Thoughts on Daleks In Manhattan
And yes, scarlettgirl, I have officially adopted Daleks In Take Manhattan…it has pigs, all we’re missing is a frog.
I am such the multi-tasker this week, as I watched this episode on my iPod while putting in 3 miles on the ol’ treadmill. Thus, it may be due to the endorphins that my post-viewing response of ‘Wow!’ has cooled down to a ‘Seriously cool, but waiting for next week’.
I adore that this episode is in the US, and actually used honest to god American actors. I began to roll my eyes when the Doctor started to explain Hoovervilles to Martha, but stopped when I reminded myself that US history probably isn’t a staple of UK schooling. The Depression is a believable time period to set this in. The Daleks demanding dangerous work and long hours for unfair wages from the workers reflects the reality that existed at the time (The Jungle anyone?), not to mention the overall
My first plot piece annoyance of the episode was the newspaper article on the disappearances. Good on Martha to beat the Doctor to the punch on the date, but it’s highly unlikely that disappearances in Hooverville would have garnered any media attention at the time, let alone a front page story. Later in the episode Telullah basically echoes this same sentiment. But, hey, got to have some way of getting the story rolling…
My second plot piece annoyance of the episode? Pig-men. What is with the writers and pigs? Honestly? Yes, you got a cute little ‘Men are pigs’ joke out of it, but how about giving another farm animal a go next time.
I liked Martha much more this episode. The writers still haven’t figured out what the hell to do with her - this episode she was thrust into the mold of Generic Companion, but she has a ton of potential when she’s A) using her intelligence, usually when she’s on her own and B) not whining about the Doctor. I loved her “I’ll kill you for this” after volunteering to go into the sewers, and the “Report!” was brilliant during the Dalek scene. She has so much potential that isn’t being properly written at the moment, IMO.
And can I just say how much I adore Frank and Telullah? Definite companion material, IMO. Yes, Frank’s Tennessee accent was a little suspect, and Tellulah was the clichéd New York showgirl stereotype, but I adored them nonetheless. They were fearless, and honestly why shouldn’t they be? They were living through the freakin’ Depression…aliens are a piece of cake compared to starvation.
Tennant was brilliant, as always. I think the writers are giving him so much more to play with this season, allowing him to go for the emotional depth that is comparable to Eccleston’s Nine. His statement in the tunnel regarding losing everything was powerful…personally I thought his eyes were what sold it. Intense. And I’m hoping I’m not the only one to draw a comparison to the Doctor during Telullah’s “Your heart might break, but the show goes on, ‘cause if you stop, you starve. Every night I have to go out there and sing, dance, keep going. Hoping he’s going to come back.” statement.
The Dalek Sec reveal scene would’ve been a lot more impressive if there hadn’t been a million pictures published already. Ugh! And the music was just too annoying! I do like the whole storyline concerning the Dalek’s need to evolve to survive. It probably has something to do with the fact that I just watched Genesis of the Daleks and Resurrection of the Daleks last week…
Overall, one of the strongest episodes of the season so far, but I’m waiting anxiously to see how they tie it all up next week.
I am such the multi-tasker this week, as I watched this episode on my iPod while putting in 3 miles on the ol’ treadmill. Thus, it may be due to the endorphins that my post-viewing response of ‘Wow!’ has cooled down to a ‘Seriously cool, but waiting for next week’.
I adore that this episode is in the US, and actually used honest to god American actors. I began to roll my eyes when the Doctor started to explain Hoovervilles to Martha, but stopped when I reminded myself that US history probably isn’t a staple of UK schooling. The Depression is a believable time period to set this in. The Daleks demanding dangerous work and long hours for unfair wages from the workers reflects the reality that existed at the time (The Jungle anyone?), not to mention the overall
My first plot piece annoyance of the episode was the newspaper article on the disappearances. Good on Martha to beat the Doctor to the punch on the date, but it’s highly unlikely that disappearances in Hooverville would have garnered any media attention at the time, let alone a front page story. Later in the episode Telullah basically echoes this same sentiment. But, hey, got to have some way of getting the story rolling…
My second plot piece annoyance of the episode? Pig-men. What is with the writers and pigs? Honestly? Yes, you got a cute little ‘Men are pigs’ joke out of it, but how about giving another farm animal a go next time.
I liked Martha much more this episode. The writers still haven’t figured out what the hell to do with her - this episode she was thrust into the mold of Generic Companion, but she has a ton of potential when she’s A) using her intelligence, usually when she’s on her own and B) not whining about the Doctor. I loved her “I’ll kill you for this” after volunteering to go into the sewers, and the “Report!” was brilliant during the Dalek scene. She has so much potential that isn’t being properly written at the moment, IMO.
And can I just say how much I adore Frank and Telullah? Definite companion material, IMO. Yes, Frank’s Tennessee accent was a little suspect, and Tellulah was the clichéd New York showgirl stereotype, but I adored them nonetheless. They were fearless, and honestly why shouldn’t they be? They were living through the freakin’ Depression…aliens are a piece of cake compared to starvation.
Tennant was brilliant, as always. I think the writers are giving him so much more to play with this season, allowing him to go for the emotional depth that is comparable to Eccleston’s Nine. His statement in the tunnel regarding losing everything was powerful…personally I thought his eyes were what sold it. Intense. And I’m hoping I’m not the only one to draw a comparison to the Doctor during Telullah’s “Your heart might break, but the show goes on, ‘cause if you stop, you starve. Every night I have to go out there and sing, dance, keep going. Hoping he’s going to come back.” statement.
The Dalek Sec reveal scene would’ve been a lot more impressive if there hadn’t been a million pictures published already. Ugh! And the music was just too annoying! I do like the whole storyline concerning the Dalek’s need to evolve to survive. It probably has something to do with the fact that I just watched Genesis of the Daleks and Resurrection of the Daleks last week…
Overall, one of the strongest episodes of the season so far, but I’m waiting anxiously to see how they tie it all up next week.