12.30.2015

Television: Doctor Who, "The Husbands of River Song"

WHY call for a surgeon and arrange for a massive live television airing of your husband's surgery if your real goal is to cut off his head and kill him?

I'm just throwing that out there.

And why didn't this Hydroflax want the surgery to begin with? He strikes me as the type who would insist on having this problem fixed.

Also, dialogue like, "I'll just stick my head around the door" is pretty clunky in its obvious play for double meaning.

I didn't find any of the emotional stuff very moving, either, though I thought River's rant in the restaurant (say that five times fast) was pretty good. I wonder how many takes it required to get it all out. And the Doctor's response of, "Hello, Sweetie," was perfect. So that was a nice moment.

It was stiff at first, but warmed up as it went along. I found River a bit over the top, even more so than usual, and the Doctor's reactions to her "husbands" a bit much as well, but then it seemed to even out. Once they got into a groove, it was more tolerable.

But I thought the story itself was pretty weak and wobbly. Though I find it incredibly optimistic to believe humans will still exist in any form come 5343. [Insert rant about our self-destruction here; I won't take up space in this post with my feelings about it.]

Overall, I'd say it was just okay, yet I found it better than most of this past season and most recent Christmas specials, so . . . Proximity bias gives it a boost, I suppose.

I wish I could summon enthusiasm for this show any more, but I feel like my love for it has been beaten down. Here's hoping it gets better. Some day.

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