Pieces of Life: Its Not All Happiness, Lollipops, Rainbows, and Unicorns Doctor Who The Beast Below Review
Ahhh so those cracks will fit into this story line…..
Jump!
Plenty of endless babbling ahead that jumps around a fair bit so just brace yourself because you’ll find endless thoughts in this post….
I felt almost positive that “the crack” in our first Matt Smith Who episode would surely not lead up to anything but how wrong was I? The cracks in time continue this week…did you catch the third crack? The first was in dear little Amelia’s bedroom, the 2nd was quickly displayed on the Tardis monitor towards the end of the first episode (I do believe our good Doctor seen it as he quickly turned the monitor off hmmmm what does he know that we don’t? And by the way, it can’t be a mistake he too so long to return to Amy’s side. I think he’s traveled through Amy’s past before), and most recently, this past Saturday, one was seen on the hull of Starship UK, if you blinked (we know how very dangerous blinking can be) you may have missed it.
The Beast Below is another ever so slightly disappointing episode for me. Sadly, it just happened so quickly, that I may be one of the few people that isn’t totally convinced that Moffatt is the man to bring Who to my telly screen, currently I’m missing Davies more and more….please let’s not hope this turns into a pattern because I can remember by fair share of being so angry with Davies I wanted to throw my set on the window a time or two.
Yet again I felt completely rushed in this episode and still did my fair share of rewinding backwards after watching as I’m still trying to get a handle on the Doctor’s Northamptonshire accent. Both Matt and the Doctor happen to come from the same place it appears and its not Gallifrey….but seriously for some odd reason Matt projects himself too quickly and I find it difficult to catch on to what he’s talking about at times. I’m quite familiar with British accents but he’s terribly rushed and hyped up, it proves difficult to catch up with him before he’s on the next topic in a snap. So yes, indeed, episode felt rushed again to me.
You can see that Moffatt is fully hanging out to the fairy tale aspect and will continue to do so throughout the season I’m guessing. Wendy flying away to Never Never Land with her Peter is the theme of business.
I’d like to point out that the Doctor and Amy still haven’t really gotten to know each other completely as of yet but they obviously know each other well enough considering Amy’s all about hugging the dear man already. I guess I missed the part where they bonded?
A big nay to BBC America for cutting things off so quickly for commercial breaks as it appears just as something major was going to happen it was completely cut off for a break and later picked up and on to the next topic in the story….I dare say we missed one or two minutes that got shaved off by BBC America. Um hello boxed set I need you more than every before.
Our villains, the evil and sinister Smilers are reminiscent of many a baddie past but I must say they were the highlight of the episode in some cases and quite good times. Its a terrible shame that the Smilers probably won’t make any major appearance after this as they seemed to have the potential to be a terribly creepy foe for the Doctor!
There’s such a terribly strong emphasis on making the Tardis more of a spaceship than a time traveling device. I found the opening seen with Amy floating in space and the Doctor holding into her leg very endearing but….I’ve come to associate the Tardis with time travel not fly me to the moon and the stars….
Matt’s quirky humor was displayed in one or two scenes which was both disappointing and good. Good as too much of a great thing could grow sour quickly and corny for that matter. And disappointing as I do like his one line zingers to lighten the mood up some. Although Amy’s disgust when falling into the “belly” of the beast or the mouth in this case is pretty funny when she yells out that it’s “minging”! I had a belly laugh over that.
Amy seems to have picked up rather quickly on who the Doctor is and his struggle to be the last Time Lord. Seriously, she knows him what? A couple of hours? And already she’s grasped exactly who he is.
We see a brief return of the old sad Doctor as he struggles with decisions he’d rather not make. His relief is Amy who “shows” him the way and proceeds to save the day. Another reason why we need a companion in the Tardis…someone has to balance him out less his dark side come out to play. Think of a child with no adult supervision and you’ll pretty much have the Doctor only difference is he’s way more dangerous than a mere child, he’s a mad man with a time traveling box.
I hated how in some aspects he returned to being an alien in this episode where he promptly dresses the humans down, how very unlike the Doctor as we’ve come to know him the past few years. This is a side of the Doctor I’ve only ever seen once before in present times. That would be when he struggled with releasing Wilf from the radiation chamber, honestly, for a second there, just a brief moment, I thought he’d walk away….
It bothered me that the Doctor was so nonchalant about the Time War and proceeded to tell Amy, “Long Story. It was bad stuff, bad stuff happened, and you know what, I’d love to forget it all, every last bit of it, but I don’t. Not ever.” Granted, he does express sincerely with his “Not ever” but the way he casually brushes it off suggests he’s still hurting but I hated he couldn’t express that pain.
I must admit it was rather disturbing that the Queen had a cockney-accent but I’m trying to not let it muse my Anglophile feathers.
As we near the end the Doctor again is a situation he isn’t really wanting to be in. A situation that requires him yet again to make a choice he really isn’t willing to make. And so it comes to pass that its not all happiness, lollipops, rainbows, and unicorns as we experience Matt Smith’s rage for the very first time. Baby face yes but no problems portraying that 900 plus year old Time Lord in a fit of rage. Obviously all the joking about and smiles and such are simply hiding the beast below pun intended….I guess the angst is still there and hasn’t been completely erased with the 10th’s demise and the 11th’s regeneration now has it?
And Amy steps into the game with her human authority to splice the good Doctor open and dig in for the autopsy….
“What if you were really old, and really kind, and alone. Your whole race dead, no future. What couldn’t you do then? If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind, you couldn’t just stand there and watch children cry.”
“You couldn’t. But I’ve seen it before. Very old and very kind, and the very very last. Sound a bit familiar?”
And finally the episode ends with a cryptic message perhaps?
“In bed above we’re deep asleep,
While greater love lies further deep.
This dream must end, this world must know,
We all depend on the beast below.”
Is it a star whale they are referring to…..? Or the Doctor himself.
Unless babble for you there that jumps around a fair bit but I wanted to get my thoughts thrown up for this week’s episode. I look forward to next week even they seem to be getting worst for me rather than better.
We’ll see. It takes time to embrace a new Doctor.
Feel free to get your geek on, would love to hear your thoughts.
Cosmetic Musings back on the way shortly!