#i *do* know that they’re not with missy while she’s setting up the cybermen plan over hundreds of years. maybe for brief moments when missy

[quietwingsinthesky]

most frustrating part of writing a doctor who oc is that the doctor and the master will both sometimes just fuck off and do their own thing for a hundred years and be unfazed by it because they are functionally immortal. and i can’t stick my oc with them because they’ll just. die. so what, do i just put them in a pen until those guys get back? spruce up their enclosure while they’re waiting to get picked up to go on adventures again?

[ventingbouto]

Going through those funky reveals

I’m not sure why I want to write this, but I wanted to look at those little reveals- you know the little bit at the end when our boy is out of whatever bullshit disguise he’s been in and is shimmy-ing around? Because these scenes are some of the most interesting, tense, memorable scenes in all of the modern era.

So.

The Derek Jacobi reveal sort of takes place around five minutes before the episode ends. I say it like that because that’s when he’s revealed to be The Master, specifically. But we do know before this mark that he’s an evil Time Lord and series three does build up to this reveal.

This regeneration is only (consciously) on screen for about two-and-a-half minutes, but he’s very fondly remembered as being sinister, comparatively calm and quite angry. He improvises his plan, for the most part, but always gives the impression that he knows exactly what he’s doing.

Obviously this doesn’t last, and we get the Simm Master cropping up. He is the one who actually has a conversation with The Doctor and seems to be a lot more energetic than his previous regeneration. The conversation seems spiteful, on The Master’s part, and as if he’s bragging.

At the end of the day (or the episode) The Master holds all the power (aka the TARDIS) and, even to new viewers, this seems like a very not-good thing.

Next…

I wanna talk about Missy. We’ll get back to Simm later.

Now Missy’s appearances are built up throughout series eight and it’s clear she’s planning something. She seems quite elegant, if not a bit eccentric. In Dark Water she has quite a few scenes with The Doctor- kissing him, claiming she’s a droid, obviously not being a droid, mocking The Doctor and the actual reveal scene.

The reveal itself takes place a minute, if not less, before the episode ends and Missy says nothing for the rest of the episode. So why is this so memorable? At least, in my opinion…

The music, the filming and The Doctor’s face are probably all good candidates as to why. Though I personally think the lack of speaking is what makes this scene so great. Missy’s reveal is unique to her; she has spoken quite a bit before the reveal (both in the episode and the ones beforehand) so she purposefully doesn’t. The lack of speech, just letting her words truly sink in and letting the meaning of them- just how much shit The Doctor’s in- really be understood. As nice as a monologue would be, it weirdly suits her.

Shall we get back to Simm?

Oddly enough, he is revealed at about two-and-a-half minutes before the end- though because he was in the trailers, I’m sure many people guessed who he was the second he started talking to Missy. But I digress.

He spends years, more than we even see clips of, in disguise- playing the long game and plotting. We come to really like him, really become attached to the façade he puts on. But the person he loses that façade for? Himself. And no, I’m not talking literal. Around Missy, he doesn’t remotely bother pretending to be nice or funny, he begins his build up to his reveal. It’s obvious he takes great joy in all of this scene.

The unique-ness of this reveal is who it’s to. It’s a reveal to Missy, who seems concerned (if not scared) of her past. His response to her is to say he’s “worried about his future” which, in my opinion, is clearly him trying to upset her more. He’s also quite calm, wanting to appear sinister to himself, and seems to be trying to impress Missy.

It’s very interesting, if not confusing to anyone who hadn’t seen previous episodes. I mean, this has got to be the reveal that makes the least amount of sense to new viewers… Regardless, it’s a very memorable moment.

Onto the new guy!

Now this wasn’t set up, it came right in the first episode of the series which automatically makes it unique. He officially says he’s our man at about four minutes before the end, and he spends most of that time monologuing. He flaunts just how evil (and wonderful) he is, taking in The Doctor’s horror and the companion’s shared confusion.

New viewers can relate to the confusion of Graham, Yaz and Ryan while older fans can feel the shock that The Doctor feels (if not with a bit more excited squealing).

What is so good about this reveal is the fact that O is someone who The Doctor trusts, and even insists that they employ the help of. This isn’t The-Master-without-his-memories or Missy-not-exactly-trying-to-be-quote-on-quote-“friendly”, it’s someone who has been texting The Doctor, has many files, is someone she genuinely likes. It’s playing the long game, but more directly so. It’s classic undercover and classic Master.

Simm went undercover as Razer primarily to hide from the people he fucked over and bring about the rise of the cybermen, The Doctor and co turning up was just a plus. This is well-planned and specifically aimed at The Doctor. And it really fits- mostly because Thirteen is such a warm, friendly, trusting, benefit-of-the-doubt style Doctor. This makes it such a gut punch, to the point where The Doctor doubles over.

Overall, Master reveals are truly iconic. They are usually the greatest scenes from that series, or even that Doctor’s run. They’re the first impression of a brand new regeneration of one of the most memorable characters in TV history. Dhawan is no exception and, if he had never appeared in any other episode (Derek Jacobi style), we would still hold those four minutes of jokes, threats, sinister-ness, mind-blowing-ness, flaunting and monologuing up as a great iteration of this character.

So wow! This was long as anything, but I needed to post it or I would’ve just screamed at my family about it and they’re getting so bored at this point.

[youremyonlyhope]

Spyfall Part 2

Yay part 2! I’m so ready. Give me more.

While on my lunch break at work today, I nearly opened tumblr on my phone. Then I realized it was after 2pm so the episode was currently airing in Britain. I could have been spoiled if I hadn’t stopped myself. 

I see the Doctor is still talking to herself. Old habits die hard. “Don’t panic.” Love Hitchhiker’s Guide. “RYAN.” HUH “RYAN SINCLAIR?” WHAT? This is reminding me of something... what am I being reminded of... BLINK MAYBE??? YES THIS IS JUST LIKE “SALLY SPARROW DUCK NOW.” THIS IS BLINK. IS THIS BLINK? BECAUSE THIS IS BLINK. ...Who in the world is this lady... “Obviously I’m a recording and can’t hear you.” THIS IS BLINK. Also this is throwing shade at Blink with the “Obviously” part...  It is his TARDIS!!!! IT’S A TARDIS. THE HOUSE IS A TARDIS. THE FANS WERE RIGHT. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was a TARDIS or just the Master making a joke by having the house fly by them. But nope, IT’S A TARDIS. I literally screamed “IT’S A TARDIS” out loud. “Magic Apparrating Man! Lady. Apparrating Lady! Every time...” That made my dad laugh. But I mean, 1100 years at least of being a man, not counting the 4 billion years in the confession dial. It takes getting used to. Marooned in the past. Chibnall, I really hate to say this, but this is becoming a little too similar to Blink. Just because of the being trapped in the past and leaving messages for the present thing. The lace bonnet had looked super.... weird in the other realm. In a cool way. A way that made me wonder what material it was made of and if she was really from the mid 1800s or if she was just an alien with clothing that imitated the style. Because the way the lace glowed was cool. Also. Why does Ada seem familiar to me? OH NO. Lol. “O no.” I didn’t even do that on purpose. That face she made as she realized the Master’s not in control was such a Doctor face. “Ada, I really do not approve.” Aww Doctor. Never change. I like the old lady taking a picture with an iPad. Yaz calling her mom is a very Martha move and I approve. The Silver Lady was in the Master’s TARDIS.... “From his master” oh ok. “Multiple time periods” OOoohhhhh. Not multiple Earth dimensions then. I was gonna say that I was thinking of Weeping Angels earlier in the day today... I’m not saying these are Weeping Angels... but getting the vibes from the time travel and pulling people in and out and stuff. Oh and I was right that they can transport people purposefully. Did I say that in the last post? I can’t remember. But when Yaz was transported last episode I was like “So they can transport people places?” and the answer is a definite yes, and also in time. Also. Ada Lovelace. I know that name... I know I know that name... “Deep breath” ok now I miss Twelve. Of course it’s WWII. This music reminds me of like... Star Wars... Something from the sequel trilogy sounds like this... or at least has this vibe... Also. I don’t know how I feel about an Indian man in a Nazi uniform. That just... they wouldn’t have let him do that, first of all. Second of all, can we not? These are all women so far that the Doctor is bumping into... And I feel like it’s meaningful... Why would he do that to his mom? Noor Khan, I feel like I DEFINITELY have heard of her. Important women in science? I’m guessing Ada was a mathematician I think, but I can’t really remember. “They promised us that a war on this scale would never happen again.” “This is not the first time?” Ugh. WWI and pre-WWI people finding out about WWII always hurts. IT’S THE DOCTOR DOING THE SOUND OF THE DRUMS. Just the sound of the drums gives me chills. Is this a Old Who thing? The mind reading? She said it was classic. “Not exactly the Aryan archetype.” THAT’S WHAT I WAS SAYING. OOoooooh a perception filter. So they think he’s white. Ok. Ok that’s better.

Also, I’m sorta glad they’re actually addressing race affecting time travel to different time periods. They didn’t do it with Martha enough/at all. They tried to do it with Bill, and I did appreciate the “History is a whitewash” and London being blacker than Bill thought it was, but because London was diverse it wasn’t really an issue (besides the racist the Doctor punched). But I’m glad this is an actual situation where being another race is genuinely DANGEROUS since that’s how it was.

“Look after my mum” So is she not dead? Or is he mocking them? They can’t have destroyed Gallifrey again. He’s lying It was probably the Master himself that killed everyone if he’s not lying. “How else would I get your attention?” Awwww. That’s almost sweet. It’s sweet by Master standards ok. Ok... letting Nazis attack the Master... for being a spy... while he’s a person of color... is pretty harsh... Of course the Nazis can’t do much damage... And the Master did willing side with them to find the Doctor... But still... Very harsh... I guess after everything the Master has done... Maybe he deserves to be on the receiving end of racism since he hates humans so much... But still. “Forget you heard that word.... Otherwise I’ve just disrupted the whole of history. Again.” Doctor. Babe. Control yourself. Ok so it was people who were important in the development of computers in general. Cool cool cool. I appreciate that Ada and Noor were the ones the Doctor specifically bumped into. “You kept clicking agree” Yeah... yeah... he got us there. “This is like the Matrix” - My Dad. OH wow the Master came the long way round. 77 years. I’d almost say poor dude. Conversion!?!? NO. NOT CYBERMAN! IF THERE’S CYBERMEN THEN IS THIS A 3-PARTER?! “Oh.” “That’s your name.” HA. HA, good one Doctor. “I forgot the plane!” No you didn’t, Doctor. Don’t worry. You can do it anytime, as long as you do it at some point. “Are we being replaced?” Oh Graham. But also, I want the next companions to be from the past. See in Blink we didn’t get to see the Doctor setting everything up like we’re seeing it now. So that’s cool. Imagine if we had seen Martha standing behind the camera annoyed, then running around to say “I gotta support him!” That could have been fun. I think I just want more Martha in Blink. “The Fascists. Do they win?” “Never” Yeah I really hope not, but time is repeating itself. I guess it will also repeat them not winning. That’s sweet that the Doctor still wants her to know that computers are a thing because of Ada. And I appreciate that the show didn’t try to be like “She helped make computers because of the Doctor.” because no, she made them because she was always going to. Oh wow we’re going back to Gallifrey?? We haven’t been in a while. Been wondering if we would.

I didn’t write anything for the last few minutes because I’m just like... HUH.

First of all, I knew the Master did it. Called it.

Second of all. I was like “Oh no. The Doctor just got Gallifrey back, do we HAVE to take it away again? To make her angsty?” Then we heard the Master’s reason for destroying it and I was like ok maybe there’s justification.

Third of all. The Time Lords have always sucked. We’ve known this forever.  The Doctor has said that the Time Lords went wrong at the end of the Time War and that they choose to remember them in a good way and forget the ugly side. So we know the Time Lords suck. That’s not a surprise. What is it that they did that was so bad, the MASTER of all people felt the need to put an end to it? The Master. As in the little boy who was driven crazy because the Time Lords chose to put the Sound of the Drums in his head and use him as a weapon. He didn’t destroy Gallifrey then, so what could be worse than that? Do I even want to know? They’ll tell us, but I don’t know if I want to hear it. We might be going very dark this season...

Fourth of all, yay! They’re asking the Doctor questions and she’s answering! Yay! And Yaz asking “Can we go to your planet?” was the second Martha thing she did.

And fifth, yay! We’re probably getting an overarching theme this season! And maybe the Master isn’t completely evil, since everyone’s so worried about Missy’s redemption! He’s just hurt by what he found, felt he had to destroy Gallifrey, and is still upset about it. When he said the Timeless Child I literally said out loud “OH. OH ok so we’re really doing this then.” because I felt like all the predictions of the Timeless Child being involved were probably right... but not like this.

EPIPHANY. What if he really was just doing all this to get the Doctor’s attention? He wants the Doctor share the burden of the truth, but doesn’t know any other way to get her to listen besides do horrible things. What if he didn’t kill, plot, and plan just for the hell of it and maybe rub Gallifrey in the Doctor’s face, but the ultimate goal was to get that message to the Doctor so the Doctor could find out about Gallifrey.

Honestly I’m concerned about what it is that the Time Lords lied about. What did the Master mean by “who we are as a species” like... I’m scared.

Also halfway through the episode my mom came in (she’s super behind, as in she hasn’t even watched Capaldi’s seasons yet) and she said “You have to stop screaming ‘IT’S A TARDIS IT’S A TARDIS’ of course it’s a TARDIS that’s what she drives.” So apparently my mom heard my freak out over the Master’s TARDIS. She heard me screaming last episode too when I was jumping at the Master reveal.

Anyway. Sorta Blink-esque in that Ryan, Yaz, and Graham being saved is an endless loop if causing itself because of previously planted messages from the Doctor. But also, we got a mini history lesson, which was the point of Doctor Who in the first place. Gallifrey’s gone and apparently Time Lords suck, but what else is new. And we got the Master finding out the effect that race has in certain (or all) time periods. Hopefully the Master’s back soon. We really were spoiled rotten by Season 10 when they gave us Missy in like half of the episodes. I need more Master. Give me more Master.

[nerdtrash-iteration]

(Re)watching Doctor Who: series 8

So this was the first I saw of Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor outside of the odd YouTube compilation here and there. I was fairly sure I’d like him and wow I love him. Let’s jump into it. Series 8 (Twelfth Doctor) 8.1: Deep Breath I LOVED this opening episode. I had seen a lot of the funny regeneration stuff on YouTube already but it was great to see it in context. I think Twelve and Clara have excellent chemistry, loved seeing them bicker at the restaurant. Was legitimately chilled by the reveal of the clockwork people at the restaurant. Also loved the theming of the Doctor’s new face and what it means. Vastra and her veil, the Doctor saving Clara by using another face, the Doctor remarking to the Half-Faced Man that no real part of him remains. “You don’t even remember where you got that face from”. Also immediately taken by Missy. Excellent start. 8.2: Into the Dalek Slight step-down in quality here. Certainly an interesting premise, but I didn’t find myself overly interested in the setting nor the guest cast. Also wasn’t it obvious that fixing a Dalek would make it bad again? Why were they trying? I did like this episode for its character moments though. The Doctor to Journey Blue at the start trying to get her to be a better person: “C’mon, get it right”. And all of the interactions between him and the Dalek. Pretty compelling. Also Danny Pink seems alright so far, I like him. 8.3: Robot of Sherwood This episode is very goofy and the plot is really ehhh. But when I decided not to take it too seriously, I quite enjoyed it. I liked the banter between the Doctor and Robin. Wacky hijinks were wacky and fun. And I really liked the ending sentiment: “History can be a burden. Stories make us fly”. The rest of the guest cast weren’t used great but still a pretty fun episode. 8.4: Listen This is undoubtedly one of my favourite Doctor Who episodes ever now. It blew me away. Absolutely terrifying, particularly when the figure in the sheet was standing behind them. And the “DON’T OPEN THE DOOR” message. I also love all the theming about fear itself and the timey-wimey resolutions. Dying to rewatch it. 8.5: Time Heist I quite liked this episode. Fantastic opener. Pretty good side characters. And decent timey-wimey resolution. A lot of the cool concepts introduced here felt a bit underused though. Sure look, can’t be perfect. 8.6: The Caretaker This was a bit of a hard episode to watch. I do like the 12th Doctor a lot so far, but he was just awful towards Danny Pink in this episode. Like yeah I’m not a big fan of the military either but it felt really disproportionate. I’m glad he was called out and that he came around to Danny by the end. Quite liked the comedy moments between Clara and Danny. Plot was functional, but not the focus. 8.7: Kill the Moon I was warned beforehand that this episode had some awkward abortion metaphors afoot. I can definitely see that. First of all, I thought it was very well-paced and well-directed- the first half certainly felt scary enough and compelling. The guest cast really didn’t do it for me, only the captain was really worth noting. I do quite like Courtney though, even if she didn’t have much to do. I LOVED Clara’s outburst at the Doctor in the end, finally calling him out on his bullshit and how cold he can be. And okay the abortion stuff. I would consider the episode more of a trolley problem if not for the fact that they keep referring to the creature as a “baby”. And how it would “never feel the sun on its back”. I think it’s fine when stories make us uncomfortable and they need to challenge us through that. It was a legitimately hard decision, as abortion is for many people who are affected by it. In any other story, I would think framing the option of sparing a living creature as the right one is fine. But in a story with too many resemblances to an abortion metaphor, it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Also I was seriously bothered by how lacking in consequence the episode is. They vaguely allude to possible bad consequences of getting rid of the moon, but they really don’t take them seriously. The tides would be hella messed up, the internet being gone is more than just “doing without mobile phones”, Clara, Jesus Christ. As a friend pointed out to me, killing the creature with nuclear bombs would be extremely dangerous with all that radiation. And at the end it’s all fine???? The creature lives, lays a new egg exactly the same size as the old one (HOW??????) and the Earth suffers no consequences. I thought justifying it by saying this encourages humanity to get back into space was ehhhh. It really felt like the writer was desperate to have some kind of consequence. I still liked the episode overall, there were things I liked. But I can see why it can get many people heated. 8.8: Mummy on the Orient Express I was a bit disappointed in this episode as I had it quite hyped up by others. One of the main problems I found was that the set-up wasn’t given enough time. Like the Doctor realising that the train is full of experts: all he has to go on is the alien mythologist and the engineer. He really needed to find more people. Also the plot was resolved very quickly. Like the writer was running out of time and needed to wrap it up quick. It was a cool idea, having a soldier who is forced to stay alive, but I felt it could have been used better here. However I did really like a lot of the side characters here, particularly the engineer and Ms Pitt. I really like how it relates to the previous episode, with the development of Clara and the Doctor’s relationship. Really great stuff there, and they’re so good together. 8.9: Flatline This was a really fun episode! I loved the concept of the 2D invaders. Definitely creative and very creepy. I loved what they do with the TARDIS to make it an almost Doctor-lite episode. Really like how Clara takes charge. I’m not a fan of her lying to Danny about being back with the Doctor, it just feels like unnecessary drama. But a great episode apart from that with fun side characters. 8.10: In the Forest of the Night Huuuuuuuh. I had heard this wasn’t a great episode and yeah, this ain’t it. There are things to like though. I really like how the Doctor interacts with Maebh and the other kids. I think the kids that have speaking roles are decently funny and quite realistic. Quite like Danny and Clara together in this. But the plot is absolute bonkers and very unsatisfying for me. The details were frustratingly vague and honestly felt like it was being improvised on the spot. The consequences of the forest not being explored much, the premise doesn’t really interest me, Maebh being psychic was ehh, her sister coming back really made no sense at the end. The plot unfortunately reminded me of Small Worlds, which is one of my least favourite Torchwood episodes. 8.11: Dark Water I have mostly positive feelings on this finale with a few quibbles. I LOVE Missy. So much. Fantastic iteration of the Master. I wish I could like the kissing scene more, but she did kiss the Doctor without his consent. Which does make me uncomfortable. Aside from that, I think she’s great. I think the use of negative refraction to hide the Cybermen suits is really cool. I struggle a bit to get my head around the fact that there is an afterlife of sorts in the Doctor Who universe but eh, I can roll with it. I don’t know how to feel about Danny Pink’s death. I’m writing this after I’ve seen the next episode, so I know it’s permanent. I mistakenly thought he would be in series 9 so I initially didn’t take his death as seriously. But yeah wow it was really sudden and sad :( I don’t know how to feel about Clara’s behaviour at the beginning of the episode. It seemed a bit of a leap but I do get it. 8.12: Death in Heaven This is a really bombastic and action-packed finale which is really fun. Loved the names being switched in the opening and Clara’s eyes instead of the Doctor’s eyes being used. Tripped me up a bit. Like having Kate Stewart and Osgood back (for a bit). Love how Missy behaves while captured, some really compelling stuff there between her and the Doctor, and also Osgood. Clara and Danny’s interactions were certainly tragic, but I found it hard to believe that he didn’t obey Missy’s orders like the rest. Bit of a stretch but okay. Also why did the Doctor feel the need to connect him to the Cyber hive mind? Surely it was obvious what the Cybermen’s plan was. I also found it hard to believe the Doctor would try and kill Missy, but I guess Clara pushed him to that. I thought the Brig’s inclusion at the end was a bit cheesy but quite sweet, I did like that. I felt the theming with the Doctor being a good man wasn’t super satisfying here, but this is only the first third of 12′s run on the show. I know there is more to come. Also the ending scene with 12 and Clara hugging and lying to each other was so sad :( I remember friends of mine watched this at the time of airing and really didn’t enjoy the writing of the first few episodes and it was how they lost interest in Doctor Who. People can like and dislike different things, but i really don’t see where the backlash is coming from? I loved this series. There were some dodgy episodes here and there but I loved the central focus of 12 and Clara’s relationship. They are so great together. Listen is one of my favourite ever Doctor Who episodes now. And I love Missy. Really fun series and excited for series 9.

[theskyexists]

watchin Death in Heaven finally

Missy is just such an evil bastard to Osgood in this

fuckin hell

didn’t they have a camera on missy in the hold lol. yup they did but none of them - INCLUDING THE FUCKIN DOCTOR - kept an eye on her. like. jfc. just left Osgood, somebody who’d thoroughly impressed him, with the Master in the same room who was restrained with only HANDCUFFS

the Doctor really is an idiot

I’m really surprised at the choice of leaving people’s faces intact for these cybermen (and later with Bill) - i found the Cybermen so scary as a kid because they cut your brain out while you were still alive and made the rest into goop. which made it genuinely impossible to return to anything resembling a human or individual

but it works for this emotional exchange. (and danny does look appropriately fucked up). this is touching - her trying to save him from his emotion

oh damn Missy is so FERAL in this lol - went up and down his timeline to see all the destruction he’s caused, capture all the minds of dead humanity, funnel money into research to convert the dead (which - she definitely changed history there what with converting the dead being standard practice in the cyberwars in s12). admits to setting him up with his closest friend just to show him how destructive the relationship could get with a companion - comparing his desire to help others with being a dog on a leash hmmm. the master puts in so much drama and work and flair and time into their plans it really does look like a fuckin courting process. and the Doctor is just like - fuckin hell why.

she doesnt take dying seriously at all

and then kills Kate the Brigadier’s daughter. Moffat knows how to say: EVIL. she’s EVIL. she’ll kill your faves left and right for fun no remorse

did the Doctor try to save Kate at all lol

oh lol the Doctor is right about pain but Danny just K.O.’d this dude lololol u deserved that Doc. there’s so much going on here. ‘he needs to know’ - yeah. ‘just do as you’re told’

ok i love this mercy kill danny/clara thing

‘armies are for people who think they’re right’ - ‘give a good man fire power and he’ll never run out of people to kill’ I LOVE THIS

‘i don’t want an army’ - (because of the above!!!)

‘why are you doing this?!?!?!’ capaldi is brilliant

she’s got him where she wants him - she wants him to realise they’re not so different - in other words - if he takes the army and starts killing - he does as she does - but if not ‘what’s the matter mr president, don’t you trust yourself?’ which means he knows he could do it and thats enough already

moffat sure did some great stuff with the Doctor and Danny

god i love his writing for Twelve SO MUCH. ‘im an idiot, with a box and a screwdriver, just passing through, helping out, learning’

INCREDIBLE! what a way of putting it - what a way formulating it - of articulating it. reinforcing the one truth of the character. i love this so much more than the ‘never be cruel never be cowardly’ bullshit. (though i do like how Thirteen fails those ideals - because it becomes so clear how they are ideals)

I have NO clue how it relates to Eleven and his literal ‘when a good man goes to war’ - i guess it’s - he never runs out of firepower on Trenzalore? and the war keeps killing. it’s backwards storytelling yes?

he doesn’t have armies, he has friends and love....

The Doctor’s not a hero. but he makes other people heroes....and i do like how the writing always casts doubt on whether that’s a good thing - especially with Clara and Danny. but the conclusion generally seems to be: yes. but for that to happen the Doctor must give up the decision to his human friends. his betters. (Thirteen completely, just COMPLETELY flipped on this....and it has the most terrible consequences - but chibs seems not to be too interested in exploring that - very different themes he’s interested in). The Master created an impossible choice but the Doctor found the third way - through their companions. Thirteen can never find a third way - because she never looks to her companions.

and the narrative eventually redeems the SOLDIER. the dead will save the living. there is decency in sacrifice for protection. not the orders of a general or a lunatic. i just realised that Gallifrey has fallen to a general (the Doctor) and a lunatic (the Master). 

the Brigadier was the other Soldier that saved the person he loved (because the Doctor wasn’t like hey maybe i should pick Kate up on the way down lol. and he got to kill the Master. wait how the fuck did she get back in s9. did she just SHOW UP?

Ok so i did almost cry about Danny choosing to let this kid live over him

Missy just shows up in season 9. is there any fucking explanation lol. Does Clara not confront Missy with the fact that she got fuckin vaporised by a cyberman???????

[dreameater1988]

My Top 10 Twelfth Doctor Stories

I’ve seen other people do this, so I decided to make my own Top 10 of Twelfth Doctor stories.

10. Flatline

I have a soft spot for stories in which the Doctor gets in a bit of a situation and putting him in a shrinking TARDIS was a hilarious plan. I have to admit, I wasn’t that fond of the episode when I first watched it, but to be quite honest, I love it a bit more with every rewatch. I think this really is one of those episodes that you have to watch a couple of times to really appreciate it. I’m also glad that the Boneless were picked up again in one of the comics because who doesn’t love a recurring monster? They were creepy, they were threatening and quite difficult to defeat - which the Doctor eventually did while giving an amazing speech. I think it was the first Twelfth Doctor speech that really struck me because of how fierce and powerful it was. And a cute bonus: Doctor Oswald. All of these things definitely put Flatline in my Top 10.

9. The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion

Another thing I love about Doctor Who? Kate Stewart! So it would be a shame not to include one of her stories in my Top 10. I have always preferred two-parters over single episodes because of that little heart attack causing “to be continued” thrill and these episodes do it quite brilliantly. The Zygons as monsters aren’t exactly my favourites, but they were really well used in this case. I really enjoyed the storyline and the many jokes that were put in the episodes (Why do you have a Union Jack parachute? - Camouflage. - Camouflage? - Yes, we’re in Britain.) There really are so many things I love about this two-parter: the Doctor’s emotional speech, Jenna marvellously playing two different characters, Kate tricking the Zygons, . . . The final product is a thrilling episode and wonderful entertainment.

8. Dark Water / Death in Heaven

The finale of S8 has to be on this list for one reason alone: Missy. Michelle Gomez really, really rocked that part and I will love her forever for it. I never really liked the Simm!Master because of various reasons (mainly cause his version of the Master collided with the version in a book I’ve read and loved). Yet the Twelfth Doctor and Missy really brought that “true friendship gone horribly wrong” part across. There was also the storyline of Clara losing Danny and later losing the Doctor by letting him go which I think shaped her S9 character to a large degree that I really, really love. The Cybermen were less creepy in this episode than in others (the S2 two-parter has scarred me forever), but this story wasn’t about the Cybermen or an invasion at all, at least it’s not how I see it. This two-parter is about loss and friendship. And it contains yet another Twelfth Doctor speech that I will love until the day I die. He’s my idiot with a box and a screwdriver. 

7. Oxygen

I feel obligated to put at least one episode from S10 on my list and since this was the only one that really stirred something in me, here we go. I loved the space station setting (because I’m a sad sci-fi nerd), I loved the dystopian “oxygen on sale” bit, but you know what I loved the most? The Doctor going blind. Oh my God, how I loved the big reveal in the end when he said he still couldn’t see. The Doctor is a Time Lord surrounded by humans, he is always superior to them simply because of the fact that he’s (like he said to Clara in FtR) “less breakable”, but finally, we get to see that he is breakable after all, that he’s vulnerable, that he’s no longer the superior hero. I love that bit. Sadly, the episodes that followed didn’t really put this plot twist to use in my opinion.

6. Mummy on the Orient Express

Who wouldn’t want to go on a trip on the space Orient Express with the Twelfth Doctor? This episode was beautiful from start to finish: the setting, the costumes, the dialogues, the storyline, the tension between the Doctor and Clara. Every moment of this episode was wonderful and a pure joy to watch. It was also a big turning point in the relationship between the (new) Doctor and Clara because, for the first time, she saw him for who he really was. Now, a couple of weeks ago I bought Doctor Who - The Complete History and I read about the making of this episode and I have to admit that I probably would have loved the original script (in which the Mummy is a life-extending body suit that won’t let people die and Clara briefly gets turned into one) a little bit more because it contains more sci-fi elements than the version they ended up using. But hey, I’m not complaining. The episode is awesome.

5. Into The Dalek

“I see into your soul, Doctor. I see beauty. I see divinity. I see hated.” Just hearing these words in my head gives me goosebumps and I think that is a very good sign that this episode definitely belongs in my Top 10. A lot of things have been done with Daleks over the past 50+ years, but miniaturizing the Doctor and putting him inside one is definitely one of the more brilliant ideas. I also really love the early version of the Twelfth Doctor, I love my grumpy, old alien and he’s at his peak in this one. But he’s also still struggling to find out if he is a good man or not and I really enjoyed that conflict that we saw in Peter’s first season. Rusty the Dalek plays a big part in that conflict and their dialogue makes me shiver even after watching it about 30 times.

4. The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witch’s Familiar 

The Doctor riding a tank into a medieval castle while playing the electric guitar! Do I need to say more? Yes, I’m definitely going to say more, but, oh my God, that was probably one of my favourite moments of the entire show. I sat in front of my telly, gawking at the screen. There will never be a season opened better than this. You won’t believe how much I enjoyed watching it the first time and how much I am still enjoying it every time I watch this episode. The rest of the two-parter is anything but a let-down. I loved the Twelfth Doctor/Missy interactions in this one because up until the end of the episodes you can really see the former friendship, you can see just how long they have known each other, how much they meant to each other back then (I live for this kind of thing). Also, bringing back Davros is always a nice touch. Bringing back Skaro was amazing (and seeing the fear in Missy’s eyes when she realized where she was). The Clara/Missy duo was amazing. The Doctor pleading for Clara’s life on his knees when he thinks he’s about to lose her. Honestly, there isn’t anything that I don’t love about this two-parter. Add “The Doctor’s Meditation” to this and you’ll get 10 minutes of pure, silly fun as well.

3. Listen

This episode was the one where I decided that Twelve was my Doctor. In fact, it was the pre-intro scenes with him that showed him sitting on the TARDIS roof and talking to himself by candlelight that got me. But that’s not why I loved the episode. It was properly creepy. I love the creepy episodes the most and sadly, there has been a bit of a lack in those in recent years, but Listen was definitely one of the best. I first watched the leaked black and white version and even then it gave me chills. This episode also showed how much of an impact Clara really had on the Doctor (apart from getting him to save Gallifrey and asking the Time Lords to help him). She saw him as a young, frightened boy and she put those thoughts in his head that would accompany him for the rest of his life. It was a wonderful, little twist. I also really enjoyed the fact that we never got to know what the monster actually was. I love that some people believe it’s a kid under a bedspread and some (like me, cause I’ve paused and seen a screenshot of what looked like Voldemort) think it was an actual monster. Whatever it was, I’m glad we never got the solution handed to us. That makes it even more interesting to me.

2. Under the Lake / Before the Flood

I don’t think I’ve said it enough, but this two-parter is actually perfect. Everything about it is perfect. The Doctor and Clara are at their peak, they’re having their “glory years”. It’s very likely that there was a large time span between TMA/TWF and this two-parter because we see them in full action, we see them incredibly bonded, we see them trust each other completely. This is the first time we see how intense their relationship actually is (“If you love me in any way, you’ll come back”, “I’m changing history to save Clara.”). They are the perfect TARDIS duo in this one, but we also get a sense of foreshadowing as to what is going to happen to Clara in the future. The minor characters in this story are all perfect as well, I can’t say a single bad word about them. I normally don’t care about minor characters because I’ve learned that many of them end up dead anyway, but in this one, I can’t help but feel for them as well. As for the storyline and plot twist, it was a two-parter full of exciting moments and surprises with a lot of laughs and emotions thrown in as well. And the Fisher King was a great monster. Perfect television entertainment for a Saturday night that almost ended up being Nr 1 on my list.

1. Heaven Sent / Hell Bent

Heaven Sent is, in my opinion, Steven Moffat’s masterpiece and always will be. It felt like he was working his way up from The Eleventh Hour to culminate in the S9 finale with two episodes that actually managed to blow my mind. I am very critical when I’m watching TV and I’m not so easily impressed, but Heaven Sent actually blew my mind. Heaven Sent, an episode that is longer than usual, that features only one actor in only a handful of rooms and it’s the best damn thing I have ever seen on TV. During S10 I often complained about seeing the “plot twist” coming, but this one took me completely by surprise and broke my heart in the process. Oh, the tears I’ve shed over Heaven Sent! It’s that moment the Doctor realizes what he’s doing, what he’s been doing and for how long that always breaks me and it’s underlined by the most perfect Murray Gold score I’ve ever heard. And of course the big reveal that Gallifrey was waiting on the other end. 

I think Heaven Sent / Hell Bent are the perfect depiction of the stages of grief in the Doctor’s 4.5 billion years quest to save Clara. And oh, how he did it! It’s not a secret that Clara has been my favourite companion from the moment she appeared on screen and after watching her become more and more like the Doctor over the course of the seasons, it was such a satisfaction to see her get her own TARDIS and run away. There is something so bitter-sweet, so emotional about this series finale and at the same time, it’s so full of twists and turns and surprises. It’s devastating and uplifting at once. In one word: perfect!

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Belated thoughts on The Doctor Falls

(Spoilers, obviously)

A late “review” owing to me being out of down and offline for the Canada Day long weekend. Now to make up for lost time...

I make no secret of nor do I apologize for the fact I was very disappointed with Series 10 as a whole. I stand by my opinion that it is - taken as a whole - the weakest season of 10 we’ve had since the series returned. BUT, in the 9th inning, Steven Moffat managed to score a home run, even though it was more of the “players fumbling to catch the ball” inside-the-park homer than a “knock it out of the park” blockbuster. It ranks a solid 3rd behind The Name of the Doctor and Hell Bent among Modern Era finale episodes and for the most part left me smiling (albeit a sad smile).

More thoughts after the break:

I’m going to get the negative stuff out of the way first.

I have mixed feelings about how Bill’s fate was handled (not the fate itself). I love the fact that Moffat managed to come up with a way to get Bill out of her dilemma and reunite her with Heather in such a way that promises future adventures (Big Finish and Chris Chibnall take note). It’s great that we finally got a pair of Moffat companions (including Nardole, though more on him in a moment) who basically survived their time with the Doctor. However, I wish Moffat hadn’t copied what he did with Clara and Ashildr in Hell Bent: making the companion immortal and sending her off on adventures with an immortal companion of her own (only difference being the romance direction: with Clara it was separation from her OTP; with Bill it was reunion with her OTP). I spoke to a few friends who watched it on Saturday and they were very upset by this. Not because they were Clara fans (believe me, they aren’t - in fact they pretty much hated Series 8 and 9) but because it was so similar to what happened last season. And I am annoyed at people saying that this is setting up the spinoff everyone wants, when that’s exactly the same thing they said with Clara and Ashildr in 2015! (That said, I agree with everyone who says getting the four together would kick ass. Big Finish, again take note.)

I also wish Heather had been referenced more during the season. If she was supposed to be Bill’s OTP, why was she basically forgotten for 10 episodes? As a result, while it was great to see Heather return, it still had a feeling of deus ex machina about it that was unfortunate. And any viewers who missed The Pilot and jumped on late - they were screwed figuring out what the heck that was all about with the woman made of water. 

One last negative was the fact we were left with no real resolution for Nardole. We saw him setting off with a bunch of kids and a girlfriend(!) but the impression given is they were still dead because they’d be spending their time moving up the ship and eventually the Cybermen would regroup and get ‘em. I hope Moffat plans to resolve this at Christmas because I felt the story wasn’t completed. This one I’d hate to have to leave to Big Finish to flesh out but perhaps they’ll have to.

OK - negative stuff over. Time for the positives.

Despite the fact I disliked World Enough and Time on the whole, I said I loved the opening and the closing minutes of that episode. Well, The Doctor Falls was basically all “opening and closing minutes,” (you can take that literally as virtually every scene felt like a teaser or cliffhanger and the longer running time flew by) and it was great and exactly the type of episode I was starved for this series. Had Series 10 had more of these I might have even joined the chorus of those calling Series 10 the best, even without Clara.

Despite the criticism I just stated, I loved how Bill and Heather were reunited (read my complaint again and the bottom line is I wanted there to be more of them) and Pearl Mackie gave her best performance ever as Bill. The character had a shaky start in my opinion, but Mackie was exemplary and Bill stands proud with the other iconic companions because of it. She’ll go far.

And Matt Lucas was great as always, and in some respects I’m going to miss Nardole more than Bill (ironic since I hated Nardole in the 2015 Christmas special). That’s nothing against Bill or Pearl Mackie, but even though he was shoehorned in to a good chunk of the season, Lucas just felt right once it was decided to make him a proper companion, and that was something that occurred to me way back in Return of Doctor Mysterio. I’d say Lucas would go fear but the guy’s already gone far. So I’ll just say he’ll go farther.

The Master Twins were amazing and had terrific chemistry and while I don’t believe for one second that this is the end for the Master (the Missy incarnation, perhaps), it was a unique resolution to Missy’s arc that I’m sure had many going “why hadn’t we thought of that?” I also found it fascinating to see how the Saxon Master reacted to having a female incarnation (despite the Doctor’s comments last week, Saxon seemed to suggest Missy was his first/only female version). He wasn’t that thrilled about it, really, which caught me by surprise. It added an unexpected depth to their meeting. I only wish we saw Simm regenerate into Gomez but then maybe that opens the door for another incarnation, if Missy is truly the final Master. I kind of hope she is, because it would be great to think that in the end, after teasing the concept for 46 years, the show finally made good on the promise of redeeming the Master. Plus, let’s be honest, male or female, who could follow Michelle Gomez?

And then there was Peter. What can I say? I mean, his speech about kindness is one they’re going to be quoting for years. And I hope the other Doctor actors are ready because just as with the Pandorica speech and the Zygon Inversion speech, they’re going to be asked to recite it forever. I’ve given up on awards, but Peter Capaldi is in my opinion the best actor to ever pilot the TARDIS, and I’m not just saying that because he’s the incumbent and I liked Whouffaldi. No - all the actors who have played the Doctor were amazing (yes, even him - whoever you want “him” to be). But Capaldi is the best. And I am including Sir John Hurt as I say that, with no disrespect intended to the late legend (or any of the others).

The regeneration - I mean, wow. And to see him repress it. That’s new and will make the Christmas special absolutely fascinating to watch from a performance perspective, alone.

David Bradley as the First Doctor? I don’t know about that. This isn’t 1983 when Richard Hurndall could step into William Hartnell’s shoes because no one had DVDs of any of Bill’s episodes. Apparently we’ve already had some viewers state confusion on Twitter over who this old guy is. I’ve no doubt that David Bradley will do a good job, but recasting an earlier Doctor, especially one with such a different acting style... jury is out. Much as I like Bradley I actually would have been more in favour of Sean Pertwee appearing as his dad. Ask me again on December 26.

Finally, of course, me being a Whouffaldi fan I cannot end this without mentioning the Clara flashback. I can’t begin to express how important this was. For her to have been omitted ... while it might have worked from the memory block perspective, it would have made the sequence feel incomplete. Does it mean the Doctor remembers Clara? Actually, we know that he does to a degree already - he says so to Clara herself in Hell Bent that he remembers their adventure together and has been able to piece together a lot about Clara, and at the end of the episode he sees Rigsy’s portrait of her, so he now remembers her face and, thanks to the diner, her voice. But then again - he would remember her face and voice from the diner if it was a “fresh” memory, right? Instead, he remembers her as she was in Last Christmas. So is it possible that Bill’s tears did more than give Twelve a stay of execution? That they - or the fact the Doctor is mid-regeneration - have undone it. Time will tell. I’m aware of certain tabloid reports today (also mentioned on the BBC) and I refuse to get my hopes up. But maybe it was foreshadowing. Or Moffat simply realized that to leave Clara out of a roll-call of every Modern Era companion would have made him look like a dick. Either way, we got a final direct reference to Clara to end the season on. (And River fans got one too, so everyone’s happy.)

One of these days I’ll do a proper postmortem on Series 10, going into detail as to why I didn’t care for it as a whole. But for me the finale hit all the right notes and leaves me looking forward to Christmas, even though a sad milestone awaits.

PS: Because there seems to be a lot of people harping online about Clara’s appearing in the flashback and the potential for her to appear at Christmas (of the “don’t bring her back ever” variety) let me state for the record that as far as I am concerned Bill Potts and Nardole are welcome to reappear or be referenced any time. Hopefully they’ll get a nod at Christmas.