Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Battle of Stormageddon

Sorry for the title, but there wasn't much else I could go with.  Maybe "The Case of the Silver Rat", but that seemed silly (like nothing else here has ever been silly).


Closing Time” was a really nice change of pace episode that eased us back into the story that started back in “The Impossible Astronaut” and, arguably, back as far as “The 11th Hour”. It was great to see James Corden back as Craig Owen. Moffat and Company have to find a way to work a Craig Owen episode in at least once a season, Matt Smith and Corden work way too well together for this to have been the last we see of Craig, Sophie and Alfie. Maybe The Doctor comes back after Alfie truly assumes his throne as Stormageddon when puberty kicks in and Craig and Sophie are at their wits end – just a thought.


Anyway . . . . . .


WHAT I LOVED
Stormageddon – Dark Lord of All!!!!  I just wanted to take him home :)

I OWN YOU!!!!!!!

WHAT I LIKED
What I liked about this episode is that the Cybermen really had very little to do with the story and this it was a story about the love between a father and his son.

That the Doctor was “here to help”, a sentiment that can be taken in so many ways.

POINTS OUT THE OBVIOUS

The following dialogue:

The Doctor: “Look at me Craig.”
Craig: “Why?
The Doctor: “Because I love you.”
Craig: “You love me?”
The Doctor: “Yes, Craig, it's you, it's always been you. Is that so surprising?”
Craig: “Doctor, are you going to kiss me?”
The Doctor: “Yes, Craig. Yes I am. Would you like that? Bit out of practice but I've had some wonderful feedback.”
Craig: “Doctor, I can't, I'm taken . . . . . (finally seeing they are no longer in the elevator) Oh My God!”
The Doctor: “Or we could just hold hands if that would make you feel more comfortable.”

WHAT'S A KISS BETWEEN PARTNERS, ER, COMPANIONS . . . . . 

I have no idea how they got through that scene – or just about any other that they did together. I know they are professional actors and all, but I know from personal experience that there are times when you just can't get through a scene.

That nice little scene with the Doctor watching Amy and Rory with the little girl who asked for the autograph, then his seeing she was “the face” of a perfume line, “for the girl who's tired of waiting”. Though I do have to wonder why a little girl would be in a department store wandering around with a notebook and pen. Waiting for The Royals to pop up??

RORY: "ANOTHER AUTOGRAPH????"  (SIGH)

The Cybermat – very cool! Gotta have one, though one that's a little less toothy.

WHO'S EATING WHO?  LOOKS LIKE BOTH CRAIG AND THE CYBERMAT ARE CONTEMPLATING LUNCH

The shushing the sales girl after the Doctor established that it worked on “life forms with under developed brains.” That was just not right – OK – yeah it was.

The way the story ended, bringing us back to the newly doctored River Song, still on her search for "the best man she's ever known" is set upon by that crazy eye patched Madame Kovarian . . . . . . .

THE BITCH IS BACK!

and is turned into  . . . . . 

THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT


WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
As scary as this sounds for the second episode in a row – there was nothing I didn't like. OK, OK, I thought it was a little cheesy that a baby crying brought down the Cybermen and made their heads explode, but maybe that was somewhat of a metaphor for what most parents think when they have reached their breaking point with their baby's crying, that their heads will explode. Alright, it was Craig's love for Alfie that set off the emotional feedback that blew up the the Cybermen, but that's just too sappy :-)


NEXT WEEK
I am both anxious and feeling dread when it comes to next week's season finale, excited to see where this is all actually going, but dreading the loss of the Doctor until Christmas (I hope) and the uncertainty about when the show will be back (blast you BBC!!! Just do a 7th season and quit fooling around. I know this is more of an “End of Season Wrap-up” kind of subject and I am sure I'll cover it more when I do that in a couple of weeks.)

From what I have seen of the previews, I will be amazed to see what all they can cram into 50 minutes of TV. It would seem to me that with all that's going on, the episode would need to be at least another 20 or so minutes long, if not a full double episode. We'll see, I guess, It had just better be good, exciting and maybe a little tear jerking.

If anyone out there is in the mood for a little predicting, let's hear what you think will happen. I think that by the end we will see the last of Amy and Rory, it's time for the Doctor to leave them to live their own lives, I mean we see that Amy has her own perfume out there and it didn't look like she was any older while signing that autograph. After whatever happens next week, we will have seen the last of the Ponds, or Williams' or whatever they are calling themselves.

Jayne

3 comments:

  1. I ACTUALLY liked this episode which amazed me...of course it wasn't perfection and it did have flaws and as usual we got a good helping of innuendo - this week it was of the 'gay' variety...
    The Doctor seemed embarrassed when it was suggested Craig might be his 'partner' - yet only a few weeks ago he confirmed what I'm sure a lot of fans dreaded when he stated time lords could change gender... which I suppose could mean that if the Doctor did become female he suddenly becomes susan's grandma instead of her grandpa :D

    I wonder if Andred ever change sex once he married Leela..ah it gives a whole new context to the idea that doctor who is an 'adult' show.

    Of course craigs domestics were of little interest and while Im sure the doctor can communicate with a human baby as easily as he can communicate with a relative of the nimon's (without saying mooooo once) Id like to know how the baby was cognisant enough to know itself as 'stormlord' and to have evaluated craig's abilities as a parent...of course the doctor could have been fibbing..I suppose as a former parent himself he may have picked up sufficient tricks to guiikde an errant parent down the right track but just once it would be nice to see the doctor up to his armpits in the inner workings of some increbible technology rather than playing agony aunt every week....
    What else...the Cybermen were brilliant you cant go far wrong featuring them although each time they appear the divide between parallel universe cybermen and cybermen which evolved on the upside down BBC globe that was Mondas becomes more and more blurred....Ive lost track of which sort of cybermen we're seeing and feel this would be an interesting avenue of investigation for a future story.
    Lynda Barron was as marvellous as ever. Nice to see more mature 'quality' actors making it into the show.
    The cybermat was excellent far better than its 'spoiler' pre release photos indicated... I would have loved to have seen an en masse attack by the nasties ala Tomb of the Cybermen though. Nice to see we'll soon be able to purchase our own cybermat - hope it has that nasty set of jaws which was a marvellous touch reminding us theres something organic inside both cybermen and their 'pets'
    As usual it was good old human emotion that saw off the villain but then as the cybermen have always had the nastiest reaction to emotions I forgave the writer this time. Fortunately there was enough about those aspects of dr who that I like - alien threat from the unknown, the menace of an encroaching and horribly powerful opponent to offset the mothercare aspect of the programme. The sexual reference hower are tiresome whether gay or straight the only time Im interested in sex making an intrusion into our show which was quite 'adult' enough without is when some species is deemed sterile or a one eyed hexapod is identified as hermaphrodite.

    Oh and the show benefited enormously by the absence of Rory, Amy and River song...

    7/10 production team one of the better new series efforts.....

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  2. Thanks Malestrom :) I loved the shop lady too - she was great.

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  3. Lynda Barron's connection with Doctor who goes back years Jayne, although not seen on screen she recorded the Ballad of the Last Chance saloon for the oft berated (unfairly) William Hartnell Gunfighters serial in the sixties, she then later appeared as villainous Captain Wrack in 'Enlightenment' during Peter Davison's second season. Not bad managing three completely different roles spanning well over 40 years.....

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