Rate and Discuss: The Beast Below

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Well the most important thing for me was I enjoyed this episode a lot more than the Eleventh Hour. However the Matt Smith's Doctor doesn't really feel like the Doctor properly for me yet. But I'm hopeful.

There was a lot I really enjoyed about this episode. But at the same time I found myself really annoyed at elements of the episode - mainly it was the feeling that bits had just been lifted from other movies - the Matrix (again - it's getting an annoying habbit), Dark City, V for Vendetta, then add some bits from Torchwood's Meat / Season 1's The Long Game.

That said - and although it was done similarly in Dark City, the ship did have a great feel of a kind of 50s style spaceship - the kind of thing you'd expect The Doctor, Barbara and Ian to land on in the first series.

It was nice to see Amy take charge at the end. Ironically keeping up with Donna's definition of a companion, that sometimes they need to stop the Doctor.

I would have given 8 ... but I got a bit tired of seeing other films lifted, so -1 point for that at a still respectable 7.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Oh and as Brendan mentioned in his blog, maybe the smilers are used like CCTV cameras. If the population has been drilled into fearing them in childhood, then putting them around the streets will be an added incentive to behiave and make London a crime free zone.

Shhh ... you'll give some of the old school Tories ideas! "I've never commited a crime in my life, so why shouldn't we feed criminals to the belly of a whale?".

[Dave Tudor]

Oh no! The episode is falling apart around me!

But to be fair, it did have its faults, and probably groaned under the weight of just too many ideas, which, now I think about following the comments here, were possibly not thought through properly - but it was still a very engaging episode despite this.

[Paul Monk]

Oh and a certain little madam was pleased to hear the use of the name Tabitha in this episode.

[SiHart]

I thought of her when they were calling out the names.

Si xx

[Paul Monk]

At least she was on of the good kids.
Maybe I'll show her Paradise Towers one day.

[matthewsch]

I don't think that the Smilers were badly used, I thought they were cleverly used (playing on the fears of the humans rather than being overly active, like in Midnight). However, I think that they were promoted far too much in pre-airing advertising. In the month or so leading up to Easter, we all got the impression that the Smilers were big, bad, in-the-centre-of-whatever-the-hell-is-going-on monsters. That, I think, is why everyone is disappointed with them, because they didn't live up to their expectations of them.

[Paul Monk]

I think you've hit the nail on the head there Matthew.

[duncan]

Den of Geek are reporting that viewing figures are well down on last week.

Initial numbers indicate that the latest episode of Doctor Who had 1.3 million less viewers than the Easter weekend series opener. However, these initial figures also indicate a significant across the board reduction in viewers, which is being blamed on the warmer weather.

The Steven Moffat-penned tale of Britain's dystopian future in space, The Beast Below still raked in 6.7m sets of eyeballs on a balmy spring Saturday, annihilating ITV's numbers for Harry Potter (5.7m) and grabbing a 34% audience share.

It wasn't the most watched show of the day, though. That was The Grand National (sigh). Still, we doubt that's going to do the iPlayer numbers that Matt Smith and Co. will inevitably drum up now everyone's back from the pub.

It'll certainly be interesting what the Winston Churchill/Daleks dream team can rattle up in terms of viewers next week...

[Si Hunt]

It does get me how the pro-Who sites are so desperate to excuse lower ratings/paint them in a good way. 6.7m c/f 5.7m is hardly "annihilated".

Si.

[SiHart]

It's hardly the lowest rated episode we've ever had either? It's not as bad as the ratings for Silence in the Library were...

Si xx

[Larry]

It's hardly the lowest rated episode we've ever had either? It's not as bad as the ratings for Silence in the Library were...

Si xx

well as i've already saide 6.7mill is pretty much in keeping with the episode average since 2005 - the bbc/itv know that the days of huge viewer ratings when programmes would regularly attract 12 to 15m+ viewers are long gone and tv execs are now more then happy with a programm atrracting 6m viewers.

[brandynigma]

The Doctor put pay to the space whale cruelty, but left in place a regime that murders children for not being top of the class... Hmmm!!

No, the children weren't murdered. The whale refused to eat them. However, they WERE removed from society for being 'of limited value.'

Now, it could be argued that this practice will continue. However, given that Starship UK's Queen and her government have reassessed the value of the Space Whale, they might reassess the value of their own citizens.

[P-Bal]

Yeah, but the attempt was made to kill them, and also other people who refused to forget. Surely that was a society in need of change?

Added to the fact some kiddie winks must have died of shock, surely?! Or impact of falling so far?!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

I just hope the Queen keeps her ship away from Starship Japan ...

[Jonno]

At least she was on of the good kids.
Maybe I'll show her Paradise Towers one day.

No, Paul, no! Don't put her off Who for good!

[Si Hunt]

Quiet you!

Si. :mobile

[brandynigma]

Yeah, but the attempt was made to kill them, and also other people who refused to forget. Surely that was a society in need of change?

And the society does change. There's no certainty that everyone will change, but the second the Doctor starts making every single decision for them, he becomes no better than the Daleks or the Usirians.

Added to the fact some kiddie winks must have died of shock, surely?! Or impact of falling so far?!

Presumably the air cannon kicks in very quickly during the drop. Also, Hawthorne states that the Space Whale doesn't eat THE children, not THESE children. Note the definite article. Taking your reading to its obvious conclusion, would the Space Whale had bothered spitting out a dead child?

So, it's possible that some of the children died. However, it is a rather tenacious supposition, and not one supported by the evidence.

Why can't I get more comments like this on the blog? Lively, imaginative discussion- lovely!

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

I don't mind at all about the smilers' 3 faces issue. I agree that mechanically it makes no sense at all, but that's why I like it - it's scarier because you don't expect that 3rd face - how can it be there?
The fact that it's also a very nasty face helps make it that bit more frightening too

Really, that was one of my favourite things about the episode. As soon as I saw that demonic face I just thought "**** that's a poo your pants moment"!!!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Hmmm on the conspiratorial side, regarding is Amy from current time or not.

The ship told Amy her age ... but we didn't know what the current year was. Did we?

[Logo Polish]

Doctor Who Adventures gave the dates for the three time zones visited in The Eleventh Hour last week. I don't read it but someone posted them on the internet, and I mentioned them in the thread for that episode.

[Paul Monk]

With the issue of killing the children, I took it this way. The government knows that the whale won't eat the children but also knows that the disruptive elements can't be allowed to remain on the surface for fear of revealling their terrible secret. So the naughty children are simply removed. The government aren't trying to kill them because they know the whale won't eat them. Therefore all they're guilty of is scaring them and getting them to do whatever it is they do below ground. (I like to think that they're filming new episodes of the Demon Headmaster).
The adults are a different story though

Damn you all! You've got me talking in this thread again when I said I wouldn't!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

With the issue of killing the children, I took it this way. The government knows that the whale won't eat the children but also knows that the disruptive elements can't be allowed to remain on the surface for fear of revealling their terrible secret. So the naughty children are simply removed. The government aren't trying to kill them because they know the whale won't eat them. Therefore all they're guilty of is scaring them and getting them to do whatever it is they do below ground. (I like to think that they're filming new episodes of the Demon Headmaster).
The adults are a different story though

On the way home I was thinking something very similar - it was more about getting rid of those meddling kids ...



Not necessarily the stupid ones, but the disobedient ones who might just one day uncover the secret.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

I'm sorry I'm finding myself at odds with Amy's speech as well. "Sometimes when you're very old you're very kind".

Not around me they weren't ... if I'd written that it'd be "Sometimes when you're very old you've just got nothing better to do than moan about prices, play bingo and complain that the kids in the street are allowed out and ride on their bikes".

[Darren]

Why would they be forced BACK up the pipe? Wasn't the whole point to make the Whale vomit them out? They kept mentioning sick. How would you propel a person BACK up a pipe hanging from the roof??

Si.

The vomit propelled them up. Think of a geyser.

WHOOOSSSHHH!!!