Doctor Who Review, Series 6 Episode 3: "The Curse of the Black Spot"

I wrote a super-long review of this episode and . . . . then Blogger crashed or something and though it said it saved the review, it actually lied and just pretended to have saved it, so when I came back to this today to finish it up and post it I had only a single sentence. A single measly sentence. Why, Blogger, why?

There's no way I can remember everything I had written down and all the things I had discussed, which makes me a bit frustrated. The main point I was getting at though is that I really enjoyed this episode. The opening two-parter was ultimately a big disappointment to me, as my previous reviews attest, and so the fun of this episode and the historical setting was like a breath of fresh air. I mean, sure they traveled to Sixties America in the two-parter, but I prefer more drastic time traveling which, frankly, the show hasn't done all that much since its 2005 return. In fact, I'd really like another purely historical episode like "The Highlanders" or "Black Orchid" (both Classic Who eps) where the adventure really is just time travel--not about monsters or aliens or trying to scare kids behind the sofas. The idea that DW needs a monster in every episode is in my opinion a misconception. I love a good and scary alien as much as the next gal, but it'd be nice to let time travel just be time travel for once.

On the flip side, I'd also like the show to visit Alien planets more often too. Alien planets that don't involve human colonization would be even better. But that has nothing to do with "The Curse of the Black Spot", so let me get back on topic now.

Lots of funny bits in this one . . . I thought it great that Amy, who's always mocking the Doctor's fashion sense and conspiring with River to deprive him of his hats, took the time to don a pirate hat AND coat before swashbuckling to the rescue in the beginning of the episode. I also really enjoyed Rory's bewitched-by-the-Siren moments. Usually it's him having to endure Amy being interested in or chasing after other men--I mean, she was a kissogram, and then of course there's the Doctor/Amy thing--and so it was refreshing and amusing to see the tables turned for once. And due to the fact that he was bewitched, Rory still has his moral character intact! Yay! It was also good to see Amy being responsible in this episode, fighting for both Rory and the Doctor at various points. It was in this episode that I think I saw most clearly how much she's changed since her appearance in "The Eleventh Hour", and it was very gratifying.

Another fun aspect of this episode was how the Doctor kept getting things wrong and how he dealt with continuously getting things wrong: Just plowing determinedly ahead to the next mistake. It's not often that the Doctor's massive leaps of logic go awry, and even rarer that five or so of them go awry in quick succession, so it was entertaining to watch him trying to keep acting superior despite this. He really did get a pounding to his ego this episode--not only his prided intelligence letting him down, but there's also that moment when he grandly introduces the bewildered pirate Captain to his TARDIS and then discovers she's not working.

The return of the Random Eyepatch Lady was just that--random--but whatever. It'd be hilarious if she's Amy's latest psychiatrist checking up on her and dear Miss Pond has really just been in a padded cell all this time, but I don't think that's where this randomosity is heading. Stay tuned for more on that, I guess!

Now, the Siren itself. I didn't think her that pretty, and I thought her song should have sounded a bit more . . . beautiful, it wasn't anything special. But the revelation that she was in fact a doctor on an alien spaceship reformatting itself to look human in order to cure the humans was great. I have a feeling that the multiple universe/realities idea put forward in this episode will have ramifications in later episodes, particularly to Amy's pregnant/not-pregnant situation, but time alone will tell.

And Rory! He nearly died again! Really it shouldn't affect me any more, because how many times has he 'died' now? Five times? But it still did because, well, I love this guy, and Amy and the Doctor's reactions made it work. I repeat my earlier warning though: There's only so many times you can use death to evoke an emotional response before it gets boring. And that's never a good thing to have happen.

The ending, with the pirate crew, captain, and captain's son taking the metaphorical wheel of the alien spaceship, was great. It made me think of "Enlightenment", one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who ever ( a Fifth Doctor episode, check it out if you haven't). It also made me think a little of Firefly, though I'm not sure why, maybe the fiddle combined with the starscape? The pirate-y music sprinkled throughout the episode was very good.

All in all, I'm back on board for this series, very pleased with this episode, and eagerly looking forward to "The Doctor's Wife", the next episode and one which is written by Neil Gaiman, one of my favorite writers. Or, at least, that was where I was at when I wrote my first review for this episode. As of now I have in fact watched "The Doctor's Wife" already and I can't wait to review it. I'll spoiler a bit in saying that it is easily one of my favorite episodes of "Doctor Who" ever, and one about which fans of both Classic and New Who can find many, many things to love. So look forward to that!

I also have my Book Reviews for April coming up, I read quite a lot in April actually, so there'll be a good number of them. I'm a bit behind both due to the aforementioned crash and because I've had a bad eye infection all week that rather dampened my desire to blog. The next chapter of "The Outlaw's Hand" (Chapter 15) is almost complete too, so watch for that to be posted here soon!

Doctor Who Review, Series 6 Episode 2: "The Day of the Moon"

Ooh, so this is very late. This is also a really busy week for me--in fact, this entire month is going to be a whirl of activity. Hopefully it'll be a productive one, too.

I was too busy to watch this episode the day it aired, so I caught it on Sunday instead. I only made one note on my sheet of paper as I watched: "So the best part of this ep so far is 60's Rory. He looks awesome." Unfortunately, after finishing the episode, I'd stay that still remained my favorite part of the entire thing. Overall it was a big disappointment and I ended the episode feeling distinctly underwhelmed. Now, I might be the only person on the internet to feel this way, but it's my honest opinion, and this from someone who was looking forward to Part 2 of the opening a lot. I felt that the pacing was all off in "Day of the Moon", similarly to how I felt "Victory of the Daleks" was a disappointment mainly due to its poor pacing. Twists and turns were flung at us so quickly they didn't have any dramatic impact. I felt no questions--really--were answered, and the solution to the Silence problem seemed both a little out of character for the Doctor--what, he's encouraging that folks everywhere commit murder now?--as well as rushed. Brief moments of terror, like in the orphanage, were too rushed and crammed between other stuff to make a serious impact. The mystery of the little regenerating girl just didn't interest me. The further playing upon the 'Does Amy love Rory or the Doctor' theme just irritated me, because the question has, really, been answered already. So why keep trying to get us worried about things that are already resolved?? Same with the maybe-pregnant maybe-not Amy Pond. I'm just not interested in these issues, which seem extraneous and not really belonging in "Doctor Who". I can watch any old show where love triangles happen or pregnancies or other stuff, I don't need it tacked on here. I'm not sure even why I feel so strongly about this. I just do. Give me aliens and strange planets and distant times and adventure and excitement and good character development; don't give me force-fed drama.

The Silence turned out to be, so far, a disappointing villain too. It lost its subtlety in this episode. They can get wounded by being shot? Amy, the Doctor, Rory, and River were able to chase them for 3 months, all over the continent, without getting blasted by them? Then what's the danger? Even the Daleks are bulletproof. And Moffat, there's only so many times that you can falsely kill off characters before that gimmick no longer pulls at our heartstrings. Did anyone believe for even a second that he killed off our entire cast in the opening minutes of this episode? Yeah . . . I didn't think so.

Some good parts of the episode:
1. Rory. I thought he was brilliant as always, as well as finely acted by Darvill. And did I mention his 60's look?
2. River's 'firsts and lasts' comment, which although nowhere near as effective as that fantastic scene last episode still managed to be saddening. That kiss was a bit much, though.
3. River's jab at the Doctor for waving his sonic screwdriver around during the gunfight.
4. Nixon popping up all over the place.
5. The creepy old man in the orphanage.

But remember how I said I wanted motivations cleared up in this episode to make more sense of the last episode? I don't feel like any of that happened. The Silence is still as confusing as ever, which also contributes to them being less scary than they should be.

My last note: What on earth was with the random there-and-then-gone window in the door of the room with the photos of Amy with a baby in it? And that face which looked through it? This mystery annoys me more than interests me, and I'm not quite sure why; maybe because it seems so unnecessary? If the rest of the story had been tied up and paced properly I wouldn't have minded, but as it is it just seemed like why take up time with small mysterious things that have no immediate bearing upon the story when you aren't even telling the immediate story properly?

Anyway . . . overall I'm not a fan of this episode. I'm very glad that this next episode is a standalone; hopefully we'll get back on track with it. Also, pirates! I'll try for a more detailed review for the next ep, to make up for this slipshod one. Cheers, all!