The Doctor faces a rebooted Master and the Cybermen in this jam-packed finale that combines the good, the bad and the downright weird. The best aspects are the revelations that both his arch enemy and staunch allies want the Time Lord to do the same thing; nourish his ego and take charge. Steven Moffat cleverly has The Mistress pulling Peter Capaldi's strings over the nature of his relationship with Clara, a source of much griping from fans. This strand also brings the issue of the new Doctor's dual nature to a reasonably satisfying conclusion. The Cybermens' water-based plot is rather unfathomable and veers onto the silly side (presumably the 'dark water' of last week is involved but it's never clarified).
Of the supporting cast, it's essentially Michelle Gomez's show. She makes a terrific Master, creepy and funny by turns. You can speculate why Moffat gave the character a sex change till the cyber cows come home. Either way, Gomez's performance is a pleasure, though she's let down by the script rapidly lurching into cartoon villainy so quickly. Some background as to how the Master ended up in her current form wouldn't have gone amiss. Jemma Redgrave is back heading up UNIT but she doesn't really add anything to the mix. Sanjeev Bhaskar is similarly wasted. Redgrave has apprently been inserted to usher in an odd cameo from her late onscreen father, itself part of Danny Pink's exit storyline, a bizarre tribute to the fallen of World War One.
As with last week there is a cruel streak to the episode that sits uneasily with the show in general. After "Cremationgate" we now see a popular supporting character bumped off in a manner arguably more suited to The Dark Knight than Doctor Who. I'd say overall this two parter has been the weakest story in the run, but there are still encouraging signs of the newfound maturity the series has displayed, seemingly inspired by its leading man. A hilarious end credit sequence suggests his mettle is going to be tested to breaking point by a rotund and rosy-cheeked polar opposite. Christmas couldn't come early enough for this reviewer.
The Doctor faces an army of lethal Banksys in this imaginative script from Jamie Mathieson, which asks the simple but fiendish question: "What would happen if the TARDIS exterior became really small?" It's arguably the show's best in terms of special effects, with a disintegrating settee and marauding Bacon-esque figures among the highlights. The tone is lean and dark, a good fit for Peter Capaldi's trapped Time Lord.
It's also a rare case of the series attempting to reflect modern life, returning to a council estate environment last seen properly during the days of Rose Tyler. A community service team are the main characters, pilloried by guest star Christopher Fairbank (who
is underused). There's a decent "replacement" companion in Joivan Wade, named "Rigsby" for some bizarre reason. Capaldi and Coleman continue their strong partnership, and while critics of the Doctor's lack of involvement won't be pleased, they can't argue
that Coleman's performance doesn't compensate for a neutered title character. Personally I love the balance - if you hate it don't worry, there'll be another one along in a minute.
As with last week the conclusion is hurried and you could claim the overall concept needed a bit more development before leaving the 2D page. But this is another memorable three quarters of an hour and the latest in a string of interesting ideas that has set Series Eight apart from its predecessors.
Doctor Who has long been associated with everyday fears, from shop window mannequins to excess body weight. But Steven Moffat goes right back to basics for Listen, creating a story around the things that lurk beneath your bed. You might think this is a bit
simplistic at first, however the writer uses this idea as a springboard for an involving episode that has the feel of a play about it. It's been a while since we've had intimate drama like this in the show and the result is the meatiest Capaldi instalment so far.
The main story of the Doctor's investigation into aloneness is supported nicely by Clara's date and the proper introduction of Danny Pink. Paranoia over unseen creatures is contrasted with paranoia over making first impressions and the way the elements are drawn together is quite satisfying. The relationship between Time Lord and companion is fast becoming one of the more interesting ones - two people of wildly different ages who are nonetheless equals and not a trace of sex in sight. Peter Capaldi's incarnation is one that truly could go anywhere and it's fun watching him develop. The Twelfth Doctor doesn't dominate the screen like former selves yet still has charisma. Listen sees him interact with a child, though I'm still unsure how younger viewers are taking to this new take.
There's also a sense of Moffat revisiting and refining key concepts that have underpinned his era and working on them again with a restraint and maturity befitting his leading man. He has crafted a script that is complex without being boastful, scary without being
overconceptualized. The TARDIS top opening is weird and there's a dodgy bit of wire work but these are minor quibbles. Arguably this most cerebral of writers is giving his series room to breathe for the first time.
Peter Capaldi makes an excellent counterpoint to a chocolate box Sherwood Forest in an episode that shows the programme taking those first steps toward hitting its stride. What begins as a brightly-lit jaunt soon morphs into the macabre tone the series is cultivating. With the Doctor no longer the young, dazzling centre the Twelfth Time Lord becomes a bickering, simmering presence, though no less the hero as it turns out.
The writers are cleverly evolving Clara alongside him. For Robot Of Sherwood Mark Gatiss has her as the person in control via her romantic knowledge of Robin's rose-tinted exploits. Tom Riley as Robin is fine and the story about a crashed spaceship and a gold-plated plan you can take or leave. But the marauding mechanicals are well-designed, disintegrating peasants via cross-shaped electric death rays and Ben Miller makes a strong villain. He's been crying out for a Who baddie since his oily turn as a prickly civil servant in Primeval and doesn't disappoint here.
The closing moments feature a lovely scene where Hood and The Doctor effectively compare notes as fictional heroes, an unexpected way perhaps to accentuate Capaldi's character. While odd attempts to join in the hi-jinks fall a bit flat, most importantly we see him start to repress delight despite his alarming gaze. A very encouraging instalment overall.
What to do when you cast a scary-looking man as the Doctor? Make the Doctor a scary man. Just as showrunner Steven Moffat applied a simple solution to the question of a modern day Sherlock, so the dilemma of a markedly older Time Lord in an age where forty is seen as a dead zone gets solved the same way. The leading man himself is a roaring success, in some scenes literally. He's as gaunt as the stick of chalk he finds on the floor but also hilarious. It's easy to forget with all the publicity concerning a journey into
darkness that Capaldi has a comedy background and his confrontation with the tramp bears the hallmarks of a 3 am altercation in a Glaswegian alleyway. Certainly this is Doctor Who as we've never seen it before.
The tone has arguably shifted. Ben Wheatley is well-suited to direct this tale of clockwork men and organ appropriation, but whether children are included in the mix this year remains to be seen. The Doctor definitely isn't approachable and there's no comfort in Madam Vastra's Paternoster Gang. Strax as always is amusing but it falls to Jenna Coleman to carry the human element as Clara. The way she raises her bark to match her companion's bite is a bit forced - at one point the Doctor mentions Amy, another spectacularly resourceful young person. Coleman is good though and Clara's fear at being abandoned to the monsters by her former hero makes for some solid sofa diving.
Despite the sea change Moffat has kept his habit of including eye-catching elements that tend to pad out the plot (in this case a rogue dinosaur) and there is the usual landslide of lines that run before they can walk. However, all in all this ushers in a spiky, thrilling and rather nasty dawn for a more grown up show and I'm fascinated to see how the trick will be sustained.
