It’s been a long while since we had Doctor Who every week, too long for most our tastes. And between the wait and all the changes announced – from Pearl Mackie’s arrival as the new companion to Peter Capaldi’s imminent departure from the role he made his own (don’t get me started) – there was the usual anticipation and uncertainty about what Series 10 would have in store for us.
Based on that first episode, it looks like we’re in for quite the journey… Continue reading
And when you go back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of its riches, its people, its potential, when you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this: It is defended!
– The Tenth DoctorYou’re not the first lot to have come here – oh, there have been so many. And what you’ve got to ask is, what happened to them?
– The Eleventh Doctor
I’m not really a fan of the current trend toward dark and gritty superheroes. I accept that there’s a place for them, and when you’re talking about characters like Daredevil or the Punisher (and yes, Frank Castle is technically not a superhero, but he walks in that universe), there’s really no better way to play them.
But I grew up with the Superman of Christopher Reeve and Richard Donner. My Batman is the Chandler archetype of Kevin Conroy and Paul Dini, “neither tarnished nor afraid.” They’re characters who fight the darkness because they still believe in the light. I miss that kind of hero.
Which brings us to the hero of this post. The Earth’s most constant defender. “The one, the only, and the best.”
Of course, The Doctor. Continue reading
One of the many joys of Series 9 of Doctor Who was the way it kept confounding expectations. Just when you thought you knew where the show would take the characters – and you – it thwarted you, and them. (One of my favorite examples was “Before the Flood.” When a Part 1 ends with your main character turned into a ghost, the last thing you expect to see at the beginning of Part 2 is that same main character playing an electric guitar and going on about Beethoven. But it was PERFECT.)
By now, we all know this season ended with Twelve losing Clara, getting her back, and finally letting her go. Together, those three episodes put him, her, and us through an emotional wringer. So it would make sense that the Christmas special would lighten up and allow all of us to enjoy a holiday romp.
And it would also make sense that Steven Moffat would confound us once again. Love or hate him, it’s why we keep watching him.
Instead, he gave us exactly what we wanted. And needed.
Everybody knows that everybody dies. And nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark if he ever, for one moment, accepts it.
-River Song
That’s been the constant theme in Series 9 of Doctor Who. He’s the Doctor, and he saves people.
He’s the one who spends all his lives raging against the dying of the light. He’s the one who would tear the entire universe apart to save just one friend.
But what would happen if he really had to?
The answer takes up three episodes, and it brings an incredible season to a beautiful finish.
Continue reading
Every Doctor has those moments that define him. That reveal him, his values and ideals. That show he’s worthy of the name.
Of course, they’re also the moments where the actors prove themselves worthy. William Hartnell letting go of his only family. Tom Baker asking “Do I have the right?” David Tennant wrestling with his conscience so many times.
Peter Capaldi’s first series, of course, gave us a perfect I Am The Doctor moment with that speech in “Flatline.” It was that stand-up-and-squee moment we’d been waiting for all season, and for a little while it might have been the Twelfth Doctor’s defining moment.
Until now. Until a scene so powerful, a performance so perfect, that Capaldi needs only three words to break your heart.
There are times when it’s very hard to write about Doctor Who.
Especially this season, one of the best in YEARS. A season when most episodes have been so good that it’s a real challenge to come up with a review that doesn’t consist almost entirely of “HOLY CRAP” and “OMG” and “SQUEEEEEEE!”
But episodes like “The Girl Who Died” make that a great problem to have.
It’s relatively minor, I’ll admit, but one of the things I enjoyed about this week’s episode of Doctor Who was that now I don’t have to be so circumspect about what happened in the season premiere. So, spoilers away…
When we last left The Doctor, he was in another very dark place. Trapped on Skaro by his ancient nemesis Davros, with his three closest friends seemingly exterminated before his eyes, he looked truly broken, desparate enough to throw away his greatest rule: the rule of compassion.
And so ended “The Magician’s Apprentice,” a dazzling beginning to Series 9. But this was a two-parter. And we all know how hard it is for the second part to live up to the promise of the first.
Except this time, it was even better.
Good men don’t need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many.
As good as Matt Smith was as The Doctor – and he could be very, very good – his time on Doctor Who gave Eleven few moments where he could be well and truly dangerous. (The above quote, from “A Good Man Goes To War,” is one of those few.)
That hasn’t been an issue with Twelve. From “Deep Breath” on, Peter Capaldi has taken the character to those dark places only hinted at before. He’s borne the weight of the horrible things The Doctor has seen, the horrible choices he’s had to make.
And he’s nowhere near done.
…and we’ve been running ever since.
After too long away, Doctor Who returned, with a new generation of actors, directors, and writers to bring sci-fi’s most unique hero-of-sorts on his way. And generations new and old were swept up in the terror and wonder of all of time and space, all over again.
Today, the adventure shows no end in sight. And I’d like to think we’re all a little better for it – at least I believe I am.
(h/t to that FX genius “John Smith,” whoever he may be…)
Thank you for coming back, Doctor. Here’s to many more ahead…
We don’t believe in Santa Claus because he’s real. He’s real because we believe in him.
There’s that kind of power in our fantasies, our fairy tales, our heroes. They don’t have to exist in our world. And it might be far better that they don’t. Reality can be a mess sometimes, maybe most times. And it’s a comfort to know that there’s something outside of it. Something better. Something impossible and incredible and great.
And so we create these heroes and vest our faith in them. Like Santa Claus.
Like the Doctor.
Lee Hurtado, Writer 