Behind the Sofa - The Collaborative Doctor Who Blog

Das ist gut, c'est magnifique

I suffered from something strange recently, I can only describe it as the SciFi equivalent of the bends. Basically, I was coming straight off some heavy shit, like Battlestar Galactica (was probably some episode where the light hearted human interest story [the one that counter balanced the main suicidally depressing and violent main plot] was about someone choosing which brand of razors to buy so they could slit their wrists) and went straight into the new Doctor Who season's opening camp romp. Like a diver coming up from the depths, I should have weaned myself slowly from BSG and onto Doctor Who, instead of the toxic shock to the system that almost did for me.

I guess that usually you'd go to B7 from BSG then, perhaps, work through some Babylon 5, onto DS9, through to some ST:TNG, by which point you're probably at the right place to move onto Doctor Who. If you go to Buck Rogers in the 25th Century then you've gone too far. And, paradoxically, at the opposite end of the scale from BSG is BSG. The original version, that is (and Buck Rogers comes before the disco in space purely because of the harrowing gang rape scene with Wilfred Hyde-White in episode 17). Put simply, Doctor Who needs to be darker, and scary enough to make an SAS chap soil himself. Speaking of which...

And now on BBC1...

Tooth and Claw

Yes. As unlikely as, say, John Prescott having an affair, RTD turns in a great story that has almost everything right with it. The pacing of the story, the structure and motives of the characters. The direction and music. The cg effects. Well, I said almost. For some unaccountable reason I felt that I was watching an episode of The League of Gentlemen, just from the first establishing shot of the carriage and horses moving across the moor. Not overly sure why.

There is almost as many things crammed into this episode as there were the season opener, but all of it feels right, even tho the hackneyed cliche counter's on overdrive for this one. Kung Fu monks, yes it's been done but the opening scenes work really well and manages to grab the audience by their collective scrotums and get them to sit up and take notice.

I'm surprised that we're not taking the TARDIS on a trip to see the Village People in concert, that would seem much more in line with the continuing gayness of the show. But prop manipulation fans should look out for the hammering meted out to the console. Tennant really has this whole Doctor thing cracked. Although his shift in accent was a little disturbing and he actually comes across sounding more like Armando Iannucci than anything else.

Pauline Collins. What can you say? Apart from the fact I know (sort of) one of her kids. She was excellent. Although the whole "let's get the Queen to say her catch-phrase" routine was starting to get on my tits a little towards the end. Christ alone knows what the time traveling couple will do when they run into Lucas and Walliams and get them to work through every single Little Britain catch-phrase.

I know that some have commented on the wolf, and how it just doesn't really feel part of the piece because of its lack of real interaction but I actually think that they're getting better at doing this sort of thing. I still feel that there's a slight quality difference, between the filmed parts and the cg parts, that makes any computer graphics appear slapped on (the hover cars in New Earth looked particularly phoney). I guess it's still a learning process for the production team, to churn out this sort of effect on a weekly basis on BBC money, but things like this are really starting to work. The chase sequence, were the wolf was running after our heros and the aging monarch, was a little silly. Queen Vicky had all the speed and maneuverability as K-9 on deep shag pile.

The Doctor, after indulging in some Pertwee neck massage, comes into his own in the library, ditching the MacGyuver action in favour of more normal Doctorly activity (and yes, as others have said, very, very Buffy). Eventually deducing that it's mistletoe that the wolf thinks it's allergic to (that must have been a real downer at the monastery's Christmas party). And I thought it didn't like the kitchens because it could still smell the remnants of Vole Pot Noodle (or whatever Victorian Briton's ate). The monks have already acted to protect themselves, by garlanding themselves in mistletoe. Garland... Judy Garland? Wizard of Oz? Friend of Dorothy? Gay agenda?! Or am I reading too much into this?

The ending (of the main story) is as measured and logical as last weeks was rushed and stupid. Although I'm a little disappointed that it was the Koh-i-Noor in the box and not Prince Albert's petrified nob. However, all that Torchwood nonsense at the very end was a little too brash and in your face. She might as well have ended on a plug for the programme itself, "Coming to BBC3 this Autumn". It really was that blunt.

The Bumper Book of Made-up Doctor Who Facts has this to say about Tooth and Claw: The green ball on a stick, that was attached to the special effects man 'playing' the wolf so that the cast had a reference point for where the wolf's eyes would be, is reportedly headlining the next Panopticon convention after the organizers bared or fell out with everyone else from the world of Doctor Who.

Wolf At The Door

Late as usual.

There was a point, as the closing credits rolled on Tooth And Claw (just as that bloody continuity annoucer was drowning out the middle eight once again) that I had to hold up my hands and admit  - OK Russell, I apologise, you can do decent endings. After my tirade last week about Mr D's shortcomings, it's almost like he was blowing a huge raspberry at me and writing a blinder just to make me eat my words. The ending was great - and the 45 minutes that preceded it weren't bad either. In fact plot wise they were damn near perfect.

Others have commented about the slo-mo monks in their BBC colours, and how derivative it was, (despite assertions from the production team that it was "the best opening ever") and sure, it wasn't anything we hadn't seen a hundered times before - at the movies. But when was the last time we saw something like this on a BRITISH TV show? I bet the kid's watching would've gone!" Wow! Cool!" - and isn't that the point? However, for me the best opening was Doctor Ten bashing seven bells out of the TARDIS console in time to Ian Dury. Just inspired.

I'll admit that the opening moments of the first meeting with old Queen Vicky did have me rolling my eyes thinking "Here we go - another thesp hamming it up and trying to do posh", but then, all of a sudden, there was a steely spark in Pauline Collins's eye, and she upped her performance. Here was a portrait of a fiery woman in control of her life, not some doting old granny bereft of wit and overcome with grief and mourning. It wasn't what I expected and at times even shocked me slightly, especially as she cooly gunned down her attacker later in the episode. A great performance.

I wish I could say the same about Rose. Sigh. I like the character. I like Billy Piper. But here she just grated on me a bit. Oh I can forgive the "We are not amused" tomfoolery (although I personally would have omitted one of the attempts from the edit), but Rose just came across as a shallow little girl with a bit of a smug attitude - and she semed to drag the Doctor down to her level too. Maybe the script didn't play to her strengths, but there was one point where I really wanted to give her a good slap.

As for the titular Timelord, his regeneration has obviously changed him from a haunted man looking for escape from his past into a confident one looking to embrace the joys of life. Tennant's performance wasn't flawless - his "angry" stance still needs some work - but there were some lovely "Doctorish" moments, especially licking the walls and stockpiling books in the library. Arm yourselves indeed.

Despite the Doc firing on all cylinders, like many I believe our duo are in for a shock due to their cocky attitudes. However, I'm beginning to wonder if the viewers are not in for one too. Up until now, the episodes have very much followed the pattern of season one - the Earth-based menance from everyday objects (TCI), The far future one (NE) and now the historical. But the message from the initial trailers was "Think you have seen it all?" At first look that seems like a simple hint at new adventures to come, but what if it has a deeper meaning? The Doctor is acting like he is in control and HAS seen it all, and have we the viewer become jaded enough already to think we know what is to come? I think a BIG curve ball is due to hit this season.

Ok back to the plot - and that wolf. You have to admit, the CGI was magnificent. From the first terrifying transformation from host to beast, to my absolute favourite moment with the Doc and the wolf on opposite sides of the door, this was without doubt one of the best examples of special effects served up by a British TV channel. Snarling, feral and at times pant-wetingly scary, this was just what was needed to get the little tykes scurrying for the safety of the sofa. Sure, there was a teensy bit too much running around corridors and some of the logic was a bit suspect - just how were the monks intending to get the wolf BACK in the cage when it had dined on Queen Victoria? But this was a classic iconic monster brought to life with skill and passion.

And so we come to the finale, where amazingingly RTD's plot actually arrives at a sensible, understandable and believable solution to the problem at hand. I'll admit that once Queenie revealed the prescence of that huge hunk of ice in her possession, I had a reasonably good idea of where things were going, but for once you could genuinely join the dots of the hints laid earlier to get there.

The wolf got a messianic-like death (I think it was the host that was crying out for death rather than the parasitic creature itself) and good triumphed once more. But at such a cost. The body count in this episode was huge - it's no wonder that Victoria rewarded the Doctor and Rose for their help and then banished them. How could she trust a couple who treated life so glibly and swapped jokes while her subjects died? I didn't see this as proof that the Queen was possessed, more an affirmation of her duty as monarch and her well known strong stance on morality and family values.

At the end of all this, the Doctor and Rose stride off into the TARDIS, literally howling at the thought of a Royal Family of lycanthropes and that's it.... except it wasn't. The expected theme music didn't arrive and instead we have great little scene which sets up an adversary, a spin-off and shows that the Doctor's actions can have unexpected consequences.

Torchwood is coming - and there will be dark days ahead... 

A Tale of Two Film Crews

I knew I would either have to do my review straight after broadcast, ill-considered and badly spelled, or later in the week because I spent all of Sunday directing a short film. Unlike Coleberg last week, this really bothered me which, I suppose, makes me a fan, surprise surprise. In the end, it turned out it was much better to wait because on Saturday night I hated it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep my opinions to myself: the script was poorly paced, the wolf, when it was a whole shot and not the much better fast cuts, looked like all CGI - rubbish. And as for the wife, she was 2D and those bits where RTD tries to give the thing some emotional depth by having them kiss goodbye just doesn't work without any time to get to know the characters...this was another bad episode. Goodness knows what drugs I was on (pre-shoot nerves?) but a second viewing and all was recanted, because this was quality.

I have a theory about RTD’s writing: he wanted to disappoint fandom in general with NE so we could all get over our giggliness and enjoy the series sensibly. Think how crazy you’d have been if this had been the beginning – there would have been spontaneously combusting fans across the country’s living rooms.

I have a bit of a soft-spot for this monarch and she comes across as so much more than the dour, Billy Connelly-fancying figure of norm...where else have you seen her shoot a monk?

But here he delivered a fine piece of storytelling with so much to love. He manages to present a finely structured plot, (poorly paced? Was I delirious?) which sets up the various elements, all of which with a certain amount of historical accuracy, to come together at the perfect points which, when you think a little, makes a lot of sense. Prince Albert arranged to destroy a threat to the nation but dies, then the brethren made the Queen go somewhere so she could have been devoured, not realising it was originally intended to kill the wolf! Genius!

And all set off by a few very juicily written characters. Father Angelo is one of the creepiest villains we’ve had so far – although Ian Hanmore reminds me rather too much of Christopher Ecclestone, he’s incredibly menacing. The husband/wife relationship is beautifully drawn, (2D? I give up on myself) with all the proper trappings of the time and their parting is really rather touching. None of the maids really took centre stage but it’s nice to see someone hailing from SYT (Scottish Youth Theatre, which I was a member of) get a shot.

Queen Victoria, what a gem. I have a bit of a soft-spot for this monarch and she comes across as so much more than the dour, Billy Connelly-fancying figure of norm, rather a very sad but spirited madam. Where else have you seen her shooting a monk? It’s also good to see the Doctor coming up against someone not in thrall to him, and to have her scold him as well.

But David Tennant is on top form. It really shows that he as some way into recording at this stage - a little residual shoutiness remains but he’s more settled and it’s good to see intelligence prevailing over pure action, I love the shot of him preparing for battle, so to speak, arming himself with books and specs. Amazing. Now, this is hardly an original observation, but his exuberance an joy in the situation is very reminiscent of Tom Baker. He’s awestruck by the beauty of the wolf and even looks impressed by the idea of steam-driven space-fleets.

He and Rose are just tourists drinking it in – this is them in Paris; eating the food, using the wrong verbs, getting charged double and ending up kissing complete strangers. OK, maybe not that last one but something very nasty’s coming up for this pair. While it lasts, though, it’s lovely to watch.

Who spotted the very slight Peter Cushing reference? I could be reading too much into it but he’s dubbed Sir Doctor of TARDIS. See? No the. Maybe not but it’s one helluva story for references. There’s Jamie, the Bad Wolf, and, if you look carefully and really read between the lines, a passing mention of Torchwood. Actually, on Monday, I asked around and it turns out most people didn’t have a clue so maybe it’s just a fan thing.

The wolf...looked like all CGI – rubbish. I should be cast out – rubbish? It was gorgeous – the close-ups were astoundingly good – that fur looked like something off a sumptuous coat, and not since The Empty Child has there been such a scary transformation. It draws a lot of comparisons – the head becoming distorted, eyes larger than normal, the creepy voice...yeah? Admittedly, when it’s surrounded by actual objects in a long shot it looks less impressive. Unfortunately the joke about the student in a body-sock being much scarier has already been cracked or else I’d have given it a bash. The shots, very quickly cut where it’s devouring some hapless servant of the crown or other are terrifying. How this got onto air is a mystery, but there we are with a 12 certificate already. I look forward to reading what Media Watch has to say.

This is Russell at his best – a sturdy story, (yes, sturdy) a couple of jokes pitched in and cracking characters. Some bits could have done with pruning, (nakedness talk, punkiness etc...) but it’s a wonderful episode with a brilliant cast, one of the series’ finest directors and probably the BBC’s most explicit commentary – they’ve clearly been listening to TTV. The Jarvis Cocker glasses made a welcome return and we get to hear Tennant’s native accent.

Now all we have to do is wait for next week and that bloody dog. Yay! And this time I will keep my hare-brained opinions to myself until after Sunday’s shoot (I’m a just a weekend Spielberg).

T****w**d

Long ago, I bumped into a friend of mine coming out of his final exams for Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and knowing that his idea of revision was examining the racing pages through an amber blur at the bottom of his pint, I nervously asked him how things had gone.  "Well John - a possible pass - I've decided to abandon the essay form in favour of structured notes" was his considered reply, and so off we went in search of more amber.  In that vein I'd like to present my structured notes on Tooth and Claw:

• It was great.  A very traditional Who story, obviously in the Hinchcliffe/Holmes mould, and similarly skating very close to the edge in terms of its horror content.  So many moments were classic Who, from the very specific Horror of Fang Rock reference, the sacrifice of a supporting character with just a brief but sincere "good man" from the Doctor, to the fabulous lick of the wood panelling in the library.
• Superb direction and a focussed narrative.  The chase sequence that began with Father Angelo chanting at the window and ended with the main characters finding sanctuary in the library was totally enthralling.  My only quibble is that I'd seen too many elements of it because of the trailers.
• Neil is right about Rose and the Doctor, and they are clearly heading for a fall.  Victoria's comment "How much longer will you survive this terrible life" was about as portentous as it gets, and her disapproval of them both was very clear from virtually the first moment that they met. 
• RTD must have been rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer before starting on series two - it's almost as much of an influence on the show as classic Who.  The scene in the library with the characters searching dusty tomes for answers was an obvious nudge towards BTVS, with the bespectacled Doctor taking the Giles role, but there are subtler references.  The Doctor and Rose are treating their voyages like a big game, and they seem almost drunk with their own knowingness and supposed indestructability.  This is very reminiscent of BTVS season three, where Faith and Buffy become increasingly intoxicated with their power until it all comes crashing around their head in Consequences.  As this is Doctor Who, when the Doctor and Rose get their comeuppance it will probably result in many people dying, just as it surely means there will be some form of redemption at the end of the season.  Oh, and if there wasn't enough Buffy, just look who the guest star is next week.
• There is a direct steal from Mrs Brown (which was on BBC4 not long after Tooth and Claw) when the Doctor says "you must miss him".  This is the first thing Billy Connoly says to Judi Dench's Queen Victoria and her response is much more violent than the contemplative Queen in T & C.  The Doctor's reaction to her grief about Albert was another nicely judged scene.
• RTD likes dropping in references to 21st century popular culture.  They fall flat a lot, but he isn't going to stop doing it because he does it on everything.  Even Casanova had all that stuff about the lottery ("release the balls") and against the odds that somehow worked.  It's part of the package. 

Tooth and Claw seemed like good old-fashioned Doctor Who to me.  And I'm really looking forward to Torchwood.  They've cast the wonderful Guppy from Bleak House, and RTD is actually bothering to set up an antagonism between the Doctor and the Torchwood Institute, which as well as being narratively interesting also serves to distance the respective shows from each other.  Quite a clever move I think, but maybe he should have done it all entirely in code rather than say the "T" word.

Wolves Lower

Now that’s more like it.

From the moment I saw the preview for Tooth and Claw in the interactive trailer I had a feeling that this episode was going to be good. It just looked like a proper old-fashioned base under siege Doctor Who story with a scary monster and plenty of running up and down corridors. It couldn’t have possibly failed.

One thing that did impress me about Tooth and Claw was the direction. It was very good and very stylish. The scenes with the Michael Stipe Bullet Time Monks at the start of the episode reminded me of watching episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess with the stylised direction and the very quick cutting from scene to scene. It didn’t add much to the plot but it looked good.

The werewolf was pretty good. On a par with the likes on Underworld and An American Werewolf in Paris, I would say. After all how realistic can a werewolf actually be? True it did look better in some shots than it did in others, but in general it was pretty convincing.

The transformation of the host into the werewolf was pretty gruesome for a show going out just after seven o clock. Also the scenes of various characters getting ripped to pieces by the werewolf were quite close to the mark even without actually showing anything.

I actually didn’t mind David Tennant in this episode. He seemed to be a little bit more settled in the episode and didn’t shout as much as he did in New Earth. There were a couple of occasions in this episode but they seemed to be more in keeping with the situation around him.

In the scene when he ran into the room, where the werewolf was, and just stood there watching it for quite a long while he just reminded me of a little kid and I am not sure if that is right for the Doctor.

I also liked the fact that he was using his native accent for the most part of the episode and was quite disappointed when he returned to using his mockney accent half way through the story even if it did provide an important narrative function.

On the other hand Billie really didn’t have that much to do in this episode, which was a bit of a shame, as often she is the best thing in the new series. In this episode she really did play the more traditional role of a companion i.e. being kidnapped, asking questions etc.

My girlfriend pointed out that the Doctor and Rose are now very flippant in their attitude to saving the world (they just seem to stop in the middle of a tense situation and proclaim how great it is that they have seen a werewolf for example) and that they are in for a big fall at some time. I think that she may be right.

The running joke of them both trying to get Queen Victoria to utter her famous catchphrase was okay the first couple of times but did get a bit tiresome after the seventeenth time (I wasn’t counting how many times Rose asked her if she was amused or not, but it seemed like that many!).

I thought the scene of the Doctor hitting the console to the strains of Ian Dury and the Blockheads was very funny also (but I wonder which incarnation was the Ian Dury fan?) and we all enjoyed the reference to Balamory (Miss Hoolie as a companion anyone? It also explains the regeneration of Josie Jump midway through the series. Perhaps PC Plum or Archie are future incarnations of the Doctor? I’m drifting…)

It was a nice touch when the Doctor referred to himself as James McCrimmon to Collins’ Queen Victoria, although only the fans would really pick up on that one.

I did find the first reference to Torchwood being the name of the house where the episode was set OK, but the bit at the end with Queen Victoria talking about setting up an institute, with the same name, did seem to be just tacked on the end.

The guest cast were all very good in this adventure with Collins and Riddle excelling in their roles. The final scene with Sir Robert laying his life on the line to protect them all from the wolf near the end being very poignant

Tooth and Claw was a fast-paced adventure that didn’t really stop for breath. It was a good story with a beginning, middle and an end, which proves that Russell T Davies can write pen a good tale that has all the elements that make a good story. It didn’t seem rushed like New Earth did and was perfect for the single episode format.

This was a definite improvement on the first episode and it will be interesting to see what other writers can do with the tenth Doctor.

Bloody Good Wolf

Gobsmacked.

Yeah, I think that sums up how I feel quite nicely: gobsmacked. And that's just my reaction to some of the negative reviews I've seen flying around here and elsewhere. I mean, what the hell do you want from Doctor Who, precisely?

Granted, I wasn't particularly enamoured by the pre-titles sequence. Was anyone else struck by how similar the flying Monk's antics are to the BBC ident featuring those parkouring idiots? As a result I couldn't get that trite continuity music out of my head. And slow-mo flying ninja monks are sooooo yesterday. Watching Confidential confirmed my suspicions that Euros Lynn  basically rented a copy of Hidden Wires, Crouching Stuntman and then ripped off all the good bits (still, criticising Doctor Who for plagiarising popular culture is a bit like having a go at The Simpsons for being animated). But my main concern was that it was edited way too fast - it was almost subliminal at times. Thankfully, things settle down a great deal as the episode progresses.

The fact that the Doctor considers an Ian Dury gig in Sheffield 1979 to be on a par with Ceasar crossing the Rubicon is delicious moment. It's about bloody time that he started name-checking people like Dury after years of blathering on about Puccini, Da Vinci and Shakespeare. Perhaps next week he'll casually drop into conversation how he helped David Bowie write Life on Mars. Oh, and David gets to pilot the TARDIS by whacking a hammer on the console and howling like a loon. Anyone who wasn't grinning from ear to ear at that point needs to seek professional help (or a po-faced Battlestar Galactica fix).

The fact that Victoria sets up Torchwood makes perfect sense - there's a lovely irony in the fact that the Doctor's involvement will directly inspire the creation of his future nemesis

It's hard to believe that the man responsible for last week's plot-hole camp-fest also penned this beautifully constructed ode to Trad Who. The pacing and plotting is simply perfect, and while it's all reassuring familiar (The Horror of Fang Rock immediately springs to mind) it still manages to throw in a couple of curve balls that kept me guessing to the very end. In fact, I pieced it together at precisely the same moment as the Doctor, which is always a good sign. Incidentally, the moment where the Doctor arms himself with the weapons of literature was a punch-the-air moment that would have made Lord Reith proud.

And it's as scary as hell. Classic base-under-siege stuff. The moment where our heroes are trapped in the mistletoe room and the camera roams around for a whole minute accompanied only by the sound of creaking and snarling outside was pant-wettingly  terrifying. Actually, this episode probably pushed the envelope as far as it could possibly go; the werewolf attacks would have given Robert Holmes himself pause for thought. And the wolf isn't even the scariest thing in the episode! The Host was scary before he changed. That voice. The way he leans his head out of the cage. God, I can't get that image out of my head.

The CGI wolf was excellent; probably the best CG character ever witnessed on British telly and certainly up there with anything that Buffy or Angel ever threw at us (it certainly beats Van Helstink's lycanthrope into a cocked hat). Sure, it doesn't look "real" - but allow me to let you into a little secret here: werewolves aren't real! The argument that they should have stuck to a "man-in-a-suit" approach bewilders the hell out of me. How could a man in a suit run down a hall like that, exactly? How would some foam and latex have made it more "real"? All it does it run and snarl - it doesn't have long conversations in a room with anyone, does it? I suppose a CGI snake in Kinda would look less "real" than a blow-up puppet too, eh? And mixing-and-matching approaches simply makes matters worse  - just look at the Slitheen. Honestly, we're being spoilt rotten here.

And does it even matter? I still think Jaws is the best film ever made and the shark never looks real. It's called suspension of disbelief.

Christ, the Doctor and Rose are cocky little tykes in this one, aren't they? Borderline annoying, in fact. Rose seems to bring out the naughty schoolboy in the Doctor and I'm fairly certain that the huge amount of fun they are currently having will have dire consequences later on down the road. I even loved the running gag about Rose's bet; I mean, you would, wouldn't you? And the pay-off is great too - just when you think Queen Vic is coming over all cuddly she launches into a mighty tirade against our heroes that leaves you reeling. There's almost certainly some foreshadowing going on here that will eventually temper the pair's arrogance. I hope.

I also loved how the Queen was portrayed as a slightly dark and capricious cow, and not the comedy caricature I half-dreaded. The way she enjoyed belittling her captain, the way she shoots dead the evil Monk and then blames someone else, and the way in which she berates her saviours with her wild, paranoid xenophobia was both shocking and believable. And Pauline Collins played it magnificently. Her reverie at Albert's demise almost brought a tear to my eye (and the ramifications of Time War are still bubbling away in the background, folks).

The fact that she sets up Torchwood makes perfect sense to me, and there's a lovely irony in the fact that the Doctor's involvement will directly inspire the creation of his future nemesis (I intimated that this could be the case in my Christmas Invasion review, so I'm feeling extra-smug about this). I just don't get the criticism that this moment is somehow a desperate, blatant and unnecessary attempt to plug the spin-off series. Even if it is ladled on with a trowel (and it isn't) then why the hell not? Why blame RTD for the temerity to get people interested in the spin-off series? It makes perfect sense narratively and economically. Good lord.

OK, now that I've got that off my chest it's time to indulge in some nitpicking (after the third viewing mind, none of this really bothered me the first time round, and that's what really counts, surely?):

• Why do they scream their heads off in the teaser? He isn't a wolf at that point so was it the Host's bad teeth that freaked them out?
• Why did the Doctor call himself James McCrimmon and not Jamie? Seemed like a lost opportunity to me...
• If the diamond still wasn't perfect, and Albert planned to make more alterations to it before his death, then why did it work?
• Did anyone buy the fact that a chav from the Powell Estate knew the name of that diamond?
• Why does Murray Gold struggle so much when it comes to scoring action sequences? His monotonous choral crescendos are irritating beyond belief. He makes Keff McCulloch sound like William Orbit. In fact, I'm convinced that Murray scores some of the Sky+ Planner background muzak - it's practically the same and just as annoying.

The only other problem I have with this episode is the insinuation that Queen Vic got bit. She didn't. As far as I can tell it is completely impossible for the wolf to have bit her. This ambiguity simply isn't necessary and it gives the false impression that her banishment of the Doctor and Rose is because she is under the influence of the wolf (just look at the close-up on her bandage!) when she is simply acting completely in character. It was an odd decision to muddy the waters like that. In fact, it just felt like a chance for RTD to have a cheeky pop at the current monarch who he knows is sitting in the palace and lapping it up along with the rest of us.

In summary, Tooth and Claw is Doctor Who firing on all cylinders. It boasts some terrific production values, a strong supporting cast (kudos to Derek Riddell who shines as Sir Robert), a clever plot and some inspired direction. It simply doesn't get any better than this. Why they didn't begin the season with it, I'll never know...

9/10

The Bumper Book of Made-Up Facts has this to say about 'Tooth and Claw': Dame Judi Dench was the first choice to play Queen Vic. A recording of her laughing down the phone at Phil Collinson for a full fifteen minutes will appear as an Easter Egg on a forthcoming DVD.

Werewolf? I dunno, you had him last*

A brief flick through Tachyon TV's Big Damn Coffee Table Book of Doctor Who Episode Production Credits (hardback edition) will quickly confirm that your man Russell the Davies has penned his fair share of classics and more than a few clunkers. Ever since being handed the TARDIS keys and logbook (seven careful owners, plus some bloke who took it on a joyride 'round San Francisco to impress the locals and scratched the paintwork), I'd estimate he's running at about a 50% success rate.

I'm not sure exactly what it is about Davies writing. The more focused, serious storylines come out very well (Rose, Parting of the Ways). It's the undisciplined episodes and the obsession with stunt casting from the piss poor shallow end of British pop culture (Bad Wolf - what will the Americans make of that one in a few weeks, eh?) that cause the problems, coupled with an almost Straczynskian ability for comedic misfires.

But after this week I'm almost willing to forgive him for the Anne Droid, because Tooth and Claw is just absolutely delicious. Could the BBC possibly have scheduled a more crowd pleasing episode to run after the football? Well... apparently so, given some of the lousy reviews I've seen. But for me at least this was a pitch-perfect blend of horror, adventure and wit with some pretty relentless action, starting with a brutal assault on the Torchwood Estate by a group of scheming bullet time Monks and Murray Gold on a complete bender.

That's right, Torchwood. Apparently, there's a Doctor Who spin off planned for later this year (no, I hadn't heard about it either), and this episode contains some very subtle hints regarding the new show. See if you can spot them. By the end of the episode Queen Victoria does everything to plug the show except announce the timeslot and target demographic. I'm intrigued, not least of which because it appears that Torchwood and the Doctor are destined to be, if not enemies, then at most uneasy allies.

I'm genuinely perplexed by some of the flak this episode is taking. Rose and the Doctor are a pair of hooligans? They're interlopers, alternately punch drunk and scared shitless by the situation they're in. A little arrogant, perhaps, but they're also the only people who actually know what's going on. Incidentally, they're also risking their lives trying to save everyone in the building. The Doctor tries to prevent the steward, Captain Reynolds and Sir Robert from confonting the Werewolf, three people of very different social standings. Hardly class warfare.

It's also the Doctors impertinence to rise above his percieved 'class' that leads to the most touching and human scene in the whole episode; the Queens grief over the death of Prince Albert, beautifully written and wonderfully performed.

As Neil has correctly pointed out, it's obvious from the exile scene that something pretty nasty will be coming their way by seasons end to whack some pathos into them. Right now, I'm happy with the more unrestrained Tenth Doctor. It's a nice counterpoint to his guilt-stricken predecessor.

And can we put an end to the ridiculous Chav thing right now, please? Wasn't that intended to be a joke to show how insufferable Cassandra was? If you honestly think Rose or the Doctor are Chavs, I can promise you you've never been anywhere near one.

The werewolf effect was a bit hit and miss - the bone crunching transformation was brilliantly pulled off and worth at least a dozen complaints to the duty officer right there. The chase seqeuences were less impressive, but it seems churlish to complain. This is Doctor Who, and we've come a long way baby. I'd rather have a poor CGI effect on the loose than a bloody Vervoid. That final shot of the Werewolf being dispatched with the telescope contraption was worth the price of admission alone.

And did we just get our second mention of the Bad Wolf this series or am I imagining things? Did anyone else spot the reference in New Earth? (Check the pre-title sequence). Was this just too obvious a joke for the series to pass up this week, or are we still supposed to be keeping an eye out for the repeating meme?

Oh, and according to some whackjobs on Usenet we also got another example of the Russell T. Davies Blatant Homosexual Agenda (tm). If I understand correctly, the complaint goes something like this: ever since an aging William Hartnell first stumbled out of the TARDIS dressed like an undertakers grandfather forty three years ago, right up to our heros first on-screen kiss with a real live woman three decades later, Doctor Who has always been a bastion of hetrosexual science fiction. And then along comes RTD and queers the place right up with innuendo-laden jokes and the very first gay, non-American, space-station based on-screen kiss. And this week he had the audacity to obliquely mention gay people yet again. Think of the children! Bravo Russell. Keep 'em coming.

The Bumper Book of Made Up Doctor Who Facts has this to say about Tooth and Claw: pause the episode during the final scene and zoom in, and you'll find a large flashing neon sign on the roof of the estate reading 'Torchwood, coming October 2006' is clearly visible.

* (c) Mystery Science Theater 3000. Sorry Neil, beat you to it. :-)

Mountains of Light, Mountains of Problems

There were many things I loved about Saturday's show: the villainous wolf/alien, the telescope, the fighting monks, the mistletoe-imbued library, the Koh-i-noor, and the long-standing Torchwood collaboration between the old laird and Prince Albert (presumably not in a can). The Scottish setting made a perfect backdrop for the scary ghostly tale that followed. Were it not for flaws, flaws so big and so fatal that they could not be shaved away and the show reshaped to a smaller, better jewel, it could have been among the great Who stories.

But it wasn't.

What I loved about New Earth was what damaged Tooth and Claw, namely the interaction between the Doctor and Rose. The sparkle and brilliance of New Earth dialog was replaced by Tooth and Claw adolescent vulgarity and cheap shots. They were hooligans. It was embarrassing to watch. I was not amused.

Turning the show into even more of a worthless bauble was the moral underpinning: the doctor's reaction to the enemy and the ultimate justice served--or in this case unserved. Was the cheap glory about revealing royal haemophilia worth letting a psychotically evil enemy walk away? Shame on the Doctor for that.

Americans hold the attitude that a person's worth and nobility derive from character, intent and action, not from accent, ancestors or social class. In contrast, Tooth and Claw played out as a class warfare fantasy written by someone deeply invested in Britain's class system while at the same time deeply resenting it. Consider the betrayal and utter spinelessness of the local Lord, who then sacrifices himself in useless stupidity. Consider Rose's in-your-face accent and outfit. Consider the "Chavs saving the Royals and getting knighted" bit. Davies brings us a new, working class Doctor but seems to miss the point that one can still be both working class and dignified. A diamond in the rough, if you will.

Tooth and Claw disappointed.

I give it one Burberry coat out of five.

Doctor Who vs Pierluigi Collina

Tooth and Claw begins at a frenetic pace, and once started on that road never lets up for any of the following forty-five minutes. It has been well-documented that one of BBC Head of Drama Jane Tranter’s specific notes for series two of the new Doctor Who was that the historical episodes should be given “a kick up the arse,” and this seems to have been very much taken to heart by director Euros Lyn, making a welcome return to the show for the first time since The Unquiet Dead last year. 

Which is fitting, as Tooth and Claw is an interesting comparison with that Mark Gatiss episode – the Doctor meets a famous figure from British history in the Victorian age, but not in England, and confronts a famous archetype of villainy, in this case a werewolf as opposed to ghosts and zombies. Lyn’s direction, however, is very different, all hand-held cameras and lots of movement, and although this does give a real vigour and immediacy to the episode, it also has its weaker points. The slow-motion monk fight at the beginning, for example, looks utterly ridiculous and I found it impossible to take at all seriously. Which is a shame given the purpose of a pre-titles sequence is to really draw people in, but then again it was the only visual element of the episode that I felt let the side down at all. He can be forgiven for it, however, for lovely directional ticks such as actually showing us just how the Doctor and Rose ended up laughing together on the floor of the TARDIS back in The Unquiet Dead – now that’s continuity! 

There was so much going on on-screen that it was easy to miss things at times – for example, it wasn’t until the second viewing that I spotted that Flora running upstairs to hide herself away is shown at the start, and she doesn’t simply turn up randomly in Rose’s wardrobe later on without any warning. Flora herself provides another comparison to The Unquiet Dead, drawing obvious comparisons with that episode’s serving maid Gwyneth, and indeed other characters Rose met throughout the first series, such as The End of the World’s cheery but doomed plumber, Raffalo. Indeed, it has become something of an in-joke in fandom that any guest character who Rose seems to take a liking to is in for a grisly end, so Davies no doubt relished dangling such a promise in front of us – with Rose assuring Flora that she’d be safe – making us all think “ah, she’s in for it then,” only to have the young girl indeed survive the ordeal in one piece. 

Billie Piper herself had less to do in this episode than she did in New Earth last week, and it wasn’t Rose’s most pro-active episode. She was also saddled with a joke about Queen Victoria’s famous catchphrase that seemed to be used a few too many times to me – I felt it would have been all right once or twice, but Davies played it a time too many. Again though, it’s one of the episode’s very few faults – that and the fate of the monks were the only holes I could really pick in it. Father Angelo’s death at the hands of the Queen was nice but rather glossed-over, and as many other fan commentators have said, where did all the other monks disappear off to afterwards? 

David Tenannt must have relished the chance to use his own accent as the Doctor for a change, and I found it particularly interesting as when he was cast I was hoping he would play the Doctor more in the mould of his character DI Peter Carlisle from the 2004 BBC One serial Blackpool rather than more towards his Casanova performance from last year, as he seems to be doing. Although aside from the accent and the claim to be called ‘James McCrimmon’ – a lovely throwaway gag for the fans – the characterisation didn’t actually change all that much with the accent. The Tenth Doctor is seeming rather manic and, as with the “highest authority” business in New Earth, a little too sure of himself at times, which must be laying groundwork for something to come later in the season. Victoria herself spots it in the library, picking Rose and the Doctor up on their irreverent attitude in a similar manner to Harriet Jones in the cabinet room in World War Three last year. That she later banishes him from the Empire comes as a shock to the Doctor, even though the ban is of course basically unenforceable, but he doesn’t seem to take it too much to heart as a few minutes later he’s happily laughing and joking with Rose about the present royal family being werewolves. Will he get over such a come-uppance again so quickly next time? 

There seemed to be a lot of this foreshadowing of things to come in the episode. The Doctor's reaction to the Queen’s little speech about ghosts was certainly interesting. Empathising with the Queen, I thought, as he's lost so much too. A nice little moment, but again it had the feeling of things to come. A more obvious example was Victoria’s decision to found the Torchwood Institute at the end – at first it seemed like a subtle-as-a-brick advert for the forthcoming spin-off series, but comments in the MP3 episode commentary from the BBC website suggest that Torchwood will actually have a part to play in the season finale, so it might all tie in more closely to the parent series after all. 

Anyway, back to the episode itself rather than the hints it may or may not have contained about the future, which at the moment we can only guess at. On a purely personal and really picky note, the Doctor being so au fait with Ian Dury and the Blockheads irritated me a little, as I’ve never really liked him being so familiar with the pop culture of his writers. It used to annoy me when the New Adventures did this every month, which was why I liked Davies subverting it himself in Damaged Goods by having the Seventh Doctor be completely ignorant of the Pet Shop Boys. Still, I don’t suppose it’s something that would have bothered anybody else, and it’s hardly a major complaint. 

One aspect that certainly cannot be faulted, in my view anyway, is the performance of Pauline Collins as Queen Victoria, making a very welcome return to the series thirty-nine years on from her previous guest appearance. Most portrayals of Victoria have her being rather dour and regal, especially following the death of her husband Prince Albert, but Davies’s script allows Collins to inject a humour and a vigour into the performance that really makes her seem like a fresher and more interesting character. She also has an insight that characters from the past – who, being from the past, are usually of course all very stupid – are not normally allowed to possess, which is also a nice change from the norm. 

Of the other guest cast, for me Tom Smith as the Host and the freaky-looking Ian Hanmore as Father Angelo stood out, although the rest were all very good as well but with simply not enough screen time to make a huge impression. Smith’s voice in his scenes as the Host was suitably unnerving, and gave the character a real creepiness that made him disturbing even before he became a great angry CGI werewolf. 

Ah yes, that wolf. I know praise and disdain have been heaped upon it in equal measure, with some fans saying it betters Hollywood fare and one tabloid newspaper critic claiming the episode had “ZX Spectrum effects”. I felt it was very good, for CGI – it never looked anything other than a computer graphic, of course, but it was certainly a very good one. Some shots of a real costume with texture and interactivity with the actors might have helped, but usually the wolf was seen so fleetingly it didn’t matter. It was an impressive achievement, on of the Mill’s best efforts and perhaps one of the best effects seen to far in the new series. 

Overall then, a hugely enjoyable episode. A nice little plot, well-explained and on the whole well-executed, very good performance as always and a great look to it. Perhaps a smidgen too fast in places, but that’s a very small complaint about what was on the whole a fine episode in a fine series.

Prophecy 2: Lupus Deus Est...

I loved it.

There. And I think that if this episode proves anything, it's that
a) RTD should write period pieces (This was his first historical!) and
b) Rose should be left behind somewhere.
The former is shown in the structure of the episode, the characterisation, and the mixing of legends into hard drama. The latter is shown in the fact that Rose hardly said anything, and when she did it was incredibly annoying. That "We are not amused" gag, which was fine at the start, became immensely irritating when they were locked, hiding from the werewolf.

The directing was fine, apart from there were too many close ups of faces. When the werewolf comes towards people to rip them to shreds, there's a wonderful collage of violent things which covers it nicely.

David Tennant is on top form again, being the Doctor everyone should have in their wardrobe, which they bring out for special occasions. Billie Piper has sufficiently proven critics wrong for the second time, showing that she actually can't act. Pauline Collins provides a wonderful and accurate depiction of Queen Victoria, although her eyes are a little wild when we first see her. A little too open, it's unnerving. The monks are spot on, having been excellently cast, aswell as having the ability to act. All the superfluous characters are quite good aswell, which makes a change in RTD episodes.

The CG, while a little ropey at times, is excellent mostly, and greatly enhances the events. And the ultimate question: CG or costume? In this case I think that CG has far outshadowed any possibility that costumes could be used effectively in this age. The Werewolf is very effective.

The scripting is great, again except for Rose as a character. But the whole episode has the right feel about it, not as a piece of Doctor Who, but as a piece of television. Easily RTD's best episode to date. And a wonderfully gratuitous "James McCrimmon" comment should help endear him more to fans. Who picked up on that? Go on, admit it!

So, is my prophecy true? Well, sort of. I said
"2. Scary for the most part, but let down by a crummy joke at the end."
Now:
"Scary, clever, and even witty for the most part. Let down by a crummy joke in the middle."
I think that's pretty close. A resounding 8/10.