TV Review: Doctor Who & “The Name of the Doctor”

Title: The Name of the Doctor

Writer: Steven Moffat

Director: Saul Metzstein

Release Date: May 18th, 2013

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary: “The Doctor’s greatest secret has been discovered, leading him and his friends to the one place he should never go.“

Anyone who writes reviews knows that it’s significantly more difficult to write a review for something you like versus dislike. If you dislike something, you can pick out what hurt the story and expand upon it. If you liked it, everything eventually just boils down to the word “awesome.”

Which is right about how I’m feeling at the moment. The plot took many a turn that I simply did not expect; with how Clara scattered herself along the Doctor’s timeline, with how Trenzalore was the Doctor’s grave site, and most mysteriously, with the new Doctor character portrayed by John Hurt. (I can’t even tell you how much I screamed when his role flashed up on the screen, but it was a lot. A lot.)

Out of everything, out of all the “awesome” and plot twists and creepy Whispermen, (I most assuredly had nightmares after seeing them), here’s my favorite thing out of the entire episode; the Doctor’s name. To him, it is “The Doctor”. That’s his name. No other ifs, ands, or buts about it. Granted, it might not be his birth given name, but it’s a name he chose as a promise to himself. It also means that everyone else who knows him should stop prodding him as to what his “real name” is. The name of “Doctor” is what he uses to separate himself from who he wants to be, and who he rejects being. John Hurt’s Doctor shows this; Eleven doesn’t recognize him as “The Doctor”, because he didn’t behave as “The Doctor” would have. So in a sense, we did learn the Doctor’s name. And it’s just what he’s been telling us all along.

My only nitpick has to do more with this season than this episode in particular. I wish there’d been more of a common thread linking this season into one cohesive plot line, instead of only a handful of episodes contributing to the overall scheme of things. The best example I can think of off the top of my head is season one, where you could see a reference to “Bad Wolf” scattered almost everywhere. Come season finale time, I could look back at every episode and go, “Oh! That’s what that was!”. The season laid hints of what brought it all together. Still, since that is more of a dislike regarding the season as a whole and not this one episode, I won’t dock any points for that.

Due to the episode’s plot twists, mystery, and general “amazing” factor, this episode earns itself a full 5 out of 5.

 

Until November 23rd, my friends!

TV Review: Doctor Who & “Nightmare in Silver”

Title: Nightmare in Silver

Writer: Neil Gaiman

Director: Stephen Woolfenden

Release Date: May 11th, 2013

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary: During a trip to a run-down amusement park, the Doctor encounters a long-time enemy: the Cybermen, new and like never before.

Apologies for the delay! I’m in the middle of moving, and it has therefore been difficult to sit down and write out a review. Ergo, this one may be a tad scattered.

I think the kids were a good addition to the bunch, keeping things fresh, but would’ve liked to see how exactly the Doctor even agreed to let them onto the TARDIS. After all, didn’t the Doctor say he doesn’t do families? Granted, they’re only part of a family, but still. As far as the children go, did anyone else find Angie’s disobedience towards the Doctor a bit strange? I’m not saying all kids are rule-followers, but if I was that young and some guy whisked me away in a space/time machine to a place beyond my imaginings, I wouldn’t disregard his warnings all that easily. Heck, even if I wasn’t young.

It’s interesting to see that a lot of this episode actually hinged on the chess match between the Good Doctor and the Evil Cyberman Doctor. (For lack of better/clearer titles.) What with how much physical action has taken place in recent Doctor Who episodes, it was nice to have something more intellectual.

The Cybermen are my favorite Doctor Who monsters, and while I like the redesign, I’m not a huge fan of how quickly they move. They lose their mechanical, steadily advancing feel.

The plot was good and had some and nice surprises, though there was something about the episode overall that didn’t jive with me. It was entertaining, but I didn’t get too into it. Overall, I’d place this episode at a 3.5 out of 5.

TV Review: Doctor Who & “The Crimson Horror”

Title: Crimson Horror

Writer: Mark Gatiss

Director: Saul Metzstein

Release Date: May 4th, 2013

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary: The Doctor and Clara encounter a strange compound, wherein only the best are accepted, and yet the residents never come out.

This review is going to be really short, since I can only use the word “awesome” and it’s synonyms so many times before it gets repetitive. This isn’t even going to be much of a review; more of a list. Brace yourself.

Things I liked:

• The plot. (Obviously.) I was not expecting a creepy, red, scheming leech to be behind this. And don’t lie; you weren’t either.
• Jenny and Vastra. Not only are they a great couple, but they’re hardcore as hell.
• The characters, especially Ms. Gillyflower’s daughter.
• Doctor Who episodes generally have a good score, but this one had a particularly notable use of the music.
• The surplus of kick-butt-and-take-names women. Aww yeah.
• The running joke with the fainting gentleman. Classic.

Gatiss is one of my favorite writer’s, especially for Doctor Who, so I’m not surprised with how much I liked this episode. (Out of curiosity, who are your favorite Doctor Who writers?)

Whatever nitpicks I have with this episode are so minute that they’re not even worth bringing up

For a great plot, solid and feisty characters, well interspersed humor, and all the lovely icing on top that we’ve come to expect from Doctor Who, this episode gets a full five out of five.

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Liz Patrona never expected to lose her normal life completely. She never expected that people’s memories of her would vanish or that all records of her existence would disappear. She never expected to be stolen away to a city beneath the desert. And she definitely didn’t expect to be told she was the God-chosen barrier between the common man and paranormal threats. 

Liz is a teenager perfectly happy with her mediocrity, that is, before she’s taken by a peculiar group of people and forced into a role she never imagined, – and definitely doesn’t want. Distinguishing illusions from reality, realizing her abilities as a pyrokinetic, and keeping otherworldly objects from the hands of normal folk are only some of the things that await her. Prepared for this by her new mentor, a rude, possibly sadistic, but oddly attracting man, Liz braces herself for what is to come. But many any unknown thing lurks here, and what she doesn’t know may just kill her.

TV Review: Doctor Who “Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS”

Title: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

Writer: Steve Thompson

Director: Mat King

Release Date: April 27, 2013

Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary: The TARDIS is picked up by an intergalactic salvage crew, accidentally knocking Clara deep into the uncharted areas of the time machine. Needing help to rescue Clara, the Doctor promises the crew the salvage of a lifetime if they help him find Clara. However, there’s something else inside the TARDIS, something the Doctor locked up and is now on the loose.

This episode seems pretty scattered to me, in that there isn’t much of a set-up and it bounces around quite a bit, introducing one new thing after the next with little to no time to process everything. We also don’t get to explore as much of the TARDIS as I would’ve liked. Then again, this is probably as much as we’ll ever see, so I’ll take what I can get.

The side plot and characters are weak, and a bit cheesy. Again, it feels like things were blindly thrown into their story, resulting in it feeling rushed and unsatisfying.

There is however some great material with the doctor asking Clara what/who she really is, and revealing to her all the times they’ve met, (even though it’s all undone when he goes to change the past). I also like their closeness; I’m really starting to see their Doctor-Companion relationship deepen.

I wasn’t very happy with the heavy dose of Deus Ex Machina. Which was almost literal. (I’m hoping someone gets that joke. . . TARDIS = Machine? The Doctor = Deus/or at least a powerful, nonhuman being? Anyone?)

This episode wasn’t bad, nor was it good. If anything, it was a confusing jumble of “alright”ness. (My writing is especially eloquent today, I know.) For its scattered nature, weak sub-plot, and Deus ex Machina conclusion, the Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS sits at a 3 out of 5.

Book Review: Stung

Title: Stung

Author: Bethany Wiggins

Publisher: Walker Childrens

Release Date: April 2nd, 2013

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Summary: “Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right.
Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.
Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.” – Goodreads

This book plays off such a great concept, but has some serious execution issues. While the beginning third is good, the second half is only decent, and the third half is terribly done.

One of the top things I hate is insta-love, though I was willing to let it slide in this instance. These two characters, Fiona and Dreyden, have no one else in the entire world, and knew each other before the world fell to pieces, so I get that they’d lean on one another. What I don’t get is that Fiona would tell him she loves him after just two days. Also, Dreyden claiming he could rape her simply because she’s a girl and he’s a guy. For real. It was only hinted at, but still. Not cool.

The writing had some punch to it in the beginning, but not much afterwards. Instead, we get a lot of telling versus showing, and no snappy writing. Disappointing. However, I do like that Stung had more variation in syntax and descriptive word choice compared to other YA books I’ve read.

And yet, all of the aforementioned is rather minor compared to my last point. The number one thing that upset me about Stung was that the entire underlying conspiracy, the entire reason the set-up was as it was, was crammed in to the last couple pages, summed up in a paragraph or two.

What?

What?!

You’re going to construct an entire novel around this one idea, hide it from the reader, confuse them severely because when everything is building up for the climax they don’t know a central piece of information, and then tell them what they need to know after the book is essentially done? Terrible execution.

For an uncomfortable romance, subpar writing, and a horrific execution of the climax, Stung sits at 2.5 out of 5.

Book Review: What Really Happened in Peru (The Bane Chronicles #1)

Title: What Really Happened in Peru (The Bane Chronicles #1)

Author: Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Release Date: April 16th, 2013

Rating: 1 out of 5

Summary: “There are good reasons Peru is off-limits to Magnus Bane. Follow Magnus’s Peruvian escapades as he drags his fellow warlocks Ragnor Fell and Catarina Loss into trouble, learns several instruments (which he plays shockingly), dances (which he does shockingly), and disgraces his host nation by doing something unspeakable to the Nazca Lines.” – Goodreads

Since this is a short story, I’ll keep my review brief as well.

The writing is rambling and over inflated. There might be an enjoyable paragraph or two, but not enough to keep the entire thing afloat.

Much of what happens seems too silly and far-fetched in its execution, even for Magnus. Quite honestly, the entire thing reads like bad fan fiction. Which is sad, because Magnus is one of my favorite characters.

I would’ve have even bothered to write review if I didn’t like Magnus as much as I do, (though regrettably, his character here seems just as fan fic-ish as the story), plus I don’t want others who love The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments as much as I do to waste their money.

Simply disappointing, leaving it with a 1 out of 5.