7X04 The Power Of Three (Grading/Discussion) (SPOILERS!)

[Australis]

Yeah that's funny.

I liked the ep, preferred it to last week, again fun nonsense. Anyone notice that Amy and Rory have makeup that ages them subtly, much as they did in TGWW? Any definitely looked more like a 30something than a 20something.

Nice nod to Lethbridge-Stewart and the Zygons. And Amy married Henry VIII !

Steven Berkoff was underutilised, but he brought a fine sense of menace to the role, brief as it was.

And if suddenly cubes did appear everywhere and did nothing, that is exactly what we'd do with them. Or use them as free bricks and build houses with them.

And yes, the opening credits are getting darker and darker.

[Mr. Adventure]

Australis wrote:

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And if suddenly cubes did appear everywhere and did nothing, that is exactly what we'd do with them. Or use them as free bricks and build houses with them.

Maybe initially, I think after a while someone would find some uses for an indestructable object.

[Ar-Pharazon]

Praetor_Shinzon wrote:

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heh, thats kinda neat. i'd buy it.

Maybe that is the point of an otherwise "meh" episode. WHOever makes those clocks bought an hour of DW.

I liked the Kate Stewart character too.

[Samurai8472]

Australis wrote:

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Nice nod to Lethbridge-Stewart and the Zygons. And Amy married Henry VIII !

The theory is that this episode now takes place before episode 3.

In "Mercy's" opening ,the Doctor refers to Rory leaving his phone charger in Henry VIII's en suite and that's what/who we see in "Three."

[Mr. Adventure]

This episode was kind of like "Lost', there was an interesting mystery, good character moments and in the end it doesn't make complete sense and the pieces don't really fit together. The Tally! The Tally Shall be Met! You'd need mass defibrillation!

They did a pretty good job with the trappings though. I imagine they might freak some kids out from going to the hospital, those guys were freaky, even if we don't know what the hell they were doing.

I love Amy's expressions in the hospital lift. Karen and Matt have a certain spark together. I am curious what they're building up to as far as a departure goes, this episode subverted my expectations.

I'm also curious to see if they will manage to make a good cube toy. Maybe a kitchen timer if they can get a half-way decent display effect.

[Allyn Gibson]

Too bad Downtime isn't out on DVD.

[Aldo]

Well I loved it, everything about it worked for me. I especially loved the mystery aspect of it, and Matt Smith was on fire as the Doctor.

I'm still not really digging the no two-parters and no overall arch this series. But for what we've gotten so far, I'm enjoying it.

[Nightowl1701]

I am not Spock wrote:

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I'm not sure why they brought in Rory's father so late in the game, when we probably won't see him again once Amy and Rory leave the show, but I like him. He's a hoot to have around.

I've got a sickening feeling the last or next-to-last scene of next week's episode is gonna be the Doctor having to explain to Rory's dad why his son and daughter-in-law won't be coming home. Of course, after he just shoved them back in the Doctor's arms at the end of this episode, there's gonna be enough guilt and recrimination to go around.

Wow. Next week is gonna catapault the Weeping Angels into true Archenemy status. Only the Daleks ("The Dalek Masterplan," "Asylum of the Daleks[?]") and the Cybermen ("Earthshock") have successfully killed the Doctor's Companions, on screen at least. Even the Master never managed that. (Though he would have if not for Sexy in "The Enemy Within.")

[intrinsical]

Ghost Bones wrote:

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What the fuck was that? Some nonsense bollocks who are Emporer Palpatine want to fuck off the human race for some reason, and the best way they can think of is sending some cubes that do fuck all for a year and then give 1/3 of people a heart attack after a long visual countdown?

Why do they keep getting away with this moronic shite.

Just because you can't see the point to the episode doesn't mean there isn't a point.

At least for me, this episode is about the technological black boxes we have adopted into our everyday lives. We all use computers, mobile phones, "smart" vacuum cleaners, "bladeless" fans, twitter, youtube and so on. But most of us do not understand how these things work. We just assume that they'll do what it says on the box. To us, technology may as well be black boxes.

And most of us are content with having black boxes around us. Quietly sitting there, doing what its supposed to do until one day it starts doing what its not supposed to do. Maybe the fan stops working or the mobile phone exploding or your laptop starts showing naughty adverts. If you don't know how these black boxes work, then what can you do when it starts misbehaving?

[ATimson]

Nightowl1701 wrote:

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Wow. Next week is gonna catapault the Weeping Angels into true Archenemy status. Only the Daleks ("The Dalek Masterplan," "Asylum of the Daleks[?]") and the Cybermen ("Earthshock") have successfully killed the Doctor's Companions, on screen at least. Even the Master never managed that.

He killed Jack! It just didn't stick.

[Emh]

I enjoyed this episode, especially if you look at what it's really about: The Doctor's relationship with Amy and Rory. The situation with the cubes was a fun background trapping for their story so I don't mind that it was quickly resolved. It does bug me a bit there was no explanation for why some people were taken to the ship and The Doctor and company inexplicably forgot to take those people with them when they fled. A minor gripe to an overall very enjoyable episode.

I love the connection to The Brigadier and I had no idea Kate had appeared in Downtime, which I still haven't seen (in fact, I haven't watched any of those unofficial productions from the 90's...yet). Either way, her appearance was very sweet and I hope we get to see her and the reformed U.N.I.T. more in the future.

Cutter John wrote:

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I quite enjoyed the cubes, Almost as much fun as the Adipose.

Haha, I'm glad I'm not the only person who thought of the Adipose in regards to the cubes.

[Alidar Jarok]

I thought it was an intriguing episode that worked for the most part, but only gets a good because of the seriously, seriously rushed ending.

I liked the Cubes, though. The idea of a slow invasion that everyone would take for granted and then something that would catch people's attention was great. I thought the character moments were really nice - especially between the Doctor and Amy. Really my only complaint is the ending. I'd hope the Tally will be revisited or else it would be almost completely pointless, but it was certainly sudden and easy.

[Cutter John]

Emh wrote:

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I enjoyed this episode, especially if you look at what it's really about: The Doctor's relationship with Amy and Rory. The situation with the cubes was a fun background trapping for their story so I don't mind that it was quickly resolved. It does bug me a bit there was no explanation for why some people were taken to the ship and The Doctor and company inexplicably forgot to take those people with them when they fled. A minor gripe to an overall very enjoyable episode.

It makes me wonder if the subplot of the kidnapped patients and the twin nurses didn't get trimmed out for time. Maybe we'll see more once the dvd rolls around.

[Kruezerman]

I pretty much agree with the rushed ending but I wonder if the Shakri will become a returning villain. Also, I slightly saddened by the fact that the Fields of Trenzalore and the "Fall of The Eleventh" isn't being touched upon. Surely this series must have some plot behind it?

That being said, I miss the more mature plots of the Tennant era, Smith's episodes just seem too kiddie to me. He's a great Doctor but it just seems like he's going to be a child show star instead of THE Doctor.

[tomalak301]

It was a decent episode enough, but I am dreading what will happen to Amy and Rory next week. I did appreciate a present day (At least 10 years I guess) earth story, even though I wonder, is this tandem (Amy, Rory and the Doctor) the longest tandem the show has had? 10 years traveling with the Doctor and Amy and Rory haven't aged very much. I just find it crazy it's been that long.

Anyway, I liked the idea of the cubes, but that ending could have been pretty much the entire second half. I'm not sure if wanting to do a character piece and have the cube story in there was a good mix because we learned a lot in the final 5 minutes that are probably going to go forgotten.

As for season 7, I have to agree with those that kind of miss some of the serious themes. I look at the Eccleston and Tennant era doctors and think how commanding they are in the role and I can believe that's what the Doctor is supposed to be like, especially Eccleston, in episodes like Dalek, Boomtown (Which I liked), the "Are you my Mummy" two parter, and the finale. With Smith, I think they're trying too hard to make it kind of the child like figure instead of that commanding presence, and I kind of noticed it more in this episode than the previous one where I appreciated the seriousness. This is what is holding Smith back in my view, the range of the character.

Also, I knew about the hiatus, but I still find it sucky that we get 5 weeks of a new season and then they are going off on a fall finale. This is after waiting a full year and a half just for the new season to start. I know they are pushing things for the 50th anniversary, but I still say they could have gotten a full season in, taken some time off, and then do what they did in Tennant's final year and have specials leading up to the celebration. While this is a new season, for some reason I get a feeling like this is more of the pre-season, or Season 6 epilogue just to get rid of Amy and Rory. We have all been speculating things in previous episodes coming up again (Like why the Doctor is acting the way he is, kind of like going back to what Tennant's Doctor saying he can do what he wants) but with just one more episode left until we wait for Christmas, I doubt we're going to get answers. I'm fine with individual stories, but I also wish they addressed some things in the various arcs now that there is one episode left. I feel like the last 4 episodes might go to waste.

Anyway, I did enjoy tonight's episode, but looking at the big picture, well, it kind of makes me sad and disappointed.