Classic!Who s8—The Colony in Space
May. 31st, 2015 09:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flowsoffireThat's right, here is an exceptionally fast review :D Five days for a six-part episode. Being up to date with fandom does that. ♥
And this ep was lovely too! It started in a very enthralling way, with the Time Lords appearing, if briefly, and using the Doctor as their device to stop the Master, pretty much. ^_^ Then it carried on to Jo showing great disbelief at the idea of the TARDIS ever working again… only to be caught in an impromptu trip two minutes later, as the Time Lords went and sent the TARDIS where they needed it. Her "bigger on the inside" moment was very nice. ^_^ But the really interesting stuff was when Jo realized that yes, legit, they had left Earth, alien planet out there. This was so new for her—there's always been UNIT before, she was with the Doctor having adventures, and it might be dangerous but she had never been so out of her depth, thrown into something tremendously foreign. She was just distressed and longing for reassurance—but she would not be getting that, and there was really interesting tension instead, as Jo just wanted to stay in the TARDIS or get back home as soon as she could, but the Doctor had longed and longed to be able to travel again for such a long time and it was out of the question that he wouldn't go out there. It's one of those moments when you can feel the alien, there was something deeply unbending in him, opposed to Jo's discomfort and fear. And it was she who bent, who took a leap of faith and followed him out there, into a new adventure.
Back at UNIT, the Brig walked in just in time to see the TARDIS leave, and barked "Doctor. Come back at once." This was epic. I'll get back to that :D
Then plot. The plot was interesting: I like the way the different factors played together and were connected, the colonists, the IMC people, the primitives, and the Master—each working for their own goals, and coming in conflict. Most of the IMC people were fairly one-dimensional but there was Caldwell, who was a decent guy but had to deal with his company's awful ethics and do as he was told, struggled and protested for a while, then realized he had no choice or he would be done for, and then was torn between helping individual people when he could and trying to harden himself and just do his duty. So his moral struggle and distress were interesting. The colonists weren't bad, little Mary was a fierce one. I didn't believe for one second that the colonists had really tragically been blown up in their ship near the end, though it would have been Tragedy—but Ashe sacrifizing himself to save the others was a good bit of Tragedy. The primitives spent a good first half not seeming very relevant but then it was revealed that they actually were at the core of everything, since their ancient civilization held the weapon that the Master was looking for and that had also made the planet so inhospitable for the colonists. But the weapon had ruined what had previously been a rather advanced and interesting civilization and made them backslide dramatically.
And there was the Master. :D Not right away—but what with the regular references to the Adjudicator's arrival, I really had a good enough idea of who that would be. :D I just cracked up when the Doctor tried to reveal he was an impostor and the Master was all like "Haha, but my fake credentials are better than your absence of any credentials, how's that?". Delgado was glorious as always. We saw the Master's TARDIS. (It looked pretty much like the Doctor's, but with added poisoned gas.) We saw the Master reviving the Doctor after the use of said gas, and being delightfully snarky, before proceeding to threatening Jo's life to make him do as he was told. (That one never stops working.) And that gave us the Doctor and the Master teaming up again (if grudgingly), being prisoners in the primitives' cell together, sharing knowledge about the primitives' history, working together. And it was the Master who got them a way out. Then we had the most glorious part yet, with the Master offering an alliance with the two of them ruling over the universe thanks to the Doomsday weapon—that was just a really intense confrontation, and I relished the way some new!Who key scenes echoed that. (Ten's "You don't need to own the universe, just see it" was Three's line verbatim with just a change of pronouns, Missy offered Twelve the very same, creating an empire to enforce good and peace… except she didn't mention the ruling together part, mm.) And his frustrated rage at the Doctor's refusal was gorgeous as well. ♥ I also kind of loved the Guardian of the primitives screeching at him "You are not fit to be a god!"
On a wholly different note, at some point Three distracted a guard with a magic trick for an escape. It worked. Classic!Who guards are truly terrible. XD Three really proves to be an apt fighter at other times besides. Venusian karate ftw.
The very ending was a fair bit of squee, with Three's cute little sign to tell Jo "Let's pop off into the TARDIS", their coming back to UNIT at the SECOND the Brig had ordered them too, and the latter's oblivious snark. Three might have given his abilities to grasp time travel a bit of credit, but it gave him a nice little "You and me know something the rest of the world doesn't" moment with Jo, which was especially lovely after the ep's difficult beginning in that regard :) So, yay.
Quotable lines:
Jo: "You don't seriously think you'll get that thing working again, do you?"
Three: "Oh, no. No, I've been doing all this work for fun."
Caldwell: "Are you some kind of scientist?"
Three: "I'm every kind of scientist. Now, if you'll excuse me."
Jo: "I don't believe it! It's bigger inside than out!"
Three: "Yes. That's because the Tardis is dimensionally transcendental."
Jo: "What does that mean?"
Three: "It means that it's bigger inside than out."
Caldwell: "Well, it's still murder."
Dent: "Back on Earth, tens of thousands of people die every day. Traffic accidents, suicides, pollution, epidemics."
Jo: "Doctor! You haven't lost the Tardis?"
Three: "Well, no, I haven't exactly lost it. Let's say it's temporarily mislaid."
Jo: "Well, I took a course in escapology once." [Is she kidding or is this an actual UNIT thing, I do not know, but I greatly enjoyed the deadpan, sweetly innocent tone of this regardless.]
Guardian of the primitives [about Jo]: "[…] although the creature with you is of no value."
[They were also about to trade her against food. So nice.]
Master: "My credentials are immaculate."
Three: "Forged, of course."
Master: "Of course, but immaculate."
Three: "My dear Jo, a Tardis can change its shape, you know." [That, and the haughty tone it is delivered with, is where he forgets that his can’t because he’s rubbish like that.]
Three: "You realise, of course, it can be extremely dangerous taking you to the Primitive city?"
Master: "Don't worry about my welfare, Doctor. Keep thinking about Miss Grantʼs."
Master [about the Doomsday weapon]: "Well, it seemed an awful pity not to make use of it, you know? But of course that's typical of the High Council of the Time Lords. Know everything, do nothing."
Master: "We could be gods!"
Guardian of the primitives: "You are not fit to be a god."
Master: "The point is that one must rule or serve. That's a basic law of life."
And this ep was lovely too! It started in a very enthralling way, with the Time Lords appearing, if briefly, and using the Doctor as their device to stop the Master, pretty much. ^_^ Then it carried on to Jo showing great disbelief at the idea of the TARDIS ever working again… only to be caught in an impromptu trip two minutes later, as the Time Lords went and sent the TARDIS where they needed it. Her "bigger on the inside" moment was very nice. ^_^ But the really interesting stuff was when Jo realized that yes, legit, they had left Earth, alien planet out there. This was so new for her—there's always been UNIT before, she was with the Doctor having adventures, and it might be dangerous but she had never been so out of her depth, thrown into something tremendously foreign. She was just distressed and longing for reassurance—but she would not be getting that, and there was really interesting tension instead, as Jo just wanted to stay in the TARDIS or get back home as soon as she could, but the Doctor had longed and longed to be able to travel again for such a long time and it was out of the question that he wouldn't go out there. It's one of those moments when you can feel the alien, there was something deeply unbending in him, opposed to Jo's discomfort and fear. And it was she who bent, who took a leap of faith and followed him out there, into a new adventure.
Back at UNIT, the Brig walked in just in time to see the TARDIS leave, and barked "Doctor. Come back at once." This was epic. I'll get back to that :D
Then plot. The plot was interesting: I like the way the different factors played together and were connected, the colonists, the IMC people, the primitives, and the Master—each working for their own goals, and coming in conflict. Most of the IMC people were fairly one-dimensional but there was Caldwell, who was a decent guy but had to deal with his company's awful ethics and do as he was told, struggled and protested for a while, then realized he had no choice or he would be done for, and then was torn between helping individual people when he could and trying to harden himself and just do his duty. So his moral struggle and distress were interesting. The colonists weren't bad, little Mary was a fierce one. I didn't believe for one second that the colonists had really tragically been blown up in their ship near the end, though it would have been Tragedy—but Ashe sacrifizing himself to save the others was a good bit of Tragedy. The primitives spent a good first half not seeming very relevant but then it was revealed that they actually were at the core of everything, since their ancient civilization held the weapon that the Master was looking for and that had also made the planet so inhospitable for the colonists. But the weapon had ruined what had previously been a rather advanced and interesting civilization and made them backslide dramatically.
And there was the Master. :D Not right away—but what with the regular references to the Adjudicator's arrival, I really had a good enough idea of who that would be. :D I just cracked up when the Doctor tried to reveal he was an impostor and the Master was all like "Haha, but my fake credentials are better than your absence of any credentials, how's that?". Delgado was glorious as always. We saw the Master's TARDIS. (It looked pretty much like the Doctor's, but with added poisoned gas.) We saw the Master reviving the Doctor after the use of said gas, and being delightfully snarky, before proceeding to threatening Jo's life to make him do as he was told. (That one never stops working.) And that gave us the Doctor and the Master teaming up again (if grudgingly), being prisoners in the primitives' cell together, sharing knowledge about the primitives' history, working together. And it was the Master who got them a way out. Then we had the most glorious part yet, with the Master offering an alliance with the two of them ruling over the universe thanks to the Doomsday weapon—that was just a really intense confrontation, and I relished the way some new!Who key scenes echoed that. (Ten's "You don't need to own the universe, just see it" was Three's line verbatim with just a change of pronouns, Missy offered Twelve the very same, creating an empire to enforce good and peace… except she didn't mention the ruling together part, mm.) And his frustrated rage at the Doctor's refusal was gorgeous as well. ♥ I also kind of loved the Guardian of the primitives screeching at him "You are not fit to be a god!"
On a wholly different note, at some point Three distracted a guard with a magic trick for an escape. It worked. Classic!Who guards are truly terrible. XD Three really proves to be an apt fighter at other times besides. Venusian karate ftw.
The very ending was a fair bit of squee, with Three's cute little sign to tell Jo "Let's pop off into the TARDIS", their coming back to UNIT at the SECOND the Brig had ordered them too, and the latter's oblivious snark. Three might have given his abilities to grasp time travel a bit of credit, but it gave him a nice little "You and me know something the rest of the world doesn't" moment with Jo, which was especially lovely after the ep's difficult beginning in that regard :) So, yay.
Quotable lines:
Jo: "You don't seriously think you'll get that thing working again, do you?"
Three: "Oh, no. No, I've been doing all this work for fun."
Caldwell: "Are you some kind of scientist?"
Three: "I'm every kind of scientist. Now, if you'll excuse me."
Jo: "I don't believe it! It's bigger inside than out!"
Three: "Yes. That's because the Tardis is dimensionally transcendental."
Jo: "What does that mean?"
Three: "It means that it's bigger inside than out."
Caldwell: "Well, it's still murder."
Dent: "Back on Earth, tens of thousands of people die every day. Traffic accidents, suicides, pollution, epidemics."
Jo: "Doctor! You haven't lost the Tardis?"
Three: "Well, no, I haven't exactly lost it. Let's say it's temporarily mislaid."
Jo: "Well, I took a course in escapology once." [Is she kidding or is this an actual UNIT thing, I do not know, but I greatly enjoyed the deadpan, sweetly innocent tone of this regardless.]
Guardian of the primitives [about Jo]: "[…] although the creature with you is of no value."
[They were also about to trade her against food. So nice.]
Master: "My credentials are immaculate."
Three: "Forged, of course."
Master: "Of course, but immaculate."
Three: "My dear Jo, a Tardis can change its shape, you know." [That, and the haughty tone it is delivered with, is where he forgets that his can’t because he’s rubbish like that.]
Three: "You realise, of course, it can be extremely dangerous taking you to the Primitive city?"
Master: "Don't worry about my welfare, Doctor. Keep thinking about Miss Grantʼs."
Master [about the Doomsday weapon]: "Well, it seemed an awful pity not to make use of it, you know? But of course that's typical of the High Council of the Time Lords. Know everything, do nothing."
Master: "We could be gods!"
Guardian of the primitives: "You are not fit to be a god."
Master: "The point is that one must rule or serve. That's a basic law of life."
