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| S3-EP9 - Family of Blood |
Views: 3807 |
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seanhuxter
Registered: 08/27/05
Posts: 825
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 Sunday, June 03 2007 @ 08:05 AM EDT |
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Most of the salient points have been discussed here and I agree with both sides, a little. I agree with the positive far more than the negative.
There was something in the middle that bothered me, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Nicely paced all-in-all, and lots of well-written nuances.
1) The fact that the girl's parents are dead and Matron knows it. Or suspects it. She's the smart one in this show. She surmised what would have happened if the girl had gone home after conversion, and she's right.
2) The flash-forward of the Doctor's could-be-life was brilliant, though taken directly from the Star Trek episode where Picard lives his life in a second. That was a brilliant episode for Star trek. I didn't feel cheated at all. In fact last week, it's the only way I could envision this episode based on the trailer.
3) The trailer was an attempt at a mislead, and I never like that. Manipulative trailers are one of my pet peeves - trailers that take a story movie and turn it into an action movie just to get an audience, that sort of thing. But I wasn't disappointed with how it turned out. I thought it showed Matron as being braver than anyone, because not so much Mr. Smith, it was HER life-to-be that was being sacrificed. Smith wasn't so nice a character that I much cared for what HE wanted.
4) I didn't much like the ease with which the Doctor could destroy the Family's ship. Push these four switches in sequence, and meanwhile, the Family watches and doesn't realize what he did. Even though this was supposed to be a bumbling, unknowledgeable human, he just hit all the switches that make ship go boom, and no reaction whatever.
5) I'm totally confused at how the Doctor doled out his punishments. First, I thought the Family only had a three-month life-span, but then realized they stole human bodies, so now they have a normal HUMAN lifespan. So how is it the Doctor made any of them live forever? Trapping the girl in a mirror? What nonsense was that. Poetic, sure, but not realistic (I say, given this is a fantasy universe.) Nothing ever has indicated such a thing is possible in the Whoniverse. Dropping someone into a black hole? Kills 'em. Crushes their atoms to impossibly dense piles. No survival possible. Chaining someone up? So what? He's still only going to live until his human body (and at 50+ not long) lasts. This was by far the weakest part of the episode, though it felt good, it just made no damned sense.
6) I am delighted at Matron's asking the Doctor, "If you hadn't just chosen us on a whim, would any of these people have died?" It was what was on my mind throughout BOTH episodes, and these deep issues are rarely challenged in a short TV show, but they did it here, and it shows that what was once love for Mr. Smith turned to a hatred of the Doctor. Very appropriate, and very right. Also perfectly done.
7) I loved the final scene. I loved that the young men didn't die as was alluded to earlier, but used the prescience as a way of escaping death. I loved the final scene. I can't repeat that enough. If I had written it (and this is just the kind of scene I would write if I were doing it) I would have had the Doctor salute the elderly soldier, and Martha as well, before having them walk off into the crowd. But I can't fault this scene.
So in summary, this doesn't beat some of the episodes of Season 1 and 2, but it's by far the best episode of Season 3. (And the more it grows on me I may change that assessment.)
I'll quote Louis on this one: Bravo!
And thanks for posting the link to the eBook. I love reading on my Palm Pilot, and now I can read this book.
Sean.
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One solid hope is worth a cartload of uncertainties.
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tarashnat
Registered: 08/17/05
Posts: 3062
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| Sunday, June 03 2007 @ 09:04 AM EDT |
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| [Quote by: seanhuxter] 5) I'm totally confused at how the Doctor doled out his punishments. First, I thought the Family only had a three-month life-span, but then realized they stole human bodies, so now they have a normal HUMAN lifespan. So how is it the Doctor made any of them live forever? Trapping the girl in a mirror? What nonsense was that. Poetic, sure, but not realistic (I say, given this is a fantasy universe.) Nothing ever has indicated such a thing is possible in the Whoniverse. Dropping someone into a black hole? Kills 'em. Crushes their atoms to impossibly dense piles. No survival possible. Chaining someone up? So what? He's still only going to live until his human body (and at 50+ not long) lasts. This was by far the weakest part of the episode, though it felt good, it just made no damned sense. |
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Evil of the Daleks makes time travel using mirrors possible... The Girl in the Fireplace also continues this, as the Doctor jumps into Versailles through a mirror. So there is some Doctor Who precedent.
Being a time lord one expects he can manipulate time to make it appear as if they live forever—time loops, bubbles and such... |
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Daleks don't accept apologies! YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!
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seanhuxter
Registered: 08/27/05
Posts: 825
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| Sunday, June 03 2007 @ 10:19 AM EDT |
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[Quote by: tarashnat]Evil of the Daleks makes time travel using mirrors possible... The Girl in the Fireplace also continues this, as the Doctor jumps into Versailles through a mirror. So there is some Doctor Who precedent.
Being a time lord one expects he can manipulate time to make it appear as if they live forever—time loops, bubbles and such... |
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So yes, Daleks invented a time machine that used mirrors. And the Clockwork Men created a portal through a particular mirror pair. (It could have been a grandfather clock or any other device... like a fireplace or whatever. The connection was limited from the one part of the pair to the other like two doors to a wormhole.
I can even buy the concept that the Doctor can trap someone in a time bubble. But not in a way that makes him feel he's living forever. Stasis stops time for the people in it. Though technically they might outlive anyone else, they will only perceive their own lifetime, and again, they've stolen human bodies with lifespans of 70 years or so.
But none of that is what the Doctor did. He trapped the little girl "in all mirrors". Even the ones in your house. Huh? That's gonna need some splainin'.
Sean.
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One solid hope is worth a cartload of uncertainties.
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Magpie
Registered: 06/29/06
Posts: 519
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| Sunday, June 03 2007 @ 11:02 AM EDT |
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Ok I will quantify the following with, I think this was an excellent episode.
Trailers often/always try to mislead people so I didn't have a problem with that.
The doling out of the punishments - The Doctor's dark side. Well, in the context of this episode I felt the punishments tread ever so slightly too far on the demi-god territory for my comfort. In fact, even the little speech given in the house by the Love Actually kid struck a sour chord with me. Yeah, we all love The Doctor. Yes. He's great, Yeah he's amazing. I don't need a giant mutual pep-talk love fest about how fantastic the doctor is in every episode. It isn't that I think the Hoo-Ray Doctor Pep Talk was inappropriate or was badly executed or whatever - because they had a lot of convincing of Mr. Smith to do.
BUT previous Doctors didn't have to save the fate of everything every single episode. When we find out that if he doesn't stop them they'll wage war on all of the universe forever bla bla bla.... I started to think "give it a rest!!!" Isn't it bad enough they're shooting up a village/school and killing loads of innocents? Oh no I guess not - because if that were the case, John Smith would just give up the Doctors' essence.
However, I am not convinced that having the matron suddenly read the end of the diary while they're standing there and find out that if he doesn't turn into The Doctor the whole universe is at risk was the most original plot device. I mean, tell us the essence isn't enough to satisfy the family of blood - or have Martha take him into the Tardis show him the video of himself & beg him not to abandon her away from her family in 1913 - ANYTHING!!
And that's where this episode let me down. I had HUGE hopes for a super strong 2-parter with beautiful set design/costumes and acting and music and they had to go and spoil it with "The fate of the universe depends on you!!!!! .... Again."
Ok sorry about the rant but I had to get that off my chest.
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If Worzel Gummidge and the Third Doctor had a fist fight - who would win?
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seanhuxter
Registered: 08/27/05
Posts: 825
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| Sunday, June 03 2007 @ 11:55 AM EDT |
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| [Quote by: Magpie] In fact, even the little speech given in the house by the Love Actually kid struck a sour chord with me. Yeah, we all love The Doctor. Yes. He's great, Yeah he's amazing. I don't need a giant mutual pep-talk love fest about how fantastic the doctor is in every episode. It isn't that I think the Hoo-Ray Doctor Pep Talk was inappropriate or was badly executed or whatever - because they had a lot of convincing of Mr. Smith to do. |
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But I love how that was counterpointed by the Nurse/Matron's speech about how if the Doctor hadn't chosen their small corner of the world on a whim, that none of those people would have died.
That showed that while the Doctor IS amazing, he's hardly perfect, and in fact, brings death wherever he goes.
I really dug that aspect of this episode. |
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One solid hope is worth a cartload of uncertainties.
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BadWolf
Registered: 03/25/06
Posts: 316
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| Sunday, June 03 2007 @ 12:51 PM EDT |
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Yes, there were some plot holes in this but I got the impression that they were more to do with continuity rather than actual holes. The most glaring for me was when one of the scarecrows had an arm torn off which reattached itself by the next scene.
In watching this it seemed to me the classic case of trying to fit a book into a time slot. As a for instance; we never saw the point where John Smith finally decided to become the Doctor again but obviously he did and it would have probably have been very powerful.
There were various points where something happened and it seemed that there should have been a "set up" scene to show how we got there.
The end of the "Family Of Blood" craft (as has been pointed out) seemed very rushed. Perhaps Ken's comments about a 3 parter are appropriate?
As to the fates of the family; we have known right from the "Christmas Invasion" that this is a Doctor with a darker side he just has not shown it until now. We must also understand that the concept was written with a much darker incarnation of the Doctor in mind.
Rtd has had some comments about a Doctor Who movie but this could probably been it, 120 minutes instead of 90 would have given time to fill in some of the blanks.
Cornell's tugging, unraveling and restitching of emotional thread is excellent as usual bringing a variety of unexpected emotional responses to the story in quick succession.
My initial feeling immediately after watching this was that it just surpassed Empty/Dances and is one of the best things we have seen for this incarnation of the Doctor. I have no doubt that this story will bring even more awards.
BTW:I think that John Smith's journal will end up in other hands. |
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Forget the shooty dog thing!
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lonelyangel10
Registered: 05/27/07
Posts: 79
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| Sunday, June 03 2007 @ 06:17 PM EDT |
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I was so much happier with this conclusion episode. I'm still a bit interested in to why the Doctor punished the family in the fashion that he did and foreshadowing in the last two Christmas specials(ie. he gives only one warning, Donna is concerned, etc). I even think there was a exchange during "School Reunion" with the headmaster monster(Anthony Stewart Head). Something to stay tuned for in later episodes....
Martha took better charge in this time and I liked Freema's reactions alot better as it seemed she was back to the energy from "Smith and Jones" that I liked as opposed to some of the overacting she had to do in "42." This episode gave her more opportunity for me to care about Martha Jones, and for a few episodes, I really wasn't too convinced...
This was a 5/5 for me and right now my favorite episode this season...probably until Utopia....
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"WOT?...WOT?" "WOT??????!!!!!" OUT!OUT!OUT!
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mad4plaid
Registered: 02/02/06
Posts: 880
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| Monday, June 04 2007 @ 09:00 AM EDT |
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| [Quote by: BadWolf] Yes, As to the fates of the family; we have known right from the "Christmas Invasion" that this is a Doctor with a darker side he just has not shown it until now. |
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I immediately thought about that (how could you not?) as the voice over told us what was happening. "No second chances; I'm that kind of man." Still, I really hate voice over tie-ups of stories (hated the last 20 minutes of Return of the King for just that reason -- use narrative!!!).
I enjoyed the episode, but I didn't think it lived up to the brilliance of the first part. In fact, I cynically thought that John Smith's reactions were there just for the emotion episode needed for a Daytime Emmy Award (sorry for those not in the US - don't know if there is an equivalent of a soap opera awards elsewhere). I was actually a little uncomfortable during these scenes.
I loved the ending with the memorial service. It would have been SO much better, though, if it was last week (which was intended until Eurovision knocked us off for a week). When you consider that this episode should have been shown during Memorial Weekend in the US (where we wear red poppies for the "glorious dead"). But I could be wrong about the UK/Canada, I thought they held Remembrance Day November 11th (Armistice Day), so maybe the weekend the show SHOULD have aired was just a coincidence for the US.
I do wish there had been more of a "moment" between Old Tim and the Doctor/Martha. More than just him seeing them -- more of an acknowledgement. (I also found myself wondering what year the service was held in, as Tim would have been somewhere between 16 and 19 in 1913, so the service probably wasn't in the current year).
Next week looks like our Love and Monsters episode. The only good thing about that is: after that Jack Returns!!!! |
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supremacy is relative
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sgb1975
Registered: 06/19/06
Posts: 281
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| Monday, June 04 2007 @ 09:47 AM EDT |
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As one who has been very critical of series 3 thus far, I am happy to say that I really liked this episode. To be honest, I could take or leave the 1st 75 minutes or so of the 2-parter, but the last few scenes, when he blew up the Family's ship and doled out his punishments...whoa!
I won't deny that I'm happy with the scenes of John Smith and Matron turning out to be futuristic could-have-beens. Although The Doctor always fights for those who can't, and cares greatly for those around him, The Doctor has never been a family man, and never one to settle down. To do otherwise would simply not be Doctor Who television that we know and love.
I think my favorite scene of the show was one that hasn't been mentioned yet. It was also yet another nice little homage to the classic series. It was the scene where John Smith and all of the students at the school are getting ready for the scarecrow soldiers to break into the school. When the doors burst, the students open fire and unload into the scarecrows. Everyone is firing...except The Doctor. Immediately reminded me of a Tom Baker scene, from Seeds of Doom if I'm correct: The Doctor and Sarah come across a guard who has been knocked out, and The Doctor grabs the guard's gun and is about to take off after the bad guys, when Sarah basically tells him that he's crazy for going after them unarmed:
Doctor: But I've got a pistol
Sarah: Yeah, but you'd never use it.
Doctor: True...but they don't know that.
Great scene, and I think the turning point when Smith realizes that he and this mysterious Doctor are one and the same person.
4.5 out of 5 (Could've been 5, but The Doctor wasn't in it much really...John Smith is a nice guy, but not terribly interesting. Also, deducted partial points for the unavoidable chased-by-the-bad-guys scenes)
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Dr. Hoo
Registered: 01/11/06
Posts: 91
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| Monday, June 04 2007 @ 10:25 AM EDT |
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Much like Sean, I had similar issues with this episode. I just didn't love it like I did the first part (which had me very intrigued).
My main question is... The whole reason the Doctor became human was to escape these aliens who he was obviously quite scared of in the first part, yet once he becomes the Doctor again at the end of the second part he dispatches all of them (and their ship) quite easily. Did I miss something? Are we to assume that once their ship was destroyed they were no longer any kind of threat, so they were easy for the Doctor to deal with?
The acting was superb and for that I loved this episode but I felt the story had some plot holes and I'm looking forward to reading the book now so I can compare the two. |
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Check out HOO on WHO, my podcast devoted to the review of Classic series Doctor Who DVD's.
http://www.hooonwho.com
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seanhuxter
Registered: 08/27/05
Posts: 825
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| Monday, June 04 2007 @ 10:34 AM EDT |
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| [Quote by: Dr. Hoo]My main question is... The whole reason the Doctor became human was to escape these aliens who he was obviously quite scared of in the first part, yet once he becomes the Doctor again at the end of the second part he dispatches all of them (and their ship) quite easily. Did I miss something? Are we to assume that once their ship was destroyed they were no longer any kind of threat, so they were easy for the Doctor to deal with? |
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What you may have missed was what the "Son" said in his monologue at the end. He said that the reason the doctor fled, the reason he ran and hid, was out of kindness. So he wouldn't have to destroy the Family the way he ended up doing. Not from cowardice. It was a short line, but it summed up the Doctor's actions quite well.
Sean.
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One solid hope is worth a cartload of uncertainties.
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old china
Registered: 06/07/06
Posts: 178
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| Monday, June 04 2007 @ 11:15 AM EDT |
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A completely random piece of trivia here, but according to the IMDb Harry Lloyd (who played Bains so well) is the great-great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens!
I can hear Ken Deep calling it the Inaccurate Movie Database, but that's cool if it's true.
For my two cents worth I loved this two parter. Series three has been a bit of a damp squib so far, but this story was superb. I can't praise it highly enough. Everything worked perfectly and the acting was really, really top-notch. Heart-rending stuff. |
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If half the art of survival is running away, the other half is knowing when to keep a straight face.
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mad4plaid
Registered: 02/02/06
Posts: 880
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| Monday, June 04 2007 @ 12:04 PM EDT |
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[Quote by: old china] A completely random piece of trivia here, but according to the IMDb Harry Lloyd (who played Bains so well) is the great-great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens!
I can hear Ken Deep calling it the Inaccurate Movie Database, but that's cool if it's true.
For my two cents worth I loved this two parter. Series three has been a bit of a damp squib so far, but this story was superb. I can't praise it highly enough. Everything worked perfectly and the acting was really, really top-notch. Heart-rending stuff. |
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I had to check out IMdb as well to figure out where I had seen Harry Lloyd before: it was as Will Scarlet in Robin Hood, of course (big "duh!" moment once I saw the listing). Nice to see he does actually speak in these episodes, as he very rarely talked in Hood. |
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supremacy is relative
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Dr. Hoo
Registered: 01/11/06
Posts: 91
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| Monday, June 04 2007 @ 04:00 PM EDT |
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[Quote by: seanhuxter] | [Quote by: Dr. Hoo]My main question is... The whole reason the Doctor became human was to escape these aliens who he was obviously quite scared of in the first part, yet once he becomes the Doctor again at the end of the second part he dispatches all of them (and their ship) quite easily. Did I miss something? Are we to assume that once their ship was destroyed they were no longer any kind of threat, so they were easy for the Doctor to deal with? |
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What you may have missed was what the "Son" said in his monologue at the end. He said that the reason the doctor fled, the reason he ran and hid, was out of kindness. So he wouldn't have to destroy the Family the way he ended up doing. Not from cowardice. It was a short line, but it summed up the Doctor's actions quite well.
Sean.
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Actually I remember that being said after you mentioned it and I guess I just glossed over it. Apologies. That makes more sense now, thanks for the reminder! |
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Check out HOO on WHO, my podcast devoted to the review of Classic series Doctor Who DVD's.
http://www.hooonwho.com
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dalek_beer
Registered: 05/27/07
Posts: 4
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| Monday, June 04 2007 @ 07:49 PM EDT |
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I thought the episodes were great, but I think the last four are the best to come!
Can't wait to see John Simm.  |
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Dalek Beer says: Why have a six-pack, when you can have a barrell?
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