Too tired to watch this last night ( I feel asleep on the sofa) so I caught it this morning:
This episode was one of the most powerful and morally haunting I have ever seen in all my years of watching Dr Who. What a huge difference in the quality of writing between last week and this . It consistantly challenged me whilst watching it, though by the end I thought it was one of the very best ever, but with a couple of very direct caveats.
This isn't a Dr Who I can really easily recognise.
The sci fi elements were fairly weak, as was the villian, he simply didn't feel menacing or clever enough to be at all as calculating as he was supposed to be , far too much a "pretty" boy ,as opposed to a pretty strong and cunning opponent. But for most of the rest of the cast, well that script and the period and material it dealt with sent all the scores rocketing skyward , with some outstanding performances, Vinette Robinson and Bradley Walsh being particularly strong.
However, in choosing to deal with this point in time and its place in history it was also damned uncomfortable viewing at times, and as such a dangerously controversial choice for a popular family Sunday nights viewing.
Yet I applaud it for going in this direction for once. No way could you have watched this and not have been moved ,one way or another , nor could you simply dismiss this as just a worthless piece of junk entertainment,like the vast quantity of such . This had weight, consequence and an educational value, and thats a rare thing to say of a Dr Who episode ever. It will also probably be one of the most discussed.
However, certain elements were far too "on the nose" for me, that conversation between Yaz and Ryan behind the dump bins was far too preachy , PC and clumsy, certainly compared to the carefully considered moments shared with Rosa. And there was far too much lecturing at times which didn't work well, as opposed to the shockingly powerful scenes that did, but I guess for the younger generations perhaps that was a necessity.
Overall, done once, and in the way that they did it, this had real value and power as an episode that really lifted the quality of the programme . It engaged my curiosity and interest, it made me think and react to it and it managed to make a real difference to the entire new series .
Next week : Spiders and how to live in peacefull co existence ( or probably not) with them. Great choice for scream out loud villians , I'd bet a fair proportion of the female audience will end up hiding behind their sofas.