Other Doctor Lives: W1A: Series 2, Episode 2 (2015)

*A spoiler from episode 1*

Another pretty good episode. On the whole, I’d say I’m liking series 2 better than series 1. I still prefer the episodes with Joel Fry in them, naturally, but for the most part, I’m enjoying myself now.

People are throwing their hats into the ring for the new Director of Better position (whatever that is,) creating added professional tension. In episode 2, Will was able to stay on due to his unexpected connection with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who the BBC wanted to court as a new commentator for Wimbledon. He’s now in a (temporary) position as Ian’s PA, causing havoc as he tries to do his introductory training on the BBC’s office software. Lucy tries to rally a disheartened Dan as he contemplates giving up on Home Truths.

Our character of the week is Dan Shepherd, played by Tom Basden. I’ve never tried to sell a script, but his storyline really makes me feel for him. The BBC has been making him jump through endless hoops, changing practically everything about his story for no discernible reason. I definitely understand why he’s starting to wonder if it’s still worth it. But at the same time, Lucy hates getting roped in to help her colleague with his dumb reality show ideas and would much rather work on something real with Dan. The thought of throwing away all their hard work is gutting for her.

The BBC’s office software, Syncopatico, has been a recurring thorn in the characters’ sides throughout the series. All through series 1, Ian would try to contact people or share documents with them through Syncopatico, and he could never get it to work. It’s no surprise that Will is a total menace with the software, stumbling into heretofore unseen glitches. It creates extra work for Izzy, along with some personal awkwardness that arises as a result.

The “Director of Better” plot ends up touching all the other storylines in the episode. Ian is annoyed that he was out of the loop on the creation of this new post, and it throws his own position into stark relief: “Oh great, so I’m too important to apply for the job, but I’m not important enough to sit on the interviewing panel.” Lucy is bowled over when her incompetent colleague asks for a reference for his (delusional) application and is given added busy work from an exec who’s also applying. It puts the PAs’ dynamic in question as well, since Jack’s boss Anna is going up for the job and that could mean a promotion for him. Anna, by the way, is very unslick about her aspirations—multiple times during meetings, she slips in remarks like, “We have to do better than this,” or, “We want to make it better.”

A few entertaining David Tennant lines in this episode:

• “It’s Tuesday, another in a long line of Tuesdays at the BBC’s New Broadcasting House headquarters in central London.”
• “As part of his new role, Will has established himself at a desk in the same general area as fellow assistant and colleague Izzy Gould, as well as to a lesser extent, Jack Patterson.”

Y tu Luna también: Maya and the Three: Episode 9 – “The Sun and the Moon” (2021)

*It’s the finale, people. I’ll avoid major spoilers, but there will be a few details that get mentioned.*

In a word, stunning. For a miniseries that, apart from the gorgeous design, I found to be good but unremarkable in the first episode, it does so much over the course of the story and brings everything home just beautifully. Let me put it this way: going through the episodes in preparation for Y tu Luna también was my third watch of Maya and the Three in less than a year. Masterful.

Although Maya tries to send her friends away for their own good, attempting to save them as the kingdom of Teca faces Lord Mictlan alone, they’ve instead rallied all four kingdoms to take on the gods together. The battle calls for contributions from everyone, but as the Little Eagle and the daughter of death, in the end, it has to come down to Maya.

Since this episode is almost entirely dedicated to this final battle, it could’ve been a Battle of the Five Armies-style slog fest (though less interminable.) And to be sure, it is a supersized episode compared to most in the series. But the finale works on pretty much every level. The action is cool and varied, leaning on the different abilities of all our heroes and their kingdoms, and everyone gets their moments—in the fight and on a personal level. After their tragic, lonely backstories, it’s so heartening to see characters like Rico and Chimi finally be embraced by their communities for who they are. Even more minor characters get a nice chance to shine, like the Widow Queen of the Jungle Lands facing off against the goddess of illusions and the barbarian king and princess of the Golden Mountains appreciating one another’s talents.

Maya remains at the center of the story, and the climax is all hers, but it’s her very character growth that makes space for everyone else to get their moment. Whereas in the pilot, she was out to prove herself in the fighting pits, she’s now grown into a true leader, delegating to the strengths of those around her and leading with love. The way she, her friends, and their kingdoms pull together is in sharp contrast to Lord Mictlan, who will do anything to stay ahead. He has lackeys and warriors, but not allies, because he ultimately doesn’t care about any of them. While Maya, Lady Micte, or Rico will pull back in order to save someone in trouble, everyone is expendable to Lord Mictlan.

And the final scenes. Oh god, the last ten minutes are simply exquisite. It gets me in every single feel. I won’t spoil anything, because it deserves to be seen. I’ll just tip my hat to Jorge R. Gutiérrez, along with Zoe Saldana and the rest of the voice cast for their wonderful work.

As for Zatz, he’s an absolute champ in this last episode. Considering that his first scene in the series is interrupting Maya’s quinceañera to announce that he’s taking her to Lord Mictlan, he’s a true hero here, brave and fierce. A real partner for Maya as well, worrying about her safety but trusting that she can handle herself.

Diego Luna gets run the gamut of emotions, which is really satisfying to watch. He gets humor—I love his deadpan delivery of, “The barbarian princess tried to bite me”—romance, heroics, and drama. There are moments of despair and moments of triumph, and of course, one more, “Be well, Princess Maya. I’ll see you soon.” It’s a great final outing for a strong character.

And that’s the excellent Maya and the Three! Last thoughts:

Recommend?

In General – 100%, yes. This is so good, so beautiful, so funny, so sophisticated. I need everyone with even the slightest inclination toward animation to watch this miniseries.

Diego Luna – For sure. I love Zatz, and Luna does a fantastic job in the role.

Warnings

Violence, scary moments for kids, some gross-out humor, mild sensuality (including references to cheating,) thematic elements, and characters with disabilities voiced by able-bodied actors.

Other Doctor Lives / Joel Fry-days: W1A: Series 2, Episode 1 (2015)

Onto series 2 now, and with it Joel Fry’s only appearance in the season. I wish we were seeing Fry/Karl again sooner, but this hour-long season premiere is pretty decent all around, beyond just his couple of scenes.

The BBC is gearing up for a visit from Prince Charles ahead of their licensing renewal. But as they prepare, they also have to deal with the possibility of the BBC losing their exclusive airing rights to Wimbledon. Lucy is still trying to help Dan get Home Truths off the ground, and when Will’s ID badge stops working to let him into the building, an awkward realization comes to light about his internship.

Our character of the week is Izzy Gould, Simon’s PA. Will has an obvious crush on her—he likes to swoop in and volunteer to do her busy work for her, but unfortunately, he has a tendency to fumble the assignments. Izzy is diligent, competent, and kindhearted. Will often manages to just create more work for her, but like Ian, she’s concerned to learn why his pass isn’t working and is nice to him through the whole thing.

Ahead of Prince Charles’s visit, a minor security concern triggers an automatic lockdown. The whole thing kind of reminds me of the early Twenty Twelve episode with the disastrous bus trip to the Olympic park. Similarly, this storyline features a bunch of British people in suits who have an important appointment that they’re valiantly trying to be on time for, but events outside their control keep conspiring against them. As Ian and the others struggle to find a way out of the building, they’re blocked at every turn.

I think the show does a good job with how frustrating it is to get the BBC to commit to picking up a script. The meeting Lucy and Dan go to is just painful. It’s obvious that the exec they’re talking to barely knows anything about the project at all and basically just wants to put his “stamp” on it to feel like he’s done something. This amounts to him demanding random script changes from Dan, who’s anxious to comply with anything that’s asked of him, while Lucy’s frustration mounts.

A few good bits from David Tennant’s narration today:

• I like the phrasing here, nicely executed with Tennant’s matter-of-fact delivery – “Producer Lucy Freeman has arrived with just enough time to snatch a quick breakfast on her own. But nevertheless, entertainment format executive David Wilkes is keen to ask her advice about an idea he’s been asked to have.”
• Here’s our introduction to Dave, the BBC’s head of security, who’s in charge of managing Prince Charles’s visit safely – “Dave is not only responsible for the fail-safe security system that completely surrounds New Broadcasting House, but also personally devised much of the Syncopaticurity software that makes it theoretically effective in almost any theoretical circumstance.”
• “By the end of the day, it’s time to go home” – The show does lines like this a lot, but they still make me smile.
• As the shit is hitting the fan, lockdown-wise, we get, “But suddenly, as can sometimes happen on days when nothing can go wrong, it does.”

For the Wimbledon situation, Siobhan suggests a brand mashup, making Wimbledon synonymous with the BBC. That’s where today’s pitch session comes in: Siobhan gets her team to play a game of “mashup (table) tennis,” hitting the ball back and forth as they offer their ideas. As usual, poor Karl! Siobhan has a team of three, and as soon as Karl picks up a paddle, Barney complains, “No, but it’s like a singles. Otherwise it doesn’t work.” Karl, confused, tries to join Coco’s end of the table, but Barney doesn’t want him there, either. Finally, Coco suggests he be the ball boy instead.

As usual, Barney is doing way too much, jumping straight to criticizing Karl and excluding him for no reason. Nobody is playing an actual table tennis match here, so it doesn’t matter if it’s two-on-one. But Barney makes sure Karl is pushed off to the side. And when Karl points out the flaw in Barney’s idea to have David Attenborough referee the matches, saying, “Because what if, er, David Attenborough doesn’t know the rules of tennis, or, like, how to score?”, Barney argues briefly before coldly telling Karl, “You’re a ball boy, okay?” Shut up, Barney!

God, the way Joel Fry plays Karl is just so painfully real. The way he tries to chip in but all his suggestions fall flat, and even innocuous comments are derided or dismissed. The way he can’t read the room well enough to keep up with the fast-paced pitching. The way he stands, holding his arm behind his back as he tries to speak. I like watching his episodes because Karl is so funny and sweet, but they also make me sad because he’s treated so badly at work.