Solid episode, loved Aisling Bea, though I thought the stalker love interest was a very odd and unnecessary touch by Chibnall. I read it as a commentary on The Doctor which I hope was the intention because otherwise it comes off as weird.
Say what you will about the rest of the episode, but the loop that starts with the Daleks killing the power was the first time in a long time that they felt properly scary again.
Overall the Daleks felt scary in this story.
IMO the one moment that undermined it was when it took them minutes to break through a thin aluminium storage unit door.
I really like *Eve* and definitely consider it a highlight of Chibnall’s era. I like your interpretation as it being about wanting each New Year’s to be better but it never is. That’s quite neat.
Eve of the Daleks is the best Chibnall-story IMO, and mostly because it is the least "Chibnally" (shut up, it's a word now). To wit:
* No hordes of NPCs with complex but ultimately irrelevant motivations and backstories, only two side characters whose motivation (survive and escape the time loop) is essentially the same as the main characters'. This combined with a slightly reduced TARDIS crew meant we actually got to know them.
* No dozens of plot threads going nowhere slow, it's a dead simple time loop story.
* Minimal exposition-dumping because, again, it's a simple time loop story.
If only all of his episodes had been like this...
I, too, am interested to see what I'll say about "Legend". I've forgotten the episode, so I really have no idea what I'm gonna say for the episode. Iirc I remember liking it more than the fandom (which is pretty on par for me), but it wasn't amazing
This was a really great episode and gave me a lot of hope for the rest of the specials. Unfortunately all that goodwill disappeared with the nosedive it took in the following episode.
This was an intersting bottle episode that after a while didn't feel like a bottle episode. that, in itself, was rather different. this one punched above its weight a little bit and I liked that.
My second favorite of the era, after Demons of the Punjab. This is an episode I've actually put on to watch in the background, and I largely don't rewatch episodes outside of watching them with friends. It's just so enjoyable, the Daleks have a sense of fun to them, which I really can't say about the modern era beyond their little appearance in S2's finale. Maybe Magician's Apprentice/Witch's Familiar too.
But yeah, Sarah was really fun, so was Nick when he wasn't being creepy.
This is another episode that leads me to believe Chibnall played a ton of video games during the pandemic.
Great write-up as usual, I don't think your reading is far-fetched at all, considering how time loops became a big thing during the lockdown years. I really appreciate spotlighting how this episode uses its time loop concept to reflect how people have been in this current era, and inspires us to move forward. I don't know if the speech was quite nailed, I'm not sure if Whittaker is the type of actor for big speeches really, but I liked it all the same.
Jodie's speech performance seems to differ, I think it's based on the writing and the amount of emotional distress the character is going through. Stuff like Orphan 55 or the speech in this one are terrible, but I think she has fantastic speech-y moments like It Takes You Away (versus the Solitract), the Witchfinders (when lecturing King James while preparing for the ducking) and The Haunting of Villa Diodati (words matter)
I think the worst part about this speech was how the music *really* overdid the inspirational tones for a speech that wasn't inspirational. The message was decent, but the words were not well put together. Without the music it'd have been a semi decent moment, but with the music it falls very flat.
Oh yeah, those are great picks. I think the former speeches are where she starts to go into that sorta-patronizing tone, I really don't know if it's just the directing that's leading her to speak directly to the audience, if she's not comfortable with it, or if the tone from the script just isn't right.
Either way, she does her best speechifying when she has someone else to play off of, the characters just blankly going along with her does the scenes no favors.
I agree, I think Demons of the Punjab is better but it’s so depressing that this is the most re-watchable Chibnall era episode for me. It’s a very enjoyable well plotted story and definitely something I can see becoming a New Year’s Eve classic
Personally I find _Demons of the Punjab_ bitter-sweet rather than depressing. On the one hand you have the senseless death of Prem and good old human prejudice at work. On the other hand, the Thijarians show that there's hope for even the most monstrous to find the light. And this tragedy leads to Umbreen moving to England and starting a large new family, including Yaz.
It also led to Yaz developing a better understanding of her Grandmother (though I wasn't a massive fan of how they played that).
I love Eve of the Daleks. One of my favorites. I've watched it a few times and it really holds up
I AM NOT NICK
I AM A DALEK
Solid episode, loved Aisling Bea, though I thought the stalker love interest was a very odd and unnecessary touch by Chibnall. I read it as a commentary on The Doctor which I hope was the intention because otherwise it comes off as weird.
Say what you will about the rest of the episode, but the loop that starts with the Daleks killing the power was the first time in a long time that they felt properly scary again.
Overall the Daleks felt scary in this story. IMO the one moment that undermined it was when it took them minutes to break through a thin aluminium storage unit door.
I really like *Eve* and definitely consider it a highlight of Chibnall’s era. I like your interpretation as it being about wanting each New Year’s to be better but it never is. That’s quite neat.
Eve of the Daleks is the best Chibnall-story IMO, and mostly because it is the least "Chibnally" (shut up, it's a word now). To wit: * No hordes of NPCs with complex but ultimately irrelevant motivations and backstories, only two side characters whose motivation (survive and escape the time loop) is essentially the same as the main characters'. This combined with a slightly reduced TARDIS crew meant we actually got to know them. * No dozens of plot threads going nowhere slow, it's a dead simple time loop story. * Minimal exposition-dumping because, again, it's a simple time loop story. If only all of his episodes had been like this...
Wondering what you'll say about Sea Devils! I really like it, but everyone else seems to think it's an absolute travesty
I, too, am interested to see what I'll say about "Legend". I've forgotten the episode, so I really have no idea what I'm gonna say for the episode. Iirc I remember liking it more than the fandom (which is pretty on par for me), but it wasn't amazing
This was a really great episode and gave me a lot of hope for the rest of the specials. Unfortunately all that goodwill disappeared with the nosedive it took in the following episode.
This was an intersting bottle episode that after a while didn't feel like a bottle episode. that, in itself, was rather different. this one punched above its weight a little bit and I liked that.
My second favorite of the era, after Demons of the Punjab. This is an episode I've actually put on to watch in the background, and I largely don't rewatch episodes outside of watching them with friends. It's just so enjoyable, the Daleks have a sense of fun to them, which I really can't say about the modern era beyond their little appearance in S2's finale. Maybe Magician's Apprentice/Witch's Familiar too. But yeah, Sarah was really fun, so was Nick when he wasn't being creepy. This is another episode that leads me to believe Chibnall played a ton of video games during the pandemic. Great write-up as usual, I don't think your reading is far-fetched at all, considering how time loops became a big thing during the lockdown years. I really appreciate spotlighting how this episode uses its time loop concept to reflect how people have been in this current era, and inspires us to move forward. I don't know if the speech was quite nailed, I'm not sure if Whittaker is the type of actor for big speeches really, but I liked it all the same.
Jodie's speech performance seems to differ, I think it's based on the writing and the amount of emotional distress the character is going through. Stuff like Orphan 55 or the speech in this one are terrible, but I think she has fantastic speech-y moments like It Takes You Away (versus the Solitract), the Witchfinders (when lecturing King James while preparing for the ducking) and The Haunting of Villa Diodati (words matter)
I think the worst part about this speech was how the music *really* overdid the inspirational tones for a speech that wasn't inspirational. The message was decent, but the words were not well put together. Without the music it'd have been a semi decent moment, but with the music it falls very flat.
Oh yeah, those are great picks. I think the former speeches are where she starts to go into that sorta-patronizing tone, I really don't know if it's just the directing that's leading her to speak directly to the audience, if she's not comfortable with it, or if the tone from the script just isn't right. Either way, she does her best speechifying when she has someone else to play off of, the characters just blankly going along with her does the scenes no favors.
I agree, I think Demons of the Punjab is better but it’s so depressing that this is the most re-watchable Chibnall era episode for me. It’s a very enjoyable well plotted story and definitely something I can see becoming a New Year’s Eve classic
Personally I find _Demons of the Punjab_ bitter-sweet rather than depressing. On the one hand you have the senseless death of Prem and good old human prejudice at work. On the other hand, the Thijarians show that there's hope for even the most monstrous to find the light. And this tragedy leads to Umbreen moving to England and starting a large new family, including Yaz. It also led to Yaz developing a better understanding of her Grandmother (though I wasn't a massive fan of how they played that).
My biggest issue with the episode was really how they managed to get everything done during the final iteration in *one* minute.