Post by Kestrel on Dec 19, 2021 0:45:19 GMT
I refuse the believe that this is the only Doctor Who story set at the Library of Alexandria. It simply cannot be.
Anyway, I'm a bit more lukewarm in this story. Perhaps owing more to my own expectations than any issues with the script itself. Basically... this is a fantastic premise wasted in the Companion Chronicles format. I'd love to see it remade, or reimagined, one day as, perhaps, a 1DA boxset--really give the story enough time to really breathe.
Because there are so many wonderful elements here, none of which get the time they deserve. Barbara going all fangirl over the lost history? Ian discussing heliocentrism with Hypatia? The Doctor settling into the role of teacher to a bunch of kids? It's great.
And much like that one story whose name escapes me (Nero, Rome, etc.) there's this delightful implication of the Doctor and company settling down and just living for a several weeks or months in the ancient world. And I love that!
But before you know it, it's over, and big evil aliens are coming to blow things up. I appreciate that these aliens have fairly reasonable motives, but with so little time to develop them, the framing remains very much "evil invasion," which is unfortunate. Again I think of what could've been in a boxset... imagine if, instead of potential invaders, these aliens were anthropologists. Imagine if they'd worked with the Doctor initially, amicably, before the "contamination" of Hypatia (and others) reading the book drove the, to set the fire. Imagine if instead of an invasion witnessed by almost the entire population of one of the largest cities of the ancient world, it was a smaller covert operation with fewer witnesses to more believable ensure the historical ambiguity.
Imagine, imagine, imagine.
But I shouldn't dwell so much on hypotheticals.
Ultimately I had fun with this story, and that's all that matters in the end. That said, I don't think William Russel is very effective here. Often his Ian sounds more like the Doctor than his Doctor, which can be confusing. The second episode also waffles weirdly between Ian's narration and Hylatia's narration. I think a cleaner split might've been more effective: tell the first episode entirely from Ian's perspective, and the second episode entirely from Hypatia's.
Speaking of whom, she totally should've become a companion here, right?
Well, those are my thoughts. Any of y'all give this a listen recently? What's ya' think of it?
Anyway, I'm a bit more lukewarm in this story. Perhaps owing more to my own expectations than any issues with the script itself. Basically... this is a fantastic premise wasted in the Companion Chronicles format. I'd love to see it remade, or reimagined, one day as, perhaps, a 1DA boxset--really give the story enough time to really breathe.
Because there are so many wonderful elements here, none of which get the time they deserve. Barbara going all fangirl over the lost history? Ian discussing heliocentrism with Hypatia? The Doctor settling into the role of teacher to a bunch of kids? It's great.
And much like that one story whose name escapes me (Nero, Rome, etc.) there's this delightful implication of the Doctor and company settling down and just living for a several weeks or months in the ancient world. And I love that!
But before you know it, it's over, and big evil aliens are coming to blow things up. I appreciate that these aliens have fairly reasonable motives, but with so little time to develop them, the framing remains very much "evil invasion," which is unfortunate. Again I think of what could've been in a boxset... imagine if, instead of potential invaders, these aliens were anthropologists. Imagine if they'd worked with the Doctor initially, amicably, before the "contamination" of Hypatia (and others) reading the book drove the, to set the fire. Imagine if instead of an invasion witnessed by almost the entire population of one of the largest cities of the ancient world, it was a smaller covert operation with fewer witnesses to more believable ensure the historical ambiguity.
Imagine, imagine, imagine.
But I shouldn't dwell so much on hypotheticals.
Ultimately I had fun with this story, and that's all that matters in the end. That said, I don't think William Russel is very effective here. Often his Ian sounds more like the Doctor than his Doctor, which can be confusing. The second episode also waffles weirdly between Ian's narration and Hylatia's narration. I think a cleaner split might've been more effective: tell the first episode entirely from Ian's perspective, and the second episode entirely from Hypatia's.
Speaking of whom, she totally should've become a companion here, right?
Well, those are my thoughts. Any of y'all give this a listen recently? What's ya' think of it?
