"Twice Upon a Time"

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...

"World Enough and Time"/"The Doctor Falls"

Time is coming to an end for our leading man and the person responsible for guiding him in the programme. The stickers on the banner are certainly impressive – The original Cybermen! Two Masters! It seems that this event finale will certainly not disappoint in terms of spectacle. To limit the appeal of the Series 10 finale to this, however, is doing it a serious disservice. Stephen Moffat has written better stories, but that does not, in any way, take away from the triumph that is "World Enough and Time"/"The Doctor Falls". The headline attractions are arresting enough, but we also have the setting of a 400 mile long colony ship slowly escaping from the gravitational pull of a black hole. The way in which these flavours complement, rather than clash with each other show Moffat as a master chef. It is striking how many long, quiet scenes there are and their punctuation with shocks and awe are expertly constructed. There is a fascinating sci-fi concept at the heart of the story, with the time dilation occurring along the vast length of the ship, but the way in which this is used in so many ways in the story is masterful – a moment at one end lasting a month at the other, the micro-communities at different levels, the Cybermen’s accelerated evolution.

Ah, yes, the Cybermen. Fond as I am of "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel", this story is in a different league from its predecessor. The stages in the creation of the Cybermen are alternately disquieting, disturbing and horrific in a way subtly different from any other mood in the programme’s past. The ‘scarecrows’ as the proto-Cybermen are sometimes called are both pathetic and horrifying and the dispassionate functionality of the medical staff creating the Cybermen is far more shocking than Lumic’s megalomania. I have said before that, in many ways, the original Cybermen have a quality that their successors didn’t manage to emulate and the design team do little more than tidy up the edges around Sandra Reid’s superlative original designs. The production throughout is hugely impressive and, again, Rachel Talalay shows that she is the person to handle the spectacle and the emotion. It is hard to dazzle purely with special effects any more, but the opening shot of the ship is the closest the programme has come to emulating the awe the average viewer would have had, when watching the opening of The Trial of a Time Lord. The quiet moments, the funny moments, the scary and disquieting ones – all guided with an expert hand.

The supporting cast is first rate. Paul Brightwell and Alison Lintott as the Surgeon and Nurse give unshowy performances, which makes the horror of what they are doing all the more acute. The incredibly versatile Samantha Spiro is a delight as Hazran who finds an unlikely friend, with hopes for more, in Nardole, played with effortless charm again, by Matt Lucas. Then, we come to the Masters. The interplay between the two incarnations is delightfully twisted in every way and Michelle Gomez and John Simm pull out all the stops. The final act of suicide is merely the culmination of their perverse relationship and would be a fitting end for the character – although I do not, for a moment, believe that this is the end for the Master.

Which brings us to the regulars. Pearl Mackie impressed me from the get-go and she only improved as the series went on, but the sheer passion of her performance in this story is breath-taking. I have loved each of the companions since the programme came back, so it is not lightly that I say that there has never been a better companion than Bill this century, and there has never been a better actor playing a companion than Pearl Mackie. It would be fantastic if she could carry on, but if not, the wonderful Ms Mackie has a very bright future ahead of her. However, this is still Peter Capaldi’s show and his portrayal of this cantankerous, yet kind warrior for right is as archetypal, yet unique, as all the best performances in the role have been. Fighting against what is inevitable, Capaldi wins the hearts that he will soon break.

It is hard to rein in the hyperbole when assessing this story, so I will only state what I am absolutely confident of. This is in the league of "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday" and "Heaven Sent"/"Hell Bent" as far as season finales go and is, in my opinion, the finest Cyberman story of them all. Everyone involved with this story deserves a pat on the back.

NEXT: "Twice Upon a Time"

"The Eaters of Light"

"The Eaters of Light" is, at its simplest, a story of a monster threatening a village with an inter-dimensional rift and Picts and Romans thrown in. The background is the famous disappearance of the Ninth legion – generations of children in Britain and elsewhere read Rosemary Sutcliffe’s The Eagle of the Ninth, as Bill did and the mystery has intrigued many before then. The story of how the Doctor, Bill and Nardole help the Picts join forces with the Romans is not surprising in its broad strokes, but we are dealing with a writer of subtlety and intelligence and the devil is in the details. The ‘gift of the TARDIS’ is explored more fully than it has ever been before, where the Picts and Romans are suddenly able to understand each other, and see each other as people. The story explores concepts of folk memories and oral histories and turns a typical Doctor Who joke (crows being in a huff and not talking any more) to something genuinely moving. The Picts and Romans are given understandable motivations which make their actions seem natural. The guest cast form a very capable ensemble with Rebecca Benson standing out as Kar.

The team of writers that Andrew Cartmel discovered in the final era of the Doctor Who’s original incarnation were bursting with talent and the one who has gone on to the most acclaimed career is Rona Munro and so, after 12 years, a writer from 20th Century Doctor Who has returned to pen a new tale; perhaps fittingly it is the one who penned the swansong. Munro clearly has her own ideas on who the Doctor is – he is keen to help, to sacrifice himself, even, but he has no patience for blind hostility and self-pity. Peter Capaldi excels when portraying this interpretation and his backup is well up to the challenge. Charles Palmer comes back to helm a very assured production, dripping with atmosphere. In the very best way, the feel is like a first rate BBC children’s drama – only the scene about Roman sexual orientations would look out of place in one, and perhaps not even that. The monster attacks are genuinely disorienting and the Doctor’s trick with the popcorn utterly joyous. It goes without saying that the march of Kar and the remains of the Ninth into the portal is genuinely moving. The production is flawless, with Munro’s evocative use of Pictish monument carvings forming an integral visual aspect of the story. Note also, that the Roman costumes are not recycled from "The Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang".

"The Eaters of Light" just shows what a brilliant writer can do with a few bullet points for a brief and is a story that will surely reward repeat viewings. There is not one ounce of fat in the story, but that is because it takes up less than 40 minutes. We conclude with a remarkable coda with Missy and the Doctor perhaps realising that their relationship will change in the future. But, as we all know, the past will catch up before then…

NEXT: "World Enough and Time"/"The Doctor Falls"

"Empress of Mars"

If there is one thing which can be said about Mark Gatiss's considerable output under the Doctor Who banner, it is that he loves a pastiche. From the Dickensian Yuletide Ghost story to the found footage horror story, Gatiss has a fascination with reworking the old – and on "Empress of Mars", we see a patchwork-pastiche of even greater complexity. We finally have an Ice Warrior story set on the Martians' home planet, but, in addition, the title recalls the tales of Barsoom, the Mars of Edgar Rice Burroughs. The conflicted colonialist attitudes of the humans recall Malacandra, the Mars of C.S. Lewis. The humans in question seem to have arrived on Mars just after the Battle of Rorke's Drift – as immortalised in Zulu. And, they bring an Ice Warrior back to his native land, ostensibly as a servant, but hiding his own agenda – which is, of course, a major part of the plot of King Solomon's Mines. And we have not even started on the references to Doctor Who itself. The set up again relies on the resurrection of an Ice Warrior and in other ways, the story brings to mind the first two episodes of Tomb of the Cybermen. References are made to the Tythonian Hive – either a (misspelled) reference to Pyramids of Mars or to the title character in a rather less well-loved story. And, of course, there is the cameo for another Brian Hayles creation...

The story, unoriginal though it is, works because it creates a constructive ending rather than a destructive one. Themes of redemption and honour drive the plot through the clichés. The examination of British Imperialist attitudes is not as detailed as in "Thin Ice", but there are some nice touches – the fact that the Ice Warriors are clearly more advanced than Victorian Britons does nothing to temper colonialist arrogance. However, the characterisation never rises beyond the basic – disgraced commander, ambitious junior officer, cheeky NCOs. Aiding this enormously is a very talented supporting cast. Anthony Calf makes Colonel Godacre very sympathetic, whilst Ferdinand Kingsley shows a lot of the charisma and raw talent that made his dad a star. Ian Beattie is great fun as Cockney chancer Jackdaw – a far cry from his most recognisable role, the loathsome Ser Meryn Trant in Game of Thrones. On the Martian side, Adele Lynch chews the scenery gloriously as Iraxxa, the titular empress. It is a bit of a shame that the Ice Warrior voices have moved even further from their original sibilant hiss, but, as they have a lot more dialogue, this is a necessary sacrifice for character over effect. The regulars are on reliably wonderful form. Nardole is removed for most of the episode, but we have, again, a great showing from Peter and Pearl – the Doctor has never seen The Thing, Terminator or The Vikings, but, like seemingly everyone on Earth, he is very familiar with Frozen. Of special note is the scene between the Doctor and Missy, which hints at so many hidden depths.

Wayne Yip holds it all together very well. It must be said that the fact that the fact that this is a very studio bound story is clear, more so than any other story this century. Increase the shot length and reduce the shot number, and you would have something very similar to a Doctor Who story from last century. It still looks fantastic, being painted in contrasting primary colours, the ochre of the Martian caves, the red of the army tunics, the green of the Ice Warriors. Yip also manages to make the effect of the Ice Warriors' sonic guns look shocking, when it could easily have come across as ridiculous.

"Empress of Mars" will never go down as a classic. It is, however, tremendous fun and well worth a rewatch.

NEXT: "The Eaters of Light"

"Extremis"/"The Pyramid at the End of the World"/"The Lie of the Land"

The longest collective title since 1979 heralds the arrival of the longest story since 1979. Like "The Girl Who Died"/"The Woman Who Lived", this is the work of more than one director and more than one writer but it does tell a more linear story than the tale which introduced Me, in this tale of the sinister Monks. However, each episode has its own particular qualities which should be addressed separately.

The reality bending "Extremis" is an episode that must surely rank with the finest Moffat penned stories. It is scary, thought provoking, human and genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. The concept of the Veritas and the Haereticum hints at what The Da Vinci Code would have been like, had it been written by someone who could write coherent sentences, and the way in which a covert collection of cardinals can crash Bill’s attempt to have a date is farce of the most exquisite variety.¤ A story that hinges on suicide moves the programme into potentially very dark areas, but Moffat is easily skilful enough to make it work, as the very notion of epistemological reality is brought into question. When we realise that none of what we have seen is true, we are not disappointed because we are given the irresistible notion that a computer simulation of Doctor Who has made an episode of Doctor Who for Doctor Who to watch!

"The Pyramid at the End of the World" takes us into the real(ish) world with the juggling of the accidental release of a potential genetically engineered pandemic with the modus operandi of the monks all wrapped up in the cosiness of a UNIT story without actually having UNIT there. Moffat’s collaboration with Peter Harness, whilst lacking the flagrant inventiveness of "Extremis" is an exciting and fresh way in harmonising two quintessential Doctor Who plotlines – the man-made threat to Earth and the alien invasion. The treatment of international politics is simple without seeming simplistic – a hard line to walk and we have an all-time classic scene to conclude the episode – where the battle is lost because our heroes succumb to both their best qualities and their worst judgement.

The dystopia of "The Lie of the Land" has hints of both "Last of the Time Lords" and "The Impossible Astronaut"/"Day of the Moon" and, for the most part holds its own in its story of a renegade Time Lord holding sway over a world ruled by cadaverous creatures who can bend our perception of reality. However, we know this Time Lord all too well and it is clear the Doctor has a plan to defeat his enemies. The plan involves a key phrase that has formed a rather egregious nodule in the 2017 zeitgeist – 'fake news' and, it could be argued that the solution seems strangely lightweight (although perfectly sound) for such a long story and, skilful as its execution is, one is left feeling slightly unsatisfied - perhaps, inevitably, it is the only episode that would not work as a stand-alone story with a few tweaks.

The direction is excellent throughout, with Daniel Nettheim and Wayne Yip doing sterling work. "Extremis", in particular, is a wonder of dynamic pacing and variant tones like a visual Cardiacs song. In the whole story, sequence after sequence sticks in the mind - the pyramid neutralising the threats against it, the reality boosts that the Monks broadcast, and, of course, the nail-biting sequence that concludes "The Pyramid at the End of the World". Even when spectacular effects are commonplace, this story contains sequences that impress - the pyramid capturing the bomber, the montage of the Monks throughout history and prehistory and, of course, the horrifying appearance of the Monks themselves. There are real scares in the story - the disintegration of Douglas is genuinely shocking. The three regulars are spectacular, with Matt Lucas showing a range that few knew he had - his horror at discovering he is only a simulation is palpable. Pearl Mackie is fast heading towards making Bill my favourite companion with another arresting performance. And then, there's our leading man. Capaldi never lets us go and the sequence where he seems to confirm to Bill that he has joined the Monks is breath-taking. Michelle Gomez makes a very welcome return, solving the mystery of who is in the vault and her performance leaves us guessing as to what Missy is truly up to. We have a fine selection of guest actors. Tony Gardner is always a welcome addition and we have great turns by Ivanno Jeremiah, Corrado Invernizzi, Rachel Denning, Togo Igawa and many others.

This very ambitious story promises a lot, but, ultimately, is very slightly less than the sum of its parts, which is a real shame as it could have ended up as one of the crowning achievements of Moffat's Doctor Who. However, each episode is, at the very least good and, at best, brilliant. The Monks are defeated rather quickly but, I doubt we have heard the last of them...

NEXT: "The Empress Of Mars"

"Oxygen"

I, like many, was very impressed with Jamie Mathieson’s previous contributions and was very much looking forward to what he would come up with next. As with other stories broadcast this season, I must use ‘old-fashioned’ to describe "Oxygen". Of all the base-under-siege stories that have been made since the programme returned, this story of a threat on a space station is the one that could fit most easily in Patrick Troughton’s first full season. However, as I said for "Cold War", this story has the advantage of being much shorter, meaning a much leaner narrative. It is told in a series of memorable set pieces and is so focused on driving the narrative, that much is left unstated – the time when the story is set, the location of the station (although references to ‘Ganymede’ imply a Jovian setting) although these are not plot holes and do not detract from the story. Another consequence, as with the Troughton stories that influenced, characterisation of the guest characters is rather thin. What we do get is some very convincing world building, which gives the story a certain political bite. We have a world where oxygen is a commodity and the sheer size of the human population means that a human life is a very inexpensive commodity. Mathieson makes the Doctor discover the dark secret of this iteration of the human story and then turn it on its head, as only the Doctor can in a story that has the most overtly left-wing agenda yet – some more committed conservatives might have a few problems here!


"Flatline" and "Mummy on the Orient Express" also distinguished themselves by being scary and, again, we have a Jamie Mathieson story that goes right up to the boundary separating frightening a child and traumatising it. The special effects and make-up complement these sequences perfectly – the first space zombie that the TARDIS crew find looks terrifying, with its blue face and glassy eyes. We are helped along by the very welcome return of Charles Palmer to the director’s chair, after nearly a decade. The first appearance of the suits – basically space zombies – is brilliantly realised by Palmer. The rescue of Bill from the vacuum of space is masterly, with her regaining of consciousness shot in flashes of post-production slow-motion. Even the look of outer space is distinctive - very different from the colourful nebulae more often seen in the programme. Here, space is stark and silent, with the stars dim against the blackness of space. This is the darkness of 2001, of Alien, rather than the brightness of Star Wars or Guardians of the Galaxy.

Despite the characterisation not being a priority, we have some very good performances from the guest cast, which move them beyond the traditional base-under-siege antagonists. Standing out is Dahh-Ren, played by Peter Caulfield, showing that humanity will gain a few more ethnic groups in the future. The regulars are in a new configuration. Nardole takes a more proactive and serious role and Matt Lucas manages to do this without us losing sight of Nardole’s inherent humour. Bill has less to do, but Pearl Mackie continues to excel – Bill’s cry for her mother is genuinely heart-breaking. The character of the Doctor is written like his Fifth personality – but the other Peter takes it into wholly new directions with the virtuoso display that we have come to expect.

Again Jamie Mathieson has fashioned a truly memorable tale, even without the shocking turn of events at the end. It will be very interesting to see what this Zatoichi-Doctor will do, in the light of things…

NEXT: "Extremis"

"Knock Knock"

It is surprising that it has taken so long for Doctor Who to tackle teen horror, but here, finally, we have a bunch of youngsters of varying levels of competence facing off against a spooky house that is picking them off, one by one. However, despite the usual ingredients being present, there is another that makes this very different from the usual low-budget shockfest – everyone’s favourite time traveller.

Acclaimed playwright Mike Bartlett writes a very impressive script that manages to juggle a lot of narrative balls successfully.The Doctor’s presence means that each shocking event is a learning experience, rather than culminative displays of stupidity by the characters and, as we learn more about the situation, we learn that it is more than a madman luring and killing people, rather a more tragic tale of the devotion between parent and child – and who fills what role.

"Knock Knock" is, of course, lower budgeted than even a modest feature film of this genre. Yet there is one thing that this story has over the vast majority of cinematic shockers – a villain portrayed by an actor of David Suchet’s calibre. Suchet’s underplaying of the role means that he can seem like a slightly odd old man with a big house that anyone would have no problems with trusting. Yet the sheer craft that Suchet brings to the role means that depths are opened up with each revelation that belie the subtle changes in his performance. The regulars are on fine form and their interplay perfectly utilises the dynamic between the alien genius and the untutored, but perceptive intelligence of the companion. We must also not forget a very fine performance from the excellent Mariah Gale as the tragic Eliza and, indeed, our clutch of foolhardy teens. Credit must be given to director Bill Anderson for using this marvellous cast so well and he does not take his eye off the ball visually, with some very memorable scenes and a very confident production – the image of the wooden Eliza is incredibly striking and such shocks as Pavel being trapped and the Dryads devouring their victims. The Dryads become less threatening once they are revealed, but this is probably to the story’s purpose and makes the restoration of Bill’s housemates acceptable in story terms. Perhaps more so than any story since "Midnight", the sound mixing is crucial to its success, and the special binaural mix makes it an unforgettable headphone experience.

"Knock Knock" is wonderful entertainment and a fine example of something Doctor Who has done well for decades – taking a well-worn genre staple and making it something else entirely.

NEXT: "Oxygen"

"Thin Ice"

Sarah Dollard made a strong impression with her debut story, "Face the Raven" and I was looking forward to what she would come up with next. To say that "Thin Ice" exceeded my expectations is the least of it. As with "Smile", there is nothing particularly original about "Thin Ice" and again, a good writer elevates the plot into something else entirely. "Thin Ice" is even more old-fashioned than "Smile" and its plot of a colossal leviathan imprisoned under the ice of the Regency-era Thames, wouldn’t look out of place in the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era. Antecedents can also be found in "The Beast Below" amongst others. It seems picky to point out that it is the plot that is (comparatively speaking) the weakest aspect of the story. However, as anyone who has read anything that has more words than pictures in it will tell you, plot is only the beginning. The cosiness that one finds in such early-in-the-season adventures forms a very thin veneer in this story - the storytelling is a good deal more raw, meaning that, fun though the story is, it cannot be describes as a ‘romp’. A street urchin is killed and the racism that Bill faces is very accurate to the time – slavery may have been legally unenforceable in England and Wales for 40 years in 1814, but there were still slaves elsewhere in the British Empire. We have the common man being ground in the gears of the Industrial Revolution and the common man taking the palaces of the mighty from his conquered masters. The handling of such variance in moods and tones shows remarkable skill on Dollard’s part – the funny bits are hysterical, the shocks are real and, whilst the plot may be rushed, the story satisfies. Most notable of all, Sutcliffe’s treatment of Bill makes a very serious point comedically and gets away with it.

Anchoring this is the triumph in the characterisation of the Doctor and his companion. The Doctor is clearly not human in his reactions, seeing the big picture and connections that humans cannot. Yet he is also revealed as a master pie-thief and bonds with urchins left, right and centre - the difference between not-human and inhuman is clearly made by the story. Dollard gives the Doctor some magnificent speeches about the nature of his detachment and the nature of his compassion and he is equally adept at the story’s comedy. It goes without saying that Capaldi faces this challenge seemingly effortlessly. Supporting him is Pearl Mackie who just gets better and better – Bill’s shock and cold fury at the death of the urchin is flawlessly played, without it damaging the joie de vivre of her character. The supporting cast is excellent, with a sparky performance by Asiatu Koroma as Kitty, the head urchin. Perfectly cast as the odious grandee Lord Sutcliffe, is Nicholas Burns, an actor who can portray smug in 50 different ways.

Bill Anderson directs with great feeling, getting a good sense of period and making the action sequences very striking, particularly the pilot fish zeroing in on the prey and the wonderful scenes of the Doctor and Bill diving in the Thames (with slightly anachronistic suits, but, aesthetically, really the only way they could have gone!) The beast below the Thames is never seen whole, its size being shown by expertly framed shots of parts of it.

"Thin Ice" bears comparison, as said, with many pseudo-historical stories of the past, but in evaluating it, I must draw comparison to "The Zygon Invasion"/ "The Zygon Inversion" – a wonderfully entertaining story that shows precisely how wonderful a programme Doctor Who can be.

NEXT: "Knock Knock"

"Smile"

Frank Cottrell-Boyce's previous contribution "In the Forest of the Night" was a very hard story to evaluate - a fresh, imaginative science-fantasy that somehow completely failed to work as a Doctor Who story. However, Cottrell-Boyce is simply too good a writer for his work to be dismissed and I am very glad that he was given a second go. Although it deals with such contemporary scientific thinking such as swarm robotics (a leading proponent gives his name to the Vardy, the nanobots of the story) "Smile" is a very old-fashioned Doctor Who story - more than half of the story consists of the regulars walking around the colony making discoveries, very similar to the first episode of The Ark in Space. This means we have the odd situation where two name guest stars (Mina Anwar and Ralf Little) are there to basically only set up and resolve the plot respectively. But Cottrell-Boyce have never been one for taking the obvious route, even in a story as archetypal as this one and using the regulars as the only point of view characters is a very effective way of changing the Vardy from an inexplicable threat to a life form with rights. It must be said that the ending is a bit rushed and the conclusion has all the mechanics of a rabbit-from-a-hat ending, but is handled very well and works better when the story is viewed as a whole. We therefore have the very interesting situation of having a very human story with no real supporting characters; seemingly a defect, but actually working in the story’s favour.

As a consequence (again) we have a rather small supporting cast, but as said before, that is deliberate and is an inevitable consequence of, perhaps, the greatest triumph of the story; one of the best interactions between Doctor and companion that the programme has ever had. It is a real joy having the Doctor just show his friend the wonders of the Universe and the performances by the regulars have a sense of warmth and fun which indicates that the combination of the Doctor and Bill will be a truly winning one. Bill’s genuine sense of wonder is infectious and never descends into annoying naivety, such is the power of Pearl Mackie’s performance.

Lawrence Gough makes everything look marvellous, helped in no small way by the stunning location filming at the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències in Valencia, with Gough using wide shots to beautiful effect. The nature of the Vardy is excellently handled - their initial break off from the structure of the city is easily overlooked, so that the second time is hugely surprising. The emoji bots are an instantly memorable creation, both very much a 2017 concept and timeless, both cute and terrifying. The effects work complements the amazing locations and cinematographer Ashley Rowe effectively contrasts the city location with the ship location.

"Smile" shows just what a good writer can do with basic concepts and what an excellent one can do when playing with what lesser writers would regard are core foundations in scriptwriting. It seems that we are in for a lot of fun in the future.

NEXT: "Thin Ice"

"The Pilot"

The clanking of the robotic body of Nardole notwithstanding, it is a very sedate shot which opens Doctor Who for 2017. In fact the very first scene is based around comfort and stability. This episode is called "The Pilot", which drives home the fact that there will be a whole new group of new fans, some of whom were not born when David Tennant was the Doctor, who will be looking for a point to jump on.

Like in "An Unearthly Child" and "Rose", we get to discover the Doctor as a man of mystery. The nature of our favourite Time Lord and his time machine is revealed piecemeal as it is to the new companion and we are treated to a trip to the future, to the past (albeit a Dalek past with bonus Movellans) and even Down Under. Perhaps, in the service of this, the plot isn’t as well-developed as we are used to, but it is comprehensible and full of cool moments.

Which brings us to our new leading lady. Bill is the first companion of the Moffat era to have a perfectly normal life and not an impossible girl. She is bright, far brighter than her education level would indicate and is looking for answers to life and love in equal measure. I have loved all of the companions who have joined the Doctor this century, but I have to say that Pearl Mackie gives the most accomplished debut performance of any of them, taking Moffat’s trademark zesty dialogue and making it her own. Her reaction to the Doctor’s gift to her is brilliantly nuanced acting, where a lesser actor would have settled with tears and a hand over the mouth. Steven Moffat has never been as good at writing the commonplace as Russell T Davies, but he does it excellently here. The Doctor has been channelling his old friend Professor Chronotis in his new(ish) job and Peter Capaldi manages to make the Twelfth Doctor noticeably different from his previous appearances, yet still the same person. Matt Lucas is a bit more in the background, but he never fades into it. The supporting cast is tiny, but Stephanie Hyam still stands out as Heather, the girl with the star in her eye, with her delicate features becoming downright terrifying as she is possessed. The direction by Lawrence Gough is very accomplished and his restraint in marshalling effects is very welcome – note the giant CGI water head that chases the regulars into the TARDIS.

In the end, the Doctor opens the TARDIS doors to yet another friend with promise of greater adventures to come. The last stage of the Twelfth Doctor's tenure looks to be an enjoyable one.

NEXT: "Smile"

"The Return of Doctor Mysterio"

2016 was a very grim year on very many fronts, a grimness that was not alleviated by a new series of Doctor Who being broadcast, with the gap of exactly one year being the longest since the return of the programme. I said, when I reviewed "The Husbands of River Song" that it was a 'carefree romp'. However, although it can hardly be described as a romp, "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" is, if anything, even less concerned with anything other than being thoroughly entertaining.

Initially, the fusion of the world of Doctor Who with superheroes may seem odd – the Doctor's modus operandi is defiantly different from any of the costumed crazies that Marvel, DC and the like throw at us. However, the threats they face are very similar; and this is the stage on which Steven Moffat works his magic. The main influence is, of course, Richard Donner's Superman, a film that, despite its faults, has influenced every single superhero film that followed it. There are scenes which are practically restagings of sequences from Superman, most notably the rooftop dinner scene. And, of course, we have our surrogates – a Superman, a Clark Kent and a Lois Lane. However, this is a Doctor Who story, so as well as the plucky reporter sneaking in and eavesdropping on the villains' plotting, we have the Doctor snacking on sushi, standing next to her. When the villain threatens our heroes with a gun, the Doctor suggests they be shot in the back. Of course, there is a certain metatextuality, as Superman is a known fictional character in the confines of the story, but it is unobtrusive – one can ponder about the super hero as wish-fulfillment and the ins and out of super-puberty at one's own pace.

Capaldi is as bonkers, as dashing, as funny, as powerful as he always is – it is still remarkable how much sadness he can convey through his face alone. Making a surprise return is Matt Lucas as Nardole who fills the companion's shoes very well and shows (as if we didn't know) that he can carry the drama, as well as the laughs. The Ghost himself is excellently played by Justin Chatwin who skilfully keeps the character just on the right side of parody. The very English Charity Wakefield is an unusual choice for our intrepid all-American heroine, but she brings real vibrancy to her character. As the face of Harmony Shoals, Aleksandar Jovanovic is suitably chilling as Dr Sim.

The biggest fear I had, was with the return of Ed Bazalgette. I was very unimpressed with his work in the last season, and his lacklustre work in Class didn't change that opinion. The best that I can say about him is that he doesn't mess any of the scenes up – although if you are going to use the comic panel effect, it's best not to confine in to the one scene that could fit into pretty much any drama or comedy.

This story is hugely enjoyable and, with Harmony Shoals seemingly being set up as a Big Bad (and with the similarity to the name of a character we all want to return). I am very much looking forward for the long awaited return of our favourite programme.

NEXT: "The Pilot"

"The Husbands of River Song"

After the heady emotion of the past season, Doctor Who returns for Christmas with probably the most carefree romp the programme has had since its revival. This is a jolly tale of a hustle involving a living head in a zip-up bag, the most valuable diamond in the universe and, of course our hero, accompanied for the first time in this incarnation, by his most enduring leading lady. It is very telling that the two major supporting characters are played by comedians. In the role of King Hydroflax, we have (literally) the biggest comedian in Britain, Greg Davies, whose bombastic persona is perfectly suited to to play a ranting oaf of a galactic dictator. Matt Lucas makes Nardole into a very likable supporting role, all the more amazing in that the script never specifies who he is or what he does.


These characters are well suited to the knockabout farce of the first portion of the story. However, there is a more substantial undercurrent running throughout the story. River does not recognise the Doctor, because he does not have one of the twelve faces that his thirteen allotted Time Lord incarnations have. So, for over half the story, the Doctor gets to see what she is like when he isn't around and the difference is marked – an amoral con-artist who is not above killing her (admittedly megalomaniacal) mark and swindling the innocent. The Doctor is aghast, but not a little exhilarated by this revelation, but it is the subsequent one which leads him to refocus his perception of her personality. She may call him 'damsel' behind his back, but she needs rescuing from herself and she suspects, but doesn't care, that her love for the Doctor may not be mutual. The Doctor's co-opting of her catchphrase makes everything slot back into place as we realise that they are heading for their last meeting before his first. The performances of Peter Capaldi and Alex Kingston have to be top-notch to make this work and it is no surprise that this is precisely what we get. From the grumpy Grinch of the early scenes to the man bending time and space to make a date perfect, Capaldi is effortlessly excellent and is matched by Alex Kingston who makes us still love her character, even at her most unlovable.


Douglas Mackinnon helms a spectacular production with the humour of the early sections melding well with the unsettling Scratch characters in the middle and the elegiac romance of the end. There is the expected fantastic design and effects work. Suzie Lavelle does sterling work lensing a visually stunning episode that manages to capture everything from the festive feeling of Mendorax Dellora at Christmas to the beauty of the Singing Towers.


This story seems like a fitting farewell to River Song, but, then again, so did her last one. Let us hope that she will be back for more!

"Hell Bent"

The end of the peerless first episode of this story ends with the Doctor, for the first time this century, setting foot on the sands of his home planet. What we expect is a barnstorming homecoming and, indeed, the depiction of Gallifrey is (naturally) the most visually stunning that the programme has ever seen. Steven Moffat complements what we know about the Time Lord home world with his own intriguing additions to the mythos (the Cloister Wraiths or ‘Sliders’ being particularly memorable) and, in a nod to the past, the way in which the Doctor re-enters the higher echelons of Time Lord society has hints of The Invasion of Time. Yet, as the subdued pre-credits sequence shows, this is not the thrust of the story; and, indeed, the barn is literally not stormed.

The one thing that has been driving the Doctor is the loss of Clara, more specifically, his unwillingness to come to terms with it. Using all the power of Gallifrey, he rescues his best friend before the Raven claims her, despite the fact that this is a fixed point and will literally tear the cosmos apart. In order to do this, we see the Doctor act with greater authority – ordering Rassilon himself off Gallifrey, effectively staging a military coup in taking control of the planet and (most troublingly) shooting an ally. It is clear that the Doctor and Clara combined can be devastating. In the past two episodes, we have seen how frightening the Doctor can be when Clara is threatened and here we have its ultimate expression – the Doctor violating all that he has lived by. It could be said that the Doctor’s abandoning his sonic screwdriver in "The Witch's Familiar" means that the Doctor has abandoned his promise and his Name and, that the ‘me’ referred to at the end of "Heaven Sent" is not what the Doctor thought it would be. The Doctor and Clara, the human and the Time Lord have it in them to destroy everything. As Me says, they are the Hybrid.

Rachel Talalay again does stellar work in the director’s chair. The Gallifrey scenes have a hint of Western about them, but the sitcom-esque reactions of the Time Matron (as I am now going to call her) discovering people of greater and greater importance outside the barn work seamlessly with this. The scene where the Gallifreyan military surrender to the unarmed Doctor is brilliantly realised. The Capitol is a masterful combination of brilliant effects, design and great direction and the Cloisters are memorably spooky. We have the welcome return of Ken Bones as the General and Clare Higgins as Ohila. The resurrected Rassilon has regenerated into the less celebrated, but equally authoritative form of Donald Sumpter – less megalomaniacal than his previous form, but equally ruthless. We also have the return of Maisie Williams as Me – a lot wiser, if still not possessed of an infinite memory. Capaldi is his usual brilliant self – utterly commanding, yet making a line like ‘I had a duty of care’ truly heart-breaking.

Which brings us to the impossible girl. With the Doctor off the rails, it is Clara who must take responsibility. Despite her rescue, she is never passive in this story and she makes sure that the Doctor’s usual gambit backfires and it is his memory that is wiped – not just because Clara can keep what Donna could not, but so that the Doctor can finally let go. Jenna gives a stunning performance in her final story as the longest running companion of the revived series. She is left to live out her final seconds in her own time, like Albert in Discworld and like Vince Vega in Pulp Fiction, the fact that we have seen her die does not prevent her from riding off into the sunset – or, in this case, bucketing off into infinity in a TARDIS with a faulty chameleon circuit that has trapped it in the form of an American diner.

This season has mixed the intimate with the epic with even greater effect than before and, as the Doctor brandishes his new sonic screwdriver, it is clear that our never cruel, never cowardly, hero is back in black. Or burgundy.

NEXT: "The Husbands of River Song"

"Heaven Sent"

Doctor Who in the 21st Century is a very polished product and every story, no matter the quality, has something remarkable about it. It is still rare, however, to find a story in which every single aspect of its conception and execution is first rate and to this elite list must now be added "Heaven Sent". Steven Moffat has crafted a tale that is, at its simplest, the Doctor being chased by a scary monster. It is this that will suck in and keep the terrified attention of the small child that remains (and should always remain) a key part of the programme’s demographic. However, we have musings on facing one’s own death, of facing oneself as a person. It is a story set in a fairy-tale castle and, indeed, can be seen as a Doctor Who version of a fairy-tale as it channels (and acknowledges) the Grimms’ tale of the Shepherd’s boy. It is a time-bending sci-fi tale with a truly shocking twist. It is a way of showing the Doctor being tormented in a truly horrible way, without showing any violence whatsoever. Steven Moffat’s script manages all of this, leavening the grimness with his uniquely pitched humour in one of his best scripts for the programme.

The episode is especially unique for its cast. The episode is, for the most part, the Doctor talking to himself and Capaldi tops his considerable best in an unforgettable performance. The Doctor starts off vengeful over the death of Clara, but as time goes on, as well as his own perils, he muses on his sense of bereavement. Capaldi never loses the fire and the feelings of loss, of despair and anger are all combined to devastating effect. We are shown the thought processes of the Doctor in times of peril, so mush faster than a human’s, where the Doctor’s ‘mind palace’ appears to be his perfect display of ‘showing off’ in the TARDIS. As we find out the Doctor is in his own personal Hell, we find the Doctor fighting to turn it into Purgatory, refusing to take the easy way out.

Helming the show, we have the best work Rachel Talalay has done in any medium. Each shot drips with atmosphere and the episode has to be seen more than once to take in all the information fed to the viewer. The Veil is a genuinely terrifying threat and there is more than one genuine ‘jump’ moment. There is a slight disconnect between scenes, which begs the question as to whether we are seeing multiple pecks by the bird on the mountain. The production team make the castle look beautiful, spooky and scary and the cinematography by Stuart Biddlecombe is first rate. A special mention must be made for Murray Gold’s finest score to date, one which has influences ranging from the best of Roger Limb and Paddy Kingsland in the Davison Era to Beethoven.

The first second of eternity passes, though and we find ourselves somewhere where we never thought we would be. The Doctor finally reveals the secret he was hiding for aeons ‘The hybrid is me’. Whether it is ‘me’ or ‘Me’ remains to be seen…

NEXT: "Hell Bent"

"Face the Raven"

More than any story than I can think of, "Face the Raven" could exist as a magical fantasy story with only minimal changes to the script. The notions of what secret worlds may lie unseen in a major city is a background to many a genre story and here, the trap street in London forms an irresistible hook for the plot and the hidden community with its rules form a fascinating addition to the corpus of this type of tale. The search for the Street is a puzzle that our heroes have to solve and the rules for the Street are established early on and the Quantum Shade's role as peacekeeper have a real mythic resonance with its form as the titular raven. The way in which events become a puzzle, become a cause, become a trap for the Doctor are expertly woven by writer Sarah Dollard. The realisation of the street owes more than a little to Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter Films and a very confident production is helmed by Justin Molotnikov who makes the aerial survey of London spectacular and the Street sinister and magical.

Supporting the regulars, we have two returnees.¤ Joivan Wade's again gives us his memorable Rigsy. He has clearly matured from the lovable ragamuffin we were introduced to in "Flatline", with a partner and a child, whom even the Doctor finds irresistible. Also returning is Maisie Williams as Me, Mayor Me of the street. Apart from these, the only supporting character of note is Letitia Wright's Janus. However, this story is very much a character story with one in particular taking centre stage – Clara Oswald. The plot tells of a sentence for Rigsy, which is, in reality a trap for the Doctor. The way in which Clara puts herself in harm's way to save the life of a young father is totally believable, as is the way in which she underestimates the nuances of the rules concerning how the Shade takes its prey. Clara is not reckless in taking on Rigsy's sentence, and her naivety in not realising that she has attempted to trick the Shade is understandable. In constructing the events in this way, Sarah Dollard gives Clara's sacrifice a real sense of beauty and dignity and the way in which Jenna Coleman plays it is utterly heartbreaking. Peter Capaldi's portrayal of the Doctor's despair and fury at the death of his best friend is shocking. We have seen him pretend to beg Davros for Clara's life, knowing that she was safe. Now we see what happens when it is real. Not since the Time Lord Victorious have we seen the Doctor more aware of his power and less concerned about how he uses it. Maisie Williams does good work in showing Me's increasing disquiet at the Doctor's anger, but this is Capaldi's show and the line 'the universe is a very small place when I am angry with you' makes the audience feel genuinely afraid about what the Doctor would do if he were to break the promise of his chosen name.

Beautiful, touching and chilling, this story is first-rate Doctor Who, even without the thrill of anticipation over what is to come...

NEXT: "Heaven Sent"

"Sleep No More"

The ‘found-footage’ premise has become a very popular approach since The Blair Witch Project was released in 1999, where it has been used to add a degree of verisimilitude to various genres and it is now the turn of our favourite hero to have his tale told in this manner. Immediately, this story looks different, because, for the first time ever, the Doctor Who opening sequence is completely absent from a story. Gone, too, is Murray Gold’s incidental music. We are left alone with the sets, the lights, the cameras and the actors…

It is fitting that, as with other unusual stories, this episode is helmed by a newcomer to the series, in the shape of Justin Molotnikov. The camerawork is either static or hand-held and we are initially led to believe that the sources for the images are helmet cams and security cams. Molotnikov effectively builds up tension and real scares when the Sandmen attack as well as brief, but awe-inspiring views of Neptune from orbit and, of course, the end, which is genuinely unsettling. The set design is as good as ever and, with no non-diegetic music, the sound plays a more important role than usual.

There is effective world-building – the Indo-Japanese fusion, the genetically engineered Grunts and, most notably, the concept of Morpheus, the system that compresses sleep into five minutes. Characterisation is, perhaps inevitably, sketchy, but this is helped by some good guest performances, notably Elaine Tan as Nagata (Indo-Japanese-Geordie, going by her accent!) and Bethany Black as Grunt 474 – designed to be less than human, yet involuntarily striving to be more so. Best of all is Reece Shearsmith as Rasmussen, the final member of the League of Gentlemen to appear in the programme. The regulars are more reactive than is usual, but this is no Eric Saward script and the Doctor soon takes charge. However, there is more going on in Mark Gatiss’s script than meets the eye. There are no cameras either in the helmets of the troops or the station itself. Moreover, events occur seemingly only for effect. In an inspired twist, it turns out that the episode itself is the means for the infection to spread, in the most metafictional the programme has been. It is therefore not, found footage after all – it is an edited mixture of a sinister reality version of Peep Show and the video from The Ring. It is a real pity, therefore that the script shows all the marks of a first draft. Personally I don’t find the idea of sleep dust forming the base of a malevolent new entity particularly ridiculous, especially when the realisation in as effective as it is here, but the way in which the plot develops, though understandable, is oddly paced and resolutions are few. Perhaps this is intentional – even the Doctor says that events make no sense – however, there is a slight sense of dissatisfaction left at the end, which is only partly assuaged by the promise of a sequel.

Nevertheless, this is a gripping tale that definitely works. I hope that the sequel (which I hope is called "Rheum With a View") builds on the foundation laid down.

NEXT: "Face the Raven"

"The Zygon Invasion"/ "The Zygon Inversion"

Doctor Who very rarely “does politics” and, in the past, the results have been mixed. The Green Death managed to be an engaging story as well as informing the viewer on environmental matters and their political ramifications and The Curse of Peladon takes a look at an independent body joining a composite political entity that could be applied to EEC/EU membership. However, we also have the less successful likes of The Mutants in the 20th century and the ‘massive weapons of destruction’ which form the weakest part of the weakest story of the Eccleston era. "The Zygon Invasion"/ "The Zygon Inversion" immediately attracts, due to its irresistible title(s), but it also attempts to deal with some present-day hot-button issues - especially bearing in mind the events of 31 October and 13 November of 2015, chillingly close to broadcast. These aims have to hit their mark, especially now and the degree to which the story succeeds is completely unprecedented.

Following the events of "The Day of the Doctor", 20 million Zygons have assimilated into the human population. The overwhelming majority are peaceful, but a few of the younger generation are growing restless with the need to hide, to conform and have radicalised to form the group Truth or Consequences. The elder generation are appalled, but insist it is best for them to be dealt with by their own. It doesn’t take a genius to realise how much of this applies to radical Islam but the script by Peter Harness makes the issues easy to understand, without grossly simplifying them. Both sides spout hateful rhetoric, yet the viewer can understand the motivations of the characters spouting it. However, the dangers of radicalisation are only a part of the whole, for Harness and Moffat are just as keen on attacking modern warfare, indeed the entire concept of war itself. One abhorrent aspect of modern warfare that the vast majority of people just ignore or worse, accept, is the use of drones. Killing has become like a computer game, where, in a place of complete safety, operators can target images on a screen. Dehumanising the enemy makes their killing more effectively, and a dehumanised target is a faceless target. This story simply, yet devastatingly effectively, shows what happens when the faceless are given a face. Daniel Nettheim’s direction is unshowy, yet devastatingly effective in realising this and many other things. It takes a second to realise that the tumbleweeds in New Mexico are something more sinister and the dynamics of the Doctor negotiating peace with what looks like two little girls in a playground are fully explored for both incongruous comedy and grim drama. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers aspect of the Zygons is alluded to more strongly than ever before, most notably the 1978 version. It goes without saying that the production is fantastic, with the scene with the forced transformation of the peaceful Zygon being a deft mixture of the grotesque and the poignant.

The dialogue is brilliantly effective – the scene where the Doctor and Colonel Walsh have to give a pep talk to the UNIT soldiers follows a scene where they have a fundamental disagreement. Their speeches complement each other, yet do not betray their disagreement. However, it is in the key scene with the Osgood boxes that concept, dialogue, direction and performance combine to form one of the greatest sequences the programme has ever had in its 52-year history. War, the Doctor points out, is both preceded and succeeded by diplomacy and is the middle-man that needs cutting the most. Capaldi truly gives one of the best ever performances in the title role and, with the kindly smile he gives Bonnie, you can swear that you see all 2000 years of the Doctor’s life in his eyes. Jenna Coleman is great as both Clara and Zygella (sorry, Bonnie!) and we have the welcome return of Jemma Redgrave’s Kate and the brilliant Ingrid Oliver as, the far steelier, but still adorable, Osgood. We say goodbye, all to soon to Jaye Griffiths's Jac, but hello to Rebecca Front as Walsh - there is not a hint of The Thick of It when she and Capaldi share scenes.

"The Zygon Invasion"/ "The Zygon Inversion" doesn’t end with a bang, but neither does it end with a whimper. Zygella doesn’t betray the peace at the last minute and Kate doesn’t order UNIT to blow the Zygons up. What we have is better than a bang, a crescendo. "The Zygon Invasion"/ "The Zygon Inversion" is a story that I am tempted to throw superlatives at – ‘the best UNIT story since Inferno’ springs to mind. However, what I will say is this; there may be better stories than this one, but I cannot think of one that better shows how marvellous a programme Doctor Who is.

NEXT: "Sleep No More"

"The Woman Who Lived"

Catherine Tregenna was the writer "Captain Jack Harkness", unquestionably the best story of the first series of Torchwood and she makes her debut writing for the mothership here. Amongst the writers who have worked on the programme since its return, Tregenna is unusual, in that she has never professed to be a lifelong fan of Doctor Who, which immediately gives this story a fresh feel. The influences are a bit more esoteric. Ashildr’s life (including times spent as a man) bears shades of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and, of course, a woman highwayman disguised as a man and putting on a man’s voice immediately brings to mind "Amy and Amiability" which I would call a hilariously classic episode of Blackadder the Third if that wasn’t a complete tautology.

Ashildr’s journey is funny and tragic at the same time – unlike Captain Jack she isn’t a unique space-time event, which means that she can only remember a fraction of her 800 year life. Her diaries may record the rest, but they might as well be someone else’s. Maisie Williams, so strong in the irresistible Game of Thrones is wonderful – sweet, yet steely as Ashildr, detached, yet not too remote to be brought back as Me. There is great support from Rufus Hound, who is very likable as Sam Swift; as with Frank Skinner last year, he is clearly having the time of his life. The alien invasion seems to be over egging the pudding a bit, but Ariyon Bakare lends his commanding authority to Leandro. Our leading man is on fire in both parts of the story whether channelling Tom Baker with his bad Odin impersonation or channelling his previous iconic role when assigning the Vikings their nicknames. Capaldi continues to impress in fresh ways as he goes on.

However, in both parts of this story there is a considerable handicap. The direction by Ed Bazalgette is, in my opinion, the worst since the programme came back. There are some good sequences, most notably CGI used in handheld shots. However, Bazalgette fails to keep track of the small things and the editing is clumsy. If you are showing a rider passing a milestone, it is a good idea to clearly show what is on that milestone, for example. Other sequences fail to make sense on first viewing because of choices Bazalgette has made, most notably the gag concerning the Vikings’ first use of real swords. Possibly linked to Bazalgette’s inconsistent helming is the fact that Murray Gold’s score is a disappointment. However, the production team is so strong that it can paper over most of Bazalgette’s cracks and the design is first rate, despite being completely inaccurate, historically – the horned helmets are understandable, but the sense of period in "The Woman Who Lived" is non-existent – the costumes and iconography are from the eighteenth century, yet the setting is unambiguously the Commonwealth Interregnum a century earlier.

Despite these flaws this is a hugely enjoyable story and I look forward to seeing more of Me(!).

NEXT: "The Zygon Invasion"/ "The Zygon Inversion"

"The Girl Who Died"

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NOTE: In this two-parter-heavy series of Doctor Who, this tale is something of an oddity. It is anchored by the same supporting character and made with the same director, yet each part tells a very different story and is written by a different writer, so I will look at these stories separately – for the most part.

Jamie Matheson, who made an immediate impact in his two excellent debut stories last season, returns (assisted by his boss) in this gloriously enjoyable romp. In this story of a Viking village staving off an attack by warlike aliens, there is the obvious influence of The Seven Samurai and Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness. Despite several well worn (and inaccurate!) Norse clichés, the idea of having the pillaging part of the population removed quite soon means that we have a rather atypical bunch of Northmen and Northwomen. The story is full of cracking one liners and lyrical monologues and the way the plot resolves itself is very satisfying, because of, rather than in spite of the contrivances used to get there.

The ‘not the best half’ of the village is memorably cast, with such memorable figures as Lofty the blacksmith and the not-very-fierce Heidi, played excellently by Tom Stourton and Barnaby Kay. In the key role of Einar (or ‘Chuckles’) we have a wonderfully steely, yet warm performance by Ian Conningham. It has to be said, however, that David Schofield, fine actor though he is, isn’t quite commanding enough for Odin – if ever there was a role tailor made for Brian Blessed's return to Doctor Who, it was this one. Clara’s role is mainly confined to this half and, again, Jenna Coleman knocks it for six in a space suit.

Which brings us to the key character of Ashildr. A tomboy in her late teens, she is the engaging storyteller of the village whose imagination is fuelled by the adventures of the raiders, who love her, misfit though she is. The defeat of the Mire is largely due to her gifts, and what happens is tragic. However the girl who died is dead no longer and the centuries race by...

"Under the Lake"/"Before the Flood"

The basis (under siege) for this story is rooted in several well-worn tropes of science-fiction in general and Doctor Who in particular - indeed, beats are taken from the Tennant classic "The Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit", most notably the death by airlock with the body floating outside the base window. However, in the very capable hands of Toby Whithouse, we are constantly left scared and surprised at every turn in a story that gives us terrifying underwater hauntings, time-bending paradox crunching, Cold-War era dummy towns, Arthurian legend, and love, both unrequited and requited. The explanation for the ghosts and their motivation is revealed only piecemeal, which makes re-watching the story all the more rewarding and, at no point does it alienate anyone who had given the story their proper attention – the untranslatable characters on the spaceship wall are the seeds of a ghost factory, the TARDIS is wary because the Doctor is already there in the hibernaculum. The Fisher King is a far more malevolent figure than his Arthurian namesake, yet the roots in the myth are present and correct – both require those who venture upon his abode to assist in his return...

The production is flawless in realising Whithouse's vision – the ghosts are designed, realised and filmed to live in the nightmares of many in years to come and Daniel O'Hara makes a stunning début as director crafting each scene with care, an obvious highlight being the ghost of Moran dragging an axe just a few paces behind Cass. The design work is fantastic, from the sets for the Drum, to the dummy town to the memorably crustaceoid (if that's a word) Fisher King.

The characters are somewhat atypical for the base-under-siege formula and the actors do stunning work. Morven Christie manages to be completely convincing both as a hard-as-nails NCO and as an utterly adorable Doctor-fangirl. Whithouse never makes Cass a mere token character and the gutsy performance that Sophie Stone gives in the role only adds to the effectiveness of the character. We also have a nice turn by Paul Kaye as the Tivolian, Prentis. It must be said that it is a pity that Colin McFarlane has so little to do in his non-ghost form, but it is no surprise that this very charismatic actor is the scariest of the ghosts. The imposing size of the Fisher King (courtesy of Neil Fingleton) is matched with a memorable turn by Peter Serafinowicz, one of the most versatile voices in the business.

The Doctor's job is a bit more complicated than in should be. How can a time-traveller defy his own ghost? Very well indeed, if the Doctor is as brilliantly written and performed as he is here. Capaldi portrays the Doctor as being stoic in the face on inevitability, totally in control of the end of the moment, if not it's beginning, yet needing cue-cards to help him console those he is about to help. He is also given the most lengthy piece of fourth-wall breaking in the programme's history, which he pulls off with aplomb. With the characters separated, Jenna is left to be the lead in her segments, which she does magnificently.

So, we are left with the Bootstrap Paradox and a question that is never answered. But don't some of the best stories end with a question mark?

NEXT: "The Girl Who Died"/"The Woman Who Lived"