Doctor Who Series 4, Episode 4
I know, I'm skipping Planet of the Ood, which I really loved -- it was an awesome episode and I will write about it at some point, hopefully. Until then, rusty-halo says it all here better than I could. Read her, she's great.
When I saw the preview for this episode at the end of last week's episode, I had one wish. I said: "God and/or RTD, you've given us three fantastic episodes in series 4. I've never loved Doctor Who as much as I'm loving it now. Every character has depth! As the Doctor and Donna confront moral dilemmas, we're seeing their flaws but also their virtues, and I love it. So please, please, PLEASE, finally, for once -- write Martha like this. Write Martha as a complex, relatable, flawed, real person. I know it can be done. You can do it for every other character. I don't want to hate Martha -- please just give me reason to like her. Please make her a human being instead of a walking bundle of amazing -- for once, let this character be anything but annoying. PLEASE."
Glad to know that's still a pipe dream.
Seriously, what is it about Martha? WHYYYYYYYYY can't they write her as an interesting, flawed, human character? Why does she have to be amazing, and nothing but amazing, and boring-ass amazing all the freaking time? Hey, have you heard? Martha's great! She's got no flaws! She never does anything wrong, she never makes any morally questionable decisions, she's always right and always smug and gosh, I just hate her to death, AGAIN. Seriously. We see the Doctor, and Rose, and Donna, and Jackie, and Mickey, and Jack, as flawed, troubled characters. They make mistakes, they're selfish, they screw the hell up, and I love them for it, because we see that even with their flaws and mistakes and selfish qualities, they are heroic and generous and giving and real. But not Martha. Martha...
-- works for a somewhat disturbing military group and appears to be getting off just a bit on the power -- but no! She's trying to change it from the inside, don't you understand?
-- has a fiance whose main qualities are "doctor, working in Africa" and "strong." Wow. What depth to that relationship. But no, we'll never get even a hint that this is anything but wonderful and wonderfuller, will we?
-- passive-aggressively tells Donna that being around the Doctor means the risk of getting burned. Not that it's his fault, of course! But her family was like totally tortured. Just keep it in mind, Donna. Oh, btw, she won't mention that she chose to travel with the Doctor again and again when it was perfectly clear that her mother was freaking out and that her life was in danger. Cause god forbid Martha ever feel any guilt or responsibility, justified or not, for any choice she's ever made in her life. Much better to give the Doctor a complex about how being around him destroys everyone, so he's ready to believe that companions will jump ship left and right.
See, there's all these hints that Martha could be interesting, could be complicated, could be a character just like every other character who faces moral dilemmas and has to make choices when there's no good answer. And EVERY TIME RTD et al completely shut it down to reiterate, once again, that Martha is amazing! Awesome! Just like the Doctor! Are you kidding me? The Doctor may be a 903 year old Time Lord on his ninth regeneration who travels in time and space in a magic blue box, but he is about 1,000 times more relatable and real and flawed and truly amazing than smug, perfect, thin as tissue Martha will ever be -- no matter how many times RTD assures us on the confidential that she's become a "moral compass." But how could she possibly become anything, RTD? A character has to change and grow to become something, and Martha's just gone from amazing to amazing, perfect to even more perfect. A character can't grow, can't become real, or a hero, unless they have something to learn and to overcome -- and that's one thing Martha will never do, because unlike every other character in DW, she's not allowed to ever have real flaws, or failings, so she can't have real virtues either. It's sad, in a way -- but mostly, it's infuriating, that every character goes on a journey and we get to invest in that, but Martha is just stuck, and we're stuck watching her -- do nothing.
Which is why, I suppose, rather than have Martha face anything like a moral dilemma that might cause actual character growth (oh no!), we have her once again captured by an external threat, like in TW's Reset, and this time actually rendered unconscious. Wow, talk about a statement on not having anything to do with a special guest star character! Although we will get to see evil clone Martha. Way to take advantage of FA's lack of affect, I guess.
So anyway. I didn't actually hate the rest of the episode, surprisingly enough. Let me tell you, the combination of Martha, Helen Raynor and the return of a "classic" Old Who villain was leaving me seriously dreading these episodes. But actually, this one was, well...not as bad as the Dalek episodes of series three. The thing is, I pretty much always dislike the first mid-season two-parter. It's like DW takes a dive into trite action-adventure and sci-fi cliches for some reason for two episodes every single series, before getting back to the good to great that makes up the rest of the series. Why, I do not know. But on the overall scale of the first two-parters, I'd put this somewhere between the Slitheen episodes of series one and the Cybermen episodes of series two, and far above the Dalek episodes of series three.
However, I have to note, that this episode reaffirms that Helen Raynor is an awful writer IMO, because so much of her plot depends on many characters being unbelievably stupid. For heaven's sake, she writes a story in which the main point is that ATMOS is a dangerous device linked to multiple deaths -- and then has everyone who knows that get into cars with the dangerous device active and unable to be turned off! From the journalist at the beginning, to UNIT, to the Doctor and Ross, to Wilf -- they all choose to get in cars with the evil GPS that can kill them at any moment! How dumb are they?!? How can Helen Raynor write a story with such an obvious flaw, and RTD approve it? It truly boggles me, and it makes me want to yell at the screen. Like that journalist at the beginning -- her whole story is about the danger of ATMOS! There is literally no suspense to her death -- you know what will happen to her from the moment she gets into the car, and I'm just left wondering why she doesn't know it as well. But then the Doctor, and Ross, and UNIT, and Wilf -- geez, you guys. Take a freaking bus or something. Buy an old car without ATMOS. DON'T GET IN THE CAR THAT WILL KILL YOU. Gimme a break.
But there was stuff I liked, I swear. I liked that the Doctor had such contempt for the military, even with his tendency to give orders -- anarchy in the UK, baby. But then he bonded with Ross over bad puns -- awwh. We like Ross indeed. I liked that Donna decided to visit home but not to permanently leave the Doctor, although I did think her allowing the Doctor to think she was leaving him was a bit too cruel of her, even given the teasing in their relationship. I liked that Donna told the Doctor to be careful -- no one, or at least no one since Rose, has ever seemed to worry that the Doctor is going to get hurt as he goes off to save the world yet again. The reunion between Donna and Wilf just got me -- a very nice moment, and I really felt Donna's disconnect as she returned to her family's home after all the horrors and wonders she's seen. I liked the Doctor's visit to the genius academy and his understanding, almost bonding, with Rattigan, and I got a big kick out of the Doctor flipping himself to the Sontaran ship, flipping back, and using the tennis racket against the Sontaran general. And I loved the Doctor outthinking the evil GPS system (although he was dumb to get in the car twice to begin with), and I really loved the Doctor's visit to Casa Donna. The Doctor and Wilf were nice, and balanced out yet another mother who hates the Doctor for all the danger he brings -- hey, wouldn't it be nice, for once, if someone pointed out that the danger already exists and the Doctor is trying to stop it? No? Easier to do the mom hates the Doctor cliche? Okay then.
Surprisingly enough, I ended up enjoying the Sontarans. For an old-school DW alien, they weren't bad -- using Rattigan as a window into their world was a good move, because for all his genius he's just another creepy teen who wants to belong to something and doesn't care about anyone else. I wonder if there's something in Rattigan to be saved, or if he's a completely lost cause? And I have to admit, when the Sontaran general was confronting the two UNIT soldiers, I was more on his side, mostly because the two soldiers were so stupid. The one guys sends 5 different messages and doesn't notice that he's not getting a response, and the other guy appears ready to go diving in green gloop for no particular reason. Sigh. If those two soldiers ever saw a low-budget sci-fi film, they might have done better. And let's not even mention Martha falling into the Sontaran trap so very easily. Thank you Helen Raynor, queen of cliches! And then the "big" cliffhanger -- fairly lame, it has to be said. Breaking the car window to free Wilf rather than standing in the street angsting over the billows of smoke might just be a good idea there, Doctor. Although it was a good thought to have Wilf be the one in danger, since man, who doesn't love Wilf? Wilf, save Wilf!
It's weird, having written this out, I feel as if my positive feelings for the episode are almost unearned, because there is so much wrong with it. Yet, it has moments with the Doctor and Donna and Wilf that I really love, and I guess as long as I can love the Doctor and believe in his characterization, then I can mostly go with the episode -- minus the Martha writing, which I have never and will never understand. But my hopes are not high for next week. At least there will be more Doctor and Donna and Wilf, and they really do make it all better for me.
When I saw the preview for this episode at the end of last week's episode, I had one wish. I said: "God and/or RTD, you've given us three fantastic episodes in series 4. I've never loved Doctor Who as much as I'm loving it now. Every character has depth! As the Doctor and Donna confront moral dilemmas, we're seeing their flaws but also their virtues, and I love it. So please, please, PLEASE, finally, for once -- write Martha like this. Write Martha as a complex, relatable, flawed, real person. I know it can be done. You can do it for every other character. I don't want to hate Martha -- please just give me reason to like her. Please make her a human being instead of a walking bundle of amazing -- for once, let this character be anything but annoying. PLEASE."
Glad to know that's still a pipe dream.
Seriously, what is it about Martha? WHYYYYYYYYY can't they write her as an interesting, flawed, human character? Why does she have to be amazing, and nothing but amazing, and boring-ass amazing all the freaking time? Hey, have you heard? Martha's great! She's got no flaws! She never does anything wrong, she never makes any morally questionable decisions, she's always right and always smug and gosh, I just hate her to death, AGAIN. Seriously. We see the Doctor, and Rose, and Donna, and Jackie, and Mickey, and Jack, as flawed, troubled characters. They make mistakes, they're selfish, they screw the hell up, and I love them for it, because we see that even with their flaws and mistakes and selfish qualities, they are heroic and generous and giving and real. But not Martha. Martha...
-- works for a somewhat disturbing military group and appears to be getting off just a bit on the power -- but no! She's trying to change it from the inside, don't you understand?
-- has a fiance whose main qualities are "doctor, working in Africa" and "strong." Wow. What depth to that relationship. But no, we'll never get even a hint that this is anything but wonderful and wonderfuller, will we?
-- passive-aggressively tells Donna that being around the Doctor means the risk of getting burned. Not that it's his fault, of course! But her family was like totally tortured. Just keep it in mind, Donna. Oh, btw, she won't mention that she chose to travel with the Doctor again and again when it was perfectly clear that her mother was freaking out and that her life was in danger. Cause god forbid Martha ever feel any guilt or responsibility, justified or not, for any choice she's ever made in her life. Much better to give the Doctor a complex about how being around him destroys everyone, so he's ready to believe that companions will jump ship left and right.
See, there's all these hints that Martha could be interesting, could be complicated, could be a character just like every other character who faces moral dilemmas and has to make choices when there's no good answer. And EVERY TIME RTD et al completely shut it down to reiterate, once again, that Martha is amazing! Awesome! Just like the Doctor! Are you kidding me? The Doctor may be a 903 year old Time Lord on his ninth regeneration who travels in time and space in a magic blue box, but he is about 1,000 times more relatable and real and flawed and truly amazing than smug, perfect, thin as tissue Martha will ever be -- no matter how many times RTD assures us on the confidential that she's become a "moral compass." But how could she possibly become anything, RTD? A character has to change and grow to become something, and Martha's just gone from amazing to amazing, perfect to even more perfect. A character can't grow, can't become real, or a hero, unless they have something to learn and to overcome -- and that's one thing Martha will never do, because unlike every other character in DW, she's not allowed to ever have real flaws, or failings, so she can't have real virtues either. It's sad, in a way -- but mostly, it's infuriating, that every character goes on a journey and we get to invest in that, but Martha is just stuck, and we're stuck watching her -- do nothing.
Which is why, I suppose, rather than have Martha face anything like a moral dilemma that might cause actual character growth (oh no!), we have her once again captured by an external threat, like in TW's Reset, and this time actually rendered unconscious. Wow, talk about a statement on not having anything to do with a special guest star character! Although we will get to see evil clone Martha. Way to take advantage of FA's lack of affect, I guess.
So anyway. I didn't actually hate the rest of the episode, surprisingly enough. Let me tell you, the combination of Martha, Helen Raynor and the return of a "classic" Old Who villain was leaving me seriously dreading these episodes. But actually, this one was, well...not as bad as the Dalek episodes of series three. The thing is, I pretty much always dislike the first mid-season two-parter. It's like DW takes a dive into trite action-adventure and sci-fi cliches for some reason for two episodes every single series, before getting back to the good to great that makes up the rest of the series. Why, I do not know. But on the overall scale of the first two-parters, I'd put this somewhere between the Slitheen episodes of series one and the Cybermen episodes of series two, and far above the Dalek episodes of series three.
However, I have to note, that this episode reaffirms that Helen Raynor is an awful writer IMO, because so much of her plot depends on many characters being unbelievably stupid. For heaven's sake, she writes a story in which the main point is that ATMOS is a dangerous device linked to multiple deaths -- and then has everyone who knows that get into cars with the dangerous device active and unable to be turned off! From the journalist at the beginning, to UNIT, to the Doctor and Ross, to Wilf -- they all choose to get in cars with the evil GPS that can kill them at any moment! How dumb are they?!? How can Helen Raynor write a story with such an obvious flaw, and RTD approve it? It truly boggles me, and it makes me want to yell at the screen. Like that journalist at the beginning -- her whole story is about the danger of ATMOS! There is literally no suspense to her death -- you know what will happen to her from the moment she gets into the car, and I'm just left wondering why she doesn't know it as well. But then the Doctor, and Ross, and UNIT, and Wilf -- geez, you guys. Take a freaking bus or something. Buy an old car without ATMOS. DON'T GET IN THE CAR THAT WILL KILL YOU. Gimme a break.
But there was stuff I liked, I swear. I liked that the Doctor had such contempt for the military, even with his tendency to give orders -- anarchy in the UK, baby. But then he bonded with Ross over bad puns -- awwh. We like Ross indeed. I liked that Donna decided to visit home but not to permanently leave the Doctor, although I did think her allowing the Doctor to think she was leaving him was a bit too cruel of her, even given the teasing in their relationship. I liked that Donna told the Doctor to be careful -- no one, or at least no one since Rose, has ever seemed to worry that the Doctor is going to get hurt as he goes off to save the world yet again. The reunion between Donna and Wilf just got me -- a very nice moment, and I really felt Donna's disconnect as she returned to her family's home after all the horrors and wonders she's seen. I liked the Doctor's visit to the genius academy and his understanding, almost bonding, with Rattigan, and I got a big kick out of the Doctor flipping himself to the Sontaran ship, flipping back, and using the tennis racket against the Sontaran general. And I loved the Doctor outthinking the evil GPS system (although he was dumb to get in the car twice to begin with), and I really loved the Doctor's visit to Casa Donna. The Doctor and Wilf were nice, and balanced out yet another mother who hates the Doctor for all the danger he brings -- hey, wouldn't it be nice, for once, if someone pointed out that the danger already exists and the Doctor is trying to stop it? No? Easier to do the mom hates the Doctor cliche? Okay then.
Surprisingly enough, I ended up enjoying the Sontarans. For an old-school DW alien, they weren't bad -- using Rattigan as a window into their world was a good move, because for all his genius he's just another creepy teen who wants to belong to something and doesn't care about anyone else. I wonder if there's something in Rattigan to be saved, or if he's a completely lost cause? And I have to admit, when the Sontaran general was confronting the two UNIT soldiers, I was more on his side, mostly because the two soldiers were so stupid. The one guys sends 5 different messages and doesn't notice that he's not getting a response, and the other guy appears ready to go diving in green gloop for no particular reason. Sigh. If those two soldiers ever saw a low-budget sci-fi film, they might have done better. And let's not even mention Martha falling into the Sontaran trap so very easily. Thank you Helen Raynor, queen of cliches! And then the "big" cliffhanger -- fairly lame, it has to be said. Breaking the car window to free Wilf rather than standing in the street angsting over the billows of smoke might just be a good idea there, Doctor. Although it was a good thought to have Wilf be the one in danger, since man, who doesn't love Wilf? Wilf, save Wilf!
It's weird, having written this out, I feel as if my positive feelings for the episode are almost unearned, because there is so much wrong with it. Yet, it has moments with the Doctor and Donna and Wilf that I really love, and I guess as long as I can love the Doctor and believe in his characterization, then I can mostly go with the episode -- minus the Martha writing, which I have never and will never understand. But my hopes are not high for next week. At least there will be more Doctor and Donna and Wilf, and they really do make it all better for me.