I’m not sure entirely what to make of the most recent episode of Doctor Who, apart from the fact that it’s now broadcast more episodes than Star Trek (although it’s been around longer anyway, the only reason why it didn’t pull ahead before was due to the cancellation of the show in 1989). There didn’t seem to be a proper enemy in the story at all—the Macra were just a few CGI claws on screen for no more than a few seconds at a time and easily avoided by not going down to the ‘fast lane’. How they got onto the planet in the first place wasn’t explained properly and they didn’t seem to be defeated at the end. Also, at no stage was the Doctor really in any sort of trouble, and even Martha managed to avoid danger for the most part. If there was any urgency to fix the problems of New New York it wasn’t particularly obvious.
I did enjoy Ardal O’Hanlon’s appearance though, and his comment about only being able to contact people if you are on their friends list cracked me up. There was a little bit more exploration of the Time War, which was welcome, although the script writers still seem to be keeping that one under wraps for as long as possible, perhaps in order to avoid clashing too much with established Who canon. The Daleks are back next week as well, which should stir things up a bit!
I don’t think the Macra did need explaining – like all vermin they’ve found their way in and are just there now.
I liked the episode. The danger wasn’t an immediate “this will kill you now” but a “this will kill you in twenty years and there’s nothing you can do about it”. Led to more character-driven dialogue, which I liked.