TV REVIEW: Doctor Who - Into The Dalek.

It was a distinctly unsubtle case of another week, another call back in last Saturday’s episode of Doctor Who. ‘Into The Dalek’, episode two of this brand new series, with its brand new Doctor, saw The Time Lord (Peter Capaldi) and companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) visit a Dalek prisoner stranded on an enemy warship.

Reminiscent of Christopher Eccleston’s trip to a Utah alien museum in series one, the Dalek in question is alone, ill - possibly dying- and trapped. This particular egg-whisker is a Dalek with a difference, however. Its illness has changed it. No longer perma-angry and murderous, Rusty, as The Doctor cheerfully dubs him, is even quite chatty.  He (I’m sticking with he- I have no idea if Daleks actually do have genders) is, it seems, essentially a good Dalek. With Rusty’s health failing and the un-named war between the future-humans and his kind raging on, the soldiers need information. Operating a dangerous new technology, they shrink the crew down small enough to, you guessed it, the clue was in the title, go into the Dalek.

The episode proved surprisingly imaginative. Despite choosing to focus on Daleks, them being the most infamous Doctor Who villain since The Time War, and despite having the most obvious title since ‘Snakes on a Plane’ was released into the world, its subject matter was actually rather bold new territory for the show. We’ve seen inside a Dalek before, sure, but only because it decided to throw its doors open and reveal the goop within of its own accord. This showed us the intricate workings of a killing machine, step by step as The Doctor et al walked its veins. It was also a thoughtful, thought provoking look into war, its casualties and how we deal with them. As one of the soldiers sombrely announced early on in the show ‘We don’t need hospitals any more. Daleks don’t leave any wounded. And we don’t take any prisoners’. 

All this context of conflict sat very well, both literally and symbolically, alongside new character soldier-turned-teacher Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson).  Writing fully-fleshed non-irritating side characters is not exactly Moffat’s strong suit (perhaps no surprise then that this episode was actually co-written by Bill Ford) but, so far at least, this character comes across as a companion who might actually have that quality, so elusive in the show of late: likeability. Shown struggling to pluck up the courage even to ask Clara out for a drink, conflicted by his feelings and berating himself for his ineptitude afterwards, whilst also showing very visible distress when questioned about his past by his new pupils, it’s clear the man has layers. 

In fact, it was character in general which shone in this episode. Jenna Coleman goes from strength to strength as Impossible Girl Clara, juggling her day to day life as an ordinary English teacher and her time-travelling ‘hobby’ with good judgement. Capaldi, meanwhile, has settled into the TARDIS as if was born in it. Whilst he doesn’t quite seem to have found his Doctor’s own personal energy just yet, he’s incredibly likeable in the role, bringing wit, intelligence and a sort of calm passion to what had become a distinctly giddy Doctor. You do begin to feel ever so slightly beaten over the head with their ‘I’m not attracted to you. Nobody is attracted to anyone anymore. This is platonic. Platonic!’ (delivered with the syntax of a Dalek) banter, amusing though it is, it just feels a little try-hard. And it just isn't needed.

Finally, I simply cannot let this review go by without a good hearty mention for another new character. There was a second appearance here for the mysterious Missy. Played by the ever-fantastic Michelle Gomez in a spark of utter genius casting, this enigmatic lady/alien/ghost-woman appears to pluck those who have died a death in some way caused by The Doctor right out of their scenes, seemingly re-materialising them in a place she calls Heaven.

Naturally, various theories abound on the internet, with ideas on her identity ranging from a female Master, to the TARDIS, to Clara, to River Song and back again. For now at least, this is a refreshingly new series arc, with the tiny cameo clips at the end of each episode filled with just enough intrigue and a sense of impending doom to keep us all once again clearing the diary and booking the remote for the following Saturday night.

Jen

@jenniferklarge

Becky will be looking after you all next week.

In the meantime, here’s a link to her review of last week’s Deep Breath.

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TV REVIEW: Doctor Who - Deep Breath

After changing his face from Matt Smith to Peter Capaldi in the Christmas special, the Doctor finds himself out of sorts in Victorian London and it is up to Clara and the Paternoster Gang to bring him back in line as well as facing a mysterious threat.

Unlike Smith's appointment, Capaldi's tenure as the Doctor was greeted largely with enthusiasm and with the promise of a darker, calmer Gallifreyan, the opening episode has been highly anticipated. It also has the added promise of having been directed by Ben Wheatley, he of Kill List and Sightseers fame. There's a new TARDIS and new opening credits, slightly more discordant and unsettling than before, in keeping with the new, more fractious Doctor. The cogs and whirling clock faces suggest something more mechanical, something perhaps more timey-wimey waiting to be broken and fractured. It's an interesting development and whilst I'm not as immediately keen on these new credits as I was for the Matt Smith era, but it's a suitably intriguing introduction.

The atmosphere then for Deep Breath is also suitably menacing, a slow burn of tension undercut with some great examples of humour for Capaldi to get his teeth and independent eyebrows stuck into. The foe, a cyborg that keeps cannibalising parts from both machinery and humans to keep existing, provides an interesting parallel to the Doctor and his regeneration as well as starkly reminding us that the cyborg has forgotten his identity over the course of his transformations whilst the Doctor remembers. The design of the cyborg, with his half face and gentleman's attire, offers a suitably creepy figures whilst the physical performances of his puppets were ridiculously creepy.

Heroes are always more interesting when faced with a villain who forms some kind of mirror image and it once again proves here. Forced to assert his own identity in the face of someone cannibalising theirs, the Doctor gets a chance to find his confidence, his purpose and most of all, coming to terms with who he now is. In that sense, Deep Breath is an extraordinarily layered piece of work for a first episode; the mirrors that occupy the walls of various sets, Madame Vestra's veil and the constant references to new and old faces all build towards an intriguing exploration of the Doctor's identity.

It's Capaldi that immediately proves to be the standout, as expected, bringing an underlying grim quality to the Doctor that comes across as a mish-mash of earlier doctors like Hartnell with the occasional glimpse of impish humour that Tennant or Smith tapped into. His Doctor is broken and disorientated, lacking in identity and incapable of remembering anything from his surroundings. That trauma is brought out throughout Capaldi's performance, occasional flashes of pain in his expressions as well as the steely determination to work out what is wrong.

His performance brings out something particularly brilliant in Jenna Coleman as returning companion Clara, fiercely going toe-to-toe with Capaldi in every scene together. Like the Doctor, Clara undergoes something of her own identity crisis, no longer defined as the Impossible Girl living to serve the Doctor. She finds herself the necessary link back to the Doctor's self, but she's not just working to bring him back, but herself as well. The episode is the poorer for keeping them separate and in the opening half lacks the same zip of its later scenes, precisely because Clara and the Doctor are kept apart. However, once they find themselves thrown together, the episode picks up a brilliant sense of pace building to a wonderfully tense final showdown between the mechanicals and our heroes.

With the longer runtime, the episode is given much more of a chance to spread out the story and despite suffering from a couple of earlier pacing issues, it's refreshing to feel like the episode is moving a little too slowly rather than whizzing by in manically delivered exposition. The final cameo from Matt Smith offered a sense of closure that his regeneration didn't which felt a little too quick at the time. I also don't particularly mind spending time with the Paternoster Gang, unlike others, and any episode that features Strax attempting to aerial silk acrobatics is going to get an upvote from me.

Deep Breath may not be a perfect episode, but it's certainly an excellent one to kick off a new era for Doctor Who and teases some interesting developments for both the Doctor and Clara. I'm already sold on Capaldi and Clara proves to have some life in her yet.

- Becky

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TV REVIEW: Doctor Who - The Time of the Doctor

With the dawning of the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth hour, Matt Smith’s time as The Doctor has drawn to a close. Which leaves me with the unenviable task of attempting to summarise one of the most complex episodes in Doctor Who history, ‘The Time of the Doctor’, lest we all spend the next few weeks completely and utterly bamboozled.

Along with his new friend Handles, a friendly severed Cyberman head, The Doctor begins the special hour long episode flitting between different ships orbiting an unknown planet, from which an, also unknown, message is being continually broadcast. After visiting both the Cybermen and Dalek ships, as unsuccessfully as would be expected when unwittingly carrying broken parts of the occupants, The Doctor heads off to Earth to pick up best pal Clara (Jenna Louise Coleman). She, meanwhile, this being a Christmas special, is attempting to roast a turkey for the family she suddenly seems to have. After a brief stint of pretending, badly, to be Clara’s boyfriend at her behest, the two set off in the direction of the mysterious message. Handles suggests that the planet is in fact Gallifrey, an idea The Doctor naturally and passionately rejects having previously locked Gallifrey safely into a time pocket outside of the Universe. Next, he and Clara are invited onto a church spaceship run by cool space lady Tasha Lem (Orla Brady). Having somehow secured the unknown planet, Tasha asks The Doctor if he fancies having a butchers before anybody else does. Naturally, he does.

On arrival, he and Clara find themselves in a snowy town called Christmas, again, it’s Christmas Day, people! It appears that no one in this town can tell a lie, although this potential plotline is quickly dropped. They follow the message to the town’s church tower, and find a crack in reality through which, it transpires, the Time Lords of Gallifrey are asking the question ‘Doctor who?’ over and over. It is a request for him to speak his real name and thereby confirm his presence and location. However, this confirmation would bring the lost Time Lords hurtling back into the present Universe, causing all manner of timey-wimey chaos, not to mention re-starting the Time War, especially with all those spaceships hovering just above the planet. Alarmed, The Doctor asks Tasha to tell him what planet they’re on. By now, of course, it can almost be nowhere but Trenzalore, the planet The Doctor is buried upon. Tricking Clara in returning to Earth, The Doctor spends the next 300 hundred years of the siege as a sort of stalemate sheriff, protecting the townspeople from attack, whilst simultaneously refusing to answer Gallifrey’s message.

Keeping up?

Eventually, having grabbed on to the TARDIS like Captain Jack Harkness before her (I miss him), Clara arrives back on Trenzalore, to find a visibly aged Doctor who knows he has now used up all his re-generations, and doesn’t, ironically enough, have much time left. Back on the church ship, now ominously named The Church of the Silence, Tasha explains that Madame Kovarian (eye patch lady, remember her?) broke away from the main Papal Mainframe, and attempted to kill The Doctor to prevent the siege ever happening – hence River Song and the original appearance of The Silence etc etc. Tasha then turns into a Dalek having had her consciousness invaded by the tricksy blighters. Eventually, after a little more to-ing and fro-ing which as far I can see was wholly unnecessary, a frail and elderly Doctor faces his old enemies in a sort of last stand. A distraught Clara pleads into the time crack, asking the Time Lords to save their old countryman one last time. Fortunately, they send a last bit of regeneration energy through the sky, allowing The Doctor to defeat the Daleks and pop back up in the TARDIS as his younger self, just in time to say goodbye to Clara, as well as a hallucination of Amy Pond (Karen Gillan).

Finally, he regenerates into a bewildered and slightly manic looking Peter Capaldi, who, worryingly, begins his tenure by asking a terrified Clara if she knows how to fly the TARDIS. And so the thirteenth age begins.

Phew. For a moment or two there I didn’t think we were going to make it through all that. Which, funnily enough, is almost exactly how I felt when watching the episode. All plot holes and references to prior events felt at best, shoe-horned in for the sake of wrapping them up. At worst, they were damaging to the episode's plot, taking attention away from Matt Smith’s exit and totally ballsing up his one chance to say goodbye before the start of Capaldi’s reign. Smith has been a fine Doctor, playing the part with a lovely mixture of playfulness, mischief, bravery and brains. It's shame the episode appears to have been planned out without nearly half as much care and attention as Smith has put into his performance week after week. In fact if it wasn’t for the lynchpin of Clara Oswald, the whole episode would have spun off into a vortex of confusion faster than an out of control TARDIS. Thinking back to David Tennant’s final moments as our Gallifreyan hero, I can help but think it’s a shame Matt Smith didn’t get the same treatment. Sure, the re-appearance of Amy and young Amelia was tear-jerking, but only for about ten seconds, that being the only breathing space Moffat’s over-full episode was left with.

It was an exciting start to Capaldi’s career in the TARDIS, true, but overall it was a badly paced, impossibly complex and deeply unsatisfying ending to the storyline of Smith’s Doctor. And he deserved better than that if you ask me, and I'm still a Tennant girl at heart.

Jen

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TV REVIEW: Doctor Who - The Day of the Doctor

First of all, the important stuff. There's big spoilers in this review. Huge, wibbly-wobbly timey wimey ones. Please avoid if you haven't seen the episode yet because I do not want to be the bearer of any unwanted surprises.

Still with me? Right then. In the words of Ten... "Allons-y!"

There was a part of me going into this episode wondering whether Moffat would really pull it off. I mean, this is a man who's Who legacy so far has been about over-complicated spectacle and plot points that sometimes don't make a whole lot of sense. The 50th Anniversary episode always promised this in spades, especially when the appearance of John Hurt as The Doctor at the end of the last series all but promised a return to the Time War. Confirmed by the stupendous mini-episode The Night of the Doctor, featuring McGann's Eight (can I just say, called it), The Day of the Doctor was to deal with the big gap in the Doctor's timeline, between Eight and Nine in which the Time War took place and the Daleks and Gallifrey were both obliterated. To deal with this even in a feature length episode was a big ask, but boy did Moffat deliver.

Thankfully, the entire team (for the credit should not go to Moffat alone) produced a spectacular tribute to, fittingly, the past, present and future of Doctor Who. Spanning across three time periods, we had Eleven and Clara investigating something odd at the National Gallery, the War Doctor fighting the Time War and deciding to take final, decisive action and Ten wooing Elizabeth I as we finally got to see their oft-talked about relationship. A tear in space and time and a transported fez later, the three Doctors were united, not only to face the Zygons in a centuries-old invasion of Earth, but to decide the fate of Gallifrey in the process.

Boiled down to its essence, this was a story about an old man who discovered he had the opportunity to change his past and alter his future simultaneously by seeing where his actions would lead. It was sort of A Christmas Carol via Gallifrey as John Hurt's War Doctor is guided through the episode by the return of the Bad Wolf (Billie Piper, clearly having a blast) as the Moment's interface before he decides to end the Time War. It was a far more intimate story than I was expecting and even amongst the spectacle, it was Hurt's quiet narrative arc towards making his decision and Tennant and Smith's memories of said moment made it all the more affecting.

The performances were suitably brilliant and I don't think anyone could have predicted just how much fun Ten and Eleven were together, bickering and sniping with excellent comic timing. Once the War Doctor was added into the mix, it got even better as the three very different versions of the same man had to get used to each other's tics and methods whilst learning to work together. Not only that, but we got all thirteen from William Hartnell right through to future incarnation Peter Capaldi (proud recipient of the second biggest yell of the night from this audience member), working together to save Gallifrey from its previously certain demise.  

The road to Gallifrey was a tricksy one and one I wasn't entirely on board with for a lot of the episode, particularly once I realised the Christmas Carol element of the narrative meant a possible retcon of the Time War. Getting rid of the Doctor's actions, destroying both the Daleks and his own race in the process, would undermine a huge amount of characterisation that has defined New Who. The Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors have all, in their own way, dealt with the fall out from his actions and one element that was not lost in this production was the trauma that Ten and Eleven have dealt with as a result of the War Doctor's decision. The scene between the three of them in the Tower of London was brilliant with Bad Wolf acting as the Ghost of Doctors Past, Present and Future and to wipe it out the Doctor committing genocide would drain all meaning and development from the character since his return in 2005.

Importantly though, this wasn't a complete retconning; the Doctor is still shaped by the belief that he destroyed Gallifrey and his people with it. The torment that haunted Eccleston's incarnation and much of Tennant is still there as they don't remember the events of this episode occurring. It's a simple, effective yet powerful moment that changes everything and yet nothing all at the same time. It also gives a lot room for future manoeuvring, particularly for Capaldi's Doctor as it seems that Eleven is heading to Trenzalore for his final tale. The return of the Time Lords in The End of Time was famously anti-climactic, so let's hope if we do see the Doctor's civilisation again, we get a bit more of them this time. I for one am rather excited about where it's all heading now.

Naturally with it being a Moffat-penned episode, there are still a wealth of questions to be answered, hopefully by future episodes. However, for the most part, it actually made sense. Logical, narrative progession sense, something which I think a lot of us weren't expecting. The Zygon problem resolution leading into the Doctors solving the Time War problem was beautifully done, even if it did mean the Zygons fell by the wayside once the latter took over. Perhaps my only criticism would be, as fun as it was to see Ten marry Elizabeth I, Joanna Page's performance felt out of step with the rest of the production. She was just very... loud. A small gripe though.

There were plenty of other things to love in there too including lots of affectionate references to the series' past including the original credits and One's TARDIS; "I love the round things" and jokes formed from a lot of current criticisms of the show. The War Doctor's regeneration (with the teensiest hint of Eccleston), Tom Baker cropping up as the Curator at the end was a delight (and proud owner of the biggest yell of the night - that voice) and the final shot of the twelve Doctors so far was positively spine-tingling. Billie Piper was spellbinding and it was great to see her back again even if the lack of interaction with the other Doctors felt like a missed opportunity while Clara turns out to be possibly the most powerful Companion in the life of the Doctor, influential in this moment. 

I could go on really; it was a joy from start to finish and feels like it has really injected some life into the future of everyone's favourite Gallifreyan. Geronimo indeed.

- Becky

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FEATURE: Doctor Who - Jen, Becky and the Seventh Series

And here it is, our final instalment of our Bank Holiday Doctor Who special, a discussion of our favourite bits of this series. We've brought you a review of each episode of the seventh series of Doctor Who, complete with Christmas special (you can find them all here) but we thought that, seeing as its a while until the 50th Anniversary and even longer until the eighth, Jen and Becky are going to be looking back at the series as a whole; the highs, the lows, the Rory...

If you're new to our little discussion articles, you can follow who is saying what at the left hand side with our initials. Of course, one day, we're going to confuse you all by changing the system. But that is not this day.

B: I'll kick things off shall I? In the broadest sense, I really liked the seventh series; it had some great individual episodes (as well as some not-so-good ones), but I'm enjoying Matt Smith as the Doctor and he seems to carry me through the worse instalments. His performance has been routinely excellent throughout and I'm loving the smaller moments he has with his companions. There was a really nice chemistry between him, Rory and Amy that had developed in the first half of the series before Christmas, which just made The Angels Take in Manhattan even more tragic.

J: Agreed. I cried for about a week after what I now refer to as 'The Manhattan Incident'. For me, this series has been the one in which I've finally accepted Matt Smith as the Doctor, and stopped wondering how David Tennant would perform in a particular scene. He's really made the role his own, as they say. And he seems to have done it one tear at a time, which is rather unusual for the show and indeed the character. That said, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't beside myself with excitment at the prospect of DT's return in the 50th special. Shame they can't somehow resurrect Rory though...

B: Well you know how I feel about Rory. But I do think Jenna-Louise Coleman has been a fine addition to the TARDIS control room even if I am getting a little annoyed with everyone describing her as feisty as if that is somehow revelatory in a female character. But I digress. I think she has been a great foil for Smith and has a way with Moffat and the other writers' dialogue that completely humanises even the more ridiculous things she has to say in the line of science fiction.

J: I think we all know how you feel about Rory. It's the nose. And ah yes. Feisty Clara. Blackpool's own. I don't know whether it' just because her accent reminds me of home, but I've found her a lot more easy to like than Amy Pond. Who, come to think of it, wasn't exactly a wallflower herself so I'm also clueless as to why fesity seems to have become Clara's personal epithet. I think it's her common sense, to the point nature (you can take the girl out of Lancashire...) which helps with the more baffling bits of dialogue. Ironic really, giving how grand her destiny has turned out to be. 

B: Exactly. And I LOVED how they handled her many appearances through time in The Name of the Doctor. Whilst it hasn't exactly been explained why she was born to save the Doctor (something for the eighth series maybe?), the many Claras actually made logical, coherent sense, which I think we can all agree is remarkably refreshing for a Who finale. It also gave us many a welcome glimpse at Doctors long and not-so-long past. One of the higher points for the series don't you agree?

J: Certainly. I almost thought I'd missed something, it made so much sense. I kept waiting for it twist around and reveal that she was actually The Doctor's long lost Auntie Mildred. I would have liked to have seen her weaved into a few more moments from recent series I think, but it was still very well executed. Do we think her and The Doctor's relationship might develop into something a little more than professional in Series 8? I've heard a few rumours. Especially now that River-Spoliers-Song has now departed back into the confusing web of time from whence she came.

B: I've long thought that there might be something more with the Doctor and Clara. He's very affectionate with her, lots of kisses to the forehead and a lot of hugging. There has been an overabundance with kissing companions since Who returned, but the Ponds were a noticeable shift - I always thought that the Doctor and Amy had chemistry more akin to siblings, but there is definitely another vibe with Clara. I like Coleman and Smith together so I'm not wholly opposed to it, but I do hope that it is something a little more equal, not another Martha-gazing-adoringly-forever at the Doctor. Because that really sucked. So what did we think of the various episodes of Series Seven?

J: Yes the forehead kisses have been very noticeable, along with all the 'my Clara's'. I also half wondered if that's why the TARDIS rejected her a bit. Jealousy? Episodes wise, my personal favourite was The Crimson Horror. Along with Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS. Hide was a bit of a disappointment. I didn't think The Name of the Doctor was as good as The Angels Take Manhattan, in the fullness of honesty, and I also think that all the series breaks we have these days take something of the sense of occasion out of end of series episodes. There'll be a few Doctor Who parties come November, mind.

B: Agreed. I've not liked the way this series has been split up; it felt like it had to pick up momentum all over again after the heartbreaking The Angels Take Manhattan, which was probably one of the best episodes. And I did love The Crimson Horror, it was a great episode, but I think my personal favourite was Hide actually. Although I did have a problem with the ending, I loved the atmosphere it created as it felt like a proper ghost story. Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS had the most wasted potential I think; whilst it was nice to see the library, the swimming pool and a quick glance at the Eye of Harmony, I absolutely hated the ending. Why work on all that character development with Clara if you're not actually going to take it anywhere? Reset buttons are the bane of science fiction and it really, really frustrated me. As you can probably tell.

J: Er yes I can rather. And yes it was the ending of Hide that ruined it for me. Far too much going on, a story within a story within a bizarre heartbroken alien. I'm certainly intrigued to see where we go from here. I notice the two-parters have ceased now, apparently after feedback from Moffat's young children. There's also the potential for several brand new character arcs now we've left a few beyond. Which I'm rather pleased about, as I couldn't stand River. I love the new Scooby Gang though, Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax are all brilliant characters. Any wild predictions or theories for Series 8? Oh and can we please stop mentioning Manhattan? I've only just come out of therapy.

B: Apologies - consider the Manhattan file closed! I think two-parters need to make a return personally, if only to give some of the stories a little more room to breathe. We've both observed the habit to wrap up things a little too quickly in certain episodes. As for wild predictions and theories, I'm thinking that, post-50th Anniversary episode, we're going to see some interesting developments for The Doctor who will no doubt be dealing with the fallout from it. And perhaps we'll find out who created Clara. Was it River? Was it the Daleks? I personally think they should go for something completely bonkers and have a previous Doctor see the future, realise what the Great Intelligence was going to do, create Clara in a weird timey-wimey sort of way and drop her off in the future for Matt Smith's Doctor to find. And maybe throw in Madame Vestra, Jenny and Strax for good measure. That probably doesn't make any sense. But then again, it probably won't in the show either. How about you? Madder the better.

J: I think the 50th Anniversary Episode will delve a little further into The Doctor's character, which I don't think we've had too much of lately. I actually think Smith's Doctor is more understated than Tennant's, and is often upstaged by his own companions. Fan as I am of Clara, this series has really all been about her, and I'd like more of a Doctor-centric focus, especially as his character has developed so much since the departure of the Ponds. If I could make requests, I'd like to see an episode on the wedding of Vastra and Jenny, a two-parter in which Straz becomnes an unlikely romantic hero and more of The Doctor's pathetic attempts at babysitting. More than that though, after this fairly substantial knock to his invincibility, I'd like Series Eight to involve The Doctor re-writing himself into history after systematically erasing himself in Seven, saving the universe all over again and generally being The Doctor. Which, let's face it, is why we watch it.

B: Definitely. To bring this full circle, Matt Smith has proven time and again that he has the acting chops to handle the weightier dramatic aspects with his curious balance of youth and maturity. I can't wait to see what Moffat has in store for us...

Whatever Series Eight has to offer, you can guarantee we here at Assorted Buffery will be there to watch it. So what do you all think of Series Seven? Agree, disagree, we would both love to know.

- Becky and Jen

You can find Jen's review of The Name of the Doctor here and Becky's retrospective look at Doctor Who (1996) here.

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TV REVIEW: Doctor Who - The Name of the Doctor

As has been the case with many Moffat –led pivotal Doctor Who finales, ‘The Name of the Doctor’ promised not so much a titbit of information as a huge chunk of home-made baguette, complete with a side order of cheese board and assorted meats. Naturally, as has also frequently been the case, we received nothing of the sort, at least not in terms of the informational morsel we were anticipating. Happily, however, the televisual feast that we did receive, tasted much, much better.

Having received an ill-tasting piece of information herself, the episode opens on Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh) returning from visiting a convict, urgently needing to psychic link with Jenny (Catrin Stewart), Strax (Dan Starkey) and Clara (Jenna Louise Coleman). The informant told of ‘the Doctor’s biggest secret’, which transpires to be the co-ordinates of his final resting place- his grave at Trenzalore.  Naturally, then, given the magnitude of this information, it isn’t long before- after three everyone, SPOLIERS!- Professor River Song (Alex Kingston) is called upon, to join the psychic- link-anxious-worry-party. It seems the prophecy, "On the fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely or fail to answer, a Question will be asked, a question that must never, ever be answered” is to come back to haunt The Doctor. Unfortunately for him, as a time traveller, is grave is somewhere he must never, ever go. Even more unfortunately, after his friends are attacked by the Great Intelligence’s whisper men (Richard E Grant), and with visiting said grave presented as the only way to buy their freedom, he has little choice.

Uncharacteristically, disarmingly frightened of the consequences of his actions, The Doctor must prepare to cross his own timeline, risking his own life, not to mention the majority of time and space, in order to save his friends. Not a bad little premise for a series finale. Add to that the revelation about what made Clara, ‘The Impossible Girl’, quite so impossible, a discovery revealed through a winning combination of poignant scenes and actual real-life, totally not usually how Doctor Who normally operates sense, and you’ve got the makings of a brilliant episode. A memorable performances from Jenna Louise Coleman as the self-sacrificing girl who discovers she was born to save The Doctor, as well as the palpable chemistry between Matt Smith and Alex Kingston in their characters’ final moments together really cemented it as one of the all-time, as it were, greats. They were simply two people saying goodbye, the fact that they are both time travellers on a bizarre unpredictable backwards trajectory didn’t matter a jot.

The whole episode was a welcome departure from the atmosphere of total bafflement usually created by a Doctor Who series finale, with the exception of course of the superb ‘The Angels Take Manhattan’, as everything slotted cosily into place.  That said, however, none of this was a patch on the show’s last 30 seconds, a clip allegedly removed from all press copies of the episode. In an introduction to November’s 50^th Anniversary special, we were treated to a sort of icing on the caked dessert, as we caught glimpses of various previous Doctor’s jogging around on their own timelines, going about their business being saved by Clara-Impossible.  Not only that, but a cherry on the top too, as we meet the one version of our beloved hero who broke the rules, the one who doesn’t go by the name of The Doctor, a version to be played by none other than John Hurt. John Hurt!

It seems the 50^th special will feature three versions of The Doctor, Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt, as we traverse The Doctor’s timeline back to pre-Eccleston times. I haven’t the foggiest what this will be like, but I think my excitement is best demonstrated by the fact that I know it was exactly 6 months on Thursday, to the date, that we will be finding out.

For what we are about to receive, may we be truly thankful.

I have an inkling we will be.

Jen

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FEATURE FRIDAY: Doctor Who (1996)

Suffering from TARDIS-related withdrawal symptoms? Already yearning for the 50th Anniversary Special? Well Jen and Becky have decided to do what they can to help by devoting the entire bank holiday weekend to Doctor Who. First up, Becky's look back at the 1996 TV movie, starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor.

Please note, this post will contain spoilers for The Name of the Doctor and also some speculation as a result of this episode. You have been warned!

The first attempt at reviving Doctor Who since its series run ended in 1989, the 1996 version of Doctor Who, starring Paul McGann as the titular Time Lord, was TV movie designed to lead the way into a new, American-produced series. First of all, thank heavens that didn't happen. Second of all, it also isn't wholly terrible and does actually provide a good connecting point in between Classic Who and the current iteration we all know, love and continually shout at. Also, with the ending of The Name of the Doctor sparking all kinds of theories, we've got a feeling here at Assorted Buffery Towers, that Paul McGann's Doctor may somehow be important to the inclusion of Mr Hurt.

Opening with a rather ominous narration from incumbent Doctor McGann, we find out that The Master, rogue Time Lord and general bad 'un, has been tried by the Daleks on Skaro and executed, his remains to be escorted back to Gallifrey by the Doctor. Never a good move that and naturally things go awry and the TARDIS crash lands in San Francisco in 1999 in the middle of a gang war. The Master's liquid snake form escapes the TARDIS and the Doctor is shot and taken to a nearby hospital. 

Of course a man with two hearts does not go unnoticed and his apparent death on the surgery table leads to Dr Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook) asking some awkward questions. One delayed regeneration later, an amnesiac Doctor, now in the form of McGann and in some natty Victorian threads, teams up with a bemused Grace to work out who he is. This startling realisation of his identity returns to him as The Master, now in the form of Eric Roberts, has opened the Eye of Harmony, the power centre of the TARDIS, which spells potential disaster for life, the universe and everything.

Like the most recent iterations of Who, it is action-packed from start to finish and though it begins a relatively calm manner, the narrative soon escalates in to the fast-paced adventure so common in the newer episodes. However, tonally it is all over the place, possibly as a result of its mixed heritage status as an American production of a British property. The shift into a noir style science fiction show in contrast to the quirkiness and whimsy that characterises Who jars and none more so than in between scenes. The quieter ones tend to reflect the eccentricities of the Doctor - his shoes comment with Grace made me giggle - but this doesn't segue well into scenes involving the Action Doctor (no, not the Scott Pilgrim one). 

As a result, the various supporting cast members struggle to hit the right notes depending on what tone the scene is aiming for. Roberts in particular struggles where to pitch his version of The Master, going from T-1000 to Ming the Merciless in just a few short scenes (check out the threads). It doesn't help that John Simm's Master has proved to be an excellent incarnation of the Doctor's nemesis, one who understood the mania and darkness in the character much better. Whereas Simm offered a grim reflection up to the Eleventh Doctor, Roberts chomps through TARDIS scenery and wears funny contact lenses. Menacing isn't the word I'd use to describe him.

Ashbrook's Grace fares a little better, approaching the Doctor with some refreshing cynicism rather than the wide-eyed adoring acceptance that tends to characterise the newer companions. The exchanges between her and McGann strike the right tone throughout the film and provide a solid heart at the centre of it. Not that their relationship was without controversy with the much-discussed kissing that takes place between the two of them. Now with the Doctor locking lips with seemingly every companion bar Rory, it doesn't seem so outlandish, but it must be remembered that prior to this, it was something the Doctor simply didn't do. The new, sexualised tone of Doctor Who began here and arguably, has been a little detrimental to the Doctor's relationship with his companions.

And so we get to McGann. This is his only televised appearance as the Gallifreyan wanderer though he has starred in many fantastic radio productions as the Eighth Doctor. He is the real highlight of this TV movie and though I'm thankful this never did go to a series, it is a shame that we haven't seen more of him on screen. He captures the eccentricities, the humour and the more serious aspects of the Doctor well and copes admirably with the tonal shifts that at times required him to be both Action Doctor and quiet intellectual. He is also granted a good arc over the episode and the amnesiac Doctor idea proves to be a really good device that not only gives existing fans something to root for, but allowing new viewers to get in on the action too. It strips the Doctor of the things that define him (the TARDIS, the sonic screwdriver - thankfully not used as a fix-everything device) and we can watch him claw it back.

The pairing of McGann and Roberts symbolises pretty much everything slightly off about this production; the clash of the old with the new. Just look at the picture on the right to see the marked contrast between the two of them; Roberts looks like he's just walked off the set of a cool 90s action film whilst McGann's wandered in from a quaint British period drama. I know its probably meant to highlight the differences between the two characters, but it never quite works, especially as the Master is supposed to be a darker version of the Doctor. Referring back to John Simm, he was always seen in a suit, like his Tenth Doctor counterpart, David Tennant. It highlighted the parallel and their relationship worked better as a result. Like the two actors, it doesn't seem to be working from the same script, never quite sure whether to produce something dark and edgy, or embrace the quirky and the light-hearted whimsy.

However, whilst McGann performs admirably amidst the production, writer Matthew Jacobs take a few liberties with the source material and offers some interesting and nerdbaiting continuity shifts. The Eye of Harmony, for instance, is supposed to be on Gallifrey (as established in The Deadly Assassin episode in 1976) and not in the heart of the TARDIS. This has since been reworked into the mythos of the current show via the novelisations and fan speculation, but still sticks out a bit like a Sontaran at a peace conference. It also notably cameoed in this year's Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS. Nevertheless, it still demonstrates a certain cavalier attitude to the material that permeates the film, but it is nothing compared to the one that crops up just a few minutes later.

I am, of course, referring to the moment in which The Master reveals that the Doctor is in fact... half human. Now it has been a few years since I last viewed this particular instalment of Doctor Who (I've become much more enthused about it as a show since then) and I had somehow completely managed to erase this particular bit from memory. Because it is stupid. Very stupid. In fact, it is so stupid that it caused me to accidentally choke on the coffee I happened to be drinking at the time in the realisation of how stupid it was. As you can probably tell, I wasn't impressed.

This is primarily because, aside from a plot contrivance, there was little reason for this to actually happen in the episode. Essentially, this entire re-writing of the character exists so that the finale can have two humans in peril in it and are both given something to do, even though the presence of the Master ensures they're in peril and they could have been given something else to do. Could you imagine a revelation like that happening in current Doctor Who? The wrath of Whovians would be so fierce, internet wouldn't be a safe place to go for weeks.

It also smacks of an attempt to make the Doctor more palatable to new audiences; he's half human, so we can totally relate to him now! Except that isn't really the point is it? We love the Doctor precisely because he isn't human, because he possess all of these quirks, this intelligence, this unabashed love of what he does, tinged with the darkness of the responsibility that comes with it. He offers a portal for us as an audience to view humanity in a different light; he is a lens through which we see ourselves . To add this half-human aspect into his character simply doesn't make any sense and takes you right out of the ensuing drama. And that, primarily is the reason that I thanked the heavens that this show didn't get picked up for a series right at the beginning of this post.

It's a good thing because it means we would probably never have got the new run of Who and, flawed and infuriating though it may be, it is also compulsive viewing with a reverence for that which came before. In some ways, this Doctor Who possesses that as well; there are a lot of little affectionate nods to old incarnations, but not interminably so (like say, Star Into Darkness - no I'm not over it yet). My personal favourite is the repeated appearance of jelly babies and McGann's small grin whenever he took out the sweetie bag. It's a neat way of tying in the Eighth Doctor to the wider history of the show.

Speaking of which, I mentioned at the beginning that this article that there would be a little bit of speculation to finish it off. Now, we know from the closing scenes of the last episode that John Hurt is playing the Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor outright states that he is viewing a version of himself but one that did something so heinous he had to renounce the name of Doctor. Now, we all know that there is one Big Bad Thing that the Doctor did, occurring in between McGann's Doctor and Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor; The Time War. Reportedly his only solution, the Doctor committed a near genocidal act that destroyed both the Daleks and the Time Lords. Now, crucially, we never actually saw McGann regenerate into Eccleston. Could this be the loophole through which Moffat has enthusiastically leaped for the 50th Anniversary Special? McGann has also been remarkably cagey about whether he is returning...

Now Den of Geek have produced this excellent rundown of several theories and include some really rather wonderful spoof Introducing John Hurt pictures. They and their commenters know far more about this than I do and I found their article fascinating. The above paragraph is simply my rather simplistic view of where John Hurt is going to fit in, but they've got various theories going on. It's a great read. 

But, returning to the matter in hand, I enjoyed my trip back in time to this particular incarnation of Who and it does form an excellent midpoint between the two major Who generations. Yes the continuity is a little off and it is tonally as scattered as the Cyberman guarding the Pandorica, but it is a lot of fun whilst its on. McGann proves to be the real highlight and I do hope that he gets to return to the TARDIS on screen at least one more time.

- Becky

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TV REVIEW: Doctor Who - Nightmare in Silver

When it comes to Doctor Who, it is not that often that an episode by an individual writer attracts a whole lot of attention in its own right, unless of course, it has been written by Neil Gaiman, one of the most imaginative and brilliant writers around at the moment. His first episode for Moffat's run, The Doctor's Wife, was extremely well received and so anticipation naturally grew for his return to the Eleventh Doctor with Nightmare in Silver. Especially since it came with the promise that it would also see a return of the Cybermen, retooled by Gaiman to terrorise the Doctor once again.

Speaking of the Cybermen, they have been one of a few Doctor Who Big Bads to have suffered from over-exposure in recent years, beginning with The Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel a few years back. There's also the problem that they don't quite carry the fear factor that, say, the Daleks still have or the Weeping Angels precisely because they are so clunky; signalling your arrival with a clank and a thud does tend to lessen the impact somewhat. Therefore, they were primed for a revival and with a dash of Iron Man and a pinch of the Borg, Nightmare in Silver brings back the metallic menace and makes them a worthy enemy once more.

The episode as a whole was one of the better instalments this series, though not quite reaching the heights of Hide, balancing an action-packed story with some excellent performances. Matt Smith is given a huge amount to do this time around, not only portraying the noble Doctor but also the Cyber-Planner or Mr Clever as he prefers to be called, a cyberman keen to take control of the biggest and best brain in the universe. The scenes in which we entered the Doctor's head were beautifully presented (and with welcome images of his previous incarnations) whilst Smith did well to maintain a separation between the two identities, despite the odd slip into pantomime dramatics. I also enjoyed the directional choices here; the warm oranges of the Doctor's half of the brain, contrasted with the cold blue hues of the Cyber-Planner and the profile shots to determine which side of the brain was in control.

The performance of the episode though belonged to Warwick Davis. This series has done well with giving the guest characters proper arcs across the episode (referring once again back to Hide, but also to last week's The Crimson Horror) and Nightmare in Silver continued the tradition with Davis' Porridge. Beginning the episode as a con-artist manipulating a chess game and ending it back in his rightful place as emperor, Davis filled the role with a world weariness that made him a compelling figure in the midst of the action. 

The action itself, of which there is plenty, is as fast-paced and as frenetic as we've all come to expect from Doctor Who of late, but thankfully it isn't enough to complete alienate you. The refit of the Cybermen gives them an added menace and with some natty upgrades that stop them being defeated quite so easily. It also takes Who into some quite dark areas, particularly Porridge's speech about the destroyed galaxy and how he doesn't feel sorry for those who died, but for the man who pushed the button. Later, he faces the decision of blowing up an entire planet. In a time where most Who baddies are actually just misunderstood, it's refreshing to see an episode acknowledge that some are irredeemably evil and drastic measures must be taken to put a stop to it.

It wasn't all great though; the addition of the kids to the usual roster of TARDIS residents was not ideal and even though they proved to be little more than a plot point, they irritated me enough that I didn't care too much about their upgrades. We also didn't get to see as much of Clara this week and after the Victorian photograph revelation in the previous episode, it felt like a bit of a step back in her progression. 

Next week promises it be packed full of stuff, with a glimpse of Richard E. Grant in the trailer for the finale, The Name of the Doctor. Watch out for Jen's review.

- Becky

You can read Jen's review of the previous episode, The Crimson Horror, here.

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TV REVIEW: Doctor Who - The Crimson Horror

Lots of planets have a North, they told us several series ago, way back in the days when Christopher Eccleston carried the sonic screwdriver. And if lots of planets have a ‘North’, so too must this one. And it certainly does, as Matt Smith’s Doctor proved this week in ‘The Crimson Horror’, a Mark Gatiss penned episode that sent him up, as it were, to a Victorian factory in Yorkshire.

I’m not usually a fan of my home regions being referred to as “The North”, with implied capital letters and italics suggesting something other, and foreign to the cultural norm, but I found it surprisingly pleasingly to bear here, enjoyable, even.  Having heard about the rapid, and distinctly odd disappearance of most employees of Mrs Gillyflower’s (Diana Rigg) match factory, Sweetville, with several corpses discovered stained a bizarre and ominous crimson colour, The Doctor (Matt Smith) and my fellow northerner, Clara (Jenna Louise Coleman), naturally set out to investigate.  Soon lost to the darker side of the factory themselves, our heroes are joined by old friends Madam Vastra (Neve McIntosh’s) a green lizard woman for those unaware, her wife, Jenny (Catrin Stewart), and  Straxx (Dan Starkey), a battle hungry Sontaran. Mind you aren’t they all? Together they must work out what on earth* is going on at the factory- namely, why do people not come out alive and when they do come out at all they’ve turned red, and who, or rather what, is Mrs Gillyflower’s silent partner, Mr Sweet?

Well-paced and cleverly written, this episode contained much of what has been lacking from the show of late- some truly stand out moments. The ones which, when done well, are later preceded by ‘oh and that bit when…’ in pub conversations up and down the land. Gatiss certainly brought plenty of these to the table. Franken-Doctor (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen it), ‘attack of the supermodels’, Matt Smith’s Yorkshire accent and Jenny battling said supermodels in that costume were all particularly worthy of this accolade. Some will have loved the tom-tom joke, some will have hated it, but it certainly stood out too- and creating memorable moments, monsters, characters and even planets is something which has always been important to the world of Doctor Who. With plenty of these to hang your fez on, this was a very tidy and complete episode.

Whilst The Doctor and Clara continue to go from strength to strength as a partnership, it was good to see some old faces. Clever with just enough of a sense of fun, the sharp tongued Madam Vastra and slightly saucy Jenny are always a joy. So too is Strax who, funnily enough given he’s arguably the most alien looking out of the lot of them, gave the episode an oddly human edge, with his, to him, at least, common sense attitudes and sense of sheer confusion at some of the goings on providing a window for the audience. Which isn’t a bad achievement for a sci-fi show, if you ask me.

This was certainly one of the better episodes in recent months, if not the best. Which, naturally, makes it very hard to top. Becky will tell you how next week goes so keep your eyes peeled.

*every time!!

Jen

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