Like Peter Harness
before him, Jamie Mathieson has a
lot at stake with his debut story for the series, with another episode in the
pipeline for later in the series. Whilst he’s made a big impact within the
offices of BBC Wales with this and next week’s scripts, it doesn’t always
resonate well with audiences. Such a comment could be made here, but Mummy on the Orient Express has
received favourable reviews by fans. But not this particular fan.
The story focuses on a train in space with a deadly being on
board picking off the passengers and crew one by one. This ‘under siege’ storyline
is a staple for the show, ranging as far back as its cheaper attempts with The Edge of Destruction, so like Kill the Moon before it Mathieson does play it safe. However,
unlike Kill the Moon it fails to
live up to its full potential like stories before it, especially when
considered that this type of story has been done in the current series already,
albeit in small doses such as Listen and
Kill the Moon, with equal or more success.
And whilst it was nice to relate back to a small quip made at the end of The Big Bang, which does get a mention
in this episode, it doesn’t feel strong enough to become an episode in its own
right, let alone so late after it escapes public awareness. At times the script
does give off good amusement, particularly with the various Tom Baker references, but at most it
tends to be rather dull.
And perhaps the dullest actor of the story is poor old Frank Skinner as Perkins, who is a
memorable enough character following the standard ‘potential companion’ trait
which has followed the show since its revival. He has a large enough role to
peak audience interest, and with Skinner
being a fan of the show does show he has understanding of how it works, but
at times he seemed somewhat out of place – almost wooden. Skinner is usually filled with great comedic grace, as seen in
another Doctor Who-related serial The Five(ish) Doctors, so it appears that it’s more the script than
him, with a standard TARDIS entrance to appease to him. The same could be said
for the highly-publicised Foxes, who
was announced across various mediums in what ended up to be nothing more than a
cameo of her singing. When considering that fellow singer Kylie Minogue got a rather large role without the need of her to
sing against recent acting debuts of Katherine
Jenkins and Foxes, it does seem
very disappointing that this era of the show downgrades potentially strong
performances as simple musical interludes in the story, with this instance
being unneeded let alone so publically promoted. Other guest stars are pretty
much forgettable, with Daisy Beaumont there
just to give Clara something to do.
Last week, I complimented Peter Capaldi for his strong performance, and being his most
Doctor-y to date. Here, it feels like he’s taken a step backwards as he returns
to his cold self as seen in Into theDalek and Time Heist. Granted,
it’s an interesting side to the Doctor not seen in quite a while, but its
constant switches of character is somewhat off-putting, leading to unimpressive
results. As for Clara (Jenna Coleman),
what a complete U-turn this was. After her bombastic outburst previously, it
seems strange that she would go straight back to The Doctor. They do constantly
reference back to it, with this adventure being considered the finale of their
trips, but it doesn’t go very far in terms of story. Her final decision is very
sudden and almost acts as a quick ‘screw that’ to last week’s conclusion.
Mummy on the Orient
Express is an odd one. Whist it has high prospects with its gruesome foe
and the direction is strong, it treads overly familiar ground and doesn’t add
much to it outside a change in flying vehicle. It’s a story which misses its intended
destination with various bumps on the tracks. 5/10.
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