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I'm behind on Doctor Who, and honestly, I didn't feel very inspired to post after this one. It's weird how differently I reacted to this than the one that followed.
I get that DW is silly; it has always been a children's show. And children are sometimes gross, but I'm sometimes gross (and I find some of Chaucer's grossness hilarious, but mostly with farts, not with sex. But I digress).
I can't work out why I disliked this episode quite so much. Partly, I felt that both leads were playing to the children on set with them, and that I was watching a performance for children and not for me or anyone over the age of five. Sometimes an actor is just too big for the little screen; I felt like Avery Brooks on Deep Space Nine was too big sometimes, but that worked well with his character. Of course the Doctor is always larger than life, but I got very tired hearing "babies—no, space babies!" and watching the Doctor and Ruby squeal at the kids. They probably were cute. I stopped caring after the first little while.
Also, farts are sometimes very funny. Snot monsters are only so funny. I did, however, find the methane propulsion amusing (probably because of its relation to farts).
That may all be personal to me. Perhaps more seriously and less individual:
• I found the idea of all the adults except one abandoning babies that they know are there or are coming, and the one who remains hiding from the kids and only interacting as an electronic voice and commands through a computer for six years, so repulsive that I spent the episode angry. I briefly thought there would be some explanation of what terrible things had happened on the planet that would require a law that you can't stop a baby-making machine even if you abandon it and then require adults to abandon the station, but I didn't get it.
• At the same time, I knew that DW wasn't really going to kill babies, or even toddlers, so I felt no stakes.
• None of it made any sense, really. That's not always a deal-breaker, of course, or I wouldn't have been a DW fan for lo these many decades now. But I couldn't care. Things that I shouldn't bother puzzling over but still do: why did the babies have such stunted growth? They came out and grew to the point where they could support their heads, but then they stopped growing, and the Doctor assured them that that was fine, but I couldn't see the reason, other than that kids wandering around set would have been even more nightmarish to direct than kids strapped into motorized buggies. How did the one adult spend six years hiding? I could believe the explanation of not wanting them to see her die and not wanting to see them die if it weren't six years already. And how exactly did we get from blowing noses to the snot monster?
• The Doctor declared the Snot Baby worth saving, but is anyone going to love the Snot Baby? Does the Snot Baby love anyone? Did it really want to eat them? Or was it running towards them for hugs?
It's that last one that stuck with me most. I do not want to hug Snot Baby. But I think someone should! So I guess I cared a bit.
As soon as all the kids in their chairs got out there, Brilliant Husband said, "This must have been a nightmare to direct," which was the part of the entire viewing experience that I appreciated second most.
What I most appreciated remember how the Doctor ran away from Snot Baby, preceding Ruby? How many of y'all saw the Lenny Henry bit from 1985? Peri says, "Run!" and the Doctor says, "I'm right in front of you!" and this scene reminded me enough to dig up the bit. Enjoy! It's poor quality video, but I think it has held up over the years!
I get that DW is silly; it has always been a children's show. And children are sometimes gross, but I'm sometimes gross (and I find some of Chaucer's grossness hilarious, but mostly with farts, not with sex. But I digress).
I can't work out why I disliked this episode quite so much. Partly, I felt that both leads were playing to the children on set with them, and that I was watching a performance for children and not for me or anyone over the age of five. Sometimes an actor is just too big for the little screen; I felt like Avery Brooks on Deep Space Nine was too big sometimes, but that worked well with his character. Of course the Doctor is always larger than life, but I got very tired hearing "babies—no, space babies!" and watching the Doctor and Ruby squeal at the kids. They probably were cute. I stopped caring after the first little while.
Also, farts are sometimes very funny. Snot monsters are only so funny. I did, however, find the methane propulsion amusing (probably because of its relation to farts).
That may all be personal to me. Perhaps more seriously and less individual:
• I found the idea of all the adults except one abandoning babies that they know are there or are coming, and the one who remains hiding from the kids and only interacting as an electronic voice and commands through a computer for six years, so repulsive that I spent the episode angry. I briefly thought there would be some explanation of what terrible things had happened on the planet that would require a law that you can't stop a baby-making machine even if you abandon it and then require adults to abandon the station, but I didn't get it.
• At the same time, I knew that DW wasn't really going to kill babies, or even toddlers, so I felt no stakes.
• None of it made any sense, really. That's not always a deal-breaker, of course, or I wouldn't have been a DW fan for lo these many decades now. But I couldn't care. Things that I shouldn't bother puzzling over but still do: why did the babies have such stunted growth? They came out and grew to the point where they could support their heads, but then they stopped growing, and the Doctor assured them that that was fine, but I couldn't see the reason, other than that kids wandering around set would have been even more nightmarish to direct than kids strapped into motorized buggies. How did the one adult spend six years hiding? I could believe the explanation of not wanting them to see her die and not wanting to see them die if it weren't six years already. And how exactly did we get from blowing noses to the snot monster?
• The Doctor declared the Snot Baby worth saving, but is anyone going to love the Snot Baby? Does the Snot Baby love anyone? Did it really want to eat them? Or was it running towards them for hugs?
It's that last one that stuck with me most. I do not want to hug Snot Baby. But I think someone should! So I guess I cared a bit.
As soon as all the kids in their chairs got out there, Brilliant Husband said, "This must have been a nightmare to direct," which was the part of the entire viewing experience that I appreciated second most.
What I most appreciated remember how the Doctor ran away from Snot Baby, preceding Ruby? How many of y'all saw the Lenny Henry bit from 1985? Peri says, "Run!" and the Doctor says, "I'm right in front of you!" and this scene reminded me enough to dig up the bit. Enjoy! It's poor quality video, but I think it has held up over the years!
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You're not the first person I've seen who thought the fart joke was funnier and the snot monster was just gross, which is interesting to me, because for me it was so the other way around! But then, I have never in my life remotely understood why anyone thinks farts are funny, and found the faces the Doctor and Ruby were making when they realized what the monster was very entertaining. Also, I'm a sucker for a terrible pun. :)
I briefly thought there would be some explanation of what terrible things had happened on the planet that would require a law that you can't stop a baby-making machine even if you abandon it and then require adults to abandon the station, but I didn't get it.
*looks around at the United States* Yeah, I really wish I could say that I didn't find that plausible....
Political commentary aside -- and that was 100% meant as political commentary, there is no doubt in my mind -- I agree that the whole thing was silly, but it was the kind of silly that, while it didn't entirely delight me, I could sort of shrug and accept and enjoy the bits of that I did find fun. I can imagine that if I'd watched it in a different mood, I might have found myself feeling less charitable towards it, though.
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I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think upon further reflection that I just couldn't because of the premise. I hated, hated, hated Torchwood's "Children of Earth." I think that was poorly written, but then, so were some other TW episodes. I just could not handle that so few adults would fight for the children. If the children had been accidentally stranded, I think I might have had a different reaction. Of course, that would not have delivered the giant clue stick, but I feel like most of us watching DW don't need a clue stick that badly (though the show frequently delivers!).
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Though I will say one thing I am liking with this incarnation is he's very quickly telling Ruby about stuff in his past. Gallifrey, Susan, being the last of his kind, etc. Thirteen barely let her companions know she was an alien for quite a while. I know it's because they're explaining to any new D+ viewers, but I really don't like it when The Doctor is keeping secrets when we the audience have known the answers for decades, so I'll take it.
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