Kill the Moon

"One small thing for a thing, one enormous thing for a thingy-thing!"

Writer: Peter Harness

Format: TV 

Broadcast: 4th October 2014

Series: 8.07

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

Clara is faced with a dreadful choice - to kill an innocent creature or save the future of the human race? With time running out before the Moon hatches and the Doctor leaving Clara to make the choice for herself, what will she choose?

Verdict

Kill the Moon was a very good episode but sadly in my DVD rewatching of Series 8, this is the first episode to drop down from its original rating on broadcast. I'm not a fan of what we see in the pre-titles being way into the future of the episode but it actually worked decently well here because we were looking to see just why the Doctor had left Clara alone. I liked the opening scene in the TARDIS with the Doctor almost somewhat disgusted that he had to tell Courtney she was special! I'm not sure what changed with the new regeneration cycle as previously the Doctor always said nobody wasn't special or unimportant. Just look at A Good Man Goes to War for a recent example. Whatever's changed though, I like it. After his comments in The Caretaker about how humans should be in a continuous state of panic, I like how it seems humans seem puny to the Twelfth Doctor. Maybe that's why I thought Clara ridiculously overreacted to what was probably the episode's main talking point and where the topsy turvy relationship between Clara and the Twelfth a Doctor started after being hinted at in Listen. The Doctor taking Courtney to be the first woman on the moon should certainly have made her feel special but I don't know why she was riding along anyway. Did we really need her? I'm not convinced we did. I'm not overly struck on children travelling along for an adventure or two. I didn't like it in Nightmare in Silver and I didn't approve of it here. Arriving inside a plane destined for the Moon was pretty fun, especially as it was in the process of what seemed to be a crash landing. Lundvik and her team greeting the temporary TARDIS trio was very good. The Doctor's gravity tests were eccentric to say the least and I liked how almost immediately, as in Into the Dalek and Time Heist, the Doctor took charge of the situation and was also asked why he was in charge. I thought that was brilliant. The threat of the Spider Germs was pretty good and despite them perhaps being defeated a little too easily, they did look impressive. Their method of killing was pretty instant though! I loved the Doctor telling everybody to move slowly to the exit. Did he say it enough times? Coining the phrase of the Second Doctor, "when I say run, run." was wonderful. Despite being dressed up in a horribly orange spacesuit, Jenna Coleman still managed to look absolutely sensual. Her hair was stunning in this episode! Courtney almost being caught by the Spider Germs was good but it just highlighted why we didn't need a child stand-in companion. The Doctor working out what was going on was fantastic! Slowly he worked out that the a Spider Germs were just bacteria, and in comparison to what they were inhabiting they were puny. Then came an incredible bombshell from the Doctor. The way he told everybody that the Moon was an egg was just superb. He seemed genuinely excited and why wouldn't he be? What an extraordinary revelation! The gravity change was due to the Moon putting on weight ie the baby inside was growing and beginning to hatch the surface. We then came full circle with the pre-titles and the Doctor left the decision up to Clara, Courtney and Lundvik. The continuity from Blink with the DVDs bringing Courtney and the TARDIS to the Doctor was an unexpected and great inclusion! Once the TARDIS was returned to the Doctor I liked how he left the humans to decide what to do about their future. Did they kill the moon and ensure it didn't crack up or did they let the innocent creature inside live? After the plea broadcast to Earth, I thought it was brilliant how Clara pushed the button allowing the creature to live. Lundvik wasn't too happy despite everything working out fine. I do wonder though if the Doctor knew what would happen or if it truly was a grey spot. I'd like to think the latter. The hatching creature looked pretty spectacular crashing the moon into smithereens in the sky. I know that the newly born creature laying a new egg (and therefore new Moon) received a lot of criticism in DWM but who's to say that's not how that species reproduces? For the story, it seemed like a logical answer in my opinion! The reaction of Clara towards the Doctor was way too much of an overreaction I thought. We didn't see Amy acting hysterically when she had to decide the future of the human race in The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood. I've loved Clara up to this point but I really didn't like her in storming out of the TARDIS! Overall though, an excellent episode. Who cares if the science arguably doesn't make sense! 

Rating: 8/10