Doctor Who – The Doctor Falls Review

This episode simultaneously had the best and the worst of Moffat Doctor Who in it.

I am going to be starting this review by discussing Bill. This was ultimately Bill’s episode and watching it I cared far more about what was going to happen to Bill than anything else in this episode. I believe I have typed this more or less every week but Pearl Mackie delivered a faultless performance. The scenes where Bill struggles with being turned into a Cyberman were really well acted and gave more emotional depth to what could so easily have just been a swept aside shock twist. The final ending for her felt very satisfying. Heather appearing and returning Bill to human form didn’t cheapen Bill’s exit but instead gave her a happily ever after. I liked how it also linked back to her debut in The Pilot. Whilst I am sad that it has turned out that Bill Potts is only a one series companion I feel like that exit was a good one that left the door open for a potential future return. I think Bill Potts should be thought of as one of the all-time best Doctor Who companions, right up there with Rose Tyler and Sarah Jane Smith.

I think John Simm is undoubtedly the worst Master. In my opinion there’s just nothing redeemable about him. I have disliked Missy a lot since her debut in 2014 but I think Michelle Gomez actually gave a decent performance in this episode and made her more likeable. I think it would have been a lot better to have seen Missy sacrificing herself to stop the Cybermen and show just how much she has changed. But ultimately I don’t think either Missy or the Master were actually needed in this episode.

This episode wasn’t just the end for Bill and Missy and the Master, it was also the end for Nardole. I know reaction to Nardole has been mixed but I thought he was a good character. I always enjoy when there’s a team in the TARDIS and Nardole played off Bill and the Doctor well. The addition of Matt Lucas to the craft also brought some more humour to the show which I feel has been much needed since prior to this series. I think Nardole’s exit was a little rushed but it was a good way to send him off.

The Doctor in this episode was simultaneously great and irritating. Capaldi has rarely been able to be the Doctor that he could be but this episode gave us some moments of greatness. I know most people are probably talking about the speech and whilst it was a good moment I think some of the smaller moments in this episode were actually much stronger. Of course the Doctor would make it one of his priorities to ensure that the children were all safe. However I really don’t understand were all this angst and dread about regeneration has come from. Moffat constantly teasing that the Doctor is about to regenerate was just irritating. In my opinion regenerations should be handled like it was in 2005’s The Parting of the Ways. It should be just a regular adventure that when things go too far the Doctor has to regenerate at the end of it.

Another thing that frustrated me was why did we need English countryside on a spaceship? Moffat should have just picked either countryside or spaceship and stuck with it which would have made the story more compact. I’ve found with both parts of this story that the spaceship was not particularly well executed or explained. It was just a plot device which was not needed in a story that did better on its emotional moments.

Why did we need to see the other versions of the Cybermen? They felt like they were there for little more than fan service – or possibly to bulk out the ranks of the Cyberman army by just reusing existing costumes! I think there might have been some explanation as to why there were different generations of Cybermen but if the episode had just focused on the Mondasian Cybermen it probably would have been stronger. I think bring back to the Mondasian Cybermen was a good choice - they look more chilling which was used for eerie dramatic effect. And this story used the way the Cybermen were created as a means of survival to good effect with the Mondsian versions.

The final moment with the sudden appearance of the 1^st Doctor was a good moment to end the episode on. This felt like the type of lead into the Christmas special that I remember from growing up with Doctor Who – like when the Titanic crashed into the TARDIS or when the mysterious bride played by Catherine Tate appeared. It was especially pleasing for big Doctor Who geeks like me that the 1^st Doctor should appear in The Doctor Falls because the 1^st Doctor’s regeneration story was The Tenth Planet which was the previous appearance of the Mondasian Cybermen. I think we should be in for an interesting Christmas special with the 1^st Doctor meeting the 12^th Doctor.

In conclusion, the good parts were really good but The Doctor Falls also had a lot of elements that were just irritating and frustrating. However it was a solid conclusion to what has been a good series of Doctor Who.

I know this review is going up later than usual but I wanted to give myself more time to write a review that did justice to the episode. Obviously that’s it for this series so there won’t be a review next week. However I am planning a piece giving an overall opinion on Series 10 as well as a few more Doctor Who posts.