Thirteen Faces

Matthew Stott, a.k.a. Fine Young Doctor Who Thing on “Under the Lake”:

I’ve not exactly been on the Toby Whithouse hype-train. He seems to get a lot of support as a possible show runner out there, and whilst I know he can do great things (Being Human), his Who work has rarely fully grabbed me. He’s not written ‘bad’ episodes, but also, out of the four he penned prior to ‘Under The Lake’, only one, ‘God Complex’, got me all ‘ooh!’ with little reservation. I mean, OF COURSE I loved all the Sarah Jane stuff in ‘School Reunion’, but outside of that, the episode didn’t do a whole lot.

​I suspect that the calls for Whithouse to be the next Doctor Who showrunner is a reaction to the ever evolving, ever experimenting Steven Moffat. Whenever a writer brings a modernised version of a traditional story, some people react and want that writer to run Doctor Who. See Jamie Mathieson as evidence. ​ ​Stott continues:

A lot of this felt like a retread of the familiar. Done very, very well, mind you, but adding little new or surprising to the mix.

Mark, in his commentary on “Under the Lake”:

A quick look at Twitter reveals that this has been a very popular story with fans. There seems to be a consensus that it’s like ‘classic Doctor Who.’ Not a particular Doctor, or decade, but just somehow like the original series. Over the ten years that the series has back on our screens, there seems to have been a smoothing of twentieth century seasons into a homogeneous whole that is looked upon very favourably. Where the wilderness years had fans divided over, say, the Colin Baker or Sylvester McCoy eras; 1963-89 now feels like it’s treated as a gold standard by some fans, and the polarisation is more prevalent between the Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat eras.

​In the 1980s, there was a distinct antagonism between John Nathan-Turner (and his era) with his predecessor’s era, Graham Williams. Now those eras all blend together. ​ ​And so will Russell T Davies’s and Steven Moffat’s in decades to come.

Philip Sandifer reviews “Under the Lake”:

And yet there’s no obvious reference point for this in the classic series. It doesn’t feel like a McCoy story or a Davison story. It’s tempting to call anything that’s a base under siege a Troughton story, but no, this isn’t how one of those works or feels either. Indeed, its basic formula is unmistakably a new series standard - the action-heavy setup to a premise-changing cliffhanger.

​A common review of the story is that “Under the Lake” is a traditional Doctor Who story. It is a traditional base-under-siege story. ​ ​But as Sandifer notes, writer Toby Whithouse did not watch “classic Doctor Who”. He may not have seen those stories and definitely did not grow up with them like Moffat or Capaldi. It’s as if Whithouse is writing traditional Doctor Who from a folk memory.

Stuart Ian Burns notes, in his review of “Under the Lake”:

[…] we’re almost seeing a reverse of the Fourth and Leela during their Hinchcliffe season, of Clara attempting to civilise him.

​The twelfth Doctor is the savage, uncivilised man who must be taught the niceties of a cultured class.

Charlie Jane Anders, in her review of “Under the Lake”

The Doctor is so keen on discovering the truth about this fascinating phenomenon (and also possibly stopping a potentially huge threat) that he’s willing to put everyone in danger. It’s a bit of a throwback to the second Doctor Who episode ever, when he sabotaged the TARDIS, to force his companions to explore the Dalek city.

And the thing is, Clara does nothing about this. She’s even more gung-ho than the Doctor is, to get swept up in the adventure. […]

It’s been a huge trope on Doctor Who, in recent years, that the Doctor’s human traveling companions keep him anchored and connect him to humanity. […] So now the Doctor has a companion, but she’s too busy being another Doctor to fulfill her usual role in the grand scheme of things, and that spells trouble.

The Doctor and Clara are the most dangerous best friends, egging each other on to something more dangerous.

JR Southall, in his review of “Under the Lake”:

There is a huge amount of imagery conveying the twin themes of communication through the visual spectrum – an aspect of Moffat’s work that has been present throughout his Doctor Who career – with an ever-present but never intrusive focus on eyes and reflections; the very lack of opaqueness in the ghosts themselves a consolidation of this.

​The visual medium, the camera and eyes, become a character. Take note how this was used in “The God Complex” and “Mummy on the Orient Express”.

Eddie McGuigan, in his preview of “Under the Lake”, starts off by picturing Doctor Who in the 1970s (or your own childhood):

It was autumn, getting dark, maybe a little windy and cold outside. Curtains were drawn, tea had, everyone on the couch. The haunting melody would drag that old blue box down a swirling tunnel and open up to some plucky guest stars with some pretty distinct characteristics in a claustrophobic base set slightly in the future. There’d be a leader, brusque but true, a scientist, a creepy and slightly untrustworthy specialist, and a few immediately likeable characters who you could envisage as companions to the Doctor. Just as we’re getting to know them, something will happen – a likeable character will be killed, a monster will appear…

…and elsewhere in the base, tucked away in a cupboard or utility area there’ll be a strange, wheezing, groaning sound and an old blue Police Box will materialise out of thin air. It’ll sit for a second, as if gathering its thoughts, then an eccentric man will spring from the creaking door, sniffing the air, followed by a pretty, plucky companion, eyes wide with excitement at the start of a new adventure. Before long, the man – known only as the Doctor – will be embroiled in the situation, with his companion a loyal sidekick, and he’ll take control of the group meeting various levels of resistance, from suspicion, aggression to immediate new friendships.

​What are the chances that after “Under the Lake”, Toby Whithouse will be discussed as a new showrunner. We saw it when Jamie Mathieson wrote the traditional yet modern “Mummy on the Orient Express”. We will see it again with this story. ​ ​Echoes of the past will want people yearning for it in the future.

Simon Brew previews “Under The Lake” at Den of Geek:

There’s clearly been some effort to diversify the crew in a couple of ways, but the most interesting - and it’s far from box-ticking - is that the captain here, Cass, is deaf, and requires someone to sign for her.

​Series 9 has an undercurrent of diversity. More directors and writers who are female. A transgender villain who is wonderful. A leader who is deaf. And there is more.

Will Brooks, at Doctor Who Online, previews “Under the Lake”:

In the past, Doctor Who has always taken a fairly firm line when it comes to supernatural elements such as ghosts; there’s always a scientific explanation behind these things. It’s rather brilliant, then, to see the Doctor so thrilled by the prospect that he might have been wrong all along, and that death really is just the start of a new adventure.

The Doctor is a traveller who loves to discover new things. Learning something new means that you have discovered you can be wrong. That’s the Doctor. Excited to discover that he is wrong.

Cameron K McEwan in his preview of “Under the Lake”, discusses the rudeness of the twelfth Doctor:

The idea that Doctor needs Clara to guide him in etiquette, given how selfish and solipsistic she can be at times, is risible. Steven Moffat has often made a great play about each regeneration of the same man. If Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor is indeed the same man then he wouldn’t need this device. Sure, he has been brusque and alien in almost every incarnation but he’s always been friendly, empathetic and understanding whomever he’s dealing with throughout the universe.

It evokes the casually callous and needlessly bitter, “She cares so I don’t have to!” from last year’s Into the Dalek and also reminds one of Steven’s other show Sherlock - where the great intelligence of Baker Street’s finest has to be compounded with the fact that’s he’s socially autistic and needs lesser mortals to teach him about the trivialities of life and human beings. If The Doctor is indeed the same man, then he doesn’t need this tutelage, especially from Clara - who is now a fidgety imp demanding monsters and “things blowing up” every week (join the club!) in a tad annoying way.

​The Doctor is rude to adults (or people in authority), yet friendly to children (or people outside of authority). Has the twelfth Doctor moved too far from the norm?