Quote:
Originally Posted by The Tingler
The Time of Angels though I'm still on the fence about. It was undeniably an excellent episode, but there a few things that marred it. First of all, Moffat seems to be cramming too much in to his episodes this series. The Beast Below didn't give reasons for half its best ideas, and this time it takes far too long to get the characters exploring the Maze of the Dead. Loved the opening, but tonally was out of place and they really needed to get on with the story. None of Moffat's other two-parters have had this problem, in fact I don't recall any Doctor Who two-parters doing it at all.
The twist about them all being Weeping Angels was good, but unfortunately was given away entirely by that two heads comment earlier. Amy’s smart enough to ask why the ship’s not crashing down on them but not smart enough to ask “then why didn’t they build statues with two heads then”? No amount of "perception filters" can change that (which was wrong anyway).
Hopefully the next episode will eliminate these problems.
|
I found
The Time of Angels most thrilling...
I was not so clever and had the same 'how did we not notice that?' reaction as the Doctor and River when the one-head twist hit. I caught the earlier mention of two heads but it just didn't click. It was this great sudden terror that I think the writing was going for, but as you've pointed out, it's very tricky to let people notice stuff but not get heavy-handed.
Mostly I think Moffat's been great at letting people spot crucial consequential things ahead of the series and feel smart. The repetition of the crack in Amelia's bedroom wall has gone from the nice subliminal appearance in the Tardis at the end of The Eleventh Hour to the crash-zoom signposting, and of course that crack's about to become a huge plot element.
So many of the other subtle weirdnesses in the early episodes seem like they could be significant given the cracks, and generally this series just feels very carefully and splendidly crafted in that way. It is exciting to engage with it on the nerd level.
As regards telling good stories, I get what you're saying about Moffat trying to cram too much in, but I think what I enjoy about his writing is how it doesn't stop where you think it will, he digs a little deeper, and risks a mildly chaotic narrative in efforts to make things interesting.
The Time of Angels in particular had so many ideas. I've definitely appreciated and understood his episodes more when I've viewed them a second time, which I'm sure isn't the ideal for a childrens' adventure show, but they are packed with good, clever stuff that enriches the Whoniverse.