I am – Hercules!! “Doctor Dan” calls “The Hungry Earth” “a little underwhelming”:

DOCTOR WHO 5.8 – "The Hungry Earth" WRITER: Chris Chibnall DIRECTOR: Ashley Way GUEST CAST: Arthur Darvill, Neve McIntosh, Meera Syal, Robert Pugh, Nia Roberts, Alun Raglan & Samuel Davies The great thing about two-parters is that they give the story a chance to breathe and embed itself emotionally; the bad thing is that their stories sometimes don't justify the extra time allotted them. "The Hungry Earth" was basically a whole heap of setup for what looks like a far more exciting conclusion next week (if the "Next Time" trail is to be believed), and while there were certainly some good moments and nothing tested my patience, it wasn't anything very special. The Doctor (Matt Smith), Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvil) arrive in a Welsh village circa 2020; an accidental detour, but one The Doctor became excited by when he spotted mysterious clumps of blue grass growing in a graveyard, and an interesting "mining thingy" in the distance. Rory was distracted by a boy called Elliot (Samuel Davies) and his mum Ambrose (Nia Roberts) with their tale of corpses being taken from graves; while The Doctor and Amy met drillers Nasreen (Meera Syal) and Tony (Robert Pugh), who appear to have angered subterranean aliens with their drilling operation. Later, with Amy dragged into a hole and a force-field activated to contain the village, The Doctor realized he only has eight-minutes before the underground menace breaks through to the surface. "The Hungry Earth" wasn't terrible, just a little underwhelming given the potential of the story. None of the guest-stars made any impression, although it's always fun when The Doctor interacts with small children on the show because they share similar temperaments. There was also a nice moment when it became clear The Doctor's not the parental type, when he absentmindedly let young Elliot wander off into danger because he was too occupied with something else. Meera Syal was particularly terrible as Nasreen, failing to appear plausible in any respect, and becoming a temporary companion of The Doctor's you'd gladly watch disappear into a sinkhole. All the other characters were just people along for the ride, there to ask The Doctor questions on behalf of the audience – which was rather unnecessarily, too, because it was obvious to everyone what was going on within the first 10-minutes. Sadly, Amy was marginalized because of her early capture by the Silurians (but God bless her miniskirt) and Rory didn't get much to do this week, despite some early promise when he was mistaken as an expert by the locals. Fortunately, Matt Smith's really beginning to gel as The Doctor and carried most of this episode, because the storyline was so predictable. The only really interesting aspect of this episode is that the Silurians were once the master race on Earth, so believe they have ownership of the planet, which will hopefully provoke some interesting discussion between the warring races in part 2. Overall, "The Hungry Planet" was middle-of-the-road entertainment with a few enjoyable moments, but it definitely felt like an episode that demands you watch part 2, "Cold Blood", before passing final judgement. The Good An intriguing touch with The Doctor spotting future versions of Amy and Rory through some binoculars early on, that reminded me of something from Timecrimes or Triangle. The scenery. Some gorgeous locations, especially in HD. I'm enjoying series 5's quaint rural feel on Earth, away from Russell T. Davies urban estates. Good makeup for the Silurians, if unoriginal in design. The alien character of Alaya was also nicely performed, particularly in her "interrogation scene" with The Doctor. A great little scene between The Doctor and Amy when he failed to prevent her being sucked down into the ground. The Bad Meera Syal. A terrible guest-star given a weak character. And the other guest-stars weren't very well developed as people, either. Is anyone else frustrated that so many episodes just remind you of other recent episodes in Who's history? "The Impossible Planet" with its own subterranean dangers felt like a superior and scarier version of this story. A lack of Amy (for good reason, but couldn't she have been kidnapped a little later in the story?) and Rory. The Geeky The Silurians made their debut in the 1970 adventure starring the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee), and their cousins the Sea Devils aappeared sometime later. They also appeared in the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) story "Warriors Of The Deep" back in 1984. The Doctor has heat-sensitive sunglasses. Writer Chris Chibnall penned the series 3 episode "42" and many instalments of Torchwood. Children's book The Gruffalo appeared in this episode, a CGI adaptation of which preceded Doctor Who's 2009 Christmas Special. Sherlock Holmes is quoted ("when you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth") and showrunner Steven Moffat is co-creator of a Holmesian update due later this year. The name "Nasreen" means "wild Rose" in Persian. Rating: 3 / 5

“The Handsome 12th Doctor” gives it “a big thumbs up”:

I figure it must be tricky bringing back a classic-Who baddie. You need to explain enough about who they are to the young tykes watching, without making the rest of us shout "We know this! Get on with it!" 'The Hungry Earth' sees the Silurians make their debut in nu-Who. Writer Chris Chibnall did a smart job of introducing them, and didn't succumb to any urge to change their background just for the sake of it. I'm a Silurian fan so I'm pleased that he kept to what made them so appealing. The only thing that's expectedly different is their look has been updated. I like the new make-over. This ain't another Nissan Micra Daleks fiasco. The important question is will they scare today's audience? I'd say so. Getting pulled down into the ground is a reasonably scary sight. These scenes were very effectively done. The doomed actors showing a good amount of "Arrgh!!" And it was a well-paced never-dull build-up till they were finally revealed. So yeah, it's a big thumbs up from me for these beasties return. What about the non-lizard folk? Well, I'm still adoring Matt Smith as the Doctor. Tawdry quirks and all ("I’m making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up") Karen Gillan got sidelined for most of the ep, but her petulant wanting to go to Rio bits were funny. I also like Arthur Darvill's mix of serious and comic work. There's does however remain the problem that Amy and Rory don't have the chemistry of a couple supposedly getting married tomorrow. While Meera Syal and Robert Pugh join the show's ranks of fine guest stars. Not quite up there with last week's Toby Jones, but then he had a much funner part. And I must give high praise to the young Welsh lad. Well played sir. The music is lots better this season. Tonight's was pitched perfectly. Dramatic enough to drive the action but not so loud that you can't hear what people are saying. I can't really think of anything I disliked in this one. Even the techno-bobbins speak seemed to make sense. Kind of. I'd say there were definitely more potholes than plot-holes in this ep. Next week's second part looks more action-packed. I hope it's not at the expense of story.

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