DOCTOR WHO 7.09 - Hide

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So then here we have the second episode this season penned by Neil Cross, and this time folks, this was a lot more like what I'd expect from the creator of Luther. Apparently this was the first of the two adventures he penned, which Moffat and co. liked so much they offered him The Rings of Akhaten. And whatever you thought of that particular episode, I think it's fair to say that Hide is the stronger of the two. For in this story, Cross takes Doctor Who back to being scary, stating his intention as to write the kind of frightening story he remembered as a child. And by Rassilon, I think it's fair to say he succeeded, crafting a memorably spooky  tale that was scary, and proper creeping out the grown-ups as well as the kids too! 

Cross has also said he was very much inspired by the works of British telly legend Nigel Kneale too; indeed apparently he wanted to write a tale in which the Doctor met Kneale's most famous creation Professor Bernard Quatermass. But although Doctor Who has referenced the good professor at least twice in its history before (Remembrance of the Daleks and The Christmas Invasion), this epic meeting of boffins was thwarted by our old enemy copyright reasons. However such legal wrangles didn't stop him drawing inspiration from Kneale; for much like The Road and The Stone Tape in particular, Hide features a traditional ghost story but with a science fiction twist. 

Now then, over the years many ghost stories have played with the idea of time travel - that hauntings are the result of overlapping time slips and distortions. However the danger is that in explaining your ghosts they tend to become more mind boggling and cease to be scary. But Mr Cross isn't just delivering a ghost here, for as well as a temporally displaced soul we also have a monster, so when the nature of the Witch from the Well  becomes apparent, and less spooky, Mr Cross takes us to an eerie nether dimension where something monstrous lurks. And my word the Crooked Man, as it is nicknamed in the credits, is a truly disturbing creation which thanks to some wise directing from Jamie Payne, even by the end we never quite fully see.

Inevitably I suspect some are going to be mark this episode down for the final twist in the tale that reveals that the Crooked Man was just seeking his Crooked Woman. But I fell that after scaring younger viewers witless earlier, it was right and proper that it was reveal that the monsters weren't an evil threat. Grown-ups may carp about it but it was a nice touch... Although, I also rather suspect it might be too little too late and there'll be a few nightmares tonight... Heh heh heh!  

...I do apologise, I don't mean to sound callous, but a good scare is the essential of classic Doctor Who. And I think the end of this story manages to have it's cake and eat it - delivering a proper old school behind the couch experience but making it all alright at the end again.

There's also a pleasing symmetry to this story too. Obviously there's a nice parallel in the ending with the Crooked Folk and Dougray Scott's Professor hitching up with Jessica Raine's Emma, but also these two characters - whom I would love to see more of - neatly mirrored the Doctor and Clara to an extent. And echoing the developing relationship with Clara and the TARDIS. Very fitting a story about repetitions through time and an 'echo universe'. 

This was a grand episode, which I fully admit did managed to spook me at points, and left me with a huge grin on my face at the end. And much like Cold War, Hide managed to fuse the best bits of classic and rebooted Who to great success, marrying the old fashioned plotting with the heart and weight of the new. And much like Mark Gatiss's adventure was a homage to the Second Doctor with even a mention of the H.A.D.s last week, Hide was very much a lovely nod back to the Third Doctor, complete with psychic experiments using a crystal from Metebellis 3*. 

Furthermore, to don my trainspotter's hat for a moment, we should note that the Third Doctor also investigated hauntings that turned out to be time travellers twice too - with ghosts from the future in Day of the Daleks and a spectre from the past that turned out to be our first meeting with a Sontaran in The Time Warrior. Now while I mentioned the numerous parallel elements from the new series that turned up in The Rings of Akhaten, Cross's drawing on the show's history felt far more assured here, delivering an adventure that felt like pure Doctor Who through and through, a tale that fits beautifully with the past but without feeling like it was recycling it.

Now one of the highlights of The Rings of Akhaten was the Doctor's speech, and here we get another one - but this time from Clara. It's a seemingly small moment but Clara's thinking aloud that leads her to the conclusion that  we are all ghosts to the Doctor was quietly magnificent. And there appears to be a lot of hints and foreshadowing in this story too, for amid all the ghost and monster fun was the on-going story arc of the Doctor investigating the mystery of Clara. What is going on with her and the TARDIS? I heavily suspect we may learn more in next week's tale...


* Old guard fans have been scratching their heads over Smith's pronunciation of this planet's name which seem to slightly differ from how Pertwee used to say it. Of course the question is is this just a goof or a hint that the Doctor's memory is getting dodgy? I'd suspect it's just a mispronunciation - and in which case, in story terms, we can chalk it up to an effect of the Time War or the Crack altering history. But then again, it's hard to believe no one on the production time wouldn't have flagged up the error... Damn it, another mystery!

DOCTOR WHO 7.7 - The Rings of Akhaten

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The Rings of Akhaten was a big, colourful, emotional episode and, well, not the kind of episode I was expecting from the creator of the bleak, gritty and dark cop show Luther! However it's fair to say that first time Who scribe Neil Cross has created an adventure that going to keep folks talking for some time, and that's because it's one of those episodes that either knock your socks off or leaves you yawning... But I'm getting ahead of myself! 

Let's have a look at the basics first. Well, we got a nicely realised visit to alien climes, complete with a whole  Cantina bar's worth of different and new races. Obviously Matt Smith was on good form as usual, however special mention and praise for That Speech. Also as I'd hoped we got to see a different side to Jenna-Louise Coleman - yes, folks there was plenty of nice character moments here and generally showing her to be a lot more than a collection of witty one liners and a sassy attitude. 

Now then, on the other hand this episode did have 'first time writer to Who' written all over it - and the reason I say that is I have noticed over the years that new hands do have a tendency to look to the show's past and assemble a script magpie-style. And in The Rings of Akhaten you could certainly identify elements lifted from the program's recent history. 

To begin with, the whole first outing for a new companion being an impressive event chosen by the Doctor was very reminiscent of Rose's maiden voyage in the TARDIS in The End of the World. Furthermore the rousing third act with the uplifting crowd singing echoed Gridlock, and the Doctor delivering a stirring monologue in the face of an awakening ancient monster god will remind more than a few viewers of a similar scene in The Satan Pit. 

However in fairness, in a show with a fifty year history, it's rather hard to write something that a knowledgeable can't find a parallel for in the past. And the real question isn't whether Mr Cross has been *ahem* heavily inspired by previous adventures but whether this new story works or not. And that's where this episode gets a bit tricky.

Firstly to drawn another parallel from the recent past, this is very much a story in the mould of The Beast Below - the important feature here is not the story. The plot line is merely a McGuffin to establish the Doctor and new companions relationship,; it's where they learn how the Doctor operates and he discover whether they have the heart to adventure with him.

But more importantly The Rings of Akhaten is one of those big colourful stories, it's all about big spectacle, grand speeches and a torrent of emotion. And those aims are paired nicely with the plot line which is about feeling and music and the archetypal power of stories and sentiment. It's not about plot detail, it's not even about thrills, it's about the emotions. It's an episode that is working on an  impressionistic level rather than centering on narrative intricacies, it's aiming for the heart rather than the head.  

Now if you go along with the story's tide, you may well be swept away by the end. And as such, if it works for you, you rate it higher than probably any of the other stories I've reference in this piece. However if, for example, you've come here expecting a slice of SF or a romping adventure, then all the operatics of The Rings of Akhaten will, well, ring hollow. 

And which side of the fence does your humble reviewer fall? Well, I can understand why some will be unimpressed and even why some will hate it, for this kind of story's conclusion hinges upon an emotional moment rather any strictly logical twist. However that's an artistic trade-off I can live with, and indeed from how the story it unfolded, it was the kind of end-game I expected. 

Now I did enjoy it and I did like it, but I wasn't completely bowled over with it. However in all honesty, I'm not sure whether that was the episode itself not quite succeeding in provoking the desired in effect or whether  that was down to me being distracted by my internal reviewer making notes - for certainly in the big finale I was half thinking of the howls of 'this doesn't make sense!' and 'Pah! Sentimental guff!' that would be emanating from some corners of fandom. And also trying to decide if there was a lift from Blade Runner in the Doctor's big speech. Such distracting backchat from the back of your own bonce is one of the perils of reviewing... 

I guess this is one of those Marmite episodes - as so often the big emotional ones are. But hey, whether you loved it or hated, next week we have a monsters on a submarine tale that looks set to deliver the kind of  old school thrill and chills that we all love.