Cold War Review
Review of Doctor Who 7x09: Cold War. There will be spoilers
Overview
Written by regular Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss this episode saw the return of the Ice Warriors, last seen in the Third Doctor adventure the Monsters of Peladon
But are they as good as they once were?
Episode Summery
I run the risk of being one of the few dissenting opinions here, but unlike the rest of the internet I wasn't very impressed with this episode
I wanted to like it I really did. I mean ICE WARRIORS. And there were bits of it that I did like. The reintroduction of the HADS was cool and by the way did I mention ICE WARRIORS. But other than that I wasn't thrilled
It felt too rushed in my opinion. Almost as if a two part episode had been condensed down into one and it had gone thorough a range of bad script edits. There were bits that I didn't think were explained properly - like why there is a scientist on a ship sent to drill oil - and at the beginning between Clara being knocked out, and her coming round, it struck me as if there should have been an extra scene in there. Possibly explaining why they were in a corridor.
It also struck me as too similar to past episodes, especially Dalek. The scene where Skaldak plugged himself into the computer definatly mirrored the bit where the Dalek did the same.
The concept - stuck on a sinking submarine with time running out - was an interesting one, as was setting it in the middle of the Cold War. But other than creating a reason for Skaldak having access to nukes, I don't think enough was made of this.
I wanted to like this, but in the end it came up short.
The Doctor
It's not often you find the Doctor playing catch up to the Monster of the Week, but in this episode he definatly was.
From the moment Skaldak left it's armour the Doctor was on the back foot, trying to figure out what he had planned and stop him. We're used to seeing the Doctor come up with plans on the fly, but he at least usually has some idea of what's going on. Here was completely out of his depth.
However watching his interactions with Clara was fun. He is clearly relishing having a companion again, and he's not keen on putting her in danger, possibly in fear of losing her like he did Amy and Rory. The Doctor can't be as devil may care as he used to. He knows the price now.
And by the by. Did anyone else spot the Red Setting on the sonic?
The Companion
Considering this was only her third episode as the regular companion, Clara rather took a back seat in this episode. If however the intention of this episode was to show Clara that travelling with the Doctor is not all fun and games then it succeeded
Clara is gutsy we know that, but by placing herself in harms way we see exactly how gutsy. The impressive thing however - and well done Jenna for playing this up so well - was Clara's vulnerability. We got to see that she was scared of what might happen, and scared of Skaldak, something we haven't seen in a companion, since at least Flesh and Stone I think.
And of course in the end Clara had a hand in the resolution, as is always the way, by pointing out how Skaldak's own actions didn't match up with his intentions.
The Bad Guy
Grand Marshall Skaldak. If the overall aim of this episode was to do for the Ice Warriors what Dalek did for the Daleks than it succeeded. Skaldak commanded every scene that he was in and made his actions not only rational, but understandable. You could grasp why a man with nothing to fall back on but his principles and the last vestiges of his civilisation might do the things that he would do.
But in the end, he didn't. Largely due to the arrival of an Ice Warrior ship. I hope we get to see them again soon because I really liked them. They strike me as the Klingons of the Whoniverse
Conclusion
Maybe it was because I've just got back to university, so unlike the last two weeks where I've been watching it in my big airy living room with my parents, I'm watching it in my uni living room with my house mate but I didn't warm to this episode - no pun intended. However I shall watch it again tomorrow and see what I think on second viewing.
Next Week: Something goes bump in the night.
Overview
Written by regular Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss this episode saw the return of the Ice Warriors, last seen in the Third Doctor adventure the Monsters of Peladon
But are they as good as they once were?
Episode Summery
I run the risk of being one of the few dissenting opinions here, but unlike the rest of the internet I wasn't very impressed with this episode
I wanted to like it I really did. I mean ICE WARRIORS. And there were bits of it that I did like. The reintroduction of the HADS was cool and by the way did I mention ICE WARRIORS. But other than that I wasn't thrilled
It felt too rushed in my opinion. Almost as if a two part episode had been condensed down into one and it had gone thorough a range of bad script edits. There were bits that I didn't think were explained properly - like why there is a scientist on a ship sent to drill oil - and at the beginning between Clara being knocked out, and her coming round, it struck me as if there should have been an extra scene in there. Possibly explaining why they were in a corridor.
It also struck me as too similar to past episodes, especially Dalek. The scene where Skaldak plugged himself into the computer definatly mirrored the bit where the Dalek did the same.
The concept - stuck on a sinking submarine with time running out - was an interesting one, as was setting it in the middle of the Cold War. But other than creating a reason for Skaldak having access to nukes, I don't think enough was made of this.
I wanted to like this, but in the end it came up short.
The Doctor
It's not often you find the Doctor playing catch up to the Monster of the Week, but in this episode he definatly was.
From the moment Skaldak left it's armour the Doctor was on the back foot, trying to figure out what he had planned and stop him. We're used to seeing the Doctor come up with plans on the fly, but he at least usually has some idea of what's going on. Here was completely out of his depth.
However watching his interactions with Clara was fun. He is clearly relishing having a companion again, and he's not keen on putting her in danger, possibly in fear of losing her like he did Amy and Rory. The Doctor can't be as devil may care as he used to. He knows the price now.
And by the by. Did anyone else spot the Red Setting on the sonic?
The Companion
Considering this was only her third episode as the regular companion, Clara rather took a back seat in this episode. If however the intention of this episode was to show Clara that travelling with the Doctor is not all fun and games then it succeeded
Clara is gutsy we know that, but by placing herself in harms way we see exactly how gutsy. The impressive thing however - and well done Jenna for playing this up so well - was Clara's vulnerability. We got to see that she was scared of what might happen, and scared of Skaldak, something we haven't seen in a companion, since at least Flesh and Stone I think.
And of course in the end Clara had a hand in the resolution, as is always the way, by pointing out how Skaldak's own actions didn't match up with his intentions.
The Bad Guy
Grand Marshall Skaldak. If the overall aim of this episode was to do for the Ice Warriors what Dalek did for the Daleks than it succeeded. Skaldak commanded every scene that he was in and made his actions not only rational, but understandable. You could grasp why a man with nothing to fall back on but his principles and the last vestiges of his civilisation might do the things that he would do.
But in the end, he didn't. Largely due to the arrival of an Ice Warrior ship. I hope we get to see them again soon because I really liked them. They strike me as the Klingons of the Whoniverse
Conclusion
Maybe it was because I've just got back to university, so unlike the last two weeks where I've been watching it in my big airy living room with my parents, I'm watching it in my uni living room with my house mate but I didn't warm to this episode - no pun intended. However I shall watch it again tomorrow and see what I think on second viewing.
Next Week: Something goes bump in the night.