Doctor Who -- Midnight
Jun. 16th, 2008 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snorkackcatcherSummary: Good solid episode, albeit reminiscent of earlier ones in parts.
So, then, this one was Rusty saying "Moffat? Pah. I can do creepy too." It worked, as well, especially the sequence in the middle of the episode with every line echoed -- this went on a long time, but gained in effectiveness simply by being so extended even once the original point was made, with the repetition in the background as the characters argued. So kudos to them for sticking with that. The basically single-set format is usually good for creating a claustrophobic atmosphere (the enclosed-vehicle-in-hostile-environment setting made me think of The Robots of Death, although the general plot was very different). It also helped to leave the nature of the Creepy Alien Thingie carefully unspecified at the end.
Some other things I was pleased to see, and some I wasn't: firstly, the line "ladies and gentlemen and variations thereof". THANK YOU. OK, they've established the idea that Earth colonies span three galaxies at this point, so even if the humans are xenophobic there really should be some aliens about, or people who are part-alien (I'm not convinced that this common SF trope works too well even with really good IVF tech, but once they've gone with "so many species, so little time" they need to work with it). There was already a bit of a bum note with the "classic entertainment" being 20th century -- again. Making things too familiar doesn't always work.
The Doctor is pretty much in "I'm so wonderful and totally know best!" dickhead mode here for much of the episode, which he does tend to do when he doesn't have a companion to keep him grounded. Because of that, it was good to see the other characters challenging him on it for once, even to the point of many of them saying "Yeah, I'd do it" when the subject of dumping the alien thingie came up. It was also effective to have the thingie forcing the Doctor to repeat after it despite his efforts at fighting it off. That doesn't happen often, although it did in 42, an episode with some considerable similarities to this one, right down to the way the female captain sacrificed herself to dispose of the creature.
In that context, yes, I did notice that two of the three CoCs were killed off again. How much this is a pattern is arguable -- I suspect that the two redshirts ... er, disposable drivers were one white and one black to even this out and avoid the criticism, although that obviously didn't work. Whether they thought making the hostess character heroic, albeit killed off, was a positive thing I don't know, but again that didn't work, at least not for online fandom.
I'm not sure how well fandom has educated me -- I also found myself wondering if the episode would be any good when I saw RTD had written it, which suggests that fandom reaction to RTD has influenced me too much, since generally I don't get why episodes of his are so loathed. It's very distracting considering each episode from the point of view of fanmeta first instead of just watching and working that out later!
But it was a good solid episode yet again -- it's just a pity this Team Tardis isn't going to last beyond the season.
So, then, this one was Rusty saying "Moffat? Pah. I can do creepy too." It worked, as well, especially the sequence in the middle of the episode with every line echoed -- this went on a long time, but gained in effectiveness simply by being so extended even once the original point was made, with the repetition in the background as the characters argued. So kudos to them for sticking with that. The basically single-set format is usually good for creating a claustrophobic atmosphere (the enclosed-vehicle-in-hostile-environment setting made me think of The Robots of Death, although the general plot was very different). It also helped to leave the nature of the Creepy Alien Thingie carefully unspecified at the end.
Some other things I was pleased to see, and some I wasn't: firstly, the line "ladies and gentlemen and variations thereof". THANK YOU. OK, they've established the idea that Earth colonies span three galaxies at this point, so even if the humans are xenophobic there really should be some aliens about, or people who are part-alien (I'm not convinced that this common SF trope works too well even with really good IVF tech, but once they've gone with "so many species, so little time" they need to work with it). There was already a bit of a bum note with the "classic entertainment" being 20th century -- again. Making things too familiar doesn't always work.
The Doctor is pretty much in "I'm so wonderful and totally know best!" dickhead mode here for much of the episode, which he does tend to do when he doesn't have a companion to keep him grounded. Because of that, it was good to see the other characters challenging him on it for once, even to the point of many of them saying "Yeah, I'd do it" when the subject of dumping the alien thingie came up. It was also effective to have the thingie forcing the Doctor to repeat after it despite his efforts at fighting it off. That doesn't happen often, although it did in 42, an episode with some considerable similarities to this one, right down to the way the female captain sacrificed herself to dispose of the creature.
In that context, yes, I did notice that two of the three CoCs were killed off again. How much this is a pattern is arguable -- I suspect that the two redshirts ... er, disposable drivers were one white and one black to even this out and avoid the criticism, although that obviously didn't work. Whether they thought making the hostess character heroic, albeit killed off, was a positive thing I don't know, but again that didn't work, at least not for online fandom.
I'm not sure how well fandom has educated me -- I also found myself wondering if the episode would be any good when I saw RTD had written it, which suggests that fandom reaction to RTD has influenced me too much, since generally I don't get why episodes of his are so loathed. It's very distracting considering each episode from the point of view of fanmeta first instead of just watching and working that out later!
But it was a good solid episode yet again -- it's just a pity this Team Tardis isn't going to last beyond the season.
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-16 08:43 pm (UTC)I wondered that, too. I do find his episodes emotionally over-the-top at times - I dislike being manipulated quite as much as he tends to manipulate - but I thought this one was a stormer. Absolutely excellent.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-16 09:42 pm (UTC)I find I just can't get too far in. I mean, I'm sufficiently fannish about Dr Who to buy the magazine, yet I don't always like the ultra-dedication of the long time fans, or the OTT meta of some LJ people.
Now I sound like a complete xenophobe. :(