Posts Tagged ‘London’

Dr.Who-Review-S1ep11 – Boomtown

Posted: December 7, 2013 in Dr.Who-Reviews
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Guess who’s back? Back again.

 

I suppose it’s almost logical that after a stellar two parter comes a somewhat mediocre episode revolving around aliens that are too stupid and silly to be taken seriously. At one point the alien has a conversation (while it’s in the bathroom) with one of the women it’s trying to kill. It’s supposed to be an emotionally resonant moment, but instead it’s some half-witted schlocky attempt at character development… but what exactly is the character here? Some decently acted plump women that’s supposed to be a farting alien? No thanks.

However, I will say that the chemistry between the three characters is better than ever, and I have to say that I adore Jack’s presence in the group. He’s witty, fun, and he’s a great fit. I was happy to see him back. Unfortunately, this chemistry only lasts for a short period of time because before we know it they are all being serious in the face of a surfboard-planning alien criminal.

The plan was silly, the story was silly, and the execution was silly. However, I will give credit where credit is due, and the dinner scene between the doctor and the alien was riveting. It was an exciting and well-acted scene that both delivered on the comedy aspect, and the emotionally one too, bringing up some half-decent points at least.

The moment a story takes place in London, present day, it automatically seems dull compared to the ones where they go on bonkers adventures. So, I must cut this episode SOME slack, at least it was all about farting bullshit.

                So yes, she lied to the Doctor, he believed her, and of course, she ended up betraying him. Apparently the TARDIS have a soul or something… and she looked into it, causing her to revert back to an egg. This really did confuse me because the only thing they had to base this on was a small line in the second episode of this show… so I guess it works?

I can’t say I was disappointed with this episode, but I can’t say I was excited by it either. It wasn’t some high-concept well-acted masterpiece, but it wasn’t as terribly bad as the first entry of farting aliens. Overall, a somewhat decent episode is what I watched tonight, now… onto the next one.

Grade: C+ 

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Dr.Who-Review-S1ep8 – Father’s Day

Posted: December 7, 2013 in Dr.Who-Reviews
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Fathers Day arrives with a blast

 

When this show focuses on something, it delivers its best episodes without a shred of a doubt. For the most part, this episode ditched the cliché and campy humor for a very human that was both emotionally powerful, and fascinating.

When Rose’s emotions overcome her, and she saves her Father from dying in the intended car crash, she literally screws up time, and these strange beasts (reapers) appear in London (and apparently the rest of the world) to quite literally kill everyone, to correct this malfunction. There were a few issues with this episode, firstly, why do these creatures not like “old” things? And it never quite felt like the end of the world.

But apart from these two things, this episode was mostly solid. We saw an emotional storyline involving Rose’s father, who was played brilliantly played by Shaun Dingwall. I will say right away that I loved her father’s personality, he was quirky and not in the least bit sardonic. Both of these traits are a pleasure to see, and he really did deviate from my expectations. We also found out how much of an absolute bitch Rose’s mother used to be, it may have been for a reason, but quite honestly, she did not gain any sympathy from me for the plain fact that her reason for her anger was not explained in full detail.

We also see the TARDIS stop functioning (for whatever reason) and we see a wedding get crashed. Everyone who attended were hiding in a church, and although this episode did not have some epic feel to it, it did have a personal one. I will easily admit that a few scenes in this episode were heartwarming and well-enough acted that I could overlook some of the clichés.

In the end, Rose’s father sacrifices himself for the sake of humanity. I was originally not enjoying this episode too much, it was slow paced for the first twenty or so minutes, however, it quickly began picking up to be one of the best ones of the show so far (if not the best). So I will freely applaud it’s deviation from the Dr.Who norm and hope that it’s not the only one that’s like this.

Although there were a few things that weren’t explained properly, the entirety of it was a solid forty minutes of emotional, and character developing goodness that I just had to re-watch. Rose, or Billie Piper, I should say. Has come a long way acting wise, she was much too stiff in the first few episodes, but now she has truly started to show her range as she conveyed true emotions through some of these scenes.

I am not sure if I like “Daleks” more than this episode, or if I enjoy this episode more than “Daleks”… all I do know is that it was an entertaining half hour of TV that I shall remember for the future seasons to come.

P.S- But really… what’sup with the TARDIS just randomly failing? Did I miss why?

 

Grade: B+