(Spoilers for The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People, but not really for A Good Man Goes to War)
Before getting into A Good Man Goes to War, I'd like to say a few words about The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People, the two-parter that is bound to be remembered singly as the set-up for THAT cliffhanger.
Writer Matthew Graham looks to be a team player. His disappointing "Fear Her" for RTD was quite RTDish and this two-parter instead plugs into what Moffat is doing. The feeling then is that Graham either gladly makes what modifications are asked of him, or else allows the showrunner to do so. Whatever the case may be, The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People works. It has tons of atmosphere, engaging characters (give or take a dancing child), and it keeps you guessing. Granted, the main reason for watching these again is to catch all the clues as to Amy's pregnancy (breathe!) and the Doctors' switch-up. However, I'll give you another:
I don't think it's to the point of frustration, but it is at times rather difficult to know who the real people are and who are the Flesh. They're eventually dressed differently, but it still takes a moment each time you cut to one group or the other, to realize which they are. And the editing goes even further, cutting from one to the other within the same scene. It's pretty obvious that the actors were asked to play the Flesh exactly as they did the humans. Identical is the key word, and even Amy is taken in by the Doctors. And in that confusion, TRB/TAP becomes the ultimate Doctor Who story. Or at least, that collection of Doctor Who stories that have the Doctor seeking to have humanity recognize the "alien" as equals worthy of life. Every single Silurian story, for example, or things like, say, The Unquiet Dead. And here we have a story where the "alien" is indistinguishable from humanity, and we must care and fear both camps alike. We can't tell who's who anymore because we're all the same. It's one of the Doctor's great lessons (tolerance) and in this story, it is expressed overpoweringly.
The Rebel Flesh will probably always remain in the shadow of A Good Man Goes to War - the concepts it sets up are too instrumental to the mid-season finale - but hopefully it can find its own slice of fandom, if only for the way it allows Rory to shine, though it has much more to offer than that.
Before getting into A Good Man Goes to War, I'd like to say a few words about The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People, the two-parter that is bound to be remembered singly as the set-up for THAT cliffhanger.Writer Matthew Graham looks to be a team player. His disappointing "Fear Her" for RTD was quite RTDish and this two-parter instead plugs into what Moffat is doing. The feeling then is that Graham either gladly makes what modifications are asked of him, or else allows the showrunner to do so. Whatever the case may be, The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People works. It has tons of atmosphere, engaging characters (give or take a dancing child), and it keeps you guessing. Granted, the main reason for watching these again is to catch all the clues as to Amy's pregnancy (breathe!) and the Doctors' switch-up. However, I'll give you another:
I don't think it's to the point of frustration, but it is at times rather difficult to know who the real people are and who are the Flesh. They're eventually dressed differently, but it still takes a moment each time you cut to one group or the other, to realize which they are. And the editing goes even further, cutting from one to the other within the same scene. It's pretty obvious that the actors were asked to play the Flesh exactly as they did the humans. Identical is the key word, and even Amy is taken in by the Doctors. And in that confusion, TRB/TAP becomes the ultimate Doctor Who story. Or at least, that collection of Doctor Who stories that have the Doctor seeking to have humanity recognize the "alien" as equals worthy of life. Every single Silurian story, for example, or things like, say, The Unquiet Dead. And here we have a story where the "alien" is indistinguishable from humanity, and we must care and fear both camps alike. We can't tell who's who anymore because we're all the same. It's one of the Doctor's great lessons (tolerance) and in this story, it is expressed overpoweringly.
The Rebel Flesh will probably always remain in the shadow of A Good Man Goes to War - the concepts it sets up are too instrumental to the mid-season finale - but hopefully it can find its own slice of fandom, if only for the way it allows Rory to shine, though it has much more to offer than that.
Comments
1) He's trained as a nurse, and this is a rare situation where bedside manner can help more than a sonic screwdriver. So he's doing everything he can to help.
2) He knows better than anyone what it's like to doubt his humanity because of his substance. In some fashion that hasn't been entirely retconned out of this timeline, he's got 2000 years of experience.
One of the best parts was the way Graham/Moffat played with your expectations. At the cliffhanger at the end of TRF (hell, in the previews for TRF) I'm sure virtually everyone said "Oh, so that's how the 'Doctor' dies in TIA," and then 30 seconds later said to themselves, "Wait, that's too easy--Moffat would never make it that easy." So of course, they have Amy think that, and turn out not to be correct (at least this time...)
Of course, the "real" Doctor and the Flesh Doctor secretly switching roles makes you wonder if, in TIA, Doctors 909 & 1103 were who they said they were...
As for a Good Man Goes to War, wow, looks like that one needs more than 11 bullet points!