Doctor Who Series 7: Cold War Review

Full spoilers for the episode follow...

Hello everybody and welcome to my review of Cold War. This episode features the return of the Ice Warriors, an enemy not seen since the 70's. I'd been looking forward to seeing this classic monster return to the series and writer Mark Gatiss handles this episode very well, even if it doesn't quite reach the heights of the series premiere.

This episode takes place entirely on board a Russian submarine during the Cold War, they have retrieved an Ice Warrior from the North pole, thinking it's a frozen mammoth. After being freed from it's prison, the Ice Warrior attacks. At the same time, the Doctor & Clara (thinking they're heading to Las Vegas) arrive on the submarine and are stranded there when the Tardis mysteriously de-materialises. Normally this would have seemed too coincidental, but since thanks to dialogue in the Series 6 episode "The Doctor's Wife", it's easy to assume the TARDIS brought the Doctor here because he was needed.

The dialogue between the Doctor and the Ice Warrior, General Skaldak, is great and Nicholas Briggs does a great job voicing the character, but then again, Briggs is always great whenever he does these roles. Skaldak's armour looks fantastic, its very faithful to the original look of the Ice Warriors and the fact that it's used minimally makes it all the more awesome when we see it in action. The episode is also given an Alien vibe by having Skaldak leave his armour for half the episode and scuttle around the submarine picking off the crew. I would have liked if the Doctor had referenced how he's the last of his species to Skaldak when he attempts to launch the submarines nuclear missiles, but that's only a minor gripe. It's nice that this episode ends somewhat happily for Skaldak when he is rescued by his people at the end of the episode, proving he isn't the last of his species like he thought, which helps prevent this episode from having too many parallels with Series 1 episode "Dalek".

Jenna Louise Coleman & Matt Smith give good performances as usual. There's an interesting dynamic between Clara & the scientist Professor Grisenko (played brilliantly by David Warner), who is the one character they meet in this episode with any real personality. The rest of the submarine crew, while the actors give decent performances, aren't very memorable. This is a mostly serious episode, though the few jokes there are prove quite funny. The music by Murray Gold (who I haven't really mentioned much in my reviews for some strange reason) is brilliant as ever. I've enjoyed his work on the show from Series 1.

This was a good episode. The Ice Warriors are back with a vengeance as is Doctor Who in general, and this makes me all the more pumped for the impending 50th anniversary special. I'm really enjoying this series right now, let's hope that the next episode continues this trend of quality...

Score: 4.0/5.0

Doctor Who Series 7: The Rings of Ahkaten Review

 

Full spoilers for the episode follow...

Hello everybody and welcome to my review of The Rings of Ahkaten. This is actually a difficult episode to review, evidenced by the fact that I took a whole week to get it done. It has a good start in terms of story. We see the origin of Clara Oswald in mere minutes, from the moment her parents met to the tragic death of her mother, all observed by the Doctor. These scenes were beautifully handled. I liked the explanation of the leaf in Clara's book and the fact that she lost her mum makes her all the more sympathetic. What also works is that this takes the focus away from the mystery surrounding Clara, so we can appreciate her as a character rather than an interesting plot device.

Since this is Clara's first trip in the TARDIS, she needs to be taken to a wondrous place, and the Rings of Ahkaten are the perfect location. The special effects are some of the best I've seen on the show, and the props and makeup matched them in quality. The scene with the Doctor and Clara in the alien market reminded me of the troll market scene from Hellboy II, not really in look, but in the general atmosphere. This was a truly immersive place...it's just a shame the plot didn't match it. Try as I may, I struggled to maintain an interest in the Old God plotline. It wasn't that it was bad, it just didn't interest me. The Old God wasn't a particularly original villain. The scene where the Doctor faces off with him reminded me a little too much of Satan's Pit. I would have liked the Old God to have a voice at least. Considering he's an alien sun, that would have gone a long way towards making him an actual being rather than a big force of nature (Galactus must surely sympathise). I did like the touch of Clara sacrificing the leaf to defeat the Old God, it was certainly an emotional scene.

The Doctor is given less to do in this episode due to most of the focus being on Clara, but he has some funny moment regardless and Matt Smith delivers them well, though I think he overplayed the scene with the Old God a bit. The direction from Farren Blackburn was also a highlight. This episode looked great. Even though this wasn't as good an episode as The Bells of Saint John, I still enjoyed it more than some the other Moffat-era episode's I've seen. Clara benefits very well from this episode and as her first trip in the TARDIS, this isn't that bad a start...

 Score: 3.5/5.0

Doctor Who: Series 7: The Bells of Saint John Review

Full Spoilers for the episode follow...

Hello everybody & welcome to my review of the mid-series premiere of Series 7 of Doctor Who. The Bells of Saint John. This episode marks a change for the series in more ways than one. Jenna-Louise Coleman's "official" debut as Clara Oswin Oswald brings with it a refocused tone to the series. In fact, the Doctor's outfit reflects this perfectly. The more goofy elements of the past two series are mostly gone, and the few that remain no longer feel obnoxious in their humour. This episode is more edgy and possesses a spirit of fun and adventure that Series 5 & 6 mostly lacked.

The chemistry between Jenna-Louise Coleman and Matt Smith is the best thing about this
episode. These two are hilarious together. Jenna won me over in Asylum of the Daleks and she's just as good here, if not better. Clara is a model companion to the Doctor, she's plucky and quick-witted, as well as being something of a genius herself. That particular trait is explained away by technobabble in this episode, but it makes sense and allows Stephen Moffat to use a hilarious joke about Twitter as a plot point. Moffat also makes Clara sympathetic by showcasing her sense of responsibility. I also appreciate that despite being held captive by the villains twice, Clara still manages to be instrumental in their defeat. I'm not saying that Jenna is a better actress than Karen Gillen, but Clara is certainly a more likable and compelling protagonist than Amy Pond.

The villains, the Spoonheads, while interesting, don't quite reach their full potential here. I do love that Moffat uses Wi-Fi as the main threat though. It makes this episode feel very modern and while it isn't nearly as scary as the Weeping Angels, it's still pretty unsettling since we all take Wi-Fi for granted. Celia Imrie does a good job as the woman in charge, Miss Kizlet, considering she is really just a lackey for Richard E. Grant's Great Intelligence. I was pleasantly surprised to see Grant again, and it's great to see him in a prominent role given how he only looked set for a guest appearance in The Snowmen. It's great that Moffat is making full use of Grants talents by making him the big bad of the series (unlike what Richard Curtis did with Bill Nighy in Vincent & the Doctor) and I'm looking forward to seeing him again.

 

Thanks to the more serious nature of the script, Matt Smith is able to portray the Doctor as an eccentric traveller instead of an insufferable man-child. Matt is just as capable of playing it straight as he is at being comical, and being able to do so allows him to give one of his best performances as the title character. The Doctor has grown up since losing Amy & Rory, he's no longer as goofy or overly alien. He's more enigmatic, more calculated, he has a better sense of style, and he owns an anti gravity motorbike! Now that is cool. I prefer his new outfit over the old one, it's dashing and perfectly mirrors the new tone of the series. I also need to comment on the new TARDIS interior design. It looks awesome, a lot more sci-fi as well as a throwback to the design of the classic console. 

The direction of this episode is stunning. Colm McCarthy does a fantastic job. I love that Moffat & co are trying to make Who look as cinematic as possible. The opening and the scene where the Doctor drives the anti-grav motorbike up the Shard are highlights of this visual fest. Moffat's script is sharper, wittier and creepy as ever. This is Moffat back to his best, and I hope it maintains. He also turns the creepy factor up to 11 (see what I did there) when The Great Intelligence orders Miss Kizlet to "reset" all the staff (including herself) and Kizlet is shown to have the mentality of a small child.

 

This is one of the best Moffat-era Doctor Who episodes I've seen, right up there with the Doctor's Wife. This is a brilliant opener to the second half of series 7 and I'm looking forward to the rest, not to mention the 50th anniversary special...

 Score: 4.5/5.0