Reviews

Doctor Who: Blue Forgotten Planet by Nicholas Briggs, Marc Platt

cecesloth's review

3.0

I'm very conflicted on this one, because while it works as a bombastic season finale, with set-pieces happening at every turn, the intense character drama that cemented the first half of this run gets swept away in the technobabble. Mila also isn't as psychopathic as she should be and the resolution to her arc gets tied up a bit easily. Charley's story just feels like a Marvel movie set-up for the next thing.

Still, there's some great thematic stuff going on in the background, I especially like the bits about making documentaries for higher powers to save humanity, instead of actually doing something.

nwhyte's review

"Blue Forgotten Planet by Nicholas Briggs, is India Fisher's swansong as Charley Pollard. Once she hooked up with the Sixth Doctor after her adventures with the Eighth, it was clear that some pretty dramatic resolution was needed, and the stakes were raised a couple of stories ago by the introduction of a fake Charley identical to the real one. Briggs brings back the virus-hunting Viyrans, who he introduced for a series on one-episode stories a while back, for a resolution which barely works in plot terms but pays off very well emotionally and dramatically. Fisher is brilliant as the two versions of Charley - we are rarely in much doubt as to which she is acting. The setting of a devastated post-apocalyptic Earth is superbly portrayed, and the fact that the few surviving sane humans are making nature documentaries (with lovely background music) about their blue, forgotten planet, seems tragic rather than ludicrous. I didn't find it quite as good as Paper Cuts, but it is pretty good. (Unfortunately one of the guest cast, J.J. Field, takes most of the first episode to wake up to the fact that he is supposed to be acting.) See also Why Charlotte Pollard Pwns Rose Tyler."

cynt's review

3.0

I'm really conflicted about this one because the "Charley" arc didn't sit well with me... but regardless of that, good adventure with very interesting villains, and a satisfying, if heartbreaking, conclusion to Charley's arc.

kateofmind's review

5.0

This was a wonderful send-off for a wonderful character, but if course as a JJ Feild fangirl, I'm going to have to say the best part was the guest stars (Alec Newman, too!).