Tag Archives: Articles

Doctor Who Spoiler-free Review – 6.11 ‘The God Complex’

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Caleb Woodbridge reviews ‘The God Complex’, episode 11 of Doctor Who, a weird and twisted tale of nightmares and infinite corridors by Being Human scribe Toby Whithouse.

After last week’s excellent The Girl Who Waited, this keeps up the high standard with a neat psychological tale. Although last week’s events aren’t referenced directly, it certainly has an impact on the Doctor’s relationship with Amy and Rory. The Doctor’s fallibility comes under more scrutiny as the TARDIS team face their worst nightmares…

The Minotaur makes for a great monster, and there’s a strong guest cast, including David Walliams doing a typically Walliamsian turn as Gibbis, one of the most cowardly creatures in the cosmos. Amara Karan is the other stand-our performance, playing Rita, who I think is Doctor Who‘s first Muslim character (at least since the 1965 historical story The Crusade, which says a lot). Questions of faith form an important part of the story – it’s the most theological Doctor Who has been since The Satan Pit back in Tennant’s first series.

The nightmare hotel is reminiscent of Whithouse’s portrayal of Purgatory in Being Human series 3, which also featured people’s individual fears. It’s interesting that in telefantasy, Purgatory has become a place where characters go to “Face their Issues” rather than be purged of their sins: the afterlife adapted for the therapy age. That’s not what’s going on here though – we’re still firmly in science-fiction territory.

There are lots of easter-eggs for fans of the show, including blink and you’ll miss them glimpses of old monsters (plus a member of the production team!) There’s a sly link back to a Tom Baker era story, and a vital scene that echoes a moment in The Curse of Fenric. 

It’s not as emotional as last week, but still a strong, moving and intelligent story. Check back on Saturday night for our podcast commentary on the show!

Torchwood Spoiler-free Review – Miracle Day 10 ‘The Blood Line’

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Caleb Woodbridge previews ‘The Blood Line’, the shocking finale of Torchwood: Miracle Day. With Torchwood split across opposite sides of the world – Rex and Esther in Buenos Aires; Gwen, Jack and Oswald in Shanghai – the race is on to reverse the Miracle before the Families can implement the next stage of their grand plan.

It’s the end, but has the moment been prepared for? Well, sort of – like Miracle Day as a whole, ‘The Blood Line’ is a mix of the good, the bad and the just plain silly. But it carries it off with enough energy and conviction to make it compelling, if not entirely coherent, storytelling. And inevitably, not everyone is going to make it out alive…

Tough choices await Captain Jack and the rest of his team. Much of the drama centres around the decision to bring back death, giving a real sense of the weight and responsibility of the choice. This is especially true of Gwen Cooper, whose opening speech sets the tone for the episode, and Eve Myles does a great job as usual of humanising what could become a rather abstract concept. Central to the series is the theme of the danger of deciding who lives and who dies.

On a lighter note, there are also some fan-pleasing references to Doctor Who continuity. And the last few scenes come with a twist that will redefine Torchwood as a show if it returns – but whether it will be renewed is very much in question.

Perhaps more importantly, should the show return? Check back on Thursday night for our commentary and full post-mortem dissection of the undead corpse of Torchwood: Miracle Day!

Book Review – ‘Kingston to Cable’ – Gary Greenwood

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There’s a new reviewer in town. Claire Fayers squares off against the latest offering from fantasy and horror writer Gary Greenwood. Who will be left standing?

Western crossovers seem to be gaining in popularity. First we had Western-martial arts comedy (Shanghai Noon), then Korean Western (The Good the Bad and the Weird). Cowboys and ninjas fought in The Warrior’s Way and, as I write this, Harrison Ford is doing battle in Cowboys & Aliens.

Kingston to Cable by Gary Greenwood takes the Western, shakes it up a bit and dumps it in a fantasy setting. The world is one of isolated towns separated by vast expanses of inhospitable territory and the opening scene is the most classic of all Western classics: a stranger rides into town.

Or, rather, a Stranger. In Kingston, Strangers are a recognised class – wanderers with names such as Slake and Hook and Justice. They stay in the town Station, drink in the town bar, stay for a few days or a few weeks, and move on. Some of them are pursuing their own agendas, some just appear to enjoy causing trouble. Many are reputed to have magical powers, which explains the townspeople’s reluctance to get involved with them.

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Article: Doctor Who’s Story Arc of Infinity (and Beyond?)

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Are you a fan of Doctor Who‘s new format? Podcast commentator Swithun Dobson (a.k.a. “The Great Intelligence”, a.k.a. “The Beast”) certainly isn’t and turns his critical eye on the past to suggest how the show might evolve in future.

Deafening Silence, River Melodies and “shenanigans”. Are story-arcs the future of Doctor Who? Since Steven Moffat acceded to the showrunner’s throne, the series has tended toward more heavily-arced narratives. Last year it was the Crack, this year it’s the not-so-silent Silence.

For the purpose of this article a story-arc will be defined as a continuing narrative which is directly related to each individual episode over a significant period of time, normally a single series. This definition should be treated as the gold standard against which other series can be compared, to determine their arcedness. (Bad Wolf, for instance, wasn’t an arc – it was an afterthought).

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Article – Science & Fantasy, Part 1: The New Magic

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Splashdown according to Jules Verne...If you think you’re a science-fiction fan, you might have to think again.

Sir Terry Pratchett ruffled a few feathers recentlywhen he claimed that only ‘people who don’t know what science-fiction is, say that Doctor Who is science-fiction’.

To claim the adventures of Matt Smith and Co. are closer to fantasy than sci-fi might feel like stating the obvious but I’m willing to go further and claim that most of what passes for science-fiction in today’s media actually belongs to the genre’s trickier, more nebulous cousin: science-fantasy.
Before we go any further, let’s define our terms. The Collins English Dictionary defines science-fiction as ‘a literary genre that makes imaginative use of scientific knowledge or conjecture’. Those last four words are key. Yes, the writer has to tell a good story, yes the characters should be well rounded and believable but if the narrative doesn’t mine the challenges and pitfalls of science as sources of drama, it ain’t science-fiction.