WHO REVIEW: The War Doctor: Only the Monstrous

THE INNOCENT 

THE THOUSAND WORLDS 

THE HEART OF THE BATTLE

Big Finish isn't being coy about having gained the rights to the new series properties, storming straight in with something quite momentous: the very first Time War boxed set. We all thought this would happen someday, but we expected Paul McGann's Doctor to continue his long-standing audio career into the Time War era. 2013, though, introduced the previously unknown War Doctor to unsuspecting fans, changing the landscape for the War altogether and giving us our first glimpses of how it was actually fought. And so, Big Finish manages a tremendous coup and gets Sir John bloody Hurt back to play the lead in this new batch of audio adventures.

It's perhaps impossible to ever truly tell the story of the Time War, spreading temporal chaos across the Universe and leaving cause and effect in ruins. However, there were clearly some more physical, worldly battles in the great temporal conflict, with Dalek fleets and gunships encroaching on each others' worlds. Nicholas Briggs takes a wise approach with his take on the Time War, joining the conflict after a decisive battle has left the Daleks devastated, and following it up with a story based on the planet Keska. The Doctor - sorry, John Smith - first finds Keska as a beautiful, peaceful place, only to be summoned away, and returns to it in the iron grip of the militant Talians. What to us would be a gargantuan catastrophe - the conquest of an entire civilisation - is but a tiny, proxy war for the Time Lords and Daleks. It's a fine way to explore such a gigantic conflict; the Time War in microcosm.

John Hurt is as brilliant as expected, his unmistakable voice perfectly suited to audio drama. The story is fundamentally melodrama and Hurt isn't afraid to occasionally go over the top, and there's some speechifying, but it fits the character and the story perfectly. This is never anything less than gorgeous to listen to. Also excellent is Lucy Briggs-Owen, who plays the young Keskan woman Rejoice, a character who's such perfect companion material that it's heartbreaking when the Doctor, in spite of his fondness for her, pushes her away. He meets her again, later, played now by Carolyn Seymour, bringing gravity, world-wearniness and maturity to what is still recognisably the same character. As above, so below; Rejoice's journey reflects the Doctor's as the war on Keska reflects the Time War.

By the third chapter, the Daleks and Time Lords are openly at odds on Keska, with one group of Time Lords attempting to forge a peace with the Skaroene monsters. At odds with his usual character, the Doctor dismisses any idea of truce or appeasement, having been fully turned to the cause of war. For all this, though, the War Doctor remains recognisably the Doctor, still fundamentally decent and heroic. He may be jaded, self-flagellating and war-weary, but there's still very little there that suggests an incarnation shunned by his other selves. This is a fine first step in the dramatisation of the Time War, but I hope that in the future we get to see the Doctor truly show us just what he had to do in order to win the War. 

The Force Awakens - Questions

SPOILERS, OBVS.

Carry on below the break.

REVIEW: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The Force Awakens opens with a truly beautifully directed scene, in which the villains' credentials are set out with a brutal massacre, and a single stoomtrooper stands among the carnage, unable to act. We can't see his face, he is completely indistinguishable from his fellows save for the blood smeared on his faceshield by his dying comrade. You can tell exactly what the trooper is thinking at every moment. It's a masterful example of silent acting combined with excellent direction.


Yes, The Force Awakens is derivative, so similar to its predecessors, particularly the original Star Wars, that it's practically a remake. The script is straightforward, some of the performances are very broad, and it trades in nostalgia over originality. Still, I don't know about you, but that's exactly what I was after. Like Terminator 5 and Jurassic World, the seventh episode of Star Wars is made for people who want to experience their favourite worlds again, reliving the classic movies. None of these franchises can afford to simply do this again, and need to go in new directions with their upcoming sequels, but for now, this works. The Force Awakens is a perfect reproduction of what made the original Star Wars so enjoyable, with just a little added to make it more palatable for modern audiences.


It's a wonderful step forward to have the main protagonists in the year's biggest blockbuster be a black man and a woman, and for them to be supported by a middle-aged couple. John Boyega is excellent in the role of Finn, the stoomtrooper who overcomes years of conditioning and abandons the First Order, the Nazi-esque successor to the Galactic Empire. He's a likeable hero with a strong development from terrified deserter to true hero, but he is overshadowed once the final act is set up and the white people dominate the scenes. So, a big step forward, but not without its flaws. The only other major role for an actor of colour is Lupita Nyong'o, who provides the voice of the venerable alien Maz Kanata. She's excellent in the role, but I question the wisdom of hiding the one other prominent black face (not to mention one of the most beautiful faces in the world) behind a CGI reptile.


Daisy Ridley shoulders some of the more perfunctory dialogue, but again, is a hugely likeable and believable hero. Yes, her story deliberately parallels Luke Skywalker's, but it's refreshing to have the hero of the piece, and the most impressive character, be a young woman, and this adds a new angle to the story. It's not only going to be little white boys who can see themselves in the heroes on screen. After all, even though Carrie Fisher was impressive in the original trilogy, she was nonetheless sat down out of the way while Luke saved the Galaxy. Rey gets to be the most powerful potential Jedi in the series, almost absurdly so, displaying incredible Force ability without a bit of training. Staggeringly, there are people out there who find this the hardest thing to believe in a film about magic space knights – obviously it's impossible that a woman could be the best in swordfight.


One thing in the prequels' favour was a sense of scale sometimes missing from the originals. The Force Awakens has that scale, without ever crossing the line to CGI overload. There are hectic space battles and tons of monsters, but it's never incoherent or hard to follow. I understand that much of what has transpired between Return of the Jedi and this movie is very similar to developments in the old expanded universe books and comics, but like the majority of the film's vast audience I know little about that. I can say that I like that things have clearly not been easy since the Battle of Endor, and that the Empire didn't just miraculously vanish overnight without consequence. The First Order is clearly a powerful organisation, the New Republic is worryingly weak, and their relationship with the Resistance uncertain. Leia is now a General, Han is once again living on the edge of the law, and life is still shitty for most people in this Galaxy. It's still an old, broken, dangerous world, populated by bizarre creatures, just as it should be.


Some of it is, perhaps, too familiar. Rey is drawn into the Rebellion Resistance after an attack on her home, the desert planet Tatooine Jekku. Han and Chewie take time away from their smuggling to help take the fight to the Death Star giant planet that eats suns. There's a critical confrontation over a huge crevasse. I don't think anyone loses an arm, though. But this just feels like Star Wars through and through, and while some dislike a certain familial relationship between characters being revealed, I feel that it's a confident inversion of the classic films' set-up. There's a deliberate sense of history repeating. Adam Driver's character, the villainous Kylo Ren, is a deliberately weak despot, trying hard to live up to the example of his idol, the long dead Darth Vader. The character works because of his weakness, not in spite of it. Equally good is Domhnall Gleeson, whose General Hux is the young, modern equivalent of Grand Moff Tarkin, with extra scenery chewing. Of course, the First Order recruits its officers from the best schools in England. There are little hints of life in this twisted order; for example, the revelation that the stormtroopers are made up of clones, recruits and children brought up as soldiers, with disagreement between officers which is the best method.



There are flaws, of course. Gwendolyn Christie is wasted as super-trooper Captain Phasma. Oscar Isaac's character, Poe Dameron, is written out early on, before randomly reappearing later in a lazy rewrite. But this is exciting, nostalgic fun, surprisingly funny, and if you do somehow manage to get bored, you can play “spot the cameo.” And BB-8 really is the cutest robot ever.

WHO REVIEW: 2015 Christmas Special - The Husbands of River Song

We sorely needed a light-hearted runaround after the heavy drama of the recent series of Doctor Who, and this certainly delivered that. It's hard to call this anything particularly remarkable for Doctor Who. It's hard to make a Christmas special feel special when it's only been about three weeks since the last series finished; Doctor Who is very concentrated into the last few weeks of the year now, which does suit the spooky direction we've gone in lately, but does reduce its overall impact on the screens.

In any case, this was good fun, if nothing spectacular. A ludicrously over-the-top sci-fi story with more than a hint of Hitchhikers to it, with the broad comedy set-up used as a background for River and the Doctor to play together. The conceit of bringing River back, yet again, but pitting against a Doctor without the boyish looks of her previous Time Lord boyfriends is a good one, and having River unaware that this is the Doctor at all is a great idea. As the Doctor says, it's a chance to see what River is like the rest of the time, having her own adventures, playing up how flirtatious, amoral and downright dangerous she is. The script flirts with the idea that River is just using the Doctor as a handy ride in times of trouble, but swivels and has her declare her love for him in an astounding speech. Either way, she is revealed to be enormously dependent on him, even as she lives a long and elaborate life of her own.

It has to be said, Greg Davies and Matt Lucas, although both pretty funny here, are wasted in the roles of Hydroflax and Nardole (a particularly unfortunate little character, he really gets put through the ringer). As is Game of Thrones's Nonso Anozie, who provides the booming voice of the robotic body that carts the various characters' heads around. It's really a showcase for Capaldi and Kingston, who play things mostly straight while the farce carries on around them, displaying admirable comedic skills and great chemistry with one another.

Both of the main settings for the episode have potential, but neither is explored in any kind of detail. This is a pity; the horrific reign of King Hydroflax could have been a mine of material, but perhaps Hydroflax is just too straightforward a villain for modern Doctor Who, suitable only as a vague threat and comic relief. Another potential source of villainy and adventure is the starship Harmony and Redemption, the misnomered cruise liner for the worst scoundrels and despots in the Galaxy (having committed genocide in the past, the Doctor would have no trouble booking a cabin). A shipful of supervillains could provide a series' worth of material, but it's little more than a throwaway gag here. There's a lot more that could have been done with this setting.

What made the episode for me was the ending, beginning with River's impassioned speech (and the Doctor's merciless teasing of her for it), and moving into their, we presume, final adventure together. Bringing back material Moffat wrote for River when he first created the character, it puts a different perspective on the Doctor. The man who doesn't like endings - who refused to even countenance the idea of Clara dying - finally has the courage to accept this is the beginning of the end for them. Having put off the fateful trip to Darillium for so long, he and River share what seemed to be their final moments together in front of the Singing Towers. It's utterly beautiful, shows Capaldi and Kingston at their absolute best, and ends with a doozy: they've actually got twenty-four years to spend together in their one, final night. Although the comedy nonsense was fun, this is where the strengths of both performers and the writer lie.

Flash and Supergirl mid-season reviews

Avec les spoilers

FLASH 2.9 - RUNNING TO STAND STILL

It's Christmas in Central City, and we celebrate with a villain team-up. This episode has the feel of an episode of the classic 90s Batman animated series, what with the over-the-top plot (exploding Christmas presents!) sitting alongside a grimmer plotline (Patty faces her desire for revenge against her father's murderer). Plus, the presence of Mark Hamill as the Trickster naturally makes it seem like the Joker's around. (Thought: Jay says they don't have a Trickster on Earth-2. He should have said they have a Joker instead.)

Weather Wizard, despite his silly name and powers, is a cold, heartless individual, and makes a great mirror to the Trickster, who's utterly insane but blessed with a strongly emotional worldview. Alongside them you have Captain Cold, who gets to show his noble side, setting the stage further for Legends of Tomorrow, which will hit early next year. There's some strong development of the Zoom/Wells plotline, and Wally West makes his debut appearance, but the most important thread is Patty's storyline coming to a head as she finally gets some closure. She's still the Iris of this series, the only character kept out of the loop when everyone and his mum knows Barry's the Flash. They really need to sort that out. Otherwise, though, this has been a strong half-season and this was a great episode.

SUPERGIRL 1.7 - HUMAN FOR A DAY; 1.8 - HOSTILE TAKEOVER

I'm very much enjoying the direction the series is taking, with more focus on Kara's emotional reaction to both current and long ago events. The comicbook fan in me is loving the introduction of familiar characters; Red Tornado was a treat (even if T. O. Morrow was an irritating villain), and then the spectacular reveal that Hank Henshaw is, in fact, the Martian Manhunter. Really didn't see that one coming. Henshaw/J'onzz is a bit glib with his alien identity now the cat is out of the bag with viewers, but still, this was great misdirection for fans, who fully expected him to become the Cyborg Superman as in the comics. (Not that this precludes the return of the real Henshaw, who could well be the Cyborg Supes.)  The "finale" episode has some great scenes, including the various battles between the alien forces and the protectors of the Earth, but any scene involving the Kryptonians actually speaking (either flashbacks to Krypton or Earth events) is marred by stultifyingly po-faced sci-fi dialogue. It really damages the whole episode. Still, at least Non gets an upgrade from mute slab of moron-muscle to an actual thinking, speaking, calculating character.

The best parts, though, remain Kara's interactions with her family, friends and team. I like that she's really getting put through the ringer emotionally, and her outburst at her mother's hologram, railing against being abandoned on Earth, is probably the best scene for her in the series so far. Although, the climax of the previous episode, in which she pours all her rage at her life's flaws and injustices, into burning up the Red Tornado, is a close second. I'm also truly loving Cat Grant now, portrayed with cut-glass iciness by Calista Flockhart but with moments of real warmth and humility. Cat could have been just a one-note bitch character, but she's become the highlight of the series. "Hostile Takeover" sees her facing the attempted ousting of Cat from her own company by a hacking and smear campaign, thwarted by Kara and her gang, and it works brilliantly. At its best, Supergirl is a very modern, strongly feminist series, and here it really explores the incredible obstacles women face in positions of power and responsibility, by showing rather than just echoing well-worn platitudes. Oh, and then Cat shows she has more brains than any of Superman's allies ever did, by working out that Kara is Supergirl and absolutely not backing down.