Insert Pun Involving The Word "Electric" Here
Another Sunday, another Who:
And, really, this was another one that struck me as watchable enough, but not especially substantial or memorable. Nikola Tesla, at least, is a fun character to build an episode around, enough so that it's almost a little surprising that we haven't seen him before. And I like the fact that they play up his humanity instead of making him the over-the-top mad scientist figure he sometimes is portrayed as. He has some rather nice scenes with the Doctor. And, honestly, I just find it very amusing to stop and reflect on the fact that I am a fan of a show with plots that can be summed up by sentences like "Nikola Tesla gets kidnapped by space scorpions."
The space scorpions themselves were nothing especially interesting, although they went up a notch in my estimation as a plot element when the friend I was watching with turned to me and said, "Do you think the fact that they steal all their technology is meant to be a parallel to Edison?" Which, d'oh, yes, how had that not occurred to me already? Yes, no doubt that was deliberate, and it is at least a bit clever. (Much more so than mentally comparing them to Star Trek's Pakleds, which is what I was doing.)
Also, as someone who too often found myself saying last season that I'd love to see Whittaker get to play the Doctor with a little more of an edge, I'm pleased that she does seem to be getting one. That moment where she makes it clear to the scorpion queen that, yeah, she's done asking nicely does qualify, in its own understated kind of way.
Interestingly, after managing to suspend disbelief last episode for all kinds of massively ridiculous things, in this one tiny little things kept tripping me a bit and distracting me much more than they should have. Like the Doctor referring to the Silurian gun, multiple times, as "alien." The Silurians are not alien to Earth!!! Also, Thomas Edison's American accent slipped every time he had to say the word "patent." It's weird, the things that I notice and get hung up on vs the things that I don't.
This entry was originally posted at https://astrogirl.dreamwidth.org/970702.html. Comment here or there, whichever you like.
And, really, this was another one that struck me as watchable enough, but not especially substantial or memorable. Nikola Tesla, at least, is a fun character to build an episode around, enough so that it's almost a little surprising that we haven't seen him before. And I like the fact that they play up his humanity instead of making him the over-the-top mad scientist figure he sometimes is portrayed as. He has some rather nice scenes with the Doctor. And, honestly, I just find it very amusing to stop and reflect on the fact that I am a fan of a show with plots that can be summed up by sentences like "Nikola Tesla gets kidnapped by space scorpions."
The space scorpions themselves were nothing especially interesting, although they went up a notch in my estimation as a plot element when the friend I was watching with turned to me and said, "Do you think the fact that they steal all their technology is meant to be a parallel to Edison?" Which, d'oh, yes, how had that not occurred to me already? Yes, no doubt that was deliberate, and it is at least a bit clever. (Much more so than mentally comparing them to Star Trek's Pakleds, which is what I was doing.)
Also, as someone who too often found myself saying last season that I'd love to see Whittaker get to play the Doctor with a little more of an edge, I'm pleased that she does seem to be getting one. That moment where she makes it clear to the scorpion queen that, yeah, she's done asking nicely does qualify, in its own understated kind of way.
Interestingly, after managing to suspend disbelief last episode for all kinds of massively ridiculous things, in this one tiny little things kept tripping me a bit and distracting me much more than they should have. Like the Doctor referring to the Silurian gun, multiple times, as "alien." The Silurians are not alien to Earth!!! Also, Thomas Edison's American accent slipped every time he had to say the word "patent." It's weird, the things that I notice and get hung up on vs the things that I don't.
This entry was originally posted at https://astrogirl.dreamwidth.org/970702.html. Comment here or there, whichever you like.