The Friendly Dalek

John Challis

Let's just say I have strong feelings about the next episode.

Heaven Sent- What can I possibly say about this one that hasn't already been said? This is definitely one of my favourite stories of the Capaldi era, and one of my favourite episodes in general. This is quite possibly a perfect episode. It is also Peter Capaldi's finest hour as The Doctor. His performance is amazing. It was definitely a risk to make an episode which is effectively a one-man show, but Capaldi pulled it off excellently. Others who deserve equal praise include Steven Moffat and Rachael Talalay. Moffat crafted an intellectual and interestingly structed story which is definitely unique among other episodes of this era. Talalay's direction is what grounds the whole thing, and makes the crazy script work. Every aspect of this episode's production works perfectly. The pacing is great, and despite the somewhat surreal nature of the storytelling, it never gets confusing. The Veil has a fantastic design, and adds some suitably creepy moments to this episode. The castle setting is also hugely atmospheric. Murray Gold's score also has to get a special mention. it's a beautiful score and I've listened to some of the tracks countless times. One really small issue I have with this episode is one line of dialogue which The Doctor gives. He confesses that he ran away from Gallifrey because he was scared, and that the idea that he ran because he was bored has been a lie the whole time. After going through this entire show, and hearing The Doctor claim to have ran away because he was bored many, many times, suddenly seeing this changed to him running out of fear damages what I always saw as a fundamental aspect of the character. He didn't like Gallifrey and wanted to explore the universe, so he stole a TARDIS and ran away so he could experience the universe in the way that he wanted. I appreciate that this is a really silly nit pick of mine but it's something that does annoy me slightly, but no where near enough to detract from my overall love of this episode. Overall- 10/10

Are you real?

You collect diamond passes on the day of the event, nearer to the time they usually release an entry plan which shows where the diamond pass pick up point is. You can collect it with the printed E-ticket, and I believe you can also collect it by having the E-ticket scanned on your phone (I've never tried that though, I always print off my tickets).

Face The Raven- When viewed on it's own, this is a good episode (it is somewhat ruined by a certain episode but we'll get to that one soon enough...). Firstly, Peter Capaldi is amazing, and Jenna Coleman gives possibly her best performance in the show here in my eyes. This episode sees the return of Rigsy from Flatline, and I still dont like him that much. He's a perfectly serviceable character but there's nothing particularly memorable about him. Maisie Williams also makes another appearance, and once again she is fine, but her performance isn't anything spectacular. That's the gist for the majority of the cats, to be honest. No one's bad, but very few of them really stand out. The concept of a trap street is an interesting one, and it is nice to see so many different types of aliens interacting on screen, including some classic foes. The pacing is excellent, and visually this episode is one of the best of the series. Clara's death scene is brilliant. I really like Clara, and I remember when I watched this for the first time I had no idea that she was coming back in Hell Bent, so I remember this episode having a big impact on me at the time. Coleman plays it perfectly. I just wish it was shot a little differently, without the over use of slow-motion and the usage of multiple angles. Seeing it take place multiple times like that reduced the overall impact that scene has in my opinion. There's nothing really that I dislike about this one. It is well made and features a serviceable cast, and the final 15 minutes are nearly perfect. I don't think that this episode has a high rewatchability value though, as I don't tend to find myself revisiting this one often. Overall- 8/10.

Sleep No More- I'll say this. I appreciate the fact that they at least attempted something different. Unfortunately the execution was the worst it could possibly have been. The actors try their best but the dialogue they were given was atrociously bad. Mark Gatiss is an excellent writer, and he has proven he can write good Who, but this was a very poor attempt on his part. Again, I respect that he tried to do something unique but it just didn't work. Reece Shearsmith is at least memorable, but sadly the same cant be said for the rest of the cast. Capaldi and Coleman are always great, but that's pretty much a given thing at this point. The pacing is all over the place, and I found myself bored for a large amount of the running time. The Sandmen are really boring monsters, and their story is rubbish. The whole concept behind them is totally stupid, and it pulls me right out of this episode every time. I also think their design is bland and uninspired. The ending is rubbish as well. The Doctor just gets in the TARDIS and leaves, without having really done anything. The cliffhanger style ending is done in such a way which makes me question wether the events of this story even took place, which makes me question what the point of watching it even is. It is a cliffhanger which has been left unresolved ever since, and as a result the whole thing just feels pointless upon revisiting it. Overall- 2/10.

True, true.

Better get on the phone to these guys then...

5 aaaaars and 13 minutes to go. Not too much longer now.

I'm attending a show in November, and I'm hoping to try to get something signed after the show. Does anyone know what the best type of pen would be for signing a blu ray box set? I'm going to take to my own pen so I dont have to rely on borrowing one from someone else.

The forum's been down all day for me as well.

The Zygon Invasion- This is a massive step up from the previous two episodes. The acting is excellent across the board. Special marks go to the dual-role playing by Jenna Coleman, and Jemma Redgrave and Ingrid Oliver are also brilliant. This is political storytelling in Doctor Who done right. It's not exactly subtle but it portrays its message in a way which doesn't feel preachy or pandering. From a writing standpoint, this is easily one of the best of this series. Unfortunately I think it falters from some poor pacing at points. The directing is excellent, the whole episode looks great. One of my key issues with The Day Of The Doctor was the under-utilisation of the Zygons, and thankfully this episode does them justice. They are truly compelling here, but sadly they kept the same design that they had in Day, and I don't really like how these ones look, especially compared to the ones in Terror. The cliffhanger for this story is also one of the best. Overall- 8/10. The Zygon Inversion- Carry over every positive from the last episode, and then add even more great stuff to it, and you'll end up with this episode. This is a near perfect episode in my eyes. Unlike the first part, the pacing here is faultless, and I can watch this one over and over again. Once again, acting is great and it is very well shot. Jenna Coleman truly shines her. I can't talk about this one without talking about Peter Capaldi's speech. That is quite possibly one of the best scenes in the show's history, full stop. It is perfectly written and Capaldi gives one of his performances there. I have a small issue with the speech though, it's basically nothing but it does annoy me a little to think about. After all is said and done, The Doctor says that he's done that no less than 15 times before, and that he wiped everyone's memories each time. For me, the power of that speech comes from the fact that The Doctor basically just explodes and pours all his emotions into it. Unless he managed to do that same speech 15 times in a row without getting so emotional, it makes me wonder why he got so emotional in the one that we saw, unless we saw the first one somehow? I hope that makes sense. Overall- 9/10.

The Girl Who Died- The set up is fine, and I like the Viking setting. However it's all down-hill after that stupid Odin sky hologram appears. The Mire look visually uninteresting and bland, and Odin himself just isn't a threatening villain. Capaldi and Coleman are great as usual, and they manage to make a very generic script somewhat bearable. I don't blame any of the actors here but none of the side characters are memorable or interesting in the least. Not even Maisie Williams impresses, and I simply do not like her character. Ashildr is bland, and Williams doesn't manage to do anything interesting to make the character likeable. Now I've seen her in Game Of Thrones, I know she can act, but she was massively let down by the writing. I like seeing The Doctor use his intelligence to create a plan out of anything he can use, so seeing him devise his scheme at the end of this episode was nice, but I can't help but feel that the villains were defeated far too easily. Visually, this episode is great (except for the floating Odin and the Mire), and it is well directed. The pacing is also good. The best scene in this episode by far is the one where The Doctor remembers where his face came from (that sentence makes sense if you've seen the episode ). Overall- 3/10. It's not completely terrible but there's very little that I like, so I never come back to this one. The Woman Who Lived- This is on par with the previous episode. It improves in some areas over the last one, but also manages to do some things much worse. Peter Capaldi is brilliant, and Maisie Williams gives a much better performance this time around. Sadly this episode also suffers from having a really boring set of side characters, and an atrociously bad villain. This is also a beautifully shot episode. There are some quiet moments which are taken to explore Ashildr's life, and those sequences are excellent. Her tale is a tragic one at it's core, and learning about her having deceased children certainly adds some much needed emotional weight to this episode. Time is taken to show us exactly why a person in her situation would hate The Doctor, and I appreciate how the writer's didn't gloss over this issue. Other than that though, just about everything else doesn't work. This one has far worse pacing, and it does drag a lot around the middle. The way that the villains are defeated is just boring, and if you asked me in a week how this episode ended I probably couldn't tell you, it is that forgettable. That also goes for a lot of this episode. There's very little else to say about this one. It's boring, but at least it looks great. The leads give good performances, but everyone else is bland, and the villain is an uninspired waste. Overall- 3/10. Watching these two back to back was difficult. I don't enjoy watching either of them, and this was my first viewing of them for a while. I hoped I would like them but I still don't. Neither of them are without some merit, but the cons definitely outweigh the pros in both.

Yeah I'm fine thanks, dont worry. It's nothing too serious but it's all very time consuming. Add on top of that my studies and work I'm left with little Who time at the moment, but I'll manage.