Rob-Ho-Ho-92 wrote:Frank wrote:Nothing of this series has really felt EPIC, has it?
I like how they’ve not had overly complicated season long arcs as well, but I do agree the whole series has been lacking on the epic-ness side of things, just seems to be missing something.
Hate to break it to you guys but Chibbers says...
Wrathy wrote:I thought the episode was really good, apart from the Eastenders bits in the middle. I learned long ago to not pick too many holes in the specifics of Doctor Who (eg why was the specific Dalek laser just hanging out in a warehouse in Sheffield, where the Dalek happened to be? how did the Dalek build the intricate systems needed to control a shell from scrap? etc etc) and just enjoy going for the ride, and in telling a story where the Daleks are menacing and powerful without feeling like a generic space army this was successful.
Doctor Who often plays loose and fast with science. Sometimes it gets away with it. Sometimes it doesnt. But I dont think the show has ever had a writer treat logic with such abandon as Chibbers. He seems utterly lost trying to recreate the RTD blueprint for Who but lacks his wit and genius. Leaving the show propped up with all the terrible desperate crutches RTD often had to use to make his stories work.
Personally it was the "Eastenders" bits that worked best for me last night. The couple falling for each other early on. All the stuff around Ryans Dad. It had heart and actually believable. Most of the rest was a messy upscaling of the episode "Dalek". It started off well. Well once you get past the dreadful prologue bit with THE WORST strawberry floating FONT EVER USED IN A TV SERIES WHICH TAKES UP ALL THE strawberry floating SCREEN SPACE FOR NO REASON BUT TO JUST BE SEEN BECAUSE
EPIC. Tbf I didnt actually mind the backstory at the time. Its just made worse by the rest of the story. How the chuff did these people beat this new type of super Dalek we've never heard of before yet the crummy cobbled together version of it made of bins and gooseberry fool survive being shot by a bunch of soldiers? WHAT! WHAT!? How does she build this thing anyway? It would take a team of people ages! She can make a scrap Dalek which can fly and shoot rockets with a hammer? Oh god and the laptop bit! Instantly I had flashbacks of the series opener when they rebooted the phone and suddenly could detect the alien thing. I actually really liked the Dalek on the back idea. The opening part in the sewers was nice and creepy. You know what would have worked better and made more sense? If the Dalek jumped from person to person to end up with someone important and with influence. No laptop. Dalek hops on the police officer, then eventually finds its way to someone who might actually know a bit about government secrets etc. Same person could even get a team of people together to build the scrap Dalek. Imagine the army were involved then. Rather then just turning up to stop it they were actually protecting this "project" which then turns on them. We've accidentally built the best Dalek Earth can. Plus then you might get over the issue of this poor woman waking up the next day to one hell of a speeding ticket!
plus a few murder chargesThere is a bit in "Dalek" which is a really good comparison for me. The Dalek breaks free and it sticks its plunger in the computer and downloads the data to get up to speed with the world. Its a science stretch but for me it gets away with it because its a Dalek using "magic" advance tech and the story is set in the near future inside the compound of some mad tech collector. Its also not pivotal to the plot. The laptop bit is a woman with a Dalek on her back being forced to type on an ordinary laptop and can somehow instantly find out the location of the Dalek gun? And to top it off its the bit that moves the plot forward! Dreadful dreadful stuff. Just felt like another of Chibbers "I've not reread this scripts". Christ knows what his 1st drafts must look like.
The depressing thing for me is that this is the head of the show writing this. It's not some lacky thats handed in something iffy and he has to quickly rewrite it to make it in time for production. This is THE GUY.
I really want to like it. I really do. I liked the character stuff (although again Yaz was just there to breathe some oxygen) and I enjoyed watching the Dalek kill things. I don't even mind the cobbled together Dalek itself. Its actually quite charming.
But the pieces didn't come together well. At least it wasn't deathly boring I suppose. Oh and the Rels gag was great!
I need to ask this. Am I the only one that is sometimes finding 13 insufferable to watch? The bit where she tells everyone she is being nice to the Dalek made me want to punch my own face. Its almost as if the script is overcompensating for things. Like if she keeps saying she is good at this or nice or wacky then maybe I'll believe it? I like Jodie, there are moments where I think she is really good. In fact quite superb (the scene with King Richard being one) but some parts hurt so much to watch. I've never really felt like this about the Doctor. Outside of a few peak Tennentisms. But that would be like a cringe moment. Maybe I'm just a sexist pig after all.