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

[StCoop]

Nightowl1701 wrote:

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My guess is they were already dead - harvested by the "drones" and autopsied on to determine the most vunerable points of human beings.

Character stuff aside wasn't the whole point of the episode that that was what the Cubes were doing?

And how did nobody in the hospital notice a little girl sitting there all day every day for a year?

(And how amazing was it that out of all the places in the world they could be they were in Rory's hospital?)

***

And don't forget kids, when Moffat does move on Chibnall's almost certainly going to get his job...

[Mr. Adventure]

StCoop wrote:

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Character stuff aside wasn't the whole point of the episode that that was what the Cubes were doing?

And how did nobody in the hospital notice a little girl sitting there all day every day for a year?

(And how amazing was it that out of all the places in the world they could be they were in Rory's hospital?)

Definitely a case of cart pulling the horse, I think the cube plot was just an afterthought, the villain necessitated by series madate.

Almost could be seen as a satire of the worst of the new era. Evocative but empty imagery like the girl and orderlies that are discarded when done. Tacky cardboard villain behind it all ends up just being typical ugly old dude with hoary sub-Earth Stood Still motivations. Everything is reversed with no consequences (look how much people are worked up the Doctor might have missed six people, we know what Tennant would have said...."I am SO sorry."). Even Brian just sitting around for days until summoned seemed like some a bit of a jibe.

My favorite part is during the Shakri's speech they show Stewart saying "Tell the Secretary General it's not just hospitals and equipment, it's people. Our best hope now is each other.". Sooooo inspiring.

And the Doctor sure hasn't done a good job keeping his identity quiet has he. I have a feeling that subplot will soon be forgotten as well.

[Deckerd]

Ghost Bones wrote:

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You're right, I'm just being a prudish stick-in-the-mud. Next week I hope River frigs herself off with the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. After all, kids are neither clueness nor innocent.

Oh well you should have said you weren't serious about the criticism either. Humour; a delicate thing.

[doubleohfive]

About the only problem I had was the very rushed ending and Amy's very rushed narration, as if including the line about "cubed = the power of three" was an afterthought the day she went in for ADR.

On the positive side, it's nice that Amy's not just a model anymore but actually writing for a travel magazine... I guess I wasn't the only one thinking it was a bit of a slap in the face to make her a model (someone valued by her looks), at least, when stacking her up next to the former companions and their ultimate career choices.

[Starkers]

StCoop wrote:

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Character stuff aside wasn't the whole point of the episode that that was what the Cubes were doing?

And how did nobody in the hospital notice a little girl sitting there all day every day for a year?

(And how amazing was it that out of all the places in the world they could be they were in Rory's hospital?)

***

And don't forget kids, when Moffat does move on Chibnall's almost certainly going to get his job...

You don't know that, in fact not so long ago you were saying Whithouse was a shoe-in to get the job. He's written eps in every Moffat series after all? Chibnell hasn't.

I'm not sure I want either of them, but frankly Chibnell has written two enjoyable episodes this year, so if he did get the job I'd at least give him a chance.

[Mr. Adventure]

doubleohfive wrote:

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On the positive side, it's nice that Amy's not just a model anymore but actually writing for a travel magazine... I guess I wasn't the only one thinking it was a bit of a slap in the face to make her a model (someone valued by her looks), at least, when stacking her up next to the former companions and their ultimate career choices.

well, you know models after ten years....

[StCoop]

Starkers wrote:

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You don't know that, in fact not so long ago you were saying Whithouse was a shoe-in to get the job. He's written eps in every Moffat series after all? Chibnell hasn't.

He's written two episodes this year, was supposed to write three and "Pond Life" too. He's been allowed to cover the big character stuff that RTD or Moffat would normally do themselves. It's hard not see him as being groomed for the Big Seat.

[Psion]

Ghost Bones wrote:

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...
You're right, I'm just being a prudish stick-in-the-mud. Next week I hope River frigs herself off with the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. After all, kids are neither clueness nor innocent.

Just be sure to add that setting to your list of things the sonic screwdriver can do!

Anyway, a meh episode with a lot of really cool elements that just didn't gel or contribute much to the story. I agree with Intrinsical that the black boxes were a metaphor representing all the gadgets and software we let into our lives, but that element and the warning it should have conveyed wasn't explored well. Maybe the idea got written and re-written too many times and lost in all the other stuff thrown in. This was a chili with too many ingredients, and should have focused exclusively on the Ponds and the boxes.

That's not to say I didn't like seeing the Brigadier's daughter ... I loved that revelation. And the orderlies with speaker grills. And the Shakri with the curious fondness for the number seven. But it all served to clutter the story rather than enhance it.

Out of four episodes so far, this one ranks better than "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", but not as good as "Asylum of the Daleks" or "A Town Called Mercy".

[doubleohfive]

Mr. Adventure wrote:

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well, you know models after ten years....

That's not what I meant.

Look at Rose. Martha. Donna. Sarah-Jane. Jo Grant. Each of these companions went on to better things after their time with the Doctor.

Rose got her family reunited and ultimately her own Doctor.

Martha became a doctor herself and worked with UNIT and Torchwood before marrying Mickey.

Donna (who, admittedly had the most tragic fate all things considered) at least went back to her family and a future with a loving husband and considerable wealth (courtesy of her father.)

Sarah-Jane was still a journalist but was off basically being the "Doctor" on her own show.

Jo Grant ultimately became a world-class adventurer and matriarch of her own family.

What did Amy do after her time with the Doctor? She became a model and nearly divorced her husband.

In-story, it's not so egregious. Looking at it from the writer's perspective though, it's clear to me RTD had a better handle on what to do with his female characters than Moffat does.

I'm sure people will disagree with me here; I just think it was rather short-sighted and that it's nice to see that the writers have sort of addressed that.

[Mr. Adventure]

I probably should've put a smiley on that, I got your point.

[Timelord_Victorious]

Just had a thought regarding the ten years. Which time periods are counted here for Amy`s doctor live?

Starting with the Eleventh Hour.

Surely not the "5 minutes" time he got a bot wrong.

Does the Atraxi/Prisoner Zero adventure already count?

Cause the Doctor went off to fly in the ne TARDIS and missed 2 years of her live again.

So only 8 years would remain.

Then they are on continously until A Good Man Goes to War when River drops them home. Let's say this was more or less real time, so 2 years.Do we know how long the Doctor was away?

Next big break is after Wedding of River Song until the end of Widow, Wardrobe... which covers another 2 years?

Pond Life is what 5 months?

That leaves 3.5 years, one of which is covered by the latest episodes...

Did I get that about right?

[Green Lantern]

This episode was average, but compared to the other shit we've put up with from offat, it was good. I missed episodes being set in the present day, but the box thing was so bad. I mean come on, boxes just falling out of the sky then people taking them home without the military getting involved? WTF?

Still, I felt a bit of RTD nostalgia during the episode, then I thought to myself "dear god, Smith would probably be my favourate doctor if RTD was still in. This episode showed off Smiths tallent really well. Still average though.

[doubleohfive]

Mr. Adventure wrote:

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I probably should've put a smiley on that, I got your point.

No worries. Didn't mean to sound all nerd-rage-y about it. Just clarifying

[Worf2DS9]

Mr. Adventure wrote:

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Tacky cardboard villain behind it all ends up just being typical ugly old dude with hoary sub-Earth Stood Still motivations.

I found the Shakri villain to have a very Classic Who vibe about him, from that observation room, to his make-up and appearance. I could easily imagine Tom Baker or Peter Davison facing him.

For me, I think this episode was the least engaging of the episodes so far this season. There was nothing outwardly wrong about it, but it just didn't have that zip. I liked the Brig's daughter heading UNIT, and the bit with the soccer (er, foot-) ball was a nice callback to "The Lodger". It was nice to see Brian Pond again, though he didn't have much to do. Doesn't Rory have a mother? Wouldn't it be funny if they'd cast Julie Walters as his mum, heh.

[Starkers]

StCoop wrote:

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He's written two episodes this year, was supposed to write three and "Pond Life" too. He's been allowed to cover the big character stuff that RTD or Moffat would normally do themselves. It's hard not see him as being groomed for the Big Seat.

Or you could say he's covered the big character stuff of the characters who aren't going to be around much longer?

Oh well, guess we'll see when it finally happens. Do you know exactly when Moffat is leaving as well?

doubleohfive wrote:

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In-story, it's not so egregious. Looking at it from the writer's perspective though, it's clear to me RTD had a better handle on what to do with his female characters than Moffat does.

Personally I wasn't overly happy with the endings RTD gave any of his era's companions. I found them shallow. Rose settling for second best with fake dad and fake Doctor, Martha giving up her career and fiance to be a mercenary with Mickey? And as for Donna...what he's saying is, it doesn't matter if you lose everything that makes you special, just so long as you're rich. Amy may be floating around a bit aimless, but at least she's doing things off her own bat, a far better example to set than the others.

Just my tuppence worth or course