Review of A Time of Angels
The good news? The show is improving for me.
The bad news? It's not improving fast or consistently enough.
For once, I'd like to start with the good things. There were things in the episode that made me laugh, and most of them had to do with River. I didn't like her that much last time, but this time I really enjoyed her as a character. Her interaction with Amy was gorgeous. She had cheek and spunk, not just with the Doctor but with all men. And most importantly, she had Information with a capital I. Okay, not much, but enough to explain some of my outstanding questions about last time, and if each subsequent appearance gives us more about the last time, I'm okay with that. I even enjoyed the mysterious things about her because I think I've accepted that she's meant to be mysterious.
The idea of hallucinogenic lipstick as her calling card was fascinating and, since she touched Ten last time when she whispered his name in his ear, it makes me wonder whether she actually did die then or if the ending was an hallucination on his part and it was solved some other way. THAT, my friends, could be a very interesting conundrum indeed! (Okay, we all know it probably wasn't, but consider the implications...)
Another thing I enjoyed seeing with River was the way she interacted with all of the other men she encountered (making it an absolute not-coincidence that she and Amy are the only two females in the cast, unless the Angels are female, which is almost certainly up for debate). Formerly I'd found her tone irritating, smug and arrogant as the leader of the expedition to the Library. Here it becomes obvious that her manner is what leads people to PUT her in charge, which for some reason I can accept more easily. Her interaction with Alistair cast a gorgeous tone on the beginning of the episode, which had otherwise reminded me more of the start of Planet of the Dead, both with the theft and the museum (as well as the museum in Dalek). I like the situation with Octavian and her position being under his thumb but still not willing to show him any sort of respect.
In fact, while we're on the subject, just like the other episodes, I loved the supporting cast (of which I am leaving River out because really she's a main cast). I loved Bob, Angelo and Christian, although Bob was the most three-dimensional. His fear was beautifully depicted. I'm also intrigued by the repeated use of the name Angelo, as Jeff had that surname, as did his mother (obviously). Surely there's something going on there.
You may have noticed earlier that I didn't comment on River's interaction with the Doctor. If you're unhappy with criticism of Eleven/Matt, I suggest you skip the rest of this paragraph entirely and the next one (in fact, perhaps even the rest of this review...) because I have to blame him and the writing of his character for the reason I didn't enjoy the dialogue in the early parts of the episode. Last time, with Ten, his stammerings and stutterings in response to River were understandable because he didn't know. He didn't know her and he didn't know what was coming. I don't believe he has the same excuse now.
It's clear he knows that he should, nay, MUST respond to her demands now. River's own reaction makes that perfectly abundant, but so does the Doctor's. He doesn't even take a second to think before putting in the co-ordinates she gives him and he comes running, quite literally. I actually don't have a problem with that. Many of the Doctor's adventures exist as a result of him being summoned or called, so River isn't any different. But once he's saved her, and although he clearly remembers what it was like last time, he's reduced to dull and infantile attempts at comebacks. "Well, it's boring now, isn't it?" "You call that flying the TARDIS?" "Time is not the boss of me." And what's worse he prompts it in Amy as well "Are we there yet?" "Are you still Mr Grumpy Face today?" "Ohh, Doctor you 'soniced' her." I get that Moff is trying to set up a sibling-style relationship between them, and in a sense it's working, but does it have to be so childish? The Doctor is still sulking, just like he was in The Beast Below, now because someone is showing him up. I don't know if I'm right, but I could imagine Nine establishing his authority so that River gave him the space to be in charge on his own ship, and Ten would deliberately leave something undone (or undo something) so that he would have a chance to turn the tables. Eleven drops into a chair and - I'm sorry - sulks!
(Oh, and one HUGE whine that shows I still haven't got over the loss of Donna. Why did River's entry into the TARDIS have to be exactly the same as the way Donna landed on top of the Doctor after he rescued her from the taxi? The Confidential says someone "just has the idea and they thought it was great" or something similar. Did no one at all go "Hold on, guys, we really have done this before and it's heading towards plagiarism now." I would have been much happier if he had grabbed her and pulled her inside without her falling on top of him in a way that just screamed "Donna!".)
Having read a number of LJ entries about this over the past week, I've been thinking about the relationship between Eleven and River, and my conclusion is that, in the early part of the episode, it's like a teacher and a pupil. Except that this pupil is always trying to one-up the teacher, such as when he all but accuses her of keeping the book about the Angels from him for this long. It's only when Amy gets trapped and neither of them can free her that things begin to even out. That leads to the moment of them both realising that they haven't picked up on the problem of one-headed statues.
And here we hit my recurring whine about the Doctor not noticing things. Why does it take him until they're on level four (or thereabouts) of the Maze of the Dead before they twig that these statues are cranially challenged. Perhaps it was for plot reasons - they needed to get far enough in that they couldn't just run out. But I'm sure there would be other ways. Couldn't a conveniently inconvenient landslide have caused that? After all, they had just blown up an old temple with dynamite. Further collapses would be almost inevitable (and I could also ask why, when they got to the cave where the Byzantium has crashed, they couldn't cause minor landslides (hello, sonic screwdriver!) that would at least have kept the angels busy for a while). But rather than anyone spotting the obvious missing heads as soon as I feel they should have, they get all the way in and then comes the inevitable "whoops!" moment. The only good thing this moment had for it was putting the Doctor and River on level pegging (or actually pushing the Doctor ever so slightly ahead). I just hope it continues, but preferably with him being rather quicker to pick up the small details.
I'm rather surprised that River would seem so worried when it was clear that Angel Bob was prompting the Doctor to get mad, considering that's usually when he's sharpest. Still, perhaps her future Doctor doesn't react so well under stress, which doesn't bode well for the Universe, frankly. Then again, Ten did seem to be frozen with rage in the Library, at least after Donna got turned into the node, so perhaps that's the way Moff likes drawing the Doctor. That said, he was his usual 'righteous rage' self by the end of Forest of the Dead when Anita is killed, so the suggestion that anger was incapacitating didn't necessarily ring true for Ten. Unfortunately it seems to for Eleven, as we saw in The Beast Below with his "No human has anything to say to me today" moment. Incidentally, when I wrote my review of that episode, I hadn't picked up on the rumour that it was written for Ten. If it was, can I say that, if it had been left as it was, it would have been grossly OOC for him? In fact, I'd suggest DT might have tried to suggest a few improvements (unless Donna had been his companion, as she's the only person who would naturally call him on something like that. Even then, though, I couldn't imagine him or any other Doctor sulking).
As for our other main character, I liked Amy better in this episode. I think I prefer her in the role of sidekick instead of the heroic 'saving the day' role that she's had every single episode so far (with the possible exception of The Eleventh Hour). She does the rather 'damsel in distress' piece quite well and has the smarts to work out how to save herself, which is a good thing. In this episode, because bad things were happening to Amy that suggest she's actually in danger, I could temporarily forget my questions, which is a good thing. Oh, and it's clear that Moff doesn't like single companions. Those who love Amy should perhaps feel that she's getting rather short-changed. We had Rory (and Jeff) in The Eleventh Hour, Liz 10 in The Beast Below, Winston Churchill in Victory of the Daleks and now River in this. This may well be the reason I feel like we haven't learned enough about Amy for me to like her as well as I have with other companions - because she's always sharing her screen time.
Another very good thing was the way Amy and River got on. I liked their sisterly interaction (with River as the older sister, natch) and the way Amy shuttles between River and the Doctor to ask one about the other. It works a LOT better to inform the readers than Doctor and River on their own would be. That can come later when they know more about each other - and that will be an awesome episode, no matter who the Doctor is! River's point about having pictures of ALL the various Doctors makes me wonder if she met Nine and how he reacted to her, particularly if Rose was still around. Then again, if that were the case, how could Ten have no memory of her if she had met the other nine Doctors? Or did I misunderstand what River was saying? Did the later Doctor perhaps give River the pictures? Or, as one theory I've read has it, IS she a future incarnation Doctor? Because, against all my expectations, I actually wouldn't have a problem with that.
As with any good multi-parters, there are questions I know or hope will be answered next time, most particularly the change to the modus operandii of the Weeping Angels. But more immediately, why is the Doctor suddenly saluting, and how does Amy know he doesn't like being called 'Sir'? Hmm...
The bad news? It's not improving fast or consistently enough.
For once, I'd like to start with the good things. There were things in the episode that made me laugh, and most of them had to do with River. I didn't like her that much last time, but this time I really enjoyed her as a character. Her interaction with Amy was gorgeous. She had cheek and spunk, not just with the Doctor but with all men. And most importantly, she had Information with a capital I. Okay, not much, but enough to explain some of my outstanding questions about last time, and if each subsequent appearance gives us more about the last time, I'm okay with that. I even enjoyed the mysterious things about her because I think I've accepted that she's meant to be mysterious.
The idea of hallucinogenic lipstick as her calling card was fascinating and, since she touched Ten last time when she whispered his name in his ear, it makes me wonder whether she actually did die then or if the ending was an hallucination on his part and it was solved some other way. THAT, my friends, could be a very interesting conundrum indeed! (Okay, we all know it probably wasn't, but consider the implications...)
Another thing I enjoyed seeing with River was the way she interacted with all of the other men she encountered (making it an absolute not-coincidence that she and Amy are the only two females in the cast, unless the Angels are female, which is almost certainly up for debate). Formerly I'd found her tone irritating, smug and arrogant as the leader of the expedition to the Library. Here it becomes obvious that her manner is what leads people to PUT her in charge, which for some reason I can accept more easily. Her interaction with Alistair cast a gorgeous tone on the beginning of the episode, which had otherwise reminded me more of the start of Planet of the Dead, both with the theft and the museum (as well as the museum in Dalek). I like the situation with Octavian and her position being under his thumb but still not willing to show him any sort of respect.
In fact, while we're on the subject, just like the other episodes, I loved the supporting cast (of which I am leaving River out because really she's a main cast). I loved Bob, Angelo and Christian, although Bob was the most three-dimensional. His fear was beautifully depicted. I'm also intrigued by the repeated use of the name Angelo, as Jeff had that surname, as did his mother (obviously). Surely there's something going on there.
You may have noticed earlier that I didn't comment on River's interaction with the Doctor. If you're unhappy with criticism of Eleven/Matt, I suggest you skip the rest of this paragraph entirely and the next one (in fact, perhaps even the rest of this review...) because I have to blame him and the writing of his character for the reason I didn't enjoy the dialogue in the early parts of the episode. Last time, with Ten, his stammerings and stutterings in response to River were understandable because he didn't know. He didn't know her and he didn't know what was coming. I don't believe he has the same excuse now.
It's clear he knows that he should, nay, MUST respond to her demands now. River's own reaction makes that perfectly abundant, but so does the Doctor's. He doesn't even take a second to think before putting in the co-ordinates she gives him and he comes running, quite literally. I actually don't have a problem with that. Many of the Doctor's adventures exist as a result of him being summoned or called, so River isn't any different. But once he's saved her, and although he clearly remembers what it was like last time, he's reduced to dull and infantile attempts at comebacks. "Well, it's boring now, isn't it?" "You call that flying the TARDIS?" "Time is not the boss of me." And what's worse he prompts it in Amy as well "Are we there yet?" "Are you still Mr Grumpy Face today?" "Ohh, Doctor you 'soniced' her." I get that Moff is trying to set up a sibling-style relationship between them, and in a sense it's working, but does it have to be so childish? The Doctor is still sulking, just like he was in The Beast Below, now because someone is showing him up. I don't know if I'm right, but I could imagine Nine establishing his authority so that River gave him the space to be in charge on his own ship, and Ten would deliberately leave something undone (or undo something) so that he would have a chance to turn the tables. Eleven drops into a chair and - I'm sorry - sulks!
(Oh, and one HUGE whine that shows I still haven't got over the loss of Donna. Why did River's entry into the TARDIS have to be exactly the same as the way Donna landed on top of the Doctor after he rescued her from the taxi? The Confidential says someone "just has the idea and they thought it was great" or something similar. Did no one at all go "Hold on, guys, we really have done this before and it's heading towards plagiarism now." I would have been much happier if he had grabbed her and pulled her inside without her falling on top of him in a way that just screamed "Donna!".)
Having read a number of LJ entries about this over the past week, I've been thinking about the relationship between Eleven and River, and my conclusion is that, in the early part of the episode, it's like a teacher and a pupil. Except that this pupil is always trying to one-up the teacher, such as when he all but accuses her of keeping the book about the Angels from him for this long. It's only when Amy gets trapped and neither of them can free her that things begin to even out. That leads to the moment of them both realising that they haven't picked up on the problem of one-headed statues.
And here we hit my recurring whine about the Doctor not noticing things. Why does it take him until they're on level four (or thereabouts) of the Maze of the Dead before they twig that these statues are cranially challenged. Perhaps it was for plot reasons - they needed to get far enough in that they couldn't just run out. But I'm sure there would be other ways. Couldn't a conveniently inconvenient landslide have caused that? After all, they had just blown up an old temple with dynamite. Further collapses would be almost inevitable (and I could also ask why, when they got to the cave where the Byzantium has crashed, they couldn't cause minor landslides (hello, sonic screwdriver!) that would at least have kept the angels busy for a while). But rather than anyone spotting the obvious missing heads as soon as I feel they should have, they get all the way in and then comes the inevitable "whoops!" moment. The only good thing this moment had for it was putting the Doctor and River on level pegging (or actually pushing the Doctor ever so slightly ahead). I just hope it continues, but preferably with him being rather quicker to pick up the small details.
I'm rather surprised that River would seem so worried when it was clear that Angel Bob was prompting the Doctor to get mad, considering that's usually when he's sharpest. Still, perhaps her future Doctor doesn't react so well under stress, which doesn't bode well for the Universe, frankly. Then again, Ten did seem to be frozen with rage in the Library, at least after Donna got turned into the node, so perhaps that's the way Moff likes drawing the Doctor. That said, he was his usual 'righteous rage' self by the end of Forest of the Dead when Anita is killed, so the suggestion that anger was incapacitating didn't necessarily ring true for Ten. Unfortunately it seems to for Eleven, as we saw in The Beast Below with his "No human has anything to say to me today" moment. Incidentally, when I wrote my review of that episode, I hadn't picked up on the rumour that it was written for Ten. If it was, can I say that, if it had been left as it was, it would have been grossly OOC for him? In fact, I'd suggest DT might have tried to suggest a few improvements (unless Donna had been his companion, as she's the only person who would naturally call him on something like that. Even then, though, I couldn't imagine him or any other Doctor sulking).
As for our other main character, I liked Amy better in this episode. I think I prefer her in the role of sidekick instead of the heroic 'saving the day' role that she's had every single episode so far (with the possible exception of The Eleventh Hour). She does the rather 'damsel in distress' piece quite well and has the smarts to work out how to save herself, which is a good thing. In this episode, because bad things were happening to Amy that suggest she's actually in danger, I could temporarily forget my questions, which is a good thing. Oh, and it's clear that Moff doesn't like single companions. Those who love Amy should perhaps feel that she's getting rather short-changed. We had Rory (and Jeff) in The Eleventh Hour, Liz 10 in The Beast Below, Winston Churchill in Victory of the Daleks and now River in this. This may well be the reason I feel like we haven't learned enough about Amy for me to like her as well as I have with other companions - because she's always sharing her screen time.
Another very good thing was the way Amy and River got on. I liked their sisterly interaction (with River as the older sister, natch) and the way Amy shuttles between River and the Doctor to ask one about the other. It works a LOT better to inform the readers than Doctor and River on their own would be. That can come later when they know more about each other - and that will be an awesome episode, no matter who the Doctor is! River's point about having pictures of ALL the various Doctors makes me wonder if she met Nine and how he reacted to her, particularly if Rose was still around. Then again, if that were the case, how could Ten have no memory of her if she had met the other nine Doctors? Or did I misunderstand what River was saying? Did the later Doctor perhaps give River the pictures? Or, as one theory I've read has it, IS she a future incarnation Doctor? Because, against all my expectations, I actually wouldn't have a problem with that.
As with any good multi-parters, there are questions I know or hope will be answered next time, most particularly the change to the modus operandii of the Weeping Angels. But more immediately, why is the Doctor suddenly saluting, and how does Amy know he doesn't like being called 'Sir'? Hmm...