3x07 42
3x07 “42”
Grade: D
Burn with me!
This episode was written by Chris Chibnall. Chibnall has written some decent episodes of Life on Mars, some mediocre episodes of Doctor Who (this one and the Silurian two part story from series 5), some comparatively decent episodes of Torchwood (Fragments and Exit Wounds), and some horrific episodes of Torchwood (Cyberwoman and Countrycide). So while this episode isn’t the best of his stuff, it’s not as bad as it could have been (THIS COULD HAVE BEEN ANOTHER CYBERWOMAN. BE THANKFUL FOR SMALL BLESSINGS).
The dialogue is still pretty cringe worthy at times, unfortunately. The plot is… meh. A lot of the tension comes from incredibly obvious and artificial plot devices, specifically that of the sealed doors between the crew and the auxiliary engines. It just seems incredibly stupid and contrived in order to generate tension as opposed to really evolving organically from the story. Same goes for the tension created by Martha and Riley jumping into an escape pod. It seems so stupid. Surely Riley knew that was an escape pod. Why would he jump in there when he knows that the thing is trying to kill them and has the ability to override controls? As far as plot goes, the whole “crew getting possessed by an alien life form” is just so unoringinal (or maybe I just watched too much Star Trek growing up) and Chibnall does absolutely nothing new with it here. Also, living star. LOL.
An example of Chibnall’s ~riviting dialogue:
The Doctor: That sun's alive. A living organism. They scooped out its heart. Used it for fuel and now its screaming!
Kath McDonnell: What do you mean? How can a sun be alive? Why is he saying that?
The Doctor: Because it's living *in* me.
The one bit of dialogue that actually made me laugh was this:
Martha Jones: Who had the most number ones: Elvis or the Beatles? That's *pre*-download.
The Doctor: Elvis. *No*! The Beatles. *No*! Wait, um... um... oh, there was that remix, um... I don't know! I *am* a bit busy.
Martha Jones: Fine, I'll ask someone else.
The Doctor: Now, where was I? "Here Comes The Sun". No, resources!
I love the Beatles and agood bad play on words.
I feel like the secondary characters aren’t really explored at all, and it hurts the episode. A lot of things in this episode are things that are going to be done in “Midnight”, but “Midnight” does it way better. In “Midnight” there is a sort of infection going around, but in that episode, the tension really feels palpable. And we don’t really get to know Korwin OR the captain all that well, so the scene when they go into the star just doesn’t have the same emotional punch as when the Hostess sacrifices herself in “Midnight”. There's no interpersonal tension. These characters are just people wandering around waiting to be killed off.
I’m really not keen Martha’s character journey in this episode. I feel like she kind of treats Riley the exact same way that the Doctor treats her.
I get the impression that Riley fancies Martha. Their connection and interaction in the escape pod was really sweet. But then when Riley mentions maybe meeting again sometime, Martha is just like “yeah… maybe…” And then kisses him with no intention of ever seeing him again. I really don't know what possessed her to do that, but she's treating Riley the exact same way the Doctor has been treating her.
The Doctor: I'm scared. I'm so scared.
Martha Jones: Just stay calm. You saved me, now I return the favor. Just believe in me.
It’s also interesting that Martha says “just believe in me”, but that doesn’t really help the Doctor to calm down. He doesn’t have that same faith or trust in Martha (yet) that he did in “The Satan Pit” when he said (regarding Rose), that if he believes in just one thing, “I believe in her”. For most of series 3, I really just am not a fan of the Doctor and Martha as a Doctor/Companion relationship. They’re just not on the same page with regards to each other so it’s always a bit awkward because they just don't quite GET the other person. This doesn’t make the Doctor or Martha bad people, I just really don’t think they worked together as a Doctor/Companion relationship.
The scene where the Doctor gives Martha the key to the Tardis, to me, encapsulates everything that is wrong with the Doctor and Martha as a Doctor/Companion relationship. She worships him. The way that she receives the key with this look of utter reverence isn’t good. (Compare this to when the Doctor gave a key to Rose as a matter of course, an ordinary thing because the Doctor and Rose function as equal partners or when the Doctor gave Donna a key and tried to make a moment of it and Donna made fun of him for it because they’re besties and Donna can rib on him.) The Doctor needs someone who thinks he is a bit of a tosser sometimes and will call him out on it. Martha idolizes the Doctor too much in series 3, I think. Even though theoretically it should be the New Series relationship that is closest to being between equals, the way that it plays out is the least equal of the relationships. Martha comes from a fairly wealthy background and she is well educated. On paper she is a much better match for the Doctor than working class Rose who never got A-levels or Donna, a woman who is in her 30s and still working temp jobs. But Martha accepts the key like it is some great gift from a person so superior to herself. Idk. Maybe Martha has some self-esteem issues stemming from an overbearing mother who was probably never satisfied with her grades or work, but yeah. I get that it's a character journey, it's just not one I enjoy watching.
I think that this becomes most gross in the next two episodes where Martha is literally the Doctor’s servant. I mean Martha really does suffer admirably, but in light of her adoration for the Doctor, it kind of squicks me out. Can you imagine Rose having to be a servant in 1914 for weeks? She was getting really tetchy after being a dinner lady for only a few days. Donna would make an AWFUL servant, and I don't think Amy would last long either. So I suppose it is actually rather admirable of Martha that she has the loyalty and patience for it (and honestly, I doubt the story would have worked with any new series companion other than Martha), but in light of her idolization of the Doctor, it tends to rub me the wrong way. It’s not that the other companions don’t believe in the Doctor because they do. Rose clearly does when she wants to stay behind in “The Satan Pit”, but I don’t get the same sense of unquestioning admiration. But I suppose that it was necessary for her character. Martha's loyalty to and almost deification of the Doctor is central to her saving the day in "The Last of the Time Lords". But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Wow. That was a really long rant about Martha's relationship with the Doctor in series 3. Whoops. Didn't mean for that to happen. And just to be clear, I don't hate Martha. I really don't. I think that she is a brilliant, strong and brave woman. I just don't enjoy watching this particular arc for her and I can't really connect with her in the same way that I do the other companions because of it. But I DO love her at the end of "The Last of the Time Lords" and her subsequent appearances on Who and Torchwood where I think Martha is able to shine to her full potential.
Oh and I should probably mention the Francine and Saxon storyline bit. It is always nice to see what happens to those left behind (like in “Love and Monsters), and I do think having Francine be used by Saxon’s goons was an interesting choice. But whatever, she was the one who put her faith in Saxon over her daughter’s decision making abilities. And now she’s gotten in over her head.
Grade: D
Burn with me!
This episode was written by Chris Chibnall. Chibnall has written some decent episodes of Life on Mars, some mediocre episodes of Doctor Who (this one and the Silurian two part story from series 5), some comparatively decent episodes of Torchwood (Fragments and Exit Wounds), and some horrific episodes of Torchwood (Cyberwoman and Countrycide). So while this episode isn’t the best of his stuff, it’s not as bad as it could have been (THIS COULD HAVE BEEN ANOTHER CYBERWOMAN. BE THANKFUL FOR SMALL BLESSINGS).
The dialogue is still pretty cringe worthy at times, unfortunately. The plot is… meh. A lot of the tension comes from incredibly obvious and artificial plot devices, specifically that of the sealed doors between the crew and the auxiliary engines. It just seems incredibly stupid and contrived in order to generate tension as opposed to really evolving organically from the story. Same goes for the tension created by Martha and Riley jumping into an escape pod. It seems so stupid. Surely Riley knew that was an escape pod. Why would he jump in there when he knows that the thing is trying to kill them and has the ability to override controls? As far as plot goes, the whole “crew getting possessed by an alien life form” is just so unoringinal (or maybe I just watched too much Star Trek growing up) and Chibnall does absolutely nothing new with it here. Also, living star. LOL.
An example of Chibnall’s ~riviting dialogue:
The Doctor: That sun's alive. A living organism. They scooped out its heart. Used it for fuel and now its screaming!
Kath McDonnell: What do you mean? How can a sun be alive? Why is he saying that?
The Doctor: Because it's living *in* me.
The one bit of dialogue that actually made me laugh was this:
Martha Jones: Who had the most number ones: Elvis or the Beatles? That's *pre*-download.
The Doctor: Elvis. *No*! The Beatles. *No*! Wait, um... um... oh, there was that remix, um... I don't know! I *am* a bit busy.
Martha Jones: Fine, I'll ask someone else.
The Doctor: Now, where was I? "Here Comes The Sun". No, resources!
I love the Beatles and a
I feel like the secondary characters aren’t really explored at all, and it hurts the episode. A lot of things in this episode are things that are going to be done in “Midnight”, but “Midnight” does it way better. In “Midnight” there is a sort of infection going around, but in that episode, the tension really feels palpable. And we don’t really get to know Korwin OR the captain all that well, so the scene when they go into the star just doesn’t have the same emotional punch as when the Hostess sacrifices herself in “Midnight”. There's no interpersonal tension. These characters are just people wandering around waiting to be killed off.
I’m really not keen Martha’s character journey in this episode. I feel like she kind of treats Riley the exact same way that the Doctor treats her.
I get the impression that Riley fancies Martha. Their connection and interaction in the escape pod was really sweet. But then when Riley mentions maybe meeting again sometime, Martha is just like “yeah… maybe…” And then kisses him with no intention of ever seeing him again. I really don't know what possessed her to do that, but she's treating Riley the exact same way the Doctor has been treating her.
The Doctor: I'm scared. I'm so scared.
Martha Jones: Just stay calm. You saved me, now I return the favor. Just believe in me.
It’s also interesting that Martha says “just believe in me”, but that doesn’t really help the Doctor to calm down. He doesn’t have that same faith or trust in Martha (yet) that he did in “The Satan Pit” when he said (regarding Rose), that if he believes in just one thing, “I believe in her”. For most of series 3, I really just am not a fan of the Doctor and Martha as a Doctor/Companion relationship. They’re just not on the same page with regards to each other so it’s always a bit awkward because they just don't quite GET the other person. This doesn’t make the Doctor or Martha bad people, I just really don’t think they worked together as a Doctor/Companion relationship.
The scene where the Doctor gives Martha the key to the Tardis, to me, encapsulates everything that is wrong with the Doctor and Martha as a Doctor/Companion relationship. She worships him. The way that she receives the key with this look of utter reverence isn’t good. (Compare this to when the Doctor gave a key to Rose as a matter of course, an ordinary thing because the Doctor and Rose function as equal partners or when the Doctor gave Donna a key and tried to make a moment of it and Donna made fun of him for it because they’re besties and Donna can rib on him.) The Doctor needs someone who thinks he is a bit of a tosser sometimes and will call him out on it. Martha idolizes the Doctor too much in series 3, I think. Even though theoretically it should be the New Series relationship that is closest to being between equals, the way that it plays out is the least equal of the relationships. Martha comes from a fairly wealthy background and she is well educated. On paper she is a much better match for the Doctor than working class Rose who never got A-levels or Donna, a woman who is in her 30s and still working temp jobs. But Martha accepts the key like it is some great gift from a person so superior to herself. Idk. Maybe Martha has some self-esteem issues stemming from an overbearing mother who was probably never satisfied with her grades or work, but yeah. I get that it's a character journey, it's just not one I enjoy watching.
I think that this becomes most gross in the next two episodes where Martha is literally the Doctor’s servant. I mean Martha really does suffer admirably, but in light of her adoration for the Doctor, it kind of squicks me out. Can you imagine Rose having to be a servant in 1914 for weeks? She was getting really tetchy after being a dinner lady for only a few days. Donna would make an AWFUL servant, and I don't think Amy would last long either. So I suppose it is actually rather admirable of Martha that she has the loyalty and patience for it (and honestly, I doubt the story would have worked with any new series companion other than Martha), but in light of her idolization of the Doctor, it tends to rub me the wrong way. It’s not that the other companions don’t believe in the Doctor because they do. Rose clearly does when she wants to stay behind in “The Satan Pit”, but I don’t get the same sense of unquestioning admiration. But I suppose that it was necessary for her character. Martha's loyalty to and almost deification of the Doctor is central to her saving the day in "The Last of the Time Lords". But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Wow. That was a really long rant about Martha's relationship with the Doctor in series 3. Whoops. Didn't mean for that to happen. And just to be clear, I don't hate Martha. I really don't. I think that she is a brilliant, strong and brave woman. I just don't enjoy watching this particular arc for her and I can't really connect with her in the same way that I do the other companions because of it. But I DO love her at the end of "The Last of the Time Lords" and her subsequent appearances on Who and Torchwood where I think Martha is able to shine to her full potential.
Oh and I should probably mention the Francine and Saxon storyline bit. It is always nice to see what happens to those left behind (like in “Love and Monsters), and I do think having Francine be used by Saxon’s goons was an interesting choice. But whatever, she was the one who put her faith in Saxon over her daughter’s decision making abilities. And now she’s gotten in over her head.