The main problems I see argued when this story is criticized are the plot, the acting and the camerawork. Let's take a look at each of these.
Firstly, getting it out of the way quickly, the camerawork. Really? Criticizing camerawork on a found-footage story? Just think about that.
Secondly, again to get it out of the way quickly, the acting - the found-footage element meant the characters had much more colloquial acting than the norm found in Doctor Who and works perfectly fine in context. Focusing on one actor in particular, Shearsmith plays a brilliant character, with both of his reveals as a twist-villain and, ultimately, a sandman feeling perfectly surprising with his slightly holier-than-thou attitude before getting to know the crew and his almost apologetic attitude in the tapes which would make sense considering what he would have been through were that actually him as we knew him before the reveal he would be like that.
Now, the juicy part. The plot. People rag on this episode for plot holes, and to this I have two things to say: 1) all the best New Who plots have holes in them (Blink being the main example of this) and 2) nothing in this episode is so egregious as to draw out your investment. The plot has been described by many as boring. That's simply because you're not watching it properly. Overall the episode has an absolutely brilliant atmosphere, with dark corridors and sinister futuristic tech that got the better end of Under The Lake/Before The Flood's endless hospital-white or whatever The End Of The World tried to do, and it perfectly compliments the slowly unraveling plot that people called tedious because they didn't follow along well enough. The hints are enough to make you want to keep watching. The 'survivability' bar, the fact Rassmussen has a camera feed without having a camera, 'Do you ever get the feeling we're being watched?' - it is very engaging to those who notice. Along with some surprisingly good comedy at times and the play on the found-footage ploy by having 'nothing' to take the footage - this is all a very entertaining, very intelligent and very underappreciated story. Hell, they even make you feel for the grunt. 10/10, exceptional.
Firstly, getting it out of the way quickly, the camerawork. Really? Criticizing camerawork on a found-footage story? Just think about that.
Secondly, again to get it out of the way quickly, the acting - the found-footage element meant the characters had much more colloquial acting than the norm found in Doctor Who and works perfectly fine in context. Focusing on one actor in particular, Shearsmith plays a brilliant character, with both of his reveals as a twist-villain and, ultimately, a sandman feeling perfectly surprising with his slightly holier-than-thou attitude before getting to know the crew and his almost apologetic attitude in the tapes which would make sense considering what he would have been through were that actually him as we knew him before the reveal he would be like that.
Now, the juicy part. The plot. People rag on this episode for plot holes, and to this I have two things to say: 1) all the best New Who plots have holes in them (Blink being the main example of this) and 2) nothing in this episode is so egregious as to draw out your investment. The plot has been described by many as boring. That's simply because you're not watching it properly. Overall the episode has an absolutely brilliant atmosphere, with dark corridors and sinister futuristic tech that got the better end of Under The Lake/Before The Flood's endless hospital-white or whatever The End Of The World tried to do, and it perfectly compliments the slowly unraveling plot that people called tedious because they didn't follow along well enough. The hints are enough to make you want to keep watching. The 'survivability' bar, the fact Rassmussen has a camera feed without having a camera, 'Do you ever get the feeling we're being watched?' - it is very engaging to those who notice. Along with some surprisingly good comedy at times and the play on the found-footage ploy by having 'nothing' to take the footage - this is all a very entertaining, very intelligent and very underappreciated story. Hell, they even make you feel for the grunt. 10/10, exceptional.