Doctor Who Season Ten Extremis

Doctor Who Season Ten

Extremis

In an undisclosed location, the Doctor prepares for the destruction of Missy. It’s a complex ritual. As the Doctor ruminates over this sequence of events, he sits outside of the vault and receives an email through his sonic sunglasses with the subject being Extremis. The Vatican visits the Doctor for his assistance and Nardole does his best to keep the Doctor out of trouble. The Pope tells the Doctor that there is an ancient text hidden in the archives under the name Veritas or the truth. Everyone who worked on translating the document has died. In each case it resolved with suicide. The Pope begs the Doctor to read Veritas, even given the dangers.

Meanwhile Bill tries to have a quiet date but is ambushed by the Pope who exits the TARDIS, freaking out her partner.

The scene swaps back to Missy’s execution and a priest has arrived. Of course it’s Nardole, reminding him that River would be not approve of his actions. The Doctor arrives at the Vatican, hiding that he’s still blind from everyone, especially Bill. Meanwhile, Missy pleads with the Doctor that, given the chance she could change. But the Doctor is unsure. The Doctor, Bill, and Nardole find a laptop left by a scared priest who sent a copy of Veritas to CERN. Using a special device that works around his blindness, the Doctor attempts to read Veritas. Meanwhile Nardole and Bill find a portal in the library. A decrepit monk approaches the Doctor as he begins to read Veritas.

Bill and Nardole follow the portal to the Pentagon. They immediately retreat and find that they are in a hub of portals leading to numerous locations across the globe… including CERN, where the staff are holding a celebration with champagne and explosives.

The decrepit monk has tied the Doctor into his chair so he can read the Veritas. The Doctor has borrowed from his future to gain eyesight for a limited amount of time. Using his sonic to free himself from the chair, the Doctor seizes the laptop, and escapes the monk. Bill and Nardole at CERN, are given an exercise to show that the reality they’ve come to accept is a charade. Veritas reveals that the world we accept as real is a shadow, a manufactured realm. After experimenting in the portal room, Nardole realizes he and Bill are also simulations.

Bill discovers the Doctor in the oval office. The President has killed himself after reading Veritas. The Doctor explains that an alien race is looking to invade but to prepare the way, they create a simulation. That is where they are. As others realize that their world is fake, sought the quick way out; suicide. Extremis is a proving ground for the next story which spans two parts. It’s a bold and haunting tale that takes huge risks and is bold in its challenges. Capaldi is in rare form and plays up to the stakes. Another cracking good story.

8/10

Doctor Who Season Ten Oxygen

Doctor Who Season Ten

Oxygen

In his classroom, The Doctor teaches his students on how space will kill them. Nardole reminds him of his responsibility to the vault, but the Doctor cannot be shaken free once he gets a whim. Answering a distress call, the TARDIS is on its way into the path of danger. They land in a space station run by a cutthroat company who ration oxygen as payment for work. No work, no oxygen. In the event that a worker loses all of his oxygen, the suit keeps moving as an automaton with a corpse as its passenger. Nardole and Bill are determined to go back to the TARDIS but the Doctor is concerned about the remaining 4 of 40 staff members who sent out a distress call. The interplay between the main cast is wonderful and provides some much needed high comedy in the dire conditions. In no time, the TARDIS is locked in a vacuum and the sonic screwdriver gets wrecked by a space zombie. With just their wits to assist, the situation is extreme. As the trio make their way to the survivors, a mass of undead astronauts are on their heels. After meeting the survivors, they learn that a command came from the suits to kill the workers. The survivors were off network which saved their lives. Likely someone hacked the suits. The path to the TARDIS is far from ideal and filled with impediments. Plus the lack of oxygen makes finding safety unlikely. Unfortunately, Bill’s suit is malfunctioning and she cannot put her helmet on to walk along the outside of the station. She blacks out then comes to in the middle of a gun fight with astro zombies. Somehow she survives. They hide in an unmapped section. Bill learns that the Doctor saved hee life by giving her his helmet. This led to him being exposed the vacuum of space which left him blind. Bill’s suit malfunctions, leaving her prey to the zombies who hack her suit to follow in their wake. The Doctor, in a last ditch effort, hooks the suits up to the core coolant system so that if they die, the entire station explodes. The Doctor has deduced that they are fighting an algorithm as the company tries to squeeze every valuable resource from the workers. The wiring into the core saves the Doctor and his friends as the explosion of the core is too expensive an event. The zombies then give over their oxygen to the survivors. Success!Oxygen is a nail biter of a thriller with plenty of clever plot points, a deadly monster and lots of wit. This makes it one of my favorite season 10 episodes.8/10

Doctor Who Season Five

Doctor Who Season Five

Eleventh Hour- 5/10 a middling story full of whimsy and fantasy. A total rehaul of the format with the Doctor being an imaginary friend. The crack in the wall makes its first of many appearances and here it is explained as leading to an Intergalactic prison. The Doctor thankfully loses his sonic early on but there’s some ropey logic anyhow. A harmless story with not much to offer but a fairie tale

The Beast Below- 6/10 now this is more like it. A strong morality tale with an interesting setting and vibrant characters. Gillian really steps up here and shows that she is a great choice as companion. Something that helps the entire season

Victory of the Daleks-4/10 The build up is so good but the resolution so poor. The WW2 setting is class and seeing the Daleks as soldiers is interesting. But the arrival of the “new paradigm” Daleks and the space jets are just a step in the wrong direction. Added to that the defusing Bracewell by getting him to remember a woman he fancied is just silly.

Time of Angels – 7/10 This is quite good. The Angels mythology and lore is expanded upon. Amy is quite brave and the Doctor very Doctor-ish. The only downside for me is River Song. I find her grating and annoying with her knowing glances and talk of “spoilers.” The religious monk soldiers are also here in full effect for reasons I cannot fathom. All in all a tension-filled adventure with a solid cliffhanger

Flesh and Stone -7/10 For once, a two parter retained its quality in the resolution. Both Gillan and Smith are outstanding and the tension is cranked up throughout the episode. Wonderful stuff

Vampires of Venice- 8/10 a fun romp with good villains, good monsters and an excellent setting. The opening at Rory’s stag night was hilarious as well.

Amy’s Choice – 7/10 an excellent story with the lovely Toby Jones as the Dream Lord. A lot hangs on the performances of the leads here and they hold it together well.

The Hungry Earth- 7/10Another great episode and Smith is in fine form here, dominating the story and leading the resistance with charm and perhaps some force hidden behind those ancient eyes. It’s a rehash of The Silurians, partly, but if you’re going to crib off of another work, steal from the best

Cold Blood 7/10I recall not liking this but on rewatch it’s quite good. The only negative is the narration at the beginning. I dislike narration. It kills the drama

Vincent and the Doctor-8/10 A splendid story with heart. It paints a painfully sympathetic picture of Van Gough though I am troubled by the big standard way they depict mental illness (writhing about in bed), but that’s me. Smith, as usual this season, is firing on all cylinders

Pandorica Opens- 4/10 what a ropey bit of nonsense. A trip to thr dawn of time where of course River left him a message then to the time of the Roman Empire. River’s magical tricorder is in full effect and the Doctor scares off an army of “hundreds of thousands” of aliens with a simple speech. Ugh. Then the penny drops and the Doctor is imprisoned in the Pandorica and the stars go out as the credits run. Only a magical reset could resolve a problem this big

Big Bang – 2/10. The plot bends over backwards to accommodate fantasy. Cause and effect are reversed and we are given moments that would fit in perfectly in Curse of Fatal Death. Smith is well over the top and mugs for the camera. Gillan spouts poetry at her wedding and her wish comes true as her imaginary friend comes back for her wedding

Doctor Who Husbands of River Song

Doctor Who

Husbands of River Song

I’m not a fan of River and also not a fan of holiday specials. Murray Gold is at his most obnoxious here with lots of whimsical notes. The only redeeming quality of this story is Capaldi who is back to the grouchy renegade Time Lord. He is mistaken for a surgeon who was called in to assist River’s husband, a massive mechanical cyborg. Matt Lucas as Nardole really grew on me here which is fortunate as he became a cast member in the following season. River informs the Doctor that a jewel is embedded in her husband’s head which she wants him to remove so she can profit by it. She manages to get away with it and teleport away. The entire absurdity of the situation causes the Doctor to erupt with giggles, something he says he hasn’t experienced in some time. It turns out that yet another husband arrives with a catalog of the Doctor’s 12 faces (missing Capaldi). The King’s abandoned cyborg body takes Nardole’s head to go after River. She schemes to steal the TARDIS, something she teases she has done many times before. The King’s body is using a homing signal to track down the head. No matter what he does or how he acts, River fails to recognize who the Doctor is. The King’s head threatens to destroy the planet unless he is reunited with his body. He abducts the head of River’s other husband and escapes with the TARDIS. They land on a space liner where the Doctor and River attend dinner. She has arranged to meet a buyer for the gem in the King’s head on the liner. Meanwhile the cyborg body is stuck in the baggage hold. The Doctor gets to see a side of River that is both mercenary and ruthless. She brandishes her diary which is making her sad because it is almost full, meaning her story with her Doctor is almost over. The buyer arrives and reveals he has surrounded River with his associates to ensure there’s no monkey business. All of the associates are reverential of the King. River hands over the head and the cyborg body reunites with the head, which is near death. The body rejects the head and destroys it, revealing the hidden diamond. The maitre d hands over River’s diary for access to the ultimate head replacement, the Doctor. It is then that the Doctor confirms who he is to River. The space liner is then attacked by a meteor strike, allowing River and the Doctor to escape the King and his followers. The Doctor wins a battle of wits with the King cyborg and River tries to save the ship from crashing, but the Doctor saves her by transporting her to the TARDIS. The ship crashes but they survive. The planet they land on is home to an exclusive restaurant, one the Doctor has repeatedly invited River to dinner at but he had canceled at the last minute each time. Using time travel, the Doctor arranged for this very restaurant to be built. River is touched but deeply saddened that accordingly to her diary this is her last night with the Doctor. Smiling, the Doctor reveals that one night lasts for twenty four years on this planet. For a last night, it is a magical time. The Doctor even gives her a sonic screwdriver. For a holiday special, this story is high on whimsy. Capaldi revels in the magic and blends well with Kingston. I’m more than a bit tired of River’s quirky/ snarky killer archeologist. Here, she has her moments when she lets the facade drop and reveal a tender persona beneath. Even a crank like myself had to enjoy it a little. 6/10

Doctor Who Season Ten Thin Ice

Doctor Who Season Ten

Thin Ice

The TARDIS lands in 1814 London. The Thames has frozen over resulting in a frost faire. Bill is worried about the reaction from the locals as slavery is still legal. The Doctor takes it in his stride, saying “history is a white wash.” But under the Thames, something lurks. There are strange lights coming up from the murkey depths. When the lights converge, the “something” eats. When a small boy is eaten, Bill is enraged by the lack of a reaction from the Doctor. She asks how many people he’s seen die and how many he has killed and, after some bargaining, the Doctor responds that he is over two thousand years old and he has never had the time for the luxury of outrage. This hearkens back to the “am I a good man” question from season 8. They encounter a group of moppets who are paid to get people on the ice. The Doctor and Bill decide to investigate what scheme is going on by exploring the underwater world in diving suits. Bill is pulled under and the Doctor dives after her. They find a leviathan chained to the bottom of the Thames, along with evidence of past victims. Someone is profiting by all this and the Doctor and Bill are determined to make them pay. They find a man named Lord Sutcliffe who is behind the endeavor, profiting from the creature, constructing fuel from its excretions. After a confrontation, Sutcliffe has the pair tied up. Sutcliffe is shameless in his place of things and claims to be moving the country forward. The Doctor posits that a civilization isn’t judged by its industry, but how it places value on a single life without privilege. Sutcliffe has them tied next to explosives to blow the river up. They escape and discuss next steps. Bill is scared that the creature will eat innocent lives if it is set free but the Doctor says that humanity cannot live on the back of another’s suffering. The moppets get the people off the ice for the Doctor to free the creature, foiling Sutcliffe’s plan to create chaos. In a hat trick, The Doctor arranges for the orphans to inherit Lord Sutcliffe’s estate. This is easily one of my favorite Dr Who stories of all time. The philosophical discussions and statements on humanity are so remarkable that it sits atop so many well written scripts of the past. The chemistry between the Doctor and Bill is top notch and the setting is solid. A wonderful and touching adventure. If you haven’t seen this one, do yourself a favor and seek it out.9/10

Doctor Who Season Nine Face the Raven

Doctor Who Season Nine

Face the Raven

The Doctor and Clara are recalled to contemporary London by Rigsy from Flatline. He has acquired a strange tattoo; a number that is counting down to zero. This story has a lot going for it with a secret society hiding in plain sight through a “trap street.” Ruled over by Me, the society is very strictly run which the Doctor doesn’t approve of. Populated by vagabond aliens, the inhabitants are seeking sanctuary. Rigsby committed a crime and the sentence is death via the Raven. Me has complete respect and control of the society’s inhabitants through which she has brokered a truce. The Doctor investigates the death Rigsby is accused of. The TARDIS crew witness the severity of the rules as a condemned man is killed by the Raven. With only minutes to go, the Doctor and Clara are desperate. Through the other victim, Clara learns that the tattoo can be moved to another person. She then comes up with a scheme to take on Rigsby’s mark, sure that he’ll solve the murder in no time. Unfortunately everything goes wrong. The entire murder mystery was a trap to draw in the Doctor. To save the life of the murder victim, the Doctor springs the trap set out for him; a teleport bracelet. But unfortunately Clara taking on the tattoo was unexpected and breaks the rules. What follows is heart breaking as the Raven strikes at Clara, killing her dead. Enraged, the Doctor’s teleport bracelet activates. This is a very atmospheric story with lots of character. It’s also slightly flawed because Clara’s death is temporary. Ah well.7/10

Doctor Who Season Six

Doctor Who Season Six

Impossible Astronaut – the stink sets in here with a fakeout death of the Doctor and a ropey adventure into America 1969. The Silence are a disturbing villain but stretched too thin. River somehow knows everything and can pilot the TARDIS with ease. It’s not as bad as it gets but it’s not great. 4/10

Day of the Moon- more nonsense and time wimey resolutions. It’s all so stupid and tiresome. 2/10

Curse of the Black Spot- I quite like the setting and premise of this one. The guest cast is solid and the main crew are having fun. It gives the impression of a golden age for Who. However, once the meaning underneath the premise is revealed it all goes sideways. 5/10

The Doctor’s Wife is all set up with no meat to it. A Timelord in distress is interesting but the wacky characters on House are a bit too twee for my taste. The personification of the TARDIS into a manic pixie dream girl is awful. And the “sexy” nickname is a bit much. Plus of course if you want to fly faster, just scream loudly and grit your teeth 3/10

Rebel Flesh/Almost People 7/10. A high point for the season. Holds up surprisingly well

A Good Man Goes to War- where to begin. Terrible Star Wars setting and vapid characters. A massive army is accumulated to prevent the Doctor from getting baby Melody yet they don’t stand a chance next to a silly quirky man with a magic wand. The script is full of nonsense like “we’re the fat and thin gay Anglican marines. We don’t have names.” 1/10

Let’s Kill Hitler -make it stop. 0/10

Night Terrors – this is more like it. I am in full approval of mad insane and creepy stories and this one has it in spades. 8/10

The Girl Who Waited- a bold story to capitalize on Karen Gillan’s acting chops could have fallen flat but she delivers the goods. Crazy concepts and a grand story of problems as Amy is abandoned in a dangerous environment for years as the Doctor and Rory try to find her. When they are reunited things get complicated. 8/10

The God Complex- a brilliant setting and a real puzzler of a problem. A hotel with a small group of people who are stuck inside and live in fear of a beast prowling the grounds for victims. It’s truly mad and inventive. 7/10

Wedding of River Song- a blender of all plots going back to season five. The writing takes a dive and we get a smear of cgi that is meant to impress but fails miserably 0/10

Doctor Who Season Nine The Woman Who Lived

Doctor Who Season Nine

The Woman Who Lived

The Doctor keeps tabs on Ishildir who is living the life of a Scarlet Pimpernel-like character. The Doctor’s on the trail of alien technology which brought their tracks together. Having lived 800 years, Ishildir (now calling herself Me) has led a life of adventure but she cannot remember most of it. She has an entire library of journals which accounts her life as a soldier, surgeon, composer and journeyman. She has lived a life of heartbreak that culminated in her living a life of solitude. The Doctor left Me with a second device that could insure she had company through her endless life but Me hasn’t found anyone worthy. The Doctor and Me steal a jewel from some well to do family. The Doctor calls the gem the Eye of Hades. It turns out that Me is also looking for the amulet for an alien friend who plans to use it to open a portal into the netherworld. This is in place of the outcome she wants; to travel with the Doctor. She blames the Doctor for how cold she has become, that she is trapped in her life because of the Doctor’s decision to save her life. The Eye of Hades is powered by a sacrificial death. The thief Sam Swift is due to be hanged and Me plans to utilize the event of his death to power the amulet and escape with her alien companion. The Doctor and Sam create a bit of banter to extend the outcome and uses the psychic paper to save Sam Swift’s life. This doesn’t fit Me’s plan and she kills Sam Swift, opening the portal. An invasion occurs from the opening and Me realizes she still has a heart and cares about the commoners. The only way to reverse the event is to use the second alien device and save Sam Swift’s life. Capaldi has found his footing in this second year. He has charm for ages and compassion that makes him one of the most emotional and heartfelt of Doctors. This episode is an extension of the previous one but establishes the relationship between the Doctor and Me which has many facets and angles. 6/10

Doctor Who Season Nine The Girl Who Lived

Doctor Who Season Nine

The Girl Who Lived

The Doctor and Clara find themselves in a Viking settlement by an alien posing as Odin. Utilizing a group of robots called the Mire, the aliens select the warriors of the clan and kill them. This leaves the Doctor with a village of farmers. This episode introduced two ideas; Ishildir (later called Me) and why the Doctor chose his current face. He has a flashback to when the Tenth Doctor visited Pompeii and saved the lives of a family from destruction. This tells him that he can bend the rules and save Ishildir using alien technology. This episode is a mixed bag. Capaldi, as always, is in fine form. The setting is interesting and the conundrum straight forward; how can the Doctor form an army out of farmers? The episode rests on the shoulders of Maise Williams and it’s her character (a Mary Sue who nearly takes over the season by being the focus of three and a half episodes). Frankly I don’t think she’s up to it and the arrival of an immortal character who can do almost anything is a disappointment. It’s another River Song situation. Utilizing a vat of electric eels, the Doctor subdues the Mire and captures one of their helmets. Placing Ishildir in the helmet, they use he Mire’s ability to create an illusion of a dragon, scaring off the enemy. Clara recorded the entire affair on her iPhone, thus destroying the Mire’s reputation (complete with Yackity Sax). Unfortunately, the effort killed Ishildir. But the Doctor is in no mood for a failure and uses alien technology to bring her back from the dead. The only problem is that she’s now Immortal. This episode is only okay. I enjoyed the location work and the extras were fun but I found the episode somewhat lacking in some way. I’m also not sold on the Doctor saving Ishildir and the weight of the episode rests on that premise. 5/10

Doctor Who Season Ten Smile

Doctor Who Season Ten

Smile

The Doctor takes Bill to the far future to visit a colony on an alien world under attack from its robotic servants. And the robots speak emoji which amuses Bill to no end. The colony is breathtaking and the camera work very impressive. It’s absolutely gorgeous and the robot design is inspired (as usual). They are fitted with emoji pins to attach to their bodies for the robots to monitor. The Doctor is concerned that they haven’t met any humans even though everything built is for humans. He figures they’ve arrived early before the colonists have. Bill is scintillating in her excitement, a natural traveler. Only when the Doctor realizes that the fertilizer is made of human bone does he realize where all of the colonists have gone… or most of them.Smile is a thrilling episode with plenty of high stakes and danger. The conundrum of the colony gone wrong is an inspired one and really gets Capaldi and Mackie moving. It’s an incredible installment in a superb season. 7/10