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| The TARDIS is a little smaller on the outside than usual... |
1 episode. Approx. 45 minutes. Written by: Jamie Mathiesen. Directed by: Douglas MacKinnon. Produced by: Nikki Wilson.
THE PLOT
An energy drain causes the TARDIS to materialize in Bristol instead of London - and to materialize significantly smaller than its usual size, to the point the Doctor and Clara have to struggle to successfully get out. The Doctor asks Clara to investigate the area, to see what might be causing this, while he goes back inside to try to stop the drain.
Clara encounters a community service crew cleaning up graffiti around a council estate. One of the men, Rigsy (Joivan Wade), tells her that several people have disappeared without a trace. He adds that, because this is a poverty-stricken area, the police have barely investigated. Clara returns to inform the Doctor - only to discover that the TARDIS has shrunk further, to practically the size of a toy model, with the Doctor now unable to get out.
He is able to pass her the sonic screwdriver and an earpiece, allowing him to use her as his eyes and ears. As Clara investigates the site of the most recent disappearance, using the Doctor's psychic paper to pass as "MI-5," a more frightening discovery is made: The disappearances are the work of two-dimensional creatures, who are able to transform people and objects into two dimensions simply by touch. But is this a prelude to an invasion; or, as the Doctore hopes, is it an attempt at communication gone horribly, tragically wrong?
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: Knows the second he and Clara find the TARDIS much smaller than it should be that he has encountered something strange and new - Which is something he finds joy in. When he realizes the nature of the aliens, his first impulse is to try communicating, in case they don't realize that they're hurting humanity. It's only when that fails that he reverts to his usual role of "man who stops the monsters." By making the Doctor virtually powerless for the bulk of the story, it also brings home how forceful a presence Peter Capaldi can be when he comes back at the end to take full charge.
Clara: Thrust into the Doctor role for much of the story, trying to keep people alive. "Welcome to my world," the Doctor tells her acidly, as she uses a combination of bluffs, guesses, and a force of personality she doesn't fully feel to claim the leadership role of the group. Also like the Doctor, she has to push the group to keep moving and focusing on their own survival once some of her charges start dying.
Danny: Clara is lying to him, and her lying is even more obvious than it was before Danny met the Doctor. The Doctor knows about the lies; and Danny isn't an idiot, so he probably has a pretty good idea by the story's end - Which makes a confrontation pretty much inevitable.
THOUGHTS
This is Jamie Mathiesen's second Who script, coming right on the heels of his first. It's a very different episode than Mummy on the Orient Express: A little slower, a little moodier. The monster is unique and creepy, and the conceit of the Doctor stuck inside the miniaturized TARDIS creates some very funny moments.
All of which is to say: Jamie Mathiesen definitely needs to stay.
The first half is like the Series Two stinker Fear Her done right. There's a council estate setting, people who have disappeared with barely any investigation at all, and the Doctor and Clara (well, mainly just Clara) befriending a local in order to get more information. But with on-target guest performances and sharp dialogue, it has energy even before Clara and Rigsy find themselves running from the 2D monsters, whom the Doctor dubs "The Boneless."
The second half turns into a horror story, with Clara and the members of Rigsy's community service group fleeing for their lives - and mostly, not managing to move fast enough. As they flee into the train tunnels, the setting becomes claustrophobic and drenched in shadows. Then the Boneless evolves into "3-D," and the chase begins to resemble a scene from a zombie movie. It's atmospheric and effective. A good slice of horror Who.
It's also very funny. When the miniaturized TARDIS is stuck on train tracks with a train approaching, he sticks his full-sized hand out of the tiny box to escape ala "Thing" from The Addams Family. A little later on, Clara inverts Doctor Who's overused "heroic sacrifice" trope. Rigsy is all set to ride a train into the Boneless, so that he can buy time for the others while circumventing the "Dead Man's Switch." Until Clara points out that all that's needed is for her to wrap her headband around the controls. For the remainder of the episode, she needles him about trying to sacrifice his life for a headband.
The final Doctor/Clara scene is another terrific exchange, as the Doctor simultaneously congratulates and condemns her for being so good at being the Doctor... which entailed lying, giving false hope, and not looking back when people in her charge began to die. As he observes:
"You were an exceptional Doctor, Clara... Goodness had nothing to do with it."
Overall Rating: 8/10.
Previous Story: Mummy on the Orient Express
Next Story: In the Forest of the Night
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