|  Author | Topic: SJA: The Eternity Trap (Read 37 times) |
johne
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Karma: 8 |  | SJA: The Eternity Trap
« Thread Started on Nov 7, 2009, 11:45pm » | |
Has no-one watched this but me? Because it is brilliant.
Drama! Sonic lipstick! Clyde! Overacting! Sarah Jane! Clyde again! Rani!
Though the incidental music got so loud at one point I was wondering if Sarah Jane could hear it. (it's the bit where her back is to the bookcase and books start moving to and fro.)
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jjpor
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« Reply #1 on Nov 8, 2009, 12:59am » | |
That bit *reminded me very much of that bit in Ghostbusters. Not the bit with the library books, surprisingly, but the bit with the self-frying eggs...for some reason. Although nothing quite as terrifying as the "Get her!" moment...
I haven't actually seen Pt 2 yet - something I hope to remedy, but Pt 1 did have a couple of surprisingly creepy moments for a kids' 4.30-in-the-afternoon type programme. That "thing" with the red eyes, for instance, was particularly worrying, mainly for remaining mostly unseen and inscrutable.
No doubt we will have or Agent Scully "rational scientific explanation" in Pt 2 - good to see SJA upholding the tradition of Pertwee in The Daemons and Who in general in sticking to that line!*
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clocketpatch
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« Reply #2 on Nov 8, 2009, 1:07am » | |
I haven't been able to find it steaming yet and it's driving me spare. If anyone could be of help...?
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jjpor
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« Reply #3 on Nov 8, 2009, 1:12am » | |
Sorry, Clocket; I've been watching it on the BBC website, which I understand is not an option open to people outside the UK. I would have thought somebody would have uploaded it somewhere by now, even if it doesn't feature Ten...
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clocketpatch
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« Reply #4 on Nov 9, 2009, 11:25pm » | |
So, the review:
That really was impressively creepy for a children's show. I kept jumping all over the place. Nice costuming too.
I'm sure that the plot resolution could have been tied up a bit neater, but I liked how it was kept vague. Especially the Red-Eyed Monster - because those sorts of things are never half so intimidating once they step into the light. There was a nice mix of ham and cheese beside the creepy as well, though I could have done without Todd. I don't know, I just found him very grating.
I also found it odd that Rani and Clyde were having an overnight adventure with Sarah-Jane sans Luke. Was he sick or something? I wasn't really paying attention at that bit.
Anyways, as far as SJA goes, I'd say 8.5 out of 10 stars.
(and bonuses to Clyde for working more ghost-references into the Whoniverse.)
EDIT: from something JJ said. All of those people begging for release from eternity, it kind of makes you wonder about the life the Doctor thrust River and Co. into in the Library episodes?
Also, just thinking, that magician dude? He was totally a Time Lord.
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Abbyromana
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« Reply #5 on Nov 10, 2009, 1:48am » | |
Nov 9, 2009, 11:25pm, clocketpatch wrote:
I also found it odd that Rani and Clyde were having an overnight adventure with Sarah-Jane sans Luke. Was he sick or something? I wasn't really paying attention at that bit. |
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She says at the beginning Luke didn't want to go, and was instead spending time with Rani's parents, beating her father at Chess after Rani's father taught him.
In RL, the actor was busy taking his GSCEs, which I believe are like high school finals in the UK.
As for the episode, I enjoyed it, even if it lacked Luke. Of course, I can't really imagine him playing much of a role with the side characters and the bonding of Clyde and Rani. Speaking of which, does anyone else think something is blooming between those two?
There was plenty of good Clyde moments. I like SJ keeping a level-head about the paranormal and not jumping to conclusions. However, I don't know if I like the vagueness of what was happening in the house, especially in the end. I suppose they did it to make all different types of watchers happy. *sigh*
Still, I'd give it 4 out of 5.
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jjpor
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Karma: 60 | | Re: SJA: The Eternity Trap
« Reply #6 on Nov 10, 2009, 9:45pm » | |
*He was totally a Time Lord, Clocket; I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that. Not only was his machine similar technology to the TARDIS (according to Sarah), but he had a Time Lord hat! A Time Lord hat! The evidence doesn't get any more conclusive than that.
I'd like to see the conversation, actually:
SJ: Hey, guess what, I found another Time Lord, still alive!
Ten: Brilliant! Where are they? I've got to go and see them!
SJ: Well...I kind of killed them...
I think this one was always going to have a hard job coming straight after last week's, and the buzz surrounding that. Back to an "ordinary" SJA story might seem like a bit of a step down (and it doesn't help that Mad Woman in the Attic was a really strong story too - maybe not storywise, but it was so full of nice character moments and pointless fanw*nk (and I mean that as a compliment!  ). Still, that wouldn't be fair, because this was a very nice story on its own terms and had a lot to recommend it.
Abby, I think I'm starting to entertain the same notions as you regarding Rani and Clyde. They certainly made a good team here, lots of chemistry and funny dialogue. Especially loved their last stand against the red-eyed...thing. With paddles!
Yeah, Todd or whatever his name was was frankly a bit irritating.
The red-eyed...thing was creepy as anything, but there were a lot of creepy moments in this. The half-glimpsed figures, the toys, the images appearing on screens etc. were all about as chilling as you can get in something made for kids; very nicely done indeed.
The resolution and ending were a bit vague, and "she did what?!", though. And strangely troubling. We know there's no such thing as literal ghosts in the Whoniverse - Who has always sided with science, and nice to see Sarah doing the same here. Three and Four taught her well... Which can only mean that their solution to the problem was not as effective as they maybe thought, and that Lord Marchwood and his children are still effectively trapped in their former home forever, except that now they're trapped together. Which is something, I guess. Still kind of troubling if you think too hard about it.
And don't get me started on the unfortunate and worrying implications of the whole Forest of the Dead ending, which is nowhere near as nice and cuddly as it seems at all when you start to consider it. Unless they're not unfortunate at all, but meant, and the Moff really is that evil... Which bodes very well for Season 5, come to think of it... *
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johne
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Karma: 8 | | Re: SJA: The Eternity Trap
« Reply #7 on Nov 10, 2009, 11:23pm » | |
Nov 10, 2009, 9:45pm, jjpor wrote:| *We know there's no such thing as literal ghosts in the Whoniverse - Who has always sided with science, and nice to see Sarah doing the same here. Three and Four taught her well... Which can only mean that their solution to the problem was not as effective as they maybe thought, and that Lord Marchwood and his children are still effectively trapped in their former home forever, except that now they're trapped together. Which is something, I guess. Still kind of troubling if you think too hard about it.* |
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]Well, the ending's a fairly common stock ending to a ghost story (TV Tropes calls it RealAfterAll) and the most obvious way to show that Ld. Marchwood was reunited with his children. And even in the worst case (that they are still bound forever to the stones of the house), not only are they now reunited, but they aren't at the beck and call of a mad necromancer. I'd call that a plus.
As for Sarah's attitude to ghosts, I found her blanket denials puzzling: the Whoniverse accommodates things that can match 'supernatural' phenomena in great detail -- angels, devils, fairies, ghosts, vampires, walking mummies, werewolves, witches... So why does she keep trying to explain the manifestations away rather than entertain the possibility that it's down to aliens who resemble or inspired our stories of ghosts, or timey-wimey phenomena? Particularly if you rule The Ghosts of N-Space into canon. There's a clear difference between Sarah's behaviour in tET with Three's attitude to the 'haunted house' in Day of the Daleks, for example.
As for whether the situation of Ld. Marchwood and his children (and River and her companions) is a good thing or not, that rather depends if Torchwood's conception of the Whoniverse afterlife as something to avoid at all costs is entirely complete and accurate  [
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