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WATCH ALONG | DOCTOR WHO | 9x3 | Under the Lake
🕑 Added 2023-07-07 14:00:09 +0000 UTCA Few Notes:
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Comments
Steven Cooper
I don't think this is quite as good as the first two-parter, despite being a good claustrophobic story with some scary moments and impressive production design. As you say, the pace is just a bit too slow at times, but the main problem for me is the writing for the Doctor's character, which regresses a bit to the uncertain first half of the last season. There are several awkward, over-mannered moments that push the eccentricity way too hard. And for some reason we get a return of the mostly dropped idea of the Doctor being so inept at social interaction that he needs Clara to be his "carer" (as in last year's "Into the Dalek"). The scene with the deck of cue cards is genuinely funny, but it's the sort of gag that would soon grow thin with repetition. On the other hand, I really like how the base crew are all convincing and competent, with no one present simply as comic relief or to screw things up for the sake of creating plot complications. (Well, except for the civilian Pritchard, but he's killed off before he gets too annoying.) Of course, Cass is the most striking of them, and the way a deaf character is incorporated without making any special fuss about it is worthy of praise. You might be interested in this seven-minute behind the scenes clip focusing on Cass and Lunn, which shows the care they took with getting the sign language right, from a BBC magazine programme for the deaf community: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0346nnh.
