ValueSubtracted

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  • I was enjoying this one quite a bit early on, but it turns into a bit of a slog as it goes.

  • I'm a big advocate of the restoration of Gallifrey, but...yeesh. Less is more.

  • A lot of the energy is sucked out of the story by the layering of pointless mysteries. Does it matter if Omega's identity is revealed much, much sooner? Not really. Ditto for "who's the traitor on the High Council?" But I suppose they have a runtime to fill.

  • It's amusing to watch Colin Baker run around trying to hasten the Doctor's regeneration. Conflict of interest!

  • Omega has a TARDIS now? Okay...

  • Omega (that's OH-meguh) has a rather more subdued personality this time around, which is kind of a shame. A little eccentricity might have spiced things up a bit.

  • The Ergon, described as one of Omega's less successful attempts at psychosynthesis, looks kind of familiar...

The Ergon, a bird-like creature that appears to be made of bone, not unlike the bone palace and giant creatures seen in "Wish World".

 
  • I swear I saw bits and pieces of old Doctor Who reruns when I was growing up, and I have vague memories of the Third Doctor and Bessie - vague enough that I would never be able to actually identify an episode that I've seen before.

  • Jo is sort of blandly competent in this, without standing out in any way. The Brigadier is at his most buffoonish.

  • It's a shame William Hartnell's health prevented him from playing a larger role in the story, but you do what you can with what you have.

  • The "telepathic conference" effect (if you can call it an effect) was charmingly effective.

  • I also rather liked the blobby creatures, and whatever they used to dress the sets in the antimatter universe. That translucent red stuff has a visceral quality that enhances the overall...shoddiness.

  • Nice quarry, too.

  • Now, on to Omega. There's "over the top," and then there's this guy. He's an old-school supervillain at his core, with shades of Doctor Doom (and I'm not just talking about the mask). Despite being very one-note, his backstory is interesting, and has a very old-school sci-fi feel.

  • Also...Omega is trapped in a world that he's essentially wished into existence. Where have I heard that before...?

 

Just a reminder that the season finale will be available on Saturday, May 31, at:

  • 11:00 AM PT

  • 7:00 PM BST

That's about 11 hours later than its usual streaming time.

 

LoglineTraps are sprung and old enemies unite as the Doctor and Belinda finally arrive home to find a very different world. Can the Doctor see the truth before midnight arrives?

Written by: Russell T Davies

Directed by: Alex Sanjiv Pillai

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 4 points 1 month ago (3 children)

What makes this Rani and the Fifteenth Doctor’s dynamic different to the past?

Without giving too much away for the finale, this is a Doctor and a Rani of a different time. The annihilation of the Time Lords has affected both these characters in different ways – some of which you can see in my episode. The way the Doctor is affected by the attack on the Arena comes from a place of trauma; and I think that’s something we should expect of the Rani as well.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Rule 1: The Doctor (Who showrunner) lies.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Sure, load 'em up.

I was really just thinking about the mad scientist angle, and how that bit actually works pretty well.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 3 points 1 month ago (4 children)

This probably isn't a very original idea, but...could the Rani be Tecteun?

shakes fist

EHLERRRRRRRRS

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Archie Panjabi has oozed attitude in what little we’ve seen of her in the part so far

We haven't talked about this enough. She's positively magnetic.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 3 points 1 month ago (3 children)

The Rani is famously a scientist, and now she’s a scientist walking into a world where a Pantheon of Gods has been awoken, which is magic in the air. She simply finds it fascinating. To her, it’s a different form of science, she’s not there to reject it. She’s a true scientist with a very open mind. True scientists have open imaginations. Saying, “yes we can go to the moon,” “yes we can travel in time,” “yes, there’s anti-gravity.”

The problem with her experiments and her ideas is that she doesn’t care how many lives she loses along the way. We’ll see her running experiments on a massive scale. The very first scene of the two-part finale will really take people by surprise as to what she’s up to. And from then on, it never stops. It’s a huge extravaganza.

I was glad to read this.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Honestly, I hope not. Even though the stuff with Ruby's mother didn't land super well, I liked the ideas behind it.

I feel like this is probably RTD pulling a George Lucas and making sure that like poetry, it rhymes.

Well it's a good thing it's the greatest piece of television ever produced, then!

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I've never heard of these - wot in tarnation...?

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

A decent chunk of his argument is simply to push back against this...loudly.

Finally, it is time to start calling out a lot of provincial grievance for the rank bullshit it often is.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Can’t wait for your thought on “Dimensions in time” 🫤

I wasn't going to, but...challenge accepted.

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