Doctor Who Review: Twice Upon a (Mediocre) Time

Twice Upon a (Mediocre) Time

a Doctor Who Review

Warning: *Spoilers*

We were fortunate this holiday season to be able to see the Doctor Who Christmas special on the night it broadcast in the U.S. I'd like to say we were fortunate to have seen a first rate send-off for Peter Capaldi's Doctor, but sadly we did not. 

First thing I have to mention is that I can't stand the sheer amount of commercial interruptions BBC America incorporated into the episode. Possibly there was a decent story hidden somewhere in between the copious amount of ad breaks, but they were enough to zap any interest either one of us had in the show from one scene to the next. And that says something for itself right there--if there had been a engaging storyline, then no amount of commercial interruptions would have caused us to channel surf and lose interest.

While David Bradley's portrayal of the First Doctor is superb, was his character really necessary in the story at all? Was the character of Bill necessary? Essentially, the premise is about the Christmas Truce of 1914. We have an English captain, played by screenwriter/actor Mark Gatiss, come along for a ride in the TARDIS, but there is surprisingly little mayhem or shooting.  There is a lot talking, however, and most of it could have been said and done within ten minutes tops, end of story.

The Christmas Truce is not a bad idea for a Christmas special. Can the Doctor bring a little "peace on Earth" during the Great War? But it's not a big enough story idea by itself for an hour show, so there was a lot of padding added, and the story's pacing slowed to a crawl. The preponderance of talking scenes didn't really make us feel all that nostalgic about Peter Capaldi's last time on screen as the Doctor, either. We were looking for more "action" and less "chatter."

The "atheists' heaven"--with dead companions walking around like spirits--came across as maudlin and an all-too-convenient plot device for the Doctor to say good-bye to his companions and deal with his fear of "death". While the recreation of the First Doctor's TARDIS interior was fantastic, we wished we could have seen more of it or had it worked into the plotline more. Once again, if you're going to add characters to flesh out a thin plot, perhaps you could have used them for greater affect? Otherwise, the viewer feels cheated. The promos tricked us into thinking there was going to be more to the story.

So, essentially in Twice Upon a Time we have a great actor in Peter Capaldi (and a great Who fan himself) who has been given a rather mediocre send-off after some rather mediocre seasons of Doctor Who. What a shame.

Somehow, I wasn't surprised to see the writer of this episode was Steven Moffat. His writing has really suffered since he took the helm as showrunner. (Is this the same person who wrote Blink?) Perhaps it's good he's retiring the gig and moving on.

Speaking of moving on, we were expecting to see a lot more of the new Doctor, Jodie Whitaker. She appears in the very last minute of the episode and promptly tumbles out of the TARDIS. As classic Who fans, we long for the more dignified regeneration scenes (such as the First Doctor experienced) instead of the showy pyrotechnics the modern Who series goes in for. Blowing up your time ship every time you regenerate gets messy--and predictable now that it's been done four times since 2005.

Let's cross our fingers for a better run for the "lucky thirteenth" Doctor!

We didn't see her in this outfit at all. It was a let down.

Available now--Book 3 in the Loving Who series, Losing Who. And coming in January--a short and sweet story featuring John Smith and Cici from the Loving Who series. All available from Devine Destinies Books and wherever fine ebooks are sold.

 

Losing Who--Book 3 in the Loving Who series now available!

Losing Who
http://www.devinedestinies.com/losing-who/
(Book Three in the Loving Who series)

Cici Connors is losing her mind—or is she? She has vague memories of living another life where she time traveled and explored the universe accompanied by an alien with psychic abilities, but these memories can't be real, can they? Losing her job doesn't make her life any easier, so Cici decides it's time to grow up and give up Doctor Who fandom once and for all.

Alien time traveler John Smith had to leave Cici on Earth for the sake of clearing up Earth's muddy timeline. Now he vows to return to his adopted world--and return Cici's memories as well. But nothing is ever easy or simple where John is concerned. With the aid of his alien partners-in-crime, Captain Mac and Babbling Brook, John devises a clever plan to gain Cici's attention. Will hiring Cici to run John's sci-fi convention attract another invasion of Earth by artificially intelligent life forms? 

Excerpt--Cici and John Smith meet again, but she doesn't recognize him...

Cici blinked twice and took a long, shaky breath. Out of nowhere a rescuer had rushed to her side and helped her to her feet. The gentleman stood tall and thin with bright blue-gray eyes and a distinguished touch of silver in his graying blond hair. If she wasn’t mistaken, he had the most charming Scots accent. She gazed up into his questioning face and felt a connection. Had they met somewhere before? Odd, but she somehow thought they had. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember where or when.

“Y-yes, I’m fine,” she sputtered. “Just a bit breathless. Thank you.”

He nodded. “You’re welcome.”

She took a step forward and felt a sharp stab of pain in her right ankle. “Ow!”

“You’re injured. Here.” He took her hand and placed it on his forearm. “Lean on me.”

“You're so very kind.” 

“Really?” His silver eyebrows arched, and his eyes widened. “There’s a first time for everything.”

Cici did her best not to grimace as they hobbled together toward one of the few benches located along the trail. Her rescuer helped her to sit and then knelt in front of her foot to check for damage.

“You’re not a doctor, are you?” she asked, trying to make light conversation as the stranger gently manipulated her injured ankle.

“A doctor?” He smiled. “Funny you should say that, but some people do think I resemble one. Does this hurt?” He pressed along the side of her arch.

“Ow!” She winced. “Not too much. After the shock wears off in a few minutes I’ll probably be fine.”

“That’s a good sign when you can handle shock well. How about this?” He pushed her foot upward, her toes pointing toward her body. 

Cici bit her lip hard to hold back a scream. She saw stars and almost passed out from the pain. “Yep. It hurts. Lots.”

“I thought it might. It’s more than likely a sprain, but you might want to get it x-rayed to check for broken bones.”

“I can’t afford the x-ray, so we’ll go with the sprain, shall we?” Her new companion didn’t seem to get her dark sense of humor. His eyes bulged in his long face as he considered her reaction. “What’s wrong? Have I grown a horn in the middle of my forehead, or am I turning a particularly sickening shade of green?”

He smiled. He got it. “More pale than green, and the horn quite suits you. I like horns.”

“That’s good. I wouldn’t want to scare you off so easily.” Did I say that out loud? Get a grip! Flirting when you’re unemployed isn’t a good thing. You can’t afford new clothes and make-up to keep him interested.

“Don’t worry. I don’t scare easily.” Her savior stood and looked at her, thoughtfully rubbing the lapels of his navy jacket. “We just passed an access parking lot, but unfortunately I don’t have a car to take you home in to recuperate. What could we use to get you home without causing further pain?”

“Too bad we don’t have a little red wagon or a rickshaw handy,” she suggested.

“That’s a good idea. Very good indeed.” He spun on his heels and disappeared into thin air as quickly as he had appeared originally.

Cici blinked twice. Her tall and handsome Scotsman, in a rather dashing red-lined navy blue suit with a buttoned-up white shirt, had simply vanished. Just my luck. She waved at where he’d once stood. “Uh, thanks again for your help.”

What to do now? She took several deep breaths and tried to prepare herself for the hobble home up the trail. Perhaps she could find a tree branch strong enough to hold her wait while she limped? Unfortunately for her, it appeared the county parks’ groundskeepers had recently been in the area to mow and pick up fallen branches along the trail. Her luck this week had gone from bad to worse to dismal. Go figure.

“There’s nothing for it. Cowboy up, Connors.” With a groan of determination, Cici rose to her feet. “Ye-ow! Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot…”

She had barely made it a yard before the distinguished Scotsman reappeared behind her.

“Hold it right there,” he commanded. “We’ve got to fit you into this contraption.”

Cici stared until she thought her eyes would pop out of her head. Was it really a rickshaw? “W-where on Earth did you get that?”

He frowned and scratched his head. “On Earth? Well, you could say a friend in China owed me a favor, so he let me borrow it.”

“A friend from China, you mean?”

“Yes, of course. That’s what I meant. From China. It is, in fact, an antique Chinese rickshaw.” He lay the cross piece down and stepped over it to help her. “All aboard.”

 

Losing Who is now available from Devine Destinies Books, Amazon (in print and Kindle format) and wherever fine books are sold online. And don't forget to check out books 1 and 2, Loving Who and Leaving Who, while you're at it.

The Doctor As Show Man and Space 1889 Cosplayer

The Doctor As Show Man and Space 1889 Cosplayer
(Spoiler Alert!)

It's been a busy two weeks, so when I finally sat down to catch up with Doctor Who, I had two episodes to watch. The first episode, The Lie of the Land, is actually part three of the two previous episodes which I found to be mediocre as best. 

Was I expecting anything better for this storyline's finale? No, not really. The Lie of the Land didn't disappoint on that respect. It was mediocre in script and well-done in acting and execution. Bill is still a strong, sympathetic character willing to lay down her life to save others, Nardole is still a loyal aide-de-camp willing to go the extra mile to help out, and the Doctor is... Well, he's a show man of sorts, selling the evil monks' "new history" to the unsuspecting public through slick commercials. Why the evil monks ever go to the extent they do to take over the world is never satisfactorily explained, including the gigantic statues of their mummy-like visages. They should have taken a lesson from the Daleks and Cybermen. Good ol' fashioned firepower and metal suits work just fine to invade Earth in Doctor Who.

Missy is seen once again in The Lie, but her cameo doesn't seem particularly necessary to the plot, as the Doctor should be able to figure things out himself with his abilities and resources. She's incarcerated in a TARDIS-styled vault and seems content to be locked up. There's hints she's not as sociopathic/psychopathic as she once was, but she's still not portrayed as a positive middle-aged female image, but rather as a figure of ridicule/hate. Actress Michelle Gomez could do better and deserves a stronger role.
 
The Orwellian overtones of "He who owns the past owns the future" are good in The Lie, but the overall arc of the trilogy of episodes isn't quite pulled off.  A good script editor could have helped cobble these three disparate episodes together in a more coherent and effective manner and brought out the strengths in each. As is... nice try, but it's very sad how this trilogy falls flat. At least Bill has a decent hairstyle this time out, and I enjoyed the "Maoist China" style of bland/uni-colored clothing of the populace as well as the Doctor's "worn" jacket.

Empress of Mars is a stronger episode in that it doesn't try to be anything it isn't.  The Doctor meets his old foes, the Ice Warriors. They've been updated a bit without losing their lovable "monster of the week" look about them that they've sported since the Patrick Troughton era. My husband was pleased to see the Victorian-era military men on an expedition on Mars, very reminiscent of the characters one takes on in the role playing game Space 1889. (The military costuming was accurate historically according to hubby who is an expert on such things, too.)

Why there is oxygen underground on Mars is never explained, especially since the surface is dead and there's no obvious plant life left.  The frozen/hibernating Ice Warriors are very similar to the Patrick Troughton series Cybermen who were hibernating on Mondas in a pyramid-like set-up. 

Hmm... Pyramids and spacesuits seem to be returning images in this season, as the Doctor and Bill have been seen in spacesuits in Empress of Mars, Oxygen and in underwater diving suits in Thin Ice. The evil monks have a spacecraft (I assume that's what it is since it "flies") that's pyramid-shaped in Nemesis, The Pyramid at the End of the World,  and The Lie of the Land. Is there some kind of connection we're suppose to make with the reoccurring imagery? I have to say, Peter looks great in a form-hugging spacesuit. I hope the hoodie look has been put to rest for good.

With only a few more episodes to go in Peter Capaldi's last year as the Doctor, fingers crossed we get another Mark Gatiss-written story. What's your take on these last episodes? Please write your comments below. Thanks.

 Can't get enough of the man in the spacesuit, can you? :)

Coming Soon... The Loving Who series from Devine Destinies Books!

The Doctor as Helper/The Companion as Conscience

 
Sorry for the delay--it's been an awfully hectic month for yours truly--but I thought I'd write a quick review of the last two episodes of Doctor Who before we head out to Marcon in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend to chat with fellow Whovians in person.

This season is off to a solid start, much better than Peter Capaldi's previous seasons, in my opinion. We finally see the "classic Who" Doctor emerging, the one that most of us fell in love in (in his various incarnations), the one that we saw in the performances of Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and even Matt Smith in the newer series. In both Thin Ice and Knock Knock we see the Doctor as helper. The Doctor isn't just casually breezing by the scene and becoming involved in spite of his reluctance; he's actually there to help human beings solve a mystery and make the world a bit safer. His intent is humanitarian, not selfish, which is the heroic trait many Whovians admire the most.



On the companion side, we have Bill. She's coming across as the Doctor's conscience in these stories--the human sidekick who tells him when he's crossed the line into selfishness or cruelty. In many respects, Bill reminds me of the Nu Who companion Donna Noble. Donna was never afraid to tell the Doctor when he had stepped over the line. She begged and pleaded with the Doctor when he seemed heartless, such as in the Fires of Pompei when she begged him to save the Roman family headed up by... well, by Peter Capaldi of all people!

I also see a bit of Leela from the Tom Baker era in the character of Bill. Leela was also brave and not afraid to tell the Doctor when he's crossing a line that shouldn't be crossed. In Thin Ice, Bill points out the "coldness" of the Doctor allowing some to die in front of her eyes without apparently trying to save them. In Knock Knock she begs him to save her friends and housemates from death by alien termite. The companion's prime role is to keep the Doctor on the straight and narrow morally, not to be just another pretty face beside him, which has happened frequently in the recent series to the detriment of the Doctor's character. 


A brief aside on the settings, SFX and costuming: I do like Bill's hairstyle with bangs, as it's much more flattering than her previous hairstyle without the face framing. And can Peter Capaldi's Doctor ever rock a top hat! He should wear one more often. The Regency era setting and costuming of Thin Ice were excellent, and I can't recall this historical era being done before on the show, so kudos for giving us another cool look into the past. Knock Knock's "haunted house" and super creepy insect special effects were very effective at striking a subtly horrific chord. Actor David Suchet will never be stereotyped as the clever and polite Hercule Poirot for me ever again!

The Doctor needs his human companion(s) to act as conscience since he isn't human (he's Gallifreyan), and he often forgets what his actions (or lack of actions) can mean to humans. The very first Doctor's companions of Barbara, Ian and Susan were perfect examples of how the Doctor's conscience is necessary. If you don't know what I mean, watch the very first episode An Unearthly Child and the three after it. Where would the Doctor be if his companions didn't help him then become the hero we know and love today?

I'm looking forward to the next episode and possibly seeing you at Marcon. Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think about Peter Capaldi's last season so far. Isn't he (to quote Doctor Nine)  fantastic?

P.S. I've been working hard on edits for the re-releases of my Loving Who series of novels. I'd forgotten some of the wild and wacky things my "companions" got up to in the series... "Time travel" makes us all a little forgetful occasionally!

P.P.S. I love the new cover for the third book in the series, Losing Who, don't you?

Doctor Who Review: The Return of Doctor Mysterio

 Doctor Who Review: The Return of Doctor Mysterio

I haven't written a TV episode review in some time, so I thought I'd dust off my reviewing skills and dive in once more with a very short critique.  

The Return of Doctor Mysterio was, on the whole, much better than I'd thought it would be. First off, it wasn't one of those "I hate Christmas!" holiday specials that Moffat seemed to enjoy writing in recent years. In fact, other than a brief allusion to the Doctor possibly being Santa Claus in the opening act, there was nothing Christmasy about the story. That's a good thing, in my opinion. It's best to stay away from a subject you don't like as a writer, especially with Steven Moffat's hang ups.

The tone of the tale was upbeat and positive throughout, and we were introduced to a pair of very likeable characters in Grant and Lucy. New York as a location was fine, although it could have been written to take place in any large city, really. Why not Chicago or Denver or Cleveland or St. Louis next time? It's nice to get out of London and the British Isles occasionally, but there are other cities in the U.S. besides New York, you know?

The evil aliens who are invading Earth this time around were very cool. Zipper heads? Replaceable brains? Aliens substituting themselves for government leaders and getting away with it at the people's expense? I find it a plausible enough premise after our recent election, so I'm all in for this sort of monster-of-the-week.

I wasn't too sure about Matt Lucas' character of Nardole in the script at first. (When did he join the Doctor and how?) But since he didn't detract from the action or the growing romance of Grant and Lucy, and brought about some genuinely funny moments, I was okay with his addition. 

The whole "superhero comes to life" humor and sub-plot was very entertaining. Who doesn't want to see "Clark Kent" woo "Lois Lane"? Who doesn't like watching a little boy fly about the skies of Manhattan in his pajamas? It was a storyline that younger family members could understand, follow and enjoy as well as us old-timers. The special effects and costuming were all superb as usual, and I loved seeing Peter wear a more classic Jon Pertwee-styled outfit with a velvet jacket minus the hoodie. Very dashing!

I hope the upcoming series keeps this episode's upbeat and positive focus, avoids the "teenage soap opera angst" of the Clara years (yawn!) and stays with emphasizing the Doctor's good traits of being hopeful and helpful to mankind. The moody, sometimes mean-spirited, Doctor didn't work well for me in the past season. I greatly prefer Peter Calpaldi's Tom Baker-like performance in The Return of Doctor Mysterio. No more endless crying over lost girlfriends--the classic era's dictum of "No hanky-panky in the TARDIS" worked much better for character and story development.

We need to see a return of strong  and intelligent female companions such as Leela, Sarah Jane, Liz Shaw and Donna Noble. It would be nice to actually like the Doctor's companions instead of cringing over them as we've done in recent years, so perhaps Grant and Lucy can make a reprise later on in the season? Nardole might even grow on me given time and decent writing.

My British husband, who gave up on Doctor Who after viewing the "Mary Poppins Master" (Missy) episodes, dared to watch this show. The verdict? He said he enjoyed it. Considering he has watched Doctor Who since the William Hartnell era, that's a good sign it has improved in quality.

What do you think of The Return of Doctor Mysterio?

Romancing the Doctor (On New Doctor Who)

Old lovers can still be friends.

Romancing the Doctor (On New Doctor Who)

by Cynthianna 

***Spoiler alert!***

One wonders why the current producers of Doctor Who feel it's necessary to do a "Christmas special" (since the Doctor isn't human nor professes to be a follower of Jesus) but every once in a while it's nice to see an episode slightly out of the ordinary. This season needed a break from the soap opera angst of the Clara story arc, so anything to take our minds off of it is a good thing.

Even my husband agreed with me on this point concerning The Husbands of River Song. Less teenage angst and lots more humor--and Alex Kingston to boot. It's nice to see an actress who's equal in charisma to Peter Capaldi playing opposite him. River Song is a fun and mischievous character who is always up to something, so the lighthearted jaunt to sell off a pilfered diamond to a race of genocidal alien one-percenters aboard a space cruise liner is just the mindless entertainment we needed.

It's not a perfect episode of course. The threat of killing River's "husband" the cyborg king with a human head and then crashing a ship full of passengers (no matter how heinous their crimes) is a downer. Fortunately, the excellent performances of and the magical chemistry between Capaldi and Kingston pretty much drown out that tinge of nastiness that always seems to be a part of a Steven Moffat script. The unneeded nastiness really could have been edited out, but this season pretty much proves script editing is not of importance to the show runners.

See? The Twelfth Doctor can smile. And it fits his face just fine.

Ah, but to stare into the handsome face of Peter Capaldi and admire the beautiful radiance of Alex Kingston on screen for an hour! Now, that's a holiday gift worth the wait.

What do you think? Please leave your comments below, and check out my reviews of earlier episodes of this season of Doctor Who:

Hell Bent 
Heaven Sent
Face the Raven  
Sleep No More
The Zygon Inversion (or Inversion of the Zygons)
The Zygon Invasion

The Woman Who Lived

The Girl Who Died    
  Before the Flood

Under the Lake

The Witch's Familiar

The Magician's Apprentice

Classic Who on Retro TV