Doctor Who: "The Crimson Hour" (7.11)
The Crimson Hour is the eleventh episode of series seven and is the 100th episode of the "New Who" series. It featured the return of Jenny (Catrin Stewart), Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), and Strax (Dan Starkey). It was a Doctor and Clara light episode, with the Doctor appearing fourteen minutes into the episode and Clara appearing (via flashbacks) sixteen minutes into the episode. Diana Rigg guested stared as the villain: Mrs Gillyflower and Rigg's real life daughter, Rachael Stirling, guest stared as Ada Gillyflower. The episode was written by Mark Gatiss, who wrote Cold War earlier this series.
The episode has received mostly positive reviews from critics. Something that makes me feel like I'm missing something, because I really didn't care for this episode. Plot holes! A lot of missed opportunities! The cold realization that the fabulous Vastra, Strax, and Jenny are so one-note that it hurts. It just makes me sad.
- Someone (patches365 ) mentioned that after 100 episodes: ". . .there are only five NuWho stories that take place on Earth that are NOT set in either the Britain or the United States: "The Girl in the Fireplace" (France), "The Fires of Pompeii" (Italy), "The Vampires of Venice" (Italy), "Vincent and the Doctor" (France), and "Let's Kill Hitler" (Germany). Plus two episodes that took place on a ship in international waters ("Curse of the Black Spot" and "Cold War")." I find that to be really weird, because NuWho has a larger budget and instead of having the characters/crew travel to another country, they put them in space or in London, again.
- Anyway, the basic plot of the episode is this: Mrs. Gillyflower has opened up her own mill town in Yorkshire. She has a blind daughter, Ada and a silent (and unseen) partner called Mister Sweet. Mrs. Gillyflower only takes the most bright and beautiful for her town. She then uses preservation liquid to freeze the people she's chosen. Though some are rejected (and end up looking really sunburned) and dumped in nearby rivers. You may be wondering why. Well. . .she plans to destroy the world and than start a paradise with the twenty or so preserved people she's taken. Also, Mister Sweet is a Repulsive Red Leech, from millions of years ago, who has attached itself to Mrs. G. At first I thought that it was controlling her, but all signs point to no. If anything its venom may have driven her insane, but everything else was all Mrs. G. Which is a little. . .odd.
- So, where does this leave the story? It starts with Vastra and co being hired to look into Sweetsville. Jenny goes undercover and ends up wandering around and picking locks and using her ninja skills to find and free the Doctor (who was rejected, but lived. . .because he is the Doctor, I guess.)
- Then the Doctor kisses the married and known lesbian Jenny. That was weird. I guess you could say that he was relieved to be back to normal or that people are a little drunk after being cured. But, as others have pointed out: ever since Eleven came on the scene, the show has gotten rather sexist: playing up the fact that every female finds the Doctor attractive and playing with his alpha masculinity. He's the best, and all the women folk swoon. At least Jenny slapped him after the kiss. Of course, the next thing she did was rip off her clothing to show off her Victorian cat suit. She had to beat up the bad guys with her kung-fu. . . though she only got two or three before Strax had to come rushing in to save the day with his guns.
- The thing about this episode is that, in a lot of ways, it felt like a "back door pilot" to give Team Vastra their own series. However, it didn't really work in making me want to see these three solve cases without the Doctor. Mostly because it showed me just how one note these characters are. They have so much potential, but there is really nothing there. Strax likes his weapons, Vestra rolls her eyes and mentions she's a lizard woman from millions of years ago, and Jenny picks locks and does kung-fu. We know nothing about them. I have a feeling Jenny has a great back story - we spent 80% of the episode with her - and we learned nothing new. If anything I left the episode feeling like I know less about them than I did before.
- In regard to the episode as a whole, it felt very filler. It felt like the yearly episode they do when they've run out of money and want a little breather before the big last two episodes.
- Rigg's character of Mrs. G felt really over the top. At one point she threatens to kill 5 people with a revolver, after shooting three times and missing. She felt like a cult leader that crackles in the background as people load her bombs full of venom that looks like Kool-Aid. Stirling's character, Ada, was more sympathetic and felt more realistic in the world of NuWho.
- The Doctor and Clara weren't really around this week. However, I loved their scenes together. Aside from the moment where the Doctor ignored Clara's thoughts on what was happening - again she's a girl, so he ignores her - they were playful and cute and their chemistry is amazing. Matt Smith has never had chemistry with a co-star like he has with Jenna-Louise Coleman. It's why it's the first time I really really ship the Eleventh Doctor with a Companion.
- Quickly want to discuss the ending with Angie and Artie threatening to tell their Dad that Clara is dating a time traveling alien. WTF? What a lazy writing excuse. Oh, we found pictures of you on the internet. (Side note: who was taking those pictures?! Especially the one from "Hide"?) Your boyfriend is an alien time traveler, right? Take us on an adventure or we'll tell Dad you're a time traveler. Um, what? Why would the Dad believe the kids? And where did they find the pictures? (Great Intelligence?) And say the Dad believes that Clara is a time traveler. So what? If he kicks her out, she has the Doctor to go with or she can go live with her Dad or go traveling. And I'm sure if things got bad, Torchwood or UNIT would step in and stop things from going public. Do we really need these two pre-teens for the return of the Cybermen?
Overall, I would give this episode a 6/10. Like the cute Doctor/Clara moment and I think there was real emotion with the Ada character. But, everything else was plot holes, over dramatic, sexist, or just wasted potential; of course, Doctor Who has been that way since Moffat came along.
The episode has received mostly positive reviews from critics. Something that makes me feel like I'm missing something, because I really didn't care for this episode. Plot holes! A lot of missed opportunities! The cold realization that the fabulous Vastra, Strax, and Jenny are so one-note that it hurts. It just makes me sad.
- Someone (patches365 ) mentioned that after 100 episodes: ". . .there are only five NuWho stories that take place on Earth that are NOT set in either the Britain or the United States: "The Girl in the Fireplace" (France), "The Fires of Pompeii" (Italy), "The Vampires of Venice" (Italy), "Vincent and the Doctor" (France), and "Let's Kill Hitler" (Germany). Plus two episodes that took place on a ship in international waters ("Curse of the Black Spot" and "Cold War")." I find that to be really weird, because NuWho has a larger budget and instead of having the characters/crew travel to another country, they put them in space or in London, again.
- Anyway, the basic plot of the episode is this: Mrs. Gillyflower has opened up her own mill town in Yorkshire. She has a blind daughter, Ada and a silent (and unseen) partner called Mister Sweet. Mrs. Gillyflower only takes the most bright and beautiful for her town. She then uses preservation liquid to freeze the people she's chosen. Though some are rejected (and end up looking really sunburned) and dumped in nearby rivers. You may be wondering why. Well. . .she plans to destroy the world and than start a paradise with the twenty or so preserved people she's taken. Also, Mister Sweet is a Repulsive Red Leech, from millions of years ago, who has attached itself to Mrs. G. At first I thought that it was controlling her, but all signs point to no. If anything its venom may have driven her insane, but everything else was all Mrs. G. Which is a little. . .odd.
- So, where does this leave the story? It starts with Vastra and co being hired to look into Sweetsville. Jenny goes undercover and ends up wandering around and picking locks and using her ninja skills to find and free the Doctor (who was rejected, but lived. . .because he is the Doctor, I guess.)
- Then the Doctor kisses the married and known lesbian Jenny. That was weird. I guess you could say that he was relieved to be back to normal or that people are a little drunk after being cured. But, as others have pointed out: ever since Eleven came on the scene, the show has gotten rather sexist: playing up the fact that every female finds the Doctor attractive and playing with his alpha masculinity. He's the best, and all the women folk swoon. At least Jenny slapped him after the kiss. Of course, the next thing she did was rip off her clothing to show off her Victorian cat suit. She had to beat up the bad guys with her kung-fu. . . though she only got two or three before Strax had to come rushing in to save the day with his guns.
- The thing about this episode is that, in a lot of ways, it felt like a "back door pilot" to give Team Vastra their own series. However, it didn't really work in making me want to see these three solve cases without the Doctor. Mostly because it showed me just how one note these characters are. They have so much potential, but there is really nothing there. Strax likes his weapons, Vestra rolls her eyes and mentions she's a lizard woman from millions of years ago, and Jenny picks locks and does kung-fu. We know nothing about them. I have a feeling Jenny has a great back story - we spent 80% of the episode with her - and we learned nothing new. If anything I left the episode feeling like I know less about them than I did before.
- In regard to the episode as a whole, it felt very filler. It felt like the yearly episode they do when they've run out of money and want a little breather before the big last two episodes.
- Rigg's character of Mrs. G felt really over the top. At one point she threatens to kill 5 people with a revolver, after shooting three times and missing. She felt like a cult leader that crackles in the background as people load her bombs full of venom that looks like Kool-Aid. Stirling's character, Ada, was more sympathetic and felt more realistic in the world of NuWho.
- The Doctor and Clara weren't really around this week. However, I loved their scenes together. Aside from the moment where the Doctor ignored Clara's thoughts on what was happening - again she's a girl, so he ignores her - they were playful and cute and their chemistry is amazing. Matt Smith has never had chemistry with a co-star like he has with Jenna-Louise Coleman. It's why it's the first time I really really ship the Eleventh Doctor with a Companion.
- Quickly want to discuss the ending with Angie and Artie threatening to tell their Dad that Clara is dating a time traveling alien. WTF? What a lazy writing excuse. Oh, we found pictures of you on the internet. (Side note: who was taking those pictures?! Especially the one from "Hide"?) Your boyfriend is an alien time traveler, right? Take us on an adventure or we'll tell Dad you're a time traveler. Um, what? Why would the Dad believe the kids? And where did they find the pictures? (Great Intelligence?) And say the Dad believes that Clara is a time traveler. So what? If he kicks her out, she has the Doctor to go with or she can go live with her Dad or go traveling. And I'm sure if things got bad, Torchwood or UNIT would step in and stop things from going public. Do we really need these two pre-teens for the return of the Cybermen?
Overall, I would give this episode a 6/10. Like the cute Doctor/Clara moment and I think there was real emotion with the Ada character. But, everything else was plot holes, over dramatic, sexist, or just wasted potential; of course, Doctor Who has been that way since Moffat came along.