. Response: "I’m The Doctor, I’m a Time Lord. I’m from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I am 903 years old and I am the man who is going to save all of your lives and the six billion people on the planet below. You have a problem with that?"
They get stopped by some wreckage and the von Hoffs try to repair a nearby Host to help them clear it.
Astrid and Bannakaffalatta scamper through, but he collapses and reveals to her that he’s a second class citizen, a cyborg. She promises not to tell anybody, and he takes that a sign of engagement. She powers him back up.
Frame gets a call from the kitchen. They’re trapped, but some Hosts appear. They think they’re saved, but the Hosts attack with their halos and kill them all. Frame watches in horror as lifesigns all over the ship start blinking off.
Frame calls The Doctor and warns him about the Host just as the von Hoffs reactivate it. They manage to fight it off and squeeze through the wreckage before dropping it on the Host.
Frame is likewise attacked by the Host and is forced to deadlock seal the bridge, preventing anybody from getting to it or him from leaving.
The Doctor and Frame look for another solution and notice that deck 31 (Host storage) is strangely shielded.
As they enjoy the brief respite, Copper admits that he lied about his Earth knowledge to get this job and he’s really a penniless salesman who wasted his life, and is now probably facing criminal charges until he dies when they find out.
The Doctor’s group continues onward and is forced to cross over the ship’s engine on a narrow and flimsy beam. In his panic, Morvin falls off the edge to his death.
Rickston starts across while The Doctor and Astrid comfort Foon.
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dave 
AGear_to_Ax 
sage
Titanic meets Posidon Inferno + Dr. Who