Peake Season

wasn't as keen on this one tbh, bit of a shame as s11 for me was consistently great until now! nevertheless, a great overall season!

I quite enjoyed Peake Season, even if it didn't blow me away. Mervyn Peake was a very fun companion and was relatively well used. The story is a bit off-kilter and a little strange, with some of the performances of the alternate universe feeling a little off and aspects of the way this whole alternate world are resolved leave some things to be desired.

However, it is fun how the Doctor and Mervyn are forced to live in this strange world for a while, reminding me almost of a First Doctor Adventure where the characters are getting jobs and really getting invested in the time period they are in. Tom Baker is great as always and though it feels like he doesn't have too much exceptional content or stuff to do here I do love the ending with him, Peake, and Tolkein. It's cute and I like the idea of the Doctor pestering these literary figures and artists throughout history.

This is a story where buildings are being blown up and the TARDIS has a big crash of sorts, but on both counts I wish they were better conveyed through the special effects and story telling. I don't think they were done super well as they are. Some of the more dramatic points are blunted because the audio doesn't show them off well, while others can be overwhelming or overdone with a bit too much noise, and finally other bits are just kind of hard to follow.

I think I would have liked this story better if Queen Alexandrina and Lady Valspierre had a bit more thought to them. They both are pretty terrible but it feels like the Queen gets away with everything while the Lady gets punished pretty severely. I'm not sure either are deserved and it weakens the ending of the main plot, even if the stuff with Peake was charming and really, Mervyn is the star of this show. If you can't tell from my review, my reaction is definitely mixed overall. There are parts I really enjoyed and appreciated, and others I found far less engaging. It did leave me curious about this writer's other work though, which I do take as a positive sign.