Friday, June 12, 2015

The Lodger - "They never really stop."

The Lodger (Doctor Who) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Series 5, Story 11 (Overall Series Story #215) | Previous - Next | Index

Craig and the Doctor via chemically-calmed
Not that I thought of it that way at the time, but it's The First One With James Corden in it. Never having seen Gavin And Stacey, it's The Late, Late Show -- where he succeeded massive Whovian, and long time mate of Peter Capaldi, Craig Ferguson -- that I know him by.

This story's going to get short-shrifted by me a bit, in that I just did a number on the Series 3 finale, and "The Lodger" is, in my estimation, a much slighter affair. Not to say there's much wrong with it, it's miles better than "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords," in my estimation, it just doesn't have lofty ambitions or vast scope. It's a relatively quiet little domestic thriller with some comic charm and a few easter eggs that put the "calm" in "the calm before the (oncoming) storm(ageddon)."

Amy's trapped in the TARDIS, bumped off a steady landing by a mysterious force that the Doctor is a little nervous about engaging, so he Doctor goes undercover as a normal guy to investigate the upstairs of Craig's building, where power surges, creeping rot, some unusual bumping and thumping emanate from. The Doctor's undercover normal is about as successful as Twelve's in "The Caretaker." ("Have you seen you?" Amy asks.) Craig, a likable bloke with a crush on a ladyfriend he hasn't worked up the nerve to act on, yet, is a tolerant foil for the Doctor's antics and it's all a bit of a lark -- around the dead bodies, and until Craig's love interest is lured upstairs.

All-in-all, a pleasant enough tale about knowing what you want and deciding to take action to go after it. If somebody told me I had to pick an episode Oprah Winfrey might like, I guess this'd be the one. *shrugs*

Odds-n-ends:

  • Really don't miss this TARDIS interior design. give the coral desktop theme any day.
  • Check the refrigerator door, looks like Craig went (or will go) to the Van Gogh exhibit.
  • Remember the bit of tech Three whipped up in "The Time Monster"?  Eleven goes bigger along the same lines in this one.
  • Eleven's football skills are roughly on par with, if not somewhat superior to, Five's cricket.
  • Got a ton of exposition to get through, but don't just want your characters to blurt it out rapid-fire? This episode solves it with a some psychic transference via head-butting that works rather well.
  • Want to take the opportunity to plug The Late, Late Show. I missed his debut ... I watch very little late night TV; but when Letterman was saying farewell, I started checking out Corden's current gig and found he's doing a bang up job. He's the best of Fallon, but without the smarminess, and of Kimmel, but not quite so ... bro. He's got some Letterman's edge in his DNA, but is a better interviewer -- using the full couch technique of Graham Norton to good effect.   


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