This has been bothering me for the better part of an hour (or since I posted my "Nightmare in Silver" review - whatever came first). I had a really hard time reviewing this episode. I watched it twice, I took notes, there were parts that I loved. But on the whole... it kind of left me feeling... empty.
I'm a middle-of-the-road Neil Gaiman fan. I love his stuff for younger readers - my favorite of his remains The Graveyard Book. I loved Coraline (both the movie and the novel). Stardust was good (though the movie was better). Anansi Boys was, frankly, hilarious. But there are a few things of his that I just do not care for. American Gods, Neverwhere and The Sandman are all things of his that I just couldn't get into (I may retry American Gods, simply because I liked Anansi Boys so much and that's sort of a continuation).
In his review of "Nightmare in Silver," Chip of Two-Minute Time Lord mentioned that when Gaiman gets to create his own universe within the universe and be quirky and off-beat, he does great work (I'm paraphrasing). That's what "The Doctor's Wife" is and it's phenomenal. But when Gaiman has to stay within another set continuity, it sort of, kind of doesn't quite work the way it's supposed to. That's probably what happened with "Nightmare in Silver."
Don't get me wrong - I still liked the story. Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman and Warwick Davis absolutely rocked it! The updated Cybermen look great - even if it'll take some getting used to their new abilities (what - now they're the Flash?) There were other small parts that I enjoyed (that I talked about in my laundry-list review) But those were just parts of the greater whole that didn't quite fit together.
I think I'm hesitant to say anything negative about this season because there has been so much negativity from fans. I don't know why, but fandom behavior in recent weeks has really affected me. It shouldn't... but those things tend to get to me (even in real life - when someone is unhappy or upset or yelling or just being generally nasty, I get really shaken by it and I have to retreat into myself until the nastiness has blown over). I don't want there to be contention and rage and hatred toward something I love so much. But that also doesn't mean I should not say I liked something when I really didn't (and I didn't even dislike it that much - this one's just middling for me. It's not terrible, by any stretch). Shoot, I can easily say that I disliked "The God Complex" - why can't I say the same for this?
Anyway - I'm taking a mulligan on this one. Let's go get ready for "The Name of the Doctor," shall we?
I'm a middle-of-the-road Neil Gaiman fan. I love his stuff for younger readers - my favorite of his remains The Graveyard Book. I loved Coraline (both the movie and the novel). Stardust was good (though the movie was better). Anansi Boys was, frankly, hilarious. But there are a few things of his that I just do not care for. American Gods, Neverwhere and The Sandman are all things of his that I just couldn't get into (I may retry American Gods, simply because I liked Anansi Boys so much and that's sort of a continuation).
In his review of "Nightmare in Silver," Chip of Two-Minute Time Lord mentioned that when Gaiman gets to create his own universe within the universe and be quirky and off-beat, he does great work (I'm paraphrasing). That's what "The Doctor's Wife" is and it's phenomenal. But when Gaiman has to stay within another set continuity, it sort of, kind of doesn't quite work the way it's supposed to. That's probably what happened with "Nightmare in Silver."
Don't get me wrong - I still liked the story. Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman and Warwick Davis absolutely rocked it! The updated Cybermen look great - even if it'll take some getting used to their new abilities (what - now they're the Flash?) There were other small parts that I enjoyed (that I talked about in my laundry-list review) But those were just parts of the greater whole that didn't quite fit together.
I think I'm hesitant to say anything negative about this season because there has been so much negativity from fans. I don't know why, but fandom behavior in recent weeks has really affected me. It shouldn't... but those things tend to get to me (even in real life - when someone is unhappy or upset or yelling or just being generally nasty, I get really shaken by it and I have to retreat into myself until the nastiness has blown over). I don't want there to be contention and rage and hatred toward something I love so much. But that also doesn't mean I should not say I liked something when I really didn't (and I didn't even dislike it that much - this one's just middling for me. It's not terrible, by any stretch). Shoot, I can easily say that I disliked "The God Complex" - why can't I say the same for this?
Anyway - I'm taking a mulligan on this one. Let's go get ready for "The Name of the Doctor," shall we?
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