The Long Game (2005) Review

You know, you can't believe everything that gets transmitted directly into your cerebral cortex.

The Long Game is an entrancing detective story, with a storyline that's possibly even more relevant in 2019 than it was in 2005.

WRITTEN BY

Showrunner Russell T. Davies, fulfilling his long dream of telling a story of a companion who couldn't.

PLOT

The TARDIS arrives on the newscasting Satellite Five in the year 200 000, but the Doctor realises humanity's development has become unnaturally stunted. Intrigued, he and Rose follow the trail of breadcrumbs up to the lauded Floor 500, where they meet the nefarious Editor. Meanwhile, the ambitious new companion Adam attempts to take advantage of his new surroundings in disastrous fashion.

ANALYSIS

The most obvious thing to talk about is just how well the Jagrafess's manipulation and grip over the human race fits into the atmosphere of modern politics, specifically the Trump administration in America. Not to get too derailed off topic, but whether you support the Republicans or Democrats, you can't deny that the media has become a dangerous force to be reckoned with, with a great degree of influence over people worldwide. As such, I can say the Editor's scheme would play into the fears of a late 2010s audience remarkably well.

That aside, the plight of Satellite Five makes for an intriguing, well-built mystery with plenty of detail to flesh out the setting. The Long Game is really the first time New Who has attempted to shape an alien environment(End Of The World was set in a relatively confined space) and it does so with gusto, especially when you know how the rest of the season is going to play out.

The CGI on the Jagrafess itself hasn't aged well, but we have Simon Pegg to make up for it, and the shots of the station itself look decent enough.
I also thought Murray Gold's music was interestingly experimental here, there was some noticeable use of the piano that reminded me a lot of the stock music used during Troughton's Base Under Siege stories. Fun fact: Gold composed and played almost all of his music on his own synthesiser. He'll go on to develop his own distinct style, but for now it's interesting to hear him try different things and seeing what works and what doesn't.

CHARACTERS

Simon Pegg as the Editor steals the entire episode. New Who often lacks in memorable human villains, so it's nice to get one here. As the Editor, Pegg is a somewhat larger than life, lifeloving but competent businessman whose mannerisms and style are reminiscent of John Simm's Master. I must say, I wish him and his "consortium of banks" had a chance to become recurring enemies rather than being supplanted retroactively by the Daleks. We never did see him die and in a very short span of time, he managed to be a very effective villain, immediately sniffing out the Doctor's greatest weaknesses and trying to get all he could out of them.

Adam Mitchell is a bit of a weaselly character and I certainly have less sympathy for him than I did as a kid(when I was so enamored by the TARDIS that I felt bad for anyone losing the chance to travel). I think RTD did the right thing in showing that not all companions are going to work out. I still think he's a better person than Clara, mind you.

Eccleston and Piper are as phenomenal as ever, with an easygoing chemistry(loved the scene where he instructs her on how to deceive Adam into thinking she's a knowledgeable time traveller). Eccleston's confrontation with Pegg was brilliant, most notably their "philosophical debate" and the realisation on what he's doing and how. It's clear that Eccleston benefitted from acting against a human, not CGI and the story was more interesting to watch as a result.

I've never seen Tamsin Greig in anything else, but she makes for one a hell of a nurse. The way she sold the implant to Adam was incredible. Small role, but both the writing and Greig made it a memorable one.

Christine Adams as Cathica and Anna Maxwell-Martin(who apparently played Beelzebub in Good Omens??) as Suki are both solid supporting characters, who bring the different aspects of the depicted era to life(the submissive and the resistance) very well.

NOTES

*RTD depicting mankind's future as the heart of a mighty empire in the universe is rather interesting. Not part of, but a hub, implying we dominate over the "million" other races to some degree, and this is before history got changed. And after that, although the story doesn't go deeper into it, the noted utter absence of aliens on Satellite Five might imply some kind of subtle xenophobic aspect to the Jagrafess's reign, even if Cathica was unaware of it.

*How was the Editor able to "sense" Suki was problematic? I mean, I guess we can assume that he as well had some kind of chip implanted and detected falsehood, but if that was the case, they both didn't do a great job of explaining it and didn't answer why he only detected it now and not before when she was assigned onto Satellite Five.

*Cathica's sheer desperation to get to Floor 500 is a bit sad, isn't it? In the scenes where she believes the Doctor's an official, she's like one step away from kissing his feet.

*What's the point of processing news through people's brains? Because brains are faster? Mine sure isn't...

*I kinda hate that Adam sends Rose to the Doctor by stating she'd obviously rather spend time with him as he can't compete. I mean, there's a certain kernel of truth in that, but it's not like Rose tries to change his mind. And that means she's already starting to lose that humbleness that originally made her appealing in the first place, which is worrying. I don't remember disliking her in the Tenth Doctor era, but who knows...

*According to this story, the microprocessor became redundant in 2019, a classic type of inaccuracy which just immediately threw me back to The Enemy Of The World. New Who really has become Classic Who now. There's no more distinction.

*If the Jagrafess runs such a tight operation, how come nobody sealed up the damage the Doctor had done to the bulkhead when he was trying to get into Floor 500? Furthermore, how come the Editor wasn't able to detect Cathica at any point?

*What levitated the key out of Adam's pocket when his mind was being scanned?

*The Doctor tells Rose to "flick the switch" on the sonic screwdriver, which I find kind of interesting, as I was under the impression it had a button, not a switch.

*How was Suki able to grab onto the Editor's leg if she was dead? Was it the Jagrafess controlling her? If so, how come he wasn't controlling anyone else to stop Cathica? And why didn't the Editor easily kick her off?

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) The Face Of Boe from End Of The World briefly reappears(on the Bad Wolf channel) to announce his pregnancy. Which is so hilarious when you think it's Jack. I have so many questions...

BEST QUOTE

"Time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read a guide book, you've got to throw yourself in: eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers... or is that just me?" - The Doctor's education lesson to Adam.

CONCLUSION

A good, solid hour of entertainment, which makes you think a little. What more could you ask for?