After last week's semi-disaster, Doctor Who rebounds with yet another strong entry in "Mummy on the Orient Express."
Taking place on the Orient Express in space, a mysterious mummy is seen by various passengers before they die, and once you see the mummy, you have exactly 66 seconds to live.
*Warning Spoilers are ahead*
In the wake of last week's events, the Doctor and Clara are on their last hurrah of sorts, with Clara apparently deciding to leave the Doctor's company after the adventure. However, by the end of the episode, that is not the case with Clara deciding to continue to travel with the Doctor. Considering that last week was somewhat of a screw up on the part of the writers, fixing the Doctor and Clara's relationship so quickly seemed like the best idea, although I am still questioning why the conflict was set up in the first place. Compared to how Clara has been characterized throughout the season until "Kill the Moon," her actions are a bit hasty, although you can chalk that up to a lapse in writing and an emotional outburst on Clara's part. In the end, everything is in place again, and I do have the feeling that something bad is going to happen to make the Doctor regret that decision.
Another aspect explored again in the episode is the Doctor's cold heart. While the previous two Doctors might have at least comforted those who are about to die, Capaldi's Doctor continues to be cold hearted and blunt, which is refreshing. However, Clara realizes that the Doctor is still trying to save people, but he is not going to lie to them and tell them that everything is okay, when it obviously is not.
Moving to the actual plot, "Mummy on the Orient Express" offers a fun homage to Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express." From the beginning of the mummy's mystery to the Doctor figuring out how to stop it, the mystery was a lot of fun to watch unfold, especially with the Doctor's mix of scientific deducing and Poirot like mystery solving. Everything about the Doctor trying to figure out what is going on glued me to the screen with entertainment. The mystery is not able to be solved by the audience, which is my only complaint about the episode in general. Conceptually, the train in space is rather unique, and while it does not make the most sense, it is a fun idea.
In terms of production value, "Mummy on the Orient Express" is yet another visually interesting episode of Doctor Who. Director, Paul Wilmshurst, does a superb job of bringing the steampunk-esque setting of the train in space to life. Clara looked particularly classy in the old fashion style, and everything else looked top notch. Even though the mummy itself is not as scary as it could have been, the makeup for it looked phenomenal, and very much like the old fashion mummy, except with blue skin. Using the on screen clock also added a degree of flare and urgency to the episode.
Another nice touch is the entertainer singing Queen "Don't Stop me Now." Apparently, the singer is a pop singer named Foxes (never heard of her), and after meeting the Doctor Who production staff, she ended up making a cameo in the episode. In fact, "Don't Stop me Now" is one of my favorite Queen songs, so I recognized it immediately.
Towards the end when the Doctor finally figures out how to stop the Mummy, it continued to feature the Doctor dealing with soldiers. In many ways, the Doctor did essentially the same thing to stop the Skovox Blitzer in "The Caretaker," and instead of being a lazy reuse of previous material, the parallel seemed to be intentional. Throughout the season, the Doctor continues to show his prejudice against soldiers. Hopefully this recurring theme will come to fruition at the end of the season, with something most likely involving Danny.
 |
| "Are you my mummy?" |
Even though "Mummy on the Orient Express" featured Clara's epiphany about wanting to travel with the Doctor, what made this episode work is the fun and unique concept, and all around solid execution.
Overall: 8.3/10- Visually interesting, conceptually unique, and all around entertaining, "Mummy on the Orient Express" is a return to form for Doctor Who and one of the better episodes of the season thus far.
What did you think of the episode? Please comment below and let me know.
Did anyone else notice this reference to a previous Matt Smith episode.
If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.
Great review! I agree, this episode was a lot better than the previous two episodes(which were probably some of my least favorite of the season). Even though Clara's decision to go back to traveling with the Doctor did seem a bit rushed, especially considering how angry she was last episode, I look forward to seeing what the implications of it are. I also like Twelve's difference- even though it was a bit cruel, I do get why he was not mourning during this episode, he didn't have the time and if he did get upset then he wouldn't have been able to have solved the mystery as quickly(and more people might have died).
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the rest of the season!
Thank you! Exactly, there is no logic in mourning when others are going to die. Twelve has a lot great qualities, hopefully he will be a little more consistent from now on.
Delete-James
YES YES YES The reference to the Matt Smith episode!! We were watching the "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang" right after I read a synopsis of Season 8's episodes (before the season started)...and made the connection immediately. I'm glad I wasn't the only one.
ReplyDeleteI actually wasn't expecting a whole lot from this episode, and was very pleasantly surprised. After last week's letdown this was definitely a solid, enjoyable episode, and I loved the Agatha Christie-ness of it :D (of course, as this season seems to be making a habit of reminding me of older episodes, it was a bit reminiscent of "The Unicorn and the Wasp:) This on my favorites list for this season. And the "are you my mummy? bit totally made my day. :D
I'm really enjoying 12 as well. He's so different from the last two doctors, and it's a refreshing change. And everytime I think he's gone "too far" in his supposed heartlessness, he does something (like saving the girl- Maisie, I think?) that shows he's really not as bad as he seems to think he is.
Cool! And good catch.
DeleteThis did have a bit of "The Unicorn and the Wasp" didn't it? The episode also reminded me of "Voyage of the Damned" as well. :) And yes, that "are you my mummy? part was perfect!
-James
Great episode - a bit scary, a bit funny, a bit clever, and wrapped up with two great turns from Capaldi and Coleman. Result!
ReplyDeleteExactly, what more could you ask for!?
Delete-James
I'm so glad this one turned out better than last week's! Gosh. I do wish they'd made more Poirot references though, I would've enjoyed that. The "are you my mummy?" bit was good though. :D And I liked the clock at the bottom of the screen too! That was a nice idea. But the drama between Clara and The Doctor is driving be up the wall. Separately, I still like them both, but why can't they just get along?
ReplyDeleteI know! So glad they rebounded. Up until the last two episodes, I think they have been great together, but let's hope they get along and it works. :)
Delete-James
I really loved this week's episode! I liked last week's episode - except for that ending... the writers TOTALLY screwed up on that one. Made no sense at all! I was extremely frustrated with Clara. I haven't been very happy with this season so far, but "Mummy on the Orient Express" felt like it could have come from a previous season.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked this one! And I agree, last week's episode was such a disappointment! And I thought it felt like the older seasons as well.
Delete-James
I had no idea that one lady is an actually singer! That's super cool! In many ways, I'm completely torn over this episode but you captured a lot of great reasons why I did enjoy it! (I tried not to rant; I promise I really tried!)
ReplyDeleteCapaldi was FANTASTIC in this episode--I loved how the episode really followed him around for once. I LOVE Agatha Christie and original Orient Express novel was mind blowing, so was I thrilled they payed homage to it here. The mummy case and how Twelve solved it was utterly amazing and enthralling! Absolutely loved that whole part of the episode! Twelve is so refreshing with his bluntness and I've yet to see him do anything where I'm left thinking, "Gee, that was kinda over the line, there, Doctor." No, for me, that was Eleven's problem as Eleven went over the line all the time. I've yet to see Twelve go over the line like Eleven for me perosnally. So, I really enjoyed this whole mystery part of the episode and getting to see Twelve through my own eyes instead of Clara's.
Now, the part I didn't care for was Clara. Her behavior was frustrating and hard to understand. To me, her character was completely destroyed between the last two episodes. Out of the blue, she explodes. Then this week, she tosses weeks of emotion out the window like she randomly overreacted and suddenly she's perfectly fine. To me, this is all is entirely inconsistent to her character and completely makes her word and emotional/mental stability questionable. I'm really surprised nobody else that I've seen has even had a problem with this. It's ridiculous writing and slays her trust-ability for me as a solid character.
I loved nearly all of this episode but that ending left a horrible, disappointed taste in my mouth. I'm really hoping the writers have Clara's character stable and figured for the rest of the show. :( If not I think she needs to just go instead of trying to change the Doctor from who this regeneration is. Because seriously, this is a fantastic regeneration!!!!
~Jamie