Review of The Crimson Horror
Warning: This review contains episode-specific spoilers and wild speculation about future episodes.
I can’t help but wonder if the Doctor isn’t doing some universe-hopping with Clara on board. After all, it would explain both her comment that her current home “looks different” when she comes back to it and some of the nonsensical parts of their adventure this week.
Despite the fact that bad science often irks me when I see in in Who, something about the way Mrs. Gillyflower’s rocket was the epitome of steampunk allowed me to put a perception filter on the whole thing and take it in stride. (Even if I can’t buy that this “prize-winning chemist and mechanical engineer” could devise both a viable preservation process and a functional rocket with only the help of a millions-years-old leech.) I know others were bothered by the flurry of anachronisms (and I also don’t believe that Vastra, Jenny, and Strax can work unmolested in Victorian London, but that’s another issue), but somehow – while other episodes this season have really put me off – I was mostly able to roll with this one.
I can’t honestly say I was over-the-top thrilled, though. After all, I’ve never really been a fan of the “penny dreadfuls” (or Hammer Horror films, to which I understand there were a great number of references). So the genre wasn’t my thing. That means the bodies that had succumbed to the Crimson Horror grated on me, the all-around nasty old lady put me off, and Mr. Sweet was simply 100% icky.
However, for what it was, I thought it was executed fairly well. Starting it as a “Doctor Lite” episode (as he didn’t actually appear until nearly 14 minutes in) didn’t feel overly clunky, though it definitely felt like a backdoor pilot for a Paternoster Gang spinoff. And I, for one, enjoyed the “olde tyme” sepia tone flashback sequence – especially the Tegan reference (“I once spent helluva long time trying to get a gobby Australian to Heathrow Airport” and “Brave heart”).
Further, the depiction of “Mrs. G” as utterly despicable – and Ada as unbelievably naïve – were pitch-perfect. Instead of telling us outright what a loathsome old bitch our antagonist is, we see her being snotty to her daughter at dinner, and only later realize how typical – or understated, even – that behavior is in their relationship. We’re perfectly ready for Mrs. G to “get hers” by the end. Similarly, we tend to cheer for Ada when she grows a backbone.
The amusing touches were a little lighter this week, but I can’t help but imagine writer Gatiss entertained the idea of calling this one Attack of the Supermodels at some point. Better, he subverts the dominant sonic ex machina paradigm not once, but twice (both Jenny and Clara beat him to the in-one-case-literal punch). So there were things to like, but in my opinion, Gatiss has done better.
One can’t really leave a review of Crimson Horror without touching on the ghastly final scene, though, can one? It was dreadful. That’s all there is to it. First, why is the Doctor suddenly prone to dropping his Companions off at home every little whipstitch for some domestic good times, while he swans off to parts unknown?
More importantly, though, there’s that standoff between Clara and her charges. God only knows why Gaiman included the kids in next week’s episode (was he required to, or did it simply work for him?), but they had to get them into the TARDIS somehow. I just wish they’d worked a little harder to find a plausible mechanism.
I mean, in this day and age, do we really believe that kids’ first assumption when seeing their nanny dressed up in period costume would be, “Oh – she’s a time traveler!” instead of “Hey, look who spent a bit of time with Photoshop [or doing cosplay]!”? So we have to make them a couple of smarty-pantses, and her utterly ineffective as a nanny. (Seriously – why wouldn’t Clara have said, “Go ahead and tell your dad. You think he’ll believe such an outrageous story? You really can’t come up with a better one than that?”) What are these kids’ names, anyway – Jackie and Mickey?
~sigh~
I’m tired of downers, though, so I’m going to go out on an up note. Here’s my big, silly, outrageous observation for the week: The Crimson Horror is essentially just a rewrite of Invasion of the Dinosaurs.
No, really! Hear me out!
Someone has a crazy plan to kill off all of humanity but for the chosen few, who will repopulate Earth as a new paradise. With the necessary input of prehistoric creatures. And the Doctor’s Companion gets inadvertently added to the ranks of the chosen.
See? It’s really quite simil…ar… No? Not buying it? Well, at least it took your mind off those kids for a while.
Oops. Sorry…
Hulkean Padding, Lack of Thereof
I liked the style of this episode and am prepared to give it the Benefit of the Doubt, even with anachronistic Jerusalem and Steam Punk Rockets. I am also worried that Strax is becoming a one trick pony. Despite all these reservations I still feel this had a strong classic Who feel to it
Mind you, now that you have accurately portrayed this story as a rewrite of Invasion of the Dinosaurs, it begs the question as to whether Malcolm Hulke was paid by the word or could he have told this story in two classic episodes?
Padding
I think most pre-Hiatus stories could be rewritten into the current format, and vice versa. It would be kind of fun to see someone pick a couple and do a fan version… 🙂
Dejavu in Doctor Who
It’s interesting you mention the similarity to Invasion of the Dinosaurs, I got that on the first watch. Similarly I felt last weeks Journey To The Center Of The Tardis was essentially a remake of an early Virgin New Adventure novel Time’s Crucible by Mark Platt which had the Doctor and companion lost in the tardis with a few other people, coming across themselves from the past and the future, becoming the very monsters that are enslaving them in the future and trying to avoid that fate only the book had a resolution that made sense and an antagonist outside of the mutilated future people.
Virgin New Adventures
The only Who novel I’ve ever read was Lungbarrow, but clearly there are others I should seek out. Last week’s episode except with a workable plot sounds like something I’d really enjoy! 🙂
😀 You love it when I drop by…
I could post my rant about the kids in the next episode here, if you like. Or you just go see it on Facebook…. Nah, I’ll post it here in a bit. Everyone should have the joy of my rants.
Superficially, this episode could have been better. Until you looked deeper. WAY deeper. Which I did and what I found was wonderful. Not being a fan of “penny dreadfuls” and Hammer Horrors really did people an injustice. Because what they missed was that every single reference was from a film that had either Peter Cushing, Jon Pertwee or both. But my absolute favourite references came from a movie called ‘Carry On Screaming!’ from 1966. This was a parody of the Hammer films and featured people dipped in vats to make mannequins out of them. There was a character called Dr. Watt. His uncle was Dr. Who (the writer was a big fan!). Pertwee had a small role in this film.
Mrs. Gillyflower’s treatment of her daughter and the experimentation came from two other Hammer films, ‘The House That Dripped Blood’ and ‘The Reptile’. The former starred both Cushing and Pertwee. The latter actually didn’t have Cushing or Pertwee but did feature townfolk dying mysteriously and being dumped in the river. And the daughter being experimented on. And her killing the parental unit at the end.
I loved the Edgar Allen Poe reference. Mrs. Gillyflower offers the Doctor a glass of Amontillado, referring to the Poe story, “Cask of Amontillado”. I’m wondering if it’s also a reference to the fact that the Doctor was chained to a wall as well.
I’ve seen the Doctor’s use of the quote, “There’s trouble at t’mills.” attributed to Monty Python. While they did use it, that’s not Gatiss’ reference here. In this case, it’s a quote from the TV special ‘Inheritance’ (1967) about a Yorkshire mill run by one family from 1812-1965. Part of it covers the Luddite Riots (1811 – 1817), which protested the use of labour-saving machinery and involved the burning of mills, hence the phrase. It actually became a commonly used phrase in the late 60s for declaring problems.
I also did not fail to notice that Jenny reminded me quite a bit of Emma Peel from The Avengers (the 1960s tv show, kiddies, not Iron Man & Company) what with the catsuit and the arse-kicking. Which is a role Dame Diana Rigg is quite famous for.
My thoughts on the episode superficially. I enjoyed it. Not as much as Cold War, but more than The Unquiet Dead. Gatiss is 2/2 for me this season. I actually like Vastra, Jenny, and Strax. As far as this being a “pilot”, I’m not so sure. It’s said that Moffat is killing someone off in the finale and I have the sinking suspicion it’s one of these three and if I had to call it, I’d put my bets on Jenny. Don’t ask me to explain that, I don’t know why.
Dame Diana Rigg and Rachael Stirling were a delight. Was Mrs. Gillyflower a tad over the top? Possibly, but she was SO meant to be. It was wonderful.
I don’t get hung up on the science and I’m really glad that Doctor Who doesn’t either. I mean, the entire show is based off something that is scientifically impossible (as far as we know, anyway). I’ve watched sci-fi shows that consulted the Jet Propulsion Lab every week and I think they lost a little bit in the storytelling just trying to get the science right. I’m not a scientist. I’m a storyteller. Doctor Who isn’t written by scientists. It’s written by storytellers. So I’m totally on board with that. I do get that a scientific mind will tend towards the nitpicking of the science. But, really, steampunk just doesn’t make a lot of scientific sense. I do love it though. (Major Hellboy fan.)
You know it!
Thank you for all the references; they do make it a bit more interesting as an homage. 🙂
It’s kind of hit or miss, as far as which scientific inaccuracies grate on me. The Impossible Planet drives me Librarian poo (to borrow from Pratchett’s Discworld), but this I was very nearly able to swallow without qualm.
Oh, and as for the Gang – I didn’t mean to imply it was a literal pilot. I’m just saying that it gave that vibe, since the entire first third of the show focused on them. 🙂
Almost forgot!
I almost forgot that I promised everyone else the joy of one of my rants. This is in response to the comment about not know why the kids were included…. And the subsequent fanwank I’ve been seeing online. This came from my Facebook post, so forgive how some of it’s worded.
I’ve seen enough fanwank on this that I need to vent. And one or more of you is guilty of this too (you know who you are!). The topic is children in the next episode. Lots of people in the fandom like to think of the 11th Doctor as the Cosmic 12-year-old. Yes, he’s got his silly moments. But every Doctor has had them. But 11 just isn’t that guy. He’s got way more dark moments than he’s given credit for.
The next episode is set in an amusement park. The Doctor has to have a reason to go there. Much as we like to think so, I don’t think he goes to amusement parks on his own. And he’s not going to take a companion that he doesn’t quite completely trust. The ONLY reason he’d go is to take a couple of children. Willingly put them in danger? Really? No, he wouldn’t do that. He just shows up at the wrong time. And in case you’re new to Doctor Who, THAT HAPPENS A LOT.
Most of these people are probably unfamiliar with Gaiman’s writing. He writes for and about children quite often. He’s very good at it. He’s also very good at writing what happens to children who stick their noses where they don’t belong. Though I doubt the BBC would let him snuff the kids.
I’m of the mind that children are a necessity in movies and television. Otherwise it just gets boring. I mean, really, some of you people, the way you’re reacting… Do you see a child on the screen and automatically scream and run from the room?
I did notice that the fandom is going, “OMG kids! The episode is going to be HORRIBLE!!!!” And yet, a lot of them were the same people who absolutely loved “Rings of Akhatan”, which featured a child very heavily in its plot. Hypocritical much?
Wondered if you’d notice 😉
I didn’t comment on FB cuz I figured you’d add something here. 🙂
I don’t object on general principle to having kids along for the ride (though, as noted, it smacks a bit of the “home life” we have seen a little more often than I care for in the post-Hiatus era). What I object to is the transition – a way to get them on board the TARDIS. I thought that was really sloppily done.
But I’m always willing to give Gaiman the benefit of the doubt until I’ve seen it. I’ve loved the few novels of his I’ve read, and I loved The Doctor’s Wife. I have faith.
Absolutely Horrible Endings
I’m not opposed to the kids. I’m opposed to the absolutely dreadful “endings” this second part of the series, which the kids were a big part of this week.
First of all, all three actors at the end of “The Crimson Horror” just seemed to be out of place. The writing was off, the acting was off, the directing was off, etc.. it didn’t fit. It was hastily thrown in and added on to the episode. It was completely unbelievable. It was tacked on for two reasons: to establish the fact the kids have miraculously figured out their nanny time travels, and for Clara to see the “other” Victorian picture of herself set during “The Snowman,” which of course, she doesn’t remember. Plus, she too quickly (she is supposed to be so very clever) spills, “That’s not me, I was in Lancashire,” revealing she was time-travelling. I suppose that’s the reason for the dreadful curly hair this week, to separate the two Victorian Clara(s).
I just did not like her this week! I seem to go back and forth. I think it has to do with how she is written, obviously.
I actually liked the episode up until the end. I, too, liked the sepia flashbacks and clever way of telling the story. Who is approving these endings?!
Endings
Now that you mention it, there have been an inordinate number of episodes this series that were either OK or really strong (for me, anyway) – until the ending. How irritating.
Oh well. We’ve got a Gaiman one coming up. I bet he’ll be able to pull it all together. 😀