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Post by clocketpatch on Sept 4, 2011 0:49:04 GMT
Tick tock, goes the clock.
You're not from social services are you?
That's weird. Yeah, well you're a time travelling nurse.
Are we dead? <i>Again</i>??
I giggled a lot this episode. I was also fairly terrified. I think its my second favourite of the season after The Doctor's Wife. The cast, regulars and guest alike, were all super strong, the plot went a bit schmaultzy at the end, but I can forgive it since it managed to scare the pants off me in the first bit. Possibly it would've been better as a two-parter, but no worries.
I wish there were more stand-alone episodes like this. It shows what this Team TARDIS is capable of once separated from the (IMHO) somewhat obnoxious and overly complex over-arching plots.
The fact that the episode order was changed wasn't too jarring because of its stand-alone-ness, though, it was still a bit jarring at the end with the "In the Flesh" comment. Yeah...
*
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Post by jjpor on Sept 6, 2011 21:24:17 GMT
Nobody but Clocket and I watched this one...? * And the other jarring thing caused by the change in running order, that some people have pointed out, was that in a story all about child-parent relationships, Amy and Rory didn't even seem to spare a thought for their own lost child...
I'll be honest, I thought this one was okay, but for me Gatiss still hasn't hit the metaphorical bullseye. He'll do it, one of these days...maybe...I hope... Maybe I'm becoming old and jaded, or maybe all the "it's the scariest thing in Doctor Who ever!!!" pre-publicity gave it an impossible benchmark to live up to, but I didn't really think this one was that creepy. It had a couple of moments, I guess, but nothing like, say The Empty Child. The dolls were fantastic, but if anything we could have done with seeing more of them. And...I don't know, there just seemed to be a lack of tension in this one. We sort of knew things were going to turn out alright. I mean, we always know that, but here things seemed very straightforwardly and easily resolved.
Not that there weren't good points. I thought the direction was great - all of the atmospheric lighting and off-kilter camerawork really added to the setting, as did the production design with the weird combination of modern setting and slightly kitschy/retro interior decoration. And I may have mentioned the beautiful, criminally underused dolls, I think.
I thought the cast - regular and guest - were great. I'll just get that thing about the boy Smith being great over with now, as I do every time I write about Eleven Who. But he was on particularly fine form in this one, I thought. To be honest, I thought the writing for both Amy and Rory, the zingers Clocket identifies aside, was pretty flat and generic, but the actors managed to sell most of it very well, and I think they have great chemistry when they're alone together on screen. Guest cast were all good too, I thought - another child actor who manages to be halfway good without being a bit scary - Daniel Mays continuing to be something of a minor national treasure. Even the guy playing the landlord brought a lot to what could have been a stereotypical bully role, I thought. No real female characters apart from Amy, which was a bit strange - is that a Gatiss thing? Can't say I've particularly noticed it before, but some people tell me it is.
So yes, all in all, not bad - not a classic, but not Mark Gatiss's worst effort for NuWho, and better than Curse of the Black Spot, I thought. You know, at least stuff happened and stuff. I know, that's probably damning with faint praise, but it's actually a more positive opinion based on my second viewing. The first time I watched this, I wasn't too taken with it, but when I saw it the second time, with my expectations out of the way I could accentuate the positive a bit.
Next week's one...looks very strange, but potentially very interesting. Could be a cracker. Could not be. Can't wait to find out.*
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Post by librarylover on Sept 7, 2011 0:11:36 GMT
Some thoughts . . .
** I thought it was good, one of Gatiss's best efforts for Who as JJ pointed out. Rory's line about being dead again was definitely one of the best. He is getting a heck of a lot of good dialog these days!
It was creepy, but not excessively so. Of course if I was 12 or younger I'm sure that I would have been behind the sofa merely due to the monsters in the closet theme.
I see where Clocket is going with the two-parter, because it did feel a bit rushed at the end. It did bother me that given the situation there was no conversation between Amy and Rory about their daughter. I wonder if there was more to the script that had to be cut due to time.
I have a feeling that next week's episode is going to get Moffat into trouble with women again. **
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Post by johne on Sept 7, 2011 0:15:28 GMT
Nobody but Clocket and I watched this one...? I watched it. I just couldn't think of very much to say about it. Though I managed a little quiet joy at ] all the shout-outs to the various branches of Who-canon, starting with the shot of the TARDIS materialisation and throwing references to stage plays and books around the place.[
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Post by aquabluejay on Sept 7, 2011 1:57:07 GMT
I just watched it and greatly enjoyed it!
Noticed how out of his depth the Doctor seems suddenly when he discovers that the cupboard is indeed unnatural. For being usually so outwardly fearless, especially in the face of "monsters" he seems quite terrified. From there on out he seemed just a bit off, not in control or leading like he usually is. Obviously the whole point was that it was up to the kid and between him and his dad, but it was a bit odd somehow.
Poor eleven getting the door shut in his face by the old lady. That whole scene felt to me like "what happens when the dw characters show up in the real world and try to do their thing and just get shut. out." "I'm the Doc- *Slam!* That always works right?
I felt like the whole scene where he's talking to George's dad and swinging back and forth about whether or not to open the cupboard- that was totally the conversation going on inside his head, just projected out onto George's dad.
Matt's eyes were lovely and expressive for sure in this one, especially on the "Trust me"s. His speech about the red stars and silent stars was also lovely, but I think could have been cleaned up a bit.
Lol, the wooden turkey! ^^
"That or a family of Termites looking to get on The Property Ladder"... Which it took me a moment to remember is apparently a British show like 'flip that house' which we have here...or something...
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Post by jjpor on Sept 7, 2011 21:27:01 GMT
Nobody but Clocket and I watched this one...? I watched it. I just couldn't think of very much to say about it. Though I managed a little quiet joy at ] all the shout-outs to the various branches of Who-canon, starting with the shot of the TARDIS materialisation and throwing references to stage plays and books around the place.[ * Ah yes...Seven Keys to Doomsday, Empire of Glass etc etc. Yes, those made me smile too . And even what I took to be a couple of references to Greatest Show in the Galaxy (junk mail and clowns) too.
To agree with LL and aqua - many great lines, and Smith in particular very, very good I thought. I don't know - this felt like a story with a lot going on and lots of good little moments and things, but somehow ultimately seemed less than the sum of its parts maybe? I saw one review saying that Gatiss's stories are always good in the setup and lacking in the payoff - that could be true (although Unquiet Dead had a decent payoff, didn't it?). Certainly with this one, anyway.*
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