Doctor Who: The Beast Below
Beginning this Saturday and with this episode, I intend on reviewing each episode of Doctor Who as it airs locally. Reviews should attempt to be as minimal on spoilers as possible, though assume you have some knowledge of of the show beforehand.
Doctor Who Series 5, Episode 2 - The Beast Below
The Beast Below is an impressive episode, a mystery tale with a splash of horror, mixed with the proper amount of Doctor Who-ian humour, served over a strong moral dilemma for the Doctor and humanity alike. It’s precisely what one would expect from Stephen Moffat. I feel the need to point out that of his six episodes written for previous Doctor Who series, all but one made me cry. The Beast Below can now be added to that number, and I’m not too proud to admit it.
It’s difficult to condense forty-five minutes of such dense plot into a spoiler-free blurb, but: The Beast Below is Amy’s first adventure in the TARDIS. Perhaps by accident, she and the Doctor stumble upon what appears to be a floating city. Only it is not just a city; it is the entirety of the United Kingdom (sans Scotland) coexisting in worn, dirty skyscrapers set against the stars. The people live in a police state, terrified of figures in black hoods, strange booths with judging robots, and the something ominous lying beneath it all.
A dystopian, post-apocalyptic society set in space. Do you see how much I love this episode yet? (Enough to watch it twice!)
After the events in The Eleventh Hour, the Doctor has stabilized following regeneration. We can more or less consider this our first, true look at what the rest of the season will bring in terms of our favourite renegade time-traveller. This Doctor, while modern, reminds me more of his first seven personalities than of his latest three. He is prim yet unbalanced, lanky yet very athletic, and dresses like the stereotypical English professor. I can’t imagine this Doctor resting his worn sneaker on the TARDIS console, as did his predecessor. (For the record, I always thought this rather rude. The TARDIS may not be a Leviathan, but I still think of it as something alive and not deserving to be used as a foot stool.)
Any issue Amy Pond had with the Doctor in the past episode has been forgiven - probably around the time he saved the Earth. She remains mischievous and sassy, but displays a much softer side than the girl who crammed the Doctor’s tie in a car door and ordered the car’s owner to go grab coffee. Which is good. Nobody wants an angry Companion for the next eleven or so episodes, however amusing the handcuffs incident was. Amy is quickly becoming a favourite of mine, feisty and oh-so-clever, though I hope her emotional moments don’t begin to orbit around her impending marriage.
Some final observations, before this review gets too long:
• I do love when Doctor Who brings us moral conundrums, especially those that are not easily solved. The Beast Below deals with not only animal rights, but political corruption. Brilliant job, Mr. Moffat.
• The Smilers are one of those things that begin as creepy but apparently harmless, then turn truly frightening and physically real. Though I do wonder what would happen if they got a hold of anyone. Do they crush them? Throw them to the beast? Turn them into Winders?
• Regarding the opening: If the children who get zeroes on their tests have to walk home, why was Timmy able to get into the second vator?
Originally published at The Circus at World's End. You can comment here or there.