A Masterful Villain

It makes perfect literary sense. How do you create a villain who is legitimately threatening, an engaging and interesting match for the protagonist’s strengths, but is not over-powerful? Simple solution: You take the hero, and make them evil. If someone is so near to your intellectual and capable equal in nearly all counts, the “chess match” is all the more balanced, and victory that much harder to attain. So it makes sense that Doctor Who showrunners would nurture such a perfect foil, and […]

Our Series 8 Recap

For three months, we have journeyed with Peter Capaldi on his first series as the Doctor, and it has been every bit of the wild ride we had hoped for. Together, we battled clockwork droids, Daleks, and Cybermen. Side by side, we faced down new villainous threats like the Skovox, Blitzer and the hastily (poorly?) named “Boneless”. With his guidance, we found the hidden truths behind misunderstood monsters like the Teller and the Mummy. Spurred on by his relentless pursuit of adventure […]

One L.I. Who 2 Remember

We knew we had arrived at a very special place when the little Nissan compact in front of us had license plates from over 1,800 miles away, and a plush Dalek hanging from the rear-view window. Unpacking the recording gear and heading towards the lobby, the unmistakable “Official TARDIS Chase & Recovery Vehicle” owned and operated by the gifted TARDIS Tara dominated the first two parking spaces like a Whovian shrine. A glance to the right displayed a small sign […]

Death in Heaven

With Missy’s identity revealed and the fate of Danny’s soul still in question, Whovians were primed and ready for Steven Moffat’s final offering for Series 8. But did he deliver? With the aforementioned nemesis in full madcap form, the triumphant reappearance of Kate Stewart and U.N.I.T., and a new twist on the a Cybermen invasion all vying for the viewer’s attention, there is likely more to discuss than we can possibly cover — But honestly, has that ever stopped us from trying before? […]

In the Forest of the Night

Wood is used by humankind for countless applications, from building materials, to heating, to artistic expression, to novelty keychains you pay far too much for in gift shops at the beach. We cut down trees for seemingly any reason we can conjure. But what if the trees had enough of that practice? What if they decided to fight back? Such is the plot we all, including the Doctor, expected for the first 75% of the Series 8 episode, “In the Forest of the Night”. What […]

Flatline

What would be the best way for a fledgling Doctor Who writer to handle being assigned the “Doctor-Light” episode of the series? Scare the crap out of us so that we forget everything else (i.e., “Blink”). Give the Companion, effectively left on their own, the chance to show how incredible they really are (i.e., “Turn Left”). Cheat like a lazy school kid, and scatter the Doctor all throughout the episode in the hopes that no-one notices. Jamie Mathieson appeared to like all three options, and […]

Mummy on the Orient Express

For the Doctor, the statement “I’ll be right there” can take far greater liberties than for the rest of us. So it’s not surprising that after centuries in his time line (and three series in ours), he finally returned that mysterious call, and made it to the Orient Express in space to come face to face with the mummy that apparently haunts it. This week, we discuss “Mummy on the Orient Express” and the first classically-styled murder mystery we’ve had on Doctor […]

Kill the Moon

Daleks, Zygons, Sontarans, Cybermen, Rutans, Slitheen, the list goes on and on. Planet Earth is no stranger to threats from alien species it knows virtually nothing about. Though seemingly a magnet for such invasions and plots, the Doctor has defended the human world and faced these foes many times, a Champion who has always been and will continue to be there to protect us, and help us, in our moment of — wait, where’s he running off to? This week, we travel to the […]