locker_monster (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
locker_monster) wrote2018-11-18 07:37 pm
locker_monster) wrote2018-11-18 07:37 pm
Entry tags:
"It's the Kerb!am man!"
Oh, creepy robots. A Doctor Who staple. It's like they say in "The Robots of Death". Robots have no emotional cues. I suppose that's what makes them so creepy. That neutral expression can be read in so many different ways.
The episode started off with a good premise. A mystery for the Doctor to solve is always good entertainment. The ending fell a little flat for me. Once we learn it's just Charlie behind everything, the urgency was just sucked out of the plot. But I guess it's like last week. The real monster isn't an alien but just a misguided person. It's easy to go the route of, say, "Paradise Towers" and make it so it's the system that's gone bad or "The Beast Below" where the thing at the heart of the operation is an abused creature. Maybe I was hoping too much for the typical sci fi reveal. The season seems to be all about people and seeing them at their best and their worst.
I'm not sure the thing with the robots and the system made complete sense. Was the main system sentient? Or did it have just enough awareness to realize that Charlie was doing something bad? And Charlie had some control over the Team Mates? It did seem weird that Charlie didn't run up and teleport away with everyone. Yes, let's run into the giant field of robots who are all holding boxes full of explosive bubble wrap. But maybe escape was better than going into custody? I get the episode was commenting about a few things, but maybe there was too much to wrap up into a coherent package?
I did feel like Team TARDIS actually had enough to do this week. Everyone is effectively split up to maximize the snooping around. Yet again, Graham has a casual chat with someone and they give him what he wants. Graham was totally that bus driver who recognized his regulars and chatted with them while on the route. Ryan had some good ideas since he used to work in a warehouse. I knew the second they mentioned that they couldn't climb onto the conveyor belts that someone who hop on one. And it's a little thing, but Yaz is the one who restrains Charlie, not one of the guys. Putting her police officer skills to use. Now that they're hanging out more with each other, we do see them gelling more as a unit. Oh, and I laughed when it was revealed that the Doctor had been assigned to custodial work. She's the smartest person, but she gets assigned menial labour; I wonder if the system figured out that she's never had a proper job (well, proper paying job).
Random: So, Eleven ordered a fez a while back and it was only now that the Kerb!am man found the TARDIS? Makes sense, since the TARDIS is hard to track down. Though, I don't know if Eleven would order a fez with a tassel. His taste in fezzes skewed more towards tassel less kind. I had hope Thirteen would wear the fez for a bit, but I guess she doesn't have a thing for hats. Once again, the nice guy with a family bites the dust. At first, I thought the Doctor wasn't wearing a purple hi vis vest, but then they shot her from behind and it was clear she was wearing one; her coat just hid it from view. Though, the Doctor not wearing the appropriate work wear does seem like her. The first Kerb!am robot (was it called Twisty?), was pretty cute. "Life in the future is very confusing." The Doctor continues to brag about the people she's met, but this time, it's an actual episode we've seen.
Hey, it's Alan Cumming's episode next week. They've also announced that there indeed will be a New Year's special rather than a Christmas special this year. That's fine. Cramming Christmas into an episode was starting to get tedious. Oh, and I went looking at Doctor Who calendars. The ones I saw only featured the first twelve Doctors. No calendars with Thirteen. I hope it was just a case of the store not carrying any calendars of Thirteen rather than the BBC or whoever completely ignoring Thirteen.
The episode started off with a good premise. A mystery for the Doctor to solve is always good entertainment. The ending fell a little flat for me. Once we learn it's just Charlie behind everything, the urgency was just sucked out of the plot. But I guess it's like last week. The real monster isn't an alien but just a misguided person. It's easy to go the route of, say, "Paradise Towers" and make it so it's the system that's gone bad or "The Beast Below" where the thing at the heart of the operation is an abused creature. Maybe I was hoping too much for the typical sci fi reveal. The season seems to be all about people and seeing them at their best and their worst.
I'm not sure the thing with the robots and the system made complete sense. Was the main system sentient? Or did it have just enough awareness to realize that Charlie was doing something bad? And Charlie had some control over the Team Mates? It did seem weird that Charlie didn't run up and teleport away with everyone. Yes, let's run into the giant field of robots who are all holding boxes full of explosive bubble wrap. But maybe escape was better than going into custody? I get the episode was commenting about a few things, but maybe there was too much to wrap up into a coherent package?
I did feel like Team TARDIS actually had enough to do this week. Everyone is effectively split up to maximize the snooping around. Yet again, Graham has a casual chat with someone and they give him what he wants. Graham was totally that bus driver who recognized his regulars and chatted with them while on the route. Ryan had some good ideas since he used to work in a warehouse. I knew the second they mentioned that they couldn't climb onto the conveyor belts that someone who hop on one. And it's a little thing, but Yaz is the one who restrains Charlie, not one of the guys. Putting her police officer skills to use. Now that they're hanging out more with each other, we do see them gelling more as a unit. Oh, and I laughed when it was revealed that the Doctor had been assigned to custodial work. She's the smartest person, but she gets assigned menial labour; I wonder if the system figured out that she's never had a proper job (well, proper paying job).
Random: So, Eleven ordered a fez a while back and it was only now that the Kerb!am man found the TARDIS? Makes sense, since the TARDIS is hard to track down. Though, I don't know if Eleven would order a fez with a tassel. His taste in fezzes skewed more towards tassel less kind. I had hope Thirteen would wear the fez for a bit, but I guess she doesn't have a thing for hats. Once again, the nice guy with a family bites the dust. At first, I thought the Doctor wasn't wearing a purple hi vis vest, but then they shot her from behind and it was clear she was wearing one; her coat just hid it from view. Though, the Doctor not wearing the appropriate work wear does seem like her. The first Kerb!am robot (was it called Twisty?), was pretty cute. "Life in the future is very confusing." The Doctor continues to brag about the people she's met, but this time, it's an actual episode we've seen.
Hey, it's Alan Cumming's episode next week. They've also announced that there indeed will be a New Year's special rather than a Christmas special this year. That's fine. Cramming Christmas into an episode was starting to get tedious. Oh, and I went looking at Doctor Who calendars. The ones I saw only featured the first twelve Doctors. No calendars with Thirteen. I hope it was just a case of the store not carrying any calendars of Thirteen rather than the BBC or whoever completely ignoring Thirteen.