One last review before the new year, and what a year it will be, especially for Doctor Who fans. Now, it’s been awhile since the last episode of Doctor Who, and if you have not seen this Christmas Special yet, you may be wondering if it was worth the wait. Now before I talk about this episode, I want to discuss the polarizing effect the Doctor can have on his fans.
There are those who’s first doctor dates back to the 1960’s, when an elderly old man flew through time and space with his granddaughter, fighting Aztecs, and talking his way out of danger. For others, it’s this odd man in the box with his love of bow ties, and his manic depression. For a lot of us, before Doctor Who became more mainstream, our first Doctor was Eccleston, the bad ass Doctor in the leather jacket. I only explain this EVERY time I review an episode is because, as I said, there are many new “Whovians” out there every day, and people have to understand my loathing for this 11th Doctor, though for the new fans, this is their first Doctor and thus, their favorite. Technically, my first Doctor is David Tennant, and he is my favorite, but ever since the Doctor regenerated to Matt Smith, it’s just been…rough, for the most part.
This latest seasons of Doctor Who, for me, is kind of like watching a lottery. Ocassionally you get lucky and win a very good episode of Doctor Who. Dave the Drummer said it best when he explained that he finds it hard to care about the Doctor and his companions. And I’ve tried my darndest to like this guy, because he’s not a bad actor, he’s just given a horrible script. And here’s briefly why I think that this Doctor has suffered. If you watch the 10th and 9th Doctors you’ll notice a big difference in the stories, how they are told, as well as how the Doctor’s handle a situation. It’s very sci-fi, with a lot of made up scientific jargon, and aliens, and a well thought out way to solve the problem of the week that the Doctor is facing. In these last three seasons, it seems the Doctor saves the day with the power of love, with the human spirit, and by sheer will. Which is bollocks.
Okay…I actually think that’s all fine and dandy. Honestly. But it doesn’t make for a good story when things just happen to turn out for the better, just because. And not to say this hasn’t happened to previous Doctors, but almost every episode of these last three seasons? Well, all that exposition is why this latest Doctor Who episode was so good! I actually really liked this episode, and it took a friendly Get Gluer to point me in the right direction.
When I first saw this episode, I was annoyed, because things seemed to happen, “just because”, but after getting some knowledge and watching it again, I think I can now give a more well thought out and reasonable review. This was a lottery episode, where I seemed to win a good plot, good characters, and a good villain.
“The Snowmen” Christmas special starts off with a new intro, which is weird, because it kind of borrows from the old school Doctor Who, with showing Matt Smith’s face in the title sequence. Maybe it’s a call back for the big 50th Anniversary next year, but it was unusual to say the least. Then the show begins with a little boy, who for some reason, just does not get along with other children. He’s just minding his own business building a snow man, while his mom (I’m assuming), encourages him to play with the others. He’s not very fond of this idea, and just as he utters out how he doesn’t like being around the other children, the snow man begins to talk to him, mirroring his words. Mind you this is all happening in Victorian England, which is always fun. Now fast forward to him as an adult, and he now has the power to control snow and has an army of Snowmen, and that’s how the bad guy is introduced. All menacing and killing.
My first thought was that this was lame. Here is another “being evil, for the sake of being evil” kind of situation. You don’t see the child get bullied, you don’t see him live a horrible life. He just doesn’t like his peers. Years then pass and he becomes evil incarnate because a snow man agrees with him? Well, back to adult bad guy, who now calls himself Doctor Simian, and we get to watch some death happen. Then we cut to Clara. I thought Amy Pond was hot, sure, and Clara is certainly cut from the same cloth. Gone are the Donna Noble days of companions, as we just keep getting young, hot women to accompany the Doctor on his adventures. I’m not complaining one bit as she is feisty, and cunning, and easy on the eyes. Which makes me hopeful about this companion as right from the start, Jenna-Louise Coleman is likeable, fun, and you just want to follow her all over London if you can, like some weird Victorian stalker. Still, you have to wonder, in the back of your mind, how is this Clara and the Oswin from the Dalek episode related? Hmmm……
Chaos ensues as Snowmen appear and reek havoc on the…no one. They are kind of, just there. But then we have familiar faces like Madame Vastra, Jenny, and Strax the Sontaran as they have the fun bits like being investigators and being comic relief. I liked their involvement in the story and how much they actually added to the episode. Then there is the Doctor, who is trying to stay out of human business and live a life of solitude amongst the clouds. This is most likely a side effect of losing the Ponds, Amy and Rory, as his companions. Still, he tries to stay out of the oddities of the telepathis snow, until a series of events leads the Doctor to want to get involved, and all it took was a single word. Pond.
The scene with Clara and Madame Vastra as they played the question game was very well executred and probably one of my favorite scenes of the episode. I have to admit, the connection to the Ponds was kind of, corny, but that’s what makes Doctor Who what it is. From the Doctor dressing up as Sherlock Holmes, to the reveal of the new TARDIS, which honestly doesn’t make much sense, to fighting an ice woman who happened to be the reincarnation of an angry nanny, the show became more like the Who of yesteryear. Keeping you hooked and on your toes, every minute you’re watching.
Now onto the more spoilery part of the review. I didn’t understand the motivations of this bad guy, until I was told about the Great Intelligence. This episode almost lost me until someone pointed out that in old school Who, there was a sentient being called the Great Intelligence that has fought the Doctor before. His motivations are unknown, but to know he’s a recurring character made me forgive the “destroying the Earth, just because” mind set, because they may explain it off in the future. And how do we know this connection? The business card Doctor Simian had in his lab, and the realization the Doctor has at the end of the episode. I didn’t get the connection at first, but after reading about it, it all makes more sense. This episode was for the new and hardcore fans alike. And the connection to Clara and Oswin? Well, we do find out they are one and the same, as she repeats the line, “run, you clever boy,” right before she…well, you’ll have to see the show. But that made me smile, that, and the fact that she’s all hot for the Doctor and he doesn’t fight it, makes this pairing much more playful and, I think, more entertaining.
All in all, it was a great episode with fun characters, and a well developed script, with fewer plot holes and less, winning by love moments. I want the Doctor to succeed with his wits, not “just because”. If you haven’t seen it yet, go find a way to see it, and soon. It leads up to a promising rest of the season, and maybe even another reboot for the series. For me? I’ll keep watching, hoping beyond hope that the episodes stay as strong as this one, but unfortunately, I’ve been disappointed before.
