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Dr. Who Series 4 - Silence in the library (Patreon)

Published:
2022-08-20 14:00:06
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

This episode was interesting. Great mood, and lots of questions :D

Files

Previews only

Silence in the library Patreon ready

Comments

Stephen Males

You have just met River Song who I absolutely I love. She is played by Alex Kingston who was also in the American medical drama series, ER. I can't say much more because - "spoilers" - but I can say that she told both The Doctor and Donna that, because of Time Travel, she has met The Doctor in his future. So whatever he looked like, (an older David Tennant, a future Doctor who looks older, a future Doctor who looks younger) he would, in reality, be older. I hope that makes sense. It's a great story and some people rate it as their favourite two-parter of New Who. There is some competition of course and I'm not going to say whether I think they are right. I will say that a friend I used to work with had never watched any Doctor Who until she heard me babbling enthusiastically about this episode. She felt obliged to watch the second part to find out what happened and told me what she thought after watching it. I won't say what her reaction was until next time because - "spoilers". I think I've avoided any actual spoilers there by only saying what happened in the episode we just watched but do let me know if you disagree. The young actress playing the girl who can see the library did a brilliant job, I think. And those final moments of Ms Evangelista were quite heart-breaking. Doctor Who doesn't necessarily make you happy. In fact another reactor said, after watching a future episode, "I'm so sick of this show making me feel - everything!"

Ian Smith

This is a very strong episode, which firmly ticks all the boxes> Good banter between Doctor and companion: check Tangible and scary threat (shadows),built around something seemingly commonplace: check Enigmatic mystery elements: check Base under siege: check Plenty of WTF! moments: check Cliffhanger where there appears to be absolutely no escape from their various predicaments: check For me, the key element is always - will Part 2 live up to this quality?

Andrew Gwilliam

This episode is brilliant! I have to be honest that for me, it was an increasingly tough slog after the amazing conclusion to "Utopia". I hated the Series 3 finale (it's probably the worst episode out of all of New Who in my opinion), I didn't enjoy the 2007 Christmas special, and the first seven episodes of Series 4 were varying degrees of ordinary. But here we have an episode that has a great premise, lots of interesting and intriguing moments and characters, with some great dialogue and a mystery (or set of mysteries) at its heart that are presented in an engaging way. "Monster/villain of the week" stories are probably always going to be with us, but this episode promises so much more! A particular favourite moment is when the little girl is told that the real world is a lie and her nightmares are real. That's such a bonkers thing for a responsible adult to tell a child, and I would've loved watching that scene as a child; and as with so many other moments in this story, the accompanying music also really adds to the impact. There is one thing that always bugs me about this episode, though: the Doctor shouldn't be surprised that there are more than a million million lifeforms in the Library, because he should expect there to be bacteria!

Andrew Vignaux
>>90042117

I have the same issue with the more than a million million lifeforms count. I'm happy for my science fiction to have certain given assumptions - there's a time machine that looks like a police box: no problem - but after those givens I prefer the science to be more solid. I had the same worry with the statement about being unable to be in an orbit around the black hole in "The Impossible Planet". In one of the commentary tracks, someone mentioned that they were surprised when they were told they got the science wrong. It's not the story concept that I find grating here (that there are lots of "somethings" on the Library planet, that there is a planet near a black hole). It's that they go out of their way to give a scientific justification for something - and they get that wrong. "The Tomorrow People" in the 70s, which certainly isn't a model of a great science fiction series, had a "Scientific Advisor" credit. I don't know if they did that great a job, but I sometimes wonder whether Doctor Who could consider having a "Scientific Advisor"

Andrew Vignaux

I'm a bit out-of-sync with most people with this story - it was nominated for a Hugo after all. But I think we have seen better ones. It's a creepy story with lots of things going on ... and who is the woman!? That's the mystery that elevates the plot. The shadow piranhas - not so much. We have another reference to gift shops - previously seen in "New Earth" and "Smith and Jones". The David Doctor has a strange obsession there. River Song has a sonic "square" blaster like Captain Jack did in "The Doctor Dances" - it's same writer so I suppose he is reusing his idea. There are two drawings on the wall in the little girl's room: a blonde woman and a wolf. (I did not spot this when I first saw the episode.)

Andrew Gwilliam
>>90053858

I have a vague recollection of the drawings being pointed out on OG at the time; and FilmBuff noticed them in his reaction video. Do you know if it was just a fun little easter egg, or was it intended to be like the brief image of Rose that we see on the monitor in the Sontaran two-parter?

Andrew Vignaux
>>90053858

I don't know. I take it as just a fun Easter egg for observant viewers (which I wasn't). I'll check out the commentary tracks to see if they mention it.

Nicologik Reacts
>>90053858

I don´t want to jugde the episode without having seen the second part to it. But I enjoyed it. :) The plot with that misterious woman helped me liking this story although her cryptic riddles made me slightly angry. :D :D I didn´t notice those drawings at all, thanks for pointing them out. If they do forshadow something though please mark future comments under this Thread as a spoiler. Then I wont read it :)

Nicologik Reacts
>>90042117

Wow it´s crazy how you didn´t like so many episodes in series 3. Unbeliveable. But I´m glad that you do like this one. I can´t wait for the second part. The scene with the little girl was really cool. I felt like watching "The Matrix" all over again :D Haha that is so true. I din´t think about the bacteria either, but you have a point here :D :D

Nicologik Reacts
>>90023371

Wow you really thought about the structure of the episode. :) But everything you said is true :) And I really want to know how good the second part will be, but I´m afraid to watch it. :)

Nicologik Reacts
>>89986818

River is a really nice name. She seems very important for future storylines. I´ll see where it will go :) Your description makes sense. At least I think I understood :D Wow really? I didn´t have the feeling that the episode was so special to many people. I mean I like it, but it´s not super special for me (yet). Let´s see how my opinion changes after having seen the second part. :) I agree with you on the young girl, and the sad scene with Ms Evangelista though. :) Haha that sentence actually makes sense. I have so many feelings while watching certain episode, it´s not even funny anymore. :) Same goes for Torchwood though. :)