{"id":144,"date":"2007-06-09T18:17:59","date_gmt":"2007-06-09T05:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/?p=144"},"modified":"2007-06-11T14:51:27","modified_gmt":"2007-06-11T01:51:27","slug":"dark-side-of-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/?p=144","title":{"rendered":"Dark Side of the Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span>\"42\u00a0<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>This story comes across a little like a reality TV programme set in hell. <\/font><\/span>Contestants are forced to cooperate and battle for their survival against a relentlessly ticking clock, extreme physical tests, rogue team mates and, yes, general knowledge questions, all in a Dante-esque setting of lurid fiery colour and unbearable heat.<\/font><\/span><\/span>The premise of this story is relatively straightforward and wastes no time in getting started.\u00a0 <\/span>Which is a good thing too because our heroes are cut off from the TARDIS and have 42 minutes to save the SS Pentallion<\/em> and its gritty, industrial, surnames-only crew from plunging into a sun, in real time.<\/font><\/span>\u00a0<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/span>The main strength of this episode, and apparently defined by the keyword \u2018suffering\u2019 in the Production \u2018tone meeting\u2019, is that the Doctor and Martha are both fed through the wringer as never before – and with barely a sonic screwdriver in sight! <\/font><\/span>It\u2019s wonderfully refreshing to see the vulnerable side of Tennant\u2019s \u2018Super Doc\u2019, needing the urging of a minor character to find the strength to fulfil his promise to save Martha. And most movingly, the Doctor desperately admitting his fear as she struggles to return the favour.\u00a0 <\/span>Having him succumb to the threat and be taken out of the picture is a very welcome move, allowing Martha to move centre stage and take charge for a while.<\/font><\/span>\u00a0<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span>\u201cMore pace and energy!\u201d was apparently Director Graham Harper\u2019s war cry during the filming of this episode and it certainly shows, but what surprises is how effective the quieter, more emotional moments are amongst all the super-heated frenzy.<\/font><\/span>Martha\u2019s \u2018last moments\u2019 in the escape pod, both with her mother and Riley are sensitively handled and very affecting.\u00a0 <\/span>But the standout has to be the demise of Michelle Collins\u2019 \u2018Ripley unleaded\u2019 character, spinning slowly to a fiery oblivion in an almost balletic embrace with her doomed husband.\u00a0 <\/span>Of course this might also be seen as a good lesson never to work in the same business with your \u2018other half\u2019. <\/font><\/span>\u00a0<\/font><\/span><\/span>Not only do we have a beautifully directed story unfolding in real-time, but two over-arcing storylines are also advanced: the claws of Saxon tighten a little more around our heroes, and more significantly the Doctor and Martha\u2019s relationship appears to move to the next level.<\/font><\/span>42<\/span><\/em> does exactly what it says on the tin, and does it well without trying to be too clever.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>In fact, the only aspect which leaves me dissatisfied is its probable reception from Fan viewers in particular.\u00a0 <\/span>I really wonder if we are being spoilt more then we realise; in years gone by I\u2018m sure that this story: \u2018The one with the sun\u2019 would have been a season highlight, but this year will probably be regarded by the majority as merely average and adequate.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span>AH<\/strong><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 This story comes across a little like a reality TV programme set in hell. Contestants are forced to cooperate and battle for their survival against a relentlessly ticking clock, extreme physical tests, rogue team mates and, yes, general knowledge … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-series-3-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}