The Devil's Chord
I’m finding writing reviews dull, which is why I’ve missed basically the entire season. I’m trying a new format which feels less tedious; Rant and Rave. I get the worst part of the story out of my system in rant, and then rave about my favourite bit. No more feeling an irritating compulsion to mention everyone in the cast, because it would be unfair to skip anyone.
Rant: Just don’t put in the Beatles if you can’t include any Beatles music. I can see why it seemed funny to have the plot be that someone had taken their music... but then you’ve effectively set up the promise of getting it back at the end... which you don’t deliver on. Instead, we get a not very good song at the end that doesn’t feel like it matches either with Doctor Who (there isn’t always a twist at the end) or with the Beatles (quality aside, it doesn’t sound anything like a Beatles song).
Rave: The stretch from the Doctor and Ruby going to the top of Abbey Road studios, to the point where they run back in the TARDIS, is pretty non-stop brilliant. I loved the replay of the ‘Pyramids of Mars’ “but I know the world didn’t end in 1963”, I thought Maestro was genuinely threatening (partly because of Gatwa's impressive work showing the Doctor’s fear). All that and a joke about non-diegetic music.[1] Thrilling, in that classic Davies way.
Right, I’m only 6 episodes behind now.
- Obviously as someone writing this after the season’s over, I’m delighted to find out that all the fourth wall breaking... didn’t lead to anything at all. I could console myself with “yet” but after that season finale I’m just not in a trusting mood. I may as well be pessimistic now and be pleasantly surprised. ↩︎
