Let me give you a quick recap of this episode to start with. It’s not something I usually do, nor do I plan on continuing to do, but bear with me here. A group of people digging into the Earth discover that there is an entire race of ancient reptilian beings living underground that went into a suspended state of animation after they believed the planet to be destroyed. The diggers eventually discover that the reptilian beings, the Silurians, have woken up, and wish to reclaim a planet that, in a way, is rightfully theirs. As for how to reclaim it, some feel they should just wipe the ‘apes’ or humans out, while others think they should at least try to negotiate peacefully. The Doctor, not being human despite appearing to be so, attempts to reconcile the two races, but to no avail. It the end, one way or another, it’s clear that neither side is ready for peace, and the Silurians are trapped beneath the Eath indefinitely.

I’ve just described to you the plot the of The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood. I’ve also described to you the plot of The Silurians, which is a Third Doctor story from 1970; at least 40 years before the Hungry Earth/Cold Blood even started filming. I think you can start to see the problem here.

The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood is, for all intents and purposes, a remake of The Silurians, except unlike most remakes, this one takes place in the same continuity as the original work it’s based off of, which makes it less of a remake and more of a retread than anything else. But that’s not the only problem here. The problem is that what worked in 1970 doesn’t always work in 2010; not without some updates or changes made. Granted, they tried. It certainly looks a lot better than The Silurians, and the titular beings themselves being able to show actual facial expressions does wonders for being able to better relate to them. (And I’m not going to comment on whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, as I’m not quite sure.) And the fine details of the plot aren’t quite the same as The Silurians either, including the ending which, rather than paint the humans as cold-blooded bastards for blowing up the Silurians, instead paints the Silurians as literal cold-blooded bastards for attempting to blow out the brains of the humans, so it somewhat evens out.

But when you get down to it, the major failing with this story is the characters, with the problem being that they don’t have much character. Aside from the wife and her son, we don’t know too much about most of the other characters, Silurians included, and so we don’t have much reason to care about them, which is rather  important in a story attempting to portray racial tensions. The characters need to be three-dimensional and fleshed out as much as 90 minutes allows for, but as it stands, the story just doesn’t deliver on that. For example, what do we know about the middle-aged female researcher? She’s open-minded, a tad out-going, and wants to know what’s at the center of the Earth? Okay, so there’s a bit you can gather, but it just doesn’t feel like much. What about her backstory, what about her likes and dislikes? What can she offer to provide a new perspective on this sort of story? The worst offender is Restac, who wants to go to war with the humans because she thinks they’re filthy apes, because… Because, damn it! Granted, that was about as much reason as we got in The Silurians, but that was 40 years ago. If you’re going to do what’s essentially the same story again, at least build upon that story and improve upon it, not just follow the gist of it to the letter. What was decent characterization then is not necessarily decent characterization now.

The most gripping part about this episode was actually the ending, which had nothing to do with the SIlurians and everything to do with the story-arc of the season, which tells you just how enjoyable this episode was. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t all that good either. For a season that otherwise prides itself on moving forward, on bringing in new ideas and interesting concepts, this was a bit of a let-down.

Peter Davidson’s back for his second Big Finish audio, and while his first was… good, this one’s a touch better, albeit still not great, though it’s still very good in it’s own right. It takes place in the Antarctic, and deals with superstition, faith, disrespecting the dead, and ancient powers from time unknown that we can’t hope to comprehend. It’s also a rather character-driven story, with most of the characters interesting enough to hold your interest for the story’s duration. At any rate, they’re certainly more memorable than in Whispers of Fear. The story itself is well-written, has some original ideas, and can even scare your pants off at times, though it’s not perfect. Garek is, for all intents and purposes, your sterotypical Alaskian tribesman, who doesn’t get much of a chance to develop beyond that before a skeletal creature from before the time of dinosaurs telekineticly tears his clothes off and unceremoniously separates the flesh from his bones before chowing down. It also doesn’t delve into Nyssa as much as it should, who has a lot of untapped potential that wasn’t explored nearly enough in her original time on the show. Her planet and the death of her entire world get mentioned, sure, but you’d think they’d take the time to actually show her dealing with that loss, which they never did on screen. That said, it’s still a good story. It’s not a must-hear, but if you’re looking for a good Fifth Doctor romp, you can’t go wrong with this one.

Let’s get Vampires of Venice out of the way quick. In many ways, it’s a bog-standard episode. Aiens are trying to conquer the planet, and so the Doctor has to stop them, and it doesn’t have exceptionally witty writing, humor, or interesting ideas to make up for that, though there are a couple of things I like. It’s nice to finally have two regular companions again, and while it took me a bit to warm up to Rory, I appreciate him as the grounded member of the group; the one who, in the wake of the fantastical and extraordinary, always keeps his heads on his shoulders, providing a more practical perspective that the Doctor and Amy don’t always have. I also liked the confrontation between the Doctor and the fish-aliens’ mother. Not only is it well-acted, but they’re both among the last of their kind, and thus can relate to one another. Doesn’t prevent the Doctor from stopping her of course, but kudos to the writers for noticing that and doing something with it. And lastly, the Doctor once more acts like a dick and barks at Amy and Rory to go back to the TARDIS, but they eventually come back and set him straight. Good on you, Amy and Rory. Other than all that, this really could have benefited from being a feature-length Who story, (90-120 minutes,) as it could have fleshed out the one-shot characters more and thus give the story more substance, because as it stands, it doesn’t have much.

Amy’s Choice was a completely different animal. This is a story that actually works best in just a single-episode format, as the focus is entirely on the central three characters, and so you don’t need a lot of extra time for much else. The story itself deals with what can sometimes be a thin line between reality and dreams, and how you can’t always tell which is which. More than that though, it asks us whether or not we truly want that dream to be reality, and what it would take for us to choose one or the other. It also makes the smart move of having Amy be the one to choose, placing the fate of the story in her hands, and cementing the story as a gripping, psychological character-driven tour-de-force.

…Which is what I’d like to say, except the real ending amounts to Amy being wrong, and the Doctor saving the day at the last minute. If that’s what you were going to do all along, then what was even the point of giving Amy a choice? And not to mention, if the Doctor knew that the Dreamlord couldn’t affect the dreams, then why didn’t he tell everyone else sooner? (Unless he only figured it out himself at the last minute. Doesn’t change the ending though.) While this keeps the story from being the masterpiece that it could have have been, it’s still a very interesting and engaging story, and of course, it’s new and fresh, which is what Doctor Who can be and should be, by the nature of it’s very format. So yes, one ‘meh’ story, and one flawed masterpiece, with no truly bad episodes so far this season. Out of the 6 stories presented so far, 4 out of 6 have ranged anywhere from ‘pretty good,’ to brilliant, and Matt Smith continues to knock it out of the park as the Eleventh Doctor.Here’s hoping this sheer level of quality continues, because it’s some of the best DW there’s been since the New Series started.

Along with new posts concerning the Moffat era episodes and repostings of old Classic Series posts from elsewhere, I’m also going to be posting up thoughts on DW stories from other media, starting with Whispers of Terror. (I actually just got a new music player the other day just to listen to Big Finishs’ DW audios, so expect to see a lot of these.)

Colin Baker was and is a good actor and an amazing Doctor, filling his performance with sheer bombast and passion, but he never had a very good run on TV. While I haven’t seen all of his stories, (due to most stories not having a very good reputation,) I’ve seen most of them, and none of them are very good. Attack of the Cybermen was in particular an Attack on the Senses. But Whispers of Terrors deals with senses in a very different, very interesting, and very enjoyable way, and in so doing, begins what will end up being the Doctor Who run that Colin Baker deserved.

The story itself is both a ghost story and a mystery all in one; nothing truly ground-breaking, but it’s all done well enough, and manages to keep you entertained. The scope of the story is surprisingly pedestrian for Doctor Who, ultimately amounting to preventing a would-be petty dictator from coming to power while solving a murder, and after seeing one alien invasion or grandiose threat after another in the New Series, it’s a welcome change of pace.

But what makes this story is the ‘monster’ – if it can be called that – and how it’s delivered through the stories’ selected medium. Without giving too much away, the ‘monster’ is made entirely out of sound, and can’t be seen; only heard. Not good for a visual medium, but perfect for audio, and it makes for a brilliant twist in the last chunk of the story that simply wouldn’t be possible in a visual medium. (Maybe in prose, but even that’s debatable.)

It’s only fault is that the characters aren’t really delved into all that much. Granted, it’s still early into Big Finish, and they’re still working the kinks out, but the plot is what you’ll be listening to this audio for, not the characters. They’re not bad; just not very remarkable. Still, credit where credit is due, as Colin Bakers’ in top form, and finally gets a story that’s geniunally good. Not great, but good nonetheless. It’s only a couple of bucks on the official Big Finish site, so if you’re interested in checking out a good Sixth Doctor that still has Six as he basically was portrayed in the actual show, (as he develops and changes later in the audios,) then this is a pretty good bet.

Time of the Angels/Flesh of Stone is, at it’s core, a rather simple story. A group of religious militants are out to take down a dangerous, terrifying monster, but soon find themselves the hunted rather than the hunter, and end up just barely getting out with even one survivor. It’s a survival horror flick, which the Doctor just happens to waltz into. It’s practically the Doctor’s superpower. His first and foremost strength is indeed his brilliant mind, but perhaps a more subtle, meta talent of his is the ability to walk into almost any sort of story imaginable, and it’s no different here.

And while this is a survival horror flick, it’s a rather fun survival horror flick, thanks to our requisite horrifying beastie; the Weeping Angels. Fresh off of Blink, they’re here to scare your pants off once again, only this time, they get something of a reworking.In Blink, the Angels were terrifying because they represented our subconscious fear of stone statues; so life-like, and yet not truly alive. But Moffat takes this a step further, and ties the Angels into our fear of images and illusions themselves. The Angels can now turn their very images into themselves, can implant themselves within the eye of another living being – a window to the soul – and even appear to be ordinary stone statues until the truth is revealed. They represent the false image; of that which we presume to be true, only to be nothing more than base illusions and trickery. But they also represent the subconsciousness; our dreams and ideas taking on a life of their own, as is outright said in the episode itself. In the Angels, our dreams have overtaken us, able to not only use our own voices against us, but to become us and supplant us. Rather than merely residing within our mind, as with Amy, they can make us nothing more than a fading memory, as they almost did with Ms.Pond.

Other than that, Matt Smith continues to put on a fine performance as the Doctor, being sullen and moody at times while also being considerate and mindful when it truly matters. Just look at how he talks to Bob, or how he attempts to convince Amy that her hand isn’t made of stone. Rather that just forcing Amy to come with him straight away, he attempts to instead make her see herself that it’s all an illusion, and only makes her come at the last possible moment. Also, River Song shows up again. Personally, I think she’s turning out to be a fun, interesting character, but it’s still too early to judge, so I won’t until I see more of her.

Overall, a thrilling, fun, if somewhat simple episode that proves that both Moffat and Smith know what they’re doing, and it can only keep going up from here.

Before I go further, I suppose I should just what stance on the Tenth Doctor is, because he’s probably going to be mentioned a number of times going forward, and he is… controversial, to say the least.

Ten is a victim of his own conceitedness. Unlike Nine or Eleven, Ten simply thought too much about the TIme War. The result was becoming rather self-centered, and partly unable to see from the viewpoints of others or to realize this his actions had consequences on people other himself. He put other people down and engaged in self-righteous behavior not more than a day after he was born, getting Prime Minister Harriet Jones out of office for shooting down an alien fleet, despite said fleet being shown to be cruel and merciless and that the Doctor couldn’t be there whenever Earth needed saving, and he propped himself as ‘the highest authority’ despite possessing no authority. And when his best friend Donna, dying from becoming part time-lord, made it abundantly clear that she would rather dye than to back to what she was, he didn’t try to convince her to give up her memories and go back, or respect her wishes in any possible way. He placed his hands upon her temple as she begged, shouted and screamed, until she screamed no more, and she was as she was before the Doctor met her. And the narrative did him no favors, or rather, gave him the wrong kind. It supported his morally dubious actions rather than challenging them, and the one being (Donna,) who could set Ten straight? He wiped out all she was against her wishes.

Now, such a character could be interesting and compelling in their own rights on some other show, but this isn’t just any character. This is the Doctor. And as the Doctor, he should be expected to look beyond his own wants and needs to at least a considerable extent; to be kind, and considerate, and to stand for something greater than just himself. But when he becomes too wrapped up in his own grief, misery and sorrow, he is no longer the kind of man the Doctor should be.

That said, in Water of Mars, upon attempting to change a fixed point in time, and upon seeing someone sacrificing themselves to make sure time went as it should, the Doctor realizes that he has gone too far. He at last realizes what he has become – self-centered and self-righteous – and knows that his time is up. And in the end, he in part makes up for his past misdeeds by saving the life of Will, knowingly sacrificing himself in the process. But it isn’t enough to make up for all he has done; only death can do so. In the end, Ten realized what he was turning into, began to change, and paid his penance. Because of that, I can’t bring myself to hate him, but as a Doctor, he just didn’t work. And that’s where I stand on the matter.

Anyway, next time: Time of the Angels. See you then.

Now that I’m essentially writing a blog, I feel somewhat obligated to go a bit deeper when it comes to certain episodes, and The Beast Below is a good place to start. Actually, I suppose it’s more a place to talk about Moffat as a writer in general. Moffat is many things, but of the many things he is good at, one in particular stands out; his ability to take those little but oh so primal fears in the back of your mind, and turn them into monstrosities beyond your wildest imaginings. The gasmaks and victims of war in ‘The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances’; the French aristocratic robots in ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’; ‘The Vashda Nerada and the Shadows in ‘Silence In the Library/Forest of the Dead’’; Prisoner Zero and the corner of your eye in ‘The Eleventh Hour’; and of course, the Weeping Angels and stone statues themselves in ‘Blink.’ It’s something that Doctor Who’s dabbled in ever since the Pertwee Era in the 70′s, but Moffat turns it into an art form.

Moffat does it again in ‘The Beast Below’, but this time, he takes it to a new level. Of course, he succeeds in the first one via the Smilers, reminiscent of old carnival attractions. They seem innocent enough, but if you dwell too much on them, there’s something almost uncanny about them. They appear human in appearance, but they aren’t human enough, and the result is unnerving, and even if you take your eyes off of them, they’ll never take their eyes off of YOU. Moffat takes this innocuous fear and, in his usual fashion, turns it into a nightmare, in which they reign down judgement with a single change of face. It scares you, but not in the way that’ll have a grown adult be running for cover. It’s the type of fear that unnerves us more than anything else, the type of fear commonplace during Doctor Who’s gothic era back in the mid 70′s, and Moffat bring it back once again, if in a different manner than before.

But Moffat brings also another kind of fear into play here. He brings the fear of being faced with a truth so colossal in scope, so horrific in nature, and yet so essential to our everyday existence that we feel that all we can hope to do is just look away, or better still, try to forget as best we can. It’s something most people have to come to grips with at some point in their lives, if perhaps on a smaller scale  than in the ‘The Beast Below’, and sometimes, we just can’t bear to keep our eyes open and look.

But if there is one who can and will look, it’s the Doctor. He’s willing to face not just his fears, but everyone’s fears. He’s able to show us what it means to fight against that which we are afraid to confront rather than to cower in terror. By knowing our fears, we in turn know how best to confront those fears, and that’s what the Doctor tries to show us. Of course, not even the Doctor is infallible, as it seems like all he can do when confronted with the awful truth is make the best of a bad situation. But an extra set of eyes can make all the difference, as Amelia can see what the Doctor cannot, and turns that once awful truth into nothing more than a bad dream. For that is one of Moffat’s greatest tricks. He shows us those fears which we are truly afraid to confront, and then shows us that we can in fact confront them after all, and perhaps even discover a way to vanquish them, and ‘The Beast Below’ perhaps shows this better than anything else in DW to date.

Hello there. For a while now, I’ve been watching Doctor Who from the start, with the intent on seeing it through to the finish or, rather, up to where it is now, because Doctor Who is a show that can never truly end. (More on this later.) I’ve also been putting down thoughts on nearly every story somewhere or another, but it’s only just recently that it occurred to me to do so here. So, starting with the the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, I’m going to be watching through the Moffat Era and putting down my thoughts every few episodes. I’ll also occasionally put something up about any old story from the show’s past, including spin-off media. (Of which there is a TON, and it deserves a proper look one of these days. So, to start things off, here’s the first episodes of Matt Smith, originally posted elsewhere. From here on out though, this is where it’s all gonna’ happen.

‘So I just saw The Eleventh Hour. Seriously, this was, quite possibly, the best Who episode I’d seen in a while, mainly because Series 4 was just so overall lackluster, though the episode itself was still good. It was fun, well-written, brought some new ideas to the table, and made sure you never looked in the corner again was all around one of the best Post-Regeneration stories a Doctor’s ever had. They didn’t waste time with regeneration trauma, and instead just spent a few minutes with Eleven being a bit loopy before he hit the ground running, and it actually ended up doing what a Post-Regeneration story is supposed to do; introduce us to the new Doctor.

Speaking of the new Doctor, I love Eleven already. He’s not entirely different from Ten, but he’s different enough in all the ways that matter. He doesn’t presume himself to be ‘the highest authority’, isn’t so manic and self-centered, and uses his natural accent doesn’t seem to be so self-righteous as Ten was. Ten’s major downfall was that he focused too much on the Time War, which caused him to stick his head up his arse and make many rather regrettable life choices. Eleven seems to be doing his best to not even think about it, and the result is a much more considerate and understanding Doctor, at least by comparison. Sure, he basically corrals Amy into the TARDIS, but I get the feeling that if she actually did decline, he’d still let her go, if regrettably. Of course, it’s only the first episode, so all of this may be a bit early to tell, but if this holds up, he might end up being one of my favorite Doctors. (Though Seven’s still going to top him.)

And here’s the next two:

‘So I watched the Beast Below and Victory of the Daleks. Beast was great. Once again, fresh new ideas along with some wonderful story-telling. Amy also starts to shine, saving the day and putting Eleven in his place after he says he’s taking her back home just because she, according to his own personal definition, screwed up. And that’s something that wasn’t done often enough with Ten. Eleven may be overall much less of a dick than Ten, but he has his moments, and when he does, Amy sorts him right out. The narrative doesn’t always take his side, much like near the end of Seven’s era and then even more so in the books& audios. The episode also reminded me of Two’s era, what with ’…bringing down the government’, and all, though considering just who Matt Smith based his Doctor on, it’s probably intentional. As for Victory, it was… okay. Not that good, but not that bad, and still better than a number of RTD episodes, on account of trying to do something somewhat different with the Daleks again. (And no, I don’t mind the Technicolor Dream Daleks, though I can see why others would.) Also, whoever played Winston Churchhill was spot on, so it’s got that going for it. I’d put this on par with Silver Nemesis; half-decent ideas, lack-luster execution. But if, like with Seven, that’s the worst Eleven’s era can cook up, then I’m looking forward to whatever comes next.’

From here on out, it’s all original material. Onwards and upwards or, as some would say, ‘GERONIMO!’