Halloween also brought the worst premiere episode of the Thirteenth Doctor era of Doctor Who. Which makes it the worst premiere of the relaunched series. The worst of all time? Hmm. The Twin Dilemma aired near the end of a season, despite introducing a new Doctor. I suppose the 1996 TV movie counts as a premiere. But at least that was interesting. "The Halloween Apocalypse" doesn't really feel like it's even trying, it's so bland. I wonder if Chris Chibnell has just completely lost heart. It wouldn't surprise me.
I was curious to see if any criticisms from Jay Exci's YouTube video would be reflected in the writing. The five hour YouTube analysis has over a million views and for a while came up first in a search for "Doctor Who" on YouTube. Even now it's only five results down. As studios and producers are growing more and more sensitive to social media, I'd be very surprised if several people at Doctor Who hadn't seen the video. But the only thing I saw in the new premiere that may have come out of Exci's analysis is that Yaz now starts creating a profile of Dan by observing the scene of his kidnapping. She's actually drawing on her established background as a policewoman.
That's something, I guess, but she's still pretty bland, especially for a relaunch companion. I watched "Partners in Crime" on Sunday, the Tenth Doctor's third season premiere that re-introduced Donna. That episode features a bit of Donna's home life with her mother and grandfather. In the middle of everything else, we hear the resentment Donna's mother has for her for not finding a steady job contrasted with her granddad's optimism. Both Davies and Moffat were interested in exploring what it is that makes someone want to be the Doctor's companion. None of the companions Chibnall's introduced have been explored this way. They all have the mild enthusiasm of a family member being prevailed upon to accompany the kids on a trip to the amusement park, not the madness of someone who craves dangerous, extraordinary adventure in a totally alien environment.
This episode gives us a new companion, Dan (John Bishop), whom we meet being a volunteer tour guide at a museum in Liverpool. His friend, an actual employee, expresses disappointment that he has taken it upon himself to speak glowingly about Liverpool to a bunch of tourists. Yeah, he's clearly on a downward spiral.
I can tell his enthusiasm is supposed to be endearing to the viewer but everything comes off as one of those generic stock videos sold to advertisers.
We learn Dan's out of work, too, which sits oddly next to the episode's attempted joke about trick or treating when an adult without a costume attempts to trick or treat at Dan's house. Dan, who's just come home from working at a soup kitchen, is disgusted by this guy at his door asking for food and using trick or treating as a pretext.
They just didn't care.
A cute dog alien shows up, tears down Dan's wall, kidnaps him, and keeps him in a cage. Later, the dog alien reveals to the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) that he's actually trying to save Dan. Why didn't he explain this to Dan? Why didn't he try? The dog explains it's because he doesn't like Dan but he's sworn to help him anyway.
They just didn't care.
This is the first of a six part episode--the whole six episode season is supposed to tell one story. But this episode, with so many completely unconnected bits--including an unexplained flashback to the 1820s, a shot of some Sontarans planning an invasion of Earth, and a woman encountering a Weeping Angel--feel suspiciously like they were separate episodes that were arbitrarily chopped up and reconstituted into one. This felt especially awkward when the woman with the Weeping Angel problem runs into the Doctor and Yaz and the Doctor brushes her off, claiming to be "too busy". As though the woman who runs up to the Doctor, knowing to call her "Doctor" without knowing why, couldn't possibly be part of the mystery the Doctor is currently investigating. Wouldn't it be sensible to take her aboard the TARDIS, run a scan or something? Or would two stories then bleed too much into each other? Too much of a bother?
They just didn't care.
Director Jamie Magnus Stone returns to bring us an overabundance of closeups. The villain, in an apparent attempt to play off the episode's Halloween setting, has a skull like face.
Normally the monster makeup in the 13th Doctor era has been one of the few good points but this guy looks like Frank Langella as Skeletor in Masters of the Universe.
They just didn't care.
Well, brave heart, Tegan, Russell T. Davies is the light at the end of this tunnel.
Twitter Sonnet #1488
The pumpkin nails denote a northern test.
Exchanging days the holiday is on.
We ate a bird to show we wanted rest.
We put the figures 'cross the candy lawn.
Amour amoral can't amount to beans.
Per building codes burritos lately burst.
Emphatic ends embrace the shapely means.
A sunny Venus reigns for best and worst.
The papers blank were written drawers to pulls.
To pick a slender sheet we rally crumbs.
I thought of other words to pique the bulls.
I want another group to rate the thumbs.
A reed was rat'ling 'bout the music pit.
A broken string adorns the beefy mitt.
No comments:
Post a Comment