A pretty setting and a jokey take on history do not a wonderful story make. Little more than a poor man's UNQUIET DEAD, THE SHAKESPEARE CODE just didn't do it for me. From the cliched panto witches (with costume department atrocities for masks) to the wafer-thin characterisation of Will (surely he would have been a more complex, mysterious, thoughtful and intriguing figure than we see here...?)...this just isn't my prefered flavour of Doctor Who. I long for a terrifying and seemingly unsurmountable villain and a clever SURPRISING set of events...a story with few genuine surprises is a story that is hard to get interested in. The underlying message of "the power of words" is intriniscally flawed...Shakspeare's genius wasn't words, it was recreating reality (and imagining new realities) through words AND images...he was after all a practitioner of the theatre...not a writer of books....
Did Ron Howard have a hand in this...?
Not as engaging as last week...however I suspect the real cream in this season is still to come.
The Co-Pilot
Showing posts with label SHAKESPEARE CODE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SHAKESPEARE CODE. Show all posts
Monday, April 9, 2007
THE SHAKESPEARE CODE - Lucozer Takes A Gander
Oh dear, could this be a tragic case of premature excitation on my part? I was so hopeful after the swagger & charm of Smith & Jones. 'Shakespeare Code' was by no means a travesty, but it fell way short of my geeky, fanboy hopes.
The witches looked awful, not ugly awful, just cheap & nasty awful. Poor Martha seemed lost in this wrongfooted mess. Freema was just perfect in 'Smith & Jones', but she ultimately flounders here with some poor dialouge & some shaky character development. I am still rooting for her in a big way though!
All the silly Shakespeare quoting & mis-qouting was naff & clunky. Dean Lennox Kelly, worth walking to the ends of the earth to have a cuddle with (at least), was hardly worth walking into the sitting room to watch on telly. He failed to convince as Shakespeare. The Shakepeare of my imagine is nervous, shy & perhaps a little wet. As well as being a hands down & up & sideways genius of course. Not a hunky Lothario with a quick wit you might meet down the local! The problem probably lies more with the flawed characterisation written for him though. DLK is a good actor.
Tennant on the other hand continues to impress thankfully. His new more serious & sombre countenance suits him rather well. If he keeps the mugging & eye googling in check, I may yet end up a champion for him. Shame about the little barbs at Martha in the bed scene though. They seemed forced as well as mean spirited under the circumstances.
Regrettably, the production team seem to have thought that the fabulous setting & grand guest star/ character would let them out of this one easy. Alas no, they failed to up the ante & I failed dismally to be impressed. Not a stinker of 'New Earth' proportion, but disappointingly lazy & half baked nonetheless. A potential 'Unquiet Dead' rival turned out to be another pasty 'Idiots Lantern'.
:( Lucozer
The witches looked awful, not ugly awful, just cheap & nasty awful. Poor Martha seemed lost in this wrongfooted mess. Freema was just perfect in 'Smith & Jones', but she ultimately flounders here with some poor dialouge & some shaky character development. I am still rooting for her in a big way though!
All the silly Shakespeare quoting & mis-qouting was naff & clunky. Dean Lennox Kelly, worth walking to the ends of the earth to have a cuddle with (at least), was hardly worth walking into the sitting room to watch on telly. He failed to convince as Shakespeare. The Shakepeare of my imagine is nervous, shy & perhaps a little wet. As well as being a hands down & up & sideways genius of course. Not a hunky Lothario with a quick wit you might meet down the local! The problem probably lies more with the flawed characterisation written for him though. DLK is a good actor.
Tennant on the other hand continues to impress thankfully. His new more serious & sombre countenance suits him rather well. If he keeps the mugging & eye googling in check, I may yet end up a champion for him. Shame about the little barbs at Martha in the bed scene though. They seemed forced as well as mean spirited under the circumstances.
Regrettably, the production team seem to have thought that the fabulous setting & grand guest star/ character would let them out of this one easy. Alas no, they failed to up the ante & I failed dismally to be impressed. Not a stinker of 'New Earth' proportion, but disappointingly lazy & half baked nonetheless. A potential 'Unquiet Dead' rival turned out to be another pasty 'Idiots Lantern'.
:( Lucozer
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