Holistic Review: The script deftly balances creepy and funny, but its attempt to address deep issues comes off a bit shallow.
The God Complex has a lot of things going for it. It's a very solid story, and I found it really enjoyable and intriguing, with a lot of great moments, buuuuut... a lot of the elements are full of potential that they just don't... quite... reach. Still, what that means is "this story isn't perfect", and given that only one story in the last five years has really attained that level, I don't want my criticisms to come off sounding harsh. All in all, this is definitely an above-average story, and just because I'm not running around shouting its praises (ha, that was totally accidental) doesn't mean that it's not really well-done. So let's go through it bit by bit, and talk about what worked really well and where it fell a little short.
One of the greatest strengths of The God Complex is the script. It's just bursting with inventive and funny lines, and the characters have a very realistic way of speaking. The only moment that felt a bit artificial and clichéd was that old "I wasn't talking about myself" line, which I'm sure we all saw coming; otherwise, there's lots of entertaining banter flying around, and at times it even felt like the actors were improvising their lines, particularly David Walliams, who's no doubt used to that sort of thing. I think that speaks to the performances of the cast and the quality of the writing. On the downside, the script veers between awesome and confusing, and wow, there were a lot of lines that I just couldn't make head nor tail of, all of which I'll talk about in the "minor points" section. I think the fault with a couple of lines was just that I couldn't make out what the actors were saying, so on the whole I excluded those from my count, but I still ended up with slightly more "huh?" moments than usual, including a couple of jokes where I just couldn't find the funny.
Another brilliant idea: the setting. Hotels tend to be automatically creepy, particularly hotels like this one, which feel old and tired, and the enforced gaiety makes you wonder what they're trying to hide. It's the same sort of vibe that The Macra Terror and The Happiness Patrol were going for. This is no doubt why so many other shows (and films) have used creepy hotels as a setting; The Shining is one prominent example, but the one that came straight to my mind when I was watching this was the Sliders episode "The Alternateville Horror" (during Maggie's "awful hair" season, or, as most people call it, "season 4"). And of course, also close to my heart, there's the Hyperion hotel on Angel. All of which is to say that hotels are a gold mine for creepy stories full of mysterious strangers and ominous noises and poltergeists and any manner of threats. The God Complex does a decent job of utilizing the setting; the characters explore lots of different areas of the hotel, with the dining room and the lobby being particularly well-used, and the gaudy carpet and wallpaper are a fun contrast with the horrors lurking in the rooms and the corridors. Speaking of which, the idea of the rooms holding different people's deepest fears? Totally inspired. It's like a freaky combination of Let's Make a Deal and Cube, albeit with less gore than the latter and less smarm than the former. Actually, there's a lot of Cube in this story, particularly when Rita admits that she can't remember how she got to the hotel: "I don't know, I'd just started my shift. I must've passed out, because suddenly I was here." But instead of deadly booby traps, these rooms contain creepy things like clowns and dummies and, shudder, Weeping Angels. Still, you get the feeling that it could have been portrayed more effectively. We're told the rooms change location and the corridors are like a maze, but as far as we're concerned, it's all hearsay, because we never actually see it happen. Now and then the corridors distort and contract, but everyone always gets to where they want to go, and the only scene that lends this idea some visual support is the one of the Doctor running up and down corridors like Shaggy and Scooby in a haunted house, which I initially took as a joke ("look how much futile running around the Doctor's doing"), as in Love & Monsters, rather than an indication that the corridors were actually looping back on themselves. In that sense, The Horns of Nimon was more effective at portraying a shifting maze.
The core of the story, we eventually discover, is an attempt to discuss faith in the context of Doctor Who. This has, of course, been done before, in both The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit, and most relevantly in The Curse of Fenric, from which The God Complex directly lifts. This is a valiant and commendable effort; I appreciate when the writers use Doctor Who to send a powerful message or to explore deeper themes. The problem is that, while the whole episode is about faith, and the concept is interwoven throughout the story, the actual emotional heart of that theme — that the Doctor encourages other people's faith in him because he's a bit of a selfish glory-hound — only gets touched on briefly, and unconvincingly. I love the idea that, confronted with the potential death of one of his companions, the only way the Doctor can prevent it is to admit one of his deepest faults, and one which he probably avoids admitting even to himself under normal circumstances. It's a powerful moment for the character, and for his relationship with Amy. Unfortunately, because the story has at this point reached its climax, it has to affect Amy way too quickly: she goes from complete faith in the Doctor to an apparent utter lack of faith in 1 minute and 17 seconds, all because the Doctor claims that he doesn't know how to save her and he's not a hero really, he just does great things so that people will be impressed by him. I have two reactions to this: Well, yeah, duh! We could've told you that you liked showing off back when you were still William Hartnell. And also: okay, so maybe you don't have the best motivations ever, but doing heroic things pretty much still makes you a hero. It's not like you just tripped and accidentally saved dozens of planets. So, although I really like the idea, I must admit that I find his heartfelt unburdening to be both unsurprising and unconvincing, and I have no idea how it destroys Amy's childhood image of him any more than actually watching him in action would have already done. After travelling with him for months, she's either going to see him as a (flawed) hero or a madman already, right? Maybe if they could've spent the episode slowly chipping away at her faith in him, I would've bought it, but with that explanation in that timespan: nope. And it doesn't help that the Doctor apparently doesn't do a very good job of trying to destroy her faith in him. Amy's reaction is basically to look a little sad and lost, but then smile at him as if she's feeling a little better... and then at the end, they're back to laughs and hugs as if nothing important had happened. Here again, The Curse of Fenric accomplishes the same thing with way more impact. The Doctor's forceful stripping away of Ace's faith in him by uttering the cruelest words that she can ever imagine hearing from anyone, and her subsequent anger and hurt, are much more convincing. Still, where The God Complex does distinguish itself in the faith theme is by giving us a major character who, rather than having no particular belief system like many sympathetic characters on modern-day TV, is actually a calm and rational person of faith.
Which brings me to my next point: the characters. Here again, it's a case where the characters are all interesting people with well-drawn personalities, yet I didn't find myself absolutely loving any of them, even Rita, despite the fact that she's pitched to us as "the perfect companion". I can't really put my finger on why, except that none of them really seemed all that warm and friendly (which is perhaps understandable, given the stressful circumstances). Certainly not Joe and Gibbis! Still, though, while they may not be perfect, they're all great. Clever Rita is definitely the stand-out; her quick thinking and analytical skills make her one to watch, and her quiet-but-confident nature is both appealing and reassuring. It's easy to see why the Doctor was eager to sign her up for TARDIS travel ("Amy, with regret, you're fired." — hee), and why her death hits him particularly hard. Amara Karan gives a very naturalistic performance, particularly when she's not even speaking. Check out the way she first utters "Praise him" as if she's finally getting the chance to have a nice langorous stretch; the way she subsequently looks around as if checking that she wasn't seen, and then stares at the ground, deep in thought; her little attempt at a smile as she hangs up the phone; and, her very best moment, which I completely missed the first and third (!) times that I watched the story: when the possessed Howie says "You guys have got all these distractions, all these obstacles", Rita — who has, by this point, started to undergo possession herself — starts to nod along with him, before catching herself and glancing nervously over to see if anybody else noticed. At that exact moment, the camera starts to rack focus onto Gibbis in the background, which distracts our attention away from her, so it's a wonderful synergy of subtle performance and clever directing. Her "creepy" face is also very effective! And her final scene is really quite sweet, with great reaction shots from Karan throughout, leading up to the moment of her death, at which point her face shows an interesting mixture of terror and joy. Aside from all that, she also delivers a number of great lines, including "Even alien fake ones.", and her attempt to talk to the clown made me giggle. And, as I mentioned earlier, it's great to have a character who actually has a strong faith background; even more delightfully, she's Muslim, which means she has some very different perspectives from your average TV character, and her strong sympathetic characterization helps to combat the usual stereotypes of Muslims in the media. As Rita herself says, "Don't be frightened!"... poor thing. What I like even more is the fact that she's not just allowed to be a strong woman, or even a strong woman of faith, but a strong woman of faith and science. She's very logical and analytical, and if she's a doctor (in training?) then she clearly went through some rigorous scientific studies, yet she hasn't abandoned her faith, and if anything it seems to make her stronger. This I very much like. She's like the Doctor Who version of Scully! So, even though I wasn't clamoring to get Rita onboard the TARDIS, I certainly wouldn't have objected, and I think she would've been an interesting character to explore over several episodes. The fact that I can rave about her for a paragraph surely means a lot.
Not having seen Little Britain (I know! Boil me in oil!), I don't really know David Walliams from anything other than Awfully Good Ads, which was airing on 15 April 2011 while I was in Brighton, and scarred me for life with the (American!) commercial for "Doc Bottoms All Natural Aspray". (It's on YouTube if you're really curious, but I wouldn't recommend looking it up!) Oh, actually, that's not totally true; on the recommendation of my friend JB, I did watch some YouTube clips of "Computer says no" Cathy Beer, so I guess I have a little bit of Walliams exposure. In The God Complex, he's absolutely fantastic, and the most naturalistic of the bunch, particularly on the lines "It's nice for them." and his subsequent pleased smile, and "That's where I'm from." His mannerisms and body language are absolutely spot-on for the character. I love the detail that Gibbis comes from the planet Tivoli, "the most invaded planet in the galaxy", and therefore actively looks forward to being conquered and enslaved. It's a hilarious idea for a Doctor Who race; as a result, Gibbis gets a ton of great lines, and Walliams gives a really convincing performance every time the idea of being enslaved makes Gibbis quietly happy or wistful.
Howie, played by Dimitri Leonidas, is the character that evokes the most sympathy. He's a skinny guy (I was jealous, but I'm sure he sees it as a downside) with a social awkwardness resulting from a combination of his stammer, his geeky interests and his obsessive conspiracy theories, which makes him utterly hopeless around women. He's therefore the guy you root for, and you want to see him overcome his stumbling blocks and gain some real self-worth. So of course he dies before any of that happens. I like the way he tries desperately not to blurt out "Praise him!", and Leonidas gives a great performance as a possessed guy who's actually enthusiastic about being killed!
The final member of the party is Joe Buchanan, played by Daniel Pirrie. Unfortunately we never get to know Joe as a person, only as the ranting beast-worshipper that he becomes. But Pirrie puts in a great performance; when he needs to be menacing (as when he recites the final lines of "Oranges and Lemons"), boy howdy can he, but he also manages to remove every trace of creepy (which must have been difficult!) when he laughs very genuinely at the antics of the ventriloquist's dummies. And the way he delivers "Gottle o' geer, gottle o' geer!" is infectiously hilarious.
Possibly because Rita's being touted as the next great thing, our two companions-in-residence get the short end of the straw. Between them, Rory gets the worse deal; his arc in the story is basically "wander around after everyone". He gets essentially nothing important to do, and no really great lines (although I love his delighted giggle when the Doctor gives him a new car). In fact, what this story reveals about Rory — and it's been bubbling under the surface ever since Amy's Choice — is that he's really not that invested in this whole time-travel lark, or at least that he doesn't live for it like Amy does. He's probably just doing it because Amy enjoys it, and he wants to be with her. I have to say, I really don't relate to that at all... how can you live this lifestyle and not be gung-ho about it, at least sometimes? Maybe recent events are weighing heavily on him. But, if The God Complex is to be believed, Rory doesn't even have faith in the Doctor (which I find very difficult to swallow... none at all?!). After his anger at the Doctor over Amy's fate last week, I can understand that he would be the more suspicious and mistrusting half of the couple at this point, but that characterization seems to be at odds with his generally friendly easygoing nature. It's difficult to reconcile the patient valiant increasingly-confident Rory with the Rory that's already talking about his time with the Doctor in the past tense. (And what's up with that line, anyway? Are they trying to set us up for Rory's imminent departure? Is that why they haven't yet announced Darvill's participation in series 7? Do not like!) Ultimately, it's making Rory a little less likeable as a character, which makes me sad. Of the three of them, I think Rory has the most natural people skills, and they're not getting utilized at all; he's being relegated to "the grump in the background".
Amy, at least, gets some interesting material related to her faith in the Doctor. Where Rory's growing more distant from the Doctor, Amy is clearly still in awe of him, which drives the dénouement of the episode. But even Amy is sidelined throughout the rest of the story, and aside from a few heart-to-heart chats with Gibbis and the Doctor, she doesn't contribute much either. There are some acting blips this week as well, the most noticeable of which was "He... saved me." (which is followed by one of those awkward laughs we were talking about last week). I did, however, like "Oh, the fish!", and the fact that Amy goes to sit next to the Doctor when she's scared.
Our monster of the week isn't bad. I like the idea that it preys on people's faith, convincing them that being drained of life is the highest honor. I felt really dumb, in retrospect, not having clued into the fact that it behaved a lot like a Nimon... from its horned appearance to its "endless shifting maze" to its acceptance of sacrifices, I really should have picked up on these hints. Still, it made for a delightful surprise to hear one of my favorite alien races name-checked in the new series. I do wish that the beast had gone "Rarrrrrrr" though.
I was delighted, after last week, to welcome Nick Hurran back in the director's chair. Again, he demonstrates great flair behind the camera; his shots are very kinetic, and he uses lots of interesting angles, along with yet more interesting reflections (I particularly liked the shot of Amy reflected in the numberplate of room 7) and cross-fades (the most notable example being the transition from Amy looking wistfully out her window to the Doctor alone in the TARDIS). Still, though, it's not quite up to the standard of last week's installment... there are some very unsubtle shots of Joe's horseshoe tie-pin and dice cufflinks; while it's delightful to see the Weeping Angels again (even if they're not real), not much is made of their threat, partly due to the abundance of quick cuts, which are so fast that they don't give enough time for the dread to build; and do we really need flashbacks to Lucy seeing the gorilla and writing the paper, much less hear her voiceover reading it along with the Doctor? I was particularly confused by the use of quick-cuts to title cards (which say "Praise him." in either a typewriter font or a cut-out ransom-note-style collage)... what is that supposed to indicate? Is the beast flashing these images into their minds? It does reinforce the idea that they're being coerced, I guess, but I don't get why the beast would use the written word rather than, say, images of it being wonderful and loveable and passing out chocolates to hungry orphans. I also can't decide if I like the flashes to the newly-possessed characters alternately screaming and laughing. It's certainly creepy, and I think it's trying to imply the internal war between their natural state (terror) and their possessed state (joy)... but I'm not sure. Which is a shame, because last week I got so much subtext out of Hurran's direction, and this week it's just not quite clicking with me. But I love the shots down the staircase, especially the way it frames the spiral light fixture; the well-framed low-angle shot in which Lucy's leg blocks our view of the monster at the other end of the hallway; the plaster powder drifting away as the Doctor runs his fingers through the horn grooves in the ceiling; the beast sniffing at the peephole; the beast zipping through the corridors at superhuman speeds; the subtle shot in the salon (try saying that five times fast) of the unplugged radio cord; Amy's pupil dilating as she looks at the interior of room 7; Gibbis walking into the background of the frame, out of focus so that you can't tell if it's him or the monster; the really effective dolly zoom (or whatever it is! an inverse dolly zoom, maybe? my directing lingo, not so great) used to indicate the corridors warping; the beast's shadow on the monitors heading in Rita's direction; the beast running after Amy; and the moving final shot of the Doctor pottering about in the TARDIS, alone.
And the effects, which would be riding really high (the monster looks great, the monitor with its glowing green alien text is visually interesting, and that shot of the hotel coming apart around them is stunning) except for the horrible, horrible shot of Joe's CGI bonds undoing themselves. Ouch.
So the only thing that's really 100% solid is Matt Smith. This story is tailor-made for his Doctor, giving him lots of opportunities for manic talking and quirky behaviour. I love the way he handles the cheese plant, licks the cup of tea, fwaps Amy on the head with the folded papers when she admits having forgotten she was carrying them, and his brilliant delivery of "You showed me a picture of one and said 'This is my favorite car.'" For all his jolly lightheartedness in this story, he also gets to show off quite a range: there's a quiet moment of steel when he confronts Gibbis about his idea to sacrifice Howie, and of course he gets several emotional scenes at the end of the episode. Smith is fantastic with all of them, and gives a great performance throughout. Plus he gets to say "fish" again!
I'm going to shock you with this, but the other thing that works really well this week is Murray Gold's score. There were lots of moments that I really liked, and none that I didn't. Yay! First off, this is a great example of using music to create the right atmosphere for a story. The cheesy ambient music in the hotel is pitch-perfect, unnaturally happy yet soulless. And, just like the script, the score is a good blend of creepy and funny, but not in-your-face funny like the score for Night Terrors was; just mildly lighthearted in the background. Actually, that's made me realize that most of this score stays well away from "in your face", which is a very good thing. The standout moments are noticeable, but otherwise it just unobtrusively matches the onscreen action. And as long as we're talking about standout moments, those occur during the scenes when: tied-up Joe threatens the others from behind the reception desk; the Doctor reads Lucy's note aloud; the Doctor and Rory have a heart-to-heart after Howie's death; Amy collapses to the floor of room 7 (a fittingly Fenric-esque score); and the quietly sad music over the final shot of the episode. That's a lot of standout moments for a Gold score; I'm impressed. I also like the fade-in, over the shot of Joe's dead body, to the overlaid noises of a whistling teakettle and the buzzing sonic screwdriver; a good combination of editing and sound effects.
Minor points:
Lucy: "You don't know what's going to be in your room until you see it. Then you realize it could never have been anything else."
Doctor: "I've never been threatened with a chair leg before! No, hang on, I tell a lie."
Amy: (to Rory) "Did you just say 'It's okay, we're nice'?!"
Doctor: "I take it, from the pathological compulsion to surrender, you're from Tivoli."
Gibbis: "Yes, the most invaded planet in the galaxy. Our anthem is called 'Glory to [insert name here]'."
Rory: "Have you tried the front door?"
Rita: "No. In two days, it never occurred to us to try the front door. Thank God you're here."
Doctor: "They're not doors, they're walls. Walls that look like doors. Door-walls, if you like. Or dwalls? Walls, even? Though you probably got it when you said they're not doors."
Doctor: "Big day for a fan of walls."
Doctor: "Things? Hello! What kind of things? Interesting things? I love things, ask anyone."
Gibbis: "At times like this, I think of my old school motto: 'Resistance is exhausting'."
Rita: "What exactly happened to him?"
Doctor: "He died."
Rita: "You are a medical doctor, aren't you...? You haven't just got a degree in cheese-making or something?"
Doctor: "No! Well, yes, both, actually."
Rita: (re: tea) "I'm British. It's how we cope with trauma. That, and tutting."
Rory: "Howie had been in speech therapy, he'd just got over this massive stammer. What an achievement, I mean, can you imagine? I'd forgotten not all victories are about saving the universe."
Doctor: "I brought them here. I'd say it was their choice, but offer a child a suitcase full of sweets and they'll take it. Offer someone all of time and space, and they'll take that too. Which is why you shouldn't."
Doctor: "It's time we saw each other as we really are. Amy Williams. It's time to stop waiting."
Amy: "Don't tell me. This isn't Earth, that isn't a real house, and inside lives a goblin who feeds on indecision."
Amy: "Why now?"
Doctor: "Because you're still breathing."
Amy: "Well, I think this is about the washing-up, personally."
Amy: "You can't just drop me off at my house and say goodbye like we shared a cab."
Doctor: "And what's the alternative, me standing over your grave? Over your broken body? Over Rory's body?"
Rory: "What's he doing?"
Amy: "He's saving us."
While it may never quite reach its full potential, The God Complex has enough strong upsides to make it a really enjoyable story, and it's a great vehicle for Matt Smith.