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

THE LODGER

1 episode. Approx. 41 minutes. Written by: Gareth Roberts. Directed
by: Catherine Morshead. Produced by: Tracie Simpson.


THE PLOT

Craig (James Corden) and Sophie (Daisy Haggard) are flatmates. They
work together in a call center, and have shared the same flat for
ages. They are the best of friends. But Craig is absolutely in love
with Sophie, and afraid to say anything lest he destroy their
friendship. Sophie is also in love with Craig, and keeps putting her
personal dreams on hold in hopes of something happening.

In this episode, a new flatmate (Matt Smith) moves in. He's a very
strange fellow. He wears a bowtie, and bizarrely considers doing so to
be "cool." He doesn't appear to know what football is, but can play it
like a professional athlete. He has never worked a day in his life,
but is the best salesman Craig's call center has ever seen. Everyone
adores him - much to Craig's steadily growing annoyance.

He needs to get rid of this "Doctor" to return to his comfortably
miserable existence. But sometimes, life passes the point at which
everything can simply return to the way it was...


CHARACTERS

Craig: A likably normal guy, an affably typical "bloke." A bit pudgy,
but not to the point of obesity and still athletic enough to engage in
weekly football matches with his friends. I question whether declaring
an interest in a woman who obviously likes you is really that much of
a problem for a man in his thirties - Craig's anxiety over declaring
an open interest in Sophie more befits a socially awkward sixteen year
old than a grown man, and he's not otherwise portrayed as particularly
socially awkward. But since Craig essentially exists in a sitcom, this
can be allowed to pass as simply part and parcel of the show's
concept.

Sophie: She is very obviously as fond of Craig as he is of her. Unlike
Craig, it's clear that she wants something completely different out of
life, and has been putting her own ambitions on hold simply to stay
around him. Daisy Haggard is quite appealing, very cute but in a "real
person" sort of way, as opposed to an implausibly gorgeous starlet
sort of way.

"The Doctor:" The special guest star in the Craig and sophie show. He
is genuinely quite strange, though it seems clear in every scene that
he is sincere in his efforts to help Craig and Sophie. His attempts to
blend in with their sitcom-normal life are extremely amusing, as he
seems genuinely unable to help himself from standing out in any
situation. The way in which he needles first Sophie, and then Craig,
into admitting what they really want out of life (Sophie: working with
animals; Craig: Sophie) is charming.


THOUGHTS

OK, obviously this isn't an episode of a British sitcom. But the
trappings of Craig and Sophie and their little world belong more to
the world of British sitcoms than to reality, which makes The Lodger
probably best viewed as something akin to a Doctor Who/sitcom
crossover.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, and The Lodger is not in any way
a bad episode. In fact, it's quite a good one. There's something
appealing to seeing the Doctor stuck trying to fit in with "normal
life," even if the normal life in question doesn't always seem
terribly authentic. Fighting bug-eyed monsters from beyond time? No
problem. Trying to slip into the friendly banter immediately following
a football match? Not so easy.

Perception filters pop up in this episode, yet again. This season
seems to be set up along a theme of perception. Monsters who cannot be
seen, save by madmen (Vincent and the Doctor). Monsters who cannot
move when directly observed (The Time of Angels). Monsters who do not
act as monsters, until the Doctor appears to name them as such
(Victory of the Daleks). Monsters who are not monsters at all, but who
are instead victims of people's fear (The Beast Below). I think every
episode this season has in some way touched upon people's perceptions
affecting their reality. It's too much of a running theme to be
anything but deliberate.

That theme is reinforced by The Crack in Time and its victims. People
are wiped out of time, so that they never lived, let alone died. We
can remember Rory, the Doctor can remember Rory. But for Amy, and the
world from which she came, Rory never existed. That leaves her no
cause to grieve, and so she does not mourn. Yet Van Gogh, the madman,
can perceive sadness in her for her loss. And even though she cannot
herself feel that sadness, she can perceive the tears streaming down
her face - but only after Van Gogh points them out to her.

Anyway, The Lodger: Another good episode of a very good season. It
ends on a note clearly designed to lead us into the finale, and I'm
looking forward to seeing what happens next.


Rating: 7/10.

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