Classic!Who s7-Doctor Who and the Silurians
Hello, there! Well, once I was done with my rewatch of s1 of new!Who I drifted back to classics and the episode I'd started back in December already, so you get a review now that I have a minute and totally don't have 128 emails sitting in my inbox, shhh. This was a nice episode, and all Silurians aren't as sexy as Vastra, but never mind that. XD In some ways the plot is shockingly similar to the new!Who version with the Hungry Earth/Cold Blood two-parter, with the dormant Silurians coming awake, the peaceful leader vs. the fighty ones who despised humans and went around calling them apes (already :D), the humans choosing the very worst place to put a factory on top of, the Doctor playing peacemaker and trying to get Silurians and humans to just get on with it and share the bloody planet already, the "We were here first! Your claim is irrelevant!" argument and I'll end it there, because well, it ends there. That's enough parallels already.
Peaceful leader vs. rebel who wants their species to prevail rather than negotiate is usually a thing in classic!Who; sadly, peaceful leader got killed off, which has been known to happen. There was also a nice angsty moment in which both the Doctor and the peaceful Silurian leader were being considered as traitors by their respective sides-though the Doctor always had Liz and the Brig at his back, so he was fine.
I liked the fact that the key to solve one of the main plot points, aka the plague the Silurians had caused amongst the humans, was actually lab stuff with the Doctor and Liz just being very brainy and good with microscopes, and there was fearless focus on that with close shots of the little cells squirming under the microscope. Guns-0, microscopes and the intellect to use them-425. Also, I want it noted that the Doctor found the correct formula, was abducted like the main character he is, and Liz picked up the pieces from his notes and saved the species because Liz Shaw should rule the world. Also, Liz Shaw wore a short skirt and has damn nice legs to go with the sharp tongue and big brain of epic. ♥ And I'm still marrying her, btw.
At a few points there was a creature that looked a lot more like a dinosaur than a Silurian; I do not know what it was doing there. Perhaps it was clearer in the first two parts, the ones I saw in December, and I'm just being a goldfish. *shrugs* Whatever; there was a dinosaur.
There was also the Third Doctor in a tee-shirt, running his hand through his hair. The feel of it was startlingly modern; this is the same Doctor we saw naked in the shower in his first episode. Are people seriously saying the classic Doctors are old and boring? Get me popcorn to throw at them, and also Delgado!Master while I'm at it with the sexy. ;)
The end seemed to be foreshadowing interesting angst, with the Doctor wanting to gradually prepare the Silurians' second awakening and have them share the Earth with the humans because the Doctor's plans get carried out anyway-until the Brigadier waited until he was away and then blew everything up to seal the Silurian base for good. (Oh, more foreshadowing btw, the Silurians mentioning they'd wake up in 50 years-they got just a bit early in new!Who.) Three's face was something intense and I'm foreseeing the Brig won't get away with this that easily, so the conflict in the team should be interesting. It was also good to see Liz kind of stuck in the middle, understanding UNIT and the government's reasons and that the Brig had orders, but being visibly saddened along the Doctor.
And there are fun lines:
Lawrence: You're not proposing to dismantle a piece of equipment worth 15 million pounds with a screwdriver?
Three: Well, it's not worth 15 million pins if it doesn't work, is it?
Doctor Meredith: I take it you're yet another member of the UNIT team?
Three: Yes. Depressing, isn't it.
Three [later]: Doctor Meredith, as an associate of UNIT, I think you will find that I have the authority to do precisely as I please.
The Brig argues with Three:
Three: You're not exactly a little Sherlock Holmes yourself, are you?
Brig [later]: Come on, Doctor Watson.
The Brig argues with Liz:
Liz: Have you never heard of female emancipation?
Soldiers get it from the Doctor:
Three: That's typical of the military mind, isn't it? Present them with a new problem, and they start shooting at it.
The Brig does not hold a grudge:
Brig: The Doctor's qualified to do almost everything.
And the Doctor gives no shits about human authorities:
Brig: This is the Permanent Under-Secretary.
Three: Yes, well, I've got no time to chat to under-secretaries, permanent or otherwise.
Under-Secretary: May I ask who you are?
Three: You may ask.
Peaceful leader vs. rebel who wants their species to prevail rather than negotiate is usually a thing in classic!Who; sadly, peaceful leader got killed off, which has been known to happen. There was also a nice angsty moment in which both the Doctor and the peaceful Silurian leader were being considered as traitors by their respective sides-though the Doctor always had Liz and the Brig at his back, so he was fine.
I liked the fact that the key to solve one of the main plot points, aka the plague the Silurians had caused amongst the humans, was actually lab stuff with the Doctor and Liz just being very brainy and good with microscopes, and there was fearless focus on that with close shots of the little cells squirming under the microscope. Guns-0, microscopes and the intellect to use them-425. Also, I want it noted that the Doctor found the correct formula, was abducted like the main character he is, and Liz picked up the pieces from his notes and saved the species because Liz Shaw should rule the world. Also, Liz Shaw wore a short skirt and has damn nice legs to go with the sharp tongue and big brain of epic. ♥ And I'm still marrying her, btw.
At a few points there was a creature that looked a lot more like a dinosaur than a Silurian; I do not know what it was doing there. Perhaps it was clearer in the first two parts, the ones I saw in December, and I'm just being a goldfish. *shrugs* Whatever; there was a dinosaur.
There was also the Third Doctor in a tee-shirt, running his hand through his hair. The feel of it was startlingly modern; this is the same Doctor we saw naked in the shower in his first episode. Are people seriously saying the classic Doctors are old and boring? Get me popcorn to throw at them, and also Delgado!Master while I'm at it with the sexy. ;)
The end seemed to be foreshadowing interesting angst, with the Doctor wanting to gradually prepare the Silurians' second awakening and have them share the Earth with the humans because the Doctor's plans get carried out anyway-until the Brigadier waited until he was away and then blew everything up to seal the Silurian base for good. (Oh, more foreshadowing btw, the Silurians mentioning they'd wake up in 50 years-they got just a bit early in new!Who.) Three's face was something intense and I'm foreseeing the Brig won't get away with this that easily, so the conflict in the team should be interesting. It was also good to see Liz kind of stuck in the middle, understanding UNIT and the government's reasons and that the Brig had orders, but being visibly saddened along the Doctor.
And there are fun lines:
Lawrence: You're not proposing to dismantle a piece of equipment worth 15 million pounds with a screwdriver?
Three: Well, it's not worth 15 million pins if it doesn't work, is it?
Doctor Meredith: I take it you're yet another member of the UNIT team?
Three: Yes. Depressing, isn't it.
Three [later]: Doctor Meredith, as an associate of UNIT, I think you will find that I have the authority to do precisely as I please.
The Brig argues with Three:
Three: You're not exactly a little Sherlock Holmes yourself, are you?
Brig [later]: Come on, Doctor Watson.
The Brig argues with Liz:
Liz: Have you never heard of female emancipation?
Soldiers get it from the Doctor:
Three: That's typical of the military mind, isn't it? Present them with a new problem, and they start shooting at it.
The Brig does not hold a grudge:
Brig: The Doctor's qualified to do almost everything.
And the Doctor gives no shits about human authorities:
Brig: This is the Permanent Under-Secretary.
Three: Yes, well, I've got no time to chat to under-secretaries, permanent or otherwise.
Under-Secretary: May I ask who you are?
Three: You may ask.