The Rings of Akhaten

[tenlittlebullets]

Well, that... wanted to be a much better episode than it really was? It was cute. Eleven and Clara are adorbs. It also didn't even try to have a plot that made sense, which would be more forgivable if it didn't try to shove forward into a big melodramatic climax that I guess was supposed to give us lots of feelings, but it felt cheap and not earned at all and I was still too busy trying to figure out basic elements of the plot and what things were even supposed to mean. Most of which were never made clear at all. Not earning your big emotional climax is a bit of a stupid error to fall into when you have an entire subplot about using objects of personal value as currency, but then again maybe that's what Neil Cross was trying to do, cash in on our feelings about the show's history in a cheap and exploitative manner.

Also, Who fandom seems completely divided between "Murray Gold is awesome" and "Murray Gold should be dragged out back and shot for crimes against good taste," and I think this is the only time I've jumped ship into the latter camp since the choirs of angels sang Ten to his angsty drawn-out rest.

Perhaps I am being overly mean. It's just that I very very rarely outright dislike an episode of Who right after it airs, normally I am all over defending them and pointing out their redeeming qualities even if the execution was botched, and this time I just... can't. It's making me cranky.

Comments

[remindmeofthe]

So, for someone who was mostly bored with a touch of annoyance for Bells of St John . . . not really worth watching?

I think Moffat needs to recharge his creative batteries. And, in my fondest dreams, lrn2feminism, but that's never gonna happen.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Think I'm kinda with you on this one...this episode just...could have been better. And all the massive song-fest didn't do much for me. I don't mind being emotionally manipulated - just do it well, with maturity and for gods-sakes make sure the storyline is coherent.

*HUGS*

[eaweek.livejournal.com]

It also didn't even try to have a plot that made sense, which would be more forgivable if it didn't try to shove forward into a big melodramatic climax that I guess was supposed to give us lots of feelings, but it felt cheap and not earned at all and I was still too busy trying to figure out basic elements of the plot and what things were even supposed to mean. Most of which were never made clear at all.

a_phoenixdragon linked to your review, which I have to say I liked a lot and mirrors my reaction really well. I loved most of the setup of the episode, but the last 10 minutes or so just lost me. The music was wonderful, but I would have liked to see it attached to a better script. Part of the problem for me was that the mummy and the weird robot henchmen were more scary than the Big Bad itself, which was a rather silly CGI effect. Eleven's big emo moment (how many of them has he had now?) fell kind of flat.

LOL about your notes on the music. I love most of the season five soundtrack and some of the season six as well, but until this episode I couldn't honestly remember one memorable piece of music since "The Wedding of River Song."

[radiolaires]

Stumbled on this review that reassured me greatly. So far I've seen either reviews praising Matt Smith and the music and the emotion and completely ignoring the silly plot or gorgeous metas all buried in, well, metas and symbols which is great but doesn't always treat the episode as what it is, an episode, supposed to be narratively efficient, which I felt it wasn't always.
I, too, felt I was expected to shed a tear, over Clara's past, over the big final musical number and it bothered me.

Murray Gold is awesome. Does the production always use his music wisely? Not sure.

I'm with you on the 'it could have been better' feeling. Didn't hate it though, not as annoyed as by The Power of Three. I think it has something to do with the fact this half season is supposed to be very movie-like, which means a lot of money is put into the set, the costumes, special effects, the 'cool' stuff.