Episode #263 : Last Christmas

The Doctor: Do you know what the big problem is in telling fantasy and reality apart?
Ashley:        What?
The Doctor: They're both ridiculous.

Episode #263:      Last Christmas
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.


Air Date:              25th December 2014.

Clara Oswald is in for one Christmas Eve that she's never going to forget. Reunited with the Twelfth Doctor, she faces what could possibly be her last Christmas. Something sinister lurks in an arctic base at the North Pole, and it's beyond even the most terrible, nightmarish creatures the Doctor has faced before. Who ya gonna call? Santa Claus!

Another Christmas story set at Christmas. Why? Could we not have just had an episode that doesn't revolve around it being Christmas. It is so frustrating and as I have said in the past, just so unnecessary. It spoils any sense of immersion for me.

Anyway... I'm never sure what to say about this story. Every time I watch it I feel that the whole Santa thing just makes the episode out to be a joke and not a funny one at that. When the story turns around and becomes a dream horror story it becomes more enjoyable, even watchable but then we have Santa again. I wish that they had stuck with one format or another.

The villains of the story, such as they are, are the Kantrofarri  or dream crabs. Strange alien crustacean like beings that feed on the brains of sleeping beings while keeping their minds active in a sort of dream realm. They resemble the facehuggers from the Alien movies and that even gets a throwaway joke in the episode. They are quite cool little creatures and the way they operate feels rather fitting for a non-intelligent Doctor Who monster. References to them before would have been nice though as it seems they are just dropped in and the viewer is just as in the dark about them as the characters are.

The Doctor and Clara are both on top of their game in this story and there is some nice dialogue between them as they both come to realise that they lied to one another about Danny Pink and Gallifrey. It sort of brings them together again after the break up of the last few episodes. They gel much better here.

All in all, Last Christmas isn't a great episode but it is fun and it has some great moments of suspense and humour. The supporting characters are likeable, even though Santa gets on my nerves, and I probably wouldn't have minded if one or two had been able to become companions. I've given the episode an average 3* rating as although there are elements I dislike I feel I am focusing too heavily upon them and probably not giving the episode its credit.

Episode #262 : Dark Water / Death in Heaven

"I am not a good man! And I'm not a bad man either. I'm not a hero. I'm definitely not a president, and no, I'm not an officer. You know who I am? I… am… an idiot! With a box and a screwdriver. Passing through. Helping out. Learning. I don't need an army. I never have. Because I've got them, always them, because love is not an emotion. Love is a promise, and he will never hurt her."

Episode #262:      Dark Water / Death in Heaven
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.

Air Date:              1st to 8th November 2014.

In the mysterious world of the Nethersphere, plans have been drawn up. Missy is about to come face to face with the Doctor, and an impossible choice is looming. "Death is not an end," promises the sinister organisation known only as 3W – but, as the Doctor and Clara discover, you might wish it was.

When Danny Pink is killed by a hit and run driver, he is pulled into the afterlife of the Nethersphere and Clara will do anything to get the Doctor to save him. A basic premise to this end of season two part story but which soon blossoms into a much larger and stranger story.

First things first, the way Danny is bumped off, off screen feels like a wasted opportunity, not unlike this character throughout this season. Danny Pink had the potential of being a different sort of companion who could have been introduced through the series until the Doctor comes to terms with his past as a soldier and being Clara's love interest. He has a part to play through this particular story but I can't help but feel it was a wasted effort. His final death leaves a potential hole in the series though considering his descendent Orson Pink who appeared in the episode Listen. However,  Steven Moffat has stated that one possible explanation is that Orson was a lateral descendant of Danny's. According to this theory, Clara contacted Danny's relatives after his death and told them of his sacrifice.

Ultimately with this story I have come to dislike the character of Danny and it is simply down to his dislike of the Doctor. The confrontation between cyber-Danny and the Doctor does it all. The Doctor is a hero (even if he says he isn't) and he has his faults but Danny's dislike is beyond the pale.

Next we have Missy, the background villain of the series and the source of the "lady in the shop" who originally gave Clara the phone number of the TARDIS way back in The Bells of Saint John. Missy is here explained to be the new regeneration of The Master. Now I am not a fan of the regeneration gender swap concept, but I must admit that I do love Missy. The weird and quirky female persona quickly grew on me. Michelle Gomez takes the role and makes it her own. Although a bit strange I do love this incarnation of the long running villain.

It is the Cybermen in this story that spoil it for me. It seems that they can't be left alone and instead it seems in every new episode they get an "upgrade". Flying cybermen now and it is just ludicrous. However, the cool scenes of them climbing from their graves is very reminiscent of various zombie movies and is suitably creepy. The story gets a thumbs up for that but could we not just have classic cybermen again?

One last topic I want to speak on is the appearance of cyber-Brigadier. While this was a nice send off perhaps it feels unnecessary. We already had this in a sweet moment from The Wedding of River Song.

Like a lot of new Who it is a rather silly story when you stop to think about it. Exactly what was Missy's plan? Where did she get the cybermen from? Why did they have to fly? Had Missy been collecting dying minds for over a hundred years in real time? I really want the writers and producers to sit down and look at the stories that made classic Doctor Who work so well and try to incorporate those elements into the show. Maybe things wouldn't be so odd and the show might appeal more to both classic and new fans.

Episode #261 : Night in the Forest

"Stars implode, planets grow cold, catastrophe is the metabolism of the universe. I can fight monsters, I can't fight physics."

Episode #261:      Night in the Forest.
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.

Air Date:              25th October 2014.

One morning, in every city and town in the world, the human race wakes up to face the most surprising invasion yet. Everywhere, in every land, a forest has grown overnight and taken back the Earth. It doesn't take the Doctor long to discover that the final days of humanity have arrived...

Night in the Forest is one of those unusual stories where there is no actual villain. In fact there is no conflict whatsoever. The story revolves around the idea that overnight (and yet no one saw it) a forest grows up over the world in preparation for some big cataclysmic event which only trees can stop. The Doctor doesn't even do anything in this story. No one does really. They just work out what is happening and let it happen.

It is an okay story and watchable but when nothing happens really it feels like a wasted effort. Too much environmental issues being pushed forth maybe? I don't know but because of how the writers chose to write this one it doesn't really hold water for me.

There is a nice throw back to some earlier stories when Clara says that no one will ever forget this and the Doctor points out how humans forget everything weird that happens to them. The 8th Doctor points this out in Remembrance of the Daleks to Ace that humans don't remember the Yeti in the underground, the Loch Ness Monster in the Thames or any number of weird things. Humans deceive themselves and forget. Just a function of how we can continue withe the Earth based big scale stories that we have I suppose.

I wanted to give this episode a 3 star (average) rating but I can't do it. Nothing happens and the story is just a series of set pieces that don't ultimately lead anywhere.

Episode #260 - Flatline

"I tried to talk. I want you to remember that. I tried to reach out. I tried to understand you, but I think that you understand us perfectly. And I think that you just don't care! And I don't know whether you're here to invade, infiltrate or just replace us. I don't suppose it really matters now. You are monsters! That is the role you seem determined to play, so it seems that I must play mine: the man that stops the monsters. I'm sending you back to your own dimension. Who knows? Some of you may even survive the trip. And if you do, remember this: You are not welcome here! This plane is protected! I am the Doctor, and I name you the Boneless!"

Episode #260:      Flatline.
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.


Air Date:              18th October 2014.


Separated from the Doctor, Clara discovers a new menace from another dimension. But how do you hide when even the walls are no protection? With people to save and the Doctor trapped, Clara comes up against an enemy that exists beyond human perception.

Another really good horror based episode. This time dealing with two dimensional creatures trying to find their way into our three dimensional universe. The Boneless, as the Doctor calls them, are really cool throwaway monster of the week type opponents. Creepy in appearance as well as the on screen methods they use to drag you away. Bonus points to whoever came up with that idea.

Flatline is a Doctor-lite episode where it focuses on Clara as an active protagonist companion. We haven't had an episode like this for a while and it is a nice change of pace. A plot mechanic (a shrunken TARDIS) keeps the Doctor to the sidelines. Where this works really well is how easily Clara takes on the role and attitudes of the Doctor - something that gets mentioned near the end. The look on the Doctor's face show's exactly how close to the truth that comment was. In previous incarnations the Doctor has proven himself to be manipulative towards his companions and the inhabitants of wherever he turns up. Davros even makes reference to this during the events of The Stolen Earth / Journey's End. We don't always see it as viewers but it is very true. 

Flatline is one my favourite Capaldi era episodes. Excellent monsters, cool plot and well written. 

Episode #259 : Mummy on the Orient Express

"Would you like to think that about me? Would that make it easier? I didn't know if I could save her. I couldn't save Quell, I couldn't save Moorhouse. There was a good chance that she'd die too. At which point… I would have just moved on to the next… and the next, until I beat it. Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones, but you still have to choose."

Episode #259:      Mummy of the Orient Express.
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.

Air Date:              11th October 2014.

After their previous trip to the moon ended on a sour note, the Doctor decides to take Clara on a final trip in the TARDIS - "our last hoorah!" The destination? There have been many trains that took the name Orient Express, but there's only ever been one that traverses space! However, they find their luxury trip may take an unexpected turn when they discover there's a supernatural passenger...

Mummy on the Orient Express is the sort of story that harks back to the days of classic Who. Swap the fancy sets for flimsy board and polystyrene, and you could easily have the 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane on a starship called the Orient Express playing out this very scenario. It is a great throw back to how classic and new Who can easily gel together. 

Our two time travelling companions decided to have one last adventure together but it turns out to be somethign more than expected. The premise was originally set up at the end of the 11th Doctor story The Big Bang, when they received a phone call in the TARDIS to say about an Egyptian princess lose on the Orient Express. Seems they never did take up that adventure and the individual behind it all has tried on repeated occasions to get the Doctor to go. Nice tie in.

It is another horror themed adventure with some great special effects, make up and atmosphere. Just what you want from Saturday tea time telly. Capaldi gets to shine in this story with some wonderful dialogue and just the right grumpiness that doesn't push over into the absurd like the previous episode.  This time though it seems to be Clara who takes a funny turn. From being so hurt by the Doctor while they were on the Moon she seems to have happily leapt back into the TARDIS with him with little concern for what had happened last time and in part, this time. 

Other than finding out that the mummy was a former soldier from an ancient war, there is no explanation as to who the mysterious Gus was and what they wanted with the mummy. The episode plays into the theme of this season which is the Doctor's dislike of soldiers but I had wondered whether it was anything to do with the "afterlife" plot with Missy but nothing ever comes back to it so I assume not.

Mummy on the Orient Express is a great episode and I would recommend it as one to watch. One of the best of Capaldi's run on the show.

Episode #258 - Kill The Moon

"Tell me what you knew, Doctor, or I'll smack you so hard you'll regenerate."

Episode #258:      Kill the Moon.
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.

Air Date:              4th October 2014.

The Doctor, Clara, and Courtney go visit the Moon in 2049, where they discover that the Earth's constant companion is a little more than another mere celestial body.

Kill the Moon is an adventure where the Doctor takes Clara and one her students, Courtney (who we have seen about Coal Hill school this season), on a trip to the moon in the year 2049. Mankind has all but given up on space travel but there has been a mining survey which has gone quiet - bar a few final screams. The companions meet up with an unlikely group of former astronauts sent on mission to find out what has happened. One by one they start being picked off until the cause of the problem is revealed to be a giant space creature hatching from inside the moon-shaped egg.

At first this is a good story that plays into some nice science fiction horror tropes. Always my favourite Doctor Who type adventures. We have suitably edge of the seat type scenes and encounters with giant spider bacteria monsters. Great. Once it is revealed to be a hatching egg the tone changes into a moral dilemma. Do you blow up the creature to save the Earth or do you let it hatch and risk the lives of everyone down on the planet below?

The dilemma is quite thought provoking and how it is scripted is done well too. You can feel the issues on both sides. A credit to the screenwriter. However, and this is where I have an issue with the episode. The stance taken by the Doctor feels so far out of character that I wonder what they were thinking. The Doctor basically says it is nothing to do with him and humanity must decide. Okay, that may an overreaction to the human situational reaction - this incarnation of the Doctor seems to do that a lot! - but abandoning Clara, Courtney and the astronaut to their possible fate one way or another is so out of character. Then when confronted by Clara at the end, it feels like he is backpedalling his way out if it. I really think that they could have done better than that with the Doctor's personality and reactions.

We are left with a brand new moon so that clears up that little problem. However, the Doctor says that the moon was laid 100 million years ago. We know that the Silurians went into hibernation because of an appearance of the moon so did a giant space creature lay an egg then and it only just hatched? Just an small aside that came to mind whenever I have watched this episode.

Overall I like this episode even with the out of character elements of the story. It holds up as a typical sort of adventure for the modern era of the show. Not one of the best but far from being the worst we have had in recent years. Could have been a lot better though.

Episode #257 : The Caretaker

"You want to know what's in that box? I'll tell you what's in that box! It's a Time Machine! It also travels in space! And it usually contains a man who just wants to get on with his work of preventing the end of the world — but keeps on getting interrupted by boring little humans!"

Episode #257:      The Caretaker.
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.

Air Date:              27th September 2014.

The Doctor's decision to use Clara's school as the centre of a trap for a wild Skovox Blitzer results in revelations in her personal life. Meanwhile, the Doctor's mechanical quarry, which has enough firepower to decimate entire planets, is running amok in the halls of Coal Hill.

The Caretaker is one of those episodes where I can't help but think that the writing team were running out of ideas. It is a story that makes minimal sense and does little but be a progression from one scene to another with no real plot behind it. Essentially the Doctor disguises himself as a janitor at Coal Hill school in order to locate and deal with an alien robot monster capable of destroying everything. By itself this is a fair premise but we get no real explaination as to how the robot got there or why it was drawn here. Instead we get nearly an hour of the Doctor being a grumpy old so an so, shouting at or being rude to Danny Pink and not all that nice to Clara either. We get it. The Doctor doesn't like soldiers but Danny isn't a soldier anymore. The episode feels like a family squabble with a side plot of a killer alien robot.

That being said, I just don't find this a very good episode. It has some funny moments but not enough. There is too much of the Doctor being a big old grump and it gets old fast. It isn't the worst by far but  A better way of handling the episode would have been to have the Doctor and Clara arrive at the school that find that something was up, team up with Danny and the school girl, and they have a chase/fight encounter through the school on parent teacher night. What we got was a wasted potential and a bit of a mess.

It is episodes like The Caretaker that make me so hearken back to the good old days of classic Who. I am sorry to say it but from here on, it feels like New Who has lost it's way somewhat. 

Episode #256 : Time Heist

Psi: I still don't get why you're in charge.

The Doctor: Basically, it's the eyebrows.

Episode #256:      Time Heist.
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.

Air Date:              20th September 2014.

The Twelfth Doctor and Clara receive a mysterious phone call, and find themselves in a maximum security bank, memories wiped clean and two more recruited strangers to accompany them. Their mission: to rob from a bank that lives up to the reputation of impregnability, but will they be able to find out what they've been recruited to steal and why before they get captured?

Essentially, Time Heist is a take on the Hollywood heist movies like Oceans 11. This time it is taken further and the heroes must break into a science fiction bank with extreme defences including an alien creature, the Teller, which can detect guilt and liquefy brains. It is a very odd story and at first glance doesn't seen very Doctor like but as we all know it gets explained near the end.

I'm not especially fond of this one. In fact I think it is quite forgettable. I obviously remember it but unlike nearly every other episode I couldn't recall the details when re-watching it for this review. It wasn't good enough to be memorable. No classic references although it does feel like the sort of adventure the 6th Doctor might have found himself involved in so I guess there is some sort of throwback.

I suppose that it just isn't well put together. The characters that the companions meet are okay but are only there for the story and they have little to pull you in to them. The episode itself is a mixture if scenes that seem slotted together and the overall twist at the end isn't all that surprising even if you don't work it out. It isn't the worst or most boring episode I have ever seen but sadly Time Heist falls short of what I expect from modern Doctor Who.

Episode #255 : Listen

"What's that in the mirror? Or the corner of your eye?

What's that footstep following, but never passing by?

Perhaps they're all just waiting, perhaps when we're all dead,

Out they'll come a-slithering from underneath the bed."

Episode #255:      Listen.
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.


Air Date:              13th September 2014.

The Doctor has been pondering a question: have people ever been truly alone? Does something lurk unseen beside us all? With Clara at his side, the Time Lord will find himself delving into familiar pasts and eerie futures. Just where does the answer to the old man's unanswerable question lie? Will he find the answers he's been searching for, or will his quest cost him his life this time?

Listen is a bit of an unusual story as it isn't really an adventure in the traditional sense of the show. Despite first appearances there are no enemies or villains for the Doctor and Clara to defeat. Instead it is a mixture of showcasing Clara's growing relationship with Danny Pink and a strange jaunt through time with the Doctor having a rather overactive imagination one day.

It tries to be a horror story of sorts and although it doesn't actually play out that way, Listen is an amazingly well written and suspenseful episode. Definitely one of the best of recent years and of the 12th Doctor's era of the show. Very clever. However, even though I happily grant Listen a 5 star rating, it has it's issues. They just are not worthy enough to ruin the enjoyment of this episode. Primarily, as I say above, there is no real story to this episode. Our heroes bounce through time in search of whatever the Doctor thinks is lurking under the bed and it doesn't reveal anything other that a possible for future for the family of Clara and Danny. Also, we don't get any answers to anything put forward in this episode - what was at the door of Colonel Pink's time ship at the death of the universe? Who or what was under the bed sheet and what promoted this strange adventure in the first place? Listen is great but I prefer these sort of episodes to give us some sort of answers.

One very interesting scene in this episode was not expected at the time of viewing. The TARDIS takes the travellers back in time to Gallifrey to a certain barn we saw in The Day of the Doctor, which turns out to be the childhood home of the Doctor and we encounter him in his first incarnation as a small boy having nightmares about something under the bed. Clara has this nice little speech that I guess is meant to show her setting him up for his journeys and adventures. It doesn't add anything to the actual episode but it is a nice addition that fits in well with Clara being the Impossible Girl.

This is probably my favourite episode of the first 12th Doctor season. Well written, good dialogue and a perfect edge of your seat feeling that more episodes of Doctor Who should have.

Episode #254 : Robot of Sherwood

"You stop bad things happening every minute of every day. That sounds pretty heroic to me."

Episode #254:      Robot of Sherwood.
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.

Air Date:              6th September 2014.

Clara is offered the chance to choose the next destination for herself and the Twelfth Doctor. They go and meet the English folk hero Robin Hood, much to the Doctor's disbelief in the existence of someone who's supposed to be a mere folk story character. Travelling through Sherwood Forest in 1190, they soon realise that something is amiss, as the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham and his malevolent robot knights set in motion a plot that could rewrite the course of history for the worst.

Here we have another historical story with a science fiction twist - that of Robin Hood, robot knights and a spaceship disguised as a castle. Perfect Doctor Who material and in that respect the story does quite well. We can easily accept any historical inaccuracies by counts of the Doctor's interference. It even has a bit of a The Time Warrior vibe what with robot knights and all. 

However, the reason I give this episode a 2 star rating rather than the average 3 star that it probably deserves is down to the some of the dialogue. Quite frankly the constant bickering between the Doctor and Robin Hood gets on my nerves and ruins an otherwise good episode. The 12th Doctor can come across as mean and grouchy a lot of the time but in this episode, where it is obvious he dislikes being proven wrong about the existence of Robin Hood (even though in the real world we know he was based on various true accounts to create the legend), it seems taken too far. Maybe I'm just not getting it but it spoils the episode for me.

Robot of Sherwood, as I mentioned above, does carry some good classic elements. Sometimes the new era of the show seems to forget it's roots but here we have a good example of an episode that would have fitted in well as an episode of classic Who. Maybe because it does feel a bit like The Time Warrior, I could easily see the 3rd Doctor running around in this story and wouldn't feel out of place.

There is a brief mention of the Promised Land, as we have heard mentioned before, but it is a passing remark. Not every episode needs a large tie in to the series arching plot. 

Not one of the best of the 12th Doctor's adventures but the first series of a new Doctor always has a couple out of sorts stories where the actors and writers settle into the new character. After this, the rest of the first season gets better in my book.