Written by Chris Chibnall
Directed by Mark Tonderai
The Doctor (to the TARDIS): "You've redecorated. I really like it."
Ah, the difficult second episode. After reeling viewers in (including the ones like myself who were hesitant about such a big change) with a strong opening episode, does the second one fall at the first hurtle or is it another astonishing victory? Hard to say really.
It's the episode which does see our current Doctor and friends embarked on their first space adventure as the Doctor and Yasmin end up in the ship of surly so and so Epzo (Shaun Dooley) while Ryan and Graham then end up on the ship on the more welcoming Angstrom (Susan Lynch), who in particular finds Ryan rather amusing.
Our guest characters of the week are taking part in some space race for survival (and enough credits to live a comfortable life by) courtesy of Ilin (Art Malik) on a rather desolate planet appropriately named Desolation. Being the last two competitors in the race because I assumed everyone else died off ages ago, they now have to work together with the Doctor and her friends tagging along for company.
If the previous episode looked a little sparse in terms of settings, I assume it was because the money clearly went towards this episode instead. Desolation is a sunny (three of them in fact) planet, that manages to be toxic on every level, which means even drinking the water is a big no no here.
Of course, the race itself isn't really that interesting. It's more the destination and the fact that the title refers to the TARDIS, which just about every viewer would've deduced before it was spelled out. Seeing the Doctor, Ryan, Yasmin and Graham work together with Epzo and Angstrom to get to the TARDIS was diverting enough especially as the latter two actually put their rivalry to one side and even managed to become joint winners, much to Ilin's chagrin.
Getting back to the main team though, it's nice to see things move along nicely. The Doctor has a moment of self doubt over the TARDIS not being there and Ryan, Yasmin and Graham are supportive while also their handiness in a crisis as well during the episode. We do get a moment where the Doctor lectures Ryan on guns being bad but thankfully it's a moment that's not too drawn out though.
The monsters themselves though is where the episode loses points. Two episodes in and none of the new monsters have felt really threatening here. Ilin is mostly a pompous hologram, the SniperBots which even I mistook for potential Judoon are barely intimidating and the cloth like Remnants are taken out by a cigar of all things. On the monster front, Chibnall is going to have to up his game big time here.
As for the TARDIS itself - it looked ghastly in the set pics that were leaked months ago but it translated somewhat better on screen. We've had better looking interiors but it's decent enough, plus the reactions from our current cast did help to sell it a bit more. As for the biscuit thing, I'd want more than a custard cream if I'm being honest. Fig roll anyone?
- We got the opening credits and they look great https://twitter.com/BBCOne/status/1051774935855652864
- The order of the titles are Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole.
- Character bits: Yasmin's dad drives her bananas and her sister wants her to move out to get her room, Epzo's mother let him fall out of a tree without catching him as a child and Angstrom had a wife. Oh and the Doctor showed us she hasn't forgotten her Venusian Aikido either.
- Looks like both the Stenza (main baddies from last week) and the Timeless Child are our series arc this time around.
- This episode has so far pulled in 7.1 million, so not a massive drop from last week then.
- Nice references to both Audrey Hepburn and Pythagoras in this episode. I wouldn't mind seeing either in a future one.
- Chronology: From where The Woman Who Fell To Earth left off.
The Ghost Monument might have lacked some strong monsters but it utilised it's guest cast well enough while also giving our main players enough to do as well. While I would've preferred seeing the opening credits and new TARDIS in the previous episode, at least this episode gave us both and did it well. This episode ain't a classic and was pretty talky in parts but it's a solid enough romp.
Rating: 7 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment