You’d think by now, Whovians would be accustomed to spiders appearing in our stories. In that, you’d be wrong. Big or small, sentient or silent, alone or in a swarm, we’ve seen our fair share of eight-legged adversaries in the long history of Doctor Who. Does that mean that we’ve exhausted the idea of involving arachnids in our adventures through time and space? Heavens, no! We just need to find a way to incorporate them in a new, unexpected fashion. Got any ideas, Mr. Chibnall? Oh, you do? Do tell…

This week, we peek over the top of the couch (or possibly the hotel tub?) to see what the reactions are to a spider the size of a van in the fourth episode of Series 11. Jay realizes with the rest of us that the real creeps in the story aren’t who or what we’d expect, Keir draws a number of parallels to Pertwee-era stories, and Charles’ respect and admiration for Bradley Walsh deepens even further (and rightfully so). We don’t all agree on Noth’s portrayal of a rather familiar bloviating real estate tycoon, but we do love the jokes and jabs it brings. Akinola’s score earns yet more kudos, DNEG’s effects have us wondering where their work ended and the prop department began, and we all decide to pass on a serving of ‘terrible’ pakora.

NEWS:

• Derrick Sherwin 1936 – 2018
• The “Rosa” Episode Gets Fact-Checked, and Is Found Remarkably Accurate
• Segun Akinola Discusses the “Regeneration” of the DW Score