"The Waters of Mars" episode discussion

[Tom Riley]

I thought Gadget's upgrade was a bit silly considering the overall tone of the episode, a speed boost would be one thing but this was really over-the-top.

In addition to that being a matter of tricking the audience into feeling relieved just before the episode turns pitch black in tone, I think there's something else to remember, here.

Doctor Who is still aimed at a family audience. And, well, those Water Martians were creepy. Add to that the sheer amount of emotional tension in the episode, the tone. I rather imagine that it could be a very scary episode for children!

So I think the function of things like Gadget is to help mediate the darkness and the scariness. The darkness is still there, the monsters are still coming, but there's a funny robot there to help the kids feel better, to help them process the episode over all. Sugar for a bitter pill.

I consider that thoroughly responsible storytelling from a creative team that remembers that they have a responsibility not to emotionally overwhelm audience members too young to fully handle darkness.

Amazingly, it still got a TV-PG rating. Here in America at least. I don't know the UK rating system... I find it amusing that season 1-3 were all TV-14, season 4 didn't have a rating listed, and then the specials this year have all been rated TV-PG... (I'm going by the iTunes listed ratings)

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^The UK doesn't have a TV rating system.

I just read that Waters of Mars was the highest rated show ever on BBC America.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

^The UK doesn't have a TV rating system.

The DVD rating (BBFC? Do I have the terminology correct?) would be equivalent. The Brits put their ratings on the DVDs, we put the ratings on the television.

 

[The Wormhole]

-I would like to start by saying those fake news pages and obituaries don't look like they're from 2059, they look like a 2009 webpage.

That didn't bother me as much as the buildings in the final scene, which did not look like they were from 50 years in the future.

 

[Marc]

-I would like to start by saying those fake news pages and obituaries don't look like they're from 2059, they look like a 2009 webpage.

That didn't bother me as much as the buildings in the final scene, which did not look like they were from 50 years in the future.

There are no doubt parts of london that have building that looked the same over a century ago - so what shouldn't houses that have stood for centuries still be there another 50 years down the track whether it's the future or not?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^The UK doesn't have a TV rating system.

The DVD rating (BBFC? Do I have the terminology correct?) would be equivalent. The Brits put their ratings on the DVDs, we put the ratings on the television.

Yeah, it's BBFC ratings on DVD releases. I haven't seen the rating for it yet, but the highest rating has been 12, and Planet of the Dead was PG.

 

[Captain Randy Hall]

My biggest problem with the episode was the fact that the captain's granddaughter will surely learn Brooke had committed suicide instead of going down with the ship, so to speak. On top of that, the other two crew members will have some serious 'splainin to do over being back on Earth the same day they were on Mars. I don't know that pointing to the Doctor will be much of a help.

And how different was the shaking of station personnel when being taken over by the water critters from the Master's turning the people of Earth into the Master Race in the next episode?

Oh, well. Notes to send to Steven Moffatt.

 

[Samson88B]

I thought Gadget's upgrade was a bit silly considering the overall tone of the episode, a speed boost would be one thing but this was really over-the-top.

In addition to that being a matter of tricking the audience into feeling relieved just before the episode turns pitch black in tone, I think there's something else to remember, here.

Doctor Who is still aimed at a family audience. And, well, those Water Martians were creepy. Add to that the sheer amount of emotional tension in the episode, the tone. I rather imagine that it could be a very scary episode for children!


So I think the function of things like Gadget is to help mediate the darkness and the scariness. The darkness is still there, the monsters are still coming, but there's a funny robot there to help the kids feel better, to help them process the episode over all. Sugar for a bitter pill.

I consider that thoroughly responsible storytelling from a creative team that remembers that they have a responsibility not to emotionally overwhelm audience members too young to fully handle darkness.

Very well said and completely accurate. My 2 sons are old enough that nothing frightens them - especially after all of the typical monster eats man and woman alive movies they have seen. With that being said, Gadget's presence was a point that their eyes would light up. It drew them in and you could see it. They both talked about how it reminded them of K9.

Doctor Who started as a children's show and quickly became a family event. So writers are challenged with creating a perfect balance of intrigue, horror, suspense, and humor. I agree if it were not for Gadgets role in this episode WoM would have had a much darker overtone than it already had

 

[Allyn Gibson]

That is just speculation on budgets though. I don't think there's ever been anything official as to what the budget is or what the stars are paid.

Fair enough. The only thing definitive I've found on the budgets is in The Writer's Tale, where Davies states that the budgets on the specials will be "minuscule" as compared to the four seasons, because there's not a season to amortize the costs across and specials are a tougher sale for BBC Worldwide (so, less in the way of ancillary sales).

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

And Matt Smith is a veritable bargain compared to what lead actors in American dramas might pull down. A million pounds over five years, while Tennant, at the end of his tenure, was a million pounds a year.

I'm surprised it's so little. Considering how popular he is and how much mileage the show has been getting out of him, I would have expected something closer a million per episode, kinda like what the cast of Friends was getting by the end.

Who is the highest paid TV actor in British history?

I see what they're trying to do with the Doctor and all but I didn't really find it very satisfying. I'm still scratching my head at how Adelaide's actions at the end would inspire her daughter.

I was surprised that the news article changed and said that she died on Earth. I would have expected whatever Earth authority that exists at the time to cover up the Doctor's involvement, claim that Brooke died back on Mars, and then keep the other two under wraps for 9 months so that they could pretend that they used the spaceship to get back to Earth.

-I would like to start by saying those fake news pages and obituaries don't look like they're from 2059, they look like a 2009 webpage.

That didn't bother me as much as the buildings in the final scene, which did not look like they were from 50 years in the future.

There are no doubt parts of london that have building that looked the same over a century ago - so what shouldn't houses that have stood for centuries still be there another 50 years down the track whether it's the future or not?

Probably. Although, I might have preferred it if they had taken an area with more modern architecture and age it to look 50 years old. At first, I was confused and I suspected that perhaps the Doctor had pulled a fast one on those astronauts by saving their lives but allowing the 21st century to still believe that they died by stranding them back in the 19th century or something. (But then, that could cause even greater problems for the timeline, so my theory was rediculous.)

On top of that, the other two crew members will have some serious 'splainin to do over being back on Earth the same day they were on Mars. I don't know that pointing to the Doctor will be much of a help.

Why not? UNIT has detailed files on the Doctor, as does Torchwood, and we know that Torchwood survives well into the future (SEE "The Impossible Planet").

I'm so so on the story. As has been said, all of these specials have been sadly underwhelming. The dark turns the Doctor took at the end of the episode were interesting and kind of reminded me of the next step from his raging bellow, "I can do anything!" at the end of "Voyage of the Damned." Still, I'm not sure that makes up for a story that otherwise feels very cliched and plodding.

Still, the monsters were very creepy. I liked the whole "Water always wins." And the practical water effects done on the actors are a marvel of prosthetic engineering. I don't care what your budget it. Achieving that effect would still be a pain in the ass and I tip my hat to the crew here for pulling it off so beautifully.

Love the subtle shout-out to the Ice Warriors. "The Seeds of Death" is one of my favorite Troughton stories.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^I'm not sure. There are "golden handcuff" deals people like Ant & Dec and Simon Cowell get, which tie them to 1 network for a set length of time. I think Ant & Dec got something like £10m each per year. I think Simon Cowell got something like £20m over 3 years, if I remember correctly.
Jonathan Ross signed a deal with BBC for £18m over 3 years, for the various shows he does for them (I think that was supposed to include production cost for his chat show too) but you'd think that was an insane amount from the reaction of the press.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

BTW, last night on BBC America, after they aired "The Waters of Mars" & "The End of Time, Part 1," they showed a Graham Norton "Doctor Who" clip show, with bits from when David Tennant & Catherine Tate were guests at various times. This was the 1st time I'd ever seen any of Graham Norton and all I have to say is...

WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!????

That's got to be the wierdest, gayest, most insane, most tasteless talk show that I've ever seen (and not in a good way). Brits, be glad hardly anyone here gets BBC America. If more Americans start seeing this show, your reputation as stolid intellectuals is finished for good.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^Ha if you think The Graham Norton Show is tasteless be glad you never saw So or V Graham Norton. He's well toned down on the Beeb compared to what he was on Channel 4. And if you think Graham Norton is the gayest talk show host you've seen wait till you see Alan Carr.

 

[Photoman15]

Oooo...I remember watching Friday/Saturday Night Project. I didn't think there could be a gayer man than him.

 

[Joy]

Dude, man I'm getting a KICK out of watching Brit late night shows. They're so much more interesting, funny, and just plain entertaining than any of the droll crap we have here in America.

Joy

 

[IndyJones]

^Ha if you think The Graham Norton Show is tasteless be glad you never saw So or V Graham Norton. He's well toned down on the Beeb compared to what he was on Channel 4. And if you think Graham Norton is the gayest talk show host you've seen wait till you see Alan Carr.

I haven't had BBCAmerica for a while now, but I remember watching V and So Graham Norton on it. He even had a show here on Comedy Central for a while, though it didn't last long.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^Ha if you think The Graham Norton Show is tasteless be glad you never saw So or V Graham Norton. He's well toned down on the Beeb compared to what he was on Channel 4. And if you think Graham Norton is the gayest talk show host you've seen wait till you see Alan Carr.

I haven't had BBCAmerica for a while now, but I remember watching V and So Graham Norton on it. He even had a show here on Comedy Central for a while, though it didn't last long.

Was it the American version of his talk show or the sitcom pilot he did?