New Who Review for "The Stolen Earth"
Jul. 26th, 2008 08:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
puppetmakerCan't say I am any happier with SciFi than I was last week and probably a little more irritated considering what they chopped out for a lot of really stupid promos and commercials and how they ended the piece. The BBC version ended with the words To Be Continued and the internet lit up like a Christmas tree with speculation as to what they had just seen. I think they are assuming that everyone in the US went and read spoilers not thinking that some people tried very hard NOT to do so because they wanted the surprise that the fans who saw it first got.
But that has nothing to do with a pretty kick butt and take names episode that was aired on SciFI last night.
This is not a perfect episode but I can forgive a lot considering how many people were involved on screen. Everyone got their moment. More on that after the cut.
Solid performances all around. Well worked and played dynamics. The casting director does a great job of this show by getting the right people for the job.
Most of the rest I want to say is under the cut because it is hard to talk about this episode in general terms without some key things coming up. Please keep Journey's End out of this discussion. We'll have that one next week and I know it is a hot potato.
I am grateful for the feeling I had after I watched this episode the first time.
I love how they assume that we have seen Season 2 of Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures. I'm betting there are some kids who were pretty confused about who Ianto and Gwen were because they are too young to watch Torchwood. Then there are the throw away lines that only make sense if you have been keeping up on your Who spin-offs. I was current but then I am a fan in the fanatic sense about these things. I also like how with a cell phone call we got the Sarah Jane group down to just her and Luke.
Harriett Jones for da win. She redeemed herself (sort of) by bringing the Doctor's friends together. Makes her a rather convenient plot point, but the actress does wonderfully with what she was given. And yes this does tie in back to Voyage of the Damned since the name of the character that the Doctor dropped off on Earth with quite a bit of credit was Mr. Copper.
Martha's leap of faith was interesting. She is rather fast to obey orders even though she is not military but R&D for Unit. The Osterhagen Key feels too convenient but I'm going to give it to them because it is such a trope in this sort of thing. Of course I am glossing over the WHOLE cell phone issue. Does Cardiff have lousy cell service and RTD is just grouchy about it? I did like how they worked as a Unit to get a signal to the Doctor
I loved the Outer Space Facebook reference and poor Rose on the outside because Wilf's daughter won't let him get a webcam because she thinks they are naughty. And then there is Donna's response to Captain Jack and of course Ianto's to the Doctor (jealous much?).
Then there are the villains of the piece. I was unsure about bringing Davros back considering how the previous episodes got it to the point that they didn't want to use Davros since he had almost become a running gag. They made him scary again and that was no mean feat. Dalek Caan is back and insane because he is how they got Davros back. I will give them yuck points on Davros using his own body to recreate the Dalek race since it was the only "pure" material around. The Daleks are bad dudes again and out to destroy, maim, and kill.
And then there was the end. Peter and I when we saw the Dalek assumed that Rose was going to get it and were rather surprised it was the Doctor but if you go and look at it the blow was a glancing one. Ariel was in tears by the end and wanted to know what was going to happen next. The speculation in the media in England was nothing short of spectacular. Peter did figure out what was going to happen next as did I. It was convincing Ariel that it was true was the hard part.
So Bravo to RTD and crew. It was a fan's dream episode made into reality.
But that has nothing to do with a pretty kick butt and take names episode that was aired on SciFI last night.
This is not a perfect episode but I can forgive a lot considering how many people were involved on screen. Everyone got their moment. More on that after the cut.
Solid performances all around. Well worked and played dynamics. The casting director does a great job of this show by getting the right people for the job.
Most of the rest I want to say is under the cut because it is hard to talk about this episode in general terms without some key things coming up. Please keep Journey's End out of this discussion. We'll have that one next week and I know it is a hot potato.
I am grateful for the feeling I had after I watched this episode the first time.
I love how they assume that we have seen Season 2 of Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures. I'm betting there are some kids who were pretty confused about who Ianto and Gwen were because they are too young to watch Torchwood. Then there are the throw away lines that only make sense if you have been keeping up on your Who spin-offs. I was current but then I am a fan in the fanatic sense about these things. I also like how with a cell phone call we got the Sarah Jane group down to just her and Luke.
Harriett Jones for da win. She redeemed herself (sort of) by bringing the Doctor's friends together. Makes her a rather convenient plot point, but the actress does wonderfully with what she was given. And yes this does tie in back to Voyage of the Damned since the name of the character that the Doctor dropped off on Earth with quite a bit of credit was Mr. Copper.
Martha's leap of faith was interesting. She is rather fast to obey orders even though she is not military but R&D for Unit. The Osterhagen Key feels too convenient but I'm going to give it to them because it is such a trope in this sort of thing. Of course I am glossing over the WHOLE cell phone issue. Does Cardiff have lousy cell service and RTD is just grouchy about it? I did like how they worked as a Unit to get a signal to the Doctor
I loved the Outer Space Facebook reference and poor Rose on the outside because Wilf's daughter won't let him get a webcam because she thinks they are naughty. And then there is Donna's response to Captain Jack and of course Ianto's to the Doctor (jealous much?).
Then there are the villains of the piece. I was unsure about bringing Davros back considering how the previous episodes got it to the point that they didn't want to use Davros since he had almost become a running gag. They made him scary again and that was no mean feat. Dalek Caan is back and insane because he is how they got Davros back. I will give them yuck points on Davros using his own body to recreate the Dalek race since it was the only "pure" material around. The Daleks are bad dudes again and out to destroy, maim, and kill.
And then there was the end. Peter and I when we saw the Dalek assumed that Rose was going to get it and were rather surprised it was the Doctor but if you go and look at it the blow was a glancing one. Ariel was in tears by the end and wanted to know what was going to happen next. The speculation in the media in England was nothing short of spectacular. Peter did figure out what was going to happen next as did I. It was convincing Ariel that it was true was the hard part.
So Bravo to RTD and crew. It was a fan's dream episode made into reality.
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-26 02:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-26 05:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-26 07:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-27 12:16 am (UTC)I just watched the episode, which I DVRed off of SciFi, and that's still there, in big letters...
no subject
Date: 2008-07-27 11:40 pm (UTC)