SJA: The Old Woman in the Attic (both parts)
Before the review, I just want to say "squee!" to the news that we finally have an airdate for Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars. Squee! Just over two weeks away. Is it November 15th yet?
Now?
Now?
Ahem. Anyway.
A week late, but better than never, I have finally got my thoughts on SJA together. There will definitely be spoilers here:
Firstly, I have to note that I cheered during the promo for next week's episode. Yup, I'm excited. I needed to clear that up before going into this week's episode.
The great thing about SJA is that each story is so good, so well-written, and seems to get better every time. It's aimed at children and certainly works for them, but the themes and writing are so good that it's impossible to view it as just silly stuff for kids. For me, that's a sign of real strength in children's writing and it makes me sad that it's so rare to see this kind of quality in children's television any more.
But that's a rant for another day.
This episode kicked off spookily, with old Rani in the attic, and the scenes with the old Rani were at times quite heartbreaking. The gradual reveal of what happened and how everything went so wrong was beautifully done, keeping me absorbed in the story and also caring about old Rani.
It was nice to see Eve not be the total villain. Her appearance and the similarity to Ship's avatar kept me convinced for a long time and I was certain that Sam was bad. She was a complex character, not evil but not equipped with the ethical and moral thinking to keep her from using her powers. It was not just that she did not know how to control her powers, she did not understand why she was doing something wrong. At heart she's a gentle character and it was a lovely her growing realisation of why her behaviour was wrong.
I was expecting to be Eve that killed Sarah Jane and the others. The idea of it being Ship didn't occur to me until we saw that flashback to Rani's wish and, in some ways, that makes it more chilling. If it had been Eve, she would have done it out of childish anger. Ship thought it was a logical way to reward Rani.
Call be blind, but I didn't twig to Adam until right at the end. So it really worked for me :-D
One of the little things that I caught and loved was Eve's reference to two warring races that fought through time and exterminated each other. Even before she used "exterminate", I knew that she was talking about the Time War. I wonder whether we'll see other races that have been impacted in that way?
Which leads me to wonder, what will Steven Moffat do with the Time war?
Seeing bits of continuity makes me incredibly happy. It's not just about loving Doctor Who, it's loving the fact that Sarah Jane isn't standing outside the overall continuity of the series. Maybe small children wouldn't have recognised that little bit in one line, but it's a sign that RTD and co. expect and acknowledge that their viewership is smart, loves Doctor Who and will be able to spot things like that.
Yet another thing that I think is the sign of good children's writing: not dumbing down that kind of thing.
So overall, this was an excellent episode. SJA is shaping up to have it's strongest season yet, I think. I love it :-)
Now?
Now?
Ahem. Anyway.
A week late, but better than never, I have finally got my thoughts on SJA together. There will definitely be spoilers here:
Firstly, I have to note that I cheered during the promo for next week's episode. Yup, I'm excited. I needed to clear that up before going into this week's episode.
The great thing about SJA is that each story is so good, so well-written, and seems to get better every time. It's aimed at children and certainly works for them, but the themes and writing are so good that it's impossible to view it as just silly stuff for kids. For me, that's a sign of real strength in children's writing and it makes me sad that it's so rare to see this kind of quality in children's television any more.
But that's a rant for another day.
This episode kicked off spookily, with old Rani in the attic, and the scenes with the old Rani were at times quite heartbreaking. The gradual reveal of what happened and how everything went so wrong was beautifully done, keeping me absorbed in the story and also caring about old Rani.
It was nice to see Eve not be the total villain. Her appearance and the similarity to Ship's avatar kept me convinced for a long time and I was certain that Sam was bad. She was a complex character, not evil but not equipped with the ethical and moral thinking to keep her from using her powers. It was not just that she did not know how to control her powers, she did not understand why she was doing something wrong. At heart she's a gentle character and it was a lovely her growing realisation of why her behaviour was wrong.
I was expecting to be Eve that killed Sarah Jane and the others. The idea of it being Ship didn't occur to me until we saw that flashback to Rani's wish and, in some ways, that makes it more chilling. If it had been Eve, she would have done it out of childish anger. Ship thought it was a logical way to reward Rani.
Call be blind, but I didn't twig to Adam until right at the end. So it really worked for me :-D
One of the little things that I caught and loved was Eve's reference to two warring races that fought through time and exterminated each other. Even before she used "exterminate", I knew that she was talking about the Time War. I wonder whether we'll see other races that have been impacted in that way?
Which leads me to wonder, what will Steven Moffat do with the Time war?
Seeing bits of continuity makes me incredibly happy. It's not just about loving Doctor Who, it's loving the fact that Sarah Jane isn't standing outside the overall continuity of the series. Maybe small children wouldn't have recognised that little bit in one line, but it's a sign that RTD and co. expect and acknowledge that their viewership is smart, loves Doctor Who and will be able to spot things like that.
Yet another thing that I think is the sign of good children's writing: not dumbing down that kind of thing.
So overall, this was an excellent episode. SJA is shaping up to have it's strongest season yet, I think. I love it :-)