Dark Water and Death in Heaven

After the Christmas episode, I will be done with this late recap of series 8.  Revisiting this series has been so much fun.  Once this is done, I will revisit some Hartnell episodes and then go straight into a re-visitation of series 5 with Patrick Troughton!  Back to this two part season finale.  I have never been so disturbed and so entertain at the same time in a while.  I believe these two episodes are achievements in Doctor Who.  Rachel Talalay out did herself with the direction.  I actually felt weird inside while watching these episodes.  The themes broached in Steven Moffat's script got kind of morbid at times.

Good Show!

Veterans Day/Memorial Day

I'm watching a British made show with American eyes.  As this series was unfolding, there were certain themes that made me raise an eyebrow, which was the Doctor's disdain for soldiers. In Into Dalek he makes the comment, "If only you weren't a soldier," to Journey Blue.  She would have made a great companion under Capaldi's guidance, but his prejudice prevented this union.  In Listen Clara says that Dan the Soldier Man is the leader because he is a soldier so brave he doesn't need a gun.  We understand that she is describing the Doctor, and in a wibbly wobble timey wimey way, she is imprinting this on a young Doctor as well, but I thought to myself that an American program would not have a line that says, "A Soldier so brave he doesn't need a gun."  Wow! The line doesn't bother me; I am totally an exhaust all means, and then exhaust them again to avoid war, but I know some people whom may have been affected unfavorably with that line. In Caretaker he makes many comments about Danny Pink not being smart enough to teacher math, or maths, because he was a soldier.  Teaching P.E. is not a walk in the park, just to let you know.

Now we get to Dark Water where Danny dies off camera unceremoniously.  However, in Death in Heaven Cyber Danny saves the Day, along with Cyber Brig.  Two individuals who served in the military.  They did it without guns.  They did it with bravery, and even though they were cybers, they did it with and for humanity.  

The Doctor respected the act so much he actually called Danny by his name, and not P.E.  Actually, if you go back and watch it, when the Doctor first arrives at the grave yard, he calls Danny P.E. when he sees that he is a Cyberman.  But in the past when he called him P.E., it was a dig. Here Capaldi says it with sorrow because he feels for Danny.  Great acting.  He also salutes the Brigadier.  

And at the very end Danny had a chance to come back from....but instead he, a soldier, sent back a boy that he killed unintentionally.  Keep in mind that Doctor Who at its core is a kid show watched by children all around the globe.  And guess what they got to see on their television screen? A soldier having remorse and post traumatic syndrome.  How many kids, especially in America, are watching films and television, where a protagonist has to actually stop and think about their actions?...live with their actions?  Perhaps that is going on more now than when I was a child.  Growing up in the 80's, Commando and John McClain killed every body and kept going like nothing happened.  Therapy?  Nope.  Didn't need it.  We didn't really see Danny do anything of substance when he wasn't with Clara, but we do understand now that killing the child really got to him, and apparently this was something he never told Clara.   

The first time I watched this episode I was disturbed by having the Brigadier as a Cyberman.  But after watching this again in context, especially with everything coming together in front of the Doctor, that there is more to a soldier than just kill, kill, kill.  I can see that this was done in good taste for the character and the actor, Nicholas Courtney,  Brigadier Allistar Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.

Messing With Things One Shouldn't Mess With

I don't know a lot of Whovians in my day to day life, but the ones I do know really wasn't feeling my 

being freaked out by the "Don't Cremate Me" remark.  That disturbed the ever living *fill in the blank* out of me.  I immediately thought about those people who may have had a loved one cremated recently watching this.  Steven Moffat, you're a wild boy.  Mr. Chang played it well, building it up, making sure that the Doctor and Clara, actually the audience, was ready to hear what was under the white noise.  Kid show?

I wasn't too fund of Danny during the season, but seeing him as Cyberman Danny really rendered my mood morbid.  You could barely recognized the guy, and it was understood that there was no coming back from this.  That really made me feel unpleasant.  I was really bugged by regular people, not just the main characters, were affected by this.  So essentially, you have the dead rising from their graves, grandmothers to grandsons.  The concept of that really bothered me.

To Scale

The scale of this two part finale was epic!  The direction, the shots, the locations, everything is just over the top in a great way.  I believe Rachel Talalay, the director, really captured Moffat's voice and vision.  Talalay direction made these two stories hers.    

Now I thought I was going ga-ga for Peter Capaldi, but after revisiting these episodes, Michelle Gomez has stole my heart.  So much so that I even started watching Brink on HBO because I heard that she is a cast member now.  The actress in interviews and everything else has me mesmerized.  Jon Simms was my first Master, and I enjoyed him.  Delgado became my favorite because he was so smooth and calculated.  But honey, Missy took megalomania to a whole new level, yet still giving a controlled performance.  Gomez's performance at times to me really channeled Delgado and Ainley's Masters, respectively.

Missy's Master Plan is massive when it comes to scale as well.  Write me back if I get this wrong.  Missy comes back some how.  That is standard.  The Master always does that.  No biggie.  She has her own TARDIS, or traveling device, presumably.  She goes back to when mankind starts believing  in an after life and collects the dead.  At least their consciousness/soul.  Uploads them to a data slice from the Matrix, which is Time Lord technology first introduced in Deadly Assassin by Robert Holmes.  Then at a particular moment everyone that has been uploaded in the matrix will rain down on humanity, extinguishing the human race as we know it.  And she has the cyberman under her control.  Wow!

Ode to Danny

I just want to say some words about Danny Pink.  Many people have been rather dismissive about his death.  I was bothered by it, but I wasn't too concerned about it at first.  I wasn't that keen on the character.  After revisiting series 8 and watching Danny Pink's character go through his journey, I really feel sorry for him now.  Because the Doctor gave him some dreams about being Dan the Soldier Man, in an indirect way, the Doctor is responsible for Dan Pink becoming a solider.  And in being a soldier, Danny killed a kid.  

In addition to what is stated above, Danny just wanted to love a woman.  He met a woman named Clara, and he just wanted to be a good boyfriend.  Where is the harm?  Once he found out that Clara was lying to him, he never demanded that she stopped seeing the Doctor.  He just wanted to know the truth.  Why is that weird?  It shouldn't be.  I don't know.  Danny's death is tied up in this web that was created by the Doctor, Clara, and the Master.  I don't think it's fair, and I don't like it.  Danny had a chance to come back from the dead, but he chose to bring back the boy he killed in battle.

The boy looked like he was from the Middle East.  Think about how powerful that is for a kid watching this program.  Kids at an early age see war as black and white with no gray.  Hell, a lot of adults see it the same way as well.  They just presume that everyone we are fighting are the bad guys.  Many times kids think that we are fighting the whole country, bad guys with guns, bankers, butchers, clergyman, etc.  These two episodes showed that even when your country is fighting another country, it doesn't mean that things are easy.  This boy was just an innocent boy caught in the middle of it.  So perhaps there are innocent uncles, and cousins, and grandmothers caught up in the same thing as well.  

Danny Pink could have ran through that wormhole and hugged Clara, but he chose to save the boy.  Clara Oswald, you're my favorite new Who companion, but yeah...you got my boy killed, man.

I'm signing off and meeting with some co-workers tonight.  I'm going to enjoy one for Danny Pink.

My second one will be for Nicholas Courtney and Jon Pertwee.  The U.N.I.T. Family

Emo Danny Pink and the Forest of the Night

Third Wheel, Please!

After the passing of George Harrison back in 2001, Rolling Stone magazine released an issue dedicated to the singer/song writer.  Rob Sheffield wrote a charming article about my favorite Beatle to honor Mister Harrison.  Sheffield explained how George Harrison, the youngest of the group, was in essence the first Beatle fan.  John Lennon told the story about when he and his girlfriend Cynthia, who later became his first wife would walk out of art school, Harrison would be there waiting for them like a little puppy(My words.  Not theirs)  Sheffield also goes on to discuss how in the Beatles' second movie, Help, the lads are performing the song Hide Your Love Away.  During the performance George Harrison is doing everything he can to snag the attention of Eleanor Bron, but she is too transfixed on Lennon.  Sheffield goes on to comment that when he was a boy watching that scene he thought to himself, "Whoa, even when you're a Beatle, it's still that tough getting girls to smile back."

Just imagine being in the biggest band in the world with the partnership of Lennon/McCartney, who are like big brothers, and you are trying to pitch a song to them.  Also keep in mind, Ringo was the oldest, and he had his own fame back in Liverpool, so George really was the little brother of the group.  Revolver had three Harrison songs, which is a hell of a feat considering the album only had 11 tracks.  Paul and John were strong personalities, of course.  George Harrison also had a presence, but he never demanded to be heard. Go back and watch Help and Hard Days' Night.  He has some good comedic bits, but he never solely depends on doing over the top/look at me jokes.

And now we go to my man, Danny Pink.  A man who is home from the service, teaching at a school where the children and staff pretty much respects him, and a woman that he is willing to settle down with long term.  The only problem is she has this "friend" that she travels in time and space with from TIME to TIME.  Clara says that she loves Danny, yet kept the Doctor a secret from him for who knows how long.  Who Knows!

Have you ever been interested in someone in the romantic sense, but they only see you as a buddy?  Yea, if you're able to pick your face up off the ground, and you feel like you are mature enough to suppress those emotions, you try to reciprocate platonic feelings with this person.  Because you do enjoy that her/his company, and they may have the same interest as you.  Now if you like a lot of widely accepted forms of media entertainment, then yes, I can understand that it is easier for you to find other people who have that same interest.  But if you're someone whose hobbies are slightly counterculture, a little on the obscure side, or is a niche type deal, and the pal-person likes those interest, you might have to keep those feelings of romance dormant or dead all together because you just saw the latest episode of *fill in the blank* and there is no one to talk to except for Pal.

Things are fine.  Then all of a sudden your pal finds a romantic interest and things become slightly queasy.  You might not be able to take this all at once, so you start to distance yourself.  You're not proud of it, but there are people swindling money away from senior citizen retirement funds, so in the grand scheme of things, not being comfortable with being the third wheel isn't the equivalent of systemically suppressing the voting rights of a particular culture.  You're just a human being with feelings inside.        

What is hilarious about Danny Pink is that he is IN the relationship with the woman, yet he is the third wheel.  Danny Pink can take her to see a great historical film, but the Doctor can actually take her to the event.  Danny Pink can have a quiet night with Clara drinking wine and enjoying Netflix.  The Doctor can allow Clara to marathon any show and return her back to the second she started.  Danny can take her to a nice Italian restaurant, but the Doctor can take her to Italy back on the day the recipe for the meal she shared with Danny was created.  One more.  Danny can sit down and plan the future with Clara.  The Doctor can actually take her to the future.

Through out the season Danny is trying his best to stay cool, supporting Clara in her decisions, but just asking her to be honest with him.  For some reason that we never get to see, Clara thinks that Danny can not honestly handle being the third wheel, so she lies to him.

I think in this series the creative team tried their best to make Danny a man worthy enough for Clara to like...even love.  They tried to push on us that he may even be worth retiring from time traveling and settling down, which would not have to exclude traveling, it will just be from a linear standpoint regarding to time.  Danny was good with the kids.  He saved Clara, the Doctor, and Maebh from a tiger. He even gave her the sappy speech about how he did some traveling and exploring, and it was cool, but now he was ready to see things in front of him clearer and with more depth.  Nothing.

I don't know if Clara knows how to make a killer omelette, or if she is just a great conversationalist, but Danny, if you can't handle the Doctor being a major part of her life, then I don't think things are going to end well.    

It's On Sale?  I'll Buy It

I didn't have a problem with the kids, surprisingly.  I remember when I first watched the broadcast, I was a little put off by the cutaways of the students in class, but I got over it.  I really enjoyed Maebh who I thought out eccentric the Doctor, which is a heck of a feat.  Back in Stones of Blood, Beatrix Lehmann and Denis Carey in Shada really out eccentric Tom Baker's Doctor in the same adorable way.  I believe the young actress, Abigail Eames, did a wonderful job of being the misunderstood "it" girl.  I bought the fact that these "Swamp Thing" secret society ferry like creatures representing the spirit of the earth were communicating with/through Maebh.  The earth is a part of the solar system.  The planet sensed the threat and was ready to defend it.  Sure, I'll buy it.  What also helped me buy in on this episode was the attempt to add continuity to it.  At first I just remembered this episode being something just tagged on at the end.  However, it was mentioned that there was a  threatening solar flare in the episode Time Heist.  At the end of this episode we see Michelle Gomez's character commenting on the events that took place.  Apparently, she knew the solar flare was coming and was hoping to benefit from it.  You might think from a continuity stand point, it was weak, or shoehorned in, but I went along with it.   

Clara and Mister Pink

In retrospect this was another character driven episode like Listen and the Caretaker.  We see the relationship between Clara and Danny is not just a fling, but something serious.  We also see Clara being very excited about a new wonder in front of her with the whole forest in London thing.  Keep in mind that the children are under Clara's care, and she can not focus on them.  She needs her fix, and man she is craving. 

Danny, who was described as being a lady's man in Into the Dalek, is totally into Clara.  Who can blame him, right?  But it just can't be her good looks.   She must be making his grits just the way he likes them or something, for he is more than willing to put up with her lies and aloofness.  He even tries to convince her that instead of chasing wonders, she should be content with seeing the wonders of her home planet with more enthusiasm.  Nope, not good enough.  

What a nightmare, right?  Your best is not enough.  Ouch!

The Direction  

Like it or love it, this episode is beautiful.  I am in awe of this story the same way I'm in awe of Planet of Evil.  I really believed when the characters were walking through the forest in London.  I am so amazed that my little show was able to visually pull something off like this.  Steven Moffat, the head writer/show runner has come out publicly to defend this episode.  He mentioned how in the future this episode might rise in stature  I totally agree with him on this. I believe series 8 as a whole will be more appreciated as time moves forward.  Despite the negative criticism, I hope Sheree Folkson returns to direct another episode.

Doctor Who: Flatline

Many people enjoyed Mummy on the Orient Express, and without having a chance to blink (wink), Jamie Mathieson, the writer, returns the next week with Flatline, which was also well received.  Additional props to Douglas MacKinnon, the director, and Nikki Wilson, the producer, for giving us such a wonderful episode.  Everyone that worked on this really gave their A-Game.  For an episode that was supposed to be Doctor-Lite, Peter Capaldi was featured quite often.  He only shot scenes in the TARDIS, but that was awesome, seeing the Doctor trying to solve a problem from home.  He was animated, running around the TARDIS, displaying both fascination and despair about these new visitors that he named The Boneless.  This story didn't have an empty child, but yes, the Doctor dances.

How to be the Doctor Handbook

I don't know if you're picking up the 12th Doctor comic book adventures; I highly recommend it. After the first two issues, the story telling and art really picks up, giving the reader a true feeling that these are believable 12th Doctor adventures.  In the books the artist tends to draw Clara wearing a smirk on her face as if she's over it already.  Even in the face of danger, she has a smug smirk.  Now that I'm revisiting series 8, I'm starting to notice the signature countenance quite a bit.  

This episodes starts out with Clara just wanting to get home.  The Doctor drops her off away from her destination.  Unfortunately, this is not the problem.  The conflict is that the dimensions of the TARDIS are getting smaller.  Now I understand that Clara has seen it all, but some unknown force physically shrinking the size of the TARDIS is HUGE.  Clara just kind of shrugs it off.  She offers to walk around and ask the locals if they know anything.  You know, no big whoop!

After returning back to the Doctor and the TARDIS, Clara must now take on the role of the Doctor, for he is trapped in the TARDIS.  Yes, that last sentence made me think of R. Kelly's song, Trapped in the Closet.

Doctor Clara, equipped with psychic paper and the sonic screwdriver, begins to ask some community service workers if they have noticed any strange activity.  One of the members is Rigsy, also known as local knowledge, immediately becomes Clara's companion.  The Doctor is the voyeur in this episode, and he is not amused by Clara's mocking of how the he...operates.

Before the first threat is revealed to Clara, she treats what's going on around her like the weekly Scooby Doo mystery.  After Rigsy and Clara return to the community service spot, they notice the workers are about to paint over what was thought to be a mural of the missing people in Bristol, but actually is the threat using the victims as avatars to cross over to our dimension.  Once the threat is revealed to the rest of the community service workers, the lot seeks refuge.  Immediately, the Doctor instructs Clara to take charge while everyone is in a disarray.

Of course Fenton, who was basically the foreman, questioned why Clara elected herself to be the leader.  Clara channels her inner David Tennant when she whispers in his ear the she is his best hope of staying alive.  Go back and watch that scene.  They hold the camera on Fenton, and he does a superb job of looking scared and disturbed when Clara walks away.  Good acting chops there.

As the plot unfolds the Doctor is watching Clara lead and and motivate, which sort of disturbs him.  When two people are friends, the relationship can get to the point where one friend is inheriting traits of the other and vice versa.  Well the Doctor is actually looking through a monitor, watching and listening to the way she is handling things.  Keep in mind, through out this series, he is on the quest to find not only Gallifrey, but the answer to the question: Am I A Good Man?  Perhaps, when he sees Clara cool and calm about what is going on around her, he is beginning to realize that perhaps he is a bad influence.  Keep in mind that people are dying, and Clara doesn't bat an eye.  She keeps moving, which is what one has to do to survive.  However, post traumatic stress is real, and when the running stops, the memories begin,  and they are not always good.

Also, Clara was very Doctor-ish when convincing Rigsy that he didn't have to be the hero and pull an ultimate sacrifice.  A hair band will do the trick!  But let us stop for a second and think about the dark place Rigsy was in to even entertain doing such an act.  Keep in mind that he is a misunderstood artist, who was forced to do community service.  That means that he was arrested, put in the system, and perhaps shamed by his family.  In addition, his aunt was one of the victims of the Boneless.  This exchange with Clara will perhaps change his life forever.  Go back and look at the scene when the Doctor states that he couldn't wait to see what Rigsy does next.  He was very encouraging.  

 I Am The Doctor 

This is the episode where Capaldi finally gives the "I am the Doctor" speech.  No, he didn't mention the Constellation of Kasterborous, nor did he mentioned that he was a Time Lord from Gallifrey, but it was still effective.  I would like to mention Clara's idea to using the Boneless's powers against them were top notch.  She is a top notch companion, and I am so happy that she's staying another season.

After the adventure was over, Clara was quite pleased with herself from ridding the earth of this threat.  The Doctor had to check her, reminding her that real people died.  There are still people that were expected to go home, or report back to jail/community service, and they won't have that privilege.  Jenna Coleman did a good job of displaying how this character was hit by those words.  Imagine the person that you look up to and admire tells you that you did well, but you didn't do good.  Powerful stuff from a wonderful season.

   

Doctor Who and Are You My Mummy?

Mummy on the Orient Express became an instant fan favorite, leading to Jamie Mathieson being asked to come back to pen a script for the following series.  I remember watching this episode and just being amazed by how beautiful it looked.  On second viewing I imagined either the Hinchcliffe era or the McCoy years would have really suited this story.  I usually do an introduction that seems way off topic, but I some who bring it back home.  Not this time.  Let us begin.

The Bedroom Eyes

I know that people love shipping and speaking of the great romance between the 10th Doctor and Rose.  And I totally get that.  But some of the looks and exchanges going on between Capaldi and Coleman...on an adult level, I don't think 10 and Piper hold a candle.  At the beginning, when the Doctor and Clara are talking about their last hurrah, I had to continue to remind myself that they were talking about traveling.  Right?  

Cherishing these last moments, the Doctor pontificated about Obsidian and other distant planets, causing Clara to interrupt him, knowing he is just running away from the real issues between them, leading the Doctor to plead  with Clara to escape reality by discussing the beauty and wonder of other worlds.  I thought that was quite enduring.  Remember, Clara was the first face Capaldi's Doctor's face ever saw.  She helped him and was there for him, so of course, he would be deeply disheartened if she left him for good.  He even entertained coming over for dinner. I honestly believed him.

The Doctor

Capaldi's performance as he was trying to scientifically solve the case of the Mummy on the Orient Express was fantastic.  He looked like he was on the playground with his mates, and they finally allowed him to play the Doctor for once.  I find it interesting that the Doctor doesn't figure things out immediately.  There were several deaths while the Doctor was officially on the case.  Miasie Pitt, the passenger whose grandmother experienced Death by Mummy, carried guilt because she felt like she was kind of callous of her grandmother's death. She wasn't too fond of her when she was alive.  The mummy, or the Foretold, could only be seen by those scheduled for death, so the Doctor, coming up with something on the fly, decided to transfer Maisie's guilt to himself, which seems to fit with the theme of the Doctor going through this self-loathing phase, or process.  Quickly, he understands that the Foretold is a soldier of some sort, continuing this series' motif of duty and carrying out orders till ordered not to.  

The Half-Face man had to finish his duty by making it to the Promise Land.  Journey Blue flirted with the idea of suicide bombing because she thought the mission had failed.  Danny Pink is a former soldier, so of course all he knows how to do is follow orders while ignoring nuance according to the Doctor.  In Listen the Doctor tells Clara that he doesn't follow orders.  She responds by instructing him to do as he's told.  Skovox Blitzer, the robot soldier from the future, became less hostile when the Doctor disguised his voice as a superior officer, giving orders to Blitzer that his mission was over and that it was peace time.  Lundvik, an astronaut sent to nuke the moon, wanted to carry out the mission by any means necessary.  And here we are again, the Mummy, who was actually a soldier, was waiting for ages for the war to be declared over.

After all hoopla, the Doctor figures out the situation, solves it, and whisks everyone to safety on the nearest habitable planet. Capaldi is being his most gentle, explaining to Clara reasons for his behavior.  At the beginning of the season the Doctor informs Clara of his age, confessing that all his years as a Time Lord were not rosy most days.  In this episode, he gives a line that will go in the quintessential Doctor Quote Library: "Sometimes the only decisions you have are bad ones, but you still have to choose."  

Some of the comments the Doctor said in this episode made me gasp a couple of times on my first watch.  One character was facing death, and the Doctor told him that there was no hope for him, but the least he could do was help him help the others solve the mystery.  Back in Into the Dalek, the Doctor gives the one soldier a tablet after the soldier did something to attract the Dalek's antibodies.  We all thought that this would help at first.  Nope, just a tracking device to take us to the next plot point.  When the others accused him of not helping/being insensitive, the Doctor just responded that the soldier was dead already.  Now that may seem cold, and I believe it is, but I guess it is the truth.  Other Doctors would have sugarcoated it, but Capaldi is as blunt as a candid interview with Charlie Rose or David Frost.  

I'm Gonna Kick Tomorrow

Some might say that Clara didn't do much this episode, but I would have to disagree.  Never in the history of Doctor Who has a companion told the Doctor off, exited, then contacts the Doctor for a last hurrah.  Clara didn't want to leave on a bad note.  So the two would have a final adventure, a send off on elegant night in the Orient Express...in space.  Some of you may have remembered at the end of the Big Bang with Matt Smith, when he answers a phone in the TARDIS about an Egyptian Queen loose on the Orient Express.

Clara does the typical companion thing, nurturing a guest star through their tough times while locked in a room.  But I want to talk about the last two scenes of this episode.  When the Doctor and Clara are on the beach, and the Doctor is being so kind, Clara begins to understand why the Doctor does it.  At the end of the day - any end of the day of all time and space, the Doctor really just want to help.  Inside the TARDIS, Clara talks to the Doctor about his lifestyle.  And about how traveling and not setting roots can be something of an addiction.  Back in October when this first aired, I started to feel uncomfortable.  Jenna Coleman had a desperate look in her eye.  A time junkie.  Once again in new Who, spelling out what we have always known, but never wanted explicitly said.  Tegan, who I adore, complained nonstop when she was on the TARDIS, and once she left for a while, was more than happy to join the TARDIS crew once given the chance.  She had to take another hit, man.

Clara lied to Danny about kicking her habit for time traveling.  She also lied to the Doctor about Danny being cool with her still traveling.  This really put me off to Clara, and I have been #Team Clara since series 7 when everyone else criticized her for not being well-developed.  The previous week she flipped out on the Doctor, which came out of nowhere in my opinion, but later realized she was right.  As the show moved forward, I understood that this was not only the pivotal moment for the series, but for the characters as well.  So I accepted the fact that Clara could not be "A Little Miss Perfect".  Giving the character some flaws creates drama and development, so I rolled with it.  

  

Doctor Who and Pow! Right to the Moon!

Growing up in the 80's I thought I was indoctrinated by the woman's lib movement, but after watching Kill The Moon, I discovered that I'm just a little boy who knows nothing about the female struggle.  I watched 9-5 with Dolly Pardon, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda as a kid.  I thought by watching that movie (and many other movies supporting the theme of respect for women in the workplace and in life) at such a young age, I would understand the struggle of a women and act accordingly. Both my mother and father worked and shared the house hold chores, such as cooking and cleaning.  I didn't grow up learning traditional gender roles.  My MAMA was not having that.  My dad did not boss my mother around or cuss her out in a department store, so I've never thought to do such a thing.  A lot of the rap music I listened to as a kid, especially in the 90s, talked about honoring women.  If you didn't hear those artist discussing those topics, stop listening to mainstream media.  Sorry for getting on my soapbox.  Living Single, the television show on Fox, was about women that could take care of themselves and did not depend on the support of a man to get by in life.  Saying the B-Word was definitely a no-no.   Now after listening to a couple of podcast that are quite feminist in perspective, I realize once again that I know nothing about everything.

Focused on the Yo-Yo instead of the Nose

The first time I watched Kill the Moon I was so enthralled by Peter Capaldi pulling out the Yo-Yo, and how decent the moon looked on my favorite show, and how giddy the Doctor was about the fact that the moon was an egg, (I know-I Know-I Know) I totally missed the abortion allegory.  After the episode I listened to several podcast, which one of them were quite put off by the episode.  I felt like a moron for totally missing it.  After my second viewing, I was so disgusted with myself, for the debate about choice/life was so evident, so on the nose as they say. How could I have missed it?  I know why.  When it is Doctor Who time, the 12 year old boy in me comes out, and I'm in my happy place for fifty minutes, give or take.  Did I mention he pulled out the Yo-Yo!!! 

I would like to consider myself a feminist, but when I miss obvious allusion to abortion and other issues where women have pointed out flaws in the writing for the show, I feel like I'm a member of Al Bundy's men's group, No Ma'am.  I'm coming to terms with this, but the first step is always to admit you have a problem, right?

If I Knew This Would Upset You

OK, we have the Doctor do something that is quite foreign for the character in this episode.  He steps out of the way and allows the humans to decide an event that is not actually a fixed moment in time.  Exciting!  Clara was quite disturbed that he just left in the TARDIS with no remorse.  At the time when I watch the show so many months ago, I too believe that he was respecting these three females choice to choose if the moon should hatch with no interference, or to blast this potential parasite to KINGDOM COME.

Clara explains later that she doesn't know how much she can trust the Doctor.  For all she knows, he chopped. chopped, off he popped to the future, discovered what the situation was with the moon and popped back.  Or he could be testing Clara's worthiness again, which is quite insulting, considering the fact that her character has done some strong ultimate sacrificing for the Doctor 12 times over.

At the end of the episode when she flipped out on the Doctor, I was shocked, "Thinking where is this coming from?"  It made me think about times when I have made my friends of the fairer sex upset, and I didn't understand why until after the fact, which once again made me realize that I have done nothing the help the feminist movement in the 21st Century.  I'm just a man-child with cable enjoying a science (heavy on the) fiction show.  I'm learning, though.

  

Doctor Who and The Vicky Tripper Factor

Domesticated, but Clawed

When Doctor Who came back on the air waves in 2005, the show grounded itself to Earth.  Sort of like when the Time Lords grounded Patrick Troughton's Doctor to his adopted planet at the end of the The War Games.  The debut episode Rose which features the new companion, um...Rose, is set in modern-day London. (2005).  The first half of series 1 we learn that Rose lives with her mother, Jackie Tyler, who is a riot in a half.  She even slaps one of the toughest Doctor's across the face.  We also see Mickey, who seems like a waste of time and space, but ends up having one of the strongest character arcs to date.  We even go back in time to Father's Day, where Rose is able to see her dead father, Pete, before he faces his fate, head on.  (Sorry, yes sorry.)  The first season is really centered around Billie Piper's character.  

Sarah Jane Smith, a companion played by Elisabeth Sladen, has been deemed by many as the prototypical companion.  I love seeing Sladen play the role during her run in the 70's.  Yes, I know she's a journalist, asking the tough questions, but other than that, we really don't know that much about her.  We don't know if she's ever been in love, has a mortgage, or hates spaghetti.  Yet, she is still in my top five favorite companions.  Liz Shaw, who I simply adore, was all about business.  I love seeing her with the 3rd Doctor in series 7 of the classic show.  Now as I watched that series, there wasn't one time where I wondered if Liz enjoyed painting in her spare time or working out after a shift at U.N.IT.  However, I still love her character to bits.  So although I truly appreciate the universe that was built around Rose, I don't need it to be satisfied.

Many people were criticizing Clara's character in series 7B.  I enjoyed Jenna Coleman's performance from the gate because it was new, and as much as I love the Ponds, I was ready for a different direction.  Many people complained that Clara was not fully developed.  Well, stay calm.  Let me ask you this.  How fully developed was Romana 1 after a whole season?  Don't worry.  I'll wait. I love Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward, which is why I pay my hard earned money for Big Finish's Gallifrey series, starring both actresses (R.IP. Mary Tamm).  Both characters kick butt when they were on screen.  Romana 1 and 2, which I consider the same character, are my favorite companions.  No, I don't know anything about their second cousin, favorite color, or their high school crush; I love them because they were competent and did a job well-done.

Steven Moffat tried to domesticate Clara in a clunky way in Time of the Doctor.  She was actually cooking a Turkey.  Clara?  Cooking?  I don't see Miss Oswald doing that, and I don't see Clara, for appearances's sake, desperate to bring home a man to save face with her family, but Moffat I guess was compelled to ground Clara in an urban environment.  Fail!

Series 8 the show runner takes another crack at it by adding the actor Samuel Anderson to play Clara's love interest, Danny Pink.  There is more effort dedicated to driving home the fact that Clara is in a relationship, has a career as a teacher, and traveling with the Doctor.  I really enjoy that about this character.  She's not putting her life on hold while traveling with our favorite Time Lord.  Apparently the Doctor is doing a good job at bringing Clara back at the exact time that they left.  

Actually Seeing the Plan

The Caretaker is an interesting episode because we actually see the Doctor working on his plan, setting devices and tinkering in the TARDIS to safely rid an alien threat.  In most episodes we see the Doctor improvising his way through tough situations.  If we ever see the Doctor hatch some type of long game scenario, it's usually given in a witty speech.  Rarely, if not ever do we seen an episode dedicated to watching the Doctor not only being aware of the alien threat ahead of time, but preparing for it.  Here is something else that is interesting about the plan - it's actually a good plan.  And it would have worked if Danny Pink wasn't so suspicious of the Doctor.

We Don't Need No Education

The Caretaker, written by Gareth Roberts and Steven Moffat, in a short amount of time, is trying to pull off comedy (borderline farce), character development/progression, and drama, which I think was actually pulled off quite well.  Hear me out on this, please.  This is the episode where we see Danny and Clara in the middle of their relationship.  As far as time is concerned, we are somewhat led to believe that the two have been dating over a year.  At the parent conference, Danny mentions that he taught the student, Courtney Woods, the previous year.  When Danny was new to Coal Hill, he immediately started dating Clara.  It started awkwardly, but it was quite sudden.

At the beginning of the episode the Doctor tells Clara that he has a mission where he needs to go deep under cover.  I know I was thinking that the Doctor was going to wear a disguise of some sort.  Not at all.  He arrives at Coal Hill as the new Caretaker.  No glasses.  No mustache.  No wigs.  The Doctor didn't try to infiltrate the school as a high ranking official with his psychic paper.  No, he chose caretaker because people are not going to pay attention to a person that is in charge of cleaning up sinister puddles.  This is an interesting commentary of the human social structure.

The second episode of series 8, Into the Dalek, the Doctor states his disdain for soldiers.  (But what about the Brig?) Danny, Clara's boyfriend, is a soldier.  He is also Black.  The reason why I bring this up is because this episode did something very clever, and I don't think people truly appreciate it.  Peter Capaldi's Doctor is established as extremely alien.  He thinks Clara is much older and less attractive than she really is.  He did not think Danny Pink looked anything like Orson Pink, which is a powerful statement.  Do you know how often Black people get mixed up?  After five years of working at my job, my colleagues, who are not Black, at times, call me by the name of another African-American gentlemen at the same workplace.  Some of you may remember when Micheal Clark Duncan died, a news station put up a picture of Terry Crews.  Awful!  And on many occasions, Samuel L. Jackson says that he is mistaken for Morgan Freeman all the time.  He even signs the autograph as "Sam".

The Doctor meets Danny and another teacher at the school who resembles Matt Smith.  We see The Doctor giving Danny a hard time, accusing him of teaching P.E., not Math, because he is Black?  No, he is patronizing Danny about teaching Math because he is an ex-soldier. (But the Brig was an ex-soldier that taught math(s)!  We see the Doctor being OK with Clara dating Matt Smith's pseudo doppelganger, not because he is White, but because the Doctor believes that Clara likes this man because he resembles a former incarnation of the himself.

In the scene with Courtney Woods, who is a student of color at Coal Hill, she and the Doctor are bantering on.  Capaldi does a good job of playing "cranky old man with a heart of gold" to get rid of her.  Now there is a part where the Doctor tells Courtney to run along a get to shop...um shoplifting.  Now some people could read that as he would have told anyone that.  Remember, he wrote on a sign: Humans, Keep Out.  Another way to read it is he told her to go shoplift because she's Black?  No, no, no.  But I love the tight rope they are walking here.  This is episode is like Listen.  Is there a monster under the bed, or am I just imagining it?  Is this episode trying to discuss race, or am I an 80's baby that listened to way too many Public Enemy records?

Before I move on about the underlying themes, intentional or not, I want to discuss Danny's reaction to seeing alien activity and the TARDIS.  I think it is the realist reaction in Doctor Who history!  Think about it.  If I were dating a woman for over a year, and one day I discovered that she was into alien-space stuff, I would be freaked out.  Is she a Space Woman?  Nope, just from Black Pool.  He didn't know that.  For all Danny knew, Clara was going to transform into a White Martian.  Sorry.  That is DC Comics.  Danny was taken aback by all of this.  Perhaps questioning everything he had ever believed.  That is a real reaction.  Hopping into the TARDIS and falling in love with a man that will not tell you his name, nor will her tell you about his previous baby mama, children, and grandchild,  is not a real reaction.

The scene where Clara sneaks Danny onto the TARDIS with the invisibility watch leads to another type of unfavorable social construct.  Immediately, the Doctor, if you will, sees through the ruse, claiming that Time Lords have the ability to overcome such trickery.  Danny, immediately puts together that not only is the Doctor an alien, but he is a Time Lord, meaning that he is of the upper class within his own society.  I LOVE THIS!  The arrogance of a Time Lord.  Many fans do not want the Time Lords to come back.  I do.  I love when the aristocratic lot of Gallifrey would antagonize the Doctor from,  for a lack of a better phrase, time to time.  In addition, I would like to see how the other Gallifreyans on Gallifrey who are not Time Lords view the... well, Time Lords. There are many occasions where we see each actor playing the Doctor display some heir of a Time Lord.  The arrogance of "I am the smartest person in the room"; therefore, you should listen to me.

Danny points out that although he is a soldier, the Doctor comes from a lot that would design the plans and give out the orders to the lower ranks.  This is a strong statement.  In School Reunion Mickey told Rose that the Doctor was like other blokes, when Sarah Jane, someone from the Doctor's past, showed up on the scene.  These are two instances where a boyfriend is trying to explain the Woman that she should be careful about running around with a guy like this, which is an interesting dynamic for a child/teenager to watch, a hero being displayed as having certain layers of a shady shade of gray.  I thought Samuel Anderson did a great job in the scene, giving the fact that I love Peter Capaldi's portrayal of the Doctor so much, I am surprised that I liked Danny dressing down the Doctor.  Both he and Clara totally betrayed the Doctor's trust in that scene, however, the Doctor mentions that he thought things went surprisingly well.  

Let us move back to something Danny said before leaving the TARDIS.  He states, "The accent is good, but you can always spot the aristocracy.  It is in their...attitude." This is another powerful statement.  I would love for someone to help me out on this one.  I heard an interview where Christopher Eccelston told a reporter that actors with regional dialects have a hard time finding jobs; I guess they are not speaking in the Received Pronunciation.  Danny's line bothers me.  Is Danny saying that someone who speaks with a Scottish Accent can't be in the aristocracy?  Or is Peter Capaldi speaking in a regional, Scottish accent that just could not be perceived as aristocracy?  Danny's accusation that the Doctor is speaking in a Scottish accent to hide his upper class background is very interesting.  Steven Moffat, you're the co-author to this episode.  You're cool with this?  Once again, I'm from the U.S., so I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to structural discrimination in another country.  This is all just to get a discussion going.

 

Doctor Who and Ocean's 11 Minus 7

The Fantastic Four

Psi and Saibra, the two guests stars that assist the Doctor and Clara on a bank heist, give great performances in such a little space.  I am someone who definitely wants more Capaldi all the time, but I have to say that the Scotsman did a great job of sharing the screen with his co-stars.  Many times we see the Doctor overshadow the other characters, leaving them only as foils to set up the Doctor to look amazing.  In this story I was able to think that Psi, the quasi cyborg, and Saibra, the mutant human, were cool and still have enough love for the Doctor and Clara to boot.

Back when the show first aired, I enjoyed the episode and kept it moving. After six months or so, I enjoyed the team up even more than before my first viewing.  I'm so ready for a crowded TARDIS again like with the 1st and 5th Doctors.  Crowded TARDIS sounds kind of silly since we are talking about a vessel that is infinite in space.  Steven Moffat, the head writer, wanted to go for a more alien Doctor this series.  Just imagine if the beginning of this season went in a different direction.  A direction where we meet Saibra and Psi at the start.  The journey is the Doctor and Clara helping Psi trace his family and other loved ones.  In addition to that good deed, the gang helps Saibra acquire the elixir that allows her to touch those she care for most.  The motivation of those two characters are so human.  Juxtapose those human desires to a callous Doctor, and we definitely have a call back to the William Hartnell era.  Psi and Saibra wouldn't have to be apart of the cast throughout the whole series.  A four to six episode arc would suffice.

Jonathan Bailey, the actor who plays Psi, did a great job of not making the character annoying.  Bailey didn't portray the character as this pompous jerk, challenging the Doctor's authority at every turn.  Any time he or Saibra questioned the Doctor's tactics, I thought it was warranted.

Fear and Self-Loathing

In Deep Breath the Doctor tells the Half-Faced Man that even if there is a Promise Land, he may not get there.  Into the Dalek the Doctor is disturbed with himself because Rusty the Dalek looked deep into the Doctor's soul and saw hatred.  Robot of Sherwood has an unsure Doctor questioning if he could be considered a hero.  In Listen the Doctor questions why he speaks to himself when he knows he is alone.  Why he and everyone else have dreams about a creature under the bed.  Several times in Time Heist the Doctor mentions that he hates the Architect, the master mind who brought the four together.  Later we learn that the Architect is indeed the Doctor.  I guess if I blew up my home planet, had several friends die under my watch, and lived long enough to have to REALLY live with it, I would have some self-hatred moments as well.  Perhaps even a drinking problem.

The Doctor shouldn't hate himself, though.  In the end the Doctor granted Psi and Saibra their desires.  The Doctor delivered on his promise.  And that is golden.

I May Live to Regret This

I don't know if everyone was feeling the ending to this 60's homage to the caper genre.  Miss Delphox is on her death bed, I'm assuming.  (Yes, I know what assuming does.)  There is no time to reflect when you're living fast a dying young, but when you live a full life, and you are literally on your death bed, waiting to die, reflection enters your consciousness, leading you to missing those good moments and regretting the cruel ones.

Keeley Hawes didn't need to play the character over the top.  Coercing an endangered species to do your bidding or else is over the top enough.  The Teller actually had to make others suffer to save his loved one.  This is a regret that he has to live with as he and his mate are playing Adam and Eve on the planet the Doctor sent them to.

A story about an antagonist who feels guilt about her actions is quite compelling, considering we are following a protagonist who hides his name, his family, and specifics on why he left his home planet.  The same protagonist that is going on a twelve episode journey to figure out if he is a good man or not.  In the 90s there were several hip-hop artist that talked about doing a lot of criminal activity for about 11 songs.  On the last song they would talk about their relationship with God, and that would virtually absolve them from all the murder and other miscellaneous wrong doings he had committed on the previously 11 songs.

Miss Delphox, I don't know if freeing a creature and reuniting him with his mate is enough to save your soul or put your mind at ease, but everyone has to start some where.