Doctor Who
Hide
Review by Ken Parker
The Doctor and Clara are visiting a
haunted house but not all is what it seems. There is a ghost but is
it really a ghost? Is the Doctor really there to see a ghost or does
he have another reason? Yet again we have a story with limited
number of characters in a fairly simple setting. Newcomer to Doctor
Who, Neil Cross (“The Rings of Akhaten”), is at it again with
a fairly straight forward story that becomes more than a ghost story.
The idea is pretty easy to come to
terms with but again, for the 4th time in a row we have an
episode that really has more heart than most of late. We have a love
story mixed in which is interesting but doesn't really propel the
story along at an even pace. For the majority of the episode I
enjoyed all elements of it but in the end it falls apart a bit for
several reasons.
The character of Clara continues to
grow. It is here that she sees more than she wants to see as she
tries to wrap her head around time travel. She also begins to
understand the Doctor some more and actually confronts him on how he
might see all his companions, as ghosts. He also drops the hint that
she is a mystery worth solving and she doesn't seem to put off by
that. Clara has several moments with each of the characters in the
story including the TARDIS which strengthens her companion part with
the Doctor.
Emma (Jessica Raine) and Alec (Dougray
Scott) are a couple who are trying to find the ghost and uncover the
mystery of the mansion. Their relationship is just getting going and
the Doctor and Clara jump start it for them. There are plenty of
quiet moments for them to develop a chemistry between them although I
felt it was a bit forced in this story. We really don't have much
invested in these characters but it is great to see two characters
taking it slowly and not doing a lot of flirting and winking and the
usual Doctor Who sexual sway that most characters seem to do when
they see someone nice looking. For once it is a realistic
relationship.
Seeing Jessica Raine is a good preview
for the upcoming docu drama An Adventure in Time and Space as
she will be playing producer Verity Lambert.
The ghost story line is well thought
out but the 'monster' is a bit odd and will no doubt be criticized as
its execution as an effect ranging from eerie to humorous. That
laughing and the fear the Doctor experienced seemed a bit out of
place given what we discovered the creature was actually doing. This
reveal at the end is a bit of a let down and up until even the final
moments of the story I felt “Hide” to be an excellent
continuation of quality episodes for the season. The sappy almost
ridiculous ending sort of derailed the story a bit.
Fans will no doubt like the appearance
of a certain costume and a certain TARDIS function but I
felt the writer wasn't sure how to end the story and just slapped
something together. Like I have been saying this half of a season,
these episodes have been a massive step in the right direction but
from the luke warm rankings that the fans and viewers are giving
these episodes, we will no doubt go back to the clutter and confusion
of yelling and running around soon enough. Hopefully not until the
end of the season.
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