{"id":1583,"date":"2023-10-20T08:05:52","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T12:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/?page_id=1583"},"modified":"2023-11-11T22:34:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-12T03:34:18","slug":"nu-who-the-contemporary-series","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/nu-who-the-contemporary-series\/","title":{"rendered":"“Nu Who” – the contemporary series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
\n

Ninth Doctor<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Rose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Though perhaps a bit much, the giddiness of the Doctor mirrors that of fans at the return of the character and it\u2019s nice they start \u201cin the middle\u201d of things with him up to his usual adventuring in a fairly simple and straightforward story. Nice call back to the Auton shop window dummies in the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Some hokey scenes of plastic with Mickey (trash can, bouncy head) with a less than impressive Nestene Consciousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Canon: The Time War<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Everything else<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: The Doctor checks himself out in the mirror as if seeing his face for the first time (ie, immediately post regeneration) but future stories will contradict this idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The End of the World<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything has its time and everything dies” – The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Another fairly familiar and straightforward story arc as the Doctor arrives to a group event only to discover and foil an evil plan underneath it. The \u201cipod\u201d joke is fairly funny. Some tender sympathetic characters but I also like the little hard edge of the Doctor shown in his reaction to Cassandra\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Some of the aliens are over the top and the Doctor\u2019s \u201cfaith step\u201d is oddly emphasized for no seeming reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Canon: Phoning across time, psychic paper<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: TARDIS translation (but explained further)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Unquiet Dead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEchoes in the dark, queer songs in the air, and this feeling like a shadow passing over your soul.\u201d – Mr Sneed<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The first of the new era to feel like a classic Doctor Who gothic story with its eerie opening and Dickensian stylishness. Good guest characters portrayals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Always feels a bit off-putting to meet real life people in the fictional world as it seems undercut by historical knowledge [though explained here by Dickens early death]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: Higher races that at the human level we cannot be aware of experienced the Time War, Cardiff as a site of a time rift and great power<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The vast TARDIS wardrobe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: Even though it\u2019s technically mentioned in the episode before, this is the first mention of Bad Wolf that clearly marks it as something significant to be looking for. It also sets up the idea of a season long thread tying together episodes that would continue for the next several years of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aliens of London<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExcuse me, do you mind not farting while I’m saving the world?\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I can only find a few elements to like in this story: the red herring alien pig and Harriet Jones\u2019 character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Otherwise, the body humor and other tongue-in-cheek jokes seem to be the only things driving this episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: The Earth is aware of alien invasions (although for this one there is a possible out that it can be proved as a hoax, later episodes confirm that everyone remembers this event as the start of alien invasions on earth)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: UNIT (but their return is wasted as their just a bunch of government and military with no personality)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

World War Three<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s not fun, it’s not smart, it’s just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The Slitheen feel like less of a joke and much more of a threat as they toy with people in the hunt  which makes this second-parter a much better episode than the first.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: An odd wrap up \u2013 both parliament and Big Ben have now been destroyed. Shouldn\u2019t that reverberate for ages?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: The Doctor resets his anonymity online<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dalek<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI can feel so many ideas. So much darkness. Rose, give me orders. Order me to die.\u201d \u2013 The Last Dalek<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Exciting to see a Dalek back and the redesign is not bad. Great to have it so manipulative even in the midst of being tortured and nice that the Daleks are established in the new series as so powerful that one could wipe out an entire city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Van Statten is a bit cartoonish and unbelievable as a character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: The (supposed) destruction of the Daleks in the Time War<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Long Game<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilise an economy, invent an enemy, change a vote.\u201d \u2013 The Editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Some good bait-and-switch (even if you are not aware of the even bigger one to come later that is hinted at in the name). Simon Pegg being weasely<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The moralizing about Adam\u2019s bad decisions to the point of abandoning him back home is a bit much\u2014and frustratingly makes it not clear if we should count him as a companion or not? The Great and Mighty Jagrafess is a bit of let down in terms of graphics<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father\u2019s Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTime’s been damaged and they’ve come to sterilise the wound.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Nice exploration of time travel paradoxes and the trickiness of overlapping time lines. The first Rose and Doctor watching is reminiscent of Jo and the Third Doctor seeing themselves in \u201cDay of the Daleks\u201d. Good that they explain us never having seen this happen before because of the absence of the Time Lords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The Doctor is wrong about it being a paradox for older Rose to hold her younger self\u2014it\u2019s only a paradox if the baby dies. (They should have just referred to the Blinovitch Limitation Effect.) Not sure if I like the emphasis on time being changeable (Rose\u2019s story)\u2014now that\u2019s a paradox since her dad dying alone is what led her to be there. The creatures are not quite convincing CGI<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: Overlapping timelines create fixed points, everything is different without the Time Lords<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Empty Child<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you my mummy?\u201d \u2013 The infected<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Great atmosphere of dread even though we are not sure what\u2019s going on with the creepy kid in the mask. Very believable settings with great direction and lighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Too much sexual innuendo for Doctor Who.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: Time agents and vortex manipulators<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Doctor Dances<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThere isn’t a little boy born who wouldn’t tear the world apart to save his mummy\u2026and this little boy can.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The momentary jump thrill of realizing the child is in the room. Clever scifi explanation for what is happening and fun to see the Doctor\u2019s joy at actually getting to save everyone this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: More pushing the envelope of suggestive dialogue<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boom Town<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery now and then, a little victim’s spared because she smiled, because he’s got freckles, because they begged. And that’s how you live with yourself.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The tete-a-tete at dinner is nicely played and written, a very challenging moral discussion, and obviously the reason for the episode existing\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: \u2026but isn\u2019t particularly \u201cDoctor Who\u201d and the rest around it is rather poor filler. Even the suggestion that the Slitheen would escape on a sonic surfboard is rather too ridiculous to imagine. And where does this ability of the TARDIS to revert people suddenly come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The \u2018heart\u2019 of the TARDIS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad Wolf<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy masters–hiding in the dark space, watching and shaping the Earth so, so, so many years.\u201d \u2013 The Controller about the Daleks<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: A good pace of wondering what\u2019s happening and slowly realizing the dangers. The Doctor and Jack\u2019s very different reactions to Rose\u2019s apparent death are good, especially the Doctor\u2019s expressionlessness that makes us think he\u2019s given up until we see he has not. Love his dismissive gesture that he was obviously not going to use the gun. The Controller\u2019s desperate and self-sacrificial betray of the Daleks is moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The gameshow scenes seemed amusingly satirical on first watch but I can see all the references will get dated very quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: The Daleks weren\u2019t all destroyed after all<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Parting of the Ways<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space. Every single atom of your existence, and I divide them.\u201d \u2013 Vortex Rose <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Though it doesn\u2019t entirely make sense, Rose\u2019s gaining of godlike powers from the TARDIS is impressive and the Bad Wolf loop is a pretty clever idea. A re-working of the Fourth Doctor\u2019s moral dilemma about destroying the Daleks but less nuanced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The casualness of the people dying fighting does not come off as heroic as much as rather stupid.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: Much more dramatic regeneration<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"
\n

TENTH DOCTOR<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Christmas Invasion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this. It is defended.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s a good pace to the story since it\u2019s smart to slowly introduce this new Doctor, it being the first time many watchers had experienced regeneration. The slowly returning translation leading to the reveal of the newly awakened Doctor is quite a good trick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: There\u2019s a bit of a cheat in order to try to fit in the previously referenced Golden Age of Harriet Jones\u2019 administration into the story but also having the Doctor \u2018take her down\u2019. It\u2019s the start of some of the holier-than-thou moralizing of the Doctor that comes on a bit too strong throughout the run of the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: Regeneration energy includes a \u2018regrowth\u2019 process<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: Our first mention of Torchwood that will be \u2018mystery\u2019 for the run of this season<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Earth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cArms, fingers, hair! Let me see! Let me see! Oh my God. I’m a chav!\u201d \u2013 Cassandra as Rose<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Nice costumes for the cat nuns. David Tennant gets to establish his character style more fully. Body switching is usually a bit of a tired device but it works fairly well here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Seems a bit far-fetched that Cassandra didn\u2019t actually die before. The dramatic ending doesn\u2019t quite make sense\u2014cures don\u2019t \u2018spread\u2019 like diseases do!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tooth and Claw<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBegin your tale, Sir Robert. There’s a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters.\u201d \u2013 Queen Victoria<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The best of the new series to this point. A wonderfully rich and clever story, great characterizations, very good graphic effects, nice direction and landscapes, believable tension and pacing, a truly clever resolution, and for once someone gets to chastise the Doctor. Rose gets to show her ingenuity as a companion. I love Rose\u2019s \u201cWhere the hell have you been?\u201d greeting to the Doctor. A great turn as Queen Victoria\u2014from a classic DW veteran no less!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The screams at the beginning belie what we actually see later and seem a bit of a cheat just to make a good opening. It\u2019s very frustrating to see the group waste the time given by the sacrifice of the captain by standing their gaping at the creature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: The origins of Torchwood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

School Reunion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it’s a world, or a relationship, everything has its time. And everything ends\u201d \u2013 Sarah Jane Smith<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: On first watch, it was exciting to have the re-introduction of old companions Sarah Jane and K-9 (though on second watch the joke of her being like an old ex becomes kind of grating). Though dark and dramatic for no reason in the story, the Doctor revealing his identity to Sarah Jane is a very well done scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The graphics of the Krill are not good at all compared to the werewolf we had just an episode before. A hodgepodge of ideas and supposed threats from them that don\u2019t add up. Silly explanation of the oil that helps resolve the situation. A lot less good of an episode if you ignore SJS\u2019s return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Old companions and situations<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: Sarah Jane\u2019s re-start fighting alien threats<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Girl in the Fireplace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe monsters and the Doctor. It seems you cannot have one without the other.\u201d \u2013 Madame de Pompadour<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I really liked this episode the first time because of the hard sci-fi ideas: the Doctor appearing across the someone\u2019s life at various times, the spaceship using up the crew for parts, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: On second watch, I disliked noticing the emphasis on the Doctor seeming to \u201cfall in love\u201d with Reinette\u2014it\u2019s ridiculous to think that he would abandon Rose and Mickey on the spaceship just to save her<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rise of the Cybermen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the ultimate upgrade. Our greatest step into cyberspace.\u201d – Lumic<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: While the focus of the episode is the return of the Cybermen (in a fairly decent sleek new format), I like the human touch in encountering the parallel dimension here\u2014the inability of Rose and Mickey to control themselves from finding lost loved ones against the Doctor\u2019s pleas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I hate the attempted catchphrase \u201cDelete\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: New origin for the Cybermen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Cybermen (originals mentioned)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age of Steel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts, lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive: people–ordinary, stupid, brilliant people.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: While the menace is shown nationwide, you can really feel the scare factor of the Cybermen more from tense walk of the Doctor and Ms. Moore through the tunnel when she dies. The Doctor\u2019s subtle direction to Mickey via the security camera is nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The earbuds reference definitely now seems a bit dated but even at the time looked kind of ridiculous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Idiot\u2019s Lantern<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOrdinary people are being struck down and changed, and the only new thing in the house is a television. Your television.\u201d \u2013 Rose to Magpie <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There a nice horror feel as we track the family\u2019s fear over the grandmother upstairs. There are several moments of turned tables\u2014by far the best is played out between the Doctor and the detective inspector with the gradual shift in their positions relative to each other across the desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: There\u2019s a choppiness to the beginning of the story like they skipped over several scenes. The creature\u2019s cries of \u201cHungry\u201d and references to itself as \u201cThe Wire\u201d are obviously attempts to trademark it as a villain rather than fitting with its characterization in the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Impossible Planet<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are the words of the Beast. And he has woken. He is the heart that beats in the darkness. He is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise.\u201d \u2013 Toby<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s a lot of nice direction and emotion in the story, the slow possession of the archaeologist is well done and stylishly directed as well as other scenes that carry a sense of dread<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Some of the cast are a bit oddly acted and the black hole physics don\u2019t quite work<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Satan Pit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dI’ve seen fake gods and bad gods and demi-gods and would-be gods, and out of all that, out of that whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in her.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor of Rose<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Some very well-done graphics of the creature. The final struggle where the Doctor seems to be put in an impossible choice is resolved because the creature didn\u2019t think Rose would find her own way out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The previous cliff hanger ends up being a cheat\u2014nothing actually rose out of the pit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reintroduced: The Beast is likened to Azal in \u201cThe Daemons\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love & Monsters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cBut the truth is, the world is so much stranger than that. It’s so much darker, and so much madder. And so much better.\u201d – Elton<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Nothing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Hands down the worst episode of the series for me to this point and even beyond. Is the awful monster the main problem? Well, it is bad but other episodes have had other bad creatures. No, it\u2019s the format, tone, and even intent of the episode. It\u2019s meant to have a laugh at the show and at its fans, almost daring us to not like it. Even deeper, this episode does several other irksome things. Without a focus on the Doctor, it instead gives us a group of people that it spends lots of time humanizing and personalizing in a way far beyond an average story just to have their deaths feel tragic\u2014a little of that is fine for drama, but at a certain stage it\u2019s sadistic. It wants to make us feel so bad. Moreover, by showing this crew tracking alien invasions and the Doctor, it just digs away at the ability to suspend disbelief that life would go on as normal for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fear Her<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive, wormhole refractors. You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Most of the story runs well and is not the disaster usually noted. It\u2019s actually a fairly good plot and reasoning overall. They moving drawings are actually great\u2014I wished they\u2019d featured that more and better.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: People didn\u2019t like the child acting but she\u2019s supposed to be awkward (autistic?) and troubled so I don\u2019t find it so bad; however, her whispered \u201cpossessed person voice\u201d isn\u2019t very clear and probably should have been done as a voice over instead. The end of the story is a big letdown as they try to have too many \u201camazing\u201d moments rather than just resolve the story which would have probably made this a more accepted story. “Let\u2019s have the entire Olympic crowd disappear and then just have everyone carry on as normal when they return. Ditto for the missing kids. Oh and we\u2019ll have the Doctor disappear for no reason other than to run the Olympic flame.” Nevermind that this means they have to suddenly make Rose the one spouting technobabble explanations for how the drawing is still coming to life and figuring out what to do. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Army of Ghosts<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImagine that. Nothing. No light, no dark, no up, no down, no life, no time. Without end. My people called it the Void. The Eternals call it the Howling. But some people call it Hell.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I am not usually a huge fan of the \u201cdomestics\u201d of the companions being on display (as became the norm for the new series), but Jackie and the Doctor\u2019s withering exchanges here are fun (though I\u2019m glad they had him be a bit sympathetic when explaining why the ghost can\u2019t be that of her dad or he would have just seemed like a jerk). The Doctor\u2019s not-so-subtle psychological pressure to get his way with the director is nicely done.\u00a0 I suppose the Daleks’ appearance was a good surprise though I wasn\u2019t necessarily clamoring for a story to include both them and Cybermen like some people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislike: As with every episode, a worldwide scale of invasion event and yet not to long later the world will return to normal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doomsday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSealed inside your casing. Not feeling anything ever, from birth to death, locked inside a cold metal cage. Completely alone. That explains your voice. No wonder you scream.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor of the Daleks<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The pace of the main story is actually better than I remember\u2014it\u2019s a fairly good suspense driven piece despite the hokeyness of the Cyberman vs Dalek plot. An unexpected surprise to have a surprise ending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I hate all the flying Daleks. Rose not dying felt like a cheat the first time I watched it. I am less bothered by it now though I still consider the ending chance to say goodbye a cheat as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Canon: The \u2018background radiation\u2019 soaked up by time travelers\u2014and the explanation that Daleks can feed off it. A retrofit of the earlier Dalek story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Runaway Bride<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut that’s what you do. The human race makes sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Very well produced graphics and effects including the make-up for the main monster. Some nice sniping between Donna and the Doctor, one  of a few stories where some of the silly humor actually enhances the episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: A little bit of overacting for the Empress, silliness about draining the Thames, and I cringe at the TARDIS bumping along in traffic (though to be fair the old series under Troughton had instances of the TARDS in physical flight as well).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Canon: Our first acknowledgement of the Doctor needing a companion to temper a darkness within him<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith and Jones<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJudoon platoon upon the moon\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: A good simple story so that the pace keeps up well. The ambivalence of the Judoon is an interesting character trait. A nice rapport between the Doctor and Martha except\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislike: I don\u2019t like the implication that everything the Doctor does is a \u201ctest\u201d especially if her realizing the air wasn\u2019t being sucked out of the building equates to being \u2018brilliant\u2019. (Although to be fair, he seems to be observing her calmness under pressure.) Also, why doesn\u2019t the Doctor regenerate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: The first mention of Mr. Saxon\u2019s name sets of things for this season\u2019s Big Bad<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shakespeare Code<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe mind of a genius will unlock the tide of blood.\u201d \u2013 The Carrionite witches<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Words written into a play bring about physical transformation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The cackling witches come off a bit silly. Shakespeare comes off a little too modern (and nothing like our image of him).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gridlock<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomeone’s got to ask, because you might not talk about it, but it’s there in your eyes: what if the traffic jam never stops?\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The reveal of the city having died so suddenly and completely from the use of the mood enhancer and its attached virus is eerie and reminiscent of disaster sci-fi. I am also glad they wanted to re-use an older and more obscure monster like the Macra but…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: \u2026not if they were going to totally change them to the point that they are nothing more than the name and shape of the original with none of the backstory except an explanation that they\u2019ve \u2018devolved\u2019. The plight of the drivers also doesn\u2019t make sense\u2014if they can get off at the exit into the undercity to kidnap Martha then why do they go back to the years of waiting in the car. Why does anyone? Why are the accepting of being stuck in the traffic? Meanwhile, the show implies it\u2019s a group collectively ignoring their bad situation and that they hold to a false hope through faith to cover it—the fact that they use a real sacred song (divorced from its meaning) to demonstrate this is borderline offensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reintroduced: The Macra; the description of Gallifrey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daleks in Manhattan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey survived. They always survive while I lose everything.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor about the Daleks<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I\u2019m glad they tried a different time period (1920s) and something in the US setting. Some of the social issues brought up are nicely used in the context of the story\u00a0 (preying upon the poor, the equalizing nature of poverty, etc.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: There is lots of wooden acting and ridiculous accents that undercut what should be the seriousness of a Dalek story. The \u2018pig men\u2019 are just silly and unnecessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: An early Andrew Garfield!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evolution of the Daleks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy Daleks, just understand this. If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you.\u201d \u2013 Dalek Sec<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: My first viewing of this story was clouded by disappointment with the previous episode and embarrassment at thing like flying Daleks and pig men–but overall it\u2019s actually a well-paced story that touches on several important themes and builds step-by-step to a showdown and resolution. The Daleks\u2019 brutal killing of the mayor recalls their earliest story where the Thal leader is shot down in the midst of offering peace. What disappointment the Doctor must feel at his one glimmer of hope that the Daleks could change being dashed. Dalek Sec being led in like a dog on chains is surprising and pathetic. I also really like the unexpectedness of the Doctor suddenly working to save Laslo when it seemed sure he would just add to the list of sacrificed victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: There\u2019s still a lot of regrettable acting in this that undercuts the good. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lazarus Experiment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI swore I’d never face death like that again. So defenseless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it.\u201d \u2013 Lazarus<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I don\u2019t like a lot in this one, but I guess it\u2019s nice how the dialog plays around with incongruity of a relatively young man reminiscing about memories of the WWII bombings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I only remembered the bad CGI monster and a naked Mark Gattiss making this episode unpleasant on first viewing. On second, I realize how badly paced this story is. The monster is defeated and the story seems to end and then oops starts again and is resolved but then oops starts again. They never can commit to the important point of whether Lazarus has given himself over to his monstrous side or not. Somehow tension doesn\u2019t build even in the midst of a chase, the Doctor has ages to work on a trap in the lab, and you wonder what in the world the monster that was just behind him is doing in the meantime. Martha\u2019s family comes of bad\u2014Mom is way to possessively jealous for no reason and I am sure that Tish would not suddenly swoon over young Lazurus after he had just been an icky old man to her just minutes before. It makes her look exceedingly dumb and shallow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

42<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere comes the sun.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I love this episode\u2014it keeps things moving and is full of tension. Martha has some great screams of anxious frustration. The Doctor gets to be tough and determined on one hand and in absolute agony barely hanging on in another. We see Martha starting to realize it is not all fun and games (though Gridlock did this as well). Wonderful dank sets and color and graphics. Well done extras<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: You have to ignore the physics a bit\u2014or better yet just assume that countdown to \u201cimpact\u201d is not with the sun but with the barrier of the last possible point where they can still escape the its heat and gravity. \u00a0Also, I find the whole scene of Mr. Saxon\u2019s team listening in a bit distracting from the story and it kind of undercuts the sadness of Martha calling to say goodbye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human Nature<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomething hidden. Right behind the eyes, something hidden away in the dark.\u201d \u2013 Martha<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: An interesting idea for a novel that is converted fairly well into an interesting idea for an episode. The chaotic entry halfway in the story without us knowing what has happened actually adds positively to the feel of the story. Interesting to see the Doctor being not who we know him to be; actually, it\u2019s rather frustrating–when he gives permission for the bully to beat the underdog it is incredibly disappointing. But we do get to see the other Doctors’ faces, the first step of tying back to the classic series. Yay!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I can\u2019t accept that the Doctor would have dragged Martha back to a time where she has to face such racism and hardship. Why there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Old faces of the Doctor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Canon: Chameleon arches and fob watches, perception filters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family of Blood<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m John Smith. That’s all I want to be. John Smith, with his life, and his job, and his love. Why can’t I be John Smith? Isn’t he a good man?\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: For the most part, the absolute coldness and rabid determination of the Family comes off well in all their scenes. The little girl laughing at the \u2018silly\u2019 headmaster before killing him is especially eerie. The Doctor\u2019s choice is a bit over-emotional but still is well played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I\u2019m not sure why Martha wastes time giving the Doctor so much choice to change back\u2014just open the watch already! The ending with the Doctor as some powerful punisher is rather overdone and the implication that he hid away as a mercy to his enemies is ridiculous and not borne out by everything else shown in the episode. And what happened to the notion that the Family of Blood were all going to die naturally in a month anyway? Is the implication that the Doctor is keeping them alive to make them suffer?\u00a0 (Maybe we can explain it away as the fanciful idea of the Son.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blink<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon’t turn your back, don’t look away, and don’t blink.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: It is a very well-written episode that peels out its plot at a perfect pace, turning it into both an intriguing mystery and suspenseful thriller, and is one of the best uses of the complexities of time travel in the whole series and introduces a new creature that will become iconic to the series. The DVD conversation scenes are great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: As good as it is, I don\u2019t like that this gets counted often as the best episode of Doctor Who ever because it\u2019s not at all representative of what the show is. In terms of nitpicks, if you listen to the whole of the Doctor\u2019s side of the conversation of the DVD, it\u2019s not as random or indecipherable as Larry\u2019s reactions in the episode lead you to believe. There\u2019s a pretty large chunk where he lays out an explanation of the problem, makes clear he\u2019s reading a script someone has written, and more clues that people could have worked what was going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 New canon: The Weeping Angels<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting:My first encounter with this story happened before I ever actually started watching the new series—I caught it on someone\u2019s television in passing just on the scene of Sally and Larry in the house fleeing the angels and thought what a nicely done scary show and thus was totally shocked when the TARDIS suddenly appeared on the screen. It’s clear that it is a well-done episode since it could grab my attention without me knowing it was Doctor Who!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Utopia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo perfect a disguise that I forgot who I am.\u201d \u2013 The Master<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I think the surprise return of the Master is pretty epic (I had it spoiled so I didn\u2019t get the full impact unfortunately) and the scene of him being triggered in the background by all the specific words (\u2018Time Lords\u2019, \u2018TARDIS\u2019, etc.) is very well done. I am very pleased that they even incorporated whispers of Anthony Ainley and Roger Delgado as a lead up to the reveal. Even though I don\u2019t necessarily like the manipulativeness of it, the one little scene with Martha and Chantho bonding like giggling schoolgirls is a masterclass in creating character empathy that makes her death later seem so incredibly heart-wrenching.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: This episode gets off on a bad foot from the start for me: the Doctor acting weird about Jack (explaining the reason later doesn\u2019t excuse why he is so cruel about it), the silly visual of Jack clinging to the TARDIS, the \u2018end of the entire Universe\u2019 being a bunch of cannibalistic pointy tooth people and guys behind a padlocked fence. None of it fits the scale of 500 billion years in the future—why are there no aliens?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The Master!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sound of Drums<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, Earthlings. Basically, er, end of the world. Here come the drums!\u201d \u2013 The Master<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The pieces of the Master\u2019s plan fall in place fairly well and it\u2019s an impressive shot when the Toclafane appear. It\u2019s also a pretty dramatic cliffhanger since there\u2019s clearly no way out of the end of the world situation. But\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislike: Oh my God, why did they choose to make the Master so silly? Dancing, making silly faces. Yes, it\u2019s supposed to show his madness. but it really just makes it impossible for me to take the episode seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: The Master likes a soundtrack to his evils plans! (Something that will recur in future episodes.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: The Master\u2019s appreciation of the Telletubies is obviously a callback to the Master fascination with the Clangers in \u201cThe Sea Devils\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Last of the Time Lords<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything dying. The whole of creation was falling apart, and I thought, there’s no point. No point to anything. Not ever.\u201d \u2013 The Master\u2019s wife Lucy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This one is bleak and I\u2019m never sure if I like it or not. There are good moments of false hope, disappointment, and plot twists galore. It\u2019s also interesting that they acknowledge the trauma that all the characters face after having been manipulated by the Master\u2014particularly his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: \u201cThe Doctor as Jesus\u201d is cranked to 11 here. It just feels too earnest. And then it gets too preachy\u2014forgive your enemies, no retribution, evangelizing the Doctor. Meanwhile, the Master as a boozing, sleaze-hound sleeping with multiple women just feels wrong. It all again makes it hard to say it\u2019s an episode I enjoy even though the scope of it is pretty epic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voyage of the Damned<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInformation: You are all going to die.\u201d – Host<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I have to admit, I very much liked this on re-watch. The first time I was left with rather a bad impression due to the obvious emotional manipulation of having certain affable and innocent characters die horribly, but I now recognize that it is actually a very good adventure tale modeled (quite purposefully of course) on disaster movies like the Poseidon adventure\u2014including those bits of self-sacrifice and unexpected deaths. It\u2019s an incredibly well-done and stylish set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I still don\u2019t really like the \u2018people get stored in a matrix and can be saved\u2019 notion implied, even if it doesn\u2019t actually work. It kind of minimizes deaths in the show (and indeed later becomes a mocked critique of the show that no deaths are ever permanent). Of course, the silliness with the Queen in her nightgown waving to the Doctor is kitschy. The \u201cI am the Doctor\u201d moment that leaves his companions gasping in wonder is a bit much but not as bad as happens later in the series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s entirely intended but the idea of the Host robot servants turned killers does seem to evoke a throwback to \u201cThe Robots of Death\u201d with some similarity in their blank faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partners in Crime<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fat just walks away!\u201d -Adipose Corporation slogan<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: It worked better as a story for me on second watch—probably because I found it easier to ignore the aspects I don\u2019t like below and concentrate on the structure. Definitely, the humor is high in this one with the Doctor and Donna missing each other by seconds over and over, but it doesn\u2019t come off as too silly for that. The moment where Donna after insisting he quit dismissing her and explain the needs ends up much to his surprise having the solution is also well done. And what a surprise at Rose showing up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: It\u2019s a fairly lite story since so much of it is Donna\u2019s family backstory and her re-connect with the Doctor. This is one that I would be embarrassed for someone to catch halfway as their first episode with all the cute cuddly fat monsters running around and gross body humor. I hated Wilfred dancing a jig to watch Donna fly away in the blue box\u2014the TARDIS just loses a lot of its majesty when they treat it like a hot air balloon flitting about that people can wave from. Yet another huge alien spaceship over London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: There would never have been a reason to notice it on first watch, but I was surprised to see an Atmos sticker prominently displayed in a car window here. A nice foreshadowing but only in retrospect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fires of Pompeii<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery waking second, I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That’s the burden of a Time Lord\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The scene of the auger and soothsayer suddenly having so much knowledge about the Doctor and Donna is done eerily well for the surprise that it is. Ditto for the reveal of the High Priestess of stone. The idea of the Pyroviles giving a vision to carve as circuitry in marble stone is pretty cool. Yet another focus on the Doctor not having all the answers to moral dilemmas\u2014it\u2019s impressive that Donna does not cower or stay quiet assuming that the Doctor knows best. Yet it\u2019s also fairly telling that she comes to see the kinds of choices he has to make and empathizes by helping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Ignoring that you can\u2019t quite run around safely in the middle of a volcano (!), the rock creatures are a bit clunky and don\u2019t feel super threatening. I could accept some of the silliness of the language interactions at the beginning but I rolled my eyes at the concluding \u2018household gods\u2019 joke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: There\u2019s a subtle nod to the Roman adventure of the Hartnell area<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planet of the Ood<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHumanity defines us, sir. We look to you for answers.\u201d \u2013 Ood Sigma<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: While they explicitly parallel Ood servitude to slavery late into the story, they nicely set a platform for the comparison just by the use of specific words or ideas like breeding, prices, and the company\u2019s caring of them \u2018for their own good\u2019. The Ood song of captivity obviously ties back to the songs of slaves as well, and it is no wonder the scene is so evocative when Donna can hear it. We definitely don\u2019t feel sorry for all the people from the company that die given their treatment of the Ood. More than that, the pace of the story keeps things going very well. It\u2019s amazing how full this story feels despite only being one episode. The pitiful group of caged Ood cowering is a powerful image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I wasn\u2019t such a big fan of the boss actually turning into an Ood. It seems a bit silly. I would have almost preferred if they had actually just been poisoning him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Interesting: I do like that they tied the \u2018Ood Sphere\u2019 to the Sensosphere of the Sensorites<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sontaran Stratagem<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are toy soldiers. The playthings of children.\u201d \u2013 Sontaran Staal referencing UNIT<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s a lot going on in this episode—catching up with what Martha has been up to, a proper return for UNIT, Donna\u2019s family story arc, a complex plot with lots of moving pieces,  the return of the Sontarans\u2014and it all works together well, especially since they give the space of this being the first of two parts. Martha is a great character here and it\u2019s interesting to see her and Donna\u2019s contrasting interactions with the Doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I think I may have been turned off a little by \u2018spoiled genius\u2019 Luke Rattigan whining and getting so excited along side the Sontarans to the point of it being silly. I minded less on this re-watch though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The Sontarans are back and, knowing how silly they become in later episodes, this is a very good callback to their grand warrior tradition. I love that they have their traditional ball-shaped ships along side a new designed mothership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: In mentioning Martha\u2019s \u2018weak thorax\u2019, the dialogue makes an extremely subtle reference back to their first ever appearance with Sarah Jane in \u2018The Time Warrior\u2019!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Poison Sky<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom this point on, the people of Earth fight back, and we show them. We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do.\u201d \u2013 Colonel Mace<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I don\u2019t know if I just wasn\u2019t paying much attention when I watched this one the first time or if I have gained a better sense of what makes for a good modern Doctor Who episode, but this one together with its first part are really, really good. There’s great pacing moving the story along the way as the tension builds and gets reset but with reasonable explanations–ie the release of the gas wasn\u2019t immediately fatal but needs to reach a certain density. (And finally, a world catastrophe that can be swept under the rug by blaming faulty technology rather than everyone being aware aliens). There\u2019s a good amount of suspense as to what the clone Martha is going to do and when. Most brilliant to me is the speech given by Colonel Mace and the show of force that follows. Taking back some of the agency of UNIT, they go from being seen as a joke by the Sontarans to responding with several innovative measures that help defeat them and give us a rousing rally-back speech. I truly had thought they were going to fail miserably to underscore the Doctor\u2019s moralizing disapproval over guns and armies, so this was a nice twist that even the Doctor had to show some appreciation for. Indeed, it\u2019s the third major \u2018lesson\u2019 tempering the Doctor\u2019s supposed infallibility thus far this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The Doctor\u2019s near self-sacrifice at the end seems a bit much\u2014I don\u2019t think that the Doctor really needed to personally offer a \u2018choice\u2019 to the Sontarans; he had already said himself that they would never stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The Brigadier finally gets name checked<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Doctor\u2019s Daughter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHang on, hang on. A second ago it was peace in our time. Now you’re talking about genocide.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Until the cliffhanger at the last episode, I\u2019d totally forgotten that we got another adventure with Martha\u2014it\u2019s nice to see her and Donna \u2018travelling\u2019 together. The oddness of multiple generations only equaling to seven days was one of the only things that stuck with me about the plot of this story. I do kind of like the design of the Hath. I also like how the Doctor matter-of-factly notes to a shocked Donna that he\u2019s already been a father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I was not a fan of this episode the first time, even from the title\u2014the arbitrary designation of \u2018daughter\u2019 was used just to shock us. It really irritates me that they are basically trying to force a character into an unearned emotional position vis-\u00e0-vis the Doctor for some easy pathos. The allusions to the Doctor acting like a deadbeat dad that won\u2019t recognize his illegitimate daughter but then growing to love her thus don\u2019t come across as some clever parallel to me. I\u2019m guessing others didn\u2019t like it either since she was never mentioned again after flying off into space for adventure. I was also very sad that the poor Hath that got killed due to Martha\u2019s overenthusiasm (but at least they show the emotional toll it takes on her.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: It was already oddly meta that the actress playing the Doctor\u2019s daughter was Georgia Moffet, the real-life daughter of the Fifth Doctor Peter Davidson. Then she went and fell in love with Tenth Doctor David Tennant and they married, meaning David\u2019s wife in real-life had played his daughter in-show and his now father-in-law was someone he idolized in childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Unicorn and the Wasp<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know about people. Their passions, their hope, and despair, and anger. All of those tiny, huge things that can turn the most ordinary person into a killer.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor to Agatha Christie<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I am a huge Agatha Christie fan so I guess I am more than willing to enjoy an episode full of hidden references and homages to her works and personal history\u2014with even a little bit of \u2018Clue\u2019 thrown in. This is one of only a few episodes where an approach of camp and silliness actually enhances the story for me\u2014the clunky dialogue full of title references almost wouldn\u2019t work otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: As for the actual plot of a man turning into the form of a giant wasp alien that impregnated his high-born British mother before she gave him away…..well, that’s a bit too ludicrous\u2014or perhaps just icky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: I could get every spoken title reference to Christie works very easily\u2014but I definitely wasn\u2019t thinking it through to the point as some online who noted that the Doctor here is literally \u201cThe Man in the Brown Suit\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silence in the Library<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCount the shadows. For God’s sake, remember, if you want to live, count the shadows.\u201d \u2013 Library recorded message<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: River Song was definitely an interesting character at the start; it\u2019s amazing to see somebody rattle the Doctor so much. (OMG, the scene with her stroking his sideburns as his just stares with big wide eyes!). There\u2019s an nice energy to this first part from both River\u2019s frenetic introduction to running in the dark to the creepiness of realizing \u201cYou have two shadows\u201d. The image of a skull in a spacesuit is iconic now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I was a little put off with the heavy hints that River was the Doctor\u2019s future wife after we had just gotten past an episode with his \u2018daughter\u2019. It all seemed a bit too much, making the Doctor rather less enigmatic and more domestic, not to mention upending a lot of established DW history. (I guess it doesn\u2019t seem quite as shocking now as so much more has been changed.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: We of course associate \u201cSpoilers\u201d as River\u2019s iconic line but the Doctor actually says this early on in the episode before he ever met her for the first time so maybe it actually starts with him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forest of the Dead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf this is all a dream, whose dream is it?\u201d – Donna<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The mystery of what the little girl is and how her world relates to the real world is nicely built up over time. Also, Donna\u2019s virtual world where she\u2019s vaguely aware of the discontinuity of jumping between \u2018scenes\u2019 is well done\u2014her cry of grief when her awakening makes her false children disappear is heart-breaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Again, they take things too far about cheating death\u2014it’s a rather unbelievable leap to go from learning that a last few bits of neural relay get saved on the coms at someone’s death to the idea that they are somehow able to entirely recreate the entire person in a virtual space eternal life. It\u2019s also not at all well-explained about what happened to Donna\u2019s physical form during her time in the virtual world, especially since the face on the (very unattractively designed) answer station was supposedly real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Midnight<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m glad you’ve got an absolute definition of life in the universe–but perhaps the universe has got ideas of its own.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Everything with the eeriness of the copied voice and not understanding where things are heading does makes this episode very tense. And it\u2019s a nice message of how ordinary people can be turned to evil acts in the midst of fear..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: ..but it stills seems a bit far-fetched that they would turn that bloodthirsty that quickly. Or is it because the alien was stirring thing up by controlling their emotions? All that is not made clear. And it\u2019s not particularly stressed enough here that the alien actually defeated the Doctor entirely. Though well-written, I\u2019m also just not a huge fan of format changing bottle-episodes like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting The Professor is played by none other than Doctor Patrick Troughton\u2019s son David!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turn Left<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho’s going to listen to us? Refugees. We haven’t even got a vote. We’re just no one, Donna. We don’t exist.\u201d \u2013 Sylvia Noble<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: An interesting use of \u2018what-if\u2019 (though I don\u2019t really think the Doctor would have died without Donna there). I love the fortune teller cowering at the end realizing that she and the beetle got way more than they bargained for. They do a good job of conveying hopelessness through Donna\u2019s mother with her total lack of make-up and blank stare. Indeed, the whole arc after the destruction of London–seeking relocation and shelter with others, searching desperately for scarce jobs, refugees without a political voice, those in power turning upon poor immigrants\u2014is scarily real. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Despite the nice and rather serious storyline, I hate that this episode still comes off feeling like nothing but a greatest hits of the last season. And then it muddies things more by pulling in other spin-off media (see note below). Plus how in the world did Rose become a veritable genius with an understanding of time and science and all that? (And from a real-world perspective, something about Billie Piper\u2019s performance just seems off.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: The Time Beetle seems very much akin to the spiders of Meteblis in its ability to hang on to a host\u2019s back without actually being there which would have been a wonderful call-back to link them. But unfortunately they took the route of making it part of \u201cThe Trickster\u2019s Brigade\u201d which I didn\u2019t even get as a reference until looking it up and learning he was a major villain in the \u2018The Sarah Jane Adventures\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Stolen Earth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA single, simple Dalek succeeded where Emperors and Time Lords have failed. A testament, don’t you think, to my remarkable creations?\u201d – Davros<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The shot of the planets in the night sky is beautiful as well as all the other views of the Medusa Cascade and the planets there. Very excited at Davros\u2019 return (though highly disappointed that it was so understated\u2014I would have much preferred a big reveal for that) and the use of Dalek Caan as the giddy Abomination with his wonderfully poetic rantings is quite good. \u00a0Davros showing his sacrifice of his own flesh to re-grow all the Daleks is a great shocking visual as well as a nice explanation to re-set the Kaled genetics of the Daleks. I guess seeing the companions working together is heartening as well. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I wasn\u2019t a huge fan of them bringing in all the characters from the spin-off series\u2014it comes off as a bit desperately self-congratulatory. Not to mention it doesn\u2019t quite make sense for Rose and Jackie to have become action heroes, Harriet Jones a technical genius, and more. Other minor quibbles: the silliness of the television personalities in the midst of worldwide catastrophe is not a commentary on human nature but rather just silliness that takes us out of the story, Harriet Jones\u2019 \u2018redemption\u2019 just irritates me because it reminds me of the unnecessary moralizing that went along with her last story, and the retrofit of the Shadow Proclamation to not actually be a proclamation is just irritating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: The events of the Time War are \u2018timelocked\u2019 and can\u2019t be revisited<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Davros!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: I appreciate the extremely subtle reference to the plans to move the Earth in\u00a0\u2018The Dalek Invasion of Earth\u2019. It even seems to suggest that it was somehow a failed attempt (in another timeline?) to accomplish the same goal as here using a different technology<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journey\u2019s End<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNever forget, Doctor, you did this. I name you. Forever, you are the Destroyer of the Worlds!\u201d – Davros<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Davros is great in his usual suicidal megalomania.  I love<\/em> his moment of recognizing of Sarah Jane calling us back to \u2018Genesis of the Daleks\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Oh, that silly image of the TARDIS towing earth with sickeningly sentimental music as all the companions work together at the controls as the Doctor fawningly guides his \u2018children\u2019. Ugh. I suppose this was meant as a celebration of all of Tennant\u2019s era but my goodness it\u2019s overbearing. And again there seems to be no long term consequence from half the world being destroyed by a universe shift and attacks by Daleks\u2014just people on earth yelling \u2018whee\u2019 as they are yanked back across space. This could have been such an amazing episode given the premise of Davros\u2019 plan. Instead, it\u2019s a mishmash of throwing a bunch of nostalgia and exceedingly wild ideas with the excuse of it being a clever big grand scheme. It\u2019s just makes up a lot of rules about regeneration on the fly and a lot just don\u2019t make sense. What the heck is the Meta-Crisis Doctor? If he has all the memories of the Doctor then what is it that he needs to learn from Rose? Or if the memories are only to the point the hand was cut off, how does he know everything about Donna and all the others? Is condemning Rose back to the parallel earth really necessary for his sake (and are things back to normal there or are all the stars still gone?) Why does it do what it does to Donna? Why do all her memories of the Doctor have to be wiped? And finally the moralizing\u2014the Doctor’s shame at what the companions have become as they resourcefully figure out ways to confront and destroy Davros and the Daleks is so misplaced. The whole world and potentially reality itself are about to be destroyed; I think they\u2019re allowed to respond in kind to save it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Next Doctor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am new\u2026Logic and strength combined with fury and passion.\u201d \u2013 Ms. Hartigan as the Cyberking<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Being just one of a few specials for the whole year, this episode obviously has a bigger budget with richer costumes and sets (the scene in the workshop with children running up and down ladders all over made me realize the scale). Since rumors of David Tennant leaving were swirling at the time, it also played upon this well by making us not quite sure who David Morrisey\u2019s character actually was\u2014could he really be a future incarnation of the Doctor? They reel out the clues of what is really going on fairly well. There\u2019s some nice imagery also\u2014Ms. Hartigan in her red dress and parasol amidst the men in black at the grave for instance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The ending \u2018Cyber King\u2019 is impressive as a graphic but it definitely doesn\u2019t make sense that no one remembers it a hundred years later which the show just covers over with a \u201cyeah, strange that\u201d. That attitude fits this whole era of Doctor Who\u2014let\u2019s have a big, world changing event with no consequences. The \u2018Cybershades\u2019 are weird and maybe even a bit interesting but not explained much at all and we never see them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planet of the Dead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause that planet out there—all three suns, wormholes and alien sand—that planet is nothing. You hear me? Nothing, compared to all those things waiting for you. Food and home and people.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Again a big budget means a nice landscape for filming, in this case a huge impressive desert. The costumes for the human-fly aliens are also well above average for the same reason. As for the story, it\u2019s a fairly succinct tale with a satisfying conclusion. It\u2019s interesting how they keep up the menace of the approaching \u2018storm\u2019 by having the one character being able to feel it psychically\u2014there\u2019d be no sense of tension for the story if she wasn\u2019t there. Though there\u2019s a bit of intended silliness with the professor, I feel like UNIT again comes off looking fairly competent here. Definitely fun to have the captain exult at there finally being aliens that bullets actually kill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Many aspects of the story do feel a bit contrived, but the only thing that really bothers me is the hokeyness at the end with Lady de Souza getting away in the flying bus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The Doctor name checks the giant robot (Of all his memories of things with UNIT, that\u2019s the first one that comes to mind?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Waters of Mars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: A well-produced sci-fi horror episode with some fairly impressive practical effects in the use of water. Right away the creepy factor sets in by us seeing the first victim shaking horribly in the background as the other character chatters away unnoticing. Seeing the Doctor imagining the obituaries of each crew member as he meets them (all with the same date) is a fairly evocative visual foreshadowing that adds to the tension as well. The pace moves along at a surprisingly breakneck speed\u2014you can feel the palpable helplessness as escape plan after escape plan falls apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I still don\u2019t think Adelaide\u2019s immediate step of suicide makes sense\u2014why should she be so convinced that her death is necessary when she\u2019d only just heard about it from the Doctor a little while before and now he’s telling her never mind? Even if she thought it was necessary, it would have been more natural for someone to just hide away and let people think she was killed on the Mars base. (In fact, her suicide at home seems like it would leave a very different legacy.) The whole narrative is a bit unclear\u2014some of the news articles that briefly flash by at the end seem to imply some mystery but they also confirm that the other two survivors explained everything that happened so it\u2019s not the tragic event that inspired so many. It\u2019s all a bit of a muddle that ruins the story for me. In terms of minor quibbles, the scene with the Doctor souping up the Gadget robot and thereby comically making the controller shake is just too slapstick for being the midst of a fairly serious episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: The Ice Warriors get name checked<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The End of Time (Part 1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is returning, and he is returning, and they are returning, but too late. Too late. Far too late. He has come.\u201d \u2013 The Elder Ood<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The big budget goes to some nice direction this time\u2014there\u2019s a great establishing shot when Wilfred walks in the church with him framed by the memorial to war heroes that both underscores and foreshadows his themes in the story. It also allows for some bigger stars (Richard Chamberlain, anyone?) and obviously a lot of special effects as well (though I wasn\u2019t pleased with the direction of that as noted below). At least the Master\u2019s \u2018death\u2019 from before gets explained as just a clever escape. And it was admittedly cool to suddenly see the Time Lords in their collared robes at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I wanted to try to come in with an open mind on second watch of this episode hoping that I would see something better but there is no way to overlook the absolute silliness of it\u2014the super Master blasting off into the sky and leaping buildings in a single bound? The sight of the Master in ill-fitting suits and dresses giddily waving at himself? The bobble-head change of the populace is not an impressive effect to me and even the supposed horrific bit of the Master eating people (?) and glowing like Skeletor just comes off as over the top acting. The movie-like narration does not fit with the Doctor Who style in my mind either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The End of Time (Part 2)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat’s how I choose to remember them, the Time Lords of old. But then they went to war. An endless war, and it changed them right to the core.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The second half of this story fares better by comparison to the first\u2014the Time Lord council working to escape their \u2018time lock\u2019 and in a sense \u2018creating\u2019 the Master, the site of Gallifrey in ruins and looming in the sky, even the tension about what will happen to Donna\u2014are all much more dramatic and impressive than the previous story\u2019s silly ridiculousness. Even though the green alien scientists are silly, you can\u2019t help but cheer when the one catches the Master by surprise as the Doctor smirks and sees it coming. The nice direction continues\u2014in the very last scene as we see the Doctor standing sadly by TARDIS after Donna\u2019s wedding, the shot incorporates the cemetery gravestones in the foreground below him emphasizing the deathlike feeling of his regeneration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: There\u2019s still a lot of unnecessary moralizing–the Doctor making a huge gesture about refusing to even carry a gun, yet it\u2019s clearly shown later that it has other uses besides killing which he should realize. (But I\u2019m glad that Wilfred at least calls him out on his priorities\u2014telling him not to dare to put his supposed morality in saving the life of the Master above saving the entire human race.) Plus the Doctor\u2019s \u2018final temptation\u2019 moment (venting his stifled feelings in a debate as to why he should save Wilfred) just doesn\u2019t ring true to what we know of the Doctor. The ending montage of all the previous characters and monsters from across the RTD era is just self-indulgent as is making regeneration into a long and unnecessarily drawn-out process. Plus a lot doesn\u2019t make sense\u2014the companions seem to know that this is the Doctor saying goodbye before his \u2019death\u2019 but how would they know? Is the Doctor changing events by saving Martha and Luke\u2019s lives? Why did Martha marry Mickey all of a sudden–what happened to her other fianc\u00e9e that she loved so much? Does having them has bad-ass freelance fighters fit either of their arcs at all? It\u2019s all so unnecessary. It would have been much better to explain more about Rassilon and how he came to be apparently resurrected (since we know his history as an ancient Time Lord not their current leader) and even more importantly give us an explanation about who the mysterious woman was instead of leaving that a big plot hole never addressed again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Canon: The Doctor disappears with \u2018the Moment\u2019 which we will of course see much later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The Time Lords and their robes. Rassilon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"
\n

ELEVENTH DOCTOR<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Eleventh Hour<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The idea of meeting a companion first as a child and then later as an adult is yet again a fairly interesting use of time travel in the show that hadn\u2019t quite been done before (except for the similar idea of Madame de Pompadour in the new showrunner\u2019s previous episode). The shot of the door in the background being shut as she walks by and then suddenly after she walks by again is pretty cool. The moment of Patient Zero disguised as a mom and kids accidentally having the child speaking as the adult is also nice. I am not as enamored with the Doctor\u2019s \u201cearth is protected\u201d speech as some but it is a nice moment when they count up visually through all the Doctors and have him walk through the last image of the tenth thus underscoring his place as the eleventh. Indeed, there\u2019s very much a different directorial style throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: And so begins the era of the manic Doctor. It really put me off Matt Smith at the start with the episode getting started as he did with all the awkward body motions and blathering about food and fish and custard. The teenage humor didn\u2019t help. His breathless breakneck rushing about would become more normalized over time but definitely is something hard to adjust to at first. I also just find the Atraxis eyeball ships really cheaply designed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Beast Below<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe impossible truth, Doctor. We’re travelling among the stars in a spaceship that could never fly.\u201d \u2013 Queen \u201cLiz\u201d X<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s a suitably eerie atmosphere to the episode with the frowning faces. (Indeed, I\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s entirely a like but there\u2019s definitely an overall different feel for this new era of the show altogether.) I guess I am impressed with the Doctor playing at being Sherlock a bit in his observations on the station\u2014I didn\u2019t catch those explanations the first time watching but they are indeed logical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: It didn\u2019t take long for the over-moralizing to start again. Why is the Doctor so disgusted with Amy for her attempts to deal with such an impossible situation and decision? Of course, it\u2019s also a bit farfetched that she figures out what the Doctor can\u2019t. The police state aspect doesn\u2019t quite hold up once they start softening the characters behind it\u2014why do children get punished for their bad grades, for example?  It also muddles the queen\u2019s role a bit and leaves things a bit confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victory of the Daleks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf Hitler invaded hell, I would give a favourable reference to the Devil. These machines are our salvation.\u201d – Churchill<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The first time I saw this, I thought it was going to be a direct copy of Power of the Daleks and that the Doctor would spend most of the episode trying to convince everyone the Daleks were evil and no one would believe it until too late. So it was a nice surprise when he fairly quickly gets them to turn and then we have the very surprise twist as to what they were trying to achieve. The sight of a Dalek in camo green with a Union Jack sticker should look ridiculous but it actually kind of works. I\u2019m a little more on the fence about whether the spitfires in space might be a bit too silly but it\u2019s kind of nice image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Although it\u2019s always been enjoyable to have the Doctor name drop all of these historical figures that he pals around with, seeing it in action with Winston Churchill just calling up him across space and time up for a chat kind of stretches believability. The hunchbacked rainbow brigade otherwise known as the new paradigm Daleks are a famous fail that caused embarrassment for the show runners\u2014they looked so bad we pretty much never hear about them again. I don\u2019t like that the \u2018love conquers all\u2019 conclusion\u2014it doesn\u2019t make sense why his attitude should affect a physical device countdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: I think the first time they\u2019ve mentioned the TARDIS being a Type 40 in the new series?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Time of Angels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s a difference between dormant and patient.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This episode along with its second part is by far my favorite story of the Matt Smith era. They do a fairly good job transitioning the Angels from annoyances that shift you in time to menaces that can kill you and adding odd layers to their mythology that have immediate payoff. It\u2019s truly heart-racing as we realize they are everywhere and we see them move closer and closer in their disfigured crawling state. While you can\u2019t really think too much about River Song\u2019s messaging method without it becoming a bit nonsensical, this story is where her character suddenly really takes off to good effect and the complicated nature of their relationship becomes interesting. A good tense story, especially with Amy\u2019s growing problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: There are of course several small things that don\u2019t make sense that get glossed over or you just have to accept to get the story going\u2014especially the Doctor and River\u2019s oversight about the statues supposing to have two heads or the Angels\u2019 unclear motivations. Some of the delightful banter between Amy and River gets ruined in retrospect with future revelations too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flesh and Stone<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen the Doctor’s in the room, your one and only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home\u201d \u2013 River Song<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The Doctor\u2019s big speech at the cliffhanger does actually lead to a innovative and totally unexpected lateral thinking solution; the image of them all up on the hull of spaceship and the Angels gathered below reaching up is pretty cool. The graphics of the Angels turning and moving while Amy can\u2019t see them are absolutely awesome. The scenes with the soldier suddenly forgetting the existence of his fellow soldiers is very eerie and Amy\u2019s walk is definitely tense. (Also Moffat is just good at some great throwaway dialogue: \u201cThere\u2019s no way to override them. It\u2019s impossible\u201d \u201cHow impossible?\u201d \u201cTwo minutes\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I\u2019m still a little offput by the driving force and solution to the problems in this episode being part of a bigger season-long mystery\u2014it feels like it makes the individual story a bit incomplete. I also don\u2019t really like Amy suddenly trying to come on to the Doctor at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: After years of the RTD era just splashing alien invasions across the globe over and over as life on earth just seemed to carry on as normal, Stephen Moffat steps in to correct course by having lots of it be \u2018re-written\u2019 due to the cracks in time. Of course this brings up bigger issues: did that mean all these events never took place? What does that mean for the Doctor and companions who were a part of them? They remember (as time travelers) and have all the consequences (ie, Rose in the alternate dimension, Donna mind locked) but the rest of events didn\u2019t affect anything?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vampires of Venice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMakes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn’t actually mind us thinking it’s a vampire.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This episode feels like familiar format for a fan of classic Doctor Who: take an old horror story trope like vampires but have them turn out to be aliens with many aspects of folklore explained by technobabble (in this case their reflection not showing because the brain doesn\u2019t have the ability to adjust to the perception filters that disguise them when mirrored and thus just blocks the image). What really marks this story, however, is its beautiful filming location in an old village in Croatia\u2014that and rich costumery really do give an old world feel for this episode supposedly set in sixteenth century Venice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: For some reason, this story doesn\u2019t come across feeling very consequential\u2014I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because things resolve too quickly (the leader just gives up at the end) or the danger never feels that extreme (the supposed city-ending storm seems like nothing more than just a heavy rain without a sense of dread that the dialogue implies). The subplot of the Doctor trying to rekindle the romance for Amy and Rory is kind of dull too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: They keep scattering images of the old Doctors throughout this season\u2014the first Doctor on a library card in this case\u2014it seems as if to slowly work towards reintroducing them to new fans<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy\u2019s Choice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne reality was always too much for you, Doctor. Take two and call me in the morning.\u201d \u2013 The Dream Lord<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I like the drama brought to the story each time as the characters realize the birds are chirping again and they struggle desperately to finish what they are in the middle of doing as they fall asleep. I also feel like we get to know Rory a little bit better. Amy\u2019s deadened \u201cSave him\u201d to the Doctor when Rory dies is nicely played, conveying her depth of emotion by the absence of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I don\u2019t know why they made the future version of Amy and Rory\u2019s lives so ridiculous that we already knew one choice wasn\u2019t real. (It seems like it might have been a far more interesting story if they had two versions that seemed equally likely to us the viewers to be true.) I also don\u2019t quite agree with the naming of this episode since it implies the driving drama of it will be Amy\u2019s choice (which life\/man she wants) but I feel like that doesn\u2019t really snap into focus until the very end. Instead, it feels very much more an episode about the relationship of all three characters for most part. Plus the final plot twist at the end centers more on the Doctor\u2019s character. The explanation for the cause of the whole thing being the dream pollen is such a throwaway line at the end that I missed it on first viewing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: I suppose there\u2019s a bit of mystery added wondering who the Dream Master might be (I remember at the time people hypothesizing it would be the Master or the Valeyard or something like that). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hungry Earth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll gladly die for my cause. What will you sacrifice for yours?\u201d – Alaya<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Funny how drilling and mining always lead to major problems in Doctor Who! This is a fairly decent episode at creating a sense of dread as we watch and wonder what the heck is coming. It\u2019s even interesting to see the Doctor unusually floundering and at a loss for what to do as Amy gets taken away and he forgets to watch the little kid. The episode signals very strongly (almost too strongly) what the themes will be in the story to follow and, though I was initially a little unhappy with the updates to the Silurians, it was nice to see yet another old foe being re-introduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Again the \u2018moral Doctor who never uses a gun\u2019 is over-played with his condescending attitude towards Ambrose who gathers a rifle and other things that they can use for defense. They could have had the Doctor much more understanding\u2014there is no question that was the reasonable thing to do when you\u2019re told that something unknown that snatched your husband is coming up from the ground to get the rest of us\u2014and just had him explain that he always tries to find non-violent means first, not act like she should have known better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The Silurians are back! (Although up until they are revealed, everything about the episode would have made you think it was the return of the Tractators.) They definitely look more updated and modern though I was a little miffed by them taking the classic face of the Silurians that we know and implying that it was mask all along—but I guess they also give us an out that this is a \u2018different branch\u2019.  Nevertheless, the reintroduction of another foe from the classic series was an nice sign that they were finally acknowledging and integrating the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cold Blood<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first meeting of representatives of the human race and Homo Reptilia is now in session. \u201c \u2013 The Doctor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I like that they put into play the themes and dynamics from the original Silurian story of mistrust and attempts and connections on both sides and how all that interplays, but I would have liked it if they\u2019d foreshadowed the mother killing the hostage a little less so there was some surprise to it. It is interesting to see the warrior so trained not just in battle but obviously psychological manipulation as well. The scene in the lab is surprisingly frightening considering the Mo reveals that they had performed vivisection on him and Amy is within seconds of the same. (Though this should also have come up in conversation to counter the Doctor\u2019s moralizing to demonstrate that the humans had every reason to be afraid and want to fight back too.)  The episode title is also nice\u2014referencing the reptilian but also evoking the Sulurians\u2019 dispassionate attitude towards experimenting on the \u2018lesser\u2019 race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I am not a fan of voiceover for the episode and especially when it\u2019s yet again used to seem to imply one stated fact at the start and then we find later that it wasn\u2019t quite true just a strange way of phrasing things. The thought that the Silurians are going to wake up in a thousand years and share the earth is a bit ridiculous anyway and irritating brushes earth history away in another \u201ctime can be re-written moment\u201d. We also enter the strange world of Rory\u2019s existence (dead, not dead, not real, huh?). It yet again ends up overshadowing the conclusion of the story (though I do have to admit that it\u2019s a striking scene when Amy suddenly has no memory of Rory). I\u2019m glad it at least didn\u2019t interfere as much with the story itself this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The history of the Silurians (suspended animation at the approach of the moon) is reconfirmed as well as the events with the first group encountered by the Third Doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vincent and the Doctor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan you see how they roar their light? Everywhere we look, the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes.\u201d \u2013 Vincent Van Gogh<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I\u2019m not a huge fan of episodes centered around historical figures but, like the Agatha Christie episode before, this one is a little more entertaining if you enjoy the game of it showing paintings you recognize or the (fictional) sources of inspiration for some of them. I especially like when Amy seemingly influences him to paint \u2018Sunflowers\u2019 but we also see that they are notably on the coffin of the young woman killed by the creature and one can imagine that he would have originally done it because of this anyway. (Though of course without the \u2018for Amy\u2019!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I have to admit that I had no idea that the British pronounce Van Gogh differently from Americans (\u2018gof\u2019 not \u2018go\u2019) so I was sitting through the whole episode wondering why the heck they kept mispronouncing it! It did kind of pull me out of enjoying the episode, especially since I thought it was just the writer being pretentious. Also, the creature\u2019s role in the story feels a bit hollow\u2014invisible creatures already feel a bit of a cheap cheat but here it\u2019s also because it is not meant to be the center of the story anyway. Van Gogh\u2019s emotional journey and battle with depression are much more the point\u2014but that is another reason I\u2019m not a fan of this being getting touted as one of the \u201cbest Doctor Who episodes ever\u201d since it doesn\u2019t really center on the TARDIS crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lodger<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLess of a young professional, more of an ancient amateur\u201d \u2013 The Doctor about himself <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I guess it\u2019s interesting to see how the ship lures its \u2018victims\u2019 with different faces and I like the Doctor\u2019s delivery of the line about not touching the rot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Deliberately silly and overly contrived—I am not a fan of this episode at all. Just to show a \u2018how would the Doctor handle real daily life\u2019 scenario, it dreams up a ridiculous situation and then plays the whole thing for a wacky laugh.  (It\u2019s already hard enough to take James Cordon seriously now that he\u2019s become a much bigger personality!) I hate when they introduce some random ability of the Doctor to fit the story (transferring memories and knowledge with a head butt?) never to be seen again. But meanwhile the whole \u2018perception filter\u2019 thing is starting to get way overused at this point. (And not at all consequential to the story, but what the heck is with the creepy clown picture in the hallway!?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pandorica Opens<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have been scanned, assessed, understood, Doctor.\u201d \u2013 The White Dalek<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Most of this story feels like the closest Doctor Who has gotten to an adventure movie like Raiders of the Lost Ark or National Treasure\u2014deciphering clues that lead to race on horseback to a mysterious underground passage replete with cobweb-covered gigantic doors and torches and such while spooky orchestral music plays. (Not sure I like the retroactive \u201clook what Cybermen can do now\u201d moment of the pieces trying to find a new body but the visual of the skull suddenly appearing definitely fits with the adventure film motif.)  Though it seems ridiculous to imagine all the creatures the series has ever known all assembling at once, the shot of all the spaceships in the night sky over Stonehenge is pretty impressive. Rory\u2019s appearance is a big mystery of course and just as what we thought as very sweet reunion suddenly becomes very sinister the seeming hopeless fates of the Doctor and River before our eyes is a huge shock.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Though some might think it clever, I\u2019m not a big fan of the \u2018greatest hits tour\u2019 of all the previous episodes that tries to link everything from the past year into one story in a way that they were never intended. Plus another of River Song\u2019s over-the-top messages that doesn\u2019t make sense when you think about it. I have to ignore the whole opening of this episode to enjoy the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Big Bang<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know this is all just a story, don’t you? You know there’s no such thing as stars.\u201d \u2013 Amelia\u2019s psychologist<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Despite the obvious self-congratulation, Amy\u2019s presence in the Pandorica is definitely an interesting and unforeseen surprise. The Doctor\u2019s back and forth in time and creating the situations we just saw are definitely an interesting jigsaw puzzle. And River becomes more of a gunslinging badass, especially in her showdown with the Dalek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The big ideas here\u2014a universe reduced to just the earth, remembering things into existence, the Doctor creating his own future, rebooting existence itself—while unique, don\u2019t really stand up to much logic. As dramatic as the problems seemed at the end of the last episode, they get tied up rather too quickly and easily. It\u2019s also irritating that the story arc keeps seeming to confuse loss of memory with absence from existence. Indeed, they have to cheat a bit and create dialogue to explain their own rules (somehow the crack makes Amy\u2019s memory \u2018special\u2019?). It\u2019s why things are very confusing in the end\u2014is the new \u2018rebooted\u2019 reality the same as before? If the Doctor doesn\u2019t exist because of his sacrifice, how did Amy still have him as an imaginary friend when younger. If the events of the TARDIS explosion and cracks in time didn\u2019t happen, then how does the Doctor meet her since there was never a prisoner zero event? Paradox on paradox if you start to examine things. They also really miss a trick with Nestene Rory\u2014having noted the mental and physical danger of choosing to follow Amy in the box for two thousand years, it would have been cool to see a battered and world-wearied Rory appear to her rescue underscoring the sacrifice he\u2019d made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Christmas Carol<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFish that can swim in fog—I love new planets.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lilkes: The flying fish designs are beautifully done. Even though it doesn\u2019t work logically, the twist on the Ghost of Christmas Future is definitely a well-played surprise. And I like how the Doctor delivers the line: \u201cNobody important. Blimey, that’s amazing. Do you know, in nine hundred years of time and space, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important before.\u201d Seemingly lighthearted like a simpleton but we know there\u2019s an incredible disdain and sizing up of his opinion of Sardick within it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The Doctor\u2019s supposed inability to go back and change events he is involved in definitely gets ignored here. He keeps altering the events of Kazran Sardick\u2019s  life in real time to a point that it doesn\u2019t make sense by the end. (His younger self does or does not become bitter by early adulthood? Why does the young adult not remember these events and behave differently?) And it\u2019s definitely the slowest \u2018crash landing\u2019 ever!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Impossible Astronaut<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot more happens in 69 than anyone remembers. Human beings. I thought I’d never get done saving you.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There was always a certain amount of unused potential of the twists and turns that could take place with the time travel component of the show and this season opener is definitely the start of Moffat exploiting it to the extreme. The feeling of disorientation it creates is well-done, from Carter showing up out of nowhere at the exact moment the Doctor to the confusion in the diner. Indeed, dies to the effect of the younger Doctor\u2019s suddenly walking in seeming like a cruel joke (leading to a satisfying slap from River) and the nice moment of the Doctor forlornly asking Rory why everyone seems so angry with him. The Silence are definitely a startling foe and an interesting idea. It\u2019s also kind of nice just to have a new landscape (Utah) introduced. River is definitely fun here with her cowgirl aesthetic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I hate the opener of the Doctor having wacky adventures inserting himself in history. It\u2019s also a bit odd to have the Doctor in the Oval Office setting though it\u2019s played straight just enough that it at least it doesn\u2019t wreck the story. Though the interplay of River and the Doctor\u2019s timelines and histories are interesting, it\u2019s not at all the progression that she describes which undercuts some of the pathos in her explanation to Rory of the day she fears coming (and with the Doctor in the next episode).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Day of the Moon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are not fighting an alien invasion, we’re leading a revolution.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The resolution of what seems the desperate dead ends for our main characters is certainly a surprising and clever twist. So too the way the Doctor defeats the Silence. The sudden switches in perspective (sometimes seeing aliens with the character, sometimes only experiencing the missing time) is pretty cool\u2014especially the jump when they look at their arms and suddenly have tally marks from all the encounters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: An episode full of red herrings and misdirection, they do start to feeling a bit overly used by the end. The convoluted nature of everything becomes a bit too contrived and everything rushes through to get to the Doctor\u2019s final solution. It leads to them introducing many new concepts to move along the story and then suddenly changing the explained reasons for them to move to the next thing. I almost would have preferred this to be three parts without much added\u2014just taking things a big slower so the ideas have time to sink in and be interesting before being resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curse of the Black Spot<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe can smell the blood on your skin. She’s marked you for death.\u201d \u2013 Captain Avery<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The opening with the crew morning the \u2018lethal injury\u201d of a burly pirate with a little cut on his pinky is a good jarring introduction to the story. Amy being a swashbuckling pirate for a minute is kind of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: So much of this story is either poorly conceived, badly paced, or just cliched. The CPR revival of Rory is the most egregious example of this–it feels like something from high school drama and it doesn\u2019t make sense that the Doctor would just stand there waiting for Amy to do everything. Indeed, there\u2019s several moments in the story where they don\u2019t seem to know what to do with his character and have him just standing waiting. Also, the ending ultimately feels like a rehash of the twist from \u2018The Doctor Dances\u2019.  A lot of things in the script are illogical (breaking a mirror or glass doesn\u2019t end its reflections\u2014you now just have thousands of tiny pieces reflecting instead; the pirates somehow able to just fly off into space together in a spaceship are suddenly all fine and not at all shocked). Everything about it just feels off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Doctor\u2019s Wife<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know I’m not constructed that way. I exist across all space and time, and you talk and run around and bring home strays.\u201d \u2013 Idris\/TARDIS<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s a level of cleverness to this story I didn\u2019t see the first time as I was just trying to catch up with the rambling of all the characters (and was put off by the cheating title). It felt like pure fantasy the first time I saw it but the explanations for what was happening made more sense this time around. I could even appreciate the character of Idris\/Tardis a bit more this time around. The run around in the TARDIS showing different perspectives and styles of hallways is actually pretty good\u2014not to mention trippy with Amy\u2019s false visions. The idea of the passwords being memories you have to evoke in your mind rather than just saying the words is pretty cool too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The complexity of the TARDIS gets a bit minimized by making it just a platform that the Doctor can somehow cobble together. And surely Gallifrey would have done something about so many Time Lords and TARDISes disappearing. This is the problem with the back and forth characterization of the Time Lords that the show can\u2019t quite seem to get down–just a few episodes prior River says that the entire universe would be threatened by people getting one cell with their mighty DNA; now several hundred can be easily lured and way-laid and hacked into pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The thought cubes from The War Games, jettisoning rooms in the TARDIS for thrust, discovering old control rooms<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: The Doctor refers to one of the old Time Lords and how he had been a man sometimes and a woman others. I didn\u2019t realize they\u2019d already introduced this idea this early in the series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rebel Flesh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou poured in your personalities, emotions, traits, memories, secrets, everything. You gave them your lives. Human lives are amazing. Are you surprised they walked off with them?\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Another good opening where the characters\u2019 reactions to the situation of their friend drowning in acid are confusingly not at all what we would expect. For the most part, there\u2019s a good horror movie \u201ctrapped in a castle with monsters\u201d tension throughout with a bit of \u201cinvasion of the body snatchers\u201d vibe and jump scares.  There\u2019s a very cool effect at one point where the ganger bangs her chest and we see the subtle switch in her skin color with each beat. The final march of the gangers in their armor is also a cool shot. I like the idea of this odd technology that scientists use without really understanding it (especially when we see that it has a kind of sentience they ignore). There are definitely moments where it\u2019s really not clear who is going to be the copy, and it even hints at the complications with the Doctor\u2019s philosophy of letting everybody live and just get a long when the one Ganger suggests his memories of and love for \u201chis\u201d son gives him just as much right to be with \u201chis\u201d family as the original. (Surely the Doctor wouldn\u2019t go on to advocate that they should share!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: A lot of good suspense is ruined by some stupid effects decisions like the goofy stretchy arm and neck of the Jennifer-ganger or the backwards head twist of the leader. Rory\u2019s protector feelings for Jennifer seem to come on a bit strong out of nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Almost People<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ve reversed the jelly baby of the neutron flow.\u201d \u2013 The Ganger Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The opening of the Ganger Doctor in crisis repeating old lines of dialogue seems like it would be comic but it\u2019s actually fairly dramatic. They continue to explore some of the oddities of these copies that have full memories and even that carry over some of the mental defects of the originals. The added element of the cruel and unusual treatment of the Ganger rejects adds another interesting layer to the story, even giving us some sympathy for the Gangers. The Jennifer double copy is a good surprise that was hinted in a way but not telegraphed in to be obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Meanwhile, the Doctor having switched with his Ganger would also have been a cool if rather obvious choice to make, but I don\u2019t like that they cheat by making him act out of character (violent) so we\u2019re sure it must not really be him. Not only is this a bit of a cheat in storytelling but it also undercuts the stated reason for his switching which is to test Amy\u2019s ability to discern the difference. I also don\u2019t like that they have to paper over some of the ethics of the ganger taking over for his original\u2019s his wife and son with some gobbledy-gook about the TARDIS stabilizing them to be \u2018really\u2019 human. How come the crew didn\u2019t know Amy was a Ganger when they scanned her at the start of the story? I was more irritated by the reveal than amazed\u2014questioning how long it supposedly went back, wondering if that undercuts her involvement in past episodes as \u2018not real\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Good Man Goes to War<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wish I could tell you that you’ll be loved, that you’ll be safe and cared for and protected. But this isn’t a time for lies.\u201d \u2013 Amy to baby RIver<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: If nothing else, you have to give this episode credit for being grandiose and able to evoke emotion. Intense worry for little baby Melody, surprise at Rory\u2019s steely demeanor as Cyberships explode in the background, pride in Lorna\u2019s loyalty to the Doctor and sorrow at her death, a sigh of relief at the sight of Rory with the baby undercut by horror for Amy\u2019s cry at her sudden loss. I suppose the \u2018re-introduction\u2019 of some characters (not the actual ones we met but ones like them) makes for an interesting crew, some interesting surprises at who might pop up in the Doctor\u2019s plan and what role they\u2019ll play. There\u2019s also a bit of suspense in knowing it\u2019s a trap but not being sure how until the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Yet another, \u201clet\u2019s bring everyone from the past season or two back even if it makes no sense\u201d round-up which I\u2019ve come to just about hate in these seasons for Doctor Who. Plus more of Moffat playing around with which \u201che\u201d is Amy describing like he hasn\u2019t already done that time and time again before. And here it\u2019s especially a cheat because Rory is not known as the Centurion in this reality, nor is he the last of his kind, nor can she know that he\u2019s reclaimed that title looking for her. These kinds of games made the story a lot less interesting for me and made it hard to forgive yet another one at the end with River Song\u2019s name\u2014had it been the only surprise word twist and misdirection, I might have enjoyed it a lot more. But really, it\u2019s just another example of them having made the Doctor too big and grandiose overall as he is literally a legendary figure to those involved. (I guess it\u2019s supposed to be an acknowledgement of that having overstepped the bounds in River\u2019s speech but I\u2019d rather of them have just written the episode different.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The state of \u2018temporal grace\u2019 for the TARDIS (or the actual lack thereof)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s Kill Hitler<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was never going to be a gun for you, Doctor. The man of peace who understands every kind of warfare, except, perhaps, the cruelest.\u201d \u2013 River Song<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I suppose the Doctor and River\u2019s constant one upping about the guns is kind of funny (especially after I read something that made me realize the reference to Mrs. Robinson that I missed though I\u2019m a huge fan of The Graduate.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: \u201cWhat if we had a character that had been with Amy and Rory throughout the series and could then suddenly reveal that they were River Song all along? Too bad we don\u2019t have one. But hey, let\u2019s just retrofit one in for the start of an episode and then make it a big to-do as if it has the same effect!\u201d This is my opinion of this episode. Lots of random ideas and retroactively changed ideas (River\u2019s back story! Body copying spaceships! The Silence is a religion! Hitler!) all crammed into one episode that are supposed to have the emotional impact of a long journey of viewing.  The same for the confusing timing about River\u2019s arc\u2014if Mels was with Amy and Rory since being young after having regenerated from one young girl to another, at what point did she learn all her supposed assassin skills and knowledge of her role and become the psychotic killer that we see? (Was it while they were initially travelling with the Doctor perhaps?) How is her supposedly weaponized mind changed so easily to help him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Night Terrors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhatever’s inside that cupboard is so terrible, so powerful, that it amplified the fears of an ordinary little boy across all the barriers of time and space.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This episode has some of the most gorgeously artistic establishing shots of an recent episodes\u2014the flat face of the multicolored apartment block, the reflection of the TARDIS in the water puddle. There\u2019s an interesting design in the antique dolls even though it doesn\u2019t quite make sense that a modern-day child would have them. It\u2019s also a bit amusing that Rory like the audience immediately thinks that he and Amy might be dead or on a different time track because he (like the audience) recognizes that those particular plot device have popped quite too often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: It\u2019s really a rather thin story in terms of plot and resolution\u2014and one that is a bit rehashed from Fear Her. (How many aliens races drifting around aimlessly in space actually are there?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Girl Who Waited<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a kindness. Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness.\u201d – Handbot<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I kind of like the two different time streams in the same place idea, especially with it being that you enter the same room but differently based on pushing a different button. (Though I don\u2019t see how it prevents the illness from acting quickly since a day for the person speeded up is still a day? It would make more sense if that time stream was slowed down comparatively.) Pretty amazing make-up effects for Old Amy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I don\u2019t quite get why Old Amy is so insistent for time not to be re-written\u2014seems like she would be relieved and not worried about time resetting having seen it happen multiple times before?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The God Complex<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s a room here for everyone, Doctor. Even you.\u201d – Joe<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I don\u2019t know if it just came across too weird or what the first time, but I liked the majority of this story much better on the second watch. The old hotel set design is quite good and there is definitely a lot of tension created. The crazed eyes and calm talking of the possessed gambler is especially well-played. The bored clown on the bed and the angry PE coach are both great random things to throw in. (Building the much bigger world of fears than if they had just shown the ones related to the immediate characters.)  That the Doctor\u2019s \u201cno one else is going to die today\u201d pronouncement fails miserably is definitely disheartening and sets up his emotional breakdown at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Ultimately, the main storyline kind of fizzles. The plastered over explanation of how the Minotaur dies is really unsatisfactory as is the reveal of the actual space they are in. The whole narrative switches to a focus on the Doctor and Amy\u2019s emotional reckoning (severing her dependence on him, acknowledging his need to feel needed, and emphasizing that she is a grown up married woman). This sudden shift in gears solves problems that had not really been presented as problems before\u2014kind of retroactively creating the need to resolve them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The Nimon (in mention as cousins to the Minotaur species) with <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closing Time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, you’ve noticed something. You’ve got your noticing face on. I have nightmares about that face.\u201d – Craig<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I was excited at the re-introduction of the Cybermats (though not too thrilled about the silly teeth). I appreciate that they at least try to carry over one theme (Doctor realizing the danger he puts people in) from the last episode and move it forward (the Doctor realizing his need for people) into this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Another slapstick \u201cdomestic Doctor\u201d with Craig. This might be fun as a brief scene but now two episodes of it. And yet again they introduce the random abilities for the Doctor (and even more outlandish abilities for the sonic screwdriver) just for laughs. And Amy suddenly a supermodel or something? Of course it\u2019s another \u2018love overcomes all\u2019 ending which they even make fun of in the dialogues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wedding of River Song<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing happened. And then it kept happening.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: At least it wraps up some loose ends with the storyline I guess? Rory\u2019s holding back showing his agony while defending Amy is actually pretty cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Where to start? Yet again an alternative timeline (well, not really an alternative timeline because it\u2019s just random bits of history all happening at once which make no sense if you try to analyze it). So tired of those. They are also desperate to create a clever legend that they keep introducing the irritating verses and rhymes trying to make it sound like something we\u2019ve known all along and how amazing is it that the story is falling into place around it. Then they set up at the end for even more. The Doctor and River getting \u201cmarried\u201d makes no sense\u2014it\u2019s not a necessary step in the story, they\u2019ve shown zero emotional connection. It seems to be done just because they\u2019d been hinting all along that she was his future wife so they had to insert it into a story somewhere. They actually  retro-explain a lot. How does River not know about Amy when she meets her on the Byzantium or doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s about to happen to the Doctor at the lake? Oh, she was just pretending all this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s funny, isn’t it? One can’t imagine being a forest, then suddenly one can. How remarkable.\u201d – Madge<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I guess the story at the end is a little more coherent than I remembered (the pilot didn\u2019t just get saved by \u2018the power of love\u2019 but rather was pulled into the same time vortex because of his wife\u2019s mental\/emotional connection to him) so I need to give some credit for that. Despite myself, the reunion of the Doctor with Amy is a tearjerker and it\u2019s such a nice tie back to the Doctor\u2019s earlier amazement about it being so \u2018humany\u2019 to cry when happy that when we find him dong it that it confirms his humanity as well. It\u2019s a surprisingly good graphic of the spaceship to start (thought constantly catching the Doctor in the middle of a madcap situation is again wearing thin from overuse.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I know it\u2019s a Christmas special but the silly and sentimental switch is cranked to eleven here. It\u2019s less Narnia and more Mary Poppins in the way the Doctor fulfills his role as \u201cCaretaker\u201d by having dancing chairs, balloons, hammocks, and a clockwork Christmas tree to dazzle the kids. All very silly for the sake of silliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced (sort of): We meet a team from Androzani Major, obviously evoking the famous Adrozani Minor for fans. Not much else to do with the episode that comes from. Also, the Doctor references<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asylum of the Daleks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRun, you clever boy. And remember.\u201d – Oswin<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I remember that this was one of the more interesting times in the Moffat era when the new companion played by Jenna Coleman had been announced and yet she appeared as an entirely different one-off character in an episode before her introduction. No one could quite figure out why. It was definitely startling to then learn the likeable Oswin was already \u2018dead\u2019 by conversion. There\u2019s a lot of good tension in this episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Amy\u2019s sudden fashion model career is ridiculous and the idea she would have never mentioned her problem of why she was divorcing Rory to set him free just doesn\u2019t not seem realistic. The fact that they start with both of those events put me off the story from the start. They really missed a trick here\u2014they should have had the Doctor asking Oswin where she got her eggs the whole time, skipped the silly use of the pun eggs-terminate for Rory, and instead had Oswin alone saying it because it truly would have been a build up and surprise for her to suddenly switch from discussing the eggs to saying exterminate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Definitely cool to hear the familiar names of all these planets from the classic era suddenly rattled off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLizard people herding dinosaurs onto a Space Ark? Absolute tommyrot.\u201d – Riddell<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: As little as I like this episode, I have to admit they found a way to cut through the ridiculousness a few times with the surprise shootings of both Rory\u2019s dad and the dinosaur by the villain. His lack of hesitation or feeling is well-played. Meanwhile, I really do like the moment where Rory helps his dad with his little nursing kit and they bond over their similarities despite the differences. That, as opposed to everything else, feels like a realistic interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Who greenlit this? The level of madcap silliness is off the charts. It makes Doctor Who seems like a ridiculous show when the Doctor just runs around grabbing random people out of history to pal around with and encountering alien situations that are obviously just to be funny and mixed up for no reason. Plus there are tons of contrivances that make it feel like a made up story\u2014the Doctor accidently picks up Rory\u2019s dad and it just so happens there\u2019s a space ship that needs related people to drive (why would that exist?) to allow them to save the day, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Town Called Mercy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMake peace with your gods.\u201d \u2013 The Gunslinger<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I suppose suddenly finding out someone who has helped you greatly has a dark past is an interesting dilemma to explore and it\u2019s interesting the Doctor is on the condemning side of it at first. It\u2019s nice scenery (and turns out to be Spain).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The cowboy town feels a bit clich\u00e9 and that it\u2019s combined with scifi also makes this feel like a cheap copy of Firefly. The Doctor\u2019s emotional outburst seems a bit overwrought. It\u2019s a nice morality story overall but just doesn\u2019t feel particularly like Doctor Who.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Power of Three<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m not running away from things, I am running to them before they flare and fade forever. \u201c \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Kate Stewart was a wonderful addition to the roster of great recurring characters and shines very well here as the ultimate result of the Doctor\u2019s influence on her father. (It\u2019s just a shame her debut story is a boring one like this.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Ugh\u2014so many things I can\u2019t stand in this one: the domestic lives of companions, companion voiceover, silly set-ups for jokes, stupid-looking aliens. Plus the storyline is pretty much nothing\u2014there\u2019s a bunch of strange objects, then they suddenly do something, the Doctor finds there source and reverses it, and done. Poor Brian\u2014an episode after trusting the Doctor to take care of his son and daughter-in-law, they disappear forever and the Doctor likely never visits him again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Angels Take Manhattan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut you don’t believe that statues can move. And you’re right, Mister Garner. They can’t. Of course they can’t\u2026when you’re looking.\u201d  – Grayle<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s definitely a tension in this story that the several stories before had been missing. The chittering \u2018baby Angels\u2019 lend a lot of menace and there are a lot of nice directorial touches in the way this is presented. While the \u201chere we die again\u201d is overused, the Ponds sacrifice is nicely moving. (I did wonder at the time what would happen if it turned out that they just died.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Once again, to make a dramatic story Moffat suddenly introduces new \u2018rules\u2019 that don\u2019t make any sense. Why should reading something \u2018written\u2019 make a difference in whether it can be changed or not (and when has it ever before)? And why does not being able to fly the TARDIS to New York prevent the Doctor from seeing Amy and Rory ever again? Why can\u2019t he just park in New Jersey and take a bus over?  And I was really hoping the Statue of Liberty (not a stone statue by the way!!!) as an Angel was just going to be a figment of River\u2019s novelist imagination\u2014no such luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Snowmen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCarnivorous snow meets Victorian values and something terrible is born.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: As usual, the Victorian period design is very nicely done and the effects throughout the story work very well. Having the expected companion Clara suddenly die is again pleasantly confusing. The pace of the story moves quite well and while There are still a lot of madcap hijinks at least most of them serve the plot this time. There are definitely a lot of clever and well-timed funny moments {\u201cHello, I\u2019m a lizard woman from the depths of time and this is my wife.\u201d) and it\u2019s hard not to like the indomitable Clara the barmaid and governess hiding her \u2018funny voice\u2019. Nice to bring back an iconic villain but\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Why, why, why did they make it that the Doctor didn\u2019t even remember his encounters with the Great Intelligence? The implication seems to be he\u2019s just done too much and forgot maybe? But those were such major events for him and his companions (and for us as viewers) that it doesn\u2019t make sense\u2014and is totally unnecessary to the story. It would have been much more satisfying for the Doctor to suddenly see it all coming together and realize that he is in the midst of the origin story for something he faced earlier. It makes no sense that the Doctor would set up an invisible staircase on a cloud to hide away (obviously just something fanciful to enhance the fairytale wonder of the story). And of course human emotion saves the day yet again (nice but overused).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The Great Intelligence and its connections to the snow (and thus the Himalayas?) and the London Underground. (But the writers do understand that the original snowmen in Doctor Who were furry robot Yeti, right?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New canon: The \u2018Pater Noster Gang\u2019 \u2013 a bit irritating in their sudden prominence and overtly comic presence in the show but they are admittedly at their best here, especially Strax suddenly in his element assessing and analyzing the threat they are facing and reporting to the Doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Side note: I was so excited to see Matt Smith\u2019s face in the opening\u2014a return to trope of the classic era!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bells of Saint John<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do love London. So many cameras.\u201d – Kizlet<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s definitely a different and modern feel to the direction of this episode (the opening graphics, London setting, fast pacing) that makes it stand out and makes Clara feel like part of a new era. The rolling shot of her entering the TARDIS and then the TARDIS to the airplane are beautifully done, you could even say choreographed down to the cup in her hand. The ability of the lady to follow the Doctor around talking through other people definitely gives a creepy Matrix vibe. The re-appearance of the Great Intelligence was a surprise even on the second viewing for me since I had forgotten about it. It\u2019s a natural progression for it to have ended up in the internet and makes more sense than humans having just invented this advanced \u2018soul-downloading\u2019 technology somehow. I really like the dread in her line about how long he\u2019d been whispering in her ear as she reverts her history and the effects we see of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The opening of the Doctor as a monk was both overdramatic and silly. They are obviously trying (unnecessarily) to rehash the emotion of the Doctor\u2019s move from brooding to hopeful that was already established in the previous episode\u2014but here it just comes across as an unreasonable switch in tone from serious to goofy. (Plus I\u2019m just tired of this Doctor always \u2018going into isolation\u2019.) And why did they choose one throwaway part of this unrelated scene as the title of the entire episode? It\u2019s a bit confusing. Anyway, the rest of the episode is a little ligh It’s a little hard to believe a young modern city woman would be as clueless about computers and the internet as they make Clara at the start. It actually put me off her character the first viewing. (Maybe they could have covered this with a dialogue about her parents being anti-modern technology or something?) The breezy direction and interactions do make the episode feel a little light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rings of Akhaten<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe soul’s made of stories, not atoms. Everything that ever happened to us. People we love, people we lost. People we found again against all the odds.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The street market scene was definitely some of the most ambitious alien costuming of the show ever in terms of scope. And I do like the unique idea of trade being in objects with psychic value according to the memory and attachment they hold. Clara\u2019s easy willingness to sacrifice her mom\u2019s ring to save the girl is a touching way to show her heart and morals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: This was apparently the budget episode as there are lots of very poorly done graphics interspersed with awkwardly shot physical scenes (the Doctor and Clara on the scooter comes to mind.) The progression of what danger entails keeps switching\u2014I think it\u2019s intended to be clever with red herrings but it really for me comes across like cheating by misdirection of tones. I wasn\u2019t a fan of the whole \u2018leaf\u2019 saga the first time\u2014yet more focus on the past and family of companions that the era is full of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cold War<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy world is dead but now there will be a second red planet. Red with the blood of humanity!\u201d – Skaldak<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I was very excited when this episode first came out after hearing that it would mark the return of the Ice Warriors. I had some disappointment with that (as noted below) but on this second watch I was able to concentrate a bit more on how beautifully shot much of this episode is\u2014the lighting, the framing, and more. Clara in the oversized officer\u2019s coat is adorable. I also appreciated the philosophizing in this episode; there were some very thoughtful pieces not just in discussion but in action and displays of emotion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I had a hard time with this episode the first watch because I was sorely disappointed with them trying \u2018fix\u2019 the lumbering appearance of the Ice Warriors by giving them CGI faces and making them a different speedy creature out of their armored shell. I also disagree with the decision to have the Russian crew without any accents. I\u2019m sure some would argue with the logic that if Clara is hearing everything translated then she would hear things in straight English not accented but they also have to recognize that it undercuts the entire feel of the episode. The whole point of the setting is to recall cold war submarine movies and much of that is lost by making them sound like proper English gentleman. Moreover, even the dialogue is very polished British and doesn\u2019t evoke anything of Russian culture. This could have been a much more phenomenal episode if had had more of that vibe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reintroduced: The HADS system returns (though it\u2019s a bit of a coincidental contrivance just to not have the TARDIS around to quickly solve the plot).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hide<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo I am a ghost. To you, I’m a ghost. We’re all ghosts to you. We must be nothing.\u201d – Clara<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Though it\u2019s not quite applied evenly across the episode, the idea that the still image ghost is actually views of someone moving in a parallel dimension along a much slower timeline is actually pretty cool. The fact of the Doctor going from the start of the Earth to its end to capture the movement is also pretty cool. And I guess his casual ability to do that and Clara\u2019s horrified reaction to it is also pretty cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: As noted, the differing rates of time so important to the story in the beginning suddenly disappears as a concept halfway through. Maybe they could have added something in the dialogue as to why? The tacked on monster love story is just silly. It would have been time better spent to tighten up the main plot a bit more\u2014it kind of falls through in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Metebelis 3 crystals and even the Eye of Harmony (why?) get a mention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon’t get into a spaceship with a madman. Didn’t anyone ever teach you that?\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The wandering around the TARDIS is nice (though a bit showing off as Clara mentions) and there\u2019s an eerie claustrophobic atmosphere for a lot of it that fits the tone of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Yet another events-never-happened re-set episode. And the TARDIS tree is a bit of an out-of-the-blue concept to throw in a junk episode. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Lots of past events referenced in sound bites here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Crimson Horror<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe bright day is done, child, and you are for the dark.\u201d \u2013 Ms. Gillflower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The desperation and story arc of Ada are quite striking and I\u2019m glad she gets to take out the creature violently at the end with the Doctor not being morally superior about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: It was hard to follow the plot of what was happening to the victims the first time (it was hard not to be distracted by the bright red Doctor!) so it took the second watch to understand. Despite all going on, I just don\u2019t find the story that intriguing\u2014partially because of it\u2019s overly comic tone like in the Doctor\u2019s recap of events. And then they go and make it even worse by tacking on the bit about the kids Clara is babysitting finding out about her travels like some kind of children\u2019s sitcom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: They namecheck Tegan and the attempts to get her to Heathrow but by way of calling her a \u2018gobby Australian\u2019 which seems a bit dismissive of her character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nightmare in Silver<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHail to you, the Doctor, Saviour of the Cybermen!\u201d \u2013 Cyber-Webley<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The updated cybermats\/cybermites are very nice (very creepy as they swarm up Webley\u2019s arm) and the Cyberman are at least treated more as serious menace than in their more recent appearances in comic-tinged episodes. It makes no sense from what we know of the Cybermen\u2019s function but the borg-like design on Webley and the Doctor is pretty cool. I also like the Doctor\u2019s good news\/bad news interaction with Clara.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Is this them trying to truly make it a kids\u2019 show by having kids travel with the Doctor? I did not appreciate the trend at this point of the show seeming to have just having any random person hop on the TARDIS for a ride. I am not sure I find Matt Smith\u2019s double acting (back and forth at the Doctor and Cyberplanner) that compelling either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The vulnerability of Cybermen to gold is revisited. And it\u2019s even explained that they are constantly upgrading which is why they aren\u2019t still susceptible to those things we\u2019ve seen in the past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: I didn\u2019t even remember the Porridge\/Emperor character so I was surprised on rewatch to discover Willow on Doctor Who.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Name of the Doctor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cSometimes it’s like I’ve lived a thousand lives in a thousand places. I’m born, I live, I die. And always, there\u2019s the Doctor.\u201d – Clara<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Though the movie that follows is bigger and longer, this definitely feels like quite an epic episode. It finally wraps up the mystery of the many Clara Oswalds in an interesting way and has several quite tense and emotional moments (Jenny\u2019s death, Strax reversion to his old self, the Doctor revealing he can hear River).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Moffat continues his invention of big new norms just to make the episode work\u2014the way Timelords die, the end of TARDISes, and such\u2014which do still feel a bit contrived. I was not a huge fan of Clara being with the First Doctor or any of the others. The Whisper Men are wasted not doing much. The final reveal of the additional Doctor was rather confusing at the time (and is still confusing when trying to reason about where they physically are) and I still feel the \u2018introducing\u2026\u2019 unnecessarily breaks the fourth wall\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reintroduced: Lots of visual references to the past here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Day of the Doctor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTime Lords of Gallifrey, Daleks of Skaro, I serve notice on you all. Too long I have stayed my hand. No more.\u201d \u2013 The War Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I have to admit it was exciting to be part of an era when Doctor Who reached such (re)prominence as to have a feature film debut in theaters which I enjoyed along with many other cheering fans. As multi-Doctor stories go, this one is pretty good about bringing the three together and having the traditional snide remarks and poking fun at history that was started in the original Three Doctors. (There\u2019s precedent for that, as Kate notes.)  I was also excited at the return of an underused but fan favorite alien race and I feel like they did a fairly good job in representing the Zygons. There was cleverness to the story, surprise cameos, and other things needed in a big anniversary special. It\u2019s also interesting to realize that the Doctor never actually burned Gallifrey and the Daleks as he believed all along and that it inadvertently explains why he kept running into Daleks that survived the war. (It also confirms the unsaid all along that the earlier Doctor never remember these multi-Doctor interactions when he crosses his own timeline.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I disliked the unnecessarily silly opening with the helicopter and there were some odd \u2018artistic\u2019 editing cuts in the Doctor\u2019s memories. There\u2019s still a bit of the overwrought moralizing as Clara seems sit in judgement at the choice the Doctor has to make or as the Doctor condemns Kate\u2019s actions. I wish they would have played it more sympathetic\u2014the Doctor understanding why Kate is making that choice but earnestly wanting to show her that it\u2019s not as hopeless as it seems rather than sounding tetchy.  Also not sure why the Zygon in the form of Oswald suddenly became so nice. I totally hated the Curator the first time\u2014it seemed like to me they were mucking about with established canon of the Fourth Doctor\u2019s death and that he had instead grown to old age. Even the idea of him having returned to a previous face in a regeneration seemed ludicrous\u2014except now it\u2019s canon with the return of Tennant as the fourteenth Doctor so I\u2019m now more willing to accept that in this story.  (And people cheered when they had a cameo of the Doctor-to-be but it actually doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense to the timeline crossing rules stated.) I also was a bit irritated that the big build up at the end\u2014the Doctor finds new purpose to seek out Gallifrey\u2014is pretty much immediately forgotten in the continued series.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reintroduced: The Zygons! And so many references to the past in the Black Archives. And Clara teaching at Coal Hill School\u2014a nice opening with the old intro and the policeman in black and white as in the first episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Time of the Doctor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn time, the Doctor seemed to forget he’d lived any other life.\u201d – Narrator<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s very, very little I can see good about this one. I guess the special effects are a little bit bigger and better\u2014much of it still feels like the big budget movie that came before. I also think I might have liked some of the twisty wrap up of all the story lines of the Eleventh Doctor (noted below) if they had not tried to cram them all in at the last minute. I guess I was most glad at the time that it at least meant we were finally moving on from them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: This episode contains just about everything I hate from the era: quirkiness, convoluted retro tying in of plotlines, sudden and conflicting changes in characterization, legends, Clara hopping on and off the TARDIS like a bus, self-congratulatory references to earlier episodes, and even voiceover narration yet again. It starts off badly with the \u2018oh so funny\u2019 idea of the Doctor running around naked\u2014a silly childlike playfulness that again undercuts the character. I also hate how Then there\u2019s a sudden rapid fire origin story for all we\u2019ve seen in the last several years that tries to show that \u201cit all makes sense now\u201d and might even have been cool if it had been introduced as part of the original story arc instead of feeling tacked on. The worst offense of the story is the idea that the Doctor arbitrarily suddenly decides to stay and spend almost a thousand years on one planet\u2014like we\u2019ve ever seen him willing to settle down for even a day?\u2014growing to a withered old age and forgetting his past life. That just does not at all fit in character with the Doctor we\u2019ve seen before. (Nor was it his only option\u2014he could have evacuated the village.) It also makes us the viewers feel cheated\u2014like we\u2019ve invested all the years following the Doctor but then he settles down and spends all these years thereafter that we don\u2019t see and his whole life and personality changes. Even the regeneration cheats\u2014let\u2019s make it dramatic by suddenly counting regenerations before to say he\u2019s run out and it\u2019ll be cool to show him all aged and ancient but we also want to have a moment with the young Doctor we know saying goodbye so let\u2019s just suddenly de-age him and says it\u2019s the regeneration process making things reset halfway through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: Blink and you\u2019ll miss it but apparently the arc goes something like this: The Time Lords find the crack in time on Trenzalore and set up a trap to bring the Doctor there to free them which will happen when he verifies his identity by answering their question \u2018Doctor Who\u2019 by giving his true name. Because their return will restart the time war, the universal church \u201carmy\u201d that we first met on the Byzantium proclaims its new faith and mission to hold the Doctor to silence from speaking that name. They and their priests (who are genetically engineered to have parishioners forget what they confessed upon leaving) thus become the Silence. The Doctor stays on Trenzalore to protect it from the enemies coming to destroy him and it thus become the battlefield we see later as his grave. Meanwhile, a splinter group of the Silence breaks off and instead seeks to kill the Doctor by creating a super-soldier to assassinate him which fails. They also blow up the TARDIS which creates the cracks in the first place that they are trying to prevent him from using to help the Time Lords return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"
\n

TWELFTH DOCTOR<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Deep Breath<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHello, hello, rubbish robots from the dawn of time!\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The plot made a lot more sense on second watch (I guess without the distraction of trying to adjust to a new Doctor) and now that I know the secret of what is going on with Missy and Paradise the ending is a lot less confusing. Peter Capaldi\u2019s first foray into being the Doctor is nice once he stabilizes and we leave behind some of the manic silliness of the previous Doctor and he becomes more acerbic and confrontational but also therefore more dramatic. His final confrontation with the automaton (and the ambiguity of what happens) is well done. There\u2019s a thankfully good explanation for his sudden disappearance from Clara (to secretly gather information) and his sudden re-appearance disguised is clever. The Pater Noster gang come across more strongly as well. I\u2019d forgotten what an emotional shock it is to see the dinosaur suddenly die and it\u2019s a good reason for the Doctor to be outraged and find himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The opening is still a bit of purposeful silliness which I was hoping the new era would move away from. (How does the TARDIS accidently bring along the dinosaur when it\u2019s established in other instances that it escapes things around it and that anything not inside it would be killed in the time void anyway.) Why was Clara so scared as if alone if she could have called the Pater Noster gang at any time? And how did they know exactly where she was? I\u2019m not sure that I like how much they joke they are ripping off an idea from a previous episode (though people would have been pointing it out if they hadn\u2019t).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Into the Dalek<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI see into your soul, Doctor. I see beauty. I see divinity. I see hatred.\u201d \u2013 Rusty the Dalek<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Another that I liked better the second time having had chance to get used to the new Doctor, this one has some of the fantastical science of the old series with the group being shrunk down (I appreciate the Fantastic Voyage joke) and the inner workings of a Dalek (surprisingly not much explored before). There\u2019s also a nice emphasis on the Doctor being a bit harder edged (e.g., his unapologetic manipulation of the man he knows will die anyway to help save the rest or his lack of empathy for Blue\u2019s loss) which I appreciate much more as a characterization for the Doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I don\u2019t find it so much of a failing that the Doctor hates the Daleks so much (especially since his suspicions were justified) nor do I think Clara\u2019s moral high ground is justified. On the other hand, I find the Doctor\u2019s hard dismissal of Blue because of her being a soldier as not in character\u2014it would make you think that he never had affection for the Brigadier and UNIT that we\u2019ve known him to have. Meanwhile, the Doctor picking up Clara for coffee and the introduction of Danny Pink were troubling signs that we were going to be leaning heavily on Clara\u2019s story rather than the adventure with the Doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robots of Sherwood<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHistory is a burden. Stories can make us fly.\u201d – Robin Hood<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: For once a clever twist that feels more of a nice surprise than a manipulation when the Doctor\u2019s certainty that Robin Hood can\u2019t be real turns out to be wrong. Surprisingly, the heavy comedic bent of the story doesn\u2019t undercut the story or the characters either; seeing Clara rolling her eyes at the excessively macho dueling egos of the Doctor and Robin is actually quite funny. It has to be purposeful that the aesthetic (and several plot points) of this episode lean so heavily on the Pertwee-era Time Warrior <\/em>but it still feels like a fresh episode none the less. And I can\u2019t watch Ben Miller made up as the Sherriff of Nottingham without feeling like I\u2019m watching the twin of Anthony Ainley in The King\u2019s Demons.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: You could argue that the petulant jealousy of the Doctor does go a bit too far but my main complaint is that the reveal of Marian feels a little bit off: her seeming peasant background doesn\u2019t fit (a cheap trick to surprise us) and the Doctor doesn\u2019t say a word about bringing her there so why does Robin thank him for the \u2018gift\u2019?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The Doctor refers to being in a Miniscope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cQuestion: Why is there no such thing as perfect hiding? Answer: How would you know?\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I guess there are some surprisingly scary moments (the thing under the sheet and do we really see it in the background or not?) and Clara closing the loop by being the cause of the Doctor\u2019s fear is at least an interesting surprise but\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: \u2026for the most part I can\u2019t stand this episode. It seems to be a lot of \u2018wouldn\u2019t it be cool if\u2026\u2019 ideas strung together into a story that is not Doctor Who in format and yet could not be done by any other program. I do not like how many stories of this era get started with the Doctor suddenly having a notion to explore something random out of the blue (actually, this was a common device in classic Who but rarely led to the plot and was instead just an introduction to stumbling upon something else). And why would the Doctor seem surprised at the idea of beings hiding invisibly amongst us as he has had direct interaction with that kind of thing multiple times (the Silence, the Vashta Narada, and more). I also don\u2019t like them showing his childhood like he was just some normal school kid and it\u2019s frankly just irritating that they try to retrofit it in with events in the movie. The episode gives Clara way too much power and knowledge over the Doctor as well. Even worse, all the rigamarole with Clara on a date is just far too much focus on a companion and her day-to-day life. Not only that, but the one part about it that seems clever (Clara meets Danny as a boy and then their great-grandchild in the future) is totally undercut by later story lines making this one either a gaping plot hole, something that has to be explained in a convoluted work around, or ignored as another irritating \u2018time can be re-written\u2019 copout. Finally,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time Heist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis wasn’t a bank heist. It never was. It was rescue mission for a whole species.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The convoluted romp is a little fun even though it one of many episodes this season that ignores the normal Doctor Who format and tries to feel like another genre. You do genuinely feel sad for Psi and Saibra when we think they\u2019ve died. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The banker Karabraxos\u2019s change of heart is not only a bit out of the blue but there doesn\u2019t seem to be anything that would lead the Doctor to assume that she\u2019ll have regrets. That whole section leading up to him becoming the Architect feels rushed; there\u2019s definitely not enough interaction to make me believe he\u2019s somehow changed her whole philosophy on life that she will call him later which undercuts the loop feel of the episode. And instead of coincidence I\u2019d assumed that the Architect had callously arranged for the other thief to be there so his guilt would be bigger and distract from theirs even though it means he is killed\u2014but surely the Doctor didn\u2019t?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Caretaker<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s funny, you only really know what someone thinks of you when you know what lies they’ve told you.\u201d – Danny Pink<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: It\u2019s ridiculous but Danny\u2019s leap over the robot both showing his brave soldier skills and care for Clara is pretty cool. Actually some of the Doctor\u2019s wry comments while supposedly a janitor are kind of entertaining. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Instead of moving away from the ridiculousness of Clara running off with the Doctor like a friend taking her on a day-trip, they double-down and make this the focus much of the episode.  The robot looks like a cheap 90s effect, especially in the school setting. And they keep trying to add kids in the mix for some reason. And does the Doctor\u2019s keeping thinking Danny is a PE teacher come off a little bit racist? While it again doesn\u2019t fit, at least they keep the foreshadowing arrival to \u2018Heaven\u2019 of the policeman for the end instead of sticking it in the middle of the episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kills the Moon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou walk our Earth, Doctor, you breathe our air\u2026 And you can damn well help us when we need it.\u201d – Clara<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s some interesting tension and it does feel a bit scary when Courtney is in danger or at least I like Clara\u2019s steely insistence to the Doctor that she (and therefore he) is responsible to take care of her and I\u2019m glad she\u2019s justifiably mad at the Doctor by the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I really didn\u2019t like this episode for the whole \u2018the Doctor leaves them to their own choice\u2019 bit even though it\u2019s supposed to be clear later that he was wrong to do that. It just doesn\u2019t feel like a thing the Doctor would even do. I also really hated the idea that the Doctor somehow didn\u2019t know the world changing event of the moon having cracked open on first watch, but I noticed this time they made it very ambiguous that perhaps he was lying the whole time about not being aware? I do feel like the episode would have been better if Clara\u2019s words had convinced Lundvik to push the stop button at the last minute instead of Clara or even better if she had convinced the world to light up and choose for themselves. Anyway, I still say no to having children gallivanting on the TARDIS! I don\u2019t know why this era of Doctor Who keeps trying to make that happen. (And what\u2019s all this rigamarole about Courtney as president?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Is this the same era of Earth that lost interest in space exploration because of the T-Mat that we see in Seeds of Death?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mummy on the Orient Express<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MOORHOUSE: \u201cWell, you certainly know a little mythology.\u201d
DOCTOR: \u201cI know a lot. Because, from time to time, it turns out to be true.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Another episode built around a clever idea but at least this one doesn\u2019t feel quite as forced. The overall design is nice and the look of the mummy is in fact very good. There is some nice banter even as Clara tries to address her serious feelings with the Doctor. (I can\u2019t help but laugh at the \u2018Are you my mummy?\u2019 reference.) Though his rough edges may be a bit much, this episode does showcase this \u2018grumpy old Doctor\u2019 very well. The ambiguity of whether he feels bad still having been lying to Clara because he had reason and whether she accepts that or not is interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: When it comes down to it, this feels more like a five minute episode with the Doctor figuring out everything within the minute the creature is attacking. It\u2019s not entirely a bad thing but it definitely makes this feel like a very thin and inconsequential episode. More of the awful \u2018going on a day-trip\u2019 feel of the Clara episodes as highlighted by her being in her bunk bed chatting with her boyfriend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flatline<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s long been theorised, of course, but no one could go there and prove its existence without a heck of a diet.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor speaking of a two-dimensional universe<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This episode seems entirely centered around the chance to do some cool things with graphics\u2014the renderings of the 2D versions of people and the 3D versions of the creatures, odd perspectives, the Doctor\u2019s hand coming out of the miniaturized TARDIS. If that\u2019s the point of the story, then I would say they are fairly successful. The realization that the pattern on the wall is a dissected nervous system is horrific and some of the visuals are almost mind-bending (he construction worker snatched in half).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: On the other hand, the story is a bit weak in terms of explaining how and what the creatures are. The Doctor\u2019s being stuck out of the action feels a bit wrong and having him run around like Thing is just too much. And they make Clara so clever that you wonder where it\u2019s coming from\u2014she understands things about the working of the TARDIS that she never should and pretty much shows up the Doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Forest of the Night<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStars implode. Planets grow cold. Catastrophe is the metabolism of the universe. I can fight monsters. I can’t fight physics.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I like that they try to bring in a motif of fairy-tales with the red jacketed girl running through a forest of wolves and such. There are some ideas that I like such as introducing a mystery of what the tree rings tell us, seeing familiar objects with a forest grown over them, or having the traumatized girl batting away the unseen entities she hears but…  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Ugh, kids-focused Doctor Who yet again. I\u2019m glad this is pretty much the last one for a while. So the trees have suddenly taken over the world many times in the past and we forgot? There\u2019ve been way too many of these \u2018everything we know about the natural world is wrong\u2019 and \u2018it all just takes care of itself\u2019 stories. Everybody just goes on with life as normal with all of this happening? What about all the planes in the sky that can\u2019t land? Lots of nitpicky problems in these world-enveloping episodes set in the present day. But the tacked on happy ending with the returning sister is just awful and unexplained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dark Water<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?\u201d \u2013 The Doctor to Clara<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: After a row of mediocre stories, this one roars out of nowhere as quite strong, surprising, and controversial. Angry, steely aggrieved Clara is almost scary and it really feels like she has the upper hand over the Doctor. Even when we see she doesn\u2019t, the Doctor\u2019s words show a depth of emotion that his actions and casual comments often don\u2019t is almost just as shocking. The skeletons in the tanks are eerie enough and even moreso when they start moving. So many surprising reveals\u2014the Cybermen (did I miss the trick with the door design the first time? I didn\u2019t remember it at all) and the jaw-dropping surprise of who Missy is. (Though to be honest, I was a initially a little disappointed they went that route instead of delving back into DW history by re-introducing the Rani or god-forbid Susan or Romana.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I was kind of put off by the episode the first time as it seemed to play around cavalierly with death and the afterlife, but by the end things settle down into a proper sci-fi framing that doesn\u2019t undercut religion as much as it seemed if you really listen to all the dialogue. Missy\u2019s wacko vibes and the assistant\u2019s smarminess are still a bit jarring even in hindsight but I appreciate them more the second time. And despite how much I didn\u2019t like the introduction of Clara and Danny\u2019s romance, I was also rather angry that they undercut it by having him killed off. Any cool stuff about their possible future we\u2019ve see is suddenly meaningless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death in Heaven<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are the Fallen. But today, we shall rise. The army of the dead will save the land of the living.\u201d \u2013 Cyberized Danny Pink  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: What great character moments–I could watch Kate Stewart striding up casually and confidently with the Cyberman\u2019s head in tow all day. Fun to see a more confident Osgood. We even get a hugely respectful nod to the Brigadier. They certainly don\u2019t hold back on letting Missy be just flat out cruel either. (Oh no, Osgood! And seeming to have lost Kate was just horrible). Though I\u2019m less of a fan, Danny Pink and Clara\u2019s arc are quite prominent and fairly well played out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The story is a bit heavy-handed on the purposeful heartstring tugs and it does get a bit murky as to why Danny and the Brigadier can overcome the programming other than \u2018the power of love\u2019. Not to mention how the child Danny saves gets his physical body back? It\u2019s also a bit too much for them have implied that every person in human history is a part of this Cyberman renewal—I wish they\u2019d set their sights a bit lower. And are we to believe that every person we\u2019ve ever known and every companion that has been is stuck up there and returned as a Cyberman but only these two resisted? Some of the scientific explanations also don\u2019t make sense—if they truly need organic matter then unless unusually preserved there can be nothing left of people that have been dead those thousands of years. Finally, I think this would have been a great good-bye for Clara for a while (even if they brought her back later) but they undercut that with the tag introducing the next story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: I thought the story of the Cybermen \u2018seeding\u2019 was ridiculous the first time but then I thought about previous old Cyberman stories from the Troughton era which used the same idea—most notably The Moonbase in which the imagery with the growing cocoonlike pods mirrors what is shown in the computer scan\u2014so there seemed some continuity after all. And they do make it clear a lot of the changes have to do with the tinkering of the Master Missy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last Christmas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know what the big problem is in telling fantasy and reality apart?\u201d…\u201dThey’re both ridiculous.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Steven Moffat takes a cue from Inception<\/em> to write a layered dream-within-a-dream story that pretty much works over all, definitely lots of twists and turns even though you might can see some of them coming. (Actually, he does play fair lacing clues around throughout which is a good thing.) The crabs are a weird but cool design\u2014especially how they sit on the face and open, that just looks creepy. Though I don\u2019t necessarily look for humor in Doctor Who, the comedy pacing of Santa and the elves is undeniably well done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: It\u2019s a sad testimony to previous episodes that Santa\u2019s appearance didn\u2019t make me think \u2018oh this is strange but there\u2019s going to be some interesting explanation\u2019 as much as thinking \u2018here they go again messing up the show by throwing in silliness\u2019. I would have liked a bit more explanation of the connections Clara possibly had to the others in the dream, a connection of chance encounters as the dream crabs followed the psychic line from the Doctor to her to people she met in the shop perhaps. Like all Christmas specials, it\u2019s shmaltzy and sentimental (Capaldi\u2019s Doctor yelling wheee<\/em> as he drives a sleigh?) and it\u2019s of course just a vehicle to get the Doctor and Clara on the same emotional page and back together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Magician\u2019s Apprentice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDavros knows. Davros remembers.\u201d \u2013 Colony Sarff<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I said at the time this came out that it finally felt like proper Doctor Who because it had time to breathe. Though a lot does go on, they take their time during events to let us hear and react and think. Padding is not so bad if it keeps things from feeling so rushed, that\u2019s why I liked scenes like the Doctor reiterating the history of the Daleks to Clara on the spaceship. But beyond that, the episode just has a certain weight to it. Missy sparkles here\u2014her repartee and witty viciousness almost make you forget who she is and they are clever to have her heartlessly kill to remind us. As I noted on a forum at the time: I saw more of the Master in it, including a vulnerability when caught off guard (her face at realizing they were on Skaro was great)<\/em> and the desperation to command her way out (kind of an Anthony Ainley boasting).  Anyway, the cold open with its mix of technologies is quite a well-done start that leaves you wondering. The hands reaching up out of the mud and then having eyes of all things\u2014so creepy! The sudden reveal that the child is Davros, the re-introduction of the Sisterhood of Karn, even the seeming hopeless situation of the Doctor are wonderful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I wasn\u2019t too happy with how silly medieval crowd scene (though it was still less manic then much of the Smith era). And is no one Earth now in absolute panic that planes can just stop in the sky? It\u2019s amazing how by the next episode each time the world seems to have just moved on from devastating events and revelations of alien life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Witch\u2019s Familiar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImagine, to hold in your hand the heartbeat of every Dalek on Skaro. They send me life. Is it beyond the wit of a Time Lord to send them death?\u201d – Davros <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The episode continues to be a strong one overall. Missy\u2019s tale about the Doctor is an odd story device to start but works in this context. We continue to get a lot of humorous mixed signals from her throughout the episode which heightens our confusion about the character but the acting is off the wall and top notch. The interactions between the Doctor and Davros are amazing, full of pathos and\u2014before the reveal\u2014quite heartbreaking as Davros begs to see the sunset. The idea of the slimy, putrefying remains of Daleks in the sewers rising up is definitely memorably grotesque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The implication that the Doctor knew Davros\u2019s scheme \u201call along\u201d undercuts some great emotional scenes, both of the Doctor\u2019s empathy for Davros as well as his later suffering. I have to imagine that statement is a bit of an exaggeration. After all, he can\u2019t have known about the ruse before coming to Skaro surely? Perhaps he started to guess upon seeing the machine and working out (I also don\u2019t like the obvious hidden snakes in it\u2014the hiding eyes that the audience is shown is kind of hokey) but I would like to think the rest is real. I also am not a huge fan that they continue to retcon the workings of a Dalek (in this case the interface, vocal ability, and drive mechanism).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the Lake<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou live and you die. That’s it. The ghosts are aberrations. A splinter of time in the skin.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Even better the second time, this episode is quite engaging from the start (and perhaps my favorite of the Capaldi era). The graphics of the ghosts are wonderfully done and framed beautifully in some iconic shots such as their march down the hallway. We get clues to what is happening but also so much mystery that it is hard to understand what is going on (in a good way). The set depicting the base is nice and yet again this is an episode that lets the tension build in some great ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I originally wasn\u2019t very happy with the Doctor being a ghost at the end. It seemed less like a surprise and more like it was going to be a cheat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Flood<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cYou have seen the words, too. I can hear them tick inside you.\u201d \u2013 The Fisher King.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: A good continuation with a satisfying conclusion. Other than the noted paradox, the plot holds up well. Clara gets a good emotional scene and the Fisher King is so well done\u2014both his appearance and even more so the care they took to give weight to his footsteps and voice. The scene of the cracking dam and flood is pretty amazing. Also a very cool inclusion is the brief scene in the hallway with the deaf crewmember sensing the vibrations of the axes with it depicted of how she \u2018sees\u2019 with this heightened perception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The brief interruption with the Doctor talking to the camera really, really put be off this episode the first time. I would have loved for them to have left that off and incorporate it in an explanation to Clara instead. There is a bit of a cheat with how much the \u2018sonic\u2019 glasses get used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Girl Who Died<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is a god but the cattle’s name for farmer? What is heaven but the gilded door of the abattoir?\u201d \u2013 Mire leader<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Though it comes out of nowhere a bit with the electric eels, all of the Doctor\u2019s clever practical gadgets to defeat the Mire warriors are pretty cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: There\u2019s a bit of silliness to this one with the obvious Monty Pythonesque god in the sky and the Doctor \u201cspeaking baby\u201d that undercuts what could have been a rugged Viking episode instead. (I\u2019d really hoped for something akin to their portrayal in \u2018The Time Meddler\u2019.) I also didn\u2019t really like the idea that the Doctor could somehow magically reverse death with a bit of alien machinery (and worse yet knows he\u2019s cursing the person with immortality rather than just saving her). It would have been better for it to have been some kind of accident where the alien machinery reacted in some unforeseen way with Ashildr\u2019s psychic abilities to render her that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Woman Who Lived<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat’s the trouble with an infinite life and a normal sized memory.\u201d – Me<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Nice to jump into to an elegant historic setting that contrasts spectacularly with the one before. There are a few nice ideas exploring the effects of Me\u2019s long life and limited memory especially in terms of grief and regret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: So the Doctor now travels sometimes with Clara or sometimes just calls her up or what? I really don\u2019t like that. Anyway, there was tons of speculation that the \u2018mystery woman\u2019 in the trailer for this was going to be Romana or Susan or someone exciting like that so it\u2019s a bit of letdown that it\u2019s just the character we saw one episode ago. I don\u2019t find the storyline nor the characters (villains and allies) very engaging so it all seems a bit of a waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Zygon Invasion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s not paranoia when it’s real.\u201d \u2013 Colonel Walsh<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: A wonderful allegorical script where the Zygon\u2019s stand as Muslim refugees and all the subsequent worries of discrimination and radicalization and such play out against a familiar Doctor Who invasion plot. I love that they give a nod to Harry Sullivan and the original Zygon episode and even the obscurity of UNIT dates. The overall design of the creatures is very good and the use of the slack-faced little girls as the aliens adds to the oddness of the situation. Meanwhile, Kate wandering around New Mexico with her gun poised for action is absolutely awesome. The ending with the missile is pretty dramatic as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The Osgood \u2018sisterhood\u2019 is a bit strange to have become such as bond that it drives the one mad. I also am not a big fan of the \u2018hairball\u2019 effect for the Zygon death rays. I was particularly disturbed by the death of the scientific advisor\u2014I found her super sympathetic and really wanted her to be an ongoing character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Zygon Inversion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not superior to people who were cruel to you. You’re just a whole bunch of new cruel people. A whole bunch of new cruel people being cruel to some other people, who’ll end up being cruel to you.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The immediate dreamlike world we find Clara in is very well staged to underscore the inversion limbo\u2014sometimes by unexpected colors, lack of detail (\u2018This is toothpaste\u2019), backwards visuals. Her figuring out how to manipulate exterior things within the artificial world (and how those are represented) is also pretty cool. Most of this script centers around the Doctor giving agonized speeches and his rant about cruelty is very well done as too is the parallel with the rebel leader as a tantruming child<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The actual storyline of bringing the two factions to the Dark Archive and wiping their memories is way too close to a rehash of \u2018The Day of the Doctor\u2019 to be enjoyable. Also, having the Doctor suddenly reveal he knew what would happen all along and that they had gone through all this before and he just wiped their memories radically undercuts the urgency we felt throughout the first episode that made it so great. It also doesn\u2019t make sense that \u2018Bonnie\u2019 (where does that name come from?) suddenly becomes this sisterly bonded and stalwart Osgood double.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleep No More<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSleep, that knits up the raveled sleeve of care. The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath. Balm of hurt minds, chief nourisher in life’s great feast.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Some of the ideas they are trying (making it a \u2018found video\u2019) are an interesting try, I guess?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Overall, this episode is just not good. The format seems to cause a lot of stiff acting and uncomfortable staring into the camera. (It\u2019s like they did it all in one take but I don\u2019t think that was actually the case.) The creatures are not a very appealing design and don\u2019t make logical sense. (They are composed of the sleep in our eyes? Surely the whole crew in a lifetime wouldn\u2019t produce enough to make the creatures we see here?) The writer tries to be too clever by half\u2014seeming to congratulate himself in the dialogue for all the \u2018hints\u2019 that he gives based of the video angles. (To a reveal that kind of gets lost in the mix as no big deal. And why does the Doctor suddenly see the video playing?) And in the end did the Doctor defeat it or is this video being shown around creating itself\u2014if that is the purpose, why would the creator explain it at the end. It kind of defeats the purpose since the first person watching would then know to warn others not to watch it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Face the Raven<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is as brave as I know how to be. I know it’s going to hurt you, but, please, be a little proud of me.\u201d – Clara<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Some nice visual effects including the tattoo and the unveiled versions of the aliens from the POV of Rigsy. Though I\u2019m not a fan of Me, I have to admit Maisie Williams does a fantastic acting job on going from cocksure and in control to a sudden humble regret at realizing Clara has accidentally condemned herself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I hate the way in Nu Who that random characters in the companions\u2019 lives often show up as central to the story so this already gets off to a bad start for me. Add to that it being a \u2018lesson\u2018 for the companion at hand and it\u2019s even worse. The Diagon Alley aspect of the secret street makes it seem like a silly episode and the grand trap of all of it gets a bit muddled in the end because it all revolves around attributes of a creature that the story introduces and thus it feels forced. I\u2019d barely remembered about it being a trap for the Doctor. I also don\u2019t believe the Doctor would just accept Clara dying like that either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heaven Sent<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs you come into this world, something else is also born. You begin your life, and it begins a journey towards you. It moves slowly, but it never stops. Wherever you go, whatever path you take, it will follow. Never faster, never slower, always coming.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: It\u2019s definitely a complex story with a surprising reveal and it works at building a lot of tension with the ever-continuing monster slowly creeping along. [A personification of death of course as described in the quote above.] Good visuals (and horror element) with the flies and POV screen. There\u2019s some nice direction that reveals clues (the Doctor\u2019s face over the skull for example). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: It doesn\u2019t feel much like Doctor Who, more like some artful scifi short story. Some of it also starts to break down if you consider too rationally—if everything else resets why not the wall the Doctor is slowly breaking down? If at 7000 years there are that many skulls then at several billion there should be too many to support (unless they decay?)? If by the end the Doctor understands he\u2019ll be repeating why doesn\u2019t he leave a better message each time? Where is the time dial located all these billions of years? I also think that on the nth to the thousandth time, the Doctor would recognize right away that he\u2019s the predecessor making the tunnel and been able to come up with a better solution. The centrality of \u2018the Hybrid\u2019 mystery to the story feels very contrived since it was unconvincingly added as a last minute mystery in previous stories. And why, oh, why was this not the episode called Hell Bent? It would make so much more sense with the storyline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hell Bent<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStories are where memories go when they’re forgotten.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I started to give this episode higher marks on first re-watch. It opens with a lot of menace from an angry Doctor and has a lot of tension as he faces the Time Lords. Bringing in the Sisterhood of Karn raises the stakes, especially because Ohila always seems to understand the Doctor so well. I had also missed on first watch the fact that the Time Lords were hiding Gallifrey at the end of the universe (ie, time shifted there) not that they had simply existed all that time. It makes a lot more sense with earlier narratives that way. Though it doesn\u2019t fit our previous views of the Matrix, the weird cloister with the wraiths running around and especially the pitiful Dalek begging to be exterminated make it very scary. It seems to be building to something amazing\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: However, in the end the story goes off the rails by not really delivering. The menace of the Matrix never materializes (no one can escape except for one secret and hidden exit\u2014but there\u2019s an elevator shaft right there so the Council can just come down?). Was all the buildup just pretense for Doctor to escape and take Clara with him? The wholly shoehorned mythology of the \u2018the Hybrid\u2019 that they tried and failed to build tension about turns out to be nothing. Even the supposed \u2018danger\u2019 of what the Doctor and Clara represent doesn\u2019t really come through. Shouldn\u2019t we have seen time fracturing or something to even think there was a threat? The supposed sacrifice of the Doctor feels rather useless\u2014especially since we see that Clara really can just bang around the universe. (Clara and Me just buzzing about in a big TARDIS diner is honestly rather a cringe sight.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: Are the people living out on the fringe so to be the Shobogons that we heard about and see in the Fourth Doctor era?<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The Husbands of River Song<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you love the Doctor, it’s like loving the stars themselves. You don’t expect a sunset to admire you back.\u201d – River<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I\u2019m not a huge fan of broadly comic Doctor Who episodes but I have to admit that some of the timing in the misunderstandings about the Doctor\u2019s identity, his exasperation at River\u2019s seeming endless parade of husbands, and her gob-smacked realization of his identity is all kind of fun. Even some silliness like him relishing \u2018being surprised\u2019 by the size of the TARDIS interior or constant misreadings of the situation are rather well written. River\u2019s speech quoted above is rather endearing as well though nicely kept from getting too cloying by her embarrassment at realizing the Doctor is there hearing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: This is about as close as Doctor Who has come to being a rom-com and there is even the sweetly sentimental ending to go with it. I just don\u2019t know if I can get on board when the episode does rely so much on silliness like Nardole\u2019s head running around on the big robot body and such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Return of Doctor Mysterio<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMrs Lombard, there are some situations which are just too stupid to be allowed to continue.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Now we have a Doctor Who buddy comedy\u2014though the Doctor as the straight man shaking his head at his best friend digs himself in deeper into trouble does work very well for Capaldi\u2019s incarnation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: If I thought the unserious comic tone of the last episode was high, it was nothing compared to this. However, this one is a lot less witty in its writing. It\u2019s overly earnest acting\u2014purposeful perhaps to be like a comic hero movie\u2014and there\u2019s some ridiculousness to the aliens. Are these space surfing brains the same that were on the ship that exploded in the previous episode? Their heads open the same but this is not referenced at all I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pilot<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA whole city built from triumph and heartbreak and boredom and laughter and cutting your toenails.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I have to admit that a lot of the direction and styling of this comes across like a very well done and artful film (little unconnected vignette scenes over time that build an impression of mystery). If it was the debut of the show, it definitely would be layering a mystery for us as to what in the world is going on with this strange man. Nardole and the Doctor\u2019s banter here comes across much nice than in the previous episode where Nardole seemed a bit whiny.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislike: Even given the above and the fact that this was intended to serve as a \u2018reboot\u2019 of the series for new watchers, for those of us that know the show then Billie\u2019s slow discovery just seems to drag on forever. Plus it again just doesn\u2019t feel like a real Doctor Who. I also wasn\u2019t a fan of how it starts in the middle of a circumstance we\u2019re not brought into later which made it hard to settle in and enjoy the show\u2014I kept feeling like I had maybe missed some earlier episodes. I feel like the creature we encounter seems way to powerful to be the \u2018waste water\u2019 it\u2019s revealed as by the end and the voice and view perspective from the other side below suddenly doesn\u2019t make sense with that explanation either. Billie doesn\u2019t really feel like a real person for some reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Susan in a photograph (so the Doctor does think of and remember her?) and of all things Movellans(!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smile<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEmojis. Wearable communications. We’re in the utopia of vacuous teens.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Finally, this episode feels like a proper adventure story for Doctor Who with all the themes and interactions we expect from the show: a new world colony that\u2019s mysteriously going wrong, running down corridors, long dormant sleepers confused at the Doctor\u2019s take charge presence, the companion both discovering the wonder of and danger in travel with the Doctor. I like how the vaguely silly appearance of the service robots becomes menacing as their numbers and persistence grow. Even the explanation for why things went wrong is a fairly satisfying sci-fi premise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: It does seem like if the solution was pretty much just rebooting the entire robot collective then the Doctor would have thought of that way early on, much earlier than jumping to blowing up the whole place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: There seems to be a widely obvious parallell to the Vashta Nerada here\u2014do these nanobots eventually \u2018evolve\u2019 into it? Why is this not explored or at least hinted at?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thin Ice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHuman progress isn’t measured by industry; it’s measured by the value you place on a life. An unimportant life. A life without privilege.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: We haven\u2019t had a years past episode for a while so it\u2019s good to see it here. It\u2019s interesting that they address but then pretty much dismiss racial divisions in those times–until suddenly bringing it back in full swing with a satisfyingly righteously angered Doctor. Like Billie, I have to admit his speech is quite impressive even if ultimately ignored\u2014it stands up there with many good Tom Baker soliloquies. The banter with Billie here is fairly good (and one wonders what happened when the Doctor was so clueless about human interaction around Clara and yet now can tease and make clever jokes and such).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The story doesn\u2019t necessarily feel like anything huge happens and I\u2019m afraid Billie\u2019s range of emotion isn\u2019t quite satisfactory. It\u2019s great that they have her get angry over the Doctor\u2019s seeming callousness but then have to accept the wisdom of it\u2014but her tears just feel a bit cardboard compared to companions of the past that have challenged the Doctor in the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knock Knock<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHope is its own form of cruelty.\u201d –  The Landlord<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There are a few nice jump scares for a haunted house story and especially in the initial creepiness of the landlord (when he snaps back with \u201cYou don\u2019t,\u201d to the question about how to get in the tower it\u2019s a perfect disturbing transition). It\u2019s also slightly fun to see Bill trying to shuffle the Doctor off like an irritating grandad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: There\u2019s too much coincidence in Bill\u2019s group having happened to end up in an alien infested house, too much convenient forgetting by the wooden woman to keep the mystery from her, too much knowledge in a human child to formulate such a complex plan, too much backtracking on reversing the friends\u2019 deaths so easily \u2014too much contrivance for any of this to be enjoyable as a story. And it\u2019s just weird after the reveal to know the son was treating his mother like his daughter all this time (what did he do in his 30s, treat his mother like a wife?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oxygen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe universe shows its true face when it asks for help. We show ours by how we respond.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This is a very straightforward adventure story for the most part, a creative way to make zombies without actually having to explain zombies. The pacing of the story is very good from the scary and sad opening to the confusion of Bill\u2019s helplessness to our really wondering if the Doctor has actually lost it. The lead-in Doctor discussion actually comes back as useful set up. I was going to complain about the Doctor unnecessarily withholding information at the end but they actually explain and show the reasoning within the context of the story well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: If anything I would have liked to have seen this one fleshed out a bit more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I finally saw with this episode what the \u2018Doctor as university lecturer\u2019 format could have been like had the introduced it differently. (If it had been approached more like the Third Doctor era of the Doctor being stranded on earth and having to operate in a different context. )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extremis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey took their own lives in the knowledge that suicide is a mortal sin. They read the Veritas and chose Hell.\u201d \u2013 The Pope<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This is definitely a unique episode. I am glad the ridiculousness turns out to be \u2018not real\u2019 (it was getting hard to suspend disbelief what with the pope turning up and all) and it\u2019s clever to circle back around to where we started with the arrival of the email. I like all of the tension around the Doctor\u2019s blindness\u2014it\u2019s actually funny having Nardole having to constantly try to creatively cover his lack of vision throughout\u2014and the unseen creatures getting closer and closer. The number counting scene at CERN is kind of disconcertingly cool even though it\u2019s not clear until later what it means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I don\u2019t mind the Missy as prisoner storyline but not the way it was introduced\u2014it\u2019s actually a little disappointing to haver her turn out to be the mystery \u2018thing\u2019 we\u2019d been told to be so worried about. Again, I would have liked it better if this had been used at the beginning to better explain why the Doctor is hanging around the university. Not knowing what it was setting up at first, it was hard to judge if things were moving too slowly or too quickly. Also, if this is where Nardole came in then where do the Doctor Mysterio events fit in the timeline?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pyramid at the End of the World<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEnjoy your sight, Doctor. Now see our world.\u201d \u2013 The Monks<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I really find myself liking Nardole\u2019s role at this point\u2014he gets to be a true assistant to the Doctor, one who can understand and anticipate his needs without the Doctor having to explain details. The offer of the Monks is definitely intriguing once they say \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since it\u2019s clear it\u2019s a trap but they are sure people will anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Why does UNIT not know where the Doctor is when pretty much every student knows he\u2019s lecturing? (And it really would have fit the new format better if his discussion had been a pre-episode lecture.) And it seems a bit of a cheat for Bill to suddenly have the authority to make the deal. Surely the three leaders would not think that they would pass the test of giving consent since the Monks had already explained that it had to be through love. They should therefore already know they\u2019d fail since it was obviously out of strategy. Now if in the dialogue it had simply been said that it could not be fear then the military leaders\u2019 ploy would have made more logical sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lie of the Land<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever bad a situation is, if people think that’s how it’s always been, they’ll put up with it.\u201d – Nardole <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Since I happened to be in the middle of re-reading 1984<\/em> when I watched this episode for the second time, the elements lifted directly from the book definitely stood out (thoughtcrime arrests, the distortion of history and memory, the Big Brother like videos) and came across well. The scene of the military team fighting their way through the hallways of the ship is amazing\u2014a tense claustrophobic feeling through creative sound editing in a kind of \u2018audio-POV\u2019. Missy\u2019s contribution to the discussion makes sense for her character; I kind of like that they don\u2019t hide the Master\u2019s solution would have been to casually kill the central figure. (And that they point out the Master has had entire adventures that didn\u2019t involve Earth and the Doctor.)  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The Doctor\u2019s \u2018test\u2019 of Bill goes on way too long to the point of it being cruel once revealed. And why is inducing a coma in Bill not an option to remove her influence? It seems to fit the definition given by Missy. There\u2019s certainly not reason for Bill to think that her doing what the Doctor did would be a solution. While I am not a fan of the \u2018everybody\u2019s forgotten it and all is back to normal\u2019 ending, I guess I\u2019m glad that they do at least explain that it\u2019s the alien influence at work sort of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Empress of Mars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dFight, yes, but for the future, not a dead past.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This story has a lot going for it\u2014other than the slightly off-putting comic start (though the NASA set is impressive), it has a good amount of interpersonal tension, commentary about colonialism, and straightforward adventure. I especially like the introduction of the idea of an Ice Queen (played rather formidably well) and that it tries to undo some of the damage done by the previous re-introduction of the Ice Warriors. (I appreciate for example the line about the reptile warrior being melded with the battle suit so that they appear as one\u2014an attempt no doubt to rectify the horrible thing they did in making it seem no more than clothes that could be taken off back in the earlier episode.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Unfortunately, at lot of the good in this episode gets undercut by the totally cringeworthy effects used for the Ice Warrior weapons. The \u2018bouncy ball\u2019 remains of the victims may have been intended as horrific but they are just silly and distracting. I had a hard time taking this episode seriously the first time because of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Talk about a surprise cameo—it\u2019s Alpha Centauri! Also, the ambivalent nature of the Ice Warriors in the old series is reflected here\u2014sometimes good, sometimes evil<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: They flash a picture of Queen Victoria and sure enough it\u2019s the actress that played her during the Tennant era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Eaters of Light<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir work is robbery, slaughter, plunder. They do this work and they call it empire. They make deserts and they call it peace.\u201d – Kar about the Romans<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s some nice landscape shots (the opening with the crow flying across for example) and the Pict costuming is kind of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Overall, this story is rather sloppy. No one quite behaves in character\u2014Nardole is rather subdued, Bill suddenly has all this understanding, and the Doctor is incredibly tetchy for no reason and ends with a big, unthought-out self-sacrifice for something rather small scale. Many aspects of the ending don\u2019t make sense\u2014if the question of guarding the gate is about lifespan as the Doctor says, why does having multiple people go in at once make a difference? If a few second equals two days then does that mean the Doctor and grew were in there for years? All that on top of a \u2018just so story\u2019 of how crows got their caw. This definitely feels much more like a fanciful little kids\u2019 show at this point. The tacked on ending with Missy is also confusing\u2014she\u2019s already been let out so why are they so surprised at it? When did Bill come to understand how dangerous she is? Why was Nardole cool with wandering in the last story and now is back to worrying about the gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

World Enough and Time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m rebuilding you to survive in a world not made for flesh.\u201d \u2013 The Surgeon<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I must admit this story, comprising this episode and the next one, is much more coherent than I realized the first time. It has a very cool sci-fi concept at its base (the differing time streams at the ends of the spaceship) and of course a huge reveal at the end that in retrospect is signaled throughout\u2014from the slowly creeping addition of pieces to the puzzle that make up the Cybermen (the white face cover, the electronic voice, the metal chest, the skull cap, etc.) to charged words in the history of the program like conversion, upgrade, and more. The call back to the Master doing disguises is appreciated and made more sense the second time when I caught the dialogue reminded that Bill would have known his actual face from Earth history. Even the silly playing around at the beginning is not so bad, kind of harkening back to the Seventh Doctor\u2019s \u2018tests\u2019 of Ace. The proto=Cyberman\u2019s electronic cry of pain and begging for death are quite eerie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: It seems a bit far-fetched (and literal overkill) to have Bill standing there with a huge hole through her body and imagine they\u2019d be able to revive her from that. The cartoonishness of it kind of put me on the wrong foot for the episode the first time. I don\u2019t like them messing about with the history of Mondas and the origins of the Cybermen\u2014implying they had multiple starts and perhaps that they didn\u2019t actually begin on Mondas but rather on this station of Mondasians and that the Master was the one that initiated them? It\u2019s a bit too much retconning. I was also kind of angry at the manipulation of us being made to like the Master\u2019s character disguise though it didn\u2019t seem quite as bad this go around. It also didn\u2019t initially make sense to me that Bill would accept and stay where she was for so long–but this was tempered on the second watch when they equated it with her resolve shown in the Monk story and by the Doctor having implanted a subliminal message to keep her going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Mondas and the original Cybermen, the Master and disguises<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Doctor Falls<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople plus technology minus humanity.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor about the Cybermen<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The pace of the story continues fairly well and makes a clever transition with the Doctor getting out of things. The brief hope that Bill was okay and having that ripped away by the mirror view is quite dark but good. I am not sure I understood the part about the guns and apples until this second watch. The battle and plans and escape are all pretty satisfactory in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I was not happy with the \u2018rescue\u2019 of Bill at the end. Not only did it seem a cop-out but I was never a huge fan of the Alien Pilot anyway\u2014how is it this random being is so-powerful that it can traverse time and recreate matter including noting that it can bring Bill back to life (I had not caught that in the dialogue before but they thus left an opening for Bill to come back as a real character\u2014an important thing to think in light of the next story). I was also rather perturbed at how they kept having the Doctor almost die and regenerate, shot and almost regenerate but not quite, literally get blown up and still be whole and not yet regenerated.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: I had not realized that the Johns Sim\u2019s version of the Master escapes, we don\u2019t really know if he will regenerate into Missy or not. Thus the next versions we see really could be in-between versions before Missy\u2019s death and she really was the last of the Master. Or she didn\u2019t actually die and regenerated. That partially depends on later dialogue I guess. (But the part about the dematerialization circuit doesn\u2019t quite make sense?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The design of the dematerialization circuit<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twice Upon a Time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI regret, Captain, that the universe generally fails to be a fairy tale.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: They make good use of the 3D frozen in time photography technique as well as a few other nice directorial touches throughout. Even though they kind of mess it up (could they not even try to find close lookalikes for Ben and Polly?), I like that they at least try to incorporate the past of the show into the present by blending footage. Two Doctors arguing with each other is always a bit of fun as well\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: …but unlike in The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors where the First was wise and guided the others, they turn him here into a silly archaic \u201coh the 60s were so backwards and we\u2019re so much more progressive and better than them\u201d joke. It kind of makes me angry to think of. Plus they could have just used the footage of the original show with Ben and Polly and then melded the new actor\u2019s face for the First at the end\u2014recasting Ben and Polly\u2019s roles with horrible actors and costumes was just unnecessary and a very big turn off.  It really makes it hard to stomach the rest of the story. Overall, the feel of the story is very smaltzy as well. All companions and peoples live on, the Doctor gets to say goodbye to everyone, and then hijacking a very nice true life historical event and shoehorning it into Doctor Who mythology (with a Lethbridge-Stewart to boot) is just too much. The power of this supposed race to be able to download all these memories is just too grand for it to be an unknown to the Doctor. It was obvious from the start that Bill was not going to be the original so it felt a bit hollow as a story line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: I had not noticed that the Doctor gets back all his memories of Clara which does mean she could be part of a future story line. Of course, it also undercuts why there was ever a need for it in the first place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"
\n

THIRTEENTH DOCTOR<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Woman Who Fell To Earth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI know exactly who I am. I’m the Doctor. Sorting out fair play throughout the universe.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Though people largely don\u2019t like the Jodie Whitaker era, I think this episode starts it well. In terms of its cinematography, location shots, direction, and atmosphere, it\u2019s an amazing leap forward for the program. They also put a lot into the special effects of the probe and costume for \u2018Tim Shaw\u2019. The manic parts of Whitaker\u2019s initial performance on the train fit exactly in line with what I would want to see in a post-regeneration Doctor and I like her sudden solid speech asserting her place as the Doctor at the end. It and other instances throughout the story show a lot of clever wordplay that both acknowledge the huge change of having the Doctor be a woman and yet also don\u2019t make too big a deal of it either. (The misdirected sleight of hand with the story title is another good example.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: There is something in Jodie Whitaker\u2019s tone and performance that comes of a bit overly earnest or even silly at times which is one reason I think people are not huge fans of her Doctor. It doesn\u2019t help that much of her dialogue is like running exposition of what is going on. Plus they insert some rather wholly unnecessary scenes that come across even worse. The whole rigamarole of her making a new sonic screwdriver is just ridiculous for example. I know there was a lot of pushback hate on her new companions simply because of their diversity but I had more problems feeling like they didn\u2019t talk or interact like real people would, the acting and dialogue are rather stilted. (Though admittedly it does feel a bit of wishful thinking that such a happy blended family would exist.) Indeed, some aspects–like Ryan\u2019s \u2018disability\u2019 that rarely gets referenced again\u2014feel like ticked boxes.  I was also rather angered by the ending where they try to re-assert the familiar \u2018Doctor as moral authority who refuses to condone violence\u2019 but have her chastise an innocent victim saving himself from an immediately dangerous situation that she should have been sympathetic to not condemning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: I did not like the update theme and opening graphics at first\u2014their quite a departure\u2014but I\u2019ve started to appreciate them more.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ghost Monument<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’re all alone. That’s how we start and end, and it’s the natural state of all points in between.\u201d – Epzo<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The cinematography of the show continues to be strong in this story and there are definitely some amazing effects like the crash of the ship. I guess the performances by the guest actors are pretty good here too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The story feels like a hodgepodge of elements thrown together\u2014killer robots, advanced cloth technology, the alien from the previous episode (though his technology was unlike anything shown here)\u2014and ultimately almost seems like it was an episode written around trying to get to the trick with the cigar just to show off that effects shot. The long shots that frame the killer strips of cloth (huh?) don\u2019t work well because they simply look like burnt bits of gauze\u2014it\u2019s obvious their trying to foreshadow something but there\u2019s no indication as to what. The payoff of the Doctor making it to her TARDIS (the new design of which I\u2019m not a huge fan of) is not as exciting as they make it out to be. It would perhaps have been a bit nicer if the Doctor\u2019s serach for it had lasted a bit longer\u2014perhaps being more of a focus for the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosa<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dPromise of tomorrow. When today isn’t working, tomorrow is what you have.\u201d \u2013 Rosa Parks <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I appreciate the heart behind this episode. It recalls a bit of the original mission of Doctor Who to be an educational program by demonstrating and explaining history. The fact that they tackle such a weighty subject in a very charged period of history is remarkable for a usually non-controversial program. The dramatic portions of the story stand up very well even compared to many movies that recreate that era of history, and I feel like they largely treat the subject matter and their representation of historical figures like Rosa Parks with much respect. It\u2019s interesting that they treat the racism and bigotry encountered almost as an alien danger. (Though they do acknowledge modern racism experienced by Yaz and Ryan in their conversation as well.)  As for the other elements of the show, I have to say the Doctor\u2019s confrontation of the villain\u2014defiantly smashing his time vortex manipulator and defying him as he tries to crush her throat\u2014is by far the strongest and hardest edge we ever get to see of the Thirteenth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Despite the respect show by the award-winning script, it\u2019s still a bit uncomfortable if you think too much about it. Although the episode presents the characters as trying just to maintain established history, one could walk away from the episode feeling like it implies that Rosa Parks built her courage and received the spark to stand in defiance to the system due the questions and encouragement provided by the Doctor and friends or that the TARDIS team are the ones that created the circumstances for it to happen. That is definitely not something a fictional story wants to do for such a momentous historical event. (Thankfully, I thought I had remembered the story as being that the Doctor and crew had to pretend to be racist white passengers making Rosa leave which is not the case.) Meanwhile, the sci-fi elements of the story almost feel tacked on though I guess the TARDIS team would have nothing to struggle against if they weren\u2019t there.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arachnids in the UK<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is wrong with this country? Why don’t you do what normal people do? Get a gun, shoot things, like a civilized person.\u201d \u2013 Trump-parody Jack Robertson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: It took me a second watch to appreciate any elements in this story, but, considering the history of the program, the graphics of the spiders are pretty amazing and I did literally cringe when the mass of them started coming out of the dark hallway after Graham and Ryan even though I knew it was coming. There are true horror elements such as Dan pleading for help from inside the web as he\u2019s dragged away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: There were too many cringeworthy elements on first watch for me to enjoy the episode\u2014the obvious Trumpian character of Jack Robinson is a bit too cartoonish, the ridiculousness of the \u2018giant spiders\u2019 trope (especially the suspect scientific explanation of them just keeping on growing), yet again getting caught up in the domestic life of companions, and the Doctor still being rather awkward in her over-explanation. None were as bad as I feared they would be but it made me feel like I was going to hate the episode from the start. They title is also rather awkward\u2014surely it must be a play off something else but I\u2019m not sure what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: It\u2019s not really a re-introduction but there\u2019s no way to watch this and not have parallels with classic Who\u2014a company dumps products down a mineshaft and it leads to horrifically large creatures. Green Death, anyone?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tsuranga Conundrum<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImagine the solution and work to make it a reality. Whole worlds pivot on acts of imagination.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Base under siege is usually a good venue for Doctor Who and the general premise works okay here. The character of Astos comes off pretty well in how he relates to the Doctor and his underling Mabil and we do hate to see his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: No matter how good the graphics may be, the Pting is just a silly cartoon character that never builds any menace.  (The whole ending with him smiling with his warm belly full undercuts any seriousness about what just happened.)  And sorry but you can\u2019t introduce something like a pregnant man in an odd and comical way and then also force emotional moments out of it\u2014it would have been much more meaningful if Ryan had come to the same realization dealing with a dad having a child arrive in the traditional way and Graham had been comforting a distraught mother-to-be through the process. Another horrible title that is difficult to remember and only barely related to the storyline<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demons of the Punjab<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI honestly don’t know whether any of us know the real truth of our own lives, cos we’re too busy living them from the inside.\u201d – Graham<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I suppose it\u2019s yet another ground-breaking moment for Doctor Who to portray Indian\/Pakistani history (especially such a controversial one) and since it\u2019s a lot less familiar subject matter for American viewers I did learn things from it. This one really works on the family drama level and I\u2019m glad they had the Doctor be reluctant and then regret bringing Yaz rather than just treating it like a jolly outing. Yet again beautiful scenery and cinematography in his season as well as a lot of directorial flourishes. (The above head TARDIS fade in for example.) As for the scifi, the zippy transporter effect is actually pretty cool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Like the last historical, the sci-fi element here just feel superfluous to the heart of the story.  More importantly, it\u2019s a very unsatisfying bait-and-switch to introduce characters for a minute as baddies and then say \u2018surprise their actually good\u2019. How many creatures have they introduced in the last season or two that are watching over the deaths of humanity? You\u2019d think they\u2019d all be running into each other at this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kerblam!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon’t like bullies, don’t like conspiracies, don’t like people being in danger. And there’s a flavor of all three here.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: They do a very good job making Kiro a believably touching character through dialogue alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The Doctor sure does seem to get a lot of spam mail in the supposedly impenetrable TARDIS. This feels like one for the kids\u2014shiny robots, OTT corporate parody, a cartoonish ride on package conveyers in a warehouse\u2014and then turns oddly dark with some very sweet characters getting abruptly obliterated. It rings kind of false to character for Charlie to be this bloodthirsty activist after we\u2019ve already seen his innocent puppy love side. One of them should have been tinged more by the other. Why isn\u2019t the Doctor more upset with the Kerblam system killing Kiro to get what it wanted? Yet again, an embarrassing title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Witch Finders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTogether we shall save the souls of my people from Satan, even if it means killing them all.\u201d \u2013 Becka Savage<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There are some great horror elements that make this a good episode, most prominently the dead villagers re-animated by the \u2018mud\u2019. Their slow march with bloated faces is quite horrific and good practical effect\u2014much better than any CGI monsters and such. This episode makes the most interesting use of the Doctor now being a woman by highlighting how she gets sidelined, ignored, or accused of being a witch in a way that never happened before. The running theme of fear to speak out against the crowd whipped into a frenzy was rather on everyone\u2019s mind politically at the time as well. Though the resolution is a bit easy, it\u2019s a fairly nice story arc overall and nice to get some old world setting for the new TARDIS crew at last. (Graham in that hat!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I wasn\u2019t a huge fan of Alan Cummings rather grand performance as King James. Though it did grow on me by the end, it seems like it would have been better suited to Louis XV or something in that regard. I also wish the shift in the character of Becka Savage–from having something suspicious, to the reveal of her infection, to her transition to the actual  creature–would have been a bit more gradual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It Takes You Away<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShame. Made a new friend, a whole conscious universe, then I had to say goodbye.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: A nice way to bring back the character of Grace for a little while and give ever-affable Graham some real dilemma. (I imagine having the actress listed here and in some other remembrance scenes on the shooting schedule was a good way to keep the fact that her character does not make it past the first episode a surprise.) There\u2019s no particular reason why the little girl had to be blind for the story to work so it\u2019s kind of nice that they included that element and gave an actual differently-abled actress a job. The oddness of \u2018conscious universe\u2019 speaking in the shape of a frog in a chair with Grace\u2019s voice is kind of absurdly nice. And I have to give credit for them somehow making moths scary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: This episode feels way to disjointed to enjoy. There\u2019s a bit too much set up of false threats that turn out to not be the main story\u2014particularly the run around with the supposed forest creature that turns out to be fake. Even the \u2018anti-node\u2019 ends up being a sideline to the story and it becomes nothing more than a hallway.  The biggest irksome part of the story is how they make Ryan act like such a dick to the little girl just as a way to have his affection for her later seem such a triumph but it really feels out of character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour words are certain, but your eyes are full of doubt.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I suppose the Doctor having to deal with the aftermath of one of her battles\u2014Tim Shaw having been banished away but actually having put him in the spot that he could flourish \u2013is interesting and I like how she doesn\u2019t accept that blame and lays it right back down at Tim Shaw\u2019s feet. Graham having to struggle with not taking revenge is a nice element as well (though I don\u2019t entirely like the execution of it). His cool and casual telling to the Doctor of his plans to shoot Tim Shaw actually make me like him more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Something was off in the editing of this story that made it very confusing at first watch\u2014I wasn\u2019t sure what the characters in the beginning had seen or experienced and it wasn\u2019t clear if they were supposed to figure in the story later or not. It\u2019s also not at all clear why these powerful beings were so easily tricked by Tim Shaw into thinking he was their god\u2014have they never seen a teleport before? Did his awful appearance not give a clue? Honestly, the whole introduction of Stenza technology feels a bit shoehorned in just to create a baddie for this season. While the struggle for Graham of what he will do when faced with Tim Shaw is a nice idea, I really hate the Doctor\u2019s response of saying she would put Graham out of the TARDIS and accusing him of being as bad as Tim Shaw if he seeks revenge. She\u2019s not a very sympathetic friend! I wish they would keep these moments of moral superiority in action not words because it comes across as uncaring and arrogant. Even the story has to rewrite some of the \u2018rules\u2019 that she made herself (i.e., not shooting robots) previously with lame excuses like she told her crew that because they were new and that things change.  After a string of bad episode titles we finally come to one that seems purposefully difficult to pronounce and one that most of us will never remember\u2014\u201cThe Battle of\u2026something\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resolution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere’s a New Year message for you to send. Earth is protected by me and my mates, this year and every other.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This one was a surprisingly good action story. Some great tension and car chase and general Dalek menace. The direction is well done to make it feel like a big budget film, especially the army battle sequence. I don\u2019t usually like re-writes of established villain characteristics but this addition to Dalek capability\u2014escaping its shell and riding on the back of a victim controlling them\u2014has been built to gradually and doesn\u2019t seem so beyond belief based on past history. (And like any good upgrade of such characters, it has now become a staple usage in following episodes.) I am so glad they thought about having the Dalek raid secret government warehouses where previous Dalek bits had been stored. It would have been too far-fetched if it had someone just built its own casing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The worst moment of the episode is the silliness with the government operator and UNIT having been \u201cclosed\u201d for budget reasons. I get the point they were trying to make but it just feels \u2018out of character\u2019 that Kate or anybody in charge would have allowed that to happen. (They just had the Doctor as president of the world just a few years ago and now she can\u2019t get past a call center? Maybe we\u2019re just to assume they went underground.) It\u2019s a little hard to believe that the ancient warriors could have stopped the Dalek when it can take out a huge army contingent and it\u2019s a especially a bit much to make it seem almost immortal. (They try to get around it by noting its special scout genetics but that also creates a bit of timeline issue.) The introduction of Ryan\u2019s deadbeat dad feels like a forced story arc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spyfall (Part 1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt were just like… nothingness. Nowhere. And I was totally alone. I was so scared.\u201d – Yaz<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The opening scenes of the spy assassinations seem almost out of a feature film. Most of this story exists to get us to the final reveal of the Master being back and it is admittedly bit of a shock\u2014especially in the performance as the actor\u2019s face and demeanor somehow totally change like a light switch when he says \u2018You got me\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: On the whole, this episode again feels disjointed\u2014let\u2019s have a bunch of spies stuff both silly and serious! Let\u2019s have a Facebook-like corporate company menace! Let\u2019s have aliens from another dimension! Let\u2019s romp all over the world for no reason! And there\u2019s something I just don\u2019t like about the performance of the actor playing Vor. It also gets really confusing about the Doctor implying this closeness with \u2018O\u2019 and then they walk it back because she\u2019d have to have realized who he was, right? Of course, the whole point of it so we can feel fake surprised–this character we\u2019ve known for so long was the Master the whole time! The dialogue of Yaz\u2019s description of the other universe and the effect it has on her don\u2019t match what we saw on screen at all which is too bad because Mandip Gill does a great job of acting traumatized her. And the flying house TARDIS! What the heck?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: It\u2019s not said but if the Master took over the life of the real \u2018O\u2019 then doesn\u2019t that mean he had to take over his appearance\/body? If so, there\u2019s definitely precedent in his taking on the form of Tremas and the ambulance driver previously. Both those instances were when he\u2019d seemed totally destroyed with just a shell of his body or essence remaining, so presumably something happened prior to this incarnation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spyfall (Part 2)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are the dark times. But they don’t sustain. Darkness never sustains, even though sometimes it feels like it might.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I kind of like the Doctor jumping into different time periods and the Master showing up each time in a different guise. It feels very evocative of the War Lord in The War Games who was a Nazi major at one point and a Confederate captain at another. (But what was the Master supposedly doing the whole time between World War II and 2019?) His comeuppance at the end is a classic Master ending which is kind of satisfying. At this point, the mystery of what the Timeless Child is and the devastation of Gallifrey (yet again!) is intriguing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: This round of \u2018educational history\u2019 with the introduction of Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayat Khan feels a bit more forced into the story. The aborted attempt to take over people through technology  is too much like things that have been done multiple times in the show so it doesn\u2019t really have much impact either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orphan 55<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHumans. I think you forget how powerful you are. Lives change worlds. People can save planets, or wreck them. That’s the choice.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The theme of the Doctor and friends visiting a holiday get-away where there ends up being a deadly problem underneath is at least very familiar and feels on the right track for the show. And I do like the surprise that the entire vista of the sky and ocean is a perfect screen projection. Some of the character interactions are sweet\u2014the old couple, Ryan\u2019s awkward flirting\u2014and it\u2019s a rather tense story with the seemingly unstoppable creatures relentlessly killing almost everyone in minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Ultimately, however, the whole episode collapses into a confused mess trying to be a pushy anti-climate change public service announcement by suddenly and surprisingly saying that the \u2018orphan planet\u2019 the group is on are on Earth. Not that the message itself is bad\u2014Doctor Who has a long history of inserting political and environmental subtext in episodes. What is awful here, is the way they do it. Leaving the story we\u2019ve been following pretty much in the middle of an unclear resolution, they have the Doctor deliver a wrap-up speech that ends with what feels like a grade school level \u201cthis could happen to you\u201d moment. No subtlety at all. But the worst offense of it is that in order to do this they totally alter the rules of how time travel works on the show. Suddenly their visits to the future are only an \u2018alternative\u2019 and can be changed? Is this supposedly true for all things?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: Ignoring the mis-step with referring to it as an alternative future, the supposition that this is the Earth destroyed can be seen as part of an established Doctor Who mythology. In \u201cThe Sontaran Experiment\u201d, we find a de-populated planet Earth from supposed solar flares. In \u201cThe Mysterious Planet\u201d, the Doctor and Peri similarly realize they are on Earth upon finding a sign of an old abandoned subway station and learn that Earth has been devastated by the Time Lords. In \u201cThe Curse of Fenric\u201d the earth is in a polluted slime that begets the Ancient One. (Here too it\u2019s suggested the future that can be avoided but less blatantly.) Other episodes reference large groups (or even cities) having left Earth over the millennia. So I prefer to imagine all of this somehow tied together—in a far distant future after people have largely left the Earth due to its pollution, solar flares caused by the Time Lords dragging the planet across the universe distort the polluted mess of the planet killing off much of life and mutating the rest into horrid creatures like the Haemavores and Orphan 55 creatures that exist for a time until the planet is restored in its proper place and renews itself and humanity returns to re-populate and build back Earth into a galactic power and empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nikola Tesla\u2019s Night of Terror<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy would we build when all there is is ours to take?\u201d \u2013 The Skithra Queen<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: A surprise historical after a string of other kinds of episodes is at least a nice switch. I guess the period costuming is also fairly nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Another needlessly awkward title. But more importantly, everything about this episode–the special effects, the direction, the editing, much of the acting—feels very sub-par. There is some quite dodgy CGI that compares very unfavorably to that we\u2019ve seen in other episodes. There are several instances where reactions seem like the actors were waiting for a cue. It even feels like the recycled the costume of the spider-queen of the Tennant era to create a \u2018cousin\u2019 insect creature here. It just feels like the whole episode was made on the cheap. Plus it\u2019s kind of irritating to have yet another round of established historical figures flitting about in the TARDIS. While it\u2019s interesting for the Doctor to meet historical characters in the midst of some event, it\u2019s another thing to have had them seen and know all about the TARDIS and aliens and the mysteries of the universe. We just assume they all could keep quite about all this and it didn\u2019t affect their future at all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fugitive of the Judoon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGallifrey doesn’t exist. It’s gone. Forever. And if you don’t know that, you’re in my past. So, you are only serving at the glory of ash and bone.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I could concentrate on this much better on the second watch since I wasn\u2019t quite as distracted by the reformat and frustrations about the storyline. Setting aside the major change it forces to the show as a whole, the story itself is actually a pretty good episode. It really is a mystery as to what \u2018fugitive\u2019 the Judoon are actually looking for. Ruth\u2019s unexpected and unexplained sudden hand-to-hand combat that comes out of nowhere and leaves her in charge is a well-done surprise. There\u2019s a beautiful landscape at lighthouse and it builds a lot of tension as we slowly start to realize what seems to be happening. At this point, we\u2019re not forced to accept the implications of the episode as clear so we can kind of imagine a variety of solutions. There was still hope at this point, for example, that it would be explained in some interesting way how Ruth seemed to be the Doctor\u2014divergent timelines perhaps where the Doctor regenerated one way in one stream and anther way in the other?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I think I was irritated on first watch right from the start by how long the show seemed to spend following a random character we had never met before rather than through the eyes of the Doctor and crew. By the end reveal, it was major irritation at the audacity of some new  upstart producer thinking he has the right to totally re-write the history of the program. (Of course more of that would come even worse later on.) The implication from the old style control room is of course that Ruth pre-dates the First Doctor but then it doesn\u2019t make sine why the TARDS would already be in the shape of a police box. And here’s the problem with the show re-writes\u2014they think they are so clever but they go on the assumption that a lot of established things (the TARDIS was a police box first under the First Doctor) are not things modern fans really know or care about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praxeus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlanet Earth. Seven billion lives. Separate, and connected, from the edge of the atmosphere to the depths of the ocean.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This at least is a better example of weaving an environmental, anti-pollution moral into the fabric of a story compared to the previous one. The body horror of the corpse suddenly crusting over and exploding to dust makes an impression and the moment of the birds bursting in and flying the room is definitely scary. The sudden twist of the scientist we and the Doctor seem to trust implicitly suddenly being caught out as part of the alien plot is nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I hate the \u201cTARDIS team as world-trotting investigators\u201d format here, especially since it comes out of nowhere. Since when do they do that? Some of the variables don\u2019t make sense like the bacteria building a shelter under the sea and how the sub got involved in the cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can You Hear Me?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re wrong about humans. They\u2019re not pathetic, they\u2019re magnificent. They live with their fears, doubts, guilts. They face them down every day and they prevail.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The short but somewhat frightening dreams of Yaz and Ryan are interesting\u2014her out on the lonely stretch of road is a nice shot and they do a really good job with Ryan\u2019s friend aged behind the flames. The beings using the Doctor\u2019s innate desire to help people to trick her is nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: This has got to be one of the most disjointed plots ever\u2014jumping from scary things happening in ancient Aleppo to an alien spaceships to a dreamworlds to the past lives of companions. They could have cut out some of these and just concentrated on one aspect or the other instead of trying to fit them all together into one hodgepodge. (Actually it reminds me of everything I dislike about Dinosaurs on a Spaceship as well with a similar vibe.) The floating finger sticking in peoples ears is just stupid, stupid, stupid. And the tacked on mental health PSA is a bit too on the nose again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-intorduced: A namecheck for the Eternals, the Guardians, and the Toymaker\u2014putting them all in pretty much the same universal category as different variants of the same beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Haunting of Villa Diodati<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s not one atom of yon Earth, but once was living man.\u201d \u2013 Lord Byron<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The classic horror elements here are very well done\u2014the appearances of the maid and shadowy figures and all of that with each flash of lightning, especially the first one of the maid in the background of the shot with Graham going up the stairs. Very eerie\u2014as is Graham\u2019s sudden disconcerting re-emergence from the bottom of the stairs after going up. The figure shining out on the lake as well. I also like how they go back and explain some of the events as Shelley having been wandering out of phase throughout the house. Some surprisingly harsh stuff with the Cyberman snapping the maid\u2019s neck and talking about slitting his children\u2019s throats!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilikes: I would have liked the episode not to have been about the Cyberman in the end\u2014it undercut some of the mystery to suddenly have a \u2018familiar\u2019 villain. Doing everything almost exactly the same but making it some other kind of alien creature (and dragging out its move from the lake) would have been more satisfying. Not sure if I like this sudden Time Lord ability to see someone\u2019s death?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ascension of the Cybermen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery empire has its time, and every empire falls. But that which is dead can live again–in the hands of a believer.\u201d –  Ashad<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: Not a lot actually happens in this episode (which more serves as a bridge to the finale) and yet it has a bleakness and weight to it that makes it feel more significant. Ashad and the Cybermen\u2019s ruthlessness definitely comes through and the desperation of the band of survivors trying to stop the Cyberman feels reminiscent of the disastrous escape attempt of the Telos prisoners in Attack of the Cybermen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: For my whole viewing of this episode the first time, I assumed we were seeing the backstory of Ashad so it left me very confused in the end. The fact that it\u2019s neither hinted as to what the scenes might be nor shown that they are connected to the Doctor at all undercuts the intrigue and makes them just confusing. And unfortunately, the episode starts of with some stuff that is just silly—flying Cybermen heads totally undercut the seriousness of the initial battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Timeless Children<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI promise I’ll roll out the red carpet\u2026it’s red because it’s drenched in the blood of our people.\u201d \u2013 The Master<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes:  There\u2019s lots of callback to the Gallifrey past here that gives the episode an interesting vibe. The ongoing desperate struggle against the Cyberman is well done\u2014especially as sympathetic characters get cut down left and right. The murdered Time Lords being resurrected as regenerating Cybermen is a very interesting idea. And whatever you think of the Timeless Child storyline, it\u2019s an interesting (if a little odd) device to have had the parallel memories the story before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: As pointed out by the Master, Ashad\u2019s plan to kill all organic things doesn\u2019t make sense for the Cybermen to have made so they have gloss it over by saying they are somehow moving towards being fully mechanical. (I do like how the Master does a good job of dismissing \u201crobots\u201d as such a boring move.) It feels like they took an idea they wanted to use and fit it in as best they could. And wasn\u2019t it supposed to have destroyed the entire universe\u2014even if reduced in size why does it only affect Gallifrey? Meanwihle, the other groups plan to hide in the suits and pretend to be Cybermen is kind of mundane. But most importantly, there\u2019s the whole Timeless Child arc: it would have been okay perhaps to have learned that the entire of Time Lord society stole their regenerative properties from another race. That would have been an interesting reveal in line with the pomposity and corruption we already know. But the hubris to change the entire backstory of the Doctor–adding lots of lives we never knew about, making her ancient and the central focus of her entire species and planet, and actually an alien from another planet entirely\u2014is just grating. Ignoring how it complicates storylines, it also utterly cuts down a basic tenet of the show having the Doctor as an underdog that through his good character stepped up and left his people and corrupt society. Suddenly, the Doctor is the central figure and key to all and really is a singular individual of enormous importance. The message that any of us can stand up and be a better person is lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: The Panopticon, the events of The Deadly Assassin, Borusa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revolution of the Daleks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll that time in a cell wondering who I am. I’m the Doctor. I’m the one who stops the Daleks.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I wasn\u2019t a huge fan of the Jack Robertson character originally so I wasn\u2019t hugely excited to see him return but I do like how they handle some of the government back-dealing in the story. The Doctor\u2019s banter with Captain Jack is kind of a fun return as well. The plot itself is fairly straightforward so it makes for a decent one-off episode. The attack by the Daleks in the Osaka factory feels like an alien scifi movie. And I\u2019m glad they didn\u2019t forget to wrap up what to do amount the spare TARDIS lying around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: The tone shifts a lot–the opening where they kill off the driver is surprisingly vicious but Jack Robertson involvement is often comic. It also seems odd that the Doctor, who always finds solutions to things, just sat for two decades in prison without even attempting a way to get out? (Perhaps we\u2019re meant to think she\u2019s too depressed.) Also, I don\u2019t know why she lets her companions be so upset for her absence for 10 months without retorting \u201cWhy are you complaining? I was stuck in prison for NINETEEN YEARS!\u201d)  Anyway, we arrive back to the constant conundrum in this episode\u2014do people remember all the world-changing alien invasions that have happened or not? If so, why in the world is nobody remembering the Daleks from the Canary Wharf battle which these supposed security drones resemble. And why if they are just rolling them out are they already being used as ticket takers at random places? Most irritating in this episode is the pause for Doctor and the Ryan\u2019s heart-to-heart\u2014huh? The TARDIS travels instantaneously, where did \u201cfour minutes to Osaka\u201d come from?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Halloween Apocalypse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA hurricane, ripping through the structure of this universe, disrupting every particle.\u201d – Karvanista about the Flux<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I was kind of happy at the idea of a season spanning story spread out across episodes in the vein of The Trial of a Time Lord. And some of the instances are a nice mystery set up\u2014what the one man is building in Liverpool 1820, how does this lady seem to know the Doctor and Yaz though they haven\u2019t met yet, what happened to Dan\u2019s crush. There\u2019s some pretty impressive graphics with the flux destroying the planets from Vinder\u2019s outpost view as well.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Unfortunately, the entire Flux series kicks off with a very silly, kiddish scene with a ridiculous premise, tongue-in-cheek jokes, and entirely green screen scenery. It\u2019s not a good start. (And I didn\u2019t realize until second watch that this over-the-top James Bond-like execution was led by someone that we\u2019re supposed to cheer on later as an ally. Are we supposed to decide he wasn\u2019t so bad after all because he protected eart and never mind that he was also intent on killing the Doctor and Yaz?) The tone shifts jarringly as the various elements for later stories are introduced. In a way, it\u2019s all a bit too much that has to be shown at once and some of it therefore loses impact–not too mention they also have to cram in introducing and building sympathy for a whole new companion. Despite all that, there\u2019s really not much that happens plot-wise in this entire episode. The species-bonded dog people thing is a bit silly in the end—and are we to assume the Flux that was a wave that passed and now is done or not?  A lot of that is unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Cliffhangers at the end of every story!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

War of the Sontarans<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAh. All our fears made true. All is porous. All is broken. I must retrace. There’s so much work to be done.\u201d – Williamson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This story is quite visually striking at every step\u2014particularly the moment of the Doctor\u2019s fog-drenched parlay with the Sontaran and the massive battle that follows. The pathos of the commander\u2019s battalion dying and his stern face (and guilt) are well done. His blowing of the ships despite the Doctor\u2019s anger is actually pretty cool. I usually don\u2019t like historical figures making random appearances in stories but the Mary Seacole one here is actually just right\u2014not too prominent a personage to be ridiculous, sympathetically portrayed, a fairly balanced role in the situation. As for the other parts of the story, the urgency of the priests begging for repair at the Atropos temple and the eerie appearance of the Moori set up a nice tension. I really do love the brief hallway encounter Yaz has with Williamson for its brevity and totally mystery of what it will mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I wanted to root on the season-spanning story idea but this episode shows its flaws. I think the Sontaran story set in Crimea would probably have been a great one had it been entirely self-contained. Having to throw in elements of the larger story muddies the drama and arc of the main plot. But more importantly, there are many flaws with trying to make it a grand time-spanning story as well. The point of the Sontarans being in modern day Liverpool first is a bit unclear. By having seen them in the nineteenth century and then suddenly in the present, it seems we\u2019re to assume they got established in history and have built up an empire that stretched from then to now. But then the idea is quickly undercut. Okay, they\u2019ve just gone back in time from the present as a first test step into history. Fine. But wait, Mary Seacole and the others have never heard of Russians so that means the Sontarans had to have gone back much father and spent centuries building a Eurasian empire? But it\u2019s also implied they just arrived and the soldiers are encountering them for the first time so it\u2019s more they distorted memories? But wait, Sontar is printed on a map like it exists? It took me a two or three watches to realize that the spaceship crash supposedly reset whatever they were doing in time like they were never there maybe.  But then the ones still in Crimea didn\u2019t disappear? Argh.         <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once, Upon Time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em><\/strong>You have put yourself at risk in here, Doctor. Time is playing games with you all.\u201d \u2013 The Mouri<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I like Bel\u2019s character. The flashes into companion\u2019s lives with disjointed time the Doctor breaking through is interesting enough—though a bit random about how it\u2019s portrayed each time. The dream-like time and place jumps in Dan\u2019s timestream are definitely unsettling in a good way.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: It\u2019s a bit irritating to keep having so many new characters introduced in a complex story that doesn\u2019t have a lot of clarity about where it\u2019s going. And moreso in Bel\u2019s case that they do so by breaking off the existing story into a cinematic style \u201cmeanwhile in another part of the galaxy\u201d graphic. Ditto for the split screen ending of her and Vinder in Star Wars style. It\u2019s all just not very \u201cDoctor Who\u201d. This whole episode is again a bit of muddle. Not much happens in terms of a storyline\u2014it seems to go that way for every other story of this series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Village of the Angels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDivision uses everything and everyone. Every species, every world, every moment. They are everywhere, present and unseen.\u201d \u2013 The Angel through Claire<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s a lot to like in this episode with the ever-encroaching Angels being given even more abilities that nonetheless seem a natural progression from previous stories and, as usual, coming off relentless and scary especially as they close in on the basement. The scene on the beach in Claire\u2019s mind where the Angel uses her as a mouthpiece is very well done. The Doctor being taken by conversion to an Angel is quite shocking as well. There\u2019s a lot of very good direction and visually striking scenes as well as some nice characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: They kind of muck up Claire\u2019s story a bit. They seemed to have promised something more interesting previously with her having met the Doctor and Yaz out of order but instead they make it just a psychic premonition or something, like they had painted themselves into a corner about the timing.  It\u2019s hard not to feel the whole village hanging in space thing is a bit too fanciful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Survivors of the Flux<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAcross Space and Time, its influence is unparalleled, its reach is unlimited. All from the shadows. It achieved its aim beyond our wildest dreams.\u201d \u2013 Tecteune about the Division<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s a little bit of an appeal to the banter between Yaz and the guys, especially when she surprises them with her matter-of-fact approach to the dead body in their cabin. Kate gets to be a badass again in her confrontation with the Grand Serpent. I\u2019m also impressed that in so doing they actually resolve a bad storyline from before\u2014the whole silliness with UNIT being shut down by government cutbacks is reframed as a sinister plot to get the organization out of the way .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Yet again, we\u2019re back to a lot of random bits of storylines introducing more players making this episode feel again a bit disjointed. I hate the general premise that the Doctor\u2019s companions have someone gone on bravely for years gathering clues from 1901 to 1904, travelling the world as adventurers seeking the Doctor. (Where do they get the money to do all this?) It conveniently ignores what would have been years of forging relationships and ties such that they three of them should be way closer to each other than to the Doctor and, in all likelihood, would likely have moved on with their lives in the past. That the Doctor somehow had forethought to record holographic instructions for Yaz regarding something they never could have seen coming is just a ridiculous contrivance. Moreover, I hate that they turn all their scenes into bit of comic farce. (They painted huge letters around the Great Wall of China and no one from then until 2021 saw them?) They double down on the whole Timeless Child thing here to the point that it can\u2019t be ignored. A bit of a waste of the character of Tecteune to have her both introduced and killed so quickly. (Though we see that the Ravagers can both destroy and re-build so maybe that will be an excuse for her to return in the future.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vanquishers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, sorry, I forgot to mention, I’m being trisected across disparate dimensions\u2026 It’s quite draining, and confusing, and breaks every known law of every known everything.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: I have to admit that the episode gives a vague bit of satisfaction in seeing certain loose ends get tied up here (even though there are also a lot that don\u2019t as noted below). And the Doctor split up into multiple versions is handled fairly well to help us keep it in mind and even weaves into the plot in an interesting way by helping defeat the Grand Serpent. And I like the Ood—poor brave little Ood\u2014yes he is division but there\u2019s no doubt he\u2019s been manipulated into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: And so we arrive at the end with a few plot points cleaned up but a whole lot more just left hanging. Is half the universe destroyed? Was Earth aware it was under siege from the Sontarans or did that get erased in time yet again (because we sure don\u2019t see the effects later)? Were all of the Daleks and Cybermen and Sontarans in the universe destroyed? Did that get reset too? Since the events of the Flux never get referenced again, it seems like it was not quite the universe ending event it seemed to be maybe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eve of the Daleks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf our lives depend on my mother ringing me at a time I actually ask her to, honestly, we’re all dead.\u201d – Sarah <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: The TARDIS crew does Groundhog Day in a fairly fun way. I usually hate broadly comedic episodes but dang it if Aisling Bea doesn\u2019t hit the tone exactly right to make it quite enjoyable! I like the slight addition of moving up the re-set by a minute each time since it does presumably add the danger of having to make sure you survive the first sixty-seconds or you might not make it into the next iteration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: I\u2019m sure if you analyze the timing and placement of the characters at each iteration, the logic starts to fall apart. The biggest example of this is that after confirming that you don\u2019t want to get killed within the initial timeframe for the reiteration at risk of missing the next re-set, they seem to do so to one of the characters without incident. Also, if the re-set is localized some of the interactions with people outside the time bubble don\u2019t quite match up. But those are more nitpicky than this one-off fun episode deserves. Also, it really wasn\u2019t necessary that the Daleks be the villains of this story for it to work, so they are obviously just there for more brand recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legend of the Sea Devils<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’re just a crew from a ship looking for adventure–and often finding it.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: There\u2019s some exceedingly nice cinematography and period costuming in this one (village in the rain, ocean scenes) and the Pirate Queen Madame Ching is wonderfully strong. I was also very excited about the Sea Devils returning. Setting it in historical Asia also seemed to make sense\u2014they do after all progress towards samurai-like costumes in the classic series! I really wanted to like this one\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: But while it started off so well with the scene in the village before the Sea Devil appears we then quickly get some horrible computerized design of the Sea Devils themselves. I would so much have preferred the immobile rubber masked face of the originals to the horrible googly eyed CGI monstrosities we are given. Not only this but we have some horrible direction during the sword attack with the sword slashes and falling victims that are oh-so-clearly stitched together shots that don\u2019t match up. Was it intentional to try to give a \u201cold Asian kung fu cinema\u201d appearance? Did it happen because of COVID and they couldn\u2019t have the extras in the same room? Not sure but it\u2019s awful either way. Then they have the Sea Devil doing flying leaps again like in a Chinese film but with the CGI it just looks silly. So disappointing. The plot is fairly straightforward and if not distracted by some of this could have coasted on style. And then it\u2019s just irritating for me as usual for the Doctor to get on to someone for killing an enemy—in the middle of a sword fight! I hate the idea of the Doctor pursuing \u201ca relationship\u201d so it\u2019s irritating it even get addressed, but I\u2019m glad they at least shuffle it off in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Power of the Doctor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likes: This one was just intended to be a fun romp for longtime fans and, boy, did it deliver. I knew of and was excited about Ace and Tegan being back but the appearance of other Doctors (even if as apparitions and holograms) was a great exciting surprise. So satisfying to see the Tegan\/Fifth and Ace\/Seventh interactions. Then on top of that, they give us a full circle of other former companions including Ian! I would probably label this as my favorite Jodie Whitaker episode though to be fair she doesn\u2019t get that much prominence with everything else going on. Some people may have thought Dan\u2019s exit sudden and thin, but to me it feels like a nice return to how companions were handled in the original series. Ashad and the Cybermen come off severely brutal here which serves to magnify the bravery of Kate Stewart. Vinder is an inoffensive but rather pointless inclusion but I liked the problem-solving solution by the hologram as Ruth\u2014stealing the regeneration energy of the CyberMasters nicely solved the immediate issue and gave a satisfying closure to what could have otherwise been an annoyingly recurring set of villains that were too powerful to continue in future episodes. There\u2019s definitely some nice effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dislikes: Do I care that the plot is a bit overly convoluted and almost nonsensical? Nah, it\u2019s a signature aspect of the Mater\u2019s character to have those anyway! But in all honesty, it really doesn\u2019t make sense why he is Rasputin in 1916 or what he accomplishes by having the Doctor regenerate into himself. Wouldn\u2019t that mean it was the Doctor we know with just the Master\u2019s face? If on the other hand, the Master was trying to become the Doctor to ruin her reputation then shouldn\u2019t he have regenerated his own body into her form? Instead, we seem to just have the Master play-acting in the Doctor\u2019s old clothes. It\u2019s also a typically irritating thing about this era that they ignore what happened in previous episodes to get a moment. \u201cIt\u2019d be neat to have Tegan receive the tiny Cyberman from the previous episodes and Asher come back. Didn\u2019t we destroy him entirely in the last episode? Ah, the cool visual is more important so we will just cover it with some poor excuse dialogue that actually undercuts what makes it cool in the first place and people won\u2019t really notice or care anyway.\u201d I was a bit disappointed (and worried) when the story open on a fanciful CGI space train and we had the TARDIS team acting like police action heroes. And in order to enjoy the wonderful moments with the old companions I have to try to make myself forget that the images of the past Doctors are holograms interacting with them and that the \u2018real\u2019 Doctor has no knowledge of those resolutions. (Or I can also add an imagined scenario that the Doctor is able to download and review the saved recording by those hologram interactions later so that she does know what she does \u201cremember\u201d them.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-introduced: Tegan! Ace! And more of course. Very worthy of a centenary celebration episode. The story is also full of other echoes of the past\u2014the forced regeneration mentioned makes us think immediately of the Second Doctor (though there\u2019s a sly nod to theories for the Sixth as well), the Daleks mining the core of the Earth takes us back to the First Doctor, Ace\u2019s baseball bat and Nitro Nine, the Master\u2019s hypnotic stare like the Delgado era, and lots more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting: The reminder that the Master ingested the Cyberium in his previous appearance was an interesting point that made me realize there is a clear possible and logical explanation of how he escaped death yet again since you could imagine that it somehow had the capacity to warp out and create a forcefield to protect himself and some of the CyberMasters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rose \u201cNice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!\u201d \u2013 The Doctor Likes: Though perhaps a bit much, the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1583"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1583"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1603,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1583\/revisions\/1603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}