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.

Doctor Who – Extremis Review

Spoiler warning, it probably is impossible to talk about this episode without giving a few spoilers. This episode is best watched without knowing what’s going to happen so please only read this review after watching the episode.

First off, Pearl Mackie once again was excellent as Bill Potts. Bill is a really likeable companion and she brings a great sense of excitement as she sees new things. But Pearl is also great at delivering the emotional beats that are necessary, there’s more to Bill than her one-liners.

Speaking of companions, I like Nardole. He’s been a good addition to the main cast and Matt Lucas brings a welcome dose of humour which is something that has been missing from the programme over the past couple of years. I also liked the revelation in this episode that River Song sent him to look after the Doctor. It’s nice to get a reminder that even though River has gone she certainly hasn’t been forgotten.

I think the plot of this episode can best be described as the Doctor Who version of The Matrix. But before we got to that twist this was an episode about a mysterious book that should not be seen. I liked the mystery aspect of Extremis, it was an intriguing concept which was interesting to watch unfold. I simultaneously wanted Bill and the Doctor to read the Veritas to find out what it was but also really didn’t want them to. I also really liked the twist when it turned out that everything we had been watching was actually a simulation and the Doctor was really sat outside the Vault all along. This is one of those episodes that will be good to re-watch once you know how it all ends.

Extremis has filled us in on what’s in the Vault. I was really hoping that the Vault was going to turn out to be a series long arc and so I was disappointed that we got a more or less full reveal in episode six. After Knock Knock it was not a surprise to learn that it was Missy lurking in the Vault but it was still interesting to learn the how and why. I really don’t like Missy but she wasn’t actually that irritating in this episode, the flashbacks to her where nicely used throughout the episode and I liked the way that they contrasted what was happening as the story unfolded.

Missy wasn’t actually the main villain for this week. Instead we got some zombie like creatures – I don’t know what they’re called yet but the BBC Doctor Who website is calling them the Monks. Their design kind of reminds me of the humanoid form of the Pyrovile’s from 2008’s The Fires of Pompeii. After the first few weeks lacked proper monsters these were interesting creatures to see. We don’t know much about them yet which is intriguing to watch. However they are clearly very powerful and they are planning a massive invasion of Earth.

I don’t know if it’s just because I’m out of the loop but I was surprised to find out that this episode leads into next week’s episode, I thought it was another standalone story. I actually really like the way that Oxygen, Extremis and The Pyramid at the End of the World will all link together. It reminds me of how back in 1975 The Arc In Space, The Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks and Revenge of the Cybermen all linked together. Each one can be viewed as a story in its own right but they all link together.

In conclusion, this was an interesting episode with an intriguing concept and finally some really cool monsters! Extremis also did a good job at tying up several dangling story threads whilst also setting up a second half. Once again Series 10 has given us another solid episode of Doctor Who!