Doctor Who 5x08 - The Hungry Earth
May. 23rd, 2010 05:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lightcastleI may not be a fan of Chris Chibnall's work so far in the Whoniverse, but it is clear he grew up with the show and this really did feel like a Pertwee-era homage, which is nice for us old-time Whovians.
I am happy we have Nu-Who and I am mostly happy with the updates to the style and production. But there was much glory in the old show - it didn't survive for almost three decades for no reason - and it is sometimes nice to visit the old tropes in the format of the new show.
That is, in many ways, what this was to an old fan. It was like a hodge-podge of Third Doctor-era shows (The drilling from Inferno, the energy field around the church from The Daemons, and of course, the Silurians themselves) and even old-style elements like the "Monster POV" which was such a staple of Old Who. It taps my little nostalgic heart doing things like that. Add in a two-parter for a slower pace and we've got a winner in many ways. As with most two-parters, the final score will depend a great deal on the payoff we get.
I'll start with all the elements I *did* like.
Rory and The Doctor - The case for Rory gets stronger and stronger. With an Amy-light episode, Rory steps into the for and only cements my case for wanting him around more. I like that he and the Doctor don't actually seem to have a jealousy thing, but are rather mates of a sort. They both care for Amy and she for them, in different ways. Despite having signed on for this life now, he's still a little distrustful and less in awe of the Doctor than she is, and his concern for her trumps all else. It's really nice, and he's better and better the more we see of him. (Am also fairly sure the whole "don't wear your engagement ring" is a giant Chekov's Gun for episode 2. I'm torn between it being a way to remind Amy of their relationship or a "if only we had a diamond to focus this beam" thing though.)
The Interrogation Scene - I really though that was lovely. I like talky scenes when they are done well and this was. The whole idea of brokering a peaceful solution of one sort or another between the two Earthlian races is a long-standing goal of the Doctor's and I like that he's still trying.
Matt Smith - Wow, I really AM starting to like him. He's sort of a Troughton-Davison hybrid and it's working quite well.
The Supporting Cast - I'm a sucker for a little mining-team romance and especially liked "Like you didn't know?". But then I'm a big sap, as most of you are aware. Does Ambrose kind of look like an older Amy to you? They managed to have a "smart kid" who I didn't instantly want to punch, so that's a plus.
Things I didn't like.
Wire the Village! - I am fine with the very vague connection to scientific plausibility in the show. So sure, the Doctor can convert all the recording devices into one kind of giant sensor web. Why not? But you want me to believe they found, positioned, attached, and wired up all of those devices in 4 minutes?!?!?!? Just duct taping one into place would probably take longer than that.
The New Look Silurians - (or Eocenes, which I will give full props to for the nod to a VERY old piece of continuity, but then when they are supposed to come from is fraught with problems.) I miss the third eye. I miss the less-human look. The makeup is nice, but they seem more like Draconians. I get them wanting a more expressive face, but I don't think it needed it. From the point of view of a new viewer, I'm sure it doesn't matter. Still, it annoyed me. The tongue venom was ok, even if the CGI was clumsy. However, why doesn't the Doctor do anything about it? He just leaves that guy poisoned? Why would he do that?
I am curious about the giant civilization/city under the ground. That's a pretty new idea for Silurian lore. I'm curious where they might go with it, and in this case having an old fan of the series might actually be a help.
The Sonic Screwdriver Doesn't Work on Wood! - This is the second time I can remember them mentioning this. Why? Is it an homage to the original Green Lantern? Is it just a way to have something other than the Deadlock seal to thwart the magic wand? It just seems weird and arbitrary.
All in all, more entertaining than not, and I try to judge two-parters on their complete story arc. I like that it looks like we're getting a classic-style episod here, so I'm cautiously optimistic despite Chibnall's flaws.
It will still probably be better than the Lost finale.
I am happy we have Nu-Who and I am mostly happy with the updates to the style and production. But there was much glory in the old show - it didn't survive for almost three decades for no reason - and it is sometimes nice to visit the old tropes in the format of the new show.
That is, in many ways, what this was to an old fan. It was like a hodge-podge of Third Doctor-era shows (The drilling from Inferno, the energy field around the church from The Daemons, and of course, the Silurians themselves) and even old-style elements like the "Monster POV" which was such a staple of Old Who. It taps my little nostalgic heart doing things like that. Add in a two-parter for a slower pace and we've got a winner in many ways. As with most two-parters, the final score will depend a great deal on the payoff we get.
I'll start with all the elements I *did* like.
Rory and The Doctor - The case for Rory gets stronger and stronger. With an Amy-light episode, Rory steps into the for and only cements my case for wanting him around more. I like that he and the Doctor don't actually seem to have a jealousy thing, but are rather mates of a sort. They both care for Amy and she for them, in different ways. Despite having signed on for this life now, he's still a little distrustful and less in awe of the Doctor than she is, and his concern for her trumps all else. It's really nice, and he's better and better the more we see of him. (Am also fairly sure the whole "don't wear your engagement ring" is a giant Chekov's Gun for episode 2. I'm torn between it being a way to remind Amy of their relationship or a "if only we had a diamond to focus this beam" thing though.)
The Interrogation Scene - I really though that was lovely. I like talky scenes when they are done well and this was. The whole idea of brokering a peaceful solution of one sort or another between the two Earthlian races is a long-standing goal of the Doctor's and I like that he's still trying.
Matt Smith - Wow, I really AM starting to like him. He's sort of a Troughton-Davison hybrid and it's working quite well.
The Supporting Cast - I'm a sucker for a little mining-team romance and especially liked "Like you didn't know?". But then I'm a big sap, as most of you are aware. Does Ambrose kind of look like an older Amy to you? They managed to have a "smart kid" who I didn't instantly want to punch, so that's a plus.
Things I didn't like.
Wire the Village! - I am fine with the very vague connection to scientific plausibility in the show. So sure, the Doctor can convert all the recording devices into one kind of giant sensor web. Why not? But you want me to believe they found, positioned, attached, and wired up all of those devices in 4 minutes?!?!?!? Just duct taping one into place would probably take longer than that.
The New Look Silurians - (or Eocenes, which I will give full props to for the nod to a VERY old piece of continuity, but then when they are supposed to come from is fraught with problems.) I miss the third eye. I miss the less-human look. The makeup is nice, but they seem more like Draconians. I get them wanting a more expressive face, but I don't think it needed it. From the point of view of a new viewer, I'm sure it doesn't matter. Still, it annoyed me. The tongue venom was ok, even if the CGI was clumsy. However, why doesn't the Doctor do anything about it? He just leaves that guy poisoned? Why would he do that?
I am curious about the giant civilization/city under the ground. That's a pretty new idea for Silurian lore. I'm curious where they might go with it, and in this case having an old fan of the series might actually be a help.
The Sonic Screwdriver Doesn't Work on Wood! - This is the second time I can remember them mentioning this. Why? Is it an homage to the original Green Lantern? Is it just a way to have something other than the Deadlock seal to thwart the magic wand? It just seems weird and arbitrary.
All in all, more entertaining than not, and I try to judge two-parters on their complete story arc. I like that it looks like we're getting a classic-style episod here, so I'm cautiously optimistic despite Chibnall's flaws.
It will still probably be better than the Lost finale.
