S9E1: "The Magician's Apprentice"

This episode was the best Doctor Who I've seen in quite some time. mind you, in dealing with some major changes in my personal life (an explanation for my hiatus) it's the only Doctor Who that I've seen since probably the Christmas episode, but the point still stands.

So, why was it so good? The first few ten minutes of the episode brought us to the past of Doctor Who, with visits to The Shadow Proclamation and Karn (and the Sisterhood), glimpses of ood, and I believe one Sycorax, a new, em, creature, Colony Sarff. But before all that, the name of the boy who was not going to die that day: Davros. (It's not a spoiler if it happened before the title sequence, right?)

S8E11: "Dark Water"

It's me again!

I write under the assumption that you've seen the episode if you go past the page-break, which is only visible if you're on the home-page of the blog. Any other way, you must have clicked directly here, in which case, there is your error. As always, I do not give a synopsis, I give a critical reaction.

S8E9: "Flatline"

It's that time of week again...

I write under the assumption that you've seen the episode if you go past the page-break, which is only visible if you're on the home-page of the blog. Any other way, you must have clicked directly here, in which case, there is your error. As always, I do not give a synopsis, I give a critical reaction.

S8E8: "Mummy on the Orient Express"

Guess what?

I write under the assumption that you've seen the episode if you go past the page-break, which is only visible if you're on the home-page of the blog. Any other way, you must have clicked directly here, in which case, there is your error. I do not give a synopsis, I give a critical reaction.

S8E7: "Kill the Moon"

As usual:
I write under the assumption that you've seen the episode if you go past the page-break, which is only visible if you're on the home-page of the blog. Any other way, you must have clicked directly here, in which case, there is your error. I do not give a synopsis, I give a critical reaction.

S8E5: "Time Heist"

I write under the assumption that you've seen the episode if you go past the page-break, which is only visible if you're on the home-page of the blog. Any other way, you must have clicked directly here, in which case, there is your error. I do not give a synopsis, I give a critical reaction.

S8E4 "Listen"

I write under the assumption that you've seen the episode if you go past the page-break, which is only visible if you're on the home-page of the blog. Any other way, you must have clicked directly here, in which case, there is your error. I do not give a synopsis, I give a critical reaction.

S8E3: "Robots of Sherwood"

What happens when "a timeless hero...and the Doctor" are mixed? 

I write under the assumption that you've seen the episode if you go past the page-break, which is only visible if you're on the home-page of the blog. Any other way, you must have clicked directly here, in which case, there is your error. I do not give a synopsis, I give a critical reaction.

S8E2: Into the Dalek

This episode was absolutely phenomenal. It has great writing and a fantastic plot.

I am writing under the assumption that you have seen the episode if you go past the page-break, which is only visible if you're on the home-page of the blog. Any other way, you must have clicked directly there, in which case, there is your error. I do not give a synopsis, I give a critical reaction.

S8E1: Deep Breath

This episdoe, rightfully so, had a lot of hype surrounding it. Not only was it a series premier, but it was the premier of the new Doctor.

I don't think many people had much doubt that Capaldi would be fantastic, aside from the people who are still upset that he's not young like Matt and David were. But let that go. He was absolutely fantastic, as most expected. The character's arch through out the story was clear: he starts out confused and disoriented from regenerating, and becomes more and more coherent as the story goes on. That was done beautifully, not only in the acting, but it was a finer moment for Moffat's writing as well. The scene about the bedroom was just perfect.

The Extended BBC America "Time of the Doctor" Trailer?

Yeah, it's a thing.
Even as an American (for now) I think it is more than strange that the BBC would release a trailer only to the States.
But let's get past that, and discuss it!

"I HOPE YOU MADE A WISH."

-Clara's Grandmother (?)

That's where it is. That's how the Doctor does it. Regenerate again, I mean. Clara makes a wish for him not to die.

"WHAT ARE YOU? WHY DO I KEEP FORGETTING YOU?"

-Clara

There's a huge surprise in store for Clara. She hasn't met the Silence yet. Whole years of Moffat plot, they are, and she has never had an experience with them (with the Doctor--as a person, I assume so, as everyone meets Silents.

But there's still another surprise in store--the Weeping Angels!

"YOU WILL DIE IN SILENCE, DOCTOR."

-Dalek

The Daleks never were too good with metaphor, so it is my thinking that they mean that the Silence will kill him.

"THE TIME LORD WILL BEGIN ANEW."

-Woman

Now, I try to avoid night-blogging here, but what if Capaldi is playing another William Hartnell Doctor? I mean, the Curator did say a  few things that would point to something akin to that.

"THIS WORLD WILL BURN."

-Woman

Alright, I know that Gallifrey didn't burn (one thing, though, is he gonna just keep that cube like on his night stand or something?) but still that phrase must evoke some feelings to the Doctor after 400 years thinking he burned Gallifrey.

AND TWO FINAL THOUGHTS

for which I have very little back up....

...what if the Doctor's name is Trenzalore? and, what if Trenzalore is Earth?

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What's in Store for "The Time of the Doctor"? SPOILERS

Click on the picture to see it enlarged.

So we know that stuff's gonna go down this Christmas. Regeneration, what have you. But what else. The above picture is official from the BBC and it tells us a bit about what to expect.

1. Cyberman: 11's holding a cyberman's head. Can we take a second to appreciate the expression on its face? And it looks like it have been repaired prior to the decapitation. So, there will be cybermen.
2. The Silence: They're ba-ack! Hiding in the background, those cheeky buggers. Hopefully we will finally have their mystery explained....
3. Weeping Angels: There, buried in the snow! Can they move if they don't know if someone's looking? I don't know. Based on Moffat being the creature behing the angels and the prominence they have in Eleven's life, I assume that they will be making an appearance.
4. Minor: Near that tree, there's a pulley. What's it doing there? The world may never know....
5. The Clock: It is pointing to 12. From the 50th special, I'd say that it's 12 midnight--the dawn of a new day.
6. Clara: She is definitely checking out the Doctor there. Well, she's sure in for a surprise come Capaldi.....
7. Eleven: That's a pretty sweet bowtie, but look at his face. It's all sad--he know's he's about to die.
8. The Light in the Clock-tower: It looks like a lighthouse style thing--not a bell. A beacon? We shall see...
9. And finally, Peter: Look there, between Clara and the Doctor. In the flames, Capaldi's face is evident. Nice job with Photoshop, Doctor Who.

Then, there was the little 11-second preview: "This planet...what's it called?" "Trenzalore." Whose voice said Trenzalore? Was it me, or did it sound a lot like Alex Kingston? And, now, Trenzalore's a planet? I thought it was a field.

Here's my thought for you to ponder: What if the Doctor's name is Trenzalore?

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The Day of the Doctor: Gallifrey Falls No More

WELL...this changes everything.

Or does it?

My Predictions for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special #SaveTheDay

"Original British Drama"
Those may not be the first words to come to mind when you think of Doctor Who, but they are the first words in the show's official 50th Anniversary Special Trailer.

As this is a post fraught with spoilers, click here to read at your own risk:

"The Name of the Doctor" 7x13

Original Air Date: 18 May 2013

As I sit in my hotel room in Atlantic City, I listen to Chamelion Circut's "Regenerate Me" and think about this Saturday's episode.

Usually, I churn out the post to go with the new episode, but this week, like last week ("Nightmare in Silver") I needed a few days to process what in the name of the holy TARDIS of Gallifrey just happened.

Bad Wolf vs. the Impossible Girl

I've been getting an earful recently the arc this series and how it's meant there's no overarching story even though, y'know, there totally is, and it's the Doctor and the mystery of Clara.

And it keeps getting put up against Series 1 and "Bad Wolf" for some reason, even though that really wasn't much of a story arc. People happened to be using the words, it got pointed out to us in the penultimate episode, and then in the last episode we found out why and we pretended it made sense. Even when there were two-parters they really didn't elaborate or expand on the season plot.

And so it was with Series 2 and Series 3 and Series 4. "Torchwood Torchwood Torchwood OH HEY TORCHWOOD IS A GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION." "Saxon Saxon Saxon OH HEY SAXON IS THE MASTER AND ALSO MP." "Planets bees planets bees planets bees OH HEY THE PLANETS WERE SWIPED BY DALEKS AND THE BEES WERE A BEACON." No substance. Just repetition followed by elaboration.

It's very much the same thing here. Each episode the Doctor will allude to Clara's impossibility, and the rest of the episode will be wholly unrelated to that. I mean, it's slightly better here, because there's emotional stakes--at least, there are in "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" and "Nightmare in Silver", with the Doctor's secretive nature being brought to the forefront and Clara's mounting frustration with it, coupled with the Doctor's increasing fear that Clara is a deception of some sort.


I think the real problem here is that Moffat kind of raised our expectations with Series 5--which is probably the best continuous string of episodes any season of Who has ever managed. It, unlike other series of new Who, actually had progression in its arc. It wasn't just "crack crack crack OH HEY THE TARDIS BLEW UP AND TOOK REALITY WITH IT", we found out things in stages. It was gradually revealed to us that the cracks could alternatively serve as portals or memory saps, we found out midway through the series that the TARDIS had something to do with it all, and Rory's arrival and subsequent disappearance put things in flux and gave us serious, tangible emotional stakes.

Series 6 worked similarly, although it rushed things in places and cut a few corners. Rather than have important arc things happen in different one-offs, it made the conscious decision to put aside entire episodes for the arc.  It didn't quite work, but I admire the fact that they tried and the plot itself was actually pretty good. The action rise and fell and we found out things about River gradually rather than all at once in the finale.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Impossible Girl was compared favorably to Bad Wolf, but it's not, which is odd because they're neigh-identical in execution. This whole half-series has been a return to the Davies-era of arc plotting if I ever saw one.  Simply repeat the basic premise until the finale comes and the basic premise is explained in full.

So tell me, people--what's your beef? What makes Series 1 superior besides a mounting feeling of nostalgia (in which case, Season 9 clearly has the best story arc)? Answer in the comments section! I'm genuinely curious!

"The Name of the Doctor" Prequel

Enjoy!

"The Crimson Horror" 7x11

Original Air Date: 4 May 2013

It might interest you to know that this was the 100th episode in the revival. It wasn't a significantly great episode, and it wasn't like "oooh, 100th ep!" or anything.

The callbacks to prior Doctorial shenanigans was fun. The refrences were almost exclusively to Tegan Jovanka, who was a companion of the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison). She's the "gobby Australian" the Doctor speaks of to Clara, harking back to Four to Doomsday to Time-Flight, over the course of which they are trying to get to Heathrow Airport. "Brave heart, Tegan" was something that the Doctor would say to her, and he says it to Clara in this episode. It'd be interesting to know why Tegan is on his mind.
I didn't see any real things of note as per the overarching plot of "Silence will Fall", which really should be coming up--"Nightmare in Silver" is next week, then "The Name of the Doctor", the 2012-3 season finale is the week after! (Does that mean two weeks until Trenzalore?)
I understand that it's helpful to have stand-alone eps to bring new viewers, but they are going to be quite confused come 18 May.
As for the episode on its own, I was happy to see Vastra, Strax, and Jenny back. I specifically loved the bit were the boy name Thomas Thomas (Tom Tom) gave Strax directions. The trio's dynamic is very fun, and I think their presence and persistence to find the Doctor have something to do with things that may (or may not) have happened post-Ponds, as well as what Clara is
As Seth pointed out to me, there was a bit of a role reversal at the end of the ep. He words it best:

"An Unearthly Child" had two authority figures investigating out of concern for a child, and getting inadvertently and unwillingly getting swept along in the TARDIS.
The end of tonight's episode has two children investigating out of concern for an authority figure, and begging to be let on board.

I'm not so sure if it means anything, and I don't know if the kids were investigating in concern; I interpreted it as they stumbled upon the photos. Who knows. But I think they're going to die in the next ep--they're cute and we know there will be cybermen.

What did you think of "The Crimson Horror?" Comment!

The Best Theory on Clara I've Seen Thusfar.

So, this theory is not my own. But I agree with it. It is from Who-lligan on tumblr.

We know Oswin was a Dalek…

And we assume she died…

But what if she didn’t? What if she lived and eventually went insane and became the Dalek Emperor? The one at the Game Station.

And then Rose Bad Wolfed her.

But because she was Rose…

When she did this to the Emperor…

She also did this…

And this…

And because she knew this…

…knowing everything as The Bad Wolf, knew she couldn’t always be with the Doctor, and she knew that The Emperor, Clara Oswin Oswald, was once good…had once helped the Doctor. So Rose sent Clara to places in time where she could help the Doctor when Rose could no longer be with him.

Like here…

And here…

Rose sent Clara throughout Time and Space so the Doctor wouldn’t be alone.

She knew the Emperor Dalek had been Oswin Oswald, and that she had been good and had helped The Doctor, and wanted to both help The Doctor and give the girl a second chance.

• Rose isn’t Clara’s mother…but she IS responsible for her creation, which is why we are being given so many hints back to Rose.
• Facts Supporting this Theory, mostly noticed by other whovians, but that helped me developed or have since strengthened my theory…
• The Tenth Doctor told Jack Harkness that he was impossible because of what Rose did to him as the Bad Wolf. The Eleventh Doctor keeps referring to Clara Oswin Oswald as not being possible. Additionally, the TARDIS has something against both Jack and Clara (See Here).
• Presence of Roses around all three Clara Oswin Oswalds

• Date on the headstone of Clara’s mother, 5th March 2005, was the same day that Rose met the Doctor (See Here).
• Clues that the hand of Bad Wolf/Rose Tyler might have been directing things around Clara Oswald’s life, including:
• Clara’s mother saving her father from a car that looked remarkably like the one that killed Rose’s father (See Here)
• The leaf of fate being from a Norway Maple (See Here)
• The TARDIS phone number being given to Clara by a girl in a shop
• If you see any issues with this, or have any questions, throw them in my ask! But please go check the Clara Theory Asks section first to make sure it wasn’t answered already. Thanks!

"The End of the World"

Original Air Date: 2 April 2005

First date with a girl? Of course! Bring her to the end of her world.
It makes a bit of sense. The Doctor is fresh off the Last Great Time War (we don't quite know it yet) and just watched Gallifrey burn (and we find out that at the end of the episode). Rose is running with the Doctor now, and he's an emotional mess, drowning in survivor's guilt and wants to make her be able to some how relate to not having a home planet any more. Its not quite the same as it being gone forever, because Rose will, of course, return to Earth. But I assume watching your planet, your home, you childhood, burn is watching your planet burn.

One of the guests is The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. They're not talking about those things on tumblr (ours is here). The original definition of "meme" is an idea that is passed from person to person through culture. Personally I think Clara is a living meme. I guess she gets Adherents. I know its them that let out those mechanical spider things, but who ever said Clara was good?

I give you air from my lungs!

STEWARD: And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen, and trees and multiforms, consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last Human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen.
CASSANDRA: Oh, now, don't stare. I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference. Look how thin I am. Thin and dainty. I don't look a day over two thousand. Moisturise me. Moisturise me. Truly, I am the last Human. My father was a Texan, my mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in its soil. I have come to honour them and say goodbye. Oh, no tears, no tears. I'm sorry. But behold, I bring gifts. From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg. Legend says it had a wingspan of fifty feet and blew fire from its nostrils. Or was that my third husband? Oh, no. Oh, don't laugh. I'll get laughter lines. And here, another rarity. According to the archives, this was called an iPod. (Its a 1950s jukebox) It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers. Play on! (A 45 of Tainted Love by Soft Cell.)

Then, there is the second time we see the Doctor's survivor's guilt, after Rose has realize how much of a complete stranger the Doctor is and really starts asking him where he's from: "This is who I am, right here, right now, all right? All that counts is here and now, and this is me." He knows his past, and what he's done, that he let his planet burn exactly like the Earth is about to, and can't bear to think of it now, even though he is sort of making himself think of it given where he is and what is about to happen.