Tooth And Claw (2006) Review

FORESHADOWING!!

Tooth And Claw has some classic horror sequences, but for the most part, it's just tiresome.

WRITTEN BY

Russell T. Davies, once again displaying a peculiar inability to pick a tone and stick with it.

PLOT

By miscalculation, the Doctor lands the TARDIS in Scotland 1879, and he and Rose join Queen Victoria's carriage to the Torchwood Estate, where a supernatural trap has been set for the monarch...

ANALYSIS

Can I start with that running gag? This entire episode, half of Rose's dialogue is her trying to get the Queen to say "we are not amused" and it's excruciatingly unfunny. By the time the werewolf attacks, it's actually absurd. The direction by Euros Lyn isn't very good. The sequence of the ninja monks(wtf) is so over-edited and full of shakey-cam that it's practically unwatchable. And why put so much focus on the inevitably dated CGI wolf? Why not even a single real fluffy paw?

The story isn't great. It's never explained why and how the monks are associated with the wolf, or Prince Albert and Sir Robert's father for that matter. The fact that they set up the trap in the Torchwood Estate means they had to know Victoria would eventually go there, but how could they ever predict that? What if Robert pissed her off somehow and she decided to go literally anywhere else on her Scotland trip? What if she just never made the trip during a full moon? And why wouldn't Albert simply tell Victoria what she needed to do to defeat the wolf, even in jest? Given how much she loved him, she'd probably have taken note of what he said even if it did seem absurd.
Honestly, I'm not even entirely sure what the wolf is supposed to be. The Doctor mentions "wolf cells", so is it some kind of sapient virus?

It's not entirely worthless, though. Once the wolf is loose and things get a move on, there's some excitement to be had. The sequence inside the library was quite wonderful, I loved how the Doctor praised books and used them to find a way to outwit the wolf. It's a good message for the kids. I've also got to commend the choreography of the monks, even if one can scarcely see it. The production design isn't bad either. There's small nuggets of gold and I think the basic concept is nice, but it's a mess.

CHARACTERS

People tend to write off the Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler relationship as a cheesy romance. And whilst it certainly is that, I feel like that's a shallow analysis of the actual fault within the pairing - after all, the romantic relationship was established in The Parting Of The Ways with Christopher Eccleston's Doctor and the audience generally has fond memories of that episode.

No, I think the real problem is that Tennant and Piper are such similar personalities. They're both giddy, excitable, freewheeling individuals, whose characters are slightly drunk on their own adventures. Yes, they have chemistry, but at the same time, you wouldn't lose anything by dropping one or the other. The casting of Tennant basically invalidated Rose's purpose as the audience identification figure, because he himself is so easily approachable and charismatic.

Being already familiar with Derek Riddell from his Blake's 7 audio dramas(he replaced Gareth Thomas as Blake, and did an admirable job), I was quite happy to see him in live-action. Riddell's a great, subtle performer and added a lot of pathos to Sir Robert's forced betrayal and later redemption.

Pauline Collins(who previously appeared in 1967's The Faceless Ones as the memorable proto-companion Samantha Briggs) has a stern, regal presence as Queen Victoria... which is exactly why I wanted to slap Ten and Rose whenever they were near her! Respect the Queen! I would've been on my tippy-toes.

Though he's not in the episode nearly enough, I thought Ian Hanmore's Father Angelo was kinda awesome, with his striking cold gaze and minimalistic appearance. It's a shame that he just got shot offscreen, as he would've made for a compelling human antagonist to go alongside the physical threat of the werewolf.

Michelle Duncan's Lady Isobel was so wonderfully sweet and loyal. I loved seeing her and her maids roast the wolf with the mistletoe stew! I wonder if she ended up becoming the first member of Torchwood... maybe she even met Jack?

NOTES

*Tennant singing "It's good to be a lunatic" was about as cringeworthy as seeing anyone sing it in real life. Is it just me or was even the TARDIS in rhythm with that darn song?

*Great use of Tennant's Scottish accent. Despite knowing that he'd drop it along the way, I still didn't notice it until it was gone. I don't know if that's just me or if Tennant's just that good of a performer.

*What the actual fuck is that halo around Queen Victoria's head? Was that some CGI rubbish they did in post-production because they couldn't get the lighting right???

*As much as I like Collins, I feel that Victoria's admission of missing Albert greatly is far too revealing for the character. She'd be more reserved about the matter, especially in front of strangers.

*You know it's the 2000s when the editing is shite and dutch angles are the craze. I feel like filmmakers at the time were so happy to finally get lighter cameras that they went completely nuts.

*That wolf was downright incompetent at times. It could've easily eaten the lot if his heart was in it.

*All the theorising about the royal family's lycanthropy was complete BS by the way - the wolf never got anywhere near Victoria.

*I'm not an expert on British customs by any means, but is it proper and legal to dub somebody a sir or a dame inside some random guy's estate without telling anyone? And how exactly is it a reward if nobody knows and they have no lands or anything? Meh, I guess Victoria figured they'd be boasting about it in the Bahamas like Edward VIII later on.

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) The Doctor uses Jamie McCrimmon's name as his alias in Scotland, a sweet callback.

2) The Torchwood Institute, which was established as a result of the events in this story, was first mentioned in Bad Wolf where the Anne Droid revealed that the "Great Cobalt Pyramid was built on its remains(suggesting that Torchwood had become common knowledge by that time period).

3) The werewolf claims that "there's something of the wolf about you(Rose)", an obvious callback to The Parting Of The Ways. Although what the connection between his genetic virus and her Time Vortex-inhaling is apart from her having the nickname wolf, I've no idea.

BEST QUOTE

"I'm dazed and confused. I've been chasing this, this wee naked child over hill and over dale. Isn't that right, ya timorous beastie?" Scottish Dr - yes.

CONCLUSION

The seeds for an atmospheric horror are there, but they're very very deep.