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Sunday, April 05
Doctor Who Series 8 Christmas Special Review: Last Christmas
Another Christmas means another British TV tradition: The Doctor Who Christmas Special. Whereas some may watch movies like Elf or Miracle on 34th Street or Die Hard, there’s always something for the Whovians – a very special hour of Doctor Who. Usually written by Steven Moffat.
This year is no different. The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is different this December 25th, but it’s still the tenth in the string of Doctor Who Christmas Specials since the show’s revival back in 2005.
Moffat brings us yet another twist on a tale of Christmas folklore and it’s one that’s a surprise to some who can’t believe it hasn’t already been tackled – Santa Claus. In recent years we’ve had wintery jaunts inspired by classic stories like A Christmas Carol or iconography such as snowmen, but here Santa Claus is a real character, played by Nick Frost.
Well, the reality is questionable here. Much like how earlier this season concepts like the afterlife have been touched upon, the truth behind Santa is something that is constantly examined.
Because it really is safe to say that this Christmas Special truly was Miracle on 34th Street meets Alien. The conncections are obvious and even lampshaded throughout the episode, but truthfully, Last Christmas has a fair bit of wham behind it, lathered in shades of the Inception.
Dream Crabs are the villain of the week here, and what interesting creatures they are. Much like the facehuggers of Alien, once they latch onto a host, you can be sure of a horrific symbiotic relationship between human and crab. But at least these monsters are nice enough to evoke happy dream states into those they are about to harvest.
Which would all be well and good for The Doctor to take on, if it wasn’t for the fact that one manages to snag hold of Clara (Jenna Coleman).
Last Christmas starts off light and merry with a lot of humorous back and forth between the Twelfth Doctor and Santa (the practicalities of Christmas and delivering presents around the world make for chuckle-worthy exchanges), but then Steven Moffat manages to do one of the things he can do well in his writing – creating fear out of the day to day experiences we all have.
Dreaming and nightmares are fully explored in Last Christmas, all of which are still impressive to watch unfold in his narrative, even if you’ve already seen Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Moffat continues to be a very strong storyteller when it comes to unfurling a narrative, and while this week’s episode isn’t even that timey-wimey, Moffat succeeds at playing with how things are playing out.
It doesn’t hurt that director Paul Wilmshurst knows how to get this story onto the screen. There is a sequence that includes an interesting character appearance with some fantastic imagery. Small hints of the real nightmare creeping alongside happy escapism. Wilmshurst does well to balance the humour of Frost’s Santa and Dan Starkey and Nathan McMullen’s elves alongside the heavily-Alien-inspired monsters and their subsequent effects.
But of course, this is not a perfect episode, and if you’re familiar with Doctor Who of recent times you know where things fall down: Clara. Not only is Clara there to necessitate plot progression as opposed to character progression, but yet again the hollow shell of her admittedly rather improving development is dragged out for more adventure even though it felt like her story had ended a couple times already this year.
It’s gone too far for the audience to be satisfied by a payoff to Clara’s journey, and while there are nice payoffs here, it’s still too much. In an episode that treks quite smoothly and almost feels the perfect length, we’re cheated out of a good moment by tacked on endings.
The final shots may or may not annoy some Whovians, but hey, at least we’ve got the title for the next episode.
Which is pretty much the mantra for Doctor Who: Wait until the next episode.
Because this Christmas Special was rather impressive for the most part. Moffat delivers yet another solid script for this December 25th, and now we’ve gotten a whole season of a pretty strong Doctor in Peter Capaldi. All one wants right about now is that second season of brilliance with a character and a tone safely found, regardless of whatever time and relative dimensions in space are travelled to.
Also, hopefully it has better makeup in it.
Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 12 Review: Death in Heaven
While last week’s episode, Dark Water – the part one of this two part series finale – felt like an agonising slow burn to get to a point we knew was coming after all the promotional material (that is to say, the fact that Cybermen play a big part in this finale), Death in Heaven, written by Steven Moffat yet again, leaps right into things with a rather witty cold open.
Death in Heaven is a wonderfully strong series finale for Doctor Who, which is always a good thing, but there are still some problems, some of which just simply boil down to acceptability of the content for what is essentially a family show.
Because The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) face off against a new way Cybermen have been multiplying, and it’s rather macabre: They are Cybermen that come from the dead bodies across the world. Robotic zombies, essentially, which is cool, terrifying, and definitely bait for many parental complaints to the BBC.
For the most part, the subject is handled as tastefully as can be. Normally a concept like this can be quite clever or at least well-tread fare for those who appreciate zombie fiction, but one can’t help contemplating the younger Doctor Who fans suddenly discovering that all those who are dead can rise from the grave as Cybermen.
This, in part, is part of the charm of Steven Moffat’s mind, in a way. A man long-able to turn anything in the real world, however monotonous, into something terrifying is a good skill to have as showrunner of Doctor Who. It’s just this particular concept that pushes some barrier of acceptability.
Also to credit Rachel Talalay, who once again directs this episode, regardless of the apprehension of the concept. The episode will certainly be higher up on those “Ultimate Greatest Doctor Who Story/Moments” lists.
Outside of the threat of the Cybermen is the real threat of the episode: Missy (Michelle Gomez). Her true motives revealed (and if you haven’t seen the episode or still haven’t inferred her motivation, that’s all will be said of that), Missy shows us her true colours. Which certainly include red for blood, because she has quite the psychopathic streak here. Her dynamic and interplay with The Doctor is the biggest highlight of this episode, one where she almost always has the upper hand on The Doctor, and it’s hypnotising to watch. Sure, she’s not entirely original a character concept, but Michelle Gomez plays her with the utmost brilliance (and if you need more Gomez for a fix, watch classic Channel 4 comedy Green Wing). There’s quite the villainous glee one can get from watching her do her thing. Somtimes it’s nice to have a Doctor Who villain that isn’t a robotic death machine.
And instead…a human…thinking…death machine.
Death in Heaven gives us the best of what Moffat does in writing Doctor Who (though sadly, no timey-wimey this episode) with not that much of his worst. It’s a few rungs below the 50th Anniversary at points, which is certainly a step up from his more recent Who work. It’s got great humour, there’s a lot of nice Who continuity to bask in, seemingly throwaway moments finally pay off in ways you don’t expect, and The Doctor has some of his best moments this series, which also means that you get some of the best Capaldi so far, and it’s fantastic.
Rachel Talalay is certainly the best director for the job, here. She does so well to bring about the strongest performances in each and every actor. You get laughs, you get sheer fear, you may even get some tears. Some shots, like the Cybermen rising up from their graves, may even be deemed iconic Doctor Who imagery for years to come, and other sequences are chilling in such a way you may even shout “No!” at your TV screen (who am I kidding, computer monitor).
The weak link however, is tragically, Clara. Yet again. The Doctor and Missy and the Cybermen (not to mention the return of UNIT with Jemma Redgrave and Ingrid Oliver reprising their roles as Kate Stewart and Osgood respectively) grip you for the majority of the episode to such an extent that when the action cuts to Clara’s story, everything grinds to a halt. It’s a shame, but her story this episode is so much weaker that most of the emotion you’re meant to feel is instead replaced with the thought of “Get back to The Doctor!”
It’s not the greatest series finale, but one that has a fair few sucker punch moments. Capaldi channels his best work yet, and the antagonistic chemistry concocted by Michelle Gomez is so captivating. A wonderful game of cat and mouse between such likeable and watchable adversaries. There’s evil and there’s madness in Death in Heaven, but what does one expect in this show of a madman in a box?
There’s quite a few flaws in the logic this week, and a few choices are questionable. Others are brilliant and make for great Doctor Who, and boy do we want to see more of this Doctor Who.
But really, eyes need to start to dart to the calendar.
Whatever’s next for the Doctor, hopefully this Christmas he’ll be nice. Because who knows what this Doctor can do next.
Whatever it is, it’s gonna be exciting. And that’s what Doctor Who has needed. Series 8 has delivered. Bring on Series 9.
Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 11 Review: Dark Water
Showrunner Steven Moffat once again takes the writing reins for a two-part Doctor Who finale, and its first part certainly knows how to kick things off.
Dark Water is the first in this dual-episode finale for Series 8, and from the first scene it’s already quite the mindbend. Needless to say, this episode is one fraught with spoilers, right from the word go that’s the case. By the first few minutes you’re hooked and confused, which is textbook Steven Moffat, and the episode goes along on its way like that for quite a while.
Directed by Rachel Talalay, Dark Water shows us a broken Clara (Jenna Coleman) on the edge, one desperate and ready to make a lot of choices that go against type and come into conflict with her relationship with The Doctor (Peter Capaldi). But of course, it’s all in the name of love, for Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson) is in serious peril.
The episode is full of very strong performances, and despite some scenes playing out a bit oddly in terms of character behaviour and general Doctor Who-logic, both Capaldi and Coleman shine in their respective roles.
It’s the construction of the episode that’s a bit of a miss here. Dark Water is one of those Doctor Who episodes that probably would have worked better without the trailers and promotional material being released beforehand. It being a part one of a two-part series finale, there are plenty of eyerolls and a watch gazes on the way to reaching a plot point that was obvious and heavily telegraphed. It’s clear enough to reveal it here without fear of spoiling much: this week’s episode includes Cybermen.
Dark Water falls down on this point, because while a lot of the concepts thrown out there in the episode are rather curious and interesting for the Doctor Who world, there’s always that anvil everyone knows is about to drop: the fact that Cybermen are really the big baddies here.
Or are they?
In some ways, Steven Moffat does a good job with the story construction, as well as with all the twists and turns. A heck of a lot of it is predictable, yes, and if it wasn’t for the Cybermen issue, other scenes could have had an even bigger impact. And boy, are there some great scenes in this episode.
Not amazing scenes, mind you. A seasoned Whovian will appreciate but not be entirely shocked by Dark Water. Interest will be piqued for the next week, but as a first part, it’s not the best. Capaldi’s Doctor certainly knows how to respond to the sticky situation presented in this episode, and as he finally comes face-to-face with the enigmatic Missy (Michelle Gomez, who is wonderful in her eccentric role), a battle of wits is sure to unfold.
Overall then, this week’s episode wasn’t a complete disappointment, but rather, a predictable, signposted calm before the storm. Moffat still has another episode to knock it out of the park from what he’s set up, and hopefully he won’t slip up there.
It’s gonna be interesting how this story plays out.