We’re one week away from the epic season finale, and special guest Neil Gaiman has dropped by to write a special episode just for us! But how does it fair? Lets find out together.
1. That was a Neil Gaiman episode?
The first time Gaiman wrote an episode of Doctor Who, it was “The Doctor’s Wife” and it was impossibly clever. Like, impossibly clever. The script was hilarious, witty, fast-paced and completely wonderful.
This episode? Well, it was a good episode and one that I’d happily rewatch again without complaining, but it wasn’t very Gaiman-esque. Or rather, not what you’d expect from a Gaiman episode I suppose. The dialogue wasn’t as sharp or quick, the concept not as impossibly unique to only him — a certain magical charm was missing. The personification of the TARDIS was definitely only something Gaiman could pull off well, but how hard is it to tell a riveting tale with the Cybermen? Not too hard; the Cybermen are the best. It’s probably really easy to tell a good Cybermen tale!
So, not for nothing, but since this wasn’t too Gaiman-y it probably wasn’t as good as it could’ve been — certainly not as good as “The Doctor’s Wife.” In fact, if I hadn’t seen Gaiman’s name at the opening credits, I would never have suspected it as a Gaiman episode. It was like that Gatiss episode “Victory of the Daleks”, where the Daleks *just* got an upgrade — interesting, but not up to the type of snuff you’d expect from the writer.
Though the Ghostbusters reference was pretty funny, I’ll give you that.
All that said?
2. Cybermen are still the best
Cybermen are my favorite Doctor Who villains, and this episode is a definite reminder of why they’re awesome. While the episode isn’t Gaiman as on point as I would’ve perhaps expected it to be, it was a great Cybermen story. Everytime the Cybermen show up there’s always some kind of change to them, but with the main controller dead and gone from a Davies episode some time ago, the new idea of a master controller as given a full voice Smith was a great way to upgrade them for the new season.
The mental battle between the two Doctors was also fantastic, and Smith nailed the dual nature of the two versions of the Doctor and the inner/outer chess match. We’ve never really gotten to see Smith be anything but the zany scraggly madman in the box, but this entire sequence allowed Smith to really go out of the wheelhouse that we’d seen him in so far. The end of the chess match (the bit with the “HOW!!!”) was particularly great to prove that Smith isn’t a one-trick pony, and while the Doctors have always had a dark side, this was certainly much more intriguing from a story perspective.
3. Clara has a wonderful wardrobe
This is perhaps a silly thing to make a point out of, but Clara’s outfits are getting better with every episode. This week is probably the pinnacle, with the awesome bomber jacket and skirt combo. I’m not big into fashion and don’t have too much I can really comment on it from a more interesting perspective, but I would love to have a jacket like that:
But, you know, for men. Side-zips are the best.
Oh, and have we mentioned lately how awesome Clara/Jenna-Louise Coleman is? Because at this point, I’m all like, Amy Pond Who?
4. A wonderful cast
Jason Watkins! My favorite gay nazi toy-seller/evil vampire overlord. Warwick Davis! My favorite narcissistic Ricky Gervais substitute.
Doctor Who has had a great string of special guests, especially this season, but this was definitely an example of how Who can pull out great performances from actors who do not get enough credit. Watkins is certainly one of those actors who need to get more roles to show off to an American audience just what he’s capable of (we still technically haven’t gotten Psychoville — well, those of you who don’t have a region-free DVD player, anyway), and I’d love to see him get a starring role. And Davis, whose career lately has just been working off his past performance with Willow (via Life’s Too Short), is finally given a role to seemingly remove this stigma, to push him beyond the pigeon-holed role that Gervais developed for him.
Continued belowAnd, of course, our regulars Smith and Coleman are always great. But that’s not too much of a surprise.
5. But, really, what’s in a name?
In case you missed, the last episode of this season as written by Moffat will be titled “The Name of the Doctor.” It promises, based on a tease from the last season about the First Question, to reveal what the Doctor’s true name is — something teased back in season 4’s “Silence of the Library” and more recently as well with “Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.”
I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m admittedly not a fan of the idea of this. I can’t judge the execution, but this seems like one of those things that should be left alone and unsaid. It had long been assumed that the Doctor’s name is just “Doctor,” and that it was his name that gave us the word for Doctor in the first place. Now it looks like Moffat is really going to do it and give him a name, and it feels… well, silly? Needless? Stunt-y?
Using my last thought to discuss the next week’s episode may seem like a cop-out, but I bring it up because supposedly the episode was leaked online due to a BBC America screw-up in sending out DVDs early. So, steer clear of Who-related things for a week or so. Spoilers are hiding in every dirty corner of the internet.
Either way, I’ll see you next week to discuss whether or not Doctor Fred is better than Doctor Who.
