Gavin WintersThe 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…
The Skovox Blitzer really is hilariously crap, isn’t it? Why is it always the aliens, robots, etc, that are described as ‘THE DEADLIEST IN THE UNIVERSE!’ that look so rubbish? They must just have good PR people. You never see the Daleks needing to boast like that… #DoctorWho
Kill The Moon: this is peak ‘Twelfth Doctor being an unfeeling dickhead’ with the way he abandons Clara and the others mid-episode with ”Nothing to do with me!”. She’s quite justified in giving him a proper bollocking at the end. #DoctorWho
Oh god, Clara brings another kid along for a ride in the TARDIS. Grossly irresponsible for either a nanny or a teacher! Courtney can be annoying but at least she has a bit more of a personality than the previous two. #DoctorWho
Unlike many fans I don’t have an issue with the basic concept of “The moon’s an egg!”, but the wonky physics of the creature that hatches then laying a new egg… exactly the same size as the one it just came from… that’s really pushing it. #DoctorWho
Who’s daft decision was it to have them land back on a beach near the end… where you can clearly see the waves still coming in during the sequence where the moon has supposedly just disintegrated…? 🤔 #DoctorWho
I might be ambivalent about Clara but Jenna is a bloody good actress. Her argument with the Doctor is one of the best pieces of acting by any companion to date.
Not sure if that scene is really right for #DoctorWho though. They’re kind of forgetting to be kid-friendly again.
Mummy On The Orient Express: apparently at this point in the filming Capaldi had seen the finished versions of his first episodes, and between them he and Moffat decided to soften his portrayal a bit. So thankfully he’s not such an arse from this point on! #DoctorWho
The Mummy itself is a great design, worthy of a feature film. The ‘mummiest mummy’ you’ve ever seen.
Though once again it’s an example of “malfunctioning tech” being responsible for the problem, even directly referred to as such in the dialogue. #DoctorWho
Frank Skinner is brilliant as Perkins, and would have been a welcome additional companion if he’d taken the Doctor up on his offer. #DoctorWho
Flatline: another decent one from Jamie Matheson. This has a strong original concept and villains, with some nice visuals of the flattened people, and a clever resolution at the end. #DoctorWho
Clara taking over the role of the Doctor grates slightly in a way it probably wouldn’t with any other companion. It feels like another example of Moffat trying to elevate her status to ‘most important character ever’. #DoctorWho
When Clara places the tiny TARDIS on a mantelpiece for Riggsy to see the Doctor inside, you’d think someone’s first assumption there would be that they’re looking through a hole in the wall to the room next door. #DoctorWho
You can’t help but smile at the bizarre sight of the Doctor doing Thing from The Addams Family to drag the tiny TARDIS along. #DoctorWho
The only slightly naff bit is the Doctor’s big speech at the end concluding with “I name you… The Boneless!” which is a bit over the top. #DoctorWho
In The Forest Of The Night: I’ve never been that keen on this one but I was surprised to find it a lot more tolerable this time round. It kind of has a strange fairytale quality to it that would probably make it fit in more with the early Matt Smith episodes. #DoctorWho
I think that after the moon being a giant space dragon’s egg, to then have a sentient race of trees protecting the earth was probably pushing the audience’s tolerance for out-there, wacky ideas in #DoctorWho
I suppose you could link these trees into wider #DoctorWho continuity by assuming they’re related to the ones from The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe. Or maybe they’re the ancestors of Jabe’s species.
Yeesh, that ending though… when the missing girl comes home (brought by the trees??)
“Annabel! My Annabel!”
Dark Water / Death In Heaven: on one level this is one of the most imaginative finales by Moffat, with a movie-level scale and an excellent directorial debut from Rachel Talalay, but it’s still a bit cold and bleak, once again forgetting to have family-friendly appeal. #DoctorWho
In particular the storyline about the dead screaming not to be cremated because they can feel it has come in for a lot of criticism as being potentially a bit too adult. It doesn’t bother me, but I can see how it would be an issue for some. #DoctorWho
Missy is properly introduced at last. Love the “Master” reveal. She’s arguably never been more utterly unhinged than she is here, and Michelle Gomez’s expressive face brings so much to the character.
Poor Osgood though. (I choose to believe that was the Zygon) #DoctorWho
Ugh. Clara rattling off lots of facts and trivia about the Doctor to the Cybermen sets my teeth on edge. Moffat overloading her with knowledge and importance again. It’s like seeing a #DoctorWho fan inside the Doctor’s universe. At least Osgood has an excuse as it’s her job.
The Cybermen crawling all over the outside of the plane is a great sequence, as is the Doctor skydiving into the TARDIS.
Cyber-Brig though… Hmmm… Not exactly what you’d have wanted to see as the ultimate appearance of that character. 🫤 #DoctorWho
Season 8’s gone up a bit in my estimation after this rewatch, even if it’s still hampered by the decision to make Capaldi’s Doctor such a dick early on, which was as stupid as having Colin strangling Peri in terms of turning the audience off. #DoctorWho
Last Christmas: sort of ‘Inception meets Aliens’ with added Santa Claus. A fun little Christmas special, and one that shows another noticeable improvement in the characterisation of the Twelfth Doctor. #DoctorWho
Plus the actual mention of Alien, the film, implies that John Hurt exists in the #DoctorWho universe… 🤔
The clash of egos between the Doctor and Nick Frost’s Santa, like with Robin Hood, is very funny. Especially when the Doctor can’t exactly rubbish Santa’s claim of having a vehicle that’s bigger on the inside… #DoctorWho
Nicklas Johnson 🏳️🌈@gavinwinters
It's lazy exposition isn't it...
It's lazy exposition isn't it...