I am really worried about how bad this series of DW will be that they thought to start it with this story. It's just not very good.
The production is very tight. They did a lot of work on the lighting and special effects. So it has a very seamless finished look. There is music throughout almost every scene. And the whole thing is edited in consistent rhythmic fashion that lends urgency.
But it really felt empty.
I do like that they have stuck to the same general horror-scifi formula that's worked for New Who so well. Despite whatever else I say about this episode, I am grateful that it's still a bit Lovecraftian. After all the plotlines of this story resolve we are left with a few hints at something lurking in the background. Like another "Bad Wolf" perhaps?
We are still. In the awkward phase with this new Doctor and companion. So it's not fair to pass judgement. I do see a lot of potential with Ncuti though.
One of the things that ruined this episode was the story. It's not a bad premise. They've done far stupider things on Who and pulled it off. But the way they executed this story was, to me, very un-Whovian.
Right up until the last 10 minutes I still had hope that this was going to go the right way.
They went with a Hollywood ending instead of the BBC ending. In Hollywood, after the big explosion everyone survives at the last minute, even the dog. Because we cant let children know about death yet.
The BBC has no such reservations. Good guys and bad guys die on BBC TV series all the time.
If this had been a BBC production, at the end the Doctor would have been giving a stern lecture to the Nanny about sentient life forms and ethics. Back in the Tardis the Doctor reflects. "One of a kind, alone in the universe. Like me".
A proper POIGNANT Doctor Who ending!
They watered down the god damn poignancy. That is inherent to the character of Doctor Who.
And doing it to make it more family friendly? For Americans? This is shameful and embarrassing.
Another minor thing that I think is a major problem is the music. It's extremely well done, but there is far too much of it. We do not get to enjoy calm dramatic scenes or simple exposition. No, the whole bloody episode has a constant percolating musical accompaniment. Similar to a lot of animated films. This is really evident in the funny parts, where you get a musical cue to laugh at something that was only low key funny. Doctor Who has always had low key funny stuff. It's not a comdey show, they just put some amusing stuff in here and there because those Brits are just so damn whimsical. Scoring these jokes is really stupid. It makes them less funny.
They also had the Doctor say Space Babies approximately 12 times. Which is 11 too many.
Stylistically I prefer the BBC production for a very nerdy reason. The lighting just looked more natural. BBC lighting guys are pretty good at putting up diffuse lighting that gets the mood across and makes faces look good.
The Disney lighting has that kind of excessively lit look that TV anchors do. The face is perfectly lit at all times. There is always a highlight on the edge of the face from a fixture behind the actor. And every single thing in the background is specifically lit in some fashion. It's difficult to describe the difference even if you know lighting, and I only kind of know lighting. TLDR the new lighting makes them look like polished pieces of wood instead of people. But then the CGI looks more consistent next to them.
Oh boy the CGI. It looks miles better than anything you have seen BBC do. But what do they do with it?
Talking babies.
The production is very tight. They did a lot of work on the lighting and special effects. So it has a very seamless finished look. There is music throughout almost every scene. And the whole thing is edited in consistent rhythmic fashion that lends urgency.
But it really felt empty.
I do like that they have stuck to the same general horror-scifi formula that's worked for New Who so well. Despite whatever else I say about this episode, I am grateful that it's still a bit Lovecraftian. After all the plotlines of this story resolve we are left with a few hints at something lurking in the background. Like another "Bad Wolf" perhaps?
We are still. In the awkward phase with this new Doctor and companion. So it's not fair to pass judgement. I do see a lot of potential with Ncuti though.
One of the things that ruined this episode was the story. It's not a bad premise. They've done far stupider things on Who and pulled it off. But the way they executed this story was, to me, very un-Whovian.
Right up until the last 10 minutes I still had hope that this was going to go the right way.
They went with a Hollywood ending instead of the BBC ending. In Hollywood, after the big explosion everyone survives at the last minute, even the dog. Because we cant let children know about death yet.
The BBC has no such reservations. Good guys and bad guys die on BBC TV series all the time.
If this had been a BBC production, at the end the Doctor would have been giving a stern lecture to the Nanny about sentient life forms and ethics. Back in the Tardis the Doctor reflects. "One of a kind, alone in the universe. Like me".
A proper POIGNANT Doctor Who ending!
They watered down the god damn poignancy. That is inherent to the character of Doctor Who.
And doing it to make it more family friendly? For Americans? This is shameful and embarrassing.
Another minor thing that I think is a major problem is the music. It's extremely well done, but there is far too much of it. We do not get to enjoy calm dramatic scenes or simple exposition. No, the whole bloody episode has a constant percolating musical accompaniment. Similar to a lot of animated films. This is really evident in the funny parts, where you get a musical cue to laugh at something that was only low key funny. Doctor Who has always had low key funny stuff. It's not a comdey show, they just put some amusing stuff in here and there because those Brits are just so damn whimsical. Scoring these jokes is really stupid. It makes them less funny.
They also had the Doctor say Space Babies approximately 12 times. Which is 11 too many.
Stylistically I prefer the BBC production for a very nerdy reason. The lighting just looked more natural. BBC lighting guys are pretty good at putting up diffuse lighting that gets the mood across and makes faces look good.
The Disney lighting has that kind of excessively lit look that TV anchors do. The face is perfectly lit at all times. There is always a highlight on the edge of the face from a fixture behind the actor. And every single thing in the background is specifically lit in some fashion. It's difficult to describe the difference even if you know lighting, and I only kind of know lighting. TLDR the new lighting makes them look like polished pieces of wood instead of people. But then the CGI looks more consistent next to them.
Oh boy the CGI. It looks miles better than anything you have seen BBC do. But what do they do with it?
Talking babies.
