Worthwhile: The Curse of the Black Spot
Applying our typical “silver linings” perspective as we do to nearly all Doctor Who content, we begin a positive look at maligned post-2005 episodes with a hapless crew becalmed at sea.
Giving Thanks for a Series 12 Trailer
The official “Doctor Who Day” of 2019 brought us something we’ve been hoping to see on our holiday table for months, now: an action-packed trailer for the new series complete with guest appearances, adversaries old and new, famous historical figures, car chases, and plenty of explosions.
They Deserve More Time
We task ourselves this week with identifying just a few of the briefly-met characters who we wish had another opportunity, large or small, to return to the program. It could be a passing cameo, a where-are-they-now glimpse into their lives after having met and interacted with the Doctor, or even a full episode adventure with them past, present, or future.
Resolution
This week, we enjoy a boisterous, loud, daresay explosive hour-long adventure as our first and last piece of new televised Doctor Who content of the year. An all-too-familiar opponent makes a new appearance from a rather old point of origin, which leads to one of the Thirteenth Doctor’s best verbal exchanges of the season.
It Takes You Away
After checking that all the mirrors in the studio do in fact have us looking back in them, we settle in for a discussion of the penultimate episode of Season 11.
The Witchfinders
This week, we get another invaluable history lesson from Team TARDIS in the eighth installment of Series 11, “The Witchfinders”.
Kerblam!
Just in time to properly worry about Cyber Monday, Series 11 gives us “Kerblam!” a statement about the worries over technological advancement and automation, as well as the dangers of (all too human) fanatical extremism.
Demons of the Punjab
Asking Chris Chibnall to step away from the pen this week, we are given Vinay Patel’s fascinating depiction of the 1947 Partition of India, in “Demons of the Punjab”.
The Tsuranga Conundrum
This week, we tie on our bibs and tuck in to a heaping coil of antimatter with “The Tsuranga Conundrum”, marking the midpoint in Series 11. We’re all in agreement that this is stock-in-trade, dare we say “classic” Doctor Who, involving a complex set of interwoven challenges, limited time, interesting but not distracting supporting characters, and a blend of scientific wonder and oddball humor from our Doctor.
Arachnids in the UK
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.