11.25: The God Complex

In which Doctor Who gives his companions the greatest gift anyone can give a millennial: a house.

Broadcast: September 2011

Watched: January 2022

“Amy, with respect, you’re fired.”

One of those that just throws ideas at the screen. The maze, made of ‘80s hotel decor (why *did* hotels all look like that in the 80s?), complete with a minotaur; the nightmare imagery; the stuff about faith... plus it’s all beautifully put together, with loads of interesting camera angles and design choices. It’s the one where it hit me how good Whithouse actually is and I started sort of hoping he was next up. Oh well.

Loads of stuff to like. The intro, which sets up the whole thing but which, since you can’t see the whole picture yet, is just utterly baffling. The pictures on the wall of past victims (one of them is producer Marcus Wilson; another is a weevil, in a tie). The characters, who Whithouse is very good at sketching out incredibly well but incredibly quickly.

Rita, especially, is great, as character, performance, and in the way it makes text that the Doctor looks for certain characteristics in a companion. Probably my favourite moment in the whole thing is the Doctor’s genuine interest on the line “You’re a muslim!” followed by a slightly baffled laugh on “Don’t be frightened”. And her death scene is just amazing: the Doctor begging her to come back, and then giving into his rage. I love the way that the thing she doesn’t want anyone to watch is her loss of faith.

If there is a problem with this one it’s in what it does to the relationship between the Doctor and his actual companions. Like Curse of Fenric, this has a scene in which the Doctor has to explicitly break his companion’s faith in him to save her. But this is in the middle of a series in which he’s lost her baby and can’t find it, and comes immediately after an episode in which we saw an Amy (admittedly, one whose timelines was erased) lose faith in and come to hate the Doctor.

The Doctor says “I stole your childhood and now I lead you by your hand to your death”, but once again, there’s no mention of Melody, she’s just gone from the narrative. All the pieces are there, but it doesn’t feel joined up. And calling her “Amy Williams” to denote that her time with him is ending is gross.

So, again, great standalone, terrible arc episode. This is becoming a theme.

Other things:

• There’s half a second in one of the rooms when it really does feel like it could be a weeping angels story, just because they’re so weird and unknowable.

• “Our anthem is called Glory To Insert Name Here”. Gibbis an utter prick, yet somehow he’s not as bad as the guy playing him.

• Once the hotel shuts down, everyone is suddenly in the holodeck. Or Tron.

• It’s also quite weird to write out the companions in episode 11, even if the Doctor does explicitly say he’ll be back? Also, if he thinks he’s going to his death, why does he say that?

Buying a couple of millennials a house is a huge deal. It’s three storeys opposite a park. Blimey. But since when does the Doctor give out material goods?