Doctor Who, An Oddity Through Time And Space. #7 Diary Of A Dalek.

Ever wondered why Daleks are such angry aliens? No, me neither. But here's an insight into why they might not be so full of  love and peace.

In The Forest Of The Night. Series 8-Episode 10

In The Forest Of The Night

Written by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Director:Sheree Folkson

Producer: Paul Frift

Executive Producer(s) Steven Moffat/Brian Minchin

Length:45 minutes

Original Broadcast:25th October 2014

Earth, covered in lots of green stuff.

Synopsis

An invasion of trees have sprung up overnight, covering the globe with flora...er...that's about it. Oh and there's a bunch of schoolkids from Coal Hill who get to go inside the TARDIS. And some firefly type thingies that have been around since the dawn of time.

The City Of London , covered in lots of green stuff.

Plotline...what, there was a plotline??

Will contain spoilers.

See above. What? You want more?

Okay. Around the world, trees have mysteriously sprung up overnight. At first, the Doctor suspects it to be some sort of  alien invasion, but how wrong could he be? Well as it turns out, very wrong.

You see, somewhere back in the days of yore, and yes, I did use the word 'yore', such an occurrence had happened before in history. But as the Doctor soon explained, we humans have the uncanny knack of forgetting events such as wars and the pain of childbirth, hence why they continue to happen.

Trafalgar Square, covered in lots of...well I think you all know where I'm going with this...

So, back to the trees. It turns out that a huge solar flare is about to reign down and pulverize planet earth, thereby, leaving all in it's wake, which is what usually happens when things are pulverized. Now here's where the trees come in. The trees are there to act as a natural barrier to prevent the solar flare from destroying the earth, thus saving mankind from a fate worse than death...and if anyone knows what is worse than death, then please let me know. And there you have it.

Danny and the Coal Hill students, not doing a very good job of mimicking the Thriller video.

Review

Well the Doctor is still grumpy. Clara is still looking for his approval and Danny still looks like he's about to burst into tears at the drop of a hat. The storyline, such as it was, left a lot to be desired. Now I don't expect every episode of Doctor Who to contain monsters/aliens/enemies, but trees?!

In truth, I feel somewhat let down by this chapter in the series. Visually and thanks to director Sheree Folkson, the scenery looked stunning with London being submerged in flora. But where were the people lining the streets to gawp at such a spectacle? Apart from one lone parent, the streets of London was strangely deserted.

"Trees!! Is that it? Where's the mild peril?

 This installment contained no possible threat, or even some mild peril from which Clara and the Doctor would save the day and the and tiger and wolves, which were a focal point of the trailers, came and went with little or no effect.
The nonchalant way in which the children treated being inside the TARDIS as if it were an everyday occurrence, made me want to throw something heavy at the TV screen. But luckily for mater, she was just out of reach.

Maebh running away from the ridiculous storyline.

 And the ending, where one of the main characters Maebh's sister suddenly turns up after having gone missing for months, hidden behind some foliage, is definitely a what the hell moment. Where had she been all these months? And why did she go missing in the first place? 

In saying that, I did think that the cast of children, especially Abigail Eames who played Maebh. ran rings around the adult characters, with Danny being his usual wooden self. Perhaps he should take a leaf out of their book, but I could be barking up the wrong tree with that suggestion. Anyway, they flowered in this episode and each one of them, should take a bough for their performances. Okay, enough of the foliage similes.

At least we got to see the wonderful Missy, who seemed very surprised at the turn of events. Do you know that they have tablets in the Nethersphere? Well it is heaven after all. You can't expect them not to have the latest in modern gadgetry. How else is Missy suppose to keep up on all the current affairs going on in planet earth?
So as the current series almost draws to a close, what do we know about Missy so far?
Well, we know that she dresses like Mary Poppins.
The she called the Doctor her boyfriend and Clara, "My Clara" That she has chosen Miss Oswald well.That she likes the new Doctor's accent and that she drinks tea.

With all the current theories flying around, from Missy being the Rani or the Master, the most popular seems to be that she is in fact the TARDIS. Indeed, when the Doctor asked Maebh who had sent her, she answered "Miss sent me." Did she mean Missy? The look on the Timelord's face, would suggest that he knew exactly who she was talking about and it wasn't Clara.
Whatever the case may be, all will soon be revealed.

Cast
Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Michelle Gomez, Samuel Anderson, Abigail Eames, Jayden Harris Wallace, Ashley Foster, Harley Bird, Siwan Morris, Harry Dickman, Jenny Hill, James Weber Brown, Michelle Asante, Curtis Flowers, Kate Tydman, Nana Amoo-Gottfried, William Wright Neblett, Eloise Barnes,

Doctor Who, An Oddity Through Time And Space. #5 Sherlock Meets The Doctor.

I'm all about the 'odd.' In fact I quite like the 'odd.' I am all over the 'odd' like Buboes on a plague victim. But THIS is odd...

Flatline. Series 8-Episode 9

Flatline

Written by Jamie Mathieson

Director-Douglas Mackinnon

Producer-Nikki Wilson

Executive Producer(s)-Stephen Moffat/Brian Minchin

Length-45 minutes

Originally Broadcast-18th October 2014

Cast-Peter Capladi, Jenna Coleman, Joivan Wade, Matt Bardock, Samuel Anderson, John Cummins, Christopher Fairbank, James Quinn, Jessica Hayles, Raj Bajaj, Michelle Gomez.

Synopsis

With the Doctor trapped inside an ever shrinking TARDIS, it is left up to Clara Oswald to face an enemy that is using the human body in order to unlock the science of a 3D existence.

Plotline

May contains Spoilers

The TARDIS is shrinking. Trapped inside the time vessel, the Doctor sends Clara out to investigate what exactly is leeching the TARDIS' energy and draining it's power source.

On a council estate in Bristol, residents have gone missing. But, no sign of a body is ever discovered

Encountering Rigsy, (doing community service for graffiting) along a pedestrian tunnel, he begins to explain to Clara about the mysterious disappearances and points to the strange murals of the missing, painted by persons unknown.

Returning back to the Doctor, Clara finds that the TARDIS had shrunk even further and with no way out to investigate for himself, the Timelord, having tracked down a huge source of energy, hands over his Sonic Screwdriver, psychic paper and a visual and audio earpiece, so that he can keep in touch.

Posing as 'Doctor Oswald' and with the tiny TARDIS firmly tucked away in her handbag, Clara enlists the help of Rigsy as they scour the home of the latest person to go missing, unaware of a peculiar mural on the wall.

The background mural shows PC Forrest's nervous system

Gaining entry into the home of the first person to have disappeared, by impersonating MI5, the Doctor suggests to Clara and Rigsy that the energy source is in the walls and instructs them to tear them down. Meanwhile, when the policewoman in attendant, PC Forrest goes into another room to answer a call, she is sucked into the carpet. On hearing her screams, both Rigsy and Clara rush into the room only to find no one there. It's at that moment that the Doctor discovers that the rather odd mural on the wall, is infact PC Forrest's nervous central system. That's when the Doctor informs them that the disappearance is the work of 2D aliens entering into a 3D world and experimenting in order to make sense how humans work and exist.

Review

Earthy and strange is how I would describe Flatline. Partly comedic and half drama, this episode was one of the most amusing by far. The concept of 2D aliens trying to make sense of a 3D world, was ingenious. Likewise, Clara as 'Doctor Oswald' harks back to the days as the 'Impossible Girl', where she actively involved herself in the action rather than waited for the Doctor to instruct her on what to do, My only criticism are mostly to do with the lack of depth shown by the supporting cast members, which made it difficult to sympathise whenever any of them met an untimely end.

I still do not understand the relevance of Danny. He's appearances on the show seem somehow misplaced and the chemistry between him and Clara seems like part of a plotline that has just been thrown in. Obviously, (I hope) his role will evolve into something more tangible. But for now, I'm not really convinced by his character. 

However, it was the sudden appearance of the wonderful Missy, that overshadowed the whole triumphant ending of the Doctor defeating the 'Boneless'. Her line that she had chosen Clara wisely, sent the cogs in my brain spinning into overdrive. Maybe it was Missy who originally placed Clara into the Doctor's timeline, but to what end?

Missy

Doctor Who, An Oddity Through Time And Space. #4 Dalek Relaxation Tape.

When you've had a killer of a day and you could murder a hot cup of coffee, what better way to exterminate the stresses of your day then by listening to a Dalek Relaxation Tape.

Mummy On The Orient Express. Series 8-Episode 8

Murder On The Orient Express

Written by Jamie Mathieson

Director : Paul Whilmshurst

Producer : Peter Bennet

Executive Producer(s) : Stephen Moffat/Brian Minchin

Length : 45 minutes

Originally Broadcast : 11th October 2014

Cast : Peter Capaldi Jenna Coleman, Frank Skinner 

Synopsis

There's a mummy on board the Orient Express and anyone who is unlucky enough to catch a glimpse of it's tattered bandages, is dead within 66 seconds.

In Orient Express in motion

Plot

Contains spoilers
*Forgive the ponderous writing. Currently suffering from the curse...of the flu.*

The Doctor takes Clara on 'one last hurrah' on board a spaceship replica of the famous Orient Express.
 Mrs Pitt an elderly passenger also on board, suffers what appears to be a heart attack after claiming that she is being attacked by a mummy. The problem is, no one else can see it apart from those who are about to meet their untimely demise.

On encountering Maisie, (Mrs Pitt's granddaughter) who is distressed at not be able to see the deceased's body, both she and Clara break into the luggage car only to become trapped inside, along with a Mummy's Sarcophagus.

The Doctor and Perkins practice their frowning techniques

The Doctor meanwhile, ( masquerading as a secret shopper) strikes up an unlikely alliance with the the train's engineer Perkins (Frank Skinner) and together, the two of them begin to investigate the Legend of the Foretold. With the aide of Professor Moorhouse, who has been invited onto the Orient, along with several other scientific experts, they begin to unravel the legend of a supernatural being who once seen, claims the life of it's victims within 66 seconds. A forewarning of this is when the lights begin to flicker, which it does. This time, it is one of the train's chef who succumbs to the curse of the Mummy.

On his way to rescue Clara and Maisie, the Time Lord is arrested by the Captain (Quell) of the Orient for falsifying his identity. When the lights flicker yet again and one of the Captains men dies, the Doctor asks how many more people must die before he does something about it. The answer is three and the Doctor is promptly released.

"Are you my mummy?" I'm nothing if not predictable

On further investigation and after much questioning, it seems that the Orient is in fact a laboratory and the guests have all be lured there under false pretenses. A voice (Gus) tells the scientists that they are on board to discover the nature of the force so that they can reverse engineer the power.
Professor Moorhouse is the next to spy the Mummy, trying to give as much details of the being as possible before he perishes; only to end up bargaining for his life, but to no avail.

Back in the luggage car, Clara has uncovered evidence that the sarcophagus is in fact a containment unit and that it is not the first time that Gus has assembled such a team. Some who had previously perished for their poor performance in unlocking the mystery.
The Doctor wants to know why it takes exactly 66 seconds for the Mummy to kill it's victim, only to find from medical records taken by Perkins, that each of the victims had been suffering form various medical issues. By this summation Captain Quell is the next to befall the curse, having told the Doctor that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder during the war.

Before he dies, Quell is able to pass on valuable information to the Doctor, who realizes that because of the trauma of her grandmother's death, Maisie is the next intended victim. He asks Clara to bring her to the Lab as Gus unlocks the door and she is appalled by his seeming heartlessness. It turns out that the Foretold through phase shifting, drains the dead of their energy, hence the 66 seconds.
Once back in the laboratory, the Doctor absorbs some of Maisie's memories, tricking the Mummy into thinking that he is her. As the Foretold attacks, the Doctor finds out the it is a soldier that has been killed in a war centuries old and turned into an assassin having been modified with a phase shifting camouflage. Offering up their surrender, the Foretold halts in it's process, salutes the Doctor and disintegrates into a cloud of dust, leaving behind the phase shifting device.

Congratulating the survivors on a job well done and as their services are no longer required, Gus begins to evacuate the air on board the train. The Orient explodes as the Doctor tries to hack into Gus to discover his true nature but not before he rescues the remaining passengers by rewiring the phase shifting device as a teleporter and making a swift getaway via the TARDIS.

Review

I can think of a lot of monsters that would have me clawing my face off with fear. The Mummy isn't one of them. What have Mummies's ever done? They can't out run their victims, yet people just stand there and scream in horror whilst they do whatever it is that Mummies do. Okay, so the one in this episode was able to teleport and drain the energy from it's kill, but every morning I face a far worse and even scarier mummy...especially if she hasn't had her daily cup of coffee.

In saying that, I did enjoy Mummy On The Orient Express, especially the fact that the Orient was travelling through space. And the ticking countdown at the beginning of each death sequence, added to the atmosphere of the scenes.
On a more negative note, i'm not quite sure what the purpose of the phone calls between Clara and Danny were all about as they didn't seem to fit with the whole episode. And  Clara's sudden turnaround at the end happened far to quickly for my liking, especially after her eruption of fury in Kill The Moon.

I must admit that the Doctor's coldness when under pressure is something that I find the most fascinating. His ability to switch off and just concentrate on the facts make for compelling viewing.
I would however liked to have known more information on who exactly Gus was. But as a stand alone story, explanations are not always needed. For me, the growing mystery surrounding the events, are what keeps a viewer interested and makes an episode linger in the mind long after it has finished.

Doctor Who, An Oddity Through Time And Space. #3 Dalek Vs Cyberman

How do you cheer up a depressed Dalek?

How should I know? I'm not a Doctor.

Kill The Moon. Series 8-Episode 7

Kill The Moon

Written by Peter Harness

Director : Paul Wilmshurst

Producer : Peter Bennet

Executive Producers : Steven Moffat/Brain Minchin

Cast : Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Ellis George Hermione Norris

Length: 45 minutes

Originally Broadcast: 4th October 2014

Synopsis 

(Like my mother) The Moon is putting on weight. In fact 1.3 billion tons worth of weight. But unlike mother, it's not because it claims to be 'big-boned', it's because the Moon is actually an egg. And it's about to hatch.

Summary

In the year 2049, The Doctor, Clara and Courtney (the schoolgirl from last week's episode) find themselves on a space shuttle loaded with nuclear bombs and headed straight for the Moon. 

On-board, the three astronauts's suicide mission, led by Captain Lundvik (Hermione Norris) is to blow up the huge ball of rock and to stop it from destroying earth.

In recent years, earth had been devastated. Huge tidal waves had already caused a significant amount of the population to perish. Satellites were destroyed and advancement in science had been halted as man sought to survive.

Previously, a Mexican colony had been established on the Moon and having reported changes to the Moon, then lost contact with Earth. 

Heading to the long abandoned colony, the group discover that it is covered in cobwebs. As they set about priming the bombs, they soon come across the bodies of the previous colonists entombed within yet more webs. Two of the astronaut are killed while the surviving member Lundvick, along with the Doctor, Clara and Courtney, find themselves under attack from what seems to be a giant spider, which Courtney destroys with disinfectant.

This effective use of a household cleaner brings the Doctor to the conclusion that the spider is really a germ, a Prokaryotic organism.

Courtney becomes frightened and asks to be sent back to the TARDIS, whilst the others venture on to investigate the cracks in the Moon's surface. More Prokaryotic organisms are discovered and the Doctor comes a pool of  amniotic fluid and promptly dives into it saying that he will be back, leaving Clara and Lundvick to return to the shuttle.

On reappearing, the Time-Lord tells his companions that the Moon is in fact a  100 million year old egg which is about to hatch and that the Prokaryotic organisms are parallel to microbes.

He then leaves it up to an astronaut a schoolgirl and a teacher, to make the big decision on whether the egg should be destroyed, killing the creature inside to prevent more harm to humanity, or letting it hatch.

Review

Kill The Moon has faced some harsh slating by the critics, citing bad dialogue and a poor script, as well as being scientifically illiterate. (It's not real people) I don't think that this is fair.

The parallels made with the 1974 Planet Of The Spiders, is idiocy. The two do not resemble each other in anyway. The only comparison is the inclusion of Spiders and in Planet Of The Spiders, these were actual talking arachnids with intelligence and not a form of bacteria.

I really liked this episode. The atmosphere was full of tension and the concept of the Moon being an egg, was an original one. Many have argued about the Doctor leaving Clara, Lundvick and Courtney alone to make such a momentous decision about the fate of humanity. But the Doctor is not a God. I just think that Clara expects far too much of him and see him in a God-like way. 

Doctor Who, An Oddity Through Time And Space. #2 Malcolm Tucker Is The Doctor.

Why does this cartoon version of the Doctor, look a bit like David Tennant after contracting a flesh eating bug?