THERE WILL BE SPOILERS...
I know it went out days ago, but it feels unnatural to let an episode of Doctor Who go by without comment. (I have visions of myself standing outside the gates of heaven with St Peter saying "I read your blog, you know - what were you DOING between November 15th and 20th 2009?") Also, I can wax lyrical for page after page on episodes of Doctor Who I didn't like (number one cause of hatemail on this blog, stats fans) so it seems unfair to remain silent on one that I absolutely bloody LOVED.
Space station in peril is one of my favourite Who modes anyway, and bleak Who is my second favourite variety after, well, anything in which David Tennant cracks lots of jokes, gets wet, wears his glasses, and licks something. And maybe does a little dance. But anyhow, this was EPIC bleak. I should have guessed in advance, given the casting of Lindsay Duncan as "companion" (not really so much companion as equal, or, arguably, superior by the end) - she is a woman whose armpits probably excrete gravitas instead of sweat.
Anyway, essentially, what we have is the Doctor rocking up to Mars, finding a space base there, realising that it is going to be destroyed that very day killing everyone inside, and in order to protect the integrity of time he MUST NOT FOR ANY REASON SAVE THEM, and he spends almost the entire episode not saving them, feeling awful, but reluctantly bonding with them despite knowing they will all be dead within hours, walking away as they are slowly taken over by parasitic monsters, before finally realising that he can't bring himself to desert them, rescuing the last remaining survivors, but sacrificing his sanity in the process, his actions leading directly to the suicide of the head of the base, and ending the episode abandoned and on his knees, overwhelmed with the horror of his hubris and realising the inevitability of his own impending death.
Just read that over again, only this time I want you to imagine that it was a family show largely aimed at children, broadcast around teatime in the run-up to Christmas.
That's right. BLOODY BRILLIANT.
You know what would have made that even better for me? If just before Lindsay Duncan went into her house to kill herself, she had casually turned around on her doorstep and shot the Doctor first, so that he had died a banal death all alone in the snow, instead of whatever OTT whistles-and-bells everything-but-the-kitchen-sink guest-starring-EVERYONE-who-has-ever-been-in-Who-EVER Messianic exit is lined up for the Christmas Special. Man, that would have been BLEAK. But that's just my preference.
(Of course, if that HAD happened, we wouldn't have had DT's Doc on Children in Need tonight, wearing the *exact* same hat I wear when I'm working outdoors on sunny days (I wonder if his also has a label inside that says "this is a fancy dress accessory item for adults, it is not a toy"), and sunglasses and a lei, on a snow-covered planet, making jokes about having boffed Queen Elizabeth the First, so I can see the perks.)
It's getting very close to the end.
If it has to be a crap ending, can we at least have Rose and Donna duetting I Know Him So Well over the Doctor's mutating body?
Rose is Elaine and Donna is Barbara. *Obviously*.
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8 comments:
Perfect. ( Your ending I mean.)If only.
Hang on, that's IT?! That's your comment? No way! This was terrible. Why did she kill herself? I mean, seriously. And her suicide succesful changed, um, history back so that only the location of her death was changed on wikipedia? What? Because the dalek knew she must not be touched because WHAT? Because the Doctor knows he won't die until somebody knocks four time because that's what the black lady on the bus said and obviously she's right because WHY? No, these specials have been grim viewing, their science and indeed ethics bollocks, which is sort of fine in a family show, but not in a show that was once not bollocks. I liked the stuff about the bikes though. And this post.
As I've commented elsewhere, this would probably have been great had it not all hung from an entirely unconvincing and random assertion that this woman's death at this time was essential in order that.... Well apparently in order that her grand-daughter would be the one to pilot the first light-speed ship to Alpha Centauri. And for that six people (or preferably eight) must die. Not worth it, really not worth it. It's a McGuffin of the weakest and most transparent sort. I've nothing against McGuffin's in themselves, natch! But they mustn't feel as arbitrary as this one does. And since the whole emotional weight of the episode is supposed to come from it, it flops.
I might add that the majority of the station's crew were 2-dimensional ciphers, but that's normal for this storyline. sSme writers and directors do better with it than this, though.
Ha ha Simon I had almost the exact same comment from a friend of yours just the other night (clue: he writes plays and takes things like this very seriously) - you two should get together and complain about how Who aint what it used to be. Me, I'm very weak on internal logic as long as I like it, which may explain why all kinds of things have gone wrong in my life.
In general I agree that it makes no sense but I reserve the right not to care.
Have to disagree with the boys. It made absolute sense to me. Not saving Adelaide had a major impact on the future - nothing could happen without her inspiring her granddaughter. So her killing herself (& allowing the doc to see what a mad man he had become) made perfect sense to me. Also, him choosing to save her because she was so wonderful ties in with end of the Voyage of the Damned, when he was told, "if you choose who lives and who dies you'd be a monster" and yes he was in this episode.
The weak point is why her suicide would still inspire her granddaughter. I'd like to think she scribbled a quick note, but there wasn't time. Perhaps, her granddaughter believed she was still infected and did it to save everyone. But, I think the overall point was really critical, the Doctor really shouldn't mess with a fixed point in time, and actually Adelaide made sure he couldn't...
I loved it.
I've said this before elsewhere too: I rather liked the ending of this episode, but pretty well had it up to here with "The Lonely God" face-shots all through the crisis. (Yes, they're doomed...yes, they're dying...yes, he's powerless to stop it...I get it, I get it...) The story seemed about fifteen minutes too long. And that bloody music drove me nuts.
Other than than, I quite liked it. Like you, I'm rather dreading the inevitable over-the-top ending that's bearing down on us, but to paraphrase wiser others: Overwrought Doctor Who is better than no Doctor Who.
I am rather hankering for some Steven Moffat at this point, though, even without DT. Never thought I'd say that.
Capt. Adelaide Brooke could eat Rose for breakfast. I want to be her when I grow up -- minus the martyrdom.
But why were Russell T Davies and Radio Times etc banging on beforehand about how scary this episode would be? It was emotionally powerful and suspenseful, but not near as scary as, say, the one with the angel statues that moved faster than a blink or the one with Madame du Pompadour and the clockwork courtier dudes. Did anyone else find this one singularly scary?
And everytime you make me laugh out loud.
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