tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44908001648410250442024-03-12T23:09:00.650-05:00Dear Gary: On the Slow Path With The DoctorAn episode by episode journey through Doctor Who.
As Gary would say, "Patience is a virtue . . . if you have the time to stand around and wait for it."
If you have the time, join us on the slow path with Doctor Who.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger312125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-75646838817815726372022-01-28T14:07:00.002-06:002022-01-28T14:14:51.326-06:00The Eaters of Light<p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Dear Gary—</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">E</span><span style="font-size: medium;">ach time I write one of these I vow that I will continue to push on more often and consistently. And each time I fail. I don’t even know how many months it has been since I last wrote, Gary. Maybe it has been years. I guess I can blame my lack of ambition on the times around me, but when I get down to it Doctor Who is ultimately at fault. It gives me little to no inspiration.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Eaters of Light happens to have some glimmers of motivational hope. Not much, but some. It is enjoyable and moderately clever. The presence of Nardole, especially, gives the episode some life.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, there are some huge question marks and plot holes, but the story itself is pleasant enough so I can overlook them. The supporting cast is personable and there are some very nice exchanges scattered throughout.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">**********************************************************</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sorry, Gary. I wrote the above almost a year ago and never finished. That is how ‘inspired’ I was. I’m not sure what is inspiring me to soldier on now, but here I go.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As the serial begins<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I am struck by the inane reason for our trio to have landed in 2nd century Scotland in search of the Roman Ninth Legion. If they were simply curious and wanting to find out the fate of this mysterious Ninth Legion, that would have been lame enough. But no, there is some trumped up argument between the Doctor and Bill about whether or not this Legion is truly ‘lost.’ Of course they are ‘lost’ or ‘missing’ or whatever term you like, because neither the Doctor nor Bill nor History knows the Legion’s destiny. I am therefore mystified as to what exactly the point of contention is between The Doctor and Bill. Bill makes her claim of authority based upon the ‘book’ she read; the Doctor upon his first hand experience. I give the edge to the Doctor on that one, but I’m still not sure what the crux of the argument is. I guess Bill contends that the Romans are still alive and kicking, whereas the Doctor expects they died in battle. But if Bill is correct, what then? Their fate is still unknown (at this point). So the Ninth Legion is still missing. “They disappeared,” says the Doctor. “Except they didn’t,” claims Bill. OK, Bill, based upon your vast store of knowledge gleaned from ‘a book,’ you therefore know exactly where they are? No, I guess not because Bill is simply guessing that “they’d have followed the river.” Ok, Bill, so they followed the river—and then they disappeared. Their whereabouts are still unknown. So what is the point of this ridiculous debate?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Not a good way to start the story. Thankfully it picks up from there.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bill goes her separate way from the Doctor and Nardole, in search of her Roman Legion. She does find a handful of soldiers who have survived; meanwhile the Doctor discovers the charred remains of the bulk of the slaughtered Legion. So I guess each is ‘right’ in their own way, even though I really don’t think there were ever any serious or legitimate sides.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From here we enter into the alien of it all—the monster that the Scottish lass Kar has let loose from its ancient confines constructed by her ancestors that she was supposed to guard but, oh gosh, the Romans are so much scarier and so she set the monster free to devour them and, oops, now the monster is roaming the countryside endangering all of Mankind.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is a decent enough scenario to provide some dash and splash adventure. Kar is an interesting character full of false bravado and speeches, allowing for some interesting exchanges with the Doctor. Nardole goes full-on native with the Scottish, allowing for some fun. And Bill teaming up with the Roman soldiers—well, they are not quite as successful.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m sorry, Gary. I try to stay positive and then the banality of it all comes crashing in. Bill in the company of the soldiers has possibilities but the opportunity is squandered. The central message that comes through is that Bill and the show are insecure with her lesbianism.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bill to Lucious: “This is probably just a really difficult idea. I don't like men, that way.” That is not a “difficult idea,” it is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>an extremely inappropriate and presumptuous thing for Bill to say to a young boy who was simply offering a hurt and distressed young girl some aid and comfort. Especially in front of a group of his friends and compatriots. He might have been sending a few ‘crush’ vibes, but he most certainly was not making any overt advances. He was offering her food and shelter and she took this for a pass. If she had instead said, “I’m married,” or “I’m not interested in you,” that would have been just as inappropriate and presumptuous. The whole exchange that follows, with Lucious turning the tables on Bill and calling her ‘restricted’ for only liking one sex, is all fine and dandy and somewhat amusing, but it is loudly proclaiming how self-conscious the series has become. And in the meantime the potential for some serious and complex character development is abandoned.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thankfully the Doctor and Nardole are on hand to keep the story entertaining and on track. And the stand-off and eventual coming together of the Scottish and the Romans is a nice bit. There is some re-tread of the whole ‘Tardis translates languages’ that has been covered several times throughout the run of the series, but it is mildly amusing here:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">LUCIUS: You sound like children.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">KAR: You sound like children too.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">DOCTOR: You all do.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">BILL: Is this what happens when you understand what everyone in the universe is saying? Everybody just sounds like children?</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">DOCTOR: There are exceptions.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">NARDOLE: Thank you very much.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">DOCTOR: Not you.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Followed by the Doctor summing up the story with this: “Okay, kids, pay attention. She slaughtered your legion. You slaughtered everything that she loves. Now, you all have a choice. You can carry on slaughtering each other till no one is left standing, or you grow the hell up! Because there's a new war now. I think these creatures are light-eating locusts, looking for rents and cracks between worlds to let themselves into dimensions of light. Once they break through, they eat. They will eat the sun, and then they will eat the stars. And they will keep eating until there are no stars left. So, whose side are you on now? Because as far as I can see, there's only one side left.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The only thing remaining is for Kar and the Romans to team up, enter the vortex, and defend the Earth against these mythical light-eaters until the end of time—or the end of their human life-spans, whichever comes first. Of course preceding this there is the typical Doctor attempting to take it all on himself and Bill and Nardole keeping him from sacrificing himself so that Kar and the soldiers can heroically step into the breach to carry on their endless song of war. It’s best not to think too much about any of this. It really doesn’t matter. The show really doesn’t care if any of it makes logical sense. It’s all just a feel-good moment, and ahhh, the little girl in the present can hear the ghost of a sound of the music those brave Kar soldiers are playing eternally underground that is keeping the light-eating beasts at bay.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Finally, we have the return to the TARDIS and the reveal that Missy has been let loose from the vault and is on board for the long-haul—or the remaining haul of the season. This, of course, has been the overarching theme that is now coming to fruition. OK, fine. Missy is at least an intriguing character. Bring her on.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I’ll sign off now, Gary. I don’t know how long it will be until I can muster the spirit to write again.</span> </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-15212824098233897602020-07-10T08:50:00.000-05:002020-07-10T08:53:43.754-05:00Empress of Mars<div class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sigh. I don’t have much to say about Empress of Mars. It’s a rather banal story, not very memorable. The synopsis sounds intriguing but the actualization is pedestrian.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It starts with an annoying bit as the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole arrogantly stroll into the heart of NASA and proceed to treat everyone and everything with disrespect and disdain. There is no reason for these three to be there. The Doctor uses the flippant “Sorry, I could never resist a countdown” as an excuse. His “just a day out for the kids” is more accurate. The three are on a field trip to mock and disrupt the earnest work of dedicated NASA personnel. He accuses the room of being “human centric” and then goes on to assume, with extreme prejudice, that the “God Save the Queen” message that is transmitted from Mars refers to the British Queen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of course the message refers to exactly that, because that is how centric the show is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The message leads our intrepid trio to Mars where a group of 1800’s British soldiers are stranded with their pet Ice Warrior they have dubbed Friday. It is all very amusing, I’m sure. The troops carry on with tea and life as usual on this alien world, complete with huge oil painting of Queen Victoria that they transported from Earth for some reason. There is some typical internal political squabbling amongst the men, a Colonel with a deep dark secret, and your stock power-hungry, treacherous Captain who knows this secret and uses it to wrest command. I’m not sure why he hadn’t done this from the start, but of course he finally acts at the dramatic midpoint of the episode.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Added to this mixture are the Ice Empress of the title, Iraxxa, and her sleeping warrior hive. A hive that has overslept for some 5,000 years (they must be akin to the Silurians). 1800’s British troops on Mars, Ice Empress, Ice Warriors—it should all make for some richly layered and complex story telling; or at the very least, interesting. It doesn’t. It is all extremely disappointing. Typical hard-headed stupidity from the British, short-hand feminism from the Empress, and a hive that never fully awakens.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It all plays out by the numbers. The two sides threatening war; the Doctor preaching peace; the cruel Captain disrupting negotiations; the cowardly Colonel heroically sacrificing himself; the Empress graciously granting clemency. All’s well that ends well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The entire thing could have been acted out on any planet, in any time, with any races. There was nothing particularly distinctive about Mars or the Ice Warriors. It was just one of those “wouldn’t it be funny if . . .” propositions. It just as well could have made up a ten minute SNL skit or the equivalent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As for the Doctor—at one point he states, “In this scenario, the humans are the invaders. On the other hand, the Ice Warriors have vastly superior armaments which will wipe the humans out. So what am I supposed to do?” Well, Gary, what he should do is nothing. This is not a case for the Doctor’s interference. These humans came to Mars for the purpose of looting and stepped into an Ice nest. They are professional soldiers. This is a standoff of their own making. They don’t merit the Doctor’s attention. That the Doctor goes out of his way to create the “God Save the Queen” message in order to pique his own curiosity and ensure his presence on the planet is unworthy of him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then there is the matter of convenience. At the beginning of the adventure the TARDIS takes off with Nardole inside for no particular reason other than that it is simply an excuse to force Nardole to free Missy for her assistance in getting back to Mars.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I do like the little joke of Alpha Centauri appearing at the end. It made me nostalgic for those Peladon escapades of old.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ah, Gary . . . those escapades of old. Now there was some good Doctor Who storytelling. Wonder which one I will put in next . . .</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-22129975920134737852020-02-07T13:41:00.000-06:002020-02-07T13:41:05.487-06:00The Lie of the Land
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">The Lie of the Land, thankfully, is the last of this trio of Monk episodes; and it lays bare the inanity of it all. The Monks have gone to great lengths and trouble and time—for what? What exactly are they getting out of all of this? They have control of the world—so what do they do with it? Are they getting any wealth, minerals, power out of it? The only thing I see that they get is a drab world in which everyone dresses in dark clothing and can’t read comic books. This is the great ambition of the Monks?</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">And answer me this: how does the transmission of false history stating that the Monks have always been on Earth give them power? Just because history has been distorted, how does that make people obey the Monks? Civilizations throughout history have had their own mythology/faiths/beliefs that have pervaded society, yet there have always been dissenters, a need for laws and prisons, etc.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">By way of explanation, Nardole states: "However bad a situation is, if people think that's how it's always been, they'll put up with it. That's ninety percent of the job done.” That is the true lie of The Lie of the Land. The history of the world is littered with generations rebelling against ‘how it’s always been.’ Each new era is driven by the forces of revolution. Every age marks its stamp upon the world as it rebels against its predecessors.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">There must be more than just false history being transmitted, yet this is never even touched upon. And the Monks do need soldiers to keep dissenters in line, so there must be a vast element that resists the thought control and that disobeys orders not to read comic books or wear bright colors. So why does the Doctor never think to organize a rebellion?</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">And oh, gosh, Gary, then there is Bill. Bill is the lynchpin. The grand and glorious lynchpin. So why is it that the Monks have seemingly lost track of her? Wouldn’t you think they would have her under 24 hour surveillance, not to mention protection? They don’t even recognize her when they come face to face with her. And gee, if this powerful link that the Monks are dependent upon is passed on through the bloodline, wasn’t it sort of shortsighted of them to choose a lesbian as their carrier?</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">It’s rather vague, though, how this lynchpin thing works. OK, it is a psychic link transmitted to the world through the statues. But the psychic link starts with Bill and her thoughts and memories. She remembers the Doctor and the world before the Monks, so why is this not being transmitted? How do the Monks use Bill’s brain/memories to transmit false memories that are not part of Bill’s thoughts? The Monks have some powerful machinery to transmit false ideas to the world—there just is no logical reason why they need Bill’s brain to make it work.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">This is what is at the core of the disease that has spread throughout New Who. There is no intelligent thought given to the plots/monsters. It is enough just to have a threat for the Doctor to defeat; never mind the how/why/what of the threat. As long as the threat is bigger/badder/meaner than the last. Doesn’t matter if it makes sense or not.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">As for this ‘test’ that the Doctor puts Bill through . . . it is inexplicable to say the least. The Doctor usually has more confidence in his companions than this. It doesn’t say much for their relationship. But even worse, his goal is to get her to kill him? The Doctor, who is all about peace and love, drives his companion to murder in order to test her loyalty. Bill is willing to take a loaded gun and shoot the Doctor—hooray! She has passed the test. She is a true and loyal gun wielding, vengeful, blood lusting companion worthy of New Who.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">One bright spot of the episode is the presence of Missy. It is disappointing that the Doctor can’t figure out the whole lynchpin thing on his own, but Michelle Gomez is delightful to watch so I won’t complain too much. She is particularly poignant in her scenes with the Doctor as she discusses her transformation to the good side and how she keeps remembering those she has killed. “Being bad,” she says, “being bad drowned that out.” Despite the particularly despicable nature of the Master/Missy, Michelle Gomez tears your heart out as she plays this, and one can actually believe that the Master/Missy is truly reforming.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">I wish I could say the same for New Who, but there seems no reclamation in sight. Just another loosely constructed excuse of a plot with weakly formulated monsters set before us to provide a backdrop for a few action sequences set to a dramatic musical score ending in a crescendo of idealistic triumph. Bill plugs into the system (being the lynchpin to the whole system I don’t know why she has to plug in but oh well . . . ) and projects images of her imaginary mother which somehow overrides the Monks and all is well with the world. Ta Da! The Monks erase themselves from history and move on to other worlds to force into drabness without color or comics, and humanity blissfully continues to blunder their way through life with no clue or ambition or gumption of their own in good New Who style.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Oh well, Gary. I blunder my own way onward . . .</span></span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-33808168249089987302019-08-30T13:03:00.000-05:002019-08-30T13:03:14.693-05:00The Pyramid at the End of the World
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Dear Gary—<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">I don’t want to do this anymore. You have probably guessed that from how long it is taking me to write each new entry. One of the telltale signs for me is when I hear the first few deep, solemn tones of the Doctor’s voice near the beginning of The Pyramid at the End of the World and I realize how sick I am of these Peter Capaldi monologues alone in his TARDIS as he strums his guitar imparting some cryptic wisdom to the air. Hooray for Bill for interrupting him mid-thought.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">However, what Bill interrupts him with is just as wearisome. Instead of the Pope, this time it is the UN who has barged into the middle of Bill’s date in order for her to take them to the office-bound Doctor. Not UNIT mind you, but the UN Secretary-General himself has arrived for the President of Earth (AKA the Doctor) to aid in this time of crisis. And what is the earth-shattering crisis that calls for such high level attention? A pyramid has suddenly appeared in Turmezistan. Apparently the Secretary-General has read ahead in the script and knows that this mysterious pyramid is in fact an alien spaceship full of menacing monks and not, say, an advertising gimmick for a new Egyptian food chain or the latest David Copperfield illusion.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">First, let me get a few minor points of irritation out of the way. When the UN Secretary-General says Bill is the one person to contact the President she responds with an extremely racist comment: “I mean, I wouldn't even have voted for him. He's orange.” There are a multitude of reasons not to have voted for the man; why does she choose skin color as hers? It’s funny—ha, ha—unless, of course, she changes the color and speaks of his predecessor. Then there is the pyramid of our title. Does anyone else realize that the monks have their very own TARDIS? “It's something disguised as a pyramid, that just appeared out of thin air, and that's all way beyond human technology, so it's got to be alien. It's an alien space ship.” New Who has increasingly blunted the powerful notion of the TARDIS, but this renders that beloved blue box run-of-the-mill.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Now let me get to the fundamental flaws of the story.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">First, why in the world does everybody trust the monks about the end of the world? They grab hold of some glowing strands and see a vision of a dead planet and take this as the gospel of Earth’s future. How do they know that this isn’t some sort of parlor trick on the part of the monks? The UN Secretary-General and the military leaders give in far too easily. How did they ever get to positions of power since they clearly don’t have any solid leadership qualities? But then everyone knows that Earthlings in the Doctor Who universe are idiots, so whatever. (As a side note—the Doomsday Clock has been in existence since 1947 and scientists have been warning about global catastrophe for years, yet there has never and will never be consensus as to accuracy or action. Why do the monks have any more persuasion than decades worth of scientific knowledge?)</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Next, the biohazard. How did this Douglas guy get to be a scientist working in such a high-level watch-list worthy lab to begin with? A lab, apparently, with very little oversight or crisis management. A decimal point error? Really? A day in which an important experiment is set to go to stage two and Douglas goes on a drinking binge the night before and shows up barely functioning and is allowed to punch in the numbers and makes such an elemental error? Really? With no double checks in place? And at such a critical time in the experiment and there are only these two present? And an air-filtration cycle that can’t be turned off? Surely there is some way to stop it. If Erica can’t do it there must be someone she can call. But apparently there is no failsafe in this high-level, watch-list worthy lab.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Then there is the Doctor locked in the room set to blow up and he can’t get out because he can’t see the lock in order to set the right number sequence. OK, he has some magic sonic sunglasses and Bill has a phone. Can’t he FaceTime her so she can be his eyes for him? Surely his magic sonic sunglasses have the functionality to send video to Bill’s phone. Erica probably has a phone of her own as well.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">All of this pales, however, in the face of the central conceit of the episode.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">“Does power consent?” The monks ask this over and over. The Doctor asks the most pertinent question: “You could take this planet in a, in a heartbeat. Why do you need consent?” Yet the monks persist, “Is your consent pure?” And finally, by way of explanation, “Love is consent.” The Doctor’s question goes unanswered. All we get is the monks’ reply: “We must be wanted. We must be loved. To rule through fear is inefficient.” But this never really answers any questions—the monks could “take this planet and its people” at any time they want. There is no valid reason for the consent/love. And in the end, they never get it. All of this is just an exercise in something; I’m sure the author thinks it is all very clever. However none of it makes sense.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">The monks want love, yet everything they do is done to inspire fear. They do not do one thing that would inspire the least glimmer of love. How do they expect to get it? And why even bother? If fear is so inefficient, why is that the tactic they rely on throughout? How is love any more efficient? None of this is explained.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">In the end, Bill consents. She consents in order to save the Doctor. The Doctor has saved the planet, but now the Doctor is in danger and Bill makes a deal with the monks in order to save the Doctor. But it is not love for the monks, it is love for the Doctor. “We must be loved” is what the monks said. They are not loved. The Doctor is loved. Bill consents out of love for the Doctor. So what was all of this for? Why didn’t the monks just take control and skip all of this unnecessary nonsense?</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">All of this aside, the story is tense and exciting. Many a time I have excused the ridiculous because of the Doctor Who factor; overlooked the bad for the goodness sake of Doctor Who. Not this time. Maybe it is once too often. Maybe it is the time in life I have come to. Or maybe it just is not good any more. Maybe, just maybe, the good no longer justifies the bad; maybe, just maybe the good exaggerates and exacerbates the bad. Maybe the show is relying on the good in order to get away with the bad; maybe the show just isn’t even trying any more; or worse, maybe the show thinks the bad is good, or that the good makes the bad good. Worst of all, maybe the show just doesn’t care any more; or thinks the viewers are too stupid (like the Earthlings in the New Who universe) to realize how bad the bad really is.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Bill makes the deal; the Doctor gets his sight back; the lab blows up but the Doctor is not. “Enjoy your sight, Doctor. Now see our world.” A few minor tweaks and this could have been a decent episode. I could forgive the stupidity of the humans; I could forgive the stupidity of the lab; I could forgive the stupidity of the Doctor. However I cannot forgive the stupidity that is the monks. And the entire story hinges on that.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">I don’t know, Gary. I plod along. I hope this finds you enjoying some Classic Who (perhaps indoctrinating Mark now that he has joined you) and blissfully unaware . . . .</span></span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-35425983596880520812019-04-28T07:15:00.000-05:002019-04-28T07:15:29.597-05:00Extremis
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Here we go again; another Black Mirror plot and yet another adventure that never happened. “I need to know what’s real and what isn’t real;” well, Bill, what isn’t real is this story. (Matrix tampering anyone?) Extremis is simply a set-up for the episodes to follow; it introduces the idea that there is (surprise) an alien threat to Earth that is looming, and it reinforces (to death) the fact that the Doctor is blind. As a side bonus, we finally get the reveal of who is being detained in the vault. Drum roll . . . it’s . . . Missy! (As if we hadn’t guessed that already.)</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">The execution sections of the story are well done but also annoying. This storyline deserves a dedicated episode; instead it is used as filler. As a result, Missy is shortchanged.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">We never get to know what led to Missy’s arrest and trial (assuming there was one); we only get the end result of execution. The Master/Missy has such a rich history of evil; how did he/she finally come to face a reckoning? Then there is this: “On this planet we are proud to serve as executioners to every living thing.” What planet? Who are these executioners? How did they come to be involved in Missy’s life/death? The show doesn’t think this is important for us to know; therefore, I really don’t care. Ho hum. Missy has been sentenced to death and the Doctor (not these professional executioners) is to carry out the penalty. This mysterious and never before mentioned and probably never again referred to planet of killers is merely acting as a go-between. And since we know the Doctor, we know the Doctor will never actually murder Missy. (There was only one time, to my knowledge, that the Doctor had the will to go through with the deed, and that effort failed in traditional Doctor Who obfuscation. And, I might add, it was done in the heat of the moment after the Master—as he was calling himself at the time—had been particularly dastardly. In our present story there is no context to ascertain why the Doctor would go through with it in the cold light of day. So I repeat—ho hum.)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">The introduction of Nardole into the mix as a pseudo River conscience is welcome but unnecessary; we know the Doctor doesn’t need any prodding to do the ‘right thing.’ Even so, Nardole’s quotation from River’s diary—“Goodness is not goodness that seeks advantage. Good is good in the final hour, in the deepest pit without hope, without witness, without reward.”—is hauntingly beautiful; and those words—“without hope, without witness, without reward”—are rightfully echoed throughout the episode, lending some poetic depth.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">However, the entire execution sequence is by way of giving a sketchy back story to the Vault that has been hanging over the season so far.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And it is only offered at this point because the show has decided that it is time to reveal Missy and get her involved in the ensuing scripts. Missy involvement is always appreciated, but her usage is so often mishandled.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Now let’s tackle this main adventure that never happened.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">At this point, Gary, I want to point out that I am not necessarily a fan of sci fi. I am more of a ‘fi’ fan; that is, a fan of fiction that is well done (or if not well done, at least entertaining), ‘sci’ or not. As a Black Mirror plot, Extremis would have been some fine fiction. As a Doctor Who plot, however, it is not. It is not because it is forced; it is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. It just doesn’t work.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Where to start? First there is the Pope. As an extremely secular—and one might argue anti-religious—show, the use of the Roman Catholic Church as the instigator of events is bizarre to say the least. I suppose Bill’s date-that-wasn’t being interrupted by the entrance of the Pope is meant to be amusing; instead it is merely head scratching. There is no reason for the Pope to consult the Doctor (much less his companion—the Doctor can easily be found in his office these days) or for the Doctor to accommodate the Pope. The story would have been much better served with the utilization of UNIT. I have to wonder if Doctor Who isn’t trying to conjure up images of The Da Vinci Code, and if so I have to say that using that particular piece of mediocre preposterousness is acutely misguided.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Then there is the Veritas. As a rule I am indifferent to these types of tropes—the ominous ‘thing’<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>that no one can ever know about because if one does discern the ‘thing’s’ secret one is immediately dead by some means or another. I do have to admit that the resolution of this conundrum in Extremis is about the only one that I find convincing, and once more I state it would make a fantastic Black Mirror installment. If used correctly, it could also make for some very fine Doctor Who. However Extremis shoe horns the Veritas in as a means to an end.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">The ominous Veritas is a book that when read results in the suicide of the peruser. The author of the book, why and how the book came into the hands of the Pope, why the Pope is so concerned about it, why the Pope hasn’t read it himself, why those who have read it don’t warn others—none of this is expanded upon. The Pope calls in the unbeknownst-to-him-or-anyone-else-other-than-Nardole blind Doctor to read the book. And so the Veritas reinforces the blind Doctor angle. How can he read the book when he can’t see? (I’m not sure why he doesn’t use some of his regeneration energy, which he uses indiscriminately to heal, for example, River’s wrist; but that wouldn’t serve the present purpose.) The Doctor relies heavily upon his sonic sunglasses to feed him the information he needs to get around and deceive others into believing he has sight. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">(As a side note, why, if he is so desperate to keep his blindness a secret, why oh why would he confide in Missy of all people? He can’t tell Bill but he can tell Missy. Missy, the one being in all the universe who is so dangerous that she has to be kept hidden away in a vault that the Doctor has pledged to guard for a thousand years.)</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;"> Then the Doctor pulls out some heretofore unknown Time Lord technology the show has never revealed before and probably never will use again in order to provide the Doctor with some temporary vision so that he can read the Veritas. But wait—the Monks appear to menace him before he can read the Veritas and he again loses his sight.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Oh yes, the Monks. Yet another alien race intent upon invading the Earth in the most convoluted way possible. Don’t use your apparently superior intelligence and technology to conquer the planet. No, spend endless time and energy and resources on creating countless simulated realities to study and algorithm your way into a plan of action. If the cyber Doctor hadn’t brilliantly outwitted them by recording all of the fake events and by emailing a copy of the cyber Veritas to himself, thus forcing their hand, the Monks probably would have wasted all of eternity harmlessly pouring over the data from their video games without ever actually doing anything.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Despite the ridiculous outer trimmings of the story, the events, fake or not, are compelling. The simulated reality, in and of itself, is not a bad idea; Bill and Nardole stumbling upon the inner workings of the machine and accessing the various facsimiles is interesting to witness; the use of non-random generation of strings of numbers as a means of identifying unreality is clever; the imagery of “Super Mario figuring out what's going on, deleting himself from the game because he's sick of dying” is about the only explanation for the Veritas suicides that I find acceptable. If only all of this was not simply serving as a bridge to the episodes to come. If only the reason for the simulation was not as lame as it turns out to be. If only the threat of the Monks was not blunted by their obtuseness.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">If only, Gary. As Dad would say, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, my what a merry Christmas we would have. </span></span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-59029793290315157692019-03-01T15:33:00.000-06:002019-03-01T15:38:30.895-06:00Oxygen<style type="text/css">
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Oxygen is yet another base under siege episode. This type of story can work if it is at least interesting, compelling, and/or amusing. What it cannot afford to be is mundane and/or irritating. Unfortunately Oxygen is alternating parts both. And both parts are a result of laziness.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">It starts from the opening sentence delivered by a voiceover from the Doctor: “Space, the final frontier.” Immediately I think, great—instead of Black Mirror this time we’re getting Star Trek. Then we are treated to a domestic little scene between two astronauts we have never met before and care little about. In shorthand version we learn that the two are sweethearts and that the woman (Ellie) wants to have a baby with the man (Ivan). Except Ivan can’t hear Ellie as she pours her heart out and she knows that perfectly well; this is simply the author’s attempt to inject some pathos into the story. And while the Doctor’s voiceover speaks of the void and how it is out to get us despite our tiny efforts of protection, it is some zombie space walkers who end up killing the two lovers. Ho hum. Mildly annoying, mildly forgettable, and a mildly paint-by-numbers sequence to set up the episode. Not a promising beginning.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">“What’s this got to do with crop rotation?” Wrong question (as the Doctor/Clara dynamic duo would state). The real question is, why would the Doctor be scheduled to lecture on crop rotation in the first place? That he got off topic and started blathering on about space and the void and not holding your breath is perfectly natural; but this whole Doctor-as-professor-at-university schtick is wearing thin. At least the show treats us to a rare TARDIS adventure in space for a change.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">“I’m a bit cross with you, sir.” Nardole finally gets to tag along with the Doctor and Bill, and as the three of them wander around the standard-issue space ship they find themselves on after answering a distress call, Nardole injects the one bright note into the proceedings. (“Space doors are supposed to go shk-shk, not urrrrr. “) “Are you going to be like this all day,” the Doctor asks of Nardole. I for one certainly hope so; Nardole’s running commentary, and especially his observations about Velma who is voicing Bill’s space suit, are welcome additions to this otherwise grim and plodding tale.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">The plot in a nutshell: the human crew of a space mining expedition are expendable components who are forced to pay for the oxygen they breathe and when they become less and less efficient they are murdered by their space suits and a fresh crew is sent to take their place. The Doctor et al arrive to save the day.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Now, the laziest part of this preposterous scenario is the villain of the piece: The Company. The story would have been far better served if it followed the Classic Who example of <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-sun-makers.html" target="_blank">The Sun Makers</a> and given The Company a face. But no, we are given only the vague outline of a supposedly all-powerful Company with no conscience and no accountability; and we are provided no explanation as to how or why or where or when this Company came about and maintains power. We never see any decision making by this Company; we never see anyone giving commands; we are never given any physical presence to hate. Instead we get the Doctor theorizing and the manifestations of Company Policy in the form of deadly suits and computer codes.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Next come the gullible employees of this mysterious Company. There are some off-hand remarks about a mythical Union, but this obviously has no clout. Union or not, I can’t imagine any workers willing to hand over their breathing rights with no questions asked. But we are not supposed to ask any questions; that would make the script writer have to think about answers. And so we are to swallow this premise hook, line and sinker. Perhaps if we were given some context, like galaxy wide economic depression forcing people to take any jobs available; or indentured servants or slaves compelled to work for the Company after an interplanetary war. But no, the crew seem to be willing participants, blindly stepping into the path of their own destruction.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">All of the unimaginative, bullet-point plot elements lead us to an equally sloppy conclusion. The Doctor rigs it so that if the walking suits of death kill the crew the space station will self-destruct. Fine, but how does he communicate this to The Company? He says it to the animated space suits. How in the world does this message make its way back to The Company? As soon as the Doctor says the words, “Above all, suits, our deaths will be . . . expensive,” the suits stop dead in their tracks as if the suits themselves were making the decisions. They are not. The suits are acting based on programming from The Company. How did The Company get the news that the space station would self destruct upon the death of the crew, process this information, make the determination to spare the crew, and translate this back to the suits in a split second? Not only spare the crew but supply them with additional oxygen? If oxygen is as priceless as we are led to believe, I can imagine that there would be considerable debate over this command back wherever The Company calls home.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">To top it all off, the Doctor drops the surviving crew members off at Company headquarters to lodge a complaint. Given the little we know of this Company, those workers are dead the moment they walk through the doors. What makes the Doctor think The Company will listen to or care anything about those disgruntled employees? Obviously no-one has ever cared about them; obviously there is no such thing as workers-comp, insurance companies, or family members to regulate, investigate, or protest when space miners routinely die at the end of their shifts.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">“What if there never was a hack? What if this is just business? Business as usual.” Unfortunately, Oxygen is business as usual for New Who—a hack job. A bare bones outline of what could be a half-way decent script if fleshed out. This is where Classic Who serialization has the advantage over New Who. Instead we are given short cuts in service to season arcs.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">And so the lesson of Oxygen: The Doctor is blinded during the course of saving some idiotic space crew and thus endangers his all-important mission of guarding The Vault.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">A stray note, Gary, before I sign off. In Oxygen the Doctor states: “Fear keeps you fast. Fast is good.” This is similar to the Doctor’s observations about fear throughout his many years. However, I have to go back just one episode to Knock Knock when the Doctor tells Harry that being scared does not help. That line stood out to me at the time, but I didn’t mention it then. Now I am glad to see that the Doctor has returned to form with regards to fright; but I can’t help but wonder at the lack of consistency in the series recently; yet another sign of the slovenliness the show has tended towards.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Breathe deep, Gary . . . .</span></span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-62945679928416646052019-01-10T11:16:00.001-06:002019-01-21T20:35:59.711-06:00Knock Knock<style type="text/css">
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<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Knock knock.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Who’s there?</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">“Nothing weird. Nothing Alien. Just an old house and a dodgy landlord.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">If only. An old house and a dodgy landlord with a mishmash of weird and alien added to the mix—that is what Knock Knock boils down to.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">How disappointing. Thin Ice ended with the promise of some TARDIS adventure. Instead the very next story is set on present day Earth, only a stone’s throw from the University. To compound this letdown, the episode itself is pretty awful. I recall that the first time I viewed Knock Knock was also the first time the thought struck me that Doctor Who was turning into a poor man’s Black Mirror. I’m not sure if that is accurate, Gary, since I have only seen a handful of Black Mirror episodes; all I know is that Doctor Who during this period is very distinctly non Doctor Whoish and Black Mirror is the closest comparison that comes to me. (Not to dismiss Black Mirror, but Doctor Who is not Black Mirror—there already is one of those—so could Doctor Who get back to being Doctor Who again please?)</span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">But back to our present story of Knock Knock.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Bill is moving out of her foster mother’s house with a group of five students, only one of whom she knows. We have never met Shireen before, but apparently she is a friend of Bill’s. These six youngsters are having a hard time finding a suitable and affordable place to rent, until they meet the “dodgy landlord” who is offering a too-good-to-be-true deal of a lifetime. This is when I begin to wonder—six young people looking for a place to live, and not one of them has at least one hovering parent or adult relative or friend displaying even mild concern? None that is, except Bill. The Doctor shows up as the only interested party—exhibiting all of the human characteristics apparently lacking in the absent family members of the other five. But this is only the beginning to the many questions that pile up as the episode progresses.</span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">My next question is, why is Bill so ashamed of the Doctor? Why does she insist on introducing him as her grandfather? And if these five students are from the University, why doesn’t at least one of them recognize him? The TARDIS is relegated to the role of moving van and the Doctor is passed off by Bill as an interfering old man; an embarrassment who needs to be shooed out. Thankfully, the Doctor sticks around—he is the only bright spot in this confusion of mediocrity.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">“Nobody just does anything.” The Doctor is the only one to question the mysterious disappearing act of Pavel. Not one of Pavel’s roommates wonders why he has shut himself away in his room for the entirety of their first day together in their new home. I can accept this except for one thing—the fact that his record is stuck in a groove playing the same few strands of music over and over and over and over and over, and not one of these scholars has thought to pound on his door to at least make this repetitive annoyance stop. Not to mention that not one of them has the wherewithal to worry about poor Pavel who is locked away with this never-ending loop of insanity.</span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Without the Doctor these six youngsters would be dead and forgotten with no-one to mourn or question their sudden demise, just as the multitude of those who went before them in this house of doom and gloom. Then again, without the Doctor there probably never would have been any alien beings to bring doom and gloom into the house to begin with. Because that is the nature of a Doctor Who script at this time—the mere presence of the Doctor, no matter the time or place on Earth (always Earth), means there is an alien menace lurking. Subtract the Doctor and you subtract the menace. But I am digressing again. It must be the Pavel repetitive effect.</span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Another aspect of a present day Doctor Who script is that there is no need to explain the alien presence. Doctor Who historically whisks any questions away with the action, but lately Doctor Who doesn’t even make a pretense of asking any questions. The closest we get in Knock Knock is the Doctor trying to come up with a name to call these aliens—“wood nymphs, tree spirits, dryads; anything’s possible.” Because quite literally, anything is possible in a New Who script. Don’t even bother asking who, what, when, where, or why, not to mention how.</span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">So let me summarize Knock Knock: because Bill is moving into a new house, and because Bill is the protégée of the Doctor, some cockroach insects creep out of the walls and eat people in order to keep a wooden woman alive so that her son can remain a momma’s boy all his life.</span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">“No, wait. Doctor, that doesn’t make sense.” Finally Bill is beginning to question; finally Bill realizes the nonsense. But wait. What is it that Bill can’t make sense of? Is it that a woman is made of wood? Is it that cockroaches are eating her friends? Is it that cockroaches eating her friends is somehow keeping the wooden woman alive? No, what Bill wonders is why a man would bring an insect into the house to amuse his ill daughter. Of everything happening in this cockeyed tale, that is one thing that does make sense. So what that Bill doesn’t like bugs; it is very possible that a sick little girl stuck in bed would get a kick out of seeing an unusual looking insect that her father brings in from the garden. Of the many things to question in this story, that is the very least of them.</span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">And the information that this one question provides is the very least of the facts that are sorely lacking in this plot. What we learn from this is that the landlord is not in reality the wooden woman’s father but rather he is her son. So what? How does this explain the alien cockroaches? How does this explain her turning to wood? How does this explain how the mother and son are controlling the alien insects or how or why the alien insects are keeping the woman alive? How does this explain why the cockroaches need to eat people to accomplish all of this? Or why no one has ever noticed that people are walking into this house never to be seen again?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">And the information that this one question provides—that the father is in fact the son—raises a slew of new questions that are never even considered by anyone connected with the story. Like how has the son survived all of these years? How has he paid the bills? How did he avoid social services or interfering adult relatives all those years ago? What did he tell the mother’s doctors to keep them from treating her? (Unless he fed those doctors to the alien cockroaches in which case—how did he keep anyone from questioning the disappearance of those doctors?) When did the mother forget that this man was her son and decide that he was her father—when he was 15? 18? 21? 50? . . . .</span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">And the biggest question of all—why does knowing that this man is her son and not her father enlighten the mother? Because he is her son and not her father, she suddenly wants to open the shutters? Because he is her son and not her father, she suddenly mourns the deaths at their hands? Because he is her son and not her father, she suddenly feels the unending boredom of her life?</span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">And then, in a flash of a New Who second, the alien insects devour the mother and son and what—are gone for good? Never seek to devour anyone else? Have gotten at long last what they sought? What did they seek? What did they want? Why were they there? Where have they gone? Nobody cares anymore, least of all the Doctor.</span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">“Oh, the questions, the questions, the questions. Just remember Time Lords. That’s enough for now.” That is the Doctor talking to Bill. It is an amusing little scene—one of a few in the episode. Unfortunately it applies all too broadly these days. Oh, the questions, the questions, the questions. Just remember _______ (insert alien of the day here—AKA, “woodlice from space”). That’s enough for now.</span></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">That’s enough, Gary. That is enough.</span></span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-88880096165176182722018-12-14T10:50:00.000-06:002018-12-14T11:03:46.089-06:00Thin Ice<style type="text/css">
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<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Thin Ice is a retread of the two worst episodes in all of Doctor Who—<a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-beast-below.html" target="_blank">The Beast Below</a> and <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2016/02/" target="_blank">Kill the Moon</a>. Thin Ice, however, has a huge advantage over those other two; it does not induce the same outrage and therefore shines in comparison. It is also the best entry so far in this tenth season of New Who. Very faint praise indeed, but it is reason enough to celebrate.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">There are actually a number of Doctor Who stories that come to mind while watching Thin Ice, but I’ll stick for the moment with the two most obvious and worst of the worst. The common formula for all three is that the Doctor and his companion stumble upon a huge creature that is ensnared in some way and that in its entrapment is providing a benefit for humanity and whose release has the potential for huge devastation. The ultimate salvation of the creature is left to the companion, and of course it ends in typical happily ever after fashion.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">The creature in our present story is the least defined of the three and the weakest element of the episode. It is some nameless giant sea creature, possibly alien, that somehow found itself in the Thames generations ago and has been chained there ever since by the Sutcliffe family unbeknownst to all of London. We never even get to see it properly. It has some tiny fish companions that also might be alien, but again this is never explained. I guess it has the ability to freeze the Thames, or at least intensify the process, but this only occurs seasonally. When the Doctor asks Sutcliffe where the creature came from he answers, “No where! It’s always been there. The secret’s been passed down in the family since, I don’t know when. As far back as records go.” That’s a lot of non-information given about this massive secret that has been kept hidden under the Thames for an indefinably long time.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">The enslavement of the creature is also a weakness, but still far superior to what the other two stories offer up. It is not the ridiculously contrived convolution of nonsense found in The Beast and Moon. Instead it is simple, straight up human greed. The Sutcliffe family at some undisclosed time in some unexplained way discovered the creature (or Tiny as the Doctor dubs it) and discerned that its waste produces a fuel far better than coal. The Sutcliffes have kept Tiny chained under the Thames and let it feed on unsuspecting revelers at the Frost Fair and then harvest the resulting fuel for their own use in their steel mill. The present Lord Sutcliffe is a caricature in the extreme but serviceable for the plot.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">And the plot, for its part, is serviceable for its true purpose, which is to explore the Doctor/Bill dynamic. This is the strength of the episode. Keeping Tiny and Sutcliffe as lightweights and not endowing the circumstances with deep significance allows the budding relationship to breath and gives the audience a chance to just sit back and enjoy what transpires.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">The episode starts with a wonderful exchange between the Doctor and Bill about where they are and why, culminating in the Doctor explaining, “You don’t steer the TARDIS, you reason with it,” and continuing when asked how, “Unsuccessfully, most of the time.” This leads into some breezy yet substantive remarks about race and the nature of time travel, harkening back to the Ninth Doctor and Martha in <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-shakespeare-code.html" target="_blank">The Shakespeare Code</a>. It is conversational and casual and completely natural, establishing rapport in a few minutes and setting up some running threads that are followed throughout.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ll start with race. Bill, like Martha before her, is a companion of color; and like Martha before her, Bill briefly wonders how this will affect her historical experience, in Bill’s case the world of 1814. The Doctor makes light of her concerns, and there are some off-hand remarks about the diversity of historical London and how “history’s a whitewash,” but in a powerfully hilarious scene he confronts the issue head on, punching the insufferable Lord Sutcliffe in the face upon first meeting. (“Always remember, Bill; passion fights, but reason wins.”)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">This is indicative of the way the Doctor comports himself during this story. He is seemingly flippant, but there are hidden depths to him always. Nowhere is this more evident than when dealing with the life and death questions Bill puts to him. Bill is understandably upset upon witnessing the disappearance of a little boy under the ice while the Doctor stands calmly by, more interested in saving his sonic screwdriver than the waif. This prompts Bill to enquire how many deaths the Doctor has witnessed and later, how many lives he has taken. Now this segment is forced and a bit jarring juxtaposed with the ease with which most of the conversations have been handled in the script, but they help to broaden the understanding between the two and reinforces an aspect of the Doctor’s alien character that was most brilliantly conveyed in one of the best serials of the best Doctor (my opinion), <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2013/01/pyramids-of-mars.html" target="_blank">Pyramids of Mars</a>. The Doctor’s “I’ve moved on” speech to Bill is so very reminiscent of those long ago Fourth Doctor “I walk in eternity” exchanges with Sarah Jane.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">The time travel aspects of the story are more deftly handled. Time travel, after all, is what the Doctor and Doctor Who are all about. (“It’s just time travel. Don’t overthink it.”)</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">“So what are the rules?” Bill’s “ripples through time” butterfly concerns ripple back not only to Martha and the Ninth Doctor (“What have butterflies ever done to you?”), they also echo back even further, and turn the Third Doctor’s explanation of the Blinovitch limitation effect to Jo (“Every choice we make changes the history of the world”) on its head. No longer is it the Doctor being cautious with the rules. Through the centuries and regenerations the Doctor has become inured; it is now the companion who ponders the complexity and heavy responsibility of time travel while the Doctor blithely jokes about Pete. (“Who’s Pete?”)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">This carries through to the end as Bill furiously looks through news archives looking for any indication that they have made an imprint on history. “Monster; sea creature; serpent; really, really big fish—nothing.” Again the Doctor nonchalantly brushes this aside with, “Never underestimate the collective human ability to overlook the inexplicable. Also, the Frost Fair involved a lot of day drinking.” And so the mammoth adventure goes unnoticed, and it is only the young street urchin Perry who gains. No mention is made of what Perry did with his newfound fortune, or if the other homeless orphans profited; the Doctor and Bill never consider this. They merely pat themselves on the back for their sleight of hand in gaining Perry the Sutcliffe estate and, in the Doctor’s words, they move on.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">And they move on without a second thought about Tiny. Tiny, the mammoth creature whose hulking presence made so very little impact. The Doctor makes a big deal out of the to-free-or-not-to-free question of Tiny; and as he did in Moon, he unconscionably leaves the answer to his companion. (This, by the way, is the one area where Beast has the advantage over Moon and Ice—In Beast the Doctor does not force Amy into making the life and death decision, she makes it on her own—but perhaps, Gary, I should leave a more in-depth comparison of these three to another time; after all this particular posting is concentrated on Ice.)</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Bill understandably enquires, “Why is it up to me?” To which the Doctor replies “Because it can’t be up to me. Your people; your planet.” That of course is complete hogwash. The Doctor continually makes decisions on behalf of the human race, often recklessly. This is obviously a testing moment for Bill, just as it had been for Clara in Moon. And of course he stacks the deck for Bill by dropping this heavy bit of wisdom on her: “If your future is built on the suffering of that creature, what’s your future worth?” That line alone warrants a full essay—the entirety of Human history is based on infinite suffering; but I will “move on.”</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Bill naturally gives the “save her” order to the Doctor and Tiny swims away never to be heard of again. London is safe, Tiny is free, Sutcliffe is dead, and Perry inherits a fortune. All is right with the world.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">It is an entertaining tale told amidst the delightful sights and sounds of the Frost Fair with lovable urchins (and I have to give special mention to Kitty, the mother hen of the imps and reminiscent of Nancy in <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-empty-child.html" target="_blank">The Empty Child</a>/T<a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-doctor-dances.html" target="_blank">he Doctor Dances</a>) and cartoon villains. Thankfully the more infuriating aspects of Beast and Moon have been toned down in favor of the fun.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">I do have to make one last observation. Unfortunately Nardole has been limited to his tsk-tsking role so far this season, and the vault is still looming. At least the Doctor has decided to leave the confines of the university from time to time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">It is with heavy heart I send this out to you dear Gary, and with apologies for again taking so long to do so. The last half of 2018 has been particularly rough, and you have now been joined by four more cherished souls. Uncle Claude, Aunt Dorothy, Aunt Eileen, and my own beloved father. It is so easy for the Doctor to say he “moves on.” It is not always so easy to do.</span></span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-69458012893411632622018-06-16T11:20:00.001-05:002018-06-16T11:20:13.228-05:00Smile<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dear Gary— </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Smile is <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-happiness-patrol.html" target="_blank">The Happiness Patrol</a> all over again, except without
any soul. Helen A gives The Happiness Patrol a human face that is sorely
missing in this modern retelling of the tale. Smile is a stripped down, nuts and
bolts, bare bones story for the Snapchat age.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Bill chooses a trip to the future because (“why do you
think?”) she wants to see if it is a happy future. (OK.) Now the word happy
could have a multitude of interpretations, and it is never good when some one
person (or in the present case a machine brain) determines what constitutes
happy (just ask Helen A’s subjects). Yet the Doctor blithely states of the
future he has chosen to show Bill, “They say the settlers have cracked the
secret of human happiness.” The Doctor should know better, if nothing else
based upon his Happiness Patrol experience.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Based upon my Happiness Patrol experience, and now my Smile
experience, I wish I was back in that earlier (dare I say happier?) time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Smile starts out promising enough with Bill in the TARDIS
delivering rapid fire questions that make even the Doctor scratch his head.
Then Nardole enters to put a brief damper on things before the Doctor and Bill
sneak off for a quick adventure into the future on what has become a rarity in
New Who—another planet. It is, of course, an Earth colony, but still it is off
world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I do love the Doctor’s explanation of travel in the TARDIS: “You
don’t steer the TARDIS, you negotiate with it. The still point between where
you want to go and where you need to be, that’s where she takes you.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The still point that the TARDIS brings the Doctor and Bill
to is in the middle of a gorgeous wheat field and the two proceed to the
sterile white city they see in the distance. The city is more or less one giant
structure of blank walls and endless corridors with hardly a living quarter,
much less a room, visible. It renders laughable Bill’s observation when she
first enters the spaceship: “Whoever did the interior decoration in here needs
to take lessons from whoever did it out there.” The only furniture seen in this
‘out there’ city is one small set of cafeteria type table and chairs with some
unappetizing blue cubes on two plates set out for them to eat. At this point
Bill remarks, “Two portions. One portion. Is there going to be food sexism even
in the future?” Here I have to point out the obvious that Bill should have
figured out (Bill who is usually the one asking all of the hidden in plain
sight questions).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill is the one who
chose to sit down by the plate with only one portion. If anyone is being food
sexist (I guess that is a thing?) it is she.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Besides lacking décor, this barren city is also bereft of
people. The Doctor is puzzled by this fact; however the audience is let in on
the secret early on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a delightful
little scene; not stupid at all. A terrified citizen within the city
(Goodthing) calls a contented citizen (Kezzia) joyfully walking in the idyllic
wheat fields. Goodthing warns Kezzia to stay out of the city without explaining
why. Kezzia ignores this advice and returns to the city where Goodthing informs
her that everyone she knows is dead, but for goodness’ sake smile. No
explanation, just ‘people are dead so smile.’ Naturally enough, Kezzia does not
smile; she weeps, or at least her emoji mood badge weeps for her and that is
enough to make the robots kill her. (And yes, Doctor, they are robots.
Interface or not, they are robots. Those other tiny flying things might also be
robots—I’ll have to take the Doctor’s word on that—but so are the killer Emojibots robots.) The Doctor works out this deadly reality and confirms his
suspicions when he opens a hopper to discover a stash of human skulls that for
some convenient reason have been rejected by the machine that is turning all
the corpses into fertilizer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">It is entertaining enough to watch these events unfold. The
Doctor and Bill are turning into a companionable team, somewhat on a par with
the Seventh Doctor and Ace. Their first encounter with the Vardy is amusing, and watching the Doctor work out what is going
on is interesting.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I have to say, though, that these Vardy Emojibots are
rubbish. It’s not that they go about killing people; it is that as an interface
their primary function is to communicate, yet they can only communicate in an
extremely limited emoji vocabulary. Really? Who thought up that light bulb? Ah,
yes . . . the show runners and/or author of the piece. Someone said, let’s make
a story about the ubiquitous emoji. We’ll use some cute little robots (yes
robots) and see how wrong things can go from there. At this point begins my own
germ of an idea—the creators of Doctor Who aren’t trying to make Doctor Who at
all anymore. They are going for Black Mirror. To which I say, if you want to
make an episode of Black Mirror, go work for Black Mirror.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Talking about rubbish—let’s think about these tiny flying
robots making up the construct of the city. Whose bright idea was that? At any
time the structure around you, your house, your home, the floor you are
standing on, the roof over your head, the walls that surround you can suddenly
decide to fly away. You can only hope it is not raining; you’re not on the 30<sup>th</sup>
floor; you aren’t taking a shower; the mosquitoes aren’t swarming outside. And
you can only hope that these tiny flying robots that were moments ago providing
you shelter aren’t now bent on destroying you. Oh, and now I suddenly realize
why there is no artwork hanging on the walls.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">And don’t get me started on these mood badges and magic ears
that everyone is fitted with. Apparently there is no privacy or peace and quiet
in the future. Anyone can listen in on any conversation; and how distracting
would all of that extraneous noise be? And anyone can see exactly what you are
thinking—except for you. You wouldn’t want to influence your own mood after
all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">These humans of whatever far out century we are in are
basically idiots. It must be the effect of their narrow emoji minds. The Vardy
are also mentally challenged with their mechanical emoji brains. They can’t
even figure out that killing people makes the survivors sad. The Vardy are
tasked with making people happy, and they logically assume, therefore, that
grieving people are the enemy and kill them. That makes perfect sense. Grief is
the enemy so kill the person. Don’t try to cheer up the mourners. Don’t tickle
them or tell them a joke or bring them a flower or give them a hug. Kill them.
Makes perfect, logical, mechanical sense.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe there is something in the air of this planet limiting
the thought process, because the Doctor also seems infected. When trying to
explain to the awakening colonists what is going on, all he succeeds at is
inciting panic, and then all he can do is run around throwing up his hands and telling
them to wait a minute while he clarifies. He is about as effective as Goodthing
had been with Kezzia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Doctor finally brings everything to a crashing halt when
he—TA DA!—reboots the system with a wave of his magic sonic. Now everybody is
happy (smile!). The Vardy can’t remember anything, even that they are supposed
to make people happy. The colonists are no longer being killed, but now they have
to bargain for their home. (By the way, of what use is money to robots?) The
Doctor and Bill leave these two races (the Vardy are no longer merely robots
but now “identify as a species” whatever that means) to try and negotiate some
sort of living arrangement. Apparently the Vardy can understand human speech,
they just can’t mimic it, so the humans will have to try and guess what the
Vardy mean based on some smiley face/thumbs up/skull and cross bones symbolism.
Perhaps the Doctor and Bill should return someday to find out what kinds of
wacky hijinks have ensued.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I’m sorry, Gary, but I’ll take Helen A, the Kandy Man, and
The Happiness Patrol over the Vardy, Emojibots and Smile any day. And with that
I will leave you, Gary, hopefully in your own still point of happiness<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>. . .</span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-4584489638531617032018-05-25T07:27:00.000-05:002018-05-25T07:27:14.467-05:00The Pilot
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Pilot is . . . it just is. It’s bland. It’s vanilla.
It’s . . . a show. That’s about all really.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Oh, it does introduce the Doctor’s new companion—Bill. I
rather like Bill. She’s very to the point and asks the questions that makes us
all say, ‘Oh yeah, why didn’t I ever think of that?’ For example: “If you’re
from another planet, why would you name your box in English? Those initials
wouldn’t work in any other language.” Except Bill obviously hasn’t watched from
the beginning because in the first story Susan claims to have named the TARDIS
and presumably she did so while going to Cole Hill School and therefore very
well could have used the English language. Or perhaps the TARDIS is translating
its name. Perhaps when the Doctor says ‘TARDIS’ he really isn’t saying ‘TARDIS’
at all. (Perhaps he is saying ‘SIDRAT.’)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">But I don’t see why the Doctor singles Bill out from all the
hundreds of students he sees day in and day out. Other than he’s bored and
wants company and she’ll do as well as anyone. I don’t feel much chemistry
between the two. Although I find it very sweet for the Doctor to pop back in time
to take photos of Bill’s dead mother as a Christmas present for Bill, even if this
seems out of character for the Doctor. If Bill continues to elicit this tender
side of the Doctor this could develop into a nice companionship—similar to the
first Doctor with Susan or Vicki.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Doctor is bored, by the way, because he has exiled
himself to Earth. Now, he has absolutely no reason to artificially constrain
himself to our planet because he has tethered himself here since the start of
New Who. But the show apparently saw a need to come up with some excuse for
keeping him here and so it invented this ‘vault’ that the Doctor is guarding.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Of course, Gary, the vault is housing Missy. I know that for
a certainty even without the benefit of hindsight. There is no one or nothing
else that could possibly be in that big, bad, scary vault that the Doctor and
Nardole (whom the Doctor employs as a nag) are keeping vigil over. For some
reason the show decides to keep the contents a mystery as if the audience will
really wonder and ponder and scratch their collective heads and debate and
anticipate.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And again of course, the Doctor has chosen Earth as this
prison’s location because he is irresponsible in the extreme. He doesn’t go to
some abandoned planet where Missy could do no harm if she were to escape. No.
He takes her to Earth, the one planet that Missy has attempted to
destroy/conquer/rule/dominate countless times since Missy was Roger Delgado.
And he plunks her down in the middle of a university where he has somehow
wrangled a job as a professor who lectures on random topics and who has free
run of the campus with no hint of any pesky deans or fellow professors or
janitors or anyone with any kind of authority or purpose.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">But that’s the theme, really, of The Pilot. It’s devoid of
authority or purpose. It’s random.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Like the ‘villain’ of the piece. It’s a blotch of space oil
left over from an unidentified spacecraft that apparently landed in the middle
of the school grounds with no one noticing. Magical space oil with magical
properties that seemingly has hung around for years waiting for just the right
restless student, out of a pool of thousands of restless students, to come
along with a star in her eye to find the puddle intriguing, and then it (the
magical puddle) waits around some more before magically devouring her (the
starry-eyed, restless student) and changing her into a magical being who can go
anywhere and who can go to any time (she doesn’t need a blue box) and who can
form into any shape. And oh yeah, who has a crush on Bill (even though they
have said barely two words to each other) and who decides to stalk her.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">That is the problem with New Who. It is magic. It is
anything it wants to be. It does anything it wants to do. Just because it can.
No rules. No form. No structure. No logic. Just because. Just because it can. It
is a show. Just a show. It just . . . is.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Anything that is Doctor Who has been slowly bleeding from
the show for years. What is left is a magical space blotch with no rules or form
or structure or logic.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And oh, Gary, magic bores me.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-14533740842680368352018-05-18T12:30:00.000-05:002018-05-18T14:14:10.825-05:00The Return of Doctor Mysterio<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The Return of Doctor Mysterio is some comic-book-lite fun.
It is pleasurable and forgettable. It is kick back and relax and enjoy for the
moment and then move on amusement. It is turn your brain off entertainment that
does not keep on giving. (I won't bring up the fact that the TARDIS has landed in New York and wasn't there something about the TARDIS never being able to land in New York again or it would tear open the space/time continuum or some such nonsense and therefore he can never go back for Amy and Rory?)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">With broad strokes it paints a Clark Kent/Superman/Lois Lane
knock off for no particular reason other than it can. It can do so courtesy of
the Doctor and his conveniently magical and rare gemstone that he for some
inexplicable reason hands to a child. A child who is sick and who somehow
manages to swallow this valuable jewel thinking it to be medicine and who is
therefore imbued with all sorts of miraculous powers as the precious stone
feeds off of the child’s love of super heroes. <span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The child grows into Grant, our mild mannered Clark Kent
working as a nanny for his Lois Lane (AKA Lucy Lombard—or Fletcher as the case
may be). Grant’s Superman alter ego is The Ghost. Grant has known Lucy since
childhood and even set her up with his best friend, now Lucy’s ex-husband and
father to her infant daughter Jennifer to whom he (Grant) is now nanny. Grant
continues to call Lucy Mrs. Lombard despite their lifelong acquaintance and her
resumption of her maiden name of Fletcher. Grant’s disguise, similar to Clark
Kent’s, is a pair of glasses. Lucy never catches on to Grant’s alter ego. <span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“There are some situations which are just too stupid to be
allowed to continue.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Except that this improbable and hackneyed scenario allows
for some good old fashioned Doctor Who fun. As with most Doctor Who, the actors
are agreeable and have some nice chemistry. And there are some unexpected
moments that surprise, such as Mister Huffle, Lucy’s squeaky toy interrogation
technique. (“This is Mister Huffle. Mister Huffle feels pain.”) The villain of
the piece is not worth much—a generic corporation (Harmony Shoal—in other
words, kinda sorta, Melody Pond?) of aliens with zipper heads intent on taking
over the world somehow; easily defeated and easily forgotten. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">T<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">he focus of the episode is the love story, and that too is mostly
paint-by-numbers. Lucy’s infatuation with The Ghost slowly evaporates as it
dawns on her that Super Nanny is really the man of her dreams. A nice bit of
fluff to pass the time.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">This is where, Gary, I tell Dad’s Superman joke. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">If Lois Lane had a cat, and that cat one day walked in
wearing a pair of glasses, would Lois Lane ask, “What cat is this?”</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The episode successfully riffs on this comic book trope as
the Doctor obtusely observes to young Grant (“Take a good long look. It takes a
moment to see it.”), “Superman and Clark Kent are one and the same person.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">With moments like this, Peter Capaldi’s Doctor succeeds in
lifting this trite tripe into something a little more than watchable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Doctor has an easy and pleasant bond with
the kid, Grant. As a side note, Gary, the Doctor tends to interact well with youngsters—little
Amelia and young Kazran are two good examples. It is a shame that the show has
never taken advantage of this dynamic in the way of companionship beyond the
Classic versions of Susan and Vicki (although neither was hardly a tot). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">This rapport translates well to the adult Grant and extends
to Lucy. These are affectionate acquaintances; a nice respite from the passionate
ties of recent companions. Add to the mix the welcome return of Nardole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Doctor has rescued Nardole from out of
the previous story’s Hydroflax and the reconstituted Nardole takes on the role
of sidekick to the Doctor. Again, a nice respite from the intensity.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">However those ardent feelings simmer throughout the episode;
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Doctor is not far removed from some
harsh losses and the wounds are still raw. Lucy and Grant both pick up on the
Doctor’s pain but he sidesteps their questions, as he does Nardole’s more
pointed remarks. Yet the sadness seeps through and is evident throughout.
Finally Mister Huffle brings out this from the Doctor: “Things end. That’s all.
Everything ends, and it’s always sad. But everything begins again too, and that’s
always happy.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The Return of Doctor Mysterio is the perfect adventure for
the Doctor to work through his unhappiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He needs to be Doctor Mysterio caught up in a fantastical comic book
scenario in order to escape from reality for the moment.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And as he moves past this escapade the Doctor has Nardole to
look after him. As Nardole concludes, “He’s the Doctor. He’s very brave and he’s
very silly and I think, for a time, he’s going to be very sad. But I promise,
in the end, he’ll be all right. I’ll make sure of it.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Th<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">ings end and things begin again, Gary. The era of Clara is
over (thank goodness) and the intermittent appearances of River Song seem to be
laid to rest. The Doctor now has Nardole to accompany him and a fresh face
ready in the wings to provide companionship. If I didn’t have hindsight, Gary,
I might be hopeful at this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As it
is, I simply plod along, and with Reinette I say, “The path has never seemed
more slow.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></div>
</span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-44867042378066540212018-01-05T11:27:00.000-06:002018-01-05T11:27:38.859-06:00The Husbands of River Song
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I’m actually
writing about a Christmas episode during the course of the holiday season. Not
that The Husbands of River Song has much to do with Christmas. There is some
snow and some carol singing to start the show and that’s about it. I do wonder
why the Doctor chose to park in the middle of Christmas just to post a sign
warning off carolers, but oh well (as we say in New Berlin). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What The Husbands of River Song does deliver
is some unabashed silliness as a Yuletide treat.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">With the
first sight of the Doctor sporting felt antlers on his head the tone is set,
and his admonishment of the TARDIS for the unwanted hologramatic novelty
furthers the theme. The Doctor is grumpy (understandably so given recent
events) and is in need of some holiday cheer. The Husbands of River Song is
exactly what he (and the audience) needs.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">For the most
part it works, although probably more so if viewed while drinking some
Christmas nog. It’s not especially memorable or notable, but it’s some well
played fun; and Peter Capaldi and Alex Kingston are clearly enjoying themselves
as the Doctor and River. This is the strength of the episode. The plot is
incidental.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The head in
a bag gag is funny with its giant angry mechanical body trailing after it. The
restaurant dedicated to the murderous of the universe is interesting and the
blue toady Flemming fits in perfectly. The sight of interchangeable Nardole and
Ramone cyborg heads is a bit unsettling but I’ll let that pass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The diamond lodged in Hydroflax’s brain and
the ensuing sale/auction is enough of an excuse to tie all the elements
together and provide an entertaining story. The Doctor and River navigating
this plot is the payoff.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“I married
the diamond.” River continually justifies her marriage with Hydroflax to the
Doctor without knowing he is the Doctor. It is a very merry mix-up, and
although I find it hard to believe that it takes so long for River to catch on,
it makes for some fine comedy. The Doctor’s reactions alone are worth it.
River’s free-wheeling, devil-may-care, morally ambiguous lifestyle is on full
display here for Peter Capaldi’s disapproving Doctor to see, yet he is caught
up in the fun despite himself.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Doctor
is clearly disappointed in River (“Because they cross; I’ve got cross arms”)
yet he is also clearly enjoying the adventure. “I can’t approve of any of this,
you know,” he tells River, “but I haven’t laughed in a long time.” Indeed, the
sight of the Doctor laughing as he gets unceremoniously dumped into the snow is
a delight. Equally amusing is the Doctor making a proper show of the “it’s
bigger on the inside” shtick. And the talking head in a bag (“We’re being
threatened by a bag! By a head in a bag!”) adds the perfect touch of absurdity
to the proceedings.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The shift
towards the emotional also works thanks to the Doctor and River. River’s
speeches about unrequited love are obviously scripted. “You don’t expect a
sunset to admire you back,” is a lovely sentiment but it just doesn’t flow
naturally. The feelings behind the words, however, are pure, and Alex Kingston
conveys them best in the quiet moments. The discussion about River’s diary is
especially effective.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Doctor:
“Is it sad?”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">River: “Why
would a diary be sad?”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The
heartbreak in River’s eyes is obvious even for the Doctor to see.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The use of
the diary does get a bit heavy handed, particularly as Flemming pages through
it for the entertainment of the devout diners, but it is a great call back and
beautifully brings the Doctor’s and River’s relationship full circle. What was
started in <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2014/10/silence-in-library.html" target="_blank">Silence in the Library</a> has been a long and sometimes bumpy road, but
it is impressive how it has navigated across the years and through the change
of Doctors with its confusing timelines and has stayed relatively true to
itself. And once again, much credit to Alex Kingston. She has played expertly
off each actor, subtly adapting to every change in the Doctor’s persona, yet
remaining constant in her love for the man within. I have not always enjoyed
the River story, but I have always enjoyed Alex Kingston.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I have to
say, Gary, that the relationship between River and this twelfth Doctor is the
most impressive. Her time with the tenth was too short and unexplored. Her time
with the eleventh often seemed awkward and forced. With Peter Capaldi,
however, the two can meet on mature and level ground and as a result this
parting of the ways is that much more effective.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“Times end,
River, because they have to.” At last the Doctor has learned this lesson (one
companion too late). Gone are the wailings and flailings; gone are the
histrionics; gone are the wrong-headed and stubborn refusal of the inevitable.
What remains is the quiet and tender goodbye to lives long loved and lived.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">River
understandably hesitates: “I want you to know that if this is the last night, I
expect you to find a way round it.” However the Doctor gently reminds her, “Every
night is the last night for something.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Doctor has been putting off this fated night, time after time cancelling
their inexorable date at the Singing Towers of Darillium. But the towers and Darillium
have finally crashed into his and River’s timeline, and in his best Doctor way
he takes the glaring facts as presented to him and arranges them to perfection.
With a suggestion here, a diamond there, and a TARDIS leap or two he
orchestrates the entire evening.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And again in
best Doctor Who fashion: “How long is a night on Darillium?” – “Twenty four
years.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">River
understands—“Happy ever after doesn’t mean forever. It just means time. A
little time.” The Doctor has given her time; he has given her happy ever after.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">For all of
the contrived happily ever afters that New Who has foisted upon us, this is the
only one that rewards. One could easily flow from The Husbands of River Song to
the <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2014/10/silence-in-library.html" target="_blank">Silence in the Library</a>/<a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2014/10/forest-of-dead.html" target="_blank">Forest of the Dead</a> pairing and see the full arc of
this romance fulfilled.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“And they
both lived . . .”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Here’s
hoping, Gary; “happily. . .”</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-83768018960194704532017-12-14T13:53:00.000-06:002017-12-14T13:57:16.085-06:00Hell Bent<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">We’re entering the Christmas season and I’m feeling
generous; I’m going to give Hell Bent a passing grade.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">To begin, the Doctor and Clara have never felt more
companionable; to think, it only took a memory wipe and a reboot to make that
happen. The Doctor walks into the desert diner, sits down at the counter and
begins a heartfelt conversation with the dead or semi-dead or clone Clara; he
spills all his deepest thoughts as though she were his confession dial; and she
listens and reflects and responds calmly and compassionately, without her usual
hysterics or histrionics. As the episode progresses, Clara’s hidden pain and
sorrow are expertly portrayed by Jenna Coleman; and the restraint exhibited by
Clara is impressive. In another Doctor Who World I could imagine Clara jumping
over that counter, slapping the truth into the Doctor, and escaping off once
again into the TARDIS with him to chase the universe. The fact that she
realizes they are no good together shows remarkable growth in her character. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Viewed with this in mind, I can bear the ridiculous lengths
the Doctor goes through to save this one companion (above all others). I can
also ruminate on New Who’s relentless emphasis on the Doctor’s angst and the
agonizing losses he has borne, piled up one after the other in a never-ending
mountain of mourning; and I can begin to understand why he suddenly has thrown
all his principles aside to save the life of his latest cohort. The Doctor has
simply gone a bit dotty; he has been driven to the brink of insanity. Now, I
don’t like a dotty Doctor; and there are so many things about these newest
generations of his that I find tedious; however, with this admission by Clara
(and presumably by the show) that his most recent persona and relationship has gone
off the deep end and needs to be reset, I can accept it for the moment. I can
resent the fact that the show has led us to this point (the long way round),
but I can rejoice that it is finally (hopefully) putting it to rest.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The whole line in the sand, ‘get off my planet’ standoff
with the Time Lords (or more precisely Rassilon) is overly drawn out and a bit
ludicrous; I’m not sure how or why the Sisterhood of Karn is present on this
end of the universe, super secret and hidden Gallifrey; you well know, Gary, my
contempt for this hybrid nonsense; the Time Lords are unbelievably gullible in
falling for the flimsiest of Clara extraction excuses; the various monsters in
the Cloisters are pointless; the ‘duty of care’ bit is getting way too tired
and worn; and all in all things are rather confusing. However, it is well done
and I accept it as is. <span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And in the end, Ashildr/Me saves the day.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“She died, Doctor. Clara died billions of years ago.”
Ashildr/Me has a way of cutting through to the truth; of stating simple facts
that the Doctor (and Doctor Who) has trouble with.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“She died for who she was and who she loved. She fell where
she stood. It was sad, and it was beautiful. And it is over. We have no right
to change who she was.”<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Ashildr/Me could be talking about herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ashildr died beautifully and heroically, for
who she was and who she loved. The Doctor could not accecpt that and he changed
her. He changed her into Me.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Doctor: Ashildr.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Ashildr: Me.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Ashildr is dead; the Doctor created Me. Now Clara is dead
and in the same way the Doctor is desperately trying to change the natural
course of her life.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">I am a little disappointed when Ashildr brings up the hybrid
(because you know, Gary, my contempt for this hybrid nonsense); however Me
makes it real when she likens the hybrid to the Doctor/Clara combo: “a
dangerous combination of a passionate and powerful Time Lord and a young woman
so very similar to him.”<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">It is this combo, this unnatural combo that has been polluting
Doctor Who for several seasons now, that is finally called to account.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Ashildr/Me points out to the Doctor as a matter of fact that
he is “willing to risk all of Time and Space” because . . . and this next she tells
him in the most dismissive of ways . . . “because you miss her.” Thank you
Ashildr/Me; thank you Maisie Williams. With those four words she puts the
entire Doctor/Clara dramatics in their proper perspective.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Back in <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-waters-of-mars.html" target="_blank">The Waters of Mars</a> the Doctor had similarly decided
to play god; had decided that the universe owed him; had decided that rules no
longer applied. Back in the Waters of Mars the Doctor’s attitude was much more
understandable and natural. Back in The Waters of Mars the gravitas of the
situation was much more palpable. Back in The Waters of Mars it took Adelaide
Brooke’s suicide to set the Doctor straight.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">In Hell Bent it takes just four words: “because you miss her.”<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">With those four words the inanity of the Doctor’s actions
are brought to light. Because he misses this one companion he has murdered a
man (despite his justification that “death is Time Lord for man flu”), he has
broken the laws of time, he has risked the stability of the universe; in short
he has gone against everything he stands for. Because he misses her.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">I won’t even get into the fact that Clara is hardly worthy of
this—I’ll leave it to the mountain of loss and the last straw theory.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Hurrah for Ashildr/Me.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">At last the Doctor realizes he has gone too far. At last he
realizes he must stop.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The memory wipe scene is effectively done, with full credit
going to Jenna Coleman. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clara’s
reversing of the polarity is a clever twist with a nod to history, but it is
Clara’s line that rings strongest with me: “Tomorrow is promised to no one,
Doctor, but I insist upon my past.” The implications of this statement could
fill several pages—going back to Donna; going back to Me who no longer
remembers her own name or the father or town or people she loved so well and
died for only to be resurrected by the Doctor to an empty life; and including
the past he is denying Clara in order to give her a future she never asked for.
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">It is only fitting that it is the Doctor who loses his
memory of Clara. (Although it seems to be only her name and face he can’t
recall while the adventures remain with him—and now that he has a name and face
to attach to those adventures I guess all is well, but then what was this all
about anyway?)<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Me and Clara flying off in a stolen TARDIS, journeying back
to Gallifrey the long way round, is some New Who happily-ever-after tripe that
I forgive because—who doesn’t love happily ever after? The two women robbed of
their heroism and denied their destiny can now live out an eternity together,
even if it turns out to be hollow.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Now if the show can only take this chance to reset in a good
way. But I’m not going to go into that, Gary. I’ll leave the future for the
future. At least no one can rob me of the wonderful past.<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And I’m going to leave with this final thought, Gary. One of
the best lines of the episode:<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“Stories are where memories go when they’re forgotten.”</span></div>
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Here’s hoping, Gary, that our memories are never forgotten;
but if they are that we are left with some beautiful stories.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></div>
</div>
</span></span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-78181642398734008962017-11-10T07:52:00.001-06:002017-11-10T07:55:50.238-06:00Heaven Sent<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">If I were to describe Heaven Sent in one word, Gary, what
would that one word be? Tedious.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">There, now I don’t even have to write any more.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">OK, so I’ll explain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The Doctor spends the hour trapped in his own confession
dial endlessly repeating each day and each action over and over for billions of
years, his skulls piling up beneath him, as he meticulously works out where he
is and why, and as he slowly chips away at the hardest wall in existence in
order to reach Gallifrey.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Peter Capaldi does his level best to make this interesting,
and there are some genuine moments of suspense along with an air of mystery,
but over all there is a lot of running in place and hitting one’s head against
a brick wall (or I should say hand against an abzantium wall). And in the end I
can’t help thinking, wouldn’t it have been easier if he just used that shovel
rather than his fist? Even his shoe would have shaved off a couple hundred
thousand years and saved some wear and tear on him. I briefly wonder why his
whole arm isn’t worn down to a bloody stump by the end, but then I remember
that everything resets each day—and then I wonder why the wall doesn’t reset as
well and I am thrown down an even deeper abyss of futility.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“I’ve finally run out of corridor. There’s a life summed up.”
Doctor Who revels in corridors and this line is a clever play on that; I do
appreciate it; so why, I ask myself, am I not impressed? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The Doctor finds himself trapped, running in circles in a
treadmill of corridor as he tries to escape a grizzly specter, and stymied by
brick walls. Now he turns and makes a confession: “Oh, this is new. I’m scared.
I just realized that I’m actually scared of dying.” Voila, like a secret
password those words make the pursuing Veil disappear and the impenetrable
walls move to reveal a doorway.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">This is what I find wrong with it. The Doctor doesn’t run
from ghostly figures. He confronts them and tries to communicate with them. The
sight of a wraith reaching out to him wouldn’t instill the fear of death in
him. And I just don’t sense any terror in the Doctor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“It’s a killer puzzle box designed to scare me to death, and
I’m trapped inside it. Must be Christmas.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">That’s more like the Doctor. He isn’t scared, he’s
delighted. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Except I don’t sense delight in the Doctor, either. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">He’s relentless. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And that’s what this episode is. Relentless.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">It is a single-minded working out of the riddle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The Doctor sets out on his endless path of discovery,
retracing his steps, echoing his words, over and over, day after day, year
after year, century after century. In this the episode succeeds brilliantly. It
conveys to perfection the wearisome way the Doctor has chosen. The scenes with
the shadowy and silent Clara in the TARDIS are expertly done to show the inner
workings of the Doctor’s mind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">But here is the thing, Gary. For me at least, this is not
the Doctor. This is Peter Capaldi. This is Peter Capaldi doing some fine acting
to be sure. But it is not the Doctor. I just do not see the Doctor in any of
this. And this is more than Peter Capaldi. This is Stephen Moffat. This is
Stephen Moffat writing some clever scenes to be sure. But it is not Doctor Who.
I just do not see Doctor Who in any of this.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And then the Moffat touch becomes too much.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The Hybrid.</span><br />
<br />
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">I knew from the moment this was first uttered in <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-witchs-familiar.html" target="_blank">The Witches Familiar</a> that the Hybrid would rear its ugly head in some unsatisfying way and
I dreaded it. Now here it is. Some shaky prophecy about a Hybrid has thrown the
mighty Time Lords into a dither. A prophecy that has been kicking around for millennia
and never caused a raised eyebrow before. Now, when the Time Lords have already
been nearly extinguished and have been banished to the end of nowhere, now they
suddenly decide to worry about a mythical Hybrid, as if their worries weren’t
enough already.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And now the Doctor claims to be the Hybrid? Claims to be the
foretold destroyer of the Time Lords? Didn’t he already play that role? Wasn’t
that what the whole Moment thing was about? OK then, over and done with. No
more to worry about.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">But no. Here we go again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">I’m just bored by the whole thing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And angered. Here we go again with the tampering of the
show's rich and textured history. “I didn’t leave Gallifrey because I was bored!
That was a lie! It’s always been a lie!” So the entire series has been a lie up
until now just so Stephen Moffat can play his clever games with Hybrids and
birds and confession dials and divinations. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">All of the ingenuity; all of the atmosphere; all of the
emoting cannot overcome this one word summation: Tedious.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And if anyone asks, Gary, how I came to this conclusion, “tell
them I came the long way round.” No. Tell them, Gary; tell them I took the slow
path.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-24959116911712022542017-10-01T08:00:00.000-05:002017-10-01T08:00:30.147-05:00Face the Raven
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Dear Gary—<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I am philosophically opposed to Face the Raven, yet I find
no fault with it. New Who has shackled itself to Earth and thus the Men in
Black/aliens among us type scenario is inevitable. Face the Raven embraces the
concept and delivers a decent story enriched by the presence of Maisie Williams
reprising her role as Ashildr/Me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Ashildr, in her latest persona of Mayor Me, has set herself
up as the ‘Man in Black’ arbiter for the aliens. These aliens, however, are not
out and about in everyday life. Rather they have segregated themselves away in
a hidden ‘trap’ street in the heart of (where else?) London. It is an
intriguing concept and cleverly revealed through the saga of Rigsy. But I’m
getting ahead of myself.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Let me back up to Rigsy. Rigsy, if you remember, recurs from
the previous season’s story <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2016/04/flatline.html" target="_blank">Flatline</a>. Come to think of it, that is an apt
callback to an episode in which Clara sets herself up as the Doctor. (But again
I am getting ahead of myself.) Rigsy was a decent enough character from that
rather unremarkable story, and he makes a pleasant addition to our present
tale. The mystery he introduces in the form of a tattoo he inexplicably
acquired on the back of his neck that is counting down is also promising.
Doctor Who has done the countdown thing before to great effect (thinking <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2015/02/flesh-and-stone.html" target="_blank">Flesh and Stone</a> and <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-power-of-three.html" target="_blank">The Power of Three</a>) and this time it is just as provocative; and
it is the very thing to draw in the Doctor and Clara and set them on the path
of discovery.<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">What they discover, through an entertaining sequence, is the
trap street, a murder mystery, and Ashildr as Mayor Me.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The trap street provides the perfect atmosphere with its
dark alleyways and its various inhabitants slipping in and out of their human
disguises as they go about their gritty day to day activities in these cramped
quarters. Rigsy, we learn, was lured to this pocket of London the day before.
He doesn’t remember this, however, because he has been ‘retconned;’ in true Men
in Black style his memory has been wiped of all events involving his alien
encounter, including the murder he supposedly committed. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">None of this would make any sense if it weren’t for the fact
that Ashildr set everything up. After all, what use is the countdown tattoo if
Rigsy can’t see it? Good thing he has short hair and a partner to tell him
about it. And what good is the countdown tattoo if he doesn’t even know what it
is counting down to? Good thing he has the Doctor and Clara to figure it out
for him. And what good is it to give Rigsy the time he needs in order to say
his goodbyes and make his final arrangements if he doesn’t know he has a death
sentence hanging over his head? And what kind of justice is it that convicts a
man without a trial based on the flimsiest of circumstantial evidence?<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The answers lie in the fact that it is all an elaborate sham
engineered by Ashildr in order to maneuver the Doctor into sticking his hand
into the stasis chamber that is keeping Anah (the alleged murder victim) alive
and in a state resembling death, and this is in order to clamp a teleportation
device onto the Doctor’s wrist. It is a convoluted plot that depends on lots of
luck and happenstance. However, like in any good Doctor Who script, this is a
case where the means justify the ends. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I can forgive the show’s contortions because of the
enjoyable 50 minutes they serve up. I can forgive Ashildr’s insane plot because
of the interesting puzzle it provides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just as I can forgive the season arc that seemingly has led us to this
shackled Doctor—I can forgive it due to a season of stories involving Maisie
Williams; I can forgive it due to a season of quality episodes; I can forgive
it due to a season that has renewed my waning love of the show.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
And I can forgive it this—I can forgive it Clara. Even this
I can forgive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
From the beginning Clara has been set up as the end. She
started as the arc; the reason for the season. As such, she had to be filled
in. Doctor Who never did a good job of filling her in. Season after season they
started at the end with her and had to backfill; had to force her character
into the mold that would result in the big bang finale. And now Doctor Who has
led us to this; to Clara’s end.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Jenna Coleman has been given some meatier material to work
with this season and she has made the most of it. In Face the Raven many of
Clara’s character traits, or I could say flaws, finally culminate into a part
Jenna Coleman can sink her teeth into. This brings me back to my earlier
comment about Flatline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clara has been
flirting with delusions of Doctor for some time now, along with a sense of
invulnerability. Her bravery has turned to recklessness and her intelligence to
hubris; and at last these tendencies have caught up with her. At last she must
pay the price. At last she must face the raven.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Clara hurls herself into the adventure head first—literally.
Hanging upside down from the TARDIS high over London, Rigsy says of her, “She
enjoyed that way too much.” The Doctor replies, “Tell me about it. It’s an
ongoing problem.” This sets the tone and the theme for what follows.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Clara genuinely cares what happens to her friend; her
compassion is one of her good qualities. However Clara’s egotism overrides her
empathy. Playing on Rigsy’s sentiment for his infant child, Clara manipulates
him into transferring his deadly tattoo to her. “This is clever,” she states as
she cavalierly toys with their lives. Clara is so intent on being the hero that
she disregards all else. Caution is not just thrown to the wind; it is flung
into the abyss—gleefully.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
And then she does what she always does—she turns to the
Doctor expecting miracles. “We can fix this, can’t we?” She implores when she
discovers the tattoo, once passed on, can no longer be removed. “We always fix
it.” But she can’t fix it; the Doctor can’t fix it; Ashildr can’t fix it. Clara
has made her pact with the devil and she and only she can pay the price.
Except, of course, the price she pays will be felt, as it always is, by those
left behind. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
“If you feel guilty about this,” Clara tells Rigsy, “even
for one minute, I . . .” But of course Rigsy will carry this burden to his
grave. And then there is the Doctor. “You can’t let this turn you into a
monster,” she admonishes the Doctor. She knows how deeply her death will affect
the Doctor, and all she can tell him is, “I guess we’re both just going to have
to be brave.” This is where her egomania trumps all feeling and she embraces
martyrdom. After all, if Danny Pink can do it . . .</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
“I know it’s going to hurt you, but please be a little proud
of me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Her final words: “Let me be brave. Let me be brave.” She
isn’t being brave so much as she is being vainglorious.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
An appropriate end to this control character. And now the
end justifies the means as well. This powerful and apt death scene justifies
the three seasons of indecisiveness building and coalescing into this
monumental ego ultimately being expelled in a poof of black smoke. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Clara never had a form of her own. She has been inserted
into seasons in order to provoke desired outcomes. And now the show’s repeated
assertions that Clara is the best and brightest is coming to fruition as her
sacrificial lamb effort provides the gut punch to the Doctor that will clearly
define the remaining two episodes of this ninth series of New Who.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
I can’t feel it with the Doctor, mainly because I could never
develop any affection for Clara. I can appreciate the actor’s work and can even
find moments to like the character, but I could never warm up to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, I know New Who’s penchant for creating
unbelievable ever afters, so even without benefit of hindsight I figure this
will not be the last time we see Clara.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
However I can sympathize with the Doctor’s somewhat
misdirected anger and I can look forward to where the arc will take us as he
awaits teleportation to parts unknown. The hints all point to the Time Lords
being the powers behind the scene, and the confession dial is again put into
play. It is all very intriguing, Gary. </div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-63718670042984944772017-08-04T16:17:00.001-05:002017-08-04T23:38:45.972-05:00Sleep No More<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“You must not watch this.” Good advice. Sound advice. I
should have heeded it. From those opening words I knew Sleep No More would be a
clunker. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’m warning you. You can never
unsee it.” I should have listened. Because Sleep No More is one huge waste of
time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Those opening lines alone tell me not to trust this guy.
This guy turns out to be Rassmussen, a researcher/scientist type on
a space station. He stares out at us in found footage fashion from a flickering
screen and in a terrified manner warns us not to view the video that he is
purposely making—but for what purpose if he doesn’t want anyone to watch it? I
quickly lose patience with this conceit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">So I don’t trust this guy to begin with, making the story he
supposedly has pieced together in this video suspect. Turns out it probably all
is a lie, or at least didn’t happen exactly the way he tells it, so why bother?
This is another Doctor Who adventure that never happened. That would be OK if
the narrative itself was compelling enough. It’s not. What it turns out to be
is nothing more than a tale that kids make up around the campfire to scare each
other, and it makes about as much sense as those cobbled together yarns.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">It doesn’t help that the group of stranded characters on
this base-under-siege are introduced to us by Rassmussen as stereotypes. We have
Chopra (“Bit of an attitude.”), Commander Nagata (“Young, for the
responsibility.”), Deep-Ando (“Conscript; likes to think of himself as the
joker of this little group.”), and 474 (“This one’s obvious from the markings,
isn’t it? We all know a Grunt when we see one.”). They never manage to break
free from these classifications as assigned to them by our narrator. It also
doesn’t help that the grainy, shaky, dark nature of the piece often makes it
difficult to distinguish one from another.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">In addition, the quality of the picture (or lack of quality)
often obscures the action. When the Doctor asks, “Why did they kill Rassmussen
like that,” I have to ask myself—Rassmussen is dead? When did that happen? (Of
course, Rassmussen isn’t dead, but that’s another matter.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The Doctor and Clara provide the only worthwhile moment early
on in the episode during their “never put the word space in front of something”
exchange. After that the Doctor and Clara are about as interesting as sleep
dust.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Ah—sleep dust. There’s an inspired monster for you. The
Doctor pulls this theory out of the air based on nothing and we are to believe
it. Rassmussen backs him up, but then we can’t believe anything Rassmussen
tells us. These dust creatures, or Sandmen as Clara dubs them, are rampaging
through the space station and somehow killing people. I’m not sure exactly how.
References are made to people being consumed. Do the Sandmen have teeth and
digestive tracts? Are they sitting down to dine on humans? Or are people being
somehow absorbed into the Sandmen (in which case I suppose that would make them
distant cousins to the Abzorbaloff)? Why is it that everyone just runs from the
monsters? Why does no one think to fight the things? They seem to disintegrate pretty
easily. And since they are made of dust, the Doctor could call in a team of
space maids armed with space vacuums to clean up the mess. (Who you gonna call? Dust Busters!)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">I guess I’m just not sure about anything in this episode.
Are these creatures arising spontaneously out of the corner of people’s eyes?
Or are they transforming humans based on the altered brain chemistry brought
about by an electronic signal? And what about this whole hijacked sight aspect?
I assume it is Rassmussen who has been hijacking the Sandmen’s sight, but how
and why? And why do they let him? They apparently are in cahoots with
Rassmussen, and again, how and why? They communicate telepathically? Speaking
of communication—why doesn’t the Doctor ever try to communicate with the
Sandmen? He’s always trying to communicate with aliens; why not with these? I’m
filled with questions but find I don’t really care about the answers. And
neither does the show; just like the show isn’t interested in bringing this
ordeal to any sort of conclusion, logical or otherwise. We are left hanging. Was
it real? Did the Doctor save the day? Is humanity doomed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, I don’t know and I don’t care.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">I’m with the Doctor—“This doesn’t make any sense.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">There is a germ of a good idea embedded in the plot but it
is squandered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“Sleep’s the one thing left to us,” Chopra (the Attitude) says.
But now, through the Morpheus machine, They (the ubiquitous They) are “colonizing
it.” This could make for all kinds of intriguing scenarios. I can imagine
Doctor Who of old expanding this idea out to a full 4 or 6 episode run,
exploring a society in which sleep is deprived of its workers, parceled out in
5 minute doses that keeps the peons on their feet and in the factories, all for
the greater glory of the Company. (Visions of <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-sun-makers.html" target="_blank">The Sun Makers</a> dance through my
head.) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">But we never even get a glimpse of any semblance of a social
network. Instead we get dust bunnies hopping around, shaky camera work, and a
whole lot of unexplained business that isn’t very interesting. The few mentions
we have of society leave me with the impression that Mankind has willingly
surrendered to a drone-like existence and is standing in line to sign up for 5
minutes in the Morpheus machine so that they can spend every blessed waking
minute working, working, working, working, working. Not me. If I had the
choice, I would first choose to keep my precious sleep time, but if forced to
take my dose of Morpheus, I would spend my purchased waking moments in
something other than work.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">We don’t even get any hint of some vast, evil conspiracy.
This is all the work of one mad man, Rassmussen. He has somehow hoodwinked the
good people of Triton into becoming grunts. Except they grow Grunts. So why the
need for human grunts? If they can grow Grunts to do the grunt work, why oh why
. . . .</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">I give up. The real question is, why am I even trying to
understand any of this? I think, Gary, I’ll just go to bed, perhaps to dream .
. .</span> </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-27184095380945611862017-07-28T12:17:00.001-05:002017-07-28T12:19:00.199-05:00The Zygon Inversion<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The Zygon Inversion accomplishes what many Doctor Who Part 2
stories do not, and that is it lives up to a great Part 1 and delivers an
entertaining, action packed, coherent plot without falling victim to overblown
spectacle. To quote the Doctor, “I’m a very big fan.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">It also achieves the rare feat of revealing Clara to be a
complex, interesting, and likeable character—twice over. It is telling that
Clara (the real Clara) is at her best when going head to head with her doppelganger.
I have to say, though, that I prefer the character of Zygella (AKA Zygon Clara,
AKA Bonnie) to the original.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">An aside here, Gary. It is not the lack of depth I object to
so much as it is the way the show runners have tried so very hard and so very desperately
to make Clara into some superhero who is given UNIT clearance (with access to
the Black Archive no less!) and who is the bestest ever companion and who is indispensable
to the Doctor and without whom the Doctor cannot live simply by repeating ad
nauseam that she is all of that and more rather than by giving her actual,
consistent attributes that would make her such. It is a credit to Jenna Coleman
that Clara has remained watchable despite this mishandling.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Perhaps it is because of this heretofore dearth of character
development that I find the Clara face off scenes in this story so compelling.
At last Jenna Coleman is given something to sink her teeth into, and she makes
the most of the opportunity. And while this heretofore dearth of character development
calls into question the Doctor's delighted comment—“The mind of Clara Oswald;
she may never find her way out” (the ‘she’ referring to Zygella)—this single
episode manages to give the line some weight.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Osgood, on the other hand, is a character who has always
impressed despite limited screen time, and with an expanded role here she
continues to shine. As in the previous episode, Osgood holds her own with the
Doctor, challenging him in a way that Clara never does. Clara has always been
obvious, providing the Doctor with a literal or proverbial slap in the face or
outright adoration, depending on the circumstance. Osgood is subtle, providing
intellectual stimulation and true companionship on an equal footing, based on
mutual respect and admiration, but with a healthy dose of objectivity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Just take their exchange on the beach. The world is on the
brink of a takeover by rogue Zygons; the world needs the Doctor; the Doctor is
despondent at the thought that Clara is most likely dead. Osgood doesn’t read
the Doctor the riot act or rant speeches at him. Rather she guides him through
a series of questions to get him thinking; to get him hoping; to get him planning.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Osgood: “How’s that hope phase now?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Doctor: “Worse than ever.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Osgood:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Then we’ve
got a game.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The game is indeed afoot, and it is Osgood who has successfully
read the Doctor and has effectively propelled him onto the path of action.
Indeed, it is Osgood who is the key to this whole puzzle. “Two Osgoods; two
boxes. Operation double. What did you expect?” What I don’t expect is the
Doctor to continually hound Osgood as to which Osgood she is. It simply is not
important and the Doctor above everyone should know this. Leave it to Osgood,
though, to calmly and steadfastly refuse to answer. If I didn’t know better I
would say that Osgood is the Doctor in a future incarnation. (Too bad Ingrid
Oliver wasn’t just announced as the next Doctor.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">But I digress. The game is afoot and Osgood is the key. All
action converges on the Black Archive where the Osgood box—turns out boxes—reside.
Zygella arrives with Pod Clara in tow. Outraged at her discovery, she summons
the Doctor from his diversionary trip to the surprisingly empty shopping center
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of instant internet notoriety with the also
instantly notorious peaceful Zygon revealed against his will (a side show that
is entertaining and moving but doesn’t really make a lot of sense in the scheme
of things upon close inspection, but who has time to closely inspect?) along
with Kate Stewart who it turns out is not Zygon Kate Stewart but human Kate
Stewart who divulges her escape from Truth or Consequences in flashback (“five
rounds rapid”—gotta love it). And of course the ever present Osgood makes the
trip as well. All parties assembled for the final showdown.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And what a showdown it is. This is the Doctor’s shining hour—and
quite likely Peter Capaldi’s crowning moment as the Doctor. This is the Twelfth
Doctor achieving what the Eleventh failed in <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2015/03/cold-blood.html" target="_blank">Cold Blood</a>. This is the Doctor
standing tall and proud in the face of two factions on the brink of war and
talking them down. His speech is riveting and impeccably delivered as Kate and
Zygella stare at each other across those devastating Osgood boxes of death and
destruction.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“This is a scale model of war,” he sums up. “Every war ever
fought, right there in front of you. Because it’s always the same. When you
fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who’s going
to die! You don’t know whose children are going to scream and burn! How many
hearts will be broken! How many lives shatter! How much blood will spill until
everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning—sit
down and talk!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And then his relentless persuasion of Zygella. (Kate is easy—she
relents early on. She is privy to his history and understands his anguish as he
describes his similar hour of reckoning.) And again Jenna Coleman excels as she
portrays the defiant yet wavering Zygella, her hand poised above the deadly
buttons. When the Doctor declares Zygella’s conversion and she asks him, “How
can you be so sure,” I believe the Doctor’s response, “Because you have a
disadvantage, Zygella. I know that face.” Jenna Coleman’s face says it all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">It is all so masterfully done that I forgive the obvious
flaws. However, I still feel like everything is undone when the Doctor, in
response to Kate’s question as to how they can forget the secret (that the
boxes are in fact empty) replies, “You’ve said that the last fifteen times.”
Are you kidding me? Fifteen times? The Doctor has allowed this same deadly
scenario to play out fifteen times, each time erasing their memories so that it
can play out again? This is not peace he has brokered. This is simply a
temporary ceasefire. A ceasefire to last—what—given the timeline between the
first Zygon outbreak and this, a couple months or weeks? Why can’t he stop
simply hitting the reset button and come up with a permanent solution? For this
to have happened fifteen times already there must still be quite a few Zygons
who are living in discontent and plotting rebellion. This has got to keep the
Doctor so busy he can’t have time for any of the other adventures he supposedly
has. This was a case of the scriptwriter not being able to resist the urge to
insert a clever zinger.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">I’ll take that hint, Gary, and assume that this was merely
the Doctor throwing out a one-liner and not being literal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And again we have an ending in which a potentially valuable and
noteworthy companion turns down the Doctor’s offer to travel with him in the
TARDIS. But Osgood is almost too good for the Doctor at this time, and she
(along with her newly acquired Zygella-turned-Osgood twin) is better left to
keep the peace that the Doctor apparently can only temporarily proffer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Before taking my leave, Gary, I have to say a word about
this hiatus I have been on recently (in the middle of a two-parter no less). I can offer excuses like: Writers block.
Busy life. A general malaise brought about by the recent political climate. The
knowledge that you have never seen these stories I am currently on. Or any combination
thereof. But I suppose the major reason is my increasing disenchantment with
the show, despite the quality of the episodes I am covering at present. Outside
of my slow path I have forged ahead in my viewing, and I have to say that this
show has found new ways in which to disappoint me. It has rarely if ever
reached perfection, and you well know my reservations about the New Who, but
this most recent season, this tenth season of the New Who, has completely lost
its identity. It is no longer Doctor Who. It is as if it is trying to be a pale
imitation of The Twilight Zone. But no, I don’t even want to compare it to a
show of that quality. Rather it is striving to become a distant cousin of those
modern Zone like shows, such as Black Mirror. I truly hope Doctor Who can find
its direction once again and I will continue plodding along. I see that the new
Doctor has been announced and I can only hope that she is not treated as a
gimmick, but I don’t have much faith at this point.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Sorry to end on a sour note, especially when The Zygon Inversion
is anything but . . . but, oh Gary . . .</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-57955326507657476882016-12-31T12:11:00.001-06:002016-12-31T12:17:53.877-06:00The Zygon Invasion<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Osgood lives! The Zygon Invasion is worthwhile for this if
nothing else; however The Zygon Invasion has so much more to offer. I would
argue that this story is the first truly effective use of UNIT since its
introduction into New Who. Previously UNIT was used for its nostalgia power or its
wow factor or its utilitarian aspects. The Zygon Invasion has the feel of those
Pertwee adventures of old; never my favorite but successful when used sparingly
and when done right. The Zygon Invasion is done right.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And it starts with Osgood. Osgood has strength of character
that is sorely missing in many a New Who companion, most notably the present
one. She is a fan of the Doctor without being a fawning sycophant. She has not
fallen sway to the charisma and pleasing face of any one incarnation. She wears
symbols of the Doctor’s many past manifestations; she admires and embodies what
he stands for; she respects him as a whole entity encompassing all of his
multiple personas. She is in awe of the Doctor but she converses with him on an
equal footing, remaining true to her convictions and standing firm against his
request that she reveal if she is Zygon Osgood or Human Osgood. She has a
selfless devotion to the peace that has been established between Zygons and
Humans and will not betray it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“I’m proud to know you, Osgood,” the Doctor says. The Doctor
recognizes and respects Osgood’s integrity. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Osgood is the embodiment of the concord achieved at the end
of <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-day-of-doctor.html" target="_blank">The Day of the Doctor</a>, and this tale effectively picks up from that plot
thread. Rogue Zygons are rebelling against the established arrangement that had
successfully and secretively merged them into human culture. Osgood (the remaining
Osgood who was not killed during <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2016/05/death-in-heaven.html" target="_blank">Death in Heaven</a>) is kidnapped by this Zygon
faction and the Doctor, Clara, and UNIT must work to find Osgood and squelch
the uprising.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The story takes us in three directions. Kate
Lethbridge-Stewart travels to Truth or Consequences to investigate the
disappearance of Osgood. The Doctor travels to Turmesizstan to work with the
UNIT forces there to locate Osgood. And Clara remains in London with Kate’s
assistant Jac. Each branch of the tale is entertaining and suspenseful and
propels the plot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The eerily empty town of Truth or Consequences set in the
arid desert of New Mexico is the perfect atmosphere as Kate wanders the streets
looking for answers, helped along the way by the sole remaining inhabitant,
Sheriff Norlander. From Norlander Kate learns that one young Zygon broke form,
panicking the human townsfolk. Massacre ensued. As I write this I start to
wonder why no one has noticed the desertion of Truth or Consequences. Wouldn’t
it have been more prudent of the Zygons to take on the forms of the humans they
have killed and keep the town going so no one would ask any questions? But
apparently aside from Osgood (who has been kidnapped as a result) and Kate,
seemingly nobody has noticed these goings on. I’ll let it pass. Presumably this
instance was the spark that prodded the rogue faction of Zygons to decide
enough is enough. They are tired of leading lives of secrecy and lies. They
want to be free of the stifling humanity they are forced to don.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">I have to say that I have some sympathy for this sentiment,
although not with their actions. And I have to wonder why the Doctor never
considered resettling the homeless Zygons on a planet somewhere in the vast
universe where they could be free to be themselves. But again I’ll let it pass
because he didn’t and if he did we wouldn’t have a story.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, in Turmesizstan, the Doctor learns of the
suspected Zygon training base from UNIT Commander Walsh. Desperately trying to
keep Walsh from obliterating the village, the Doctor is aided by the Zygon ability
to take on the form of the soldiers’ loved ones. Looking into the faces of one’s
husband and son would make it hard for any soldier to order the command to drop
the bombs; and confronting one’s own mother makes it impossible to pull the
trigger. These are compelling scenes; although I feel Walsh’s frustration as
she watches her troops waver and fall prey to the Zygon deceit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are trained soldiers after all, who have
been drilled in the Zygon methods of shape-shifting. They really should be more on
guard when they drop their weapons to their sides and follow meekly along to
their deaths. What this does, though, is give the Doctor the time he needs to
locate the captive Osgood.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">With Kate and the Doctor at the far corners, Clara is free
to wreak havoc in London. Because, as we come to learn, Clara is not Clara but
Zygon Clara. Rogue Zygon Clara, aka Bonnie, at that. I haven’t liked Clara as
much as this in a long time. At least she has clarity of vision and firm convictions,
even if misguided and malevolent. I do feel sorry for Jac. She loyally, albeit
warily, follows along, having the look of a spare part UNIT drone until she
cleverly works out the Clara disguise, at which point she becomes expendable to
the plot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The plot comes to a head with Kate seemingly killed by
Norlander (who as it turns out is a Zygon) and the Doctor and Osgood about to be blown out of the sky by
Bonnie/Clara. A thrilling cliffhanger for this first of a two part story.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The Zygon Invasion works on many levels, not the least of
which is a suspenseful and gripping narrative. In addition we have the hotly
political issue of immigrant aliens trying to acclimate into society and the
prejudice they face. Then there is the aspect of rebellion and terrorism and the
debate as to how to respond. I especially love the Doctor’s observation, “You
start bombing them, you’ll radicalize the lot. That’s exactly what the splinter
group wants.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is counterbalanced by
Walsh’s legitimate concerns regarding the danger of the rogue faction holed up
in Turmesizstan. “Any living thing in this world, including my family and
friends,” she states, “could turn into a Zygon and kill me any second now.” Then
she delivers the clincher: “It’s not paranoia when it’s real.” Of course there
isn’t much room to accommodate an in depth discussion. The action, as always,
takes over.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">That’s OK, Gary. The action is compelling, and there is much
human emotion as well as humor to keep things rolling. And I come back to
Osgood. Her calm, steadfast, and resolute presence is at the heart of it all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Osgood 1: “Any race is capable of the best and the worst.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Osgood 2: “Every race is peaceful and warlike.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Osgood 1: “Good and evil.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Osgood 2: “My race is no exception.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Osgood 1: “And neither is mine.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Osgood embodies the peace. She is the amalgam; Zygon and
Human. But she says it best: “My sister and I were the living embodiment of the
peace we made. I will give all the lives that I have to protect it. You want to
know who I am, Doctor? I am the peace. I am Human and Zygon.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Her sorrow shown in flashback at the loss of her sister is
palpable; her dedication to the cause is stalwart; her strength of character is
evident. It is only right that the Doctor is proud to know her. She represents
the best in any race and any race would be proud to count her among their own.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">I leave you with this, Gary, as we stand at the brink of a
new year. We are at our own cliffhanger in history, staring into an abyss that
holds the best or the worst; peace or war; good or evil. Let us hope that there
is more Osgood in us than we dare to hope . . .</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-76717464267403548272016-11-05T08:27:00.000-05:002016-11-05T08:27:49.148-05:00The Woman Who Lived
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Woman Who Lived is the ‘Greet’ portion of this two part
Meet and Greet of Ashildr, building on the ‘Meet’ from The Girl Who Died.
Ashildr is the central figure of the two episodes and will obviously figure
prominently into the arc of the season. As usual with arc-centric stories, the
plot suffers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Although dressed up in most impressive leonine splendor, the
alien of the week is more disposable and afterthought than ever. His only
reason for being is to throw in an alien presence that New Who feels obligated
to provide each time out regardless of how ridiculous it is becoming.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">However, it just doesn’t matter, Gary, because Ashildr is
the story; and what a story she is.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Ashildr is a tale of heartbreak, and one told to the
Doctor’s shame.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">To understand it better we must revisit the end of the
previous episode. In The Girl Who Died the Doctor looks in a barrel, sees the
face he has ‘chosen,’ remembers having saved (at Donna’s insistence) the person
who once bore that face, and decides he is tired of losing people; decides he
can break any laws he wants; decides he is going to save Ashildr. Except he
doesn’t save Ashildr; Ashildr is already dead; what he does is resurrect her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Doctor is not God, despite New Who flirting with the
notion that he is a god, and when he does decide to play god it usually turns
to a tragic end. Having selfishly denied Ashildr a natural and honorable death,
the Doctor curses her with immortality. And then he walks away without even a
word of encouragement or advice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“I tell you that leaving this place would be death itself,”
Ashildr tells the Doctor back in The Girl Who Died. As The Woman Who Lived
opens Ashildr cannot even remember that place, her village.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“Who’s Ashildr?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">She cannot even remember her own name.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“I call myself Me,” she tells the Doctor. “All the other
names I chose died with whoever knew me. Me is who I am now. No one’s mother,
daughter, wife. My own companion. Singular. Unattached. Alone.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Ashildr is dead despite the Doctor, or more accurately,
because of the Doctor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Doctor: “Oh Ashildr, daughter of Einarr, what happened to
you?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Ashildr: “You did, Doctor. You happened.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Ashildr has suffered 800 years of sorrow and poverty and
pain and loneliness; 800 years “of adventure” as she describes it, “enough to
fill a library if you write it down.” That library is full of the misery that
has been her living death. More poignant, though, are the pages that are
missing. “When things get really bad,” Ashildr explains, “I tear the memories
out.” Whole swathes of her being are missing; the good along with the bad.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Some of the worst, however, she retains. Like the agonizing
death of her children. “I keep that entry,” Ashildr explains, “to remind me not
to have any more.” She says this with no feeling, almost bored. Eight hundred
years of weary existence has taught her to suppress her emotions. Yet how she
must yearn to live; to love; to feel. She is not a Cyberman; she remains human
despite her hybrid nature.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And so she begs the Doctor to take her with him; to take her
away from this mortal plane she can no longer bear. Maisie Williams lends grace
to the show and imbues Ashildr with a depth of character beneath her bland
façade. She would make an excellent addition to the TARDIS crew. Oh yeah, the
Doctor already has a companion. Clara is barely in this episode and I don’t
even miss her. The lack of clarity and definition in Clara would be made up for
by Ashildr’s company. Clara is a piecemeal character re-imagined to suit the
whims of each season, in contrast to the fully formed person who is Ashildr.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">But the Doctor selfishly and indefensibly refuses Ashildr’s
pleas and so we will have to content ourselves with this beautiful two story
arc and whatever scraps of her presence that are in store for the rest of the
season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Because the Doctor unreasonably refuses Ashildr’s most
reasonable request she decides to throw her lot in with the lion king. What follows
is the requisite alien plot of magical amulets and dangerous portals and death
and destruction. It is neatly packaged, however, in an imaginative and
entertaining highwayman story line, and the gallows humor is greatly
appreciated.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">As chaos erupts around her, as strange spaceships
materialize, as a mysterious planet appears in the sky, as fireballs rain down
on the innocent rabble, Ashildr re-discovers her humanity. Luckily Ashildr
still has the second Mire repair chip that the Doctor left with her back in The
Girl Who Died. The amulet that somehow killed the unfortunate Sam is
miraculously counteracted by the Mire tech. Sam resurrects, the aliens in the
sky kill Leandro, the portal closes, and the powerful amulet is suddenly
nothing more than a hunk of metal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And still the Doctor refuses to take Ashildr with him. At
this point I am thinking Ashildr is better off. She is not one to fawn over the
Doctor and she is destined for greater things than merely becoming the Doctor’s
caretaker.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">With her soul restored she faces the Doctor across a tavern
table. Ashildr has proven herself to be a bigger person than the Doctor. She
has outgrown him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">With insight greater than the Doctor’s, Ashildr proclaims, “Enemies
are never a problem; it’s your friends you have to watch out for.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Ashildr has experienced the devastation that the Doctor often
leaves in his wake, and she makes a vow to become “the patron saint of the
Doctor’s leftovers.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can think of no
better defender of this world, Gary, than Ashildr.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-66742350511720595042016-09-30T17:29:00.000-05:002016-09-30T17:29:22.867-05:00The Girl Who Died
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Girl Who Died has the feel of filler. I think this about
half way through the episode as the Doctor is preparing a rag tag team of
Vikings to do battle against a generic alien-of-the-week warrior race. At this
point, as well, I think how laughable it has become—this Earthbound Who that
throws alien after alien at Humanity week after week and we are to believe that
none of this has been set down in the historical record until the advent of
<a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2014/01/aliens-of-london.html" target="_blank">Aliens of London</a>. This is New Who’s version of the Classic’s rubber-masked
monster Achilles’ heel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">As laughable filler, however, The Girl Who Died is pretty
fantastic.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">From start to finish, this story strikes just the right
balance between comedy and pathos, with equal contributions from the writing and
acting.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The episode starts with another New Who cliché—the
mini-episode that wasn’t. The thrill-ride opening sequence— complete with a
brain-sucking Love Sprite from the spider mines and a daring rescue in
mid-space, with passing reference to a hitherto unknown species of Velosians
–speeds by too fast to begin questioning why it is that some of these never
seen adventures sound more fascinating than the eventual stories to which we
are privy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Clara: “You’re always talking about what you can and can’t
do, but you never tell me the rules.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Exactly, Gary; it’s like that. Doctor Who, New Who in
particular, does a lot of fast talking but rarely explains. These mini
escapades are a microcosm of . . . what’s that, Gary? Vikings? Hold onto your
hat . . . .</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Doctor: “No, no, not Vikings. I’m not in the mood for
Vikings.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I have to say that these Vikings (and I don’t mean the
Minnesota purple variety, Gary) are much more entertaining than their
predecessors from <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2012/06/time-meddler.html" target="_blank">The Time Meddler</a>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">What makes this episode special is its intimate nature. The
Doctor says it: “The Earth is safe; humanity is not in danger. It’s just one
village.” The Doctor remains because he cares; he has a vested interest in the
individuals. Time after time the Doctor takes the view of the big picture,
leaving the details to his companions. However, like his stance against bantering and
hugging, it often turns out that the Doctor doth protest too much.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The poignant scene when Clara realizes the Doctor has
decided to stay is beautifully done. The Doctor’s ability to speak baby, in the
past used mainly as throwaway humor, is integral to the plot here. Who knows if
his translation is accurate, but it is amazingly poetic and speaks to the
deeply personal nature of the moment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">For a change, the Doctor has abandoned the big picture for
the village.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Doctor assigning nicknames to the villagers is hilarious
as well as apropos to his commitment to these people. He does this not in the
careless manner of a Michael J. Scott; rather his designations of Lofty and ZZ
Top and Noggin the Nog are done rather fondly and thoughtfully despite his
gruffness. And ultimately he stands shoulder to shoulder with Heidi and Daphne
and Limpy. This is not a species that needs saving or a race in peril; these
are Chuckles and Ashildr; these are his friends.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I’m going to say something here, Gary, about the Doctor Who
historical. The Girl Who Died is not a pure historical; The Girl Who Died
relies on the crutch of the alien. However it brings to mind some of those old
William Hartnell serials. I already mentioned the Viking tie in with The Time
Meddler; but what really brings me to my point is <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2012/04/reign-of-terror.html" target="_blank">The Reign of Terror</a>. “We
can’t stem the tide,” The Doctor states in that long-ago tale, “but at least we
can stop being carried away with the flood.” Echoes of that sentiment resound
in our current Doctor’s statement:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We’re
time travelers; we tread softly. It’s okay to make ripples, but not tidal
waves.” The difference, of course, is that Classic Who referred to History
engulfing the Doctor and his friends, whereas here the Doctor worries that he (and
by extension Clara) will engulf History.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“You are a tidal wave.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">No longer a wanderer, a traveler, an adventurer; the Doctor
is a Force. It is a shift in New Who philosophy vs. the Classic. Yet the Doctor
denies it: “Don’t say that.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">An essay on that historical tidal wave of old vs. the new tidal
wave of the Doctor is something for another time, Gary. For now, let’s
concentrate on the flood at hand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The current tidal wave of the Doctor is a hint at the
seasonal arc; yet I don’t mind it as much in this ninth season of the new era.
The arc isn’t engulfing Doctor Who as much as Doctor Who is engulfing the arc. That
might be a separate essay of its own, so let us return, Gary, to The Girl Who
Died.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Ashildr (as played by Maisie Williams) is the titular girl
who dies, and she is the Doctor’s ripple who turns into a tidal wave. Ashildr
is an ordinary little girl (there is nothing extraordinary about a little girl
who feels insecure and out of place) in an ordinary Viking village, until, that
is, the Doctor intervenes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">First the Doctor saves the village, a ripple that the Doctor
cleverly keeps from turning into a tidal wave courtesy of Benny Hill. It is all
highly diverting with electric eels and puppets. Our generic villain of the week,
the Mire (as opposed to the Mire Beast), are made a mockery of by the Doctor’s
sleight of hand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">This Mire subplot, for it is a subplot in the larger scheme
of things, is amusing. The Doctor is captured by Vikings and pretends to be
Odin, only to be out-Odined by the head Mire; the Doctor’s yo-yo trick pales in
comparison to the Odin-head -in-the-sky trick, which has impeccable comic
timing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Clara and Ashildr add to the proceedings during their
encounter with Mire Odin Head. Clara is resourceful in her dealings with MOH,
almost convincing him to leave with no more harm done than the incidental
mashed up Viking juice obtained from the fiercest warriors of the village.
Ashildr’s defiant taunting of MOH, however, is both laudable and lamentable and
serves to propel our plot: “I think this village just declared war on them.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">This leads to the Doctor’s personal investment in saving the
village as already described; and I cannot overstate how entertaining it all
is. But as Mom used to say, it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Really, the Doctor should have known better than to place
the massive Mire helmet on the head of a little girl and expect her to harness
the alien tech to project a holographic Wyrm onto the longship prow. She has an
active imagination, makes puppets, and concocts fantastic stories, sure. But
anyone could have thought ‘dragon’ and transformed that wooden bow. Instead the
Doctor places the giant weight on the little girl’s shoulders and she dies in
the process. Saves the village but dies in the process. Funny to watch the Mire
warriors in their retreat, but a little girl dies as a result. Shame on the
Doctor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It should have been her shining moment, and to the Doctor’s
credit he allowed the little girl to step up in this way. Her death was unforeseen
and unfortunate, but really, the Doctor should have been more responsible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(His ‘care of duty’ apparently only applies
to Clara, and that is merely lip service.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The onus is on the Doctor; however I can only laugh when
Clara cradles the lifeless body of Ashildr and enquires of the Doctor, “is she
dead?” Clara has just declared that she feels no pulse, yet she looks to the
Doctor as though he is an omniscient doctor who can divine life or death from
thin air.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">This, Gary, is a running theme throughout the episode, and
throughout the Clara/Doctor relationship. Clara continually looks to the Doctor
as though he is omnipotent. “He hasn’t got a plan yet,” she says early on in
our story, “but he will have; and it will be spectacular.” Confidence in the
Doctor is paramount for a companion, but at times Clara escalates this to
unrealistic expectations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It can be argued that Clara is at fault here. She cajoles
the Doctor into remaining. She talks the Doctor into determining what he is overlooking
and to “start winning.” She, it can be argued, is responsible for Ashildr’s
death. She has created the tidal wave that will be felt as the season
progresses.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And it starts with this piece of dialogue.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Doctor: “They’ll die fighting with honor. To a Viking, that’s
all the difference in the world.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Clara: “A good death? Is that the best they can hope for?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Doctor: “A good death is the best anyone can hope for,
unless you happen to be immortal.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">A good death, Gary. The Vikings chose to stand and fight.
They chose a good death. Clara convinces the Doctor to hand the Vikings a death
defying victory. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s all well and
good. However, Ashildr pays the price. She dies. She dies a good death. That
was her choice and she was heroic in making it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The best, the most honest, the noblest ending to this
bizarre alien encounter with a Viking village is for the Vikings to die with
honor. Failing that, the sacrifice of Ashildr is a poetically tragic denouement.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">But the Doctor decides that isn’t good enough. He is tired
of losing people. He is tired of following the rules. He has won the war but
lost Ashildr. Hang the consequences, he is going to defy all of the laws he has
vowed to uphold. He is going to defy death. Ashildr will live again with the
aid of Mire technology.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“But it’s entirely possible she has lost the ability to die.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Denied death; denied honor; denied nobility.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It is effectively done. The Doctor’s remembrance of times
gone by; his realization of why he has chosen this particular face for his
latest incarnation; his proclamation: “I’m the Doctor, and I save people.” It
is all justified; and the Doctor is defiant and joyous in his determination.
And then the remorse: “Immortality is everybody else dying.” And the
self-recrimination: “I was angry. I was emotional. Just possibly, I have made a
terrible mistake. Maybe even a tidal wave.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">With more than a little help from Clara, the Doctor’s ripple
has turned into a tidal wave that will be felt as the season progresses. And
this seeming filler of a story has turned into the core of an arc.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“In a way, she’s a hybrid.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The parting shot of Ashildr as the scenery and seasons swirl
around her is masterfully done, and with the subtlest of changes in expression
Maisie Williams conveys all of the power of those mournful and prophetic lines.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">A good death is the best anyone can hope for, Gary . . .</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-56342639443441923452016-08-27T09:18:00.001-05:002016-08-27T09:44:00.761-05:00Before the Flood<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">This story is over before it starts. But don't tell the Doctor that; he wants to have fun so he throws a spanner into the works to keep it going.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“So there’s this man. He has a time machine. Up and down
history he goes, zip, zip, zip, zip, zip, getting into scrapes.” The Doctor is
telling a story—to us, the audience. I don’t like it. To me this is the show
showing off. This is Doctor Who saying ‘Looky what I can do!’ The point of this
opening segment is to set before us the Bootstrap Paradox (“Google it”) as the centerpiece of the episode. This is exactly the thing that
I have against season arcs—it sacrifices the adventure on the altar of the
almighty arc. In the case of Before the Flood, the narrative is shortchanged in
deference to the “who really composed Beethoven’s Fifth” causal loop framework
it just set forth in plain view. And by having the Doctor break the fourth wall
in order to deliver the message it is by way of saying, ‘Ta da!’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">It is a shame because the first half of the story set us up
nicely; the second half lets us down. The tale is simply a flimsy excuse to get
us to perform and admire the Doctor Who mental gymnastics game. It is as hollow
as the sham Soviet town the TARDIS materializes in. I can’t even believe that
this military base designed as a fake village for training purposes is real—it
is simply a TV set ready for our actors to play in. The tip-off is that there
are absolutely no people here—not even a stray guard or two. It is completely
abandoned for no apparent reason. So devoid of life that a huge alien
spacecraft can land there and no one is around to notice; the UFO must not have
even registered as a blip on any radar screen in this supposedly militarized
zone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Of course there is always the possibility that our baddie of
the hour, the Fisher King, has killed everyone within miles of the place. But
that isn’t even hinted at. In fact, nothing of import is related in connection
with the Fisher King. Oh, he’s big and impressive and scary looking all right.
But that is his only raison d’etre. Beyond that he could be one of the
cardboard Russians littering the streets of the town. We have no clue what his
motivation is. I guess he wants to “drain the oceans and put the humans in
chains” just for the fun of it. For all we know that threat could be nothing
more than hot air. We have no demonstration of his powers other than somehow
killing O’Donnell (off camera), presumably by brute strength, and making some
magic writing appear on his capsule wall that will turn dead humans into
transmitters. If the military is in any way active around that town the Doctor
could easily enlist their aid in defeating the big guy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">I’m not even sure how the Fisher King knows where he is. He
is presumed dead and wrapped up like a mummy awaiting burial when we first
meet him, and then quite suddenly he appears alive and well and fully
informed. He awakens on a strange planet but knows exactly where it is; enough
so that he can write the coordinates on the wall; even if those coordinates
seem awfully vague; and I wonder if anyone hearing them will actually
understand them and know where to go or even why they should go. In addition,
the Fisher King seems to know everything about the Doctor and Time Lords; yet
he is fooled by a simple lie; and in the end he is destroyed by a deluge.
(Makes you wonder, Gary, how the Arcateenians killed him, or thought they
killed him.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The Fisher King is an Etch A Sketch version of a monster.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Equally sketchy is Prentis. He should be a fascinating
character, but we never get to know him. The script treats him as
contemptuously as the Doctor treats him. He is a Tivolian funeral director come
to bury the fallen Fisher King “on a barren, savage outpost.” Why did he choose
Earth (hardly barren)? Why is he wandering about the town with no particular
direction? Why does he have no helpers to dig the grave, act as pall bearers,
etc? His only purpose (other than to be ghostly) is for exposition. He doesn’t
even need much prodding. Copious explanations roll off his tongue of their own
accord. Mention his home planet and he delivers a concise encyclopedia entry
found under T for Tivoli. Ask him one question (“What are you doing here?”) and
he rattles off a Reader’s Digest history of conquest and subjugation. Once his
information has been imparted his character is dispensed with; thrown aside
much like the Doctor tosses away his card. (“May the remorse be with you.”)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">It is the Doctor who comes off the worst in this chicken or egg
riddle, though. There is the obvious callousness that the script points out for
us in the casual way he treats O’Donnell’s death, using it to test his theory.
This insensitivity is reinforced by Clara when Cass questions the Doctor’s
influence over Clara in her decision to send Lunn out on a dangerous mission;
Clara explains to Cass of the Doctor, “He taught me to do what has to be done.”
But this is what Doctor Who wants you to take away; the Doctor’s culpability
goes deeper than that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">The Doctor’s brilliant plan is to send a hologram ghost
Doctor ahead in time to the underwater base to deliver a cryptic message to
Clara to relay back to the real Doctor to essentially light a fire under him to
get going already and save the day. Huh? Since when does the Doctor need a kick
in the pants to solve a basically straight forward alien threat? Additionally,
he programs the Holo Doctor to pass on a bit of information (that the stasis
chamber is going to open that night) to his real self in order to give him the
bright idea of getting inside that chamber so that he can pop up at the right
time in the underwater base. Can't his real self think up this plan all by himself without the paradox?
Surely he can set the timer going on the thing to open, and that is probably exactly
what he does do, so why didn’t he think of the plan himself? Oh yeah, he did
think of it himself, but only after he prodded himself from the past. Or was it
the future? Or was it Beethoven? And if he can set the timer, why not set it for earlier? Why the need for Holo Doctor at all? Just have the chamber open an hour or two earlier, jump out and that's that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">However, here is my real question. Why the need for coded
messages? Why not simply have Holo Doctor say in plain English, or Gallifreyan,
or whatever language he wants, exactly what is happening and what he should do?
The Doctor’s need to keep things fun and interesting only endangers everyone
around him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">This need for excitement is probably what compels him to
program his Holo Doctor to let the ghosts on the base out of their trap. (And
how can a hologram do that exactly?) He figures Clara, Cass, and Lunn are
getting bored just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Or maybe he
wants to get Clara’s mind off of his seemingly inevitable death so she’ll stop
nagging him about it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">If the Doctor is going to mess about with the laws of time
and create this paradox in order to save Clara, why not go whole hog and
rewrite history altogether to save everybody? He talks a good game about
certain laws that can’t be tampered with, but he breaks any and all when it
suits him. In this particular case he goes the paradox route rather than the
history re-writing, and again I wonder why. Rather than using the missing power
cell to blow up the dam to flood the town and kill the Fisher King, couldn’t he
use it to blow up the Fisher King and the ship with the writing on it to avert
all the deaths? Or erase the writing? But no, no, no; he is “still slavishly
protecting Time.” And he can’t resist the thrill of “reverse engineering the
narrative.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">That is the real crime against the Doctor. He has engineered
the events. Clara isn’t in any danger while the ghosts are trapped; she doesn’t
need saving. But the Doctor can’t stand for that so he lets the ghosts out so
that he can come in and save the day. How does he save the day? By trapping the
ghosts. He knew when he went back to the beginning that the ghosts were safely
locked away in the Faraday cage. All he had to do was find out how the ghosts
were created and stop any more from generating. Once he found the Fisher King
all the Doctor had to do was immobilize him and then inform UNIT to collect the
ghosts at that 2119 base.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Despite the flaws, there are several exciting moments as
well as some interesting concepts and humorous bits. Cass is great as she
argues with Clara over Lunn’s dangerous mission, and the scene of Cass sensing
the vibrations of the axe as it is dragged along by the stalking ghost is tense
and worthy of any good horror story. Quite a bit of it falls flat, however. The
Doctor’s “morning breath” comment for instance, or the repeated emphasis on how
dense the Doctor is when it comes to understanding Bennett’s mourning of O’Donnell.
The wrap up of the Cass/Lunn romance is sweet but forced. Did anyone not know
how these two felt about each other, least of all Cass and Lunn?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">And I really want to know why the TARDIS is so obstinate
throughout the story. It brings the Doctor and Clara to that base to begin with
and then decides it doesn’t like it there and won’t return once the Doctor
leaves. Or perhaps the Doctor simply makes up that excuse to keep his storyline
intact.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">When all is said and done the Doctor tells Clara, “The
Fisher King had been dead for a hundred and fifty years before we even got
here.” The Fisher King, that Etch A Sketch monster, was never the threat. It
was the ghostly transmitters that were the problem and they were safely locked
away. “But once I went back,” the Doctor continues in his explanation to Clara,
“I became part of events.” He then goes on to lay the “who composed Beethoven’s
Fifth” punch line on her and obscures the fact that his becoming part of events
is exactly what put them all in danger; and deliberately so. He wrote this
ghost story; or was it Holo Doctor? Who wrote Before the Flood? And isn’t he a
clever man, Gary?</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-2594864326110854402016-08-20T11:54:00.000-05:002016-08-20T11:54:16.385-05:00Under the Lake
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“So, we are fighting an unknown homicidal force that has
taken the form of your commanding officer and a cowardly alien, underwater, in
a nuclear reactor.” That is a perfect and succinct summation of Under the Lake.
The result is a tense, base-under-siege tale as well as an eerie ghost story
and an intriguing mystery, succeeding admirably at each even while riddled with
defects.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">All three elements come into play immediately as the scene
opens in the 2119 underwater mining facility with the crew examining a baffling
craft discovered on the lakebed. A ghostly figure in Victorian dress appears
and the engines of the unknown ship ignite spewing flames which kill the
captain, who next shows up as vaporous companion to our Victorian garbed
friend. It is a compelling start despite some of the weaker elements already
established; those being the characterizations. The crew is generally stock
stuff, although ably portrayed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The most stereotypical of the assemblage is Pritchard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No effort is made to depict him as a human
being. He is Corporate Mouthpiece, nothing more. Every word out of his mouth
and every action he takes is in service to this function. When the Doctor
rudely dismisses him therefore (“Why is this man still talking to me?”) it’s OK
because Pritchard has no thoughts or feelings; he’s simply a cardboard cutout.
The only remarkable thing about this man is that he does not survive long
enough to undermine the actions of the others as is usually the fate of such characters.
Rather, he is quickly dispatched to become a much more interesting ghost.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Unfortunately the most charismatic of the group, Captain
Moran, is the first to be turned into a spectral being. The acting commander
Cass and her interpreter Lunn are the standouts of those who remain, although
their secret desire for one another is telegraphed throughout and is mildly
annoying because it is so obvious and yet very deliberately unacknowledged.
Rounding out the cast is Bennett the nerdy scientist and O’Donnell the spunky
female technician. Their secret desires are revealed more subtly, yet the focus
on the one gesture (the punch on the arm) is just as intentional and therefore
intrusive.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">They serve their purpose, however, these clichéd characters,
and the presence of the ghosts and the strange vessel with its unearthly
markings keeps things exciting.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Enter the Doctor and Clara. The Doctor and Clara always
liven things up, however there are certain aspects of their relationship in
this story that are forced and fall flat. Clara is much too gung-ho for adventure
and the Doctor uncharacteristically cautious. His “duty of care” speech is
contrived and serves to remind me of how bad both the Doctor and Clara are at
this particular responsibility. The note cards shtick is another example of the
script trying too hard to make a point. The Doctor has rotten people skills and
Clara is there to guide him. This routine only reinforces the fact that Clara
is a lousy teacher and belittles the Doctor’s intelligence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">On the other hand, the Doctor’s varying reactions to the
phantoms are more apropos. His initial skepticism is to be expected and his
speculations draw us further in to the mystery. His delight when he determines
that they are actually ghosts is infectious. Once he has accepted them for what
they are he plans accordingly as he tries to understand them, their
capabilities, and their motivations, all of which propels the plot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The ghosts themselves are another plus, but again despite
their weakness. They are fantastically realized and provide abundant eeriness
and scare factor. However I can’t understand why the crew doesn’t fight back. After
it has been determined that the ghosts cannot harm them unless armed, why not
grab the weapons away from them instead of simply cowering and running? I can
understand to some extent being too frightened in the moment to think straight;
however they have ample time to stand around and discuss strategy when the
ghosts aren’t around.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Speaking of strategy—what was the Doctor thinking? It seems
the haunted house mentality has taken hold of him. Sending three people out to
draw the ghosts into a trap doesn’t make sense. Only one person is needed for
the job. Using three only serves to provide the opportunity for something to go
wrong, exactly as it does. The ghosts split up. “I’m beginning to think we
should have let the ghosts in on the plan.” No, Clara, you should have devised
a better plan. It’s an adrenaline rushing chase, though, and that’s a good
enough excuse. I’ll even excuse the idiocy of both Clara and Lunn as each
stands squarely in the middle of the doorway in full view before the door slams
shut. Only then do they duck to the side out of sight. In Lunn’s case he’s too late,
but luckily Cass had the foresight all along to keep Lunn out of the alien
spacecraft so he doesn’t have the code words embedded in his brain and the
ghosts let him go; and how convenient too, that this is the means by which the
Doctor figures out that it is the markings in the ship that are the key.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The markings in the ship; the code words—this is both
ingenious and head scratching. It is expertly done as one by one characters
gaze at the etchings and we see those strange symbols reflected in their eyes.
The ghosts silently chanting the translation is haunting and the tying in of Cass’s
ability to lip read is clever. The words themselves—the dark, the sword, the
forsaken, the temple—are intriguing and the Doctor’s conclusion that these are
coordinates leading to the church within the flooded and abandoned town is
original. However I can’t get over the vagueness of it all. OK, I can accept
the space, Earth (as the fourth component of Orion’s Belt), and church suppositions,
but how does “forsaken” lead one to that specific flooded and abandoned town?
Surely there are thousands of abandoned towns with churches on the planet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">There are a few more minor issues I have with this episode.
How is it that the ghosts are able to manipulate the system during the day
cycle when supposedly they can only come out at night? Why did the TARDIS
materialize on this base to begin with when it doesn’t like being there?
Finally I have to question the efficiency of this ghost transmitter idea. With
technology like that, wouldn’t you think the alien intelligence that created
these ghosts would have had the means to transmit the coordinates in a more
direct fashion? But oh well, as we say in Nelma.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">As in any good Doctor Who, the action takes over, sweeping
any questions aside. The group races against the clock to reach the TARDIS
before they get trapped; only half of them make it. The Doctor, O’Donnell and
Bennett board the TARDIS to go back in time to before the flood while Clara,
Cass, and Lunn remain behind. “Sit tight,” the Doctor tells them. “I’ll come
back for you.” Clara trusts the Doctor one hundred percent. “This is how we
roll,” Clara states confidently. “He’s going to go away, come back, and we’ll
have to listen to how he did it.” However while she says this a new ghost
appears and with growing dread the trapped trio realizes—it is the Doctor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Replete with flaws, Under the Lake nevertheless transcends
them all to deliver one doozy of a tale, topped with one whiz-bang cliffhanger.
In short, Gary, Under the Lake is some darn good Doctor Who.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-88329412176930789592016-08-13T11:16:00.001-05:002016-08-13T11:16:17.781-05:00The Witch's Familiar
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Witches Familiar is one of the most richly entertaining
episodes of the New Who era. It doesn’t rely on the spectacle or production or
epic storytelling for its wow factor; rather its strength lies in its acting,
with a nod towards directing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I’ll start with the Missy and Clara show. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“Can I have a stick too?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The super confident Clara is continually kept off balance by
the indomitable Missy. The episode starts with Clara literally swept off her
feet, hanging helplessly upside down while Missy spins her fascinating tale of
the Doctor. Missy is in complete control and there is nothing Clara can do
about it. This sets up a dynamic that makes Clara more approachable as a
character. Her spunk and spirit shines as she continually picks herself up off
the mat to battle on. When unchecked as she so often is with the Doctor, or
when indulged by UNIT, Clara has a tendency to take on an air of untouchable
conceit that isn’t always warranted. Clara needs the counterbalance of Missy to
keep her grounded, even when left dangling in the air.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“Make your own stick.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Meanwhile Missy revels in both challenging and torturing
Clara. Missy always has the upper hand, yet Clara isn’t about to roll over for
her. Clara keeps Missy sharp. Together they make a classic team.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">What they are not is necessary—at least not for rescuing the
Doctor, even though they deem themselves as such. They provide a delightful
distraction and give context to the Doctor’s ultimate solution, but the “we do”
proclamation as to what happens when the Doctor assumes he is going to die is
nothing more than hot air. This calls the whole confession dial and last party
and the bulk of the previous episode into question, but since it all results in
some engaging television I’ll let it pass.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Clara’s and Missy’s foray into the Dalek sewers is amusing
and informative. We learn that Daleks never die (that’s a big reveal and a bit
of a head scratcher and has multiple implications for the Doctor Who historical
record, but it comes in mighty handy for this particular story) but rather
exist in some sort of gelatinous state lurking around underground just itching
for the chance to swell up in an angry mob of seething blob to engulf a
vulnerable Dalek in its casing. We also learn that Daleks channel emotion
through their weapons system, using their constant “Exterminate!” rant as a
means to reload. This new data is divulged during some extremely enjoyable
comedy routines by our dynamic duo.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">We also get an education in Dalek translation. ‘I love you’
equates to ‘exterminate’ in Dalek speak, as does ‘you are different from me.’
One’s name comes out as ‘Dalek’ and apparently Daleks cannot articulate
contractions. Missy has loads of fun as she induces Clara Dalek to demonstrate
this for us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Everything that Clara and Missy uncover in the sewers serves
as vital components to the dramatic conclusion, all packaged neatly for us in their
comical escapade. Interspersed with this fun sideshow is the compelling dialogue
between the Doctor and Davros that forms the heart of the narrative. Both
actors are superb as these two ancient enemies face off, and the heartfelt
exchange holds a little bit of everything for us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It starts with a bang—the Doctor in Davros’ chair. “Admit
it. You’ve all had this exact nightmare.” What’s not to love about that? It
doesn’t last long, just long enough for the fun factor to kick in; although I
am a bit disappointed with the Doctor’s illogical conclusion that Clara’s
extermination was a hoax. That the Doctor would hold out hope that Clara is
alive is believable, but that the Daleks of all creatures would have played
such a trick and spared Clara’s life is not. This smacks of desperation that is
not characteristic of the Doctor (but unfortunately much too characteristic of
New Who). Also disappointing is the Colony Sarff angle. By employing Colony
Sarff Davros, creator of the Daleks, is admitting that he is helpless without
the aid of an alien being; his Daleks are useless against the Doctor, yet
Colony Sarff can effortlessly slither in and save the day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">No matter. What follows is classic as the war of words
begins.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Their concepts of mercy and compassion shape the
conversation. Not surprisingly, Davros considers mercy a defect and compassion
a cancer whereas the Doctor “wouldn’t die of anything else.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Davros plays upon this perceived weakness of
the Doctor masterfully, and I am sucked in just as easily as the Doctor seems
to be. Julian Bleach does the impossible of infusing this evil character with sympathy,
vulnerability, and pathos. When Davros sighs plaintively, “I wish, just once,
we had been on the same side,” I genuinely believe him, and his last wish to
look upon the sunrise with his own eyes appears sincere.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Like two old friends chatting long into the night, their
discourse at times takes on moments of levity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Davros: “Then we have established one thing only.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Doctor: “What?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Davros: “You are not a good doctor.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And it contains moments of revelation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Doctor: “There’s no such thing as the Doctor. I’m just a
bloke in a box telling stories.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Doctor sounds weary as he makes this confession; a far
cry from previous incarnations that proudly and emphatically proclaim, ‘I’m the
Doctor.’ The title is not a badge of honor for him; it is something to which he
aspires: “Sometimes, on a good day, if I try very hard, I’m not some old Time
Lord who ran away. I’m the Doctor.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And like two old friends with past grudges and historical enmity,
there are the moments of truth or consequences:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Davros: “Genocide in a moment. Such slaughter, not in self-defense;
not as a simple act of war. Genocide as a choice. Are you ready, Doctor?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And then the ultimate dare: “Are you ready to be a god?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The one sour note for me is the hint of the hybrid. I hate
when New Who tries to tamper with the mythos. But I’m not going to let myself
get bogged down, Gary.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Then everything comes together, much too conveniently but so
very entertainingly, and I therefore forgive it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Doctor has been playing along with Davros and outwits
him in the end. He was never in doubt—the Doctor, as Missy pointed out at the
start, has always assumed he would win. Again, this calls into question all of
the preceding last day to live nonsense, but who cares?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Time Lord Regeneration Energy (really, the Doctor in New Who
treats this great power very carelessly, but oh well . . .) has renewed Davros
and his Daleks and, by the way, the angry Dalek globules lurking in the sewers.
With super Dalek power the blob mob explodes throughout the planet engulfing
the hapless whole Daleks. Luckily they bypass Clara Dalek and never think to go
after Missy or the Doctor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Michelle Gomez as Missy is in contrast to Julian Bleach as
Davros. Whereas Julian Bleach portrays Davros with subtlety and with depth,
Michelle Gomez runs with the over-the-top nature of Missy. Both succeed admirably;
and while we can sympathize with Davros and almost believe there is a spark of
goodness deep within his soul, we never doubt Missy’s depravity yet we love her
for it, even as she spurs the Doctor on to kill the Clara Dalek.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">This is where the mercy angle comes full circle and takes us
back to that long ago hand mine field with the boy Davros; and this is where
the show cops out and lets the Doctor off the hook. That opening dilemma from
<a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-magicians-apprentice.html" target="_blank">The Magician’s Apprentice</a> that held such promise is compromised. That haunting
question, “Doctor, what have you done” is answered with the lamest of all
rejoinders. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“I’m going to save my friend the only way I can.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Doctor doesn’t save the young lad out of compassion or
mercy; he doesn’t turn his back on the small boy in cold blood; neither does he
spare Clara Dalek nor murder her; he never has to make those life or death
decisions. He simply goes back in time to alter events so that Davros will
instill mercy into his Daleks that will ultimately lead the Doctor to recognize
Clara inside of the Dalek.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“I’m not sure that any of that matters: friends, enemies. So
long as there’s mercy,” the Doctor says as he leads the boy Davros home; but he
is merely hardwiring the codeword into the lad.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">No Classic here. But what we have in The Magician’s Apprentice
and The Witches Familiar, Gary, is some of the most entertaining Doctor Who of
the new era.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-6488861607752703912016-07-08T13:38:00.001-05:002016-07-08T13:38:28.218-05:00The Magician's Apprentice
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Magician’s Apprentice has the start of a potential classic;
however it quickly muddles the opportunity. To be fair, that opening sequence
is almost impossible to live up to. Anything that follows will inevitably
suffer in comparison.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">In a matter of seconds the gripping scenes of a grim war on
a stark landscape sets the tone and draws us in to the intimate view of two
soldiers trying to survive using mismatched technology. Our concern follows
along with Kanzo as he runs after a frightened child fleeing headlong into
danger. The suspense builds as the battle-weary boy stands stark still in the
middle of strangely rippling ground. The exchange between Kanzo and the boy is
compelling, leading to the startling reveal of the literal hand mine. Kanzo’s
sudden extraction underground leaves the petrified child alone in a misty field
of seeing-eye hands. Enter the Doctor. This alone would make for a thrilling
start to a promising episode. It is that one word, however, that propels it to
potential classic.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“Tell me the name of the boy who isn’t going to die today,”
the Doctor says. And then the unexpected reply: “Davros.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">That vile name out of the mouth of a scared and lonely child
in desperate need of the Doctor’s aid. And then that plaintive voice: “You said
I could survive. You said you’d help me. Help me!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Magician’s Apprentice sets itself up to rival <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2013/01/genesis-of-daleks.html" target="_blank">Genesis ofthe Daleks</a>; sets itself up to not only be a classic in the Doctor Who canon,
but a classic of television as a whole.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">What follows does not achieve that level.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">What does follow immediately upon the heels of this haunting
opening is still quite good. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a name
to rival one of Robert Holmes’ creations, Colony Sarff skates his way through
the Maldovarium, the Shadow Proclamation, and Karn in search of the Doctor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We are Colony Sarff.
We bring harm.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The air turns sinister with this introduction of a fantastic
new character.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Colony Sarff’s ominous warning—“Davros knows. Davros
remembers.”—and Ohila’s accusation—“Doctor? What have you done?”—continues with
the classic in the making possibilities.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">As fantastic a character as Colony Sarff is, however, I have
to wonder why Davros would condescend to employ him; not just to employ him but
to rely and confide in him. Davros, the creator of the most ethnocentric
creatures in all of creation. The development of that relationship warrants an
episode unto itself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I also have to wonder why Davros didn’t set Colony Sarff on
to the Doctor’s companion to start with rather than sending him out on a wild
goose chase. I can only imagine it is because the wild goose chase through the
Maldovarium, through the Shadow Proclamation, and through Karn is the goal; it is
Doctor Who giving in to the Doctor Who spectacle; it is Doctor Who showing off;
it is Doctor Who simply being Doctor Who. And that’s OK, Gary. It veers the
episode away from the classic, but it veers it towards something that is highly
entertaining.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Maldovarium, the Shadow Proclamation, and Karn all do
their duty and are left behind. Next up: UNIT. This is when all pretense of
classic-dom is dropped. Now we are just full-on into Doctor Who.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Clara is back, of course; as ineffectual a teacher as ever;
but for some reason an integral part of UNIT. Kate Stewart is done an enormous
disservice here. Her only purpose is to call in Clara to find the Doctor and to
provide the technology for Clara to do just that. Missy stopping the planes is
another unnecessary show-off move, and this entire spectacle is merely to get
the improbable duo of Clara and Missy working together. Once that is
accomplished UNIT and the planes are forgotten.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Again, that’s OK. Despite the despicable nature of Missy (on
full display in this early going), Michelle Gomez is as wonderful as ever, and
the pairing of her and Jenna Coleman is inspired.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Not so inspired—the Doctor’s medieval party. This is Doctor
Who’s self-indulgence at its height. There is no logical reason for this
exhibition. It is amusing, yes; but as Clara points out, it is not in keeping
with the Doctor’s nature. I just can’t see the Doctor doing any of this,
especially when he believes this to be his final day. But then, I can’t see why
the Doctor does believe this is his final day. The confession dial is an
intriguing concept, but the way this plays out doesn’t give any solid
foundation for its emergence at this time. Everything here is a smokescreen to
keep us in awe and not ask any questions as to plot development. Given the
title of the piece, I suppose this sleight of hand is appropriate.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">In the sleight of hand, don’t ask pesky questions vein—Missy
is alive! What a great nod to the Master of old: “Death is for other people.”
The Master (now Missy) doesn’t need any elaborate explanations for how he/she
escapes the grave. What matters is that Missy is alive and well in the person
of Michelle Gomez and that is a win for any Doctor Who fan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The preceding extravaganza succeeds in collecting our main
trio—the Doctor, Clara, and Missy—in the main arena of action and subsequently
transporting them into the danger zone. What I can’t understand is why the
Doctor and Missy are so aghast when they learn that the danger zone turns out
to be Skaro. They both know they are being transported to Davros and by default
the Daleks, and neither seems particularly phased by that. The only surprise for
the Doctor should be in discovering that his supposed destruction of the place
back in <a href="http://ontheslowpath.blogspot.com/2013/11/remembrance-of-daleks.html" target="_blank">Remembrance of the Daleks</a> misfired, but that has long been debunked as
a failed attempt, presumably by the same death-defying magic of the
Master/Missy. So why the sudden fear to learn the location as though the
planet itself is anathema?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">In any event, the scene shifts to Skaro and at last we get a
glimpse of the Davros/Doctor confrontation that has been anticipated throughout
the episode, complete with echoes from confrontations past. It is a taste of
what is to come in the second part of this two-part story, and it whets the
appetite.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is a two-part story, and perhaps that is why it fails in
its bid to become a classic. A quiet and in-depth study of the Doctor/Davros
relationship would have fit the bill. However the show settles for the over-blown
production, and to repeat myself, Gary, that is OK. Doctor Who is an old hand
at the over-blown production and not many do it better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Being the first part only, The Magician’s Apprentice needs
to wrap things up and end with a bang.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Missy and Clara escape their cell only to be captured and brought
to a room full of Daleks while the Doctor and Davros watch. Missy and Clara
discover that the Daleks have also captured the TARDIS; and Missy attempts to
use the TARDIS and her position as a Time Lady to advantage. However the Daleks
see through her bluff. The TARDIS has long since lost its mysterious luster; in
the New Who-verse any and all aliens have discerned the Time Lord secrets of
time travel. The magic blue box is now only a blue box; near and dear to the
Doctor’s heart as well as his companions and his fans, but still only a blue
box. Its tricks have been exposed and any amateur alien can replicate them. The
Daleks laugh in the face of Missy, and true to their nature they exterminate
Missy, Clara, and the TARDIS in turn while the helpless Doctor looks on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Of course we know that Missy, Clara, and the TARDIS are all
safe. There is no danger there and the show admits this by not making this the
ultimate cliffhanger. Instead it goes back to that promising beginning. It
returns to Skaro of old when Davros was young and the Doctor was faced with his
dilemma that was hinted at way back in Genesis of the Daleks (“If someone who
knew the future pointed out a child to you, and told you that that child would
grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of
lives, could you then kill that child?”). The Doctor stands before the forlorn
child who he knows to be Davros, the child surrounded by murderous hand mines.
“Are you going to save me,” the young boy enquires.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It is the question on everyone’s mind at this momentous
pinnacle. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Close up on the Doctor as he points a Dalek gun at the
helpless lad:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“Exterminate!“</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">To be continued . . . .</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4490800164841025044.post-54826452247404788582016-07-02T08:31:00.001-05:002016-07-02T08:31:22.693-05:00Last Christmas
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Dear Gary—</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">“Nobody likes the tangerines.” Yet there those ubiquitous
tangerines are, rolling about Clara’s rooftop, bandied about in conversation,
left on the windowsill.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Dad was just telling me about Christmas in his childhood.
‘Christmas isn’t Christmas without an orange,’ he said. Growing up with nine
brothers and sisters during the depression, he never got presents as a kid. But
his family always had a tree and Santa always left an orange for them. Maybe
nobody admits to liking the tangerines or oranges, but secretly everybody knows
that Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without them, and every last one will be
enjoyed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">This is my long-winded way of saying, Gary, that I really
worked hard to like Last Christmas. It took quite some time and several viewings,
but I have finally come around. Last Christmas has turned out to be the
tangerine left on my windowsill. It’s not the fault of the story; it’s really
very good. Rather, I had to overcome some serious prejudice based on the bad
taste left by the last half of the previous season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I wasn’t much in the mood for Santa and his bickering elves
and I definitely had had enough of Clara and her wallowing self-pity. We have
spent several seasons now with Clara never committing to a character or to the
Doctor; leading to a season of not being able to commit to Poor Danny Pink; the
result of which was Poor Danny Pink being cyberized and Clara yet again turning
her back on TARDIS life. We know enough about Clara by this time, however, to
know that her determination will not last. About the only thing we can count on
with Clara is that she will change her mind.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It’s no surprise, therefore, to see Clara in her nightie on
her roof on Christmas Eve confronting Santa and his bickering elves; nor is it
unexpected for the Doctor to show up at this time to extend his hand and offer
her shelter in the TARDIS once again. Ho hum, here we go again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">For the longest time Last Christmas was my rejected
tangerine.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">There was something about it, though, that kept me coming
back. It is Christmas after all. Who doesn’t love Christmas? And Santa and his
bickering elves are amusing. However it is Shona who really represents the
juicy sweet pulp for me. Shona steals the show and because of her I hung in
there; and now I can honestly say that Last Christmas is one “signature gift”
that I have grown to fully appreciate.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Thanks to Shona, I have come to realize that the
base-under-siege scenario that starts the episode proper is expertly done. It
builds immediate suspense and intrigue; within minutes we know and care about
each of the characters, even though we barely know what is happening; we sense
the danger and are eager to find out more about the sleepers in the infirmary
and what exactly Shona is up to. Along with the crew, we are with Shona, “every
step of the way.” And when those steps turn into dance steps to the strains of
Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody we are paid off in spades.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">This is exactly the kind of off-beat humor, Gary, that I
love; and exactly the kind of touch that has always kept me invested in Doctor
Who.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The fact that we never learn what exactly Shona is up to in
that infirmary is incidental and in keeping with the eventual reveal of a dream
state. The Doctor and Clara (or as Shona so eloquently puts it, “a skeleton man
and a girl in a nightie”) arrive to put a screeching halt to Shona’s
proceedings and the action takes off as the mystery deepens at this enigmatic,
“it’s a long story” base.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Doctor: “You know what the big problem is in telling fantasy
and reality apart?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Ashley: “What?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Doctor: “They’re both ridiculous.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now, I’ve always had a problem with the position that you
can never be sure if you are dreaming or not. I remember to this day a high
school psychology class that posed this theory that gave me fits, and I regard
it as a high school exercise that any sane person sees as just
that. Reality is reality and you know it as such, even though it can very well
be ridiculous. However, I recognize the dream that traps you into a false sense
of reality (although in such a dream one rarely views it as ridiculous).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">For me, Shona is that voice of ridiculous reason that makes
Last Christmas right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Shona: “The North Pole isn’t an actual pole.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Shona, in her dream state, is trying to inject logic into
the outlandish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Ian: “Course it is, look.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Ian is countering with dream rationale.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Shona: “If it was an actual pole, it would not be stripy.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Shona is diving head first into this dream debate,
instilling it with the dose of skewed reality it needs; because if you can’t
see the ridiculous in reality you cannot easily recognize the dream.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Shona is in fact the first to recognize this for what it is:
“Now, this is ridiculous. Am I . . . am I dreaming?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I know none of this makes any real sense, Gary; but then,
neither do dreams.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Dream Crabs are not sufficiently fleshed out as an alien
threat, but they suffice for the purposes of our story. I won’t worry too much
about where they came from, what they want, or how they travel. I won’t care if
they are organized, or if they communicate with one another, or if there are
any more out there waiting to pounce on innocent Earthlings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I won’t even question the Dream Crabs’ motivation for
allowing their victims to share a dream and thus coordinate their efforts in
rebellion. After all, without this we wouldn’t have a story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Doctor piecing together the dreams within dreams is
compelling and his Helman-Ziegler test is fantastic. Meanwhile Shona’s on-going
debate with “Beardy-Wierdy” and his elves continues to delight. I do wonder how
and why Clara is allowed her own private dreamscape, except that’s kind of the
reason we’re having this tale to begin with, so I won’t complain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">This dream Clara has of an idyllic Christmas with Poor Danny
Pink can’t be anything but a dream. In real life Clara would never settle down
to such a life. She would be sitting on that sofa with her husband while
continually looking over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of a materializing
blue box; she would be half-heartedly listening to carols while straining her
ears for the distinctive sound of the TARDIS; she would be picking at her
Christmas dinner while longing for a taste of adventure with the Doctor. When
Clara tells the Doctor to leave her to her dream it isn’t because this is what
she wants out of life, it is because she is accepting this as punishment for
Poor Danny Pink’s death. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">As the centerpiece of the episode, this sequence is cleverly
executed. From the moment Clara wakes up in that bed we know exactly what is
going on, even if she doesn’t. This is the most dreamlike of all of the dreams
in our story, this fairy tale existence that Clara has created. It is tranquil
and creepy at the same time and at all times unsettling. The Doctor’s attempts
to break through to Clara via the chalkboard and Clara’s determined denial add
to the tense calm. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I’m not going to wonder too hard whether Danny is really
Danny somehow breaking through to Clara in her dreams or if he is merely a
figment of Clara’s imagination. The show wants to give Clara closure and if she
can finally move on (and therefore Doctor Who can finally move on) so be it. The
confrontation between Danny and the Doctor is apt and the leave-taking between
Danny and Clara is touching. Danny’s declaration— “I didn’t die saving the
world, Doctor. I died saving Clara. The rest of you just got lucky”—is a bit
over-the-top but again I’ll allow it, especially as it fits in with Clara’s egocentric
nature.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Old Clara waking in bed is another segment that is well
done. This one is harder to peg as a dream and keeps the audience guessing.
However old Clara is a little too complacent; I would think real Clara would
give the Doctor a much harder time for having abandoned her. It is a sweet
scene, and the subsequent real awakening is enhanced because of it. The gag of
the Doctor not being able to distinguish Clara’s age is amusing, especially in
the face of Clara’s vanity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The more I think about Last Christmas, Gary, the more I like
it. The guest cast is solid and manages to imbue each character with a well-rounded
personality despite limited screen time. Santa and the elves are amusing, the
sleepers are sinister, and the action is suspenseful. There is just the right
mix of the eerie and of humor. It is a story that manages to tie up loose ends
from the previous season, reunite the Doctor and Clara for the season ahead, and
yet succeeds as a stand-alone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I can’t help but wish, along with Clara and Shona, that our
time in Santa’s sleigh could be extended. And oh, if only Shona could have
remembered her phone number soon enough for the Doctor to have written it down.
Shona is exactly the type to make an excellent companion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">For now, though, it is the Doctor and Clara, together again—“second
chances” as the Doctor says. It’s more like third or fourth chances, but who’s
counting Gary?</span></div>
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