I suppose I must declare interests here – my mate Rachel directed this but if it was shite I would say so.
I think possibly my favourite Doctor Who story (alongside Androzani, Genesis, Talons, Daemons etc) is Deadly Assassin, a rare companionless outing for Tom Baker’s Doctor including one episode set inside The Matrix (no not that one) a mysterious thought generated surreal landscape with danger and conflict at it’s heart. I happen to know that Rachel watched that particular episode in preparation for shooting this, her second set of finale episodes in as many years.
After Clara’s death last week, the Doctor has been teleported to a strange shifting castle prison with a mysterious wraith tracking his every move. This is effectively shown in low quality video footage immediately giving things an eerie and unreal air. Capaldi manages to keep us riveted with his monologues, trips to his “mind palace” (Hello Sherlock!) and a bit of old fashioned bafflegab. What starts out as a battle against grief, despair, fear and truth becomes a battle against time and endurance of the spirit. He is The Doctor, he will never give up.
Yes this may be one for the fanboys\girls, a trippy psychedelic wet dream, baffling for the casuals and “up it’s own arse” – how I hate that patronising smug phrase – but why can’t drama be brave, subverting what is expected and playing to it’s strongest suit – invention, imagination and taking the audience on a wild and weird adventure. Despite budget and time constraints, this episode of Who managed to create world class creepy, atmospheric and intriguing piece of television
I think this is up there with the best of Nu-Who with it’s bold concept, execution and acting chops – I’m thinking Blink, Midnight, Silence In The Library level. In fact I’ll go further I think it ranks as one of the best episodes in it’s 51 year history.
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If you have any views and\ or questions that might come in handy with our podcast with Rachel then please let’s have em. “Meh”, “Moffat Out” and “too pleased with itself” will be treated with contempt.
It’s on the iplayer – have a watch
I have a question, if I may.
With the Assistants getting more skilled/clever/mysterious and often the equal of the Doctor, does Rachel think there is a need for more story narration for the benefit of the audience? Perhaps not as blunt as “Doctor! What’s happening?” but I think there is room for something to keep the viewer up to speed. I do try to concentrate but there are times when I just let it all wash over me.
Spock and Data and C3PO have this role where their logical stance on things challenges the dangerous decisions being made (like *we* would). The Assistant used to do that but in recent times the Assistant is in on it.
Funnily enough, ‘disappeared up its own arse’ was word-for-word the phrase I used to The Lght. But then Who has done that since River Song appeared.
Superb, I think.
Series 9 has worried me a bit. Here’s why: great stories, great performances, but some sloppy direction and editing. Just not tight enough. However, thanks to your mate Rachel, this was not the case tonight.
I’d like to know if she thinks that Who would benefit from a different approach in terms of writing / direction. Would a more collective approach be better, so that the show is more consistent? Would a series director / editor be better than a rolling programme of guests? Or doesn’t TV really work that way?
She might not want to comment, of course as it might jeapordise future employment. I’d certainly like to see her return.
Yeah I’d like to explore that too. I think the tone / look of the show is extremely variable and tonight – again I might be biased – it just felt like it stepped up several notches and showed up the lack of style in other episodes
I don’t think you are biased, actually. Your first interview with Rachel was great, and I am looking forward to this next one. Please pass on my admiration and respect for her work!
In the Viking episode, they appear in a tidy forest that has uniformly spaced trees and no other bush/fauna i.e. a man-made area of woodland that wouldn’t have been around circa 900 AD. Not a question, I just wanted to write this down somewhere.
Horned helmets. Just sayin’.
I don’t think these were Earth Vikings.
Out of curiosity, how do viewing figures for the last two series compare with earlier series. My impression is that the audience is falling, but I accept that ” I don’t watch it any more” comments on Twitter aren’t empiricial evidence.
I haven’t watched “the Dr” since Worzel Gummidge was playing him. DFBs prose makes me feel I have missed out. Lovely evocative stuff.
‘spoiler free’ … ‘after Clara’s death last week’…
I’m three episodes behind, so the Clara comment is a spoiler for me (although I’ve guessed it was coming from bits elsewhere)!! I should keep up…!! Great post though – I like Capaldi’s take on the role, but I’m going off the Moff. Maybe I’m just getting old, but I simply can’t follow some of the stories…
Sorry I was going to write a SPOILERTASTIC review bust decided against it so thought I took all the spoilers out
However – it may not have been a spoiler *spoiler*
@ernietothecentreoftheearth
As far as I know the viewing figures for Series 8 compared well with previous series. The figures for Series 9 are ‘lower’ but this only reflects ‘real time’ viewers. Further to that these figures are based on a sample of about 5000 set top boxes. Actual viewing figures are really difficult to calculate these days given online viewing, iTunes and box-set watchers. My gut feeling is that Who is as popular as ever, but the media want to create a narrative of falling audience figures.
@black-celebration
On reflection, and given subsequent events, my theory might be bollocks.
Wait… Clara’s DEAD???
I gave up on this series after the first two – it had got (sorry DFB) SO FAR UP ITS OWN ARSE that it was just a series of repeating tics – the geeky back references, the intrusive music building tension that should have been in the scripts, the inevitable intervention of the fucking Psychic Spanner, the weird old man / young girl stuff, this week the Doctor meets… some Vikings! – and mostly I think the move towards kids’ Saturday teatime TV (despite the later slot).
But I’d heard good things about last night’s so I watched it and yes, it was excellent. A genuinely intriguing premise, with great acting, a spooky and disorientating location, some genuine scares and a proper resolution. It was great adult TV. The obvious small plot weakness was one of them clever jokes deliberately planted for the fan forums to go ditzy about, which is a sign of the times I suppose.
Not sure this has restored my faith. This may be a dead cat bounce for a tired format but I do love Moffatt as a writer and I hope he’s got more like this in him.
I’m not a fan of Doctor Who so I have no comment to make regarding the episode, but when you say ‘“Meh”, “Moffat Out” and “too pleased with itself” will be treated with contempt,’ you’re not leaving a wide range of debate open, are you?
Simultaneously opening and closing down the debate. Best to ignore the diktats and say what you think.
If you read it again I applied those diktats to questions for the podcast / Rachel.
Because she can do nothing about Moffat, your ‘meh’ness or feelings towards the show created by other episodes. She’s a director not a showrunner.
Your thoughts on her episodes (next week too) are more than welcome – good and bad as that will help me out
Sorry, I didn’t pick up that you only want to talk about your mate’s episodes. That makes sense of course. I thought this one was excellent after a really poor and tired series, because it was so different.
Good point. Damn, got me!
No need to worry, just need some ideas to prop up my poor interviewing skills
When iplayer and ‘time shifted’ viewing are added in then the viewing figures are as strong as they ever were.
Mark Gattis recently fumed about the tyranny of overnight ratings in TV in a world which has changed in how we view TV but then again has trumpeted the same figures for Sherlock etc
The media are still obsessed with them – see tabloid headline for Strictly v X-Factor. Dr Who magazine devotes a whole page to analysing them. Should they matter? Are they an indication of quality etc.
I personally think having a big Saturday night show like Strictly and then an innovative piece of drama like last night side by side is bold stuff
Just caught up. It was very good, but then I think this has been the strongest series in a while anyway.
One question (that may be a bit spoilery) – do you think there was a capital letter in the last line of the episode?
Well it’s meant to be ambiguous – something for the nethersphere to chew on for a week. Along with the trailer. Which may or may not be trustworthy
Something about this episode reminded me a lot of Iain Banks. The castle setting was a bit Song Of Stone, I suppose, but it’s more the general atmosphere, that ludic idea of being stuck in some half understood system that you have to puzzle out the rules of yourself.
Also, and….
POTENTIAL SPOILERS HERE IF YOU ARE WELL VERSED IN CLASSIC SF NOVELS
REALLY
….about half way through, I thought this is like Rogue Moon. Which it did turn out to be, very much so. But there was nothing in the episode up till that point to make me think so. What does my subconscious know that I don’t?
It reminded me of the app game The Room. I actually thought it was really boring, tbh. One more for fans than for casual viewers or kids. I have yet to like a Capaldi episode.
you’ve just reminded me – it also put me very much in mind of Myst
Yes! I thought that too, at the start at least
I wish adults wouldn’t patronise young fans of television by painting them as some kind of dribbling morons who only light fighty, runny, bang shows.
You’ve obviously never met my nephews.