The Doctor and “The Promised Land” Coughed up and spat out by an outrageously oversized CGI dinosaur (fortunately, while protected by the TARDIS) wasn’t the most auspicious way for the latest incarnation of the Doctor to make his arrival, yet when the blue door opened all was well.Peter Capaldi seized the attention from his first scene in `Deep Breath…’ and emphatically is The Doctor, growing in his opening story from despairing fragility and memory loss back into the heroic Time Lord who has lived a dozen lives and has memories he might want to forget. He went on to a series of superb performances in every episode, mixing action with humour and the darker, truly alien side of the Doctor as displayed in many of his incarnations right back to the First. If this review was just of the new Doctor, it would be 5* without a doubt.Clara provides him with an interesting companion who has her own life to lead but just can’t give up on the thrill of travels in the TARDIS. Jenna Coleman plays the role excellently, at times as quite a traditional companion, then occasionally taking the lead in a reversal of roles. This was sometimes very successful, as in `Flatline’, while in other episodes like `Kill the Moon’ I felt the Doctor should have been given more prominence.In her life on Earth, Clara swaps alien monsters for the duties of a teacher at Coal Hill School and romance with ex-soldier Danny Pink. Personally I thought these elements were the weaker parts of the series and lead to some of the least successful episodes, although `Listen’, which involved the future and past of Clara and Danny, was extremely good. The constant antagonism, even prejudice that the Doctor displayed towards Danny and all soldiers throughout this season seemed quite out of character for our tolerant Time Lord, especially since he once spent five years living on Earth surrounded by his friends from UNIT. Danny’s back-story from his time as a soldier was not revealed until the finale, but it was so obvious I guessed it in his first episode and it seemed a poor stereotype.The season-long story arc involving `The Promised Land’ and `Missy’ was very intriguing and culminated in one of the best episodes of the season with ‘Dark Water’, but in some ways I never felt it quite paid off. I’m still not sure why the Half-Face Man and the robot knights were trying to reach `The Promised Land’ or why `Missy’ chose Clara specifically. The notion of Clara as `the impossible girl’ connected with the Doctor throughout his timelines, as seen in series 7, was very original and I thought it would be the important reason for her specifically to be tied in with `Missy’s schemes in some interesting way, but instead it seemed to have been forgotten.The 12 episodes were very varied in theme, style and (judging by content) in target audience too. Leaving aside the finale for the moment, my favourites were Steven Moffat’s `Listen’ and the two superb and contrasting stories by Jamie Mathieson, `Flatline’ and `Mummy on the Orient Express’; if any proof is needed that a great script is what makes great `Doctor Who’, these weeks provided it. `Listen’ was almost like a classic M.R. James ghost story plus time travel, with a slow pace to let the tension build; `Flatline’ was an inventive horror comedy with clever ideas, relative dimensions and zombie graffiti in an urban setting while `Mummy’ brought back to life (at least for a older fan like me) the splendid `Gothic’ age of late 1970’s `Doctor Who’ with a gruesome, terrifying `monster’ and a fine supporting cast – the Doctor even offered a jelly-baby in the style of his legendary Fourth incarnation. I hope the nation’s sofas had plenty of room behind them for this one(!)`Deep Breath …’, `Into the Dalek’ and `Time Heist’ were enjoyable episodes, the regeneration story plus a typically fun romp around London with the Paternoster gang; the required `Dalek’ action story with a twist – a *good* Dalek (no, the Doctor didn’t believe it either!) and a slick, stylish heist `movie’ in 45 minutes with hints of `Ocean’s Eleven’, `Mission: Impossible’ and `X-Men’. These three stories were `Doctor Who’ in full entertainment mode, though `Deep Breath …’ included some interesting thoughts on our reactions to age and change within the lighter surround.Two very different comedies were included in the season. `Robot of Sherwood’ seemed to be pushing the boundary of what counts as `Doctor Who’ and has divided fan opinion; personally I thought it was highly silly but great fun and enjoyed every minute for the comedy interlude it clearly was. It only just fits within the `Doctor Who’ Universe, but who cares for once? As Robin tells the Doctor: “I’m just as real as you are.” Touché! `The Caretaker’ started as a three-handed comedy in Coal Hill School with a clunky-looking alien robot on the rampage and this part of the story worked well as action comedy, but I was much less keen on…
Nothing ‘Fantastic!’ Forget ‘Allonsy!’ and ‘Geronimo!’ Only those menacing eyes… “Well, then. Here we go again” – Madame Vastra.Hard to believe that (as of 2015) it’s been ten years since Doctor Who’s successful return to television. The show has only continued to grow and evolve with more and more success, especially after the 50th Anniversary Special, ‘The Day of the Doctor’. Since then, and the first announcement that Peter Capaldi would be succeeding Matt Smith as the Doctor, Series 8 was something I just couldn’t wait for.After so many tumultuous events, the Time Lord has once again regenerated. And his Twelfth Incarnation is certainly the darkest its been in centuries. He’s now over 2000 years old, and has renewed purpose in life. The Doctor feels it’s past time to ‘grow up’ and do something about various mistakes he’s made. Needless to say, this new persona alienates companion Clara Oswald (the returning Jenna Coleman), who not only misses the Eleventh Doctor, but may not be ready for some of the things the Doctor is capable of, and now willing to do.Which certainly won’t help with what’s coming…There was no doubt in my mind that Moffat and Co. had chosen wisely with regards to Peter Capaldi. The man is certainly an accomplished actor and is a fine choice. I couldn’t wait to see him actually appear in the role full-time (despite following on from Matt Smith’s terrible departure in the bloated Time of the Doctor), and right away – Series 8’s excellent opener ‘Deep Breath’ – Peter nails the role of the Doctor.Immediately, Peter Capaldi understands the importance of being HIMSELF when playing the Doctor. The characterisation (and attire) of the Twelfth Doctor is true to the tradition of being distinct and unique from other incarnations, and Peter lives it all beautifully with his portrayal. And like Matt Smith before him, Peter has chemistry with Jenna Coleman, and the drastic change of relationship with the Doctor and his companion makes for great material throughout.This is not at all like Rose Tyler’s relationships with the Ninth and Tenth Doctors (where she helped change the Time Lord into a better person following the Time War, and they ultimately became soul-mates). After seeing and learning so much about all the Doctor’s past lives, Clara should be used to change, but she’s NOT. She clearly misses the Eleventh Doctor and is struggling to move on from him. Her relationship with this new Doctor is not what it used to be, and they both do things that constantly threaten to push their friendship to breaking-point. And it’s due to sub-plots such as these that make Series 8 SUCH a hit.‘Deep Breath’ sets the standard for the series, proving to be an epic, psychological affair (epic due to its successful showing at cinemas), with a brand-new menace for the time-travellers to deal with (along with personal issues), and the most-welcome return of old-friends, Madame Vastra, Jenny & Strax. Clara also receives great character-development (now free of ‘The Impossible Girl’ mystery), and we also get more insight into her life as a school teacher. Add on plenty of delicious Moffat psychology and terror, a really poignant surprise and a great beginning for the ‘Promised Land’ arc, and you have one of the best debut episodes ever for a new Doctor in ‘Deep Breath’.Series 8 promises and delivers many more highlights with a string of top-notch episodes, such as ‘Into the Dalek’, ‘Robot of Sherwood’, ‘Time Heist’, ‘Kill the Moon’ and ‘Mummy on the Orient Express’. Other plus-points come in the form of Samuel Anderson as great newcomer Danny Pink, and Michelle Gomez deliciously performing as the enigmatic ‘Missy’. The TARDIS interior has been suitably tweaked, and the new opening credits and title theme are fantastic.Oh, yes…and ‘Listen’ is not only the BEST episode out of all Series 8, it’s right up there with ‘Blink’, ‘Silence of the Library’, ‘Time of the Angels’ and ‘Day of the Doctor’. TRULY one of Moffat’s greatest achievements. WATCH IT!Truthfully, it’s not all good. Episodes like ‘The Caretaker’ and ‘In the Forest of the Night’ are flat-out rubbish, and sum-up the pits that Series 8 is in danger of falling into. The interactions between the Doctor, Clara and Danny result in tedious soap-drama, and various focus on school kids feels like watching The Magic School Bus. I can understand Moffat’s decision to remember the show’s original roots by focusing on Coal Hill School, but the handling is lacklustre (Series 2’s ‘School Invasion’ is the perfect example of…
The Doctor and “The Promised Land” Coughed up and spat out by an outrageously oversized CGI dinosaur (fortunately, while protected by the TARDIS) wasn’t the most auspicious way for the latest incarnation of the Doctor to make his arrival, yet when the blue door opened all was well.Peter Capaldi seized the attention from his first scene in `Deep Breath…’ and emphatically is The Doctor, growing in his opening story from despairing fragility and memory loss back into the heroic Time Lord who has lived a dozen lives and has memories he might want to forget. He went on to a series of superb performances in every episode, mixing action with humour and the darker, truly alien side of the Doctor as displayed in many of his incarnations right back to the First. If this review was just of the new Doctor, it would be 5* without a doubt.Clara provides him with an interesting companion who has her own life to lead but just can’t give up on the thrill of travels in the TARDIS. Jenna Coleman plays the role excellently, at times as quite a traditional companion, then occasionally taking the lead in a reversal of roles. This was sometimes very successful, as in `Flatline’, while in other episodes like `Kill the Moon’ I felt the Doctor should have been given more prominence.In her life on Earth, Clara swaps alien monsters for the duties of a teacher at Coal Hill School and romance with ex-soldier Danny Pink. Personally I thought these elements were the weaker parts of the series and lead to some of the least successful episodes, although `Listen’, which involved the future and past of Clara and Danny, was extremely good. The constant antagonism, even prejudice that the Doctor displayed towards Danny and all soldiers throughout this season seemed quite out of character for our tolerant Time Lord, especially since he once spent five years living on Earth surrounded by his friends from UNIT. Danny’s back-story from his time as a soldier was not revealed until the finale, but it was so obvious I guessed it in his first episode and it seemed a poor stereotype.The season-long story arc involving `The Promised Land’ and `Missy’ was very intriguing and culminated in one of the best episodes of the season with ‘Dark Water’, but in some ways I never felt it quite paid off. I’m still not sure why the Half-Face Man and the robot knights were trying to reach `The Promised Land’ or why `Missy’ chose Clara specifically. The notion of Clara as `the impossible girl’ connected with the Doctor throughout his timelines, as seen in series 7, was very original and I thought it would be the important reason for her specifically to be tied in with `Missy’s schemes in some interesting way, but instead it seemed to have been forgotten.The 12 episodes were very varied in theme, style and (judging by content) in target audience too. Leaving aside the finale for the moment, my favourites were Steven Moffat’s `Listen’ and the two superb and contrasting stories by Jamie Mathieson, `Flatline’ and `Mummy on the Orient Express’; if any proof is needed that a great script is what makes great `Doctor Who’, these weeks provided it. `Listen’ was almost like a classic M.R. James ghost story plus time travel, with a slow pace to let the tension build; `Flatline’ was an inventive horror comedy with clever ideas, relative dimensions and zombie graffiti in an urban setting while `Mummy’ brought back to life (at least for a older fan like me) the splendid `Gothic’ age of late 1970’s `Doctor Who’ with a gruesome, terrifying `monster’ and a fine supporting cast – the Doctor even offered a jelly-baby in the style of his legendary Fourth incarnation. I hope the nation’s sofas had plenty of room behind them for this one(!)`Deep Breath …’, `Into the Dalek’ and `Time Heist’ were enjoyable episodes, the regeneration story plus a typically fun romp around London with the Paternoster gang; the required `Dalek’ action story with a twist – a *good* Dalek (no, the Doctor didn’t believe it either!) and a slick, stylish heist `movie’ in 45 minutes with hints of `Ocean’s Eleven’, `Mission: Impossible’ and `X-Men’. These three stories were `Doctor Who’ in full entertainment mode, though `Deep Breath …’ included some interesting thoughts on our reactions to age and change within the lighter surround.Two very different comedies were included in the season. `Robot of Sherwood’ seemed to be pushing the boundary of what counts as `Doctor Who’ and has divided fan opinion; personally I thought it was highly silly but great fun and enjoyed every minute for the comedy interlude it clearly was. It only just fits within the `Doctor Who’ Universe, but who cares for once? As Robin tells the Doctor: “I’m just as real as you are.” Touché! `The Caretaker’ started as a three-handed comedy in Coal Hill School with a clunky-looking alien robot on the rampage and this part of the story worked well as action comedy, but I was much less keen on…
Nothing ‘Fantastic!’ Forget ‘Allonsy!’ and ‘Geronimo!’ Only those menacing eyes… “Well, then. Here we go again” – Madame Vastra.Hard to believe that (as of 2015) it’s been ten years since Doctor Who’s successful return to television. The show has only continued to grow and evolve with more and more success, especially after the 50th Anniversary Special, ‘The Day of the Doctor’. Since then, and the first announcement that Peter Capaldi would be succeeding Matt Smith as the Doctor, Series 8 was something I just couldn’t wait for.After so many tumultuous events, the Time Lord has once again regenerated. And his Twelfth Incarnation is certainly the darkest its been in centuries. He’s now over 2000 years old, and has renewed purpose in life. The Doctor feels it’s past time to ‘grow up’ and do something about various mistakes he’s made. Needless to say, this new persona alienates companion Clara Oswald (the returning Jenna Coleman), who not only misses the Eleventh Doctor, but may not be ready for some of the things the Doctor is capable of, and now willing to do.Which certainly won’t help with what’s coming…There was no doubt in my mind that Moffat and Co. had chosen wisely with regards to Peter Capaldi. The man is certainly an accomplished actor and is a fine choice. I couldn’t wait to see him actually appear in the role full-time (despite following on from Matt Smith’s terrible departure in the bloated Time of the Doctor), and right away – Series 8’s excellent opener ‘Deep Breath’ – Peter nails the role of the Doctor.Immediately, Peter Capaldi understands the importance of being HIMSELF when playing the Doctor. The characterisation (and attire) of the Twelfth Doctor is true to the tradition of being distinct and unique from other incarnations, and Peter lives it all beautifully with his portrayal. And like Matt Smith before him, Peter has chemistry with Jenna Coleman, and the drastic change of relationship with the Doctor and his companion makes for great material throughout.This is not at all like Rose Tyler’s relationships with the Ninth and Tenth Doctors (where she helped change the Time Lord into a better person following the Time War, and they ultimately became soul-mates). After seeing and learning so much about all the Doctor’s past lives, Clara should be used to change, but she’s NOT. She clearly misses the Eleventh Doctor and is struggling to move on from him. Her relationship with this new Doctor is not what it used to be, and they both do things that constantly threaten to push their friendship to breaking-point. And it’s due to sub-plots such as these that make Series 8 SUCH a hit.‘Deep Breath’ sets the standard for the series, proving to be an epic, psychological affair (epic due to its successful showing at cinemas), with a brand-new menace for the time-travellers to deal with (along with personal issues), and the most-welcome return of old-friends, Madame Vastra, Jenny & Strax. Clara also receives great character-development (now free of ‘The Impossible Girl’ mystery), and we also get more insight into her life as a school teacher. Add on plenty of delicious Moffat psychology and terror, a really poignant surprise and a great beginning for the ‘Promised Land’ arc, and you have one of the best debut episodes ever for a new Doctor in ‘Deep Breath’.Series 8 promises and delivers many more highlights with a string of top-notch episodes, such as ‘Into the Dalek’, ‘Robot of Sherwood’, ‘Time Heist’, ‘Kill the Moon’ and ‘Mummy on the Orient Express’. Other plus-points come in the form of Samuel Anderson as great newcomer Danny Pink, and Michelle Gomez deliciously performing as the enigmatic ‘Missy’. The TARDIS interior has been suitably tweaked, and the new opening credits and title theme are fantastic.Oh, yes…and ‘Listen’ is not only the BEST episode out of all Series 8, it’s right up there with ‘Blink’, ‘Silence of the Library’, ‘Time of the Angels’ and ‘Day of the Doctor’. TRULY one of Moffat’s greatest achievements. WATCH IT!Truthfully, it’s not all good. Episodes like ‘The Caretaker’ and ‘In the Forest of the Night’ are flat-out rubbish, and sum-up the pits that Series 8 is in danger of falling into. The interactions between the Doctor, Clara and Danny result in tedious soap-drama, and various focus on school kids feels like watching The Magic School Bus. I can understand Moffat’s decision to remember the show’s original roots by focusing on Coal Hill School, but the handling is lacklustre (Series 2’s ‘School Invasion’ is the perfect example of…
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