Harry -
I think, Sarah, when we started our marathon rewatch of Doctor Who in its televised entirety, we aimed all our focus on the classic era and left the Matt Smith era alone for these past ten years.
Having watched his first two stories, I wish we hadn't done that. They have both been so good!
Sarah -
I like that we have a bit of distance on the Matt Smith era, it's helping me bring a fresh perspective. But I have to disagree on "The Beast Below". It didn't hold up for me and I have a feeling it could end of being the low point of the series. Turns out Steven Moffat agrees with me. In an interview for the 50th anniversary he was asked for his favorite and least favorite episodes so far:"The Beast Below…it was quite a mess…it was all over the place…”
I have to agree.
Harry -
You came armed with a link! Feeling outgunned here, but I will say what I liked about the story. Amy wastes no time showing she's got the chops to be a great companion. She successfully investigates on her own, she shows empathy where the Doctor is prepared to give none, and she follows his earlier advice to keep her eyes open for details, which leads her to resolve the story's main mystery.
Sarah -
Sorry, I didn't mean to get all librarian. I remembered Moffat's comment from 2013 and was almost surprised to find the reference.
Harry -
Moffat's Scottish roots provided for some lighter moments of dialogue between Amy and the Doctor.
The Orwellian society aboard Starship UK offered an irresistible dilemma for the Doctor to wade into, despite all his high and mighty talk of never interfering. The entire story was dripping with allegory. The smilers were very unsettling, and downright horrifying when they stood up to attack; a good example of Moffat turning something unexpected into an object of terror.
Where did it go south for you, Sarah?
Sarah -
Almost from the beginning. The story feels very thin, but maybe that's ok. Amy gets to have her first adventure in the future, where she's more than 1,000 years old, and does all the resourceful things a companion gets to do. The Doctor is ready to send her home, but realizes that she sees the things he misses, so Amy gets to stay in the TARDIS.
Harry -
Moffat's look at a future UK society was a bit uneven. He predicts, and this one is a surer bet with each passing year, that the Scots will choose their own course and strike out on their own. He's bang-on about the impulse that most people have to look away and pretend they see nothing when someone is in distress.
Sarah -
It does feel prescient, doesn’ it? Brexit in Space!
Harry -
I wasn't sure about Liz 10 though. Not the character herself, because she was well performed by Sophie Okonedo. It's the notion that even a thousand years from now, the English will still be clinging to their monarchy, and an increasingly impotent one at that. The shadowy figures behind the scenes (future bureaucrats?) are the ones who know all the secrets and keep things running.
Sarah -
I wish Okonedo was given more to do, but one doesn’t expect much from the monarchy, so it might be appropriate.
Harry -
So we get to the big moral horror of the story. The Doctor has been teasing it by playing around with glasses of water, then we get a big clue when he and Amy get shot down a conduit into a stinking, slime-filled chamber. Once the requisite characters are assembled down below, the beast upon whose back the UK is travelling is acknowledged. The great secret of Starship UK is revealed and it's not pleasant. A starwhale, the last of its kind, has been harnessed and for some stupid reason is being tortured as it conveys the UK through space. The Doctor wants to lobotomize the beast so it will continue on while brain-dead. It's up to Amy to observe that the creature has only friendly intentions and there's no need to torture or destroy its mind.
Pond 1
Doctor 0
Funny that Moffat would pan this story, after spending a lifetime dreaming what he would do and the stories he would tell as Doctor Who's showrunner.
Sarah -
Imagine finally getting the job you wanted since you were eight-year-old -- I wouldn’t know what to do with myself!
Harry -
Very true.
Sarah -
Maybe I should have given this another watch, but I didn’t and I don’t feel like I have much more to say. I’m ready to find out what’s up with Winston Churchill. Shall we?
Harry -
Our first Matt Smith historical, let us go forward together!
Sarah -
Best Line:
"Oh, I'm way worse than Scottish."
Favorite Moment: Amy discovering she’s 1306 years old.
Lasting Image: The Smilers are so creepy.
6/10
Harry -
Best Line:
"You look human."
"You look Time Lord."
Favourite Moment: Amy out-thinking the Doctor and saving the starwhale.
Lasting Image: Smilers for sure.
7/10
Our marathon continues with Story #205: Victory of the Daleks...
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