Now I know they were trying to do nostalgia but really?
Gremlins was released in 1984.
This episode was an overgrown white Mogwai that turned into a Gremlin. With special effects that haven't moved on since 1984.
For a BBC flagship show the acting wasn't just bad. It was dire. Back in the day when TV was still only three channels for domestic audience consumption only and there wasn't the same competition with other shows especially before the invention of the VCR nevermind TV on demand I can understand. But in 2023? Really? I mean I can cope with shit acting on daytime TV but this is a premium BBC shows to flog on Disney+ in the US. That's kind of embarrassing.
Then there's the script. I can kind go with 'progressive' in terms of doing similar stories that are cultural 'ahead of their time'. I'm not sure I feel thats hitting the mark given this is post Tavistock. It's really rather going against the latest on that given its not simply trans but (supposedly) a child. A 'six foot child' who can't run (watch the running and you'll get my point and you'll never unsee it) and definitely can't act.
Bizarrely DH said to me at two points through the program "hang on a sec the Meep is supposed to be a creature pretending to be something it's not and then turning out to be evil. That could be taken in different ways couldn't it - and not in an altogether positive one. He thought that was odd. Really odd.
Not only that but how exactly do I explain this to a nine year old? The whole crux of the story rests on binary binary non binary. But DS hasn't a clue over that and I don't feel he's really old enough for that. It isn't behind the sofa stuff. It's just not particularly great for that 8 - 13 age group because of that which is a real shame. It's simply tone deaf to the concerned raised about this age group and this subject. That's not necessarily anti-trans but more about how they have capacity to understand properly. It makes it not particularly family friendly. You cant really watch and have it go over heads because it's central to the story and I'm really not ready to be having a conversation over binary, non binary with DS just yet.
It was altogether odd and rather than being progressive and ahead of its time more very much of the moment. It could not have been made a couple of years ago. But equally I think it's unlikely to be written in another couple of years.
On a personal level I never particularly liked Donna as Catherine Tate just grates so it doesn't help. Despite that I did like Tennant as The Doctor but this just feels like trying to reclaim lost love rather than be good in its own right. It feels like an act of desperation because the show has lost its way rather than adding to the canon and it really shows. The criticism has been able the moralism over action and good script writing in recent years and I'm not sure this escapes that. It's this constant shoe horning ideas to make a point rather than just making a good narrative. It's certainly not a classic like Blink or the story arc that was part of.
It's a shame really given its the 60th anniversary. It's simply not anywhere near what you'd class as memorable or 'a classic '. It's just all very forgettable really. You'll wake up tomorrow and think 'yeah what happened?'