When other Doctors have reached the end of their lives, this century,
they have been fighting one of their bitterest foes - The Daleks, the
Master and now, the Cybermen. Here, the battle is over, and we are left
with a Doctor who, unlike his Tenth incarnation, is all-too willing to
go. But he will not be alone...
This is, of course, Moffat's swansong, as well as Capaldi's and there
are some familiar concepts that are expanded on. After giving us a Hell
(the Teselecta) we are give a Heaven, in the form of Testimony – the
NetherSphere without the horror. As with his first ever story for the
programme, there are no real villains, because, despite the
action-packed set-pieces, this is, more than any other a story about
facing death, something that both of the regular characters have
actually gone through.
Of course, the other main attraction is the Twelfth Doctor interacting
with the First Doctor. The differences in character between incarnations
are, as always a source of comedy, especially the First Doctor's rather
less enlightened views of the role of women. David Bradley, after
playing William Hartnell in An Adventure in Space and Time, now
plays Hartnell's role. As with Richard Hurndall before him, Bradley
doesn't try to impersonate the great man, but uses his considerable
skills to essay an interpretation of the First Doctor that is compatible
with Hartnell's. It is a powerful performance that highlights how much
the character of the Doctor has changed, and not just his views on women
– the speech that Moffat gives the Doctor for his motivation for
leaving Gallifrey both ties in with the more detached, reluctant
character in "An Unearthly Child" and is completely compatible with the
man he will become. Making a very welcome return is Pearl Mackie,
effortlessly confirming my opinion that Bill is the best companion of
the 21st Century. We also have a nice role for Mark Gatiss who faces
death in an all-too human context as the Captain it's the earnest,
likeable persona which he does so well, very different from his other
appearances. Playing the closest thing to an antagonist in the story is
Nikki Amuka Bird, whose calm voice is perfect for the Glass Woman and
her very distinctive face is recognisable even when captured as a
transparent CGI creation.
Rachel Talalay again helms the story with great skill, again, making
slower introspective moments work well with the action, of which we have
plenty – the capture of the TARDIS by the Testimony Ship, the Ypres
Salient and the horrors lurking around Rusty's domain. The production
team are totally committed to making this tapestry bind and shine and
the result is a visual feast.
And we are left with our leading man. Peter Capaldi has taken the Doctor
into new places and successfully redefined the role. I had high
expectations, as soon as his name was announced as the new Doctor and he
has never disappointed. Here, he is a resigned, battle-weary hero
literally, at the gates of Heaven, but he elects not to go through.
Capaldi is funny, fierce, commanding and silly in his final performance
as a regular, and he is wonderful and genuinely heartbreaking to see the
Doctor's ring fall off his finger.
But it is not heartbreaking to see the owner of the hand that it slips
off from. Jodie Whittaker is a phenomenal actress and I very much look
forward to the most radical reformatting yet of a character that has
survived and thrived for 55 years, precisely because reformatting is
vital to the programme’s survival. Long may it continue...
Monday 20 August 2018
"Twice Upon a Time"
Labels:
Bill,
Capaldi,
Daleks,
Hartnell,
Nardole,
Peter Bennett,
Rachel Talalay,
Steven Moffat
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)