 |
| The Doctor drops in on a British sitcom. |
1 episode. Approx. 41 minutes. Written by: Gareth Roberts. Directed by: Catherine Morshead. Produced by: Tracie Simpson.
THE PLOT
Craig (James Corden) and Sophie (Daisy Haggard) are flatmates. They work together in a call center, and have shared the same flat for ages. They are the best of friends. But Craig is absolutely in love with Sophie, and afraid to say anything lest he destroy their friendship. Sophie is also in love with Craig, and keeps putting her personal dreams on hold in hopes of something happening.
Now a new flatmate (Matt Smith) has moved in. He's a very strange fellow. He wears a bowtie, and bizarrely considers doing so to be "cool." He doesn't appear to know what football is, but can play it like a professional athlete. He has never worked a day in his life, but is the best salesman Craig's call center has ever seen. Everyone adores him - much to Craig's steadily growing annoyance.
To return to his comfortably miserable existence, he'll need to get rid of this "Doctor" first. But sometimes, life passes the point at which everything can simply return to the way it was...
CHARACTERS
Craig: A likably normal, affably typical "bloke." He's a bit pudgy, but not to the point of obesity, and is still athletic enough to engage in weekly football matches with his friends. I question whether declaring an interest in a woman who obviously likes you is really that much of a problem for a man in his thirties - Craig's anxiety over declaring an open interest in Sophie doesn't befit an adult consistently portrayed as socially capable. But since Craig essentially exists in a sitcom, this can be allowed to pass as simply part and parcel of the show's concept.
Sophie: She is very obviously as fond of Craig as he is of her. Unlike Craig, it's clear that she wants something completely different out of life, and has been putting her own ambitions on hold simply to stay around him. Daisy Haggard is quite appealing, cute but in a "real person" sort of way, as opposed to an implausibly gorgeous starlet sort of way.
"The Doctor:" The special guest star in the Craig and Sophie show. He is genuinely strange, though it seems clear in every scene that he is sincere in his efforts to help Craig and Sophie. His attempts to blend in with their sitcom-normal life are amusing, as he seems unable to help himself from standing out in any situation. The way in which he needles first Sophie, and then Craig, into admitting what they really want out of life (Sophie: working with animals; Craig: Sophie) is charming.
THOUGHTS
OK, obviously this isn't an episode of a British sitcom. But the trappings of Craig and Sophie and their little world belong more to the world of British sitcoms than to reality, which makes The Lodger probably best viewed as something akin to a Doctor Who/sitcom crossover.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. The Lodger makes a pleasant change of pace for this series and, particularly, this season. There's something appealing to seeing the Doctor trying to fit in with "normal life," even if the normal life in question doesn't always seem terribly authentic. Fighting bug-eyed monsters from beyond time? No problem. Trying to slip into the friendly banter immediately following a football match? Not so easy.
Perception filters pop up in this episode, yet again. This season seems to be set up along a theme of perception. Monsters who cannot be seen, save by madmen. Monsters who cannot move when directly observed. Monsters who do not act as monsters, until the Doctor appears to name them as such. Just about every episode this season has in some way touched upon people's perceptions affecting their reality.
That theme is reinforced by The Crack in Time and its victims. People are wiped out of time, so that they never lived, let alone died. We can remember Rory, the Doctor can remember Rory. But for Amy, Rory never existed. That leaves her no cause to grieve, and so she does not mourn. Yet Van Gogh, the madman, can perceive her sadness. And even though she cannot herself feel that sadness, she can feel the tears streaming down her face - but only after Van Gogh points them out to her.
Here, the perception filter hides a rather nifty twist in the final Act. And before that, there is of course the role of perception in the relationship of Craig and Sophie. They insist on acting as "just friends," even though each sees in the other something more than that. Despite each wanting to be with the other, nothing can happen until one of them admits it. Only once the emotion is named can it be acted upon.
I wouldn't want every episode to be like The Lodger, but it works here as a breather before the fireworks of the finale. It ends on a note clearly designed to lead us into the two-part wrapup, and I'm looking forward to seeing just what is going to happen.
Rating: 7/10.
Rating: 7/10.
Review Index
No comments:
Post a Comment