Doctor Who: Cold War
Dang! I was really disappointed by how underwhelming I found that. It felt like a load of other episodes cobbled together: a bit of Victory of the Daleks, a bit of Smith and Jones, maybe a bit of Midnight too…
Which is a shame because all the ingredients were there, they just didn’t deliver. Like the Ice Warrior chap was really quite cool (AHAHAHAHAHA) and the CGI on him was pretty good, but then he just…nothing really happens with him? Did the Doctor even bring him to account for killing half the submarine, I don’t think he did. AND! While seeing the Doctor willing to destroy himself, Clara and all the people on the submarine was an interesting and sense-making way to go, is it just me or* did the camera not even cut to Clara during that conversation? Because a look of ‘oh god I’m going to die here and this bloke who’s become my best friend is perfectly willing to sacrifice me for the greater good and AHHHHHH’ would have been good…
Um, what else? Clara was awesome as usual. Professor Mcsomebody was interesting, the rest were sort of forgettable. Maybe this is reaching a little (probably a lot) but I find it interesting that the missiles only slid back into place when Clara started singing ‘hungry like the wolf…’ (You’ve gathered why that’s significant, yeah?).
Wait, was there a reason they couldn’t just return Icewarriorman to his regular time, before he got frozen? Just have him stick around til the TARDIS came back…?
(*Is it just me, because just because I don’t remember it doesn’t mean it actually wasn’t there, it might have been.)
April 13, 2013 @ 6:19 pm
I hope she’s not the Bad Wolf again.
April 14, 2013 @ 4:25 pm
So many flippin’ wolves…
April 13, 2013 @ 10:45 pm
Huh, that’s interesting. I thought this was a pretty strong episode — a little too much flailing around in the first half, but the plot was tighter than either Bells or Akhaten and there were a lot of good characterization moments and a minimum of I Am the Doctor, which is enough to keep me pretty happy. While seeing the Doctor willing to destroy himself, Clara and all the people on the submarine was an interesting and sense-making way to go, is it just me or* did the camera not even cut to Clara during that conversation? Because a look of ‘oh god I’m going to die here and this bloke who’s become my best friend is perfectly willing to sacrifice me for the greater good and AHHHHHH’ would have been good… Yeah, agreed (minus the “best friend” part, I don’t think they’re there yet), but on the other hand, Clara got a big speech which drew on her interaction with Skaldak over the course of the episode, and I thought her singing worked very well to convey her emotional state after her refusal earlier. (Re: the song choice — it’s a contemporary popular song that’s still well known in our/Clara’s time and the lyrics have an ironic meaning for the situation, but I don’t think it’s meant as another Bad Wolf appearance. Maybe a deliberate callout, though?) Wait, was there a reason they couldn’t just return Icewarriorman to his regular time, before he got frozen? It wasn’t stated explicitly but I thought it was implied by the way the Doctor talked about him that he was presumed dead and long gone, i.e. his personal timeline is fixed. That’s just my interpretation!
April 14, 2013 @ 4:31 pm
Clara got a big speech which drew on her interaction with Skaldak over the course of the episode, and I thought her singing worked very well to convey her emotional state after her refusal earlier Ooh yes, there were a lot of lovely Clara Moments. Come to think of it, she was the one who remembered about Skaldak’s daughter. (Also, I think this may be the only New Who episode to only have one female speaking part? Which is fair enough considering the setting I guess. But at least we had Skaldak being motivated to some extent by his daughter…) Maybe a deliberate callout, though? Now I’m picturing Mark Gatiss typing away at his keyboard, laughing and going ‘This’ll give them something to think about!’ ;) I suspect I may like this episode more on second viewing. (The fact that the TV was playing up during the first ten minutes didn’t help…)
April 14, 2013 @ 4:56 pm
Also, I think this may be the only New Who episode to only have one female speaking part? If that’s true, that’s actually… impressive in a sad way, since there are so many TV shows that have that problem without the excuse of setting. Now I’m picturing Mark Gatiss typing away at his keyboard, laughing and going ‘This’ll give them something to think about!’ ;) Oh, you know he’s trolling. And we’re lapping it up. XD I suspect I may like this episode more on second viewing. Yeah, I feel the same way — one of those workaday episodes that doesn’t have the flash-and-bang of some of the other stories but holds together better when you rewatch.
April 14, 2013 @ 8:56 pm
I’d love to enjoy this one more on second watching, but I’m not sure that’ll happen. I agree, they really didn’t make much use of the Ice Warrior (even the constant references the Doctor made to the Ice Warrior code of conduct – alien bushido if you will – didn’t cast much light on him.) There was an interesting little bit when Clara was initially knocked out (immediately before she awoke and found some submarine officer’s jacket around her (and who gave it to her? Everyone still had their jackets on after that), where the action slowed and got dreamlike, as if she was underwater, along with the sonic. I thought it was leading to something, or pointing out something, and it led nowhere. Did anyone else catch it? Gatiss’ writing on Who has always bothered me; it doesn’t seem to have any form to it. People just talk at each other. (It’s not a problem with Sherlock, so perhaps it’s a glitch he falls into with SF settings? I don’t know.) And that’s the way I felt about most of the interactions between Clara and the Professor, between the Professor and the Doctor, between the Doctor and the Commander, etc.
April 16, 2013 @ 7:08 pm
Ooh yes, that bit with Clara being knocked out was weird. Maybe it’s another hint that Something’s Up with her? (Er, I mean, beyond the obvious.) She’s the sonic screwdriver! Calling it now! Gatiss’ writing on Who has always bothered me; it doesn’t seem to have any form to it. People just talk at each other. (It’s not a problem with Sherlock, so perhaps it’s a glitch he falls into with SF settings? I don’t know.) And that’s the way I felt about most of the interactions between Clara and the Professor, between the Professor and the Doctor, between the Doctor and the Commander, etc. Victory of the Daleks was mostly the same, actually, wasn’t it? His episodes always feel sort of like he’s checking off a list- menacing alien, hint at the Doctor’s darker nature, moment where the companion steps up, quick hint towards series arc if possible, done! But he is good with Sherlock, so…