Series 9 - Under the Lake

          “Base under siege” is a common trope in Doctor Who, but one that, when done right, works exceedingly well. The tension is cranked up, the characters reveal their truest natures when under stress, and the Doctor seems to be at his best when under some kind of pressure. All of these things are apparent in “Under the Lake”, a story that offers some good spookiness as we get closer to Halloween.

          The Doctor and Clara’s arrival is a little bit different with the TARDIS really not wanting to be there. That can’t ever be a good sign, and neither is the cloister bell we hear later in the episode. The claustrophobic feeling of this story is done remarkably well, and the lighting design is spot on. Day mode is tense, but night mode is flat out creepy. 

In classic Doctor Who, I was always a fan of stories that took something familiar but added that Who spin – vampires (“State of Decay”), Frankenstein, (“The Brain of Morbius”), mummies (“Pyramids of Mars”), etc. While the idea of ghosts and hauntings has been batted around a bit in old and new Who (“Ghost Light”, “Army of Ghosts”) “Under the Lake” is the first one to kind of get the feel of them right. I’m sure they’ll turn out to be some kind of alien after-image or something, but the “ghosts” here really seemed ghost-like.

I’m writing this only a few hours before the second half airs, and from the looks of things, it’s going to be a departure from the look and feel of “Under the Lake”. I want to withhold my final opinion until I see the story as a whole, so until then here are some highlights of this story.  See you after Part Two!

•        The Doctor’s cue cards. Wonderful! I get the feeling the Eleventh Doctor could have used a set as well, but with instructions like “Don’t need to air kiss everyone”.

•          Cass and her interpreter. Loved that she was simply a character, and her lip reading skill only became important later. She was someone who happened to be deaf not “the deaf character”.

•          Again, the lighting design. Just great

•         The design of the ghosts. The whole “eyeless” thing is a little redundant after two weeks with Davros, but seeing characters both before and after they’ve become ghosts makes the look that much scarier.

•        Sonic sunglasses. Eh, they served a useful purpose here. I don’t mind them as much as some people seem to, and I feel pretty certain the screwdriver will return. 

•       That cliffhanger! Obvious when you think about it, but still damned effective.

That’s all for now. See you all “Before the Flood”!