Chris Jordan continues reviewing Doctor Who Series 9 with the excellent Before the Flood.
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| "Go to Innsmouth, they said. Great seafood, they said." |
Last weekend’s Under the Lake
was a perfect episode of Doctor Who;
a truly compelling tale backed by a wonderfully strong cast of guest
characters. That episode’s story now continues in Before the Flood – and writer Toby Whithouse not only maintains the
previous installment’s level of excellence, but also takes the story in an
equally compelling new direction. Calling this a two-parter doesn’t quite do it
justice: while the two episodes are indeed halves of the same story, each one
uses that story to explore a different facet of Doctor Who’s sci-fi storytelling possibilities. Before the Flood is not just more of the
same (although given how great Under the
Lake was, that would have been perfectly alright), but a smart and
high-concept take on a time-travel story, using the continuing arc of the
two-chapter tale as a springboard.
For a show that is ostensibly all about time travel, it is actually a bit
rare for Doctor Who to really delve
deep into philosophical, ethical, and logistical questions of how travelling in
time really works, and what the consequences can be if someone messes something
up. Usually this show is all about the adventure, and the laws of time are
handled as fast and loose as necessary to fit the plot. Even earlier this
season we saw The Doctor introduce guitar solos to the middle-ages just for
fun, with no thought of consequences from either himself or screenwriter Steven
Moffat. What a wonderful treat it is, then, that Before the Flood is principally concerned with delving deep into
the concept of time travel, both in its narrative possibilities and its
philosophy. Since Under the Lake was essentially a sci-fi ghost story, this sequel
looks at the concept of ghosts from a fascinating new angle: a question of what
ghosts mean in relation to causality and truths of history. This is a perfect
illustration of what Doctor Who can
do with a good two-parter, and why it should include longer stories more often:
rather than just giving us a bigger story spread out over two episodes,
Whithouse has used that time to develop a richness of ideas. There’s still some
good action too, but this is principally Doctor
Who as intellectual sci-fi, and it’s fantastic.
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| "I don't need to hear Murray Gold's dramatic music to know that blue light means something creepy." |
This seems to be the sort of tale in which Peter Capaldi is most at
home: one in which his sharp wit and intense personality take center stage,
rather than the sorts of action heroics that the younger Matt Smith excelled at.
Jenna Coleman also delivers one of her best performances yet, as Clara too gets
to use her skills as an intellectual hero rather than an action hero. Once
again, the other great performance in this two-parter comes from Sophie Stone
as deaf scientist Cass, who speaks volumes with no spoken dialogue. She shows
that a deaf character can still be a resourceful badass and a strong dramatic
lead, and powerfully disproves stereotypes about disability. I would love it if
she became a permanent part of the TARDIS crew rather than just a guest-star.
With its excellent balance of a great story and even greater ideas,
Toby Whithouse has undoubtedly set the standard for the very best of series 9,
and possibly Peter Capaldi’s era in general. I dare say that Under the Lake/Before the Flood makes me
hope that Whithouse will be the next Doctor
Who showrunner after the uneven Steven Moffat steps down. If the rest of
series 9 follows in this two-parter’s footsteps, it could be one of new Doctor Who’s best years, and would make
12 and Clara one of its strongest TARDIS teams. How likely is this? Only time
will tell, but I’m optimistic.
Score:
- Christopher S. Jordan