![\"hungrylogo\"](\"http:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/hungrylogo.jpg\" "\\"hungrylogo\\"")
(spoilers follow below the fold)<\/p>\n(spoilers follow below the fold)<\/p>\n
We Who<\/em> fans are an odd bunch. Given truly beautiful prosthetic designs we pine instead for the return of wibbly-wobbly rubber heads. The reasoning that the Earth Reptiles should be given the same treatment as the stunningly-realised New Earth <\/em>cat people – enabling the actors to emote with their own eyes, seems sound, but is the final result really a Silurian? Part of me wishes that the path of the Judoon rather than the Cat Nun had been followed in bringing Homo reptilia <\/em>back, but as the story progressed I began to see the advantages in the range of emotion allowed. This particular reviewer doesn\u2019t see the various comparisons to Babylon 5 <\/em>bandied about on the Net as a bad thing. But then again, if those creepy snake-like battle masks could have somehow been animatronically enhanced \u2013 I\u2019d have been very happy with that, too.<\/p>\n I\u2019m less conflicted about the rest of the story. Since its return, Doctor Who <\/em>has made us laugh, cry and squee, but rarely has it managed to crank the tension up as much as the first part of The Hungry Earth <\/em>did. Particularly as darkness blotchily filled the entrapping dome, accompanied by a \u2018Hammer films meets James Horner\u2019 score, a real capacity for this story to frighten began to emerge. Sadly, this could only be sustained for so long, and is rapidly dissipated under the sobering blast of a fire extinguisher. In this 2010 rendition, the tasering to death of a restrained prisoner is an echo of the brutality which Chris Chibnal displays in some of his Torchwood<\/em> work, but a dirty job which needed doing to serve the story. Meanwhile, in their Pellucidar-like city, we find that the Silurian triad has been reshuffled a little. The impetuous, angry youth is now a female warrior who kills the peace-seeking scientist, while the wise and venerable leader survives to negotiate again in one thousand years time. But will mankind have changed that much by then? This two-parter story leaves you with the uncomfortable thought that it might have all been the Doctor\u2019s fault. Would Ambrose have killed Alaya if the Time Lord had been more concerned about letting Elliot out of his sight? Perhaps another aspect of his not quite connecting with humans is the Doctor allowing someone showing the most capacity for intelligence and understanding to place himself in danger, despite the fact that this person is only a child. Elliot\u2019s assurance that he \u2018gets\u2019 what Silurian Patriarch Eldane is aspiring towards seems to hold promise for the potential of human generations to come. But we\u2019re certainly not there yet. AH<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (spoilers follow below the fold)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-series-5-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625","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=1625"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1672,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625\/revisions\/1672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeusblog.tetrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe ensuing \u2018revelation\u2019 that the Silurians are really very like ourselves is possibly disappointing for newer viewers, but absolutely necessary for the purposes of the plot. And the plot itself has been doing very well thank you, since it was first unveiled in 1970, and brought back now for it\u2019s fourth time. The Doctor, Homo sapiens <\/em>and reptilia<\/em> seem doomed to perform the same roles every time they meet, unsuccessful arbitrator over the same territorial dispute, again and again. Looked at in a positive light, this can only be a testament to the power of Malcolm Hulke\u2019s original concept, a bona fide modern myth that is only slightly adapted in it\u2019s retelling but never changed, and probably never will be.<\/p>\n
\nOnce again, rather than be constantly elated by the achievements of humanity, the Eleventh Doctor is more often disappointed. Look at the conflicting emotions clouding his face as he says goodbye to Ambrose. The Doctor knows she\u2019s only human, but could have, should have been so much more. I\u2019m lagging behind as usual, but it\u2019s in this story that Smith really clicks for me, particularly in another exchange with Nia Roberts. When quietly letting her know his attitude toward the make-shift weapons she\u2019s stockpiling, he\u2019s both gentle and quite unnerving at the same time. Whereas Tennant might have quite acceptably blustered his way through this scene, here is a Time Lord who barely needs to raise his voice above a murmur. Smith\u2019s \u2018older man\u2019 body language and mannerisms are compelling to watch, surprising us when he then suddenly bounds out of shot like the 28 year old he is.<\/p>\n
\nPerhaps also on the Doctor\u2019s conscience is the outcome of his putting curiosity before the safety of his friends. These final few minutes suddenly take a neatly-concluded story in a direction which reminds us just how suddenly and badly things can go horribly wrong. It was sad enough that Donna can never remember the Doctor, but that poor \u201cfantastic Rory, funny Rory, gorgeous Rory\u201d will be totally forgotten by the woman who finally grew to love him is heart-breaking.<\/p>\n