From Newsgroup: rec.arts.drwho.moderated
From Address: jphalt{at}aol.com
Subject: The Hungry Earth: my review

THE HUNGRY EARTH

2 episodes: The Hungry Earth, Cold Blood. Approx. 84 minutes. Written
by: Chris Chibnall. Directed by: Ashley Way. Produced by: Peter
Bennett.


THE PLOT

Wales, 2020. The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Amy, and Rory to a tiny
drilling operation, which has just succeeded in drilling further into
the Earth than has ever successfully been done. Nasreen (Meera Syal),
the scientist in charge of the projec,t is hoping to find new
minerals. Instead, they activate the defense systems of a suberranean
civilization, a reptilian species that ruled the planet long before
humans evolved: The Silurians!

The drill has registered as an attack by the Silurian defense systems,
which have awakened a small number of warriors in response. These
warriors quickly take hostages from among the humans above, including
Amy, and have used their advanced technology to encase the small human
settlement beneath an invisible dome. Now the Doctor must fend off the
forthcoming attack, and prepare to go beneath the surface himself, in
an effort to negotiate for a peaceful outcome.


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: As in previous Silurian stories, the Doctor wants to find
a way to broker peace between the humans and the reptilians, only to
find his efforts stymied by angry elements on both sides. As in the
original Silurian story, it appears his efforts would have been
unsuccessful even without bad acts by the humans, as the military
Silurian has already decided that a coup is more acceptable than
sharing the planet. When the crack becomes visible in the silurian
caves, he pauses in his own fascination with it - which ends up having
a grievous cost.

Amy: Her firm choice of Rory from the last episode shows itself in her
eagerness to wear the engagement ring that she previously has not
worn. She remains highly observant, and figures out while exploring
the Silurian caves how they get to the surface.

Rory: With Amy absent from most of the first episode, Rory spends a
lot of time partnered with the Doctor. They work well together,
particularly when they're not distracted by competing for Amy's
attention. The Doctor shows a lot of trust in Rory, leaving him in
charge when he and Nasreen go into the Silurian caves, and wanting him
to be the one to speak for the humans when they communicate with the
surface via Silurian technology. Arthur Darville has done a splendid
job of making Rory into someone very easy to relate to, and very easy
to like. I hope the ending doesn't mean we've seen the last of him
(please no spoilers on that - at the rate I'm going, I'll be done with
the season by this coming weekend anyway).

The Silurians: The Silurian design has been updated, and is
substantially less rubbery than in the 1970 story. It's also a lot
more ordinary, though. The Silurians look more convincing... but they
also look veyr much like Star Trek aliens, basically humans wearing
green makeup with a few latex attachments. It's debatable as to
whether that's a fair exchange, though it was probably necessary. The
rubber monsters of yore would never stand up on modern television. One
element that I definitely find less successful than the original,
though, is the Silurian POV shots. The original story used a kind of
triple-shot that made the bits from the creatures' perspective
extremely visually interesting. This story uses... a green lens filter
and some post-production effects.


THOUGHTS

You can tell Chris Chibnall was a fan of the classic series. This
story is very much like Classic Who in pacing and style. The story
elements are lifted almost wholesale from the Pertwee era. The story
itself, with the Doctor desperately trying to negotiate a peaceful
settlement between humans and Silurians, with neither party entirely
receptive to peace, is essentially a faster-paced remake of Dr. Who &
the Silurians. The other major plot element, of the drill going deep
beneath the surface, is a clear callback to Inferno. For that matter,
the "future Amy and Rory" bit was probably cribbed from a bit with the
future Doctor and Jo in Day of the Daleks. This is not a criticism, as
I rather enjoy having a new series story evoke the classic series so
authentically.

The Hungry Earth is nowhere near as good as the original Silurian
story. Then again, that story is one of my all-time favorites of
either series - probably of any series - so matching it is hardly a
fair gauge by which to measure success. The story is entertaining
throughout, with a highly suspenseful and atmospheric first episode.
In what's probably a nod to the original Silurian story, the Silurians
themselves are held back until around the 30 minute mark, which helps
to build up the threat and mystery surrounding them.

As is typical of multi-parters, the second half is not as good as the
first. The Silurian power struggle between the militant young soldier,
the wise old leader, and the gentle scientist (who performs
vivisection on fully awake specimens, though the second episode would
like us to forget that as quickly and thoroughly as possible, thank
you), is a little too on-the-nose. Why not mix it up and have the
soldier be the one who wants peace, while the scientist wants to
subjugate the "ape-creatures" in order to study them? Why not let the
leader be on the fence between peace and war, rather than being a
clear peacemaker from his very first entrance? The DVD extras have the
production team talking about making the Silurians into more
distinctive characters than in the 1970's serial. But as far as I
could see, the major Silurian characters here all fit into their
little boxes, with no internal conflict and with each of them filling
the exact role in the plot that you'd predict.

That said, the second episode remains engrossing, and the set design
of the Silurian chambers is wonderful. The ending takes an unexpected
turn, though I suspect the crack in time and space will make what
happens a bit more complex than it appears to be. I certainly expect
to see the other side of the "future Amy and Rory" bit at some point.

In any case, this was another good story. Not a great one, but a very
good one. After some early unevenness, this season is shaping up to be
possibly the best since the series came back.


Rating: 8/10.

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