Spoilers Orphan 55 grade and discussion thread

[Evil Robert]

This episode was way to rushed. And way to crammed with different plot points to really work.

If it was an old school 6 x 30 min serial, I think it would've worked quiet well. But cramming everything into 1 hour... things just didn't work.

I'm coming to the conclusion there is way to many people to pay attention to at the moment. The storyline breaks under the weight of the doctor, 3 companions, multiple guest stars and various other one-offers.

Personally I think Graham and Ryan should retire back to earth and the Doctor and Yaz should travel on their own. Hell, Yaz has so much interesting potential yet she is the least explored of the 3 companions.

Thinking back, most of the time in the past we had three companions, we built up to it (Adric, Tegan and Nyssa all came seperately and had their own introduction so when the group became the Awesome Foursome, it felt a lot more organic and you knew everybody decently)*. But this way isn't possible in this new 10 x 60 min format.

As to the thermatics of the episode itself. The episode could've fit so easily in already established canon (without needing to go wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey), but that final ham-fisted speech really made everything feel... off...

As said a couple of weeks ago, I am missing the fun in the show, all this doom-and-gloom and seriousness is really killing the show for me.

*I will fully acknowledged that in the orignal awesome foursome Susan was often overlooked for Ian & Barbara, but the show itself was still finding its feet back then, so you can be a little more lienient. But a show 56 years old at this point really should have figured things out by now.

 

[Mr Soak]

I’ve seen better Base Under Siege stories.

 

[cultcross]

Utterly shite episode. Poorly acted, clunkily written, rubbish makeup on hyph3n or whatever her name was and the green haired twins. Preachy and too on-the-nose ending which doesn't even fit with Doctor Who's usual presentation of timelines. If they were desperate to do a climate change episode, fine. But not this pile of wank.

It's really frustrating how they keep giving this cast such poor scripts, and something, be it the direction or something else, is producing very poor performances from demonstrably talented actors.

Question for old series Who nerds - has the Doctor always been able to mind meld?

 

[Guy Gardener]

What about that Forest of Earth Episode?

Where Clara took her school class to see the TARDIS.

The Amazon rain Forest grew back.

All the forests grew back.

And the heightened concentrations of oxygen would have ignited a lot every where.

 

[cultcross]

the heightened concentrations of oxygen would have ignited a lot every where

Oxygen doesn't cause things to ignite, it just makes fires burn brighter and more intensely.
However, the idea that there would be no breathable Oxygen left because of climate change and/or nuclear war is pretty ridiculous.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Why didn't the forest grow back again, when the Moon was cracking open like an egg... Because it's an egg.

The weather control systems on the moon that was (black and white Troughton story) that were using gravity possibly, to lift tornadoes up into space?

That thing was riding full tilt, in the novel at least, against so many cyclones that that surely means that there's some serious environmental collapse going on in the early 21st century.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Oxygen doesn't cause things to ignite, it just makes fires burn brighter and more intensely.
However, the idea that there would be no breathable Oxygen left because of climate change and/or nuclear war is pretty ridiculous.

I was thinking that the Drex, a hundred generations earlier, were gene modded Russian prisoners, designed to repair the environment.

They were in Siberia after all.

What if there was a war using the environment as a weapon.

If genemodding people and animals to produce multiple times as much carbon dioxide per day than expected, to turn civilians into refugees so that abandoned land could be claimed and cleaned up by Putin's grandson.

 

[The Wormhole]

You know, for the most part, I didn't mind it. Definitely predictable and by the numbers. You knew there was going to be a "shocking" twist regarding the Drex that would seem so obvious in hindsight, Ryan's love interest obviously had a hidden agenda, the security officer clearly had a buried secret. But, it worked as "shut your brain off and just go with it" kind of entertainment, and I can honestly say that I didn't find myself watching the clock more than the episode itself. Wasn't a great episode, but I've watched worst.

Then we get to the preachy heavy handed final scene that was about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the nut sack. That just soured the whole thing for me. Could have just replaced the Doctor's speech with a wholesome sounding gentleman with a southern accent saying "global warming's a thing y'all. Better do something" and you'd basically have the same thing.

Nitpick: Because Ryan's not around for the reveal that Orphan 55 is Earth, he gets shocked to see the vending machine has "Made in China" written on it, which prompts everyone else to explain the revelation. But, unless that vending machine was dug out of the ruins of Earth (which I doubt) shouldn't having Made in China stamped on it just mean that vending machine was made in some other place on another planet that is also named China?

Question for old series Who nerds - has the Doctor always been able to mind meld?

Yeah, that does have precedent going back to the classic era. And it's been featured enough times in the modern era (I think as early as Girl in the Fireplace) that it's well established for viewers old and new.

 

[jaime]

Utterly shite episode. Poorly acted, clunkily written, rubbish makeup on hyph3n or whatever her name was and the green haired twins. Preachy and too on-the-nose ending which doesn't even fit with Doctor Who's usual presentation of timelines. If they were desperate to do a climate change episode, fine. But not this pile of wank.

It's really frustrating how they keep giving this cast such poor scripts, and something, be it the direction or something else, is producing very poor performances from demonstrably talented actors.

Question for old series Who nerds - has the Doctor always been able to mind meld?

There’s always been telepathic stuff since the beginning (mainly Susan, and the Tardis itself) including odd manifestations of said powers (starting in the Pertwee years, personally I like Seven zapping mordred...right after Cartmel or Aaronovitch show how you do proper message speeches. Best anti-nuke speech ever. Oh. And a black female Brigadier.) but the full on mind meld really only shows up in Nu-Who, most noticeably in The Girl in the Fireplace.

 

[jaime]

I was thinking that the Drex, a hundred generations earlier, were gene modded Russian prisoners, designed to repair the environment.

They were in Siberia after all.

What if there was a war using the environment as a weapon.

If genemodding people and animals to produce multiple times as much carbon dioxide per day than expected, to turn civilians into refugees so that abandoned land could be claimed and cleaned up by Putin's grandson.

Their mum was called Ingiger.

The only reason they broke the Tardis lore and even stuck some kind of sponsored vending machine in, was so they wouldn’t have it to translate the Russian I guess.

 

[Awesome Possum]

Sometimes shows have to be heavy handed, Star Trek was. The writers want you to get a message, not decipher it like a puzzle. Plus some people can’t get subtlety, just look at Starship Troopers it’s recreates fascist propaganda as parody and some people missed that and agree with it. Same with Fight Club.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I think Whittaker is an outstanding Doctor. I don't want to rank them, because I basically like all of the revival era Doctors. But her manner of carrying a persona that can be clearly identified as the Doctor's has been spot-on.

 

[Shawnster]

If it was an old school 6 x 30 min serial, I think it would've worked quiet well. But cramming everything into 1 hour... things just didn't work.

I think your entire post summed up my feelings. I definitely felt it wasn't terrible episode, except for the direct hammering of the message at the end. I did catch myself thinking that I missed the old era when the plots were multi-episode stories. Like you said, a 2 hour treatment where they could flesh everything out would have made this episode better.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I liked this episode. It's probably the most like a classic Who story in a long time, although back in the day it would have taken twice as long to tell and would have featured more of the non-TARDIS crew characters specific to this episode. Yeah, there was a pretty direct in-yer-face message at the end, but I think we've become accustomed to such messages being more allegorical or more subtle in sci-fi, so it can't help but feel heavy-handed here, IMO.

 

[Jayson1]

Not only did I like the episode it's my favorite episode of the Chibnall and Whitaker era. To me it was just a fun monster causing trouble episode. The guest characters were interesting. I didn't see the earth twist coming. It got preachy at the end but at least it was over a issue that nobody bothers to talk about anymore. To busy dealing with Trump and all that stuff that has been done to death. Can't remember the last time I have seen a, we need to save the environment episode.

Jason

 

[Guy Gardener]

Their mum was called Ingiger.

The only reason they broke the Tardis lore and even stuck some kind of sponsored vending machine in, was so they wouldn’t have it to translate the Russian I guess.

None of the guest stars were speaking English.

So the Doctor by her self in their heads can translate verbal language, but the TARDIS is needed to Translate written alien language back to English, not because she can't, just because it's a lot of extra busy work, and she can't be arsed.

 

[auntiehill]

Hubby and I just watched it. I gave it a 6 but now I think I'm feeling it's more of a 5. It was very cheesy, heavy-handed, rushed and disjointed. Just OK, at best. Very predictable, very....er.... very "meh." If it was homework, I'd give them a C+.

 

[Skipper]

Probably better than leaving them behind and fending for themselves! Also, you probably couldn't get the old lady to stay behind when they're searching for Bennie. And the dad wasn't going to be separated from the son.

Although, the entire rescue mission wasn't very well thought out. The Doctor seemed surprised that they were driving into the lair of the apex predator? Um, yeah! Not really the best plan.

Didn't the spa have the membrane field thing?

 

[Starkers]

You know, for the most part, I didn't mind it. Definitely predictable and by the numbers. You knew there was going to be a "shocking" twist regarding the Drex that would seem so obvious in hindsight, Ryan's love interest obviously had a hidden agenda, the security officer clearly had a buried secret. But, it worked as "shut your brain off and just go with it" kind of entertainment, and I can honestly say that I didn't find myself watching the clock more than the episode itself. Wasn't a great episode, but I've watched worst.

Yup, pretty sure some episodes of the RTD era were worse (Fear Her etc) perfectly serviceable. I guess part of the problem is that we now have fewer episodes. Already almost a third of the series gone!

By the way, I see bringing back the pre-title sequence lasted all of two episodes then...

 

[DS9Continuing]

By the way, I see bringing back the pre-title sequence lasted all of two episodes then...

They've said that they will be using the pre-titles teaser on some eps and not on others, depending on whether it suits the story or not. If they can't find a decent place to cut it and insert the titles, rather than force it in where it doesn't belong they'll just shove it up front so the first act isn't interrupted artificially.

Of course, I would think that you just write it so there's a suitable breaking point, but hey, I've only written more than 100 (unfilmed) scripts myself, so what do I know?

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