An Autist Reviews: Orphan 55 (NuWho Episode 12.3)

*This is an older review, it is not as detailed as my more modern reviews*

*All Reviews Are Spoiler-Free Aside From Any Spoiler Sections*

The Doctor and her fam arrive at a beautiful spa and things go wrong faster than ever in Doctor Who history! A cat-woman and some humans try to fend off horrific creatures, and things soon turn into a mad rush to save someone, and later a mad dash to survive and escape the destitute planet. Throughout the story, plenty of betrayals and self-sacrifices occur, however they don’t really feel right. Everything moves fast, which isn’t bad, but this is clearly an overcorrection from the last series. Betrayals and sacrifices happen constantly and none are given time to sink in or even time to matter or to be foreshadowed. However, this story is also interesting, and at least the beginning and ending are rather good, along with the action scenes. This episode is trying to be ‘Beyond Scared Straight,’ and frankly, if I were a child it would work. It has a very clear, very upfront, and honestly, to an adult, annoyingly shoved into your face message. I think what must be remembered, is that this is a show for kids, and I think that this message is a very good one, and I honestly like watching Doctor Who tackle actually important topics, it is a show originally made to educate as well as entertain children, and now it really has gone back to that.

What really allows Ed Hime’s rather pathetic second go at writing to shine, is the acting and effects, both of which or top-notch, although I can’t recall any music, so for now, I will leave that out of this review. Also, can we not rail on the cat lady, people hated the full cats, they hate cats from ‘Cats,’ now we have a cat-like in ‘Cats the Musical,’ will nothing satisfy you? I like it, it’s cool, funny, and the Doctor gets to joke around about her tail.

All in all, this episode has many good parts, the acting is golden and the effects will be grand to look at, but it has many issues. Its message is way too in your face and almost all the actions taken seem unmotivated. It shows many characters develop and grows the Doctor’s character a good portion, and has added something else interesting to Doctor Who lore… parallel universes can be easily traveled to at times… This is an enjoyable ride with good action and lovely cinematography, but someone should have NEVER told Ed Himes to speed up his writing, it makes many decisions and actions seem out of character and pointless. Also, can Hollywood stop influencing Doctor Who? I don’t need 10 self-sacrifices, and 4 family reunions after bad days!

Total - 6 (I've edited this because I do allow myself to shift ratings a little bit and Orphan-55 was not worth a 7!)

Plot - 5
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Story - 5
Writing - 4
Enjoyment - 7

Acting - 8
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MCs - 8
SCs - 7
BGs - 10

Effects - 9
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Music - NR
Vocals - 10
Action - 9
Costumes - 10

Replay - NR
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Re-Enjoyment - NR
Details - NR
Twists - NR

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