Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Going Through Doctor Who (Spoilers all Eps aired on BBC/BBCA)

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    PETER DAVISON - THE FIFTH DOCTOR (1982-1984) RETROSPECTIVE

    DOC-METER

    The fifth incarnation began his tenure like a happy infant, exploring the confines of his world and then gradually maturing when faced with difficulties, such as irascible companions, irredeemable villains and bloodbaths. He faltered, yes, and his naivete often got him into trouble, but his kindness never died.

    FAVOURITE STORY

    Snakedance.

    FAVOURITE COMPANION

    Tegan Jovanka.

    FAVOURITE ENEMY

    The Master. I know, lame choice, but Ainley breathed life into almost every story he was in.

    SCREWDRIVER

    Continuation of the Fourth Doctor's(silver rod reminiscent of that flashlight thing that actual doctors use to look in your mouth).

    COSTUME

    A charming custom cricketer's costume, celery included for a touch of eccentricity.

    WORST STORY

    Frontios.

    WORST COMPANION

    Nyssa(I don't hate her, she just never got a chance to really bloom).

    WORST ENEMY

    The Silurians, for how poorly represented they were.

    OVERALL ERA

    Season 19 was a disaster. It had some good stories, but the cringy melodrama that the writers forced onto the TARDIS crew(coupled with their inexperienced acting, poor script editing and Davison still finding his feet in the role) really spoiled it for me.
    After Adric's death and the end of the terrible Heathrow arc, the show gradually began to find its self-confidence again, excelling in more cerebral storytelling and returning to slightly self-mocking humor.

    By the eleventh hour, I had fallen in love with Davison's sardonic, weary Doctor and his bizarre, but imaginative adventures and along with the man himself, regretted his early departure.
    "I have never understood why it should be necessary to become irrational in order to prove that you care... or why it should be necessary to prove it at all."

    Comment


      Empress Of Mars is a spectacular addition to the Ice Warrior mythos and proves that traditional doesn't always have to mean boring and derivative.

      WRITTEN BY

      Mark Gatiss. He's a bit up and down when it comes to writing, but this is easily his best story.

      PLOT

      After discovering a man-made sign on Mars, the TARDIS crew travel back in time to find why and how did Victorian soldiers enter the hive of the sleeping Ice Warriors on another planet. Soon after, the TARDIS goes beyond Nardole's control and he's forced to cooperate with a very dangerous enemy to return to the Doctor...

      ANALYSIS

      What a refreshing, sensible episode! It's lovely to have a Capaldi story where you don't have to cringe or try and work around plot holes or get disappointed about a hurried resolution. The pacing is steady, the story is concise and straightforward, the characters are enjoyable and well-written, and we're not treading old ground. It's an adventure that you can sink your teeth into.

      For fans, this is also an important chapter in Ice Warrior history, as we finally get to see what transformed them from aggressive villains in the Troughton era to the honorable, friendly race we meet in The Curse Of Peladon. I can't imagine a better tribute for their 50th anniversary!!

      CHARACTERS

      Peter Capaldi takes a distinctly Third Doctor role in this story, having to try and negotiate a treaty between the soldiers and the warriors. Admittedly, Twelve's characterisation is a bit bland here, but at least he isn't a buffoon again.

      Pearl Mackie's Bill does a good job trying to stand on her own two feet as the Empress takes a special interest in her as the only female from the human side. Having to try and represent her whole species is something new to her(let's just forget the Monk rubbish) and though she herself doesn't succeed, it's great to see Bill tax her brain a little.

      Matt Lucas doesn't have an awful lot to do here as Nardole, but I must admit, him letting Missy drive the TARDIS is a huuuuge departure from the previous episodes. Couldn't he find anyone else on Earth who could do it? Contact UNIT or something?

      Anthony Calf(whose acting career began in 1982's The Visitation) brings out the humanity of Colonel Godsacre extremely well. His cowardice comes across as natural and completely without malevolence, as he is a man with a good heart who truly needs something worth fighting for(the men who would die without him) to bring out his bravery.

      Ferdinand Kingsley's Neville Catchlove is a great villain. Although he's basically as over-the-top evil as Thin Ice's Sutcliffe, the story gives him more to do and I think his military background makes him more memorable and fun to watch as he messes everything up for everyone out of pure selfishness.

      The rest of the British soldiers were all well portrayed and distinctive, their relationship to one another coming across as genuine. I especially liked the lone black soldier, Vincey(played by Bayo Gbadamosi).

      Adele Lynch was wonderful as the eponymous Empress Iraxxa, coming across as extremely proud, but smart and respectful in her own way.

      Michelle Gomez had a surprise appereance as Missy... the ending is quite intriguing, but she seemed peculiarly amiable in this episode. It's weird seeing her submit to the Doctor's will and I hope the finale explains this, because I just want to see the Master doing his/her thing again.

      And finally, welcome back Ysanne Churchman as the lovable Alpha Centauri! I can't thank Gatiss enough for this. Let this stand as an example of how to do classic tie-ins right!

      NOTES

      *What actual reason did the TARDIS crew have to visit NASA? A whim?

      *Why did the TARDIS return to Earth on its own accord? Is it under Missy's control somehow? This better be explained at some point, because it was very abnormal.

      *The production team have generally done a superb job of updating the Ice Warriors, but their enthusiastic stomping(particularly as Friday approaches the Doctor at the beginning) looks really goofy. Also, whilst the new effect their guns have is very cool, I kind of miss the wibbly 60s guns.

      *How exactly did Godsacre go from a hanged deserter to leading a platoon with only Catchlove knowing, I wonder?

      *As much as Iraxxa's focus on her helped Bill's character, I'm a little tired of all the manhate jokes. Yes, we get it, men were chauvinistic, but can't we all be equal and nice now? It works fine in this episode, but men are mocked way too often in this show.

      *The recurring gag about the Doctor and Bill's choice in films was funny, but a little forced. Also, is Frozen even still relevant?

      *Speaking of Frozen, I was really let down by the fact that we didn't get a single reference to The Waters Of Mars. All that talk of snow and ice crashing down on the Ice Warriors and no mention of the Flood?

      *How did the Ice Warriors end up frozen anyway? A devastating war is mentioned, but who was the enemy?

      *I realise that Catchlove didn't trust the Doctor, but in this situation, would you go with the old man who might be double-crossing you, or a tough as nails giant reptilian as your pilot?

      CONTINUITY ADVISOR

      1) The soldiers' portrait of Queen Victoria is actually that of Pauline Collins, who played the part in Tooth And Claw. A nice subtle callback, I like it.

      2) Alpha Centauri invites the Ice Warriors to the Galactic Federation, as seen in The Curse Of Peladon and The Monster Of Peladon. Brilliant, just brilliant.

      3) The Doctor insists that he and Missy "did not agree to this" and that she must return to the Vault, presumably to continue her rehabilitation, as established in The Lie Of The Land. Fair enough, although so far, I've really not cared for this season's story arc.

      BEST QUOTE

      "This is Alpha Centauri. Welcome to the universe."

      CONCLUSION

      A marvellously simple, unpretentious story of two opposing sides(Victorian soldiers and Martians for that touch of Doctor Who eccentricity) overcoming the odds and moving forward in peace.
      "I have never understood why it should be necessary to become irrational in order to prove that you care... or why it should be necessary to prove it at all."

      Comment


        The Twin Dilemma is incredibly poor, but it's a strangely respectable kind of failure.

        WRITTEN BY

        Anthony Steven, and this was his only science fiction script from what I've heard. It shows.

        PLOT

        While Peri is forced to cope with a new, histrionic Doctor who has completely lost control of his emotions, two children are kidnapped by another errant Time Lord for the parasitic gastropod Mestor, who is plotting to spread his children across the universe with the destruction of an entire solar system...

        ANALYSIS

        If the stars aligned for Peter Davison's last story, they all abandoned Colin Baker's first, because everything that could've gone wrong here, did go wrong. However, it is not conceptually a bad story. The idea of a Doctor who is losing his mind is certainly interesting. I also like Mestor - a sentient parasite willing to destroy planets to reproduce.

        But none of it presented in an appealing or consistent way. The scripts themselves are messy(particularly in the scientific department... we're talking "the moon is an egg" levels), the set designs are just dreadful, the costumes are ridiculous, the casting is all over the place and they push the new Doctor's negative qualities far beyond common sense. Cowardice, violence and ungratefulness are not part of the Doctor's personality, no matter how lunatic he has become.

        CHARACTERS

        Colin Baker's theatrical debut as the Sixth Doctor is certainly memorable... in fact, my initial impressions were quite positive! He comes off as the kind of Doctor that you can rely on purely because he doesn't bother with deceptions. So what if he wears a patchwork coat? So what if he acts like a cross between Rowan Atkinson and Soldeed from The Horns Of Nimon? What matters is that the Doctor makes sense to himself. Baker might have no shame, but he has conviction.

        The problem is, as I mentioned above, that the production goes too far with... well, everything! Not only is Colin loud and brash and far removed from his predecessor, but he's also aggressive, cowardly and prone to fits of whining. The few self-aware lines don't wipe away the scenes of him choking Peri or showing willingness to let her or Hugo die for him.
        So as a result, Colin's characterisation becomes a sour mess and I can't imagine anyone feeling very enthusiastic about continuing with him as the lead after this.

        Nicola Bryant is... just not very good. There's nothing really wrong with the way Peri is written(although this story seems to completely ignore its immediate predecessor), but Bryant's stuttery delivery coupled with her whiny accent and obvious fear of the Doctor just don't make her a very appealing companion to watch, particularly not alongside Colin's incarnation. I'm guessing that their Odd Couple pairing works on paper, but on-screen, it just looks like he's mentally(and in one case, physically) abusing this shy, awkward girl. It's unpleasant.

        The Conrad twins might be the worst guest stars to ever perform in an episode of Doctor Who. For your information, they were the sons of a recurring Doctor Who extra. Yeah, that cheap.

        The last of the poor acting comes from Kevin McNally(Mr. Gibbs from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies!!), surprisingly. To be fair, he has a very thankless role, but he doesn't even seem to try.

        Fortunately, the rest of the guest stars are surprisingly good and help to keep the utterly nonsensical plot afloat. Maurice Denham gave the old Time Lord Azmael some much needed depth and likability. The scenes between him and Colin are easily the most emotionally resonant(scratch that: the only emotionally resonant) in the story.

        Edwin Richfield, albeit held back by a really goofy-looking slug costume, gives a strong performance as a Jabba the Hutt-esque villain, coming across as dangerous even from underneath the layers of plastic.

        The same can be said for Barry Stanton's Noma, whose manners very much reminded me of a Klingon.

        Seymour Green was not present for very long, but he was quite hilarious as the bureaucratic Chamberlain, who doesn't care who is in charge so long as he's not blamed for anything. Call me mad, but at the end, I began thinking of spin-off possibilities with him and Hugo...

        NOTES

        *I really like the updated, more colourful title sequence. Much easier on the eye, and Colin's gentle smile is lovely.

        *What on Earth are Romulus and Remus playing at the start? Backgammon with paper chess pieces?

        *As much as I complained about the Sixth Doctor, it must be said that Peri immediately calling him terrible wasn't very nice at all. And it's not his manners, mind you, she specifically said that he LOOKS dreadful. First of all, how shallow can a person be? Second of all, Colin looks fabulous!

        *She also gets over the whole regeneration thing pretty fast, and immediately assumes that she has to live with his new face.

        *The erratic breakdowns worked in Castrovalva, because they were mostly memory-based. Colin's random rants about the wheels of the universe crushing down on him are just embarrassing.

        *I love how the Doctor points out that his regenerations have a diminishing effect each time. A clock tower and a few Dalek ships would like a word with you.

        *Have I mentioned yet how much I love Colin Baker's Coat Of Awesome? I'm not even joking, I legitimately really like his outfit.

        *The twins' apartment looks like a crappy kindergarten.

        *One of Colin's few subtle moments: pay attention to his face when Peri describes his new outfit as "yuck!". I almost burst into laughter.

        *The science in this story is so poor that it's pointless to ask questions, but I will anyway...
        1) How does Azmael control the twins by giving them selective amnesia? What parts of their memory did he even wipe?
        2) How can a revitalising modulator be revised as a time machine, and how can that take Peri back to the TARDIS?
        3) Where are Hugo and Peri when the Doctor shows up 10 seconds into the future? Or is this like the Langoliers' time travel logic, where different time periods act like different dimensions?

        *In the infamous choking scene, it's far too obvious that he's just holding Peri's neck gently.

        *Why do the twins not employ their immense mathematical abilities to escape, and why are the guards not concerned that that might happen?

        *As in Earthshock, we detect a fondness for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Suddenly, every ship in the cosmos has a warp drive.

        *At one point, the Sixth Doctor is set to go out and you can hear the TARDIS door opening sound, but then he turns around and the door just magically doesn't open.

        *One minor positive: I really liked the effect of laying the image of Mestor over Azmael's when they're communicating. It does actually help to give the sense that Mestor is controlling Azmael's mind to some extent.

        *We haven't had this in a while, but once more the villains are trying to acquire "human originality", because we're the only race in the universe that can come up with stuff I guess. Including all this technology that the spacefaring races use daily-oh wait.

        *One of the most idiotic "futuristic technology" moments I've ever seen: Romulus and Remus write our their calculations on an upright sheet of transparent plastic. With markers.

        *This entire story only happened because the Doctor somehow inherently sensed evil. There is no excuse for this other than laziness.

        *The bickering becomes almost hilarious in a scene where the Doctor and Peri somehow end up completely switching opinions about whether or not they should move on. First the Doctor argues for moving on and then he becomes cowardly, whilst Peri first tries to drag him back and then tries to guilt him into going deeper. What???

        *Really, a digital calculator-style clock on an alien spaceship? What else, alien ice cream?

        *How on Earth did a Time Lord end up becoming the "Master of Jaconda", and why were the Time Lords not concerned when(according to the Doctor), his experiments threatened to blow a hole into the universe?

        *Why does Hugo feel the need to change his clothes onboard an alien ship, and why does he wear a glittery, tacky mess that just happens to contain the ammunition for his pistol?

        CONTINUITY ADVISOR

        1) The Doctor describes regeneration as a renewal, much like the Second Doctor in The Power Of The Daleks. A very subtle, perhaps unintentional callback that I caught me off-guard. Good job.

        2) The Sixth Doctor directly criticises his predecessor's "feckless charm", which seems more than a little stupid... I mean, did they want to drop the Davison fans? Really?

        3) The TARDIS wardrobe contains Patrick Troughton's famed fur coat and Jon Pertwee's outfit(Colin even tries the red velvet jacket), both from The Five Doctors. The wardrobe scenes have always been an easter egg hunt and hopefully always will be.

        4) The Sixth Doctor intended to take Peri to rest at the Eye Of Orion, which the Fifth Doctor visited with Tegan and Turlough in The Five Doctors, but forgot the coordinates. Completely pointless callback.

        5) The Doctor mistakes Peri for Tegan, and says his usual re-affirming "Brave heart, Tegan" to her. Well, we've seen regeneration episodes being used to make callbacks to prior Doctors before and it makes sense, so I guess I'll go with it. But they could've done without it just as fine.

        6) The Sixth Doctor directly quotes his first incarnation by telling Peri to "kindly refrain from addressing me as Doc!". I'm not even sure if that's a reference or not due to this incarnation's personality, but it'd be a pointless, though passable if it was.

        BEST QUOTE

        "I am the Doctor... whether you want to or not." - Brave heart, viewers.

        CONCLUSION

        A really sad opening that could've been so much better with some redrafts and a good director.
        "I have never understood why it should be necessary to become irrational in order to prove that you care... or why it should be necessary to prove it at all."

        Comment


          Final thoughts on season 21: overall, I was really impressed with it. Though it had three utterly dreadful stories in it, the show regained a sense of pacing and fun, which made it so much more watchable and actually left me with a really good feeling about the Peter Davison era, of which I'm glad.

          Shame that the Colin Baker era doesn't seem to be shaping up nearly as well, if this is any indication. Ironically, I must also wait a year before continuing with Attack Of The Cybermen, as the time has come for my mandatory military service. I will most likely not even be able to finish reviewing Capaldi's stories until May 2018. With that being said, it's been an absolute joy getting this far and I'm interested to see where it goes next when I get back.

          And after that... who knows? Indeed, Who knows! *pokes nose* Ouch, I hit my zit...
          "I have never understood why it should be necessary to become irrational in order to prove that you care... or why it should be necessary to prove it at all."

          Comment


            Continuing with voice actor Chris Thomson's Second Doctor audio series...

            Freedom Of The Daleks is an excellent companion piece to The Evil Of The Daleks, making it one of the best Dalek stories I've heard by default.

            WRITTEN BY

            Benji Clifford and Christopher Thomson, two smart cookies.

            PLOT

            The Doctor has been captured by the Thals and the Human Factor Daleks to gain access to a human colony, who have inadvertently rescued and nursed the Dalek Emperor. As mutual hatred and distrust between the three sides start boiling over, it's up to him to prevent or at least contain a terrible war...

            ANALYSIS

            It's truly disheartening, but also fitting(considering what ultimately happened to this incarnation due to his meddling) to see the Doctor's previous victories over the Daleks come back to bite him in the backside.

            The main theme here is fear, and how it distorts good things for the purpose of survival from some perceived threat. In this case, all of the Doctor's efforts are for naught as the various factions twist his intentions to justify their own killing.

            On the effects side, the music and sounds are terrific(I particularly like the soundtrack used during the Dalek Emperor's cliffhanger speech) and the story feels 100% professionally made.

            CHARACTERS

            Once again, Chris Thomson kills it as Patrick Troughton's frumpy, kind-hearted Second Doctor. It's kind of funny to see the more light-hearted version of Troughton's Doctor in a story that's a callback to his comparatively dark and brooding first year. In this story, the Doctor is absolutely miserable, almost as if he's crying out "I was on such a roll, why u do this, life?"
            It was also nice to hear the good old recorder again. I wonder who played it?

            Thomas Rees-Kaye's Reginald King and Christel "most excited show presenter ever" Dee's Geldra serve as the story's moral centers on opposing sides(the Daleks naturally lack such a character) and interestingly enough, also the orchestrators of the future Dalek stories, since they're the ones to survive and report back to their leaders with (chortle) fake news.
            Also, does this mean we can totally blame the Time War on Christel? Just kidding, she's awesome.

            The one notable thing about Olivia Douglas' Commander Carter is that she has the haughtiest voice I've ever heard. She'd put the Queen to shame.

            Daniel Sherratt's Demitus is a bit of nasty business, eh? But his utter lack of scruples in taking down the Daleks does have its roots in tragedy, as all good villains do, so it's hard to really blame him. He's just another victim of the cycle. Sherratt does a good job of making you hate to hate him with that jerky, stiff voice.

            Billy Treacy's Dr. Bowman seems to be a minor callback to Lesterson from The Power Of The Daleks, except with the twist that he's actually not quite as insane or cowardly as he seems. Great choice of actor in this case, as I could swear I heard the clamminess in his voice alone.

            Benji Clifford does an overall great job on the Dalek voices, although I would have personally preferred more actual emotions from the Human Factor Daleks. I know this is where they sort of take over the Empire(so there can't be any Dizzy Dalek stuff), but still.

            I guess it wouldn't be fair to leave Sam Dimitrijevic out, but all I can say is that he did a solid job with the minor character of Vadon. The babysitter gag was amusing.

            NOTES

            *There's a neat meta moment where the Doctor berates the Thals for placing their hopes in the legend they'd composed of him, a "fairytale, a fictional character!".

            *Reginald King has to be the most hilarious name ever composed. Points if you get it. Also, it was really neat to hear the Doctor say things like "Come on, Reginald!", because that also happens to my (woefully out of date) name.

            *I love the moment where the Emperor tries to fix his doctor's anxiety by giving him a Dalek pep talk.

            *What ultimately convinced the Doctor to go down to the colony? It seemed like he was firmly set against it until just saying "oh fine, if you stop nagging".

            *As in The Power Of The Daleks, the Second Doctor is utterly useless at convincing people to do what he wants. Instead of simply telling them about the Daleks' racism and their desire to exterminate all other life forms, he wastes time shouting "they are utterly evil! FACT!" and provides random examples that he can't properly back up.

            *Okay, so it is the early days, but it still seems kind of thick of the Doctor to try and appeal to the Dalek Emperor's (nonexistent) sense of honor.

            *I won't spoil what it is, but the cliffhanger of Episode 1 is such an awesome, classic Dalek moment.

            *I'm surprised that the Human Daleks do not treat the Doctor as their own personal Davros, given that he is technically their creator. I think that would've been an interesting place to take the story.

            *Are there more Human Dalek survivors? Because the story seemed to indicate there's only two, meaning that at the conclusion of this story, there are only two Daleks in existence. How are they going to take on the Human Empire, I wonder?

            *Also, if the Daleks know they're half-human, why do they become obsessed about purity later on again, and why is being human so despicable to them in Series 1 of New Who?

            CONTINUITY ADVISOR

            1) The Doctor reacts with shock upon hearing that the Dalek Emperor is alive and reminds the Thals that he was on Skaro to witness the "final end" 30 years ago, as seen in The Evil Of The Daleks.

            2) Since the events of The Daleks, the Doctor and his human companions have become a Thal legend(actually, now I wonder how this story ties together with Planet Of The Daleks).

            3) The Doctor protests Dr. Bowman's insistence to protect the Emperor and reveals to them that the Daleks conquered Earth in 2164 to scoop out its core and drive it around, as depicted in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth.

            4) The Doctor is asked what he would do when faced with the murderers of his own kind, something that would ultimately happen many incarnations down the line in Dalek.

            5) Demetus is part of the "Captain of the Alydon Temesus". Alydon was one of the Thals who helped the TARDIS crew in The Daleks(and probably became a hero after that).

            6) The conclusion of this story provides the explanation as to how the Daleks resumed their empire after their final end in The Evil Of The Daleks.

            7) The Doctor is still trying to get back to Jamie and Victoria, as the possessed TARDIS took him away from them in Red Snow. Interestingly, it also let him have this adventure, which is a bit odd, but I'm sure we'll learn more next time...

            BEST QUOTE

            "Fear drives you to doing terrible things. Fear of death, fear of difference and fear of losing who you are." - The Doctor after witnessing a meaningless massacre.

            CONCLUSION

            A spectacular addition to the Dalek mythos that captures their personalities better than most professional adventures.
            "I have never understood why it should be necessary to become irrational in order to prove that you care... or why it should be necessary to prove it at all."

            Comment


              More of Thomson's Second Doctor audio saga...

              Her House is a spooky mystery that never quite blooms the way it could due to its limited runtime.

              WRITTEN BY

              Benji Clifford and Christopher Thomson, who need to be hired by Big Finish like right now.

              PLOT

              The Doctor finds himself the lonely "guest" of a mysterious spirit with nothing, but a Ouija board and an earnest butler to keep him company.

              ANALYSIS

              Her House starts off exceptionally. Haunted houses are perhaps the most common of horror tropes and for a good reason: they conjure a chilling atmosphere so easily that it does half of the writers' work. Now all that's left is to come up with a compelling backstory behind the mysterious, foreboding events that occur.

              And to the writers' credit, they do come up with a perfectly reasonable answer for what's going on. But with only roughly 25 minutes to tell the story, it's like skipping from appetiser to dessert. We get a touch of foreboding, and the rest of the runtime is spent on the Doctor deducing the situation and resolving it with simple logic. As a result, it becomes more of a puzzle than a story. Which is a shame, because there's some very intriguing ideas in here.

              CHARACTERS

              We've had a season 5-esque story in Red Snow and we've had something sinister that could've been aired in season 4 with Freedom Of The Daleks. Now, Chris Thomson gets to delve into the more surreal and comical side of the Second Doctor a la season 6 with this story. As a prisoner, he's both flippant and indignant, prone to temper tantrums even. It's a refreshingly human response to the situation that I really enjoyed(I'd probably do the same).

              All I could really think of whilst listening to Joel Hunter's Clarence is just how young and earnest he sounded. It's especially strange when one considers what his identity turned out to be(won't spoil here), but I think it helped to give the character's desperate defense of his reality some extra poignancy, almost like a child defending a make-believe world.

              Their website doesn't specifiy who portrayed the House itself, but whoever it was, she was very well chosen. I'm not sure why anyone would (spoilers spoilers spoilers) program their ship with a child's voice, but it did suit both the emotionless computer and the controlling, ethereal spirit sides of the character.

              NOTES

              *In the last two stories, the theme tune was noticeably altered(presumably due to copyright issues), but here, it seems to be the exact original.

              *The sound effects for the house were awesome. Creaky wood and all that.

              *One thing I have to point out is that Joel Hunter's American accent, in true Doctor Who tradition, was terrible.

              *I love the use of Ouija boards in fiction, and it worked brilliantly as part of the plot here as well. There's just something magical about having the power to commune with the dead right at your fingertips.

              *Whose ship is this supposed to be anyway? If it's a time-space machine, it should be an advanced TARDIS, right?

              *Why does the ship (apparently) fall apart after the computer shuts down?

              *In the last story, the Doctor mentioned that it was the house that was preventing him from returning to Jamie and Victoria. But that doesn't make any sense considering that he only ended up there because his TARDIS was the closest time-space ship. Why would the house send him on random detours to Earth and the Thal spaceship?

              CONTINUITY ADVISOR

              The Doctor tells Clarence of an old hermit he met in the mountains of his home. The home is on Gallifrey and the hermit is of course Kan'po Rinpoche, whom we meet in Planet Of The Spiders.

              BEST QUOTE

              "Not all things can last forever. If they did, they wouldn't be special. They wouldn't be magical. Treasure it."

              CONCLUSION

              I guess it's not a bad thing to say that I desperately wanted more.
              "I have never understood why it should be necessary to become irrational in order to prove that you care... or why it should be necessary to prove it at all."

              Comment


                The Eaters Of Light is a tiresome runaround with many interesting ideas that deserved more care.

                WRITTEN BY

                Rona Munro, scribe of Doctor Who's final classic serial, Survival. One that I'm also very fond of.

                PLOT

                Bill drags the Doctor and Nardole to medieval Scotland to prove her conspiracy theory about the Roman Ninth Legion having disappeared due to other circumstances than death. There, they discover that the conflict between the Romans and the Scots has caused a portal to another dimension to open, releasing an utterly alien creature set to suck out all the light in the world.

                ANALYSIS

                How was this not good? You have Rona Munro, an historical mystery, a portal to an unknown dimension, Scotland, and some fantastic music! All things that I love and yet, all that this episode amounted to was people sitting in caves and waiting for the Doctor to figure out what's going on(which takes him longer than usual as he appears to not really give a crap).

                And when he does, then once again we have to see a bunch of thickos not listen to a word he says. Getting really tired of that trend in the Capaldi era. Basically, the plot was a mess, the eponymous creatures weren't very well defined(if they want light, why do they kill humans? Where do they even come from? What are they? Should they be killed?) and the ending made very little sense.

                Even the filler dialogue was mostly groanworthy, comprising of the Doctor making fun of the terrified children to their faces and the usual 21st century puns. Sigh.

                CHARACTERS

                Whilst the script does him no favours, Capaldi gives off a mysterious and caring vibe when he doesn't have to speak, particularly in the final scene with Missy. Doesn't he just have the most expressive face ever?

                Speaking of Missy, whilst her redemption arc has been VERY hackneyed and unexplained, Gomez herself has been incredibly good this year without the forced flippancy. I daresay she might actually be on the road towards being a decent Master. Shame she still has no iconic TV story of her own, though(I don't know about books or comics).

                Pearl Mackie's Bill sadly developed some Clara tendencies this episode, like a never-mentioned-before love for a specific part of history(okay, there was Amy and the Romans too, but that technically carried through in later episodes with Rory wearing the outfit), a need to prove the Doctor wrong and her complete inability to keep her mouth shut about certain things in the past(as if anyone would admit they're gay to a legionnaire or blab about lip-sync and telepathic fields).
                It doesn't hurt her likability, but... I've got my eye on you, writers.

                Nardole is... Nardole. He kind of reminds me of Turlough in the sense that you don't really get how or why he's there, and he appears to have no purpose in the series other than to react to every other line the Doctor says with an out of place comment.

                The acting of the guest stars was quite good, conveying a sense of not really knowing what to do, but being willing to face their destiny, particularly Rebecca Benson's Kar(who reminded me of Amy a lot).

                NOTES

                *How come the survivors on both sides are all children?

                *What happens when you go through the portal? From what I gather, one human can hold back the Eaters for about 60-70 years, but doesn't that just mean that eventually, they'll break through again?

                *Why do the legionnaires refer to themselves as centurions? That would be like privates calling themselves generals.

                *Whether the Doctor is hopeful or not, letting Missy do TARDIS maintenance is just... stupid.

                *The Doctor seemed to be surprisingly cheerful about the idea of spending eternity guarding the gate.

                *This is my mum's favourite Twelfth Doctor episode. Because Scotland(to be fair, the location filming is the best part).

                *What was the stuff with the talking crows about?

                CONTINUITY ADVISOR

                1) The Doctor excuses Missy's presence in the TARDIS by reminding his companions that she helped them escape Mars in Empress Of Mars? Oh yeah, why was the TARDIS malfunctioning and why did Missy think the Doctor was sick? That final scene appears to have been completely dropped. Come on, guys.

                2) Bill correctly guesses that the TARDIS telepathic field helps her understand the local languages. This was first revealed in The End of The World. Kind of late to bring that up, no?

                3) And as with pretty much every other episode this season, the Vault gets a mention. Because apparently fans have short term memories.

                BEST QUOTE

                "Does everybody hear that? Do you know what that sound was? That was the sound of my patience shattering into a billion little pieces!"

                CONCLUSION

                Whatever, John Simm is next.
                "I have never understood why it should be necessary to become irrational in order to prove that you care... or why it should be necessary to prove it at all."

                Comment


                  World Enough And Time/The Doctor Falls is baffling... did Steven Moffat really write a satisfying climax that pays off years of confused story arcs in a neat bow-tie, wrapped inside a heartwrenching, creepy and even educational tale?

                  WRITTEN BY

                  Steven bloody Moffat.

                  PLOT

                  To test Missy's resolve, the Doctor has her fill his role in a usual adventure that quickly turns out to be not so usual when Bill is shot and taken by the Cybermen to the depths of a trapped Mondasian colony ship, where her only friend is a grinning loon with a special interest in Missy...

                  ANALYSIS

                  Okay, so the episodes aren't perfect. But it must be pointed out just how damn good they are. You have the concept of a gigantic spaceship that's gradually time-dilated by increasing gravity from the black hole(how sci-fi is that?), you have the Mondasian Cybermen at their best, we get Missy's backstory(even the flying Cybermen and their ability to convert Time Lords gets filled in!), and we actually see all of our leads go through hell, not just wander around Gallifrey's basement like last season.

                  It's a gripping pay-off to years of misguided plotting and lackluster characterisation. And dear lord, the fan service! Too much fan service, but so incredibly well done fan service that I can barely complain.

                  Not only did it exceed my expectations a hundred times over, I'd actually call it one of the best Doctor Who stories since the show's return.

                  CHARACTERS

                  I felt a little let down by the Twelfth Doctor in this episode(not Peter Capaldi, he acted his socks off). He's still too passive for my liking: letting Bill get shot, fighting against regeneration for no clearly defined reason(there's a throwaway line about not wanting to be somebody different all the time) and worst of all, getting pretty much ignored by the Masters(comparing it to the fiery conflict between Tennant's Doctor and Simm's Master was hard).
                  His speech about kindness, battle against the Cybermen and relationships with Nardole and Bill kept me going, but I just wish he was that much more proactive and one step ahead like the Doctor is in the best stories. Or if he's not, it should be more of a big deal a la Caves Of Androzani.

                  Pearl Mackie was incredible as Bill Potts. She's of course naturally funny and charming, but there's none of that one tear "aww" face you got with Clara. When she bawls, she really goes at it. It tore my heart out when she thought the Doctor was dead.
                  As for her departure with Heather, I can't really complain because I like Bill, and it's a neat callback to the first episode anyway. Clara was a much darker and untouchable character, therefore she should've had a depressing ending, but this fitted Bill's optimistic persona well, I think.

                  I have always adored John Simm's incarnation of the Master. I don't think it's quite his best showing just because he wears Delgado-style clothes now as some seem to, but then again, the story isn't really about him this time around. His role is to validate Missy's redemption, which he does brilliantly.
                  We get a big time reminder that the Master wasn't always flowers and sunshine like he/she has been throughout the Capaldi era, and the arc ends ever so appropriately with the character essentially euthanising himself to remove any chance of him turning good.

                  Michelle Gomez has had a truly bizarre run as Missy, hasn't she? From the dreadful(Series 8) to flippant(Series 9) to... meh(Series 10). Apart from the s8 finale, she's hardly been a villain and that story was a steaming pile of dung anyway, so... I guess not counting the multi-Master story, her best appereance was in the s9 premiere? Now that's weird.
                  Retroactively, it makes sense considering she represents the Master's desire to resume her original friendship with the Doctor, but
                  A) Why her incarnation is obsessed with it is never explained.
                  B) Simm's Master also displayed this desire in The End Of Time, more appropriately mixed in with his usual pride and insanity.
                  It just about works thanks to the actors, but there's no ignoring the gaping hole in character progression.

                  We must also discuss Matt Lucas as the future hacker/martial artist/cyborg/black marketeer/valet/Emperor of Constantinople Nardole, this presumably being his final story. It's pretty obvious that nobody had a clue what to do with him, and anyone hardly did. I liked him, but he always was a spare part.

                  I am still unsure on how I feel about David Bradley.

                  NOTES

                  *The opening "Doctor who?" gag is one is one of the most gratuitous and drawn-out things you will ever see.

                  *So we got 60s Cybermen, the 2006 Cybermen and the current ones. But where was David Banks?

                  *Considering that Bill spent a decade in the hospital with mr. Razor, it's kind of odd that she didn't have a bigger reaction to finding out it was the Master all along.

                  *Speaking of mr. Razor, I loved it. I didn't even notice it was Simm until my mum pointed it out when they were together(damn her perception). The performance reminded me a lot of Bela Lugosi's Igor in the Universal Frankenstein sequels.

                  *So if the Cybermen are created from parallel evolution(explaining how they got to Telos after dying out in the early Troughton era), what was the point of having the colony ship come from Mondas? The ship's crew seem to have invented the Cybermen over the course of hundreds of years completely on their own.

                  *Laser screwdriver!! Ah, it's the little things in life that keep you going.

                  *Peter Davison and John Simm go through the exact same hair colors in the exact same order during their run on Doctor Who. At the end of Logopolis, Davison has brown hair, then for the rest of his era, he's blond. And finally in Time Crash, grey.

                  *I guess I should mention that Bill's imagining he is not a Cyberman has already been done in Asylum Of The Daleks by Moffat. But it's a good, creepy idea that works equally well here, and also comes through Bill's strength rather than her terror as it did with Clara.

                  *Simm putting on eyeliner and his hard-on for Missy were a bit much.

                  *Rather endearingly, Simm's Master ties the Doctor onto a wheelchair again. What's that about?

                  *I think I've seen Capaldi begin to regenerate more times than I've seen him use the sonic at this point.

                  *The plot of the second episode was similar to Matt Smith's final story... except much better.

                  *Maybe the secret to Doctor Who's success is hiring John Simm as much as possible, because all three of his stories have hit the nail on the head in my opinion.

                  *I will accept Heather being able to travel anywhere she wants. At a stretch, she can pilot the TARDIS. But the offer to make Bill human again if she wanted seemed a step too far.

                  *If the Cybermen are on a mercy mission, why do they send in all the versions intermixed instead of the Mondasians followed by the tougher ones once their plans change?

                  *I kinda miss seeing the human eyes on the Mondasian Cybermen.

                  *Also, they look too clean for my liking. The 1966 Cybermen had a dirty, unsanitary, uncaring look.

                  *I was slightly miffed that we didn't get to see Simm's Master regenerate, but his departure scene was superb.

                  CONTINUITY ADVISOR

                  *breathes in*

                  1) John Simm's Master returns, and we get a follow-up to what happened to him after The End Of Time, which does raise the question of what exactly happened on Gallifrey to get him booted and Rassilon regenerated?

                  2) The original type of Cybermen return along with the 2006 versions, last seen in The Tenth Planet and Closing Time respectively. Lovely(and my mum did cheer for the Tennant versions, so I guess something for everyone).

                  3) Whilst fighting the Cybermen, the Doctor recounts many of his previous victories over them, including Mondas, Telos, "Planet 14"(mentioned in The Invasion), Canary Wharf and Voga. It's not 100% percent necessary, but it does feel catharctic, so I'll give it a pass.

                  4) What does not feel catharctic is the Doctor inexplicably quoting his other selves nonstop in the last episode. That got old fast, particularly in the last TARDIS scene("Sontarans perverting the course of human history!!... I don't want to go... when the Doctor was me...").

                  5) The TARDIS returns to 1966 Antarctica(presumably) to allow the Twelfth Doctor to meet his distant predecessor.

                  6) It's quite likely that the events of this story lead to Nightmare In Silver and Death In Heaven, where the Cybermen have developed the ability to fly, convert Time Lords and are led by Missy. Very clever, I think, and retroactively gives those stories more of a purpose.

                  7) The Doctor offers Alit a jelly baby. Point-less.

                  8) The spare dematerialisation circuit that Missy had looked exactly as it did in the Pertwee era(except smaller). I like it.

                  9) The Doctor performs Venusian aikido on the blue guy at the start. Pffft.

                  10) The flashback where all the companions are saying the Doctor's name is obviously inspired by Logopolis(whereas the camera shot of the Doctor lying down is based on The Tenth Planet), although why the 12th Doctor sees the RTD-era companions, I have no clue. And where was Rory? You can't tell me Madame Vastra was more of a companion than Rory or even Mickey. Or Wilf, for goodness' sake!

                  BEST QUOTE

                  "Who I am is where I stand. Where I stand is where I fall." - The Doctor explaining his morality to the Masters.

                  CONCLUSION

                  Without hope, without witness and with the occasional reward, I am Moffat's fan.
                  "I have never understood why it should be necessary to become irrational in order to prove that you care... or why it should be necessary to prove it at all."

                  Comment


                    Hey, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm not dead and I've decided to continue these reviews on my blog only.
                    goingthroughdoctorwho.blogspot.com

                    Thanks
                    "I have never understood why it should be necessary to become irrational in order to prove that you care... or why it should be necessary to prove it at all."

                    Comment

                    Working...
                    X