The man who abhors violence, never carrying a gun. But this is the truth Doctor, you take ordinary people and fashion them into weapons.
As has been stated by many others besides me, The Stolen Earth and Journey's End were the real goodbye stories for Russell T. Davies. Yes he stuck around for another year but he tried to replicate these in a way with The End of Time and it didn't really work. These were much more of a natural end with the old sitcom style of bringing back cast that had left the show and having a big send off at the end. But even in that, it is not without it's flaws.
Plot Summary
Having been warned of trouble at the end of Turn Left, the Doctor and Donna arrive back on Earth but find everything seemingly normal. However, upon going back in the TARDIS, the Earth is instantaneously transported away and the TARDIS is left in space. Around the world, reactions are observed by Martha with UNIT in Manhattan, Jack Harkness and his fellow Torchwood team Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper in Cardiff, Sarah Jane with her son Luke and supercomputer, Mr. Smith, in London and Wilfred and Sylvia also in London. As people notice the change in sky, Rose teleports in, just outside Wilfred and Sylvia's home.
Unable to figure out what happened, the Doctor and Donna travel to the Shadow Proclamation where they learn of twenty four other planets disappearing. While going over the list, Donna recalls that the hatchery planet of the Adipose and the planet of the Pyroviles was also missing. The Doctor adds those to the list along with the lost moon of Poosh and they are projected outward and reform themselves into a perfect engine alignment.
Above Earth, the Daleks prepare an invasion force and move towards Earth, attacking the various armed installations and rounding up humans for transport back to the Dalek command ship, the Crucible. Martha' command post is Manhattan is overrun and the commanding general fits her with a experimental teleport based off Sontaran technology. He also gives her a command disk called the Osterhagen Key. She then teleports to her mother's place in London. With the defenses down, Earth surrenders.
The Doctor and Donna try to figure out how to trace the missing planets and Donna mentions the stories of the missing bees. This triggers an idea as a certain alien insect interbreeds with Earth bees and may have warned them. They scan for signals and trace the alien signature to just outside the Medusa Cascade. The Shadow Proclamation tries to requisition the Doctor but he and Donna leave in the TARDIS before they can take control. They reappear outside the Medusa Cascade but find nothing and the end of the signal trail.
Wilfred and Sylvia step out to fight the Daleks but are rescued by Rose, looking for the Doctor. They head back to their home where Rose detects a signal from Wilfred's computer. It doesn't have a webcamera so she can only receive and not transmit. She observes as Harriet Jones, former PM, sends a signal over the subwave network and contacts Torchwood, Sarah Jane and Martha. She networks with Mr. Smith and the Cardiff rift power source to boost the phone signal to call the Doctor, which succeeds but also alerts the Daleks to Harriet Jones' location. She transfers control to Captain Jack at Torchwood just before the Daleks break into her home and kill her.
The Doctor receives the signal and contacts with Jack, Martha and Sara Jane. Wilfred and Sylvia are relieved to see Donna just behind the Doctor. As they talk, the signal is overridden by The Crucible and the Doctor sees Davros, who was rescued from death in the Time War by Dalek Caan, after escaping the events of Evolution of the Daleks. The Doctor deactivates and lands on Earth in London. The Daleks also send an attack force to the new subwave control center at Torchwood.
After landing, the Doctor and Donna exit and spot Rose who left Wilfred and Sylvia's house. The Doctor runs towards her but is shot down by a passing Dalek. The Dalek is destroyed by Jack who teleports in to help. He and Rose drag the Doctor into the TARDIS where he begins to regenerate. However, after healing the wound, the Doctor transfers the regeneration energy into the severed hand cut off by the Sycorax and recovered from the Master following Last of the Time Lords. The Daleks meanwhile move and surround the TARDIS.
Sarah Jane leaves her house to go help the Doctor but runs into a Dalek patrol. They mean to kill her but are destroyed by Mickey and Jackie Tyler who teleport in from the parallel dimension. They approach the TARDIS and see it placed in a temporal lock which drains it's power. It is then taken up to The Crucible. Knowing it's the only way to get on to the ship, Sarah Jane, Mickey and Jackie surrender to the Daleks and are put with a group of human prisoners for transport.
On The Crucible, the Daleks deactivate the defenses of the TARDIS and order the people out. The Doctor, Rose and Jack all come but Donna is distracted by a heartbeat and the TARDIS door shuts before she can follow. Suspecting treachery, the Supreme Dalek drops the TARDIS into the core of The Crucible where the TARDIS will be destroyed. As the TARDIS begins to burn, Donna touches the hand filled with regeneration energy. It explodes out of it's case and a clone of the Doctor materializes. The clone brings up the TARDIS' power and dematerializes, making it look like the TARDIS was destroyed.
Jack attacks the Supreme Dalek but is gunned down. The Doctor observes him quietly coming back to life but plays along, though Rose is unaware of Jack's ability and thinks him really dead. The Doctor and Rose are taken to Davros' lair while Jack's body is dumped in the incinerator. He escapes and crawls through the ducts while the Doctor and Rose are placed in isolation cells.
As the humans arrive on The Crucible, a woman falls over, distracting the Daleks. Sarah Jane and Mickey make a dash and hide behind a door but Jackie is left in the crowd. The Supreme Dalek orders a test and Davros informs the Doctor of the new weapon, the reality bomb, which destroys the electrical connection between atoms, reducing all matter in it's field to subatomic particles. As it prepares to fire on the crowd, the thirty minute recharge on Jackie's teleport ends and she is able to teleport to Mickey and Sarah Jane while the rest of the humans are disintegrated. Jack pops out of a duct and Sarah Jane gives him a warp star that had been presented to her in the past and Jack hooks it up, preparing to destroy the ship.
On Earth, Martha teleports to Germany where she enters and activates one of the Osterhagen key stations. She radios out to the other stations and two other stations respond: one in China and the other in Africa. They ready their stations, which will trigger twenty-five nuclear warheads buried in the crust, cracking it and destroying the Earth.
At nearly the same time, Martha and Jack radio The Crucible and threaten to activate their weapons if the Daleks do not release the Doctor and return their planets. The Daleks however lock on to the signaling locations and teleport Martha, Jack, Sarah Jane and Mickey to Davros' lair. All four are placed in isolation cells similar to the Doctor and Rose. The Supreme Dalek then orders the powering of the reality bomb to full power to destroy the universe while the Daleks fall back to the protection of The Crucible.
With the failure of other options, the clone Doctor builds a small weapon and rematerializes the TARDIS in Davros' lair. He bursts out but Davros stuns him with a burst of electricity. Donna runs out to grab the weapon and Davros electrocutes her as well. Unbeknownst to him though, the electrical burst energizes the regeneration energy she absorbed from the Doctor's hand, giving her and infusion of the Doctor's mind.
Donna, with the Doctor's mind, access the control panel and deactivates the reality bomb. She then neutralizes Davros' and the Dalek's weaponry. She frees the prisoners who push the Daleks out of the way and she, the Doctor and the clone Doctor return the planets to their proper locations. Davros manages to destroy part of the control panel before they can return the Earth but he is neutralized once again. The Supreme Dalek comes down to attack but it is destroyed by a shot from Mickey.
The Doctor runs back into the TARDIS and contacts Torchwood, who had been caught in a time bubble to protect them from the Dalek attack, and Luke and Mr. Smith. Together they plan to create a reinforced energy line between the Earth and the TARDIS, allowing the TARDIS to pull the Earth across space. To access the TARDIS mainframe, Sarah Jane activates K-9, who feeds the TARDIS information to Mr. Smith. As the Doctor does this, Donna and the clone Doctor realize that the Daleks will still come after them and are highly dangerous. The clone Doctor activates a feedback loop which destroys the Dalek fleet and sets The Crucible on fire.
The Doctor hurries everyone into the TARDIS and appeals to Davros to come with them. Davros curses him and refuses. Dalek Caan, who had arranged everything to ensure the destruction of his own race, shouts a warning that one of his companions still must die. The TARDIS leaves The Crucible as it explodes and pulls the Earth across space and places it back in it's proper orbit.
The Doctor lands on Earth and drops of Martha, Jack, and Sarah Jane. Mickey also comes with them as his grandmother has passed away in the parallel dimension and he feels he has no place there. The Doctor then lands the TARDIS in the parallel dimension in Bad Wolf Bay to return Rose and Jackie, informing them that access between the dimensions will be sealed once more. He also sends the clone Doctor, who, being half human, will age and not regenerate. Rose accepts him as a substitute for the Doctor and the three are left as the TARDIS takes off again.
On the TARDIS, Donna's mind begins to become overwhelmed as the Doctor's mind is too great for her human brain. Knowing that she will die if he doesn't, though she begs him not to, he purges her mind of her knowledge of him, leaving her as she was before being transported to the TARDIS at the beginning of The Runaway Bride. He returns her to Wilfred and Sylvia's and tells them that they must never reveal what happened to her.
Donna wakes and assumes that she missed things once again. She dismisses the Doctor with a bare glance and he leaves the house. Wilfred however sees him off, saluting him as he goes. The Doctor then dematerializes in the TARDIS, alone once more.
Analysis
It's a bit cliché to talk again about how RTD starts off a story like a house on fire but always peters out. But the cliché does apply to this story as it has in previous ones. However, I would note that I don't think the fall off here was as bad as some fans make it. It is still a good story and still fundamentally entertaining even if there are some sour notes in the second half.
I'll just go ahead and cut to the chase, the problem in Journey's End is the tone shift. The Stolen Earth and the first 30 minutes or so of Journey's End played like a solid sci-fi adventure story. There was a small cheese factor but the overall tone was mostly dark and serious with some real weight behind the various moments such as the Doctor getting shot by a stray Dalek, the Daleks destroying a house with a family inside it and the death of Harriet Jones.
That tone continued until the arrival of Doctor-Donna. While I love Donna, the flippancy that suddenly took over regarding the situation and her own cavalier attitude towards the situation was just so jarring. Millions of people had died and they are laughing and pushing the Daleks and Davros around like the props they actually are. I don't even mind the usual complaint people have about the shut down being a single button on a panel in Davros' lair. For me, it is all about the flippancy of the moment.
The silliness gets compounded with the TARDIS towing the Earth across space. That just seems a bridge too far and how do you reconcile that silly, cartoony tone with the idea of Daleks mowing people down or even what happens to Donna later? The story was dark and brooding, then it got silly, then pukingly saccharine, then dark and depressing again. It's just so inconsistent in what it thinks the audience should feel about it that it becomes aggravating.
So let's jump to the saccharine moment: leaving Rose on Bad Wolf bay a second time. I'm fairly open about not liking Rose very much but I appreciated the emotion of that scene in Doomsday. There was raw feeling and even if you didn't like Rose, you could appreciate the loss she was feeling with regard to the Doctor. Fast forward two years later and while Rose is dropped off again, she now gets the clone Doctor to grow old with while keeping her parents and little brother. Not only did this throw all the emotion of the first scene into the garbage, it wasn't done particularly well because it was noticeable dubbed with studio recordings (presumably due to the wind issues). It was just the show bending over backwards once more to give the spoiled brat that is Rose whatever she wants.
I say spoiled brat because while Rose was improved in most of her appearances in Series Four, the scene where she is listening to the discussion between Harriet Jones and the others, she can't help but talk about how she was important as well. Her resentment about the status of Martha as a companion of the Doctor who has gone on to better things shows that petulant side of Rose that I couldn't stand when she was a regular companion.
A third point where Rose bothered me was when the Doctor was preparing to regenerate. Of the three of them, Rose should have been the least bothered by his regeneration. She was close to the Ninth Doctor, who selected her in the first place. Her mourning over the potential loss of the Tenth Doctor spoke to her shallowness regarding the Tenth Doctor. She knew that the Doctor would still be the Doctor, but it was the physical appearance and nuances of the Tenth Doctor's personality that she really liked. She mourned over the potential death of the Tenth Doctor because it was that form and not the Doctor himself that she desired. Again, it was just a reinforcement of the shallowness of Rose.
As for the Doctor himself, I quite liked him in this. He got dark and brooding and I always appreciate him in those situations. I also liked that, unlike Rose, he balanced out praise for everyone. He lavishes praise twice on Donna for her contributions when the try to figure things out at the Shadow Proclamation. He praises Martha and all the other contributors in their fight against the Daleks, showing no favoritism and working together. I would have liked to see him offer a bit more of a contribution in the final equation but it all works fairly well in the end.
All of the rest of the companions do well. I remember watching this story for the first time and actually thinking about watching Torchwood because I enjoyed Ianto and Gwen in this story. Other information I heard about Torchwood dissuaded me but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it. I liked Jack a bit more than Martha but both were still good. Jackie and Mickey didn't do much except for rescue Sarah Jane at the beginning of Journey's End so they were a bit wasted but that's not the actor's fault. Donna also was pushed into the background a bit after leaving the Shadow Proclamation but with so many others pulling focus, that a bit understandable. I did enjoy the scene between her and the clone Doctor as he mimics her outrage and speech patterns. That was an amusing little scene.
The clone Doctor was fine. I don't really understand why people get bent out of shape about him. Obviously they had to avoid the proper regeneration of the Tenth Doctor and funneling the regeneration energy into a clone seemed perfectly fine. I also appreciated that he did what the regular Doctor could not and that was to destroy the Daleks properly. The Doctor is outraged at what the clone has done, but he raises a good point in that there are millions of Daleks, just as dangerous as before and now no Time Lords to oppose them. Genocide may be a sin in the eyes of the damaged Tenth Doctor, but how many lives would have been lost if the Daleks been permitted to continue? I side with the clone in this case. That he gets stuck with Rose is not his fault.
This story also saw the return of Davros and he had both excellent and silly moments. In a way, he was a microcosm of the whole story. Some of my favorite moments are Davros quietly taunting the Doctor, exposing him to his true nature. But then he goes and dials it up to eleven and goes way over-the-top. I compare it to not being able to fully decide whether to channel the Davros from Genesis of the Daleks or to give over to the ranting Davros of Revelation of the Daleks. I'm also not sure why he suddenly got Emperor Palpatine power in the form of projected lightening. That seemed a bit odd. Overall good, but not without flawed moments.
The overall story as I said worked well aside from the tone shifts. I felt bad for Donna but understood why they had to write her out the way she was. Whether you liked the Doctor Donna or not, Donna was fully prepared to keep travelling with the Doctor in either capacity. Only her outright death or other great tragedy would have stopped her. I suspect that her outright death was debated but that would have vindicated Sylvia and crushed Wilfred so I can understand keeping her alive. Those final moments between the Doctor and Wilf were very good and the clear impetus in making Wilf a proper companion in The End of Time. That everyone agrees that those moments between him and the Doctor were the best parts of The End of Time justifies that decision.
So overall, I'd say that the story is fun but the first part outpaces the second. As much as I dislike Rose and as much as I dislike the hokey tone the story takes for those few minutes, the majority of both parts work very well. I would also say that Journey's End does well in that it ends on a true and somber note and that does quite a bit to mitigate the overt silliness of the previous fifteen minutes.
This is the proper RTD farewell and he does a good job with that send off. Obviously there are better Tenth Doctor stories but it handles the epic scope fairly well and will give you a pretty good ride, even if there are a few bumps in the road here and there.
Overall personal score: The Stolen Earth - 4.5 out of 5; Journey's End - 3 out of 5
Showing posts with label Mickey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mickey. Show all posts
Friday, February 10, 2017
Friday, June 10, 2016
Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel
So, which one are you?
In the Tenth Doctor era, it became something of a trope to have a middle of the season two-parter with a classic villain. Rise of the Cyberman and The Age of Steel was the first of these and it reintroduced the Cybermen. Eschewing both Mondas and Telos, the story recreated the Cybermen in an alternate universe with complete freedom to create as desired.
Plot Summary
The Doctor, Mickey and Rose are travelling in the TARDIS when it falls through a crack to a parallel universe. The transfer kills the power of the TARDIS and it materializes in a London where the rich travel in zeppelins and Rose's father is alive and a successful business man. The Doctor mopes about the TARDIS being dead until he discovers a small spark of energy. Using a little of his own regeneration energy, he recharges it which will allow them to leave in 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Rose has connected to the internet and learned that Pete Tyler's company was recently purchased by the Cybus corporation, headed by John Lumic. Lumic, unknown to them, has developed a metal body in which a brain can be installed, creating an alternate reality version of the Cybermen. He is trying to get permission to proceed with creating more but is being denied by the President of Great Britain. Despite the denial, he is proceeding anyway, taking homeless off the street and converting them.
Rose and Mickey rebel against the Doctor's warnings and head off to explore. The Doctor follows Rose, leaving Mickey to wander on his own. While they are walking, the people suddenly freeze and get a news download from their earpods. Concerned over this, the Doctor elects to sneak in to Jackie's 40th birthday party, at which the President will be attending, and investigate.
Mickey goes to his grandmother's house. In his universe, his grandmother died tripping over a loose patch of carpet on the stairs he failed to fix. She is still alive here although his counterpart is named Ricky. She invites him in for tea, having not seen him in a few days, but he is grabbed by a man in a van and sped off. They take him to a safehouse where Ricky is waiting. They are a group called the Preachers who work against Cybus and Lumic's plans. After searching Mickey, they are unsure of what he is but elect to take him along on a planned raid of Jackie's birthday party.
The Doctor and Rose sneak in to the party as staff. The Doctor slips away to pull information from Pete's computer while Rose chats with her parents. Pete let's slip that he and Jackie are separating. She also learns that she was never born in this universe, although they do have a dog named Rose. Meanwhile the Doctor learns of Lumic's Cybermen plans. Before he can leave though, a group of Cybermen assault the house, killing the President. The Cybermen kill or round up the rest of the guests for conversion.
Ricky and his gang try to gun down the Cybermen but their bullets are useless. The gang, the Doctor, Rose and Pete are cornered. The Doctor attempts to surrender but the Cybermen deny this chance due to the resistance. The Doctor discharges the TARDIS power cell he has with him, killing most of the Cybermen and they flee into London. They are pursued by other Cybermen and Ricky is killed in the attack.
With the raid successful, Lumic begins the conversion of London. He activates all earpods, putting people in a trance and having them walk to his factory for cyber-conversion. Seeing this, the Doctor realizes they need to stop it. Pete admits to being a mole inside Cybus, feeding the Prophets information. They divide into three groups: the Doctor and Mrs. Moore (the techie) will use tunnels to enter the complex; Rose and Pete don fake earpods and enter the front door with hypnotized people; Mickey and Jake head to the roof to try and knock out the broadcast signal to the earpods.
The Doctor and Mrs. Moore enter the facility but are spotted at one point and pursued. They disable one Cyberman and the Doctor figures a way to stop them. However, Mrs. Moore is killed and the Doctor taken to see Lumic who has been converted into the Cybercontroller following an attack by his second, Dr. Kendrick.
Pete and Rose successfully enter the facility but Pete is recognized by a Cyberman who used to be Jackie Tyler. Due to Pete's knowledge, he and Rose are also directed to be interrogated by Cybercontrol.
Mickey and Jake successfully infiltrate the airship where the broadcast signal is coming from. Attempting to stop it, they wake a prototype Cyberman. The Cyberman tries to kill them but Mickey is able to use it to knock out the signal to the pods. Awakened to what has happened, the people flee the facility. Mickey also hacks into the security system and observes the Doctor, Pete and Rose with the Cybercontroller.
Aware of Mickey's success, the Doctor instructs him what to do in a mouthy speech to the Cybercontroller. Mickey sends the code for the emotional inhibitor to Rose's phone and the Doctor sends it to the Cybermen. Suddenly aware of what they've become, the Cybermen collapse as their brains are overloaded. The sudden shut down also triggers equipment failure in the factory and it begins to explode.
Mickey contacts the Doctor, instructing them to head to the roof where he and Jake will get them on the Zeppelin. Mickey lowers a ladder and the three climb aboard. But the Cybercontroller pursues them and begins to climb the ladder as well. The Doctor tosses Pete his sonic screwdriver and Pete uses it to cut the lower part of the ladder. The Cybercontroller falls back to the factory as it explodes.
Afterwards, Rose admits to Pete that he is her father in the alternate universe. Unnerved, Pete leaves vowing to destroy Cybus' other Cyberman factories. Mickey also elects to stay behind as his grandmother is here and he has a new purpose. He is also tired of being a third wheel between Rose and the Doctor. Rose and the Doctor leave, closing the crack behind them. They return to Jackie's apartment where Rose reassures herself with a good hug with her mom.
Analysis
I enjoyed this story, although I've heard others give it more of a middling grade. I don't quite understand this as I thought the Cybermen were scarier and more competent than in most stories of the classic era. There were flaws in the story, but not so bad that I didn't enjoy what I did see.
The story does start a little slow and the Doctor's mopiness at the prospect of being stranded gets annoying after a while. But it doesn't last long and the Doctor is excellent in the rest of the story. The slow periods where the TARDIS team isn't doing much are cut with scenes of Pete and Jackie Tyler as well as John Lumic, so it takes advantage of the dearth of action to at least flesh out character and other set up points for the plot. That at least is nice in that we are treated to needed information in a non-expositional way rather than given a killing time runaround.
The second part is pretty much action from the word go. It is fairly obvious that Ricky and at least one of the redshirts is going to get killed but the interaction between the various teams is nice. It was also good to see them give a bit of a gut punch by converting Jackie and not have the story bog down with the idea of a rescue. The punch is tempered with the fact that this Jackie is a bit more bitchy and as the Doctor is constantly reminding Rose, that is not her actual mother.
One of the best things of the Tenth Doctor era, in my opinion, was the fact that the Doctor was often faced with unpleasant choices. We are treated to reminders in Jackie and the woman who was converted before her wedding day that the Cybermen have real people who are not evil in them. But they have been changed to an evil form and that the only way to stop them is to kill them. It's a good reminder of the tragedy of the situation and that sometimes dark measures do have to be taken for the greater good (the greater good). Of course, the Tenth Doctor has a habit of also overapologizing to emphasize the point in case you miss it and that does get old after a while.
There were some flaws in this story though. As mentioned before, it does start slow and much of Rise of the Cybermen can feel like set up before the full story commences in The Age of Steel. It's not bad, but no one fully enjoys a story that is primarily a set up for the next stage.
Another slightly surprising shortcoming is John Lumic. The actor, Roger Lloyd-Pack, is pretty good and outside of this I know him best as Barty Crouch Sr. from Goblet of Fire (with David Tennant amusingly). His performance here though is rather hammy. He is trying to show the obsessed and slightly mad genius, but it comes across as over-the-top and a bit too mustache twirly.
There are also a couple of moments where drama gives way to reality. After Mrs. Moore and the Doctor examine the Cyberman they felled, a Cyberman is shown standing right behind them to kill Mrs. Moore. Both her and the Doctor should have heard the Cyberman coming from a mile away but it's more dramatic if it sneaks up on them. Similarly, it is never overly clear as to why the factory starts to blow up after the emotional inhibitor is deactivated. We see the Cybermen falling over and in some cases blowing up, but then the factory starts to go for no apparent reason.
In the grand scheme of things, these are rather minor problems that don't overly detract from the overall story. I will warn you that bitchy Rose does make an appearance at times and it's very easy to sympathize with Mickey who is clearly getting the K-9 treatment. In fact, it's worse than it was in School Reunion which doesn't do anything to endear you especially to Rose in this story. A little bit with the Doctor too but he redeems himself easier, especially at the end. I don't think either of these detracts though, since I find Rose bitchy in most of Series Two.
Overall if you're in the mood for a two-parter, this isn't a bad one to sit down with. It's not overly deep; just a good action story with a hint of scariness. Having enjoyable secondary characters like Pete and Mrs. Moore helps get you invested as well. Even Ricky is entertaining with Noel Clarke putting on more of a hard edged effort that still smacks of goofiness. It's fun and worth a repeat watch.
Overall personal score: Rise of the Cybermen - 4 out of 5; The Age of Steel - 4.5 out of 5
In the Tenth Doctor era, it became something of a trope to have a middle of the season two-parter with a classic villain. Rise of the Cyberman and The Age of Steel was the first of these and it reintroduced the Cybermen. Eschewing both Mondas and Telos, the story recreated the Cybermen in an alternate universe with complete freedom to create as desired.
Plot Summary
The Doctor, Mickey and Rose are travelling in the TARDIS when it falls through a crack to a parallel universe. The transfer kills the power of the TARDIS and it materializes in a London where the rich travel in zeppelins and Rose's father is alive and a successful business man. The Doctor mopes about the TARDIS being dead until he discovers a small spark of energy. Using a little of his own regeneration energy, he recharges it which will allow them to leave in 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Rose has connected to the internet and learned that Pete Tyler's company was recently purchased by the Cybus corporation, headed by John Lumic. Lumic, unknown to them, has developed a metal body in which a brain can be installed, creating an alternate reality version of the Cybermen. He is trying to get permission to proceed with creating more but is being denied by the President of Great Britain. Despite the denial, he is proceeding anyway, taking homeless off the street and converting them.
Rose and Mickey rebel against the Doctor's warnings and head off to explore. The Doctor follows Rose, leaving Mickey to wander on his own. While they are walking, the people suddenly freeze and get a news download from their earpods. Concerned over this, the Doctor elects to sneak in to Jackie's 40th birthday party, at which the President will be attending, and investigate.
Mickey goes to his grandmother's house. In his universe, his grandmother died tripping over a loose patch of carpet on the stairs he failed to fix. She is still alive here although his counterpart is named Ricky. She invites him in for tea, having not seen him in a few days, but he is grabbed by a man in a van and sped off. They take him to a safehouse where Ricky is waiting. They are a group called the Preachers who work against Cybus and Lumic's plans. After searching Mickey, they are unsure of what he is but elect to take him along on a planned raid of Jackie's birthday party.
The Doctor and Rose sneak in to the party as staff. The Doctor slips away to pull information from Pete's computer while Rose chats with her parents. Pete let's slip that he and Jackie are separating. She also learns that she was never born in this universe, although they do have a dog named Rose. Meanwhile the Doctor learns of Lumic's Cybermen plans. Before he can leave though, a group of Cybermen assault the house, killing the President. The Cybermen kill or round up the rest of the guests for conversion.
Ricky and his gang try to gun down the Cybermen but their bullets are useless. The gang, the Doctor, Rose and Pete are cornered. The Doctor attempts to surrender but the Cybermen deny this chance due to the resistance. The Doctor discharges the TARDIS power cell he has with him, killing most of the Cybermen and they flee into London. They are pursued by other Cybermen and Ricky is killed in the attack.
With the raid successful, Lumic begins the conversion of London. He activates all earpods, putting people in a trance and having them walk to his factory for cyber-conversion. Seeing this, the Doctor realizes they need to stop it. Pete admits to being a mole inside Cybus, feeding the Prophets information. They divide into three groups: the Doctor and Mrs. Moore (the techie) will use tunnels to enter the complex; Rose and Pete don fake earpods and enter the front door with hypnotized people; Mickey and Jake head to the roof to try and knock out the broadcast signal to the earpods.
The Doctor and Mrs. Moore enter the facility but are spotted at one point and pursued. They disable one Cyberman and the Doctor figures a way to stop them. However, Mrs. Moore is killed and the Doctor taken to see Lumic who has been converted into the Cybercontroller following an attack by his second, Dr. Kendrick.
Pete and Rose successfully enter the facility but Pete is recognized by a Cyberman who used to be Jackie Tyler. Due to Pete's knowledge, he and Rose are also directed to be interrogated by Cybercontrol.
Mickey and Jake successfully infiltrate the airship where the broadcast signal is coming from. Attempting to stop it, they wake a prototype Cyberman. The Cyberman tries to kill them but Mickey is able to use it to knock out the signal to the pods. Awakened to what has happened, the people flee the facility. Mickey also hacks into the security system and observes the Doctor, Pete and Rose with the Cybercontroller.
Aware of Mickey's success, the Doctor instructs him what to do in a mouthy speech to the Cybercontroller. Mickey sends the code for the emotional inhibitor to Rose's phone and the Doctor sends it to the Cybermen. Suddenly aware of what they've become, the Cybermen collapse as their brains are overloaded. The sudden shut down also triggers equipment failure in the factory and it begins to explode.
Mickey contacts the Doctor, instructing them to head to the roof where he and Jake will get them on the Zeppelin. Mickey lowers a ladder and the three climb aboard. But the Cybercontroller pursues them and begins to climb the ladder as well. The Doctor tosses Pete his sonic screwdriver and Pete uses it to cut the lower part of the ladder. The Cybercontroller falls back to the factory as it explodes.
Afterwards, Rose admits to Pete that he is her father in the alternate universe. Unnerved, Pete leaves vowing to destroy Cybus' other Cyberman factories. Mickey also elects to stay behind as his grandmother is here and he has a new purpose. He is also tired of being a third wheel between Rose and the Doctor. Rose and the Doctor leave, closing the crack behind them. They return to Jackie's apartment where Rose reassures herself with a good hug with her mom.
Analysis
I enjoyed this story, although I've heard others give it more of a middling grade. I don't quite understand this as I thought the Cybermen were scarier and more competent than in most stories of the classic era. There were flaws in the story, but not so bad that I didn't enjoy what I did see.
The story does start a little slow and the Doctor's mopiness at the prospect of being stranded gets annoying after a while. But it doesn't last long and the Doctor is excellent in the rest of the story. The slow periods where the TARDIS team isn't doing much are cut with scenes of Pete and Jackie Tyler as well as John Lumic, so it takes advantage of the dearth of action to at least flesh out character and other set up points for the plot. That at least is nice in that we are treated to needed information in a non-expositional way rather than given a killing time runaround.
The second part is pretty much action from the word go. It is fairly obvious that Ricky and at least one of the redshirts is going to get killed but the interaction between the various teams is nice. It was also good to see them give a bit of a gut punch by converting Jackie and not have the story bog down with the idea of a rescue. The punch is tempered with the fact that this Jackie is a bit more bitchy and as the Doctor is constantly reminding Rose, that is not her actual mother.
One of the best things of the Tenth Doctor era, in my opinion, was the fact that the Doctor was often faced with unpleasant choices. We are treated to reminders in Jackie and the woman who was converted before her wedding day that the Cybermen have real people who are not evil in them. But they have been changed to an evil form and that the only way to stop them is to kill them. It's a good reminder of the tragedy of the situation and that sometimes dark measures do have to be taken for the greater good (the greater good). Of course, the Tenth Doctor has a habit of also overapologizing to emphasize the point in case you miss it and that does get old after a while.
There were some flaws in this story though. As mentioned before, it does start slow and much of Rise of the Cybermen can feel like set up before the full story commences in The Age of Steel. It's not bad, but no one fully enjoys a story that is primarily a set up for the next stage.
Another slightly surprising shortcoming is John Lumic. The actor, Roger Lloyd-Pack, is pretty good and outside of this I know him best as Barty Crouch Sr. from Goblet of Fire (with David Tennant amusingly). His performance here though is rather hammy. He is trying to show the obsessed and slightly mad genius, but it comes across as over-the-top and a bit too mustache twirly.
There are also a couple of moments where drama gives way to reality. After Mrs. Moore and the Doctor examine the Cyberman they felled, a Cyberman is shown standing right behind them to kill Mrs. Moore. Both her and the Doctor should have heard the Cyberman coming from a mile away but it's more dramatic if it sneaks up on them. Similarly, it is never overly clear as to why the factory starts to blow up after the emotional inhibitor is deactivated. We see the Cybermen falling over and in some cases blowing up, but then the factory starts to go for no apparent reason.
In the grand scheme of things, these are rather minor problems that don't overly detract from the overall story. I will warn you that bitchy Rose does make an appearance at times and it's very easy to sympathize with Mickey who is clearly getting the K-9 treatment. In fact, it's worse than it was in School Reunion which doesn't do anything to endear you especially to Rose in this story. A little bit with the Doctor too but he redeems himself easier, especially at the end. I don't think either of these detracts though, since I find Rose bitchy in most of Series Two.
Overall if you're in the mood for a two-parter, this isn't a bad one to sit down with. It's not overly deep; just a good action story with a hint of scariness. Having enjoyable secondary characters like Pete and Mrs. Moore helps get you invested as well. Even Ricky is entertaining with Noel Clarke putting on more of a hard edged effort that still smacks of goofiness. It's fun and worth a repeat watch.
Overall personal score: Rise of the Cybermen - 4 out of 5; The Age of Steel - 4.5 out of 5
Friday, February 12, 2016
Army of Ghosts/Doomsday
Pete's World, that's what we should call it!
Army of Ghosts and Doomsday was a pretty good way of closing Series Two and sending off Rose. Rose was never my favorite but I thought this an appropriate way to go. It is also important to try not to let what happened in Series Four (specifically Journey's End) color the appreciation of this story.
Plot Summary
The Doctor and Rose return to visit her mother and find the Earth is being visited by apparitions called "ghosts". The Doctor doesn't believe they are real ghosts and investigates their origins, grabbing the attention of the Torchwood Institute. The Doctor and Rose jump over to Torchwood in the TARDIS, inadvertently taking Jackie with them, where the Doctor is escorted around under guard by the director, Yvonne Hartman. Jackie is also taken under the guise of being Rose, leaving Rose to investigate independently.
The Doctor is taken to see the origin of the ghost shift in the form of a sphere that doesn't register as existing. The Doctor recognizes it as a Void ship, something meant to fly in the space between universes. He is then taken to the ghost shift control center where he warns Torchwood not to activate the shift any more for fear of making the hole between the universes bigger. Director Hartman originally refuses but becomes concerned that she does order it shut down. However, unbeknownst to her or the Doctor, a small group of Cybermen have crossed over and taken over many of the Torchwood computer personnel. They then activate the shift independently. The Doctor manages to shut it down but is captured by the Cybermen when they are exposed. The Cybermen reactive the shift, bringing millions of Cybermen from the Age of Steel/Rise of the Cybermen universe over.
This shift also activates the void ship, causing the security system to seal the room it is in. Rose had snuck into this room but was discovered by the head scientist, Dr. Rajesh Singh. She is further shocked to learn that the assistant is Mickey, working undercover from the Cyberman universe. They are all shocked to see that exiting the sphere are four Daleks who threaten to exterminate them.
Doomsday picks things up with Director Hartman being cybernized. Jackie is also slated for conversion but manages to escape. The Daleks kill Dr. Singh and learn of the situation with the Cybermen from his memory extraction. They declare war against the Cybermen but become concerned on learning that the Doctor is also here. They Cybermen mobilize against the Daleks and in the confusion, Cybermen universe Torchwood people materialize and bring the Doctor back to their universe. He meets Pete Tyler and learns that the gateway must be seals or both universes will be destroyed.
Pete brings the Doctor back to the original universe and the Doctor goes in to save Rose and Mickey. They get the two of them out with the Cybermen then moving in to fight against the Daleks but Mickey accidentally touches the Genesis Ark, activating it. The Ark is a prison where millions of Daleks had been stored and will now be released. The Doctor and Rose reunite with Jackie and the whole team assembles in the control room. The Doctor will open the hole only on the original universe side causing anything that has passed through the gateway to be sucked into the void. This means that all the Torchwood team must go back and be cut off from traveling through the void again. The Doctor wants Rose to go but she rebels and jumps back to help the Doctor. Jackie, having gone to be with Pete in the other universe is devastated and demands that Pete go back for her.
With Rose helping him, the Doctor opens the gateway and secures himself and Rose from being sucked in. However, some of the Daleks and Cybermen hit the lever on Rose's side causing the gateway to start to collapse. She loosens herself and reopens the gate, but is now unsecured. She attempts to hold on but is being sucked into the void. Pete then appears at the last second and takes her back to his universe just before the gate closes, separating her from the Doctor. The Doctor is able to project an image of himself to her in the other universe to say good-bye. There, Rose confesses that she loves the Doctor. He disappears before he can offer a similar response. The episode ends with a red-headed woman in a bridal dress suddenly appearing in the TARDIS, demanding to know where she is.
Analysis
If you asked any classic Doctor Who fan what their fantasy battle would be, it would probably be the Cybermen facing off against the Daleks. Doomsday indulges in this with spades. There's a funny scene at the beginning of the episode where the Cybermen and the Daleks indulge in a real dick-measuring contest. Rose gets in a good jibe as well, taunting the Daleks how they can mouth off against a million Cybermen but they clam up when the Doctor appears.
Speaking of Rose, she does very well. I'm not a fan of the Doctor/Rose romance but it does come across as believable in this story, at least on Rose's part. What's more, you feel a genuine sadness when they are separated and the tragedy of it hits you as the Doctor leans against the wall as if to listen while Rose cries and beats the same wall in frustration at having lost the Doctor. The scene on the beach that ends it reinforces the feeling but it lacks the raw emotion that the wall scene contains, even though Rose is spilling her heart out. Now, if you know what happens through Series Four, these two scenes lose a great deal of their power. But they should be judged on their emotion of the moment and that is very good.
Now, there are a couple of small problems with the episode. The antagonist until the Cybermen show up is Director Hartman and she is a bit one note. It's not egregious, but there are slight notes of the overzealous ministers that appeared in the Third Doctor era. She's not an old boy, but the human arrogance shines through full and it just loses a bit when that the same tone throughout. She makes a later appearance after she has been cybernized, holding off other Cybermen to give the Doctor more time to open the porthole. It follows the trend of how certain people can overcome cybernation with enough will and it just feels like a plot convenience given how others who might be just as strong willed are overcome and don't come back.
Although it works out well for the plot, I was also a little disappointed as to how easily the Cybermen were overcome by the Daleks. Given how easily we see the Doctor repeatedly overcome the Daleks, it would have made some sense to have at least one or two of the Daleks to be destroyed by the Cybermen, especially after the Doctor drops their defenses for a moment during the rescue of Rose and Mickey. It's a minor thing but it would have given a little extra balance to having the Cybermen there.
Overall, very good. Arguably the best series closer of the RTD era, which is saying something given my general distaste for Rose. Easily watchable again with very little argument from me.
Overall personal score: Army of Ghosts: 4 out of 5; Doomsday: 4.5 out of 5
Army of Ghosts and Doomsday was a pretty good way of closing Series Two and sending off Rose. Rose was never my favorite but I thought this an appropriate way to go. It is also important to try not to let what happened in Series Four (specifically Journey's End) color the appreciation of this story.
Plot Summary
The Doctor and Rose return to visit her mother and find the Earth is being visited by apparitions called "ghosts". The Doctor doesn't believe they are real ghosts and investigates their origins, grabbing the attention of the Torchwood Institute. The Doctor and Rose jump over to Torchwood in the TARDIS, inadvertently taking Jackie with them, where the Doctor is escorted around under guard by the director, Yvonne Hartman. Jackie is also taken under the guise of being Rose, leaving Rose to investigate independently.
The Doctor is taken to see the origin of the ghost shift in the form of a sphere that doesn't register as existing. The Doctor recognizes it as a Void ship, something meant to fly in the space between universes. He is then taken to the ghost shift control center where he warns Torchwood not to activate the shift any more for fear of making the hole between the universes bigger. Director Hartman originally refuses but becomes concerned that she does order it shut down. However, unbeknownst to her or the Doctor, a small group of Cybermen have crossed over and taken over many of the Torchwood computer personnel. They then activate the shift independently. The Doctor manages to shut it down but is captured by the Cybermen when they are exposed. The Cybermen reactive the shift, bringing millions of Cybermen from the Age of Steel/Rise of the Cybermen universe over.
This shift also activates the void ship, causing the security system to seal the room it is in. Rose had snuck into this room but was discovered by the head scientist, Dr. Rajesh Singh. She is further shocked to learn that the assistant is Mickey, working undercover from the Cyberman universe. They are all shocked to see that exiting the sphere are four Daleks who threaten to exterminate them.
Doomsday picks things up with Director Hartman being cybernized. Jackie is also slated for conversion but manages to escape. The Daleks kill Dr. Singh and learn of the situation with the Cybermen from his memory extraction. They declare war against the Cybermen but become concerned on learning that the Doctor is also here. They Cybermen mobilize against the Daleks and in the confusion, Cybermen universe Torchwood people materialize and bring the Doctor back to their universe. He meets Pete Tyler and learns that the gateway must be seals or both universes will be destroyed.
Pete brings the Doctor back to the original universe and the Doctor goes in to save Rose and Mickey. They get the two of them out with the Cybermen then moving in to fight against the Daleks but Mickey accidentally touches the Genesis Ark, activating it. The Ark is a prison where millions of Daleks had been stored and will now be released. The Doctor and Rose reunite with Jackie and the whole team assembles in the control room. The Doctor will open the hole only on the original universe side causing anything that has passed through the gateway to be sucked into the void. This means that all the Torchwood team must go back and be cut off from traveling through the void again. The Doctor wants Rose to go but she rebels and jumps back to help the Doctor. Jackie, having gone to be with Pete in the other universe is devastated and demands that Pete go back for her.
With Rose helping him, the Doctor opens the gateway and secures himself and Rose from being sucked in. However, some of the Daleks and Cybermen hit the lever on Rose's side causing the gateway to start to collapse. She loosens herself and reopens the gate, but is now unsecured. She attempts to hold on but is being sucked into the void. Pete then appears at the last second and takes her back to his universe just before the gate closes, separating her from the Doctor. The Doctor is able to project an image of himself to her in the other universe to say good-bye. There, Rose confesses that she loves the Doctor. He disappears before he can offer a similar response. The episode ends with a red-headed woman in a bridal dress suddenly appearing in the TARDIS, demanding to know where she is.
Analysis
If you asked any classic Doctor Who fan what their fantasy battle would be, it would probably be the Cybermen facing off against the Daleks. Doomsday indulges in this with spades. There's a funny scene at the beginning of the episode where the Cybermen and the Daleks indulge in a real dick-measuring contest. Rose gets in a good jibe as well, taunting the Daleks how they can mouth off against a million Cybermen but they clam up when the Doctor appears.
Speaking of Rose, she does very well. I'm not a fan of the Doctor/Rose romance but it does come across as believable in this story, at least on Rose's part. What's more, you feel a genuine sadness when they are separated and the tragedy of it hits you as the Doctor leans against the wall as if to listen while Rose cries and beats the same wall in frustration at having lost the Doctor. The scene on the beach that ends it reinforces the feeling but it lacks the raw emotion that the wall scene contains, even though Rose is spilling her heart out. Now, if you know what happens through Series Four, these two scenes lose a great deal of their power. But they should be judged on their emotion of the moment and that is very good.
Now, there are a couple of small problems with the episode. The antagonist until the Cybermen show up is Director Hartman and she is a bit one note. It's not egregious, but there are slight notes of the overzealous ministers that appeared in the Third Doctor era. She's not an old boy, but the human arrogance shines through full and it just loses a bit when that the same tone throughout. She makes a later appearance after she has been cybernized, holding off other Cybermen to give the Doctor more time to open the porthole. It follows the trend of how certain people can overcome cybernation with enough will and it just feels like a plot convenience given how others who might be just as strong willed are overcome and don't come back.
Although it works out well for the plot, I was also a little disappointed as to how easily the Cybermen were overcome by the Daleks. Given how easily we see the Doctor repeatedly overcome the Daleks, it would have made some sense to have at least one or two of the Daleks to be destroyed by the Cybermen, especially after the Doctor drops their defenses for a moment during the rescue of Rose and Mickey. It's a minor thing but it would have given a little extra balance to having the Cybermen there.
Overall, very good. Arguably the best series closer of the RTD era, which is saying something given my general distaste for Rose. Easily watchable again with very little argument from me.
Overall personal score: Army of Ghosts: 4 out of 5; Doomsday: 4.5 out of 5
Monday, December 21, 2015
School Reunion
The Mrs and the ex together. Every man's worst nightmare.
I first saw School Reunion in my early days of Doctor Who watching, before I started to go back and watch the classic series. I was aware of who Sarah Jane was given my viewing of Masque of Mandragora, but the depth of her relationship with the Doctor was unknown to me and I certainly hadn't seen The Hand of Fear yet. I think this gave me a perspective on the episode that would have been shared with a good percentage of the viewing audience at the time.
Plot Summary
The Tenth Doctor and Rose, on a tip from Mickey, go undercover in a school to investigate some strange happenings there. Unbeknownst to them, the Doctor's old companion Sarah Jane is also investigating. Together they discover the headmaster and some of the teachers are an alien race trying to use the children to unlock the formula that will allow them to manipulate all of matter, energy, and time. After a chase, the Doctor sets a trap for the aliens where they will be blasted with the same oil being used to control the children, which is toxic to them. This involves K-9 (Mark III) sacrificing himself but it does blow up the aliens. The Doctor offers to let Sarah Jane come back with him but she refuses, noting that she must move on to other adventures. The Doctor repairs K-9 for Sarah Jane and then leaves with Rose and Mickey.
Analysis
With this episode being early in Series Two, a good portion of the audience (like me at the time) would have either no or a mere passing knowledge of who Sarah Jane and K-9 were in relation to the Doctor. That put the writers in the position of needing to avoid too many references to the past. They do a pretty good job but slip in a few references that would please the old school fans but not hinder the story. These come mostly in the competition banter with Rose and the reunion talk that referenced the end of The Hand of Fear. The competition banter is mostly for fun and Sarah could have referenced anything she wanted but the fact that old school fans could reference every story by the cites she gave was nice. The rehash of the end of The Hand of Fear was necessary but it was done in a a way that it didn't feel like you were missing anything by not having seen that scene.
The banter between Sarah Jane and Rose was funny, but it was a bit of a reinforcement to me as to why I don't like Rose very much. She was very bitchy in the beginning and reacted badly to the mere thought that someone else might have held the same place that she currently does. This led to her confronting the Doctor about whether she was just next in the line or meant something special. This was always my main problem with Rose. She was so needy about the idea that she loved the Doctor and that what they had was "the real thing." It plays like a tired teen romance and it makes whatever good characteristics Rose has fade into the background because she is acting like a petulant child.
Shifting gears, the Krillitane were a decent adversary but it was good that Mr. Finch was there as the front man. The CGI on the Krillitane was not great but no so bad that it stood out. The acting of the other teachers was also a bit off but I think that was intended to showcase their alieness. It was Mr. Finch that really sold it though. He carried himself with a superior air that gave the Krillitane a menace they were otherwise lacking. He also got off a few amusing one-liners that both added menace and gave some levity to the scenes: "Ignore the shoot-y dog!"
Overall, I'd say the episode was pretty good. I recently rewatched it and enjoyed it on a new level as I've now seen all of the Sarah Jane/Fourth Doctor stories and nearly all of the Sarah Jane stories in total. There are some small nits, mostly with the acting in some of the minor characters, but it's an easy story to get in with excellent rewatch value.
Overall personal score: 4 out of 5
I first saw School Reunion in my early days of Doctor Who watching, before I started to go back and watch the classic series. I was aware of who Sarah Jane was given my viewing of Masque of Mandragora, but the depth of her relationship with the Doctor was unknown to me and I certainly hadn't seen The Hand of Fear yet. I think this gave me a perspective on the episode that would have been shared with a good percentage of the viewing audience at the time.
Plot Summary
The Tenth Doctor and Rose, on a tip from Mickey, go undercover in a school to investigate some strange happenings there. Unbeknownst to them, the Doctor's old companion Sarah Jane is also investigating. Together they discover the headmaster and some of the teachers are an alien race trying to use the children to unlock the formula that will allow them to manipulate all of matter, energy, and time. After a chase, the Doctor sets a trap for the aliens where they will be blasted with the same oil being used to control the children, which is toxic to them. This involves K-9 (Mark III) sacrificing himself but it does blow up the aliens. The Doctor offers to let Sarah Jane come back with him but she refuses, noting that she must move on to other adventures. The Doctor repairs K-9 for Sarah Jane and then leaves with Rose and Mickey.
Analysis
With this episode being early in Series Two, a good portion of the audience (like me at the time) would have either no or a mere passing knowledge of who Sarah Jane and K-9 were in relation to the Doctor. That put the writers in the position of needing to avoid too many references to the past. They do a pretty good job but slip in a few references that would please the old school fans but not hinder the story. These come mostly in the competition banter with Rose and the reunion talk that referenced the end of The Hand of Fear. The competition banter is mostly for fun and Sarah could have referenced anything she wanted but the fact that old school fans could reference every story by the cites she gave was nice. The rehash of the end of The Hand of Fear was necessary but it was done in a a way that it didn't feel like you were missing anything by not having seen that scene.
The banter between Sarah Jane and Rose was funny, but it was a bit of a reinforcement to me as to why I don't like Rose very much. She was very bitchy in the beginning and reacted badly to the mere thought that someone else might have held the same place that she currently does. This led to her confronting the Doctor about whether she was just next in the line or meant something special. This was always my main problem with Rose. She was so needy about the idea that she loved the Doctor and that what they had was "the real thing." It plays like a tired teen romance and it makes whatever good characteristics Rose has fade into the background because she is acting like a petulant child.
Shifting gears, the Krillitane were a decent adversary but it was good that Mr. Finch was there as the front man. The CGI on the Krillitane was not great but no so bad that it stood out. The acting of the other teachers was also a bit off but I think that was intended to showcase their alieness. It was Mr. Finch that really sold it though. He carried himself with a superior air that gave the Krillitane a menace they were otherwise lacking. He also got off a few amusing one-liners that both added menace and gave some levity to the scenes: "Ignore the shoot-y dog!"
Overall, I'd say the episode was pretty good. I recently rewatched it and enjoyed it on a new level as I've now seen all of the Sarah Jane/Fourth Doctor stories and nearly all of the Sarah Jane stories in total. There are some small nits, mostly with the acting in some of the minor characters, but it's an easy story to get in with excellent rewatch value.
Overall personal score: 4 out of 5
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
The Girl in the Fireplace
I've just kissed Madame de Pompadour.
The Girl in the Fireplace is Steven Moffat's second story (taking his two-parter in Series 1 as a single story) in the revived Doctor Who. It has the interesting distinction of being a story on which there is very little middle ground. Most people either love the story with undying passion or they loathe the story with the fury of a thousand suns.
The story is generally acknowledged to borrow somewhat liberally from The Time Traveler's Wife and it is the romance angle between the Doctor and Reinette that usually divides fans so much. Asexual Doctor advocates tend to fall hard in the hate camp while the Tennant fan-girls fall hard in the love camp.
I must admit that this story caught me a bit flat-footed. I enjoy history greatly and am probably a bit more learned than other casual American fans, but I had no idea who Madame de Pompadour was when I first watched this. In fact, I think when the Doctor goes crowing about how he just kissed Madame de Pompadour, I actually paused the episode so I could look up who this person was. So the historical aspect of this was a bit lost on me, although I thought the costuming and set work looked great.
As far as it's entertainment value, the story is pretty good although it holds up less well over time. The weaving of time with River Song and other characters have left the linear nature of this story with less charm that it had when it originally went out. That's not the story's fault, but going back to watch it after others leaves it a bit stale.
There is also the romance angle. I personally have no problem with the Doctor being a romantic person and frankly I like him better with Reinette than I do with Rose. Rose always rubbed me the wrong way but I thought she meshed well with the Ninth Doctor given his own prickly personality. That did not transfer that well (in my opinion) to the more open and personable Tenth Doctor. Putting the Doctor/Rose romance on the back burner by both the addition of Mickey and the Doctor's embrace of Reinette was a net positive for me.
That being said, the romance angle was a bit forced. Reinette was well established as the mistress of Louis XV and meddling with a historical figure seems rather dangerous. It also seems a bit creepy that the Doctor first established a relationship with this woman while she was a little girl and that he developed feelings for her in the course of a few hours. That the Doctor would become this mysterious champion for her is understandable since she would go years without seeing him and then he pops up to rescue her. Very romantic from that angle. But the compression doesn't work as well on the other end.
The clockwork droids were an interesting if simplistic villain. But a more complicated villain would have pulled the central focus towards it rather than letting the relationship between the Doctor and Reinette drive the story.
I also enjoyed the fact that it ended on more of a tragic note with the Doctor not coming back at the end until after her death. That seemed a more fitting conclusion to the whole affair and also a nice way of avoiding some nasty time tricks that might have come from pulling her out of history. However, it is also a bit contrived. The Doctor should have been well aware by that point that time was moving faster on her side than on his and that it was going to be longer than the couple of minutes that it was for him. Knowing that, he should have hopped in the TARDIS and met her without using the fireplace.
But, I hear you say, why not do that after he learns he is too late? Because she left him a letter noting that he had never come back for her. If he came for her in the TARDIS at that point, it would be thwarting the established time loop (much like Rory and Amy's final transport to 1930's Manhattan which established the date of their deaths). The Doctor had not gone so far as to embrace the full arrogance of the Time Lord Victorious than manifested in The Waters of Mars, although this story does give a hint that the seeds of that personality were there. So, the Doctor is beaten by a convenient slip of the mind.
Overall, I'd rate it a good story, but not the great one it has been trumpeted as. I'm in positive territory but shifted a bit more to the middle than many of the other reviews out there.
Overall personal score: 4 out of 5
The Girl in the Fireplace is Steven Moffat's second story (taking his two-parter in Series 1 as a single story) in the revived Doctor Who. It has the interesting distinction of being a story on which there is very little middle ground. Most people either love the story with undying passion or they loathe the story with the fury of a thousand suns.
The story is generally acknowledged to borrow somewhat liberally from The Time Traveler's Wife and it is the romance angle between the Doctor and Reinette that usually divides fans so much. Asexual Doctor advocates tend to fall hard in the hate camp while the Tennant fan-girls fall hard in the love camp.
I must admit that this story caught me a bit flat-footed. I enjoy history greatly and am probably a bit more learned than other casual American fans, but I had no idea who Madame de Pompadour was when I first watched this. In fact, I think when the Doctor goes crowing about how he just kissed Madame de Pompadour, I actually paused the episode so I could look up who this person was. So the historical aspect of this was a bit lost on me, although I thought the costuming and set work looked great.
As far as it's entertainment value, the story is pretty good although it holds up less well over time. The weaving of time with River Song and other characters have left the linear nature of this story with less charm that it had when it originally went out. That's not the story's fault, but going back to watch it after others leaves it a bit stale.
There is also the romance angle. I personally have no problem with the Doctor being a romantic person and frankly I like him better with Reinette than I do with Rose. Rose always rubbed me the wrong way but I thought she meshed well with the Ninth Doctor given his own prickly personality. That did not transfer that well (in my opinion) to the more open and personable Tenth Doctor. Putting the Doctor/Rose romance on the back burner by both the addition of Mickey and the Doctor's embrace of Reinette was a net positive for me.
That being said, the romance angle was a bit forced. Reinette was well established as the mistress of Louis XV and meddling with a historical figure seems rather dangerous. It also seems a bit creepy that the Doctor first established a relationship with this woman while she was a little girl and that he developed feelings for her in the course of a few hours. That the Doctor would become this mysterious champion for her is understandable since she would go years without seeing him and then he pops up to rescue her. Very romantic from that angle. But the compression doesn't work as well on the other end.
The clockwork droids were an interesting if simplistic villain. But a more complicated villain would have pulled the central focus towards it rather than letting the relationship between the Doctor and Reinette drive the story.
I also enjoyed the fact that it ended on more of a tragic note with the Doctor not coming back at the end until after her death. That seemed a more fitting conclusion to the whole affair and also a nice way of avoiding some nasty time tricks that might have come from pulling her out of history. However, it is also a bit contrived. The Doctor should have been well aware by that point that time was moving faster on her side than on his and that it was going to be longer than the couple of minutes that it was for him. Knowing that, he should have hopped in the TARDIS and met her without using the fireplace.
But, I hear you say, why not do that after he learns he is too late? Because she left him a letter noting that he had never come back for her. If he came for her in the TARDIS at that point, it would be thwarting the established time loop (much like Rory and Amy's final transport to 1930's Manhattan which established the date of their deaths). The Doctor had not gone so far as to embrace the full arrogance of the Time Lord Victorious than manifested in The Waters of Mars, although this story does give a hint that the seeds of that personality were there. So, the Doctor is beaten by a convenient slip of the mind.
Overall, I'd rate it a good story, but not the great one it has been trumpeted as. I'm in positive territory but shifted a bit more to the middle than many of the other reviews out there.
Overall personal score: 4 out of 5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)