Episode #252: Deep Breath

"I'm the Doctor. I've lived for over two thousand years, and not all of them were good. I've made many mistakes, and it's about time I did something about that. Clara, I'm not your boyfriend."

Episode #252:      Deep Breath.
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.
Air Date:              23rd August 2014.

Shortly after his regeneration, the Twelfth Doctor arrives in Victorian London, and Clara Oswald struggles to embrace the new man the Doctor has become. All the while, they reunite with the Paternoster Gang to investigate a series of combustions that have been occurring all around the city.

And so begins the 12th Doctor's era on the show and what a great start it is. Deep Breath is a bit of a rather odd story though. Since the end of The Time of the Doctor, somehow he and Clara ended up back in the Mesozoic, swallowed by a dinosaur (and that is enormously incorrect in it's size) and somehow time travels with it to the Victorian era where robots are stealing body parts. By Doctor Who standards it's probably just another Saturday.

The Doctor's new persona is quite similar to that of the 1st Doctor, in that he is rather a grumpy grandfatherly figure. A bit rude perhaps but also funny. I had wondered whether this was intentional as this is a brand new reset of regenerations. I don;t know whether that was the case but it seems to fit the new personality.

The new element of this story is that the robot body part thieves aren't just a random villain for a one off post-regeneration story. They are in fact connected to a previous story The Girl in the Fireplace. You may remember that one as the story where the 10th Doctor, Rose and Micky fought time travelling robots using body parts to fix their ship. While not from the SS Madame de Pompadour, they are from the sister ship SS Marie Antoinette. It's a nice tie in to a previous story.

Part of the story that doesn't really work for me is Clara at the beginning of the episode. In her recent adventures she has had to deal with the concept and actuality of Time Lord regeneration and yet she seems to not understand it now where the Doctor is concerned. The writers try to make this seem about her being in love with the 13th Doctor and wanting him back over an old man, but it doesn't come off that way to me at all. It takes a final moment of the episode to reconcile this which it does to an extent.

The adventure is a good one. It has adventure, action, excitement, humour and a slight bit of horror. It has some great dialogue too, from Clara's logic about torture to the final unanswered confrontation between the Doctor and the half-faced robot. Even the phone call from the 11th Doctor is a good emotional ride. Eventually it ends with a bizarre twist involving a mysterious woman named Missy in some sort of "afterlife". An interesting set up for later in the series.

A great start to the new series and a new Doctor.

Episode #235 : Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

"What sort of a man doesn't carry a trowel? Put it on your Christmas list."

Episode #235:      Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Air Date:               8th September 2012.

In 2367, the Indian Space Agency is on high alert as an unidentified spaceship hurtles towards the Earth. The Eleventh Doctor assembles a team to investigate, including the legendary Queen Nefertiti, a big game hunter named Riddell, Amy, Rory... and Rory's father, Brian. Materialising aboard the mystery ship, they're surprised to find it populated by dinosaurs. With time running out before the ship is blasted out of the sky, the Doctor must confront a vicious criminal named Solomon, as the lives of his companions and the dinosaurs hang in the balance.

Dinosaurs are a good staple of time travel stories and even better when put out of place, such as on board a starship. Add some strange comical robots, Rory's odd father, an Egyptian queen, a 19th century big game hunter and an insidious space pirate villain who quite frankly has no redeeming qualities, and you have quite a fun adventure for a Saturday night tea time. A perfect bit of modern Doctor Who.

We learn that the Silurians, with all their technology, had the ability to construct and pilot spaceships - something never previously mentioned or considered really. So, it makes me wonder how many more Silurian ships may still be out there or did they find a new home? Could there be Silurian colonies out in deep space on jungle worlds filled with dinosaurs? That could go a way to explain why we never see Silurians on Earth in the future despite repeated pointers that in the future both species cohabit.

I love the addition of Mark Williams, a star of the Harry Potter movies, as Rory's somewhat odd father Brian. The modern series, far more than classic, tends to give cameos to household name actors and actresses. When watching a classic story you would be surprised to well known names from the 70's and 80's mainly making the occasional appearance. New Who and their appearance is too commonplace to bother mentioning most of the time. However, Mark Williams stands out nicely and his talents really brighten the fun of the episode.

The role of the pirate trader Soloman is likewise played by a name from the Harry Potter movies, David Bradley. He would also go on to play William Hartnell in the 50th anniversary program An Adventure In Time and Space. In Dinosaurs on a Spaceship he plays a very unlikeable villain. Even the evil deeds of villains such as Daleks and Cybermen, you never feel a sense of actual dislike or unpleasantness about them. The deeds expressed by Soloman make him a very dark and unpleasant personality. I guess more for the adults watching than something to be picked up by the younger viewers.

So, if I like this adventure why do I only give it a basic 3 stars? It does what it says on the tine. It's fun but it doesn't raise the excitement level or give true squee moments. It doesn't push an ongoing plot forward or anything like that. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, while good, is a modern example of what I expect a modern Doctor Who adventure to be.

TW #4 : Cyberwoman

"You could have saved her! You're worse than anything locked up down there! One day, I'll have the chance to save you...and I'll watch you suffer and die!"

Episode 4:     Cyberwoman.
Companions: Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper and Ianto Jones.

Air Date:       5th November 2006.

 

Ianto has a dark secret, tied to the basement of the Hub — a secret he will protect at any cost: a semi-converted Cyberwoman! Will Torchwood Three fix things in time before the Cybermen, ripe from battle with their greatest enemy, the Doctor, convert the world?

 

When Torchwood was first announced I did wonder whether there would be much in the way of a crossover between the two shows. Unfortunately Cyberwoman is pretty much it, at least for a while. Where Ghost Machine was a vehicle to showcase Own this story gives us a side to Ianto that we needed. Unfortunately Ianto just seems to be a bit of an idiot when the chips are down and his "love" for a girlfriend almost converted becomes a problem. He knew what went on at Canary Wharf the year before so why risk this? We also learn that Owen has a bit of a thing for Gwen. This storyline continues for a while as a side issue for them.

 

I would have preferred more interaction with the Whoniverse through Torchwood but we don't really get it. I'd have loved for them to have to deal with Silurians under the Welsh hills or something to that affect. But we don't get it which is a shame.

 

In Cyberwoman we get to see a bit more of Torchwood's resident pterodactyl but it still doesn't explain why they have one.

 

Cyberwoman is the first disappointing episode but since the first three are so good, I can't fault it too much.

 

 

Episode #71 : Invasion of the Dinosaurs

"Look, I understand your ideals. In many ways I sympathise with them. But this is not the way to go about it, you know. You've got no right to take away the existence of generations of people."

Episode 71:     Invasion of the Dinosaurs.
Companions:   3rd Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.
Air Date:         Six episodes. 12th January to 16th February 1974.

The Third Doctor and Sarah arrive in 1970s London to find it has been evacuated because dinosaurs have appeared mysteriously. It turns out the dinosaurs are being brought to London via a time machine to further a plan to revert London to a pre-technological level.

Invasion starts with some wonderfully creepy scenes of a deserted London. It seems that our time travellers took a few months to get back from medieval England, and now dinosaurs have started to appear. All of it part of a plot to do away with the the modern world and return to a more primitive Earth, one without technology and pollution. If the entire population of mankind has to never have existed, well, the reward is worth it. Or is it?

We have here a really nicely thought out premise that involves time travel, dinosaurs (about time!) and some wonderful pseudo-science. Shame that the dinosaur models are just down right atrocious, as you can see from the picture above. If the models had been even half way decent this would have been just fantastic.

An odd addition is the surprise that Mike Yates, long time member of UNIT, has become disillusioned and is now a traitor. Maybe it is just me but it seems a bit far fetched considering everything he has seen and done in recent years. Another addition is the introduction to the Whomobile, the Doctor's new UFO looking car. This was a personal vehicle of Jon Pertwee, commissioned by him. Why it was used in the show rather than Bessie, I don't know.

I also feel that there is a lack of continuity in this tale. When using their time scoop technology to pluck dinosaurs out of the past, why do they not see Silurians? After all, they ruled the Earth back then and presumably had great cities. Doesn't help the story I suppose but some reference would have been nice.

In this story we get more of an impression that there is more to a Time Lord than just time travel. Similarly to events in The Time Monster, the Doctor seems able to see/sense time distortions and even be less effected by them.

If you can look past the awful dinosaurs, then this is a really good story.

Episode #66: Carnival of Monsters

"Would you kindly stop referring to me as "the creature", sir. Or I may well become exceedingly hostile!"

Episode 66:    Carnival of Monsters.
Companions:  3rd Doctor and Jo Grant.
Air Date:        Four episodes. 27th January to 17th February 1973.

The Doctor and Jo arrive on the SS Bernice, a cargo ship crossing the Indian Ocean. Things are not what they seem. A monster appears in the sea, events repeat themselves and a giant hand steals the TARDIS. Investigation reveals they are inside a miniscope, an alien peepshow sporting numerous miniaturised environments, which showman Vorg and his assistant Shirna have brought to amuse the populace of the planet Inter Minor.

The Doctor has been freed of his exile and takes Jo out into time and space, ending up not on the beautiful blue planet of Metabelis III but shrunken down inside a miniscope. Carnival of Monsters is quite a good and well done story. Part of it, I am sure is just the relief of getting away from UNIT's Earth based stories and back out into outer space. But, saying that, this story weaves a great tale that moves you from the deck of cargo ship, to a swamp filled with carnivorous drashigs, and deals with a pair of carnival style showmen. Plus, it features a dinosaur and you can't argue with that.

A crewman on the SS Bernice is played by Ian Marter, who would go on to play Harry Sullivan, a companion of the 4th Doctor.

Speaking of the SS Bernice, we have a sense here once again of time being something fluid. When they land on the ship and the Doctor realises where they are, he tells Jo that the disappearance of the ship is almost as famous as that of the Marie Celeste (see The Chase). However, at the end of the story, the ship sis sent back to where and when it came from, so unless something did happen to it in the Indian Ocean, it arrived safe and sound. So how did the Doctor know it had vanished? Sometimes thinking this stuff through can give you a headache.

Episode #52 : The Silurians

 

"My dear Miss Shaw, I never report myself anywhere, particularly not forthwith."

 

Episode 52:   The Silurians.
Companions: The 3rd Doctor and Liz Shaw.
Air Date:       Seven episodes. 31st January to 14th March 1970.

 

At Wenley Moor nuclear research facility, they're experiencing technical difficulties. The source is something old, the former rulers of the Earth, and they have awoken.

 

This story introduces a new villainous species, the former inhabitants of the Earth, a species that we call the Silurians. Not an accurate name but it fits for the purposes of the story. Fearful of a global catastrophe, the Silurian race entered hibernation along with some dinosaurs awaiting a time when the Earth would have been restored to being able to support life. Unfortunately the catastrophe never happened and their technology has broken down, preventing their awakening. When this group awakens they find that mankind has arisen in their place.

 

We are also introduced Bessie, the Doctors new car while he is exiled to the Earth. Throughout his time, the third Doctor upgrades the car to be something more suitable to him, and the start of that can be seen towards the end of this story.

 

I find the end of the story a little blunt however. The Doctor wants mankind and the Silurians to live together in peace. Throughout the story this seems to be his primary objective and at the end he thinks he may have started that. Unfortunately the Brigadier, under orders from the British government, blows up the hibernation compound, which upsets the Doctor greatly. Although he was following orders, I think it strips the Brigadier of something and he comes across as callous.

 

The Silurians is a very good story and I fully recommend it.