Doctor Who - 8x08 Mummy on the Orient Express - Review

Classic

That is the best way to describe this episode of Doctor Who. The Doctor and... Clara... embark on their final adventure together. But while The Doctor and Clara hoped that this final rendezvous would just be a quiet one to end their run on a whimper, it instead winds up being a lot more than they bargained for. A mysterious force is killing passengers on board space train, and another even more mysterious force wants to control it.

The best way to describe this episode's opening minutes with the Doctor is "shocking." Mainly because once he stepped out of the T.A.R.D.I.S. he was immediately followed by someone fans were not expecting: Clara. Given the way things ended in the previous episode, it was believed by many fans that Clara was going to be gone for a while. No one actually believed her to be gone for good for this series, but no one expected her to be back this soon. So, in short, this is suppose to be the "break up" adventure. It was brilliant marketing to keep Clara out of the promos in order to make fans believe that she's gone. However it does seem weird that her return is so abrupt given how things ended last time. And this episode does not help her case of wanting to leave him.

This time around, instead of deciding whether to kill a gigantic baby to save the world, it is how many people you have to kill in order to discover the truth? That is because on board the train, people are seeing a creature called The Foretold, which is essentially the Mummy from classic horror cinema. The creature has a specific method of killing in which it appears in the vicinity of its next victim then takes 66 seconds to kill the victim. It is all very methodical and very specific. And by chance, on this train ride there just happens to be several individuals who seem perfectly fit for studying the creature. And that is when the real game begins, as it is revealed that the A.I. that supports the train has been taken over by someone called, Gus. This Gus has gathered these individuals onto the train specifically for the purpose of studying the creature and figuring out a way to capture it. Even if it means every single one of them has to die.

This puts The Doctor in an impossible choice once again. The only way to study the creature is from the individuals who see it and only have 66 seconds to explain everything they can. And since it has a pattern of targeting the weak first then working its way up to the strong, The Doctor is literally the last on The Foretold's hit list as he knows if he were to see the creature within that 66 second time limit he would know how to handle it. What this situation does is that it reenforces the concept of The Dark Doctor that many were introduced to in Capaldi's run. He shows no concern for individuals who are literally about to die because to him they are dead already and can't be saved. Instead of comforting these individuals he prods them for information, with the only thing close to comfort coming from the Doctor is him saying that whatever information is given can possibly save the next victim. Because as I stated before, he has already declared the victims dead before their time is up. It is a ruthless methodology that Clara is once again angry with because of how callous the Doctor has been acting.

This episode is ultimately a companion piece to the previous episode, Kill the Moon. Both episodes are about making hard decisions when there doesn't seem to be any good choices. Kill the Moon was more or less The Doctor giving the hard choice to Clara so that she can see what type of hard choices he has to make on a near daily basis. In here, Clara is once again exposed to his hard choice, but this time she sees how The Doctor deals with it. And in the end, it is this revelation of how they both view the problem and the best way to solve are not so different from one another after all. In a sense it is really meant as a way to get Clara to understand that The Doctor is a dick, but it's not because he wants to be, it's because the situation requires him to be one.

While it is abrupt to have Clara return after the events of the previous episode, this was a good way of resolving what happened. And it was done in Classic Doctor Who fashion. Having seen some of Tom Baker's seasons on Netflix as the Fourth Doctor, this episode pretty much was a big love letter to Baker's Doctor. From dealing with a monstrous mummy and all the way down to the sour candy reference. It is an incredible episode as it compliments what came before. However I don't know if as a standalone that level would be the same. Still, this is definitely showing that Capaldi is The Dark Doctor, but not by choice because the universe forces him to be. And Clara hopefully understands that now.

SCORE: 9.5/10 - This gets bonus points for being a love letter to the Fourth Doctor
STATUS: Continue to Watch - Things just seem to keep getting better and better

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Doctor Who - 8x07 Kill the Moon - Review

Human nature

In this outing of Doctor Who, The Doctor is told by Clara to apologize to her student, Courtney Woods, for telling her that she's nothing special. Instead of directly apologizing though, he takes both of them on a trip to the Moon. A trip that takes them to the year 2049, where they learn that an astronaut team was sent to the satellite with one mission: DESTROY THE MOON!

I should point out that I had some weird flashbacks of Bryan Fuller's failed pilot that was retrofitted into a TV movie for SyFy called High Moon. While both of them do deal with discovering life on the Moon and wearing cool space suits, that is the only comparison that I can really bring up. But to that point, there is something on the Moon. And apparently the Mexican Space Station was the first to discover it. Or would've had the bragging rights to discover it if they weren't killed by that new form of life. And yay for Mexico for having a space station on the moon in the future. But the discovery of life on the Moon is actually why Captain Lundvik (guest star, Hermione Norris) is sent to destroy the Moon. That and other things.

Apparently the Moon has gained weight, and that is probably because of the new signs of life. It is this change of mass and gravity change that is effecting the entire planet. It has gotten so bad that Capt. Lundvik even states that her mission is intended to be the final mission to the Moon, because they have to blow it up in order to stop all the calamities from happening on Earth. But the Doctor discovers something else about the planet. The new life forms that they discovered are actually bacteria. Gigantic bacteria. The kind you would see covering an eggshell. The big revelation? The Moon is an Egg! And it is about to hatch!

Now comes the great problem that The Doctor, Clara, Courtney, and Lundvik are confronted with: kill the creature before it is born or let it hatch and possibly wreak havoc on Earth? That is a tough call. This is probably a very touchy subject that sounds like an abortion brought to an extremely epic scale. So this is really a powerful subject to have in the series as sort of an indirect way of bringing up the subject of abortions. The Moon is an egg about to hatch, with the embryo fully developed. And now here comes astronaut Captain Lundvik and her space shuttle filled with enough nuclear bombs to blow up the Moon. This is definitely an abortion brought to large scale. While the show really doesn't delve too much on the subject, because the subject is more directed towards the human need to survive.

The Doctor does something unthinkable and puts the decision in the hands of Clara, Lundvik and Courtney on whether or not they should kill the hatching Moon, while he goes off doing... what the Doctor does. So now the trio is left alone. Lundvik gives her points that the lives of millions of people are more important than the life of a single creature, who can possibly destroy the world or its hatching may cause more cataclysms. Clara brings up the point that there is always an alternative and that we don't know if the creature's birth will destroy the world while also bringing up that it is the last of its kind. While Courtney gives the most simplest argument and probably the one with the most meaning: She doesn't want to kill a baby. It is interesting how Clara seems to have the same view as Courtney but because she's an adult, she has to rationalize and make sense of things. Whereas with Courtney being a young girl, her view is simplified, but it is also the most profound argument of why not to kill the Moon.

I will not give the outcome here, but it should be known that the Doctor knew what the outcome was going to be all along. But instead of telling the trio the right answer, he forces them into a difficult decision in hopes that they would come up with the right answer themselves. It is this thinking that causes Clara to have a fallout with the Doctor. She couldn't believe that the Doctor would put her in that situation, a situation that could determine the very fate of the entire planet. Her anger is justified as The Doctor does know the outcome but the debate that Clara, Lundvik and Courtney had to go through put all of them through hell. It is fascinating how it took this moment to really show Clara how cold and calculating The Doctor is. Capaldi hasn't been acting as The Dark Doctor we've seen from the first three episodes of his run, but his decision to leave a life or death decision to three people is more darker than anything he's done in his run. So it is no surprise that Clara leaves The Doctor because of this. Yeah... she leaves him. And I have to say, Jenna Louise Coleman's portrayal of Clara during that final confrontation is the best acting I've seen from her in a run that has show just how much range she has. I just hope that her leave isn't permanent. If it is... well, the Doctor always moves on. And so must we.

SCORE: 9/10 - A powerful end to a strong friendship

STATUS: Continue to Watch - Time for some Solo Capaldi Episodes!

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Doctor Who - 8x06 The Caretaker - Review

It's not easy being one of the saviors of the universe

Especially when you're essentially living a double life. That is what Clara is beginning to realize after she started dating Danny Pink. There's life with The Doctor, which means crazy time traveling and universe saving. Then there's reality. A life that Clara didn't seem to care too much before meeting Danny. And in this episode, Clara's two lives head to a collision course as The Doctor becomes the temporary caretaker of Coal Hill School. The school that Clara and Danny Pink work at.

It was bound to happen eventually. Especially given all the hints that the audience was given about how this confrontation would go down. And it also really becomes clear how much of life with The Doctor is interfering with her chance to have a normal one. One would think it is odd that she didn't feel this way in the previous series. But then again, as I stated above, that was before she met Danny. No, before Danny, Clara was never concerned about her real personal life. Part of that was due to her crush on Matt Smith's Doctor. While as much as she wants to deny that she did not view him in a romantic way, The Time of the Doctor Christmas Special pretty much revealed that she does secretly want him. But given that The Doctor looks like her father, or grandfather, her sights have been set on more human connection. And that human connection starts to show her how crazy her life is.

It shows from Clara's reaction to the Doctor's appearance as the new caretaker of the school. She never had to worry about her personal life colliding with her "hobby" until this moment. And in this moment that is when she really starts to try to control the situation. She doesn't want her lives to collide. She wants them separate. And also, Clara knows that if The Doctor is at the school, something horrible is going to happen. Meaning that her two separate lives will get really mixed up. 

The reason for The Doctor's appearance at the legendary Coal Hill School, a staple in Doctor Who Lore, is because there is an automaton that could destroy the entire planet living nearby. If people had thought that The Doctor has lost his wacky nature, he hasn't. This episode still contains Capaldi's dry and sarcastic delivery that makes him the Capaldi Doctor, but he is definitely doing things that The Doctor is known to do: failing to blend in. Especially when he tries to blend in as the school's new caretaker. It is probably the most comedic take that Capaldi has done, and the comedy is extremely sarcastic yet lovable. It is at this point that I think it is no longer appropriate to call him The Dark Doctor anymore. Sure there is a moment when he exclaims to Danny, "I'm not using Clara as a decay, I'm using her like a decoy," which is still pretty dark, but not as dark as we've seen him in the first two episodes of his run.

Speaking of Danny, this episode is after all dedicated to that fateful confrontation between him and The Doctor. The build up was nice, with The Doctor posing as The Caretaker continuously insisting that Danny is a P.E. teacher because in his mind soldiers can't be math teachers. It automatically sells the audience what he thinks of Danny, and just exactly how these two are going to get along. I'm not going to leave it a mystery if they both discover who the other is because that is the point of this episode. And it is handled really well. It was a confrontation and revelation filled with a lot of ferocity as well as the need to be the alpha male. It is an interplay viewers will have previously seen between Matt Smith's Doctor and Rory, except while Danny is more of an alpha male than Rory and Capaldi's Doctor is pretty much a more convincing alpha male than Matt Smith. This interplay happens in front of Clara, who still continues to try and keep her two worlds separate, but it is too late. The animosity between The Doctor and Danny was handled at the right level where it didn't become too annoying.

This episode really puts a mirror in front of Clara when Danny asks her, who is she? It is a question that she thought she knew the answer to, but with the universal revelation given to Danny, the answer is no longer simple. But when she does come to the answer, it once again adds to her character in ways that she is not even aware.

In short, it was a fun episode. A good confrontation. And good development for Clara. 

SCORE: 8/10 - Another whimsical episode that adds to Clara's character development

STATUS: Continue to Watch - I don't think Danny is going to be a traveling companion

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Doctor Who - 8x05 Time Heist - Review

Time to rob the most impenetrable bank in the Universe

In this outing, right before Clara can go on her second date with Danny Pink, The Doctor receives a phone call. A phone call that results to both of them appearing in a room holding worms with two complete strangers. Their memories of how they got to that point have been erased, thanks to said worms, and the only clue they have is a message from someone called The Architect. Their mission: Rob the Impenetrable Bank. A Time Lord, a Teacher, a Human Computer and a Shape Shifter. Sounds like the right crew for the job.

This episode just might be the most familiar Doctor Who episode yet. I say that since it has been a long time since I referred to Peter Capaldi as The Dark Doctor. I recall only using that for the first two episodes only to have it be briefly mentioned in the third episode review then forgotten all together with subsequent episodes. It is strange that such a dark and grim Doctor seems to be transitioning more closer to a Doctor that Who fans have loved from the reboot. He is still strict and still holds himself more seriously, yet his really dark moments seem to be subdued. Although I say subdued, that doesn't mean that he isn't dark anymore. Just not as dark as he has been for the first two episodes of the series.

This also seems to be the first time that The Doctor is front and center as the main driving force. When the motley crew of amnesiac bank robbers assemble, the Doctor automatically declares himself team leader. It was nice to finally have him back in the driver's seat, mainly because the previous episodes of this series seem to dominantly focus on building Clara's character. Which is fine as many believed her to be a very weak character in the previous season. But really, we want to see The Doctor in command.

They're tasked by a mysterious individual calling himself The Architect to rob something from Karabraxos, the impenetrable bank. An impossible feat as it has security systems that would make a hyper paranoid Batman proud. And if you're going to rob a bank, you're going to need a crew. Mainly two new individual called Psi and Saibra. Psi is an augmented human with computer technology merged into his brain. His skill in hacking into computer systems and breaking vaults make him an obvious candidate for the job. Saibra is a mutant human who has the ability to transform into anyone she touches all the way down to the molecular level. This proves valuable as the security measures of Karabraxos scans everything about a person, including their DNA. But what is interesting about these two characters is how they are slight reflections of The Doctor.

Psi didn't had to wipe his memory by touching a memory worm, he was completely capable of doing that to himself. Being a computer allows him to do such a thing. However even though he loses those memories and still goes on with life, he can't help but feeling that he just lost any connection with those who cared about him. Then of course there is Saibra who transforms into people she touches, which is disconcerting to many. As she points out, individuals hate staring at another version of themselves as it reminds them of the flaws they hate about themselves. Both of these are very strong relations to the current Doctor we have. There are things in his memory that he wishes to forget but he knows he can't for the sake of protecting those he cares about. And if anything, the memory of the War Doctor, who is in a way a reflection of himself, still haunts him as to what he can become. These themes play well into what this episode is building to, as it really is about self reflection as we study who the Doctor of Doctor Who is now.

But of course, no Doctor Who episode is complete without terrifying villains. Ms. Delphox, played by Keeley Hawes, is the current manager of Karabraxos. She possesses a very icy cold demeanor yet very professional that it makes her seem completely detached from what is right and wrong. Her one dedication is to uphold the reputation of the Bank as being the most impenetrable in the universe. People who own entire star systems use this bank, meaning that is big investment to be had. And if you're going to be running the most powerful bank in the world, you have to be detached from greed. But that's not all that is needed to protect the bank. Ms. Delphox also has a mysterious creature she calls, "The Teller," as their greatest security. Kept in chains and a straitjacket, the Teller has the ability to sniff out guilt, making him the perfect hound dog for bank security. He is also the perfect attack dog as his ability also allows him to feed off of memories to the point where its target's brain become mush. The fact that it can sniff out guilt offers a perfect obstacle for The Doctor, a man who is literally filled with guilt. He is probably one of the most creative characters to come on to Doctor Who this series so far, and I hope we'll see more creative creatures like this one soon.

All in all though, if you've seen great heist movies with Ocean's Eleven being the prime example, you can pretty much piece together where this story is going. All the ideas of memories, guilt, and hating your own reflection are all part of the central theme of this series. It all boils down to a finale that may come off as a little disappointing, but not as disappointing as the ending of the previous episode. This was definitely a fun good romp for The Doctor to be The Doctor, and it really shows just how amazingly well Peter Capaldi is suited for this role. It seems we now have a grasp of what kind of Doctor Capalidi is going for, but the idea of the Dark Doctor still looms over him. We'll just have to see if the darkness from him returns. But with episodes like this, I'm fine with waiting for the darkness a little longer.

SCORE: 8.7/10 - Nice to see The Doctor taking charge of the situation once again
STATUS: Continue to Watch - Things just keep getting better

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Doctor Who - 8x04 Listen - Review

"Fear is your superpower."

The episode opens up with a question: What if you're never really alone? What if something exists for the sole purpose of hiding. And what would that thing thrive off of from having that ability to hide perfectly? That is what The Doctor tries to discover, as the only clue he has is a single world written on a chalkboard: LISTEN.

This episode is about confronting fear and how we draw our strength from it. Simple as that. And it also deals mainly with something that seems to be a growing theme of this series: Capaldi's Doctor is paranoid. The episode opens with him deciphering how evolution has allowed creatures to become either perfect hunters and perfect defenders yet never perfect hiders. Though I can argue about the insect kingdom, it does beg the question about what if something exists that just wants to hide? The Doctor becomes obsessed with the question to the point where he starts locking on to the idea of recurring nightmares and the sounds we hear at night. What if those sounds are not the sounds we tell ourselves they are but coming from this perfect hider. 

Of course the Doctor couldn't confront this menace alone as he brings along his companion, Clara. By the end of this episode, the word companion will have a much stronger meaning to the Doctor than probably ever before. Lately the episodes seem to put a real prime focus on Jenna Louise Coleman's Clara. Some may see this as a setback for not putting the Doctor front and center, especially with a talent such as Peter Capaldi at the reins. But for those who feel that Clara was not that strong of a character in her first tenure as a companion in series 7 will definitely be thankful for all this screen time and focus. We get a lot more nuances from her in this episode and it really is making her something special. When promoting the 50th anniversary special, her and Elisabeth Sladen's Sarah Jane were the only companions used in a trailer chronicling the 50 years of Doctor Who, which it seems to slightly acknowledge their slight similarities yet major differences. I do believe that there is something special about Clara that could make her a Sarah Jane level companion, and this series is definitely building her as one. And most of that stems from her interactions with Samuel Anderson's Danny Pink in this episode.

Yes, Mr. Pink returns and he finally gets that date with Clara. However this episode takes place after the date while doing a clever use of showing a devastated Clara returning home to flashbacks of the date showing that she is pretty much to blame for things going bad. Here we really get to learn more about Pink, from not just Sam Anderson's interpretation, but a young Danny Pink as well. Yes, when the Doctor brings up the notion of locating the source of the recurring nightmare, he uses Clara's memories to trace back her experience with the nightmare. However as she had Danny on the mind, instead they wind up meeting a young Danny's experience with the recurring nightmare and how this encounter pretty much shaped the man Clara will fall for in his adulthood. The Doctor makes constant references to finding out how is he connected to her memory timeline, while it is obvious to us why as well as to Clara that there may be more to their future than just a small crush and encounter involving nightmares. It does a great job in showing two people who have both been through a lot yet have high defense mechanisms in wanting to hide what they really are, and it is handled really well in this outing.

It all of course comes full circle when the episode decides to show us the future of Clara and Pink's connection by meeting Orson Pink, also played by Samuel Anderson, who is a future descendent Danny Pink. He is a time traveler, which apparently runs in the family, and his time travel mission goes wrong by being sent to the end of the universe. And here we get to see a play on the shortest horror story ever told:

The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door...

Again, drawing back to the Doctor's obsession with finding this mysterious being that tells him to, "listen." And he does. And there is a knock on the door of Orson's time machine. A knock that should not be possible as it is the end of the universe and everyone is dead, save for the time travelers in a shabby time machine and the TARDIS. When we get the answer to the question of who this entity is and what it wants, it could be considered a letdown. However the origin of where it stems from, this constant nightmare all across time, is probably one of the best moments of the reboot in this series. Again, the reveal brings up more questions than answers, for instance you'll be wondering what that business in young Danny's room was about then, but still the moment used as the Origin of this problem adds a whole new layer to the Doctor's mythology. It just may not have worked out well as writer Moffat would've liked.

SCORE: 8.5/10 - It was nice seeing the development of Clara and Pink

STATUS: Continue to watch, hoping another Doctor Centric episode will be next

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Doctor Who - 8x03 Robots of Sherwood - Review

Legends Collide!

In this outing of Doctor Who, Clara gets to live out one of her dreams: meeting Robin Hood. However, the Doctor doesn't believe Robin Hood exists. But when the Doctor tries to prove his stance, it turns out there is a jolly green archer named Robin Hood going about doing good deeds for the poor. And that is where the whole mystery begins. Is this Robin Hood the real deal, or is he part of something sinister? And why is it that the Sheriff of Nottingham and his army of black knights are only taxing for gold instead of other valuables? Something is afoot here, and only The Doctor can solve it... while at the same time trying to ruin one of Clara's fantasies.

This episode does a couple of things that New Who fans are used to. Extremely great humor with a whimsical tone. A lot of people, like myself, have been calling Peter Capaldi's Doctor the Dark Doctor. However in this episode, while he's still pretty much a darker Doctor, this one shows his more comedic side. A side that was slightly mishandled in the Pilot due to him having to emulate Matt Smith's Doctor for the first half. Then it continues to not be shown in the follow up episode, Into the Dalek, by showing just how sinister he can be. That's not to say there wasn't humor, its just that Capaldi's humor is effective when it is dry and sarcastic. This episode however, shows his dry and sarcastic humor on steroids mixed with acid. And it is brilliant. The Doctor that the reboot fans have enjoyed seems to have returned.

If you can't tell, he brought a spoon to a sword fight.

Most of that humor arises from his interaction with the man claiming to be Robin Hood, played wonderfully in full satire by Tom  Riley. The devilishly charming rogue definitely rubs the Doctor the wrong way. We see The Doctor in complete disbelief of Robin's existence, even though he's standing right there in front of him. But as The Doctor knows from experience, seeing isn't always believing. Which leads to several humorous exchanges between the two British Icons. The first notably being an Errol Flynn inspired sword fight between the two. What makes it genius is Capaldi's dry sarcasm mixed with the fact that he's fighting Robin Hood with a Spoon. Their hijinks and continuous bickering will definitely be the highlight of the show. Especially since one can compare Robin Hood to the past eccentric Doctor's of the reboot series versus Capaldi's more serious and easily annoyed Doctor. It is just great comedy all around.

Given that situation, Clara has to once again step up as the better person in the episode. I'm not entirely sure if this was common with her and Matt Smith's Doctor, but her interaction with Capaldi's Doctor has so far been the one of the two who still has a sense of wonder. This can be attributed to Smith's Doctor spending a thousand years on Trenzalore fighting a war meant to kill him, causing Capaldi's Doctor to be a bitter man, but it is also nice seeing a switch of having Clara being the more optimistic one while The Doctor is now straight forward and pessimistic. It allows Clara to really show just how clever she is, because although The Doctor is still very clever, Clara has definitely stepped her game up to counteract with Capaldi's rendition. This shines from her unrelenting belief in Robin being the real deal, as well as her handling of the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham. 

This rendition of the Sheriff is pretty much what one would expect from Robin Hood's classic archenemy. There is a reason why everyone in this particular time period acts the way as they do in the legends, and it does have something to do with the title of this episode. The Sheriff has aligned himself with robots who first appear in this episode as knights, until their helmets open to reveal their metal faces beneath. These robots are an alien race that operates a spaceship that requires gold as their source of power, which ties in nicely with the Sheriff's goals of wanting to be powerful. It is a nice way of weaving a science fiction element into a classic tale that could only work in Doctor Who. It also brings up that common trope of "the truth behind the legend," stories which is handled surprisingly very well in this episode mainly thanks to writer Mark Gatiss. However the solution involving a Golden Arrow was kind of... stupid. Still good though.

While one can pretty much predict how this episode will end in terms of the validity of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, there is enough twists and turns to make one question if their gut feeling is correct. And that really is one of the points of this story: legends are more powerful than history. The Doctor, who has a long history, is better remembered as the legendary space warrior he is rather than the crazy lunatic history dictates. It is a nice parallel to his disbelief in the legendary figure, and it also helps to have robotic knights spicing up the story to make things a little more interesting. This episode is really an exploration of what the Doctor represents to Clara rather than an exploration of his new personality. It is a nice contrast to his dark nature in the previous episode as this is surely The Doctor that New Who fans miss since Capaldi took over. And the fact that they brought out this humor in the third episode should be a message to the fans. The Doctor may be serious now, but that doesn't mean he's incapable of being funny or the hero we remember. He always will be The Doctor.

SCORE: 8.8/10 - A return to the whimsical mixed with brilliant dry humor

STATUS: Continue to Watch - Capaldi's Doctor is really taking shape now as he shows more sides to his "attack eyebrows" personality

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Doctor Who - 8x02 Into the Dalek - Review

Into Darkness

After a pretty okay season opener, the second outing of Peter Capaldi as The Doctor is no longer bound by the transition from silly to Capaldi. In other words, we now finally get to see an entire episode dedicated to what will be known as Capaldi's Doctor. Or as I like to call him, The Dark Doctor.

After saving soldier Journey Blue (Zawe Ashton), the Doctor gets recruited to be the doctor for a patient held in custody by the military Blue belongs to. That patient being a damaged Dalek. But why would The Doctor help a member of a race he has sworn to destroy since they first met? Simple. All it took was for "Rusty" the damaged Dalek to say, "The Daleks will be exterminated!" Of course, not wanting to take part of this strange event solo, he picks up Clara to bring her into the madness as well.

People may groan at having the Daleks return so soon. While yes, it would be fun to see new threats for the Doctor to face more often than his old ones, it is hard to deny that the Daleks are a huge part of Doctor Who. I don't see them going anywhere, and I am not one of those people who groans knowing that they're coming back. It wouldn't be Doctor Who without Daleks or Cybermen. What I was concerned about though was how this episode was presented. It pretty much reminded me of an episode from Christopher Eccelston's run as the Ninth Doctor, simply titled, "Dalek." Both are about captured Daleks suffering from some sort of damage and discovering something new. While the Dalek in the "Dalek" episode learned pity by absorbing human DNA, Rusty the Dalek in this episode discovers the meaning of life due to an internal malfunction. I can guarantee to you now that if you're expecting a repeat of the "Dalek" episode that you will not get that. After all the point of this episode is more of an examination of Capaldi's New Doctor.

The jokes are there, but they are not silly. They are not energetic, they are more subdued. And they are all still coming from The Doctor, but told very differently. The flair and dashing that David Tennant and Matt Smith brought to the Doctor is gone. When Capaldi was aiming for a more serious Doctor, he really meant it. In this episode we see this Doctor at full capacity. From how he handles people around him, to referring to Clara as his carer. To put it in his words, "She cares so that I don't have to." That is probably the best way to describe the new relationship between The Doctor and Clara. He is a dark, sarcastic mad man who only want to prove he's right, but also knows he needs Clara to remind him of what he refuses to see.

During the episode, which is pretty much a twisted homage to The Fantastic Voyage, when The Doctor feels he has proven that Daleks are evil and can only be evil, it is Clara who has to remind him that the real lesson to learn is that it is possible for a Dalek to be good. This ties in nicely with a question that the Doctor asks Clara before they go on this adventure. "Am I a good man?" A question that can easily be tied to Rusty the Dalek. Is he a good Dalek? Is such a thing possible? Is the Doctor a good man? Is that even really possible? These questions and parallels are handled nicely with the interaction between The Doctor and Rusty as they both try to understand each other while at the same time discovering there is after all very similar things to them. Traits that any previous Doctor would flat out deny, but Capaldi's seems to accept that he is no different from a Dalek. After all, archenemies need to see something of themselves in the other in order to be truly enemies.

Another recurring theme in this story is the military and The Doctor. Although the Doctor has been known to work with militant groups such as U.N.I.T. and various other militaries, for some reason in this one he outwardly hates the idea of a soldier. It almost becomes apparent with the Doctor's initial disregard to the death of a soldier under his command just for the sake of finding an escape route. Not only did it display the more calculating side of the Doctor, but also his disdain for anyone who follows orders without question. This idea of the current Doctor having a problem with the military will be explored even more due to the arrival of a new addition to the school Clara teaches at.

In this episode we meet Danny Pink played by Samuel Anderson. His introduction and final word in the episode serves as book ends for this well executed story. While it is known that he will eventually be joining Clara in the TARDIS, we discover a couple of things about him. For one he is a soldier who suffers from a great trauma and has crush on Clara, who fortunately likes him back. We already see a man who is completely different from previous male companions, Mickey and Rory. He is military but he is also a very introverted man who wants to be a little bit more outgoing. This could prove to be a more valuable male companion right off the bat rather than previous male companions who have to grow into someone like Pink. However because of Pink being a military man, and watching The Doctor's interaction with Blue, Clara seems to question whether or not being with Pink would be something The Doctor would approve of. And given what The Doctor learned of himself and his affirmation in wanting as little interaction with soldiers as possible, we can already see that Pink may become a capable companion but still has to grow to the Doctor's liking.

Time will tell. And from the looks of the next episode, we probably won't know till later. But right now, we are definitely seeing the Capaldi Doctor take shape. And that is a good thing. As we now know what this Doctor is. He is a Dark Mad Genius who needs Clara's light to keep him from completely descending into Darkness. And I am completely fine with that. The Older Doctor is back, and he's here to stay... for as long as Capaldi is on board.

SCORE: 8.5 - Vast improvement over the previous episode and Capaldi delivers

STATUS: Continue to Watch - I look forward to the confrontation between the Doctor and Pink

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Doctor Who - 8x01 Deep Breath - Review

Here we go again...

A new season and a new Doctor. Deep Breath marks the first full episode of Peter Capaldi as the infamous Doctor Who. And there is definitely a lot to take in. Mainly for the fans of the reboot who are used to the young dashing Doctors from the previous 6 series (7 if you want to call Christopher Eccelston dashing) who are heavily critical of Capaldi's casting. Mainly because he is not young and dashing. And most of that criticism is from rabid fangirls. But Capldi is something else though. What is he? Let's begin.

Things don't start out with a bang, but it starts out with a gigantic oversized T-Rex wandering around London in the 1800s. And that T-Rex vomits out a Blue Box that all Doctor Who fans will know as the TARDIS. Resident Victorian London Doctor Who characters, Madam Vastra (lizard lady detective), her human wife Jenny, and her Sontaran butler Strax. The trio are greeted by the new Capaldi Doctor and his companion Clara (Jenna Louise Coleman) who appears to be not too happy about the Doctor's new look. Their arrival could not be more appropriate as someone is causing people in Victorian London to spontaneously combust. But with the Doctor trying to figure out who he is and Clara not knowing if she knows him anymore, could they find their friendship and save the day once again?

The answer to that question is yes, but the road getting there is a long one. This Season Opener is a long one, clocking in at 70 minutes. Though given what has happened in the episode, I don't really think it was necessary for it to be this long. Especially given the subject matter of the first 30 minutes of the episode: DEALING WITH THE DOCTOR BEING OLD!

Yes, for the first 30 minutes of the premier, The Doctor has suffered a slight bit of memory loss or rather jumbled up memories. Seeing as how the first 30 minutes is suppose to convince us Capaldi is the new Doctor, it really doesn't seem like it. Mainly because for the most part, he was still acting like his predecessor, Matt Smith, at the beginning of the episode. He was talking fast pace and be jovial. Though Capaldi does valiantly with trying to bridge the transition between Smith to himself, it is jarring seeing Capaldi trying to act like the quirky Matt Smith Doctor. It didn't detract so much from his performance, but some viewers may be turned off by it. Luckily I wasn't one of them.

The other thing that was woven into the first 30 minutes was the fact that Clara was complaining about The Doctor looking Old. This is mainly due to her seeing all his regenerations getting younger and younger, as well as being Smith's companion for his final run. So here, Clara question why would The Doctor choose to have an Old Face, only to be berated by Madam Vastra that the Doctor has always been old. It even brings up the idea of romantic tension between Clara and Smith's Doctor. This segment of the episode is definitely for pointing out to Fan Girls that Doctor Who is more than just a handsome man, because in reality he's not a handsome young man. He is an old, and now very ancient alien. This point has to be hammered home to Clara, who despite claims to understand she still is in denial that her dashing Doctor is now an Old Man. Whether Fan Girls watching Clara's part of the story gets that bit of dealing with the Doctor is now Old and has always been Old shall be seen in the future to come.

But now on to when the more interesting stuff happens. The remaining 40 minutes of the episode play out like a standard Doctor Who episode. There is danger, and the Doctor has to stop it. And lucky for the viewer, Capaldi's Doctor starts to act like what we will know as Capaldi's Doctor. Remember when I said he was something else? Well, he is something else. He's dark. Very dark. This is a dark and dry sarcastic Doctor. There is still an occasional joke, but instead it seem to be more insulting that funny. And when he talks, it is like an evil genius who cannot be defeated. Capaldi's Doctor is almost very cold but extremely calculating. This is evident from how he handles the antagonist of this episode, a machine who is trying to be human. He declares that he's going to have to kill him. A statement like that would be shocking for New Doctor Who fans, but for old ones it is nothing new. In fact, this is the resurgence of Tom Baker's Doctor: The Mad Man with a Time Machine. Only while Baker's Doctor is cackling mad, Capaldi's is cold and psychotic. His Doctor is unpredictable and his motives are almost ambiguous. Especially given the fate of the first episode's antagonist. Is he still a good man?

However, despite appearing that way, it is clear that he still cares about Clara. Though probably not the way it seemed from Smith's Run. The Doctor makes it clear to Clara that he is not her boyfriend, although she denies that she thought of him that way, but that even with a new personality, he still cares. This becomes clear to Clara after receiving a message from an Old Face, who helps giver her closure as well as embrace that Capaldi's Doctor is still her Doctor. Just not one that she can fall in love with anymore, but still loves him. Their relationship will definitely be the emotional anchor that Capaldi's Doctor needs, mainly because this Doctor is what I would like to call The Dark Doctor. The Old School Doctor from before the Reboot has Returned, and his attack eyebrows are ready for anything.

It's too bad that despite the great character development in this episode, you'll notice that I didn't spend too much time talking about the episode itself. Well, to put it shortly, the episode wasn't that great. This would've been a great episode if it weren't the first one. Usually these things need to start out with a bang and immediately show us who Capaldi's Doctor will be. But the fact that it spent too much time with Capaldi thinking he's still Smith's Doctor and not getting to him being his own Doctor right away, detracts from the momentum. It is still a fine episode, but this is really a big long rant by the creators to the fans: He is old now, deal with it. And for the Old Fans, he is Dark again. You happy? Cause I am.

SCORE: 7.5/10 - Great character development, but a not so great start

STATUS: Continue To Watch, especially because of this new Dark Doctor

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