“The Wrong Avalon” by leashy_bebes (AO3) Pairings: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Amy Pond/Rory Williams Fandoms: BBC Merlin, Doctor Who Word […]
Amy Pond
This week for our Villains of Note series, we will take a look at one of the most underrated and terrifying bad gals in all of the Whoniverse, Madame Kovarian.
Alias:
The Eye Patch Lady.
Distinguishing Traits:
Eye drive, cohort of The Silence, psychopathic tendencies, good with gangers, can’t stand the flirting.
Indoctrination:
Madame Kavorian heads the rogue Kovarian Chapter (formerly of the Papal Mainframe), who go to great lengths to acquire River Song (aka Melody Pond) and train up a child in the ways of a psychopath. Kovarian kidnaps Amy as soon as she shows signs of pregnancy, switching real-Amy with ganger-Amy, and then does it again with baby Melody Pond. She also keeps River in an abandon, creepy orphanage and trains her to murder the Doctor and manipulate his friends. What she didn’t see coming was the fact that River might just fall in love with the Timelord. Kovarian, who is from the Doctor’s future (around the time Eleven is on Trenzalore), knows the end game and all about the crack in the Universe that plagued Eleven from his very first days in that face. She is from a time when the Doctor is protecting the crack in time (and subsequently, Gallifrey) in Christmas town, Eleven’s last days. She believes that, if the Doctor allows Gallifrey to return, the universe will be destroyed. Kovarian’s fundamental beliefs lead her to kidnap a Timelord/human hybrid child and helped change the value set of the Papal Mainframe toward keeping the answer to the first question (Doctor Who??) a mystery.
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I admitted in a previous post that I was a terrible Whovian because I had refused to watch the Eleventh Doctor. I can now proudly say that I have (finally) caught up on the New Who episodes, much to the Collectiva Diva’s delight. I’m also proud to say that I accomplished one New Year’s Resolution this year: watch the Matt Smith episodes of Doctor Who.
So what was it that won me over to the Eleventh Doctor? Was it his bow tie? His bumbling awkwardness? The fez?
No, it was a young girl named Amelia Pond.
Time for another Who-fession: I like the Ponds more than I like the Doctor.
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A 50th Anniversary Message for the Doctor
Over here at the Collective Blog, we are counting down the days til New Who! Seems […]
#9 The Angels Take Manhattan
written by Steven Moffat
The Collective blog has had a few changes in the past weeks and it has been a while since we touched on the 11 Episodes of Eleven series. Readers, we are almost to the end of the journey. We’ve made the jump into season 7 it has been a season of change. Season 7 brings with it a shift in companions, costumes, intro music and opening sequence. I was underwhelmed by most of season 7, honestly, except for a few key episodes. I loved the addition of Rory’s dad to the storyline, but I missed River Song. The stories seemed so disconnected in the beginning, but they were all leading up to the inevitable shift in cast that audiences had been privy to for some time. I almost didn’t write about this particular episode. I really wanted to skip right over it for a couple of reasons. Namely, the Ponds and Moffatt. I have rec’d a number of Moffat episodes and there are so many other great writers on Doctor Who that deserve a bit of acknowledgment. Also, I realize I’ve gone on and on about River Song to the point where my bias is ridiculously obvious. Still, Whovians cannot deny the impact of this particular episode, and, with only 3 more to go in my series, I have to do it. After this painful experience, we can lose the bowtie, move on to a new adventure and remodel the TARDIS, but for now, we have to talk about The Angels Take Manhattan.
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#8 Night and the Doctor written by Steven Moffat and Tom MacRae
With the release of the DVD box sets, the BBC and Moffat did something extra special in that they included extra mini episodes with the Doctor Who cast that weren’t available anywhere else. With the season 6 box set release in 2011 came these 5 adorable mini episodes that focus on the Doctor and what he does with his nights. It is difficult to find the clips on the web, and the only versions I found have french subtitles. So, watch, enjoy and practice your french with my number 8 pick in this 11 Episodes of Eleven series.
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#6 Closing Time written by Gareth Roberts
I thoroughly enjoy both Craig Owens stories written by Gareth Roberts, including season 5.11, The Lodger. In Closing Time, the 12th episode of season 6, we meet back up with Craig as the Doctor makes his rounds and says goodbye to his friends before heading to meet his impending death at Lake Silencio. The friendship between Craig and the Doctor closely resembles that of two ordinary mates who enjoy each other’s company and simply stumble into otherworldy trouble because that is what life is like when you are friends with the Doctor. Craig has since had a child with his longtime crush, Sophie and when the Doctor arrives on his doorstep, Craig is watching their son, Alfie, while Sophie has a ladies weekend at the spa. Just when Craig begins to think that he will never learn how to be a good dad, the Doctor shows up on his doorstep and hilarity/alien conquering/parenting 101 ensues.
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#5 Let’s Kill Hitler written by Steven Moffat aka the Dalek Emperor
As I mentioned last week in the fourth installment of “11 Episodes of the Eleventh Doctor,” it is a tie between The Wedding of River Song and Let’s Kill Hitler for my all-time favorite Eleven story. This week Moffat is the writer, and perhaps I am a predictable and obvious fan because of course River is a main character and I totally ship River and Eleven as canon. While haters gon’ hate, I consider the River/Eleven storyline to be the most ambitious plot point Moffat has undertaken in his tenure as showrunner; it is a doozy and worth the twists and turns. This episode starts out with Amy and Rory summoning the Doctor after Demon’s Run and River Song’s reveal that she is Amy’s baby all grown up, the little Melody Pond. No, I didn’t rec that episode (A Good Man Goes to War), but I’m assuming if you’re reading this you are a fan of DW and don’t need too much explaining the oddness that is a Doctor Who/Steven Moffat plot line. If you do need a refresher, click the links in the text for a trip in the TARDIS to the DW wiki. So, this episode is broadcast after the show’s summer hiatus as the opener of the second part of season 6 and it begins with Amy and Rory in Leadworth contacting the Doctor by creating a crop circle. That, in itself, is kinda perfect. It is always a treat to visit the Ponds/Williams’ in their sleepy hometown, because audiences get to see the “normal” and enjoy watching the Doctor try to fit into everyday English life. In this episode, we meet a friend of the Ponds, Mels, a petty thief and crazy childhood companion of Amy and Rory.
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#4 The Wedding of River Song written by Steven Moffat aka the Dark Lord of the Whoniverse
If you were to ask me what my favorite Eleventh Doctor episode is, this just might be it. Honestly, it’s a tie between this and next week’s, but I flip-flop back and forth. If you are a River Song fan (and many Whovians are not), this episode canonizes my OTP and puts to rest the question that has followed River since she rejoined the cast in season 5; Is River the woman who marries the Doctor or murders him? Spoilers: BOTH. I decided to start with this River episode because it is easiest to follow her Impossible Astronaut story line if you start here, at the end of season 6. Yes, I know, wibbley-wobbley, timey-wimey. But River and the Doctor’s stories run in opposite directions, and I find it helps me comprehend her time line if we begin when River marries/kills the Doctor.
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