Authored by: Louis on Monday, January 15 2007 @ 04:24 AM EST

I mostly did not like the character itself... as for the execution of the alien, well it is forgivable or I can overlook it... The series in it's past had questionable looking aliens and as long as the characters and stories are good, well you can use your imagination to fill in for what the budget could not afford. As for this spider creature... her eyes did not match, but if the character itself was less juvenile and more threatening and more believable (I am not talking effects here, just a convincing character with convincing motivations) it would have made a difference. She seemed more appropriate for perhaps the new Sarah Jane Adventures children series than Doctor Who.

Cheers,
Louis

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"I'm a Time Lord... I'm not a human being; I walk in eternity..."

Authored by: Doctor Whoovie on Tuesday, January 16 2007 @ 06:38 PM EST

I think I go with Louis, Ken and Mike on their Runaway Bride review. The Empress just looks like someone in a rubber suit (in good Doctor Who Tradition). I particularly didn't like the fact that her false "spider" eyes, looked too different from her two "human" ones. Even though they blinked in unison with Sarah Parrish's eyes they seemed very false. If they had more physical resemblence to Sarah's actual eyes, I think the whole effect/costume would have come together somewhat better.

Catherine Tate was fantastic (likable and sympathetic, yet annoying simultaneously). I must admit I loved the whole TARDIS chase on the M4 (M for "motorway", not "freeway" - doesn't anyone speak "English" these days? ;-) ). I also enjoyed the play back to the Christmas Invasion with the Santas and the Christmas Trees. Though I thought that last year's "whirling Dervish" Christmas tree was much more effective (and much funnier). For the record, I didn't think that the Sycorax were much of an enemy last year either, just men if rubbishy masks.

I did like the spaceship appearing as the Star of Bethlehem, nice seasonal touch. Mind you - the heathen Army blew it up! The brigadier must be alive and well; he always wanted to bomb the aliens.


Next year, they should do a time travel episode, set just over two thousand years ago. Where the Doctor and Martha stop three pilot fish (dressed as Kings) from sucking the latent energies out of a baby in a manger. The scavengers are acting on orders from a fifth member of the Cult of Skaro, Dalek Herod. Title: "How the Daleks stole Christmas".

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In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed are Kings

Authored by: MikeD on Thursday, January 18 2007 @ 12:29 PM EST

Although I was not a huge fan of the Empress herself my main problem is with the pacing of the action and the writing of the episode from the point that she appears onward. No matter how good or bad the effects, acting or design are for the sequence between the Doctor and the Empress I think the number one problem is that it goes on too long and an episode that was action packed and tightly scripted slows down way to quickly and goes too long. I think the first 35 minutes of the episode are fast paced and near perfection but the final 25 minutes drag. I think the script might have worked better as a 45 minute episode or with a lengthier coda section at the end.

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"There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything we believe in. They must be fought."