2nd Opinion: “Orphan 55”
JC and Gustaff give their takes on the third episode of Series 12.
JC’s Verdict – “BENNI!”
This post contains full spoilers for episode 3 of Series 12.
2018’s “It Takes You Away” was a fan-splitting story, but one I thought was one of the better episodes of Series 11 (yes, frog and all). Therefore, I was pleased when I first heard that writer Ed Hime was back for an early story for Series 12. However, I’m sad to say I found his latest episode ”Orphan 55” disappointing on almost all fronts.
Alarm bells started to ring the closer we got to air. The promotional material showing a pair of characters wearing Poundland green wigs was the first warning sign. I would’ve overlooked that if the actual episode was good, but large chunks of the final product look particularly budget too. Like it was straight out of the 1980s, and not in an intentional Stranger Things way. One of the worst offenders was the Spaceballs-esque character, Hyph3n. Doctor Who has never had the same budget as other sci-fi, and I’m used to that, but this was a noticeable step back for the show.
The main monsters, the Dregs, were slightly better designed at least, but they were let down by the patchy direction by Lee Haven Jones (who helmed Spyfall, Part 2 far more competently). Instead of shooting them in the dark like at the start, they showed more and more of them, and progressed to daylight, exposing all the rubbery seams. Less is more. Further, extreme close-ups of the monster’s teeth were used far too many times to desperately try to instil a sense of fear. Instead, it all came across as poor B-movie horror.
As for the guest cast, there was just way too many of them to do any justice in such a short space of time. As a result, they were just thinly sketched and poorly written, shifting gears with little regard for consistency or natural development. The two most well-known actors, James Buckley and Laura Fraser, work the best with the limited material they have, but they can’t save it.
If there was one unintentional highlight in the episode’s cast, it was Julia Foster as the elderly Vilma. Her acting veered into “so bad, it’s good” territory giving me a lot of amusement (and internet meme culture). The amount of times she shouts, “BENNI!” quickly became a running joke. Then we had clunky lines from a weirdly disembodied Benni outside the vehicle: “Will you marry me? … If anyone can, will they please shoot me?” In fact, how many characters were just itching to sacrifice themselves? Too many. Vilma going through with the deed was hilarious, instead of drawing the intended response from the viewer.
The companions don’t fare much better either. After giving them more to do in the opening two-parter, things have reverted to Series 11 levels. Yaz gets to watch Ryan flirt, and occasionally states the obvious. Graham delivers a few quips, and occasionally states the obvious. Only Ryan gets a bit more focus this week and a potential love interest. A shame she was painted as more of a terrorist (but she had paternal issues, so it’s okay). And that thumb-sucking goodbye delivered as a serious moment? Oh, dear.
The Doctor meanwhile, we’re told at the start is in a “mardy mood”. Understandable really, after the trauma of last week, but the script did nothing else to show us this. It’s really business as usual for the rest of the episode. After last week’s more intriguing peek into Thirteen’s state of mind and the “Timeless Child” tease, we’re quickly back to stock Doctor. Also, why did she not go back for the survivors once returning to the TARDIS? Instead, we get a lecture.
Yes, let’s get on to that ending, briefly. Lots have commented on the “preachy” message. Now, I don’t have any problem with Doctor Who tackling political issues, but the Chibnall era could definitely learn to deliver them better. Allegory, when used subtly, is a powerful tool and doesn’t make the audience feel like you’re just talking down to them like a primary school teacher. How about instead, using the destruction of Gallifrey as the Doctor’s motivation to gently warn the companions about taking your planet for granted, because you never know when it might be gone. This would have allowed it the neatly link into last week’s revelation and showed the Doctor is still affected, rather than just being told she was at the start.
In the end, while Spyfall gave some hope we were moving forward to more intriguing places,“Orphan 55” feels instead like we’ve been dumped back into the middle of Series 11. The episode has its heart in the right place, but it needed some serious polish. What we’re left with is, unfortunately, a mess. Hopefully “Tesla” will shock us with its quality next week.
Gustaff’s verdict – “A brick to the head”
… Today, the role of the Doctor will be played by Greta Thunberg.
After the very unusual “It takes You Away”, Ed Hime follows the Neil Gaiman route of delivering a much weaker follow up. Only this time it’s much worse, with a plot littered with too many characters, too many subplots and a climate change message that is as subtle as a brick to the head. This is “Orphan 55”!
Continuing the Series 12 trend of rehashing popular Tenth Doctor era stories and delivering poor imitations of them, “Orphan 55” picks fan favourite “Midnight” as its go-to episode. Much like “Midnight”, this episode is 1) titled after the planet it’s set on, 2) involves a luxury resort on a dangerous planet, 3) an expedition out from the protective dome in a vehicle that 4) is eventually rendered immobile and 5) attacked by mysterious creatures when the planet is 6) supposed to be devoid of life and contains 7) lethal sunlight. Russell T Davies should be on royalties by now, eh?
Let’s move on to the characters because there are an awful lot of them. None of them receive much development, which could’ve been avoided if they’d dropped some of them. Silas and his father feel like one plot function disguised as two characters. Neither of which are utilized well. Silas throws a tantrum at his dad but in their next scene together he immediately forgives him, and they get back to work. Bella is meant to come across as a tragic villain who should carry our sympathies because her mother was a poor caregiver, but the episode portrays her more as a terrorist as she is willing to kill dozens of innocent people just to spite her mother for ignoring her all her life. She comes across even worse when we learn that Kain only worked so hard so she could make sure Bella is financially well looked after.
The elderly couple’s scenes ranged from bland to annoying with “BENNI!” being shouted in every other scene. The biggest problem with this episode is characters making choices that do not make sense. You do not bring an entire group of civilians with you on a dangerous mission, especially folks who are elderly when you know there is a chance you might need to make a quick escape. Also, why bring a child along when the episode states that the dome is a safer place to be? The Doctor chides Kain for making profit in her supposed terraforming plan, but this makes no sense. Do you know how many rich celebrities make donations so they can get a tax write off and look generous in the public eye, Doctor? Profit and self-interest are not always bad. Millions of people rely on this type of charity to get by. It’s not right, but it is necessary sometimes.
It quickly becomes apparent what the old lady’s only plot function and reason for coming along is when she buys Benni a rescue mission with her jewellery, something that could’ve easily been done INSIDE the dome with one or two dialogue tweaks. Also didn’t you just attack someone for doing good things for profit? You can’t drive on both sides of the road episode!
Because of the large number of side characters tagging along, the TARDIS team is once more left looking useless. Yaz is just there to pass judgment on Kain for fulfilling a probably dying/tortured man’s last wish, while Graham does even less. Ryan is given a little more focus with a budding almost-romance with Bella. It also helps that the episode allowed him to meet someone with a past he can relate to.
The episode also has some very big gaps in logic. Since when does the Doctor and company travel to ‘potential’ timelines? Once you arrive there you become part of history. Changing it creates a paradox. Just say this is the result of humanity’s failures and allow the message you want to discuss to be shown, rather than spoken. It also adds consequences to the episode. But if we choose to follow the episode’s strange ‘potential’ timeline theory, now that the Doctor has knowledge of the catastrophes that turned Earth into Orphan 55, why don’t any of her companions suggest to her (at least onscreen) to go back in time and prevent the catastrophe herself rather than leaving it in the hands of their generation and those that will follow, which her monologue notes would require a huge amount of people to be their best, most altruistic selves. We the audience know the answer, but the companions have yet to have this time travel adventure, so it is a very logical and reasonable thing to ask.
Lastly the elephant in the room, let’s not dwell on it. The Doctor’s speech is not subtle, veers on talking down to the viewers, and if the camera wasn’t in her way, she’d probably be addressing the audience herself. The episode evolves into a talking point for climate change. There’s nothing wrong with that (given the showrunner in charge) and as for the ‘preaching to the audience’ and the message’s sledgehammer-y delivery…come on this is Doctor Who under Chris Chibnall, did you really expect anything less?
Stray Observation:
Here’s an idea: Next time you want to spend 2-3 million pounds on an episode preaching to people about climate change…why not just stop and donate that money instead to the cause and help it combat the topic you’re advocating?
