Frank Cottrell-Boyce's previous contribution "In the Forest of the Night" was a very hard story to evaluate - a fresh, imaginative science-fantasy that somehow completely failed to work as a Doctor Who story. However, Cottrell-Boyce is simply too good a writer for his work to be dismissed and I am very glad that he was given a second go. Although it deals with such contemporary scientific thinking such as swarm robotics (a leading proponent gives his name to the Vardy, the nanobots of the story) "Smile" is a very old-fashioned Doctor Who story - more than half of the story consists of the regulars walking around the colony making discoveries, very similar to the first episode of The Ark in Space. This means we have the odd situation where two name guest stars (Mina Anwar and Ralf Little) are there to basically only set up and resolve the plot respectively. But Cottrell-Boyce have never been one for taking the obvious route, even in a story as archetypal as this one and using the regulars as the only point of view characters is a very effective way of changing the Vardy from an inexplicable threat to a life form with rights. It must be said that the ending is a bit rushed and the conclusion has all the mechanics of a rabbit-from-a-hat ending, but is handled very well and works better when the story is viewed as a whole. We therefore have the very interesting situation of having a very human story with no real supporting characters; seemingly a defect, but actually working in the story’s favour.
As a consequence (again) we have a rather small supporting cast, but as said before, that is deliberate and is an inevitable consequence of, perhaps, the greatest triumph of the story; one of the best interactions between Doctor and companion that the programme has ever had. It is a real joy having the Doctor just show his friend the wonders of the Universe and the performances by the regulars have a sense of warmth and fun which indicates that the combination of the Doctor and Bill will be a truly winning one. Bill’s genuine sense of wonder is infectious and never descends into annoying naivety, such is the power of Pearl Mackie’s performance.
Lawrence Gough makes everything look marvellous, helped in no small way by the stunning location filming at the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències in Valencia, with Gough using wide shots to beautiful effect. The nature of the Vardy is excellently handled - their initial break off from the structure of the city is easily overlooked, so that the second time is hugely surprising. The emoji bots are an instantly memorable creation, both very much a 2017 concept and timeless, both cute and terrifying. The effects work complements the amazing locations and cinematographer Ashley Rowe effectively contrasts the city location with the ship location.
"Smile" shows just what a good writer can do with basic concepts and what an excellent one can do when playing with what lesser writers would regard are core foundations in scriptwriting. It seems that we are in for a lot of fun in the future.
NEXT: "Thin Ice"
Showing posts with label Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Show all posts
Saturday, 29 April 2017
Sunday, 2 November 2014
"In the Forest of the Night"
Getting Frank Cottrell-Boyce as a writer is a coup as big as the hiring
of Neil Gaiman and Richard Curtis. His screenplays are constantly
surprising, whilst still managing to tell a story and, indeed, the plot
progression in this story is very different from anything we have seen
before. However, it seems to me that Cottrell-Boyce's method of telling a
story without adhering to tried-and-tested plot structures produces
some decidedly mixed results.
The problem, such as it is, is not the basic story line or the quality of the writing, but the fact that it is uses many of the devices of magical-realism without a thought as to how they can be made to work in the context of a Doctor Who story. "Kill the Moon" used a story that was superficially far fetched, but exploited its mythic resonance with clear roles for the regulars and therefore managed to work as a Doctor Who story. For "In the Forest of the Night" to have worked, it really had to have a child as its point-of-view character – in other words had the story revolved around Maebh, it would have worked much better as it is in the viewpoint of a child that magic and science fiction can really combine. Doctor Who is hardly hard science fiction, but questions that can be ignored in such a story may require answers when the Doctor is involved - magic trees need a more logical explanation, Maebh's 'Red Riding Hood' run through the forest seems forced, rather than archetypal and Maebh's sister hiding in the bushes is now a contrived ending, rather than a fairy tale happy ending. There is also the rather disturbing view taken of psychiatry which seems like it is verging on Hubbardism without the filter of a child's point of view. On a fannish and crudely scientific note, it could also be argued that the 'tree-line defence' fits in rather uneasily with the Doctor Who mythos – unless it is (despite the claims made by the tree spirits) only a comparatively fleeting phenomenon that is extinct by the time of The Ark in Space, to say nothing of not preventing the mass extinctions that allowed the dinosaurs to conquer the earth and then ended their reign.
This does not take away from the fact that Cottrell-Boyce is a fantastic writer and the concepts, although they sometimes clumsily fit together are still striking. There is also the dialogue, which is fantastic throughout 'If you remembered how things felt, you’d have stopped having wars … and stopped having babies...' and, of course, the Doctor's unexpected retort to Clara's rebuke from "Kill the Moon". Director Sheree Folkson, with the assistance of cinematographer Mark Garrett, creates some stunning visuals, with the backlit glade where the tree spirits talk to the Doctor and the wonderful scenes with the wolves and the tyger, where the story almost manages to succeed. However, it has to be said that she sometimes struggles with Cottrell-Boyce's methods of storytelling. The cast she marshals, however, is excellent – the Coal Hill Kids are an unusual and welcome addition and the regulars are on fine form, none more so than Peter Capaldi gives a performance of grouchiness, humour and real sympathy – witness the scene where he tries to convince Clara to save an ever dwindling set of people. However, the Doctor's place in the plot is purely as an observer. Such stories have worked before, but, with neither the Doctor being the driving character, nor Maebh being the point-of-view character, the story loses an important personal focus, another critical flaw in the story.
Despite the considerable talent behind its realisation and some truly great moments, "In the Forest of the Night" barely works as a Doctor Who story and it is probably one that I won't revisit too often.
NEXT: "Dark Water"/"Death in Heaven"
The problem, such as it is, is not the basic story line or the quality of the writing, but the fact that it is uses many of the devices of magical-realism without a thought as to how they can be made to work in the context of a Doctor Who story. "Kill the Moon" used a story that was superficially far fetched, but exploited its mythic resonance with clear roles for the regulars and therefore managed to work as a Doctor Who story. For "In the Forest of the Night" to have worked, it really had to have a child as its point-of-view character – in other words had the story revolved around Maebh, it would have worked much better as it is in the viewpoint of a child that magic and science fiction can really combine. Doctor Who is hardly hard science fiction, but questions that can be ignored in such a story may require answers when the Doctor is involved - magic trees need a more logical explanation, Maebh's 'Red Riding Hood' run through the forest seems forced, rather than archetypal and Maebh's sister hiding in the bushes is now a contrived ending, rather than a fairy tale happy ending. There is also the rather disturbing view taken of psychiatry which seems like it is verging on Hubbardism without the filter of a child's point of view. On a fannish and crudely scientific note, it could also be argued that the 'tree-line defence' fits in rather uneasily with the Doctor Who mythos – unless it is (despite the claims made by the tree spirits) only a comparatively fleeting phenomenon that is extinct by the time of The Ark in Space, to say nothing of not preventing the mass extinctions that allowed the dinosaurs to conquer the earth and then ended their reign.
This does not take away from the fact that Cottrell-Boyce is a fantastic writer and the concepts, although they sometimes clumsily fit together are still striking. There is also the dialogue, which is fantastic throughout 'If you remembered how things felt, you’d have stopped having wars … and stopped having babies...' and, of course, the Doctor's unexpected retort to Clara's rebuke from "Kill the Moon". Director Sheree Folkson, with the assistance of cinematographer Mark Garrett, creates some stunning visuals, with the backlit glade where the tree spirits talk to the Doctor and the wonderful scenes with the wolves and the tyger, where the story almost manages to succeed. However, it has to be said that she sometimes struggles with Cottrell-Boyce's methods of storytelling. The cast she marshals, however, is excellent – the Coal Hill Kids are an unusual and welcome addition and the regulars are on fine form, none more so than Peter Capaldi gives a performance of grouchiness, humour and real sympathy – witness the scene where he tries to convince Clara to save an ever dwindling set of people. However, the Doctor's place in the plot is purely as an observer. Such stories have worked before, but, with neither the Doctor being the driving character, nor Maebh being the point-of-view character, the story loses an important personal focus, another critical flaw in the story.
Despite the considerable talent behind its realisation and some truly great moments, "In the Forest of the Night" barely works as a Doctor Who story and it is probably one that I won't revisit too often.
NEXT: "Dark Water"/"Death in Heaven"
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