The Ghost Monument (3702 / 1102)

[GateWorld]

DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 37 (11)
THE GHOST MONUMENT
EPISODE NUMBER - 3702 / 1102

The Doctor and her new friends fall in with a pair of ship pilots on a race across the universe, joining the last leg of the race on a barren and hostile alien planet called Desolation.

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[Teddybrown]

So will this new alien species be the "big bad" of the season?

Interesting episode but still not sure... At least we got the title credits back!

Also still seeing Bradley Walshs character as Bradley Walsh...

[BruTak]

Loved the location work, South Africa looked gorgeous.

The cast were fantastic.

New TARDIS interior is nice, but will be better once they turn the lights on. Seriously, why does everything have to be so dark?

[GodAtum]

Not a fan of the new Tardis, looks very "space nazi" to me.

Timeless child ... a new story arc?

[Teddybrown]

I agree about the TARDIS interior but Im sure it'll grow on me.

Not sure about the timeless child. I thought they were going for more individual stories, but the cliffhanger ending of the previous episode and the 2nd mention of this new alien species and the timeless child makes me think otherwise...

[BruTak]

I may not be an expert on UK police rules and regulations, but I'm fairly sure a probationary PC (such as Yaz) wouldn't be allowed to have so many piercings in her ear.

[GodAtum]

IMO the start of the series is missing some big mystery like the hole in the wall.

[Teddybrown]

I have to agree, Im missing the speculation haha

[DigiFluid]

I enjoyed last week - I enjoyed this one even more. It was beautifully shot, all the main actors were on their game, it was well-written, and (unlike last week) I never felt like it was dragging at any point.

I like the new TARDIS design so far. It seems to be kind of an interesting visual fusion between the old Eccleston-/Tennant-era 'coral' design, the brass clock cogs from the show's old intro sequence, and a kind of quartz-y crystalline motif. The dim lighting, so far, is only an issue insofar as it made the control room feel a little claustrophobic. Some of that feeling also came from that overhead shot looking down on the Doctor and companions next to the new console (with the 'arms' looking vaguely arachnid as they arch in overhead), but it's too soon to judge. It was a quick little two-minute introduction with a lot of closeups on the new moving parts rather than any wide establishing shots. There's lots of time yet to get acquainted.

Does anyone know what the story is with that abandoned/half-buried 'mall' in the desert? Did they actually take the time to build a 'mall' facade, half buried in the sand, just to film the wide shots there? Or is that something that already exists and they just did a bit of set-dressing to Doctor Who-it-up?

How about that new intro sequence? To my eye it seemed a little bit too quick--the text flashed by a hair too fast, and the whole thing felt a little like it was being played in fast-forward. But the red/purple/maroon background doing its Rorschach designs thing was gorgeous, and the new version of the theme is just wonderful.

[P-90_177]

Ok so positives first. The new opening titles are awesome, and of course the theme is still awesome. I like the new TARDIS. It looks different and although I think the way the crystals meet in the middle makes it look a bit crowded, overall I think it's a great effect. The music has also grown on me a lot and I love the new Doctor and TARDIS themes. The companions are still growing on me too as far I can tell. Particularly Graham. Bradley Walsh plays the role really very well. And the Doctor herself is going from strength to strength. She seems to have the personality of a proper adventurer with a lot of improv skills. That's always fun in a Doctor.

The episode itself though... The more I think about it the more I'm forced to conclude that Chris Chibnall is not a great writer. Primarily because the whole episode, while giving the chracters and adventure, and a great payoff at the end with the Doctor finding the TARDIS, was an entirely wasted endeavour. We only have ten episodes this season and that means every ep needs to count, and yet, while all other previous companions were fleshed out considerably in their second episode, we know nothing more about Yaz, Ryan and Graham than we did in the first episode. So you'd think the focus would be on the Doctor but we don't really know any more about her and her personality either. Not really.
Even the beginning of the episode was badly written. The notion that the four were split up and weren't sure if the other two were alive or dead was in itself an intriguing set up... but then they found each other again in the first ten minutes. So then you'd think that might have a purpose in how both halves of the group interacted with their respective guest character in the two pilots... and yet they don't. Since the pilots are rivals you could have had Yaz using the skills we saw as a police officer right at the start of the series opener... but the only real conversation she has with them is about her family. How about Graham as the down to earth sort to call them both out on their crap in not wanting to join together and them learning that lesson throughout the episode... You see? It's just rife with missed opportunities for character growth and development.

[Coco Pops]

OK I loved this episode. Jodie is surely going to be one of my favourite Doctors.

My favourites are

Christopher Eccleston
David Tennant
Peter Capaldi
Jodie Whittaker

Did not warm to Matt Smith much.

Killer bandages. OK I can maybe accept that they were infused with nanites that gave them locomotion and the ability to speak. But really that's the most different thing I have ever seen in new Who. Certainly will keep people talking.

"The Timeless Child"

Every series we seem to find some new as yet unknown aspect of The Doctor and I like that for the most part. I wonder if this will be one of the running themes this series. Also another mention of the Stenza so wonder if we will hear from them again or see the race guy again.

That for some reason made me think of "The Amazing Race" on a galactic scale and I wonder if that's exactly what they were trying to go for with this episode.

Poor TARDIS. She was sick of the Doctor blowing her console up so that's why she ejected the Doctor so she could rebuild in peace. Only she did it millions of miles away from Earth but I understand how she might have felt.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new look of the old girl. We enter the TARDIS and are inside the actual police box, but now the console room is actually like a bubble attached to the "back" of the police box. it's a fantastic effect that they pulled off here. I just bloody love it.

Overall 7.5 for me loved this episode.

[tomstone]

I am not sure about this Episode. Seems like I expected more. All in all it was good, but something was missing. Also something feels off with the Doctor.

In the previous incarnations each regeneration seemed to portray a different aspect of the Doctors personality. Be it getting over the time war, completly ignoring it, learning to live with what happend and Capaldis Doctor which left me kind of lost with feeling that he just doesnt care anymore. He straight out left Clara a number of times in deadly situations and not batting an eye until they reunited. Jodies Doctor feels like she doesnt know herself anymore. As stated various times in the past 2 Episodes, she expects herself to be able to do certain things, but doesnt know if she actually can.

This makes me worry. Hopefully she will become certain of herself again soon and start to kick ass like she should.

Also I have a bad feeling about Ryan. I am happy that they included someone with a disability, but this is going to kill him sooner or later if he cant even properly climb latters.

[cosmichobo]

The notion that the four were split up and weren't sure if the other two were alive or dead was in itself an intriguing set up... but then they found each other again in the first ten minutes. So then you'd think that might have a purpose in how both halves of the group interacted with their respective guest character in the two pilots... and yet they don't. Since the pilots are rivals you could have had Yaz using the skills we saw as a police officer right at the start of the series opener... but the only real conversation she has with them is about her family. How about Graham as the down to earth sort to call them both out on their crap in not wanting to join together and them learning that lesson throughout the episode... You see? It's just rife with missed opportunities for character growth and development.

Yes - could have taken a different path by keeping the 2 groups apart for longer, letting the audience watch how the new crew handle their respective situations - how they "read" the pilot they are with, and then when they come together, the crew arguing about who should get to win. (Was not keen on the whole "it's a tie" solution; I was actually expecting one or other to need a lift in the TARDIS...)

When we saw Yaz in ep1, I did wonder how quickly her police skills would be forgotten. I know she was only probationary, but still... fresh out of the academy - should be following the rule book very closely.

[Annoyed]

OK I loved this episode. Jodie is surely going to be one of my favourite Doctors.

My favourites are

Christopher Eccleston
David Tennant
Peter Capaldi
Jodie Whittaker

Did not warm to Matt Smith much.

Here, we agree, right down the line. 'Cept I might put Jodi above Peter. too soon to tell.

[Gatefan1976]

I gotta say, I actually enjoyed this ep.
First things first, Am I the only one who noticed all the HHGTTG references in the beginning, cause no one else has mentioned them.
Secondly, The Doctor was purely THE DOCTOR, using brains over brawn, and flat out stating that escalation by using guns just made things worse.
Thirdly, the "gender Issue" There was no line delivered by Jodie that I could not see any other doctor delivering (except Hurt's war doctor perhaps, which kinda makes him more the aberration than her). I'm sure there will be stories in the season where it does play a role, but if you are going to go to time where women were treated obviously as second class citizens, you can't help but use that historical fact.
Lastly, the new TARDIS design. I actually think it is really cool based on one observation, the TARDIS main deck now more resembles the organic, crystalized form of the new Sonic. Normally, we get new sonics by the TARDIS choosing the design, this time, the Doctor chose it, and despite the time and distance, She came to terms with the new design and adapted herself to the doctor. It sets up an interesting "alpha" dynamic between the two.

As for the "timeless child"...…….

Hmmm...……..
It feels like a plot arc, smells like a plot arc, so probably IS a plot arc, but not one to be delivered on in this season. Perhaps this is a reason why Chibnall really wanted a female Doctor this time around, not to suit some "PC agenda" but because he needed a female lead to tell the story he wanted to tell within the DW universe??
Not sure on that, but it -feels- right, unless it is just a call-back to "an un-earthly child" (which would make the doctor's photo's of Susan mean more somehow, she would technically be a timeless child, assuming she became a time lady at some point).

As for the writing, I liked the story, pretty much in spite of the writing because the writing was pretty pedestrian. It was whovian, but it was no where near "good whovian". It had bit's I liked, for sure, but without dated pop culture knowledge, or knowledge of things like Venusian Aikido, they would just fall flat to most people.

Overall, it was a solid second story, -for me-, as for anyone else, I'm not so sure.