Showing posts with label series 8. Show all posts
Showing posts with label series 8. Show all posts
Friday, October 17, 2014
Kill The Moon
Awesome episode.
HELL YEAH Courtney makes a great companion, not least because she starts the episode by telling him where he can get off for being a dickbag. I honeslty think this alone makes her a brilliant companion for Twelve. He needs Courtney (or Donna, or Martha) - someone who will call him on his bollocks. And I love that through seeing Courtney do this, Clara gets the gumption to do the same at the end: "Respected isn't how I feel!". Clara, meet Tegan, Tegan, Clara. As it should be.
Scenes like this make me feel better about the earlier episodes. There's a big difference between a character being a rotter as part of an arc, and accidentally, where the author is unaware of their character's flaws. Seeing that we're talking about the former makes all the difference.
Everything about this episode is cool. The spiders are scary, and used sparingly enough that they remain so. They are a red herring threat to keep us entertained, until the story segues effortlessly into its true form. So the feminine Moon is this big, floating, abortion metaphor in space ("Your moon, your choice" says the Doctor, before leaving a room of women to decide). I love that. That's what sci-fi should be - exploring real world issues through a lens of unreality. And what a charming way to pass the Bechdel test too.
Courtney is brilliant, asking all the sensible questions like "did you bring guns". Being in space with Courtney illustrates Clara's double life far more poignantly than the previous episode, as she struggles to be a companion, and a teacher at the same time.
The Doctor has some beautiful lines in this one - the one about the little blinks especially. "Amniotic fluid - I have to go down there!" is brilliant Doctorism, and I love his barely contained glee as he pronounces "the moon is hatching", while the rest of the cast bring their game so the moment can be as serious as it is absurd.
Fun trivia! I saw in the credits this was filmed at Timanfaya national pakrk. That's in Lanzarotte, last seen in Planet of Fire.
Doctor Who at its very finest. 9/10
(What a title. Kill the Moon.)
The Caretaker
"MOHAMMED PUT THAT DOWN"
I love that Doctor Who is reaching out to every teacher who shouted "Mohammed, put that down!" across a playground this week ^_^ That was the best bit.
Besides that, though - oh I don't know :/ The whole theme of this one annoyed me. I've had my loved ones have pissing contests like that over me, and I don't like seeing that plot resolved as an expression of how loved Clara is. It's horrible. I'd rather like to see it resolved with someone pointing out how unacceptable and controlling the Doc and Danny are both being in this episode. The Doctor not understanding how humans work can be a funny trope when it's something little like jokes about Clara washing, or thinking that he and Clara are the same age. But when it's about relationship dynamics, it steps into actively upsetting territory. It's not funny when the Doctor demands Clara explain why she is dating Danny because that's not a cute, alien misunderstanding - that's creepass behavior from someone who explicitly said he wasn't her boyfriend. I've had people demand I justify why I am dating the person I am dating more than once in the past, and accepting the premise of the question was a m i s t a k e because those people never say "oh, I see - awesome :D" no matter what you tell them.
This made it rather hard for me to enjoy the episode as an episode - it brought up far too much personal upset. Who has done this plot before, with Micky-Rose-Doctor, and Sarah-Rose-Doctor, and to a lesser extent Amy-Rory-Doctor, and I'm bored of it. Mostly because of the quasi-controlling relationship dynamics which come up, but which are never properly explored. When Harry Met Sally is 30 years old. You would have thought that nowadays, we understood that men and women can be "just friends" (As a bisexual, this reasoning always strikes me as particularly obtuse - as clearly it would imply I could never have a friend ever again)
I loved when Donna met Martha, and instead of scrapping, they had a good ole chatter - it was lovely. Now, that wouldn't exactly match with Twelve's abrasive style. But his behavior is totally out of line in this episode, in every way - even the idea that Danny has to match his standards of "good enough" for her to be able to date him is utterly out of line. I don't enjoy watching that.
The beginning montage with Clara dashing from space adventure to date is gorgeous - lovely editing, lovely character development. Because also, it's focused around *Clara*. It's about the difficulty *she* is having leading a busy, double life. The pissing contest is about everything but her. It's about how two men, both of whom regard her as partially theirs, feel about her having friendships with other men. No one in this episode asks Clara how she feels, or demonstrates some compassion for her wanting to have a boyfriend as well as travelling in time. I feel like it's pretty obvious why super cutie boyfriend + ability to explore all existence and save the world would both be things which a person would want to do, but there's no leeway from either character.
I am rather bored of the Doctor being unheroic now. I like a good anti-hero as much as the next person, but the key to a good anti-hero is having redeeming features. I can't see any. He won't demonstrate empathy for anyone around him, and he does it in a very explicit way which is pretty offputting. I suppose this is how other people feel about Doctor Six. But for me, Six is redeemed in his utter delight in things, and his driving passion for justice, and the sincerity of his anger when injustice is done. With Twelve, I can't feel a passion for anything. I am only picking up on his "go away humans" vibe, and reacting accordingly - I want to go away, and I'd rather like Clara to too and find someone who values her and is nice sometimes instead. Being mean to his companions, and letting people die, and what are this person's heroic qualities again? I don't even know where his drive to save the planet comes from. Completeness, perhaps. Neatness.
(The only way they can redeem this for me is if this is revealed to be a canonical decision tying Doctor Twelve's development into the Valeyard. They won't do that, so I'm not interested in rewriting the series every episode to suit my requirements - I'd actually rather like a hero I can admire and feel some empathy for. The role of a companion is to be a placeholder for the audience. I'm looking at Clara and thinking r u n girl, so there's clearly a problem with his characterisation.)
Part of the problem is, I really like Danny. I think being upset about being lied to is reasonable. He comes across as a genuinely nice guy. The actor conveys his mistrust of the Doctor's officer-like qualities and his aristocratic status in a way which seems genuine, which seems like it comes from within, rather than a blind prejudice from a guy whose best buddy was a Brigadier for over 300 years. It reveals character, and is a reasonable complaint. His scene with Clara on the sofa at the end is genuinely very beautiful. Here, he does show he understands why Clara stays with the Doc, and that seems so real.
Trying to ignore the central theme of the episode, there were lots of lovely moments. I have warmed to Clara so much, especially when she thinks of the safety of her pupils first when the Doc starts talking about aliens at the school. I thought it was a cute touch for the Doc to think she likes the geeky teacher with the bowtie, and for the Pink Floyd. I think Courtney is a great character. It'd be so easy to do inner-city-London-pupil in a stereotypical fashion, but this episode seems like a really warm, knowing characterisation rather than something cruel or crude. She's adorable, and I love her and the Doctor bonding over being a disruptive influence. The moment when she pointed out the sign said "Keep Out Humans" cracked me up. COURTNEY FOR FULL TIME COMPANION. Absolutely I would watch that series. Oh, and I loved the moment Clara's annoyance at being flicked on the nose turned into delight at the Doctor's invisibility.
Bad moments? Apart from the entire theme of the episode, I think correcting a caretaker who knows about English Literature by saying "you are a caretaker this is not what you do" is ill advised - I know what the joke was meant to be, about the Doctor not understanding what a caretaker is, but it sounded to me like "go back to washing windows, pleb". And while it was a great like for Clara to point out she is the Doctor's conscience, and he'd need to get his own if she left...why is she saying things like that and not hearing alarm bells?
6/10 bored of this plot. Would have been 5/10, but for Courtney and the scene on the sofa.
I love that Doctor Who is reaching out to every teacher who shouted "Mohammed, put that down!" across a playground this week ^_^ That was the best bit.
Besides that, though - oh I don't know :/ The whole theme of this one annoyed me. I've had my loved ones have pissing contests like that over me, and I don't like seeing that plot resolved as an expression of how loved Clara is. It's horrible. I'd rather like to see it resolved with someone pointing out how unacceptable and controlling the Doc and Danny are both being in this episode. The Doctor not understanding how humans work can be a funny trope when it's something little like jokes about Clara washing, or thinking that he and Clara are the same age. But when it's about relationship dynamics, it steps into actively upsetting territory. It's not funny when the Doctor demands Clara explain why she is dating Danny because that's not a cute, alien misunderstanding - that's creepass behavior from someone who explicitly said he wasn't her boyfriend. I've had people demand I justify why I am dating the person I am dating more than once in the past, and accepting the premise of the question was a m i s t a k e because those people never say "oh, I see - awesome :D" no matter what you tell them.
This made it rather hard for me to enjoy the episode as an episode - it brought up far too much personal upset. Who has done this plot before, with Micky-Rose-Doctor, and Sarah-Rose-Doctor, and to a lesser extent Amy-Rory-Doctor, and I'm bored of it. Mostly because of the quasi-controlling relationship dynamics which come up, but which are never properly explored. When Harry Met Sally is 30 years old. You would have thought that nowadays, we understood that men and women can be "just friends" (As a bisexual, this reasoning always strikes me as particularly obtuse - as clearly it would imply I could never have a friend ever again)
I loved when Donna met Martha, and instead of scrapping, they had a good ole chatter - it was lovely. Now, that wouldn't exactly match with Twelve's abrasive style. But his behavior is totally out of line in this episode, in every way - even the idea that Danny has to match his standards of "good enough" for her to be able to date him is utterly out of line. I don't enjoy watching that.
The beginning montage with Clara dashing from space adventure to date is gorgeous - lovely editing, lovely character development. Because also, it's focused around *Clara*. It's about the difficulty *she* is having leading a busy, double life. The pissing contest is about everything but her. It's about how two men, both of whom regard her as partially theirs, feel about her having friendships with other men. No one in this episode asks Clara how she feels, or demonstrates some compassion for her wanting to have a boyfriend as well as travelling in time. I feel like it's pretty obvious why super cutie boyfriend + ability to explore all existence and save the world would both be things which a person would want to do, but there's no leeway from either character.
I am rather bored of the Doctor being unheroic now. I like a good anti-hero as much as the next person, but the key to a good anti-hero is having redeeming features. I can't see any. He won't demonstrate empathy for anyone around him, and he does it in a very explicit way which is pretty offputting. I suppose this is how other people feel about Doctor Six. But for me, Six is redeemed in his utter delight in things, and his driving passion for justice, and the sincerity of his anger when injustice is done. With Twelve, I can't feel a passion for anything. I am only picking up on his "go away humans" vibe, and reacting accordingly - I want to go away, and I'd rather like Clara to too and find someone who values her and is nice sometimes instead. Being mean to his companions, and letting people die, and what are this person's heroic qualities again? I don't even know where his drive to save the planet comes from. Completeness, perhaps. Neatness.
(The only way they can redeem this for me is if this is revealed to be a canonical decision tying Doctor Twelve's development into the Valeyard. They won't do that, so I'm not interested in rewriting the series every episode to suit my requirements - I'd actually rather like a hero I can admire and feel some empathy for. The role of a companion is to be a placeholder for the audience. I'm looking at Clara and thinking r u n girl, so there's clearly a problem with his characterisation.)
Part of the problem is, I really like Danny. I think being upset about being lied to is reasonable. He comes across as a genuinely nice guy. The actor conveys his mistrust of the Doctor's officer-like qualities and his aristocratic status in a way which seems genuine, which seems like it comes from within, rather than a blind prejudice from a guy whose best buddy was a Brigadier for over 300 years. It reveals character, and is a reasonable complaint. His scene with Clara on the sofa at the end is genuinely very beautiful. Here, he does show he understands why Clara stays with the Doc, and that seems so real.
Trying to ignore the central theme of the episode, there were lots of lovely moments. I have warmed to Clara so much, especially when she thinks of the safety of her pupils first when the Doc starts talking about aliens at the school. I thought it was a cute touch for the Doc to think she likes the geeky teacher with the bowtie, and for the Pink Floyd. I think Courtney is a great character. It'd be so easy to do inner-city-London-pupil in a stereotypical fashion, but this episode seems like a really warm, knowing characterisation rather than something cruel or crude. She's adorable, and I love her and the Doctor bonding over being a disruptive influence. The moment when she pointed out the sign said "Keep Out Humans" cracked me up. COURTNEY FOR FULL TIME COMPANION. Absolutely I would watch that series. Oh, and I loved the moment Clara's annoyance at being flicked on the nose turned into delight at the Doctor's invisibility.
Bad moments? Apart from the entire theme of the episode, I think correcting a caretaker who knows about English Literature by saying "you are a caretaker this is not what you do" is ill advised - I know what the joke was meant to be, about the Doctor not understanding what a caretaker is, but it sounded to me like "go back to washing windows, pleb". And while it was a great like for Clara to point out she is the Doctor's conscience, and he'd need to get his own if she left...why is she saying things like that and not hearing alarm bells?
6/10 bored of this plot. Would have been 5/10, but for Courtney and the scene on the sofa.
Time Heist
Also 5. Don't Think
This episode was a real mixed bag for me.
Doctor Who has always operated by genre-snatching. The TARDIS is a plot engine enabling them to do anything - and so they do. The last time they did the heist caper was the Ribos Operation, which is incidentally, my favourite Fourth Doctor episode. Don't think I didn't spot those Inception references! (the Architect + Clara's costume referencing Ariadne's + "old and full of regret") The writers might have considered, given those cinematic touchpoints, that if you you steal from the best you have to be the best.
Look, the writers simply don't understand the heist genre. I spent two years obsessively watching heist movies. Walking in slo-motion to your heist in suits with a briefcase does not a classic make. Neither does drilling through a ceiling - it just reminds me how not post-modern-reinvention-of-a-genre, and also how not Rififi you are. This episode had no tension. It had brief moments of terror interspesed with a criminally slow pace. Unless you're clever enough to be Reservoir Dogs, or inventive enough to be Inception, the key to a great heist movie is constant nerve shredding terror + being one step ahead of your audience.
The monster was scary in conception, but in practice it amounted to two humanoids standing still and gurning at each other. An alarm bell and announcement "intruders on the 7th floor!" isn't tension, cus you know they're gonna get out of it. The idea of a time traveller robbing a bank with future knowledge was cool, but it just felt like they were constantly inventing problems they already knew how to solve. Where was the tension? What's the point of a heist if it's not tense?
I loved the future worldbuilding a lot. The shapeshifter was cool, as was the crook and their backstories. I can only assume they both come from the future, otherwise why wouldn't the best bank in the universe have guards against shapeshifters and also surveillance for people who loudly talk about how they are robbing a bank while they rob a bank. And I was interested in the episode, if always moderately pissed off at it for not being better. I liked the idea of a time heist; I liked the idea of the Doctor preplanning everything, even though that was an obvious twist.
I really want to see the Doc save someone again. I want him to try. I was really rather upset with him sitting back and letting the shapeshifter lady die. The discovery that it was a teleport was not enough - it was the scene where he just sat there and said nothing could be done. Hrm. Similarly, how about saving the rest of the planet? When the bank is totally destroyed by fire, I couldn't help but think...
This is the second episode of the season with "...and Steve Moffat" in the credits, and I find this interesting. Why? Is this a greater creative control thing, or did a lot of people hand in subpar episodes, or...? In any case, the crook with memory deletion is classic Moff.
All in all, it's a 6/10 from me for promising bits, but overall too many problems.
miscellany
My notes included the following phrases I now do not know what they mean:
solitude is the obly peace
weird hug face
This episode was a real mixed bag for me.
Doctor Who has always operated by genre-snatching. The TARDIS is a plot engine enabling them to do anything - and so they do. The last time they did the heist caper was the Ribos Operation, which is incidentally, my favourite Fourth Doctor episode. Don't think I didn't spot those Inception references! (the Architect + Clara's costume referencing Ariadne's + "old and full of regret") The writers might have considered, given those cinematic touchpoints, that if you you steal from the best you have to be the best.
Look, the writers simply don't understand the heist genre. I spent two years obsessively watching heist movies. Walking in slo-motion to your heist in suits with a briefcase does not a classic make. Neither does drilling through a ceiling - it just reminds me how not post-modern-reinvention-of-a-genre, and also how not Rififi you are. This episode had no tension. It had brief moments of terror interspesed with a criminally slow pace. Unless you're clever enough to be Reservoir Dogs, or inventive enough to be Inception, the key to a great heist movie is constant nerve shredding terror + being one step ahead of your audience.
The monster was scary in conception, but in practice it amounted to two humanoids standing still and gurning at each other. An alarm bell and announcement "intruders on the 7th floor!" isn't tension, cus you know they're gonna get out of it. The idea of a time traveller robbing a bank with future knowledge was cool, but it just felt like they were constantly inventing problems they already knew how to solve. Where was the tension? What's the point of a heist if it's not tense?
I loved the future worldbuilding a lot. The shapeshifter was cool, as was the crook and their backstories. I can only assume they both come from the future, otherwise why wouldn't the best bank in the universe have guards against shapeshifters and also surveillance for people who loudly talk about how they are robbing a bank while they rob a bank. And I was interested in the episode, if always moderately pissed off at it for not being better. I liked the idea of a time heist; I liked the idea of the Doctor preplanning everything, even though that was an obvious twist.
I really want to see the Doc save someone again. I want him to try. I was really rather upset with him sitting back and letting the shapeshifter lady die. The discovery that it was a teleport was not enough - it was the scene where he just sat there and said nothing could be done. Hrm. Similarly, how about saving the rest of the planet? When the bank is totally destroyed by fire, I couldn't help but think...
This is the second episode of the season with "...and Steve Moffat" in the credits, and I find this interesting. Why? Is this a greater creative control thing, or did a lot of people hand in subpar episodes, or...? In any case, the crook with memory deletion is classic Moff.
All in all, it's a 6/10 from me for promising bits, but overall too many problems.
miscellany
My notes included the following phrases I now do not know what they mean:
solitude is the obly peace
weird hug face
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Review: Listen
1. Don't blink.
2. Stay out of the shadows.
3. Don't breathe.
4. Listen
Steve Moffat has sure given us a lot of survival tips over the series. It's effective, but I can't have been the only one who thought "oh, that again" at the promo. The delight of this episode is was emphatically not that again - it entirely mixed up the formula.
What this episode did so brilliantly was interweaving an emotional plot with a plot plot. This is the kind of episode I had assumed I wouldn't see from Moff again. It's a generalisation, of course, but there's a truth in there, and when I lost characters I could relate to, I lost interest in the series period.
Here the characters are perfect. I love the idea of the doc just going on an investigation mission because there's something he's curious about, and spending a decade looking at fish and meditating on top of the box. He is channeling professory this week (I love this new TARDIS, with the books everywhere and the chalk). Clara-as-teacher comes through a lot here, and this whole episode is so quiet, just observing her feels for a lot of the time, and I really like that. I love their relationship together. The Doctor waiting by the mirror like that's not weird at all, and Clara curled up on the bed after a failed date; both of them so clearly from different worlds.
We've seen timeywimey relationship messes before, but this episode is the first which really felt "right" to me. Clara is given time and space to process who Orson might be, and what that means, and it's beautiful. This is what I wanted and never got from Rory/Amy/River. And Listen doesn't exactly do anything special with it, except let the idea breathe.
Above all, the character elements made the story totally unexpected. This is what I want from Doctor Who. I want plot and character working together so subtley that I can't tell where the plot is going, but feel rewarded when we get there. The Doctor taking on a mysterious beast at end of the universe; a stranded time traveller; then surprise Gallifrey. And yet the emotional threads tie it all back together.
PLUS the direction is gorgeous. From that opening sequence, which escapes gimmickry because the camerawork is so lovely; to the first date sequence, with the subtle camerawork mapping out a whole evening in a few strokes. AND I love that he subverted the position of the "scary episode" in the season to talk about the strength of being afraid.
Such an easy 9/10.
Miscellany
I love the running trope of the TARDIS being parked in odd places (stock cupboard. The kitchen. Clara's bedroom, so she has to squeeze through.)
Not so sure about this meeting sexy-in-the-future characters as kids thing. That makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. I'm not sure, in Clara's position, I'd be all "yeahhhh I want to meet and mother this person I'm going to date in the future".
The only flaw was the music in Clara's final speech to the Doc, where it got ladled on way too heavy.
Telepathic circuits! Psychic paper!
Shouldn't Gallifrey be timelocked tho?
Clara/Danny's relationship is reminding me - in a bad way - of Sam and Lori on West Wing. Sam meets Lori at a party, but finds out the morning after that she is also a sex worker; Lori calls him on the shitty stuff he says to her about her job, but then mystifingly remains friends with him even though every scene of theirs is him making shitty comments. To me, that whole storyline doesn't work because I can't believe her staying in a relationship with someone who disrespects her like that. Similarly, Clara keeps making cutesy-awkward shitty comments about Danny's history as a soldier, and I really can't buy them staying together. They are an adorable couple, they have chemistry. But I feel like in that situation, you get to screw up once and then after that you do better, or you get dumped. Soldiers and sex workers are generally hard-as-nails; I can't buy either Danny or Lori staying in a relationship which requires enduring constant snide comments.
2. Stay out of the shadows.
3. Don't breathe.
4. Listen
Steve Moffat has sure given us a lot of survival tips over the series. It's effective, but I can't have been the only one who thought "oh, that again" at the promo. The delight of this episode is was emphatically not that again - it entirely mixed up the formula.
What this episode did so brilliantly was interweaving an emotional plot with a plot plot. This is the kind of episode I had assumed I wouldn't see from Moff again. It's a generalisation, of course, but there's a truth in there, and when I lost characters I could relate to, I lost interest in the series period.
Here the characters are perfect. I love the idea of the doc just going on an investigation mission because there's something he's curious about, and spending a decade looking at fish and meditating on top of the box. He is channeling professory this week (I love this new TARDIS, with the books everywhere and the chalk). Clara-as-teacher comes through a lot here, and this whole episode is so quiet, just observing her feels for a lot of the time, and I really like that. I love their relationship together. The Doctor waiting by the mirror like that's not weird at all, and Clara curled up on the bed after a failed date; both of them so clearly from different worlds.
We've seen timeywimey relationship messes before, but this episode is the first which really felt "right" to me. Clara is given time and space to process who Orson might be, and what that means, and it's beautiful. This is what I wanted and never got from Rory/Amy/River. And Listen doesn't exactly do anything special with it, except let the idea breathe.
Above all, the character elements made the story totally unexpected. This is what I want from Doctor Who. I want plot and character working together so subtley that I can't tell where the plot is going, but feel rewarded when we get there. The Doctor taking on a mysterious beast at end of the universe; a stranded time traveller; then surprise Gallifrey. And yet the emotional threads tie it all back together.
PLUS the direction is gorgeous. From that opening sequence, which escapes gimmickry because the camerawork is so lovely; to the first date sequence, with the subtle camerawork mapping out a whole evening in a few strokes. AND I love that he subverted the position of the "scary episode" in the season to talk about the strength of being afraid.
Miscellany
I love the running trope of the TARDIS being parked in odd places (stock cupboard. The kitchen. Clara's bedroom, so she has to squeeze through.)
Not so sure about this meeting sexy-in-the-future characters as kids thing. That makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. I'm not sure, in Clara's position, I'd be all "yeahhhh I want to meet and mother this person I'm going to date in the future".
The only flaw was the music in Clara's final speech to the Doc, where it got ladled on way too heavy.
Telepathic circuits! Psychic paper!
Shouldn't Gallifrey be timelocked tho?
Clara/Danny's relationship is reminding me - in a bad way - of Sam and Lori on West Wing. Sam meets Lori at a party, but finds out the morning after that she is also a sex worker; Lori calls him on the shitty stuff he says to her about her job, but then mystifingly remains friends with him even though every scene of theirs is him making shitty comments. To me, that whole storyline doesn't work because I can't believe her staying in a relationship with someone who disrespects her like that. Similarly, Clara keeps making cutesy-awkward shitty comments about Danny's history as a soldier, and I really can't buy them staying together. They are an adorable couple, they have chemistry. But I feel like in that situation, you get to screw up once and then after that you do better, or you get dumped. Soldiers and sex workers are generally hard-as-nails; I can't buy either Danny or Lori staying in a relationship which requires enduring constant snide comments.
Sunday, September 07, 2014
Review: Into the Dalek
A pleasing mess of better things. Into The Dalek has lots of good bits, but we've seen them all done better before.
Capaldi vs Dalek was brilliant. Dalek made that the basis of an entire episode (seriously, how much of a dope do you have to be to go up against Dalek, easily one of the greatest Who episodes of all time?).
The Doctor letting people die while trying to be the better man is always a rewarding plotline, diving into the ethics of intervening (or not) and what pacifism means. But in this episode, it felt rushed, like a shorthand for complexity, compared to the sickening slow pace of Warriors of the Deep to name just one other episode which explores this. WotD's brilliance is in using all 80 horrible minutes to build up to that conclusion. You don't know it's an episode about the moral failure to act until the last five, when the Doctor is standing and looking about at the mounds of corpses, realising he hasn't saved anyone from either side. Into the Dalek tries to tread the same ground, but doesn't have the time - whereas WotD shows a hero making the wrong decisions but trying his damndest, IotD has him pick an appalling time to attempt a moral victory.
Crammed in there is some stuff about the nature of soldiering (the comparison between Blue and Pink) which it never has time to explore, nor to look deeper into why the Doctor objects to them when so much of soldiering overlaps with stuff the Doctor likes (does he seriously believe no planets should have armies? What, then, was his solution for this civilization to get rid of the Daleks? Is it just an anti-authority thing? I would totally watch that episode.)
(presumably-liberal TV writers should not be allowed to write soldier characters; they've clearly never been near an army base all their life. I mean, neither have I, but TV soldiers are always Made Of Feelings and Drama, arguing in combat situations and having a lot of emotions. I don't buy any of these people as professional soldiers.)
Any one of these things would have been a brilliant standalone episode. I imagine Clara's cute teacher friend is the beginning of a new subplot, and I understand they need to introduce that sometime, but this episode desperately needed that extra 10 minutes. I don't even think it had enough worldbuilding time. Why does a civilisation with the technology to shrink humans not also have the technology to analyse/fix a Dalek without going through such a silly process? And what did anyone think was going to happen when they fixed the Dalek - what was the goal?
(no misogyny tho, so that was something)
If you ignore all that, there were plenty of good bits (the only problem with them was they were bits). There was some good dialogue ("She's my carer; she cares so I don't have to". Other Doctors, it would have been a joke; Twelve is more abrasive and far less huggy, and I can easily believe he means it.)
I can already feel there is a Twelth Doctor emerging, even though I can't define it in words. Not not sentimental, but very particular about what he cares about. Six or Seven would have rejoiced in getting a Dalek to blow up its own kind; Five or Ten would have got caught up in the human bloodshed. Twelve's interest here seems far more abstract. For him, victory would have been a good Dalek and all that represents - he is more interested that than the immediacies of the situation.
He certainly is quite uninvolved in minor things like the deaths of minor characters, stuff which would have tied Ten in knots for the rest of the episode. I'm liking the chilly practicality.
All in all: a 6/10, with regrets. The good stuff was good, but fell short of all the other brilliant episodes it could have been.
Grab bag of other thoughts:
We loved the bookshelves in the TARDIS console room
(As far as I can tell, the most common criticism of WotD is the sets are "overlit". This seems an odd complaint in a show which constantly suffered from a small budget; and the WotD seabase seems far more plausible to me as an actual base compared to the shadowy/creepy corridors critics would prefer. Plus, now we live in the future - we can easily imagine the seabase was built by Apple.)
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Deep Breath - Review
Overall, I felt really positive about this episode.
(I've not reviewed a Doctor Who episode in over 2 years, so you will have to be gentle with such clunky sentences until I get back into the groove)
But saying that much is still saying quite a lot. I stopped watching for a little bit, because the casual sexism made me feel so cruddy, and the lack of character development was frustrating, and it got to a point where I couldn't ignore it.
All of that was there in this episode. But I feel like Peter Capaldi is going to take the edge off it. I like him a lot, and I look forward in hope to seeing how his character evolves over time.
(Colin Baker also appeared in Who before he took on the main role, as imperious Timelord soldier Commander Maxil. Some links:
The true test of any Doctor is the sitting-down-and-talking-to-the-villain scene. I guess we all knew PC would be capable of it, seeing as his acting opposite an empty fishtank in Children of Earth was so spine-prickling. Talking someone into killing themselves is definitely a Doctorlike attribute - a man who likes to think of himself as a man who doesn't kill. I don't think the robot jumped, I think by and large robots - even ones which use human body parts - don't tend to do things like that.
(I guess it's going to be some time before I use "Twelve" as a name for an individual. Give me time. It'll happen)
Eleven
The phone call from Doctor 11 was a really cool idea. I have some misgivings about it, in that I felt it kinda undermined the new Doctor. Regeneration episodes tend to have the Doctor pass out a lot, so that the danger feels so great that by the time he wakes up, you're just so darn glad to see him that you don't care there's a new face. Reintroducing 11 after that process has happened is therefore cheating, but it's a kinda cool idea.
But what I realised is that I really hate the Eleventh Doctor. That feeling I was getting when I stopped watching the show, and which had been mostly absent during this episode, came hammering back as soon as he picked up the phone. What a horrible, emotionally manipulative thing to do to your companion. I know the Doctor does that stuff all the time, but when I look back Eleven now feels...particularly involved in his companion's hearts and lives to a somewhat unhealthy extent.
The Castelanne, fellow member of Team Traken, suggested that he was an incredibly needy person and ended up doing bad things because he couldn't master his emotions; I rather like that interpretation. I always had trouble figuring out where Eleven came in the Doctor's emotional development, but I would accept that in his desire to regenerate into a more carefree person, he became emotionally irresponsible. I feel like I could rewatch his series interpreting the character as pretty damaged but in a less obvious, more damaging way and enjoy them more for that understanding. "I'm not your boyfriend...I didn't say it was your mistake" is a colossal admission, and I think a large key to 11's character.
And maybe one reason I found the casual sexism less objectionable in this episode is because the Doctor was not involved in it. I don't mind the Doctor having romantic plots in principle, but if "involved in romance" means "involved in the weird sexual/gender politics of the post-RTD series", I'm happy to see it go.
I would watch a whole series of just Jenny and Madam Vastra. I am so glad they've become reoccuring characters.
I've never liked Clara before, and I feel like her relationship together with the Doctor is going to be fun.
The plot was fun tosh. I'm a sucker for all things steampunk. I think the concept of the clockwork robots was cleverer in Girl in The Fireplace, because it was set in a non-traditional steampunk era. Seeing the robots in top hats in the fog is always fun, but translating that meme to 18th century France adds a clever touch.
"Don't breathe" is up there with the other Moffisms ("don't blink" being the most famous; but I know there have been others; but I can't remember them, because the time has passed when this information was on the surface of my brain. "Stay out of the shadows" in Forest of the Dead. Others, I can't remember.) but I liked this one a lot.
"Doctor Who ‘lesbian-lizard’ kiss will not face investigation" is the best headline I've ever seen. There were six complaints; my Companion suggests that he hopes at least one was because it broke class barriers. A lady kissing a maid? Shocking!
Don't talk to me about Missy. I don't want to think about this subplot. Like this show needs another River-Song-template woman person. Could that paradise they were in be the cloisters of a TARDIS, and could she be the Rani? Perhaps, but I already find this character unbearable.
So one thing I want to do in these reviews is be not critical, because complaining all the time ruins the show for people - primarily me. That said, I can't switch my brain off and - indeed - I have no desire to. People shouldn't have to give up dignified representations of themselves in exchange for enjoyable telly, great telly should do both.
Preditory lesbian characters? Check! (Listen up Clara, and also straight ladies of the world. Just because you're talking to a lesbian, it doesn't mean she's secretly attracted to you. What a crass addition to the episode). Dodgy relationship politics? Check! (Listen up, Moff! I feel like 80% of the point of being a lesbian is that your partner doesn't casually objectify you by demanding you stand half-naked and be decorative while she works. And while there clearly are creepass lesbians in the world, this felt more like translating a heterosexual power imbalance straight into a gay relationship, in a way which felt utterly inauthentic.)
A longer post following on this topic. For now, though, let's give this a 7/10 for a promising standard episode.
(I've not reviewed a Doctor Who episode in over 2 years, so you will have to be gentle with such clunky sentences until I get back into the groove)
But saying that much is still saying quite a lot. I stopped watching for a little bit, because the casual sexism made me feel so cruddy, and the lack of character development was frustrating, and it got to a point where I couldn't ignore it.
All of that was there in this episode. But I feel like Peter Capaldi is going to take the edge off it. I like him a lot, and I look forward in hope to seeing how his character evolves over time.
Twelve
I especially liked the shot where he held up the silver plate, and realised that he too had been changing so many elements of himself that he cannot necessarily be said to be the same man. So too the suggestion that he has taken on this face because it is a lesson he needs to be taught (PC appeared before twice in the Whoniverse, once in Fires of Pompeii as a family the Doctor only saves because his companion reminds him that he can; and once in Torchwood: Children of Earth as a morally compromised civil servant who fucked up very badly before killing himself and his whole family. The Doctor wasn't around in the latter crisis, so there is perhaps a message there instead.) I liked the subtlety with which this was done, and also the reference to Girl in the Fireplace - it doesn't matter if you don't know where the reference is, because the Doctor also can't remember and doesn't much care.(Colin Baker also appeared in Who before he took on the main role, as imperious Timelord soldier Commander Maxil. Some links:
- Commander Maxil was a defender of Gallifrey. During Trial of a Timelord, Six exposed the corruption at the heart of Gallifrey and
- Commander Maxil shot the Doctor. Six's greatest villain was also a future version of himself.
- Both have the same personality attributes of being a real stick up the arse to anyone who disagreed.)
The true test of any Doctor is the sitting-down-and-talking-to-the-villain scene. I guess we all knew PC would be capable of it, seeing as his acting opposite an empty fishtank in Children of Earth was so spine-prickling. Talking someone into killing themselves is definitely a Doctorlike attribute - a man who likes to think of himself as a man who doesn't kill. I don't think the robot jumped, I think by and large robots - even ones which use human body parts - don't tend to do things like that.
(I guess it's going to be some time before I use "Twelve" as a name for an individual. Give me time. It'll happen)
Eleven
The phone call from Doctor 11 was a really cool idea. I have some misgivings about it, in that I felt it kinda undermined the new Doctor. Regeneration episodes tend to have the Doctor pass out a lot, so that the danger feels so great that by the time he wakes up, you're just so darn glad to see him that you don't care there's a new face. Reintroducing 11 after that process has happened is therefore cheating, but it's a kinda cool idea.
But what I realised is that I really hate the Eleventh Doctor. That feeling I was getting when I stopped watching the show, and which had been mostly absent during this episode, came hammering back as soon as he picked up the phone. What a horrible, emotionally manipulative thing to do to your companion. I know the Doctor does that stuff all the time, but when I look back Eleven now feels...particularly involved in his companion's hearts and lives to a somewhat unhealthy extent.
The Castelanne, fellow member of Team Traken, suggested that he was an incredibly needy person and ended up doing bad things because he couldn't master his emotions; I rather like that interpretation. I always had trouble figuring out where Eleven came in the Doctor's emotional development, but I would accept that in his desire to regenerate into a more carefree person, he became emotionally irresponsible. I feel like I could rewatch his series interpreting the character as pretty damaged but in a less obvious, more damaging way and enjoy them more for that understanding. "I'm not your boyfriend...I didn't say it was your mistake" is a colossal admission, and I think a large key to 11's character.
And maybe one reason I found the casual sexism less objectionable in this episode is because the Doctor was not involved in it. I don't mind the Doctor having romantic plots in principle, but if "involved in romance" means "involved in the weird sexual/gender politics of the post-RTD series", I'm happy to see it go.
Everything Else
I've never liked Clara before, and I feel like her relationship together with the Doctor is going to be fun.
The plot was fun tosh. I'm a sucker for all things steampunk. I think the concept of the clockwork robots was cleverer in Girl in The Fireplace, because it was set in a non-traditional steampunk era. Seeing the robots in top hats in the fog is always fun, but translating that meme to 18th century France adds a clever touch.
"Don't breathe" is up there with the other Moffisms ("don't blink" being the most famous; but I know there have been others; but I can't remember them, because the time has passed when this information was on the surface of my brain. "Stay out of the shadows" in Forest of the Dead. Others, I can't remember.) but I liked this one a lot.
"Doctor Who ‘lesbian-lizard’ kiss will not face investigation" is the best headline I've ever seen. There were six complaints; my Companion suggests that he hopes at least one was because it broke class barriers. A lady kissing a maid? Shocking!
Don't talk to me about Missy. I don't want to think about this subplot. Like this show needs another River-Song-template woman person. Could that paradise they were in be the cloisters of a TARDIS, and could she be the Rani? Perhaps, but I already find this character unbearable.
Sexismwatch
Preditory lesbian characters? Check! (Listen up Clara, and also straight ladies of the world. Just because you're talking to a lesbian, it doesn't mean she's secretly attracted to you. What a crass addition to the episode). Dodgy relationship politics? Check! (Listen up, Moff! I feel like 80% of the point of being a lesbian is that your partner doesn't casually objectify you by demanding you stand half-naked and be decorative while she works. And while there clearly are creepass lesbians in the world, this felt more like translating a heterosexual power imbalance straight into a gay relationship, in a way which felt utterly inauthentic.)
A longer post following on this topic. For now, though, let's give this a 7/10 for a promising standard episode.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)