After The Rings Of Akhaten I was really not expecting much from this week's episode Hide when Neil Cross's (who wrote both episodes) name turned up in the credits.
However, although Hide suffered from many of the same problems as Rings (a barely fleshed out and vague threat, a damsel in distress that the audience had been given little reason to care about, and a rushed ending) this time the story worked and the episode was an enjoyable, but not exceptional, romp.
However, although Hide suffered from many of the same problems as Rings (a barely fleshed out and vague threat, a damsel in distress that the audience had been given little reason to care about, and a rushed ending) this time the story worked and the episode was an enjoyable, but not exceptional, romp.
A large part of the credit for this goes towards the guest stars, who overshadowed both The Doctor and Clara this week. Dougray Scott and Jessica Raine were great as a couple in the very early stages of a relationship, indulging in stolen glances and then awkward tension. Their tender scenes were a good contrast to the creepy forest home of the Crooked Man (as the credits called the monster) and helped build tension as we were given disposable characters we actually gave a toss over.
Their story was a lot more satisfactory than the pocket dimension elements. These raised far more questions than they answered - why had she crashed there? How did the time pilot know the history books had recorded her as lost? What was the Crooked Man even doing there, and why was it suddenly collapsing? The resolution was also very sudden - when the episode just ended as The Doctor returned to see the Crooked Man. It was so abrupt I assumed that iplayer had crashed. It felt like the last 5 minutes of the episode had fallen through a crack in time.
Their story was a lot more satisfactory than the pocket dimension elements. These raised far more questions than they answered - why had she crashed there? How did the time pilot know the history books had recorded her as lost? What was the Crooked Man even doing there, and why was it suddenly collapsing? The resolution was also very sudden - when the episode just ended as The Doctor returned to see the Crooked Man. It was so abrupt I assumed that iplayer had crashed. It felt like the last 5 minutes of the episode had fallen through a crack in time.
| After leaving The Doctor and Clara stranded at the opposite end of the world from the TARDIS last week I'm beginning to wonder if leaving so many loose ends is intentional for a dramatic series cliffhanger or a sign that Moffat is losing his edge - he’s said his time as Head Writer is closer to the end than the beginning - is his mind on other shows? | It felt like the last 5 minutes of the episode had fallen through a crack in time. |
In spite of The Doctor and Clara seeming somewhat sidelined this week, the scene where The Doctor took Clara from the beginning of life on Earth, to its fiery destruction in 5 minutes was beautifully done. I'm really loving a companion who doesn't entirely trust the Doctor, and who sees just how alien he really is. It was also a nice change of tone for Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman. We've seen that they have great comic timing and work together really well in lighter, sillier moments but this is the first moment we've seen where they can also do darker, more tragic scenes. The moment where The Doctor could only mumble
"Timey wimey" in response to Clara’s questioning of how small we must appear to him was my stand-out moment of the episode.
All in all the episode was entertaining but felt about a rewrite or two away from being complete. This series is building up a nice collection of characters I hope to see more of. I would love to see the characters again from this episode, especially The Crooked Man - the jittery, jumpy way he moved was the stuff of nightmares and it's been a while since the show has made me want to hide behind the sofa.
Gareth
"Timey wimey" in response to Clara’s questioning of how small we must appear to him was my stand-out moment of the episode.
All in all the episode was entertaining but felt about a rewrite or two away from being complete. This series is building up a nice collection of characters I hope to see more of. I would love to see the characters again from this episode, especially The Crooked Man - the jittery, jumpy way he moved was the stuff of nightmares and it's been a while since the show has made me want to hide behind the sofa.
Gareth
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