Doctor Who - 5x03 - The Beast Below
Overall:
Quite a lovely episode, that. The plot resolution logic was a bit handwavey, which did bother me a bit because Moffat is usually so good at that kind of thing. But the overall message was very sweet, so.
Nitpicks: space whale = Y HALO THAR TORCHWOOD. Also, if you're trying to remain incognito, it might help not to be the only person in the room wearing a creepy fucking antique porcelain mask. Yeah, you'd never notice something like that in a crowd, would you?
Big points for characters I want to see again (Liz Ten, the Smiler monks, the space whales). I thought the baddies fell a bit flat; they didn't actually do much that a mildly sinister human couldn't do (move about; press a button; look cross). Which is a shame, because their FX design was pretty fucking awesome.
Best thing, hands down: the Doctor and Amy. Smith and Gillan's portrayals keep unfolding the characters like a flower, and I am loving it. I believe their friendship, because it's something we've seen grow organically...and more, because NO ONE HAS SHOVED IT DOWN OUR THROATS HOW MUCH THEY ARE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER. We're being shown their relationship, not told. Thank you Moff. ♥
Blow by blow:
I love the melancholy way Eleven says "searching the stars for a new home". Poor baby!Doctor.
"I never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets." 0_ô Okay, everyone in the universe ever, duck before his massive Pinocchio nose bonks you on the head. Honestly, Doctor, what a whopper!
:) Love the bit where Amy's talking about leaving the little girl alone and suddenly sees the Doctor onscreen helping her.
Hee! @ escaped fish. I think there should be a fish reference every episode. Fish custard, escaped fish...
Like how the Doctor avoided the parent question, there.
"It's this or Knebworth. What do you think? Let's see - what will Amy Pond choose?...Ha ha, gotcha!" ♥ I'm beginning to see what people mean about Matt Smith being able to convincingly play an old man in a young man's body, mostly because of lines like this. The really cool thing is, it would be dangerously easy to play such lines in a really patronising way, and Smith manages not to. Big kudos and a kiss on the nose for that.
"What are you gonna do?" "What I always do: stay out of trouble...badly." Glad you added the caveat there, Doctor. Anyway, I love that there was no real need for them to say those lines in such wonky voices, but they did anyway, like you do when you're being silly with your mates. It feels like something organic that came from the actors, not something that was enforced on them in the script to show how cutesy and palsy they are.
Love Amy's exasperated little exhale after "you never interfere with the affairs of other people or planets...unless there's children crying?"
Yes! Mandy is on the ball. Thank you for not making her stoopid, Moff.
Scotland gets its own ship but Northern Ireland doesn't?
"A long time ago tomorrow morning." :) I want there to be a childrens' book with that title now.
"And then once every four five years everyone chooses to forget what they've learned? Democracy in action." Very witty line, but I kind of wish they hadn't used it, because it narrows down and restricts to the sole topic of politics the much wider concept of people choosing to ignore the unpleasant side of whatever sustains them. Which is a great theme to raise on a kids' tv show.
Heh! The rubbish dump of the Starship UK is Lancashire. Way to endear yourselves to the Mancs, Moff.
"It's not a floor, it's a..." "It's a what??" *deep breath* "The next word is kind of a scary word. You'll probably want to take a moment; get yourself in a calm place. Go 'ohm'....it's a tongue. A great big tongue!" Again, could so easily have been patronising, but wasn't, and the glee of the last line is SO the Doctor. *hands Matt Smith more kudos*
"We're in a mouth???" 'Yes. But on the plus side - roomy!" *is SO NOT going to make a joke about how many tight mouths the Doctor has been in, nope, not going there*
Loving Liz Ten. Want her back for more episodes. (Thank god Rusty didn't write this; otherwise she'd have to have committed suicide in some grand and pointless way in order to save the day.)
"You don't ever decide what I need to know." Um hello? Pot, meet kettle.
FUCKYEAH! Hooray for Amy sticking up for herself to the Doctor. Please, dear gods of television, let her be companion who will keep calling the Doctor on his shit.
Only three options? Oh, Doctor, if anyone knows there's always another option, it's you.
Holy shit, the boy has levels. He kept his performance at a tightly controlled 'quirky nutty professor' that slowly escalated up to the explosion: "nobody human has anything to say to me today!" In that one moment you could really see all his repressed 'last of his kind' pain and resentment towards humanity's more unlovely side there. *impressed*
"Hey." "What?" "Gotcha." :) Nice callback, there.
"Have you ever run away from something...?" "Once. A long time ago." "What happened?" *sheepish grin "Hello.." Luvvit.
Nice little poem about the Beast Below. Is the light crack supposed to be ominous, though? I want to see more space whales in future eps.
Lingering thought: God got a mention twice in this episode, and the story was about an unseen but kind and benelovent self-sacrificing force through which all of humanity was saved. You reckon this ep was originally supposed to air on Easter? *wonders if Moff is C of E or what*
Overall - I am beginning to think I can watch my favorite show again. Please let this trend continue.
Q