Review of Hide
Warning: This review contains episode-specific spoilers and wild speculation about future episodes.
So close. So close! It was almost another top-notch episode – filled with nods to the pre- and post-Hiatus eras both – but it tripped at the finish line.
I will admit that those last two minutes didn’t bother me quite as much the second time through, but I was also pausing the recording at regular intervals to make notes. That tends to break up the action in a way that prevents one from getting pulled into it.
What did work for me was practically everything else in the episode. It was wonderfully atmospheric, providing the perfect ambience for a ghost story. I absolutely loved the way that the shots in the main part of the house were all done to give a strong impression of sepia tone photography, down to the brown costumes.
With the exception of the cringe-worthy entrance of the Doctor and (especially) Clara, the seriously spooky tone is well maintained throughout, with the occasional light comic relief to allow a break in the tension. Most of that is courtesy of Clara, or of her relationships with the Doctor or the TARDIS, as when the Doctor tells her that her “pants are so on fire.”
Relationships are important in any story, and we’re still in a character development period for Clara, so any new insights help us gauge how we will react to her, or to her experiences. Among the moments when we get to know her better is when the Doctor “gives her a face,” as he puts it, encouraging her to come look for the ghost with him. She’s extremely reluctant until she lets the Doctor in on the key to gaining her cooperation: “Dare me.” Yeah – he’ll never use that on her again…
The other Doctor/Clara moment of note is the tête-à-tête after the trip through Earth’s history.
“To you, I’m a ghost,” she complains. “We’re all ghosts to you. We must be nothing.”
“No,” he says. “No. You’re not that.”
“Then what are we? What can we possibly be?”
“You are the only mystery worth solving.”
Let’s hope he’s talking about the whole of humanity…
As far as I’m concerned, though, the best character moment for Clara is when she has it out with the TARDIS. The old girl can be pretty snippy when she wants to; I love it when the TARDIS shows us some personality.
“What’s this now?”
“TARDIS Voice Visual Interface. I’m programmed to select the image of a person you esteem. Of several billion such images in my databanks, this one best meets the criterion.” [Zing! She really doesn’t think much of this one, does she?]
“Oh! Oh, you are a cow; I knew it! Whatever. You have to help the Doctor.”
Moments later, the TARDIS explains why that’s not such a hot idea.
“In four seconds, I’d be stranded. In ten, I’d be dead.”
“You’re talking, but all I can hear is ‘meh meh meh meh meh’! Come on; let’s go!”
The fact that the Doctor is of paramount importance to Clara at this stage must be what finally allows the TARDIS to unbend a bit. I don’t think they’re still on the best terms – the TARDIS doesn’t give Clara anything resembling a smooth ride – but it is, perhaps, a détente. I look forward to seeing how that develops.
There were plenty of reflective moments for the Doctor, too. And here by “reflective” I mean “something said about someone else is a direct reflection on the Doctor’s experiences.” In the dark room, for example, Professor Palmer talks about how he kind of ran away from the world because of all the killing. “I sent young men and women to their deaths, but here I am, still alive and it does tend to haunt you – living, after so much of … the other thing.”
The Doctor’s own speech at the end about how “every lonely monster needs a Companion,” and how “it’s the oldest story in the universe” could, sadly, also be seen to be as much self-description as clarification of the unknown creatures’ situation. I’ve no doubt it will serve as yet more fodder for the wild hypotheses of the rabid Rose fans. I shudder to think…
So aside from all the ingrained themes, how was the story? Frankly, I loved it (mostly). As I mentioned above, it’s an excellent example of the genre (that is, “ghost story”), and performs its task of making its audience jump in their seats, and sending them squeaking for cover. It threw in everything but the kitchen sink, with the cold spot and a circle on the floor (very occult, Doctor – why didn’t that become more of a Thing?), the spectral message on the wall (rather Blink, that), and the cacophonic plethora of psychic reading machinery, not to mention a classic “I’m not holding your hand!” duhn-duhn-DUHN! moment (though it felt like the Doctor should perhaps have been more curious and less jumpy).
And every way you looked, there were nods to past stories. Most obvious was the use of the crystal from Metebelis III. (Yes, he pronounced it meh-TEH-buh-lus instead of meh-teh-BEEL-us – deal with it. If you somehow can’t get past it, let me offer this retcon: Three was such an utter “chap”; perhaps he used a more old-fashioned pronunciation, akin to calling the Earth cities “Bombay” and “Peking” instead of “Mumbai” and “Beijing.” Eleven’s just using the pronunciation from a different era.)
Then there was the moment he pulled out his hazard suit from The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit (and The Waters of Mars). Oh, the fangirl feels must’ve gone off the charts. Personally, though, my heart had a special fannish pitter-pat when the Doctor told Clara that what he was using to help power the psychic lash-up was a “subset of the Eye of Harmony” – a little something for Eight fans and Four fans alike.
The last one I noticed – and it probably wasn’t intended as such – was when the Doctor jumped through the reality well to find Hila Tacorien. I was put strongly in mind of Timelash. (No? Just me, then? It’s probably for the best; the less said about Timelash, the better.) I suppose we can all find little nods (e.g., “birds do it, bees do it – even educated fleas do it”) if we try.
So the story overall was very strong. Where I got let down, though, was about the last two minutes. Despite the fact that the creatures had been carefully woven into the rest of the episode, this coda felt completely tacked on. It was as if writer Neil Cross got notes back on his original script reading, “Not enough Monster of the Week!” or “We’re running short again – give us something else at the end.” The rest of the episode went together beautifully, but tying everything up in a little bow and then stuffing another bow on top really torqued my shorts.
Regardless of the actual intent of the writer or production team, the ending made me feel like they’d screwed something up and were trying, poorly, to patch it. It left a bad taste in my mouth, which is a shame, as the quality of the rest was plain to see. It’s just too bad that the crap bit had to be the last impression I had of an otherwise brilliant episode.
I Know You’re Dying For My Notes
Here’s a reference so obscure that not very many people will get it. If you look up a interview with Neil Cross about this episode, he mentions that he was a big fan of Quatermass. In fact, he wanted the professor to BE Quatermass, but they couldn’t resolve the rights issue for the crossover. So the professor is Quatermass in everything but name. Some parts of this story pull heavily from a British television play called The Stone Tape, written by Nigel Kneal, creator of Quatermass. In fact, the bit about the soldiers who stayed in the house and the tins of Spam was lifted word for word from the play. How do I know a reference this obscure? I’m a ghost hunter. This play from, I think, 1952, coined a term called the Stone Tape Theory, which states that ghosts are recordings of past events made by the natural environment. This is a popular thought in some circles (though I don’t think it explains all spirits, but that’s another discussion).
One thing that may or may not be a coincidence, but I found it interesting, nonetheless. The professor was a member of Churchill’s Baker Street Irregulars. This group was named after a group of the same name in a Sherlock Holmes story called The Sign of Four. Which is the story the Sherlock episode, which is being filmed right now, “The Sign of Three”, is based off of.
And here’s where I might break your heart. Emma says not to trust the Doctor. There’s a sliver of ice in his heart. “You are the only mystery worth solving.” His answer is directed at her and only her. Up to now, I, and I’m thinking most others, thought the Doctor actually cared about humanity again. But he doesn’t really. And he doesn’t really care about Clara, I don’t think, but the mystery she represents. He didn’t even show up there to solve that mystery.
I particularly enjoyed his quoting Cole Porter at the end. Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. It’s from Cole Porter’s song, “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love)”. Excellent stuff, Cole Porter….
I could definitely tell that this was Jenna’s first episode. Her interaction with Matt wasn’t quite what it was in the episodes we’ve seen so far. It wasn’t BAD by any means. But I could tell.
Something to note. For fun. Watch it again and look at the portraits on the walls. Trust me on this.
Always!
I’m familiar with Quatermass in concept, but not in content, so I was glad to read your notes about that angle. I also noted the Baker Street Irregulars, and recognized it from Holmes – though sadly my British history is poor enough I hadn’t realized Churchill had borrowed the name… ~ducks in anticipation of flung objects~
You may be right about the Doctor’s motivations. I didn’t want to believe he was talking about Clara specifically being a mystery worth solving, but it definitely came across that way however much I wanted it to be otherwise. I’m getting a little tired of a mopey Doctor – didn’t we have enough of it in his last two incarnations? Eleven was supposed to bring back some joie de vivre. ~grumble~
And I’ll have to look for the portraits – but I did notice the Porter tune. 🙂
I knew you did…
He doesn’t really come off as mopey to me. Just driven by something else. I have made no secret about being desperate to see a darker Doctor. This is it. This is what we’re getting. I’m a massive fan of The Valeyard. Practically stalked Michael Jayston at Gallifrey One. Anyway, I see the Valeyard as an inevitability, not a possibility. So a darker Doctor HAS to happen. What I’ve noticed lately is that he’s quick to take chances. He’s not looking out for himself and, in this last episode, it fell to the TARDIS, really, to look out for him. It’s obvious that he cares more about the TARDIS than anything else. As it should be, in my opinion. She’s his one constant.
Stone Tape Theory?
Wow, you’re a ghost hunter? That is so interesting!! I’ve never heard of the Stone Tape Theory. I’m going to check it out. I’m a historian who is really interested in the past and the idea that time might be more fluid than we think. Einstein’s theories have always fascinated me, and I have always thought about the construction of reality and time, and our perception of it.
Yep!
I don’t do it professionally. There’s no money in it, really. But I’ve always had a fascination with the paranormal and other planes of existence.
Dark is good
I’d be happy to see the story of how the Valeyard came to be! (I was more excited about Jayston than almost any of the other guests, too.)
The part that makes me characterize Eleven as “mopey” instead of “dark” is the fact that all this seems to have been brought on by him pining for the Fjords – errr… Ponds. I’ve complained about that before, so I won’t go on about it here, but to me, that loss should not be any greater than the other several dozen Companions he’s had to leave behind. That’s why it feels to me more like he’s pouting than moving to a dark place.
Here’s my take on that…
Moffat needed a reason to take 11 a bit darker. He saw the opportunity with the Ponds. He tried really hard to make them the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. However, it does come off as mopey when he’s running around with Amy’s glasses (no matter how hot they look on him). I mean, is Sarah Jane’s sonic lipstick in one of those pockets? One of Donna’s hairclips? Rose’s knickers (IGNORE THAT I DON’T KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM!!!!!)? Have him pull Adric’s badge out of one of his pockets, I know he’s still got it. It would make it less mopey if he had a memory of each companion lost. If it showed that each terrible decision was really starting to weigh him down.
Yes!
That would work.
I just don’t think Moffat has depicted it well. ~sigh~
“Rose’s knickers (IGNORE THAT
“Rose’s knickers (IGNORE THAT I DON’T KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM!!!!!)”
hahahahaha, i can’t believe you went there! 😛
Rose Theories
Have any of you noticed how crazy the Rose theories are becoming? That Clara is somehow Rose, or Rose sent her to the Doctor, or that she is somehow related to Rose and the Clone Doctor in the parallet universe?
I’m usually not down on peoples’ theories, because you never know, but these ones seem a bit far-fetched to me….
And I agree with “unlimitedricepudding” – why wouldn’t the Doctor be carrying other mementos from other companions??? Why were Amy and Rory the end all, be all?
Yep
The crazier the Rose theories, the harder I work on ignoring them. 😉
Part of me wonders if Moffat isn’t throwing in wolf references here and there just to watch the Rosies implode…
I wonder
Me too. I saw one saying that Rose, in “Turn Left,” had told the Doctor that she had returned working at the shop, hence she is the one that gave Clara the tech number in “The Bells of Saint John.” What they conveniently forgot to mention was that Rose continued that statement with the fact that she was kidding as she admitted she was now working for the parallel universe Torchwood. I love how people try to bend the facts to fit their theories!
Plus, I think they had the wrong episode. “Turn Left” didn’t really feature the Doctor until the very end, when Donna returned to the fortune teller and the Doctor came in, and they rushed to the Tardis, and we got to hear the Cloister Bell!
Rose fanatics
Yes, they’re trying awfully hard to make it fit. But yeah – not only does Rose not actually work in a shop, but she’s in an alternate universe. Small employability issue.
Enjoyed
I also enjoyed this episode and loved the ghost story aspect of it. I really appreciate it when you point out the nods to the Classic Who era, as I haven’t seen them all – thanks! The guest actors were excellent! Dougray Scott and Jessica Raine lived up to expectations!
One thing that I like at times but I think Moffatt is trying way too hard this series – it seems like he is building episodes around the series arc TOO MUCH. You know what I mean? Because it’s the 50th and he wants to make this the biggest and best, all these clues and hints are being dropped, and the story is being written around them. I like it if it’s not overwhelming and done at the sake of the story. These last two episodes have been better and not suffered as much, but the first two, I now realize, suffered partly for that reason.
The expectations for the finale are so high now, that I wonder if they can even be met – an incidental conclusion.
Series/Season Arc
I know I complained earlier in the series that I missed having an arc (and said I thought there was one, but we just weren’t seeing it yet ~ahem~), but I agree that it’s a bit heavy-handed now. Actually, the “heavy-handed” part, to my mind, is the existence of “Clara as mystery.” I like her as a character; I despise her as a plot point. For me, that’s the part that makes the first two stories of Series 7B less appealing.
~shrug~
Arcs
LOL, I have to go back and read those earlier comments.
Clara is doing better as a companion, I will admit. She has calmed down a bit – they have toned her down. I honestly thought the Doctor would resolve her “mystery” in the first couple of episodes. I didn’t think Moffat would make it this big. I don’t like it being this big; it seems overdone somehow.
You’ve touched on this before with RTD, and how every time a showrunner makes it into something this big, he has to outdo himself each time until there is nowhere left to go. Perhaps Moffat is starting to follow a similar pattern? As you probably remember, I didn’t like the manner in which they explained Rory and Amy’s departure, but the simple act of companions departing have enough gravitas for me to make a show memorable – or the simple, well written show of the week, or the well planned story arc. The Doctor doesn’t have to be saving the universe every time or revealing something huge about himself. Obviously, I like those episodes, too, but you can’t have that all the time.
Too big
Yes, I think Moffat’s trying to outdo himself this year – not just because he wants to be bigger than he’s ever done before, but because it’s the anniversary year, and he feels an obligation to go big. I just think it’s too “big.”
A Game of Two Halves
I loved the build up in the first half. The tension was palpable, the hairs on the back of my neck tingling, Mrs Wholahoop watching, with her hands in front of her face, through a crack between her fingers and then the longer the episode went on the tension just dribbled away.
I like the Nigel Kneale connections made by unlimitedricepudding and if you can get to see The Stone Tape do give it a go, it is worth it.
I suspect I am not alone in thinking what the flip was that last two minutes Love and Monsters story all about?
Last Two Minutes
It was the last two minutes that lost me, yeah. Otherwise, I enjoyed it the rest of the way through. 🙂