Sunday, December 30, 2012

S07E06 - The Snowmen

Well hello and welcome again to my rather fabby-fun Doctor Who review blog! Now I must apologise for this long, 5-day gap of what I call absence but I have been rather bogged down with illnesses which had left myself rather weak and achy but since that is all going I thought it about time to review the extravaganza that was – and, well still is – the Snowmen…

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Of course, the mystery of Asylum’s Oswald Oswin goes even deeper now, what with both Steven Moffat and Jenna-Louise Coleman’s plain right LIES about the character’s link to the new companion Clara and not to mention the shocking twist of Christmas-Clara’s death – yes, I’m calling her Christmas-Clara and if you didn’t know she had died then why the hell are you reading this blog and where have you been these past few days? Of course, there are many theories sprouting from many-a-fan I know, some of which include Clara clones in three different times and environments, Reincarnation of the same character and name, something Flesh-related (which might have slight faulty considering the Flesh go back to their natural state once dead) and my current favourite: splinters in time of the original Oswin Oswald due to the fact of her explosive death and the Daleks abilities to time travel.

All rather good theories if I do say so myself but most likely nowhere close to what the Moff has planned. That aside of course and concentrating on the Christmas-Clara at hand; wasn’t Jenna just absolutely amazing? She may have won my heart over, pre-Who in the mini-serial Titanic but really, as part of the Whoniverse and after the brilliance that was Oswald, her Clara Oswin was just… brilliant. Her whole double-persona as the cockney barmaid and the posh, child-friendly governess was perfectly portrayed although a little co-incidental due to the fact that she met the Doctor as the former and adventure concentrated on the premises of the latter but hey, it’s all about Clara and a good way to keep the story in one tight little ball and keep a stricter story.

Of course this does lead myself to the coincidental nature of the episode; that the Doctor just happened to be taking refuse in a year to which Clara existed, that Clara herself just happened to meet the Doctor and of course, the ‘Ice Governess’ did just happen to be the previous governess to Clara but like I’ve said before; Moffat does like his coincidences, not to mention the fact that it seems the Doctor was MEANT to meet Clara and this worked well for that situation (“Maybe the Universe does make bargains after all…”) and since when has Who ever been at least half-believable anyway?

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Other things to mention are of course the characters; more specifically Vasta, Jenny and Strax. The latter of the three having returned from death at the end of A Good Man Goes to War, but to be honest that tiny little factor about the character we care less about; glad to just see his comedic war-esque character bring in some of the comedy relief of the episode and at just the right moment. Of course the ever-loved Vastra and Jenny – the fact they’re actually married (another LGBT reference for Who; more so than RTD would ever have done… kinda!) – and the reference that Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories were in fact based upon the shenanigans of The Veiled Woman and her Associate proved a fun little twist and also a nod towards Moff’s own Sherlock show he’s squeezed two small seasons out of.

Keeping in track of Sherlock – how bloody brilliant was it to see the Doctor dressed as Mr Holmes! Of course, it’s not the first time he’s dressed like the Great Detective, for in Fourth Doctor episode ‘The Talons of Weng-Chiang’ he dressed as the Detective for most of the episode(s)! Which of course leads me to the Ol’ Who reference of the Great Intelligence and the Doctor providing it with the London Underground Map – for those not in the know, the Great Intelligence was a foe in Ol’ Who episode ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ – yes – and ‘The Web of Fear’ both of which to feature vast usage of the London Underground as base of villain operation – although why the Doctor doesn’t remember and only vaguely find the similarities in the Great Intelligence right at the end of the episode I shall never truly understand.

Speaking of enemies, who else believes the main plot of the episode; with the Great Intelligence, living Snowmen and Doctor Walter Simeon was somewhat underused? Concentrating more solely on the Doctor’s budding relationship with Clara and the comedic nature of Vastra’s own team the whole ‘Snowmen taking over the world’ aspect seemed a little lost the moment Clara fell off the cloud. Of course, it did then lead to a quick showdown in which the Doctor didn’t really have any answers and Clara of course saved the day by dying – as you do – it led to a rather disappointing villainous anti-climax (although not a disappointing companion-climax, but more of that later) but did show off some of greatness that is the wondrous Richard E Grant, who is just a brilliant actor all round, it cannot be denied!

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Now, reading this would note that I have so far left two important details out, but oh no, was I not going to forget the MASSIVE revamp of the credits (much better than the ‘revamp’ featured in the first five episodes of season seven) and the complete change of TARDIS interior! As a fan of both Ol’ Who and New Who alike, it was most brilliant to see, in both subjects, the use – and mix – of both old and new. With the bringing back of the more metallic, machine-esque TARDIS console room, while of course keeping the larger set and introducing – even though I’m still not very much a fan of it – the GC aspects to the thing such as the spinning lights around the walls and the rotating ceiling… things attached to the central console.

And of course for the credits I simply have to applaud for the use of old, new, slightly Americanised and yet still completely Who design of the entire thing – with the reintroduction of the Doctor's face into the credits (a feature both myself and my older sibling felt was greatly missed since the days of old Who), the slight Seventh Doctor-era vast feel, and the use of the seventies theme during the actor’s names segments, it really lead to a positive clash of Old vs New. Add to the rather fiery feel of the things and even the TARDIS doors opening to the adventure and you have yourself one brilliant opening title sequence!

Finally I cannot forget about the mopey-Doctor first seen at the beginning of the episode. My opinion: much better done than the moping Doctor at the end of Tennant’s era and more believable towards the fact that the Doctor has a cycle of picking up a new companion every other month and not caring who’s left and who’s just joined. Of course he got overly attached to the Ponds – to the point where you had to think ‘Oh no, not them AGAIN!’ – but to finally not have them to lean back on, it was interesting how quickly he gave in to a new companion and indeed the mystery of said new companion upon discovery of the familiar namesake.

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The ‘Coming Soon’ trailer too looks fascinating; some of which I have noticed being a newly designed Cybermen – my hopes on the final return of the Mondas/Telos Cybers and not those terrible Para-Cybers – along with Clara seeming holding a big gun (or being faced bravely by one) and of course the reference of “the woman twice dead” to which I must point out that one Clara died in the past, the other Oswin in the long-distant future, but I digress…

Anyway! A fantastic episode all round, it seems! Bring on April for the rest of season seven – April? Really? Damnit…

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