Monday 16 November 2009

Doctor Who - Waters Of Mars - Spoilers


On the wonderfully named Bowie Base One, Captain Adelaide and her crew are manning the first human outpost on Mars. The Doctor turns up and is immediately concerned, it's the exact day that according to history, the base is destroyed in a self detonated explosion. This is as the Doctor repeatedly says as he tries to back out the door, a so called fixed point in history. Before he has a chance however, it's discovered that two crew members have been infected by a mysterious alien life form, that turns them into zombies with really badly chapped lips. Yes there is life on Mars and it isn't pretty.

I enjoyed the episode more than I thought I would, yet the ChapStick zombie storyline felt only there to put the Doctor into a situation that raised the question of what happens if all the power he has over time and life, finally gets to him? Without Captain Adelaide it would have felt even more disconnected, yet thankfully she pulled the story together enough for me not to complain too much. I did find her however the most interesting and entertaining aspect to the story. Which as a secondary character shouldn't really be the case.

Part of the reason for that was the Doctor just didn't seem the Doctor we've known through out the series, this seems to be a recurring theme with Russell T, wrap up a story by making the characters implausible or have a Messianic complex. It doesn't create good drama, it just feels like a bit of a cop out. In doing so he's certainly making the series feel like it needs to regenerate.




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