Sunday 28 April 2013

JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE TARDIS REVIEW


When the title of this week’s episode of Doctor Who was realised, fandom rejoiced. At last us viewers would be leaving the central control room to see more of the wondrous time machine. We all knew that the interior of the TARDIS was huge, but since the series return, other than a few corridors we have not seen much else. In the original series run there were several tours into the depths of the TARDIS, most notably in The Invasion of Time, where we found that much of the insides looked like a twentieth century power station and that the Doctor had a massive boot cupboard. This time, what would we see?

So, did Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS live up to our expectations? Well, for me the answer is both yes and no. It is true that we got to see more of the TARDIS than we have in a very long time, and some of the places we are shown are superb. We get a fleeting glimpse of the often mentioned swimming pool and a beautiful Gallifreyan telescope (so the TARDIS has its own observatory), and we finally get to see the eye of harmony in all its glory. However, much of the action takes place yet again in corridors. Personally, I would have loved to have seen something from the old series. How great it would have been if Clara had stumbled across Nyssa and Tegan’s bedrooms, or even just a room decorated with the old white roundels. This aside, what we did see was impressive. The supporting cast, however were pretty one-dimensional and unlikeable, so I found myself not caring when one of them dies. But this is not really their story; it is of the TARDIS and of secrets.

The episode begins with the Doctor taking down the TARDIS’s shields to allow Clara to pilot the ship. Bad idea. A salvage crew, the Van Baalen brothers and their android companion Tricky, mistake the TARDIS as space junk. Once they use a magno-grab get their claws into the TARDIS, they bring about a meltdown of the engines. The Doctor is catapulted out of the TARDIS into the salvage space craft, but Clara is left inside as the TARDIS spews poisonous gas. On the pretext of the salvage of a lifetime, the Doctor enlists the aid of the Van Baalen brothers to journey inside the stricken ship to rescue Clara. It is never mentioned in the episode, but it is certain that the Doctor would have gone back on the deal. Imagine the disruption to the timeline if Gallifreyan technology got into the hands of these people. He already knew that the Van Baalen brothers would not live up to their responsibilities, seeing that they were using tech that was banned and willing to lie to the authorities about casualties when they thought the Doctor was dead. Instead he tells them what they want to hear. Remember, the Doctor lies. It’s good to see the Doctor’s dark manipulative nature rear its head again, as once they all inside he locks the doors and pretends to have set the TARDIS’s self-destruct to force them into helping him. ‘Don’t get into a spaceship with a madman. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that?’ he quips. He’s obviously enjoying his deceit.

The poison gas threat is a little too quickly dispensed of, as the Doctor turns on the air-conditioning, but there is a greater threat. Burnt zombies are stalking them. And if that isn’t enough, the salvage crew try to to steal parts of the TARDIS, resulting in the TARDIS ‘getting huffy’ by reconfiguring the layout so they cannot get out. The Doctor did warn them that a TARDIS tantrum was coming on.

On our journey through the ship, even though there were no white roundels there were some nice nods to the past. Clara discovers Amy’s toy TARDIS, and the magnify glass that Donna used in The Unicorn and the Wasp. We even got to see the Doctor’s cot again. However, it was the whispered voices of past companions and Doctors that excited me.

One of the TARDIS’s rooms that also impressed was the library. It looked as if Clara had stumbled into Hogwarts by accident, with a massive room full of books including a shelf containing the Encyclopaedia Gallifrey in potion form. But it is the book The History of the Time War that every fan would give his right arm to read. Clara takes a peek, and recognises that the Doctor is mentioned in the text. She doesn’t seem upset or disturbed by what she reads, only saying ‘So that’s who’. What she discovered is sure to rear its head by the end of the season.

Throughout this episode there were secrets. The android Tricky was really human, and in reality one of the Van Baalen brothers, and the Doctor was unwilling to let Clara know that the zombies were a glimpse of themselves in the future due to fracture in time. They are destined to die. The Doctor also has his showdown with Clara, demanding that she tell him who she is, convinced for that moment that she was hiding something from him, and naturally she has no idea what he is talking about.

But time is rewritten in the end, so the engines never exploded and nothing bad happened. Fortunately for the Doctor, Clara won’t even remember the events so his secret is safe for now…. or is it… as one of the Van Baalen brothers remembers his lesson to have some common decency. Will Clara also remember?

Benjamin Burfurd-Jones

Sunday 21 April 2013

HIDE REVIEW: PUTTING THE BOO BACK INTO DOCTOR WHO


Padding down the hallway, spilling coffee, I heard the announcer announce, as announcers do, that Doctor Who would be on in a moment and it was time to hide behind the sofa. Do kids actually do that anymore? This is something I’ve been wondering lately. My cynical self’s been wondering of late if the brand and all those tacky plastic free-gift Daleks on the front of Doctor Who mags are detracting from one of the show’s most important jobs; to scare the crap out of kids. It’s part of the thrill.It's part of the legacy. As the the announcer proved, it's a shared cultural memory.

Watching the trailer for this week’s episode, Hide, I’d thought, OK, it’ll be The Haunting of Hill House minus the scares. The ghost’ll turn out to be nice and it’ll collapse under the weight of its own banality, crumbling into a schmaltz-fest that’ll result in me turning into the kind of bitter individual who ends up writing jaded things like this.

But no. Well, yes in a way too because there was a distinct nod to The Haunting of Hill House with the ghostly crashes and bangs, and yes the ghost was nice, so I can  and will   look a little smug but the episode was an excellent surprise. It was actually scary and didn’t rely on tired cinematic devices to achieve this. Instead, with its small cast, claustrophobic interiors and dark look it successfully created an atmosphere of foreboding, much more so than last week’s Cold War episode which, despite taking place on a submarine, really didn’t capture that sense of isolation.

Earlier in the day I’d popped in to see friends. On hearing that I was to be writing this their nine-year-old daughter vanished upstairs and returned with her arms full of Doctor Who collectables and toys. I asked whether the Cold War episode had scared her and she simply shrugged, wrinkled her nose and thoughtfully shook her head. I wonder what she made of this week’s episode?

It’s the first episode I’ve seen in some time that had support characters which were genuinely engaging. Emma Grayling, as played by Jessica Raine, and Dougray Scott as Professor  Alec Palmer, were shrouded in such a palpable aura of sadness. Isolation, doubt, guilt and fear were the real 'monsters' in this episode. The themes of love, seperation and aloneness were executed with an assured subtleness that proved such a welcome change from spending an hour being repeatedly beaten around the head with a ‘message,’ quite often to the point where I sit, concussed, watching the final credits roll and wondering if I should go along to A&E and get checked for head trauma.

Something’s changed about Matt Smith’s Doctor too. I’m going to step forward and say that I believe he’s a great Doctor, which has only fueled my frustration with the show because it’s all felt like a massive missed opportunity. Last night, and the first two thirds of The Rings of Akhaten (or up until the cosmic sing-along bit) – both by writer, Neil Cross, have provided a glimpse of how good the show really could be. Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara is really shaping up to be a memorable companion and not just a fresh-off-the-production-line two-dimensional ‘feisty woman.’ As Emma Grayling points out, Clara is more scared than she lets on. So it seems is the Doctor, and perhaps this is what feels different about him; at times he appears full of doubt and painfully vulnerable. In Hide his quirkiness came across as a mask, a performance for those around him. When alone in the pocket universe that mask momentarily slips revealing a completely different Doctor. Perhaps the most chilling moment for me came when Emma Grayling tells Clara not to trust the Doctor; that he has a sliver of ice in his heart. That alone has got me tuning in next week.

Good to see a few 'whovian pleasers' in there as well. There were references to The Eye of Harmony and the blue crystal of Metebelis, stolen by the Doctor in The Green Death and later returned in The Planet of the Spiders – which, incidentally, were two of the first Doctor Who episodes I can clearly remember seeing as a kid, both of which scared me, as they should! The orange spacesuit from The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit got an outing too, albeit a brief one. Actually it looked in need of a good boil wash.

After Hide I went online for a little research and came across an interview with Neil Cross conducted recently by SFX magazine, and what do I find? Refering to Hide he speaks about his desire to make a really scary episode, one that produces in the audience, and especially in children within the nine to twelve years old bracket, the same response to the show that he experienced as a child of around the same age; terror. He adds that one of his influences for Hide was the cult British show Quatermass, which, he goes on to say, Doctor Who owes a lot to Quatermass was another show that terrified me as a kid, although, being so young I remember the 1970s Thames Television outing starring John Mills rather than the original. No comments please. The show, like Hide, had a very grainy, almost colourless look and used atmosphere to build tension, rather than in-your-face shocks.

Towards the end of last night's episode I could feel myself begin to tense up as I waited for the feel-good, schmaltz ridden ending, and yes it did lean towards that a little but in a very understated way that felt unforced and consistent with the rest of the episode. All in all the best, and most suprising, episode I've seen in a while. Let Neil Cross do more, I say. He's putting the much needed 'Boo!' back in Doctor Who.
 
Richard Kelly

Saturday 13 April 2013

COLD WAR REVIEW

 
This is, on one level, a typical base under siege type of Doctor Who episode, of the kind done many times over the past fifty years – and not only in Doctor Who. And having it set on a Russian submarine during the Cold War just added a little extra depth: Yes, the interior of the sub was not accurate – too flat a floor, wider space, and the incorrectly named ‘bridge’ – but this is Who and you have to allow for certain dramatic liberties. Thing is, the minor errors that popped up throughout the episode are largely irrelevant, because that’s not the pull of this story.

This is the first Doctor Who episode to feature the Ice Warriors since 1974’s The Monster of Peladon, some thirty-nine years ago. They almost came back in 1985, but the original season twenty-three was cancelled and away with it went Mission to Magnus and the Doctor’s rematch with the Ice Warriors. During the long years in which Doctor Who was off our screen, from 1990 to 2004, the authors of the novels and audio dramas created a very rich mythology around the Martian culture of the Ice Warriors, and they featured in arguably some of the best pieces of Doctor Who fiction ever written.

So, to hear that they were set to return in this anniversary year came as no surprise. That they’d return to the 21stCentury Doctor Who was pretty much a given. Despite only appearing in four stories during the series’ original run, they’ve always been regarded as one of the top five monsters (alongside the Daleks, the Cybermen , the Sontarans and the Silurians). What wasn’t certain, however, is how well they’d be brought back. After recent design disasters –first the Dalek paradigm in Victory of the Daleks and then the radically altered appearance of the Silurians in The Hungry Earth – it’s understandable that many had reservations about the Ice Warriors return. Such concerns were pushed aside when the design was revealed, so that was one good point in favour of the upcoming Cold War. The question remained; would they be depicted with the respect they deserved?

It’s a valid question, after all Mark Gatiss was the writer behind Victory of the Daleks (although, in fairness, his other stories since 2005 have been generally regarded as, at least, good). Well, the answer, for this reviewer, is a resounding YES!

Gatiss played it well. A very straightforward story – very little subplot, just the crew of the submarine vs the Ice Warrior, with the Doctor and Clara’s help, of course. He knew that it’s all about selling the Ice Warriors, making them powerful and menacing, a worthy addition to the updated Whomythos. The script is one aspect that makes it work – Gatiss draws on a lot of the mythology established in the novels, and builds on it – but the slight re-design of the costume brings it to a whole new level. Finally we get to see what’s inside the armour (for yes, it is indeed armour – which we all kind of knew anyway), and learn that the armour was built as a survival suit to combat the freezing temperatures of Mars. We don’t get to see all of the Martian –just its arms and elements of its body in shadow. Better too little than too much.

What about the rest of the cast? Well, Matt Smith continues the assured performance he’s had since The Snowmen, commanding the respect of all those he meets. And Jenna Louise-Coleman is proving to be quite a find as Clara. She has some wonderful moments – questioning the Ice Warrior, the moment with David Warner after Clara has seen the dismembered bodies. Ah yes, David Warner. As awesome as ever. He doesn’t have a huge role, but he imbues it with charm and wit. Liam Cunningham is great, too, with some brilliant chemistry between him and Smith.

In short, it’s another really fun episode. Nothing complicated, just an easy story, a vehicle for the reintroduction of a classic monster. And it does exactly what it needs to do. With panache!

Andy Frankham-Allen

Monday 8 April 2013

THE RINGS OF AKHATEN REVIEW


Well, episode number 2 of this second half of the season just aired. 'The Rings Of Akhaten' initially seemed to be an Egyptian or Arabic themed story, judging by it's promotional images, but I found it had more in common with earlier RTD-era stories, notably, the Ninth Doctor story, 'The End Of The World' and to a lesser extent, the Tenth Doctor story, 'Gridlock'.

It's probably too soon to say, but with a new look for the titles/opening theme, TARDIS and a new companion, I sensed a sort of repeat of a formulaic approach. Last week's showy, fast-paced, London-centric episode reminded me of the very first 2005 episode, 'Rose', while this one was like 'The End Of The World' in a few ways - it seemed to be cheaper, studio-based (save for a few opeing location shots), and a little less substantial, story wise. Almost as if they needed a smaller 'aside' to pad out the series before the heavy hitters come in (Ice Warriors next week, folks!).

Instant reactions to the episode from comments I've read on Facebook and Twitter suggest that it wasn't well liked at all. Some compared it to 'The Beast Below' as there were small similarities.

Simply put, the Doctor is first seen at key moments in Clara Oswald's life: as he seems to be intrigued by her recent appearances in his, he is shown observing Clara's parents on the day they meet and (rather creepily) as they take their child out to the park. Then later at the funeral of Clara's mother.

The Doctor comes back to present-day, where he picks Clara up and asks her to pick a destination. She just says, "somewhere awesome!" and they step out on The Rings Of Akhaten - literally a billion bits of rock circling a giant planet. Clara sees a shining pyramid in the distance and asks to visit it.

Soon they are wandering round an alien-filled town and Clara is enjoying all the sights and sounds, when, for no adequately explained reason, the Doctor nips off for a second, leaving Clara alone. She sees a frightened child named Mary who seems to be running from someone.

It turns out that she is part of an ages-old ritual where the aliens sing a never-ending lullaby to keep some kind of powerful, soul-eating 'deity' asleep. Clara persuades Mary to be confident and perform her duties, and soon The Doctor and Clara are watching the ceremony, when it seems to go awry. Mary is dragged off her feet and away into the air.

The Doctor and Clara jump onto a 'Flash Gordon styled flying bike and set out to rescue her. Nothing major happens, apart from door/sonic srewdriver shenanigans, quickly-despatched threats and the whole story is rounded off with the Doctor offering his 1000 years of memories as a kind of supersized meal to the fiery CGI monster planet, while Clara offers a leaf of great sentimental value. All's well that ends well then.

While not terrible, it's not terribly exciting either. I'm not sure what the budget was on FX, CGI or costumes (a lot of alien suits here), it felt like one of the cheaper, thrown-together episodes.

Acting performances were good but not as sizzling as last week's episode. I'm sure the demographic audience of children liked it enough, but it seemed to lack a certain 'oomph' - no real threats, no deep drama, and the 'love conquers all' schmaltzy ending has been done much better before, elsewhere in WHO (The Empty Child for example?)

I gave it a 4 out of 10

Terry Cooper