Hold your breath!
Doctor Who Series 10 episode 5
This has got to be my favourite episode this series so far! For one that I thought was going to be a typical zombie romp or so based on the trailer (which mind you I didn't genuinely pay attention to) it turned out to be a cracker. I have never found Doctor Who to be scary, but for the first time, there was a scene that did make me fear and want to call out "Get out of there!".
Spoilers!
This episode is commendable for its motifs and statement on capitalism and more specifically corporate business. For naturally occurring resources which we all take for granted such as water, air, sunlight, the concept treating oxygen as a commodity with a price tag is very interesting, and one that if a business model could be created and made feasible I'm sure there will always be a few that would want to take advantage of it with disregard for human rights let alone the value of human life. Oh the negativity, I hear you screech! But the line, "You're fighting the suits" is just so good. They're physically fighting against the AI programmed spacesuits but also the faceless businessman in suits.
I mentioned that this is the first time I've actually been frightened while watching an episode of Doctor Who. The scene which did it was of course the one where the Doctor, Bill and Nardole find themselves in a room with the dead corpse standing or more specifically been propped by the smart-spacesuit. Not knowing what was going to happen at such an early point in the story but knowing that the corpse do move some how was truly terrifying and creepy, as the corpse predictably would animate at any moment!
In this episode we also get to see more of the dynamic between Nardole and the Doctor. Nardole being ever so snarky to the Doctor was so entertaining. I'm sure we can all agree the Doctor needs someone to keep him in check and that job can't be Bills, who's here only to be spoiled with adventure. Of course with adventure, dangers come in suite, and as a price the Doctor pays a hefty one this time. The Doctor loses his sight and the stakes heighten!
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Smile/Thin Ice/Knock Knock
Whoops, I was falling behind on the reviewing but then I actually fell behind on the watching. Never fear! All caught up now.
Having just watched the episode 'Knock Knock', I can safely say I am enjoying the banter in the TARDIS between Bill and the Doctor the most. The two have a great dynamic, one that comes off very natural and is very refreshing to see. Just in this episode the Doctor assists with Bill's moving and the conversation casually leads into one about Time Lords and their funny dress sense. It is such a delight to watch, as Bill has so much still waiting for her to learn about the Doctor.
For this review I thought I'd do a combo, saves me time ;p
***Spoilers!
Doctor Who Series 10 episode 2,3,4
So the last three episodes were 'Smile', 'Thin Ice' and 'Knock Knock'. I feel there is some very back to basic titling system going here and I can say I'm digging it. Getting into it, of these three episodes the standout was of course 'Thin Ice'. There were some great moments and scenes in all of three but in the end the watcher must always take way the entire feel of the episode and the story it tries to tell. By comparison, 'Thin Ice', was well paced and compelling touched on real world issues giving the story weight and dimension. The stand out scene was when the Doctor delivered his eloquent speech on the true measure of human progress.
A common theme, noticed throughout all three of these episodes, and also the first episode 'The Pilot', is death, or more specifically death by being eaten. In 'The Pilot', Heather is eaten by the alien fuel/water, in 'Smile' the skeleton crew is devoured by the Vardy; in 'Thin Ice', poor civilians become fish food and in 'Knock Knock', we have unsuspecting renters becoming the food source for alien-wood-lice! As the Doctor says, “Hardly anything’s evil. Most things are hungry. Hungry can look a lot like evil from the wrong end of the cutlery. Or do you think your bacon sandwich loves you back?”. What is interesting to see is how Bill reacts in the various episodes in the face of these fatalities. With Heather, Bill seems to have brushed it off fairly quickly, despite knowing that Heather was dead. Perhaps seeing the alien had taken Heather's image and form, lighten the impact? Understandably in 'Smile', the remoteness of the skeleton crew would merely invoke a respectful condolence, in contrast to 'Thin Ice', where is Bill brought to primal horror and shock as she witnesses the death of the small boy at the Frost Fair. Her utter disgust of the Doctor and his indifference was much warranted and wake up call in the midst of all the fun and games with time travel. But her reaction in 'Knock Knock' is one that is the most out of character to date. In 'Knock Knock', Bill also witnesses a good friend die less than a metre in front of her but her reaction is some how tamed in comparison to the one we see in 'Thin Ice'. Yes, everyone is saved in the end... but still.
...Seems I'll have to leave it here for now. I know it falls short of a review but I think I may have become a bit rusty!
Ta
Having just watched the episode 'Knock Knock', I can safely say I am enjoying the banter in the TARDIS between Bill and the Doctor the most. The two have a great dynamic, one that comes off very natural and is very refreshing to see. Just in this episode the Doctor assists with Bill's moving and the conversation casually leads into one about Time Lords and their funny dress sense. It is such a delight to watch, as Bill has so much still waiting for her to learn about the Doctor.
For this review I thought I'd do a combo, saves me time ;p
***Spoilers!
Doctor Who Series 10 episode 2,3,4
So the last three episodes were 'Smile', 'Thin Ice' and 'Knock Knock'. I feel there is some very back to basic titling system going here and I can say I'm digging it. Getting into it, of these three episodes the standout was of course 'Thin Ice'. There were some great moments and scenes in all of three but in the end the watcher must always take way the entire feel of the episode and the story it tries to tell. By comparison, 'Thin Ice', was well paced and compelling touched on real world issues giving the story weight and dimension. The stand out scene was when the Doctor delivered his eloquent speech on the true measure of human progress.
The Doctor: Human progress isn’t measured by industry. It’s measured by the value you place on a life. An unimportant life. A life without privilege. The boy who died on the river, that boy’s value is your value. That’s what defines an age, that’s… what defines a species.
A common theme, noticed throughout all three of these episodes, and also the first episode 'The Pilot', is death, or more specifically death by being eaten. In 'The Pilot', Heather is eaten by the alien fuel/water, in 'Smile' the skeleton crew is devoured by the Vardy; in 'Thin Ice', poor civilians become fish food and in 'Knock Knock', we have unsuspecting renters becoming the food source for alien-wood-lice! As the Doctor says, “Hardly anything’s evil. Most things are hungry. Hungry can look a lot like evil from the wrong end of the cutlery. Or do you think your bacon sandwich loves you back?”. What is interesting to see is how Bill reacts in the various episodes in the face of these fatalities. With Heather, Bill seems to have brushed it off fairly quickly, despite knowing that Heather was dead. Perhaps seeing the alien had taken Heather's image and form, lighten the impact? Understandably in 'Smile', the remoteness of the skeleton crew would merely invoke a respectful condolence, in contrast to 'Thin Ice', where is Bill brought to primal horror and shock as she witnesses the death of the small boy at the Frost Fair. Her utter disgust of the Doctor and his indifference was much warranted and wake up call in the midst of all the fun and games with time travel. But her reaction in 'Knock Knock' is one that is the most out of character to date. In 'Knock Knock', Bill also witnesses a good friend die less than a metre in front of her but her reaction is some how tamed in comparison to the one we see in 'Thin Ice'. Yes, everyone is saved in the end... but still.
...Seems I'll have to leave it here for now. I know it falls short of a review but I think I may have become a bit rusty!
Ta
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