WHAT THE DICKENS?!
We get Dickens! Man, did I laugh till my gut hurt at almost anything he said. If the show plans to make a lot of these sorts of… cameos? Appearances? Of dead “famous people” then I’m all for it! Seeing him was a refreshing blast in the past, and being a fan of his work, the references they put in were a lot of fun. Particularly the Doctor telling Dickens how he’s a massive fan of all his novels, great stuff!
However, I wish I could say the same for the rest of the episode. For the most part, it was inconsistent, full of highs and lows that I couldn’t really grasp. This wasn’t a scary episode, yet it tried to be? Right? It TRIED to be scary? If not, then I don’t understand the point, if so, it failed. This show seems to be both for adults and for kids, but instead of balancing itself on a tightrope. It sometimes slips and falls into complete goofiness territory, or goes overboard with the shocking more adult oriented humor. It’s not like subtle hints or anything either, anyone above the age of eight could guess what is happening, and it’s not for children.
However… I digress. Although the two supporting characters (apart from Dickens) were mediocre actors at best, they still did what they were there to do. To provide the story of… no not ghosts (thankfully) but alien creatures that were thrown out of their bodies after the “time war”. Now, that is most definitely the war we heard the Doctor refer to in the season premier, so perhaps we will soon hear more about such an occurrence?
I do hope so, because that little bit seemed to be more interesting than the actual story itself, which surrounded these aliens inhabiting deceased bodies for a short while just to randomly walk about and scare the living crap out of people. Why? WE. DON’T. KNOW. They randomly just do that, even when they know they can’t inhabit a body for more than an hour.
I generally have no problem with the show holding this “mystery of the week” platform to set up for a little bit of exposition and a whole lot of cool settings. Because honestly, I really do enjoy the areas where they are going to (so far). If they know how to diversify and not keep things boring, then I could totally see myself being sucked into the show through a setting alone.
Anyway, there wasn’t much substance in this episode, we had a decent storyline that treaded on all the cliché markings, had a few twists and turns, and some cheesy effects. That seems to be good enough for Doctor Who, and although it’s nothing remarkable, it’s good enough for me.
Grade: B-
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