'DOCTOR WHO' 5.9 - "Cold Blood"

WRITER: Chris Chibnall
DIRECTOR: Ashley Way
GUEST CAST: Arthur Darvill, Neve McIntosh, Meerya Syal, Robert Pugh, Nia Roberts, Richard Hope, Stephen Moore, Alun Raglan & Samuel Davies

[SPOILERS] A spirited conclusion to last week's scene-setter, if inherently less suspenseful and let down by bathetic moments and a trite voice-over/prologue that gave everything a pretentious feel. "Cold Blood" was nevertheless a bouncy hour, if one that never found a way to become the action-packed instalment it could have easily become, choosing instead to focus on rather dull discussion about the possibility of a Silurian/human alliance...

This was the kind of episode where individual moments worked very well, but the bigger picture disappointed. I loved how companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) were treated, however; both engaged in stories above and below the surface that separated them from The Doctor (Matt Smith) for awhile, who was instead partnered with Nasreen (Meera Syal). Amy picking a pocket to escape from her restraints and creep around corridors with a giant laser-gun showed her character at its assertive best, until the script started giving her silly quips and showing her in a bad light (head in her arms, bored at a meeting to broker peace with the Silurians.) Failing that, she could usually be found screeching "Doctor!" before and after pouting. It's frustrating because I think Karen Gillan could be marvellous in this role (watch "The Eleventh Hour" again), but most of the writers don't seem to know how to write for a brusque, flirtatious, confident, sexy young woman. So she often just becomes a spikier version of Rose.

The guest cast were stronger this week, particularly Nia Robert's character Ambrose, who wound up electrocuting Silurian prisoner Alaya (Neve McIntosh) to death over her desperation to get her kidnapped son Elliot (Samuel Davies) back home safely. It was a moment that ultimately destroyed any chance of peace between humans and Silurians, much to The Doctor's obvious anger and disappointment as the instrument of that potential peace. It's actually very interesting and mildly shocking whenever The Doctor's faith in humanity is defeated like this. "Cold Blood" also made him appear quite fragile when he was captured and endured a painful Silurian scan. Actually seeing The Doctor in pain (or wrong about trusting people to behave impeccably) doesn't happen all that often, which makes it more dramatic when it does. The Eleventh Doctor's not to everyone's taste, but I appreciate how his presence no longer makes you naturally relax and feel everything's going to be okay in the end. He's more fallible and easily angered than recent incarnations.

Thus episode climaxed on a surprising note of failure for The Doctor, as another "crack" appeared and distracted everyone long enough for anti-human Silurian Restak (Neve McIntosh again) to kill Rory with a fatal laser blast. Even worse, the crack's tendrils of energy snared Rory's body and essentially erased his timeline, rendering the grief-stricken Amy oblivious to her fiancé ever existing a few minutes later in the TARDIS. It was a tragic end for their relationship (similar to Donna Noble's memory-wipe in series 4), and a failure only The Doctor's aware of and thus burdened with. Juicy stuff, to be sure, although the lack of chemistry between Gillan and Darvill meant the moment didn't resonate on an emotional level, and it was unfortunate Rory had recently "died" during "Amy's Choice". Amy losing him and realizing how much she actually loved him has become his sole reason to exist on the show.

Overall, "Cold Blood" could have been a lot more challenging and creative in where its story went, but the use of all the characters was a huge improvement over last week (even Meera Syal was better, if still dull), and there were enough impressive moments to keep you engaged. This was definitely a decent end to a lukewarm start, if unlikely to be an episode you'll ever want to revisit.

Asides

• The effects and gleaming set design for the Silurian's underground city was excellent, considering the budget. Unlike ABC's remake of V, the use of greenscreen wasn't extensive or prolonged enough for you to notice its falseness., too.
• Very interesting to see that the "shrapnel" of the explosion that caused the crack appears to be the TARDIS itself. Obviously they're unlikely to destroy the TARDIS in the finale, so I expected The Doctor to prevent the crack from ever appearing. And might that mean Rory's death will be reversed.
• I enjoyed seeing peace ruined totally by the humans, as it's so often the aliens that are the villains and saboteurs in sci-fi. But here, it was clear that it's the humans who are to blame for everything. I wonder if The Doctor will be tempted to jump forward in time by 1,000 years to see if the amicable return of the Silurian race went ahead? I get the impression those told to spread the word and turn the agreement into legend/religion will just have forgotten.
• There was a horrible voice-over and a very unnecessary epilogue that actually ruined the story because you knew everything would pan out just fine. Totally unjustified in its use.
• Writer Chris Chibnall watched the Silurians' debut TV adventure and read the novelisation "Doctor Who And The Cave Monsters" as preparation for this two-part story.
• Stephen Moore, playing Eldane, is the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android in the BBC radio adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy.
• At one point, The Doctor mentions wanting celery -- a likely call-back to The Fifth Doctor's (Peter Davison) love of the vegetable, which he even pinned a stick of to his jacket's lapel. That trend didn't catch on around '80s playgrounds.

29 MAY 2010: BBC1/HD, 7PM

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