This was something unique. Not what I expected, yet even better. Enigmatic, eerie, even downright scary at times.
The story starts off on such a light note. The Doctor is delighted to be back in Tibet. He can barely wait to throw on his outrageous fur coat and go scampering down to the monastery.
Sarah -
I love his enthusiasm and that he's been here before. The snow and screaming at the beginning let's us know that all is not well, but the Doctor is so ready for adventure.
I love the juxtaposition of the Doctor rushing off all madcap with the Ghanta, and Jamie with the feeling that all is not quite right.
Harry -
I was thrilled because it felt like an old Hartnell historical.
Sarah -
It does, doesn't it? I almost expected Marco Polo to show up!
Harry -
As our friend Rob points out, the story moves very slowly, but that's not a bad thing. There are enough varied characters to keep it from feeling as though the story is being padded out. The Doctor is on form, and Jamie and Victoria both have lots of screen time.
Travers is the Edwardian hunter with a squint in his eye. Khrisong is the blunt and bullying monk. Songsten is the mysterious, enigmatic abbot. All three of them threaten to be revealed as the villain at any moment.
And yet... the story keeps leading us on. We wait and wait, but there seems to be something greater at work here. Even the Yeti are not what they seem - the Doctor reveals that they are just robots. That should be a big reveal, but it happens as early as episode two. What is going on here?
Sarah -
Unfortunately, this is one of those stories where the recon got in the way of my enjoyment of the story. I hate to admit it, but there were times when I had absolutely no idea what was going on and which character was which. I stayed with it through the first two episodes, but completely lost track of what the hell was going on for the rest of the story.
Mostly I just focused on the Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria, who all had some nice moments. Victoria seemed to have some especially good plotlines...I think.
Harry -
Rob touched upon the fact that this story did require some serious attention while viewing. Like "The Faceless Ones," it was a more grown up kind of Doctor Who. I liked it, but I don't think it would work on an ongoing basis.
Sarah -
Reading Rob and Toby's discussion, I found myself thinking, "Oh, that's what happened" quite often.
Harry -
In terms of being "grown up", there were several moments of horror that the recon did hinder, but were still effective. The reveal of Padmasambhava - basically an animated corpse kept alive by the power of the Great Intelligence - that was a great moment. His dual voices, his creepy hands, his chilling laugh all made for a memorable "villain."
Sarah -
The voice was definitely the most compelling and creepy aspect of the character.
Harry -
Another scary moment was Victoria's possession. This wasn't the now-standard companion possession, where they lurch about droning some brainwashed messaging. Victoria projected near-frantic levels of fear and urgency as she shouted at the Doctor to take her away. That was incredible!
Sarah -
It reminded me of Dodo's possession by WOTAN. The Doctor's panicked response to this possession made me really worry about Victoria!
Harry -
The story's strong suit seems to be the very uncertainty that it sows. We never know who the true villain is until late in the game. Even then, we never see it because it can only manifest itself in avatars.
Throughout, the Doctor seems to know what he's doing, but is not really convincing. His mental battle with Padmasambhava seems the critical moment - but was it just a distraction, long enough for Jamie and Thonmi to smash the true source of The Great Intelligence's power? We never really find out how much of the Doctor's actions were bluff and ruse, but that seems to go well with the entire story.
It's too bad this one was mostly erased, because in the absence of a big soundtrack, the visuals are critical. At least we got one episode out of six. How many of these damn recons are left, Sarah? I sense you are clutching your abacus with white knuckles over there.
Sarah -
Seven, Dear Harry, exactly seven!
Harry -
Bloody eck! I was hoping for a lower number. Well, let's put this one on ice (foreshadowing!) and press onward, shall we?
Sarah -
It's less than the eight we had going into this story, so that's something.
Onward!
Harry -
Best Line: Padmasambhava's wickedly slow delivery of the line "Come in my child - you have no al... ter... na... tive..."
Favourite Moment: Caught in a trance, Victoria frantically begs the Doctor to take her away.
Lasting Image: Those recurring shots of characters running up or down the mountainside. Wales looks so lovely!
8/10 (probably higher than it deserves, but I really liked the scary bits)
Sarah -
Best Line: The Doctor pulls out bagpipes while searching for the Ghanta:
Jamie: “I can fix these easily.”
Doctor: “Yes, I was afraid so.”
Favorite Moment: See above. It made me laugh out loud. What a team!
Lasting Image: Jamie and Victoria coming down the mountainside, looking for the Doctor. Ah, Wales!
6/10
Our marathon continues with Story #39 - The Ice Warriors...
No comments:
Post a Comment