Loved this episode.
First of all, a breath of fresh air from the sonic screwdriver. All throughout the Chibnall era, the sonic has been a magical MacGuffin that solves everything. It's so nice to have the doctor actually come up with creative and sensical solutions. Leaving it in the Tardis keyhole to repair it was a clever excuse to be rid of it for the episode.
This episode is a masterclass in world and lore building with the Doctor and Donna exploring an abandoned ship and inspecting its various chambers and theorising about what happened to it. In the Chibnall era, I noticed the doctor asks a lot of why's and then just kind of waits for the answer to reveal itself. In this episode the Doctor and Donna are actually actively investigating and throwing out theories. Some accurate and some not. I love this writing because it makes me feel more involved in the story, I can think for myself which theories or ideas sound plausible or even come up with my own ideas. It really hooks me in!
It's a marvel to see David Tennant and Catherine Tate acting alongside each other again. As they walk about the space station, along with the relatable dialogue from writer Russel T. Davies, they make one of televisions greatest duo acts.
The villains are a pair of shapeshifting entities from the void who take on the image of the Doctor and Donna. I especially love how they don't immediately perfect their imitations and we get to see them improve as the episode goes on. And the Doctor and Donna have to learn how to trick the entity's into revealing themselves in new ways as they learn from their mistakes in each encounter.
The inclusion of Wilfred at the end was the Cherry on top. Rest in peace Bernard Cribbins.
For my review of the last episode I mentioned how I liked the special effects throughout. The same cannot be said for this episode. Absolutely dreadful. The hallway of the ship looks like the first draft of a design students blender project, especially in the final chase sequence. And absolutely worst of all are some of the special effects from the shapeshifters, the worst offender being when the faux doctor bends backwards on his hands and feet and his head emerges from between his legs. Someone may as well have been holding a small cutout of David Tennants head to the screen by a lollipop stick. Seriously, how did anyone let this go to air in this state? I know they're not exactly on a Hollywood budget here but c'mon.
Despite the awful special effects. There's loads hear to love. Solid 8/10.
First of all, a breath of fresh air from the sonic screwdriver. All throughout the Chibnall era, the sonic has been a magical MacGuffin that solves everything. It's so nice to have the doctor actually come up with creative and sensical solutions. Leaving it in the Tardis keyhole to repair it was a clever excuse to be rid of it for the episode.
This episode is a masterclass in world and lore building with the Doctor and Donna exploring an abandoned ship and inspecting its various chambers and theorising about what happened to it. In the Chibnall era, I noticed the doctor asks a lot of why's and then just kind of waits for the answer to reveal itself. In this episode the Doctor and Donna are actually actively investigating and throwing out theories. Some accurate and some not. I love this writing because it makes me feel more involved in the story, I can think for myself which theories or ideas sound plausible or even come up with my own ideas. It really hooks me in!
It's a marvel to see David Tennant and Catherine Tate acting alongside each other again. As they walk about the space station, along with the relatable dialogue from writer Russel T. Davies, they make one of televisions greatest duo acts.
The villains are a pair of shapeshifting entities from the void who take on the image of the Doctor and Donna. I especially love how they don't immediately perfect their imitations and we get to see them improve as the episode goes on. And the Doctor and Donna have to learn how to trick the entity's into revealing themselves in new ways as they learn from their mistakes in each encounter.
The inclusion of Wilfred at the end was the Cherry on top. Rest in peace Bernard Cribbins.
For my review of the last episode I mentioned how I liked the special effects throughout. The same cannot be said for this episode. Absolutely dreadful. The hallway of the ship looks like the first draft of a design students blender project, especially in the final chase sequence. And absolutely worst of all are some of the special effects from the shapeshifters, the worst offender being when the faux doctor bends backwards on his hands and feet and his head emerges from between his legs. Someone may as well have been holding a small cutout of David Tennants head to the screen by a lollipop stick. Seriously, how did anyone let this go to air in this state? I know they're not exactly on a Hollywood budget here but c'mon.
Despite the awful special effects. There's loads hear to love. Solid 8/10.
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