The tl;dr summary is "meh". It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad.
Spoilers, of course.
I think the problem was that I felt absolutely no tension throughout the entire episode. I suppose it didn't help that I saw Moffat say that this was going to be a super-scary episode; I've found that whenever Moffat claims something about something coming up, it usually means that it's not at all that way but he's trying to hype it up. But sure, there are monsters and we don't know what they want and the Doctor's trying to figure it out - no better or worse than any other episode, really.
I think the thing I really disliked here was the Doctor's monologue about the four words, "dark, sword, forsaken, temple", because though it was meant to show just how much of a genius he is, there was really no logical way for him to figure it out. How in the world does he know that the sword refers to the sword in Orion's belt, or that the temple refers to the church in the town? He doesn't figure something out - he just pulls it out of thin air.
There's also the problem that the science is bad: if we can see the three stars lined up to make the sword up in the sky, we are not the fourth point in that line. (Not to mention that we might see three stars making a line in the 2-D sky, but there's very little chance that those three stars are actually lined up in 3-D space.) Doctor Who really needs a scientific advisor on staff like Star Trek has. I realize that DW is meant to be sciency-wiency and I am perfectly happy waving away their almost magical technology and technobabble, but when they call out to real-world science and they're completely wrong, it ruins the suspension of disbelief - if they're going to get it wrong, it's actually better for them to throw the real science out the window and make stuff up. This was one of the main problems with "Kill the Moon" and "In the Forest of the Night", and it took a while for me to warm back up to this episode after that. (I used to rant about the horrible science at the end of "The Poison Sky", but now it looks good in comparison.)
Loved the note cards. That was a universal hit, I think.
The sealab cast was pretty vanilla except for the leader (who seemed to have been given a handicap only so that there could be someone who could read lips) andLux the rich guy who got snuffed. Even Clara is pretty much standing around either being reckless (a new sudden character trait for Clara - imagine that; that's never happened before) or stunned.
I wasn't expecting a two-part episode, but it sounds like it's going to be pretty common this season, and that's cool. A piece of advice to the writers, though: killing off the main characters does not make a good cliffhanger. The audience knows better. And doing it twice in a row only makes us mock you.
Spoilers, of course.
I think the problem was that I felt absolutely no tension throughout the entire episode. I suppose it didn't help that I saw Moffat say that this was going to be a super-scary episode; I've found that whenever Moffat claims something about something coming up, it usually means that it's not at all that way but he's trying to hype it up. But sure, there are monsters and we don't know what they want and the Doctor's trying to figure it out - no better or worse than any other episode, really.
I think the thing I really disliked here was the Doctor's monologue about the four words, "dark, sword, forsaken, temple", because though it was meant to show just how much of a genius he is, there was really no logical way for him to figure it out. How in the world does he know that the sword refers to the sword in Orion's belt, or that the temple refers to the church in the town? He doesn't figure something out - he just pulls it out of thin air.
There's also the problem that the science is bad: if we can see the three stars lined up to make the sword up in the sky, we are not the fourth point in that line. (Not to mention that we might see three stars making a line in the 2-D sky, but there's very little chance that those three stars are actually lined up in 3-D space.) Doctor Who really needs a scientific advisor on staff like Star Trek has. I realize that DW is meant to be sciency-wiency and I am perfectly happy waving away their almost magical technology and technobabble, but when they call out to real-world science and they're completely wrong, it ruins the suspension of disbelief - if they're going to get it wrong, it's actually better for them to throw the real science out the window and make stuff up. This was one of the main problems with "Kill the Moon" and "In the Forest of the Night", and it took a while for me to warm back up to this episode after that. (I used to rant about the horrible science at the end of "The Poison Sky", but now it looks good in comparison.)
Loved the note cards. That was a universal hit, I think.
The sealab cast was pretty vanilla except for the leader (who seemed to have been given a handicap only so that there could be someone who could read lips) and
I wasn't expecting a two-part episode, but it sounds like it's going to be pretty common this season, and that's cool. A piece of advice to the writers, though: killing off the main characters does not make a good cliffhanger. The audience knows better. And doing it twice in a row only makes us mock you.
Comments
As for Clara...sheer overcompensation. She is trying to throw herself into adventure to make up for the things she misses. By trying to NOT miss them. And I rather liked the deaf captain. Thought that was awesome and...why not, you know?
*HUGS*
I liked the captain, too, but perhaps I'm too cynical - whenever on any show, a handicapped single-episode character shows up, the first thing I think is, "Ah, that person's handicap is going to solve some problem or otherwise be integral to the plot." And it was.
Awww...one day, honey. One day it will be more than plot-device!
I basically ignore and avoid anything Moff has to say beforehand. That way, I'm less disappointed. It worked here... up until the last second. His habit of killing off people/beings/Time Lords(Ladies) and bringing them back does leave one with a feeling of "Again? That makes x times he's killed so & so. So what?"
I didn't really feel so bad for the corporate guy; he was the one who insisted they stay, apparently because equipment is worth more to him than lives.... True, he wasn't vanilla, but I didn't feel sorry for him!
The note cards were kind of amusing; it seems this Doctor needs a clue as to how to sympathize with others. I guess it balances out Ten's constant refrain about how sorry he was.... Capaldi's Doctor is definitely not emo, nor is he touchy-feely. He has to be cued, and even then, he does a pretty shoddy job of it.
Still, I have to say that this season is more watchable than last, at least so far. Capaldi is finally beginning to own his role as the Doctor. I heard that they wrote last season's episodes before they knew who would fill the role, but that may just be a rumor.
I heard that, too! And I generally don't hear (or listen) to much when it comes to rumors, spoilers, whathaveyou, lol!
Those notecards were brilliant. Definitely fitting! Poor Twelve needs a constant headslap - put notecards work just as well. Wonder if that was a Clara idea. Well, I know it was a Clara-idea, but I wonder how she managed to convince him!
That scene where he tried to talk her down was sweet, if a little sad in a way. His whole 'don't be me' (in his roundabout way) was funny, if telling. I love that Clara knows him so well she saw it for what it was...
Indeed, it was telling... "Don't be me" was the message, heard loud and clear (to me, anyway... and you as well, it seems). It's sad how he was trying to encourage her to find another relationship (after all, it's what we puny humans do). Somehow, I get the sinking feeling she won't get the chance....
Nobody Moffat kills stays dead. Well, minor one-off characters, sure. My husband is convinced that Danny Pink will come back this season. But the sure-fire way of being invited back to Moffat's DW is to play a non-minor character who gets killed.
I definitely think this season is more watchable than the last.
Everyone seem to love the cards, I feel alone ;)
I liked the fact they hired an actress who is deaf and incorporated it into the plot. However it is possible for some people to read lips without being deaf.
"It reminded me of when Chantho told the Doctor that her people were a conglomeration that had been wiped out and he gushed about being right, and Jack had to tell him, "You're supposed to say 'I'm sorry.'" :D
Sometimes the Doctor can be oblivious to people's feeling's or how they will process what he is saying.
Billy Shipton: What in God's name are you talking about?
Martha Jones: Trust me, just nod when he stops for breath.
The Eleventh Doctor: Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up.
Edited at 2015-10-09 03:32 am (UTC)