The Doctor and her fam…errr, TARDIS Team land back in Sheffield and smack dab into spiders, ethically dubious American businessmen and RTD-level family drama in “Arachnids in the UK”, the latest instalment of the eleventh series of Doctor Who. Will the quintessentially Whovian juxtaposition of the domestic with the deeply weird engage the Three Who Rule, or will arachnophobia turn to eight-legged tedium? You won’t know until you listen! Also, stats. Harrumph.
3 Comments on “Radio Free Skaro #659 – The Web of Fear”
Sadly, I’m done with Doctor Who now as the characters and writing in this season have been incredibly dull with no emotional draw what so ever. CC couldn’t be subtle if he tried with his constant need to pat himself on the back in the usual self loathing middle aged white man manner that’s become popular nowadays.
Yes, every show out there has some form of politics, but most writers are smart enough to not force it into every aspect and every line. Yet, somehow CC feels a simply monster of the week show like this needs it at the forefront. I wouldn’t mind if the writing was up to par, but it really isn’t. I watch kids shows with my 3 year old niece with better writing then this in ever sense – including political.
This leaves me in a bit of a pickly as I really like this podcast, but I might have to just skip the episode reviews or something as I still want to follow the podcasters. Maybe next season we’ll see an improvement in the writing or something, but we’ll see.
Keep up the great work Radio Free Skaro. Really enjoy the show.
I’m loving the new series. As much as I enjoyed the complexity of Moffat plotting, I’m convinced the more straightforward simplicity of this year is what the series needs. Certainly my non-fan wife enjoys it much more.
One idea struck me, listening to your merchandise review: What about an oversize Whittaker Pez that dispenses custard cream biscuits? 🙂
I’m loving the new Doctor and her Tardis crew this season. In fact I am enjoying the characters and their emotional journey so much, it is making it possible for me to let some of the story weaknesses slip by.
Arachnids in the UK is the perfect example. While I agree that it is great fun, a ‘romp’ definitely describes it best, I felt that there were a number of serious flaws in the main story logic, which for such a simple story is surprising. I also found the resolution of the spider story pretty unsatisfying – is the Doctor really going to leave all those spiders to simply starve to death in the panic room under the hotel?! Come on!
However, the character stuff is so very good! The Doctor’s sadness and obvious vulnerability at the thought of losing her new friends and how she enthusiastically she grabs onto ‘tea at Yaz’s, was glorious! Yaz’s wonderful family dynamic – I love how excited they all are, each in their own way, to discover that Yaz has actual friends. And the beautifully played poignancy of Graham facing the reality of being back home and having to deal with his loss. All these moments make it impossible not to love the episode even with the disappointment of the central Spider story. Here’s hoping in the rest of the season we get more episodes like ‘Rosa’ where the story is just as well done as the character moments.
PS – Planet of the Spiders is BRILLIANT!! I will accept NO criticism of Planet of the Spiders!!! All Praise to the Great One! 😀
The Doctor and her fam…errr, TARDIS Team land back in Sheffield and smack dab into spiders, ethically dubious American businessmen and RTD-level family drama in “Arachnids in the UK”, the latest instalment of the eleventh series of Doctor Who. Will the quintessentially Whovian juxtaposition of the domestic with the deeply weird engage the Three Who Rule, or will arachnophobia turn to eight-legged tedium? You won’t know until you listen! Also, stats. Harrumph.
Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro 
Sadly, I’m done with Doctor Who now as the characters and writing in this season have been incredibly dull with no emotional draw what so ever. CC couldn’t be subtle if he tried with his constant need to pat himself on the back in the usual self loathing middle aged white man manner that’s become popular nowadays.
Yes, every show out there has some form of politics, but most writers are smart enough to not force it into every aspect and every line. Yet, somehow CC feels a simply monster of the week show like this needs it at the forefront. I wouldn’t mind if the writing was up to par, but it really isn’t. I watch kids shows with my 3 year old niece with better writing then this in ever sense – including political.
This leaves me in a bit of a pickly as I really like this podcast, but I might have to just skip the episode reviews or something as I still want to follow the podcasters. Maybe next season we’ll see an improvement in the writing or something, but we’ll see.
Keep up the great work Radio Free Skaro. Really enjoy the show.
I’m loving the new series. As much as I enjoyed the complexity of Moffat plotting, I’m convinced the more straightforward simplicity of this year is what the series needs. Certainly my non-fan wife enjoys it much more.
One idea struck me, listening to your merchandise review: What about an oversize Whittaker Pez that dispenses custard cream biscuits? 🙂
I’m loving the new Doctor and her Tardis crew this season. In fact I am enjoying the characters and their emotional journey so much, it is making it possible for me to let some of the story weaknesses slip by.
Arachnids in the UK is the perfect example. While I agree that it is great fun, a ‘romp’ definitely describes it best, I felt that there were a number of serious flaws in the main story logic, which for such a simple story is surprising. I also found the resolution of the spider story pretty unsatisfying – is the Doctor really going to leave all those spiders to simply starve to death in the panic room under the hotel?! Come on!
However, the character stuff is so very good! The Doctor’s sadness and obvious vulnerability at the thought of losing her new friends and how she enthusiastically she grabs onto ‘tea at Yaz’s, was glorious! Yaz’s wonderful family dynamic – I love how excited they all are, each in their own way, to discover that Yaz has actual friends. And the beautifully played poignancy of Graham facing the reality of being back home and having to deal with his loss. All these moments make it impossible not to love the episode even with the disappointment of the central Spider story. Here’s hoping in the rest of the season we get more episodes like ‘Rosa’ where the story is just as well done as the character moments.
PS – Planet of the Spiders is BRILLIANT!! I will accept NO criticism of Planet of the Spiders!!! All Praise to the Great One! 😀