Doctor Who is starting once again today with Peter Capaldi starring as the Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald in the ninth series of the reboot... but before we even go anywhere near the new episodes and next Saturdays, let's have a quick glance back at the eighth series - just for a reminder.
I don't know about you guys, but no matter how much I brace myself for the Doctor's regeneration I'm still not completely ready for it. Rationally thinking I'm all in for it - yes, amazing, a new Doctor, that's the way of the whole show and a part of its charm - and yet, every time there's something that keeps nagging in the back of my head about new Doctors. It happened with David Tennant, mind I'm the new era Whovian who only got into the series through the reboot, and it happened with Matt Smith and now it once again happened with Peter Capaldi. I think it took me the whole fifth series to get used to the eleventh Doctor - and to show run by Steven Moffat, and I still think the fifth series wasn't all that good, but I did get used to Matt Smith's Doctor and I enjoyed him greatly.
I'm still working on getting under Capaldi's Doctor's skin - but he's the Doctor alright, and pretty good one.
As a series, I think the eighth series did a very good job. Well done. Interestingly, I think Moffat has more and more shifted away from certain Moffat-ness that bothered me about the fifth series especially - it was the most fairy-tale-y Doctor Who we've ever seen. One day I can write a detailed analysis of the subject, but what I think, is that Moffat is evolving as a show-runner and broadening his own style - it's almost weird to think this series 8 is run by the same man.
One of the big themes of the eighth series was the Doctor and Clara's relationship which is one of the most dynamic and most interesting in Doctor Who, and I'm very, very curious about Clara's future with the Doctor. In the eighth series Clara starts to see the man behind the tricks and bowties (since, he's no longer wearing those) and she's not sure what to do about it. Then again, the Doctor is getting challenged by her in a new way since she's no longer amazed by the dashing young Doctor. In the mid-series Clara realises she can't keep doing the travelling in the TARDIS anymore, but letting go is just too difficult.
And one more thing: I love Danny Pink. Danny is/was great and probably a character I've been able to relate the best. He was calm most of the time, and rational, and just generally pleasant. He's awesome in The Caretaker episode where he totally owns the Doctor in his own game by saluting him. For this once I almost wished they'd do some wibbly-wobbly time magic and bring him back - but I'm a fan of powerful story-telling, and keeping Danny six feet under is more powerful than bringing him back. Sadly.
Anyway, I think now is a good time to have a quick look back onto the episodes of the 8th series:
Deep Breath - For the reasons I explained earlier, I don't have high hopes for the debut episode of the new Doctors. Deep Breath wasn't bad, but I never like watching the unbalanced, still regenerating, silly-weird Doctor. Well, the Doctor is always a bit silly and weird, but especially Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi's Doctors first minutes are dreadful to watch for me - I get the idea, but there's just something I can't stand about the almost hysterical, new Doctor. Well, if we put that on the side and think about the episode itself... it was alright, really. I didn't really like the dinosaur that much, but fair enough, I absolutely love Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax - but after giving this episode a rewatch, it really bothered me how both Vastra and Jenny... objectify everything. All females are to flirt with a bit, all males to be made fun of. But I don't want it to bother me too much, cos to be honest, the trio does amuse me a lot and are great together. I liked Clara having problems with the new Doctor, it was like a reversed Rose-situation. The clock-work androids were cool and the link with the Pompadour ship was nice. The Heaven, however, was damn ridiculous and I didn't care for the idea - but it was still pretty intriguing and so was the Missy.
Into the Dalek - Into the Dalek has a great concept which is also executed pretty well, I think. To be honest, I think this episode could have maybe worked better not immediately after introducing a new Doctor, but there you go. One of the purpose of this episode was to show the darker side of the new Doctor right from the start. The twelfth Doctor sees people dying around him and keeps whatever emotions it brings up deep within him.
Robots of Sherwood - It's a bit of a shame we didn't get a story about a respected, creative genius from the past like Agatha Christie or Vincent van Gogh, but instead we got Robin Hood. Robots of Sherwood is more of an easy-going, silly episode. It was okay, but I don't have that much anything to say about it really.
Listen - Oh, the new Blink, it was! Listen is an amazing episode, hands down. Is there really creatures there we can't see or is this only the Doctor's personal paranoia? I'm not sure which option would be less terrifying - and that makes Listen such a good episode. But it's not only that, the exploration of Clara's relationship, hopes and fears regarding Danny Pink.
Time Heist - An excellent episode, I mean, who doesn't love a heist? It's not however just the heist I personally love in this episode - it's the whole package really and it may even be my very favourite episode of this series. I often criticise Moffat's team's ability to create good one-off characters (something Russell T Davies was very good at), but Psi and Saibra are exactly the kind of characters I enjoy watching. They're interesting, have a background and motives - and especially when I thought Psi died, I was genuinely upset. And the plot was just great and something only Doctor Who could pull off - and for once, despite all the twists this episode wasn't the confusing, hard to keep up with type.
The Caretaker - The Caretaker, I love it, it's like a better version of School Reunion back in the second series.
Kill the Moon - Some big ones like The Independent, IGN and The Daily Telegraph have labelled Kill the Moon one of the best episodes in the New Who, but I must disagree on this one. I can't have been the only one who wasn't surprised that the moon was actually an egg? I think everything in this episode was extremely predictable, but it wasn't a bad episode - just not worth all the praise it got, it wasn't good drama. Clara's decision didn't have any consequences - and did we even expect that something bad would have happened? Nope. Only real, good, television drama we experienced was the interaction between the Doctor and Clara after the Doctor's decision to leave Clara alone.
Mummy on the Orient Express - I liked this episode. A nice little mystery and there is just something about the periodical style!
Flatline - 2-dimensional creatures, loved the idea.
In the Forest of the Night - I admit: on my first watch I fell asleep in the middle of the episode and kinda missed everything and anything that happened in it. For my defence, I watched it pretty late, but it was still an upsetting occasion - I used to be such a massive Doctor Who fan that this would never have happened in the past, but my biggest flame for the show is probably behind me. This episode was sweet and innocent, and sometimes it's just good.
Dark Water - My one and only criticism is that why the hell did they include the Cybermen already in the preview trailer of this episode? I was lucky and had forgotten the involvement of the Cybermen, and got to experience the amazing sensation of realising the twist just seconds before it actually happened. The death of Danny Pink was SAD. And Clara was magnificent.
Death in Heaven - The first episode of this two parter was definitely the better one of these, but this one was still good. In the end it was pretty damn obvious Missy was the Master - the last few years people have been going on about should the Doctor for once be a female and clearly the Missy is here to try the ice and warm all of us up to the idea of a female Doctor.
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| More of this dotted shirt, please. |
Capaldi has been an amazing Doctor and now in the new series he'll shine even more. Also, he has a great wardrobe. Love it.
And oh, only a couple of hours to go.
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