The Almost People (2011)

Well at the conclusion of the previous episode we had the predictable appearance of the Doctor-ganger. Part two of this Matthew Graham story is one that deals with the Gangers trying to kill their originals and get off the island to meet up with other gangers. The story moves at a fairly standard pace but I did find it flagging about half way through. I don’t really care about the gangers and we learn nothing about what they intend to do. Ok there is an issue about how the gangers are treated and its clear that Rory is confused as to what to do but at the end of the day there is nothing really special about them and that bothers me. I think that if your going to play the oppressed group then there should be something more about you.

I did like Sarah Smart and Raquel Cassidy. Both put in stunning performances and as a big fan of Cassidy’s I thought that she did really well. Having a character that has a clot is something that leads the viewer to believe she wont make it and neither will her ganger. Thankfully the real Cleaves is given something to get rid of it. I thought that Sarah Smart has been consistently brilliant throughout the two episodes as the character (Jennifer) is the driving force behind the ganger resistance. Having seen the group of discarded Jennifiers it solidifies her view and why she’s angry whereas the others seem to only be half bothered. I did like having two Doctors as this provided a rare moment where he interacts with himself and quite like the two Amy’s in the Comic Relief special back in March, it provides a bit of light relief. I thought the use of ‘Reverse the Polarity of the Neutron Flow’ and ‘Would You Like a Jelly Baby’ were meant for classic fans and certainly struck a cord with me. It was difficult though trying to work out who was the real Doctor and who was the fake. This was an issue that I had with the previous episode and it was something that cropped up in this episode. At the end of this episode I had just stopped caring and it gave me the opinion that this story wasn’t working for me.

I thought that his story was Arthur Darvill’s best performance. He has had to play the dummy role in previous stories but in this one gives a stunning performance. I actually thought that Karen Gillan put in a different type of performance. Presented with two Doctor’s who have the same physical appearance and also (presumably) the same memories, she chooses one over the other. She doesn’t like the other Doctor because he’s ‘different’ which doesn’t seem like Amy but it’s a nice different side to the character.

Having watched Matt Smith on the BBC show ‘The One Show’ I was expecting something big coming at the end of this episode and it happened. We learn that Amy is actually a ganger and she disperses into goo. The revelation that Amy is in some sort of tank about to give birth was quite a dark moment. I know that the series was suppose to be dark but this goes really dark. Then the ‘cyclops’ lady appears like she has done throughout previous episodes this series. It is a fantastic lead into the final story of this half of the series and I cant wait for next week.

I have to say that overall the two-parter was ok. Nothing worse and nothing special. I have to say that it was a vast improvement on Fear Her but compared to previous stories its not one of my favourites. It’s a story of two sides, one being the ganger stuff and the other being the last five minutes which was fantastic.

The Rebel Flesh (2011)

The second two-parter of the series is written by Matthew Graham who gave us the very dull ‘Fear Her’ in 2006 and the more impressive Life on Mars and it’s spin-off Ashes to Ashes. The story sees the TARDIS crew involved in a ‘solar tsunami’ and arrive on Earth in the 22nd Century. The TARDIS lands on an island where there is a factory which pumps highly corrosive acid to the mainland. I loved the scene where the TARDIS is flying in that solar tsunami because it was lovely piece of CGI. There is a certain smartness that Graham has used in this story in that as the crew are dealing with acid, they use dopplegangers to do the dangerous stuff. The prostetchics is very well done and looks very creepy. There is a time issue as the solar tsunami is going to strike the factory and those inside. But as with everything in Doctor Who, the leader wont listen to the Doctor who offers to take them away in the TARDIS. It’s also at this point that the story gets really interesting in that the ‘gangers’ decide to stand up against their real life copies. I was worried for a little while when they were doing the whole dopplegangers can have that shiny face on or the normal face and thought that the story was going to get confusing and I would be spending the whole episode trying to figure out who was what. Thankfully that didn’t happen which would have ruined my enjoyment.

This story rather interestingly has the first crack in the Rory/Amy relationship when Rory befriends Jennifer. Jennifer (Sarah Smart) is the one that were suppose to warm to as she is the only one of the gangers that is just as human as her original. This despite the bit where Jennifer tries to punch Rory. If anyone tried to punch me then I wouldn’t befriend them. It’s a good thing that Rory is trying to stand up to Amy as in recent stories he has been a bit of a loved up puppy to Amy. I quite liked Raquel Cassidy as she is a very good actress having appeared in Teachers and Lead Balloon. As the leader Cleaves, she is the one that decides against common sense and wont leave until she’s told to. I also liked Marshall Lancaster (another Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes connection) as Buzzer,

If I did have an issue with this story then there are two really big ones. Firstly I don’t think that compared to other first parters in new-who, that there is anything big that happens. Certainly against The Impossible Astronaut it lacks anything that visually stands out. Secondly, the cliffhanger of the Doctor having a doppelganger. If you didn’t see that coming then your just not trying. As a single part episode it’s the weakest so far but only next week will tell what its like as a two-parter. What I can say is that regardless of what happens in The Almost People in seven days time, this is 100% better than Fear Her.

Fear Her (2006)

Back in 2005, London was awarded the honour of hosting the 2012 Olympic Games and this planted an idea in Russell T Davies’ mind and he then passed this idea onto Life on Mars co-creator Matthew Graham and the end result is the cheap Doctor Who episode Fear Her. I say cheap because the previous series saw Boomtown use very little in the way of special effects and this meant the money could be used in the finale. Fear Her is much better than the previous episode but it’s not hard to be better.

The main issue that I have with this story is that it’s dull. Granted there are some scary moments and the idea that drawings can come to life is quite an interesting one but sadly it’s not enough to make a show out of. There were some amusing moments such as Rose digging up the council road and the Doctor making everyone put a finger to their lips. I also thought the child was a tad bit annoying. Granted most kids on TV get on my nerves but the thing about the girl in this story was that there was no charisma or personality that came from her. Even when she was herself again there was nothing there which was a real shame.

This is Rose’s story for the first time since her debut adventure. With the Doctor out of the picture (or in it in this case!) it gives Billie Piper the opportunity to wield an axe into a door in a homage to The Shining. She’s the one that works things out and finds a solution to the problems. This isn’t something that happens very often in Doctor Who and it was quite a refreshing change. The only time that the story gets anywhere near entertaining is towards the end when the Doctor is running with the Olympic Flame towards the Torch to signal the start of the games. With just over a year to go before the Games begin, the stuff in the ‘Olympic stadium’ do look a little cheap but seeing as when this was filmed the stadium wouldn’t be built for another four years I think we might be able to let them off for that.

David Tennant doesn’t particularly shine in this episode but he’s not terrible and potters about until he’s required to do his running thing and firework interpreting at the end. I did quite like the bit in the TARDIS when he says that he was a dad once. It was a little nod to long term fans who like me think that Susan as the Doctor’s Granddaughter would of course have had a kid.

The final minute or so is a lovely set up to the finale to the series. The Doctor is able to look into some fireworks and tell that “something’s coming”. It’s an ominous start to the final story. With Matthew Graham set to return to the Doctor Who writing table it’s good to know that when the history of Doctor Who is written for the final time that this won’t be the only thing Graham will be judged on. It’s a cheap episode that unlike the previous year’s adventure doesn’t have any interesting characters and is marginally ahead of Love and Monsters.