The Beast Below

sovietusernamesovietusername Posts: 1,169
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Now, I'm aware that this episode is quite unpopular among a few fans and I'm not really sure why. Although I'll admit I'm a little biased toward series 5, I really think this isnt that bad, and is very under rated. Oh, there's lots of stuff I'm not to keen on, namely the REALLY irritating+unlikely cockney Queen, and the very pointless Winders, but it could be a lot worse, and it's certainly much better than the next episode, Victory of the Daleks which, even I cant defend, despite my love for this series. But more on that tommorow. This really is quite a good episode. I wasnt to keen on it on first viewing but it's really grown on me since. Yes, it's slower than The Eleventh Hour, but still very good in my op.

After the magnificent entrance for Matt Smith's 11th Doctor in the first episode, it's Karen Gillan whose allowed to take centre stage here. Building on the whole girl who waited stuff, as well as the knowledge thats she's getting married, Amy really grows and develops here. We've got our new Doctor, now we have our new companion, who really does proove to be both independent and intelligent here with the whole star whale thing going on. I love the scene where she has her "revelation" thing-y, nice music and editing. Karen Gillan really shows off her acting here, and this episode is almost an equally good launching point for the series as The Eleventh Hour was. Like with the whole of series 5's first half, it's introducing all the new stuff and helping us get used to it all. Throughout the whole thing we have Amy sort of following the Doctor about. I always wonder at the scene in the beginning where the Doctor explains the stuff with the crying girl and tells her to go after her. There, Amy's just doing what the Doctor tells her. Like a traditional companion! Ah the good old sexist days of the BBC. :) But in the course of this episode, Amy begins to grow more independence and start to step out of the shadow of the girl who waited, an arc which would be completed with Amy choosing Rory over the Doctor.

Of course, the Doctor's good here to, again showing off his talent at comedy. Love the scenes in the star whale with the whole "put yourself in a calm place, go ommmmm... if this is just the mouth I'd love to see the stomach, though not right now..." and of course "right then, this isnt going to be big on dignity (straightens bow tie)." "This fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her, took me 4 goes," is also a good line. We also get a bit of an angry Doctor here though who we hadnt seen really in TEH. Thing is though, as good as Matt Smith always is, I'm not so sure about his performance. I dont know if it's just cos this episode focuses on Amy, but the Doctor doesent really seem as confident here. But I love all his little deductions, his little absent minded wanderings e.g. the stuff with the glass of water ("theres an escaped fish... I dunno, I think a lot) and the scene in the voting booth where we touch breifly on all the time lord stuff, though I'm glad it is breif and they dont make a big song and dance about it like in the RTD series, as I was never too keen on the whole thing about the Doctor being last of the Time Lords.

This episode has a great atmosphere with all the steam and gloom etc. I like the whole thing with the government conspiracies and the Smilers who are, at times, genuinely creepy, as is the opening scene in the lift. There's a lot of mystery and atmosphere to this and (I think, a reason why it's quite unpopular) is that it's quite different to some other Who stories. But in the end, this episode helps set up the rest of the series, developing Amys character, and reflecting on the Doctor's character via the Star Whale, to whom the Doctor has obvious parallels. It's not 10/10, but it certianly aint a 0 either. It's very intelligently written and also links to the rest of the series with the sight of another mysterious crack in space/time and, far more obvious, a mini-cliffhanger leading on into the next episode which, unfortunately, isnt as good (incidentally, where actually did the Doctor get his phone? He didnt have a phone in the past 2 series or why would he have Martha's? Unless the TARDIS adapted Martha's phone for use when rebuilding?). I'll admit this can be a bit slow+boring at times, but a slower story can be good at times, especially after a rollercoaster like TEH. I'll admit it's a little tricky on first viewing, I wasnt to sure what was going on, but, in the end, it quite simple, and beautiful, and, although it's certainly not one of the best, it's not one of the worst either.

That comes later.
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Comments

  • CD93CD93 Posts: 13,937
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    I don't remember having many issues with this the first time around (just like tomorrow's episode) but I guess in retrospect, the second episode had a lot to live up to after The Eleventh Hour.

    The stomach scenes are brilliant fun, especially. I loved Smith already, but this cranked it up to 11 ;)

    "You look Human."
    "No, you look Timelord. We came first."

    "Because this is what I do. Every time. Every day. Every second. This. Hold tight."

    "Say weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...."
    "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

    "If this is just the mouth, I would love to see the stomach.."
    "aarhhghghhrahrraafggh."
    "....though not right now."

    "Six hundred feet down. Twenty miles laterally puts us at the heart of the ship. I'd say... Lancashire."

    "Nobody talk to me. Nobody human has anything to say to me today!"

    The last one especially, was rather defining, I think. After the humanising of 10, it was a nice reminder that 11 was going be different.
  • AdelaideGirlAdelaideGirl Posts: 3,498
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    I like the darkness and stupidity of grown ups in this episode. As human beings we have a long history of exploiting and hurting others who are friendly and helping us just being we don't understand them. It also make a change from the exploited in danger humans often shown on TV.


    I liked Queen Liz 10 - she seemed quiet a realistic image of what the royal family might look and be that far in the future. Sophie Okonedo certainly had a certain majesty about her.
  • Granny McSmithGranny McSmith Posts: 19,622
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    I could never get my head round why the Doctor felt he had no alternative but to lobotomise the Whale.

    He's the Doctor. Surely in 900+ years he has encountered an alternate form of energy he could have helped the humans convert to, thus freeing the Whale.

    Or he could have towed them to an inhabitable planet. Or "borrowed" an empty starship for them?

    To just say "Oh, I've got to lobotomise this Whale now, and it's all you humans' fault" was just daft.
  • daveyboy7472daveyboy7472 Posts: 16,326
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    Until the Ganger story of Series 6 came along, this was for me the worst New Series Episode after Love And Monsters. I remember on first viewing being really drunk when watching this and thought this must be the reason why I didn't enjoy it nowhere as much as the previous episode.

    Several sober rewatches later and the story has a lot more going for it than I originally thought. There are some neat ideas in the story such as the Pre credits scene, Liz 10 and her mask keeping her young, the dilemma The Doctor apparently has but Amy realising the truth of the situation ahead of him. The whole city named after streets and counties on the back of the whale. Indeed, the last ten minutes are not actually that bad. The Doctor/Amy relationship is working fine at this stage without Rory and I liked the way she questions his actions and compared the Whale's situation to his own.

    Here's the problem, though. It just lacks any kind of energy and it simply just plods along at an agonisingly slow pace. Now before everyone jumps down my throat and says not every episode can be like the Series 2 and 4 Finales, I would say that I agree with you. A slower paced episode is not doomed to failure. As I said on threads like Midnight, The Unicorn and The Wasp etc, a slower paced episode can work if it's executed right and it's entertaining. It also doesn't help that it follows such a pacy episode like The Eleventh Hour either.

    If you look at Moffat's own stories during the RTD Era, most of them were of a similar pace to this episode but they were hugely enjoyable. The Beast Below just lacks any of the elements that made those episodes so special. And it wasn't to be the last episode to be like this in Series 5.

    Other quibbles I have is why Amy would want to be seen in a nightie. She's a kissogram, why should she not want to look decent the whole time? Surely there was time for her to change between adventures? Also wasn't that convinced by the Smilers, suppose that was more for the kids. And I don't know why The Doctor couldn't work out things the way Amy did, he usually thinks way ahead of everyone else. Just seemed a bit strange.

    As I said, I do like this episode a lot more than I did previously but I think no amount of rewatches will improve it for me. Perhaps I should take a leaf out of the story's book and just press the Forget button after every viewing and try seeing if I enjoy watching it that way! :D
  • ListentomeListentome Posts: 9,804
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    Not my favourite episode by far, but like sovietusername I do have a bias towards series 5.

    I like the idea, I love Matt Smith as the Doctor here. I have never understood why some people think it took him until series 6 to get into his stride. To me he hit the ground running in The Eleventh Hour. However, he was post-regeneration in that episode. I think in TBB, he shows hat mastery he has over the role. I watched the episode and thought "this is a classic Doctor, if not a classic episode".
  • TRT1968TRT1968 Posts: 2,164
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    Not a brilliant story, by any means, but I think I'm in love with Liz 10!
  • ListentomeListentome Posts: 9,804
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    Until the Ganger story of Series 6 came along, this was for me the worst New Series Episode after Love And Monsters. I remember on first viewing being really drunk when watching this and thought this must be the reason why I didn't enjoy it nowhere as much as the previous episode.

    Several sober rewatches later and the story has a lot more going for it than I originally thought. There are some neat ideas in the story such as the Pre credits scene, Liz 10 and her mask keeping her young, the dilemma The Doctor apparently has but Amy realising the truth of the situation ahead of him. The whole city named after streets and counties on the back of the whale. Indeed, the last ten minutes are not actually that bad. The Doctor/Amy relationship is working fine at this stage without Rory and I liked the way she questions his actions and compared the Whale's situation to his own.

    Here's the problem, though. It just lacks any kind of energy and it simply just plods along at an agonisingly slow pace. Now before everyone jumps down my throat and says not every episode can be like the Series 2 and 4 Finales, I would say that I agree with you. A slower paced episode is not doomed to failure. As I said on threads like Midnight, The Unicorn and The Wasp etc, a slower paced episode can work if it's executed right and it's entertaining. It also doesn't help that it follows such a pacy episode like The Eleventh Hour either.

    If you look at Moffat's own stories during the RTD Era, most of them were of a similar pace to this episode but they were hugely enjoyable. The Beast Below just lacks any of the elements that made those episodes so special. And it wasn't to be the last episode to be like this in Series 5.

    Other quibbles I have is why Amy would want to be seen in a nightie. She's a kissogram, why should she not want to look decent the whole time? Surely there was time for her to change between adventures? Also wasn't that convinced by the Smilers, suppose that was more for the kids. And I don't know why The Doctor couldn't work out things the way Amy did, he usually thinks way ahead of everyone else. Just seemed a bit strange.

    As I said, I do like this episode a lot more than I did previously but I think no amount of rewatches will improve it for me. Perhaps I should take a leaf out of the story's book and just press the Forget button after every viewing and try seeing if I enjoy watching it that way! :D

    I never really notice a lack of energy or pace in any new series episodes, I notice more that in general they have too much. Perhaps its because I liked the slower pace of the classic series, I actually don't find many classic series stories very pacy, that I prefer it when new series stories are slowed down. But as you say it depends on how it is executed.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,151
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    I found a new appreciation for this episode when I realised it’s a huge metaphor for the full Silence story arc.

    See the Smilers as the Silents exiting their recesses to keep order and secrets and making people forget. Liz 10 manipulated by the Winders is River / Mel manipulated by those behind The Silence. Mandy as Melody or sometimes little Amelia. There are children held hostage but spared. Important elements of a question followed by a fall and abdication, and who will the hidden tortured soul, to be put out of their misery, turn out to be ??

    We also have the unlocking of the Pandorica (repair hut), the kidnapping of Amy and listen to Liz 10's voice the first time we meet her in “Did he do the thing” it’s not Cockney it’s very much like Alex’s dubbed over to establish the Liz 10 / River metaphor.
  • daveyboy7472daveyboy7472 Posts: 16,326
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    Listentome wrote: »
    I never really notice a lack of energy or pace in any new series episodes, I notice more that in general they have too much. Perhaps its because I liked the slower pace of the classic series, I actually don't find many classic series stories very pacy, that I prefer it when new series stories are slowed down. But as you say it depends on how it is executed.

    As you know, I love the Classic series and most of the time I have no problem with the slower pace of those stories, except for The Web Planet which was mind-bogglingly slow and those six-parters which sagged mid story, especially during Pertwee's run.

    So overall I have no problems with slower paced stories overall but during Moffat's Era so far there have been far too many episodes like this where not only is it lacking in pace and energy but also in tension and dramatic emphasis as well. Sometimes it's like watching an episode of a soap at those times where not much really happens and you could skip an episode because they just fill it out with mindless twaddle and even skip an episode completely because not much happens. You compare it to Midnight; there is tons of dialogue and relatively little action, but because it is tense and and has lots of drama it works as a slower paced episode. On paper it shouldn't do but it does.

    So I think you hit the nail on the head when you said it was all in the execution. The Beast Below with a few tweaks to make it more exciting could have been a brilliant story, the potential was there to make it brilliant but it wasn't. That doesn't mean it should have been drowned out with fast, loud music or even been action-packed but it needed some pep to make it better.

    To be fair to Moffat, though, most of these types of episodes are largely confined to Series 5, which is why it is my least favourite Series so far. Season 6 improved by having more interesting episodes bar a certain 2-parter and the last Five episodes of Series 7 have improved again though it still isn't quite upto what I enjoyed during RTD's time but it's getting there.

    :)
  • MulettMulett Posts: 9,055
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    As I watched this, it dawned on me that the Moffatt era wasn't going to be for me. I remember it finished and I thought 'I think Doctor Who's in trouble'.

    Glad to see I was wrong and the viewing figures have remained good. But, for me, a terrible episode.
  • CorwinCorwin Posts: 16,574
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    This suffers a little from being Moffats first "run of the mill" story. His Previous stories were one per season events or the Introduction of Doc #11 and the expectation was that TBB was going to be something just as Special but it didn't turn out that way.

    Still it is a decent enough story and is better on a second viewing though I'd still like to know how the Doctor and Amy can be vomited out of the Mouth of the Space Whale and end up inside the Ship when the mouth is clearly seen to be in Space with no connection to the ship.
    Other quibbles I have is why Amy would want to be seen in a nightie. She's a kissogram, why should she not want to look decent the whole time? Surely there was time for her to change between adventures?

    This story takes place 5 minutes after she first entered the TARDIS, the Doctor hasn't given her the time to get changed let alone shown her the TARDIS wardrobe.
  • TRT1968TRT1968 Posts: 2,164
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    Corwin wrote: »
    Still it is a decent enough story and is better on a second viewing though I'd still like to know how the Doctor and Amy can be vomited out of the Mouth of the Space Whale and end up inside the Ship when the mouth is clearly seen to be in Space with no connection to the ship.

    I admit, I missed a lot of this episode, cooking dinner as usual!

    Maybe it is worth, at this point, revisiting the original writing notes for Dr Who.

    "Evidently, Dr. Who's "machine" fulfils mary of the functions of conventional Science Fiction gimmicks. But we are not writing Science Fiction. We shall provide scientific explanations too, sometimes, but we shall not bend over backwards to do so, if we decide to achieve credibility by other means. Neither are we writing fantasy: the events have got to be credible to the three ordinary people who are our main characters, and they are sharp-witted enough to spot a phoney. I think the writer's safeguard here will be, if he remembers that he is writing for an audience aged fourteen... the most difficult, critical, even sophisticated, audience there is, for TV. In brief, avoid the limitations of any label and use the best in any style or category, as it suits us, so long as it works in our medium."

    "It doesn't get across the basis of teaching of educational experience - drama based upon and stemming from factual material and scientific phenomena and actual social history of past and future. Dr. Who - not have a philosophical arty-science mind - he'd take science, applied and theoretical, as being as natural as eating."

    :cry:
  • chuffnobblerchuffnobbler Posts: 10,769
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    Just about all I can remember from this one is the fantastic Sophie Okonedo, and her line "I'm the bladdy queen!"
  • sovietusernamesovietusername Posts: 1,169
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    HandsomeBB wrote: »
    I found a new appreciation for this episode when I realised it’s a huge metaphor for the full Silence story arc.

    See the Smilers as the Silents exiting their recesses to keep order and secrets and making people forget. Liz 10 manipulated by the Winders is River / Mel manipulated by those behind The Silence. Mandy as Melody or sometimes little Amelia. There are children held hostage but spared. Important elements of a question followed by a fall and abdication, and who will the hidden tortured soul, to be put out of their misery, turn out to be ??

    We also have the unlocking of the Pandorica (repair hut), the kidnapping of Amy and listen to Liz 10's voice the first time we meet her in “Did he do the thing” it’s not Cockney it’s very much like Alex’s dubbed over to establish the Liz 10 / River metaphor.

    I know Moffatts into all loads of arc stuff, but dont you think you might be reading a little to much into it?:confused:
  • daveyboy7472daveyboy7472 Posts: 16,326
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    Corwin wrote: »
    This story takes place 5 minutes after she first entered the TARDIS, the Doctor hasn't given her the time to get changed let alone shown her the TARDIS wardrobe.

    Weird that after receiving a phone call from Churchill, they go straight there and Amy has changed. Sure a change of clothing could have been incorporated into the episode with a few quick edits.

    ;):)
  • sovietusernamesovietusername Posts: 1,169
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    As you know, I love the Classic series and most of the time I have no problem with the slower pace of those stories, except for The Web Planet which was mind-bogglingly slow and those six-parters which sagged mid story, especially during Pertwee's run.

    So overall I have no problems with slower paced stories overall but during Moffat's Era so far there have been far too many episodes like this where not only is it lacking in pace and energy but also in tension and dramatic emphasis as well. Sometimes it's like watching an episode of a soap at those times where not much really happens and you could skip an episode because they just fill it out with mindless twaddle and even skip an episode completely because not much happens. You compare it to Midnight; there is tons of dialogue and relatively little action, but because it is tense and and has lots of drama it works as a slower paced episode. On paper it shouldn't do but it does.

    So I think you hit the nail on the head when you said it was all in the execution. The Beast Below with a few tweaks to make it more exciting could have been a brilliant story, the potential was there to make it brilliant but it wasn't. That doesn't mean it should have been drowned out with fast, loud music or even been action-packed but it needed some pep to make it better.

    To be fair to Moffat, though, most of these types of episodes are largely confined to Series 5, which is why it is my least favourite Series so far. Season 6 improved by having more interesting episodes bar a certain 2-parter and the last Five episodes of Series 7 have improved again though it still isn't quite upto what I enjoyed during RTD's time but it's getting there.

    :)


    I've never really come across this as a reason for why people dont like series 5 before, and I've heard loads of em (though to be fair, quite a few are simply "I liked Tennant"). Yes, there are slow episodes like this, the Silurian 2 parter (in some parts) & the Lodger. But this never really struck me as boring. I mean, we all know I like it, so it wouldnt, but still... You have all the new stuff going on with a new Doctor etc, a really good character in Amy with all the girl who waited stuff, and, you have really high concept stories with big ol race against time in TEH, Daleks in the next one, then Angels, then Vampires, Venice and the Doctor climbing a bell tower in the rain+one of the biggest finales which always excites me e.g. with the Pnadorica mystery, every monster EVER, the TARDIS exploding, the seeming resolution of the series arc (even if it wasnt actually resolved), the end of the universe, and really big stuff for the characters of the Doctor, Amy and Rory. Like I say, I know we disagree over these series, but I always thought this series was very exciting, especially compared to series 6.2 where the big arc began to drag a bit. Yes, this episodes a bit dull, but I always thought, overall, with all the newness and the fresh start stuff, that this was actually one of the most exciting series yet. I mean, u want fast paced, in the Pandorica Opens, we go from 19th century rural France, to WW2 Britain, to River in an outer space future prison, to starship uk, to star wars type bar, to the first planet ever, to Roman Britain!



    And, of course, this music never fails to be EPIC!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kSf8w28Fs4
  • sovietusernamesovietusername Posts: 1,169
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    Weird that after receiving a phone call from Churchill, they go straight there and Amy has changed. Sure a change of clothing could have been incorporated into the episode with a few quick edits.

    ;):)

    Well, I'd have got changed before going to meet PM Winston Churchill if I was covered in sick :D
  • TRT1968TRT1968 Posts: 2,164
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    Well, I'd have got changed before going to meet PM Winston Churchill if I was covered in sick :D

    Ambergris, surely?
  • daveyboy7472daveyboy7472 Posts: 16,326
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    I've never really come across this as a reason for why people dont like series 5 before, and I've heard loads of em (though to be fair, quite a few are simply "I liked Tennant"). Yes, there are slow episodes like this, the Silurian 2 parter (in some parts) & the Lodger. But this never really struck me as boring. I mean, we all know I like it, so it wouldnt, but still... You have all the new stuff going on with a new Doctor etc, a really good character in Amy with all the girl who waited stuff, and, you have really high concept stories with big ol race against time in TEH, Daleks in the next one, then Angels, then Vampires, Venice and the Doctor climbing a bell tower in the rain+one of the biggest finales which always excites me e.g. with the Pnadorica mystery, every monster EVER, the TARDIS exploding, the seeming resolution of the series arc (even if it wasnt actually resolved), the end of the universe, and really big stuff for the characters of the Doctor, Amy and Rory. Like I say, I know we disagree over these series, but I always thought this series was very exciting, especially compared to series 6.2 where the big arc began to drag a bit. Yes, this episodes a bit dull, but I always thought, overall, with all the newness and the fresh start stuff, that this was actually one of the most exciting series yet. I mean, u want fast paced, in the Pandorica Opens, we go from 19th century rural France, to WW2 Britain, to River in an outer space future prison, to starship uk, to star wars type bar, to the first planet ever, to Roman Britain!



    And, of course, this music never fails to be EPIC!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kSf8w28Fs4

    It's just a personal opinion. What I dislike someone else adores like your good self.

    I remember the lacking thread I started that caused enormous uproar at the time which Granny mentioned the other day and it was really divisive. A lot of people disliked this Series for similar reasons as I mentioned above but others liked it as you do.

    I still do think this Series is lacking something but a lot of the later episodes I think have improved since I first watched them but this wasn't one of them. Certainly compared to my favourite episodes from the RTD Era nothing in Series 5 matches them, aside maybe The Eleventh Hour.
    Well, I'd have got changed before going to meet PM Winston Churchill if I was covered in sick :D

    Well indeed, but after seeing Amy in a Policewoman's outfit, the nightie was a bit of a comedown really, especially with the sick!

    :D
  • Granny McSmithGranny McSmith Posts: 19,622
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    I've never really come across this as a reason for why people dont like series 5 before, and I've heard loads of em

    I remember the lacking thread I started that caused enormous uproar at the time which Granny mentioned the other day and it was really divisive. A lot of people disliked this Series for similar reasons as I mentioned above but others liked it as you do.

    I still do think this Series is lacking something but a lot of the later episodes I think have improved since I first watched them but this wasn't one of them. Certainly compared to my favourite episodes from the RTD Era nothing in Series 5 matches them, aside maybe The Eleventh Hour.


    :D

    I seem to recall quite a few people who posted in that thread thought the series lacked energy and pace. Perhaps I'm misremembering and it was just you and me, davey. :D

    I have rewatched all of series 5 and 6 and haven't found any improvement. I think they are being repeated on BBC3 on Fridays at the moment, but I find I'd rather watch Nigel Slater. Imagine saying that about series 2-4! :eek:
  • johnnysaucepnjohnnysaucepn Posts: 6,775
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    I could never get my head round why the Doctor felt he had no alternative but to lobotomise the Whale.

    He's the Doctor. Surely in 900+ years he has encountered an alternate form of energy he could have helped the humans convert to, thus freeing the Whale.

    Or he could have towed them to an inhabitable planet. Or "borrowed" an empty starship for them?

    To just say "Oh, I've got to lobotomise this Whale now, and it's all you humans' fault" was just daft.
    Can you imagine the cry of "deus ex machina" across the forums if he just popped out for a minute to get a convenient giant spaceship to house the population of Earth?

    If we assume that there isn't a gigantic generation ship handy that the Doctor can hotwire, and that it's somehow not convenient to load everyone onto the TARDIS one-by-one and drop them off in another part of reality - then we're left with their assumption that stopping torturing the whale would result in them being thrown off. Whether or not there's another propulsion method available, the whale would still have to be incapacitated.
    Other quibbles I have is why Amy would want to be seen in a nightie. She's a kissogram, why should she not want to look decent the whole time? Surely there was time for her to change between adventures?
    Because she was, in the Doctor's eyes, still a child. She's effectively wearing the same outfit that she did when the Doctor met her the very first time, and it's meant to connect Amy to the wide-eyed child she was. A fulfilment of the Doctor's promise that even though she grew up, "I'll change that."
    I always wonder at the scene in the beginning where the Doctor explains the stuff with the crying girl and tells her to go after her. There, Amy's just doing what the Doctor tells her. Like a traditional companion! Ah the good old sexist days of the BBC.
    I think it's a little more subtle than that. The Doctor isn't instructing Amy - he's challenging her. He's laying out for her what it is he does, and checking that she's up for the task. Which is really the theme of the episode.
  • CoalHillJanitorCoalHillJanitor Posts: 15,634
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,151
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    I know Moffatts into all loads of arc stuff, but dont you think you might be reading a little to much into it?:confused:

    Moffat likes to be very metaphoric for the big story arc solutions with his Ep 2's

    DotM, Amy and Rory shot on the edge of things but still being alive in bodybags (a tesselecta metaphor). Notice River ended up in the pool. There’s Amy being kidnapped. and if Night Terrors hadn’t been switched from Ep 3 the clues for Amy being captured and turned into a wooden doll would have continued.

    There are other visual metaphors early in DotM important to understanding The Silence.

    DoaS - You’ll find the guest characters are metaphors for others in the Whoniverse.
  • sovietusernamesovietusername Posts: 1,169
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    HandsomeBB wrote: »
    Moffat likes to be very metaphoric for the big story arc solutions with his Ep 2's

    DotM, Amy and Rory shot on the edge of things but still being alive in bodybags (a tesselecta metaphor). Notice River ended up in the pool. There’s Amy being kidnapped. and if Night Terrors hadn’t been switched from Ep 3 the clues for Amy being captured and turned into a wooden doll would have continued.

    There are other visual metaphors early in DotM important to understanding The Silence.

    DoaS - You’ll find the guest characters are metaphors for others in the Whoniverse.

    Hmm, I'm not sure. It all sounds a lot like English literature where everything was metaphor e.g. apparently the curtains were blue to show sadness and a rusty car showed the failure of the America dream. No one stopped to consider that the car was rusty cos it was in a poor area by a petrol station, and that maybe, just maybe, the writer thought blue just might be a nice colour for curtains
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,151
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    Hmm, I'm not sure. It all sounds a lot like English literature where everything was metaphor e.g. apparently the curtains were blue to show sadness and a rusty car showed the failure of the America dream. No one stopped to consider that the car was rusty cos it was in a poor area by a petrol station, and that maybe, just maybe, the writer thought blue just might be a nice colour for curtains

    The start of AotD, a woman who looks like a companion, inside a giant dalek, intrigues and lures The Doc into a trap before it's revealed she's really a Dalek.

    You won't like that one either. :)
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