Doctor Who - Day of the Moon
Apr. 30th, 2011 11:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iainjclarkFor all its desire to bring Classic Doctor Who bang up to date Russell T Davies' era sometimes did little more than that - put a modern gloss on science fantasy adventures that in many cases could have been produced for the classic show. Sure, he injected a huge dose of pace, richer characterisation (and/or soap), and stronger continuity, but for the most part he didn't reinvent the wheel1.
After watching this two-parter I'm pretty sure Steven Moffatt is reinventing the wheel.
On the face of is this is a traditional Doctor Who alien-meets-historical, but my overriding impression as the end credits roll is that it feels nothing like Classic Doctor Who. In darkness of tone, in complexity, in games with time and narrative structure and unwillingness to wrap all its threads into a tidy conclusion.
And yet it plainly is Doctor Who. Not just because the Doctor remains the Doctor, but in its big whizz-bang science fantasy, broad brush characterisation, goofy humour and plot holes. And let's face it: aliens have invaded the Earth (since the dawn of civilisation, no less) and the Doctor is barging around in the past interacting with famous figures and key historical events to defeat them. It couldn't be more Doctor Who if it tried.
What's changed then? Perhaps a willingness to take risks with the storytelling. To jump three months forward and not roll it back. To not resolve the cliffhanger until a throwaway line half-way through. To let the vein of story arc run so richly that significant mysteries carry over from episode to episode and season to season. To trust the audience to stick with the story and the characters even while undercutting them both.
At times it has to be said this feels like complexity for its own sake, and the various elements sometimes trip over one another. It doesn't always work. But that's risks for you. For every moment of this episode that feels disjointed, or baffling, or anticlimactic there's one that feels invigorating, that demands your full attention and rewards you with a grin on your face (even while it's scaring the crap out of you).
By the end of this episode my grin was pretty big.
(...and then I watch the trailer for next week's romp and it looks like a pastiche of an RTD era potboiler. Go figure.)
--
1 Yes, yes there are exceptions like Human Nature/The Family of Blood. I'm generalising to make a point, leave me alone.
After watching this two-parter I'm pretty sure Steven Moffatt is reinventing the wheel.
On the face of is this is a traditional Doctor Who alien-meets-historical, but my overriding impression as the end credits roll is that it feels nothing like Classic Doctor Who. In darkness of tone, in complexity, in games with time and narrative structure and unwillingness to wrap all its threads into a tidy conclusion.
And yet it plainly is Doctor Who. Not just because the Doctor remains the Doctor, but in its big whizz-bang science fantasy, broad brush characterisation, goofy humour and plot holes. And let's face it: aliens have invaded the Earth (since the dawn of civilisation, no less) and the Doctor is barging around in the past interacting with famous figures and key historical events to defeat them. It couldn't be more Doctor Who if it tried.
What's changed then? Perhaps a willingness to take risks with the storytelling. To jump three months forward and not roll it back. To not resolve the cliffhanger until a throwaway line half-way through. To let the vein of story arc run so richly that significant mysteries carry over from episode to episode and season to season. To trust the audience to stick with the story and the characters even while undercutting them both.
At times it has to be said this feels like complexity for its own sake, and the various elements sometimes trip over one another. It doesn't always work. But that's risks for you. For every moment of this episode that feels disjointed, or baffling, or anticlimactic there's one that feels invigorating, that demands your full attention and rewards you with a grin on your face (even while it's scaring the crap out of you).
By the end of this episode my grin was pretty big.
(...and then I watch the trailer for next week's romp and it looks like a pastiche of an RTD era potboiler. Go figure.)
--
1 Yes, yes there are exceptions like Human Nature/The Family of Blood. I'm generalising to make a point, leave me alone.
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no subject
Date: 2011-04-30 10:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-01 10:46 am (UTC)Those two exceptions you mention weren't written by RTD, though, so they don't really count as exceptions to the rest of what you've said there. Midnight, possibly.
At times it has to be said this feels like complexity for its own sake, and the various elements sometimes trip over one another. It doesn't always work
For me, I'm afraid, this episode fell largely on the "didn't work" side of things. The pace, if anything, was even more unrelenting than the last episode; while I managed to follow things fine last week, this week there were moments that nearly lost me - such as the Doctor explaining what's going on to Canton in the TARDIS - and I would've liked a little more time to take things in. I think the problem in that regard is that Moffat has so much happening in the episode, such that the only options would've been "keep the pace up" or "cut things", so he went for the former.
I also find the casual genocide very problematic. But I seem to be the only one out of everyone I've talked to who does.
Which isn't to say I hated the whole episodes. There were parts I liked - the intro with the cars driving across the desert was remarkably well done; the clear X-Files homage, and Amy exploring the orphanage; and the fact that Moffat again didn't talk down to the audience or wrap everything up. But, still, I have trouble getting past the bad points.