Doctor Who 11.02

[selenak]

The Book Fair is over (as of yesterday evening) and I shall write a report once I can, but today I had to attend another conference, and thus, briefly, instead my impressions of the latest Doctor Who episode.



Which I enjoyed a lot. The long delayed Doctor/TARDIS reunion was a very satisfying emotional high at the end, immediately joining my personal list of favourite scenes re: this truest of all DW ‘ships. The episode itself was a good adventure, with the three guest characters - the two combatants and the smug race organizer - joining our new ensemble. In which I thought Yas, new backstory info not withstanding, is still the least characterised, while in this episode it was Graham’s turn to shine: taking care of Ryan undeterred of the later’s chip on the shoulder attitude, being a general optimist and turning his grief for Grace into an encouragement of appreciating the wonder amidst the danger of their new bizarre situation.

Incidentally, I appreciate that Ryan’s motor coordination difficulties aren’t forgotten just because this episode doesn’t need them, plot wise, but continue to be presented as a part of who he is, not the defining one but not one that conveniently goes away when not called for.

The Doctor trying to solve the puzzle of the planet beyond their need to escape the immediate dangers struck me as an excellent way of pointing to her basic curiosity and questioning intellect. Otoh, the moment when the TARDIS isn’t there, and the episode’s guest characters have gone, leaving our new team seemingly marooned on a lethal planet and doomed to die - that was the first time I think we saw something distinguishing this Doctor from her previous regenerations. Her apologizing to the three humans for not being able to save them - that’s not something I believe other versions of the Doctor would have done, at least not at this point and this early in their friendship with the people in question.

Concept-wise: a galactic version of the Paris-Dhakar race is very DW, both combatants (prompted by the Doctor and friends) teaming up at the very end so they’re both winners and neither gets left behind stranded has a touch of The Hunger Games; the planet itself being the result of ever more lethal weapons being created, with the scientists blackmailed into doing it deciding to rather kill the entire population and themselves rather than letting this continue, otoh, is a dystopian tale that feels like it owes something to a far earlier age, when the fear of an atomic war, or even before that, the WWI shock of biological weapons, was far more urgent. It was sufficiently creepy.

Lastly: “The Timeless Child”, is it? Seems Chibnall will continue the tradition of a catch word or phrase setting up a season long mystery (RTD did it with Bad Wolf, Torchwood, YANA/Vote Saxon, the Moff with the Crack the Silence, the Impossible Girl, Missy, the Hybrid and last Missy/the Box again.)

Comments

[grimorie]

It's early yet but I seem to prefer the way Chibnall is seeding the series arc more than I did with RTD and Moffat... I feel like, maybe it's because Chibnall is also tying in worldbuilding into it?

I may be misremembering Farscape too, but I felt the scientist destroying their work was very reminiscent of the scene where Crichton convinces another scientist to destroy their knowledge, to prevent making another deadly weapon for the Peacekeepers.

(Also, it didn't help the translation things reminded me of translator microbes!)

[selenak]

"It's never just science" was a powerful scene, but I have a complaint about it which is Farscape-only and absolutely irrelevant to DW - I thought letting it end by the scientist telling Crichton to use Scorpius' mindtorturing/wiping device on him (the scientist) in order to remove the wormhole knowledge was a cheap way of the show wanting to have its cake and eat it. I.e. they wanted to bring Crichton full circle and use that device that had been used on him by Scorpius, but they also wanted to do it in a way which didn't make Crichton morally culpable of it. As I said, irrelevant to the point you were making about the thematic parallel, it's just the reason why that particular bit from the s3 finale sticks in my throat on a permanent basis, when otherwise it's my favourite of the FS finales.

[grimorie]

Oh man, it's been so long since I watched Farscape, I seem to be misremembering the placing of the scene and which season it's in!

Nothing to do with Doctor Who too, I miss how Farscape does three part episodes, I've yet to see a show handle a three part episode the way FS did!

[cybel]

I'm enjoying the new Doctor quite a lot. She is, gender differences aside, very Doctorish in feel and attitude, including her assertion that she is very smart (which is actually a statement of fact not just of mere narcissistic ego in her case). I also enjoyed her "Come to Daddy... uh, Mummy," which shows she's still adjusting to her new persona.

All in all, I've high hopes for this new Doctor.

[selenak]

Same here! I'm really happy with her so far.

[dhampyresa]

I enjoyed this episode a lot as well and I agree the apologising was a nice characterisation touch.

[selenak]

I feel they're moving at a good pace so far with her characterisation - first establish she's the Doctor, with the same basic traits all regenerations share, and now show us glimpses of what makes her uniquely this Doctor.

[dhampyresa]

That's an excellent way to put it!

[davetheanalyzer]

There was something about this episode that reminded me of the First and Second Doctor serials when I watched those. I don’t know if it’s how we continue right off from the previous episode like many of those serials used to, the small, grindy space of the spaceships at the beginning, the loads of walking, or something else but it’s the feel I get.

The guest characters were well-characterized. Even from my point where the livestream I watched it from kept freezing, I did get a sense we really got to know them. One of Chibnail’s strengths so far seems to be the characters. The Doctor’s reunion with the TARDIS was a great moment. I read the custard cream moment wasn’t told to Jodie Whittaker beforehand, so it was a nice surprise for her when her favorite biscuit popped up.

Cross fingers the Rosa Parks episode goes well.

[kalypso]

A touch of Fenric, too, re the black and white pieces combining to win?

I like the Doctor; I've not been particularly gripped by the stories yet, though I'm very hopeful for Rosa Parks.

[kalypso]

And Rosa Parks delivered for me!

(Luckily I have a Vinette Robinson icon,even if I haven't got Jodie Whittaker yet.)