Television: Doctor Who and the Nightmare in Silver

“Welcome to Webley’s World of Wonders! Roll up, roll up. Miracles, marvels and more await you. The wonder of the age. The miracle of modernity. They were defeated a thousand years ago, but now they’re back to destroy you. So fast, so smart, and so strong that fighting them is suicidal. Nightmares in silver! Ladies and gentlemen, behold- the 699th wonder of the universe – the Cybermen! As you’ve never seen them before…“

And so we finally get a proper Cyberman story after 2006′s two-parter episodes Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel. Unless I count 2009′s The Next Doctor. Which I should. But I didn’t like it. I liked the two-parter from Series 2. I loved Nightmare in Silver.

Going into this episode, I actually feared that my bias would color my enjoyment of the episode. To the point that, I might over analyze, and… well, not like the episode. And all because I’m a Gaiman fan.

But I had nothing to fear. Gaiman delivers. And in spade.

The Doctor’s Wife from the last series had a great emotional hook in Amy and Rory, and had the gimmick of turning the TARDIS human. In Nightmare in Silver, Gaiman doesn’t have the luxury of having companions that are already well-loved, that people already care deeply about. His gimmick for the episode isn’t something that all fans are looking forward too–it’s something people are actually apprehensive about: the return of the Cybermen.

Nothing against the previous writers who handled the Cybermen, but when you make emotion their biggest weakness, it makes the Cybermen a bit of a wuss. It was interesting the first time it was done, back in 2006, because it was new. But their subsequent appearances were as easily resolved.

The Cybermen are enduring enemies of the Doctor, but unlike the Dalek, they don’t seem scary at all. Which makes me wonder why lists featuring scariest Doctor Who monsters always include them. Well, Gaiman’s Nightmare in Silver shows us why.

The Cybermen have become too human. To make them scary again, Gaiman took out the humanity. And what we get is an exceptional episode that even includes a great relationship development for the Doctor and Clara.

I do have two gripes for this episode.

Number one, when the Doctor notices the cybermites for the first time, he knew he couldn’t leave the planet. But why have the children stay in the planet instead of in the TARDIS?

Number two, Matt Smith is a great actor, yes–but I thought his CyberPlanner persona was a bit too flamboyant–and not unlike his portrayal of a very happy Doctor. Except more sinister.

I mean, I love the nuances that made Mr. Clever, the CyberPlanner, very distinct from the Doctor. And I get that there’s a bit of tomfoolery in the front that Gaiman wants to keep viewers guessing which Doctor is interacting with Clara. But prior to this–when it’s just the Doctor and the Cyber puppets–I really found it disconcerting that the CyberPlanner and the Doctor were essentially the same.

Unless, there’s a statement there somewhere.

Overall though, excellent episode.

I just hope next week’s finale lives up to the recent exceptional episodes.

Television: Doctor Who and Hide

“Clara and the Doctor arrive at Caliburn House, a haunted mansion sat alone on a desolate moor. Within its walls, a ghost hunting Professor and a gifted psychic are searching for the Witch of the Well. Her apparition appears throughout the history of the building, but is she really a ghost? And what is chasing her?“

Now that’s more like it.

In this episode of Doctor Who, we go ghost-hunting with the Doctor and Clara–and we sort of make a move towards solving what Clara is. Or isn’t. Not that we get an answer. Of course not. It’s not the finale yet. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Instead, let’s go back to the beginnings of the episode.

So, we have a Professor and his assistant trying to find out the identity of an apparition inside a scary old manor. It’s properly creepy, so hat’s off to everyone in the production, and it sets the mood of the rest of the episode. Did I already mention that it’s properly creepy? Well, let’s take it up a notch and put it in the scary category.

It’s scary.

And then, of course, the Doctor arrives.

Neil Cross, the writer of the episode, has chosen an exceptional mode of storytelling for this episode–which frustrated me at the beginning as I’ve gotten used to the Doctor explaining something, appearing somewhere, before the story actually begins. In this episode, the story is already underway, and the starting point was the Christmas episode.

That might have been a spoiler, but I’m not telling what it spoils. Anyway, by episode’s end, you’ll have a clear understanding of why the Doctor chose to go to this place at this point in time. ‘Chose’ being the operative word.

What I particularly like in this episode is that we get a well-plotted and well-paced story, and still manage to get the (half-)season story arc moving forward. I’m hoping next week’s episode will propel it further on, but I’m good with what we got this week. Even if it’s just to say that the writers have not forgotten what’s going on, and the circumstances of where the Doctor is currently.

Also, the acting was exceptional in this episode. Matt Smith continues to amaze as he jumps to and fro a multitude of emotions in a matter of seconds. I especially like how he played the scene, where he’s alone in the misty forest–yes, the one in the trailer–and says that he is the Doctor, and he is afraid. There are layers in his delivery there, horror on top of sadness on top of frustration and anger, and at the bottom of it all, there’s still the frenzy of him trying to figure a way out of his current predicament.

Now, that’s layered acting.

Jenna-Louise Coleman was also great this time ’round; there’s much more for her to do, and more for her character to explore. This story fit her better than last week’s Cold War does. Definitely.

As for the episode’s end–

Well, let’s just say I’m willing to embrace it. This is Doctor Who after all. And the episode delivered the chills it promised anyway, so I don’t mind how it ended. In a way, it’s a bit fitting too. One happy ending before we delve into the center of the TARDIS next week.

Television: Doctor Who and the Cold War

“The Doctor and Clara land on a damaged Russian Submarine in 1983 as it spirals out of control into the ocean depths. An alien creature is loose on board, having escaped from a block of Arctic ice. With tempers flaring and a cargo of nuclear weapons on board, it’s not just the crew but the whole of humanity at stake!“

Well, one thing’s for sure, this episode is a lot better than last week’s–if not as emotionally compelling.

I came into the Doctor Who fandom a little late. I didn’t even begin when the series was rebooted back in 2005. My time with the Doctor started when the current one began his tenure. And I have no intention, as of now, to go back beyond the Ninth Doctor. Because of this, I find myself not caring a lot about the fact that we meet an Ice Warrior in this episode.

Unfortunately, I think the episode hinges too much on the fact that there’s an ice warrior. I felt like this episode was a disservice to Clara who we still have to get to know more. Of all the companions since the Doctor came back in the 21st century, only Clara has had to deal with a monumental anniversary–and suffered in terms of storytelling.

Had this episode happened with Amy and Rory still around, I think I would have cared more about the story. But we have Clara. The mysterious twice-dead woman whose existence is impossible.

And we’re spending time inside a cramped submarine confronting an alien that doesn’t really look or feel scary.

Yes, I did say this episode was better than last week’s. Because last week had too much going on, I feel. This one was contained to a single story–that dragged on. At least The Rings of Akhaten had that emotional scene with the Doctor confronting his demons…in the face of another demon. And, let’s not forget, there were the clippings from Clara’s life too.

This one relied too much on nostalgia.

I’m hoping next week’s episode would be more like The Bells of St. John, in the case that it moves Clara’s plot along–whilst having a good story, a good villain, and a good (or at least a serviceable) resolution.

Television: Doctor Who and the Rings of Akhaten

“Clara wants to see something awesome, so the Doctor whisks her off to the inhabited rings of the planet Akhaten, where the Festival of Offerings is in full swing. Clara meets the young Queen of Years as the pilgrims and natives ready for the ceremony. But something is stirring in the pyramid, and a sacrifice will be demanded.“

The Doctor is going to fight a giant jack-o-lantern. That pretty much sums up the whole episode–and my disappointment with it.

I don’t know what I was expecting, just that it wasn’t much. I’ve learned stem my excitement and expectations over the years. But this episode of Doctor Who was absolutely boring. There’s the word. Boring.

Sure, we get that one magnificent scene with Matt Smith as he fights off the monster-of-the-week. And Jenna-Louise Coleman held her own too. But at the end of the whole episode, we don’t really get anything. Except that Clara, the character Jenna-Louise plays, is very much willing to lose the most important thing in her life to save the lives of many. Noble, yes. Yet very frustrating at the same time. Why?

Spoiler alert–that’s all it takes to defeat the big bad.

I’m all for love saves the world at the end of it all. But when you’re fighting a giant ball of fire with a jack-o-lantern face, you’d expect the battle to be a bit more epic. Well, more epic than just standing while holding a dead leaf. It might have looked good on paper, not so much in execution.

What was actually more interesting in this episode was the Doctor going through Clara’s life–trying to make sense of how this girl twice-died is possible. It took up the first few minutes, and a minute at the end. And it only underlines the fact that the mystery of the Doctor’s companion was more intriguing and engaging than the entirety of the episode.

I think this might be the first time I’m actually disliking an episode of Doctor Who. Well, from recent memory anyway. And that’s because The Rings of Akhaten is just not interesting.

What about you? What are your thoughts?

Television: Doctor Who and the Bells of St. John

“The Doctor’s search for Clara Oswald brings him to modern day London, where humanity lives in a wi-fi soup. But something dangerous is lurking in the signals, picking off minds and imprisoning them. As Clara becomes the target of this insidious menace, the Doctor races to save her and the world from an ancient enemy.“

After reading reviews that weren’t favorable to the mid-premiere of Doctor Who’s latest series, I admit I got a bit more curious as to what actually happens in the episode. That said, I did worry that we might end up with a wrap-up like what we got for The Power of Three, but I must say, I don’t mind the denouement we got for The Bells of St. John. In fact, I like how they cut it close. It gives the episode a sense of unfinished business that’s gonna come back before the series ends.

You know, kind of like what the cracks in the wall did for Series 5.

I thought the whole episode was brilliant. Though, mind you, I might need a little time to get adjusted to the third iteration of clara. I loved her in Asylum of the Daleks, and equally so in The Snowmen–but with this new version… I have to get used to the fact that she’s not as feisty as the other two.

Then again, I get a sense that the Doctor is meeting Clara now at her most basic form. And that, slowly, we will unravel the Clara we met the two times before.

We have to hand it to Moffat. He does know how to get people hooked on a mystery. I mean, just who is this twice-dead girl and why does she keep popping up in the Doctor’s life?

Brilliant reveal at the end too, by the way. Although I was spoiled, I admit that I was still a little surprised at a returning character’s reappearance in this episode. I must say, it really fits the theme.

What’s jarring though is how so many things that happened in the episode make me harken back to previous Moffat episodes: The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, Blink, and Forest of the Dead. All great episodes. And The Bells of St. John is great too. It’s just– it does feel a little like Steven Moffat is running out of new ideas, doesn’t it? It’s probably just the stress of having to run two well-loved shows at the same time though. Maybe.

I’m really excited for next week’s episode now.

At the same time, I also can’t help but think–well, that’s another episode closer to another hiatus.