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This is my Spoon – Review of Doctor Who Robot of Sherwood

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Three weeks into darker Doctor Peter Capaldi’s reign here’s a light-hearted fun romp which plays to the leading actors comedy roots.

It’s almost pantomime.

Review of Doctor Who Robot of Sherwood

The Doctor amuses us by believing that he’s in a medieval theme park trying to prove the inhabitants of Sherwood Forest are fakes. His heated interactions with Robin Hood are hilarious.

“I have no sword. I don’t need a sword. Because I am the Doctor and this is my spoon! En garde!”

Ben Miller’s quietly spoken Sheriff of Nottingham steels from Alan Rickman’s film portrayal of the same role. Jenna Coleman shines once again as she avoids the Sheriff’s seduction and instead finds out all his secrets.

Robin Hood and his Merry Men are… Well. Merry.

It’s well-played and funny but hardly a classic episode. I’ve not got much more to say about other than the scene they cut.

The BBC announced that they excised a scene where Robin Hood beheads the Sheriff only for the Sheriff’s head to continue talking revealing that he is in fact a robot. They performed the edit in sympathy to the brutal real life murder of a woman in London a few days before transmission.

You can find the cut scene on the internet if you look for it. And actually the title of the story makes more sense if you know the Sheriff is a robot.

But in truth the story works just as well with the edit. The Sheriff’s motivations are just as plausible if he was fully human than if he was half machine.

What I question is the BBC publicity machine’s real intention in making such a big deal about the edit in the media.

If they hadn’t mentioned it none of us would have been any the wiser. But by promoting the cut they drew attention to it and arguably upset the murder victim’s family more than had they left the scene intact but unpublicised.

Now it’s your turn:

Do you agree with my brief review of Doctor Who Robot of Sherwood? Please leave a comment or post a link to your own article or blog.

Am I a Good Man? Review of Doctor Who Into The Dalek

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Peter Capaldi hits his stride in this confident meeting with the Doctor’s arch-enemies the Daleks.

As iconic and as popular as they are, great Dalek stories have been thin on the ground since the BBC reinvented Doctor Who for the digital generation in 2005.

Review of Doctor Who Into The Dalek

Over fifty years what new ideas could they possibly think of to keep the pepper pots interesting?

Steal with glee is the answer.

Miniaturising the Doctor, Clara and his soldier escorts and injecting them “Into The Dalek” through its eye-stalk is a steal from a 1960s film called “Fantastic Voyage” and a more recent 1980s film, “Inner Space”.

Both feature shrunken Doctors attempting to cure their patients from within.

The visuals and direction in the episode also have a distinct “Star Wars” feel. The Dalek saucer pursuing a rebel ship through an asteroid field at the start of the episode relives similar scenes of the Imperial Star Destroyer chasing the Millennium Falcon though rocks in “The Empire Strikes Back”.

The Doctor and party slide down a tube into a pit full of putrescent gunk reminiscent of the garbage compactor in “Star Wars A New Hope”. And blast doors being blasted and space ships docking and enemies bursting through bulkheads to attack echo similar scenes from the Star Wars franchise.

Ironic then that for an episode that borrows so heavily from other science fiction films, Into The Dalek is a fresh new take on the Daleks.

Capaldi commands all of his scenes. He’s more alien than Matt Smith. Shows a disregard for his companions. Dismisses the deaths of those around him with mean one liners. But he’s captivating.

“She’s my carer. She cares so I don’t have to.”

His encounter with the Dalek (from the inside) and his desire to see a “good” Dalek makes for tense scenes. Whilst outside the miniaturised environment the main attacking force of Daleks arrive to a cinematic battle with explosions and exterminations galore.

Of course it isn’t a good Dalek. It’s simply a broken Dalek. And the Doctor repairs it. But what he doesn’t get. And what it takes Clara to make him realise (with a good hard slap), is that a good Dalek is possible. From that realisation onwards Capaldi has a mission.

Once again the pace is different to Matt Smith’s era. Longer scenes. More talking.

I liked Danny Pink’s introduction and the developing love interest for Clara and the fact he is a soldier and that our new Doctor so obviously has a problem with soldiers.

I predict interesting times as this story arc develops.

Another strong episode therefore, cementing Capaldi confidently into the role, and perhaps the best Dalek story for many years.

Will this quality continue as we head into Sherwood Forest next time to meet The Robot of Sherwood?

Now it’s your turn:

Do you agree with my review of Doctor Who Into The Dalek? Please leave a comment or leave a link to your own review. Share this review with your friends. You can use the share buttons just below.

It’s Furious – Review of Doctor Who Deep Breath

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A young feisty, energetic, wisecracking Doctor (Matt Smith) replaced by a the older, slower, grumpier and sterner Peter Capaldi.

Will the world-wide audience accept this latest regeneration?

Review of Doctor Who Deep Breath

After almost 10 years of “New Who” aimed squarely at modern young audiences, how would they cope with an older doctor? Remember Peter Capaldi is as old as William Hartnell was on his debut back in 1963.

Obviously concerned about the transition, Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat held our hand throughout the season premiere, Deep Breath. At 75 minutes this feature length opener gave us plenty of time to explore the Doctor’s new persona.

And not only did he need to introduce number 12, Moffat wanted to change the pace and feel of the program. Gone are the short scenes, snappy dialogue, quick-fire humour and express storylines. Replaced by longer exposition, more talking, more characterisation and deeper introspection.

I used my son as a barometer for how people would accept the new doctor. He was very sceptical.

“I don’t want to watch this, ” he said. “I preferred Matt Smith. This guy is too old. He’s Scottish and I don’t understand what he says.”

In fact we almost had to chain our son to the sofa (not behind it.) to make sure he  watched the first episode.

By the end however he was converted. He liked Peter Capaldi. He enjoyed the story. And he thought Peter Capaldi was a great replacement for Matt Smith.

Despite the age gap.

Steven Moffat pulled it off. How did he do it?

Firstly by surrounding the Doctor with familiar characters from previous years, most notably the Paternoster gang;  Madam Vastra, wife and maid Jenny, and Sontaran Strax.

But main companion Clara was the key. She was the viewer. She was us. She was the one who reflected our thoughts.

Uncomfortable with the older Doctor. Pining for the “almost boyfriend”  who regenerated last Christmas. The lines she spoke reflected the thoughts we were thinking.

“I don’t know who the Doctor is any more.”

By the end of the show, aided by a surprise cameo by Matt Smith phoning Clara from the past, she knew that Peter Capaldi was the Doctor. We’re now set up for a cracking series 8. If doubters across the world converted as quickly as my son, then Capaldi will be a successful doctor.

So what was he like?

Definitely older. Definitely more alien. Intolerant of humans. However he’s still funny and eccentric and, well,  Doctory.

“Who invented this room?”

“Don’t look in the mirror. It’s furious.”

“The planet of the pudding brains.”

Here is anger and confusion. But most importantly Peter Capaldi stands out. He’s the focal point for every scene he’s in. He commands the screen. Almost to the extent that he overshadows all the rest of the cast including strong actors like Jenna Coleman and Neve McIntosh.

The scene in the alley-way with the tramp is impressive as the Doctor struggles to find his real identity. Once he’s settled into the role and we move to the plot including the clockwork androids led by the “Half-Face” man the show becomes tense and scary. In the restaurant where they realise the other diners aren’t in fact eating and are in fact robots is particularly frightening and well-directed.

Capaldi plays the Doctor as a cross between Colin Baker and Christopher Eccleston. He is definitely has a harder edge. Dismissive of human beings. Not as compassionate as Tenant or Smith.

Any niggles. Some of the scenes with the Paternoster Gang were superfluous. And why was Clara struggling so much with a new older Doctor when she immediately empathised with the War Doctor in the 50th anniversary show?

That aside Moffat has successfully rebooted Doctor Who yet again.

They showed Deep Breath in cinemas across the world. Ben Wheatley’s direction fits the big screen. From the dinosaur at the start, to the Doctor racing across Victorian London on horseback, to the last did the “Half-Face” man jump or did the Doctor push him conundrum, Doctor Who is back refreshed, more adult, and feeling much more like “Classic Who” rather than “New Who”.

Now it’s your turn:

Do you agree with my review of Doctor Who Deep Breath? What did you think of Capaldi? Please leave a comment or post a link to your blog.

Review of Doctor Who The Day of The Doctor

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The Day of the Doctor, the BBC’s episode celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who was a huge success across the world.

Review of Doctor Who The Day of The Doctor
Movie Style Poster

They broadcast it simultaneously in 94 countries. Some of those broadcast took place in cinemas around the world. In the UK the box office takings put the epsiode in the top three Cinema showings for the week.  In the United States it took  $4.8 million at the US box office making it second only to The Hunger Games sequel.

And of course in the UK with 12.8 million viewers The Day of the Doctor was the most watched TV programme of the week.

But was it any good?

Let’s face it must have been almost an impossible task for producer Steven Moffat to get it right and keep everybody, fans and non-fans happy. He could’ve littered with in jokes and nods to the past and alienated the casual viewer. Or he risked annoying the fans by going light on past references.  As it turns out his nods the past were very subtly woven into the story, such as sign saying that the Chairman of the School Governors was Ian Chesterton – one of the Doctor’s original companions back in 1963.

The comic timing tension and camaraderie between David Tennant and Matt Smith I thought was marvellous. Tennant was not as over the top as he was towards the end of his tenure as the Doctor.

John Hurt as the previously forgotten incarnation Doctor was simply superb. His character was known as the “War Doctor” and his appearance completed a story arc that we’ve enjoyed since the programme came back in 2005. He was the Doctor who fought in the Time War. Rugged, battle weary, I loved his exasperation at the younger Doctors’ mannerisms .

The interplay between three doctors was very funny. I’m not sure about the Tom Baker cameo as the museum curator. He obviously wasn’t the Doctor himself but it was all obviously nice to see him and I have to admit I cried out at the glimpse of Peter Capaldi.

Moffat provided us with a roller coaster ride, resurrecting 1970s villains the Zygons in their phlegm spitting, shape-shifting magnificence. We saw  tantalising big budget Star Wars style glimpse of the Daleks versus Timelord battles. And he managed to bring Billy Piper back in a completely different role to that of Rose Tyler. In fact Billy Piper’s performance as the conscience of the ultimate weapon of mass destruction was sublime to say the least.

Thoroughly entertaining “The Day of The Doctor” succeeded in celebrating the past whilst setting up another 50 years of Doctor Who.

Review of Doctor Who The Day of the Doctor
Paul McGann, “I’m a Doctor. Though not the one you we’re expecting.

But for me the best thing about the 50th anniversary celebrations wasn’t this 75 minute special.

It was the 8 minute mini-sode that the BBC put on the internet a few days earlier.

When I watched that and heard the voice say, “I’m a Doctor. Though NOT the one you were expecting,” I gasped as Paul McGann appeared on-screen for the first time since 1996. He utterly nailed his performance. And now we know who he came to regenerate into the War Doctor by sipping a potion created by the Sisterhood of Karn. “Will it hurt?” he asked almost knowingly.

For me this was the best 8 minutes of Doctor Who made by the BBC since they resurrected the show in 2005.

Now it’s your turn: Do you agree with my review of Doctor Who The Day of the Doctor? What did you think of it? Was it a success? Did it do justice to the anniversary? Please let me know what you think. Leave a comment below or post a link to your own review.