April 2010 Archives

Episode Information:

Title: The Beast Below
Writer: Steven Moffet
Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Sophie Okonedo, Hannah Sharp

Synopsis:

It's the 29th Century and the Earth is burnt to a cinder by the Sun solar flares but mankind has escaped to the stars, the British people are on Starship UK, the entire United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland on a starship. The Doctor (Matt Smith) and Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), while on board the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions in Space), encounters the ship. Of course, he decided to observe these phenomenon and gives Amy his number rule, "we are observers only", to never get involve in the affairs of other people or planets, So what does the Doctor do first when he lands, he interacts with a little crying girl, Mandy Tanner (Hannah Sharp).

Who doesn't love a good mystery? How can one resist? Definitely not for the Doctor. While walking the streets on the starship, the Doctor explains the various subtleties that's bugging him: secrets in shadows, lives lead in fear, societies bent out of shape on the brink of collapse and some weird thing he does with glasses filled with drink watering. The Doctor calls it a police state. Everywhere within the ship, there are booths containing a smiling fellow and while everywhere else on the ship is dirty and worn down, these booths are untouched and avoided by the general populace. At the same time, a mysterious, cloaked woman known as "Liz 10" (Sophie Okonedo) is also investigating for the truth about Starship UK. She elicits the help of the Doctor and Amy to help her find the truth.

This second episode of the new season further reinforces the friction between the Doctor and Amy (must be the Scottish in her) and the continual development in their relationship.

It would also appear that the message behind the episodes so far is that we tend to ignore the facts/issues that's before us, that we choose not to look, not to deal with it.  A girl is crying and dozens of people are walking by her, not one stopped to ask why she is cry or what she is crying about.

"Hundreds of parents walking past this spot and not one of them is asking her what's wrong which means they already know and it's something they don't talk about ... secrets."

-- The Doctor

We, as a human race of the planet Earth, are faced with limited and dwindling natural resources, but instead of finding the solution, many of us go about the day, not worrying about it, "let someone else worry about it or let someone else solve it."

Overall, the episode is another good sign of things to come.

I finally got to watch the first episode in Season 5 of BBC's Doctor Who, starring Matt Smith (as the Doctor) and Karen Gillan (as his companion, Amy Pond).

With the departure of the loved David Tennant, a new season brings forth an uncertainty for the new Doctor but after watching the very first episode, I can say that we will have nothing to fear about this new Doctor actor, Matt Smith. Matt was successful in merging the high-energy performance of Tennant's Doctor with many others of his own, bridging the transition from the old to the new.

Like pretty much the previous seasons of Doctor Who II, the companions have been very good eye candy and Karen Gillan (who plays the character, Amy Pond) is no exception to this rule and made quite an impression on me with her police uniform. If her performance in the first episode is any indication of what she'll be bringing on to the show, she will definitely complement Smith.

I look forward in seeing future episodes of the new season

Despite what you might find on the internet regarding the lyrics to the young toddler show, Chuggington on the Disney Channel, the lyrics I've found are a bit off/incorrect. I'm saying this now because my son, Bryan, is learning the song and I wanted to make sure he knows the lyrics correctly.

(Chug Chug Chug Chug...)
"Honk your horns!"

We're trainees.
We're making tracks,
Wheels to the rails!
Clackety Clack!

Running on time,
Passengers to take.
Hauling loads,
Pickups to make!

(Chug!  Chug!  Chug!)
Riding the rails!
(Chug! Chug!)
A traintastic crew!

Honk your horns... choo choo! 
Choo choo! 

Chuggington! 
Chugga Chugga Chugga Chugga Chuggington! 

Chuggington! 
Chugga Chugga Chugga...
Chugga Chugga Chugga...
Chugga Chugga Chugga Chugga Chuggington! 

Clackety Clack!