Invasion of the Fat People

Just as an experiment, a snap review of Aliens of London, which finished a couple of minutes ago:

Well, to get the negative stuff out of the way, I really, really, really could have done without the fart gags. Nor was I at all keen on the implicit "thin people good, fat people evil" subtext -- there was no particular reason why some of the non-farting-alien characters couldn't have been a bit on the plump side, in order to avoid that implicit equation.

Other than that, Aliens of London was a top episode. From the shockingly emotional first few minutes -- where for the first time in Doctor Who we see how a companion's disappearance has affected her family -- to the last few with the treble cliffhanger, this was quality stuff. (Even the farting, I have to admit, served a plot purpose... and even a characterisation purpose to some extent, in that it showed that the Slitheen found their adopted human bodies hilarious. Even so -- Christ on a bike. I know ten-year-olds find that sort of thing funny, but can't you try amusing them by, say, making a joke about something?)

The increased run time offered by the two-part format means that for the first time this series we get plot twists! More than one of them, in fact -- the various sequential revelations of the Slitheen's plan were really quite effective, and I even failed to guess the (in retrospect rather obvious) final twist. It's a slight shame that the three cliffhangers were all identical (with the slight twist of the electric badges in the case of the Doctor's storyline), but even so the episode made good (and effectively Whoish) use of the opportunity... even if the trailer shown immediately afterwards showed everybody getting away again.

The human element -- the subplot with Mickey, Rose's mother and extended circle of friends -- was effective and really quite affecting, showing the emotionally devastating results of what the Doctor does. Mickey got the chance to seem more competent and less arseholish, having been rather two-dimensional in Rose even before being replaced by an Auton. The Doctor appearing to let Rose down by leaving behind her back (understandable enough, given how annoying her family were being), and then coming back for her, was rather lovely.

The splendid Penelope Wilton was as good as ever, and Rupert Vansittart (who I now realise I recognise from Four Weddings and a Funeral) was decent enough too when he wasn't farting. (I realise General Asquith may qualify as a benign fat character, but the fact that he was taken over by the evil-fat-farting-aliens shortly after his first appearance tends to negate that.) Eccleston and Piper were back on form after what I thought were rather dodgy performances in The Unquiet Dead last week.

There was a particularly good line I wanted to mention, but it eludes me. Damn.

A couple more minor negatives: the aliens didn't look too convincing. Comparing the Slitheen with the aliens in The End of the World shows fairly clearly that models and costumes, not C.G.I., are the way to go here. (That said, the pig costume was also a bit crap. Hmm.) The "Big Bad Wolf" foreshadowing -- whatever the hell it's for -- is being laid on a bit heavy now, I feel. I'm wondering now whether the graffiti disappeared when the TARDIS dematerialised, or if it stayed painted on. I'll have to check for that when I re-watch.

However, I probably won't be doing that until I can rewatch the episode back-to-back with the sequel, World War Three -- which I am now really looking forward to. Doctor Who with a strong plot as well as touching character moments. I'm in Heaven...

...although admittedly the smell here is a little sulphurous.