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I actually really rather enjoyed this one. It felt much better paced, mainly. Plus a really decent, scary (and yet subsequently sympathetic) threat. Even the annoying bad guy was entertaining enough not to be too annoying.
Weirdly I didn't remember much about this episode from our first viewing – I basically remembered the annoying hotel owner, and had images of dark, empty hotel corridors, and something in a bathroom, and that was about it. Somehow I'd completely blanked out the images of the spiders! Perhaps because they later turned out to be less threatening, or something? (By the way, I thought the CGI on the spiders was excellent. I never caught myself thinking they didn't look real.)
I liked the bits with Yaz's family – and god, I could see why she'd want to get away from them! Nice, well-meaning people, yes, but suffocating. Well, except her useless sister who couldn't be bothered to get off her phone and help with anything.
Liked the bits with Graham and Grace too. Bradley Walsh is an excellent actor and I love the gentle way he portrays Graham. Liked his brief moment with Ryan, with Ryan talking about what 'proper' family was.
And I liked the way they all, without apparent discussion, turned up at the TARDIS again at the end. Nice to see companions actually given the chance to choose to come along. Though if I was them, I'd have packed some stuff to bring with me! I liked the way the Doctor actually warned them up-front about the fact that a) they wouldn't come back the same people and b) they might not come back at all. That's a nice bit of character development, that she's finally learning these things.
A couple of nice little bits of chemistry with Yaz and the Doctor too (including Yaz's mum actually asking if they were a couple!) – I'm starting to see where the shippers are coming from now. :-)
Didn't like the new look of the time vortex. Too gloopy. Plus I don't see why that would have changed so much – weird continuity!
I was also a little concerned that locking the spiders in the panic room to die was considered the humane solution, while shooting the suffocating mummy spider was considered inhumane. Bit squiffy reasoning, if you ask me. Also, what about all the other spiders in South Yorkshire???
Interesting that annoying hotel owner (who is apparently called Jack Robertson, though I didn't hear his name mentioned much during the episode) wanted to run for president because he didn't like Trump. I mean, he pretty much is Trump, isn't he? (And oh, so he's coming back for this year's new year episode, which is set after the US election – so is he going to be the new president??? Also, that's going to be interesting, with Jack and… Jack!)
Den of Geek's review of this episode mentions the fact that none of the villains so far this year have been particularly deep or memorably and I'd have to agree, although I did remember annoying hotel owner from this one, even if not his actual name.
Androzani's review (they really didn't like it) makes a point about anvil-dropping and everyone explaining their motivations - e.g. the Doctor explaining she's socially awkward and still figuring herself out, the 'fam' spelling out exactly why they want to travel with her. It's interesting because I think *my* main reaction was relief that there *were* actually motivations - that after years of Moffat's characters doing things because the plot or symbolism demanded it and leaving it us to try and explain *why* in our personal canon, it was a massive relief for there to *be* in-character reasons for the characters doing things! But yes, that level of self-awareness is definitely new, and perhaps a little over the top. Especially in the Doctor. The Doctor has never been self-aware, especially about being rude. Or, okay, Ten acknowledged he was rude, but he was never apologetic about it!
Interesting review from Eruditorum Press here too, talking about this episode as an example of the steady qualities Chibnall is clearly going to bring to DW, along with the lack of aiming high this approach brings. I feel that's pretty spot on. It's certainly been my impression of the show as I've watched each episode and then (with a very few exceptions) felt completely unmotivated to rewatch again until now, some two years later. It's okay, quite enjoyable, but nothing amazing. Certainly not the Who I fell in love with, but I'll keep watching, because things have a tendency to get better again, and I know for a fact that Chibnall's second season, while it too has a large number of mediocre episodes, it has two or three absolute corkers too!
Weirdly I didn't remember much about this episode from our first viewing – I basically remembered the annoying hotel owner, and had images of dark, empty hotel corridors, and something in a bathroom, and that was about it. Somehow I'd completely blanked out the images of the spiders! Perhaps because they later turned out to be less threatening, or something? (By the way, I thought the CGI on the spiders was excellent. I never caught myself thinking they didn't look real.)
I liked the bits with Yaz's family – and god, I could see why she'd want to get away from them! Nice, well-meaning people, yes, but suffocating. Well, except her useless sister who couldn't be bothered to get off her phone and help with anything.
Liked the bits with Graham and Grace too. Bradley Walsh is an excellent actor and I love the gentle way he portrays Graham. Liked his brief moment with Ryan, with Ryan talking about what 'proper' family was.
And I liked the way they all, without apparent discussion, turned up at the TARDIS again at the end. Nice to see companions actually given the chance to choose to come along. Though if I was them, I'd have packed some stuff to bring with me! I liked the way the Doctor actually warned them up-front about the fact that a) they wouldn't come back the same people and b) they might not come back at all. That's a nice bit of character development, that she's finally learning these things.
A couple of nice little bits of chemistry with Yaz and the Doctor too (including Yaz's mum actually asking if they were a couple!) – I'm starting to see where the shippers are coming from now. :-)
Didn't like the new look of the time vortex. Too gloopy. Plus I don't see why that would have changed so much – weird continuity!
I was also a little concerned that locking the spiders in the panic room to die was considered the humane solution, while shooting the suffocating mummy spider was considered inhumane. Bit squiffy reasoning, if you ask me. Also, what about all the other spiders in South Yorkshire???
Interesting that annoying hotel owner (who is apparently called Jack Robertson, though I didn't hear his name mentioned much during the episode) wanted to run for president because he didn't like Trump. I mean, he pretty much is Trump, isn't he? (And oh, so he's coming back for this year's new year episode, which is set after the US election – so is he going to be the new president??? Also, that's going to be interesting, with Jack and… Jack!)
Den of Geek's review of this episode mentions the fact that none of the villains so far this year have been particularly deep or memorably and I'd have to agree, although I did remember annoying hotel owner from this one, even if not his actual name.
Androzani's review (they really didn't like it) makes a point about anvil-dropping and everyone explaining their motivations - e.g. the Doctor explaining she's socially awkward and still figuring herself out, the 'fam' spelling out exactly why they want to travel with her. It's interesting because I think *my* main reaction was relief that there *were* actually motivations - that after years of Moffat's characters doing things because the plot or symbolism demanded it and leaving it us to try and explain *why* in our personal canon, it was a massive relief for there to *be* in-character reasons for the characters doing things! But yes, that level of self-awareness is definitely new, and perhaps a little over the top. Especially in the Doctor. The Doctor has never been self-aware, especially about being rude. Or, okay, Ten acknowledged he was rude, but he was never apologetic about it!
Interesting review from Eruditorum Press here too, talking about this episode as an example of the steady qualities Chibnall is clearly going to bring to DW, along with the lack of aiming high this approach brings. I feel that's pretty spot on. It's certainly been my impression of the show as I've watched each episode and then (with a very few exceptions) felt completely unmotivated to rewatch again until now, some two years later. It's okay, quite enjoyable, but nothing amazing. Certainly not the Who I fell in love with, but I'll keep watching, because things have a tendency to get better again, and I know for a fact that Chibnall's second season, while it too has a large number of mediocre episodes, it has two or three absolute corkers too!
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