Doctor Who, “The Ghost Monument”, Review!

The premiere ended on a cliffhanger, The Doctor was transporting to the last location of her Tardis, and accidentally brought along Ryan Sinclair, Yasmin Khan, and Graham O’Brien.  They drifted in the vacuum of space!  This episode was directed by Mark Tonderai and written by show runner, Chris Chibnall.  We get the extreme close-up of outer space that pans out of Ryan’s eye.  A large spaceship suddenly appears and extends a claw, this makes me think of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy! Ryan is trying to recover, but we just get a series of images of tubes and a light shined in his eyes.  He breathes and is watched over by Graham.  They are interrupted by the female pilot, Angstrom (Susan Lynch), but Graham is confused by her talk, they are orbiting the Final Planet.  It is only the two of them.  Yasmin has a door opening on a ship, she and The Doctor were stopped up by another pilot, Epzo (Shaun Dooley).  The ship is shaking and the Doctor says they have to eject the rear section to land.  

DOCTOR WHO -- “The Ghost Monument” -- Coco Van Opens/BBC Studios. 

On a desert planet is the pilot, Angstrom, and Graham and Ryan who realizes they are on an alien planet.  The Doctor gets Yasmin’s help to work on the ship which she calls, “old school.”  On the planet, Desolation, behind the trio, there is a flash as the ship starts to crash land.  They start running, it plows behind them.  The Doctor walks out and sees everyone.  Epzo says that just the two of them made it.  They hear an alarm and makes their way on the sand dunes.  The Doctor gives her shades to Graham which she says may have belonged to Pythagoras!   The group makes their way to a tent.  The Doctor explains that a universal translator was implanted in their necks.  They enter the tent to see another man, Ilin (Art Malik) on a couch, The Doctor touches him and finds he is a hologram.  Epsom says they are bonuses.  Ilin says that the two pilots are on a race.  Reality show space race!  The challenge is to make their way to the Ghost Monument.  The pilots know nothing of human beings or the Earth.  The Doctor scans Ilin with her sonic screwdriver.  He warns them to not drink the water, they have one solar day, and the Ghost Monument is past the Mist Swamp.  I don't know if they see the Mist Swamp in this ep. 

He summons up an image of the Ghost Monument, the Tardis is there!   They suddenly appear on the sand dunes.  The Doctor explains that the Tardis was moved with the change of the planet.  Graham, Yaz, and Ryan walk, all in heavy jackets!, Epsom has a pistol on the rival pilot, so The Doctor uses Venusian aikido (introduced by the Third Doctor) to paralyze him.  The Doctor scans the water and finds flesh eating microbes.  Graham brings up Ryan’s nan who would love being on another planet.  The Doctor is impressed at the two working things out.  Out of the tent, Yaz asks Angstrom about her home planet, Albar.  The Doctor has fixed the ship and they cross the deadly waters.  Epzo talks about being four and jumping into his mother’s arms who let him fall.  Angstrom is racing to save her family and planet.  The Doctor tells them all to sleep and she will wake them up. Ryan is wakened by Graham.  Epzo loves his expensive cigars.  They find ruins and the two pilots go their separate ways.  The Doctor finds something strange with her sonic screwdriver and the emptiness of the ruins.  

DOCTOR WHO -- “The Ghost Monument” -- Coco Van Opens/BBC Studios. 

Epzo trips over a laser beam without noticing.  They are surrounded by robot guards, Sniperbots.  Epzo fires at a guard with his blaster.  The Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, and Graham run from the activated guards.  Ryan picks up a rifle, but The Doctor tells him not to use a gun.  He runs out and blasts the robot guards, but they reactivate and fire on him.  The Doctor sends out an electromagnetic pulse that shuts down the robots!  Angstrom checks on Epzo and The Doctor leads them to an underground tunnel.  The tunnels go on throughout the planet.  The Doctor opens a locked door and they find a room.  She explains something happened to the planet, it was once populated and sends off Epzo.  The Doctor realizes that they can take a short cut.  The Sniperbots have found the hatch.  The Doctor reads from writing on the floor that scientists were forced to develop weapons.  A strange, towel-like form, The Remnants, appears at the sleeping form of Epzo.  Angstrom says that the Stenza attacked her people.  The Remnant covers Epzo’s mouth.  It is cut free by Angstrom.  The Sniperbots are there!  They make their way up a ladder to the night time surface.  

Ryan is worried, but encouraged by The Doctor, who tells him to focus on acetylene.  The Remnants surround them.  There is the smell of garlic and Ryan knows the gas is lighter than air. The creatures know The Doctor is an outcast.  Epzo's cigar is thrown and The Doctor sets it off with her sonic screwdriver in a fiery explosion.  The triple sunrise as the group makes their way to a tent.  Epzo and Angstrom go to be dual winners.  Very Hunger Games!  He threatens Ilin.  He disappears with the contestants.  They are all alone.  The Doctor apologizes for failing them.  Yaz hears a groaning in the wind.  The Doctor takes out her sonic screwdriver and the Tardis materalizes. The door opens and the others are worried about the space inside.  The Doctor finds the Tardis has changed!  She likes the changes and says to them, “This is my Tardis.”  The Doctor activates her Tardis and it de-materializes from Desolation.  The quest for the Tardis is the best.  The new characters are interesting, I hope I see them later on, especially if Angstrom saved her people or needs the help of The Doctor.  I really like the Companions are all important for completing the quest.   

Four Sonic Screwdrivers out of Five! 

#DoctorWho, #TheGhostMonument, #SusanLynch, #ShaunDooley