I do not remember another Doctor going through these many episodes of adjusting to their new body. Based on next week's preview, she will have more trouble iwth her body. The actress is doing her best, yet it feels as if the material is not challenging her as an actress. They are really dragging it out with her adjusting to her new body. However, I am starting to cool towards her. These chats feel like they are added to the episode and are not really a part of the larger story and plot. One of the more notable for me is Yaz and Ronan having a quick chat. As the episode neared the end, the more I wanted to bolt away.įamiliar trends are starting to appear in this series.
I struggled with keeping the tv on while watching this episode. Interesting that we've had a Predator pastiche, Alien pastiche (with a healthy dose of Futurama's Nibbler), a Quantum Leap homage and several episodes folks have noted resemble Star Trek. Especially as the Pting didn't seem to be capable of the type of work to get the escape pod to explode. I wish he'd been sent off in one of the pods in the asteroid belt rather than just blowing up. Killing the lead medic felt off and like bad false drama. I also enjoy the relative non-violent nature of the episode. (Especially the initial crowd shot of them where they seem to be reacting to it being about waist high.) I had fun with it. The bridge of the ship reminded me a lot of the Dalek ship from Victory of the Daleks for some reason.I actually think the Pting was a little too cutesy and their reactions were disproportionate to it. The only weird thing I've noticed is Jodie tends to crouch down a lot and sort of fold in as a character trait and it seems sort of odd. I also enjoy her penchant for turning rote exposition of "future history" into excitement, something some of the other Doctors have struggled with from an acting standpoint. Her joy at the antimatter engine was great. I tend to think of McGann as the "Man of Infinite Compassion" incarnation of the Doctor, and Jodie seems to be vying for the "Empathy is Infinite and Contagious" incarnation. I thought Jodie's Doctor got some much needed time to shine with smaller moments away from the companions. Could have easily been another medtech/nurse on the ship or been a sacrificial player. Ronan (Roman? It felt like everyone had a different take on it.) was sort of an odd choice. Not bad, but I would have liked more time with Cicero Siblings. The pregnancy storyline either needed a trim or more drama.
She did have some cool moments, but largely seems an afterthought much of time. I will say, poor Yas feels a little forgotten about. I liked the Doctor having an "equal number" in Cicero for a few scenes.
There needed to be a few other people on the ship, make it feel like there were more stakes. (Kinda Nerva station, kinda Robots of Death.) It is odd for the episode to feel both crowded and empty at the same time.