I suffered from something strange recently, I can only describe it as the SciFi equivalent of the bends. Basically, I was coming straight off some heavy shit, like Battlestar Galactica (was probably some episode where the light hearted human interest story [the one that counter balanced the main suicidally depressing and violent main plot] was about someone choosing which brand of razors to buy so they could slit their wrists) and went straight into the new Doctor Who season's opening camp romp. Like a diver coming up from the depths, I should have weaned myself slowly from BSG and onto Doctor Who, instead of the toxic shock to the system that almost did for me.
I guess that usually you'd go to B7 from BSG then, perhaps, work through some Babylon 5, onto DS9, through to some ST:TNG, by which point you're probably at the right place to move onto Doctor Who. If you go to Buck Rogers in the 25th Century then you've gone too far. And, paradoxically, at the opposite end of the scale from BSG is BSG.
The original version, that is (and Buck Rogers comes before the disco in space purely because of the harrowing gang rape scene with Wilfred Hyde-White in episode 17). Put simply, Doctor Who needs to be darker, and scary enough to make an SAS chap soil himself. Speaking of which.
..
And now on BBC1.
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Yes.
As unlikely as, say, John Prescott having an affair, RTD turns in a great story that has almost everything right with it. The pacing of the story, the structure and motives of the characters. The direction and music.
The cg effects. Well, I said almost. For some unaccountable reason I felt that I was watching an episode of The League of Gentlemen, just from the first establishing shot of the carriage and horses moving across the moor.
Not overly sure why.
There is almost as many things crammed into this episode as there were the season opener, but all of it feels right, even tho the hackneyed cliche counter's on overdrive for this one. Kung Fu monks, yes it's been done but the opening scenes work really well and manages to grab the audience by their collective scrotums and get them to sit up and take notice.
I'm surprised that we're not taking the TARDIS on a trip to see the Village People in concert, that would seem much more in line with the continuing gayness of the show. But prop manipulation fans should look out for the hammering meted out to the console. Tennant really has this whole Doctor thing cracked.
Although his shift in accent was a little disturbing and he actually comes across sounding more like Armando Iannucci than anything else.
Pauline Collins. What can you say?
Apart from the fact I know (sort of) one of her kids. She was excellent. Although the whole let's get the Queen to say her catch-phrase routine was starting to get on my tits a little towards the end.
Christ alone knows what the time traveling couple will do when they run into Lucas and Walliams and get them to work through every single Little Britain catch-phrase.
I know that some have commented on the wolf, and how it just doesn't really feel part of the piece because of its lack of real interaction but I actually think that they're getting better at doing this sort of thing. I still feel that there's a slight quality difference, between the filmed parts and the cg parts, that makes any computer graphics appear slapped on (the hover cars in New Earth looked particularly phoney).
I guess it's still a learning process for the production team, to churn out this sort of effect on a weekly basis on BBC money, but things like this are really starting to work. The chase sequence, were the wolf was running after our heros and the aging monarch, was a little silly. Queen Vicky had all the speed and maneuverability as K-9 on deep shag pile.
The Doctor, after indulging in some Pertwee neck massage, comes into his own in the library, ditching the MacGyuver action in favour of more normal Doctorly activity (and yes, as others have said, very, very Buffy). Eventually deducing that it's mistletoe that the wolf thinks it's allergic to (that must have been a real downer at the monastery's Christmas party). And I thought it didn't like the kitchens because it could still smell the remnants of Vole Pot Noodle (or whatever Victorian Briton's ate).
The monks have already acted to protect themselves, by garlanding themselves in mistletoe. Garland..
. Judy Garland? Wizard of Oz?
Friend of Dorothy? Gay agenda?!
Or am I reading too much into this?
The ending (of the main story) is as measured and logical as last weeks was rushed and stupid. Although I'm a little disappointed that it was the Koh-i-Noor in the box and not Prince Albert's petrified nob.
However, all that Torchwood nonsense at the very end was a little too brash and in your face. She might as well have ended on a plug for the programme itself, Coming to BBC3 this Autumn . It really was that blunt.
The Bumper Book of Made-up Doctor Who Facts has this to say about Tooth and Claw: The green ball on a stick, that was attached to the special effects man 'playing' the wolf so that the cast had a reference point for where the wolf's eyes would be, is reportedly headlining the next Panopticon convention after the organizers bared or fell out with everyone else from the world of Doctor Who.
Late as usual.
There was a point, as the closing credits rolled on Tooth And Claw (just as that bloody continuity annoucer was drowning out the middle eight once again) that I had to hold up my hands and admit - OK Russell, I apologise, you can do decent endings.
After my tirade last week about Mr D's shortcomings, it's almost like he was blowing a huge raspberry at me and writing a blinder just to make me eat my words. The ending was great - and the 45 minutes that preceded it weren't bad either. In fact plot wise they were damn near perfect.
Others have commented about the slo-mo monks in their BBC colours, and how derivative it was, (despite assertions from the production team that it was the best opening ever ) and sure, it wasn't anything we hadn't seen a hundered times before - at the movies. But when was the last time we saw something like this on a BRITISH TV show? I bet the kid's watching would've gone!
Wow! Cool! - and isn't that the point?
However, for me the best opening was Doctor Ten bashing seven bells out of the TARDIS console in time to Ian Dury. Just inspired.
I'll admit that the opening moments of the first meeting with old Queen Vicky did have me rolling my eyes thinking Here we go - another thesp hamming it up and trying to do posh , but then, all of a sudden, there was a steely spark in Pauline Collins's eye, and she upped her performance.
Here was a portrait of a fiery woman in control of her life, not some doting old granny bereft of wit and overcome with grief and mourning. It wasn't what I expected and at times even shocked me slightly, especially as she cooly gunned down her attacker later in the episode. A great performance.
I wish I could say the same about Rose. Sigh. I like the character.
I like Billy Piper. But here she just grated on me a bit. Oh I can forgive the We are not amused tomfoolery (although I personally would have omitted one of the attempts from the edit), but Rose just came across as a shallow little girl with a bit of a smug attitude - and she semed to drag the Doctor down to her level too.
Maybe the script didn't play to her strengths, but there was one point where I really wanted to give her a good slap.
As for the titular Timelord, his regeneration has obviously changed him from a haunted man looking for escape from his past into a confident one looking to embrace the joys of life. Tennant's performance wasn't flawless - his angry stance still needs some work - but there were some lovely Doctorish moments, especially licking the walls and stockpiling books in the library.
Arm yourselves indeed.
Despite the Doc firing on all cylinders, like many I believe our duo are in for a shock due to their cocky attitudes. However, I'm beginning to wonder if the viewers are not in for one too.
Up until now, the episodes have very much followed the pattern of season one - the Earth-based menance from everyday objects (TCI), The far future one (NE) and now the historical. But the message from the initial trailers was Think you have seen it all? At first look that seems like a simple hint at new adventures to come, but what if it has a deeper meaning?
The Doctor is acting like he is in control and HAS seen it all, and have we the viewer become jaded enough already to think we know what is to come? I think a BIG curve ball is due to hit this season.
Ok back to the plot - and that wolf.
You have to admit, the CGI was magnificent. From the first terrifying transformation from host to beast, to my absolute favourite moment with the Doc and the wolf on opposite sides of the door, this was without doubt one of the best examples of special effects served up by a British TV channel. Snarling, feral and at times pant-wetingly scary, this was just what was needed to get the little tykes scurrying for the safety of the sofa.
Sure, there was a teensy bit too much running around corridors and some of the logic was a bit suspect - just how were the monks intending to get the wolf BACK in the cage when it had dined on Queen Victoria? But this was a classic iconic monster brought to life with skill and passion.
And so we come to the finale, where amazingingly RTD's plot actually arrives at a sensible, understandable and believable solution to the problem at hand.
I'll admit that once Queenie revealed the prescence of that huge hunk of ice in her possession, I had a reasonably good idea of where things were going, but for once you could genuinely join the dots of the hints laid earlier to get there.
The wolf got a messianic-like death (I think it was the host that was crying out for death rather than the parasitic creature itself) and good triumphed once more. But at such a cost.
The body count in this episode was huge - it's no wonder that Victoria rewarded the Doctor and Rose for their help and then banished them. How could she trust a couple who treated life so glibly and swapped jokes while her subjects died? I didn't see this as proof that the Queen was possessed, more an affirmation of her duty as monarch and her well known strong stance on morality and family values.
At the end of all this, the Doctor and Rose stride off into the TARDIS, literally howling at the thought of a Royal Family of lycanthropes and that's it...
. except it wasn't. The expected theme music didn't arrive and instead we have great little scene which sets up an adversary, a spin-off and shows that the Doctor's actions can have unexpected consequences.
Torchwood is coming - and there will be dark days ahead...
My initial reaction towards Tooth 'n Claw was not an overly positive one, (you could say I was not amused) but my temperament has however, improved after additional viewings.
It wasn't the flippancy of the lead characters, or the 'class warfare' that furrowed my brow, (actually the script is quite brilliant, and full of those golden Who-like moments that went missing for over a decade) it was actually the pace of the story that left me out of breath.
That classic fan in me wanted things to slow down a bit.
..
This episode unfolded so quickly that it was difficult to invest any real emotion into it.
Gone are the days of the four-parter, (I know) but give us a just little supporting character development, and a maybe cliffhanger or two, that's all I ask!
Otherwise, there isn't much for us to think about: just monsters in corridors devouring victims we have little or no attachment to. I suppose this is what audiences want nowadays, I just don't know.
I hate this (Hollywood) brand of storytelling. It is the antithesis of Doctor Who, and for me not worth the price of a new series -- but hey, that's what us rabid geeks are here for: over analysis.
What's up with Torchwood?
Now that it's been given such deep roots -- how does it change our perception of The Doctor's history on planet Earth? If he was banished, then why is he allowed to return and work with UNIT, and more to the point, why was UNIT even created at all?
I knew I would either have to do my review straight after broadcast, ill-considered and badly spelled, or later in the week because I spent all of Sunday directing a short film.
Unlike this really bothered me which, I suppose, makes me a fan, surprise surprise. In the end, it turned out it was much better to wait because on Saturday night I hated it.
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