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Jun. 21st, 2006 10:51 amOK, I'd forgotten the Stupid that is episode 5 of The Dalek Invasion Of Earth. There are interesting human bits- a betrayal, a tragic family moment- and the storylines intertwining works pretty well. But the writers took the science right out of science fiction and exterminated it so it went all negative for a moment and screamed horribly and collapsed, and then they laughed like Daleks, which Daleks don't actually do, but if they did I'm betting they'd sound like the Smash robots, really irritating and monotone; and anyway it's writers laughing and not actually Daleks so they can just make up the sound. Only I bet they'd get it wrong. Gits.
Leaving aside the Daleks having a huge "As you know, Bob" conversation, in English, and all the dials in their control room being labelled in English as well (when we've already been shown their writing splashed over London landmarks in earlier episodes...) what we learn from the AYKB is just rubbish. Clearly when they found the budget didn't stretch to a science consultant, they forgot that they could take the alternative step of reading the script to a three-year-old to see if it fell about howling with derisive laughter. And we get David going "they dare to meddle with the forces of creation!". Ohhhh dear. A real waste of a chilling setup at the start of the story.
(There were also two "but of course" moments, where it's much too naked that the only reason for something is "the plot says so." 'But of course in a complex filled with hundreds of prisoners, the ones Ian is interested in walk right past his corridor!' - OK, this one might get a pass, being not uncommon in half-hour TV shows, if the rest of the episode hadn't already annoyed me. But 'Of course when they made a hugely powerful bomb they left an empty space in the casing just large enough for a person to hide in!' - No. Sorry. Too much Stupid.)
Anyway, it's a shame, because the scary cliffhanger for this ep that also leads into the final episode's climax is a load of cobblers. Luckily there's still the human-interest plot.
Leaving aside the Daleks having a huge "As you know, Bob" conversation, in English, and all the dials in their control room being labelled in English as well (when we've already been shown their writing splashed over London landmarks in earlier episodes...) what we learn from the AYKB is just rubbish. Clearly when they found the budget didn't stretch to a science consultant, they forgot that they could take the alternative step of reading the script to a three-year-old to see if it fell about howling with derisive laughter. And we get David going "they dare to meddle with the forces of creation!". Ohhhh dear. A real waste of a chilling setup at the start of the story.
(There were also two "but of course" moments, where it's much too naked that the only reason for something is "the plot says so." 'But of course in a complex filled with hundreds of prisoners, the ones Ian is interested in walk right past his corridor!' - OK, this one might get a pass, being not uncommon in half-hour TV shows, if the rest of the episode hadn't already annoyed me. But 'Of course when they made a hugely powerful bomb they left an empty space in the casing just large enough for a person to hide in!' - No. Sorry. Too much Stupid.)
Anyway, it's a shame, because the scary cliffhanger for this ep that also leads into the final episode's climax is a load of cobblers. Luckily there's still the human-interest plot.
