vivdunstan: A vibrantly coloured comic cover image of Peter Capaldi's Doctor, viewed side on, facing to the left, looking thoughtful (twelfth doctor)
[personal profile] vivdunstan
Recently rewatched this, and enjoyed it again, though perhaps not as much as the first time.

The Golden Age style whodunnit aspect is fantastic. Though I found it frustrating that the Doctor already knows about the Foretold, making me feel one step removed from the story at that point. Writing about (fictional) past legendary things can be tricky, but I think a smoother bit of sleight of hand could have improved this. Taking the viewer along with the Doctor on the journey of discovery can be an important element.

I still find the split between the Agatha Christie esque train setting and the futuristic lab to be extremely jarring. This is a longstanding problem I have with Doctor Who stories that have an atmospheric opening setting, sometimes historical, and then relocate to a different much more scifi setting. Think "The Stones of Blood" for example.

Yet there is a good resolution, and the guest cast is strong. Not least Frank Skinner as train chief engineer Perkins, who has an unnerving ambiguity about whether he's an ally or not. Nicely done.

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vivdunstan: Part of own photo taken in local university botanic gardens. Tree trunks rise atmospherically, throwing shadows from the sun on the ground. (Default)
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