Dr. Who Series 8 Episode 9
Added 2023-12-16 15:00:06 +0000 UTC
Comments
"You were an exceptional Doctor, Clara. ... Goodness had nothing to do with it.", The Doctor, "Flatline" I really like this story. The whole 2D monster (2DIS - standing for 2-Dimension In Space, BTW) is a nice idea. The concept of lifeforms from a 2D world is not original of course - e.g. there's a book published in 1884 which imagines life in a 2D world. The fact that the monsters don't speak - similar to the monster from the author's previous episode "Mummy on the Orient Express" - increases the unknown nature of the threat. Good monster. But, as you point out, the story really isn't about the monster - it's about Clara taking control and running the adventure - and we really root for her (and her hair-band?). The idea of a shunken TARDIS is not original to this story though - there have been a few of Classic stories where this has happened - but none where the Doctor is trapped inside and had to use his hand to crawl the TARDIS around - that's pretty funny. Your least favourite character, the annoying Fenton was played by Christopher Fairbank. You may recall that I linked some videos scenes from a TV comedy-drama show about British builders working in Germany - Christopher Fairbank played one of those workmen in that series. Having an annoying character survive and just stay annoying is something we've seen before - remember the annoying passenger in "Voyage of the Damned"? My favourite Easter-egg is that the first train has the number "A113". That's an animators in-joke because it's a reference to animated films like "Toy Story" which in turn referenced the classroom number (A113) that the various animators shared at the California Arts school where they learned animation. Clara's phone feature to send a call-reject message is apparently on various modern phones although I've never used the feature. "Ish? Don't give me an ish!", Clara, "Flatline"
Andrew Vignaux
2023-12-21 20:15:41 +0000 UTCI agree, great character developement for Clara here. I am interested into how this will continue, now that Clara knows what it´s like for the doctor. Yes the small TARDIS was great, I loved it :)
Nicologik
2023-12-19 10:07:55 +0000 UTCThank you so much for the Clara explanation. That makes so much sense, and helps me to understand her better. :) It´s interesting to see how with every new companion the doctor goes through different phases but also similar ones from time to time. As the companions get to know him better, they discover his intentions behind the decisions he makes. It´s especially interesting with this doctor though, because he seems so much more colder than the other ones before. Which makes it harder for people who don´t know him, to understand why he would be icecold every now and then. Cause there´s not really a difference between him beeing normal and him making a hard decision. It was way more obvious with David or Matt, because they usual were more cheery. And when they had to make a hard decision their whole demeanor would change, into the the one the Peter doctor has 24/7. Yeah that phone scene felt strange. Why would Clara pick up the phone in a situation like this, knowing she would have to lie., while fighting for her life at the very same time.
Nicologik
2023-12-19 10:06:05 +0000 UTCThank you for giving me a new perspective on Claras character. I am still indecisive what to think about her. She seems so independend and self confindent most of the time. But than again very insecure at times and needy for the attention of the doctor. I´m glad I´m not alone with not really finding a reason for this grumpy guy to exist. Your explanation makes sense, but it´s not really a good reason and not pointed out enough by the writers. And yes unfortunately there are many people like him in real life. The miniature TARDIS was the best :D
Nicologik
2023-12-19 09:57:00 +0000 UTCAnother good episode. I give it 4/5 and rank it 49th/140 so it's just in my top 50. Clara is really good in it being the Doctor which starts off as fun for her before she realises she has to do things like lie to the people she's trying to save and how she looks at the situation at the end as a win even though people died. Love the small Tardis and the resolution of getting power back to the Tardis. Finally we get a great speech from this Doctor about being the one who fights the monsters.
Jade Ellis
2023-12-16 20:47:38 +0000 UTCYou said it so much better
Jenny Smyth
2023-12-16 19:36:35 +0000 UTCI think Jenny has already made most of the points that I wanted to. But I will repeat the main one in different words because I like the sound of my own voice. Clara learned in the last episode that the Doctor has to harden his heart a bit in order to defeat the threat and save as many people as possible. Realising that made Clara also realise that he isn't really callous or cruel. He just has to appear that way sometimes because he can't afford to stop and mourn the people he couldn't save along the way. In this episode Clara tried to be just like him and do what he would do. Go straight on to the next decision and try to get it right. Of course that was good in the long run but she had to lose some soft-heartedness (in the short term) for the sake of the greater good. Maybe it would be truer to say that "niceness" had nothing to do with it. The Doctor is worried that Clara is becoming too much like him. Because (as he also said) he acts that way so other people don't have to. That man in charge of the "community payback scum" is intended to be as infuriating as possible. A character we love to hate. And as Jenny also said he makes us accept that the people still standing at the end won't always be the ones we would choose. Like that arrogant guy in the Titanic episode. Plus of course he is a perfect illustration of the problems of trying to help people. Some folks just don't make you want to help them or accept that you are doing so. That's life. Love the tiny Tardis and the Doctor's apparently huge face and hand. Baffled as to why Clara even took that phone call from Danny when she and Riggsy were trying to escape from the room. Just a plot device I guess - and it did make the scene funnier - but I know I wouldn't have done it!
Stephen Males
2023-12-16 17:02:49 +0000 UTCi think the doctor is saying that Clara is being like him which is not necessarily good or bad. like he said in the last episode sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones. Clara is trying so hard to be like him, and I think he doesn't think that is a good thing for her, after all she lied to him and Danny, just so she can keep the excitement of travelling with him. the grumpy guy is so annoying and I think the point of him is that sometimes the good people die and the bad ones get to live. I think there should have been some sort of redemption for him. He saw the blank psychic paper because he had no imagination. A thoroughly negative character. sadly there are many such people in real life. i really like this episode, I like the miniature tardis, also I like Rigsy and his dynamic with Clara. This is one of my favourite episodes in this series. xx
Jenny Smyth
2023-12-16 16:20:19 +0000 UTC
