DOCTOR WHO
THE GHOST MONUMENT
Written By Chris Chibnall
Directed By Mark Tonderai
*WARNING! This Review may contain spoilers!*
"The Ghost Monument" picks up from when "The Woman Who Fell To Earth" very well indeed, as we go straight into the action, without messing around and we are treated to the all new title sequence and theme music. The overall feel of it is episode 2 off we go.
I have to say as a story, I thorughly enjoyed "The Ghost Monument". I thought it was adventuerous, bold, and in some ways stimulating. There is lots of action and characters being active a lot of the time, some great acting from the cast, it sets off at a good pace, and I didn't feel board watching it.
This was our first visit to an alien world, and an interesting planet it was too, "Desolation" the name of the planet, reminded me very much of "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy". The sort of desilate, bleak, colourless sand of a wasteland desert. It's a dystopian rhapsody is what it is. That's the best way I can sum it up, in it's simplist form. But it also reminded me of a combination of "Mad Max: Fury Road" and those episodes of "The Apprentice" where the candidates go abroad and they are presented with a task of assembling together items from a shopping list. That's what it felt like to me in comparison.
I'm still not sure about Jodie Whittaker's doctor, I did enjoy her performance in this episode. Her humour is wry and knockabout, yet the larking is interwoven with a refreshing sincerity and determination of wanting to do well for her friends and make sure they're safe, as any friend would do. I'm just not quite there with her yet, as to pin pointing what her doctor is about. Some people have commented saying that 'she's basically a female David Tennant' and in some ways, I can see that coming through in the performance.
I think the main reason as to why I haven't warmed to her yet is because I loved Peter Capaldi so much and still feel very sad that he's not there anymore, I do find it hard to think that Whittaker is in it for the long haul. I think she defintetly has got some big shoes to fill. But I am liking what she's doing and will continue to watch with great interest.
It is a story that is character driven, and relies on the progression of how the characters do within the context of having to survive on a planet which has become a deathtrap. Now, some people have said that the storyline was weak and that it was one dimensional, I couldn't see that or understand the reasoning as to why people thought that way. But then I am someone who liked Bladerunner 2049, lots of people thought Bladerunner 2049 was boring and ponderous, and I didn't. I suppose if I was to sum it up in a nutshell it would be a matter of agree to disagree.
The Remnants were not that impressive, they sounded quite chilling when they spoke, but effectivly they were just some pieces of scary cloth which slithered about like a snake, and could kill you. Not keen on them as a monster.
The TARDIS comes back to us and it's a happy ending as the new Doctor is reunited with her TARDIS again. I have to say it's really good to have the TARDIS back as I have missed it, which just goes to show how much of an impact the TARDIS has on the programme and how it is an issential part of it, just like the Daleks and the Cybermen.
Nice new design. I like how they've redesigned it and made it into something more organic, it's a bit like the TV Movie TARDIS and the Coral blended into one.
Overall, I thought that "The Ghost Monument" is an episode which is crammed with action, zinging delivery from Jodie Whittaker, and haunting intersteller landscapes which arguably adds up to an even more impressive feat to last week's episode.
I would say that "The Ghost Monument" deserves, a very good, 7/10.
