dkiliane Reviews

Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time (2017) Season 11, Episode 0

Twice upon a great time!

[9/10 · 4 January 2020]

So we finally have it. The special that serves as the send off, not only for the twelfth Doctor, but the Moffat era of Doctor Who. And what a send off! As the twelfth Doctor refuses to regenerate, the first Doctor (also refusing to regenerate) and a World War I soldier (marvelously played by Mark Gatiss) stumble upon him. And then a massive ship piloted by crystal humanoids calling themselves Testimony kidnaps them and demands the soldier be handed over to them. And then Bill appears! It's a lot to process, but it's handled with humor and heart.

The plot is rather straightforward, and not a lot actually happens when one thinks about it. However, the heart of the episode is character driven, and there are plenty of wonderful character moments throughout as The Doctor(s) and co escape and travel to see the "good" Dalek, Rusty (as The Doctor calls him), from season eight in order to sort just exactly who the Testimony are. Not a lot of action, but when there is, it is quite cool, and the episode as a whole is a nifty sci-fi adventure, with cool twists (Bill is part of Testimony - - well, her memories at least- - who turn out to not actually be villains!, among other twists involving the fate of the World War I soldier- - too many to go into here), fun adventure and humor ( the first Doctor is a hoot and the two Doctors play off each other humorously) and rather good guest appearances by Clara (yay!) and even Nardole, giving them all a truly heartwarming send off.

The Doctor's farewell speech at the end as he finally decides to regenerate (we all knew it was coming), while not as grandiose and mesmerizing as some of his others, was still quite captivating and injected some good natured humor into his closing speech, and definitely delivered the feels. It seems to not only be Peter Capaldi's, but also Stephen Moffat's swan song, echoing the audience's own trepidation regarding the future of Doctor Who, but is ultimately optimistic. While not exactly perfect (could have used some tighter plotting but that's my only real complaint considering how much they had to fit in here), the final special of the Moffat era ends on the kind of high note that only Doctor Who can deliver. 9.5/10

Doctor Who: The Doctor Falls (2017) Season 10, Episode 12

Perfect ten for the season ten finale

[10/10 · 2 January 2020]

This season finale perfectly follows up the cliffhanger of the previous episode. From Missy's (double) betrayal and The Doctor's escape to The Doctor's heartbreaking fall against the CyberMen as Bill (still trapped as a CyberMan) weeps over him, the episode pulls out all the stops with just the right mix of humor, heart and aplomb, perfectly wrapping up not only this story, but the entire season. The emotional poignancy has never been higher.

The actors were all in top form for this season finale. Pearl Mackie truly shines as she portrays Bill's struggle to cope with the reality that she is stuck as a CyberMan, in a constant battle for her individuality against the CyberMan programming. The ultimate fate of Missy and The Master, literally shooting/stabbing each other in the back was the perfect climax to their character arc. And The Doctor's speech as he begs them to stand with him and fight the CyberMen might be the best Peter Capaldi has ever delivered on Doctor Who. Even Nardole received a satisfying send off, becoming the leader of the Mondasian refugees from the CyberMen, and the CyberMen actually felt threatening this time. And The Doctor's battle against them was dramatic, perfectly believable, and devoid of camp - - finally a worthy CyberMen episode! Ad it perfectly circles back to the regeneration scene at the beginning of the previous episode, teasing the special that will serve as Peter Capaldi's swan song as The Doctor.

There are some who have felt Bill's fate was a bit convenient, shoehorning Heather (the alien puddle girl Bill had a crush on in the season premiere with the star iris) in just to give Bill an escape from death. I felt this way as well the first time I saw the episode, but after a re-viewing I noticed that it was hinted at not only throughout the episode, but even in the season premiere, when Bill felt Heather's tears in her own eyes. And while I'm still not a huge fan of Heather as a character, I do believe Bill's rescue by her and subsequent choice to travel the stars in Heather's form with her was a deserved conclusion to her arc. And I'm a sucker for a happy ending, so sue me. 10/10

Doctor Who: World Enough and Time (2017) Season 10, Episode 11

Not enough time in the world to fully explain how great this episode is

[9/10 · 1 January 2020]

But I'll try. This episode is excellently crafted from beginning to end. The opening scene is The Doctor stumbling out of the TARDIS into a snowscape on the cusp of regeneration. From there we go back to the adventure that will eventually lead up to this event. Missy, accompanied by a not so enthused Bill and Nardole, somewhat mockingly dons the role as The Doctor, who is watching her from inside the TARDIS to test if she really has changed. They find themselves on a massive ship (hundreds of miles long) successfully but slowly reversing away from a black hole. Things quickly get out of hand, however, and despite The (real) Doctor leaping into action, Bill still is stuck with a gigantic hole in her chest. And that's just the beginning!

After an ironic flashback of Bill confessing her misgivings about The Doctor giving Missy a chance, the meat of the episode is Bill waiting in a mysterious hospital at the bottom of the ship after having a chest unit surgically implanted to save her life. She befriends a quirky orderly called Mr. Razor after attempting to investigate the hospital's other "fully converted patients" while she waits for The Doctor to come rescue her. Because of the time differential on the opposite ends of the ship, The Doctor's few minutes at the top of the ship, explaining what's going on and getting past the ship's pilot in true Doctor Who fashion, take years at the bottom of the ship where she is waiting. Despite basically being a damsel in distress scenario, the episode moves along nicely, thanks to the perfectly directed macabre atmosphere punctuated by some fun humor with Bill's interactions with Mr. Razor.

The twists at the end seal this episode as one of my all time favorites. Mr. Razor is in fact John Simm's The Master in disguise and The Doctor is too late to save Bill from "full conversion" ... into a CyberMan! I'm not usually big on the CyberMen but this take is so eerie and the twist perfectly executed and heart-wrenching, I actually genuinely and thoroughly enjoyed the CyberMen appearance. Now, technically, these twists were spoiled by the BBC's own preview trailer, but thankfully I didn't see it the first time I saw it. But even on subsequent viewings, knowing the twist lends deeper insight and more emotional impact to the episode, so much that I never tire of it. 9.5/10

Doctor Who: The Eaters of Light (2017) Season 10, Episode 10

There is no light at the end of the tunnel for this episode

[6/10 · 1 January 2020]

I know there are several people who loved this episode, and the majority seem to feel it is average, but for me, this is the worst episode of season ten. There is nothing interesting in this episode aside from Nardole (hilarious) and some of The Doctor's lines. "That is the sound of my PATIENCE shattering!" Is probably my favorite, mostly because mine did too very early on in this episode.

The premise is okay, stumbling upon interdimensional monsters that devour light (though why this kills people directly is not well explained) while looking to see what happened to the ninth Roman legion in Scotland. But this episode has so many weaknesses and irritations. I don't understand why people were so excited for this writer to return; the writing is horrendous and feels like a ridiculous fanfic love letter to both Scotland and the Romans somehow. Not that there's anything wrong with Scotland that I know of, but constantly pointing out, "hey, they're in Scotland" detracted from what little enjoyment the episode had to offer. And the treatment of the Romans was even more ridiculous. The Romans butchered entire communities but that's ok because they were "enlightened" enough to accept homosexuality!? I understand this is historical fact and an issue in modern day culture, but the oversimplification and dismissal of their atrocities (even just to the Picts in this episode) is egregious. And not for a second do I believe any of those child actors are Romans or Picts! But at least we got another appearance from Missy to tease the next episode. 6/10

Doctor Who: Empress of Mars (2017) Season 10, Episode 9

Sci-Fi channel B movie on Mars

[8/10 · 1 January 2020]

Not that that's a bad thing necessarily. It was actually decently entertaining. It appears Mark Gatiss may have found his niche in Doctor Who story telling - - the B sci-fi movie genre. When he doesn't take himself too seriously, his writing is actually enjoyable. Not amazing, but enjoyable.

With this episode, The Doctor, Nardole and Bill decide to visit NASA as their probe to Mars just receives visual, a message spelled out in stones that reads "God save the queen." This oddity, of course, prompts The Doctor and co to investigate, and what they find is an absurd premise, but somehow works for the episode - a regiment of British soldiers from Victorian times who hitched themselves a ride with a Martian Ice Warrior to Mars with the promise of gold, gems and like riches. Very British, as The Doctor points out.

As absurd as this premise is, it still works because Mr. Gatiss manages to craft memorable and entertaining characters. Catchglove as the selfish and conniving secondary antagonist, the Colonel deserter, and the soldier who wants just enough to bring home so as to take care of his future bride, among others - - all of these provide the foundation for why we are invested in the episode's outcome, because we want to see how each one of them fares. And of course, The Doctor and Bill are a blast, and Nardole is fun too, for the whole two minutes he's in it. And we get to see Missy at the very end!

The main antagonist, the Martian Empress, along with her cohorts, are rather one note. And while the Ice Warrior "Friday," as the troops call him, is better nuanced, the Ice Warriors as a whole fall rather flat, which is odd, since the incredible danger just one Ice Warrior posed was one of the few things Gatiss got right in his previous Ice Warrior episode from season seven. Here they're not much different than the CyberMen (which I won't go on about here). But they serve their purpose, I suppose, and the overall episode is solid Doctor Who entertainment for those willing to suspend enough disbelief. 8/10

Doctor Who: The Lie of the Land (2017) Season 10, Episode 8

Fake news metaphor delivers real Doctor Who entertainment!

[9/10 · 27 December 2019]

The finale of any trilogy can make or break the whole thing. Fortunately, this third part to the Monks trilogy delivers. Six months after Bill handed over the planet to the Monks in the previous episode, she fights to stay sane and hold on to the memories of events as they actually happened, while memory police kidnap and subdue any dissenters, Nardole is missing, and The Doctor appears to be helping the enemy. A pretty bleak opening, but sets up the episode rather nicely.

This episode is chock full of suspenseful, thrilling moments, as well as emotional ones, all wonderfully acted, as Bill reunites with Nardole and eventually The Doctor, though the reunion doesn't go quite as planned, and it seems he may have actually turned against humanity. It is probably the best scene in the episode and lets Capaldi loose to really be The Doctor for the first time in season ten, which was highly satisfying and entertaining, and further, lets Pearl Mackie delve into the character of Bill also, which is a treat. The battle with the Monks was also done well and in an artfully cinematic way. The return of Missy was also rather fun.

The only thing holding this episode back was its hasty conclusion. While the memory controlling machine itself was cool, the somewhat vague explanation as to why Bill's memory of or perhaps imagined version of her mother was all it took to release the Monks' grip on humanity's collective memories (and thus their control of humanity itself) felt like a sloppy rehash of The Rings of Akhaten when Clara defeated the "old god" with the simple memories of her mother (I miss Clara). Still, the episode was entertaining nonetheless, and a thrilling and satisfying conclusion to the Monks trilogy, so long as you don't thInk on it too hard. 9/10

Doctor Who: The Pyramid at the End of the World (2017) Season 10, Episode 7

Solid second parter to the Extremis monks trilogy

[8/10 · 27 December 2019]

While this episode, the second of three featuring the "Monks'" bid to take over Earth, while a definite drop in quality from the masterful Extremis, is still a solid episode in its own right. After the initial summons of Bill by the leader of the UN (an entertaining callback to the Pope incident in the previous episode) to help locate The Doctor since an ancient pyramid materialized overnight in a contended location between the worlds powers (US, China, and Russia), the episode has somewhat of a slow burn. But there is enough suspense, not only in the mystery of the supposed catastrophe that will cause humanity to hand the Earth over to the "Monks," but also with their intentions and insistence on pure consent for them to take over. It's an intriguing premise, and The Doctor's curiosity fuels our own.

With that said, very little actually happens in the episode and the majority of the side characters, other than the lady scientist, I guess, are rather underdeveloped and thus garner no sympathy when their demise arrives. The episode uses a doomsday clock gimmick in an attempt to ante up the stakes, but since the threat isn't even really understood until well into the last act of the episode, it falls a bit flat, and I found myself wondering more than once when something will actually happen.

The final act does deliver pretty well, however, with the bio-contamination catastrophe from the lab acting as a catalyst for Bill to be the one to hand over the Earth to the "Monks" in order to save The Doctor (the pure motive of love being the necessary ingredient), and it is satisfying, believable, emotionally resonant, and made for a decent cliffhanger for the third and final episode. So, while not as excellent as the first part, it still succeeds where it counts, adding up to solid Doctor Who entertainment. 8.5/10

Doctor Who: Extremis (2017) Season 10, Episode 6

Extremis is extremely entertaining Doctor Who

[9/10 · 27 December 2019]

Now we get to the good stuff! This episode is the first part of a well done three parter. Basically, The Doctor is asked by the big potato himself (the Pope - people who know Spanish should get the potato pun) to investigate a text titled the Veritas that seems to make anyone who reads it commit suicide. Rather high stakes to start off the premise of the episode!

And the stakes continue to rise as the episode progresses, culminating in one of my favorite twists in all of Doctor Who. But even before then, this episode has much to offer. Banter between Bill, Nardole and The Doctor is priceless as usual, and The Doctor engineering solutions to get around his blindness (a consequence from the previous episode's events) is hugely entertaining. There is a nice underlying tension to the episode's tone, punctuated by clever moments of levity. And the writing is in top form as The Doctor manages escape from "the Monks," as they are called, along with Bill and Nardole's chilling realization that the whole set up was a simulation set up by the Monks to prepare their invasion of Earth. The climactic conclusion with the simulation Doctor able to send a warning to the real world Doctor was incredibly triumphant and thrilling. The best episode thus far in season ten and one of my personal favorites! 9.5/10

Doctor Who: Oxygen (2017) Season 10, Episode 5

Solid thriller that unfortunately runs out of air at the end

[8/10 · 26 December 2019]

With this episode we finally start to see better quality episodes for season ten. It actually reminds me of "Sleep No More" from season nine, but before panicking, know this episode is done better, with a solidly creepy aesthetic and much cooler dialogue to boot, though the side characters are a bit more forgettable and less interesting. The premise is neat, too - - spacesuits deactivating/killing their occupants. The irony of a construct designed to protect people being the danger may be a bit on the nose, but it still makes for some good suspense, even though the villains were a bit lame if you think on it too much (basically amounted to spacesuit zombies).

This was the episode where Bill begins to grow on me as a character, Pearl Mackie displaying superb acting chops here. And we even see some touching moments of self-sacrifice by The Doctor as well, when he gives Bill his helmet so she can survive the trek in space to the opposite end of the station, which has real consequences throughout the season, which was another nice touch. I also enjoyed the sense of harrowing danger throughout the episode right up to the end, which is the point unfortunately where the episode goes down a notch.

The weakness of the ending unfortunately has to do with the episode's twist. The twist itself is interesting though not entirely unforeseeable - - no one hacked the suits' programming, the company in charge of the space station input orders to the suits to "deactivate their organic component" simply because it was more cost effective to do so. The end, when The Doctor convinces them more or less instantaneously that it would be more expensive to kill them feels rushed, and while a cool line and moment where he saves everyone, it feels a bit anti-climactic and a bit rushed, as if the writing just ran out of ideas, or oxygen, if you will. 8.5/10

Doctor Who: Knock Knock (2017) Season 10, Episode 4

Wooden story

[6/10 · 15 December 2019]

After a quick montage to give us the premise of Bill and her mates looking for a place to move into while going to university (not sure why this is, when supposedly the school year already started but whatever) they are approached by an older gentleman offering them exactly the kind of place they are looking for. Of course, it just so happens that the house, along with its landlord, is a bit "off." Basically another Doctor Who take on the haunted house trope, there is nothing particularly special, memorable or exciting about this episode. The first act does get points for being sufficiently creepy, but beyond that there is very little redeemable here.

First off, the majority of the characters are just wooden horror fodder (and I blame the script more so than the actors) with nothing particularly interesting about them. The Doctor and Bill of course are fine, with some humorous bickering as Bill desperately tries to keep The Doctor out of her personal life, and considering the script Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie are given, they make it work admirably. But the villainous landlord especially feels like a cardboard cutout and comes off more irritating than actually creepy or intimidating. And once he reveals his intentions (which were not hard to guess) there was literally nothing interesting left to watch. The alien termites whatever they were, along with the twist that the landlord is the son and not the father of the wooden woman, were completely pointless and unsatisfying, adding a layer of nothing in an attempt to make an episode that ran out of steam 15 minutes in feel like it had some depth. But the only thing it really did do was make the episode feel like an odd fanfic, especially with the nonsensical undoing of all the deaths (which I normally wouldn't mind cause I prefer happy endings, but this was just ridiculous and without believable explanation), much like Forest of The Night in season eight, and did not deserve to actually be made into television. The good news, after this one we start to get into some better episodes. 6.5/10

Doctor Who: Thin Ice (2017) Season 10, Episode 3

Thin story but a mostly fun historical romp nonetheless

[7/10 · 12 December 2019]

Historical adventure episodes tend to be a little hit or miss for me in Doctor Who, and this one unfortunately has some pretty big misses. Mostly with the story. The sea creature under the frozen Thames during the last frost fair in 19th century London might sound interesting but the idea never really progresses from there. Also, we are too hurried from one scene to the next to ever really feel like anything important is happening, and most of the characters are rather throw-away, including the villain, who is defeated rather ignominiously.

With that said, the episode still has a number of good points - - decent humor throughout, some touching moments along with good moments for Bill's character growth, and just a generally fun feel to the episode. Bill's uncertainty of being in 19th century London as a young black woman and her anger toward The Doctor for his seemingly nonchalant attitude toward death (especially a child's death here) is both understandable and poignant. Of course, we know The Doctor's side but Bill does not. The issue of race is handled interestingly here, with the sea creature doubling as a metaphor for slavery, and is one of the highlights of the episode, both from a serious and humorous point of view. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the episode, while admittedly enjoyable to watch as a whole, is still rather forgettable. Although definitely better than the previous episode. 7.5/10

Doctor Who: Smile (2017) Season 10, Episode 2

Not much to smile about here

[7/10 · 12 December 2019]

In this episode we are treated to Bill's first official outing as The Doctor's companion. Unfortunately it follows the typical Doctor Who second episode of the season slump. The premise is somewhat interesting, Nanobot controlled emoji robots trying to eliminate sadness by eliminating sad people. Oddly logical, in a way, and suits machine logic. Unfortunately the execution is a bit subpar. The visuals and the eerieness of the episode's first act are well done and The Doctor and Bill are spot on but it starts to go down hill in the second act once The Doctor decides to blow up the colony in order to prevent the nanobots from devouring any other hapless colonists who might try to settle on the colony.

The Doctor's decision here feels a bit out of character to be honest, not bothering to see if there is any other life on the ship that serves as the central hub for the ill-fated colony is a rather hefty oversight. Fortunately Bill is there to discover the other colonists still in cryo-sleep (well, runs into one of them at least) all of which is a little convenient story-wise. The discovery of the catalyst for the nanobots' genocidal rampage is again interesting but also again poorly executed with little sensible explanation beneath the service of how unexpected grief could trigger such a reaction - - one would think there would be safeguards within the programming, like "no killing humans" or something.

The final act, after the colonists awaken, is hurried and sloppy, with a deus ex machina reset button that makes the nanobots harmless, which makes no sense as to why it couldn't have been used earlier instead of blowing the place up. The colonists' bull-headed attempt to destroy the nanobots is likewise nonsensical. Guns vs microscopic machines? Stupidity. And the nanobots being a new emerging species was equally rushed and sloppy. To be fair, it's not all bad and the episode had some interesting ideas which had some definite potential if developed properly (a two-parter may have been in order here?), but it's execution leaves this episode rather average and forgettable. 7/10

Doctor Who: The Pilot (2017) Season 10, Episode 1

The Pilot flies but turbulence abounds

[8/10 · 10 December 2019]

The Pilot, the pilot episode of season ten, while solid overall, has some definite rough spots. To start with, the new companion, Bill Potts (played by Pearl Mackie) to me feels much less interesting than previous main companions and whose main characterization is that she is a lesbian is something we are beaten over the head with so often during the course of the episode, it becomes tiresome. Eventually, her other qualities are explored throughout the season, but for now she doesn't have much going for her other than she smiles when she doesn't understand something instead of frowning - which would have been interesting if they had at least explored that a bit more. But alas, it seems the writers decided her being black and lesbian was sufficient.

That said, the production value is quite good and the story is mostly enjoyable - the cameo by the Daleks was a particular delight! Nardole is entertaining and The Doctor evaluating Bill as companion material is fun. The villain, though, is unfortunately rather lackluster, basically being an evil puddle and feels like a cheap rehash of the villains from The Waters of Mars special from Tennant's run. Even so, it is sufficiently creepy and seemingly unstoppable as The Doctor and Nardole try to figure out what it is, why it took the form of Bill's latest crush (who also felt a little shoehorned and undercharacterized - only thing interesting about her was the star pattern in one of her irises, which had nothing to do with anything), why it was even after Bill, and ultimately how to escape it. It's a fun ride overall but the lazy characterization of the new characters key to the episode brings it down a notch. 8/10

Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio (2016) Season 10, Episode 0

Doctor Who goes superhero

[8/10 · 10 December 2019]

Take a cheesy superhero flic and add The Doctor and brain swapping aliens, and you basically have this special in a nutshell. While it arguably is quite campy at times, it fits the light-hearted tone of the episode and is done in a rather charming way. The characterization is the heart of the episode and while the villains are definitely cardboard cutouts, it does an excellent job with all the protagonists. Of course The Doctor is well done but even the superhero "The Ghost" is a well fleshed out and played surprisingly well by Justin Chatwin (yeah, the kid that ruined any chance of getting a decent live action Dragonball movie) and the love interest reporter (basically a blonde ripoff of Lois Lane) was actually one of the more interesting characters. While obviously satirically based off generic superhero genre archetypes, the actors play their characters with enough charm, humor and nuance that they feel like real people, despite some camp in the story.

And Nardole is back! - and this time he likewise is a much more fleshed out and likable character than he was in the previous special. His interactions with The Doctor are funny yet sincere and surprisingly insightful. The Doctor himself has somewhat of a lighter presence than usual in this special, but it works in this case as the focus is on the other characters. The villains aren't anything special but are sufficiently creepy and provide The Doctor with a fun obstacle to overcome in an interesting and exciting (and explosive) way. Even if you're not a superhero fan, this Spanish is still a fun and entertaining ride. 8.5/10

Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song (2015) Season Unknown, Episode Unknown

Final farewell to River Song (?)

[9/10 · 30 November 2019]

After the more serious past few episodes, the more lighthearted tone of this special was rather welcome. The Doctor finds himself a victim of misidentification joining River Song (who also doesn't recognize him) as she attempts to steal a diamond from the tyrant Hydraflax. And since the diamond is embedded in his brain, she takes the whole head (which isn't fatal because reasons) with his robo body (which has a mind of its own) in hot pursuit. Hilarious hijinks ensue.

This special is just Fun (with a capital F!). The dialogue between River and The Doctor is especially hilarious and charming. The episode does have some camp but overall the humor and heart of the episode is well done enough that it is easily overlookable. And by the third act it even manages to be sweet and serves as a heart warming if not a little bittersweet farewell to River, as it is indicated that this the final time River sees The Doctor before her "death" in Silence of the Library/ Forest of the Dead. And it really is a wonderful send off even if you're not a fan of her character. Of course, with all the timey wimey nonsense in Doctor Who and a new show runner starting in season eleven, who knows? But for now I'm happy with this. 9/10

Doctor Who: Hell Bent (2015) Season 9, Episode 12

A fun and surprisingly sweet send off for Clara (again)

[9/10 · 30 November 2019]

Seriously? Why does she get two? But we'll get to that later. That aside, the plot is actually fairly straightforward. The Doctor, outraged and grief stricken, simultaneously takes revenge on the TimeLords (specifically Rassilon) and uses them in an attempt to save Clara. The only problem is that from the future's perspective, her death has already taken place, making it a fixed point. This is honestly my only complaint, the fixed point in time issue. Because from that point of view, every ones's death should be fixed, which it obviously isn't in the show, but whatever; timey wimey nonsense.

This episode proved to be somewhat divisive among fans. The main gripe about this episode, that it completely undermines Clara's death in "Face The Raven" has some validity but does not actually ruin the episode for me. And quite honestly, doesn't truly undermine her death in the sense that it still provides the catalyst, combined with the personal Hell he goes through in the confession dial, for The Doctor's desperate actions in this episode. While many contend that Clara should not be worth this much to the Doctor, I argue that he has come quite close to this level of despair and rage when losing companions before, and that this grief combined with the confession dial 4.5 billion years of torture is probably sufficient. Further, why wouldn't Clara be enough? Even if the audience doesn't care for her as a character (which you all should by the way, cause she's awesome), there is a mountain of previously established evidence of how much affection The Doctor feels for her in season eight alone. While his actions (the desperate vengefulness, ignoring rules of time, his own rules involving not killing - - which I feel he is rather flexible on, anyway - - etc.) are definitely out of his normal character, but that's the point. He is a little out of his mind here, as the episode is examining the effect of his grief on The Doctor's character. And in that aspect, the episode does a marvelous job.

The return of Me/Ashildr at the end of the universe was an interesting surprise as well, and I found myself enjoying this more mature version of her character much more than all her other appearances. She was calm, reasonable, and tempered by her billions of years of existence by this point. And is actually the one to bring him to his senses! The absolute Me as I believe The Doctor mentions. The diner scenes were also very sweet yet heartbreaking as The Doctor recounts his story to Clara, whom he can no longer remember. While the conclusion of the episode I feel skirts the issue of "the hybrid" (supposedly the threat to all of time/space The Doctor may or may not have become) along with how the memory loss truly solves the issue (the explanations are rather weak, but serviceable on the surface, I suppose), Clara's final(?) send off is still touching, a little sad, but also uplifting in its own way (the music especially was done quite nicely), and the episode as a whole was a rousing, fun adventure to conclude the ninth season. 9.5/10

Doctor Who: Heaven Sent (2015) Season 9, Episode 11

The perfect Capaldi episode

[10/10 · 29 November 2019]

This episode is difficult to describe. After the aftermaths of "Face the Raven" resulting in Clara's death and The Doctor's capture, The Doctor is teleported to a creepy castle where the rooms move (think Cube) and a veiled creature stalks him, slowly but surely. This episode is entirely built on Peter Capaldi's performance and it is standout electrifying. We learn as The Doctor learns, we guess what's happening as The Doctor guesses.

The Doctor learns only confession will keep the Veil (the creature stalking him) at bay, and with every confession the castle rearranges itself. The revelations require patience as the episode doesn't fully come together until the end, revealing The Doctor has been dying in the castle (his confession diary) for thousands of years only to re initialize the teleporter, starting the cycle all over again, right up til The Doctor, over 4.5 billion years of dying and reappearing whittles down the final barrier to his escape. It is the most deserved victory, amazingly plotted and breathtakingly acted episode in all of Doctor Who. It is sheer Doctor Who perfection. 10/10

Doctor Who: Face the Raven (2015) Season 9, Episode 10

A powerful farewell to Clara...

[9/10 · 28 November 2019]

... and then she comes back two episodes later. But that is a weakness for that episode, not this one. For this episode, what starts as a fairly run of the mill but solid episode builds in thematic poignancy to an amazing crescendo by the climax. The plot revolves around Clara and The Doctor receiving a phone call from a distressed Rigsy (remember the random grafiti artist from that one episode - - you know, the one with the 2-dimensional aliens in season eight?), who apparently they thought was an important enough character to randomly bring back. Anyway, Rigsy has a tattoo that is counting down, which to be fair is never good. So The Doctor and co retrace his steps to figure out how he got it (can't remember, of course) and how to stop it. Aside from the return of Rigsy feeling a bit random and not particularly called for, this first act of the episode is rather solid, with some decent intrigue and good Doctor and Clara moments.

The second act is a little shaky for me. They discover a "trap street" that is basically an alien refugee camp run by "Mayor Me." While her return is slightly more deserved, I was not particularly pleased with her introductory episodes and the character herself tends to still be tediously irritating at times, but at least she isn't the crybaby she was in "The Woman Who Lived." Any rate, there's some convoluted nonsense about a supposed murder by Rigsy and a Nightshade, but it is at least well acted and successfully sets up the climactic third act as the Doctor and Clara go about trying to prove Rigsy's innocence so Mayor Me/Ashildr will remove the Nightshade's (the titular raven) chronolock from Rigsy (cause you die when that thing hits zero).

And the third act is downright beautiful. Clara's ego gets in the way, having put herself in Rigsy's place as she tries to force Ashildr into a stalemate. It all backfires of course and dooms poor Clara in one of the best scenes written in all of Doctor Who. The Doctor's fury with Ashildr is spine tingling and genuine as he says "The Doctor is no longer here; you're stuck with me now!" Clara talking him down and ordering him not to take revenge in wonderful Clara fashion is beautifully written and heartbreaking as she 'faces the raven,' literally and figuratively in the climax of the episode. Going into the third act I was on the fence if I was going to give the episode an 8 or 8.5 (both respectable scores) but this scene in and of itself elevated the entire episode before segueing into the next one, making it a must watch. 9/10

Doctor Who: Sleep No More (2015) Season 9, Episode 9

Sleep (No More) is underrated

[8/10 · 24 November 2019]

This is one of the most hated episodes in all of Doctor Who, but for the life of me I cannot figure out why. It's fun and thrilling in a Sci-Fi channel B movie sort of way. Yes, the premise is a little ridiculous-sleep basically keeps the "sleep dust" in the corner of your eye from digesting you and turning you into a "Sandman," as Clara and The Doctor call them, which are basically giant booger people. As I said, very Sci-Fi channel, and the episode doesn't seem to have much to say (other than "sleep is good"), which is a typical weakness in the writings of Mark Gatiss.

But it's done in such a fun and thrilling way, I really don't mind. And, dare I say it, this episode is actually well written - by Mark Gatiss, no less, which is a pleasant surprise, considering my general opinion of his writing for Doctor Who. The characters are decently developed, especially Nagata, the female captain of the ill-fated rescue team. I was sufficiently attached to these characters, that Their deaths, while technically throwaway in tried and true horror fashion, still makes me wish they could have survived. And I was glad that Nagata did manage to survive in the end.

Which brings me to the structure of the episode. The episode definitely has some loose ends, and while the plot is fairly straightforward on the surface, it gets a bit convoluted by the end. The purpose of the Sandmen, the found footage style cinematography (which I'm not usually overly fond of, but manages to work for the episode), the character of Rasmussen (the only "survivor" of the original crew and scientist who invented the Morpheus sleep pods causing all the problems), are all interwoven in an interesting but overly complicated way, which Rasmussen's twist explanation at the end does little to clear things up and doesn't give the remaining characters nor the audience the chance to truly assimilate his revelations. The episode almost appears to be setting up for a second part due to some of the loose ends, (definitely more so and in a better way than "The Girl Who Died" set up for "The Woman Who Lived"), but unfortunately never delivers. What happens on Triton? Assuming The Doctor does indeed destroy all of Morpheus, how is that accomplished? How does he cure Clara and Nagata? What eventually happens to Rasmussen and the Sandmen? What happens with the video that will supposedly spread the Sandmen? We never find out and I suppose the episode is trying to be clever by not answering these questions, which beg for a second part that never comes.

That being said, the episode is still a fun thrill ride with interesting characters and twists, and definitely does not deserve all the hate it gets. I would even say it's probably a personal best for writer Mark Gatiss (take that as you will). I just wish we could have seen a second part tp tie up those loose ends. 8/10

Doctor Who: The Zygon Inversion (2015) Season 9, Episode 8

Gripping testimony to the futility of war

[9/10 · 24 November 2019]

This episode follows the same tone as the previous episode, expanding on the themes of the moral conundrums involved in war. Obviously, The Doctor escapes the cliff hanger from the previous episode, him and Osgood bailing out of the doomed plane right before the missile hits. You didn't really think otherwise, right?

The rest of the episode is pretty much him and Osgood paling around until the inevitable confrontation with the Zygon revolution's leader, the Clara duplicate, Bonnie (Jenna Coleman performing rather convincingly as both her and the real Clara). And it still manages to continue to masterfully manipulate the tension of each scene like playing an instrument, even though the twists in this episode are still fairly predictable, with certain characters believed to be dead still alive, The Doctor turning the tables on both the Zygons and UNIT, etc (although the original Osgood somehow surviving the season eight finally was pleasantly unexpected).

It does feels a bit overly somber in comparison to the rest of Doctor Who, but that's probably due to the subject matter, which successfully manages to delve deep into both sides of war, examining the moral complexities and motivations involved, picking apart even those who have no doubt that what they are doing is right, which is usually both sides, with The Doctor perhaps giving the best speech in all of Doctor Who. This fantastic scene dissects the process of war, boiling it down to the necessity of forgiveness, which may sound contrived, but is done so brilliantly and thoughtfully that it instead feels heartfelt and deeply thought provoking. An electric performance by Peter Capaldi, if anyone doubted his casting as The Doctor, they have no grounds to do so after this episode, for this speech alone, which is enough to elevate it above its predecessor. 9/10

Doctor Who: The Zygon Invasion (2015) Season 9, Episode 7

Zygons as terrorists

[8/10 · 24 November 2019]

This episode has a very dramatic opening, possibly a bit overly dramatic, but it successfully delivers the uneasy tone for the entire episode. While The Doctor is still Doctorish, the episode is largely devoid of the fun antics that usually characterizes Doctor Who. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, just slightly off-putting at first. But the episode definitely makes up for that with palpably chilling scenes that masterfully ante up the tension and intrigue.

The plot harkens back to the Zygon attempted invasion from The Day of the Doctor (with a nice recap callback at the beginning, might I add), with carefully brokered peace between humans and Zygons now threatened by a splinter group of Zygons bent on ending Zygon "captivity." With the imposters impossible to know, UNIT forces are systematically taken down by the Zygons. It does have a glaring weakness, however. The twists, while clever, are easily predictable a mile off. Still, carefully plotted and brilliantly acted, this is an intriguing invasion thriller that doubles as an allegory to the moral quagmire of the war against terrorism, on both sides, delivering a gripping set up for the next episode. 8.5/10

Doctor Who: The Woman Who Lived (2015) Season 9, Episode 6

...to tell a mediocre tale full of stupidity

[7/10 · 24 November 2019]

The shoehorned immortality aside (carried over from "The Girl Who Died"), there unfortunately is very little to this episode. To be fair, it's not horrible, but it's not really good either. The episode continually hammers home how much a burden immortality is to a normal human being, which does have some merit, and the flashbacks contain both good emotional resonance and even some humor. However, Ashildr, or "Me," as she now calls herself, is such a crybaby about it, we quickly lose the sympathy we are obviously intended to feel for her. In the previous episode she was a decent character, but in this episode she is irritating beyond pity, and selfish beyond belief, without compassion or remorse, which makes her redemption by the end of the episode feel all the more far fetched and undeserved. I also don't buy the "finite human memory" vs immortal lifespan aspect, which further irritated me.

Additionally, most of the humor, other than The Doctor's quippy one-liners, falls rather flat. Although the banter to buy time at Sam Swift's hanging is entertaining. The villain, Leonas or some other lion-esque ripoff, also falls completely flat, partly due to flat acting and partly due to grossly neglected character development. Which is unfortunate, as on paper he probably seemed really cool - a fire breathing humanoid lion alien - but the execution is rather lame and completely one-note. And the plot, revolving around the villain attempting to use an ancient alien artifact to open a dimensional portal (requiring a death, of course) is as underdeveloped and forgettable as the villain.

But as I said, it's not all bad. Sam Swift "the quick" is an entertaining and mostly sympathetic character, representing the human capacity to enjoy life and appreciate its short span, thus being the foil to Me, who has lost almost all interest in living life, though immortal. There is some interesting concepts behind the discussion on the ability to enjoy life being dependent on the shortness of the life span, but this too remains underdeveloped and not truly discussed in any significant way until after the climax of the episode, which is when the episode finally improves. Ashildr returns to the enjoyable character she was in the previous episode without any real explanation, but at least it provided a heartfelt scene with her and The Doctor. And Clara, who only has one scene with The Doctor (at the very end of the episode) has some genuinely refreshing repartee between the two. Say what you want about Clara, but if this episode taught me only one thing, it is that she is infinitely preferable as a companion to The Doctor than Ashildr. 7/10

Doctor Who: The Girl Who Died (2015) Season 9, Episode 5

The episode is what should have died

[6/10 · 29 April 2019]

This is unusual for me. My review rating of the episode (at least for Doctor Who) is rarely this well below the average rating. Usually I'm right around the average rating or even a point above. But I just couldn't get into this episode. The first time when I watched it casually it was alright but after a second viewing from a more critical standpoint, it just doesn't hold up.

The Doctor and Clara find themselves captured by Vikings (nowhere near as cool as it sounds) who are quickly vanquished by the Mire posing as Norse gods, specifically Odin. The Doctor then reluctantly trains the remaining villagers to fight back, which goes awry, but manages to hatch a plan with the help of a young woman named Ashildur to trick them into surrendering, basically using virtual reality. And it's just as awful as it sounds.

There are a few good character moments for the Doctor, Clara, and Ashildur, and a few funny moments here and there (most of which feel rather misplaced) but other than that, the rest falls completely flat. The villains are campy, the Vikings are campy and stereotypical, and the story is meh. The twist ending, with the Mire medkit somehow making Ashildur immortal made no sense and was a ridiculous and weak plot device to shoehorn in the follow up episode. This episode fails on all counts that mattered. 6/10

Doctor Who: Before the Flood (2015) Season 9, Episode 4

Flood of paradoxes

[8/10 · 29 April 2019]

The follow up episode to "Under the Lake" mostly follows the Doctor, Bennet, and of course an ill-fated damsel in distress (I'll check her name later) as they travel back in time to before the flooding of the base to uncover the origins of the "ghosts." And it's a decent follow up. The thing that throws fans the most is really what the episode set out to explore - - time paradoxes. And although Doctor Who is laced with them, none so blatantly obvious and unresolved as this episode. Which was the point. Unfortunately, it does kinda go against the Doctor's typical assertion that these damage time and the stability of the universe itself and this callous treatment of them is what seems to have hurt this episode for most fans.

Me, personally, I find stuff like this fascinating. However, I do have some gripes. First off, stupid characters acting stupid to get themselves killed. Don't peak around the corner when a giant monster was just there - - that's common sense. Secondly, the monster, "The Fisher King" is relatively one note and we literally learn no details about his origin or his name (other than to sound cool I guess), why he needs human souls to boost a distress signal, why the distress signal should be so cryptic, etc. The design is pretty cool tho, even though he was beaten rather ignominiously.

I was glad however, that the "ghosts" pretty much cease to be featured in this episode, cause as I said, I'm not one for ghost stories. The tension is still ramped up pretty well even without them as much of a threat. And the layering of time paradoxes was quite intriguing and for the most part well done, with a satisfyingly contemplative conclusion. Probably just lazy writing being unable to resolve the holes dug in the story from part one, but at least it's done in a fun way. In all honesty, I consider this a personal best for writer Toby Whithouse. Take that as you will. 8.5/10

Doctor Who: Under the Lake (2015) Season 9, Episode 3

"Ghosts" under the lake

[8/10 · 26 April 2019]

I am not one for ghost stories, so that may bias my review. Cause they basically stuck the Doctor and Clara in a ghost story here and a fairly mediocre one at that. The Doctor and Clara stumble upon a crew of scientists/soldiers/business reps (it's not super clear what they are to be honest but they seem a bit military) in a deep water base. Which is apparently haunted. At night. By the ghost of a cowardly alien and their late commander.

I'm also not a terrible fan of Toby Whithouse's Doctor Who scripts. Though to be fair he usually does a decent job with creepy. And this is about the only thing the episode truly succeeds at. The host of sci-fi references was fun too, but ultimately matter very little to the enjoyment of the episode. To be fair it's not bad, but I have a hard time caring about the majority of the characters and thus not invested in their survival. The chase through the corridors was good tho due to the creepy factor.

The characterization of the Doctor and Clara feels a little off, especially at the beginning. It seems like the integrity of the characterization was compromised just for some cheap jokes that didn't even really work. Not that it wasn't funny, but again, the humor didn't fit the characters. Also, the cliffhanger, while a good "oh no!" moment for Clara (The ghost of the Doctor appears after they are separated and the Doctor promises to come back for her) too is undermined a tad cause we know that no way the Doctor dies. But overall, the story itself was entertaining and while this kind of story isn't really my cup of tea, I have to admit it sets up for the following episode rather well. 8/10