Series 10 In Review

Christmas may be a painfully long way off, but when we think about it, we’ve actually been handed twelve days of gifts, courtesy of the BBC. (Sorry we didn’t get you kids anything in return…unless you count merchandising profits, in which case, you’re welcome.) Series 10 of Doctor Who was arguably a triumph, particularly for those who have been stalwart in Stephen Moffat’s defense, been overwhelmed by Peter Capaldi’s fanboy-earns-title-role portrayal of the Doctor, and the highly praiseworthy performances by […]

The Doctor Falls

How many times have we known that we were witnessing the waning moments of the current Doctor’s term, regeneration was nigh, and that heartache was imminent, yet we were riveted to the screen? And in those moments, how much time was spent in the episode where the Doctor himself knew that time was at hand? With few exceptions, these exercises in loss (for both character and audience) have been graciously brief, relatively speaking. The quick-pull of the bandage, if you […]

The Eaters of Light

Rebellions may be built on hope, but hatred is often built on ignorance. Two sides grow so disconnected from one another, each so unable or unwilling to listen to the other, they become devalued and despised. Only the most gifted of mediators may be able to intervene before situations escalate beyond recovery — and even in that, there is no certainty. Now imagine the role of that intermediary, but one to whom it is painfully apparent, time after time, that […]

Empress of Mars

The nobility of the warrior, the code of conduct to which they adhere, has been the subject of dramatic entertainment for millennia. From the amphitheaters of Ancient Greece, to the television programs of today, we can still be awed by the discipline and honor exemplified by history’s greatest warrior civilizations. The reptilian species of Mars once held this level of esteem — one facet of a complex and unique nature — and the Doctor himself recognizes it. “They could slaughter entire civilizations…and weep […]

The Lie of the Land

Trust, integrity, and the validity of information are all points of intense focus in today’s news, a modern world where we are finding the delineation between fiction and fact is perhaps as subject to bias and personal interpretation as such benign topics as one’s opinion on culture or entertainment. Who is the standard-bearer of truth, then, if such a single source can even be identified? Whom can we count on? And where, for crying out loud, is UNIT in all this? Putting the capstone on the series […]

The Pyramid At the End of the World

Oh, to be the middle child. Often forgotten, overlooked, disregarded, considered to be the “least likely to be a problem”. Such a moniker could be a curse upon the bearer — or a call to action. Sometimes, the “not oldest” and “not youngest” chooses to be something more. Something…enigmatic. (Oh, and sometimes they just become Jan Brady.) This week, we look to the second component of Moffat’s final trilogy, “The Pyramid At the End of the World”. The Doctor is […]

Extremis

When we learned just before the start of Series 10 that Steven Moffat opted to begin and end the season with his own penned episodes, it came as no surprise. After all, it was becoming the expected fashion for the showrunner, and none would have expected anything less in his final tenured season. Upon hearing that he would check in mid-series with the start of a three-part arc, however, our collective ears stood up. Something complex and fascinating was in the […]

Oxygen

When you’ve run from all the bogey-men, the ghosts and ghouls, the shadows within the shadows, the killer robots, and the bug-eyed aliens bent on your demise, it’s a reasonable assumption that the next threat to terrify and terrorize us is…rampant galactic capitalism. CURSE YOU, EMPTY SUITS. *fist shake* This week, we rub furiously at our eyes after a viewing of “Oxygen”, the fifth episode of Series 10. Discussions are had over the respiratory systems of Time Lords, Moffat’s new-found ability to kill at will, […]

Knock Knock

The iconic ghost story: possibly one of the most popular forms of storytelling for centuries, from elaborate Dickensian novels, to childhood campfire tales. Our beloved Doctor Who program is no stranger to the paranormal yarn, yet we viewers never tire of seeing how the characters will grapple with what appears to be a spectral event but is clearly, surely, undoubtedly something more alien, technological, or just whizzo-science-y than Casper or that lovely couple from Beetlejuice. If we’re so certain of the outcome, […]