Post by g***@comcast.net"The Doctor's Dance"
5-12-06 Dr. Who
5 stars (G.M. Balanchine)
0-1 stars (E.M. Benes)
4.8. Excellent episode!
Some things I noticed:
1. The Doctor solves the mystery, is the hero, saves the day, nobody
dies--just as it should be (for once). I suspect the Doctor truly being
in character is one of the reasons everybody likes this story so much.
2. Excellent acting all around. We expect that from Eccleston, but the
Nancy character was very good. Captain Jack was also very good. At
times his grin reminded me of Tom Cruise--anybody else get that vibe?
For once Rose didn't have that big of a part and could be another
reason why people really like this one.
3. Once the explanation was made for the gas-masked zombies the plot
made sense. Lots of potential loose ends were tied up and explained.
The reason why Rose had to grap onto the tether for the balloon and go
floating away makes sense in retrospect, she needed to get the rope
burns so Jack could heal them with nano-technology, thus providing the
viewers a clue as to reasons behind the gas masks. I'm pleased that I
wasn't able to solve the mystery ahead of time. Thank you Stephen
Moffat for the subtle script.
Nit-picking time. Jack's sonic gun was a bit much of a plot convenience
for them to escape--blasting square shaped holes in walls and floors
and then reintegrating them back in place in a split second. The sexual
innuendo is not my cup of tea. There was no need for the homeowner
whose house Nancy was raiding for food to be outed as having an affair
with the butcher, nor was there a valid reason for it to be Jack
distracting the guard at the downed cylinder site. Neither was it
necessary for the Doctor to point out (rather gleefully) that people of
the 51st century are more "flexible with their dancing" than nowadays.
Thankfully, the script used the dancing metaphor for sex and didn't
come right out and say it.
All in all, a great episode.