The Ghost Monument by Chris Chibnall
The Ghost Monument is the second episode of the 11th series of the revival of Doctor Who, or Season 37 overall. It features the first appearance of the 10th variation of the TARDIS Console room and the 12th variation of the opening title sequence.
The Ghost Monument had many of the same issues as the previous episode. There was a lot that could be but just wasn't there. It lacked depth. The lines were not executed. And it felt incredibly slow, and not in a good way. It does appear that Chibnall lied over there being no series arc, as this 'Timeless Child' is mentioned, so no doubt we will discover what this is in the series finale. Before I get into the crux of the review scoring system I want to discuss the new opening titles and TARDIS interior
Opening Titles - Steven Moffat had three title sequences under his belt, the most recent was used from 2014-2017 so it was perhaps time for a new one. Firstly a few facts about it. This is the first title sequence to not feature the TARDIS since the 1986 variation (variation 5). The names of the main actors still appear that have been a feature since variation 7 but in addition, for the first time in the show's history the director and producer are now in the title sequence as well as the writer. The title sequence has vary much originated back to the very first one. I quite like the opening titles and the music but my only criticism of it is that it sort of just ends, which I don't like. I also think the TARDIS should be in it, only because I'm used to it.
As a fan of statistics (who would have guessed) here are the number of times something has been in a title sequence.
TARDIS: IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI
Names of actors: VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII
Name of episode and writer: I-XII
Names of director and producer: XII
The Doctor's face: II, III, IV, V, VI, X, XI
TARDIS interior - The TARDIS console is a sort of cross between David Tennant's and Paul McGann's. It's a very large room and very dark with a lot of organic nature to it. I'm not overly keen on it but I think it's better than Matt Smith's first one.
Doctor Rating
13th Doctor: 6/10 - Jodie continues to struggle from the same problem as last week for me. She can't deliver the lines probably. They just seem so simplistic. It's a fault with the script as well as her. It is early days but as it stands she needs to improve.
Companion rating
Graham O'Brien: 6/10 - Again, not going to fault Bradley. I feel like Graham was so repetitive in this episode. Scenes were just random with him. It was like Chibnall thought, "best we cover the issue of his wife dying" and then its just chucked in there. He also kept on saying he was confused, more so than the others.
Ryan Sinclair: 6/10 - Ryan was better than last week but not enough to make him rise in the scoring. His 'call of duty' moment seemed really forced and he too couldn't deliver lines probably like the Doctor.
Yasmin Khan: 6/10 - Yas is definitely my favourite companion but unfortunately this week she did't do much but add a comment that felt forced, not Mandip's fault but Chibnall's writing I think. This is the issue with having three companions
Companion Total: 18/30
Enemy Rating
Remnants: 6/10 - Really creepy voices but other than that. They were not threatening and failed to kill a single person. It is a good idea, just executed on paper poorly. That last sentence is a good way to describe the entire episode.
Robots: 4/10 - Just like stormtroopers, didn't hit anything, slow and popped out of nowhere when the plot needed
Total: 10/20
Story Rating
Story: 6/10 - The story is a good idea but really didn't flow, just like last week. It seems to be a collection of scenes. No fluidity. I felt that the dialogue was poor, just sort of thrown in there for the sack of it. I also thought Epzo was out of character excepting the joint winner at the end and the way Ilin just excepts it too was just so unrealistic. It was quite CBeebies in the way it chucks moral messages at you, it isn't subliminal or delivered through a well executed speech like Capaldi would do. I wasn't really impressed to be honest, sorry to Chibnall.
Scariness: 7/10 - The remnants were very creepy, but they could have done more. The robots were pathetic, hence the score.
Seriousness: 6/10 - No TARDIS is pretty serious but that wasn't put across well for me. It started off very fast paced, which was good but after that it was slow and not threatening. We could have seen the water kill someone.
Humour: 6/10 - Pretty lackluster here again. "Come to daddy, I mean mummy" was the only one I laughed at. I was not happy at another Tim Shaw reference
Continuity: 7/10 - No fluidity as discussed and although it did seem connected to the last one, they were chucked in at random times I felt. I'm also no dysprexia expert but it does seem that Ryan's is a bit part time. He can run perfectly well, but can't climb ladders, even though last week he was able to outclimb 'Tim Shaw'.
Total: 32/50
Rest of Cast performance
Epzo: 8/10 - Really well acted by Dooley however it was out of character for him at the end to have a joint victory, hence not full marks
Angstrom: 7/10 - Likeable enough, just needed a bit more depth. This would have been easier with less companions dotted around.
Illin: 6/10 - Well acted but gave up at the end just like that, which I wasn't impressed by
Total: 21/30
Total: 87/140
Series 11 Rankings:
The Woman who Fell to Earth: 64.29%
The Ghost Monument: 62.14%
Scores out of 10:
The Woman who Fell to Earth: 6/10
The Ghost Monument: 6/10
Overall I actually thought the Ghost Monument was a slight improvement to the previous week dispite the mark, but only slightly.
I am hoping today's episode will be significantly better. It needs to be or this series will be the worst of the modern era, I know its early doors to say that but I am concerned.
