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Reviews > Doctor Who: The Legacy > Ruins of Self II - Chapter Five
Chapter Five Review by Sally Wiget A main theme to this chapter is the idea of home--Alf smiles when she sees their ship nearing Pluto, knowing that she is entering her own solar system; the Martian pilot on Vlaash's ship is surprised when Alf suggests the Ice Warriors should settle on Pluto instead ("Why would we chose to do that? Mars is our home," he tells her); King Garet is the epitome of a king whose homeland has been conquered by foreigners, refusing to kneel before said conquerers; even Nick's search for peace with his unhappy thoughts is a form of looking for a home within his own head. Tying into this idea is many of the characters' new disgust with war; they wish to find alternatives. It's an interesting theme that will hopefully be continued and resolved in the remaining chapters to the story There are also some interesting reversals and parallels within this chapter. The description of Peladon mentions soiled tapestries, "faded with age," and not too much later Mars, the planet belonging to a people who would take Peladon over again, is described as "somewhat ruined," the city "in a state of decay." And for a nice little twist, it's Alf's turn to leave Nick alone to sort out his feelings. But obviously what any Who fan wants to hear about in this episode involves the (here's the kicker) apparently-regenerated Doctor. His introduction is well-made, and he's obviously a very different personality from the previous Doctor. Some classic Doctor cliches are mentioned (what story would be complete without a line like "Peladon is in serious danger; you must believe me!"?), but some of these very cliches almost certainly wouldn't work with the Brian Blessed version of the Doctor. At the same time, new traits for this Doctor are introduced--a lisp, rubbing his ear, etc. And personally I found the whole "whoops" thing at the beginning of the chapter very cute. However, while it was immediately obvious to me this was the new Doctor (okay, so I had some insider information beforehand, but still...), it shouldn't have been--and wasn't--as obvious to the Pels. I found Chancellor Howert's about-face when he decided to trust the Doctor a bit too abrupt, and I could have done with more consideration on his part. And despite the possibility that the new guy isn't the Doctor, putting his name in "quotes" every time it was mentioned got a little annoying after a while--I can understand the reasoning behind it, but I got it after the first couple times it was used. Perhaps it could have been used again strategically at certain points, not every single time the "Doctor" was mentioned?
Some great little humourous moments ("Battle stations!" "We don't have battlestations"; "Procedures can be so boring," said with a sunny smile by the Doctor) and a wonderful moment of foreshadowing by Nick ("Death is certainly one way to clear the mind"); all in all, a well-written and fascinating chapter that leaves me very excited for the next installment. One last thing--I do wish "Your" in "Your Majesty" had been capitalized throughout...but I'm just a perfectionist that way.
Chapter Five Review by Paul Clement Although this is chapter five of Ruins, both this and the last chapter seem to have only tenuous links with the previous section of the story. Yes, the chapter does deal with some of the consequences of the previous half of Ruins, but it seems a completely different story so far. The obvious consequence and the one I shall first hit upon, is the apparent regeneration of the Doctor. This is without a doubt a major change, but it loses some its dramatic impact by happening at this stage of the story. I feel as if the authors have missed out on giving us something truly memorable here and the first appearance of the Doctor seems somewhat flat in comparison to what it could have been. Not being a fan of a certain American show, the identity of the actor who this Doctor is based upon was not readily apparent to me, though the cover did give it away. Not being able to surmise how well they have captured the characterisation, I would however add that they show some nice touches when the Doctor is first described though. The slight lisp, again I assume based upon the actor in question, gives a good idea of how much the authors have considered the new persona of this Doctor. You can tell almost immediately this is a different person, not just on the physical level. The scenes in Peladon are well written, with a lot of emphasis given to the brutality of the Martians who in this story are wonderfully written for. We see so much more to their nature both the good and the bad and they come across all the better for it, at last fully rounded beings. The scene with the King of the Pels being subjugated so totally is hauntingly frightening, and speaks volumes for the skill of the writers. There was a point in there where I wanted to see the Martians overthrown so much, a sure sign that you are getting to the reader on a very empathic level. If the scenes on Peladon are gripping, they pale in comparison to the wonderful writing and plot implementation used in the scenes featuring Nick and Alf. There are moments in most Dr Who stories that a major character looks doomed to die, but usually there is the feeling that this won't be the case. Twice the writers managed to convince me that a major character had died, when the ship was destroyed and then finally when Nick is hit by the blast of a Martian sonic weapon. And in the second case, it looks like they may have really done it. One gripe I do have is that although Nick is dealt with brilliantly, and we get to see his attempts to come to terms with his anger and his feelings of betrayal, the alleged instances of Alf coming to terms with and trying to change her violent nature are very hard to spot, in fact I couldn't really see them there at all. Overall, Andie and Betty are providing a good story that perhaps could have been so much more. I'm also awaiting the scenes that show this really is a continuation to the first part of Ruins of Self. |
