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selenakIn which S. Thompson, he of two dreadful DW and one dreadful Sherlock episode who then wrote a good DW and a good Sherlock episode, contributes to the franchise again. Which will it be this time?
A mixed affair, as it turns out. I thought the episode had potential but also that it squandered or didn't reach a lot. Loved the continuity nods - the swimming pool, the library - and also that the Doctor finally tells Clara point blank that he didn't just meet a woman who "reminded" him of her earlier but that he met two versions of her who both died in different eras. And the "monster turns out to be future burned version of protagonists" concept is certainly scary. But.
For a story that took place mostly in the TARDIS and could have been about her, it was mostly not. I know, it's hard to compete with The Doctor's Wife as far as the Doctor/TARDIS relationship and the TARDIS herself are concerned, but the focus could have been on Clara discovering the TARDIS in more ways than one instead. Perhaps this is where the previous episode, much as I liked it, proved a hindrance because by letting the TARDIS interact directly with Clara via the interface, it postulated this was possible and thus preemptively negated a story where Clara tries to figure out a way to communicate with the TARDIS in order to find out what's going on and that way discover more about Sexy herself. Though not really: we could have simply let the Doctor declare *insert necessary technocabble* doesn't work and thus the projection thing the TARDIS did last time is out. I don't know, I just think a "Clara works out a way to communicate with the TARDIS and vice versa" story would have been more compelling for our now companion to be in than a "Clara runs through the TARDIS, catches glimpses of some nostalgia-inducing sights" tale.
Sidenote: as the TARDIS is non-linear, the Doctor deactivating the shields on order to teach Clara how to drive turning into a disaster could be the reason for her aversion against Clara, which would be timey-wimey in a Moffatian way, though it's probably even more complicated than that.
Also: the episode kept changing the rules on us. The fumes are poisonous. No, they're not. We're all going to burn in a minute in that room. Except we're not and there is time for exposition. The android isn't an android but human - which I could see coming - except then why make a special point out of him sensing the TARDIS is a living, sentient being and suffering? (Yes, thematic parallels re: sentient beings treated as machines, but how does that work technically, since brother-treated-as-android had artificial eyes and a vocal box but not extra sensory equipment other than that?)
I mean, there were individual scenes I liked - the Doctor faking the brothers out with a self destruct sequence and the "never get locked up with a madman in his spaceship" (though it was predictable then and there the fake self destruct would turn into a real self destruct), Clara and her burninated future self mimicking each other's movements, the above mentioned glimpses at the library and the swimming pool. But it felt more like the first draft of what could be a good episode after several more rewrites and as it stands is must an uneven, not thought through mix of things. Not offensive the way The Blind Banker was and certainly not as dire as the pirate episode back in s6, but now that Thompson has shown himself capable of more, I feel let down anyway.
A mixed affair, as it turns out. I thought the episode had potential but also that it squandered or didn't reach a lot. Loved the continuity nods - the swimming pool, the library - and also that the Doctor finally tells Clara point blank that he didn't just meet a woman who "reminded" him of her earlier but that he met two versions of her who both died in different eras. And the "monster turns out to be future burned version of protagonists" concept is certainly scary. But.
For a story that took place mostly in the TARDIS and could have been about her, it was mostly not. I know, it's hard to compete with The Doctor's Wife as far as the Doctor/TARDIS relationship and the TARDIS herself are concerned, but the focus could have been on Clara discovering the TARDIS in more ways than one instead. Perhaps this is where the previous episode, much as I liked it, proved a hindrance because by letting the TARDIS interact directly with Clara via the interface, it postulated this was possible and thus preemptively negated a story where Clara tries to figure out a way to communicate with the TARDIS in order to find out what's going on and that way discover more about Sexy herself. Though not really: we could have simply let the Doctor declare *insert necessary technocabble* doesn't work and thus the projection thing the TARDIS did last time is out. I don't know, I just think a "Clara works out a way to communicate with the TARDIS and vice versa" story would have been more compelling for our now companion to be in than a "Clara runs through the TARDIS, catches glimpses of some nostalgia-inducing sights" tale.
Sidenote: as the TARDIS is non-linear, the Doctor deactivating the shields on order to teach Clara how to drive turning into a disaster could be the reason for her aversion against Clara, which would be timey-wimey in a Moffatian way, though it's probably even more complicated than that.
Also: the episode kept changing the rules on us. The fumes are poisonous. No, they're not. We're all going to burn in a minute in that room. Except we're not and there is time for exposition. The android isn't an android but human - which I could see coming - except then why make a special point out of him sensing the TARDIS is a living, sentient being and suffering? (Yes, thematic parallels re: sentient beings treated as machines, but how does that work technically, since brother-treated-as-android had artificial eyes and a vocal box but not extra sensory equipment other than that?)
I mean, there were individual scenes I liked - the Doctor faking the brothers out with a self destruct sequence and the "never get locked up with a madman in his spaceship" (though it was predictable then and there the fake self destruct would turn into a real self destruct), Clara and her burninated future self mimicking each other's movements, the above mentioned glimpses at the library and the swimming pool. But it felt more like the first draft of what could be a good episode after several more rewrites and as it stands is must an uneven, not thought through mix of things. Not offensive the way The Blind Banker was and certainly not as dire as the pirate episode back in s6, but now that Thompson has shown himself capable of more, I feel let down anyway.
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Date: 2013-04-30 06:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-30 07:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-30 09:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-30 06:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-30 07:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-30 12:45 pm (UTC)But I agree with you about the 'android' - felt a bit pointless.