Episode #266 : The Girl Who Died

"Immortality isn't living forever, that's not what it feels like. Immortality is everyone else dying. She might meet someone she can't bear to lose. That happens… I believe."

Episode #266:      The Girl Who Died.

Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.

Air Date:             17th October 2015.

After an adventure and a half in space, the Doctor and Clara are kidnapped by 9th-century Vikings. However, to make matters worse, hostile aliens have also arrived in the vikings' village; they are provoked into declaring war on the village by a stubborn girl. By the end of the adventure, the Doctor will learn where it was that he saw his own face before, and the reason why he chose it.

The Girl Who Died is a nice if average type story. It certainly has it's cool moments but it largely falls into the usual fare of modern Who. I like the story though. We have a historical story, to an extent, with the inclusion of a war like race of aliens pretending to be Odin. one of the Norse gods. Their reasons for why they attack are a bit odd but it's more of a throw away excuse just to bring about some conflict. It has it's silly moments though... speaking baby, for example. For that I give it an average rating.

The villains of the piece, the Mire, are another warlike race of aliens, who attack weaker civilisations presumably because they know they can win. Makes you wonder why so many species in the universe are so hostile really. They are a throw away classic type of Doctor Who villain but they do the job in this story although they are hardly hide behind the sofa type scary. 

There are a two things that make this an enjoyable episode. One is the character of Ashildr, played by Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams. She is the centre point for the story and a handful yet to come. One of a couple plots arching through this series. The second is some of the dialogue given to our heroes. As I have said in previous episode reviews for the modern show, with a good writer and story, some of the inner workings of the Doctor's character come out with the real feels. There is a nice edge of seat insight to this now very ancient Time Lord that we never/rarely saw in the classic days of the show. 

One such element takes us back to the 12th Doctor's first adventure where he tries to remember where he got his current face from - obviously that of the Roman Lobus Caecilius from The Fires of Pompeii. It is nice to have that throw back and the reminder that he took that face for a reason. We know the Doctor is a hero, a dark hero sometimes, but moments like this remind us that despite the deaths and destruction that follow in his wake, the Doctor does good even when he's a grumpy old man.

Ultimately though this is a story that exists to set up the following episode and the Ashildr storyline to come over this season. It's good but it's average for what I expect from the modern show.

Episode #264: The Magician's Apprentice / The Witch's Familiar

 

"There's no such thing as the Doctor. I’m just a bloke in a box telling stories. I didn’t come here because I'm ashamed. A bit of shame never hurt anyone. I came… because you're sick and you asked. And because sometimes, on a good day, if I try very hard… I’m not some old Time Lord who ran away. I'm the Doctor."

Episode #264:      The Magician's Apprentice / The Witch's Familiar.

Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.

Air Date:              19th to 26th September 2015.

The serpentine Colony Sarff has searched the entire universe for the Doctor, to give him the final message of Davros; however, the Time Lord is nowhere to be found. This is quite serious, as not even the Doctor's closest frenemy, Missy, is able to find him. Adding onto this is the fact she was given his Confession dial, which in human terms is the last will and testament of the Doctor.

This is an awkward story. Simply put it is a weird jumble of ideas. Aircraft across the world freeze in mid-flight. It's all a ruse by Missy to lure out Clara, so that they can go hunting for the Doctor as Missy has his last will and testament in the form of a confession disc. At the same time a weird alien made up of snakes who works for Davros (didn't he and his creations hate all things not Dalek before this?) is also looking for the Doctor because Davros is on his last legs. When they finally get together it's nothing part running through corridors/Dalek sewers and lengthy not so well written exposition between the Doctor and Davros. The plot is exposed, the Daleks defeated and everyone more or less escapes.

I could take this as a not so great episode but for a couple scenes where we almost get a jump the shark moment (look the phrase up if you haven't heard it before). The lesser one is this weird idea that Daleks cannot ever die and instead continue living as a form of conscious poop in the sewers of Skaro. What? Who let this idea through in the writing department? Seriously. The main one for me is part of the initial meeting of out characters somewhere in medieval England where the Doctor enters the room riding a modern day tank and playing the electric guitar. Again... what? For a television show about time travel, possibilities and occasionally the absurd, this for me broke the verisimilitude of the show. Why would the Doctor do anything like that? Surely that breaks the time travellers rules of messing up the timeline. Especially as they get left behind in medieval England. It spoils the whole first episode for me.

The story as such isn't all that interesting either and doesn't really set up anything with the Doctor or Davros since then, until the time of writing this. It's just a set up for the introduction of two new themes - the confession disc and legends of a half Dalek/half Time Lord hybrid. There have been some good series themes in New Who since it appeared on our screens but this one as it plays out in seasons to come is not one of the best.

More positively, it is good to see Davros back again although there is no explanation has to how he survived the prior encounter during the episode Journey's End". Who villains have survived many times before so that is fine by me. The story does have some nice revelations about Davros and his past, and potentially his inner workings during this two part story and it is probably the only bit of good exposition we get.

I have to be honest and just say that from here on, New Who does take a lengthy dip. Up until where we are with the show at the time of writing this (January 2021) the show has lost something crucial. The stories just aren't as good generally and the show really needs a true fan of the classic era to take over as executive producers and show runners. The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familiar could have been so much better. 

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.

Episode #70 : The Time Warrior

Sarah Jane Smith : "You're serious, aren't you?"

The Doctor : "About what I do, yes. Not necessarily about the way I do it."

Episode 70:   The Time Warrior.
Companions: 3rd Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.
Air Date:       Four episodes. 15th December 1973 to 5th January 1974.

 

Journalist Sarah Jane Smith is impersonating her aunt, virologist Lavinia Smith, in order to gain access to a research centre where top scientists are being held in protective custody while UNIT investigates the disappearance of a number of their colleagues. The missing scientists have been kidnapped by a Sontaran, Linx, and taken back to medieval England, where they are working under hypnosis to repair his crashed spaceship.

 

Another excellent story that gets us away from UNIT and back into time travel. In The Time Warrior, a Sontaran officer has been forced to crash in 13th century England and using crude time travel techniques is abducting scientists from the 20th century to held repair his space ship. The Doctor with new companion, and stowaway, Sarah Jane Smith travel back to medieval England to stop him. This story is good classic science fiction and the OTT acting from the medieval inhabitants is so amusing that you can easily ignore any issues with the story.

 

In this episode we have the introduction of the most famous and arguably the most beloved companion ever, Sarah Jane Smith. In my opinion, no one will ever match her as a companion. Played by the late Elizabeth Sladen, Sarah Jane became an immediate hit and would remain about of Who lore right up until the current incarnation of the show. The character starts off as a tough no-nonsense feminist which is a big change to Jo Grant. There is immediate great chemistry between her and the Doctor.

 

This is our introduction to the Sontarans as recurring villains. A race of warrior clones at war with a race called the Rutans (who will eventually make an appearance). They seek to conquer the galaxy much like every other villain out there but in all of the show they never seem to actually get anywhere.

 

We also learn for the first time the name of the Doctor's home world: Gallifrey. Now that it has a name, we will be seeing it a bit more often in the future.

 

I have great fondness for this story because although there has been humour before, I think this is the first time that it is used so well by the Doctor and will become part of his make up from here on. The show is about time travel and for ages we do seem to have been bogged down with UNIT stories.

 

The Time Warrior is another great story that everyone should check out.

 

 

Episode #17 : The Time Meddler

"That is the dematerializing control, and that, over yonder, is the horizontal hold. Up there is the scanner; those are the doors; that is a chair with a panda on it. Sheer poetry, dear boy! Now please stop bothering me."

Episode 17:   The Time Meddler.
Companions: The 1st Doctor, Vicki, and Steven Taylor.
Air Date:        Four episodes. 3rd to 24th July 1965.

The Doctor, Vicki, and new companion Steven Taylor arrive in Saxon Northumbria on the eve of the Viking and Norman invasions. It is 1066, a pivotal moment in British history. The hand of a mysterious Monk is at work in the nearby monastery, intending that history takes a different course.

The Time Meddler is the sort of story that fits the show perfectly. A fellow time traveller seeking to alter the course of history in a significant way. In this case we are introduced to a new individual villain, a fellow Time Lord refered to as the meddling monk (though the term Time Lord isn't used for a few years yet). I am surprised that this sort of thing didn't crop up more often.

The Monk is somewhat different adversary for the Doctor in that really he isn't that much of a villain. He's a meddler trying to alter history to make things better and more interesting under his guiding hand. You can certainly see him as a precurser to the villianous Master later on in the show. The Monk was played by Peter Butterworth who would go on to become famous in the Carry On movies.

Despite all the references to non interference in the time line there is one small issue in the story that never gets resolved on screen and is thus open to interpretation. At one point Vicki and Steven find a futuristic atomic cannon set up overlooking the coast, but never tell the Doctor so there is every chance that it was left there.

All in all a very enjoyable tale. The mix of science fiction and historical combined works very well and is far better in my opinion than the pure historical stories.

Episode #14 : The Crusades

"There's something new in you, yet something older than the sky itself. I sense that I can trust you."

Episode 14:   The Crusades
Companions: The 1st Doctor, Vicki, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.
Air Date:       Four episodes. 27th March to 17th April 1965.

The TARDIS arrives in 12th century Palestine where a holy war is in progress between the forces of King Richard the Lionheart and the Saracen ruler Saladin. Barbara is abducted in a Saracen ambush and the Doctor, Ian and Vicki make their way to King Richard's palace in the city of Jaffa.

I have never seen this story as it is largely missing apart from a complete audio recording, so once again I am going by episode synopses and write ups.

The Crusades is yet another historical story this time dealing with the crusade for the holy land in the 12th century. The assumption again is that this was another attempt to teach children about history in a format that they might actually watch and enjoy.

Like other early episodes where it is impossible at this time to watch them in completeness, it is difficult to actually rate it. The problem is, as I have mentioned before, that for the most part purely historical stories tend to be a bit dull for me and I have no doubt that this is probably going to be the case with The Crusades. Hopefully though, one day I will be able to watch it.

As a side note, this episode was sold abroad like all others except to the Middle East where it was feared it may cause offence.