Doctor Who

[Bzzit]

Did you enjoy the season premiere, Master?

[Master]

Indeed I did. I think this is amongst the strongest starter episodes we've had, though I still think The Eleventh Hour is probably the best. That being said, I heard that the purpose of this episode was to provide a new jumping on point for NuWho. And even with the callbacks, I think overall, it probably would do the trick. I find it a bit odd that Moffat would do this now though, given how he's leaving. Would probably have made more sense to let Chibnall have the opportunity, as Moffat did with The Eleventh Hour.

It seems they've tweaked the title sequence a bit, the Capaldi's eyes don't show until after the logo now, while before the logo came after. I see they still are struggling to get the theme to sync with the sequence, though it's not so noticeable given how they've shuffled things about slightly. That wavy effect still cuts off early when the TARDIS appears, which is particularly odd, given how they fixed it in the Christmas Special titles.

And now, for the episode itself.
I have to say, I do like how they build up a relationship with Bill and the Doctor before they properly begin the adventure. The Doctor's office had some nice callbacks, all the way back to 1963! It does seem like ever since the build up to the 50th, they've loved to have continuity nods up the kazoo. I don't mind, it's all fanservice at the end of the day, and for the most part it's understated. I can see some new folks perhaps being a little confused about the pictures the Doctor had with River and Susan. But I don't think it'll be something that'd leave newbies too out of the loop.

I was a little concerned that they would make Bill a little too wide-eyed, but I think they've got a nice balance. She does remind me a little of Donna, but without the sass. Make of that what you will, Donna is one of my favourite NuWho companions, so perhaps Bill may impress. And I have to say, I loved the way they introduced her to the TARDIS. The panning out from the darkness, the TARDIS lighting up, and then she turns around and...a very nice reprise of the Mad Man with a Box plays. It's a bit weird, given how Series 5 is far more fairy-tale in tone compared to Capaldi's era, but this track fits so well with the awe of coming across the TARDIS' interior. Bill's reaction and taking a while to process the whole thing was played for laughs, and I actually didn't mind it.

Nardole is also back, and I think they give a hint as to how he got his body back. He's a robot, it seems. I was a bit on the fence with him in the Xmas Specials, but I've actually enjoyed his presence in this episode, he gives a bit of a lightheartedness. Though he doesn't really seem to serve much of a significant role in this episode, other than disabling the Daleks. I wonder if he was written in later. I noticed he's not in the Next Time trailer either, is he going to be a recurring character, and not a main lead alongside the Doctor and Bill? I guess we'll find out.

As for the monster of the week. Well, it's not really a traditional monster. Psychic Space Oil that merges with a human, and acts on their wishes. It's a bit out there, but I think it worked. It gave a few creepy moments, and I think gave a good set up for the Doctor and Bill to start adventuring again. I kinda wish more time was spent to develop the relationship between Bill and Heather, but I don't think it was too bad overall. We also had some other nods to very old Doctor Who with the Movellans. I've not watched that era of Classic Who, so I don't know much of it. The Daleks also peep up, and I'm really beginning to believe that rumour that there is some sort of contractual obligation for them to appear in every series of Doctor Who. I don't mind, but eh...Daleks are losing their lustre a bit.

So, a good start. I'm hoping that Moffat can end with as big a bang as he entered. Series 5 I think is still the one I consider the best of NuWho, but if this series can maintain the momentum this episode's given, we might have a contender.

And of course, let's talk about the series trailer. If you do watch the episode, once it says "Coming Soon," if you don't want to be spoiled on a major surprise, I'd suggest you cut it off there. I watched it, and the surprise. John Simm is back as The Master! And he's got the beard and he looks like a Classic Master! I do enjoy Missy, I think she's a far more refined Master incarnation compared to the more campy and insane Simm Master. But given how the whole "Drums" storyline has concluded, I do hope that Moffat can bring Simm's Master closer to the classic Master. No more of the "HERE COME THE DRUMS" nonsense.

Here's the Coming Soon trailer. Remember, if you don't want to be spoiled on a big surprise, don't watch it!
[youtube]CrLbj5Vt6T0[/youtube]

[Reese Riverson]

And here you're trying to get me to resume watching things with the sixth season.

Though that said, I'm now informed what to watch in what order, as far as the specials go, considering Amazon seems to have things separate. It's still quite nice I can watch any of the episodes while having my prime subscription. Made it easier for Master to push me in the first place.

[Master]

Anytime, Hoodcom.

Anyways, Smile. This one was written by the same fella who wrote "In the Forest of the Night," back in Series 8. It wasn't an episode I was that fond of, so I wasn't expecting much going into this.

But, I think he's redeemed himself. This was a fine first trip episode, and the concept behind the "Emoji-bots" was one that I personally enjoyed. Having robots who didn't know how to respond to grief, and decided instead to terminate those who experienced it was an interesting concept. Hitting the reset button was a bit anti-climatic, but I don't think it was too detrimental. I did like some of the visual gags they did with the bots, that last one where they had "£" symbols when the Doctor mentioned discussing rent gave me a right chuckle.

Bill's interactions with the Doctor is pretty good too, I really enjoy her inquisitive and curious nature, while not being overtly sassy. Her reaction to the Doctor's casually mentioning two hearts was pretty funny.

So, we've been given a hook for next week's episode, with an elephant on the Thames. I do wonder what this'll mean. Thus far, I think Series 10 is going strong, and I hope it continues. The arc with this vault is also pretty intriguing, we now know that the Doctor swore an oath to protect it, I look forward to seeing the circumstances behind it.

[Reese Riverson]

So Master, how's the latest episode in your opinion?

[Master]

Three episodes since I last posted, ohh boy.

Thin Ice
First historical episode of the series, and it was alright.

A criticism I heard a lot about in this episode was the effects, and while I do agree, I don't think much could be done. Doctor Who might have a larger budget than it did in the Classic era, but from what I've read, it's paltry compared to some of the big budget shows you see elsewhere. I personally thought the effects were OK. I thought the villain in this episode was a bit excessive, but it was still pretty satisfying to see him get his comeuppance.

We saw the relationship between the Doctor and Bill evolve, as she learns more about his past. It was pretty dark how the Doctor took back his Sonic after he couldn't stop the child from drowning, and I''m glad they did take the time for Bill to question and for the Doctor to explain his motives.

Knock Knock
Got very Scooby-Doo esque vibes from this, which the episode lampshaded.

I don't tend to enjoy Doctor Who episodes which involve students, though I didn't think these ones were all that bad. Possibly because they were uni students as opposed to high school or below, I guess. Say what you will about Doctor Who's effects, but that student being stuck in the wall was rather well done in my view.
As was the mother's wooden appearance. I did like that twist, and I did find myself appreciating the motives behind what the Caretaker was doing, as childlike as it was.

The wood creatures were a bit...eh. I like the idea behind them, but I think this one would probably be more effective for those who are particularly averse to bugs.
I didn't find them to be too threatening, and I think this is one of the times where the effects did lessen the impact a little. As wonderfully done as the student being stuck in the wall was, the others getting dissolved into the wooden surfaces didn't really give as impressive an effect.

The ending was also a bit light. I didn't mind it too much, but having all the students suddenly being alive and relinquished from the house did lessen the menacing effect of the creatures. Though given how at this point, it was the resolution, and the creatures had been explained, I wasn't too fussed.


Oxygen
Well, I just watched this. And that cliffhanger. Blimey.
The episode itself was pretty good, which is to be expected from the guy who wrote "Mummy on the Orient Express" and "Flatline" back in Series 8. I think they were a little excessive on the political bashing, though the premise was very dark and interesting. Charging people to breathe, and removing their oxygen if they didn't produce profitable results. Very chilling indeed.

I was a bit iffy on Nardole before Series 10 began, but I've warmed up to him. He's now a fully fledged companion in this episode, and man, I really enjoyed him. I do like how they've toned down his goofiness, it's still there, but he's also been given a proper supporting role to the TARDIS group, and I really like the trio. It's a pity we're only getting this trio for this series, as I think this could have been a trio to rival the 11-Amy-Rory trio of the Smith era.

And finally, THAT CLIFFHANGER. He's still blind!? I'm really looking forward to seeing how this turns out. I just hope they don't screw it up. One thing that seems to be happening a lot in the late Moffat era, having a very good first half, but then stumbling the second.

Overall, I'm actually really enjoying Series 10. If Moffat can go out with a bang, I will be very happy indeed. Series 5 has some competition!

[Master]

Right, I'm probably going to rewatch the episodes from the Monk Trilogy onwards, and then add them into this post.

The Monk Trilogy
I had high hopes after the first episode, but I feel that it fell flat massively by the end. The first episode, "Extremis," I think was pretty good. Even if it did the whole simulation thing, the slow reveal was fun, though I feel the thing about having randomly generated numbers shared with everyone to be a bit weird for a highly advanced simulation. Not a deal-breaker, but odd. Having the Vault reveal be Missy was a bit disappointing, to be brutally honest. Having now seen the whole series, I'd had rather they not bother with the Vault at all. The interesting arc was Missy's potential redemption, and I'd have rather they focused on that then trying to have a suspenseful and ultimately underwhelming mini-arc, but I digress.

Things started to stall once we hit "The Pyramid at the End of the World," some folks seem to have liked it, but I felt it started the biggest flaw with the Monks, that being contrivances. It feels like there was always some rule or restriction that always felt somewhat unnecessary or unnatural, as if it were being made at the spot. I did like how they were able to determine which labratory was under surveillance by shutting all of them off, and then detecting which one had been turned back on. Though the process in figuring out what kind of disaster would occur went a bit too quickly. All in all, meh on my part.

Then came "The Lie of the Land," the summary was very interesting. The idea that everyone was ok with the situation, even the Doctor, was an interesting idea. Sadly, it got cut off, and then we had even more contrivances. The Monks in battle were pretty much the Silence, which was also rather disappointing. I didn't mind the conclusion too much, granted, it was a power of love, but it was the power of a fabricated memory out of love. Given how the Monks corrupted memories, being defeated by a fabricated one was something I didn't mind. All in all though, the amount of contrivances around the Monks did bug me, but I do want to see them again, if for nothing else but to fulfil their potential.

I think the best part of this trilogy is learning and seeing the relationship between the Doctor and Missy. I enjoyed seeing them figure out the Monks, even if the weaknesses they discussed came across as contrived.

Empress of Mars
Bit cheesy, but overall, I liked it. I don't think there's much I could say about it. It's a fun episode, definitely would rewatch, but I don't think I'd rate it as particularly noteworthy, barring the introduction of a female queen Ice Warrior.

Eaters of Light
Again, nothing spectacular, but still a decent episode. I don't think I can say much of it, again.

World Enough and Time
Heaven Sent in Series 9 is probably regarded as one of the best episodes of Moffat's era, if not the whole of NuWho. It was a great first half to a finale and it was a wonderfully conveyed story. So, big boots to fill for World Enough and Time. Lo and behold, Moffat did it again, and gave what might arguably be the best Cyberman episode of NuWho, which is pretty ironic given how it starred the first iteration of the Cybermen and not their modern designs.

Of course, the first thing they had to go and do is remind us that Capaldi's leaving, with that regeneration tease.

The episode proper began with us having Missy parody the usual Who tropes, which I found pretty funny. It was a nice lighthearted warm-up to what was going to be a very dark and somewhat disturbing episode. Bill getting shot was pretty gruesome by NuWho's standards, and it was heartbreaking seeing her and the Doctor's reactions as they flashbacked to how the whole thing began.

I did like how they conveyed the Doctor's desperation to have Missy be his friend again, it parallels the Series 8 finale in some ways. Of course it also sets up the tragedy of having the Doctor unable to promise Bill of not allowing her to get killed, which is what ends up happening. And then for the rest of the episode we then alternate between the Doctor having to explain what is going on to the petrified janitor with the gun, with Bill waking up and taking stock of the tragic state that the humans on the ship are in. The whole time dilation scenario was pretty enjoyable, and hearing Razor's comments on stuff like the Doctor raising his eyebrow was pretty funny.

And of course, we have Razor and the events at the bottom of the ship. The scene with the proto-Cyberman patient repeatedly going "Pain" was haunting, especially after the nurse comes in to supposedly resolve the issue, only for it to be revealed that she turned the volume off. It's unsettling and I think that's when the Cybermen work best, when they reflect their lost humanity. Seeing Bill being forced to adjust to her situation and wait for the Doctor was all the more worth it with Razor, who played a sort of quirky caretaker. Of course, he turns out to be far more integral as the plot progresses.

As the Doctor finally gets through to the lifts, Bill is tricked into Cyberconversion. And then we get the reveals...I have to say, while I'm not so fussed about spoilers myself, I think this episode really lost its punch with the announcements accompanying it. The Razor-Master reveal wouldn't have been anywhere near as obvious is folks weren't expecting the Master to show. Either ways, I love the callback with the Master and his disguises, and the look of utter shock on Missy's face was well acted indeed.

Then we have Bill being revealed as a Cyberman. That line, "ACCESSING...BILL POTTS. LOCATING....BILL POTTS. I AM. BILL POTTS." It was so haunting, yet awesome. It's been about two weeks now since I saw the episode, and that line still rings in my head. "I WAITED. FOR. YOU," also very haunting. Having both Missy and the Master rub it in was also delightfully evil and very fitting for their character. Though at the same time I wondered about the implications to Missy's storyline, the whole series was building up to potential redemption, and I knew that this wouldn't simply end here.

Of course, that indeed was the case, in the series finale. All in all, I think this is about the same calibre as Heaven Sent, well done by Moffat and all indeed.

The Doctor Falls
So, World Enough and Time carried on the tradition of Capaldi's finales having a strong first half. However, the parts thereafter have always tended to be a bit...eh for me. I was really hoping that Moffat didn't stumble on this one, and I think, for the most part, he did pretty well.

Missy and the Master were awesome together. It makes me kinda wish that Moffat had the chance to write for Simms' Master in the RTD era, I think he does the Master better than RTD did, in honesty. I like the parallels and differences between Missy and the Master. The way that they beat the Doctor at the beginning was brutal, and then twirling about while the Doctor was beaten, sadistic indeed. The Master's cruelty and sadism were indeed on full display, and yet he's still as charming and affable as ever. Meanwhile, while Missy plays up those traits, it's interesting to see how she's actually affected by all this. I also really love that bit where they both told Nardole that the Doctor hated him. That was one heck of a self conflict, and having them backstab each other is quite fitting. My only issue is with how the Master will be portrayed in the future. It'd be weird to have the next Master just suddenly go back to the usual evil.

Then we have Bill as a Cyberman. If there's one point of contention with the Cybermen in NuWho, particularly in the current Moffat era, it's how they keep getting defeated by the power of love. I am glad that they gave something different with reference to the Monk trilogy, rather than invoke the power of love again, but I'd imagine some folks might be a little more iffy on that. Having the episode switch between her perspective of herself and as a Mondasian Cyberman was a very nice touch, and I think it helped convey the emotion and horror of being converted, without losing the power of having a Cyberman's presence. Then we had the ending...which I had a feeling would come into play. I know some folks are calling this Clara 2.0, what with Bill effectively being dead, but not really. Just exploring the Universe with a chum. In honesty, this didn't bother me too much. Maybe it's because Bill didn't have multiple departures or didn't technically die in the same vein as Clara, given how Bill was merely converted but still retained her sense of self and consciousness.

Nardole has gone from being a companion I was a little iffy on, to being one I was so sad to see go. I think 12, Nardole and Bill were a great TARDIS trio, and I wish it came sooner. One thing that did bug me is how we got a very small detail of Nardole's past, but nothing more. I kinda wished he got more backstory and was fleshed out more before his departure. And speaking of his departure, he's now stuck protecting the humans on the ship...which still has some Cybermen left. I don't doubt he'll probably figure it out but I kinda wish he got more.

The Cybermen themselves were...ok. I guess World Enough and Time dealt with the horror of the Cybermen, but I was a little disappointed in having them go back to being cheap cannon fodder. Though this rings true for the majority of popular mass Doctor Who monsters, the Daleks and Sontarans can fall into this sort of trap. All in all, it was kinda neat to see the different Cybermen designs, though it's a bit of an odd coincidence that they'd undergo the exact same evolution as the Cybermen from outside the ship, especially given the presence of the Cybus design, which came from the parallel world. Minor detail in the grand scale of things, but interesting to note regardless. That scene where the 2013 Cyberman was beaten down by the Doctor/Missy/Master trio in the same way that 11/10/War beat the Dalek back in Day of the Doctor was also really cool. Though I'm beginning to wonder if the Sonic Screwdriver is being used as an actual weapon now, only the Master and Bill had an offensive weapon, Missy and the Doctor had Sonic devices only.

Finally, we have the Doctor himself. Man, am I going to miss Capaldi. Smugly calling the Master and Missy out when they'd miss how he'd tricked them, calming Bill down when she discovered she was a Cyberman, and how he was resisting his regeneration all throughout the episode. That speech he gave to the Masters was heartwrenching. I do like the callbacks made as he was in the TARDIS, trying not to regenerate. Nice to see RTD's era being remembered. Of course, the big thing was 12 running into 1. And so...we now wait for the Xmas Special, the final Moffat and Capaldi episode, and the end of an 8 year era. I sincerely hope Moffat can end this final 12th Doctor trilogy in a blaze of Glory. He's managed it so far, but he's still got one more episode.

[Bzzit]

What did you guys think of the controversial reveal today?

[Master]

Missy turned out pretty well, I'd go far as to say that she's my favourite of the NuWho Masters. So I think it can be done, I admit it's a bit of surprise, but I'm more than happy to see how it turns out.

I'm still in the phase of trying to get over Capaldi's departure, mind. I still need to finish writing on my thoughts for Series 10's episodes, and then perhaps after the Xmas Special, do an overall write up. I doubt anyone's going to read it, mind you, from the looks of things, I'm the only active Whovian left here.

[Master]

Bumping, the trailer for Xmas Special is now up:

[incognito]

Missy turned out pretty well, I'd go far as to say that she's my favorite of the NuWho Masters. So I think it can be done, I admit it's a bit of surprise, but I'm more than happy to see how it turns out.

I'm still in the phase of trying to get over Capaldi's departure, mind. I still need to finish writing on my thoughts for Series 10's episodes, and then perhaps after the Xmas Special, do an overall write up. I doubt anyone's going to read it, mind you, from the looks of things, I'm the only active Whovian left here.

Don't be such a downer, I'll probably come to read it in a year or so, when I'll catch up with the series...

[Itooh]

Season 10 was great! It's been a while I hadn't enjoyed the show so much.

Too bad it's the last from Moffat.
…
JK, it's about time we get rid of him! FINALLY some fresh ideas!

And hurray for the announced new Doctor!

… Speaking of "hurray", there's another great series that has its 4th season coming in September. Oh boy!

[Master]

I'll need to bump this when this is over.

[Cairnie]

So how does it feel to have the mum from Broadchurch become a doctor who then?

[Master]

I'm more curious about having the main writer behind Broadchurch. I know Broadchurch is well acclaimed, but his Doctor Who episodes aren't well regarded as Moffat's or RTD's were. I'm going to keep an open mind, but I do wonder if he can open his era with the same aplomb that "The Eleventh Hour" did.

As for Moffat's departure, I do want to discuss it, but I ultimately want to wait for the Xmas Special before I do. I will say that I have found the Series 10 finale to be very well done, and I'm wondering if I've finally got a new favourite series finale, thus far, it had been his Series 5 finale (The Pandorica Opens/Big Bang).

[Master]

Bumping, less than a month to go now for the Xmas Special. Rather annoyingly however, some folks had the bright idea to screen the special early in some places here in the north, as early as December 14th if memory serves. So if there's any active Whovians besides myself, be wary of spoilers.

[Rsandee]

The christmas episode will probably be the last episode I'll watch for the upcoming 3-4 years.
So sad that we're transitioning from the best doctor ever to probably the worst one.
I feel like it was an unnatural decision to pass the role on to a woman, get your politics out of our tv shows please.

[Master]

I'll admit, I'm a little apprehensive, but I'm waiting to see how it pans out. If I may ask, what's your opinion on Missy? I personally really enjoyed her and I find her to be the best of the NuWho Masters. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably be more resistant to the idea, but I feel a bit more comfortable given how she panned out.

Spoilers ahead.
That being said...I don't like her outfit. It feels like they went for all the references (11th Doctor's suspenders and boots, 10th Doctor's longcoat and so on), but the outfit overall seems too...plain. Barring the 9th Doctor, there's always been an eccentric pompousity to the Doctor's outfits. Some teeter more towards one trait or the other, but overall they stand out. This new outfit, even with all the references, just doesn't scream Doctor to me.

Granted, this is only the beginning, 12's first outfit was pompous, but rather plain. Yet he evolved into having a very versatile attire, whether it's the more casual and eccentric rocker look, or his more pompous but glorious maroon coat. I guess what I'm ultimately saying is that I hope that they don't revert to the RTD/early Moffat era of having a very set outfit with minor changes, and allow for the outfit to evolve into something more definitive and iconic as 12 did.

[Rsandee]

I don't have any problem with Missy whatsoever, I actually really enjoyed her as a character. I actually thought introducing a female Master was the perfect way to "solve" this modern overly politically correct feminist problem, but they just had to jump ship I guess. I really prefer the Doctor's own perspective on these issues, like he did answering his own sexuality (at least that's how I remember it), saying that humans just like to put labels on everything and in the end it doesn't matter at all. I would like it if they just pretended nothing out of the ordinary is happening at all and just skip the entire feminist routine, but we all know that's definitely not what's going to happen. I've gotten used to those moments where they just casually use terms like "mansplaining" and such, I could live with that, but it's just consuming the show for me now. I know a lot of people will just skip this season, at least I hope it's just a one-season thing like with Eccleston. The ratings will be going down that's for sure.

Last season was absolutely amazing though, a really strong season overall. No episode really achieved the same level as the episode "Heaven Sent" of last season, but it was still pretty great. I'm also still amazed how they can find new ways to introduce cybermen, even though we've already seen them 1000000000x times they still find ways to shock us.

[Master]

Agreed on the whole "making a big deal" approach. Though I think that is less on the folks running the show, and more on its popularity and the buzz that inevitably occurs when these sort of things happen. There was a bit of a reaction when they unveiled Bill Potts as a black LGBT character, despite the staff on the show insisting that it wasn't anything to make a huge fuss over. As for the 13th Doctor, if they do start making a big fuss about it in the show, I'll probably be turned off. I'm hoping they do retain the nuance and remember that The Doctor isn't going to care over those sort of concepts.

As for the involvement of politics, I think Doctor Who does touch on these topics now and then, IIRC, the Slitheen two-parter did have some reference to the Iraq war, and I know there have been comparisons with monsters like the Daleks with Nazis (Genesis of the Daleks was pretty on the nose about it), or the Cybermen with Communism. Though there's normally a little bit of subtlety, Series 10 wasn't very subtle about it at all when it touched on political topics, and I do think they ought to tone that down for the next series.

Series 10 was pretty good, though I am still very disappointed in the Monk trilogy, simply because of the potential they had and how they just ended up making things ever more contrived. The finale with the Cybermen is probably my new favourite, and I'd argue that "World Enough and Time" is possibly the best NuWho Cybermen episode to date. It's always nice when they strip back the whole ubiquitous army and focus more on the individual horror and intrigue behind them.