Dr Who — Series 11: Episode 2 — The Ghost Monument

14th October, 2018.

I have to admit: I feel mildly pleased with myself.


I’ve been at work, today: managing to get home, with a brief takeaway meal, just as tonight’s episode of Dr Who — The Ghost Monument — finished.

Mildly pleased, I hear you say … ?

Well yes.

I actually managed to avoid Twitter and Facebook, in the meantime.

Spoilers, and all that … 

~≈§≈~

Unlike like week?

Episode 2 — The Ghost Monument — opens with the new title sequence* … 

But opens by showing us Ryan and Graham — Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh — being rescued from certain death in deep space: being teleported into a passing spaceship by its pilot, Angstrom (Susan Lynch).

Whilst the Doctor and Yas being rescued by Angstrom’s rival, Epzo (Shaun Dooley.)

The pair of rogue pilots?

Are taking part in an in galactic arc organised by Ilin (Art Malik): in the hopes of winning serious amounts of money.

A race whose final stage is a planet with no inhabitants, sniper robots, killer robots …

A race that — in theory — only one of them can walk out of.

~≈§≈~

Now … 

I’m thinking there’s a lot I could be saying here.

For one thing … ?

I’m thinking the scenes between Cole and Walsh were a touch …

You know, I don’t know if I could tell you exactly what I thought they were.

Bar well done: and much needed.

I think we’re going to see a good deal of development of the pair’s relationship along the way.

But I think it’s possible representative of how this eleventh season is going to go.

I know Chris Chibnall has stated there won’t have a Bad Wolf style story arc.

Concentrating, instead, on character building across the episodes.

All well and good.

But?

We saw, tonight, that Desolation† — the planet The Ghost Monument is set on — has been destroyed: after being used as a weapons research facility by the Stenza.

OK … I can take Mr C’s statement at face value … 

But I’m ALSO thinking there was a little bit of fibbing going on: there might be more mentions of the big blue meanies, further down the line.

We’ll have to see, won’t we?

Now … 

Now the team have been introduced to the TARDIS … ?

Who’ll be watching, next week … ?

*        A very organic looking title sequence: one that put me in mind of the Pertwee and Baker era tunnel effect.

†        Just as an extra point, here?   I have to admit to being something of a fan of Iain Banks’ SF work: when he’s calling himself Iain M. Banks.   I find his mix of emotional emotional truth and BIG space opera quite addictive: the fact he’s no longer here to write more?   Is a screaming tragedy.   Until looking at The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit two parter, or the later The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People.   I found those very reminiscent of his work.   Emotional depth … and big space opera …