Doctor Who S34E6: The Crimson Horror

[Captain Seafort]

Starts in five minutes.

[Atlan]

Pretty good. Strax is an absolute riot.
Those kids figuring the whole shebang out could have used a bit of foreshadowing. Now it comes out of nowhere.

[Eternal_Freedom]

It does raise the question of why they are only finding these pictures now, "after" the events have happenned from Calra's perspective. I dare say (or rather I hope) it will be explained next episode.

On the episode itself, a good solid story for once that didn't feel rushed or stretched. Vastra, Jenny and Strax are always entertaining but without feeling contrived. They're a team of investigators of the paranormal so it's perfectly reasonable they would be involved. The villain was interesting enough and Ada was particularly well-done I think. Especially what she did to Mr. Sweet.

All told, a solid story.

[The Romulan Republic]

This episode was a little bit predictable and pretty dark for Doctor Who, and I still don't like the way the Eleventh Doctor is portrayed these days or his relationship with Clara, but I may have enjoyed this more than any other episode this season. It had some decent suspense, horror, and humour. However, I have high hopes that the next episode will surpass it, since I think its written by Gaiman. Maybe this season won't be a complete loss after all.

But Clara getting caught and blackmailed by a couple of children is embarrassing.

[Parallax]

There was a lot of good in this episode, though also some bad chunks.

The three investigators, as ever, were just plain fun to watch. Jenny going all Kung-Fu just makes me wish she was the full time companion rather than Clara.
I'm half surprised that much physical assault on the Doctor's physiology (he could barely move!) didn't trigger a regeneration.

The TomTom joke, oddly enough, worked surprisingly well. It could easily have been cringe worthy but somehow it just worked. The fainting gentlemen wasn't cringe worthy but did get old by the third time round.

What didn't work, however, was the final scene with the kids. That scene was horribly acted and just made no sense. Kids tell their dad their nanny is a time traveller? Sure, that's a credible threat. "Clara (the fun but not the brightest bulb) travels through time? You have photos as proof, you say? Haha, I may be old but I know a photoshop trick when I see one! Run along, you little scamps!"

[Broomstick]

It does raise the question of why they are only finding these pictures now, "after" the events have happenned from Calra's perspective.

They were probably looking for dirt on their nanny's new boyfriend and that's how they came across them.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Good point.

Also, I wonder how they got the picture from the sub. Seems like the sorta thing the Svoiets would classify to hell and back and never ever release.

[DarkSilver]

I could have done without the TomTom joke........

though Strax is still great.

I liked the episode - though I wonder how the slug survived 65 million years - also why was Gillyflower giving it salt?

[Admiral Valdemar]

LOL, zero rating coward again.

[Iroscato]

That was easily the darkest episode yet, though not really surprising considering Mark Gattis helmed this one. I retract my statement in the last thread about getting sick of Vastra/Strax/Jenny, they were pretty entertaining in this one. And Mrs. Gillyflower was fucking nuts.
Also, my thoughts are with the millions of kids who had to see the Doctor as a stiff-limbed zombie lobster, that was probably quite upsetting

[The Romulan Republic]

Good point.

Also, I wonder how they got the picture from the sub. Seems like the sorta thing the Svoiets would classify to hell and back and never ever release.

You think Doctor Who's writers care about making sense?

If only they did.

[FaxModem1]

Also, for all we know, it's a picture the David Warner scientist had made and put up on his blog decades after the fact.

Now, as for this episode, so the villain's plan was to kill off humanity and have only the pretty survive? That seems...remarkably silly. Still, not a knock against the episode though, I quite enjoyed it.

[Srelex]

Also, for all we know, it's a picture the David Warner scientist had made and put up on his blog decades after the fact.

Now, as for this episode, so the villain's plan was to kill off humanity and have only the pretty survive? That seems...remarkably silly. Still, not a knock against the episode though, I quite enjoyed it.

It kinda reminded me of the plot to the movie version of Moonraker.

[The Romulan Republic]

It makes sense that the villain's goal is silly because she's a fanatic if not a lunatic.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Yeah she's clearly not on the level. I tihnk it's also possible that Mr. Sweet is influencing her plans so that the "Perfect world" will be easy for him to take over.

I agree on the Moonraker vibes though.

[Korto]

Was torn, but gave it a three. It was good for a Who, but still only felt like average television. I do feel the shows are suffering from the short episodes, the stories all feel rushed to me. They need more time in the show to explore and flesh out.
Another episode where "the sonic" did little. I wonder if the writers feel they've gone too far and have decided to downplay it? And can they stick the genie back in the bottle?
"Mr Sweet" never demonstrated anything to me anything higher than the intelligence of a leech, so I wouldn't think it was influencing the old woman's plans in any technical way. I think she was purely a nut. It would also figure that she was looking at physical appearance for selection, as "beauty is truth", and good guys are good looking while bad guys are ugly is hardly unheard of.
To be far, physically attractive people are, according to theories I've heard about the foundations of our "beauty" judgements (not necessarily the extremes we then take it to), more generally of a good genetic stock then the ugly. Not that the old woman would have any idea, of course, the beautiful (and amenable) are "God's Favoured".

I like Strax, but what? He went to the Stormtrooper school of marksmanship, or something? I don't think he hit anything. Safest place is right in front of him. On the same subject, if that blind girl can beat at a little old woman with what looked like a reasonably solid cane and do sweet F all, maybe she needs to consider taking some exercise, because that's pathetic.

I agree the photos are an empty threat. It's either photoshop, or amazing look-alikes. A great grandmother or something. Clara must have had a brain explosion to not call them on it, but oh well. Happens. (Really, the writers should have come up with better evidence. Or had them just sneak onboard.) As for the soviet photo, hasn't a lot of soviet stuff been declassified now, anyway?

[The Romulan Republic]

Didn't Strax hit the villain at the end? Or did she just fall down the stairs?

[Korto]

Hit the railing (near her hand, I think) and she fell.

[Batman]

Bugger. I wanted to be the one to bring up Moonraker.
Solid episode all around. The Doctor being The Monster was something I didn't see coming. I'd have liked a little more of Jenny going Elektra on the mind-controlled thugs and in defense of Straxes aim (who, I agree, is most amusing), given that the Doctor hates killing and the Lizard Lady at the very least seems to disapprove of doing so needlessly he may not have been shooting to kill.
I am getting somewhat tired of the 'Isn't Clara supposed to be dead' angle. Yes she is and no she's not. Can we please get on with the actual story?
I have to agree the kids blackmailing Clara was weak (or, more accurately, her submitting was). A physical photo that's verifiably a hundred years old, that may be proof. A digital photo? If I look long enough I can probably find either a digital picture of Olsen twins spray-painting a brontosaurus or someone willing to create it for a small fee.

[FaxModem1]

I agree the photos are an empty threat. It's either photoshop, or amazing look-alikes. A great grandmother or something. Clara must have had a brain explosion to not call them on it, but oh well. Happens. (Really, the writers should have come up with better evidence. Or had them just sneak onboard.) As for the soviet photo, hasn't a lot of soviet stuff been declassified now, anyway?

I prefer the idea of David Warner posting it on his blog and the kids finding it that way after googling Clara's name.


And yeah, the old lady did have a bit of a point in picking the good looking ones, as the woman that was paid the guinea to 'faint' seemed to have a gum infection or something.

[PREDATOR490]

3 - Fair enough but some of it is typical weak garbage

It gets grating to introduce a clearly violent character then have him constantly treated like comedy shit because you don't like violence. Not only do they actually render him an idiot, the two scenes where he actually gets to do some violence end up being piss poor.
1- He charges in almost gunning down friend and foe alike the first time without even hitting anyone
2- He shoots the railing instead of zapping the crazy lady shooting at him

Would it have been that bad to show Strax demonstrating that while he is a gun nutcase, he is actually an EFFECTIVE when he starts shooting people ?

Ninja-Wannabe - Cannot understand the thought process that went into shooting that scene because it comes across as disjointed and completely shit.
She randomly decides to strip as if she is going to go kung-fu ninja on the bad guys then randomly takes down two of them, pose shot.... oh the script suddenly notices the army of bad guys standing that were standing there the whole time so now we have to run.
When she initially started stripping I thought this might be a reference to Strax telling her to take weapons which would have been consistent and gotten some respect for common sense.
Instead Doctor Who shits on common sense, drama and the characters for a slap-stick routine.


Clara - Enough already, put up or shut the fuck up with the mystery they keep hinting too. They even took this to the next level by having the Doctor outright give a middle finger with refusing to tell other characters anything for no reason.
Kids blackmailing her with photos - that scene was just awful and its pretty obviously a setup so we can have a kids in space episode. No doubt with more hinting bullshit as Clara asks the Doctor about the Victorian picture only for it to be quickly dropped.

[madd0ct0r]

really? I was quite impressed.

He charged down a narrow tunnel, firing quickly, didn't hit any of his friends and successfully routed the attackers. Or would you have only been satisfied with a hallway full of burning, screaming bodies? Ah, the pleasures of war and shooting, so best fitted to a prime time children's TV show.

I'm seriously wondering if Madame Vestra, Jenny and Stax will be getting a spin-off series...

[jwl]

Great episode. It really worked for me.

I could have done without the TomTom joke........

though Strax is still great.

I liked the episode - though I wonder how the slug survived 65 million years - also why was Gillyflower giving it salt?

I'm pretty sure that was sugar.

[jwl]

Oh, and I really don't get what you have against strax. He's meant be a comedy character, that's been the entire point of him since a good man goes to war. As for the A-team shooting, beyond the obvious point that having a main character, especially a joke character, gun down a mass of people in a scene is a bad idea on a children's show, there are in-universe reasons. Either a) he was aiming to miss and scare them away, or b) he actually is a terrible shot, which is why he was demoted to a nurse in the first place.

[The Imperator]

I thought it was average. Maybe I need to watch it again, because I didn't get to see it all at once. SO for now, I will give it a 3. The plot and the flow just didn't work for me. But as I said, that may just be because I didn't see it all at once.