WRITER: Chris Chibnall[SPOILERS] The great thing about two-parters is that they give a story the chance to breathe and embed itself emotionally; the bad thing is that some stories don't justify the extra allotted time. "The Hungry Earth" was basically an hour of setup for what looks like a more exciting second-half next week (if the sometimes misleading trail is to be believed), and while there were certainly some strong moments and boredom never took hold, it wasn't anything special.
DIRECTOR: Ashley Way
GUEST CAST: Arthur Darvill, Neve McIntosh, Meera Syal, Robert Pugh, Nia Roberts, Alun Raglan & Samuel Davies
"The Hungry Earth" wasn't terrible, just underwhelming given the potential of the story, although admittedly it's only half-fulfilled at this point. None of the guest-stars made a good impression -- particularly Syal, who was implausible in every respect, and became a temporary companion I'd happily watch disappear into a sinkhole. More fun was The Doctor's interaction with young Elliot, mainly because children's wide-eyed wonder of The Doctor is always very charming and justified compared to how adult companions behave around him. For kids he's the cool uncle, the mad teacher, or the crazy granddad. I also liked the moment when The Doctor's lack of parental experience was highlighted, when he absentmindedly allowed Elliot to wander off into danger because he was distracted with something else.
Fortunately, Matt Smith's befuddled charms helped enormously to compensate for a storyline that felt very predictable and never really developed a sense of reality. The world's deepest bore hole in a sleepy Welsh mining village, manned by a few people? Really? The only truly interesting wrinkle to the script was knowing the Silurians were once the dominant species on Earth, so still believe they have ownership of the planet. Hopefully that will be developed into a compelling argument for part 2, "Cold Blood".
Overall, "The Hungry Planet" was middle-of-the-road entertainment with enjoyable moments, but it definitely felt like an episode that demands you watch the conclusion before passing final judgement.
Asides
- There was a very intriguing moment with The Doctor spotting future versions of Amy and Rory through some binoculars early in the episode before the adventure had really started; a scene that reminded me of something from time-loop movies like Timecrimes or Triangle. It would be nice if that got some pay-off (in part 2, or later in the season), as I'm not sure what its relevance was, beyond assuring Amy and Rory that their marriage stands a chance of surviving 10 years at least.
- The scenery. Some gorgeous locations, especially in HD. I'm enjoying series 5's quaint rural feel on Earth, away from Russell T. Davies urban estates.
- Good makeup for the Silurians, if unoriginal in design. The alien character of Alaya was also nicely performed, particularly in her "interrogation scene" with The Doctor.
- A great moment between The Doctor and Amy when he failed to prevent her being sucked down into the ground.
- Is anyone else frustrated that so many episodes remind you of recent episodes in Who's history? "The Impossible Planet" (often an inspiration for other episodes, it seems) came to mind because of its own subterranean dangers.
- The Silurians made their debut in the 1970 adventure starring the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee), and their cousins the Sea Devils aappeared sometime later. They also appeared in the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) story "Warriors Of The Deep" back in 1984.
- The name "Nasreen" means "wild Rose" in Persian.
