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

[Count Zero]

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

Spoiler: plot synopsis

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.

 

[Captain Shaw]

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

 

[Count Zero]

Seems that way. Those bastards.

 

[Captain Shaw]

Seems that way. Those bastards.

Maybe the earth has them.

 

[wamdue]

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.

 

[captcalhoun]

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.

 

[Lonemagpie]

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...

 

[Pat]

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

 

[Piper]

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.

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...

 

[Eyes]

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.

 

[wamdue]

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.

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

 

[Pseudo]

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

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.

 

[Count Zero]

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.

 

[The Badger]

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

 

[Flibble]

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!

 

[drasche]

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

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

 

[Guy Gardener]

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?

 

[Checkmate]

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?

 

[Count Zero]

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.

 

[DAK]

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.