The post Doctor Who S9.09 “Sleep No More” review appeared first on Game News.
]]>What “Sleep No More” certainly isn’t, however, is Doctor Who’s first base-under-siege story. It isn’t even the first base-under-siege story this series. The claustrophobic space station setting provides a welcome change of pace after the globetrotting Zygon two-parter and couldn’t be more different from Mark Gatiss’s series eight offering “Robot Of Sherwood”. It’s straightforward fare as far as Who siege stories go – lots of running through corridors, plenty of barricading doors and slowly encroaching creatures at every turn. The episode is given an extra wrinkle by its presentation, but the found footage proves as problematic as it does innovative.
Director Justin Molotnikov (who helmed many an episode of Merlin) has a decent stab at mimicking the shaky cam format on a no-doubt-tight budget and crafts the odd effective scare out of the chaos. Having the Doctor continually address the camera in a manner that flirts with the fourth wall is quite startling but hypnotically intimate, while it’s neat that the found footage also serves a narrative purpose – rather than GoPros and CCTV it’s the sleep dust in the corner of the characters’ eyes or floating in the air that we’re viewing the action from. Most will have twigged something was amiss the moment the action cut to Clara’s perspective, long before Nagata’s clumsy revelation that the soldiers aren’t packing helmet cams.
But the experimental format comes at the expense of clarity, with the murky lighting and erratic shifts in point of view making the action a struggle to follow. It doesn’t stick to its own rules either, abandoning the desaturated CCTV effect of the “eye in the sky” footage on a whim, while the camera is frequently placed in improbable positions even for the dust – inside the Tardis as it dematerialises, for example. It lacks the necessary rigour that makes The Blair Witch Project and its ilk so effective.
Doctor Who Trivia
The Le Verrier space station is named after French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier, who predicted the existence and position of Neptune using maths alone in 1846. And you thought putting a tax return together was hard.
The Sandmen, however, are fab – those gaping mouths the stuff of nightmares, with their exceptional sound design complementing the creaks and groans of the Le Verrier (top marks to Murray Gold for his subtle scoring too, even if “Mr Sandman” is a viciously annoying earworm). The Sandmen also fit neatly into a long-standing Doctor Who tradition by transforming the ordinary into something unsettling or downright scary – in this case making sleep a safeguard against the monsters inside. At one point the Doctor shamelessly addresses the camera to hammer home the fact that if you don’t go to bed you’ll be in trouble – a helpful new bogeyman for parents with children who refuse to go to sleep at night.
After last week’s magnificent monologuing and Zygon doppelgangers Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman settle back into a comfortable groove here. Gatiss gifts the pair some solid gold dialogue but it’s the kind of material they could deliver in their sleep at this stage. The troops fail to make much of an impression, only Nagata is fleshed out beyond “blindingly obvious Redshirt” (amusingly each character is given a “survival rating” at the start of the episode). Gatiss’ League Of Gentlemen co-creator Reece Shearsmith has a bit more fun with mad scientist Rassmussen, driven insane by his own abominable creation, but it’s exactly the kind of disingenuous and skin-crawlingly creepy character you’d expect Shearsmith to play, which makes his turn to the dark side wearingly predictable.
“Sleep No More” isn’t boring or offensively bad, it’s just a little underwhelming and the risky found footage format never quite gels. It’s not the first time a Doctor Who story has failed to realise it potential, but we can’t fault it for trying.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Specs Appeal
Rassmussen’s face furniture look familiar? His glasses resemble those worn by fellow boffin Joinson Dastari in “The Two Doctors”. Apropos of nothing, Dastari is an anagram for “A Tardis”.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
The Name Game
“It’s like the Silurians all over again” is a reference to the Silurian naming debacle that saw them labelled Silurians by Dr Quinn in “Doctor Who And The Silurians” despite the fact reptilian life forms didn’t exist in the Silurian period. In “The Sea Devils” the Doctor claims they should be called “Eocenes”, but clearly that didn’t stick.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Title Tattle
Dumping the title sequence makes sense for a found footage episode, but the wordsearch replacement is, well, a bit rubbish to be honest. At least it’s a one off.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Best Lines
<strong>Nagata:</strong> “So what happened?” <strong>The Doctor:</strong> “From the beginning of time? That’s a very long story.”
Doctor Who airs on Saturday evenings on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US.
For more on top sci-fi TV shows like Doctor Who, subscribe to SFX.
Mark Gatiss
Justin Molotnikov
The Doctor and Clara find themselves aboard the Le Verrier in the 38th Century (on a Tuesday), where a machine which compresses a nights sleep into five minutes has created monsters made out of the goop in the corner of your eye.
The post Doctor Who S9.09 “Sleep No More” review appeared first on Game News.
]]>The post Doctor Who S9.06 “The Woman Who Lived” review appeared first on Game News.
]]>It is a striking episode in many ways. For it’s first half “The Woman Who Lived” is almost a two-hander, with long scenes featuring just Capaldi and Williams talking. And it’s a dark episode in a very literal sense – a huge portion of its running time takes place in the woods at night or in candle-lit gloom. It’s hugely evocative and a daring change of pace after last week’s romp.
The meat of the episode is about exploring the ramifications of the Doctor’s decision to resurrect Ashildr last week. Immortality, it seems, is both a blessing and a curse (did no one listen to Rassilon?!) and the scene where we learn that our woman who lived has lost several children is deeply affecting and sensitively played. The idea that, even though she has now lived for centuries, she only has the memory capacity of a normal human is also a clever touch. The result is that she has become a cold, dangerous figure – and a dark reflection of the 12th Doctor himself.
Or rather, the old 12th Doctor, because this episode continued his journey to full on heroism and Ashildr just showed how far he’s come. He was on his way at the start of the season, but these two episodes have been quite transformative. He’s compassionate and wise now, but not a slave to his emotions as he was at the climax of “The Girl Who Died”. Throughout the episode Ashildr begs him to take her away in the TARDIS, but he refuses because he can see that she needs to be reminded of the important things in life by living among the human “mayflies”. Without them she could be very dangerous indeed – and I wonder if that is something we might see further down the line…
One such mayfly is Rufus Hound’s rougueish Sam Swift. There was an unfair assumption from many quarters (including, I’ll admit, this one) that Hound might ham the role up, but as with Frank Skinner’s Perkins last year, he was surprisingly grounded – a flawed example of the everyday humanity that Ashildr needs to spend time with. Making him the recipient of the second immortality widget is also a neat twist – how many of you thought that one was going to end up inside Clara?
Speaking of the impossible girl, she was noticeable by her near-complete absence. The episode is stronger for its complete focus on the Doctor and Ashildr, but it’s a bit of a shame to lose precious screen time with Coleman. There’s only a few episodes left and we’re going to miss her. That final scene between Clara and the Doctor is extremely touching.
There are, of course, a few quibbles. The climactic alien attack felt more than usually throwaway, even for Doctor Who. Ashildr suddenly growing a moral compass is also a little too rushed (or Swift, if you prefer), though there is still some nice ambiguity at the end regarding her relationship with the Doctor. And Lion-O from Thundercats‘ betrayal couldn’t have been more telegraphed.
Still, it’s the strongest episode so far this season, and a wonderful Doctor Who debut from Catherine Tregenna. I’d lay money on Ashildr being back before season’s end which, given the rapport between Capaldi and Williams, would be very pleasing indeed.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Callbacks
There’s a hilarious shout out to Captain Jack (“he’ll get around to you eventually”) and Peter Davison adventure “The Visitation” when the Terileptils are mentioned.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
The woman who died (again and again and again)?
“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” Hmm. Well we know that’s not true. Every episode so far this season has riffed on Clara’s departure. Will she die? That’s certainly the ending the show keeps hinting at, but we’re not convinced it will stick.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Sandman
The relationship between the Doctor and Ashildr recalled issue 13 of Neil Gaiman’s <em>Sandman</em>, “Men of Good Fortune”, which revolved around the meetings through the centuries between Dream of the Endless and the immortal everyman, Hob Gadling.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Best line
“I just want you to attack first and then my conscience is clear.” He may have softened, but this Doctor is still a hard-ass when he needs to be.
Doctor Who airs on Saturday evenings on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US.
For more on top sci-fi TV shows like Doctor Who, subscribe to SFX.
Catherine Tregenna
Ed Bazalgette
The Doctor is reunited with Ashildr in 1651… and doesn’t like the woman she has become.
The post Doctor Who S9.06 “The Woman Who Lived” review appeared first on Game News.
]]>The post Doctor Who S9.03 “Under The Lake” review appeared first on Game News.
]]>Toby Whithouse’s fifth script for the show might be full of doom but it’s also very funny at times. The scene where Clara brings out a selection of cards featuring apologies for the Doctor to make after he’s inevitably offended someone is hilarious, as is his clumsy attempt at reading one out (“I’m very sorry for your loss, I’ll do all I can to save your friend slash family member slash pet…”), and a neat way of lighting (and lightening) his character. Also rib-tickling is his: “…two weeks of ‘Mysterious Girl’ by Peter Andre. I was begging for the brush of death’s merciful hand”.
Scary is the order of the day, though, when the chatter has intermittently died down. Particularly spooky is Pritchard turning round and revealing a lack of eyes, but also effective is the end of the pre-titles sequence where Prentis (a mute-for-now Paul Kaye) strides forward accompanied by a scream.
“Under The Lake” is a pretty traditional Who adventure – you could say routine. Doctor and companion land somewhere, there’s a group of people, there’s trouble afoot, the Doctor tries to put things right. Corridors are run down, then run down some more. Many past tales come to mind, especially excellent Tennant episode “The Waters Of Mars”, but the fact that this is the first of a two-parter means there’s no wrap-up to build towards. What it does have, though, is a strong visual cliffhanger – the Doctor is a ghost! It tantalisingly sets up next week’s intrigue.
TIME LORD TRIVIA
This is episode number 27 for Jenna Coleman as Clara – by series end she’ll have done 36, one more than either Billie Piper or Karen Gillan.
Talking of ghosts, isn’t the Time Lord a bit quick to believe that this is what these spectral images are? (“These people are literally, actually dead.”) They could be a thousand other things, and obviously will turn out to be so. Also, in a series where death, particularly in recent years, has been downgraded to be near meaningless, the “ghosts” and the Doctor’s “death” have minor impact. What is good to see is that the Doctor’s more commanding this series, more sure of himself: he bosses this (immaculately diverse) crew with aplomb. Much of it is an example of what Steven Moffat has called the challenge of writing the Doctor as the cleverest person in the room.
This episode finished airing at 9.10pm. That’s pretty late. Too late. But like most of the previous season it’s more or less justified considering the unsettling, grim nature of the story. The question remains though: is Doctor Who living dangerously by choosing not to appeal to the young, the show’s traditional cheerleaders?
“Under The Lake” was a competent episode but somewhat heavy going, and it’ll be good to see things opened up in concluding part “Before The Flood”. Deep breaths, all.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 5
SOPHIE’S CHOICE
Sophie Stone, who plays Cass, is a deaf actress who won an acting talent competition which led to a year’s TV contract; she went on to do three years at RADA.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 5
SOMETHING FISHY
Peter Capaldi says of this episode: “We’re not confronted by fish people, much as I’d love to be.” <em>We</em> will be, when Troughton story “The Underwater Menace” finally comes to DVD on 26 October.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 5
CALL ME SHIRLEY
So we learn that the Doctor has also met Shirley Bassey. Dame Shirley Bassey, from Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, of course, current home of <em>Doctor Who</em>.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 5
DIAL UP
Good to see that in 2119 these chunky 1970s telephones are still in use. Well, why mess with a classic?
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 5
ETIQUETTE, DOCTOR STYLE
The pick of the Doctor’s notes has to be this one: “It was my fault, I should have known you didn’t live in Aberdeen.”
Doctor Who airs on Saturday evenings on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US.
For more on top sci-fi TV shows like Doctor Who, subscribe to SFX. You can read an exclusive interview with Peter Capaldi in the current issue.
Toby Whithouse
Daniel O’Hara
The crew of an underwater base in the 22nd century are being terrorised by what appears to be the ghost of their dead captain.
The post Doctor Who S9.03 “Under The Lake” review appeared first on Game News.
]]>