“Don’t get in a spaceship with a madman!”
Interesting one, this. It seems to have divided opinion. No
one thinks it’s awful and, to be clear, it certainly isn’t. But people are
either enthusiastic or relatively lukewarm. I’m afraid I’m one of the latter.
It isn’t that the story itself is anything less than
excellent. Much as I dislike reset buttons, this time it is earned and I liked
the twist that the strange lava-like creatures were possible future version of
everyone on board, consumed by the Eye of Harmony in the heart of the TARDIS. The reset button was used well,
allowing Clara not only to learn about the time war but also the Doctor’s name
(story arc alert!), while the Doctor gets to ask Clara the question he’s been
longing to ask only to be told that she’s just Clara! She has no idea that she
has ever lived before. Steve Thompson
gets to have his cake and eat it, as all this is said without consequences for
anyone but the viewer.
Also impressive is that the chief antagonist in this episode
is not some dastardly, moustache- twirling baddie but simply three soulless brothers
just out for a profit. They have so little poetry in their souls that they take
sibling bullying to a new level, making the younger brother think he’s an
android
What makes me question the episode a little, and it’s a
tendency much seen of late, is that there’s an awful lot of fanwank here. I
know it’s the fiftieth anniversary year, but is the general viewer really going
to be interested in lines spoken by original companions Susan and Ian in the
very first episode, or in sequences which are clearly a remake of the last
episode of The Invasion of Time? Still,
it’s good to see the library and the swimming pool. I was also impressed with
the clever trick of allowing the same section of corridor to look different by
the judicious use of lighting to tint the scenes in red or blue. Arguably, the
fact that the corridors recall the Daleks' city from way back when is
intentional.
Aside from the obvious arc stuff, it’s tempting to see the
stuff with the star in The Rings of Akhaten
as foreshadowing the climax of this episode. One thing I’m not sure of is
whether the dislike the TARDIS holds towards Clara is explained; surely it was
not only Clara who was fated to turn in to a lava beast? Another little niggle
concerns the book detailing the history of the time war: if both the Daleks and
the Time Lords were made extinct, or near as, who exactly was left to write
it?!
I enjoyed it, I really did. And I’m enjoying this half of
the season. I’m just beginning to worry a little that things are angled
slightly to far towards the fans and not enough towards the general viewer.
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