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locker_monsterSo, a Doctor-lite episode. Kind of.
Because he's very much still in the episode, just confined to the TARDIS a la "The Girl Who Waited". And we do have a Doctor in Clara. You know, I don't think we've ever seen the Companion pretend to be the Doctor before. The closest we came was with Jackson Lake in "The Next Doctor" but that's completely different circumstances. I like that she kind of pokes fun at him at the beginning but she has to embrace who he is and how he handles a situation very quickly. If Clara had any lingering doubts about him, I think they're pretty much gone now. She has an idea of what it's like to be the Doctor. He does what he does for a reason, though it may not always make sense to us pudding brains.
Though, is Clara becoming more like the Doctor? She told a big old lie to Danny last week and tried very hard to justify it to the Doctor this week. Rule one: the Doctor lies. Is Clara adopting that sentiment now, too? The Doctor is clearly not happy with this. She lied to him, foremost, but I wonder if he also really dislikes the idea that his Companion is losing some of her humanity. Lying to your boyfriend and your best friend and you don't see anything wrong with that? And that's a big thing to lie about. Danny's under the impression that she's safe but she's not. That's going to have consequences. Clara can't keep deceiving him. There's only so many lies you can tell before the other person has enough.
Anyway, maybe I should talk about the episode. 2D aliens. Cool notion and the optical effects they used was neat. But a lot of stuff doesn't get explained. There's a lot of hand waving and exposition gets glossed over. Sure, it speeds things up a bit, but it feels like lazy writing at the same time. But I know what that's like. You're writing something and you can't find the words for a proper exposition so you sort of shove it aside. I can't fault the writer for not coming up with a bunch of technobabble.
See, that's the problem with the double bank episode. They have to do a lot of heavy lifting. It has to be interesting, but at the same time one or both of your main characters have to be out of the picture. So the Boneless are leeching the energy from the TARDIS, trapping the Doctor, but they never say how or why. I will say that when the double bank episode is a Doctor-lite episode, it does allow the Companion to shine. They can't rely on the Doctor to fix everything. So Clara is very proactive in this episode.
Okay, was anyone else amused by the big continuity issued caused by the Capaldi's hair? Just before he puts the TARDIS into siege mode, it's suddenly incredibly short and stays that way until he defeats the Boneless (baring a couple of shots as he dives for the siege mode handle), but when they get back to the train yard, his hair is back to the length it was at the beginning of the episode. So putting the TARDIS in siege mode gives you a haircut? ;-) From a real world point of view, I think this means that the bit where the Doctor is freezing to death and telling Clara how great she was was filmed way back at the beginning of the season, since that's when Calpaldi's hair was short. Because he certainly didn't get a haircut after they wrapped season eight. But why film that bit so out of order? That seems really strange to me. Capaldi would be giving a monologue for an episode that wouldn't be filmed until months later. Unless they were filming random bits of this episode throughout the season? Heck, I wonder if they just CG'd him in the subway tunnel at the end. Clara and him are never in the same shot. Anyway, it's just a random thought about television making.
Random: Adorable tiny TARDIS! I want to see Clara cosplayers from this episode. They'll have the sonic and a mini TARDIS shoved in their bag. The TARDIS kind of looked like a Pandorica when it went into siege mode. I wonder if this mode was something that was added during the Time War. It was kind of hilarious watching the Doctor trying to squeeze in and out of the TARDIS. You know, if he had just opened the other door he would have plenty of room to get out. :-) Oh, and that means Peter and Jenna were both shoved inside the medium sized TARDIS because there is no cut between when he steps out and when she steps out. But it seems more likely there was no back to the TARDIS and that allowed them to enter and exit more easily. So Missy chose Clara for a reason. Is she a plant? God, that would be lame. And is Missy in a TARDIS at the end. The background looked vaguely TARDIS-ish. I was hoping Danny gets to take a trip in the TARDIS next week, but it seems like the trip is an accident. The next time trailer makes it seem like Clara and Danny are taking a bunch of their students out to somewhere in London for a field trip and, for whatever reason, the Doctor is the one who transports them to wherever they need to go only to end up in the wrong place.
Only three episodes left. :-( I'm actually quite enjoying this season. It's been a little uneven, but I'm loving Peter Capaldi.
Because he's very much still in the episode, just confined to the TARDIS a la "The Girl Who Waited". And we do have a Doctor in Clara. You know, I don't think we've ever seen the Companion pretend to be the Doctor before. The closest we came was with Jackson Lake in "The Next Doctor" but that's completely different circumstances. I like that she kind of pokes fun at him at the beginning but she has to embrace who he is and how he handles a situation very quickly. If Clara had any lingering doubts about him, I think they're pretty much gone now. She has an idea of what it's like to be the Doctor. He does what he does for a reason, though it may not always make sense to us pudding brains.
Though, is Clara becoming more like the Doctor? She told a big old lie to Danny last week and tried very hard to justify it to the Doctor this week. Rule one: the Doctor lies. Is Clara adopting that sentiment now, too? The Doctor is clearly not happy with this. She lied to him, foremost, but I wonder if he also really dislikes the idea that his Companion is losing some of her humanity. Lying to your boyfriend and your best friend and you don't see anything wrong with that? And that's a big thing to lie about. Danny's under the impression that she's safe but she's not. That's going to have consequences. Clara can't keep deceiving him. There's only so many lies you can tell before the other person has enough.
Anyway, maybe I should talk about the episode. 2D aliens. Cool notion and the optical effects they used was neat. But a lot of stuff doesn't get explained. There's a lot of hand waving and exposition gets glossed over. Sure, it speeds things up a bit, but it feels like lazy writing at the same time. But I know what that's like. You're writing something and you can't find the words for a proper exposition so you sort of shove it aside. I can't fault the writer for not coming up with a bunch of technobabble.
See, that's the problem with the double bank episode. They have to do a lot of heavy lifting. It has to be interesting, but at the same time one or both of your main characters have to be out of the picture. So the Boneless are leeching the energy from the TARDIS, trapping the Doctor, but they never say how or why. I will say that when the double bank episode is a Doctor-lite episode, it does allow the Companion to shine. They can't rely on the Doctor to fix everything. So Clara is very proactive in this episode.
Okay, was anyone else amused by the big continuity issued caused by the Capaldi's hair? Just before he puts the TARDIS into siege mode, it's suddenly incredibly short and stays that way until he defeats the Boneless (baring a couple of shots as he dives for the siege mode handle), but when they get back to the train yard, his hair is back to the length it was at the beginning of the episode. So putting the TARDIS in siege mode gives you a haircut? ;-) From a real world point of view, I think this means that the bit where the Doctor is freezing to death and telling Clara how great she was was filmed way back at the beginning of the season, since that's when Calpaldi's hair was short. Because he certainly didn't get a haircut after they wrapped season eight. But why film that bit so out of order? That seems really strange to me. Capaldi would be giving a monologue for an episode that wouldn't be filmed until months later. Unless they were filming random bits of this episode throughout the season? Heck, I wonder if they just CG'd him in the subway tunnel at the end. Clara and him are never in the same shot. Anyway, it's just a random thought about television making.
Random: Adorable tiny TARDIS! I want to see Clara cosplayers from this episode. They'll have the sonic and a mini TARDIS shoved in their bag. The TARDIS kind of looked like a Pandorica when it went into siege mode. I wonder if this mode was something that was added during the Time War. It was kind of hilarious watching the Doctor trying to squeeze in and out of the TARDIS. You know, if he had just opened the other door he would have plenty of room to get out. :-) Oh, and that means Peter and Jenna were both shoved inside the medium sized TARDIS because there is no cut between when he steps out and when she steps out. But it seems more likely there was no back to the TARDIS and that allowed them to enter and exit more easily. So Missy chose Clara for a reason. Is she a plant? God, that would be lame. And is Missy in a TARDIS at the end. The background looked vaguely TARDIS-ish. I was hoping Danny gets to take a trip in the TARDIS next week, but it seems like the trip is an accident. The next time trailer makes it seem like Clara and Danny are taking a bunch of their students out to somewhere in London for a field trip and, for whatever reason, the Doctor is the one who transports them to wherever they need to go only to end up in the wrong place.
Only three episodes left. :-( I'm actually quite enjoying this season. It's been a little uneven, but I'm loving Peter Capaldi.
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no subject
Date: 2014-10-18 11:11 pm (UTC)I hope he writes more eps next season..
no subject
Date: 2014-10-19 12:44 am (UTC)Or course, it would be even better if they hired a female writer...
no subject
Date: 2014-10-20 02:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-10-20 02:44 am (UTC)That's two in a row for this writer. I hope they invite Jamie Mathieson back for next season.
Clara's outfit would be easy to put together. The red flannel shirt is covered up by the jacket for the episode so you wouldn't need to get the screen accurate one from H&M. Black wedge sneakers are easy to find and the jacket is in style right now. What I really want to see are Clara cosplayers with the tiny TARDIS and the Doctor's hand poking out of it. :-)
no subject
Date: 2014-10-20 06:59 am (UTC)Overall I liked this episode, although as you said, a lot of things weren't quite explained. Also, since the Boneless were the zombie-fied versions of the people who'd been flatlined, I was expecting them to all be restored by the end, and I was disappointed that they weren't. It was fun to watch Clara take charge, though!
no subject
Date: 2014-10-21 12:24 am (UTC)Yeah, it was a shame that the Doctor couldn't save any of the victims but I doubt the Boneless would have been so kind. I don't know if they would be a repeat villain, but it would be interesting to learn more about them.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-20 06:32 pm (UTC)I very much liked this episode. The exposition was rather handwavey, but I will take that over outright BS like the moon spontaneously gaining mass any day. Clara shone as a problem-solver but in a way that illuminated both her flaws and the Doctor's. The Doctor was grumpy and rude without being pointlessly mean (a distinction this season has not always managed). The aliens were creepy, and the tiny TARDIS was endlessly amusing.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-21 12:32 am (UTC)The Doctor was grumpy and rude without being pointlessly mean (a distinction this season has not always managed).
I think that's why I'm having a hard time writing anything for him. It's quite a balancing act with his character. You want to capture that rudeness without making him unlikeable, but you don't have Capaldi's acting skills to back it up.
Loved the tiny TARDIS. I wanted to see more of the Doctor handing Clara things that couldn't possibly fit in her bag.