Gavin WintersTo be perfectly honest, Tennant is *slightly* surplus to requirements. You could write a version of this with just 11 and War representing the Doctor from the Time War and where he is now. Ten is there because, hey, it’s an anniversary, so let’s get more Doctors in. #DoctorWho
More than once this reminds me of Back To The Future (which gets a namecheck) as that script is famously tightly-plotted with every part, every line, linking to or setting something up for later.
Kate’s plan to nuke London to save the Earth of course mirrors the War Doctor’s use of The Moment, and scanning the door with the sonic sets up the resolution of the whole story. #DoctorWho
But also how, in BTTF, after George punches Biff the last fifteen minutes or so are a series of victories, of punch-the-air moments to make the audience cheer. Same here with everything after the Doctors decide *not* to destroy Gallifrey. #DoctorWho
This final shot could probably be done better today, (maybe with actual moving footage of the faces superimposed instead of photos?) but what the hell, well done Moff. 👏
Right Russell, get someone to hold your beer… 😀 #DoctorWho
The Name Of The Doctor: the most continuity-heavy Xmas special ever. Following the high of the 50th was always going to be a struggle, but this also buckles from trying to wrap up everything from 11’s era - the crack, the TARDIS explosion, the Silence, Kovarian, River…#DoctorWho
Moffat would sometimes go down a certain path… then abandon or retcon that plotline when no longer convenient, i.e. the Daleks memories of the Doctor were erased, but since they need to know him for this finale they’ve regained the info from Tasha Lem’s mind. 🤷🏻♂️#DoctorWho
A highlight of this episode is poor old Handles. They manage to wring a lot of emotion and sympathy out of an inanimate Cyber head. #DoctorWho
This really is uncompromising for casual viewers when compared to the usual light-hearted Christmas episodes. The point where the Silence suddenly sprout Dalek eyestalks from their foreheads must have had a lot of people going “Eh? What…?” #DoctorWho
But once all that heavy arc stuff is out of the way the last fifteen minutes or so are fantastic. The aged Doctor, too weak to pull a Christmas cracker… the colossal regeneration… Karen Gillan’s cameo… then BAM! A new face. #DoctorWho
I don’t know why everyone thinks the regeneration happens really fast. The glowing energy, arms out, explodey part happens atop the tower, then he just holds back the actual face change until he gets back to the TARDIS. Technically it’s the longest regeneration! #DoctorWho
Deep Breath: Capaldi gives probably my favourite portrayal of a confused post-regenerative Doctor, with an extremely alien take on his thought processes - “The other one. The not-me one, the asking questions one!” And thinking everyone’s suddenly gone English. 😁 #DoctorWho
The Victorian Londoners must have forgotten all about the dinosaur in the Thames, same as the CyberKing. #DoctorWho
At this point Twelve’s abrasiveness is not too extreme, and can be forgiven as the normal intense behaviour by a Doctor just after regenerating. #DoctorWho
There’s some obvious padding to fill this out to movie length, noticeably Strax’s medical exam of Clara, albeit still very funny.
And the battle at the end between the Paternoster gang and the clockwork droids seems to go on a bit too long. #DoctorWho
Into The Dalek: the harsher edges of the Twelfth Doctor start to get more defined now, with his utterly callous disregard for the people who die along the way.
I don’t know why anyone ever thinks this is a good idea. It didn’t work with Colin and it doesn’t work here. #DoctorWho
You can sort of imagine how Matt Smith would have played some of these lines. The “Get it right!” to Journey Blue would’ve been softer, more encouraging.
Instead she practically gets Malcolm Tucker yelling “GET IT FUCKING RIGHT!” at her. 😕 #DoctorWho
By now it’s been two years (two!) since Clara first appeared (at least, the version in Asylum Of The Daleks) and only now, with the Impossible Girl stuff done, are they trying to flesh her out with a life and a new job and a relationship. Too little, too late. #DoctorWho
I hope the Coal Hill School Secretary in 1963 acted the same as the one we see here:
“I’m looking for the address of one of my pupils, Susan Foreman.”
“Ooh, I bet you are!”
I don’t know why Clara is not sure whether he’s “a good man” after everything they’ve been through together.
And where has this hatred of soldiers come from all of a sudden? Poor old Brigadier. #DoctorWho
Robot Of Sherwood: this is more like it, a silly but fun episode. Nothing remarkable, but you can rely on Gatiss to give us a straight down the line regular adventure, with a Doctorish Doctor and Clara actually seeming like a normal human companion. #DoctorWho
And this episode shows exactly how to have a grumpy, irritable Doctor without alienating the viewers - just have someone else give as good as they get. The oneupmanship between him and Robin, especially in the dungeons, give us some of the funniest scenes in ages.
Too often the Twelfth Doctor, and the Sixth before him, just acts like a dick without any consequences or comeback. #DoctorWho
Ben Miller is bloody brilliant as the Sheriff of Nottingham. And you can’t help but be reminded of Anthony Ainley. #DoctorWho
I like the final exchange between the Doctor and Robin about their mutual status as inspirational legends: “Remember Doctor, I’m just as real as you.” #DoctorWho
Listen: a classic Moffat timey-wimey, non-linear, bootstrap paradox type of story, where he also gets to exercise his sitcom writing skills with the awkward date between Danny and Clara. One of the best of season 8. #DoctorWho
But it’s also got a bit of an unusual feel for a Moffat tale, as if he’d set himself a challenge to write the strongest episode he could without it being a finale or having any colossal world-ending alien threat. It’s a quieter character piece. #DoctorWho
Orson Pink is another unfortunate example of a plot thread unceremoniously retconned by later developments, as he can’t be Danny and Clara’s descendant given what happens in the finale. According to Moffat, he could be from “another branch of Danny’s family.” Hmm… 🫤 #DoctorWho
I love the trip back to the young first Doctor in the barn, but I’m less fond of the fact it’s bloody Clara again being shoehorned into every conceivable part of the Doctor’s history. Isn’t he allowed to have done anything without her being involved? #DoctorWho
Time Heist: there seemed to have been a bit of a mini-craze for heist-related TV shows and movies around this time, and the influence shows a lot. Not just in the premise, but in the direction and editing. #DoctorWho
There’s a big logical flaw at the heart of this episode: we’re told the bank can only be broken into on one day in its history, when the solar storm disrupts the systems. But the storm will also interfere with the TARDIS, so they can’t use that to materialise inside…
So why not just time travel to ANY OTHER DAY IN THE BANK’S EXISTENCE, and use the TARDIS to get inside then??
I guess the Doctor just enjoyed the idea of doing a heist, even if people’s lives are put at risk. 🤷🏻♂️ #DoctorWho
It’s kind of obvious when they’re re-using the same bit of corridor set over and over, just with different coloured light. #DoctorWho
I like the very funny use of pictures of bad guys from all across the #DoctorWho universe to represent the most wanted criminals.
And also how Abslom Daak’s one has to be a drawing. 😄
The Caretaker: I like the premise of this one, vaguely similar to Human Nature but without the memory loss. And played for laughs.
The opening montage intercutting Clara’s two lives with Danny and the Doctor is very good too. #DoctorWho
And lol at the gag of the Doctor thinking Clara’s boyfriend is the bloke who looks like Matt Smith. 😄 #DoctorWho
The Doctor finds it incomprehensible that an ex-soldier would now have a job as a maths teacher.
Er…
deltaandthebannermen@gavinwinters I really dislike The Caretaker and its largely to do with the incomprehensible decison to make the Doctor hate soldiers. He is horrid to Danny for absolutely no good reason and, for me, sours the whole story. Like any Doctor Who story there is good stuff in there but I rewatched this one recently and struggled to get past the Doctor/Danny dynamic. Make the Doctor alien and obtuse - but don't make him a dickhead.
@deltaandthebannermen I agree the soldiers thing is daft but it doesn’t spoil the episode for me. And while the Doctor is definitely a bit of a dick here I actually think this is one of the season 8 episodes where he’s a bit more palatable. The next episode is much worse!
@gavinwinters I need to rewatch Kill the Moon but I don't remember the Doctor's behaviour in that one bothering me. My issue with the soldier thing is that it just doesn't make sense when the Doctor has always been more than happy to work alongside soldiers and even call them his friends. The obvious examples are the Brig, Yates and Benton but even more recent to this story there was Jenkins in The Sontaran Stratagem.