Doctor Who: Series 10

I'm sorry, whaaaaat?

A series of Doctor Who that I love from beginning to end, have nothing to complain about, and even like the finale? I never thought I'd see the day. I mean Peter Capaldi has always been top notch, utter class, and a joy to watch and for a final series it's really good. The circle is now complete, when Peter Capaldi was a young boy he watched Doctor Who from the beginning, from An Unearthly Child all the way to now with several series and a wonderful finale. And that classic feel is still felt perhaps even more so with our new companion, Bill played expertly by Pearl Mackie and I love her. I love everything about her. I love her personality, her curiosity, her witty banter, the fact it sort of is another Doctor and Ace relationship being an aspiring learner and a patient professor. Brilliant! Could not love her more. And like I said the relationship her and the Doctor have is wonderful, Peter does amazing work as always, being fun and entertaining but can really hit home those dramatic points. And I just don't mean the regeneration, there's one scene with Missy and it really does make me get all misty eyed, he can act the full range of emotions. Plus we have another companion who previously worked with River and now tags along on occassion with the Doctor, and people are sort of split on Nardole. Now I really didn't like or even get his character first time around but on second viewing Matt Lucas brings a lot of humor and enjoyment and he quickly grew on me. Then we have Missy, now this is how you make a character who was hamfisted and given poor characterization in the last series and is now given good writing, some real lovely acting by Michelle Gomez, and a more interesting dynamic between the two Time Lords. I mean the relationship between the Doctor and the Master has always been so interesting, because it's this complete love/hate waltz, when people said in series 9 that the talks and interactions between Missy and the Doctor reminded people of Jon Pertwee and Roger Delgado I wanted to slap them upside the head and decode what combo of narcotics they were using, but here I fully see it. You can tell these people are on opposite sides of the board yet retain a great respect and admiration for each other, you can tell they were previous friends just like you could during the classic series, and that is beyond fantastic! It's the best writing in the finale if not the whole series, they really did a superb job! All the episodes are good if not great, The Pilot introduces us to Bill and has some lovely moments throughout with the Doctor actually teaching at a university, and has a rather sweet and lovely little nod to the first actor to play Doctor Who. Thin Ice had beautiful visuals and a good story with honestly some very good incidental music. Yeah, that's one thing I noticed, usually like in any show there's background music and it's done very well in some episodes, but this time even scenes with the Doctor playing his guitar has really great music, almost spaghetti western in style with electric guitar solo's, but yeah the music was much more noticeable and lovely in this series. Knock Knock gave me Ghost Light flashbacks with a very spooky mystery in a old mansion, and had it's fair share of fun as well. But the stories after that, essentially a huge mid-season 4 part story where the Doctor actually goes blind, and I don't mean a oh he's been inflicted with something to raise the stakes and he brushes it off at the end, I mean he cannot see for multiple episodes. That's....never happened before. I mean yes, there have been tons of stories with an overarching story or a character arc, but to have such a huge blow hit the Doctor in a damaging way for several episodes is kind of a big deal. I was so shocked seeing that and was wondering what would happen next and the stories around that are well done indeed. Empress Of Mars just screamed Star Trek The Next Generation at me, I'm not sure why, maybe it was the story elements, an importance on diplomacy and negotiation, I'm not too sure but it seemed very Star Trek to me. Then the finale, wow. I won't dare say a thing but it is so well done, a true no-win scenario for the Doctor with very grim stakes, and a return of old enemies makes it a great finale. And the fact we have a wonderful callback to the 5th Doctor's regeneration before the true regeneration story begins sets the tone perfectly, because we see the 1st Doctor played by David Bradley, known to the muggle world as Mr. Filch, arrives as a sort of tie in to The Tenth Planet the very first regeneration story told. And it really is a perfect send off for Capaldi, no massive story but more a character piece, the conversations between the two Doctor's is truly great with both having resignations over their regenerations and have to come to terms with that, with lots of fun back and forth between a truly old fashioned Doctor with his totally modern incarnation. Peter's final scene is emotional but a truly triumphant goodbye with great hope and love for the future. Which I will fully take with me in Jodie Whittaker's first series! So near the end, and yet so soon.

Doctor Who: Series 9

Well that was unexpected.

Series 9 is like, good? It's actually really good and barely pisses me off? I'm stunned. Like they went from f***ing omnishambles to a good series? Wow. After the complete mental breaking that the series 8 finale inflicted upon me I was very nervous about this series. But they fixed it. It still has issues that make me just have an emotional fit bordering on rage but it's really nothing that major. We have Clara and The Doctor having adventures, really good adventures, Clara has apparently completely gotten over her one true love and is back to the fun and lovable Clara. So either she was still lying through her teeth at the last finale or she got over his death super fast. But I like her again! She's gotten a bit overzealous with the adventures and travelling far past how Rose was always game for something new and exciting, to the point where even The Doctor looks incredibly concerned but more on that later. I thoroughly enjoy almost every episode save one, they are written very well and give a lot of entertainment. What surprised me though was how many two-parters there were, literally every episode save for one and the finale are two-parters which make it feel very classic Doctor Who. I love that with Peter Capaldi's series, it feels very classic but modern, Peter was a massive fan of Doctor Who and his love for the classic series can be really felt here in many different aspects. The fact we have an opening episode based on Skaro with Dalek designs from both classic and modern eras is a real treat, The Magician's Apprentice is a great way to start the series with wonderful emotion and good writing. We then move on to Under The Lake which is a good little mystery with a bit of a spooky twist and has some good character moments in it. The Girl Who Died is an amazing story, if only for just the last 15 minutes, I'm serious watch this two-parter for the last 15 minutes of this arc. You will not regret it. Great writing, very good acting, and while it did introduce a character I grow to not like much I did enjoy her here, but it has a lot of good ideas and character moments. After that we have The Zygon Invasion, more Kate and Osgood so this episode gets two big thumbs up from me but seriously Peter Capaldi deserves 50 Oscars for his performance. I mean whoa, it made me just an emotional mess of tears. Sleep No More is a bit blah, but it's the standard filler episode before the finale. Speaking of which. Oh boy here we go. I have significant issues with the finale but it all lies on the back of the last episode. Face The Raven was really, really good with an emotional end and it has a deeper meaning than just another companion's goodbye which we'll talk about. However...Clara and Ashildr are not good, I don't enjoy their characters anymore and it kinda severely screwed everything over. Big time. Now before we discuss my utter disappointment and fueled rage of the finale it's time to talk characters. Now, I love Doctor Who. I really love it. It is a fantastic show with limitless potential, it is a show that could go on for 100 years, I truly believe that. But some people ask why, and the answer is very simple. The characters is what either makes or breaks the series whether classic or modern. It's so easy to just fall in love with Sarah Jane Smith because of such excellent writing and acting, she is kind, intelligent, a true and undoubtedly best friend to The Doctor, intrigued by the adventures and fully capable to take care of herself. And yet even with characters I didn't really go for like Harry Sullivan or Turlough, they grew on me as time went by. There was evolution to the characters, reasons for their decisions and personality, they grew and changed like real people. Clara was a character I quickly liked and enjoyed, she was so fun, she could flirt and joke but still be real and a true joy to watch. Yet through the entirety of series 8 she became a horrible person due to poor writing, but she came through again because she is back to being a joy to see, ready for adventures, light and funny, and becomes a complete character once more. Her death was tragic and emotional, but it had purpose because she falsely believed she was impervious to bad things and that she was on the same level as The Doctor. Now flawed characters is no major problem, no one is perfect, yet I feel this trait for Clara seems so off. She shouldn't be racing into these situations throwing caution to the wind, it seems so unlike her. But she tries to justify it and it kind of works but it does detract from her death because of her own hubris. But not in a clever or ironic way, just a stupid way. She acted how a child acts, well I saw how this person does this so I will do the same as them and be completely fine if not better. That is not how anything works. And she pays the consequences for that, she is killed, and it has a severe effect on The Doctor and you fully feel it. The problem with Clara is that her death becomes beyond pointless, she is rescued by being pulled out of time and if she continues to live time will break. I mean like, game over man game over! And she is completely ready to face her fate, her last words "Let me be brave." fully back this up, she knows she has to die and accepts it. And then the ending happens. She decides on a whim, like a leaf on the wind, that she should travel with Ashildr in a Tardis for awhile before then. No. That makes Clara's death pointless. Modern Doctor Who does not have the sheer will to kill a companion, they subvert it in any way possible. Oh Rose Tyler isn't dead despite that's what she said in the intro of Army Of Ghosts, she's just in a parallel dimension! Oh Donna Noble didn't really die, it was purely a symbolic death because her memories were wiped, she's alive and well! Amy and Rory didn't die, they were zapped back in time and had a long life together, they're totally fine! River didn't die, her conscious is in a super computer matrix so her spirit lives on. Oh Clara's not dead you silly bean, she's travelling in time and space in her own Tardis! Because death isn't a thing in life! Death doesn't exist and never has to be faced, pain and grief and loss never has to be felt for really realsies! Now if you will permit me I will quote a different sci-fi series, "Damn it, Bones, you're a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can't be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away! I need my pain!". That's right kids, death is something you never have to face, you never have to face the no-win scenario, everything will be fine always no matter what. Imagine if they even attempted that in classic Doctor Who, oh Adric didn't die at the end of Earthshock, nooooo the ship he was on actually had an escape pod that inexplicably also had time travel capabilities, he's back in his own time doing just fiiine and dandy!

You do not ever get to do that. You have completely betrayed and ruined Clara's story beyond comprehension because of this. It kinda takes away the emotional crux and performance of Peter Capaldi in Heaven Sent which I can fully say without even batting an eye is the best Doctor Who episode of the modern era. The absolute best. It is a masterfully crafted, written, acted, and directed episode. I cannot love it enough, absolutely well done! And the finale isn't bad for the most part until the end but the writing in Clara's case just completely ruins it. Oh but I'm forgetting someone, Ashildr is harboring on my nemesis list, now when we first meet her I really liked her! Just a girl with an imagination and Viking blood in her veins, wonderful! I can see why The Doctor did what he did which is essentially implant her with an advanced medical chip that makes her pretty much immortal. Never aging, never changing, the second immortal we know of. They could have done so much with this character. Instead they make her an apathetic, bitchy, angsty, pathetic child. She lives from Viking times to the end of time itself, and she has no growth. I'm sorry what? In every single last piece of media I have ever digested, in terms of immortals, they change. Now I'm not saying she can't be bitter and all angsty after a few hundred years. That makes sense! You get tired of seeing everything and everyone you hold dear just fade in front of your eyes, you'd get pretty bitter and have a shitty attitude about everything after that. But that's the problem, she's always the absolute **** who doesn't care about a damn thing, and it could have been amazing. We learn that her memory can only go so far, she has written a library of volumed diary entries recounting her story, we learn she has had children and they were killed during the Black Plague, she's been in wars, saved people, and can't retain it in her memory because she is that old. That's an incredible idea. You could have done anything and decided to do nothing. Have her grow bitter and disconnected from humanity by the time she meets The Doctor again in the 1600s, and she realizes she made a mistake by teaming up with a villain and she accepts her fault but then dedicates her life to help people, to have a new lease on life and follow in The Doctor's path but here on Earth. You could even have a conversation between them reminiscing of the conversation he had with Jack when they were fixing the rocket in Utopia, that she's a forever fixed point in time and that he just can't take her but she understands and stays on Earth. That would have been incredible character moments in dialogue. To have The Doctor connect with this woman, and understand how she feels about her prolonged existence and past lives. There was excellent material here for a character and they didn't do anything with her. It is a colossal waste. Just absolute wasting of great character potential, that is what I hate most of all. I can rage against the ruining of the Cybermen but those can be fixed and changed, but it's the characters that stick around that have the biggest impact. It hurts the show, it really does. Not just in my eyes but in the actual world of the show. So instead of Clara having one last bittersweet talk with The Doctor before she returns to face her death, she's travelling about with an immortal in a ship they can't possibly know how to fly. Great. Perfect.

Whatever, just....whatever.

Doctor Who: Series 8

Boy did this go downhill fast.

Now I love Peter Capaldi, he is truly a fantastic Doctor and I still miss him now, he fully understands the character and has done no wrong. That is not the issue of this series. And in all fairness it started off damn well, Deep Breath was a great first episode for Peter and the new dynamic change for Clara was nice but it was only the beginning of the end for her character. Remember this is a woman who knows The Doctor, is fully aware of who he is and that he can change his face into a new incarnation, so why does she throw this tantrum that "He's not The Doctor anymore! Where's my sexy boyfriend? Why is he ooooold??" I mean are you kidding me? She knows him better than any of his recent companions, more than Sarah Jane, Rose, anybody and yet she still acts like a child. We'll rip into her, I mean get to her in a bit. Not yet. But she comes to accept who he is and their next adventures are really fun. It's just great to see an older Doctor and younger companion, so no bullshit crushes or romance, just a nice friendship between them and it's nice. Into The Dalek is an interesting episode but I kinda hate how they made the actual Dalek casing act like a human body full of squishy bits, white blood cells, and a stomach. Just...weird, I mean I get it but yeah, weird. Robot Of Sherwood was excellent fun, with The Doctor being a total grump as he banters with a fun Robin Hood and Clara gets her fairy tale adventure. Listen I felt was trying soooo hard to be the next Blink, and while it was eerie it didn't have that terror punch Blink had but I still liked it. Time Heist was the last good episode of the series, a very Ocean's 11 caper in an intergalactic bank, short but sweet, and was well crafted. After that.....ugh. I mean the episodes aren't god awful, they're not even really bad at all but they absolutely just ruined a fun, charming, and very likable companion. We'll talk about the series finale but we need to address the absolute assassination of Clara Oswald. I mean talk about a complete betrayal, I have no idea what Steven was on or thinking but he made Clara go from a sweet, likable, and fun companion into this whiny, bitching, insufferable, pathological liar that borders and then crosses into psychopathic child who I absolutely despise. And I know exactly the moment she became a hateful person, and it was when she dated Danny Pink. I'm still racking my brain trying to figure out how their little relationship even got off the godforsaken ground. When I see more chemistry and substance in a relationship between Anastasia and f***ing Christian Grey, then you my friend have officialy failed at writing. That is how bad their relationship is, their first date is an absolute dumpster fire and yet they inexplicably keep dating and forming an I can only assume supremely toxic relationship, Clara can't stop lying straight to his face even when he practically knows about The Doctor, he keeps trying to break the bond between Clara and The Doctor to the point where it seems like he's gaslighting and manipulating her to just never see The Doctor again and be with him. It sickens me in the pit of my stomach. And you know what? It works. Clara starts whining and bitching like a spoiled child, always wanting her way without ever regarding anybody's feelings, to the point where she snaps like a Twix bar, essentially holds her best friend hostage and destroys all the Tardis keys because she wants her dead boyfriend back. She was dying already since Deep Breath but in the first part of the series finale, she is dead to me. Just dead to me, I now hate a truly wonderful companion that I greatly enjoyed seeing. And it is very apparent to anyone who watches this series, there is such an obvious and almost tangible break between this one character from two seperate series. It sucks to see her turn into this cunniving monster, because I liked Clara! I really liked her! I thought she was so much fun, had wonderful chemistry with Matt, Jenna Coleman is a delight in those episodes! And this is what happens to her. Becoming a codependent, immature, pathetic, horrible, utter pathological liar who goes from sociopathic to psychopathic and it is a slap in the face to all of her fans! Clara deserves better than this. And all because of an absolute piece of shit, f*** Danny Pink, his whole character I can sum up very quickly. "Clara you should listen to me because I'm a man, and I don't trust your best friend and I think he's secretly a massive asshole. Come be with me because I know better but I hate you because you can't ever tell me the truth, and I'm just a swishy bitch who wants attention. Because I killed a kid in the army!" Honestly that last bit about the kid when I first heard it, I thought it was really good character writing, but at the end of it I just don't care. I somehow hated him more when he turns into a Cyberman, probably because he was the biggest emo twat I've ever seen in my life, I was honestly expecting to hear in the background of any scene of him "Crawling in my skin, these wounds they will not heal". I am not joking. Doctor Who is making me fricking LIVID lately, and I don't want to be this way! But bullshit is bullshit and when the bullshit man says this finale is bullshit...oh my God I could not be more serious. Okay fine, the whole mystery built over the series and in the first part of the finale is good. Who's this batshit crazy broad? What's this afterlife place? What are all these supporting characters doing here? And I'll freely admit I had no idea it was the Cybermen until the reveal! And then it just gets more stupid. What the hell is the deal with Missy? Now I have no issue with the idea behind this character, I can roll with it to a point. Now I seriously and truly do not hate Michelle Gomez but my Goooood what even is this character?! And I do NOT want to hear anybody defend this with, oh she's just a crazy, zany, illogical character so you can't be mad that her plan is utterly pointless and she's an annoying prat! Let me give you an acorn of wisdom: Crazy has motive, there is a reason the saying "There is a method to the madness" exists, villains in media could be nuttier than squirrel droppings but they had motivation and ulterior motives. There is none of that here. She's just crazy to be crazy, and we don't have to explain it because she's an animaniac!! No. Do something with her character, give us material to know her and enjoy her presence more. Stop. Lazily. Writing. Characters! There's one thing I liked in the finale besides Peter and seeing Kate again, it's so silly but I just love it, when the Cybermen emerge in the street if you look in the background there's this lady who just bear hugs a Cyberman and I swear to God it is the cutest damn thing. Why do I love that so much? I have no idea but I'm taking what I can get from this dumpster fire! Allow me to relay this whole evil plan because I wanna bash my frick fraking brains out against the walls because of how much zero sense it makes. So let me get this straight...a company front which is actually a Cyberman converting factory not only harvests dead bodies to make Cybermen (which is totally fine, I like that) and then after that, they start flying Iron Man style into the atmosphere, then explode causing huge synthesized storm clouds to emerge, which then rain water into graves all over the world, kinda like in Return Of The Living Dead, where instantaneously corpses no matter how long they've been buried or how much they have decayed, whether a few weeks or several centuries, emerge as fully functioning Cybermen. Uh-huh.

I just took like...a lot of pills, maybe had some alcohol. I'm fine. Everything is just tickety boo here at Dude Central! What mind melting level of stupid are you talking about? Of course Cybermen can just bust out of graves even if they don't have a brain which is literally what they need to function. They're just mindless zombies now that are at the whim of a woman who would make Charles Manson look like Albert Einstein, even though they are tactical, methodical, pure logical beings who make extensive plans to upgrade the universe. I see nooooo issue with this! Let them do a little dance, it'd be so funny! Hey you remember that in Doctor Who when the iconic villains did nothing and were just a waste of time? Oh man those were fun times. What's that? None of this makes sense and the ending destroys the coolness and impact of the Cybermen almost beyond repair? Nahhh! It's fine! It's all fine! This is totally Doctor Who, that beloved sci-fi series enjoyed by young and old for over 50 years, that made excellent stories, beloved characters, thoughtful and interesting dilemmas, original monsters, and fun for everyone. Yeah.....that's what this was.