The Swimming Pool in the Library: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

Now that's just showing off!

I've been looking forward to this episode since the title was announced. Even in the classic series, the only episode to really explore the TARDIS interior was Invasion of Time--other episodes have given quick glimpses of certain rooms, such as the wardrobe or secondary control room, but it's far past time for a proper look inside our dear friend. And the episode delivered!
Never mind the plot for a while, let's see what we found....swimming pool, observatory, the Eye of Harmony (much better done than the TV movie), a room full of memories--who here screamed COT! when they saw it?--and this fantastic, huge library with Gallifreyan encyclopedias in bottles and a book on the Time War. Why the latter is in English is a slight mystery--I've heard theories that River wrote it, which is kind of interesting, given her role as a professor, but I also like the theory that Nine wrote it as a confession of sorts after the War, in which case the English would be because he couldn't bear Gallifreyan at the the time...anyway, PRETTY TARDIS IS PRETTY!
As for the plot, my biggest issue with it was the implication that the Doctor would threaten to destroy the TARDIS for Clara's sake. I buy the Doctor being protective, especially with someone he's already lost twice, but blowing up the TARDIS for her? Not so much. So I was very pleased when he announced it was all a bluff, since it didn't make that much sense to me. As for the rest of it, it was pretty cool, and I liked his discussion with Clara about her other? selves--presumably that will come up again later.
Overall, I really liked it--8  or 9/10

The Snowmen

As a reminder, here's my wish list  for the episode, along with a summery of how close it got.

• Clara to be a non-modern companion. My hopes are pretty high on this one, seeing as The Snowmen is set in Victorian London.

Well, yes...and no... jury's still out on that one.

• Clara NOT to be a love interest for the Doctor. Not only because it would mess with my otps, but because I’m kind of sick of companions falling in love with him.

At this point, it seems she'll try to be a love interest. I hope she backs off.

• An explanation for the title monsters that won’t leave me terrified for the rest of the winter. If Moffat makes me scared of snow, my Midwestern location will make life very difficult for me.

As long as I don't start complaining to snowmen, I'm safe.

• An explanation for the new TARDIS interior.

Not exactly.

• Someone explaining to the Doctor how incredibly stupid he is to be alone (preferable with a slap)

Yes, explained. But no slap, sadly.

• The episode to download in less than an hour.

Failed epic-ally. It took nearly four hours.

And, most of all, what I really want to see in this episode is something simple.
The Doctor’s smile. A real, honest, happy smile, not to hide pain or avoid questions, but because he’s actually happy.

Close enough.

 The digital age may have spend things up a bit, but I still spent 8 pm-4 pm (including some of the sleeping hours) going stir-crazy for The Snowmen.  Whatever else the episode did or did not do, it certifiably kept me engaged. The older of my two brothers kept complaining about my cries of "no, no" or "mah Doctor," but the other was equally entertained.

Besides the new companion--who I will discuss later--this episode also marked a new title sequence, a new costume for Eleven, and a new TARDIS theme.  First of all, the title sequence.

It's absolutely beautiful. It startled me at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.  All the colors are absolutely beautiful,  like images from the Hubble Space telescope. And the face-effect is very subtle--not terrifying like Colin Baker's (it's just sort of creepy.) It also seems a fitting tribute to the classic series, with the fiftieth anniversary approaching next fall.

The new costume seems equally fitting. It's still him, but a sadder, more serious him. And that scene with the bowtie...ouch, very much ouch.

The Doctor: No, it's just...I didn't know I put it on. Old habits...

And the glasses, please...Ten had "brainy specs:" Eleven has "specs of sorrow." Sad specs.

Now, the new TARDIS console. I have two equal and opposite statements to make regarding it.

I think it completely suits the Eleventh Doctor at this point in time. He's trying to get rid of anything that reminds him of the Ponds, from his bowtie to his TARDIS. Whether he chose the new "desktop" or the TARDIS chose it, it just seems so much colder, darker and smaller, reflecting his choice to withdraw from the world. The orange set would have been too big, too happy for him.  (side note: Clara's TARDIS key: the Ponds never got one. That makes me sad.)

I can't stand it. It feels wrong--the metal panels feel like they belong in a military building, not the TARDIS. It feels claustrophobic compared to the glass, coral, or even the classic models. Overall, it feels like a machine, not our dear, clever, Sexy. I spent at least a minute yelling "Wrong, it feels wrong" at the screen when it first came up. It feels wrong for my Doctor, the madman with a box, who is now a lonely, sad man. I can't stand to see his feelings reflected that way. It's like walking into your best friend's room and finding it covered with posters of skulls and quotes advocating suicide.  I just want to tear it all down and paint bright colors on the wall.

Before I get to the main plot, one more element: the Paternoster Gang. The gag about Sherlock Holmes was funny, Strax's militant nature made me chuckle, and Vastra had some good scenes, especially the interview of Clara. But...I have an elementary-age Whovian brother, and the whole interspecies lesbians thing makes me uncomfortable. At least with most of the previous episodes, it was subtle enough he missed it (Closing Time was an exception). I can handle it, even if I disagree, but with a younger brother...awkward.

 Matt Smith was wonderful, showing how the Doctor's darker tendencies would play out after Manhattan. The memory worm scene was a bit surprising--I didn't think he'd go that far, even if he saw it as for the character's own good.  Clara...she was straightforward and bold: anything less wouldn't have caught his attention at this point. She's clever, too, as shown by her analysis of their escape. In some ways she reminds me of Donna, but with flirting--and one of the reasons I liked Donna was her lack of flirting.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a staunch Doctor/River shipper and the Ponds were my first companions; I'm still mourning them and reluctant to accept a new companion. Even if I didn't ship them, I think grief is a bad place to start a relationship--Eleven is grieving at least as as hard as Ten did in Doomsday, and we all know how Martha's crush turned out.  And I'm sick of companions crushing on the Doctor. Can't he just have a friend?

Plotwise: regardless of what anyone says, I liked it. Moffat rarely focuses on the monsters in his specials; he focuses on characters. The real enemy wasn't the Snowmen or the Great Intelligence--it was the Doctor's crippling depression and resulting apathy. But I knew he'd come to the Latimers' aid (Latimer--anyone else notice that?). He still can't let children cry.

On first watch, this episode seemed to be a Davies/Moffat hybrid.  But when I rewatched it, I felt the  "Davies" elements--Clara's death, the Doctor's loneliness--grew naturally from the mid-season finale. And when I was looking for it, the sense of wonder that infused The Christmas Carol or  The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe is still there...just a bit hidden. Some of the scenes--the ladder to the clouds, the shot of Clara and Eleven drenched by the melted snowmen--are absolutely beautiful.

This isn't my full thoughts on The Snowmen--I have a post on Clara's identity and another comparing 10 post-Doomsday and 11 post-Manhattan in the works. But I'd love to hear your thoughts too. So what did you think of the Snowmen?