2nd Opinion: “The Ghost Monument”
Connor Johnston & Gustaff Behr give their takes on the second episode of Series 11.
Connor’s View – “A Game of Risk, Reward and Survival”
Be it stranded in the vacuum of space, competing in desperation for the chance to save a planet from economic and physical oppression, or just attempting to get home: ‘The Ghost Monument’ is an episode motivated in every way by the concept of survival. With it, Chris Chibnall contrasts a number of different philosophies and mentalities through the guise of a winner-takes-all race through the universe.
I won’t deny being slightly unsure that “The Rally of the Twelve Galaxies” was a strong enough premise to warrant the conversation about survival and desperation the episode attempts to have, without coming across as superficial. It’s a worry that quickly put to rest by the episode’s strongest guest character, Angstrom, and her own motivations for victory being much more admirable than greed or glory: For her, victory doesn’t just mean payday, it’s a final chance to save her people from continued persecution and eventual extinction.
The episode’s setting too is one informed by the will to survive, or for that matter the inability to. ‘Desolation’ isn’t just a backdrop, but is as much an active participant in the narrative as the other characters. With its barren landscape and cannibalised ecosystem, the planet plays the part of both an antagonist and a warning for our team of the consequences of defeat.
However, it’s not just the vacuums of space, flesh-eating terrain, immoral competition, or rain of alien bullets that our team need each other to survive this week – with Chibnall continuing to play to his own strengths and repeatedly devote time to his character’s personal struggles. For Graham, the loss of Grace and the fractured nature of his relationship with Ryan remains a point of focus. For Ryan, his dyspraxia is a continued hindrance under pressure. Even the Doctor loses her faith momentarily, confronted once again with the possibility of being responsible for the death of her three best friends. In each of these conflicts, it’s the presence and belief of one another that both acts as a source of strength and rings true to the episode’s embrace of communal survival and teamwork.
This leads to a victorious resolution that essentially acts as an introduction to the Doctor’s personal ideology. A stance that endorses brains over bullets, challenge over conformity, accountability over blame and above all else that we are all “stronger together.”
It is strange (and disappointing) that despite introducing the Doctor and her friends to the scale and thrill of the universe; “The Ghost Monument” mostly lacks the sense of adventure and excitement that are crucial in these establishing stories. This is the collateral of a script that leaves little room for its characters to catch their breath and take in their surroundings, and risks being a fatal misstep. Luckily, it is not an opportunity completely withheld – thanks to the reintroduction of the quintessential ambassador for wonder: The TARDIS.
The sequence in which the Doctor and her friends finally meet their Ghost Monument has a unique atmosphere of reverence, achieved by the stunning marriage of Chibnall’s dialogue, Tonderai’s direction and Akinola’s inspired score. Arwel Wyn Jones’ set design is one that visually captures the beauty and wonders the show parades, so much so that it awards an episode that lacked elements of that balance a redeemed final impression. It is not only a scene that Whittaker performs dazzlingly – but one feels utterly and completely earned.
Start Believing.
Gustaff’s View – “Make or Break Time”
“Anybody can be trained to watch a pilot, it’s the people that come back when they haven’t been inundated with advertisement and they decide ‘I watched this show a week ago, I’m gonna watch it again because I enjoyed myself last week’.” – Stephen Amell.
If you take the Green Arrow’s quote to heart, then The Ghost Monument should’ve been the episode that makes or breaks it for a lot of fans. It was a wise decision to make use of the beautiful outdoor landscapes to lure viewers back and visually, the episode looks stunning. The opening credits are unique and the half-liquid flow highlights its unusualness. It looks like a proper SCI-FI series title theme.
Unfortunately, The Ghost Monument itself isn’t much of an improvement over last week’s episode. Both fail to reach that self-hyped third act climax that the episode has continuously built up. Much like last week’s cliff-hanger, Chibnall chooses to forgo clever explanations in order to rely on super convenient deus ex machina rescues. Seriously what are the chances that Doctor and company would be picked up the very millisecond in all of space time that they need assistance? And then you realize it happens twice to two separate groups.
The planet of Desolation should’ve been called the “Planet of Informed Attributes” given that Chibnall talks up the dangers on this planet constantly without bothering to show the audience why. This is especially erroneous as the location already lends itself to proper threats that could’ve made for an excellent survival adventure. Replace flesh eating bacteria in the water with polluted/poisoned water. Emphasize how hot a planet with three suns is and you’ve set up an episode where the characters have to race the clock or die from heat stroke or dehydration. Instead, no one comments on the fact they are fully clothed in an environment that is scorching.
Despite my reservations last week, Graham is really starting to grow on me. Bradley is given the best material and comes across as the only sane man on this not-so-dangerous planet. Yaz has yet to do anything worthwhile so I’m still on the fence with her. As I suspected, the series will only play up Ryan’s disability when the plot calls for it. How does Ryan manage to shoot an alien rifle with pin-point accuracy but gets stuck climbing a ladder? For that matter, how does pressing buttons on a remote control equate to someone being able to physically aim a real blaster?
The villains for this episode, the so-called ‘Sniper Bots’ are not fit to join the Stormtrooper Academy and deserve no further mention.. The Evil Flying Dishrags are some of Doctor Who’s most unoriginal monsters to date. It actually improves the story that they’re defeated two minutes after attacking the Doctor and company. Also how is destroying robots with an EMP wave, or incinerating “Dishrags” any better than shooting them with a gun? Death is still death. Violence is still violence. It’s just a cleverer way to go about it.
I enjoyed the guest cast for the most part. Shaun Dooley’s Epzo stole the show with his retorts and his raggedy bohemian existence and completely weird and unusual back story. This serves to enhance the story when you realize that Epzo was the only character that had any sort of arc, even if it isn’t a complete 180 turn. Angstrom was less noteworthy to watch. Part of this might be down to Susan Lynch lacking Dooley’s charisma or it might just be the 1D character and back-story. Art Malik didn’t have that much to do in the episode except recite exposition, but his constant ignoring of the Doctor because he doesn’t deem her of importance was fun to watch. If the only means of escaping the planet is by teleport, then why is Ilin so scared of Epzo’s threat? And why does the Doctor not call out Epzo for threatening to use violence when she did so for Ryan? Is it because it’s plot convenient?
My side comments may come across as nitpicking, but these gaps in internal logic were glaringly obvious during my first viewing and stick out like a sore thumb on rewatches. When I watch a show, I expect to be entertained to such a degree that these inconsistencies slip past my brain. If an episode of Doctor Who can’t even manage that much, what’s the point of lending it my time?
