It was a good episode, although the plot itself was razor-thin. The showrunners certainly did a great job of conveying the dread of being a person of colour in the southern U.S. in the 1950's. It permeated the mood of the entire episode. It wasn't preachy, either. There was a moment where Ryan and Yas share their own stories from 2018.
Finally got around to watching the first two episodes (bought the Season Pass on Amazon Prime). I'm liking it so far. It "feels" like a different show than Seasons 1 through 10. Different directing style, different musical paradigm. I think that these are good things. It feels a bit more grown-up and less cartoony.
I hope future stories are a little less "convenient." The Ghost Echo - this magical apparition shows up once every thousand years and today is the day. And it looks just like - by God, it is the Tardis -! Rosa - So let me get this straight: This Bigot from the Future is there solely to change the course of history because Reasons? And the Tardis knows better than the cast why it needs to be in Montgomery on that particular day? Hmf. Consider me unimpressed. Good casting, though. Music's interesting. Some of it reminds me of some bits from the score of Patton. How long before Ryan stops being a doofus and tells Yaz he likes her?
The idea that the TARDIS takes the Doctor where he/she needs to be has been a fan theory for years, and explicitly confirmed as of The Doctor's Wife back in Series 6 of NuWho. It'd be a bit odd if a machine that "exists across all time and space" DIDN'T know where it should be at any given moment.
Well, she did teleport herself to where the TARIS was supposed to be. Presumably those coordinates were in time as well as space. Bigotry is reason enough for a bigot. Maybe in the future killing Rosa Parks and preserving segregation is the bigot version of killing Hitler and preventing the Holocaust. The TARDIS always knows best, the Doctor is just being more honest about it now. He probably doesn't think she'd like him back, her a fancy cop and him with dyspraxia and a lame warehouse job.
The cast have said Ryan and Yaz have a big sister/younger brother (they're the same age but she's more responsible) relationship for the most part which "might develop into something more", but right now Ryan is just getting to know her again after last having seen her at age 12 latest (both characters are meant to be 19). At age 12, he might still have been in the "girls, eww!" phase or just seen her as a mate (or substitute sis).
RE: The Tardis as deus ex machina, well, all right; its history backs that up. I'd just prefer a little more jeopardy in the early episodes. "Where the hell is it? It was here a minute ago!" I didn't get the sense that anyone but Ryan and the black folks in Montgomery were in real danger, as in "Are we going to be stuck in 1955 forever if we don't find the Tardis?" (You did get that sense in "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" - cool title, BTW, homage to Bowie). Good point, though: We're several episodes in and haven't seen a Dalek. That's something. My favorite "WTF is the Tardis?" moment was when 12 whistled for it in "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" and it came like an obedient dog. (I also noticed it purrs when it's upset, q.v. 12's final scene: "I know, I know, they'll get it all wrong without me..."
???? They hadn't lost the TARDIS in this ep - they knew exactly where it was but future racist bloke had spotted it so they would be easier for him to keep tabs on if they kept using it as a base of operations, instead of the motel room. Now granted the Doctor could have just moved it somewhere else, but given the risks to the timeline that might chance accidentally locking in some of Krasko's "nudges".
Fair enough, but if you've ever lost your keys, being locked out is as good as being lost, IMO. And I did get a kick out of the motel room and all the sneaking about.
IIRC I believe they have stated they are not recycling ANY of the classic recurring villains this season
Wot no Amy? And I want Donna in there, goddammit, because Catherine Tate is a goddamn goddess and fuck Hollywood conventions of beauty.
The time-traveler-messing-with-Rosa-Parks plot feels very Star Trek. (Although it feels even more like something out of Timeless.) Nice timing on the Banksy reference. They couldn't have possibly known when they wrote the episode that it would air a few weeks after Banksy made worldwide headlines ... or could they?
It is a little strange, though, that the episode treats Parks' civil disobedience as something that arises largely through a set of coincidences that the Doctor and her companions have to preserve, as opposed to a deliberate act.
Arachnids in the UK. Bog standard monster plot, though no aliens. Formula Who, but delivered well - Chibbers is showing his background as I could imagine this being a Series 2 (once we got past the sex) Torchwood plot, except Jack might not argue with the Trump knockoff at the end. Giant spiders are always creepy and I'm amazed we didn't get a nod to the demise of Pertwee's Doctor, albeit that might detract from the story for the new viewers. Interesting, though, that each visit to Sheffield so far has nodded to a regeneration - Four's fall from a crane (well, radio gantry) in ep 1 and now spiders in ep 4... could there be a fatal exercise bike in the future? The crew continue to be the most human and relatable since the RTD era, with Graham "seeing" his dead wife and Ryan slowly realising that Graham has been more family than his own father. Yaz's family dynamic is immediately believable too, especially her little sister fancying Ryan and being more interested in her phone than her Dad's concern (even if it's more grumpiness) as to how long Yaz and the Doctor have been "collecting a parcel" from the neighbour.
Second really solid episode in a row, and I'm really liking the team now. Bit surprised by the intensity of the arachnid animations, though -- arachnophobia isn't that rare, and this episode would have scared me to bits as a child, not in a good way.
I dunno. I am an arachnophobe but I find it am not that bothered by spiders on screen these days. That said, I hated Arachnaphobia the movie as a kid!
Odd thing - I took a macro shot of a house spider and sent it to my arachnophobe lab tech. She said it really helped because she got fascinated with all the details and biological structures. Even started calling it "Daisy Domestica". Put a live spider in front of her and she'll still react badly. Metaphor for TV desensitisation?
Hmpf. Good performance by Noth, but I found the script really heavy-handed. Yes, we get it, really, gold tie and gold logo on the hotel and everything. And having the arachnid expert conveniently standing in the corridor when needed was just too-too. Nice interaction between Graham and Ryan, though. And did anyone believe for a minute that all three wouldn't rejoin the Doctor? Trying not to be judgmental (and, again, I'm not clued in to all the Classic Who stuff @matthunter mentioned), but Chibnall's no Moffatt. JMO.
I like the way the Doctor is being played. particularly in this one. The rest has been pretty much paint-by-numbers but I'm okay with that to start, let her inhabit the part a bit. I'd be disappointed if it didn't get more complex in the back half of the season.
They're abandoning Christmas specials in favor of New Year's specials. Reason? They flat out ran out of ideas for Christmas. You'll even notice, the final Capaldi special had winter, but no specific reference to Christmas. https://www.superherohype.com/news/426271-bbc-might-scrap-this-years-doctor-who-christmas-special
The final Capaldi special had a very specific Christmas setting, the actual historical Christmas miracle from the war.
Were the Christmas specials part of Classic Who, or just a recent tradition? I found it curious that an ancient Gallifreyan would have a fondness for a localized - and fairly recent - human religious holiday. Just a way for the Beeb to get everyone sitting down after dinner and having "family time"?
Recent. Only in NuWho. Don't know the behind the scenes origin of it, but your theory is as good as any.
