S5E8: The Hungry Earth (Spoilers)

Okay guys, yet again, spoilers will be within this thread. If you are in the US and don't want the episode ruining, please leave now!

Anyway, not seen much on this, but does look awesome from the trailer that I have seen!

I am stoked for the return of the Silurians; it's about time! I know there's plenty of bellyaching about their new, more human appearance, but really...these were always supposed to be sympathetic creatures, and what better way to make them even more sympathetic than to allow the viewer to see him- or herself in the "monster?" Granted, it's a bit obvious, but we live in a dumbed-down age of reality television; the interpretation of subtext isn't exactly as ingrained into the casual sci-fi fan as it used to be.

I wonder if the revelation that the Silurians wear masks (which makes so much more sense than the "helmet" rumor we heard for months; words have specific definitions, people...learn them!) will lead to the suggestion that they've always looked more human than we'd previously known, and that the two earlier Silurian designs were also disguises of some kind.

Now, if only they'd stop calling them Silurians and admit there's no way these creatures hail from any period earlier than the Permian (unless, of course, they originally came from somewhere other than Earth and settled here during the Silurian)...

mysterylad wrote:

I am stoked for the return of the Silurians; it's about time!

I couldn't agree more. And I loooove the new look. Although I wish they had kept the third-eye thingy.

I cannot wait to get figures of these guys.

Wait, what?! No third eye? OUTRAGE!!!!!!!

I need to just pick "WHAT A POOR EXCUSE FOR AN EPISODE!" already -- there's no way it can be good with castrated Silurians.

I've been reading here and there that these Silurians are more like cousins similar to the Sea Devils.

Well, they're wearing clothes, so that is a possibility! REAL Silurians are nudists.

Wes Crayon wrote:

Well, they're wearing clothes, so that is a possibility! REAL Silurians are nudists.

Woo Hoo!!! Ahem...I mean isn't that interesting?

I can honestly say i am looking forward to seeing this episode. The Silurians look really good, and hopefully the figures they make will be just as awesome.

artanyus wrote:

I can honestly say i am looking forward to seeing this episode. The Silurians look really good, and hopefully the figures they make will be just as awesome.

They do look good. I think this is the most extreme makeover of a classic "monster" so far. But with the idea that these creatures, like the Sea Devils, are just a different race of Earth Reptiles makes it OK to me.
I am just concerned about the "deepest drilling in history" thing. Have they forgot about Project Inferno?
Have to wait and see if it gets mentioned!

[quote="Ronpur"]

artanyus wrote:

I am just concerned about the "deepest drilling in history" thing. Have they forgot about Project Inferno?

Perhaps this has something to do with the crack that was showing up all over the place before the Doctor plugged it up? Maybe just like Amy forgot about the Daleks other people have forgotten other things in history?

Scarywood - Would you mind editing your first post and pasting in the standard "BBC/USA/Spoiler/etc" notice on top?

Thanks for keeping these going, btw!

CJSchmidt wrote:

Scarywood - Would you mind editing your first post and pasting in the standard "BBC/USA/Spoiler/etc" notice on top?

Thanks for keeping these going, btw!

Sure, but that is the reason I put (spoilers) in the thread name. But sure, I'll edit my post if that is what you so wish!

Amazing! Loved this episode! I'm glad that we see more of Rory in this episode and less of Amy, for once! My only complaint is that the story in the first half progressed a little too quick.

I'm digging the return of the Silurians, aswell! Fantastic and elegant design.

A really awesome episode over all and can't wait to see how the story concludes. I just hope it doesn't share the same fate that Flesh and Stone did, and turn out to be kind of crappy lol!

9/10 from me, a fantastic episode! Brilliant! Molto benne!

Well, this was easily the best Chibnall episode yet. I'm a little hesitant to get too excited, though, given the disappointment I often feel after watching the second episode of these two-parters!

And am I the only one hoping that that patch on their foreheads opens up to reveal a third eye? I'm a bit miffed that the design isn't more reminiscent of the classic Silurians -- such that I'd probably only get one figure of these rather than two -- but if the third eye is there I could see getting more.

I liked it, although I'm growing impatient with these two-parters because of the amount of padding in the first episodes.

I really enjoyed his first encounter with the prisoner. He's obviously still smarting from the fact that he couldn't stop the Brigadier from blowing the snot out of them way back when. Where's UNIT with the big guns when you need them? Oh yeah, forcefield dome, right.

I'm also a bit apprehensive about next week, because of the 2005 series' record of dropping the ball on the second part of a story. However, based on the coming attractions, I don't think there's much of a chance of that. Even if the story is weak, I'm going to get to see a Silurian civilization with a freaking army. I think it will be worth the somewhat tedious build up of this week.

See, I like the slower pace of the initial episodes in these two-parters -- but then, I am a very big fan of how the classic episodes allowed a story to unfold over multiple episodes (even if nothing particularly interesting was happening). The new episodes, on the other hand, often seem like a bunch of frenzied running from the beastie of the week followed by some brilliant improbable solution from the Doctor that neutralizes the threat in seconds. Blah.

THIRD EYE PLZ

I am impressed. I love the glimpse of the "Silurians" so far. Still a lot to see next week! Just like evryone else, I hope next week will be as good. I also think the looked a bit more Sea Devilish, too, which fits for a warrior class. So, they are Homo Reptilius now, and not Earth Reptiles...works for me. Think the Earth Reptiles came from the books.

This doesn't seam to be a small shelter, either, looks like a whole city.


And I just realized what they remind me of...Minbari, from Babylon 5!

And what was up with the future Amy and Rory on the other hill.....will that play into part 2?

Ronpur wrote:

And what was up with the future Amy and Rory on the other hill.....will that play into part 2?

that's what i was thinking. if you know your going to be around 10 years into the future then you know your going to survive this adventure..kinda takes some of drama out whether amy will make it or not. but time can be rewritten i guess.

A darned fine episode, in my opinion! I'm curious to see how this one fares with some of the fans who haven't cared too much for the season thus far, as this one struck me as a bit more "old school."

THE GOOD
I know a lot of folks don't care for the redesign, but since this is a "cousin race," I don't mind...I like the scale pattern on the face, and the masks are cool. Plus, they've got that nifty venomous tongue thing going on, which must be this evolutionary branch's special weapon (in place of the third eye).

Once again, we see the Doctor treat Rory with respect and decency...none of that "Mickey the Idiot" rubbish. This is an old school trait, in a way: the way he valued the people around him was one of Davidson's greatest strengths--he may have been the warmest Doctor--and I like seeing that quality remanifested in our favorite Time Lord.

The human characters aren't the usual assortment of xenophobes and/or militants that are typically trotted out for these "clash of cultures" stories. Sure, they're scared, and as such the idea of defending themselves with violence has occurred to them, but they're willing to at least temporarily go along with the Doctor's plan to resolve things peacefully.

THE BAD
I don't dislike Amy the way a number of folks do, and as such I felt she was kind of underused in this episode. That being said, taking her "out of the game" left more room for Rory to take an active role, so perhaps this should be less of a "Bad" and more of a "Mixed Blessing."

FINAL
I look forward to part two. Doctor Who has always had a problem with the pacing of its endings, going all the way back to the classic era, and I've long since come to take that as just part of the Doctor Who experience. New series, old series...plenty of "messy" endings to go around, but as long as they're messy in an entertaining way, I can be forgiving. This time, though...well, I've got a good feeling about this one, and I can't put my finger on precisely why.

denali76c wrote:

Ronpur wrote:

And what was up with the future Amy and Rory on the other hill.....will that play into part 2?

that's what i was thinking. if you know your going to be around 10 years into the future then you know your going to survive this adventure..kinda takes some of drama out whether amy will make it or not. but time can be rewritten i guess.

Not really. He mention that this is a time that in flux, not a fixed point in time, so they could die. (actually, that may have been it the preview for next week that he said that)

Ronpur wrote:

denali76c wrote:

Ronpur wrote:

And what was up with the future Amy and Rory on the other hill.....will that play into part 2?

that's what i was thinking. if you know your going to be around 10 years into the future then you know your going to survive this adventure..kinda takes some of drama out whether amy will make it or not. but time can be rewritten i guess.

Not really. He mention that this is a time that in flux, not a fixed point in time, so they could die. (actually, that may have been it the preview for next week that he said that)

i missed the preview for next week, so i didn't know the doctor said that. but in general with doctor who nothing is set in stone, the future can always be changed...for the most part.

I've never seen a Silurian before and now I'm really excited about these creatures! I'm still hoping to see at least one plan of peace actually succeed. But I guess an all-out war would be more crowd pleasing?

I want to get excited for next week's episode but I don't want to be let down again.

Please Moff... don't let us down!
~

This was much better than I expected it to be. It was good seeing the Silurians.

I am in agreement with A1 though, after the last two-parter, I'm nervous that Moff will let us down. The trailer for next week looks promising and I hope that it will deliver the excitement/intrigue/whatever else that was shown in the preview.

Oh, I also wanted to mention that I am growing increasingly fond of the 11th Doctor, but there are a few major personality quirks that are driving me nuts. The main one is the fact that he flat-out refuses to even hint at what's going on.

Amy is desperate to know what's wrong with her, but he won't even hint. He just tells her to trust him. Does he just not know, does he not want to speculate, or what? He has no problem with being wrong yet when Amy asks him for answers, he changes the subject or ignores it entirely. And people say that Ten was cruel? Sorry, this is worse than anything that Ten had ever done in his arrogance. Even if he was belittling of Mickey, at least he didn't torture his companions to death by ignoring their questions that should have been addressed.

It seems that he has completely forgotten that he used to actually tell his companions what's going on. I know that Eight does it a lot and most of the Doctors would have done it. I still think that 11 is suffering from a bad bad BAD regeneration.

I really hope that CO does toys of the Silurians for army building purposes.
~