Review of "Kill the Moon"

Sorry for the delay in my review/analysis of the seventh episode from this season, "Kill the Moon". This episode is classic science fiction episode, where we discover that the moon is not really the moon but rather it's an egg. An egg. Let me repeat that, the Moon is an EGG. The Incredible Edible Egg. Ok, so we can't eat this egg. So the Doctor allows Clara, Courtney Woods (I will get to her later) and Lundvick decide what to do with the moon, let it hatch or blow it up. They allow the people of the world to vote on their decision, kind of like Big Brother. Just like American politics, the popular vote doesn't matter and Clara decides for us. Maybe we would be better off if Clara Oswold decided every election for us.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Doctor taking himself out of the decision on whether or not to blow the moon up. I think the Doctor should do this more often. It's not the Doctor's place to decide how humanity lives. He should let us mess up sometimes if we chose to. I totally agree what the Doctor did and for Clara to be so upset at him at the end I think was wrong on her character's part. The other part I really enjoyed was the science fiction part. The whole concept that the moon is an egg is actually pretty cool. We know it's not true, but I wasn't expecting that and never had that idea in my head before this episode. The antibodies looking like spiders was pretty terrifying if you ask me. I hate Spiders and I really hate Moon Spiders.

Connection Conjecture ~ Courtney Woods

The thing I enjoy most about Dr. Who since the reboot is the writing. The way that relatively minor details throughout a season (and sometimes, even many seasons in the past) can come together into something major is amazing storytelling. It always keeps me intent on every line of dialogue, every minor character and every detail in the background. That being said, this week I would like to discuss.....

COURTNEY WOODS

We were introduced to her as a random student in Clara's class in "Deep Breath" when she offered very wise advice to her teacher. Here we see how we need to watch episodes with a mind to the broad story arc of the season and beyond. As of deep breath, she is simply a random nameless student. However, remember--in the Dr. Who universe, people are rarely given lines, especially important ones, without a reason.

Next she pops up , again as a random nameless student, in "Into the Dalek" with one line as she listens in on Danny's conversation with the school secretary. "She wishes" could be a harbinger line for late in the season.

Finally, in "The Caretaker" she literally bursts in as a full fledged character. I would argue that this entire episode was written to introduce us to Courtney, and give her a name. In one episode, we learn her name, meet her parents, see that she is a "disruptive influence" AND she becomes a de facto compaion with ride in the tardis.

Blast from the Past ~ Caves of Androzani

Well, this is where the journey ends for the fifth doctor Peter Davison, and is considered to be one of the best episodes in the Classic Era.

Plot:

As the story opens, the TARDIS arrives on Androzani Minor where the Doctor and his new companion Peri decide to explore some caves and accidentally fall into a seemingly innocent nest which coats them in a white sticky web like substance. As they exit the nest they run into the forces of General Chellak who mistakes them for gunrunners so they are arrested and taken back to the General’s base. The General consults TrausMorgus who is based on Androzani Major and controls the mining interests of a powerful drug called Spetrox. Morgus, unknown to the General hired the gunrunners and orders the Doctor and Peri executed after not recognizing them. As they are being held for execution, the Doctor and Peri begin to feel itchy and see that the areas where they were touched by the sticky web are becoming red and blistered. Before being taken to execution they are captured by Sharaz Jek and replaced by a pair of perfect android duplicates.

Review of "The Caretaker"

After some very good Dr Who episodes this season, Steven Moffat has given us a stinker, called "The Caretaker". I know they can't all be great, but this was pretty big letdown. "The Caretaker" sees the Doctor trying to lure a robot into a school to destroy him. You know how I feel about androids like this. If you used some kind of robot, not named Daleks or Cybermen, you have to have someone who something controlling them. It never works when you just place a robot in a story as the main bad guy. Moffat has done this at least twice this season.

If that wasn't bad enough, most of the episode was the Doctor trying to be funny and eventually finding out who Mr Pink is. When the episode is trying so hard to be funny, like this one did, it falls flat on its face. The Doctor is funny, when you least expect it with a quick jab or joke. This episode was trying way too hard to be funny and it made me yawn.

Lastly, the Doctor finally finds out that Mr Pink is Clara's boyfriend and that he is a "Solider". What happened to the Doctor that he hates soldiers so much? He worked for UNIT for many years on earth and they were soldiers. One of his best friends was Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who was in charge of soldiers. So why now all of a sudden is the Doctor so anti-solider? It doesn't make sense. If the Doctor really wants to hate Mr Pink, he should dislike him because he is boring. The only thing he does is bang his head onto a desk or table. Where are the Weeping Angels when you need them?


I give "The Caretaker" a  1.5 Tardi's out of 5. You could have skipped this episode and not missed a thing.

Review "Time Heist"

"Time Heist" is the latest Dr Who episode for Peter Capaldi and I was very entertained. The Doctor, Clara  and 2 others have to break into the most secure bank in the universe, all while being chased from the Teller, a creature that makes your head look like a deflated basketball. This episode was kinda like Dr Who meets Mission Impossible. I'm just glad Tom Cruise didn't show up. Then again if the Teller would have deflated Cruise's head like he did to the poor sap in the episode, I would died and gone to heaven.

"Time Heist" is a very solid episode. The pacing is great, the acting is great and even though it wasn't hard to figure out the Doctor was the Architect, it had some good twists and turns. Having the Teller end up not really being a monster was a fantastic idea. The other characters, Psi & Saibra were a great addition to the Doctor's team. The one that really shown through was Saibra. Saibra is such a emphatic character , not being able to touch someone without changing into them is a curse. It kinda reminds me of Rogue of the X-Men. I would even argue that Saibra was a lot more important then Clara was. Clara could have eliminated from this episode and I wouldn't have missed her.

Overall, I give "Time Heist" a 4 out of 5 Tardis's.

Review "Listen"

"Listen" is the  latest Dr Who episode and is by far the best this season. In "Listen", we have a whole episode where there really isn't a monster or villain. The whole episode is based around what Clara tells the Doctor when he was a kid. The only flaw in this theory is what was under the sheet in that kid's bed? So maybe there really is a monster that doesn't want to be seen and that grabs our ankles, when we get out of bed. I never really thought about someone grabbing my ankles but I can not lie and have to admit, I've been getting out of bed really quickly in the morning.

The highlight of the episode was seeing Clara talking to the Doctor has a child about "Fear". It got me thinking, I wonder how many parents are going to use the "Fear is a Superpower" speech to their kids. I know if I ever have kids, I will. We also find out that the barn that the child Doctor was sleeping in was the same barn that the War Doctor went to, to end the Time War. That is what I love about Dr Who. It's a show so rich in history, that we have a scene that connects Williams Hartnell to Peter Capaldi. I was literally on the edge of my seat wanting more. 

My only problems about the episode is first, what was under the sheets in the boys bed and secondly how did the Tardis get to Gallifrey. I don't buy that hooking the Tardis up to Clara could bypass the time lock. By that rational then, the Doctor could hook himself up to theTardis and get to Gallifrey anytime he wants to. Then again, maybe he will do that in the near future. A Whoivan can only dream of an episode set on Gallifrey.

This was by far the best episode of the season and one of Moffat's best work on Dr Who.  I give "Listen" 4.5 Tardis's out of 5. I think I will go watch it again before the new one airs.

Review of Robots of Sherwood

It seems like every season Dr Who brings us a time period piece like this past week’s episode, "Robot of Sherwood". We have met William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, Winston Churchill, Richard Nixon, Vincent Van Gogh and now we finally meet Robin Hood. I enjoy these types of episodes very much. It puts the Doctor and his companion in a situation where their knowledge and technology is far beyond what the locals could imagine. They have to be careful not to alter the future. 

 This is a fun episode of Dr Who. It's not meant to be too dark and has a very lighthearted feel throughout the whole episode. The highlight for me was seeing the Doctor fight Robin Hood with the most unlikely weapon, a spoon. This episode also did a great use of robots. They made them an extension of the one controlling them, which is why I disliked "Deep Breath" so much. That is how you use robots. It kind of reminded me of the "Androids of Tara", a medieval setting with robots and sword fighting. That episode was broken into 4 weeks and this one was wrapped up pretty quickly. Can you imagine spending a whole month watching "Robot of Sherwood"? I mean, yes it's a good episode, but you would really have to drag out the story to get a month’s worth. Of course back then the segments of the episode were only a little over 18 minutes. As a Classic Fan, it does make me reminisce about the old days. I think some of the new Dr Who episodes should be expanded into more than one episode, but some like "Robot of Sherwood" are just about right.

 

 I was also really impressed with the acting. Ben Miller who played the Sheriff was fabulous and he kind of reminded me of the Master. He has the evil quality about him and would make a wonderful Master. Tom Riley played Robin Hood was also fantastic, but I think we all secretly wanted Jonas Armstrong who played Robin Hood in the BBC television show. 

 So, no Missy, no Mr. Pink, no wondering if the Doctor is a good man, just a Dr Who episode that stands alone and has certain of a classic feel. I give this episode, 3 out of 5 Tardis's.