The previous episode of Doctor Who had a slow start, but it built up momentum to become truly engaging by the end. The second episode, “The Ghost Monument,” starts with a jarring amount of speed and urgency, almost too much to keep up with, and then literally crashes into nothing more than a slow jog for the rest of the episode.
Right from the start, Doctor Who’s new theme is psychedelic. Not present in the premiere, the bright colors morph into different shapes in a way that is more entrancing and alien than any of the recent Doctor Who themes in years.
Once the actual episode begins, everything is thrown into absolute chaos. Leaving from the previous episode where the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and crew are left in the vacuum of space, a spaceship miraculously arrives to save them, only to come crashing down to a deserted planet minutes later. Instead of being exciting, this beginning is disorienting and confusing.
Once the dust has settled, the majority of the episode is a surprisingly uneventful journey with very few twists and too many plot inconsistencies to wave off, even for Doctor Who’s “timey-wimey” standards.
“The Ghost Monument” is essentially a take on The Amazing Race between two of the last contestants to receive a prize of enough money to sustain an entire planet. Despite that, the contestants are vexingly relaxed. They almost never run, let alone walk at a brisk pace, and one contestant even takes a nap in the middle, for seemingly no reason other than he was a little tired.
It’s good that Doctor Who doesn’t feel the need to have a “save the world” plot every episode, but “The Ghost Monument” is nearly devoid of stakes. Angstrom (Susan Lynch) and Epzo (Shaun Dooley), the two contestants, are actually given a fair amount of time to explain why they are competing, with the former trying to save her family from a planet being systematically cleansed, and the latter being a somewhat one-note character who “can’t trust anyone.” If they displayed a greater sense of urgency for this prize — especially since the loser is left to die on a deserted planet — it could have been a fun and engaging sci-fi take on the game show format. As it is, they don’t end up doing much, with the Doctor, and occasionally her companions, doing most of the work for them. (Enough for Epzo to have his aforementioned nap).
Despite all this, the episode does end on a high note. The Doctor finally finds her TARDIS in an emotional reunion with one of the best renditions of her musical theme yet, and the redesign is, just like her new sonic screwdriver, completely alien. The 11th and 12th Doctors’ versions of the TARDIS were more sterile and organized, whereas the new design is more dimly lit and disordered. The orange hue harkens back to the days of David Tennant, with the patterned walls giving just a hint of the classical design from the ’60s.
“The Ghost Monument” is an interesting concept executed very poorly. Nonetheless, it sprinkles some intriguing questions that might be visited sometime later in the series. Now that the Doctor has her TARDIS back, it’s time to see where, and when, she will take us next.
Doctor Who airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on BBC America.
