Have I mentioned that I'm a Mark Gatiss fangirl? I suspect I have. The third episode of the series 8 continues that trend.
After two quite dark, cerebral episodes of Doctor Who to start the series, this medieval romp was a welcome change of pace. I like my Robin Hood ridiculously silly, and this fit right in.
Clara was once again awesome. Not only was she wearing a lovely costume, and thus actually dressing to fit the time period (something I wish happened more often), but she was representing me. Seriously, she did an excellent rendition of a fangirl confronted with her obsession. Believe me, I know.
Also, not only did she take charge of the Doctor and Robin (proving why teaching is an excellent profession for the character), but she conducted yet another interrogation of the villain, getting him to talk before he made her talk.
Speaking of the villain, Ben Miller was utterly delightful as the Sheriff of Nottingham. Slimy and smarmy, obviously evil, yet oddly charming. I kind want Clara/Sheriff fanfiction now.
The robot knights were a lovely design and the spaceship looked appropriately bizarre. The golden arrow was perhaps not the best plot solution - in fact I don't particularly want to focus on the plot too much otherwise I will start to see far too many holes. But I loved the episode anyway.
The 'spoon' fight was hilarious and it was nice to see that it had a purpose in teaching Robin what trick to use to defeat the Sheriff. The 'Merry Men' were a tad superfluous, however the Doctor testing them to figure out what they were was very funny.
There was another mention of this mysterious 'promised land'. I have a theory, but I am not sharing. :P
The conversation between the Doctor and Robin at the end was perhaps most in keeping with the previous two episodes. The idea that stories are more important than real people is an interesting one. And the idea of the legend inspiring people to be true heroes is something we see time and time again in Doctor Who, even if it is not always spelt out for us.
Now I just need to survive the next episode without freaking out...
Saturday 13 September 2014
Sunday 7 September 2014
Series 8 - Deep Breath & Into the Dalek
Okay, to keep myself getting further behind on this reviewing thing than I already am, I'm doing a double post for the first two episodes of new Doctor Who! Eee!
Deep Breath
I really enjoyed this episode, not in my usual 'Squee' way, but at a more contemplative level. The pace was a lot slower, not just because of the length of the episode, but due to the multiple conversational scenes, whether between Vastra and Clara, the Doctor and the tramp, or the brilliant restaurant scene between Clara and the Doctor.
I love the ever affectionate relationship between Jenny and Vastra, just I love their action scenes. And I love that Clara had her own story and had to do important things. I love that she stood up to Vastra (and that Jenny squealed over it) and I love that even though she was terrified, she managed to interrogate the half faced man.
Capaldi is brilliant. He doesn't have my heart yet, that still belongs to Matt Smith, but he was brilliant anyway. I loved how sympathetic he was towards the dinosaur and how grumpy he was. I love that the Doctor's morality is somewhat ambiguous. He abandons Clara a number of times, he was aggressive to the tramp and took his coat (did he really give the tramp a watch in return) and we still don't know if he pushed the half faced man or if the robot jumped.
I adored the surprise appearance of Matt Smith. Was I ever going to say no to that?
I did get a wee bit irritated by the constant hammering of the Doctor being old now and not Clara's boyfriend. But I appreciated that the Doctor acknowledged that it wasn't actually Clara's mistake. Strax was funny, but the medical check up scene did seem a bit pointless.
As for Missy? Who is she? I don't know and I'm not even going to try and guess.
Into The Dalek
This episode was even better. More moral ambiguity! To use a Galactic Suburbia term, these first two episodes were very crunchy. The idea of a good Dalek and whether or not this is what the Doctor is, is fascinating. Do they mean good as in 'angelic' or do they mean good as in 'competent'? The Doctor still has a rocky relationship with soldiers. In this case, he turned down a possible new companion, because he was a soldier.
Speaking of soldiers, I am thoroughly intrigued by Danny Pink. Here is another man with hints of a moral quandary. He argues that modern soldiery is more than shooting people, but responds with tears when asked if he has killed a non soldier. He's clearly become a teacher to escape a past that still pains him. Will Clara be able to help. I can only imagine that there might be fireworks if he and the Doctor meet.
As for the plot, it was nice to see something a little different done with a Dalek. As usual, they are more menacing the less of them there are. Clara also got to be smart and capable again. The Doctor may have told her to do something clever, but she had to figure out what that clever thing would be.
The Doctor is still a grumpy sod, and clearly does not have much empathy or tact in this particular regeneration. See his comments about the soldier that died first.
We see Missy again, but learn nothing new. To be honest, Danny Pink intrigues me more than she does at this point.
So... I will try and get the next blog up quickly, preferably before the fourth episode. ;)
Deep Breath
I really enjoyed this episode, not in my usual 'Squee' way, but at a more contemplative level. The pace was a lot slower, not just because of the length of the episode, but due to the multiple conversational scenes, whether between Vastra and Clara, the Doctor and the tramp, or the brilliant restaurant scene between Clara and the Doctor.
I love the ever affectionate relationship between Jenny and Vastra, just I love their action scenes. And I love that Clara had her own story and had to do important things. I love that she stood up to Vastra (and that Jenny squealed over it) and I love that even though she was terrified, she managed to interrogate the half faced man.
Capaldi is brilliant. He doesn't have my heart yet, that still belongs to Matt Smith, but he was brilliant anyway. I loved how sympathetic he was towards the dinosaur and how grumpy he was. I love that the Doctor's morality is somewhat ambiguous. He abandons Clara a number of times, he was aggressive to the tramp and took his coat (did he really give the tramp a watch in return) and we still don't know if he pushed the half faced man or if the robot jumped.
I adored the surprise appearance of Matt Smith. Was I ever going to say no to that?
I did get a wee bit irritated by the constant hammering of the Doctor being old now and not Clara's boyfriend. But I appreciated that the Doctor acknowledged that it wasn't actually Clara's mistake. Strax was funny, but the medical check up scene did seem a bit pointless.
As for Missy? Who is she? I don't know and I'm not even going to try and guess.
Into The Dalek
This episode was even better. More moral ambiguity! To use a Galactic Suburbia term, these first two episodes were very crunchy. The idea of a good Dalek and whether or not this is what the Doctor is, is fascinating. Do they mean good as in 'angelic' or do they mean good as in 'competent'? The Doctor still has a rocky relationship with soldiers. In this case, he turned down a possible new companion, because he was a soldier.
Speaking of soldiers, I am thoroughly intrigued by Danny Pink. Here is another man with hints of a moral quandary. He argues that modern soldiery is more than shooting people, but responds with tears when asked if he has killed a non soldier. He's clearly become a teacher to escape a past that still pains him. Will Clara be able to help. I can only imagine that there might be fireworks if he and the Doctor meet.
As for the plot, it was nice to see something a little different done with a Dalek. As usual, they are more menacing the less of them there are. Clara also got to be smart and capable again. The Doctor may have told her to do something clever, but she had to figure out what that clever thing would be.
The Doctor is still a grumpy sod, and clearly does not have much empathy or tact in this particular regeneration. See his comments about the soldier that died first.
We see Missy again, but learn nothing new. To be honest, Danny Pink intrigues me more than she does at this point.
So... I will try and get the next blog up quickly, preferably before the fourth episode. ;)
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