My first thought was “Teen Who,” and that it would be a disaster.
Then again, I didn’t think the Sarah Jane Adventures would make it, and it was apparently pretty successful, all the way up to Liz Sladen’s unfortunate demise.
Time will tell.
The Doctor was stuck getting drained until Missy showed up, so there was that part of saving him.
Hardly an episode that screams “2 parter”, but I guess that is fine. It was OK.
They had too much story to tell in 45 minutes, but maybe not a whole 90, so we’ll probably see some filler nonsense next week
I’ve been noticing that from time to time the writers emphasizing the Doctor being alien. They did that a little with the sixth doctor too.
I kind of like it when they do that, but only sparingly. Being from a different culture and upbringing can cause him, from time to time, to act differently than most humans would in certain situations, even though he’s been around humans (mostly from the UK) for a very long time.
I dunno. To me, it just feels like Moffat’s trying to write another high-functioning sociopath.
It did bug me a bit that in the previous episode, one of our main themes is compassion – he manages to feel sorry for DAVROS, of all people…
…and then in THIS episode, it almost seems like he’s encouraging people to put themselves in danger simply to satisfy his curiosity?
After three episodes, I’m very happy with this season.
Capaldi seems to have hit his stride as the Doctor. There’s a lot of One and Four in him. Curious and cold and a little mad. It’s an interesting departure from Matt Smith who was channeling Two.
The two-part structure of the episodes is great. It gives the stories room to breathe. Minor characters have time to develop, plot twists get set up properly, mysteries actually feel mysterious.
They’re letting Clara be a normal companion instead of Impossible Girl Emo McGuffin.
Missy is the best take on The Master since Roger Delgado. She’s fascinating to watch and SMART instead of just crazy.
I really hope they’re building toward the Time Lords being back in the picture. The Doctor needs stuffy pompous authority figures to push against and you don’t get more stuffy and pompous than the Time Lords.
I was thinking that Capaldi is channeling three and six. Three because of his scientific curiosity and six because of his occasional inability to relate to people and having a slightly more alien feel to him.
I don’t think so. If the Doctor was a sociopath he wouldn’t keep trying to save people.
If anything, he’s closest to the trope of being cold on the outside with a heart of gold on the inside.
My fanwank is that for his last three regeneration, when he thought Gallifrey was destroyed, he was subconsciously trying to “pass for human”, since Earth was the only home he had left. Regenerating progressively more and more into the young, charismatic, silly boy that humans will accept.
Now that he knows Gallifrey is still around and he has the hope of going home, he’s reveling in his time-lord-ness – regenerating into a crotchety old man as is becoming of a time lord, and no longer caring so much about human niceties.
I rewatched Witch’s Apprentice - I am so looking forward to finding out what Missy’s very clever idea is.
That’s pretty good. Although I think you’re giving Moffat too much credit.
I just assumed she figured out a way to escape.
Rule one: Moffat lies
Rule two: Never underestimate Moffat
Set you even odds we never find out. Missy’ll just pop up again with no explanation whatsoever. And maybe even lampshade it with “I escaped due to a very clever idea I had, that’s how.”
A lot closer to Classic Who than we’ve had for a while; if it were Tom Baker or Peter Davison, I’d be suspecting Sea Devils or Zygons. Actually let’s go with Zygons, they had a thing for lochs. The Ghosts were authentically creepy, though, and I like the stories where the entire Space/Time Continuum or the fate of the Doctor isn’t at stake. I like how Capaldi has settled into the character a lot, though: not as outwardly abrasive as the last season, but still happily sarcastic.
I’m pretty sure her clever idea wasn’t, “How can we get off this planet,” and was more along the lines of, “I just thought of a way I can use these Daleks to try to murder my best friend again.” Her plan will be the big threat that the rest of the season is building up to.
You’d think the Master, of all people, would know better than to try allying with Daleks. Particularly considering what happened in the season opener…
Well, that’s why the idea has to be very clever.
The wham shot at the end of the episode would seem to suggest that the fate of the Doctor is at stake – I’m guessing that:
it’s another hologram ploy like the trick used to get the Ghosts into the Faraday cage