5x08 The Hungry Earth (Grading/Discussion) SPOILERS!!

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by Count Zero, May 22, 2010.

?

Your thoughts about the episode?

  1. Fantastic!

    16.5%
  2. Good

    53.8%
  3. Average

    22.0%
  4. Meh

    6.6%
  5. Hopefully it gets swallowed by a very hungry earth.

    1.1%
  1. Count Zero

    Count Zero No nation but procrastination Moderator

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    An early thread today because I don't know whether I'll be back in time.

    [​IMG]

    It's 2015 and the most ambitious drilling project in history has reached deeper beneath the Earth's crust than man has ever gone before - but now the ground itself is fighting back. And when the Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in a tiny mining village it's not long before they find themselves plunged into a battle against a deadly danger from a bygone age.

    Remember this episode will air a bit earlier than usual, at 18:15.
     
  2. Serial thread killer

    Serial thread killer Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    I take it everyone is out in the sunshine having a life.
     
  3. Count Zero

    Count Zero No nation but procrastination Moderator

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    Seems that way. Those bastards. ;)
     
  4. Serial thread killer

    Serial thread killer Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    Maybe the earth has them.:evil:
     
  5. wamdue

    wamdue Admiral Admiral

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    um, I think that episode could have been cut down to 10 minutes, and nothing would have been missed, I know Parts 1 are like this, but it really didnt feel like much happened, after Amy was taken.
     
  6. captcalhoun

    captcalhoun Admiral Admiral

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    funny, they said it ran 15 minutes too long on Confidential and they had to cut it. one of the cut scenes was a convo between Amy and The Doctor about Rory and the Doctor admitting that he likes Rory.

    i liked it. Like the Silurians. loved the Doctor's thermal vision shades.
     
  7. Lonemagpie

    Lonemagpie Writer Admiral

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    Well, that was ....


    um...

    Lots of riffing on classic Who (oddly, more like Frontios than the expected stories)

    Not actually bad or anything, but really sort of slow, low key, took 45 minutes to tell us who next week's bad guys are, and looked remarkably cheap not in a bad-FX or design way but in a...

    Well, this huge drilling project is staffed entirely by an old bloke, his son, and a middle aged woman. And the younger bloke's wife and son are the *only other people in town*

    It's like Third-season Trek, when suddenly there were no extras anywhere... From the trailer it looks like, basically, they blew all the budget on part 2.

    Chibnall's script sounds like it's quoting the writer's bible half the time, which is odd. Again, not actually bad, but weird that you can sort of feel it's quoting the guidelines. Or maybe it's just that the Moff has spoiled us with scripts this year.

    And you just know everybody's going to be wondering about the arciness of that... opening scene with the regulars... when Confidential revealed it's just left over from an excised subplot. (apparently 15 minutes were sliced from the episode - about half what needed to go! - so I wonder if there'll be an extended DVD cut.)

    Anyway, I'll call it 6/10 but I suspect that the overall story will be revised upwards next week.

    Oh, and I wouldn't kick that lizard out of bed...
     
  8. Pat

    Pat Captain Captain

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    Enjoyed it, voted "Good"; but "Average.75" would have been more accurate for me.
     
  9. Piper

    Piper Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    This reflects exactly my thoughts as I was watching it. Not a lot of money being spent there, and the whole ep really could have been done in ten minutes. Bit empty.

    Also, did anyone else get an Israel/Palestine vibe from the Doctor's conversation with the Silurian? Found that parallel a little uncomfortable myself...
     
  10. Eyes

    Eyes Commodore Commodore

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    Nice episode, obviously set up for an epic part 2.

    They are definitely going in the right direction with Rory, as he's starting to become a lot more confident.

    Obvious lack of extras. I think I caught a line about everyone else working at the drill driving into work, and for some reason not being there that morning, but that still doesn't explain why next to an industrial drill there are two terraced houses in the middle of nowhere, with only it seems one family inhabiting the whole 'hamlet'. That seems a bit too contrived.

    As for the Silurians, I'd only heard of them through reputation, having never seen them onscreen before. I liked them. A lot of depth to them really, from what I gleaned from the Doctor's conversation with the one they captured, unlike some overused villains I could name.
     
  11. wamdue

    wamdue Admiral Admiral

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    I know what you mean, it did feel very under populated.
     
  12. Pseudo

    Pseudo Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I got saw a bit of allegory going on there too. Although I didn't feel uncomfortable about it. It's a perfectly legitimate issue for this story to deal with given the context.

    As for the episode itself, I enjoyed it. It did look underpopulated and there wasn't enough story to fill the episode. IMO moving the action to the Church was unnecessary and counter-productive. The whole thing could have taken place in the mining complex which could have really played up the isolation and foreboding that this story was clearly trying to convey.

    If I were judging this episode on its own merits I'd say it was a little below average. But since it's the first episode of a two part story I'll withhold my final judgement 'til then.
     
  13. Count Zero

    Count Zero No nation but procrastination Moderator

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    Well, I actually enjoyed the episode a lot. I liked the setting and the cinematography. No complaints about the plot from me, I never felt bored. The village was indeed a bit empty but that's a minor complaint, I think.
    I really liked Rory in this. The Doctor was good as well, and Amy's growing on me. The supporting characters were nicely done, too, especially Nazreene.
     
  14. The Badger

    The Badger Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Well, it wasn't bad as such, just rather flat. Didn't do anything for me one way or another. So, basically, meh.
     
  15. Flibble

    Flibble Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    It was good, but the new re designed Silurian loks like a cross between a Silurian and a Sea Devil.

    And, it sounded very Scottish! :confused:
     
  16. drasche

    drasche Captain Captain

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    Yes, I got that too. It was not difficult given how often it is on the news. I'm curious to see how this will turn out.

    I vaguely heard of the Silurians before so I went on to feed my hunger for knowledge on the TARDIS Index File ;)
     
  17. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Are they crossing this episode into Inferno as well or is that a different strain of the virus the Doctor already inoculated the planet against in the 1980s?

    There was a troughton episode where they burrowed, and what about bumping into an aranknos egg while they're down there?
     
  18. Checkmate

    Checkmate Commodore

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    What I don't get is that they've obviously been fully active and industrialized down there all this time. Those were stasis modules or anything, it was a full blown civilization. Why are they so eager to go and reclaim the surface now?
     
  19. Count Zero

    Count Zero No nation but procrastination Moderator

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    Maybe because they really feel threatened by the humans now? They might also be a bit irrational. ;)
    In any case, I wouldn't take one Silurian's word for the whole truth. She's a warrior, and they often come off as paranoid/belligerent, at least our militaries do to some extent.
     
  20. DAK

    DAK Admiral Admiral

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    I went with good - not great, not awful.

    So exactly when did Amy go back and get her engagement ring? Last time we saw it she left it on her night stand at the end of episode 5.