Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 12:36 am Post subject:
REVIEW: The Doctor's Daughter by Stephen Greenhorn
SERIAL: PB6, 4.6, 1X45 minute episode
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
During auditions for The Unicorn and the Wasp, the story following this one, the makers of the series auditioned someone with an unusual connection to the Doctor Who universe. This actress was Georgia Moffett, the daughter of Peter Moffett, better known by his stage name of Peter Davison, the fifth Doctor. It was decided to cast her for a script by Stephen Greenhorn, in a role that might have been made just for her. Although cast after the script for The Doctor's Daughter had been written, the casting proved to be a major publicity coup for the series, especially after Peter Davison appeared alongside David Tennant in the short episode Time Crash. But would the story be any good?
Drawn by some mysterious force to the planet Messaline in the future, the Doctor, Martha, and Donna find themselves swiftly drawn into a war against their will between human and Hath colonists. Forced at gunpoint to have a tissue sample extracted from his hand, the Doctor can only watch as a progenitor machine creates a young woman, dubbed Jenny, from his own DNA, effectively his daughter, a born soldier. Separated from Martha, the Doctor and Donna are taken to the belligerent General Cobb, who explains that they are at war with the Hath over control of the mystical Source, able to win the war. The Doctor reveals where the Source is, hidden on a map, but Cobb is determined to use it to wipe out the Hath. Unwilling to participate in genocide, the Doctor and Donna are locked up, along with Jenny when Cobb believes her to be of pacifistic stock. Meanwhile, Martha has fallen in with the piscine Hath, and decides, once they find where the Source is, to beat them to it and prevent a war. Even as the Doctor, Donna, and Jenny escape, the Doctor and Jenny clash over whether she is truly anything more than a soldier, or whether the Doctor himself is. But what is the Source? What is the significance of the numbers on plates throughout the city? And can the Doctor ever accept Jenny as his own daughter?
The story, to be frank, is too overly simplistic by itself, consisting of running and getting past obstacles and rather silly at times, and if that were all there was to it, I'd dismiss this story out of hand. But it continues the themes of militarism explored in the previous story, and more specifically, how much the Doctor has become like a soldier himself. And while it does conclude that there are some lines that the Doctor will not cross, especially out of revenge, it is left rather unsatisfactory. Even so, there is a better explanation of why the Doctor refused to accept Jenny at first: not just her militarism, but also the loss of his own family. The twist is an unusual one, but while novel, it does make a slight mockery out of the Chinese whispers explanation the Doctor gives. I feel it is more likely (having read bout this theory on TV Tropes) that the character of Cobb, the only aged soldier, was one of the original colonists who has manipulated his cloned charges to war against the Hath. After the excellence of last year's The Lazarus Experiment, I am deeply disappointed by Stephen Greenhorn's second outing as writer.
The characters are something of a letdown. Martha gets little to do, save to go on a trek across the surface of Messaline with a redshirt Hath, and Freema Agyeman here is wasted. The Doctor and Jenny get more effort in the script, with David Tennant's performance being strong as usual, and Georgia Moffett, while not excellent, is still quite competent. I find it a little strange, then, that this is where they probably first met, before they got married last year, although there's no subtext of that, thank goodness! Catherine Tate as Donna gets a less meatier role, but she nonetheless does well, managing to call Jenny out on her use of the phrase 'collateral damage', the Doctor on his attitude to Jenny, and managing to figure out the significance of the dates, even if the latter is just a tad hypercompetent for her. The other characters are non-events, even Nigel Terry's Cobb, who is one-dimensional.
The production values are fine enough, but even so, this is a story that got it in the shorts. The Hath are an interesting, but in the end rather generic design. So too are the sets. Although there's some variety in the bases of the Messaline colony's armies, the rest is generic corridors that are livened up by the occasional number plate and death trap. It doesn't look bad as much as uninspiring, and the lack of proper story and characterisation only serve to jade the view more.
In the end, The Doctor's Daughter is an average disappointment, leavened by some increasing investigation into the Doctor's psyche and what it means for the Time Lord to have a family...
SCORE: 7.5/10
And now, the next time trailer for The Unicorn and the Wasp...
_________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 4:38 am Post subject:
REVIEW: The Unicorn and the Wasp by Gareth Roberts
SERIAL: PB2, 4.7, 1X45 minute episode
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
Doctor Who has done overtly comedic episodes before in the past, although with mixed success. The Romans and The Gunfighters were rather average (by the standards of Doctor Who) mixed bags, and out of the 17th season famously script-edited by Douglas Adams, only City of Death truly excelled at combining comedy and drama in the series. But if anyone could do it for modern Who, then Gareth Roberts, who wrote acclaimed novels set during the 17th season of the classic series, could. With The Unicorn and the Wasp, could he bring about the successor to City of Death? Or would it sink without a trace?
England, 1926, and the Doctor and Donna arrive at the house of Lady Clemency Eddison and her husband, Colonel Hugh Curbishly. The guests are many, including a Professor Plum, Reverend Golightly and socialite Robina Redmond, but to the Doctor and Donna's astonishment, they meet Agatha Christie, on the day that she disappeared for nearly two weeks. At first, all the guests have to worry about is decent food, drink, and warnings about infamous jewel thief the Unicorn. But Plum is found murdered in a study with his head beaten in by a lead pipe. Excited by a murder mystery happening around Christie, the Doctor and Donna team up with one of the best mystery writers of all time. But while Agatha expresses disquiet at being around a man enthusiastic about a murder, the Doctor and Donna soon discovers that the killer is a shapeshifting alien, whose true form appears to be a giant wasp. Soon, things begin playing out like one of Christie's novels, and, bracketed by the Unicorn and the wasp, the Doctor, Donna, and Agatha must track down a thief, and a murderer, assuming they are not one and the same. But what dark secrets lie within the house of Lady Eddison? And which secret has made one of those involved a murderer? And will it end up with Agatha Christie amnesiac, or dead?
While by no means perfect, this story shows that it is perfectly possible to inject humour into a Doctor Who story quite well. The humour is a little uneven and doesn't quite gel well enough with the drama, but it's leagues above some of the appalling efforts in season 17. And the explanation of Christie's disappearance and alleged memory loss is an intriguing one, and certainly would serve well as one of those historical injokes in the continuity. I'm not convinced that there was enough to pinpoint the Unicorn as who they turned out to be, but other aspects work well enough, and there's a condemnation of the Doctor's flippant attitude to death and meeting historical celebrity. In a way, this story is a repeat of last years' Roberts-written The Shakespeare Code, but this isn't really a bad thing.
As usual, the Doctor and Donna are not only well-served by the script, but also by actors David Tennant and Catherine Tate. Fenella Woolgar's Christie is the most dramatic of the roles in the show, and portrayed well to boot. So too is Felicity Kendall as Lady Eddison, and a welcome return to the series for Christopher "Sir Keith Gold/Henry Gordon Jago" Benjamin as the Colonel. The other characters are okay, but I get the feeling that Reverend Golightly would have worked better played by Mark Gatiss instead of Tom Goodman-Hill.
Production values are sumptious, as they are when the BBC puts on a period drama, and 1920s Britain comes through splendidly. It's a bit odd, though, to have Graeme Harper directing a show which only has one major action sequence: the car chase at the end. And while the Vespiform is a stereotypical giant animal monster (in this case, a huge wasp), the CGI used is quite excellent, actually. Not quite the best that the series can do, but better than other efforts.
The Unicorn and the Wasp, then, is a delight. Not perfect, but an excellent example of how comedy, drama, and history can all be blended, and still make a good story...
SCORE: 9/10
And now, the next time trailers for Silence in the Library and The Forest of the Dead...
_________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 6:50 am Post subject:
REVIEW: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead by Steven Moffat
SERIAL: PB7, 4.9/4.10, 2 X 45 minute episodes
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
Not long before this story was written, Steven Moffat was asked by Russell T Davies to take over as showrunner for Doctor Who. Commissioned to submit a story for the fourth season, Moffat decided to lay the groundwork for the time when he ran the show. But he didn't just introduce an important new character. He also built on his experience of horror. Making us fear gas-masked people, clockwork, and statues that move in the blink of an eye, Moffat is determined to make us afraid of the very shadows...
Summoned to the Library, an artificial planet in the 52nd century filled with books, the Doctor and Donna find it abandoned, and wreathed in darkness. No humans are left, but there is still life. That soon changes, when an expedition commissioned by the Library's pompous owner Strackman Lux and headed by archaeologist Professor River Song, arrive. Song seems to know the Doctor, as she sent the message to him, but it's his first time meeting her. However, the new arrivals soon learn that there are predators in the shadows: Vashta Nerada, microorganisms that float through the air and hide as shadows, able to consume flesh swiftly. Meanwhile, a young girl is consoled by her counsellor Dr Moon, regarding her dreams, and nightmares, about the Library. As the expedition is picked off, and Donna disappears, mysteries remain to be solved. Is the girl's reality the true one, or is the Library? Why does the Library's last message state that although there were no survivors, all the people within it were 'saved'? What is CAL, the heart of the Library? What secret is Strackman Lux hiding? And more importantly, can the Doctor trust River Song, a woman who has known him all her life, but he hasn't met before?
Whoa. Moffat delivers one of his finest works, and his last great work before he becomes showrunner. Not only does he makes us afraid of shadows themselves with his creation, the Vashta Nerada, but he also manages to weave expertly in a number of heartwarming and tragic stories. We even get hints about the future of the series, hints that are only obvious in retrospect, having watched the Moffat series. There is not a single moment wasted in this story, with tragedy and heartbreak at every turn, and even an unexpected pseudo-"everybody lives" ending, like The Doctor Dances.
David Tennant's Doctor is on fine form, especially as he works to find out whether he can trust River, and Catherine Tate's Donna has a wonderful moment of heartbreak in the virtual reality sequences. The guest stars are all excellent. Alex Kingston playing River Song is a joy, and much of what the character does in this story makes even more sense after watching series 5 and 6. Colin Salmon as Dr Moon is an excellent benevolent yet ambiguous figure, as is Steve Pemberton's Strackman Lux, whom we consider to be just a corporate a-hole, but turns out to be more than that. Eve Newton as Charlotte is surprisingly good for a child actress, and of the members of River's expedition, particular praise should go to Talulah Riley's Miss Evangelista and Jessika William's Anita.
Production values are stupendous in this serial. The CGI works almost all the time for once, and even the distortions of Miss Evangelista's face seem of a piece. The only noticeably dodgy bits are the multiple shadows growing sequences, and even that is highly forgivable. The filming done matches seemlessly with what sets there are, and the design of the spacesuits, the computers, River's items, all are excellent. I could go on about this all day and night, but I shouldn't.
This two-part story is the last Moffat script before he became showrunner, and this is very much a case of leaving the best till last. Horror, tragedy, even a sly bit of comedy, all work together to create a superb story that is easily one of the best, if not the best, of David Tennant's reign as the Doctor...
SCORE: 10/10
And now, the next time trailer for Midnight...
_________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:22 am Post subject:
REVIEW: Midnight by Russell T Davies
SERIAL: PB6, 4.8, 1 X 45 minute episode
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
Doctor Who has rarely shied away from horror, and the new series, especially in the stories of Steven Moffat, often embraced novel means of horror. But the biggest fear is that of the unknown, and Russell T Davies, in writing Midnight, intended to show that the biggest horrors can come from without, but they can also come from within. This story, leaving the Doctor without a companion or a TARDIS, trapped with strangers, was to try and see how things could go very wrong for the Doctor...
Midnight: a world of beautiful diamonds, and deadly X-tonic radiation, lethal to all life without protection. A leisure palace has been set up on this planet, and while Donna decides to relax, the Doctor makes a decision to take a ride on a special tour to see the sights of Midnight. Four hours on a tour with half a dozen fellow passengers and a Hostess may seem like a lark, but things start to go wrong. First, an impossible mechanical failure. Then, something begans banging on the walls and doors of the tour shuttle bus, and targets the most frightened person in the room, Sky Silvestry. The cockpit of the shuttle bus is torn away, and something seems to have possessd Sky, something that repeats the words of the others speaking. Tensions mount, and the Doctor finds that the passengers, suspicious of a man with no name and taking charge, are turning on him in paranoia and fear. Is this capricious mob rule, or the effect of the entity that has possessed Sky? What does the entity want? And when the entity starts copying the Doctor's words only, can he figure out a way to stop the entity? The Doctor is alone, without friends, amongst a small mob of fearful paranoiacs, and this may be an adventure he never walks away from...
Most of the time, Davies tends to write populist pap that, while entertaining most of the time, seems to rely heavily on deus ex machinas. However, here, in Midnight, he shows extreme skill as a writer, writing one of the finest psychological horror tales ever written, never mind that in Doctor Who. In the process, he also turns the conventions of the series on its head, where the Doctor's intelligence works against him, making him a target of paranoid humans, as well as the Midnight entity. I was actually reluctant to watch the story again, as to watch it is actually rather painful, but that's because this is human drama put into a claustrophobic pressure cooker. Shades of the third Doctor Who story as well, with The Edge of Destruction being a clear inspiration. And it's here perhaps most of all that the Doctor's belief in humanity being great is challenged, and rocked to its core, as he is mentally raped by the entity, and nearly thrown out into deadly sunlight. And Davies, brilliantly, only gives the faintest of hints as to the creature's true nature, with only its last, stolen words giving anything to it.
David Tennant, as always, is on fine form as the Doctor, but here, not only does he have to cope with challenges to his character's authority, but convey the Doctor struggling desperately to fight off the influence of the Midnight creature. Lesley Sharp's Sky Silvestry is nice, and her acting skills come to the fore so much when Silvestry is possessed by the Midnight entity. How she managed to echo those people, I'll never know, though it's either a testament to her acting skills, or excellent post-production work. The rest of the cast are excellent too, with particular praise going to David Troughton as Hobbes, Colin Morgan as Jethro, and Rakie Ayola as the Hostess.
Because it is such a claustrophobic episode, the direction can make or break it, and Alice Troughton's direction makes it. Brilliant and dark, in this episode, you can cut the tension with a knife. What sets and CGI there are are used very effectively, but it is the human drama that counts most in this episode, and like The Edge of Destruction, it all works. Watching this story is a hell of an experience, making you feel bad about humanity, but ultimately a good watch, a bit like the movie District 9, actually.
What else can I say about Midnight? It just shows that when Russell T Davies tries hard enough, he can reach perfection. This story jangles the nerves and leaves a bad taste in the mouth, but it is still a perfect one.
SCORE: 10/10
And now, the next time trailer for Turn Left...
_________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:51 am Post subject:
REVIEW: Turn Left by Russell T Davies
SERIAL: PB8, 4.11, 1 X 50 minute episode
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
It took me some time to consider whether to review this with the last two episodes of the season, but although it is one big story, there is a difference between Turn Left and the episodes to come. So I have decided to review this episode separately. With a Doctor-lite episode on the cards, let's see how Donna Noble and Rose Tyler fare in this grim tale of what would happen if the Doctor wasn't there and, surprisingly more importantly, what if Donna wasn't...
Exploring a marketplace on the Oriental world of Shan Shen, Donna gets enticed into the shop of a mysterious fortuneteller, who seems very interested in Donna's past. Taking Donna back in her memories, the fortuneteller, seeing that Donna had a choice at a crucial point whether to choose one job or another by turning left or right, she, with the help of a mysterious creature, forces Donna to change her choice. Instead of turning left to HC Clements, and her encounter with the Doctor, Donna turns right, and heads to become the secretary of a photocopy merchant. On Christmas Day, Donna finds out that a man known as the Doctor has died, drowned in a secret lair. And pretty soon, the world goes to hell, with each subsequent alien incident either killing off a group of its potential defenders, or else making Britain more and more into a police state. As the situation gets worse, Donna keeps encountering a young woman with blonde hair, who seems to know more about what is going on than she is saying. But who is this young woman? Why do people keep on seeing something on Donna's back? And what is making the stars go out? For everything to be set right again, Donna may have to die...
Turn Left is a chilling look at what might have happened had the Doctor died. It examines how vital Donna was to helping the Doctor, and while it does seem like a bit too much of a coincidence to have Donna being so important, it does fit in a little with both her importance to what happens and, given the events of The End of Time, her grandfather. This is an excellent and dark story, overshadowed by a number of problems. The first is a continuity error: how come the Titanic didn't wipe out life on the Earth like it was supposed to be doing in Voyage of the Damned? And how does Rose actually not only know all the stuff she does, but also be able to put Bad Wolf letters over everything in the climax? It doesn't make a jot of sense!
This is Catherine Tate's story, and while alternate Donna's personality is annoying, you also get a feeling of the true humanity that was underneath, even before she met the Doctor, particularly when she sees the Colasantos being carted off to concentration camps, and the Time Beetle on her back. Billie Piper makes a welcome return as Rose Tyler, managing to fill, albeit only to a degree, the Doctor role of the story. Jacqueline King as Sylvia Noble shows her sliding more and more into depression and apathy, while Wilfred Mott makes sure that Bernard Cribbins gives the performance of his career.
Production values are quite good, giving a melancholy atmosphere to this story. Although the CGI seems to improve the later it gets into each season, the Time Beetle looks rather silly. Someone should have considered the design a little more carefully, as although the concept is not unlike the spider seen in Planet of the Spiders, it's not got the same impact, especially because of the buildup. The music works well, especially with the distorted vocal piece used whenever Rose appears, or the death is mention of one of the Doctor's associates.
Turn Left is an interesting and enjoyable, if flawed, story. It once again shows that Doctor-lite doesn't mean a lightweight story.
SCORE: 9/10
And now, the next time trailer for The Stolen Earth (no next time trailer for Journey's End)...
_________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 5:12 am Post subject:
REVIEW: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End by Russell T Davies
SERIAL: PB9, 4.12/4.13, 1 X 45 minute episode + 1 X 60 minute episode
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
Throughout the new series, Russell T Davies had been seeding information that would eventually come into play during the fourth season's finale. Although it was doubtful that he thought this far ahead when the first new series came around, there's no doubt that throughout this series, there were seeds of information that, though initially innocuous, would turn out to have a payoff. And with each season finale so far, there have been escalating threats, from a Dalek invasion of Earth in the future, to a war between Cybermen and Daleks in the present, to the Master conquering Earth and intending to conquer the universe. But now, a new threat was needed, and what could be even greater than an end to reality itself?
At first, Rose's message to the Doctor via Donna seems unfounded. The Earth seems fine. But when they step back into the TARDIS for a short period, they soon find that the Earth has vanished literally from under the TARDIS. The Doctor decides to engage the help of the Shadow Proclamation, who are busy with the news of 27 planets, now vanished. On Earth, the Doctor's companions and allies look into an alien sky filled with the missing planets, and the Daleks swooping in to invade Earth. And in a Dalek stronghold called the Crucible, Davros, creator of the Daleks, awaits. Following the trail to the Medusa Cascade, a rift in space and time, the Doctor and Donna follow a subwave signal generated by his allies to the stolen Earth. But why these 27 planets? What is Davros' plan? How, indeed, did he survive the Time War? And what does it have to do with the now crazed survivor of the Cult of Skaro, Dalek Caan? Caan has prophesized the death of one of the Doctor's companions, but death may be coming for all creation, and even the Doctor and all his companions may not be able to stop it...
Okay, so I was a bit premature rubbishing Turn Left because it didn't explain Rose's knowledge, as it's explained here. My fault. But in any case, this two-part finale to the fourth series not only manages to pack in every companion shown in the new series, along with many associates from the spinoffs (like Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures), but also the Daleks and Davros. And while the explanation for their return is okay, it does feel to me like a but of hurried justification to have them in the finale. Davies once more demonstrates his tendency to pull things out of the story's arse, and the ending is long-winded. The main saving grace of the story is that it is epic, has manay twists and turns, and never fails to entertain. We have a comparison between Davros and the Doctor, with the former taunting the Doctor about turning his companions into soldiers of sorts, a rather nasty barb that still rings a little true, even if Davros is being highly selective in his means to demotivate the Doctor. This is basically one big crossover with a major multiversal threat, and the fact that it manages to work at entertainment, despite the at times shoddy story, is amazing.
What can I say about the Doctor and his companions that appear that hasn't been said already? They are bloody amazing, even if the story allows for little character development. Particular praise has to go to David Tennant, especially as the metacrisis Doctor, Catherine Tate enjoying herself immensely when she becomes the Doctor Donna (and the death of the character she had become, even if she didn't literally die, is depressing), and Elisabeth Sladen, with her reactions to both the Daleks and Davros returning amazing to behold, and it's nice to see that Davies acknowledges that Davros and Sarah had met. Davros himself is played excellently by Julian Bleach, who seems to take Michael Wisher's version as his basis, but adding a certain quirkiness to the role that is rarely seen.
The production is lavish and spectacular, as behooves a story of this scope in scale. In fact, it is the production that goes a long way to covering up the flaws of the story. There's a few dodgy CGI bits, particularly the TARDIS towing sequence at the end, but it otherwise works. Davros' new look is astounding, giving a realism to the character that makes you believe that he is a (albeit barely, thanks to his life-support) living being. Impressive doesn't cover it.
This story, while flawed, nonetheless manages to work, at least on the level of entertainment. Filled with one deus ex machina after another, I wish it was a little bit better constructed, but hey, with an epic threat to the universe and so many character of the Whoniverse coming in, it's still entertaining.
SCORE: 9/10
Next time teaser for The Next Doctor...
_________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 7:17 am Post subject:
REVIEW: The Next Doctor by Russell T Davies
SERIAL: PB10, 4.14, 60 minute special
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
With series four proper over, the following year would see five specials, four stories in all, detailing the end of the Tenth Doctor, as played by David Tennant. This arc began with the 2008 Christmas special, where an unusual gimmick would be used. David Tennant's co-star from Blackpool, David Morrissey, would come to play a role that would tease with the expectations of the audience...
Travelling alone, the Doctor ends up in Victorian London, in 1851. Hearing a cry for the Doctor, he arrives, only to find that he was not the man expected. Instead, another man, claiming to be the Doctor, arrives, and he is investigating disappearances and murders, linked to the Cybermen, and their minions, the animalistic Cybershades. The Doctor wonders if this new Doctor is a later incarnation, perhaps his very next one, suffering from amnesia. But the truth may be very different. Accompanied by Rosita, the two Doctors investigate, but there's some unanswered questions. What links the new Doctor to the disappearance of teacher Jackson Lake? Why have the Cybermen teamed up with Miss Hartigan, owner of a workhouse? And what is the Cyberking?
The story has some fine moments, with the best part of the story being the mystery around the new Doctor and Jackson Lake. And while the story overall is an enjoyable romp, one does question a number of aspects, like why the Cybermen need children to run their machines, when they could presumably control a whole bunch of adults. And frankly, that whole Cyberking=giant mecha thing is just bloody gratuitious. And the ending seems just a little too conveniently over. Would the Doctor doing that to Miss Hartigan caused what it did? Of course, the ending, where the Doctor states (as is his intent over the specials) to travel alone gives a certain poingnancy.
Of the characters, the Doctor is on fine form, trying to figure out the problem around his possible next incarnation, as well as showing how lonely he is beginning to get, and that he is willing to endure that. Perhaps on finer form in terms of writing and acting is David Morriessey's Doctor, aka Jackson Lake. While acting as a plausible Doctor, his revelations about himself actually work. The other two characters of note, Rosita and Miss Hartigan, are much less well written, with Rosita being basically a feisty pseudocompanion, and Miss Hartigan being a misandrist harpy. However, their respective actresses do better, with Velile Tshabalala doing fine as Rosita, and Dervla Kirwan clearly enjoying herself playing the villainous Hartigan.
Production-wise, well, the costumes and sets are excellent, as is often the case when the BBC does period drama. And the Cybermen are as menacing as ever, and the Cybershades are an interesting variation on the standard Cybermen. But the rest of the story, even with its action sequences, feels a little flat, possibly a consequence of the writing. And the Cyberking is a gratuitious concept realised in a ludicrously obvious CGI manner.
The Next Doctor represents a step backwards, after the excellent Christmas specials of the last couple of years. Not actually bad, but disappointing compared to previous Christmas specials. And not the most auspicious of beginnings for the year of specials...
SCORE: 8/10 _________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:16 am Post subject:
REVIEW: Planet of the Dead by Russell T Davies and Gareth Roberts
SERIAL: 4.15, 60 minute special
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
Having filmed as far afield as Manhattan to the west and Italy to the east, the Doctor Who team, in a bid to make a desolate world that wasn't filmed on a beach or a quarry, decided to film in the deserts near Dubai. While the story was due out on Easter, this was no Easter romp. Between sandstorms and a shipping accident involving the bus key to the story, this story nearly ended in disaster. But how did the end product turn out?
Lady Christina de Souza, lady thief, is escaping from the police on a bus after a successful theft from the International Gallery. The Doctor is on board too, tracking unusual emissions on a device. But soon, the bus disappears from London, only to reappear, damaged, on an alien desert world. And Carmen, one of the passengers, is hearing voices from all around, the voices of the dead. Trying to find out what happened, the Doctor manages to contact UNIT back on Earth, only to find that the wormhole that brought them there is getting larger, and the only safe way back through is in the bus. But on the horizon, a storm seems to be blowing up. And a pair of aliens are watching the stranded passengers. This planet of the dead has secrets, deadly secrets that may mean the destruction of all life on the Earth...
After the lightweight story of The Next Doctor, it's nice to see a story that, while rather too simple and straightforward, is at least nicely put together. And the crisis involving the bus was seamlessly integrated with such elan that you think it was intentional. But despite this, the story is still on the lightweight side, being a story which serves only as an adventurous romp and with foreshadowings of the later specials. It doesn't fall flat per se, it just doesn't feel right.
The Doctor is on form, as usual, with less of the baggage seen in The Next Doctor, although his character still has this stubborn refusal to take on companions is rather annoying. Michelle Ryan as Lady Christina is enjoyable, but doesn't have sticking power as a companion. Noma Dumezweni as Captain Magambo is fine enough, although Malcolm Taylor, as played by Lee Evans, is at best meh, and at worst irritating. He's basically a parody of a Doctor Who fanboy who is annoying. The other characters are fine, but forgettable.
The production values are quite good, especially with the location filming. The Tritovore costumes and prosthetics are actually quite excellent, which makes it all the more a pity when you see the Stingrays. The design, as usual, is excellent and intimidating, but the execution makes it clear that this is a CGI creation. And at times, the story lacks a certain energy.
Planet of the Dead is a fairly average (by Doctor Who standards) story. It just sets the scene for the dark stories yet to come...
SCORE: 8.5/10
And now, the next time trailer for The Waters of Mars...
_________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 2:42 am Post subject:
REVIEW: The Waters of Mars by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford
SERIAL: 4.16, 60 minute special
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
With the end of the specials, and thus both David Tennant's and Russell T Davies' tenure on the series fast approaching, the series needed to climax with a bang. And to lead into it, Davies, along with Phil Ford, a writer from The Sarah Jane Adventures, wrote a horror story set on Mars, and designed to lead the Doctor into a decision that will change his life...
November 21st, 2059. The Doctor lands on Mars, and is taken into custody by the residents of a nearby Mars base, Bowie Base One, commanded by Adelaide Brooke. But when the Doctor realises where he is, he's eager to leave. For this is a fixed point in history that ensures that humanity reaches the stars, as Brooke and her crew die when the base self-destructs. But his attempts to get away are stymied when one of the crewmembers attacks another. An infection that travels through water, coming from the glacier used for Bowie Base's water. The waters of Mars are eager to spread their infection. The Doctor soon realises that he is faced with a choice: does he leave the crew to die, and history take its course? Or will he break every law of time, save them, and damn the consequences?
Hoo, boy. After the previous couple of specials, this is a welcome story. Dark, intelligent, and horrific. Like Davies' Midnight the previous year, this story utterly deconstructs the Doctor's travels and his MO, especially in a situation where he shouldn't interfere. Two forms of horror are present here. Although the horror of infected water is excellent and well-used, there's also the horror of what the Doctor may become without his companions: a callous god. The story is well-written from start to finish, and answers those questions of why the Doctor likes to meddle in future times more than past times.
David Tennant shows no signs of slowing down as the Doctor, and the Doctor goes from anxious, to sorrowful about the fate of the Bowie Base crew, all the way up to madness as the Time Lord Victorious. While jarring, it also fits into what has been shown throughout the new series, that the Doctor without a companion is a bad thing, and he needs a companion to help him with his conscience. The Bowie Base crew are all excellent, with just enough development given to this cast of characters, with Lindsey Duncan's Adelaide Brooke being, of course, the key role. The only issue I have with the character is her changing from wanting to be rescued by the Doctor once she learns what happens, to criticising him. It seems like it swung just a little too harshly for me, but it's a minor annoyance, nothing serious.
Production-wise, the direction is filled with pace and energy, though one would expect no less from a story directed by Graeme Harper. Bowie Base One is excellent, with the only complaint about the design being the long vast corridors leading to various domes. I would've thought that impractical in space colonies. The Gadget robot, while irritating, is nonetheless well-designed and looks the part. And the Flood zombies, while looking weird in still photographs, look absolutely horrific in motion, especially with the cracked skin, bloated bodies, and water perpetually trickling down their bodies.
The Waters of Mars is one of the best stories in David Tennant's era, and Russell T Davies' tenure, of Doctor Who. Dark, thrilling, and leading into the grand finale, it makes you think about how far the Doctor might go if all he had was himself...
SCORE: 10/10
And now, the next time trailers for both parts of The End of Time...
_________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 6:13 am Post subject:
REVIEW: The End of Time by Russell T Davies
SERIAL: 4.17/4.18, 60 minute special + 70 minute special
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
The first Doctor regenerated after helping stop the Cybermen. The second forfeited his life after a trail by his own people. The third died of radiation sickness, confronting his fears of death. The fourth plummeted to his demise from a radio telescope after stopping the Master from holding the universe to ransom. The fifth died saving the life of his companion, Peri. The sixth perished from head trauma thanks to a crashing TARDIS. The seventh was shot, and an operation to remove the bullets was bungled. The eighth presumably perished in the fires of the Time War. The ninth died saving Rose from the time vortex energies she had absorbed. And so, we come to the tenth Doctor, a popular Doctor, and so a suitably epic ending is needed. But will the tenth Doctor's era, and the tenure of Russell T Davies, end with a bang, or with a whimper?
Some time ago, the Doctor received a prophecy: "He will knock four times", and the Doctor will die. Summoned to the Oodsphere, the Doctor finds that it is coming true. The Ood have advanced too swiftly in the century since their liberation, and warn the Doctor that it is due to events that not only herald the resurrection of the Master, but something vast stirring in the dark. Something that will bring about the end of time. While the Master's revival goes wrong thanks to sabotage from his former wife Lucy, he still remains a threat, killing people to replenish his fading life force. And as the Doctor discovers, the sound of drums in his head is all too real. But the Doctor is also disturbed when Donna's grandfather Wilfred Mott, apparently effortlessly, tracks him down, as if there is something further keeping them together. The Master is soon kidnapped by billionaire Joshua Naismith, in order to repair the alien Immortality Gate. The Doctor and Wilfred go to stop the Master, only to find a pair of aliens hoping to steal the Gate themselves. But what is the Master's plan? Who is the mysterious woman that Wilfred keeps seeing, the one who knows so much about the Doctor? Can the Doctor cheat fate? And what does it have to do with the return of the Time Lords? The deadliest truth about the Time War is about to be revealed, and the Doctor has to take arms against it, win, lose, or die...
This story is really how The Stolen Earth and Journey's End should have been written. It's more coherent, better written, and while the ending takes a long bloody time, it also works much better. We also finally find out why the Doctor ended the Time War with the genocide of both the Daleks and the Time Lords, and the epic battle between the Doctor and the Master is soon overshadowed by the return of the Time Lords. While there's still a few weak points (like how the Doctor was able to survive a long fall in the climax, or the lengthy ending, not to mention the Vinvocci subplot), it's appropriate and epic. If you're not feeling sorrow at both the Doctor's pre-sacrifice rant and his final words before regenerating, then there is something seriously wrong with you. This is the saddest regeneration since the fourth Doctor's in Logopolis.
David Tennant. What can I say about him that I already haven't? While you could say that he overacts, it works here. This is the Doctor, raging against the dying of his light, and utterly convinced that he may die, and Tennant wrings every bit of mileage out of the angst and sorrow. Bernard Cribbins, although he did have significant roles to play as Wilfred Mott in previous stories, shines as the tenth Doctor's last companion, with both humour and pathos, giving one of the most genuinely touching relationships the Doctor has. John Simm as the Master is even barmier than before, but the Master is even more dangerous when he is desperate, and there's even an oblique reference to a story that was originally going to write the character out. Timothy Dalton is superb as the narrator, who turns out to be none other than Rassilon, revived for the Time War, vicious, cunning, and brutal. Claire Bloom is suitably enigmatic as the Mysterious Woman. The other new roles range from the decent (David Harewood as Joshua Naismith) to the forgettable (Lawry Lewin and Sinead Keenan as Rossiter and Addams respectively, though that is more the fault of the writing).
And once more, to the production. Excellent, excellent, excellent. The FX work for the most part, with spectacular Gallifreyan vistas, and the Master's 'skull', though a bit cheap-looking, nonetheless conveys the desired effect. Can't say the same about the Master duplicates, who at times do seem a little too overtly digitally duplicated. The direction is well paced, giving the right amount of contemplation and action for the appropriate sequences. The music is used to great effect, with the emotional Vale Decem used for the regeneration. In short, while not a masterpiece, it works to the desired effect.
The End of Time, while not perfect, is such an excellent and epic ending to the Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who, and farewells David Tennant. Now, Steven Moffat will be handed the reins of showrunner, and Matt Smith steps into Tennant's shoes...
SCORE: 9.5/10 _________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 6:32 am Post subject:
PROGRESS REPORT TWELVE: NEW SERIES FOUR: VALE DECEM
STORIES: Total for this era:
Cumulative total: 142. 15 William Hartnell, 6 Patrick Troughton. 17 Jon Pertwee. 37 Tom Baker. 20 Peter Davison. 11 Colin Baker. 9 Sylvester McCoy. 1 Paul McGann. 1 Spin-Off. 10 Christopher Eccleston. 36 David Tennant
TIME: Total for this era: 16 days
Cumulative total: 176 days
PERCENTAGE NEVER WATCHED BEFORE: 0/15, or 0%
Cumulative total: 42/163, or 26%
MILESTONES:
The first (and to date, last) appearance of Jenny
The first appearance of River Song
The first companion-lite episode
The first mention (in the main series) of the Trickster
The Time Lords return
COMPANIONS: Donna Noble, Martha, Wilfred Mott
THOUGHTS:
If the Hinchcliffe/Holmes seasons were the golden age of the classic series (which, in my not-so-humble opinion, they were), then series four and the specials, the last Russell T Davies season, as well as David Tennant's last stories, are the golden age of the new series to date. Not just in terms of escalating things. For the first time in a long time, we have a companion who is an older female, and who has a better grip on the situation. Donna Noble, one-off for The Runaway Bride, returns to great acclaim, showing that the character could be very human indeed, and thus helping the Doctor question the choices he makes, humanising him. Her 'death' at the end of Journey's End is a great tragedy, as she is perhaps an even better companion than Rose.
The stories became more ambitious, with the return of the Sontarans and Davros, a story set almost entirely within a space shuttlebus with paranoia working against the Doctor, and the introduction of a character who would come into her own during Steven Moffat's time as showrunner, River Song, in a horrifying tale of hungry shadows. The show, with a few exceptions, went from strength to strength, and although Journey's End did wrap up many storylines from the series, it wasn't quite the end.
The first couple of specials weren't much special, though they did introduce the idea of the Doctor wishing to remain alone, because he knew that his companions leaving hurt him. But in the terrifying The Waters of Mars, we saw how far the Doctor could go when he doesn't have someone to hold him back, becoming megalomaniacal, almost like his nemesis, the Master, who would return in the next story. The End of Time not only cleared up many elements of mystery surrounding the Time War (while still leaving some secrets intact), but it also challenged the Doctor's morality. And the Tenth Doctor was given the sendoff he deserved. And not just that, but Davies and Tennant.
An enjoyable spectacle from start to finish, the end of this series marks the end of an era in more ways than one. Vale Decem. Farewell to the Tenth. And Hail to the Eleventh...
BEST STORIES:Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, Midnight, The Waters of Mars
WORST STORIES:The Doctor's Daughter, The Next Doctor _________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 8:17 am Post subject:
REVIEW: The Eleventh Hour by Steven Moffat
SERIAL: PB3, 5.1, 1 X 60 minute episode
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
With the series now in the hands of Steven Moffat, writer par excellence for the previous seasons, it was time to introduce a new Doctor, and a new companion. All change at the top, of course. So a good story was needed to bring the new series in with a bang. But could Moffat do that? Or would The Eleventh Hour be one too many?
Freshly regenerated, his TARDIS out of control, the Doctor lands in the backyard of a house where young girl Amelia Pond is staying. Although bemused by this stranger and his bizarre taste in food, she soon finds out that he is the right man for the job in investigating the strange, scary crack in her bedroom, a crack in time and space. Said crack leads to a prison, where the Atraxi are concerned that their prisoner, shapeshifting Prisoner Zero has escaped through the crack. But before the Doctor can investigate any further, a crisis with the damaged TARDIS requires him to take a short hop forward in time. He promises Amelia, who wants to come with him, that he will only be a few minutes. Twelve years later, the Doctor returns, only to find that Amelia has grown up and become Amy, and that Prisoner Zero has been hiding in her house all this time. With the Atraxi preparing to incinerate the Earth if Prisoner Zero doesn't surrender, the Doctor has twenty minutes to save it. His TARDIS is reforming, his sonic screwdriver is damaged, he's still suffering from the effects of his regeneration, and the inhabitants of the town of Leadworth believe him to be an imaginary friend of Amy's come to life. If the world will be saved, it will be up to the eleventh hour...
The Eleventh Hour is basically a rerun of Smith and Jones in many respects, with the story of how the Doctor became involved in Amy's life attached. An enemy that can look human, space police tracking said enemy down with heavy-handed tactics, and a hospital key to the plot. It does things a little better than Smith and Jones, with some psychological horror added, decent dialogue, and some interesting humour. And there's an essence of childhood magic recaptured here. But for a longer episode than usual (at over an hour long), it's filled with more incident than actual plot. And the Doctor and Amy's relationship isn't quite developed as well as I would have liked, and some of the dialogue is just a touch too mad.
Matt Smith is not my favourite Doctor. However, this doesn't mean that he isn't competent. He manages to expertly balance the quirky, childlike nature with the ancient alien, even if at times he doesn't quite have the charm or skill of the other actors in the roles. Amy Pond...I have to confess, I don't like her character. For a long time, I thought it was because the actress, Karen Gillian was too young and inexperienced, but this is far from the truth after seeing her performances as the Seeress in The Fires of Pompeii, and older Amy in The Girl Who Waited. Amy Pond is basically a child that has never grown up, and while that sort of does fit into the role of a companion, it also makes Amy feel rather flat in many regards. Arthur Darvill, however, is slightly more promising as Rory, being competent and keeping his eye out, although this story doesn't do much towards his future abilities. The other characters don't quite work for me, although to be honest, most of them are bit parts, there to be amazed that the Raggedy Doctor is no imaginary friend.
Production-wise, the direction doesn't have much energy. Oh, the fairytale magic is there, but it's rather limpid, and not helped by some rather dodgy CGI effects. Seriously, Prisoner Zero looks really fake, and the intimidation factor, while there in the design, is lessened by the realisation. Same with the Atraxi, although they look mostly weird when they are in their spaceships. The new TARDIS takes some time getting used to, though I did in the end.
Unfortunately, The Eleventh Hour was not the strongest opening the new era could have had. We have two disparate stories more or less clashing. But it's not bad at all. It just could have been better...
SCORE: 8/10 _________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 2:24 am Post subject:
REVIEW: The Beast Below by Steven Moffat
SERIAL: PB2, 5.2, 1 X 45 minute episode
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
The standard formula, it seems, for the new series is to start by reintroducing the Doctor, and then have him take his companion into the future and the past. Instead of the far future of New Earth and the Oodsphere, Moffat decided to take it into a different, unexplored area of Earth's future. But could this story succeed?
On their first trip in the TARDIS, the Doctor and Amy travel to sometime after the 28th Century, where the Earth has been devastated by solar activity, and the entire UK is currently a gigantic spaceship. But there is something rotten in the state of Starship UK. It is a police state ruled by fear, with strange animatronic dummies in booths watching over all, and there appears to be no motion from the engines. Separated from Amy, the Doctor encounters Liz 10, who is also aware of the problems in Starship UK, while Amy, after seeing a strange tentacle growing out of the ground and attacking her, is ushered into a voting booth, where she is shown the horrible truth behind Starship UK, and chooses what everyone else does: to forget. The Doctor, Amy, and Liz 10, aka Queen Elizabeth the Xth, all investigate. But what is the beast below? What is the terrible secret linking it to Starship UK? And can Amy prevent the Doctor from potentially making the worst mistake of his lives?
The story of The Beast Below is ambitious, but suffers from having too many loose ends, and a deus ex machina that is pulled off rather badly. Amy's ability to figure out the solution when the Doctor couldn't comes out of nowhere, and doesn't quite gel with her later competency (which, while good for a companion, isn't the best), and there's no resolution as to how the leaders of Starship UK are going to get away with feeding its constituents to the Space Whale. And the Doctor being so willing to give up seems very out of character, even for this incarnation. In short, it could have worked given more time and effort, and is basically an example of what went wrong when Steven Moffat, debatably the best writer during Russell T Davies' time as showrunner, became showrunner himself. I presume that the reason why is that as showrunner, he simply doesn't have enough time to make the scripts as excellent as they used to be.
The Doctor is played well enough by Matt Smith, although as mentioned above, his attitude to Amy when he finds out what she (and the rest of Starship UK) have done is ridiculous. The pain he shows is a testament to Smith's skill, though. Amy Pond is a bit too hypercompetent here, and as usual, comes off as being flat, though as noted before, this seems to be more the result of the material rather than Karen Gillian's ability. Sophie Okonedo is good as the unfortunately not best-written Liz 10, and Terrence Hardiman's morally ambiguous Hawthorne could have done with some more work.
The set design is quite good, but seems to echo a lot of stuff done in the new series to date. And once again, CGI FX don't work when they should, even though the design is excellent. I don't know what it is about the earlier serials in a new series season that makes the special effects people cheap out. Is it time or budget? I've no idea. But there are some magical moments, like the spacewalk sequence at the start. The Smilers are interesting, but not quite menacing enough for my liking.
The Beast Below is rather average by my entertainment standards, which is a real pity. One could see the potential in this story, had it been given a bit more than a lick and a promise.
SCORE: 7.5/10
And now, the next time trailer for Victory of the Daleks...
_________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 3:34 am Post subject:
REVIEW: Victory of the Daleks by Mark Gatiss
SERIAL: PB2, 5.3, 1 X 45 minute episode
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
Inevitably, Steven Moffat was going to have to give thought to how to bring the Daleks back. He decided to turn the task over to seasoned writer/actor Mark Gatiss, who had previously written The Unquiet Dead and The Idiot's Lantern. Mixing Daleks with World War II (after all, they had their roots in the Nazis) and Winston Churchill may seem like a winning combination, but is it?
After receiving a call from Winston Churchill, the Doctor arrives a month later than expected. It is the height of the Blitz, and Churchill is desperate for any edge he can get, and Professor Bracewell's Ironsides, a kind of robot soldier, look to be the answer. Except the Doctor, and only the Doctor, recognises them as the Daleks. Amy doesn't recognise them, and Churchill is willing to accept anything that will help him win the war. But the Daleks are up to mischief. They need the Doctor to identify them. What is the Progenitor? What is the secret behind Bracewell? And why can't Amy recognise the Daleks after they invaded Earth not long ago? Victory is drawing near, and this time, it may just be for the Daleks...
Like the previous episode, Victory of the Daleks has wonderful ideas, but fails to use them correctly. Many critics of this episode feel that it should have been expanded into two episodes, and frankly, I agree. Most of the suspense about the Daleks' subterfuge is gone before the halfway mark, whereas the story that inspired it, the sadly now missing The Power of the Daleks, managed to make it last longer, and better. In the end, the story itself is wasted ideas put together hurriedly, and it is the fact that this story could have had the potential to be one of the best Dalek stories if it had been handled better that makes it even more gut-wrenching. Besides the characterisation, the best thing that works about this story is that the title is no lie: for once, the Daleks win almost completely, only failing to destroy Earth and the Doctor.
Matt Smith is fine, if not stellar as the Doctor, with his confrontation with the Daleks being the highlight. Karen Gillian fails to inspire as Amy, although Amy saving the day here feels much less contrived than in The Beast Below. Ian McNiece as Winston Churchill is a delight, and one feels the history between Churchill and the Doctor, which was only stated in the novels. Bill Paterson as Bracewell, while not excellent, manages to convey the humanity of the character as the story moves towards its climax. And Nicholas Briggs seems to enjoy himself immensely as the various Daleks, especially with some of the more humorous dialogue.
The direction is rather average, but for once, the CGI FX in a story so early in the season mostly work, with only the London lit up looking a little dodgy. It is rather cute to see Daleks painted in khaki and with utility belts, but the New Paradigm Daleks are intriguing. Although they look more colourful, perhaps even garishly so, because they are bigger and bulkier, they actually look more intimidating, once you get used to the colours.
Victory of the Daleks is a good production marred by a story that could have been so much better. As it stand, the story is only a plot device to get the Daleks back into the series, as well as seed more about the cracks in time that seem to be showing up...
SCORE: 6.5/10
And now, the next time trailer for The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone...
_________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
Quatermass I believe the appropriate phrase is, 'Boo-yah'.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 21099 Location: Right behind you...
Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 6:10 am Post subject:
REVIEW: The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone by Steven Moffat
SERIAL: PB1, 5.4/5.5, 2 X 45 minute episodes
SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes
When I first began watching the fifth year of the new series on television, I began to lose hope and faith in Doctor Who. The stories so far hadn't quite clicked with me, having lost the magic. However, I had anticipation for the first two-part story of the Steven Moffat era, a sequel to Blink. But could Moffat, with this story amongst so many others this season, regain my faith in the series, and more to the point, my faith in him?
While touring a museum in the far future, the Doctor finds a spaceship's flight recorder with a message for him in Gallifreyan: "Hello, sweetie". Using the recording, he travels back in time to the 51st century, and rescues River Song when she throws herself out of said spaceship, the Byzantium. Pursuing the Byzantium leads to its crash site on Alfava Metraxis, the Doctor has little reason to trust River, until she reveals that the ship had a Weeping Angel on board. With River and a military squad from the future Church led by Father Octavian, the Doctor and Amy investigate, only to discover some horrifying new facts about the Angels. After a recording of the Angel nearly kills Amy, they head into the catacombs that the ship crashed into, only to find it filled with statues. With the Byzantium leaking radiation, food to an Angel, the Doctor, Amy, River, and the Clerics are hard-pressed to fight them. But why does Amy believe that she is turning to stone? What is the deadly secret of the catacombs? And what on the Byzantium might turn out to be even deadlier than the Weeping Angels? The time of Angels is approaching, and not everyone will get out alive...
Blink didn't need a sequel in the first place, and Moffat, given his track record as showrunner so far, could have easily gotten it so wrong. So it was a welcome surprise that this story not only manages to bring the magic back, but also manage to reach the quality of his earlier writing. This story is brilliant, and while not quite at the cerebral level of horror of Blink, nonetheless manages to introduce many horrific new abilities of the Weeping Angels. Any image of them becomes an Angel in its own right, and this not only includes TV monitors, but, if one stares into their eyes (possible because of looking at an Angel to prevent it from moving), it can also include the vision centres of a human brain. You may now freak out. Even worse is that we are shown that the cracks in space and time can have a deadly (or worse) effect on people. And there's a wonderful shock in the first episode when the Doctor and River, upon remembering that the planet's original inhabitants had two heads, realise why the eroded statues in the catacombs have only one. Everything here works, making this a very welcome return to form for both the series and Moffat's writing, with some great dialogue, and an excellent cliffhanger that points out how dangerous the Doctor can be when he's cornered.
Although this story was filmed first, Matt Smith seems to have grown into the role of the Doctor straight away, and here, he has some of his better moments, including a major speech about why nobody should ever try to trap the Doctor. And this story includes some better moments for Amy, even if the ending sequence where she attempts to seduce the Doctor is a bit much. This has some of Karen Gillian's better moments in the series, and that's saying something. Alex Kingston as River is a delight, being more flirty and teasy this time around, even knowing the revelations to come. Iain Glen as Father Octavian is a bit too deadpan, but it suits the character, and his death scene is well-written, where the Doctor, who was giving him trouble earlier, expresses regret that he didn't know him better. David Atkins as Bob is okay when human, but when he voices a Weeping Angel, the flat delivery actually works in the story's favour, making it creepy.
All the stories in this season were directed by newcomers to the show, and while Adam Smith didn't distinguish himself as well with the later-produced but first transmitted The Eleventh Hour, this story seems to be better made, with pace and atmosphere aplenty. And the effects work works, which seems to indicate that a lot more effort was put into this adventure than others at the start of the series. The Weeping Angels work well, and although seeing them actually move for the first time onscreen breaks the rules of what we see of them so far, it is done so eerily that it is highly forgivable.
The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone together bring back the magic of Doctor Who for the fifth season of the new series. It will chill and thrill viewers, and it proves that though the road may be bumpy, it may not necessarily mean that it will always be that way...
SCORE: 10/10
And now, the next time trailer for The Vampires of Venice...
_________________ Yami: Wait, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Kaiba: Yeah, so?
Yami: That's against the rules!
Seto Kaiba: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!!
