With ghosts appearing from the night and being submerged in an underwater, the Doctor and Clara really have their work cut out for them this week. Like the previous story, we have another two-parter here, and the show has yet again crafted a strong opener for an intriguing story that's packed full of style.
After a spacecraft is discovered by the crew of an base beneath the surface, the crew's leader is swiftly killed in an manner that leaves the others baffled. Soon after his death, he reappears as a ghost to menace the crew, whereupon the Doctor and Clara arrive in the TARDIS. With the ghosts only appearing at night, the team must discover the reason why these ghosts exist before they meet the same fate. These efforts aren't to discover the truth aren't helped when the ghosts start to take full control the base, the Doctor and Clara become separated, leaving Clara and half the crew trapped with the ghosts, and The Doctor and the others travelling back in time in the TARDIS in an effort to prevent disaster.
What I really loved about this episode was the look. The base's narrow corridors combined with its modern look makes for a setting that is both visually appealing, yet intimidating at the same time. Its a location straight out of a classic Doctor Who story, and provides plenty of opportunities for scares. Having an underwater story is a good way to keep things fresh, and combining this setting with a ghost story is a nice twist. The show hasn't looked this good and expensive for some time now.
The story was well paced, with there being a chase set-piece midway through the episode to keep our attention. Like with the opening two-parter, we'll only really get a full grasp of the story once the second part is aired. What I admired about Under the Lake was its focus on suspense over exposition. There are plenty of moments where the ghosts haunt the team before they finally begin to learn how it is they exist. Not having the ghosts let loose and base an entire episode on explaining every detail would have been tiresome.
The only fairly weak point are the supporting characters. Only one of them has a clear role in the story, that being Cass (Sophie Stone). Having a deaf actress is an uncommon move for Doctor Who, and she is by far the most interesting and fleshed out of the episode's cast. She clearly demonstrates a no-nonsense attitude, but also compassion despite only being able to communicate via sign language. Lunn (Zaqi Ismail) is only memorable for his role of interpretor, and the other two say and do. There's this one character, Pritchard (Steven Robertson), who is the cliché "out for a profit" member of the team, but thankfully he's axed off pretty quickly.
As the next episode follows on from a surprising ending, we have more ghosts, time travel, and most exciting of all, a new monster to look forward to. After an exciting opening story, series 9 continues on good form with Under the Lake, and next week's episode will look to continue this run with its secret weapon: Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor providing the monster's screams!
The story was well paced, with there being a chase set-piece midway through the episode to keep our attention. Like with the opening two-parter, we'll only really get a full grasp of the story once the second part is aired. What I admired about Under the Lake was its focus on suspense over exposition. There are plenty of moments where the ghosts haunt the team before they finally begin to learn how it is they exist. Not having the ghosts let loose and base an entire episode on explaining every detail would have been tiresome.
The only fairly weak point are the supporting characters. Only one of them has a clear role in the story, that being Cass (Sophie Stone). Having a deaf actress is an uncommon move for Doctor Who, and she is by far the most interesting and fleshed out of the episode's cast. She clearly demonstrates a no-nonsense attitude, but also compassion despite only being able to communicate via sign language. Lunn (Zaqi Ismail) is only memorable for his role of interpretor, and the other two say and do. There's this one character, Pritchard (Steven Robertson), who is the cliché "out for a profit" member of the team, but thankfully he's axed off pretty quickly.
As the next episode follows on from a surprising ending, we have more ghosts, time travel, and most exciting of all, a new monster to look forward to. After an exciting opening story, series 9 continues on good form with Under the Lake, and next week's episode will look to continue this run with its secret weapon: Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor providing the monster's screams!
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