Ramblings and Mini-Review

So, I'm kind of cheating a little bit.  I'm writing this very late Thursday night.  Because I have a lot to do tomorrow, the last full day before I move.  And my antique Toshiba Netbook zips to new pages and folders like a sloth in slow motion.

But I am smarter than my Netbook.  I know that if I type this now, and merely post it tomorrow, I will be much less frustrated.  Because you can always stay up just a little bit later, but there are only so many business hours in a day.

Anyway, I'm busy and sleep deprived.  You'd better prepare yourself: This may be a scattered post.

Now, a friend suggested I review Into the Dalek, the most recent episode of Doctor Who.  I want my Wednesday Reviews to have variety, so I hadn't planned on it, but sure.  Why not?

So here's a spoiler-free mini-review of Into the Dalek, even though it's not a Wednesday.


Introduction: Doctor Who, blah blah, Time Lord, blah, Clara, blah, TARDIS.  Read a proper intro to the series here.  (See?  Sleep deprived.)


My Review: First, I know a lot of people out there have Dalek fatigue.  I get it.  I really do.  We've seen them a lot.  Fine.  I understand.  I'll roll my eyes at a Dalek-centric episode with the best of them if it's stale.

That said, I'm quite fond of the Daleks in principle.  It brings me a childlike glee to watch a good Dalek episode.  And when it comes to Daleks, Steven Moffat is a genius.*

Here's why: He somehow manages to take an (arguably) over-used monster and come up with an astonishingly creative story to make it fresh.  He did it with Asylum of the Daleks last season, and now he co-wrote this wonderful new episode (the premise was his idea).**

But enough about The Great Dalek Controversy!

This episode was awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.

I was very nervous about the stuff w/Clara at the school, but it was so well-written and acted, I just can't dislike it.  It's actually quite charming.

The Dalek plot concept was nicely creative; it felt fresh in a way that a certain other Dalek episode (which I can't actually mention in the post for fear of suggesting too much about the plot concept, but here's a link) most definitely did not.

Some of the visual effects could have been better.

The 12-Clara dynamic continues to delight.  Loved the little dialogue through-line they had.  Enjoyed the way she got after him - harsh Doctor gets harsh treatment.  But even harsh Doctors have sensitive souls and Clara takes care of that, too.


And there you go.  Not so 'mini' because of addressing The Great Dalek Controversy, but it had to be done.


And what else?  I have so much to do tomorrow.  I'd like it all done so that when I pick Dad up at the airport on Saturday, we can just run by the house, load up the car, put out the trash, walk around to make sure I didn't forget anything, go fill up on gas and weigh the car, have lunch at Farmhaus, and hit the road.  We'll see.



*See?  Not a Moffat-hater.
**To those who think Asylum of the Daleks and/or Into the Dalek were rubbish episodes: You are wrong.