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charameiBut first, a sign of the times:
So by episode three, we should be all settled down, accustomed to the new Doctor, and able to start making some comment about trends in the series.
Which means that by episode three, I have to say... I'm actually still not settled.
And I don't know why. It's not the special effects, because Lord knows I can get engrossed in TV from the 60s and 70s; it's not the quality of the scripts, because they've had some terrific points. The jammy dodger this week was fantastic, I was quite fond of Churchill and I love the idea of the Daleks getting the Doctor's goat with simple reverse psychology. It's not Smith; he's doing great, and besides, I'm hardly a one-Doctor fan. Yet for all the good parts in this series, I've felt as though there was a barrier between me and the action, something preventing me from getting fully engrossed and able to enjoy myself.
By which I mean: I've not been scared since the series started. I've not developed any real emotional connection to Amy - I feel like I still hardly know her. I find it hard to engage with Eleven. I don't care about the possibility of people dying, because I'm not sold on the threats in the first place. And because I can't get invested in the first half, I don't give a fig about the denouement. This is neither normal nor enjoyable.
What's missing, I think, is the human element. Specifically, the side-characters: they don't get enough development, which means that there's no sense of how the plot affects the wider world. Last episode, Liz Ten was a great character - one of my favourites so far, in fact - but we didn't get to see how any ordinary people were coping. This episode, we had the WASP who'd lost her boyfriend, but again, she just didn't get enough screentime that I cared for her predicament, we never even saw her Reggie's face, let alone his personality - and if I can't care for someone who's lost a loved one, how am I supposed to care that the Earth's in danger again?
It could be argued that this disconnect is inherent to fairy tales: characters tend to turn up in those and go away again without much impact. But fairy-tales are also typically written in third-person omniscient, which means that everyone does get at least a little development and motivation.
Here's another example: Planet of the Dead. I think there are several things wrong with it - at least one of them is that Tennant's back had obviously not healed - but one of the biggest problems I have with it is that the people on the bus are pretty much ciphers. Oh, they all get their one line of backstory, but I didn't feel like I knew them, either. And... guess what... I didn't care.
boji made the observation that nobody reacted to Amy's outlandish attire in any way. That's symptomatic of the same problem, I think: there's too much emphasis on plot and not enough on character*, so obvious disconnects keep going unmentioned.
*I would say minor characters, except I'm getting this with Amy too. If I think hard enough I can work out what her character traits are, but I shouldn't have to think, should I? Let Medea be fierce and unyielding, Ino tearful, Ixion forsworn, Io a wanderer, Orestes sorrowful and all that.
So, that's my trend observation for the day. Now onto the episode!
My inability to get engaged notwithstanding, I liked it. It got a bit silly in places (Spitfires in space...), and the day was kind of saved by the Power of Love, but I love the new angle it gives to the Daleks: they're rarely seen to be capable of subtlety, and psyching the Doctor out to the point where he attacks them with improbably large spanners definitely comes under that heading. Likewise, Bracewell was a masterful performance and a great re-imagining of a stalwart SF trope.
Eleven and Amy still seem to have plot-induced telepathy. If she's meant to be quick on the uptake then she needs to show her working more: at the moment it just looks as though she magically knows things the instant the Doctor learns them.
Eleven definitely reminds me of Three, although he's starting to remind me of the less savoury aspects of Three, which isn't quite as enjoyable. Also? Seven. I love Seven. More Seven moments please.
And Amy... meh.
Line of the episode: "Well, all right, it's a biscuit. But I was promised tea!"
Hm... I might sit next episode out, at least for reviewing. I hate River Song, and although I agree that Blink is excellent, the weeping angels don't exactly terrify me. So if I review it, be it good or bad, I'm likely to just end up wanking about it. And believe me, you don't want to see an asexual wank...
So by episode three, we should be all settled down, accustomed to the new Doctor, and able to start making some comment about trends in the series.
Which means that by episode three, I have to say... I'm actually still not settled.
And I don't know why. It's not the special effects, because Lord knows I can get engrossed in TV from the 60s and 70s; it's not the quality of the scripts, because they've had some terrific points. The jammy dodger this week was fantastic, I was quite fond of Churchill and I love the idea of the Daleks getting the Doctor's goat with simple reverse psychology. It's not Smith; he's doing great, and besides, I'm hardly a one-Doctor fan. Yet for all the good parts in this series, I've felt as though there was a barrier between me and the action, something preventing me from getting fully engrossed and able to enjoy myself.
By which I mean: I've not been scared since the series started. I've not developed any real emotional connection to Amy - I feel like I still hardly know her. I find it hard to engage with Eleven. I don't care about the possibility of people dying, because I'm not sold on the threats in the first place. And because I can't get invested in the first half, I don't give a fig about the denouement. This is neither normal nor enjoyable.
What's missing, I think, is the human element. Specifically, the side-characters: they don't get enough development, which means that there's no sense of how the plot affects the wider world. Last episode, Liz Ten was a great character - one of my favourites so far, in fact - but we didn't get to see how any ordinary people were coping. This episode, we had the WASP who'd lost her boyfriend, but again, she just didn't get enough screentime that I cared for her predicament, we never even saw her Reggie's face, let alone his personality - and if I can't care for someone who's lost a loved one, how am I supposed to care that the Earth's in danger again?
It could be argued that this disconnect is inherent to fairy tales: characters tend to turn up in those and go away again without much impact. But fairy-tales are also typically written in third-person omniscient, which means that everyone does get at least a little development and motivation.
Here's another example: Planet of the Dead. I think there are several things wrong with it - at least one of them is that Tennant's back had obviously not healed - but one of the biggest problems I have with it is that the people on the bus are pretty much ciphers. Oh, they all get their one line of backstory, but I didn't feel like I knew them, either. And... guess what... I didn't care.
boji made the observation that nobody reacted to Amy's outlandish attire in any way. That's symptomatic of the same problem, I think: there's too much emphasis on plot and not enough on character*, so obvious disconnects keep going unmentioned. *I would say minor characters, except I'm getting this with Amy too. If I think hard enough I can work out what her character traits are, but I shouldn't have to think, should I? Let Medea be fierce and unyielding, Ino tearful, Ixion forsworn, Io a wanderer, Orestes sorrowful and all that.
So, that's my trend observation for the day. Now onto the episode!
My inability to get engaged notwithstanding, I liked it. It got a bit silly in places (Spitfires in space...), and the day was kind of saved by the Power of Love, but I love the new angle it gives to the Daleks: they're rarely seen to be capable of subtlety, and psyching the Doctor out to the point where he attacks them with improbably large spanners definitely comes under that heading. Likewise, Bracewell was a masterful performance and a great re-imagining of a stalwart SF trope.
Eleven and Amy still seem to have plot-induced telepathy. If she's meant to be quick on the uptake then she needs to show her working more: at the moment it just looks as though she magically knows things the instant the Doctor learns them.
Eleven definitely reminds me of Three, although he's starting to remind me of the less savoury aspects of Three, which isn't quite as enjoyable. Also? Seven. I love Seven. More Seven moments please.
And Amy... meh.
Line of the episode: "Well, all right, it's a biscuit. But I was promised tea!"
Hm... I might sit next episode out, at least for reviewing. I hate River Song, and although I agree that Blink is excellent, the weeping angels don't exactly terrify me. So if I review it, be it good or bad, I'm likely to just end up wanking about it. And believe me, you don't want to see an asexual wank...
no subject
Date: 2010-04-19 01:00 am (UTC)With RTD's Who (series one) I didn't get a clear feel for themes until Father's Day (episode 5 or 6?) and didn't fall for the show madly until The Empty Child (for which, yes I blame Cpt. Jack Harkness.)
I've not developed any real emotional connection to Amy - I feel like I still hardly know her.
I had a much stronger connection to Amelia, and to Amy in episode one than I have since, though to be fair I prefered her last week to this. The floating scene outside the Tardis was lovely and I bought her empathy, her reading of the Doctor (4 psychotherapists and a lot of fantasising, she has an image of him. It may not be who he really is though) and her seeing the spacewhale in him. Or vice-versa. This week? She's really superfluous almost until it seems as if they have to give her something to do. Hence connect with Bracewell.
I'd say it's bad writing on Gatiss' part more than bad characterisation of Amelia Pond overall.
But, next week I might agree with you.