Our TV watching sort of got knocked for a loop a month or so back. We went from staying caught up with Doctor Who, Heroes, and (for me) Battlestar Galactica to … well, not being caught up. I’ve managed to get relatively current on BG, and last night we completed watching the two Doctor Who eps we were finally behind on.
“The Satan Pit” is the second half of a two-parter (“The Impossible Planet” being the first — and I’m finding mildly irksome that DW’s two-parters aren’t called out that way by name, vs. having different titles), wherein the Doctor and Rose deal with Something Awful and Evil buried deep within a planet on the edge of a black hole. Both characters get lots to do (Tennant as the Doctor finally seems to find a voice), the action
is fast and epic, with bits of Aliens and Quartermass thrown in to keep things hopping. The FX are pretty spiffy, too. Classic Who, and one of the better eps this season, getting an A-.
“Fear Her” is, in comparison, lightweight fluff. In London 2012, as the Olympic Torch is being relayed through the city, one little street is suffering from children (and pets) vanishing. There are some nicely humorous bits in this ep, and a few scary ones, but for the most part, serious matters (stolen kids) are taken far too lightly, and the glurge at the end (including the Doctor’s involvement in the Olympics) is just too
darned goofy. C+
Note that, for some reason, there’s an episode (“Love & Monsters”) that seems to fit between the two that didn’t get recorded on the DVR. Rrg.
And next up … this Friday, in fact … a two-parter, “Army of Ghosts” and “Doomsday,” which are the season wrap for Series Two (and involve Something Big that I got spoiled for, but which I, in turn, will not spoil for anyone). Need to reverify the DVR is set up properly for it …
Series Two, by the by, will be out on DVD 16 January.
FWIW, you didn’t miss much by missing “Love & Monsters” except an appearance by the lady who plays Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter movies. Over all it was not a very good episode.
“Not a very good episode”. That’s the understatement of the year; it’s in the same league as Highlander II or the Star Wars Christmas Special.
Yeeeikes. And I was disappointed in “Fear Her.”
“Fear Her” was a classic episode compared to “Love and Monsters”.
I thought “Love and Monsters” had the same problem as most episodes of the “new” Who–it starts out kinda interesting (or great, as in the case of “The Impossible Planet”), then it’s almost like they don’t know how to end the darned thing. “The Satan Pit” was really good, but it just didn’t have the payoff I expected from the creepy mystery of the first half.
Of course, L&M was a goofy premise to begin with, so it’s even worse in this regard. But in the beginning, I thought it was kinda cool. However, by the end, I found myself wishing I’d never seen it.
A blight on an otherwise excellent season. In fact, let us never speak of it again.
I had an epiphany about the current Series of Dr Who. The First Series (Eccleston) was about the characters — the Doctor, Rose, even Mickey and Mum. There was fantastic stuff going on, but it was more about the individuals involved and the decisions they’d made before and the decisions they were making now.
This Series (Tennant) is about Ripping Yarns of Adventure. Things happen to/with the characters, sure, but not with much in the way of impact, and we don’t end any particular ep knowing anyone that much better than we knew before.
I think that’s why I’ve been a lot less happy with how it’s been going this season.
Interesting. I logged in to post that I thought Love and Monsters was frigging hiLARious. And a bit poignant. And just…
Well.
I loved Eccelston as the Doctor. He captured, beautifully, the anguish of an immortal. Tennant’s Doctor and Rose are really more like buddies — I personally think that it’s nice — you see Rose’s influence sort of ‘tie’ him to living breathing people.
Lighter season? Without a doubt. Eccelston got most of the really meaty stuff, and it’s a damn shame he wasn’t on longer, but I do enjoy the series quite a bit now, if for different reasons.
Yes. The current Series is a buddy romp (or has been, usually-mostly), hence the generally lighter tone. Nothing wrong with that, but I don’t think it’s quite as spiffy as Series 1.