The Martha-Arc
I didn't get around to watching A Day in the Death until last night, and everyone's already been saturated with reviews, so I won't bother looking at this episode on its own: instead, I wanted to say something about the way that episodes 2x06, 2x07 and 2x08 worked together.
Or, rather, I want to talk about the ways in which these three episodes do NOT work together like they should. Firstly, I will say that I thought both Reset and A Day in the Death were good episodes in themselves. Dead Man Walking was not so good (I was probably too generous in giving it 6/10 originally), but I'm a forgiving sort. I understand that if my tastes run to cheesy sci-fi and fantasy, there is going to be the occasional dud, and in general, these provide excellent fodder for sporking and good times. And besides, Dead Man Walking did have some lovely redeeming character moments.
If these had been three stand-alone episodes, without the suggestion that they should be linked by the Martha-factor, I would be pretty satisfied right now. But they were supposed to be linked into some kind of story-arc, and that leaves me feeling profoundly unsatisfied. As scarlettgirl points out, Martha's final two episodes seem to be a hugely wasted opportunity. Her role was purely functional, and there was no real character development there. I'm not saying that we needed something huge, but it would have worked better if there had been some indication that Martha was taking something with her from her time at Torchwood that she didn't have before. Maybe if she'd bonded with Jack a bit more, beyond that conversation in Reset, maybe that kiss at the end (which I'm not opposed to in and of itself) wouldn't have seemed so free of chemistry. And I didn't even think it was possible for John Barrowman to do chemistry-free kisses. Plus, it would have been nice if she'd given him (or Ianto) a UNIT beret when she left. ;) Alternatively (and maybe more appropriately) they could have shown that what happened with Owen affects her in some way and causes some sort of change in her outlook, whether that be big or small.
The problem is, I think, that they tried to sustain a story arc using three different writers, none of whom seemed to communicate with each other. It's clear that Matt Jones's interests lie in Satanistic stuff, which didn't gel well with Joseph Lidster's more subtle and character-driven exploration of death. Meanwhile, the plot of Reset was just too disconnected from the other two. Now, I'm not involved in the television industry at all, and I know that when you're not part of it, there can be all sorts of complications that one doesn't see as an outsider. But from my position as an outsider, it seems to me that there would be some rather obvious ways in which the three episodes could have been more coherent. Firstly, I would have drawn some sort of connection between Prof. Aaron Copely of the Pharm and the Richard Briers character whose name I cannot recall right now. Maybe Briers-guy was funding the Pharm, maybe his energy-thingie had something to do with it; there are heaps of possibilities. Dead Man Walking could have provided a connection between the two, although that would have involved a radically different plot (which would have been a good thing!) though I know they'd have to deal with the consequences of using the Risen Mitten too (maybe Owen's undeath could have had something to do with using the Risen Mitten in conjunction with an engery surge from the energy-thingie-- or maybe that's a bad idea, but the fact is, they could have thought of something).
As it is, the three episodes do not form a coherent whole, and that leaves me feeling a little dissatisfied even after what was a relatively good episode. Those episodes need more unity, and Martha needed to be an integral part of that unity. I guess I'm just sad that they had a great opportunity for an excellent story arc, but overall, it just doesn't work nearly as well as it could have.
Oh well, bring on next week! :)
Or, rather, I want to talk about the ways in which these three episodes do NOT work together like they should. Firstly, I will say that I thought both Reset and A Day in the Death were good episodes in themselves. Dead Man Walking was not so good (I was probably too generous in giving it 6/10 originally), but I'm a forgiving sort. I understand that if my tastes run to cheesy sci-fi and fantasy, there is going to be the occasional dud, and in general, these provide excellent fodder for sporking and good times. And besides, Dead Man Walking did have some lovely redeeming character moments.
If these had been three stand-alone episodes, without the suggestion that they should be linked by the Martha-factor, I would be pretty satisfied right now. But they were supposed to be linked into some kind of story-arc, and that leaves me feeling profoundly unsatisfied. As scarlettgirl points out, Martha's final two episodes seem to be a hugely wasted opportunity. Her role was purely functional, and there was no real character development there. I'm not saying that we needed something huge, but it would have worked better if there had been some indication that Martha was taking something with her from her time at Torchwood that she didn't have before. Maybe if she'd bonded with Jack a bit more, beyond that conversation in Reset, maybe that kiss at the end (which I'm not opposed to in and of itself) wouldn't have seemed so free of chemistry. And I didn't even think it was possible for John Barrowman to do chemistry-free kisses. Plus, it would have been nice if she'd given him (or Ianto) a UNIT beret when she left. ;) Alternatively (and maybe more appropriately) they could have shown that what happened with Owen affects her in some way and causes some sort of change in her outlook, whether that be big or small.
The problem is, I think, that they tried to sustain a story arc using three different writers, none of whom seemed to communicate with each other. It's clear that Matt Jones's interests lie in Satanistic stuff, which didn't gel well with Joseph Lidster's more subtle and character-driven exploration of death. Meanwhile, the plot of Reset was just too disconnected from the other two. Now, I'm not involved in the television industry at all, and I know that when you're not part of it, there can be all sorts of complications that one doesn't see as an outsider. But from my position as an outsider, it seems to me that there would be some rather obvious ways in which the three episodes could have been more coherent. Firstly, I would have drawn some sort of connection between Prof. Aaron Copely of the Pharm and the Richard Briers character whose name I cannot recall right now. Maybe Briers-guy was funding the Pharm, maybe his energy-thingie had something to do with it; there are heaps of possibilities. Dead Man Walking could have provided a connection between the two, although that would have involved a radically different plot (which would have been a good thing!) though I know they'd have to deal with the consequences of using the Risen Mitten too (maybe Owen's undeath could have had something to do with using the Risen Mitten in conjunction with an engery surge from the energy-thingie-- or maybe that's a bad idea, but the fact is, they could have thought of something).
As it is, the three episodes do not form a coherent whole, and that leaves me feeling a little dissatisfied even after what was a relatively good episode. Those episodes need more unity, and Martha needed to be an integral part of that unity. I guess I'm just sad that they had a great opportunity for an excellent story arc, but overall, it just doesn't work nearly as well as it could have.
Oh well, bring on next week! :)