"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"

"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...