"The Hungry Earth" was fairly run-of-the-mill stuff. Predictable, and leaving me with a creeping suspicion that this was a bit of cheap filler rather than a proper, original story.
The strong suspicion I had at the end of "The Hungry Earth" was confirmed in this episode. This two-parter is simply a reworking of the classic Pertwee story "Doctor Who and the Silurians". But where the original was a complex and highly political story about values and tolerance, Chibnall's version barely scratched the surface of these issues.
Much of the politics of the original is set aside for predictable character-based drama, from an uninspiringly predictable set of characters. Only at the last when the negotiation, seemingly progressing well, is suddenly derailed, do we see any hint of the richness of the original story. But it simply isn't enough and it doesn't last.
I confess to not being a fan of Chibnall. He has a fondness for overblown set-pieces instead of proper stories, and likes to stick melodramatic character interactions into a story at the most inopportune times - like poking a stick into the spokes of a wheel, derailing the momentum of the story entirely. Ironically I missed the beginning of "The Hungry Earth" and so was initially unaware this was his handiwork.
That said, there are moments of good dialogue, but that is all that this story has going for it.
When you are reduced to plagiarising your own canon, things must be pretty desperate. I had high hopes for new Who under Moffatt and am becoming very disillusioned indeed.
The strong suspicion I had at the end of "The Hungry Earth" was confirmed in this episode. This two-parter is simply a reworking of the classic Pertwee story "Doctor Who and the Silurians". But where the original was a complex and highly political story about values and tolerance, Chibnall's version barely scratched the surface of these issues.
Much of the politics of the original is set aside for predictable character-based drama, from an uninspiringly predictable set of characters. Only at the last when the negotiation, seemingly progressing well, is suddenly derailed, do we see any hint of the richness of the original story. But it simply isn't enough and it doesn't last.
I confess to not being a fan of Chibnall. He has a fondness for overblown set-pieces instead of proper stories, and likes to stick melodramatic character interactions into a story at the most inopportune times - like poking a stick into the spokes of a wheel, derailing the momentum of the story entirely. Ironically I missed the beginning of "The Hungry Earth" and so was initially unaware this was his handiwork.
That said, there are moments of good dialogue, but that is all that this story has going for it.
When you are reduced to plagiarising your own canon, things must be pretty desperate. I had high hopes for new Who under Moffatt and am becoming very disillusioned indeed.