Hide and Seek

The Doctor: Boo! Haha! Hello! I’m looking for a ghost!

Yay! Another Doctor Who episode! I’m starting to get use to the regular weekly viewing. Too bad it’s only for another few more weeks.

Hide is… a good episode. Unfortunately I can’t be more raving about it. I’m not one for the scary, not that Hide is scary but it does have the necessary eerie tone of a ghost story.  

There’s a lot to see in this episode all layered in. The Doctor is a “liar” as we have always known but even more interesting, “he has a slither of ice in his heart”. Oooh! And well, the Tardis is apparently like a “cat”. Is it because it purrs? No. No. It’s just slow to trust, that's it.

Clara: …one minute you’re in 1974 looking for ghosts. But all you have to do is open your eyes and talk to whoever is standing there. To you I haven’t even been born yet… and to you I’ve been dead a hundred billion years... Is my body out there somewhere, in the ground?

Interesting point of view, but, if time is "really just a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey stuff" to The Doctor it does not matter. It's the people you're with and the experiences you have that count, regardless of when and where, in or out of ones correct time. We all have our own person futures, our own death, what counts is now. 

Next up, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.

Cold Sub

A cold, wet submarine. No. I know what you were thinking. Not a cold sandwich from Subway!

Cold War… this episode is… brilliant! The first episode I’ve seen in a long time that I’ve loved from start to finish and definitely the best of Series 7 so far. Mark Gatiss, you’ve certainly out done yourself!  

The Doctor: Professor I could kiss you!

Professor Grisenko: If you insist.

The Doctor: o.O ...Later.

The writing is tight. The plot is sound. I’ve missed episodes that actually focus on the adventure and the problem at hand. I feel the string of recent episodes have been used merely as a tool to set up the old/new companions, leaving episodes with rather rushed endings and weak resolutions.

Cold War is thrilling and suspenseful. Based on a serious historical period and confined spaces aboard a submarine, the episode feels more real and enjoyable, with heightened emotions and intense fears. I particularly loved the moment with the Professor where Clara realises the realism of the danger that exists around them. Up until this point, it’s been the adrenalin, the thrill, the excitement of saving worlds. It’s all rather fanciful and sometimes we forget the real horrors when we’re with The Doctor.

The Doctor: Skaldak won’t talk to you. You’re, you’re an enemy soldier.

Captain Zhukov: And how would he know that?

The Doctor: A soldier knows another soldier. He’ll smell it on you, smell it on you a mile off.

Captain Zhukov: And he wouldn’t smell it on you Doctor?

Touché.

We see Clara receiving more of the usual time travel 101, on the TARDIS translation matrix and history in flux. And on that note of the translation matrix, the gift from the TARDIS, does it stay with the companions even after they leave? Wouldn't that be handy?

Next up, Hide.

soul = story

Last time I said I had hopes for something grander and The Rings of Akhaten certainly served up a bigger dish. It was aliens galore! A field day for any Whovian.

The Doctor: I've seen bigger.
Clara: Really?!
The Doctor: Are you joking! It's massive!

The episode opens superbly for the first half - history of Clara, alien solar system, Clara's l'il sole adventure... Until the soul eating - no, story eating - no memory eating - no - gosh I don't know,  some live eating parasitic sun wakes with the munchies. Muahahahaha! This is where things get confusing.

Soul = story, and The Doctor fights. He fights the living sun with a story. By letting the sun have his memories. Eat his story. Um. What? If a parasitic alien sun eats my story? I suppose that's death. Or is it memory loss? But, despite the confusion, Matt Smith gives one of the most remarkable monologues of The Doctor. "I walked away from the last Time War. I marked the passing of the Time Lords..." - Nah you really should watch it.

What's the next one? Cold War. Ok, see you then!

rycbar123

The Doctor: "I'm the Doctor. I'm an alien from outer space. I'm a thousand years old, I've got two hearts, and I can't fly a plane!"

It's been a snail of a month, one that has crawled by. I just had a wonderful five day Easter weekend and boy do I miss the time, the time to do the little things, the time to go for walks, to experiment with desserts, the time to just settle into a task rather than everything done by appointment. I miss time.

Speaking of time... the long wait for the new episodes of Doctor Who has finally arrived! But was the wait worth it? I feel like the wait has diluted my affection for the show. Don't get me wrong, I still love the Doctor but the loss of interest, whatever degree, is the risk of delaying air dates.

So... The Bells of Saint John.

Monk in 1207: "Wake the abbot! The bells of Saint John are ringing!"

Huh? Translation for the 21st century Whovian: Go get The Doctor, his phone box is ringing of the hooks!

I must say the opening scene in 1207 Cumbria feels rather disconnected from the rest of the episode mainly because there is no explanation to why on earth The Doctor chose that time and location to mull over a Miss Clara, especially given the prequel clip in the playground.

The episode as a whole is quite enjoyable with a very classy execution. But didn't it ring a little deja vu? Faces in monitors. The Doctor on a motorcycle. An alien feeding on human minds... Does it bring to memory The Doctor with a 50's Elvis hairstyling, Rose in a pretty pink dress and that creepy line: "Feed me!"? It did for me, but just subtly so even with the similarities you're still able to enjoy the adventure on its own merits.

Unfortunately, the adventure just didn't quite satiate. It was a good episode with some great scenes, but I couldn't help but feel I had the appetite for something grander. Am I being too demanding? No, I don't think so. I'm just being a fan.

As for the new companion. We've seen her in the future, in the past and now in the present day. Clare 1, 2 and 3. Is she really the same person? They/she, all have similar traits. Sassy, curious, intelligent and after being spliced a computer skills package, Clara 3 and 1, are both quite tech savvy. I haven't mention if I like her yet. Ohhh, but that is something a character must earn and Clara Oswald is yet to earn it, which I have no doubt time will take care of. I definitely liked Oswin when we first met her. I guess we shall see if that is her future in some way.

NEXT TIME. THE RINGS OF AKHATEN.