Doctor Who (Season 2) "The Idiot's Lantern" (Spoilers)

[HellCat]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/casarbi/dw.jpg
Doctor Who Series 2: Episode 7
The Idiot's Lantern
Written by Mark Gatiss
David Tennant and Billie Piper
Saturdays, BBC 1 - 7.00pm

It's 1953 and the citizens of England eagerly await the coronation of Elizabeth II to be broadcast live on TV. But lurking in the signal is something far more dangerous...

Watch the TARDISODE prequel! (http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/tardisodes/)

[HellCat]

"I am talking!!"
"AND I'M NOT LISTENING!!!"

The Tenth...*salutes*

[Wussycat]

No Torchwood?

[Conan-san]

No Torchwood? Yeah, I was suprissed they wern't responcible for the Stallen me dos.


"I am talking!!"
"AND I'M NOT LISTENING!!!"

The Tenth...*salutes* Indeed, a man after my heart that one.

And I'm glad that they didn't pull a "TV IS TEH EVILS!!!!110101!" on us. That would of pissed me off no end.

In Addium, for a good part of hte episode, I thought it was the Muffin the mule lady who was being used as the wire's avitar guess how Stupid I am? ;p

Also, The wire did not deserve to share a death with the great Gygias, that is all.

[MonkeyFunk]

Hmm. If this was meant to be an analogy, it was kind of a muddled one.

Okay, TV turning people into mindless drones, I get that. But where does having their faces stolen and stuck on TV come into it? Was that meant to be a comment on viewers or TV personalities? Add to that patriotic mumblings that would've been more at home in The Doctor Dances and oddly-placed Nazi imagery (swastika-shaped ariels and Mr. Connoly looking like Hitler in some shots - although that might have been my imagination) and... well, it seemed a bit of a mess, really. Maybe it wasn't meant to be analysed this heavily, but it went off on thematic tangents a little too often for me to appreciate on any other level...

Next episode looks better, though. Mind flayers! Or Dr. Zoidberg. One or the other.

[IanC]

I think the Nazi stuff was your mind playing tricks.


A solid episode, nothing that really stood that much cept for the "wire". An enemy we never really see is quite clever.

[HellCat]

Gatiss makes it sound less like this was about making a commentary on society and more "Hey kids, TV will gobble you up! Run, RUN!! Heh heh, that should make the butterballs lose a few pounds!". Gatis, like the rest of the League Of Gentleman, is a horror fan.

As for Torchwood- wouldn't suprise me if they are mentioned as being involved somehow in the finale. I agree though, suprised there was no mention of them. I was expecting the inspector to know who The Doctor was and be a Torchwood agent out to show him up.

[Conan-san]

Okay, TV turning people into mindless drones, I get that. But where does having their faces stolen and stuck on TV come into it? Was that meant to be a comment on viewers or TV personalities? Add to that patriotic mumblings that would've been more at home in The Doctor Dances and oddly-placed Nazi imagery (swastika-shaped ariels and Mr. Connoly looking like Hitler in some shots - although that might have been my imagination) and... well, it seemed a bit of a mess, really. Maybe it wasn't meant to be analysed this heavily, but it went off on thematic tangents a little too often for me to appreciate on any other level...

Didn't you notice that Connoly got a right talking to from his son when it turned out he had ratted on his grandmother? Yeah, he fought the war but somehow adapoted Ol' Germany's thinking in the process. (That's pritty much where it begins and ends).

The face thing? I'm willing to bet it was a cleaver refrence to the Ring, given how the doc delt with the impersonation of Gigyas.

[HellCat]

More in depth thoughts:

As I've said before I've yet to see The Unquiet Dead due to personal reasons, so this was my first experience of Gatiss handling Who. My opinion? This is what we need more of.
The story was just creepy enough, taking something common place and making it scary. Indeed, trying to make your audience scared of the very thing you're presenting your story with is a bold step. I think this angle was much better handled than 'Rose' with it's burping wheelie bins. Although it was kinda given away by last week's build up, the cryptic hints as to what had happened were creepy enough. The grandmother being locked away in her bedroom is similar to The Metamorphosis and The Exorcist and I think it's one of the most creepy ways to add a sense of dread to what otherwise looks like a normal home.

The Doctor/Rose angle was also well handled here. Considering the tearful farewell of Mickey last week it would have been awkward to see them fawning over each other so kudos to Gatiss for splitting them up and then putting Rose out of action. However, what there was of Rose I liked. This wasn't the annoying clingy girl we've seen most of this season but the quick witted and resourceful Rose of season 1. I hope that maybe the other writers can pick up on this. I also liked her comments on how Tommy shouldn't lose touch with his father. Truley the guy was a jerk and as I said I loved The Doctor standing up to him but Rose raised a fair point and there was something learned there, as if she'd finally taken a maturer stance on the matter of her own father.

The Wire was certainly a creepy villain and I think it helped add fear that we didn't see much of 'her', adding to the mystery. The cries of "Feeeeeeed me!" were a bit campy though and slightly Little Shop of Horrors-esque.


Oh, by the way- Wikipedia says Torchwood is mentioned quickly when Rose is brought in by the police man.

[Conan-san]

Ah so?

I realy liked this episode but why do I get the feeling that Rose is going to be afixed onto the Doc again in the next episode?

[MonkeyFunk]

Wallpaper of the week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/gallery/s2_07gallery/800/doctor2.jpg

(they're back to their usual standards!)

[Conan-san]

They would have to pick that moment, now wouln't they?

[The Guitar Slayer]

Ah. Guess the oral fixation is now 10's trademark. I find it funny how they did a whole Vulcan mindmeld thing for Girl in the Fireplace and yet have him licking everything else during this series.

It was an all right episode. Not as bad as Rise of the Cyberman, not as good as Age of Steel, and certainly not up there with the rest of Season 2. It was a very...traditional Who, I guess. Sort of what they were striving for in Cybermen but missed. This reminded me a bit too much of the Empty Child scenario along with (once again) the Long Game. I appreciated the pompadour as well as Rose's fashion. I just never really got a sense of danger out of this ep. New Earth, yes. Tooth and Claw, yes. School Reunion, yes. Girl in the Fireplace, yes. Age of Steel, yes. This, no. I think what gets me most about this ep is that the solution for Magpie would have been "turn off the idiot box, you twit." The second it starts talking to you, turn it off and go home. See a health professional if necessary. If you refuse to listen, how can she make threats against you? And it's never really established how his debt is solved by her -- five quid for a TV? Where does he get the parts, unless the Wire dreams them up for him?

My school did Little Shop of Horrors as the musical of the year -- FEED ME wears a bit thin. This story had a lot of potential, but it just did stuff that this new series already did. At least it didn't drag for an eternity like RotC.

[HellCat]

Not to start a habit, but for anyone who hasn't seen them:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HLrmm8zfjvA&search=Dead%20Ringers%20Doctor%20Who
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VQEmGC6VK8k&search=Dead%20Ringers%20Doctor%20Who

They did one last week which took a shot at the show's soundtrack.