The Ghost Monument: A Rambling Review

I do remember liking this one when I first watched it on broadcast. Watching it now, It's interesting seeing that Ryan feels like the focus character for the season. Both in this episode where he's our focus when we first wake up and he's the opening and closing focus (via Youtube) in the previous episode. All the companions feel like they're developed by their relationship to Ryan (Graham is his granddad, Yaz is a friend from school, etc). I love the ships and the scenes therein. It makes the universe feel lived in. I love the ideae of the race, I'm a little surprised it's never been used in the series before. (Yes, I know that Enlightenment exists. But that's a yacht race through space, this is space Dakar. There is a difference.) I like the ruins with the sniperbots, it feels very Halo. The reveal that the Stenza are behind Desolation is really cool. It really is a shame that apart from a return of Tim Shaw in the season finale, we never hear anything of the Stenza again. I really feel that they're ripe for a return. I liked how the race ended, and those mountain vistas when the TARDIS appears are gorgeous. I do like Thirteen's TARDIS interior with the contrasting blues and orange/golds, I just wish that those gold finger things didn't block camera angles so much.