The Pilot

So, we begin Series 10 of ‘new’ Doctor Who with ‘The Pilot’ and Steven Moffat takes the opportunity to re-launch the Capaldi era. With Clara gone and forgotten the Doctor seems to have settled down at a University teaching. What he’s teaching isn’t quite clear, but it gets the students to turn up to his lectures so it must be good.

He’s also, we discover, guarding a vault. What’s in the vault we have yet to discover, but it is an important enough ‘thing’ to have the Doctor effectively exiled to the Earth once again. I’m assuming we’ll find out who or what it is at some suitable future date? *

The Doctor is also joined by Nardole (Matt Lucas). How the Doctor has restored Nardole’s head to his body – or a body. How this has been achieved we don’t know. There’s a hint of robot about it, but also a hint – or should that be a smell – of the organic. Whether we will find out exactly what has happened I’m not sure. I don’t think it really matters. Nardole’s role seems to be part Jiminy Cricket, part Greek chorus, and part just plain snark. Matt Lucas does a good job of seemingly making a slightly awkward toddler feel like it is a little alien. **

Most importantly though we get to meet Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie). Bill Potts is the sort of character that brings people who think representation is just ‘political correctness gone mad’ out in a rash. Because Doctor Who can only be Doctor Who when everyone in it is white and straight. This isn’t the time and a place for a political rant but what’s brilliant about Bill Potts (and Pearl Mackie’s performance) is that she feels like the most ‘real’ companion in New Doctor Who since Donna. The fact that she’s a lesbian doesn’t matter. The Doctor doesn’t care – or even know or notice. It’s a part of the story but no one makes a ridiculously big deal out of it. Bill is like a breath of fresh air. I liked her from the off.

Pearl Mackie brings her to life without doing too much in the way of acting. This is a compliment, not an insult. Acting is a difficult thing to do because as soon as you look like your doing it then it seems false. Especially on television or film. Theatre is a slightly different thing, but I’m not Stanislavsky so a long digression on acting technique we can save for another day. But Mackie is natural. It doesn’t feel like a performance. I’m looking forward to seeing how she develops.

There’s definite chemistry between her a Capaldi. Like good double-acts everywhere they seem to complement each other and raise their game a little when together. This gives me a chance to say – once again – how bloody brilliant Peter Capaldi is as Doctor Who. I’d say this was the part he was born to play, but that equally applies to Malcolm Tucker. I get the impression from interviews though that in real life he’s more the Doctor than he is Malcolm Tucker. But I could watch him as the Doctor forever. He’s displaced Tom Baker as my favourite Doctor for quite a long time now, even though Tom Baker will always be THE Doctor to me.

I’ve seen a theory expressed on the internet that Capaldi’s chosen to play his first season (broadly) as Hartnell, his second as Troughton and this one as Pertwee and I can see how that might feel like a sensible suggestion. Whether it is deliberate or whether we’re doing that human thing of seeing patterns when there aren’t any again only a long discussion with Peter Capaldi himself will reveal. His Doctor certainly seems to change over time. I’m interested to see how it all ends.

I’ve not said much about ‘The Pilot’ itself because I don’t think there’s a lot to say. The main purpose of this story is to introduce us to Bill and the Doctor’s new circumstances, which it does rather nicely. The fact that there’s intelligent alien super-petrol copying (and killing?) a beautiful but miserable student with a starry, starry eye is just background. Bill’s feelings for Heather though seem real enough and whatever ‘Heather’ now is she seems to replicate those feelings to some degree. We never find out anything about the origins of this super-petrol, but it doesn’t matter. There’s never a huge feeling of danger, but there is a certain degree of creepiness about her behavior. There’s also a question about how powerful she is. Perhaps one day we will find out. Or perhaps not.

It’s a good start to Series 10. It’s a gentle-ish introduction to the new team and if you were stepping into Doctor Who for the first time this might not be a bad place to start.

*I’m pretending I’ve not seen what follows. Whether this makes me enough of a performer to get a Lorraine Kelly style tax deal we will see.

**I recommend his biography btw. It’s rather good. It manages to be quite heart-breaking and deep whilst pretending to be something else altogether. I suspect Matt Lucas is a clever man.

The Return of Doctor Mysterio

-->

Well, The Return of Doctor Mysterio – hereafter just Mysterio to save me from repetitive strain injury – is possibly the least Christmassy Christmas special so far. There is a brief nod to Christmas at the beginning and then we’re straight into the adventure. So, I’d probably have to deduct a mark for that. If I was marking these episodes.

Mysterio introduces a superhero into the Doctor Who universe. A proper sort of Superman. The only superhero we’ve come across previously was fictional – or should that be fictional in a fictional universe – Karkus in The Mind Robber. Are ‘real’ superheroes compatible with the Doctor Who universe? Isn't everything?

The first thing, therefore, Steven Moffat does is to give our superhero, who will be called ‘The Ghost’ a nice Doctor Who universe explanation. Peter Capaldi does fine work here aided by a child actor who is pretty good, Logan Hoffman. It’s funny, which always helps.

I should say – and I like to get this out of the way early – that I mostly enjoyed this. It feels pretty inconsequential, with the exception of the re-introduction of Nardole (Matt Lucas.) There was some snarking when it was announced that Matt Lucas would return in Series Eleven, probably the same kind of snark that greeted the arrival of Catherine Tate. The expectation that someone who is a comedian is not going to be good at acting. And yes, Nardole is a more comic part than Donna, but there is also more to him than that and on this initial sample I think we’re going to be fine. Nardole is a good foil for the Doctor and Matt Lucas plays him well.

The villains in this story, Harmony Shoals are connected to those in The Husbands of River Song. They’re the head peeling – if that is the right word – nasties. They’re suitably creepy, especially Aleksandar Jovanovic as Dr. Sim, but I’m afraid aren’t going to feature in many people’s lists of favorite Doctor Who monsters. Anyway, they have a plan to conquer the world and the Doctor – along with Grant Gordon/The Ghost (Justin Chatwin) and journalist Lucy Fletcher (Charity Wakefield) aka Superman and Lois Lane.

This story wears the influence of Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman movie on its sleeve. Much more so I think than any modern superhero movies, except the costume. The costume is a modern superhero outfit. Perhaps because Donner’s movie – retrospectively at least – is more intimate than most modern superhero movies, with the exception perhaps of Logan. But I’m not here to talk about the superhero genre. I’m here to talk about Doctor Who.

Chatwin and Wakefield are excellent in their roles. Lucy Fletcher’s interrogation of the Doctor using Mr. Huffle as a lie detector of sorts is rather marvelous and Chatwin gets to be nice, which is an unusual trait in a television character these days. My only – slight – quibble is that Grant’s role as Lucy’s nanny, a woman he’s known since high school, does seem a tad stalkerish. However lovely it is in the end. But I may be getting a little weird in my old age. A lot of what used to seem like a romantic story to me these days smacks of stalking to me now. That’s my problem though, not yours.

The Doctor and Nardole attempt to thwart Harmony Shoals’ plan whilst Lucy and The Ghost have a romantic dinner for two. Unfortunately, their dinner gets interrupted by Harmony Shoals’ Mr. Brock who wants The Ghost for his body. And things then happen. But it all turns out alright in the end. I particularly love The Doctor’s totally contemptuous dismissal of Mr. Brock, which I’d like to see more of in Doctor Who.

So, it isn’t the best Doctor Who story ever. Nor is it highly festive, but it is an enjoyable enough story and that is pretty much all I have to say about that.

The Husbands of River Song

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. SORRY.

When I watched this story on original broadcast, I adored it. It went straight into the top spot as my favorite Doctor Who story ever. I knew this was probably temporary because it was precisely the story I needed after what had been quite a dark preceding season of Doctor Who, but I loved it.

Now, on re-watch I still love it. It manages to balance fun, silliness, emotion, and excitement rather well. It’s paced beautifully. Douglas Mackinnon’s direction is top-notch.

It is, I think, the perfect end to the story of the Doctor and River Song. Bringing her back now would, like the repeated returns of Rose, be a disappointment. Whether by accident or design Steven Moffat has managed to tell a pretty perfect time-traveling love story. We should be generous and assume it was by design.

I have always liked River Song and I think Alex Kingston has played her to perfection. It will be a shame not to see her again, but don’t spoil this perfect end by bringing her back dear future showrunners. Everything ends. Although – one tiny quibble – I think she’s uncharacteristically obtuse in not realizing that this is the Doctor before she does. However, I forgive that because it gives us the best ‘Hello Sweetie’ in the whole series (and I love River’s attempts to win back some credibility in its aftermath.)

Capaldi is excellent in this too. He gets two of my favorite Capaldi moments in this story: his entrance into the TARDIS – ‘finally’ and his speech at the end to River when he’s ostensibly talking about the Singing Towers but is talking about something entirely different. This is the first Capaldi story I’ve watched for a while and it reminded me once again why I’ve put him at the top of my list of favorite Doctors, which is – in its way – as arbitrary as my list of favorite Doctor Who stories. He can do it all. I think the key to playing the Doctor is the ability to shift from serious to silly in a moment and Capaldi can do that.

The supporting cast, of whom there are not a lot, do a fine job in small parts. Greg Davies gets to be loud and obnoxious; Matt Lucas gets to be funny, silly and a little strange as Nardole and Philip Rhys gets to be handsome as Ramone. None of them are particularly stretched but all of them do what they are asked to do with aplomb.

I should also add some praise for Rowan Polonski as Fleming, the maître d’ of the starship Harmony and Redemption who channels the obsequiousness delightfully and then manages to turn into a total git. River Song gets to give him a lovely verbal execution towards the end of the story.

The idea of the starship Harmony and Redemption, which I overlooked on the first watch, is a horrible and interesting one. It’s basically a place where genocidal maniacs go to relax. Even the crew, according to River, are murderers. I’m not sure it would be the sort of place one would like to hang out for lunch, but the decision of River and the Doctor not to save the ship and, I assume, let most of the passengers die seems to fit this. Perhaps Steven Moffat needed this to make sure that the final moments of that episode allowed the Doctor and River their moment. Having them aboard a ship full of people worth rescuing might have made that a bit messy.

And there we have it. Still vastly enjoyable. I still cried a little. I still think they should have kissed at the end. But let us leave The Doctor and River to spend their long, long night on Darillium in peace.

Goodbye Sweetie.

Hell Bent

MORE OF THOSE DAMN SPOILERS

Was Hell Bent always going to be a slight disappointment after Heaven Sent? Possibly. It’s still good though. Even though I get the impression that it isn’t held in that high regard by other fans. There seems to be a feeling that having waited so long to see Gallifrey again we only get a flying visit before its all back to the Clara story.

But honestly, what was Gallifrey in Classic Who except for a series of dull rooms and an occasional visit to the Matrix or The Death Zone? We get to see some bits of Gallifrey we’ve not seen before. We get hints at the Doctor’s past and then, instead of staying, the Doctor runs away again. Gallifrey is a very boring place. I mean, whatever the theories for the Doctor’s departure, I’m still going with the original: he was bored, and he wanted to see the universe not just look at it from some intergalactic ivory tower.

I like the way this story is told. Chopping between the story itself and the Doctor’s telling of it in the diner. I like the way it ties up several threads without overloading everything. Clara’s original request to the Doctor all the way back to Asylum of the Daleks to ‘run, you clever boy and remember…’ has more poignancy after this story. It tries to tie up the Hybrid theme but then decides not to bother, but not before Me/Ashildr gently hints that the Doctor might be half-human – presumably on his mother’s side – again. Although this gets the brush off. Sort of.

The question of whether the ‘rescue’ of Clara undoes the emotional impact of her death is an interesting one. I felt – at the time – that it did. But then on re-watch, I felt Clara’s loss in Face the Raven as much as I had on the original watch even though I knew what was coming. And her ‘escape’ isn’t quite perfect, and the Doctor is punished for his hubris as he loses his memories of Clara, which might also feel a bit like retrospective karma for what he did to Donna all those stories long ago. So, in effect, although he rescues her, he’s lost her again. And this time he can’t even grieve for her because he doesn’t know there’s a loss to grieve. It’s as heart-breaking as Zoe and Jamie’s fates at the end of The War Games.

The Doctor’s been heading this way though since The Girl Who Died/The Woman Who Lived after he convinced himself he knew why he’d picked his face and that he was tired of losing people. The example of Me/Ashildr didn’t seem to put him off though. He’s still determined to save Clara. Even though she’s dead. It’s un-Doctorish to an unusual degree. It’s like grief has driven him slightly mad.  

I do love the scene that ends with the Doctor saying to Clara after she had found out how long he spent in the Confession Dial, 'I had a duty of care.' Never has a phrase created out of legalese had more of an emotional wrench. It's 'I love you' isn't it? 

Again, I love Rachel Talalay’s direction, which brings a real film feel to this episode. Heaven Sent was incredibly creepy and claustrophobic. Hell Bent is more expansive. Plus, we get an old-school original TARDIS interior to gawp at. This is the second TARDIS the Doctor has stolen and the second TARDIS that won’t get returned to Gallifrey as it is now in the hands of Me/Ashildr and Clara.

The interesting thing in this story is how out of control the Doctor is. He even kills someone. Even if that is a Time Lord and they can regenerate. He’s let off a bit lightly there, I think. The General’s regeneration is another little seed sown in the path towards a female Doctor. Ooh and black Time Lords and Gallifreyans* too. This must be driving the non-PC crowd batshit crazy. Good.

In the end, the Doctor is alone again. In his TARDIS with a new sonic screwdriver. Clara and Me/Ashildr have gone off to have adventures of their own, which I’m sure Big Finish will get around to one day. Clara and Me/Ashildr are effectively immortal so how that’s going to work out, in the long run, I don’t know. I suppose both can be killed. I have this image of the two of them landing for the first time and the Time Lords just waiting for them. I mean it is one thing the Doctor stealing a TARDIS but two random aliens running off with one. That’s not going to end well.

Heaven Sent certainly isn’t as strong as Hell Bent but that is true of most Doctor Who stories. It is still a good story told in an interesting way. And just because Gallifrey is back it doesn’t mean we need to pop by every other week. Let it be there. Waiting for the right moment.

*My theory is that Gallifreyans are the ordinary population. Time Lords are drawn from that population. That becoming a Time Lord – with regeneration, etc – is a process / an education. So not all Gallifreyans can regenerate for example.