To be fair, Doctor Who doesn’t get to do traditional ghost stories all that often, and much of that is owed to the fact that Science Fiction and ghosts (of a sort) just don’t mix that well. Granted, there will always be elements of SciFi and Fantasy joined at the proverbial hip, but combining the particular storytelling tropes from each rarely comes off so effectively as to reward fans of the separate genres: oh, we do so love our nitpicking! Still, when a “good attempt” is the best we can hope for, we’ll often settle for it so long as the finished work sits comfortably alongside the other hours of any given season without detracting from the total experience.
In that regard, this past weekend’s “Knock Knock” efficiently dabbled with the tricks of horror (i.e. the elderly landlord, the haunted castle, etc.) good enough to make the adventure believable but only so much if viewers accept the ‘Scooby Doo’ outcome as I was left wondering all too often exactly how and why this particular “universe” worked the way it did.
In that regard, this past weekend’s “Knock Knock” efficiently dabbled with the tricks of horror (i.e. the elderly landlord, the haunted castle, etc.) good enough to make the adventure believable but only so much if viewers accept the ‘Scooby Doo’ outcome as I was left wondering all too often exactly how and why this particular “universe” worked the way it did.
Bill Potts (played by Pearl Mackie) is on a mission with some friends (none of whom are particularly memorable) to find a place of their own for some off-campus living. Sadly, none of the available residences fit their agreed upon budget, but that’s when an elderly caretaker from a nearby castle (David Suchet) discovers the group and offers them the chance of a lifetime: they can each have a room in his stately mansion and not manage to ‘break the bank.’ Naturally, this creaky ol’ venue becomes a character all of its own in the story as its loose floorboards and fitted wood moldings hide a dark, dark secret, one that just might be the death of them all!
How the Doctor fits into all of this ends up being a nice comic turn to the established Capaldi/Mackie combo as she tells her friends that he’s her grandfather (a narrative throwback all the way to the beginning of Doctor Who when William Hartnell’s man from Gallifrey actually did have a granddaughter for a companion); it’s an inspired ‘zing’ for an episode that otherwise feels a bit disheveled for so early in a new season of Who. Even ghost-inspired tales usually earn an upturned nose from the Doctor, and this one never quite comes together the way a good yarn should but instead clumsily hits its predictable notes and reveals all too simply.
You’ve got victims? Check.
You’ve got an old house? Check.
You’re got a crotchety landlord? Check.
From there, screenwriter Mike Bartlett (his first foray into the realm of Who) proceeds to tie the dryads (wood nymphs) of Greek mythology into this growing universe. It may’ve worked had the whole idea of exactly ‘how’ and ‘why’ these alien cockroaches prolong the life of the landlord’s mother been aptly communicated, but otherwise it all comes off feeling a bit more magical or fantastical than what typically suffices for Who’s audiences.
Complaints aside, I’ll give credit where credit is due as “Knock Knock” does have some clever moments wherein the story deals in character.
How the Doctor fits into all of this ends up being a nice comic turn to the established Capaldi/Mackie combo as she tells her friends that he’s her grandfather (a narrative throwback all the way to the beginning of Doctor Who when William Hartnell’s man from Gallifrey actually did have a granddaughter for a companion); it’s an inspired ‘zing’ for an episode that otherwise feels a bit disheveled for so early in a new season of Who. Even ghost-inspired tales usually earn an upturned nose from the Doctor, and this one never quite comes together the way a good yarn should but instead clumsily hits its predictable notes and reveals all too simply.
You’ve got victims? Check.
You’ve got an old house? Check.
You’re got a crotchety landlord? Check.
From there, screenwriter Mike Bartlett (his first foray into the realm of Who) proceeds to tie the dryads (wood nymphs) of Greek mythology into this growing universe. It may’ve worked had the whole idea of exactly ‘how’ and ‘why’ these alien cockroaches prolong the life of the landlord’s mother been aptly communicated, but otherwise it all comes off feeling a bit more magical or fantastical than what typically suffices for Who’s audiences.
Complaints aside, I’ll give credit where credit is due as “Knock Knock” does have some clever moments wherein the story deals in character.
Bill clearly is trying to have a life outside of the TARDIS – something not necessarily all that fresh – and her explanations to that effect are delivered with the kind of terseness that’s been Capaldi’s mainstay for all of his seasons as the lead. She keeps dismissing the Time Lord so that she can be with her friends, and that hasn’t been the same for the previous all-too goo-goo-eyed companions of David Tennant and Matt Smith. Likewise – as he’s become expectant of said goo-goo-eyed admiration – the Doctor never accepts Bill’s dismissals, and he keeps twisting his explanation for staying in to whatever “fits” for the moment; this tete-a-tete works very well for the two actors, and it salvages an otherwise slog of an hour several times.
This all happens thankfully so, I might add, since Bill’s friends are really such dullards: flat, dimensionless wannabes who typically fill out roles in traditional horror films, the kind always opening that closed door when audiences are screaming to leave it shut. It’s a shame what suffices for a casual acquaintance these days, and Bartlett’s script deserved another once over so far as this longtime Who viewer is concerned to weed out some of its less-inspired stereotypes.
Also, dare I suggest that an actor the gravitas of Suchet ends up seeming wasted in such fluff? He might not have the resume of Anthony Hopkins, mind you, but he’s definitely filled out roles of greater substance than what Bartlett provided here. Who knows? His gravitas may’ve actually been a Godsend to an otherwise forgettable script as any lesser known commodity might have been even more easily blended in with the woodwork (pun intended).
For all its occasionally posturing, “Knock Knock” largely felt like filler – an episode meant to fill the whole until something else happens next week. Its characters aren’t particularly memorably – mainly, these side diversions are fodder for this week’s alien villain to “eat” – and its setting more likely won’t be revisited again any time soon as I suspect gears are decidedly shifting back toward The Vault and Capaldi’s upcoming ‘departure’ for greener pastures.
This all happens thankfully so, I might add, since Bill’s friends are really such dullards: flat, dimensionless wannabes who typically fill out roles in traditional horror films, the kind always opening that closed door when audiences are screaming to leave it shut. It’s a shame what suffices for a casual acquaintance these days, and Bartlett’s script deserved another once over so far as this longtime Who viewer is concerned to weed out some of its less-inspired stereotypes.
Also, dare I suggest that an actor the gravitas of Suchet ends up seeming wasted in such fluff? He might not have the resume of Anthony Hopkins, mind you, but he’s definitely filled out roles of greater substance than what Bartlett provided here. Who knows? His gravitas may’ve actually been a Godsend to an otherwise forgettable script as any lesser known commodity might have been even more easily blended in with the woodwork (pun intended).
For all its occasionally posturing, “Knock Knock” largely felt like filler – an episode meant to fill the whole until something else happens next week. Its characters aren’t particularly memorably – mainly, these side diversions are fodder for this week’s alien villain to “eat” – and its setting more likely won’t be revisited again any time soon as I suspect gears are decidedly shifting back toward The Vault and Capaldi’s upcoming ‘departure’ for greener pastures.
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