Hungry Earth & Cold Blood

The Return of the Silurians

The Hungry Earth & Cold Blood Review & Survey Results

Wow! This two-part story was very well written and produced. If only the series had started with this one, it would be receiving more acclaim. I am getting fed up with people saying how dreadful Matt Smith is as the Doctor and that the production team are pants. I know many fans feel that the show has reverted to a ‘kiddie’s drama’ and that the family audience has been lost through poor storylines, please look again there is more going on here and each story stands up even better on second viewing. This story is truly exceptional and it is such a shame that it received so few viewers, (4.5 million for the first episode). Tell me why are people turning off or switching over in such droves?

After I have reviewed this excellent Silurian saga I will try to explain why. I took the liberty of surveying two hundred online viewers of the show with the aim of getting some form of feedback, which might help the production team for next season. I hope that it will give Steven Moffat some idea of the true public opinion as well as some guidance of where the show should go next season. I have reproduced the questionnaire below so feel free to add any comments on my Blog and I will further update the feedback and pass it to my friends at the BBC.

Firstly this story – I loved the obvious influence from classic Doctor Who, there were obvious similarities between the original Jon Pertwee story from 1970 and touches of the enormously underrated ‘Inferno’ also from 1970.
There were of course references to that great 80’s TV mini series ‘V’ and more recently ‘The Time Travellers Wife’ (2008).
For me as a fan though this was Doctor Who at its best and I felt that all aspects of the production, special effects, direction and editing were executed to a very high standard that one would expect from Moffat’s influence and the team around him. The main actors and supporting cast delivered and engaged me throughout. The sets for the Silurian city were wonderfully designed and I really hope that we see them again with continuation of the saga. I have heard rumours that they will re-appear for a Sarah Jane story.

Were there any problems with this story?
So many intriguing loose ends – I like them they make me think, but the general audience nowadays find this kind of subtle infusion far too confusing. How many people got lost with the TV series ‘Lost’ or gave up on ‘Flash-Forward’ or couldn’t wait to hang around to find out what was really happening in ‘Ashes to Ashes.’ This type of TV is now getting tired!
Just how many Rory’s or Amy’s do we need? How do we know if the Rory that died was the one that came out of the Tardis at the start of the story, or for that matter if the Amy now with the Doctor is the right one? The earlier versions could be tied up in the church. Intriguing and chance for fans like me to engage in lots of speculation. The Tardis has sometime in the future fragmented or been unceremoniously blown up by some foe and is now trying to resemble itself through time, rewriting history so it can change its own destiny – just ‘Who’ is in on it. Time will tell when the crack in time throws out some more of its secrets. As an audience member do I care? Do I really want to wait around to find out, probably not! As a fan I love it and am feeling fat on all the amazing possibilities and nostalgia being fed me. As an audience member I am frustrated and want to break new ground. It must be difficult for Steven Moffat to balance the needs of the viewers.

My Survey Results
I mainly used a subjective method of collecting data and so grouped them into percentages of the repeating themes that were reoccurring throughout the questionnaires. This will hopefully give a clear indication for the production team to analysis their mistakes.
The age ranges of the people survey were from 8 up to 65. Equal male and female. We try to pick predominantly viewers not fans.

Why does Matt Smith not work for you as the new Doctor Who?
50%
He is too young!
25%
He has no experience/I have never heard of him before!
20%
I prefer David Tennant’s Doctor because he has more sex appeal (mainly female viewers)

My take on this response!
It was a mistake to employ an unknown for the role who would not appeal to mums. Mums have great control over who watches what. Probably lost a lot of female viewers because the lovely Matt is not blessed in the looks department.
(Please be aware that I really – really like Matt Smiths Doctor but I am in a minority group that watches TV)

What was missing from the new series episodes?
50%
A well-known face as the companion!
20%
Comedy – it’s too serious and covers stuff you only know if you are a fan!
20%
Stories are not as good as you think they should be

My take on this response
The story lines need to improve and inject family comedy, get a well-known face for the mass audience to identify with

What in your opinion are the 3 main problems with the new series?
65% Marketing and Promotion are terrible – we don’t see enough promotion about the show and cast/I didn’t know it was back, I didn’t know what was going on in it! If I had known more about how good it was I would watch more?
20% Its more for kids
15% The Doctor
5% The Companion
5% The opening title sequence puts you off!

My take on this response
The promotion and marketing department is not supporting the Doctor Who team

What do you not like about the new Web-page?
80% It’s predominantly for children!
15% Format old-fashioned – not interactive enough
My take on this response
Design is not right for all age groups – update format
Myspace/twitter/facebook style??

What could be done to improve the show content?
55% Cast a new Doctor
35% Better Marketing and Promotion
20% Better storylines

Why in your opinion are the ratings dropping?
60% A lot of people do not like the new Doctor – not well known enough (Mainly female response)
20% Not enough information about the show and cast
20% Storylines are poor/very white/middle class

My take on this response
The Doctor needs to be a well-known face for our current celebrity obsessed audiences’ approval. Poor marketing and promotion – re-look at it re-jig promotion machine. Improve story lines – get an Executive Script Editor in who is not a fan of Dr Who to stimulate new ideas