The Day after 2 Doctor Who Episodes…

In my recent post: Doctor Who | Season 14, Episode 1 Review: Space Babies, I felt that the episode didn’t exactly feel for the younger audience, which i still somewhat standby, however when i first watched doctor who when i was 13 years old. (yes 18 years of watching and being facinated by doctor who), some of the episodes were scary and you definately felt like hiding behind the pillow or even behind the sofa so it was good to bring that energy back to Doctor Who.

Unfortunately when the babies were talking during the episode and the CGI lips were moving it did break alot of the immersion that i have come to expect from doctor who. However when The Doctor was intentionaly scaring the space babies by saying “Boogyman” the crys that were performed were superb.

During the episode there were some really good acting by both Millie and Ncuti, that really sold the emotions of what both the characters were feeling that the imersion breaking CGI lips from the babies were broken down.

When Ruby was running into danger to save Eric this definately sold it not only to me but The Doctor that she was definately fit as a companion for The Doctor, followed by the fun that was had during the episode where The Doctor litterly sniffed out Eric in a cupboard due to a smelly nappy after being scared about the boogyman.

The chemistry between both Ruby and The Doctor were superb with litteral snot running down Millies face as it drops from a pipe as the Doctor realises that it is snot which just causes the doctor to laugh is superb it really shows that they both trust each other.

Overall the episode was good, but wasn’t exactly great I didn’t feel like I was really watching the doctor who of old, but at the same time the transition to the “New Whoniverse” is starting to show through in the way they are trying new things in doctor who.

We start off the episode in 1925, which happens to be the same year that The Toy Maker first came out, which is where we first meet Maestro who seems to have the same set of skills as The Toy Maker. Timothy Drake who brings back the lost chord: The Devils Chord.

Henry Arbinger (HARBINGER), who starts off as a school boy having a lesson is just vaperised into space as if his services are no longer needed. The Maestro’s attitude is great but the way she uses a baton to take out the music from Timothy is great apart from when she uses it as a lolipop with a weird “ectasy” moan, and hickup with a high pitch note.

Maestro then brakes the fourth wall and looks directly at the audience/camera and starts to play The Doctor Who Theme tune which starts the episode. This was so much better to start the episode than in Space Babies where we go straight into the opening titles. However I still don’t like the way they keep breaking the fourth wall.

The Doctor and Ruby go to Februry 11th 1960 when the Beatles first record their first album, the dynamic and chemistry between them both is fantastic especially the little jives they do as they walk around the tardis with there 60s outfits.

Ruby asks the Doctor how they are going to get into the recording studios but he looks puzzled, this is where the psyic paper should have been used, but instead Ruby speaks to a tea lady and tells them that “Janet” said she could go on break, and says there is always a janet.

The Doctor’s face during The Beatles and Cilla’s Recording sessions where the songs are complete drab really sells the fact something is wrong before they just walk straight into an orchestra, with no questions asked and they start to play three blind mice.

Ruby and The Doctor interview some of the Beatles in the dull cafeteria and they say that the music went dull in the 20s or 30s. Paul then explains how the devils chord works, this really starts to sell the way this works. When paul starts to sing maestro then appears in all reflections and the whole cafeteria stops talking as the spoon slowly drops to the floor.

The way the doctor then referneces the past with his grand daughter susan in 1963 and the first doctor. No one in the world seems to like music which still confuses the doctor. We continue with more memories during the episode before Ruby starts playing a tune on the roof top.

While the music plays people start opening their windows, and enjoying each bit of music that is playing showing all different emotions before the maestro appears inside the piano opening the piano lid with the same tune as The Toy Maker, or “The Giggle”.

The way the visual representation of the tuner being used to vibrate a puddle is superb with the graphical effects. The Doctor then explains that the power of Maestro is so clever that he cannot fight them. The Doctor then brings ruby back home in which earth as we know it is destroyed like a barren landscape, the visual effects of this episode are fantastic!

We then bring back the same sort of effect as The Giggle/Toy Maker with Maestro after having an emotional scene with the doctor explaining that he is the reason that Ruby doesn’t fade away before Maestro says boo and the lights go out except spotlights. Maestro explains he is the daughter of the Toy Maker.

Maestro is able to mess with the interior of the tadis, which the doctor brings them back to 1963, The tardis makes a strange worring noise which the doctor says is strange, but is not referenced again in this episode.

The scene where Ruby is being dragged by the music notes into studio 1 really brings back the way that i felt with Doctor who when i was 13, with Ruby being held in mid air, and starts singing, with the doctor saying “What”, maybe a flash back to the 13th doctor before the music that was playing on the night he was born, being told that the Elder one was there on the same night but we are not informed of who.

The Doctor then discovers the beatles piano and starts playing a tune which causes Maestro to initiate a Music Battle. During this scene i love the way the music notes are dancing around the piano and violin!

The doctor is then able to find majority of the notes which gives a sence of success, but fails at the last note, which gives maestro the power to place The Doctor and Ruby into music intraments before Paul from The Beatles puts them all together after a flash back to the beginning of the episode banishing Maestro back into the piano, which the celebrate at the top of the rooftop where they played the music.

This is where i feel the episode should have ended, however they broke into song stating: There is always a twist at the end before winking at the audience breaking once again the fourth wall. While the dance montage was superb and i feel they were trying todo the same thing as The Goblin Song from the christmas special. During this montage the school boy Henry Arbinger (HARBINGER) is seen watching the dancing and singing in the coridor in shock with it raining indoors and walking back into the room.

The doctor then play the Zebra crossing like a piano that was in the film Big, before the tardis plays the final note before the credits start to role.