Doctor Who Christmas Special Twice Upon A Time Review

Tags

12th Doctor, 12th Doctors regeneration, 13th Doctor, 1st Doctor, Bill Potts, Chris Chibnall, David Bradley, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Christmas Special Twice Upon a Time, Doctor Who Twice Upon a Time, Jodie Whitaker, Mark Gatiss, Pearl Mackie, Peter Capaldi, Rachel Talalay, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The 10th Planet, The Doctor

Doctor Who Christmas Special Twice Upon A Time

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers!]

A glittering festive voyage awaits in this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special: Twice Upon a Time as the 12^th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) teams up with his original self, the first Doctor (David Bradley – Harry Potter, Game Of Thrones), and former travelling companion Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) for one finale adventure in time and space.

The two Doctors with one destiny meet in the frozen landscape of the South Pole, each stubbornly refusing to regenerate, but soon the Time Lords and their TARDISes must unite against mysterious enchanted glass people that have been snatching victims from frozen time. A First World War captain (Mark Gatiss), fated to die on the battlefield, is also plucked from the trenches to play a role in the Doctor’s story. There’s an emotional reunion with Bill Potts for the Doctor as well in this moving tale of hope during humanity’s darkest hour. Twice Upon a Time brings the 12^th Doctor’s era to a spectacular close as the Time Lord confronts his past to embrace the future, before a new lifetime of adventures begins as Jodie Whittaker becomes the 13^th Doctor!

As well as being Peter Capaldi’s swansong after four years as the Doctor, Twice Upon a Time is also the final episode to be written by outgoing show runner of nearly eight years, Steven Moffat, and the special 60 minute episode is directed by the brilliant Rachael Talalay (Director of 2014’s Dark Water and Death in Heaven, 2015’s Heaven Sent and Hell Bent, and 2017’s World Enough in Time and The Doctor Falls).

Peter Capaldi is on sparkling form in Twice Upon a Time as the Doctor struggles to hold back his regeneration. Tired of becoming other people his world is turned upside down when he encounters the first Doctor! From its wonderful opening recap of events from The Tenth Planet (1966) – the 1^st Doctor’s final story which also featured the first appearance of the Mondasian Cybermen – Twice Upon a Time magically revisits this momentous point in the programmes history via original footage, some digital wizardry, recreations of the Snow Cap Base and the interior of the Cyber-Ship, together with David Bradley in the role of the 1^st Doctor (originally played by the late William Hartnell who Bradley also portrayed in 2013’s An Adventure In Space and Time, and featuring Jared Garfield and Lily Travers in the roles of the 1^st Doctor’s companions Ben and Polly.

“Its far from being all over” for the pre-regenerative Doctors just yet, as this Christmas Special sends the Time Lords to the South Pole in 1986, the Western Front in 1914, a spaceship, and ruins on a distant alien world at the heart of the universe. The fabulous chemistry between Peter Capaldi’s 12^th incarnation and David Bradley’s 1^st Doctor positively lights up the screen. It creates a really fun and spiky dynamic too as each Doctor confronts the reality of who they were and who they will ultimately become. At times the 12^th Doctor is clearly embarrassed and frustrated by his former self‘s old fashioned attitude, while the 1^st incarnation is aghast as his future self’s reliance on sonic sunglasses and the like, making for some delightful moments that are sure to raise a wry smile – especially when Bradley’s Doctor steps inside his 12^th incarnations TARDIS! The 12^th Doctor epitomises the heroic force of nature that the Doctor has become, while the 1^st Doctor is the adventurer he was before he fully became Earth’s protector, each has their own strengths and flaws, but it is their journey together and the respect they gradually find for each other that makes Twice Upon a Time feel truly magical.

Prolific writer and guest star of Doctor Who, Mark Gatiss, also gives a strong performance as the British captain taken away from a bomb crater frozen in time during the Great War as he was confronting a wounded German soldier (played by fellow Doctor Who writer Toby Whitehouse), and his subsequent adventure with the two Time Lords and Bill has a profound affect on how events gradually unfold in the episode – even influencing the Doctor’s own timeline.

It’s great to see Pearl Mackie back as Bill Potts for the Christmas Special as well. Her character was the undisputed highlight of Season 10, and Mackie excels once again in the role of the Doctor’s former travelling companion. She also gets to meet the Doctor’s original self, her scenes with the 1^st Doctor are glorious fun, especially when the action shifts to the original TARDIS (Its interior recreated in exquisite detail), but it is the moving reunion of the 12^th Doctor and Bill and the dynamic between their characters that really steals the show. Twice Upon a Time brings a nice sense of closure to Bill’s time with the Doctor, and I’m so glad Moffat brought her back for Capaldi’s last story.

Unusually there are no real monsters of bad guys to speak off in Twice Upon a Time, aside from the eponymous Glass Woman that’s actually an advanced AI controlling the Testimony, whose vast spaceship takes people out of time to harmlessly record their memories before death and returning them to their fate. They’ve now set their sights on the 12^th Doctor’s TARDIS because the captain has somehow become removed from time to and embroiled in the Doctor’s adventure, and they must return him to his proper place in time. Its only when the Time Lords, the captain, and Bill escape in the 1^st Doctor’s TARDIS to the most comprehensive database in creation at the centre of the universe – controlled by Rusty the Dalek from 2014’s Into the Dalek – that the 12^th Doctor finally realizes there is no foe to fight as Bill reveals she is part of the Testimony as well.

Along with providing a fittingly epic finale for Capaldi’s era, Moffat peppers the scrip with numerous call-backs to various elements created during his tenure as show runner, but Twice Upon a Time never feels overly burdened by the need to explain every obscure nuance or overloaded with gratuitous continuity references. Twice Upon a Time is easily one of Steven Moffat’s finest scripts for the series. It works on so many levels, profound underlying themes resonate powerfully, there’s a beautifully philosophical speech for the 12^th Doctor, and it brings some mystery back to the Time Lord while celebrating his past and of course some emotional goodbyes. Its all impressively directed by Rachael Talalay, from the battle scarred landscape in WWI, to the glimpses of the Doctor’s other incarnations the 1^st Doctor witnesses in the Testimony spaceship, and of course that beautifully nostalgic original TARDIS interior, Talalay brings Moffat’s script to life amidst a wealth of stunning action set-pieces and dazzling special effects to ensure this Doctor Who Christmas Special provides a rousing send off for both showruner and leading actor.

With the timeline in Ypres 1914 restored amidst the Christmas Armistice the Time Lords also discover that the captain is actually Archibald Hamish Lethbridge-Stewart (an ancestor of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), and he asks the Doctors to look after his family. As the 1^st Doctor and 12^th Doctor finally go their separate paths to face their regenerations Twice Upon a Time will have made you laugh, it will almost certainly have tugged at your heartstrings too, and there’s even a surprise return appearance from Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald and Matt Lucas as Nardole to bid a fond farewell to the 12^th Doctor as well before that moment of regeneration finally arrives and Capaldi’s spiky eyebrows and fierce-yet-sad eyes blaze away as the Time Lord becomes Jodie Whittaker – the female incarnation of the Doctor! Her debut is, quite frankly, “oh brilliant”, and the turbulent cliff-hanger aftermath of the regeneration will leave you on the edge of your seat with anticipation for the beginning of the 13th Doctor’s adventures!

Now the stage is set for Series 11 and the beginning of Chris Chibnall’s tenure as Doctor Who’s show runner. The new season will comprise of ten week run of fifty minute episodes (with an hour long episode for the series launch) that will air in the Autumn of 2018. I’m sure Jodie Whittaker will be fantastic as the new Doctor, she was great in Broadchruch, and no doubt her portrayal of the Doctor will be just as riveting and special. The 13^th Doctor will be joined by a regular cast of new friends, including Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan, and Mandip Gill as Yasmin. We’ve already seen the 13^th Doctor’s new costume and the TARDIS exterior (it reminds me a lot of the TARDIS exterior from the 1975 classic series story Planet of Evil) in publicity pictures, we can be sure that Chris Chibnall has plenty more surprises in store for us, and I can’t wait to see the 13^th Doctor and her friends new adventures in Time and Space in 2018!

Happy Christmas Everyone!

And here’s that fantastic regeneration scene!

Images and Clip belong BBC

Follow @paul_bowler

Doctor Who Christmas Special Twice Upon a Time 2017 Trailer #2

Tags

12th Doctor, 13th Doctor, 1st Doctor, Bill Potts, Children in Need, Cybermen, David Bradley, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2017, Doctor Who Christmas Special Twice Upon a Time, Doctor Who Christmas Special Twice Upon a Time 2017 Trailer #2, Doctor Who Twice Upon A Time Trailer, Jodie Whittaker, Pearl Mackie, Peter Capaldi, TARDIS, The 10th Planet, the 1st Doctor enters the 12th Doctor TARDIS, The Doctor

Doctor Who Christmas Special Twice Upon a Time 2017 Trailer #2

Check out the new trailer for

The Doctor Who Christmas Special Twice Upon a Time!

Two Doctors, one destiny! The magical final chapter of the Twelfth Doctor’s journey is coming. Don’t miss ‘Twice Upon a Time’ this Christmas!

Follow @paul_bowler

Doctor Who 2017 Christmas Special Twice Upon A Time Special Preview Clip

Tags

12th Doctor, 13th Doctor, 1st Doctor, Bill Potts, Children in Need, Cybermen, David Bradley, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2017, Doctor Who Christmas Special Twice Upon a Time, Doctor Who Twice Upon a Time Children in Need Clip, Jodie Whittaker, Pearl Mackie, Peter Capaldi, TARDIS, The 10th Planet, the 1st Doctor enters the 12th Doctor TARDIS, The Doctor

Doctor Who 2017 Christmas Special Twice Upon A Time Children In Need Clip

As part of the BBC’s annual Children in Need live charity fundraising event on BBC One, Doctor Who fans were treated to a preview clip of the Doctor Who 2017 Christmas special Twice Upon a Time! Written by Steven Moffat (his last story before Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall takes over as show runner) and directed by Rachel Talalay, Twice Upon a Time is also Peter Capaldi’s final adventure as the 12^th Doctor before he regenerates into 13^th incarnation played by Jodie Whittaker. Twice Upon a Time also features David Bradley as the 1^st Doctor, Pearl Mackie as Bill, and Mark Gatiss as a World War I solider known as ‘The Captain’ Check out the special preview clip, where the 1st Doctor enters the 12th Doctor TARDIS first show on Children in Need! Can’t wait for this Doctor Who Christmas Special!

Follow @paul_bowler

 

Dr Who: The Reign of Terror DVD Review

Tags

1st Doctor, Barbara, Carol Anne Ford, Dennis Spooner, Doctor Who, DVD, Henric Hirsch, Ian, Jacqueline Hill, James Stirling, missing episodes, Napoleon Bonaparte, Robespierre, Susan, The French Revolution, The Reign of Terror, William Hartnell, William Russell

Dr Who: The Reign of Terror

DVD Review by Paul Bowler

The TARDIS arrives in a field near Paris during The French Revolution. Soon the time travellers find an old farm house where aristocrats Rouvray (Laidlaw Dalling) and d’Argenson (Neville Smith) are seeking help from a secret group that has been saving people from the guillotine and helping them escape to England. When they are discovered by Revolutionary soldiers, the Doctor (William Hartnell) becomes trapped in the burning house, Ian (William Russell) is captured and imprisoned, and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) and Susan (Carol Anne Ford) are sent to the guillotine.

The Doctor escapes from the house and travels to Paris to rescue his friends, who have become embroiled in the plans of the English spy James Stirling, who is posing as Lemaitre (James Cairncross), the governor of the Conciergerie Prison. The Doctor has to adopt the disguise of the Regional Officer of the Provinces to help save Ian, Barbara, and Susan, which invariably brings him to the attention of the tyrant Robespierre (Keith Anderson) – while Ian and Barbara spy on a secret meeting between Paul Barras (John Law) and Napoleon Bonaparte (Tony Wall) – the future ruler of France. As history runs its course, Robespierre is shot in the jaw and thrown in prison, while the Doctor and his companions escape to continue their adventures in time and space.

William Hartnell is absolutely magnificent as the Doctor in The Reign of Terror

The Reign of Terror is the story that brought Doctor Who’s first season to a close in 1964. After arguing with Ian and Barbara at the end of previous story – The Sensorites – the Doctor had decided that the school teachers must leave the ship for good at their next destination. He is positive they have returned to Earth, which seems to be the case as they look at the scanner screen. William Russell and Jacqueline Hill are on fine form in this adventure, particularly here as they patch things up with the Doctor, convincing him to come with them for a drink before they say their goodbyes. Carol Anne Ford also gives one of her best performances this season, especially when she has to face the horror of the guillotine.

William Hartnell is absolutely magnificent as the Doctor in The Reign of Terror. He effortlessly runs the rings around everyone as he travels to Paris to rescue his companions: bartering with his fabled ring to acquire a disguise so he can impersonate the Regional Officer of the Provinces, even though this act lands him in serious trouble, but Harnell’s Doctor is still able to talk himself out of trouble and save his friends without so much as causing a ripple in the time stream.

Barbara and Susan are captured and sent to the guillotine

Although not wholly accurate, The Reign of Terror is one of Doctor Who’s first real forays into basing a story around actual historic events. Dennis Spooner’s superb script is a tour de force for William Hartnell, who gets some brilliant scenes, and the supporting cast are all well characterized, particularly James Cairncross (Lemaitr), Keith Anderson (Robespierre), and Tony Wall (Napoleon.) Barbara’s brief romance with Leon Colbert (Edward Brayshaw) also throws up some harsh home truths for everyone over the merits of both factions when he is revealed as a traitor.

The restoration work on these episodes is remarkable, surpassing all our expectations with a crystal clear picture that vividly showcases the high production values and period costumes of this historical adventures. This story also features the Doctor Who’s first location filming, with the Doctor strolling through the countryside (with Brian Proudfoot standing in for William Hartnell). Even though the story is unashamedly uncompromising in its portrayal of Robespierre’s downfall, Director Henric Hirsch weaves this outstanding story across six enthralling episodes, which concluded back at the TARDIS where the screen fades to a glittering starscape as the Doctor says they must search for their destiny in the stars.

As is the case with many Doctor Who stories from the sixties, two episodes of The Reign of Terror are sadly missing from the BBC Archives. However, thanks to the talented team at the Australian animation company, Planet 55, episodes 4 & 5 have been recreated with exquisite detail using a ground-breaking Thetamation process. By mixing traditional 2D artwork with specially constructed 3D modelling, and facial mapping, the results give an uncannily realistic representation of what the episodes would have actually looked like. At times you almost forget you are watching animated episodes, the character models move realistically through every scene, and the way Planet 55 have perfectly animated the facial expressions of the cast is astonishingly good.

The animation by Planet 55 for Episodes 4 & 5 is uncannily realistic

The DVD extras are of as high a quality as we have come to expect from this range. This release has a fascinating commentary featuring Carol Ann Ford (Susan), Neville Smith (D‘Argenson), Jeffry Wickham (Webster), Caroline Hunt (Danielle), Patrick Marley (Soldier), and Tim Combe (Production Assistant). Two additional commentaries feature Ronald Pickup (Physician) for Episodes 4, and missing episode hunters Philip Morris and Paul Vanezis on Episode 5, and all the commentaries are moderated by award winning writer, actor, and comedian well known for his successful one man shows, Toby Hadoke (Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf). The documentary Don’t Loose Your Head gives us a fascinating insight into the making The Reign of Terror with actors William Russell (Ian), Carol Ann Ford, and Production Assistant Tim Combe. Along with a virtual tour of the 2D sets used for the two animated episodes, there is also an Animation Design Gallery, Photo Gallery, Coming Soon Trailer, and the brilliantly detailed Programme Information Subtitles.

This DVD release will transport you back to the golden era of Doctor Who. The Reign of Terror is a brilliant historical story, with William Hartnell giving one of his finest ever performances as the Doctor, and the magical way the lost episodes have been brought to life give us hope that the remaining Doctor Who stories with missing episodes could also be reconstructed in this way and released on DVD. The Reign of Terror is a fantastic addition to the Doctor Who DVD range, with a wealth of extra features, and I highly recommended it.