Kathryn A. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kerravonsen) wrote2014-10-17 10:48 pm
kerravonsen) wrote2014-10-17 10:48 pm
Entry tags:
Doctor Who 8x07 Kill The Moon
Yes, I'm still behind.
I got the impression from (spoiler-free) reactions around the net when this originally aired, that it was rather controversial; some liked it, some hated it.
Me... mixed.
Good: the Doctor and his yo-yo figuring out that the gravity was all wrong.
Bad: the gravity being all wrong in the first place. It did not make any sense whatsoever. Yes, even if the moon were an egg, that doesn't mean that its mass would be increasing, because where would the extra mass be coming from? It's not like matter can be created from nothing.
Bad: And likewise, killing the creature wouldn't have destroyed the magical extra mass, it would have just prevented the moon from breaking up.
Bad: The "New Moon" appearing out of nothing was a problem of the same sort. I mean, if a creature "lays an egg", then the egg must have been inside the creature first, hmmm?
Puzzling: why did the Mexicans find no minerals?
Puzzling: why did Courtney float in the air at one point? I think there was an explanation, but I didn't follow it.
Good: plausible scenario; the indifference of the Earth to the fate of the Mexicans, because they'd turned their back on space, so the expedition had to be made of "second-hand shuttlecraft and third-hand astronauts", ten years later.
Good characterisation:
* Courtney being a bored teenager.
* Of course the Doctor wouldn't be able to say Courtney was special when he was put on the spot like that. Would anyone, really?
* I really liked the Doctor in this one.
* And the interaction between the Doctor and Clara at the end, I think that was spot-on. I mean, I get why Clara was upset, and I get why the Doctor didn't understand why she was upset. Clara felt abandoned in a dangerous situation. The Doctor really did feel that it wasn't up to him to make such a choice, and if he hadn't left, they would have spent their remaining time arguing with him instead of deciding. But, on the other hand, it was still a pretty awful way of going about it.
* Loved the comfort and sense from Danny at the end.
Good: Clara's clever idea of how to get a "referendum" from humanity.
The Moral Dilemma: The Life of An Innocent Versus All Mankind!
I'm not sure whether this was dealt with too simplistically or not... it just didn't feel as cut-and-dried as they were making it out to be.
I was not at all surprised that Earth chose to turn off all the lights, put thumbs-down on the creature; that was exactly what I was expecting. I mean, it's logical -- who the heck would choose suicide? My lack of surprise possibly accounts for why that did not leave a bad taste in my mouth, unlike what happened in "Midnight". There's a difference between throwing someone out the airlock who is obviously terrified, and blowing up a creature who might spell the end for humanity.
I think I can see what they were trying to do with this, but I don't think they pulled it off.
* yes, it is an "innocent creature"... but they didn't know whether it would remain "innocent"... because newborns tend to wake up hungry. A hungry creature the size of the moon? Not a good situation to be in.
* I think the setup was supposed to be hope versus fear; that Clara and Courtney were supposed to be the voices for hope, and the Captain and Earth were the voices for fear.
* Problem is, it wasn't just fear, it was sensible caution mixed in with the fear. Risk assessment; if you have insufficient data, you have to consider the worst-case scenario and act accordingly. (Kudos to the Stargate SG-1 episode which actually dealt with this as a plot point: "Prodigy")
* Clara was basically right by accident. As a contrast, in "The Beast Below", there were actually clues that Amy was able to put together, rather than make a decision based entirely on sentiment.
* The Doctor's speech about mankind looking up and seeing something wonderful... was supposed to be inspiring, but Clara was right, too, it came across as a bit patronizing, even if the Doctor didn't mean it to be.
I have to say, Capaldi acted his socks off. I really do like Twelve.
I got the impression from (spoiler-free) reactions around the net when this originally aired, that it was rather controversial; some liked it, some hated it.
Me... mixed.
Good: the Doctor and his yo-yo figuring out that the gravity was all wrong.
Bad: the gravity being all wrong in the first place. It did not make any sense whatsoever. Yes, even if the moon were an egg, that doesn't mean that its mass would be increasing, because where would the extra mass be coming from? It's not like matter can be created from nothing.
Bad: And likewise, killing the creature wouldn't have destroyed the magical extra mass, it would have just prevented the moon from breaking up.
Bad: The "New Moon" appearing out of nothing was a problem of the same sort. I mean, if a creature "lays an egg", then the egg must have been inside the creature first, hmmm?
Puzzling: why did the Mexicans find no minerals?
Puzzling: why did Courtney float in the air at one point? I think there was an explanation, but I didn't follow it.
Good: plausible scenario; the indifference of the Earth to the fate of the Mexicans, because they'd turned their back on space, so the expedition had to be made of "second-hand shuttlecraft and third-hand astronauts", ten years later.
Good characterisation:
* Courtney being a bored teenager.
* Of course the Doctor wouldn't be able to say Courtney was special when he was put on the spot like that. Would anyone, really?
* I really liked the Doctor in this one.
* And the interaction between the Doctor and Clara at the end, I think that was spot-on. I mean, I get why Clara was upset, and I get why the Doctor didn't understand why she was upset. Clara felt abandoned in a dangerous situation. The Doctor really did feel that it wasn't up to him to make such a choice, and if he hadn't left, they would have spent their remaining time arguing with him instead of deciding. But, on the other hand, it was still a pretty awful way of going about it.
* Loved the comfort and sense from Danny at the end.
Good: Clara's clever idea of how to get a "referendum" from humanity.
The Moral Dilemma: The Life of An Innocent Versus All Mankind!
I'm not sure whether this was dealt with too simplistically or not... it just didn't feel as cut-and-dried as they were making it out to be.
I was not at all surprised that Earth chose to turn off all the lights, put thumbs-down on the creature; that was exactly what I was expecting. I mean, it's logical -- who the heck would choose suicide? My lack of surprise possibly accounts for why that did not leave a bad taste in my mouth, unlike what happened in "Midnight". There's a difference between throwing someone out the airlock who is obviously terrified, and blowing up a creature who might spell the end for humanity.
I think I can see what they were trying to do with this, but I don't think they pulled it off.
* yes, it is an "innocent creature"... but they didn't know whether it would remain "innocent"... because newborns tend to wake up hungry. A hungry creature the size of the moon? Not a good situation to be in.
* I think the setup was supposed to be hope versus fear; that Clara and Courtney were supposed to be the voices for hope, and the Captain and Earth were the voices for fear.
* Problem is, it wasn't just fear, it was sensible caution mixed in with the fear. Risk assessment; if you have insufficient data, you have to consider the worst-case scenario and act accordingly. (Kudos to the Stargate SG-1 episode which actually dealt with this as a plot point: "Prodigy")
* Clara was basically right by accident. As a contrast, in "The Beast Below", there were actually clues that Amy was able to put together, rather than make a decision based entirely on sentiment.
* The Doctor's speech about mankind looking up and seeing something wonderful... was supposed to be inspiring, but Clara was right, too, it came across as a bit patronizing, even if the Doctor didn't mean it to be.
I have to say, Capaldi acted his socks off. I really do like Twelve.