Doorway to Hell Part 1

"Oh, I can tell you everything about the Doctor..."

Writer: Mark Wright
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 12th January 2017
Printed in: DWM 508

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Jess

Synopsis

The Doctor is called in for an unusual case by Hayes as a man who has been turned to glass is discovered. Whilst the Doctor is away, the Collins family are all abducted and a very familiar foe will make his presence felt...

Verdict

Doorway to Hell started off in superb style with this excellent first part of the comic strip! This has been an issue of Doctor Who Magazine I have been looking forward to reading for some time but thanks to a relentless assignment schedule at university, I still haven't been able to read any of it until now and this comic strip was the first part of the issue that I have looked at that is not the contents page. The idea of a 1970s issue is a terrific one and I like that the pages, upon an initial look and flick through, are recognisably different and reminiscent of what I imagine the very first issues of DWM were like back in the 1970s. This is also a good promotion of the Third Doctor Adventures audios released by Big Finish and although I am yet to listen to them I have heard nothing but praise for them so I'm more than happy with the promotion. The issue does look a good one and I'm glad that with the recent price rise, that does have me questioning whether to continue buying the magazine, that we were given a bonus comic strip in the form of a retro Third Doctor comic strip adventure from Countdown for TV Action. I will be blogging that story when I can get around to it but I do hope that we get little bonuses like this for the extra £1 that I'm not at all convinced is justified. There does look to be some good features this month though with a Terrance Dicks interview standing out. I'm also intrigued by the Time Capsule feature and of course the Doctor Who in the 1970s feature which the issue is kind of based upon. It looks to be a good issue. I thought the comic strip itself was actually terrific and I'm not sure if it was planned or not with the whole Twelfth Doctor storyline that has been going on for the past few months, but the comic strip in the 1970s issue of DWM taking place in the 1970s was quite fitting. I'm liking the relationship between the Doctor and Jessica and it's good to see that she has filled the void of a lack of companion whilst the television series is currently off air. But it will soon be back and I would guess that this could be the last story before Bill and Nardole join the pages of DWM. The Doctor and Jess being separated was good and that allowed for two very different directions for the story to go in. We had the Doctor dealing with a man who'd been turned to glass whilst we had Jess get her house raided and her entire family kidnapped and taken aboard what seemed to be a ship. The Doctor dealing with a creature that seemed to be a mix of the Vespiform and a Zarbi was good but the story's highlight absolutely had to be the cliffhanger. The Master is my favourite villain in Doctor Who by quite some way but to see the original incarnation of Roger Delgado return was simply wonderful. I did not expect it and I really am overjoyed to see where this story goes. The prospect of a meeting between the Twelfth Doctor and the first Master makes me very excited. I look forward to the next part and I'll be sure to purchase the latest issue on the weekend!

The Long Con

"It's not always a contest to see who gets to the fighting the fastest!"

Writer: AJ
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 15th December 2016
Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 14

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Tenth Doctor, Gabby, Cindy

Synopsis

The Twelfth Doctor is back at a convention and he is not best pleased. What has brought him here? And what is the connection with past adventures featuring his two immediate past selves? Words will soon reveal everything, and it won't be as bad as things first seem...

Verdict

The Long Con was another terrific little bonus comic strip in what is still the Christmas issue of Doctor Who Comic! I can't quite believe that it's taken me two months to the day to finish this issue but I guess that it is better late than never! Time really is flying by and with a busy university schedule there really are only so many hours in a day. I'm not quite sure how I managed the daily blogging to the extent that I did in 2016 but I am quite proud of it, and I already believe it is impossible for me to match my tally of last year in 2017. That's absolutely okay and I'm just glad that it is not long now until the brand new series. This bonus comic strip was another of the San Diego Comic-Con exclusives and I liked how we had an intertwined adventure featuring the latest three incarnations of the Doctor. I was quite impressed that considering we only had half the space of a usual comic strip from DWC there was still a detailed story told and it was pretty much three back-to-back original stories. I believe it is chronologically placed a little ahead of where we're at with DWC at the minute but other than the presence of some characters, there were no spoilers so Titan Comics were fine to include it as a Christmas bonus. The trio of the Tenth Doctor, Gabby and Cindy is excellent and I really liked them again here. The characterisation of David Tennant's Tenth Doctor was very good and I also thought that the Zoroniss was one weird creature. It almost looked to be an amalgamation of the Morbius Creature and a Titravore with the speech of an Ice Warrior! The way the Doctor challenged it was good and I liked how the Doctor was quite annoyed by it wanting destruction and death in similar ways to so many monsters before it. There were only a few pages featuring this trio before we headed to the rare pairing of just the Eleventh Doctor and Alice. With everything that has gone on with the Eleventh Doctor stories of DWC, it has been quite a rarity to have a story featuring just these two main characters so even if it was only just a few pages long, the brief showing was nice to say. I liked their conversation and the Doctor wanting to experience and admire history was fantastic. I really did like that and he was failing to understand why Alice didn't quite feel the same way about where they were. We then switched gears quickly to the Twelfth Doctor who was companionless, which probably helped for this story. I loved the reference to Selfie and he was rather disappointed to be back at another convention. It obviously wasn't a place he felt at home which is again rather ironic. The Doctor is perfect for comic-con and I did like the mention of the sonic screwdriver just being a fancy pen for his autographs. In this incarnation, I can't imagine the Doctor ever wanting to be seen getting an autograph. The Word-Rider that had been trapped inside him for over two regenerations was intriguing and I liked how it went some way to explaining the change in punctuation for the Doctor that we had seen in the previous pages of the story. It was just looking for a ride home and the Doctor was of course now able to provide that. It looked quite aggressive but that was not the case and we managed to have a happy ending which made a little change. Overall, a terrific little bonus comic adventure!

Rating: 9/10

Selfie

"Cosplayer? Photobombed? These words are just noise.'

Writers: George Mann & Cavan Scott
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 16th December 2016
Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 14

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

When the Twelfth Doctor and Clara turn up at San Diego Comic-Con, a quick selfie outside the TARDIS reveals an alien threat among the con-goers and cosplayers! The green-skinned Lady of Neverness can only be viewed through mirrors, photos and quantum snapshots, and has turned up in the background of photos all over the convention! But if enough people view her at the same time, she'll gain the power to breach into our dimension... to feed on the life-force of the whole planet! Can the Doctor and Clara defeat her and save the day?

Verdict

Selfie was an excellent little bonus comic strip story and it was very nice to be back doing something Doctor Who! I think it is safe to say that this is the longest break I have ever had from blogging since I started in late 2013 but it was absolutely necessary with a relentless run of assignments at university. Thankfully I now have a little gap of nothing much to do and with a much needed week at home I am able to slowly get back on track and Doctor Who Comic was the obvious place to start. It is now mid-February and I am only now blogging a story from December's issue which is just very unlike me. I'm hoping to get up to date relatively quickly as they don't take long to read and I'll soon be updated with two issues already released since this one, one of which I am yet to purchase. I am back for now but I expect to be taking another break later in the month as the assignments build up again. The placement of this story in the Twelfth Doctor's DWC run was a little sketchy but I guess it was released at Christmas so there was no real harm done. I am grateful to be able to read it as following my reading, I discovered it was originally a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive story and the odds of me ever going there are very slim I must say. The concept of the story surrounding a selfie was very good and I liked just how well it worked. At half the length of a usual comic strip adventure from DWC, it definitely didn't seem out of place which was a real positive. I thought the pace was exciting and I liked how in a 'bonus' story the plot was actually very good and made logical sense. The threat of the Lady of Neverness was brilliant and I liked the brief history that we got surrounding her. The characterisation of the Twelfth Doctor was superb with Peter Capaldi's likeness wonderfully captured. This is the first blog I have done since the announcement that he will be leaving the role following the next series and I must say that is a great shame but I am always excited for a new Doctor to debut. I look forward to seeing how that plays out and I'm sure that given time the Thirteenth Doctor will appear in this comic's pages. Clara was good in this story and I liked how she was delighted to be at the San Diego Comic-Con. The Doctor was, ironically, so out of place and he just couldn't grasp the concept of his surroundings which was terrific. He did though have enough mental stability to send the Lady of Neverness back to the other side of Time and keep the planet safe for another 1,021 years at least. Overall, a terrific little story and it's good to be back!

Rating: 9/10

The Organ Grinder

"It's as we feared. The Daleks have brought the Cyclors into the war."

Writer: Si Spurrier

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 15th December 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 14

Featuring: War Doctor, Squire, Alice

The Organ Grinder was an excellent comic strip adventure but was rather different to what I expected to be reading! I am more than used to the theme of the Time War in the Eleventh Doctor section of Doctor Who Comic but I was not anticipating an entire story featuring the War Doctor! I mean, I was thrilled to get one as any further stories we get with the lost incarnation are most welcomed in my book but I just wasn't ready for it and it kind of threw me a little bit. Now, I'm not sure if the information revealed in this story has furthered my understanding of the Doctor being accused of genocide in The Then and the Now and everything that has happened since or if I'm even more confused. Either way, I absolutely love it and I'm looking forward to more getting revealed in the upcoming issues as we reach closer to the conclusion of the second year of adventures. Blimey, time is flying by! It only feels like last week that I started collecting DWC whilst in college and now I'm nearly halfway through my second year of university. It's quite surreal how quickly things pass by and speaking of time, I liked how the War Doctor refused to acknowledge that Alice could be from the future. As far as he was concerned, the Time War meant there wasn't one. Seeing a younger version of the Squire was intriguing as she was obviously very acquainted with the Doctor so it begs the question as to why the Eleventh Doctor can't remember who she was. I'm sure that'll be answered in good time and I look forward to it. The biggest surprise in this story though had to go to the appearance of the Master in a previously unseen incarnation! And a very young one at that! I'm very interested to see where in the Master's timeline this incarnation fits but seeing as regeneration has never been depicted as reverting back to being a child, I would assume that he is the Master in his infancy. Some of the Doctor's comments may dispute that but his failure to recognise the infamous pillar design of his TARDIS would suggest it being his very first incarnation. Seeing the Doctor and the Master fighting side by side really does highlight the horrors of the Time War though and that's something I really like. The Volatix Cabal was a very interesting Dalek society and I just loved the whole concept behind them. Daleks who had the ability to be creative. That's quite a scary thought and despite being thought lowly of by the pure Daleks, this society could bring victory in the Time War. I absolutely adored the comment about all wars being won by madmen and it appeared that's what these Daleks were searching for. The Cyclors being explored further was good and I liked how the Doctor's comments at the start of the story sold how terrible they were. Alice and the War Doctor interacting was fantastic but again I'm intrigued to see where this places After Life and Alice's first meeting with the Doctor. The cliffhanger was very good with the emergence of a God-like creature and I'm looking forward to seeing what significance she has in upcoming stories. But for now, an excellent comic strip!

Rating: 9/10

The Jazz Monster

"Someone stole my music."

Writer: Nick Abadzis
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 15th December 2016
Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 14

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Gabby, Cindy

Synopsis

The Doctor, Gabby and Cindy land in New Orleans at the dawn of the Jazz Age, tracking down the source of the Nocturnes, twisted memetic creatures who ride music and use it as a weapon. Can the TARDIS team change the Nocturnes' tune before they infect all life on Earth?

Verdict

The Jazz Monster was a very good comic strip that has kicked off my blogging of 2017! I would like to extend a happy new year to anyone and everyone who reads my blog but I must start off by saying that I think 2017 could be a pretty quiet year for Doctor Who Verdict which is a bit of a shame but I have taken the difficult decision to put other things first and see my intake of Doctor Who put on the backburner for the time being. My resolution for this year was simply to live my life more and that means experiencing new things and just enjoying myself. Now in the past, when I've gone on a daily run of blog entries, it has often felt like a burden and with my second year at university now into full swing, I just don't need it. Now, I am and always will remain a huge Doctor Who fan but after an incredible run in 2016 which somehow saw me blog more than ever before, I'm taking a backseat and I'll honestly be surprised if I do more than 10 entries a month now. I will continue to get DWM and DWC and will of course watch the new series but once my few Christmas presents are done and blogged, I'm not sure how often I will do things. University and my personal enjoyment has to come first so here's to a quiet year! Now. to the story itself and I thought it was a pretty good start to a comic strip adventure that clearly will continue in the next issue which is actually out next week. I was swamped with catching up on Series 9 before Christmas and during this issue's release and with a break over Christmas it has taken some time to open the pages. I loved the New Orleans setting of the Jazz Age and it was nice to see that Gabby and Cindy were getting that extended break they so yearned. They had both dressed the part and I liked the references we got to The Singer Not the Song with the musical theme. I didn't expect the theme to be quite so expanded upon come the latter stages but I did like how similarities were drawn. There was also quite a bit of ambiguity surrounding the creature the Doctor labelled as 'the boss' and it did appear that he was related to the Nocturnes in some form. The foreshadowing of The End of Time with the Doctor not being too keen on songs ending was a very nice touch and I liked how it reminded us how close towards the end of the Tenth Doctor's life that these stories are set. It was the obvious gap to place a comic series in his timeline and it's worked wonderfully and I like how it continues to be referenced. The mention of The Weeping Angels of Mons was also excellent and I liked how the Doctor's initial memory of a Jamie was his companion during his second incarnation. This time it was Cindy who had fallen for someone in the form of Roscoe but he had been the subject of some alien meddling as he had forgotten how to play his jazz, and he wasn't the only one that had happened to in the area. The Doctor had sniffed out trouble and now it was revealed. However, it was going to be more troublesome than he had envisaged as the method he believed would make this boss of the Nocturnes weaker was actually making it stronger! That obviously wasn't what was expected and I liked how the Doctor looked worried. The cliffhanger was pretty good with the monster rising and claiming that everyone present would be its servants and I'm looking forward to seeing how things play out in the next part. But for now, a very good comic!

Be Forgot

"It's Christmas Eve. Not everything's an alien plot with monsters."

Writer: Mark Wright
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 15th December 2016
Printed in: DWM 507

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Jess

Synopsis

It's the Christmas season and the Doctor is still stuck in the 1970s and is still living with Jessica Collins and her family. The TARDIS shows no sign of turning up which leaves the Doctor stranded and not even Christmas is going to cheer him up. How about a Christmas mystery and the possibility of aliens? Danger usually wakes him up and it seems there's a case right on his doorstep...

Verdict

Be Forgot was a very decent little comic strip that served as Doctor Who Magazine's own festive special. It is usually the norm for DWM's comic story in the Christmas issue to celebrate the theme of the month and I think it's what probably should be done. Now. I'll get to the comic strip itself shortly but as per usual for my blogging of the DWM comic strip, I'd like to talk about the magazine itself as a whole. It's a bumper issue at 100 pages long and thankfully the price remained at what is now the normal £5.99. I must admit I have been thinking twice about purchasing the magazine in future with this price rise and I must say that it is quite a hefty amount of money for a magazine. I don't understand why it is so much but I think I will continue to collect it for the time being but I think there might come a time in 2017 where I pack it in which will be a real shame. The issue though looks a good one and I must say that I have actually read quite a bit of it already with it having been out for over a week now. We were given another stupidly humongous poster and I really don't understand why they are so big and I usually just end up giving them to my younger cousin who I have mentioned in a few blogs in the past. I really liked all the previews of The Return of Doctor Mysterio which of course aired yesterday and it really did get me excited for the Christmas Special. We had a lengthy preview along with interviews from Matt Lucas and Justin Chatwin which were great. Steven Moffat's monthly column was terrific and I liked how every question was about him leaving the show. His answers were very comically and he links it all together very nicely but we've still got a year left of him yet as he was ever so keen to remind us! I thought the feature on The Feast of Steven, which was of course episode 7 of The Daleks' Master Plan, was excellent and it really did shed light on some of its details. I had no idea that the story was initially intended to be half of its actual length and the way they overcame the Christmas Day airing was superb. I am yet to read Galaxy Forum which is quite unusual for me but I am looking forward to seeing what some readers have to say about the animation of The Power of the Daleks. I'm sure I'll end up using some of my Christmas money to purchase that but I do hope it gets positive views! Is it possible that it can't? The review of 2016 will be an intriguing read as there wasn't any Doctor Who on our screens before yesterday but I am looking forward to the 'Power of the Doctor' feature. That looks a very good read. Now, back to the comic strip itself and I must say I am quite surprised at how long the Twelfth Doctor is spending stranded with Jessica Collins and her family. He keeps finding alien intervention which is rather lucky but then Doctor just didn't seem himself which was odd having just watched fourteen episodes in a row where he was very rather different. The plot was actually pretty good and I thought the story of Walter was quite a sad one. I'm sure it was no coincidence that there was a comic appearance with a certain Christmas episode looming and I like the links that can be found between the televised and comic strip formats. The danger turned out to be non-existent which was interesting but I am intrigued to see how long this story arc of the Doctor being stranded lasts. I don't think it'll be too long with Bill on the horizon. Overall though, a very good comic strip!

Rating: 8/10

The Return of Doctor Mysterio

"You're a superhero!"

Writer: Steven Moffat
Format: TV
Broadcast: 25th December 2016
Series: 2016 Christmas Special

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Nardole

Synopsis

Faster than a streak of lightning! More powerful than the pounding surf! Mightier than a roaring hurricane! The Ghost is real. Something is threatening New York City and every capital city across the planet and Lucy, a reporter, goes to extreme measures to find out. However, she finds herself caught between the Doctor and the Ghost and together, they try to save the world. How could a Time Lord and superhero fail?

Verdict

The Return of Doctor Mysterio was an excellent Christmas Special episode of Doctor Who and it was just great to be watching a new story for the first time in exactly one year! Although the show hasn't aired a full series during 2016, I must admit that time has still flown since the last episode one year ago but having rewatched Series 9 in anticipation of this story, it was nice to be watching something I hadn't seen before. I've been reading comic strips from both DWM and DWC as well as listening to a few audios in the year to get my Twelfth Doctor fix but now he was back on our screens and it was like he had never left. I thought the setting of New York was good as you can't really go far wrong with it and I really liked the heavy references to The Husbands of River Song. Despite there having been a year between that and this episode broadcasting, the Doctor's final night with River Song seems to still be playing quite heavily on his heart. The explanation of how Nardole was back and travelling with the Doctor was briefer than I thought but I guess that we didn't really need to see it. The Doctor was feeling lonely and he needed a familiar face around him to ensure he wouldn't be lonely. I must admit I am very surprised that Nardole has been brought back but I thought he was brilliant in this episode. He's obviously learned quite a lot about the Doctor already but I do question how he is able to fly the TARDIS. He didn't seem the most intelligent of people in his previous appearance and there were no real indications of that having changed in this story until he was seen flying the Doctor's spaceship! He had even made some pit stops along the way. I think it's a shame that there have already been some negative comments towards Matt Lucas on Twitter as he still hasn't really been given a chance to prove his worth as the companion. Once we see him in regular weekly episodes that will be the time to judge. I liked how Steven Moffat once again managed a first with a Doctor Who episode as we got the show's take on a superhero character. I thought the Ghost looked very good and the idea of doing a story based on the superhero theme was wonderful. Now, judging from the preview in this month's Doctor Who Magazine, the episode was full of references and throwbacks to the original Superman films. Now, I'm not a big superhero fan so I haven't seen that film but I liked the inclusion of the comic strips and the comic scene at the very start of the episode was a fantastic lead in. Grant was a great character and I liked how the Doctor was responsible for his superpowers in a brilliant scene pre-titles where we saw Grant as a child. Lucy was also a wonderful character but her failure to see that Grant and the Ghost were the same person was quite baffling. The moment that was revealed to her was excellent though as at the instructions of the Doctor, we had the superhero save the day. He ended up with the girl he had been chasing for twenty-four years so that was something but I do reckon he wished he'd revealed his identity a lot earlier now! His struggle with x-ray vision during his elementary school years was quite comical and despite not being Christmassy, which I'm fine with, I liked that there was a lot of humour to give the story a light-hearted feel that usually goes with the Christmas Specials. Harmony Shoal was an intriguing enemy and I definitely get the feeling that we haven't seen the last of them. I'm surprised the disturbing species returned so quickly but I am looking forward to what the future holds for them! Overall though, a fantastic Christmas Special!

Rating: 9/10

The Husbands of River Song

"He only has these twelve faces. He'll be around here somewhere."

Writer: Steven Moffat
Format: TV
Broadcast: 25th December 2015
Series: 2015 Christmas Special

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, River

Synopsis

Christmas Day 5343. King Hydroflax is injured and is in need of a surgeon. His wife, Professor River Song, calls in the greatest the galaxy has to offer but she doesn't recognise her other husband when he turns up to the request. The Doctor plays along and we see a different side to River Song, but once his true identity is known, will this be there last night together? The Singing Towers of Darillium await...

Verdict

The Husbands of River Song was an excellent episode to serve as the 2015 Christmas Special and it means that I'm all caught up ready for tomorrow's big return of the Doctor after a whole twelve months off our screens! Well, he did appear in the Class series opener of For Tonight We Might Die but there hasn't been a Doctor Who episode in a whole year and that is a rather long time. I must say that it doesn't feel like a year since I watched this episode but I was glad to be able to give it a higher rating than what I did last year! It jumped up and I am actually quite surprised that I gave it a mark lower last year as when I was watching I thought this was pushing the perfect rating. It didn't quite get there but it wasn't all that far away. It has everything you can want in a Christmas Special and whilst the theme of the big day was kept consistent, we also had a lot of humour and actually a very good story unfold! We obviously had the return of River Song who was starring alongside Peter Capaldi for the first time and I liked the dynamic that River and the Twelfth Doctor brought to things. It was a meeting that shouldn't have happened but the Doctor was very excited to meet her. It was intriguing to see this incarnation of the Doctor alongside a regular character that was not Clara but I thought it was even more interesting that despite the regeneration and drastic personality change, his feelings for River Song certainly don't seem to have altered. He was very cross by the fact that River Song had another husband in the form of King Hydroflax and he literally was crossing his arms at what he had to watch in the earlier moments of the episode. The far future setting was very good and I liked how the Doctor stepped in as the surgeon who would work on Hydroflax. He had the world's most valuable diamond stuck inside his head and River had called for it to be removed. However, by it she meant his head and not the diamond. It was brilliant to see River Song getting up to her own adventures without the Doctor's company and although I experienced that earlier this year with The Diary of River Song audio series, there's nothing quite like seeing it on television. The Doctor's reaction to what she was doing was fantastic and he genuinely was surprised by some of her actions. She wasn't afraid to be committing genocide but she was trying to save people which I'm sure he admired. The reveal of another husband who wasn't the Doctor in the shape of Ramone was very comical and the Doctor once again seemed disgusted and annoyed. I loved that the Doctor got his own 'it's bigger on the inside' moment and it was good that in his mind he got to do it the correct way. His reaction to River having her own alcohol storage was terrific too. Scratch and his goons coming to collect the diamond was a brilliant moment as they were doing it for their ruling king, who of course turned out to be Hydroflax. River had his head in a bag and after some earlier hilarious threatening which saw the Twelfth Doctor laugh for one of the first times, there was a lot of improvisation and then an incredible moment where River poured out her emotion for the Doctor and learned that he had been there all along. That was magnificent and accompanied by later references to The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone, The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, The Angels Take Manhattan, The Day of the Doctor, The Time of the Doctor and Deep Breath, we had ourselves one hell of a reunion. River had planned the escape and the Doctor helped save the day but the pair's story would soon be over. As mentioned in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, the Doctor had brought her to the Singing Towers of Darillium. He gave her the sonic screwdriver we saw all those years ago and with it completed one hell of a story arc. As much as I love River, I do hope her story with the Doctor is now told because it has been a bloody good one! I'm interested to see how Nardole returns tomorrow given what happened to him here as he didn't play a major role either so the fact that he's due to become a companion intrigues so I'm looking forward to his future! Overall, a terrific Christmas episode!

Rating: 9/10

Hell Bent

"Is the firing squad afraid of the unarmed man?"

Writer: Steven Moffat

Format: TV

Broadcast: 5th December 2015

Series: 9.12

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

After being tortured for billions of years within his own confession dial, the Doctor has been pushed to the brink of madness. Returning to Gallifrey, he must face his own people, the Time Lords, but how far will he go in his quest for vengeance? Does he have another confession? And how fiercely does his rage towards them for Clara's death burn?

Verdict

Hell Bent was an outstanding conclusion to the story already started in Heaven Sent and the pair of episodes have ultimately served up one hell of a series finale! The story as a whole could arguably be a three-parter, similar to the way Series 3 was under the Tenth Doctor but I would argue against that and I will be going forward thinking of it as a traditional two-parter series finale. It still seems weird to me that two episodes after her death, Clara was back playing the role of the companion and although the way she was brought back was absolutely fine, I'm a firm believer in a character staying dead if their death is depicted on screen. It has slightly annoyed me in the past in programmes such as Game of Thrones and The Blacklist, both of which I'm a huge fan, but in Doctor Who it doesn't quite seem so annoying and I guess that might be down to the time travel element of the show. After an excruciating 4.5 billion years trapped inside his own confession dial, which had been designed as a living torture chamber, the Doctor was back home. In the modern series, we finally got to see the Doctor step foot on Gallifrey. His refusal to confess the truth about the Hybrid was interesting and the lengths he went to save Clara from death were quite staggering. Her reaction to learning what he had done was brilliant but she did seem at least quite happy that she had been extracted right before her death was due to take place as we saw in Face the Raven. The atmosphere that the Doctor's presence brought to Gallifrey was astounding and I loved how disinterested he was in everybody that wasn't Rassilon. He showed no respect to the Time Lords. He was the man who won the Time War. This was his planet. He installed himself as Lord President and the fear that he brought because he was unarmed was sublime. The Doctor was a war hero and was respected so much that the firing squad laid down their arms and disobeyed their President. I liked the continuity from The Day of the Doctor with the Doctor returning to the barn and I loved the ambiguity that surrounded the woman who entered the barn and saw the Doctor. They clearly knew each other and I do like to think that she could be his mother. Even if she isn't, I'm sure she's a family member of some kind. There was a lot of ambiguity surrounding the Doctor and his family and the 'boy' comment from Ohila intrigued me as well. Could she be family of some kind as well? The Doctor getting rid of Rassilon and the High Council was excellent but I was quite surprised to see him shoot the General. We saw an on screen gender change regeneration for the first time and although I don't think it should happen, I get the feeling we could see a female Doctor very soon in the future. The Cloister Wraiths were an intriguing species and I liked how we got see a Dalek, Cyberman and even some Weeping Angels who had attempted to break into the Matrix but found their efforts in vain. The Doctor, having waited half the life of the universe to get back to Gallifrey, stealing a TARDIS and leaving was just wonderful and exactly what I would have expected and I thought the design was wonderfully retro. Just how Gallifrey escaped the pocket dimension I'm not so sure but I liked the ambiguity surrounding it and I do hope that we learn the answer at some point in the future. The Doctor running to the last fragments of the universe and being reunited with Lady Me, or Ashildr, was terrific and the conversation they had was wonderful. It seemed highly unlikely that she would be the Hybrid prophesied on Gallifrey and the more likely answer was actually in line with The Movie. Was the Doctor really half-human? Judging by the fact he had his memory of Clara wiped by a device that was human compatible and his failure to deny Me's theory, I would suggest that indeed he is. I do hope that gets explored in future but for now, I like that Clara and Lady Me are available for a return and I'm looking forward to seeing the Doctor react to losing his dear friend. Overall, a stunning finale!

Rating: 10/10 

Heaven Sent

"I've just watched my best friend die in agony. My day can't get any worse."

Writer: Steven Moffat
Format: TV
Broadcast: 28th November 2015
Series: 9.11

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

As if the death of his best friend wasn't enough, the Doctor's situation has only gotten worse. What initially started as an attempt to help clear someone of a false murder charge has evolved into something much worse.

Now trapped in an old rusty castle in the middle of an ocean, the Time Lord is being stalked by a mysterious creature that only pauses when he gives up his deepest secrets. What does this thing want? And can the Doctor escape and find his way back home?

Verdict

Heaven Sent was a fantastic episode of Doctor Who and served as a superb start to the finale of the ninth series since the show was revived back in 2005. It follows on from the events of Face the Raven, the following episode which was expectedly referenced on more than one occasion, and we see the Doctor having to deal with the death of his best friend and companion in Clara Oswald. She had been with him for a long time now so for the Doctor to see her die and be helpless must have been awful for him but instead of having time to grieve, he was teleported to his own personal hell thanks to the trap laid by Lady Me and the mysterious people she had made a deal with. The castle-like setting that turned out to be the inside of the Doctor's confession dial was excellent and I loved the mystery that surrounded it. As the episode went on, we were learning new things about this strange environment and I liked how we got to see that the Doctor was both afraid and confused. He was learning too which isn't always the case and I think that was sold to us by the fact the story was largely a single hander from Peter Capaldi. That was a brave and bold move by Steven Moffat but as he has done many times before, he did not fail to deliver. Obviously, he was helped by the brilliance of Peter Capaldi in playing the Twelfth Doctor but even for an actor as talented as he is, it must have been a hugely challenging script. I loved the scenes in the TARDIS where the Doctor would work out how he escaped the oncoming doom that was presented in the form of his childhood nightmare. I love the idea of the Doctor being chased by something from his nightmares and even though we saw him experience some of those nightmares in Listen, the idea of our hero having them is frightening. What could scare the Doctor so much that he couldn't sleep? I love that concept. We of course got to learn the details of his childhood nightmare but despite the Doctor not having been a child for a very long time now, he was still afraid. The hints that were being left of what he needed to do to get out of his current location and find out just what was going on were fantastic and despite Clara having died in the previous story, she still managed to play a big role in this episode which was good. The Doctor needed his audience. It would be a bit boring if he just tried impressing himself in the TARDIS in working out what was needed to make sure he won. The use of the chalkboard to aid the Doctor and guide his thinking to the right questions was very good and I liked how patient he was in working things out. The revelation about the skulls in the water beneath the castle was quite horrifying, as was pretty much everything that came with the moment the truth was revealed to us. I remember being a little confused when watching on broadcast but I think having the advantage of already watching the episode once made things a lot clearer this time around. Patience and determination was going to get the Doctor out and although he had to wait billions of years, he finally cracked his way through the impenetrable wall. It was four-hundred times harder than diamond and was 20ft thick but the Doctor punched his way through. There was no reset here and the Doctor knew what he needed to do. The bird hint was wonderful and it was actually rather frightening though to see the Doctor basically commit suicide to ensure the new copy of himself was teleported through. Once the Doctor had escaped, things got very interesting indeed. Not only was the Doctor back on Gallifrey, but he quashed the Hybrid rumours of Davros from The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar. He'd already revealed that he didn't run from Gallifrey because he was bored, and I think we now knew why. The Doctor was the Hybrid. And he was back home. Overall, a stunning episode!

Face the Raven

"Details won't add up. Reality will have glitches in it."

Writer: Sarah Dollard
Format: TV
Broadcast: 21st November 2015
Series: 9.10

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

The Doctor, Clara and Rigsy are trapped on an alien street in London, that is hidden from the rest of the world.

Ashildr, the immortal hybrid-girl, is taking care of some of the most dangerous creatures in the universe. Not everyone will get out alive; one of them must pay the price and face the raven.

Verdict

Face the Raven was an absolutely superb episode to set up the finale of Doctor Who's ninth series since the 2005 revival and if I was asked what my favourite episode of the series was prior to beginning my rewatch around a fortnight ago, I would have said this episode. That has now changed, up until this point at least, with The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar remaining my favourite so far but that does not mean in any way that this episode has gone down in my estimation. The rating has remained perfect and I loved every minute of it. I'm not sure why I didn't quite appreciate the true quality of the series opener the first time around but that's the beauty of rewatching. Anyway, it was good to see Rigsy back after his first appearance in Flatline during the last series but I must admit I was surprised to see him back at all. He didn't exactly scream the character of someone you wanted to see again but then I guess the same could be said for Nardole and he's now ending up being companion for the next series! The idea of a tattoo that was counting down was terrific and I liked how the Doctor dismissed it as simply being boring until he actually saw the numbers change. That set his mind going and he was on his way to finding out just what was going on. The search for a London trapstreet was excellent and I loved just how much Clara loved the danger that came with dangling herself out of the TARDIS as it hovered above London. She was getting too comfortable with the Doctor and seemed to be getting reckless and that would come back to haunt her at the end of the episode. Once the trapstreet was located, the alien asylum was a very interesting place to say the least. The disguise of the Judoon was fantastic and I also liked that we got to see brief glimpses of an Ood, Cyberman and Sontaran. The Doctor had caused trouble on this planet and Lady Me, formerly known as Ashildr, was ensuring that the planet remained safe. It's an interesting thought to think that not every member of a species that invades the planet and encounters the wrath of the Doctor is there because they're evil. We saw that with the Zygons and The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion was mentioned very nicely. The meeting between Clara and Lady Me was fantastic and I liked how the latter's struggle with immortality was clearly illustrated. An immortal life with a finite memory must really be quite a challenge. The references to The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived were fantastic and I like to think how it's been nearly a millennium by this point from when Ashildr was made immortal. The efforts to rid Rigsy of the chronolock were good and I liked how Clara thought she was being clever in taking it from him. But the Quantum Shade had made a contract with Mayor Me and in taking the countdown, the terms were changed and there was nothing Me nor the Doctor could do. Clara was courageous and accepted her impending death very well and used her last moments to comfort the Doctor. Me had laid the trap for the Doctor with an unknown 'they' and we would see that continued in the next episode but this was all about Clara. Peter Capaldi was incredible in demonstrating his anger at what was happening and I loved his warning to Me about staying away from him. The death of Clara was incredible and on broadcast it was one of the very few moments to make my cry as I just didn't expect it and although it was still emotional this time around, there was no danger of tears. The silent scream that saw her crumpled to the floor was brilliant and as companions don't often die, I thought this was done fantastically. Overall, a simply stunning episode!

Rating: 10/10

Sleep No More

"Sleep's the one thing left to us."

Writer: Mark Gatiss
Format: TV
Broadcast: 14th November 2016
Series: 9.09

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

From footage in the Le Verrier space station, the Doctor and Clara are shown to be up against terrifying Sandmen in a situation which involves sleep and a lot of death...

Verdict 

Sleep No More was an excellent story and I am absolutely delighted to be saying that! I really did not enjoy this episode when I first watched it on broadcast some thirteen months ago but I am not too sure why as I was actually very close to awarding it the perfect rating. I thought it was brilliant from start to finish and I am really not sure why I didn't think so the first time around. I always like it when a story's rating dramatically increases from one viewing to another and I don't think I have had a jump of two scores since watching The Romans for the second time which was quite some time ago now. That jumped up three scores and although this was close, it didn't quite make it but am now anticipating the rumoured sequel that we'll get in the upcoming tenth series next year. I do hope we get it as there are numerous unanswered questions and the footage of Clara could provide the Doctor with some interesting moments but enough about what the future may hold, let's talk about this little gem of an episode. It was different, brave and bold and it's refreshing to see something new being done in a televised episode. A first is a difficult thing to come by in Doctor Who nowadays given just how much content there is across the formats but going with a found-footage format of episode was an excellent idea and Mark Gatiss pulls it off terrifically. I also thought the direction was fantastic and I very rarely mention that aspect of an episode so for me to include it in my blog it really must have been good! I liked how there were no opening titles and that just added credit to the reality of the story. The 38th century setting was good and I liked how it was a rare occasion of a story taking place in the Solar System that wasn't on Earth. We were in orbit around Neptune which was interesting, as was the Doctor's comments about the Great Catastrophe and the tectonic shift that merged India and Japan. I won't be around to see if that comes true but I'm sure historians of that age looking back will be mightily intrigued by the prediction. Seeing the video of Rassmussen at the start of the story was good and I liked how key he was to everything that was going on. His invention of Morpheus was mightily intriguing and the idea of fitting in a month's worth of sleep into five minutes does sound appealing I must admit, but to the Doctor and Clara it just seemed awful. Now, I wouldn't mind getting an extra third of my life back instead of being asleep and I do try and live on as limited amount of sleep as possible as I like to get things done, but altering human life to that extent was surely never going to end well. The inclusion of the song surrounding the process was good humour and I liked how annoyed it made the Doctor. Clara naming the Sandmen was a wonderful moment as the Doctor genuinely seemed gutted he hadn't got there first and couldn't come up with a better name. The concept behind them was pretty horrifying which is a great thing when it comes to a monster and I thought their appearance suited the style of story very well. Nagata and 474 were fantastic characters and I also thought that Chopra was good too. The apparent death of Rassmussen was unexpected but not quite so much as his seemed resurrection! The ambiguity surrounding him as the episode concluded was brilliant and that really has left me wanting a sequel, and I'm sure the Doctor will be hoping for one as well as if there's one thing he and I agree on hating, it's unanswered questions. Overall, a brilliant episode that in my opinion has hugely improved since the last viewing!

Rating: 9/10

The Zygon Inversion

"Truth or consequences. Lie and you die."

Writers: Peter Harness & Steven Moffat
Format: TV
Broadcast: 7th November 2015
Series: 9.08

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

With the splinter group of Zygons now ahead of the Doctor, there is only one thing standing in their way of obliterating the human race and taking the Earth for themselves: a moral dilemma!

Is Bonnie willing to compromise the peace already in place, just for the sake of Zygons not needing to hide, even if it means making enemies not only of humanity, but of her own race?

Verdict

The Zygon Inversion was a brilliant conclusion to the story already started in The Zygon Invasion! Now, I'm not a great fan of naming the episodes in a two-parter so similarly and would have much rathered just call it one or the other and give a 'part one/two' to the title as was done with The End of Time, but it doesn't really matter and what I was a fan of was what I watched in the episode! After the superb cliffhanger of the first episode, I was looking forward to seeing the immediate effects of what went on at the end of the episode as we had Clara launch a missile at the Doctor's plane. I was intrigued that we saw Clara, in her normal form, influence the actions of her Zygon duplicate and initially prevented the Doctor's presidential plane from being obliterated. It gave the Doctor and Osgood the warning they needed to prepare themselves for a safe landing once Bonnie did deliver the crucial blow. Seeing Clara's perspective from inside the Zygon pod was really intriguing and I liked how something new was being done with the great monsters. There were still quite a few references to The Day of the Doctor which I expected and I also liked the continuation of the references to Terror of the Zygons and the destructive gas that was developed by Harry Sullivan, the Fourth Doctor's former companion. The Twelfth Doctor's description of him was quite harsh but it was also humorously accurate so there was no problem there. Osgood was wonderful in this episode and I do hope that we get to see a lot more of her in future episodes. The way she had planned on what she would do if she wanted to take over the world was brilliant, especially her plans for the Doctor. She told him straight that if she wanted to take over the world she would shoot him right between the eyes, twelve times if necessary. Peter Capaldi was once again on stellar form and I really do hope that he remains the Doctor for quite some time yet. He's just absolutely superb and can switch in an instant from being calm and humorous to dark and serious. That's a fantastic quality to have and the obvious highlight of the episode would be his speech about war. The passion that was put into it was absolutely immense and I think I mentioned in my blog of this episode on broadcast that this seems to me to be Peter Capaldi's defining moment as the Twelfth Doctor, much as Matt Smith's epic speech in The Rings of Akhaten defined him as the Eleventh Doctor. The concept behind the Osgood Box was terrific and the revelation that there was actually two of them was very good. It seemed so obvious once it was revealed and I like things like that. The truth that Kate was not actually the Zygon duplicate that we suspected was wonderful and again unexpected. I liked that the Zygons never even considered that their species was defeated by a human and that wasn't the first time it had happened to them. The attempts by Bonnie to use the Osgood Box to unmask every Zygon on Earth were great and if that happened the panic that would ensue would have been quite problematic. The truth though that the boxes were actually empty was terrific and I loved how much passion the Doctor displayed despite that. He wanted to see who would go far and make the first move but the negotiation had worked out. Just. For now. I get the feeling that this theme will be returned to at some point and I'm absolutely okay with that. Overall, an excellent episode to conclude the story!

Rating: 9/10

The Zygon Invasion

"We couldn't fight them. You can't tell who's who."

Writer: Peter Harness
Format: TV
Broadcast: 31st October 2015
Series: 9.07

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

The fragile peace between the humans and the Zygons is on a knife edge. Tensions run high as factions within the Zygon community seek to incite violent action against humanity. Called in by UNIT, the Doctor and Clara fight to bring the situation under control. But one question remains: where on Earth is Osgood?

Verdict

The Zygon Invasion was an excellent episode that kicked off this highly anticipated two-parter in some style! Following their epic return in the fiftieth anniversary special, the Zygons were back and we would be getting a double dosage! We saw a nice little recap of just what happened in The Day of the Doctor and this episode serves as the first part in the story that acts as its sequel. It's an intriguing thing in my opinion to have a sequel of such a significant episode but this works fantastically. We learn a lot about what has gone down on Earth since the events that required three Doctors to solve and it was pretty cool to see a glimpse of things between that special and the last series finale of Dark Water/Death in Heaven in which we thought that Osgood had been killed off. That was technically true except there just happened to be two of them! They acted as the peace between humanity and Zygon and wouldn't allow themselves to reveal to anybody which one they truly were. Osgood, both of them, was committed to upholding the peace and I really liked that. The concept behind the Osgood box was good and I am sure will be further explored in the second episode but it was quite obvious from the start that a harmonious relationship between humanity and Zygon on Earth just was not going to work. There were 20 million Zygons being embedded into civilisation on the planet which was never going to work out and although I liked how the Doctor indicated the current trouble that prompted the nightmare scenario was being caused by a relatively small splinter group, as the episode went on I got the feeling that things were a bit more advanced than they seemed. The Doctor enjoying his role as President of Earth was great and I loved just how many different places this story visited. We had the obvious setting of the United Kingdom but then we also ventured out to New Mexico and (the fictional) Turmezistan. Why an actual nation wasn't used I'm not sure but it didn't really alter much. Jenna Coleman looked spectacular and I loved that we got to see her play Clara in a slightly darker way as she was actually a Zygon for pretty much the entire episode. Bonnie had taken on her form and I thought the revelation of what she actually was had perfect timing! It was paced very well and watching for the second time knowing for sure that Clara was actually a Zygon meant that I picked up on all the subtle hints that pointed towards the truth of her identity. It was brilliant to see Kate and the rest of UNIT again following their brief appearance in The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar and I really do like how Kate and the Doctor have quite a lot of disagreement, usually when it involves bombs. The picture of the First Doctor in the UNIT Safe House was wonderful to see and I liked the homage to past incarnations of the Doctor with the Osgoods donning the infamous question mark jumper of the Seventh Doctor whilst the other was wearing the familiar scarf associated with the Fourth Doctor. The theme, and partial setting, of Truth or Consequences was very good and I liked the whole hostage video clip thing that was going on and I remember being quite shocked on broadcast at just how similar it was to current affairs at the time. The cliffhanger was absolutely superb as it appeared that both Clara and Kate were dead and the Doctor had someone who he thought was Clara telling him, whilst she fired a missile at his plane! It doesn't really get much better than that and I honestly did think that it was one of the best cliffhangers of the modern series. The build was perfect, the plot twist was superb and the danger was very prominent! Overall, a fantastic episode to kick off the story!

The Woman Who Lived

"You're immortal not indestructible." 

Writer: Catherine Treganna
Format: TV
Broadcast: 24th October 2015
Series: 9.06

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

England, 1651. A deadly highwayman known only as 'The Knightmare' plagues the dark streets of London, his fire-breathing accomplice by his side. There's something clearly more than human here, and that includes the loot as much as the outlaws. Who are these creatures, and are they enemies to be fought, or friends who might possibly save the Doctor from certain doom on the gallows?

Verdict

The Woman Who Lived was a terrific Doctor Who episode that served as a brilliant sequel to the story that immediately came before it. Despite some fans' opinions that this episode and The Girl Who Died act as a two-parter, that is absolutely not the case. Firstly, they are both written by different writers, have a completely different plot and don't follow on from each other in any real way other than dealing with a returning character. We see the effects the actions of the previous episode have had on her which is why I think of it as a sequel rather than a part two and hence why it gets a separate, but albeit the same, rating as the previous episode. This story was unique in that it didn't feature Clara in her role as companion until the final scene and instead we had the Twelfth Doctor out and about travelling on his own. He'd ended up in 1651 and arrived amidst a quite humorous robbery. I think the Doctor's arrival is what made it humorous when I come to think about it and his comments to what he only knew as the Knightmare about listening were fantastic. Peter Capaldi was once again on top form giving another superb performance and it was actually quite refreshing to see him teaming up alongside a new female lead character in the form of Maisie Williams. I already mentioned in my blogging of the previous story that I'm a huge Game of Thrones fan so to see her getting to play the companion role (of sorts) for an entire episode really was brilliant. Jenna Coleman and Capaldi are great together and the relationship between their two characters was captured wonderfully in the moment inside the TARDIS at the end. But a lot went on before that and I liked that we got to see flashbacks of some of the more important moments in Ashildr's lengthy life by this point. The Doctor read from her journal all the pain that she has gone through and what she has lost and things seemed to be quite difficult for her by this point. The episode really did explore all the negatives that would come with immortality and I really liked that direction. It was quite dark during some parts of the episode and it was quite sad to see how much Ashildr, or Lady Me as she now wanted to be known, wanted to go travelling with the Doctor. She had grown tired of Earth and didn't want to wait until the future to be able to fly. She wanted it right now but the Doctor wasn't willing to give her that so she continued to take things into her own hands. The revelation that she had been using the Doctor and actually aiding Leandro as a route to travel the stars was quite a shock but the moment she realised that she had been used and wanted to save the villagers was really good and I liked how the Mire repair kit was used on Sam Swift the Quick. The Doctor seemed to gloss over if it meant that he would actually be immortal but the consensus seemed to be that wouldn't be the case which was probably the right direction to go with. I loved the reference in this episode to The Visitation and the focus that story had on the Great Fire of London which was soon to come for Lady Me. The Doctor revealing that he had checked in on her from afar earlier on in her life was intriguing but I did like how the episode finished with her image appearing in the background of a child's selfie sent to the Doctor as a thanks for help with her homework. The Doctor will certainly have his work cut out with her and will need to check in on her. Overall though, a fantastic episode but it is the first to have its rating altered from my first viewing and this slightly declines. Nevertheless, still absolutely brilliant!

Rating: 9/10

The Girl Who Died

"I'm not actually the police, that's just what it says on the box."

Writers: Jamie Mathieson & Steven Moffat
Format: TV
Broadcast: 17th October 2015
Series: 9.05

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

In a Viking village, a girl named Ashildr is about to make a desperate mistake. The Mire are the deadliest mercenaries in the galaxy, famed for showing no mercy and Ashildr declares war on them. The Doctor and Clara have a day to turn a peaceful village into a fighting force...

Verdict

The Girl Who Died was an excellent episode of Doctor Who that continued my rewatching of Series 9 in terrific style! Although it still receives the same rating as I awarded on broadcast back in autumn last year, it was slightly better than I remembered which is always a good thing when it comes to watching an episode for a second time. There were some aspects of it that I didn't recall and that mainly included the opening scene that led us into the show's titles but all in all I thought it was another fine episode. The Doctor's reaction to having to go with the Vikings was brilliant, as was the look of acceptance on his face when his sonic sunglasses were snapped in half right after his claim about them being more advanced than anything the Vikings would ever know about. The village setting was excellent and really opened itself up for a number of opportunities which was great. The Doctor attempting to assert his authority and take on the guise of Odin was good but just as he did so, it appeared to the villagers that the real Odin appeared in the sky and was accompanied by some pretty deadly killer robots in the shape of the Mire. Clara was a little foolish in getting Ashildr to use the sonic sunglasses to free her but that meant we got to see a great deal more of the Mire and the would-be Odin. The premonition the Doctor got about her was fantastic and I didn't pick up on that on my first watch but I do remember enjoying his take on the concept of premonition as just remembering in the wrong direction. I really like that. Ashildr declaring war on the Mire on their spaceship was unexpected and Clara's stunned reaction was brilliant. Jenna Coleman looked simply exquisite, in and out of the spacesuit, and I was also glad to be watching Maisie Williams again as I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones so seeing her in something else following the epic sixth season in which she starred was really great. I'm now looking forward to the upcoming episodes she also features in! The Doctor dealing with the ripples in time that his actions could make was interesting and although it was obvious he was never going to let the villagers die at the hands of the Mire, the moment Clara knew he was staying was wonderful. I thought Peter Capaldi gave another superb performance and I really do think that when his regeneration comes, he will be remembered as one of the very great Doctors. The Doctor training the villagers and giving them names to his own preference was magnificent but I did like how authoritative Clara was in telling the Doctor to find the answer. Just how that came from his ability to speak baby, which perhaps was made slightly too much of, is just ludicrously great. Electric eels, fire in the water, it all started to fit for the Doctor. Social media playing a part in Odin's defeat in a Viking-based story was something I did not see coming but the thought of a galactic hub was quite humorous. Ashildr dying in the process of sending the Mire running was quite the shock and the Doctor's description of using her life up like a battery was quite tragic. But then he had a realisation, and with excellent flashbacks to The Fires of Pompeii and Deep Breath, the Doctor realised who he was and why he had this face. He used a Mire repair kit and in turn not only brought Ashildr back to life, but pretty much made her immortal. I liked how he gave her the second repair kit so she could decide who to spend immortality with and the Doctor pondering over his emotional decision to save her in the TARDIS was fantastic. Had he done the right thing? It would appear so, but time will tell as it always does. Overall, an excellent episode that even included mockery of the infamous Third Doctor line!

Rating: 9/10

Before the Flood

"We all have to face death eventually."

Writer: Toby Whithouse
Format: TV
Broadcast: 10th October 2015
Series: 9.04

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

A twisted survival plan is pieced together by an alien warlord called the Fisher King. The universe will feel the consequences. Can these events be stopped? Can the Doctor ensure the future's coming and do the impossible?

Verdict

Before the Flood was a very good conclusion to the story already started in Under the Lake. It had a first in that the Doctor broke the fourth wall to explain to the viewer the concept of the bootstrap paradox and I must admit that even watching it for the second time now, I'm still not sure if I am a fan of that happening. I mean it's good that we're getting something (relatively) new but it didn't really seem absolutely necessary. I also thought it was a bit silly to mess about with the rock version of the theme music they included but that doesn't have any bearing on the episode so that didn't come into any of my thinking when deciding my rating for this story as a whole. The cliffhanger of the previous episode was excellent and I liked how we were taken back to 1980 in Scotland with a Cold War base of attack. Everything was in Russian which was terrific and then we had O'Donnell throw up a number of references which were wonderful. She'd already mentioned a number of the Doctor's recent companions and then mentioned Harold Saxon which was a nice throwback and then referenced the events of Kill the Moon which was brilliant. Quite a lot had happened but I do wish they threw in a Classic reference but it's not exactly the end of the world. We got to see Prentis before he became a ghost as we'd seen him previously and there was a nice reference to The God Complex with the Doctor explaining his previous meeting with a Tivoli. Prentis was so keen on being enslaved and I just find that whole concept quite hilarious but he served his purpose in the episode so that was all okay. The Fisher King was quite the powerful monster and although the costume seemed a little awkward, he still looked pretty impressive. The scene where his full appearance was revealed was very good and I did like how the Doctor stood up to him and proudly declared that the planet was defended. I was a little surprised that the Fisher King knew about the Time War and the Time Lords though and I did hope that would be a little further explored but it wasn't really important for the story. O'Donnell's death was a shock to me and I really am surprised that she died so early on in the episode. She was simply wonderful in the first part and her reaction to the TARDIS being bigger on the inside was superb. Clara telling the Doctor about his ghost was intriguing and it was interesting to see how little she cared about time and the rules that come with changing it. She just wanted the Doctor to be alive, come back and save them no matter the consequences. Cass and Bennett's relationship was terrific to see and I loved that the former stood up to Clara and questioned why she was so willing to risk the lives of others. She was becoming more and more like the Doctor and I did think she was almost becoming too big for her boots, so to speak. But she was doing all she could to fix things and the way she worked out that Bennett wouldn't be affected by the ghosts was very good. The scene of the Drum getting flooded and wiping out the Fisher King was fantastic but I must admit that I thought the ending was a bit rushed, which in a two-parter isn't really a good thing. It was just accepted that the bootstrap paradox occurred and that came with a great realisation from Clara in the TARDIS. Bennett finally declared his love for Cass and the pair embraced with a kiss and the ghost of the Doctor was revealed to have just been a hologram which seemed a little bit like cheating. I wasn't overly struck on the ghosts being trapped in the faraday cage and being told that UNIT would be on their way to sort it but despite that, the episode was still a very good and served as an excellent conclusion to a very good story! Overall, pretty decent indeed.

Rating: 8/10

Under the Lake

"You live and you die. That's it."

Writer: Toby Whithouse
Format: TV
Broadcast: 3rd October 2015
Series: 9.03

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

Arriving on an underwater base under attack, it's up to the Doctor and Clara to save the frightened crew. But also onboard is an alien spaceship, and the base is being haunted by the most impossible of things.

The Doctor's deepest beliefs are challenged when he encounters something he cannot explain. Can it really be possible? Can ghosts be real?

Verdict

Under the Lake was a very good episode of Doctor Who that kicked off this story in a decent way! Following an epic series opener in The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar, this episode did have the feel of being in the middle of the series which can sometimes harm things but there was no obvious damage here which was great. I thought the pre-titles scene in which we were introduced to all of the crew on board the Drum was excellent and with Moran's death and then reemergence as a ghost, there was an immediate mystery for the Doctor and Clara to delve into once they arrived. I thought their arrival was terrific as they were almost instantly met with the ghosts and it was quite an action-packed sequence that eventually saw them meet up and be introduced to the crew. I really liked how even in a 22nd century based story, the Doctor's work at UNIT was still known and O'Donnell treating him as if he was a celebrity really was brilliant. I thought she was a wonderful character and I loved how so very Scottish she was. Cass was another great character and it's great to see disabled actors getting cast and nothing being made of it. Ironically, my talking about it would indicate that Sophie Stone was different to the rest of the cast but that really is not what I am trying to say. The Doctor instantly liked Cass and although it seemed that his sign language was a little rusty, his acknowledging of her being the smartest person in the crew was fantastic. The way she stood up to him was also great and I liked how she personified authority and just wanted to ensure the safety of all of her crew. That sounds quite a lot like the Doctor. The concept of ghosts getting explored in this episode was good and I liked how despite initially ridiculing the whole possibility of ghosts existing, the Doctor soon seemed to accept that they did indeed exist. Could he really believe that? I'm not sure he did but the evidence at that time certainly pointed towards them being ghosts. Clara was, I noticed in this episode more so than the series opener, noticeably different to what she was like in her first two series. Following Danny's death, which still seemed to be having quite the effect on her, she just wanted an adventure. She didn't care about having a hobby or even if her life was in danger, Clara wanted to be right at the heart of everything that was going on. I thought it was quite interesting and actually pretty powerful that the Doctor had to stop and be serious for a moment and tell her quite frankly that there was only room for one person in the TARDIS like him. Pritchard's death was quite a surprise I must say but I liked how it meant that the ghosts added in strength. The Doctor thinking he was an idiot before his demise was also fantastic. The TARDIS being unable to translate the language in the spaceship was interesting and was something we haven't seen since The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit. Cass soon worked out what the ghosts were saying though and the Doctor pinpointed that they were actually coordinates but noted that the whole crew weren't at all surprised by the revelation. That would be the imprinting on the eyes we saw. The Doctor and Clara getting split up was an interesting way to set up the second part and I liked how the Doctor intended on going back in time to learn a lot more about just what was going on. There was a good mention of an Auton and a great reference to Dark Water/Death in Heaven but the cliffhanger was an absolute highlight. We saw the Doctor, and he had become a ghost which meant only one thing. He was dead. Overall, a very good start to the story!

The Witch's Familiar

"All Daleks shall drink the blood of Gallifrey."

Writer: Steven Moffat

Format: TV

Broadcast: 26th September 2015

Series: 9.02

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

Trapped and alone in a terrifying Dalek city, the Doctor is at the heart of an evil Empire; no sonic, no TARDIS, nobody to help. With his greatest temptation before him, can the Doctor resist? And will there be mercy?

Verdict

The Witch's Familiar was another stunning episode of Doctor Who that served as a truly brilliant conclusion to the story already started in The Magician's Apprentice! Once again, from start to finish this really was just superb and I honestly cannot heap enough praise on it. If I exclude the rest of Series 9 from judgement as I embark on the re-watch over the coming fortnight or so, I think this may eclipse every story from Series 8 and currently rank as my favourite Twelfth Doctor story that I have watched (twice). The cliffhanger was not really resolved until the latter parts of the episode but that was absolutely fine as we had the problem of Missy and Clara getting exterminated to resolve first. Missy's explanation of that using a past adventure of the Doctor, probably in his fourth incarnation as was wonderfully glanced at, was just brilliant and it also gave us the explanation of how she survived death in Dark Water/Death in Heaven. Now, we know that the Master should be long dead but even now in a female incarnation, she always manages to evade destruction. The way she was toying with Clara was just wonderful and I absolutely love Michelle Gomez. I do hope she continues to play the role for many years to come because she is truly fantastic. Her knowledge on the Daleks was quite interesting I must say and when she used Clara as bait and finally trapped a Dalek, the moment she told Clara to get in was just comedic gold. Speaking of comedic gold, the most humorous of moments came when the Doctor stole the chair of Davros. His comment about the Daleks all having that exact nightmare, of the Doctor sitting in their creator's chair, it was a rare moment of me physically laughing at a Doctor Who episode. Peter Capaldi was just sublime and the depth of conversation between the Doctor and Davros was unprecedented. But boy was it brilliant! Those two characters together always deliver but this may just have been the best of the lot. The pair sharing a joke must be one of the most contrastingly wonderful scenes in the show's half-century plus life and I remember on broadcast that I was so very nearly convinced that Davros had good intentions. Of course, that would not turn out to be the case and he was playing the Doctor along the whole time but the image of Davros opening his own eyes is quite striking. Steven Moffat took quite a risk in doing that as well as taking Davros out of his chair but as far as I am concerned it paid off in a big way. We learned a lot about the Daleks in this episode which was quite a surprise actually considering how many stories they've featured in but we finally learned why they say 'exterminate' so many times before firing. Clara demonstrated the emotional side of a Dalek tremendously and with Missy adding in some humour, it really was great. I liked the idea of a Dalek's inability to die being explored and although the whole sewer thing came under a bit of criticism, I thought it was excellent. It was just so Dalek and pretty horrific to see the sewers revolting against their healthy counterparts! The Doctor supplying them with regeneration energy knowing it would bring about their downfall was terrific and I liked the return of the TARDIS as well, with perfect timing. Clara's surprise at the sonic sunglasses was fantastic too. Missy's ambiguous ending about having an idea concerning the Daleks that surrounded her was really intriguing and I do hope that gets explored in the next series where her return has been confirmed. The mystery of the Doctor's actual reason for leaving Gallifrey being suggested by Davros was great and will be explored further as the series goes on and I look forward to revisiting the terrifying concept of the Hybrid. But for now, an absolutely brilliant story!

Rating: 10/10

The Magician's Apprentice

"Tell me the name of the boy who isn't going to die today."

Writer: Steven Moffat
Format: TV
Broadcast: 19th September 2015
Series: 9.01

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

Davros is dying. The Doctor is meditating ahead of what he believes to be certain death. Missy is back and terrorising planet Earth. Colony Sarff is searching for the Doctor and soon he will be back on Skaro, homeworld of the Daleks as he comes to terms with the horrific thing he did.

Verdict

The Magician's Apprentice was an absolutely stunning episode of Doctor Who and kicks off the ninth series in some style! It really is just superb from start to finish and I honestly did not remember it being quite so good. I mean, I gave the story as a whole full marks upon my viewing on broadcast but after finally getting around to a re-watch before the newest episode airs, I was mightily impressed. After over a year of doing Twelfth Doctor and Clara stories that were either comic strips or audios, it was brilliant to be back watching them on screen together and it is immediately clear how good they are together. I did watch the prologue and The Doctor's Meditation prequel that accompany this episode and they set things up very nicely I must say. The idea of someone the Doctor has known for a very long time being sick could be just about anybody but the way it was revealed to be Davros was just incredible. I remember my reaction on broadcast because the secret had been kept and it was just wonderful that the creator of the Daleks was returning for the first time since The Stolen Earth/Journey's End in 2008. The idea of the Doctor having saved him as a child would be revealed as the thing he was ashamed of but it really is quite staggering to think that not only did the Doctor fail to prevent the creation of the Daleks, but he also saved their creator when he was a child! The play on the Fourth Doctor's infamous line in Genesis of the Daleks was incredible and I really must commend Steven Moffat on that. Clara and UNIT trying to search for the Doctor throughout time on Earth was excellent as we got a wonderful mention of the many stories set in Atlantis and also a probable reference to The Myth Makers which I really liked. We also got to see quite a few past monsters from the past during Colony Sarff's hunt for the Doctor. We saw Hath, Ood and even a cowering Sycorax which was good. The scene set on the Shadow Proclomation was unexpected and it was terrific to see the Judoon once again, even if it wasn't for long. The return of Missy was done fantastically and it has been a while since I've done a story featuring her and I was instantly reminded of how good an actress Michelle Gomez is. She really is outstanding and plays the female Master incredibly well. The idea of she and the Doctor being friends was a little difficult to comprehend after the countless stories of the past in which she's tried to kill him, but I loved how she countered by saying he was also trying to kill her. The reveal that the planet Sarff had brought the Doctor, Clara and Missy to being Skaro was excellent and the image of the Dalek city was beautifully reminiscent of what we saw in The Daleks over fifty years previously. The retro looking Dalek was also wonderful and it was great to see so many designs of Daleks from over the years featuring. We had the Supreme Dalek and even the Special Weapons Dalek! It was quite the ensemble. Conversations between the Doctor and Davros are always special and this was no different here. I loved hearing the past meetings with the voices of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors being heard to follow that aforementioned Fourth Doctor scene. Missy and Clara being surrounded by Daleks was quite brilliant but the scene of them both being exterminated obviously had an adverse effect on the Doctor. Obviously now watching with hindsight, I know they did not die but the image of them being killed was quite staggering. The cliffhanger was very good as with the Doctor thinking his friend was dead, he returned to Davros as a child and looked set to kill him. Could he really do it? It won't be long before I found out. But for now, a stunning episode!