Batmanmarch is a very, very popular action figure adventure maker on YouTube. Him, along with dalekidea and I like to think DoctorTripod, deserve the most recognition for their hardwork. While I’ve never fallen in love with dalekidea’s adventures, batmanmarch is a different matter.
Ok, so, I don’t love all of his adventures, and I think the current break he’s taking is a fantastic idea. Stories like “The Dalek Contagion” lost out on some needed Pertwee-ness, and with the constant rush to get the episodes out, it’s no surprise this happened. And so – with a break, stories should be up to the standard of stuff like “The Eye In Space”, and my favourite “Screams in the Darkness”.
While reluctant to do a Matt Smith story, batmanmarch has done one anyway, a two-parter, “The Power of Steel” and “Time Sensitive”. The concept is simple. Cybermen, the Doctor, an Amy from the wrong part of Scotland, time travel, and a power source. The first time I watched The Power of Steel, I wasn’t that impressed. The voices let the side down a bit, and the episode seemed to move slowly.
However – then I watched it again. The Power of Steel is a good concept, and the inaccuracy of the voices soon becomes irrelevant as we’re driven into a powerful and well thought out story. And then there’s the twist at the end, and the reveal of the SPOILERS Weeping Angels is truly excellent. It’s a brilliant way of taking a story that’s good, and making it fantastic.
Part 2, Time Sensitive, is incredible. It’s a roller coaster journey, and basically a chase between the Doctor and the Angels. The Angels are menacing, scary, and on top form. All of Steven Moffat’s plot jumps and bits-that-don’t-make-sense that were introduced in Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone have been explained clearly here, and now make sense. The Cybermen are excellent, and again, the inaccuracy of the voices is soon forgotten.
Time Sensitive is good for two reasons. One, it’s a fantastic storyline, and one of the highlights from Batmanmarch’s figure adventures. Two, it clears up all the bits I don’t and didn’t like about Series 5 and 6 of Doctor Who. The angels were confused and contradictory in their Series 5 two parter, and this figure adventure clears that up. Also, Time Sensitive made me like Amy. She isn’t a good companion (though she has got better in Series 6), and Time Sensitive portrays Amy as a good, well written companion.
So… criticisms. My main criticism is the voice. The story is fine, the scare factor excellent, and the general feel is perfect. But the voice is wrong. Matt Smith is portrayed as some kind of Eton student, though, to be fair, the voice gets a hell of a lot better in Part 2. Matt Smith characteristics are brought in more as the story develops, and the Matt Smith voice gets a lot better, so full credit to Matthew Toffolo. The Amy Pond voice, as far as I know, is from the wrong part of Scotland. While it’s a Scottish voice, it’s inaccurate to the series. So yeah – maybe a change in voice is why I prefer Amy in this figure adventure?
The main point is – the story gets a lot better. Characters, plot lines, speeches, words, actions, motion, voices, it all gets better as the story progresses. Much better as the story progresses. So if you don’t think of much of The Power of Steel, just wait until you see Time Sensitive. Because Time Sensitive is an EXCELLENT conclusion to the story. The one blip in the better voice is when he says “Sorry, dearie.” No, just no, doesn’t work, and it’s that blip that always makes me sigh in such a good episode. I appreciate it’s capturing Matt Smith’s occasional phrase, but it’s capturing it, as far as I know, wrongly, and is quite sarcastic in it’s conveyance.
So – good part one. EXCELLENT part two, with only minor blips as the story progresses. I would recommend this story, and I’d recommend persevering with it.
Roll on The Honour of War, and more stories, and I sincerely hope Batmanmarch enjoys the break – and that the stories when he returns are FANTASTIC.
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