Surfing Sci-Fi: Doctor Who – “The God Complex”

 
These spoilers have no fear ‘cus these spoilers are the most BAMF spoilers to ever exist.

 

 
 
 
 
NIMON! We have a NIMON! Well, a relative of the Nimon – the big bads of their titular story back in Tom Baker’s day, “The Horns of Nimon” – but I’m chalking it up as one, so there. Sure, I’m disappointed and would have preferred it to have been an Aggedor like I’d hoped but, really, any Classic Who reference will put a smile on my beardless face. Indulged, let’s press on.

Toby Whithouse’s latest foray into the series certainly borrows the ‘complex’ from the episode’s title. What we’re presented with is a base notion of fear – a concept that the family audience can relate to – but it’s not until the halfway mark when the twist is revealed that it’s actually about faith that the episode immediately takes on a new quality, playing to the older viewers at the back. This kind of symbiotic relationship is all what the show’s about, but it’s the twist coupled with the quirky dialogue, bold and wounded supporting cast, right through to the execution in setting that makes this undeniably another one of Whithouse’s tales.

Food for thought and existential thinking at teatime will always receive a round of applause from me, especially when it’s handled so expertly. The faith angle could have so easily have gone down the obvious black or white route of it being a belief held solely by the religious, devout or casual; but instead, we’re spoiled by seeing the very definition of the word explored to include the faith entrusted to anything and anyone as seen by Amy’s belief in the Doctor being this hero and someone she can always depend on unwaveringly.

Though original on the surface, it’s a plot device exactly lifted from The Curse of Fenric – the penultimate episode of Sylvester McCoy’s reign as the Doctor, and to the entire series until resurrected in 2005. The day was saved in Fenric by the Doctor breaking Ace’s faith in him, and he done the same in this episode, though admittedly kinder. Maybe the reason it felt delivered in an almost deus ex machina fashion when things came to a head was that we’d only just learned about the faith mechanic less than ten minutes ago, whereas with Fenric, the faith theme was intrinsic throughout and explored over four weeks (or over a shorter period on VHS, ahem). Perhaps this is more a problem for fans of the Classic series who remember this, so if you didn’t and are only learning this now, then it’d be fair to say that this episode gets a few more gold stars from you for originality.

Ultimately though, The God Complex is another episode that is all about the ending, and when that realisation dawns, it does make the lead-up feel a bit more than nothing than a stylized foundation from which to leap from. Yet, despite being hinted at with Rory’s past-tense this week, and his not wanting to travel with the Doctor last week, it still felt completely out of the blue (no pun intended) when the Doctor dropped Amy and Rory off at their new house and said goodbye. So loaded the scene, it put Matt firmly back in the spotlight after his relatively lite jaunt in The Girl Who Waited, and once again proved that he can bring a genuine lining and understated believability to his Doctor in an way that Tennant and Eccleston attempted but traded in favour for, with hindsight, a somewhat self-flagellated display of acting.

We know that this isn’t it for Amy and Rory, but I’d surprised myself that it didn’t detract from the farewell in the slightest. The selflessness of the Doctor in letting them go and be husband and wife and but also keeping them safe, alive, in letting Amy replace him on her coveted pedestal with Rory, did sting the eyes and but also gave an otherwise standalone episode an arc with last weeks’.

Enjoyable, funny and fairly self-reflective if somewhat playing by numbers and holding out for the end, The God Complex achieves what it set out to do with its faith motif – divide opinion and be something different to everyone.

 
Quotes

“I’m sorry, but I don’t see any huge hats.”

“Oh, you’re good. Oh, she’s good. Amy, with regret, you’re fired.” “What?” “I’m kidding *mouths* We’ll talk.”

“Our anthem is called ‘Glory To Insert Name Here.’”

“They’re not doors, they’re walls. Walls that look like doors. Dor-wals, if you like, or dwalls. Walds, even.”

“Okay, this is bad. For the moment I don’t know how bad, but it’s certainly three buses, a long walk and a taxi from good.”

“No, it’s amazing you’ve come up with a theory more insane than what’s actually happening.”

“Sorry. The last time I said something like that, you hit me with your shoe. And you literally had to sit down and unlace it first.”

“Of course, I’m British, it’s how we cope with trauma, that and ‘tutting’.”

“You’re a Muslim!” “Don’t be frightened.”

“Why’s it up to you to save us? That’s quite a God complex you have there.”

“Amy Williams, it’s time to stop waiting.”

“See that planet, there?” “Which one? “The green one, there. That’s where I’m from.”

“I wasn’t talking about myself.”

“Praise him.”

 
Bits

- David Walliams as Gibbis was stomachable and he actually done pretty well as the missive mole. Funny but not over the top as I’d, sorry, feared.

- Although we don’t see inside the Doctor’s room, we can hear the Cloister Bell – the tolling warning the TARDIS sounds when there’s imminent danger or it itself it’s in grave danger. The fact that he said “Of course. Who else?” makes me think he saw himself. He is his greatest fear, and it goes without saying that – with his God complex – he’d have some faith invested in himself and what he does. He’d have to, otherwise he’d have no confidence.

- The room number for the Doctor was obvious, but did you spot Amy’s? 7. That was Amy’s age when she first met the Doctor.

- Rory doesn’t have a room for him. Why? Rory has no fear. Fear fears Rory. Or, you know, it could have been because he has faith in his marriage with Amy. Whatever.

- Have to hand it to them again, the direction was stunning and the clever use of shots and disorientating zooms elongating the hallways really gave the garish 80’s hotel environment a sort of grand, cinematic feel.

- Need more Rita.

- Need more holodeck/Tron

- Perhaps it’s just me, but does this second half, with the exception of Let’s Kill Hitler, just feel a bit disconnected from the first part of the season? Sure it can’t all be arc-driven, there’s got to be some standalone, but it just ‘feels’ far removed.

- As much as it was nice to see The Weeping Angels again, always nice to see them, Gibbis fearing them just felt a bit odd.

- The Angel bit just mentioned and the relation to The Curse of Fenric above, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with reusing assets. It’s like multiple characters in a show sharing the same name, it’s perfectly fine ‘cus in the ‘real world’, names aren’t exclusive. Same goes for spells, aliens, time travel. Still though, if you’re going to use things like this, you want to make good on the deal.