It’s episode 2, it’s a historical, and it has a big SFX finale. Sound familiar? It’s no lie to say that The Fires of Pompeii follows the tried and true formula of previous seasons, but happily manages to mine deeper and darker than romps around Scottish castles and the Globe Theatre.

The episode started a little like it was heading down an Up Pompeii route, with our ‘oh so very modern’ family discussing modern art and teenage hangovers. Luckily, no phallic vegetables presented themselves, and just as it was about to get all ‘Ancient Sexy Money’ on us, the early fluffy tone came crashing down with soothsayer prophecies of returning women and things on backs. Obviously another nod to the series arc, and of the return of Rose, but ‘something on your back’? The fanboy in me automatically thought ‘Metebelis Spiders!’, but then I had a lie down and dismissed it. A great scene though – unsettling, ominous and just what was required to really get the episode started.

The journey however wasn’t without bumps – this episode is filled with characters, so many in fact that a fair few of them get next to no screen time (particularly the members of the sisterhood, and the son and daughter). The plot also feels rushed in parts, the alien threat playing second fiddle to the moral dilemma present throughout. Still, it makes a nice change not for it to be all about the monsters, and I’ll forgive any episode that references a story 44 years previous.

Tennant was his usual good self (downplaying more than usual, even when paired with a water pistol and lava puns), and Catherine Tate built on a good start, though with not really much to do except run. That said, her role as the Doctor’s conscience is a great place for her character to be, and the ending with the Doctor admitting that he needed her was really quite lovely. Good to see some good emotional range from Tate as well, proving through a teary moment that she’s more than just an loud amusement. Donna crying in episode 2… who’d have picked it?

Kudos too for the art direction and visual effects. The location filming on the Rome sets really gives the episode space and an excellent sense of realism, and the mountain and subsequent eruption thereof were stunning. The rock monsters are also beautifully rendered (looking very Balrog-esque, and every bit as good), and from a make-up perspective, the leader of the sisterhood is absolutely brilliant and quite terrifying.

This series really does seem different to the previous 3 – I haven’t quite put my finger on it yet, but it just seems more… adult. Which is ironic, given fat monsters and the appearance of Tate, but there does seem to be a much darker undercurrent with the series so far compared to what I think we’ve seen before. If it keeps going this way, then I cannot think what the finale is going to be like. Dark as hell hopefully.

So we’re two down, both with good pass marks, and with next week looking Ood-tastic.  

JP

Ladies and gentlemen we have some winners!

After rounds and rounds and bouts and bouts the victors have been determined in ZeusBlog’s inaugural Monster Mash – and it’s the Sontarans ! In far-off Cardiff a producer is probably hoo-raying quietly to himself, safe in the knowledge that this year’s baddies could beat up last year’s baddies.

It could also mean that you lot are a bunch of rabid traditionalists. But we wouldn’t dream of suggesting that. Oh no

Monster Mash has been a great success though, and for that the blog thanks you all, from those who stuck with it since day one (most of you), to our newest participant (Hi Jon!). With participation like this we can hope that a future interactive game like, say, Robot Wars might have a real chance of being every bit as good.

In the mean-time there is a the small issue of the utter losers in this game – those teams who fell at the first hurdle (all sixteen of them). What do you think, readers – should we put them in a jar together and see if they fight, or do we try to empirically* determine which is the biggest loser?

Speak now!

(* No I don’t know what empirically means. It’s something that isn’t metric, right?)

This blog is now running the latest version of WordPress, so if you notice anything odd (like suddenly being logged out) that’s why.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.

So this is it. After twelve exciting(?) episodes, it comes down to this. One man, one team, and one fridge. (They really should have a decent check of those things. Half of them probably contain Jack going one way or the other.) It’s typical of the series that it reveals “oh, this was worked in long ago, only no-one said anything”. How fortunate. It’ll part and parcel of the last episode that is Jack… I mean Torchwood. Although it really is Jack. This whole series is Jack, to be honest, with minor diversions, so it’s not too surprising that Jack is ultimately the cause of all the troubles here. Frankly, I’m surprised events haven’t been retconned into having that Jack was the reason Torchwood was created in the first place!

But aside from that plot which wraps itself up easily without real impact, we have the other plot of one man, one woman, and one nuclear power station. While it starts as a convenient ticking clock for the plot, it soon develops into one of the harshest character moments of all. Dear, dear Tosh and Owen. Although Owen’s been running on borrowed time, what did Tosh ever do to anyone? One could argue that without Owen, her character arc didn’t really have anywhere to go, meaning she was an easy choice for dramatic impact (and the Declassified does remake the point that no-one makes it past 35 in Torchwood, so someone will have to die sooner or later), I think we all know that the real reason Tosh was chosen was because they couldn’t kill Gwen and Tosh was the only choice left for a death the audience might care about. I’m sure they got their tears with that decision. (Owen’s death was frankly housekeeping, and should have happened several episodes earlier, but he probably had a contract to fulfill…) [In the Declassified Burn says that no-one wants a twelve minute syrupy death scene... just as well everyone threw out their stop watches in series one then!]

Basically, this episode was two plot lines, with Gwen, Ianto and Captain John shoehorned in (not to mention Rhys and PC Andy). Yes, it’s nice to focus on the characters, but once again Torchwood proves that the team is too large to really have an effective story involving all of them. Perhaps this is why it was whittled down. That is, if it stays whittled. If there is a series three, there is a little bird tweetering about who could be coming in, but if so that will be a huge change in style. The leading question for this might be: what’s more important, style or ratings? And then, will it really be Torchwood? Then again, seeing what we have, so we want this Torchwood anyway?

Yes, there have been some great moments, but this episode does prove that there is still some focusing of the series that needs to be done.

JE

It’s been a bit quiet on the old news front for Series 4. A bit here, a Jon Preddle set report there. We haven’t really had that much to go on… until now. Thanks to the remarkable new interweb, some dodgy scans of the latest Radio Times and a whole lotta love, we bring you:

A BLUFFER’S GUIDE TO SERIES 4 – WARNING: SPOILERTASTIC! Read the rest of this entry »

So we come to it  – the last great battle of our time!

Above the Great Arena, whose sands are bleached white to intensify the blood, float two teams who have beat every obstacle to come this far – the future chldren of the Master and one-time bogeymen of Gallifreyan culture, the Toclafane, and the millennial time warriors, cloned and bred for war – the Sontarans.

Sontarans get their last chance to play their Wild Card, and while it’s no behemoth or leviathan, their increased arsenal of meson cannons, battle platforms and computer nativation might be enough to not only equalise the game, but tip it in their favour agains the Toclafane’s rapid, erratic and destructively mad dash to the finish line.

…or will it?

Over to you. You have 24 hours to vote!

It’s Semi-Final time! And it appears Mr Pertwee was right when he modestly claimed that his monsters were best. Three out of four semi-finalists in this round are from his Golden Era. And it would have been a clean sweep too, if it wasn’t for those pesky Toclafane. We don’t get the Sontaran/Rutan clash some might have expected, but at least one of the teams made it through. Let’s see what we’re up with:

Location: The Clifftops
Teams: Toclafane v Ogrons
It’s on! The big match of the whole semi-final! Both teams undefeated, and let’s not forget – the Toclafane might be able to fly, might have crafty wee blades all over them, but the Ogrons have guns! That’s right.  And not only that, but they have another ace up their sleeve, because baby – it’s their Wild Card round, and they’ll never have another encounter more fitting to pull out their biggest weapon…

The Shapeless Beast of Raagh!!
A bulk the size of several bears, its lipless mouth quivers, its skin glistens like wet leather, it is the terror that knows no name, and today it’s at the Ape-men’s beck and call. But will it be enough…?

 Initiative goes to the Toclafane. Good luck kids!
 

Location: The Jetty
Teams: Sea Devils v Sontarans
The Warriors of the Deep face the Warriors from the Stars. Both packing their own kind of heat. Initative goes to the Sea Devils – who’s for an early bath?

Voting deadline for this round is midnight Wednesday.

Pray-sa Your Bets – Naowr!

Here it is, all secrets revealed, the mysterious pasts unveiled. At long last, we find out what Ianto did with Lisa, why Tosh was at the hospital when the space pig was taken there, how Owen forced his way into the team, and where was Jack when he didn’t know anything about what Torchwood did at a hospital during World War One…

Oh, hang on, scratch that. We don’t find out any of those things, and we do find out negates most of those things! Well done chaps, anyone want to try again? Or, on second thoughts, considering that one of the creators couldn’t even get it right, don’t try again, and pretend this never happened. People complain about continuity and canon, usually in regards to the books, etc., but what happens when episodes from earlier in the current series are blatantly contradicted?

Leaving that point alone, what do we find out? Tosh was brilliant, Ianto is nearly capable (this is new!), Owen is a doctor, and Jack lived a long time and beats up on aliens… Uh, really detailed character histories there. There is the “show don’t tell” principle, but there’s nothing shown here that couldn’t have been told (and dealt better than way) in five words or less. And thinking about it, if Jack was really around that long, working for Torchwood (which might have been “outside the government, beyond the police, denied by the Queen” with those two in charge), he really isn’t saying what he knows and is pretending ignorance, so comes out tops for being revealed as a total twat.

(As for the only interesting member of Torchwood, namely Suzie, what do we get? Jack issuing an order, but interrupted before she could reply. Fine, the actress probably wasn’t available, or it wasn’t worth getting her back in (or the production team didn’t care), but it would have been nice to fill that out with actual real details. Maybe even a CGI appearance a la the pterodactyl? However, probably find out she really cared about life and never had a mean bone in her body…)

Finding out about people’s histories can be interesting, and some people have been asking “how did these people end up in Torchwood?” On the other hand, pretending to blow up people and then spending the episode finding out nothing happened (on any level) is just annoying. (To be honest, just watch the Declassified. A lot shorter, clearer about events, and far more interesting.) Anyone really up for a third series of this?

JE

YOU HEARD IT HERE SECOND
For the love of dog will someone explain why people re-post general series news on the NZDWFC Message Board? Seriously guys – do you think we don’t read any other pages on the Internet? Is the Doctor Who News Page a foreign country to us all? What do you think you’re adding – local insight? Stop! Now! Arrgh!

TROWBRIDGE CHRISTIAN SELLS WHO COLLECTION
Eh? He’s going to sell his collection of Doctor Who memorabilia including the TARDIS, Cyberman and K9 he meticulously spent several years building from scratch? Tch – back in the old days any self-respecting born-again would have consigned the lot to the incinerator in the back yard. Go on, mate – burn those rare 1960s annuals! Burn them!
(thanks again to Alden for the link)

 ZYGON FINALLY RELEASED
In development hell for three years, BBV has finally unleashed its long-awaited spin-off ripe for a new family market boosted by the original series’ return. Well, in this case ‘Family’ means dads and adolescent lads, but what’s a little full-frontal nudity good for if not advancing the plot, eh? What’s that you say – publicity? Not for us to say, guv…

DWM UPDATES KYLIE’S ACTIVITIES
Actually for a change it hasn’t! Which is good now that April’s nearly among us (at least someone doesn’t still think it’s Christmas). So now we’re onto another riveting full-page update on events so closely aligned to the series - Stacy and Bradley from Eastenders.
Er, excellent.

“I CAN’T MAKE THEM LAAFF!!”
Are you sure about that mate? Fans of Torchwood who loved the carnival action of Out of the Rain but yearn still for some more past-life detail on Captain Jack could do worse than check out this feature including ‘evidence’ of one of John Barrowman’s own past lives, courtesy of the great Charlie Brooker. Scary. [May not be safe for work]

SALE AT THE WAREHOUSE!
You might have missed this. If you didn’t don’t worry – there are still plenty of Toby and Grandma Noface dolls for anyone wishing to front up with the recently adjusted monies ($19 again if you’re interested).

ALTERNATIVE MONSTER DESIGNS 
Ever since someone stuck an alligator in a shell-suit and called it an Ice Warrior we’ve all been entranced by alternative designs for DW monsters. Niklas Jansson from Itch Studios had a go at this last year, concentrating on some of the more innovative original designs of the 60s monsters. You can find them here. Nice Cyberman!

AND FINALLY…

IS THIS THE BEST NON-DW CONFIDENTIAL MONTAGE EVER?
Well, if we’re talking a brilliant mash-up between Benny Hill, Eminem and the whole damned series so far, then… yes.