Doctor Who Oxygen Review

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Bill Potts, Charles Palmer, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Oxygen, Doctor Who Oxygen review, Doctor Who Series 10, Jamie Mathieson, Matt Lucas, Nardole, Pearl Mackie, Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor

Doctor Who Oxygen

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

Oxygen finds the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole responding to a distress call that leads them to a huge space station, Chasm Forge, on the far reaches of the galaxy. After becoming trapped on board they discover that the crew, except for the four remaining survivors, have all been brutally murdered. But the dead are still stalking the corridors! In this future where oxygen is a valuable commodity sold by the breath load, and space suites are worth more than their human occupants, the new TARDIS crew must confront the most nefarious of evils…

The fifth episode of series ten, Oxygen, marks the welcome return of writer Jamie Mathieson to the series with another exciting and scary adventure. Mathieson made his debut with his impressive script for 2014’s Mummy on the Orient Express, and he also wrote the highly innovative Fatline (2014), and most recently The Girl Who Died (2015). Also making their return to Doctor Who is Charles Palmer, the director of 2007’s Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code and the acclaimed two-parter Human Nature / The Family of Blood.

Kicking off with a nod to Star Trek’s iconic-voice over, Oxygen soon has the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole donning spacesuits after their arrival on Chasm Forge, a vast mining station in deep space overrun by a spacesuited army of the walking dead. The Doctor and his companions, along with the stations four surviving crewmembers, must fight for their lives as the undead horde closes in, but what has caused this terrifying outbreak to occur? Just like the pervious episode Knock Knock, Oxygen is another spookily atmospheric episode, although with Oxygen the horror is far more full-on and intense – especially where the space zombies are concerned.

The political, corporate, and capitalist undertones that permeate Oxygen’s stark vision of the future are equally as chilling realized as the hostile environment of space itself in this episode. Ironic computer statements punctuate the narrative with a satirically charged social commentary, it seems oxygen has become big business in the future, and here on Chasm Forge the very air that you breathe is one of the most valuable assets of all!

Oxygen makes space feel edgy and dangerous in again in Doctor Who as writer Jamie Mathieson jettisons the more familiar Sci-Fi tropes the series usually adopts for a decidedly more scientific and accurate portrayal of the harsh realities of space. A whole scene during one of the Doctor’s lectures at the university is given over to establishing some of these facts, which in turn gives added credence to the dangers encountered on Bill’s first proper adventure in outer space as events on board Chasm Forge begin to spiral out of control. The script also cleverly separates them from the TARDIS and puts the sonic screwdriver out of commission – so there’s not going to be any easy way out for the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole this time!

Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie make a terrific team as Time Lord and companion respectively, they get some really powerful and emotional scenes in this episode, and it’s good to finally see Matt Lucas taking a more active role alongside them in Oxygen as Nardole since his character has felt a little sidelined since The Pilot. This is also an extremely challenging episode for Bill, as the terrifying situations she faces on Chasm Forge test her – and her faith in the Doctor – to the limit, none more so perhaps than the heart-stopping horror of being exposed to the vacuum of space. Trapped on this space station where human life is weighed up against the value of a spacesuit and oxygen is credit highly prized above all else, even the Doctor encounters a crisis unlike anything he’s faced before when Bill’s spacesuit malfunctions and the Time Lord gives her his suits helmet to save her but the prolonged exposure to the vacuum affects his eyes and blinds him!

Oxygen features a good cast of supporting characters: with Justine Salinger as Tasker, Katie Brayben as Ellie, Mimi Ndiweni as Abby, Kieran Bew as Ivan, and Peter Caulfield as the blue-skinned Dahh-Ren. Although their character development is a little sparse, they prove sufficient to drive the narrative where necessary, and it is probably the wry Dahh-Ren who makes the biggest impression of all the surviving crewmembers.

Zombie-like monsters with a deadly electrified touch in Oxygen are also really impressive. Whether shambling along dark corridors or walking en masse across the hull of Chasm Forge, the make up effects for these bloated, decaying, lifeless-eyed creatures are quite a frightening sight to behold. This army of the walking dead has actually been created by their own spacesuits, which have deactivated their organic component, but most horribly of all they carry on working regardless because of the sophisticated programming running their suits. The Doctor later discovers this is a ruthless algorithm used by the company, the lives of the crew have become too inefficient, and its deemed more efficient by the mining company to have the dead cadavers working in the automated suits instead of the living so as to maximize the company’s profits.

There are a number of Who references to look out for in Oxygen, most notably the Fluid Link, which Nardole tries to uses to sabotage any further attempts by the Doctor to leave Earth again and neglect his oath to guard the Vault. The Fluid link was first mentioned in the 1963 episode, The Dead Planet, where the Doctor stated the link has gone wrong and the TARDIS couldn’t operate without a functioning fluid link which also requires Mercury to operate. This was actually a ruse by the Doctor (William Hartnell), the link wasn’t faulty, but it allowed him to convince his companions to go along with his wish to explore a strange alien city. But the planet they had landed on turned out to be Skaro, and soon the Doctor would encounter the Daleks for the first time in the programmes history. In a more recent connection to the series, we also get to see the picture of Bill’s mother again from Knock Knock which she glimpses in her minds eye as she begins to succumb to the vacuum of space. Incidentally, director Charles Palmer is also the son of Geoffrey Palmer who had roles in Doctor Who and The Silurians (1970), The Mustans (1972), and Voyage of the Dammned ( 2007).

Having been forced to abandon Bill to a fate that seemingly saw her become one of the space-suited zombies, the Doctor and the surviving crewmembers become trapped. At the last moment the Doctor revenge hacks the computer and links their suits to Chasm Forge’s systems, if they die, the station will explode, so killing them would be the more expensive option and the company’s profits will be wiped out. This ingeniously uses the company’s own warped corporate economics to their advantage, effectively turning the tables, and the zombies give their own oxygen supply over to the living survivors – including Bill who was only really stunned – to keep them alive and save the station.

Nardole later repairs the Doctor’s eyes and they return to the university. However, once Bill leaves the room, the Doctor suddenly has a grave secret to tell Nardole. It would seem Oxygen is going to be something of a life-changing experience for the Time Lord after all, because his vision hasn’t returned, he’s still blind!

With great performances all round, Oxygen is a taut, excitingly crafted adventure from writer Jamie Mathieson, the drama and peril the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole face in this story certainly puts this new TARDIS team through the wringer, and the outstanding direction of Charles Palmer keeps you on the edge of your seat as the action steadily progresses. All in all, Oxygen, with its scary zombies-in-space premise and impressive special effects, proves to be another thrilling addition to series ten, and the shock cliff-hanger concerning the Doctor’s sightless predicament sends everything spiralling off on an entirely new and unexpected tangent few could’ve predicted.

And here’s the ominous Next Time trailer for Extremis!

Images belong BBC

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Doctor Who The Girl Who Died Review

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Arya Stark, Ashildr, Clara Oswald, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Sereis 9, Doctor Who The Girl Who Died, Ed Bazalgette, Game of Thrones, Jamie Mathieson, Jenna Coleman, Maisie Williams, Odin, Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor, The Mire, Vikings

The Girl Who Died

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

The Doctor and Clara have been captured by Vikings and taken to their remote village, but the Mire, the most ruthless mercenaries in the galaxy are coming, and young Ashildr has just declared war on them! With the best Viking warriors taken by the Mire, the Doctor and Clara must train the villagers so they can fight these alien warriors. The Doctor is also preoccupied with a mystery concerning Ashildr, but it is more than a premonition, because this is day where the Time Lord remembers where he has seen his own face before…

The Girl Who Died is the fifth episode from Doctor Who’s ninth series, written by Jamie Mathieson (The Becoming Human & Being Human writer also penned two popular Series 8 episodes of Doctor Who: Mummy on the Orient Express and Flatline in 2014), and co-written with show runner Steven Moffat. This intriguingly titled episode is directed by Ed Bazalgette, sends the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) back in time for the Time Lords first major meeting with the Vikings (The Vikings were also a major part of the First Doctor’s adventure The Time Meddler from Season 2 in 1965), and this series’ eagerly anticipated appearance of Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams as the Viking tomboy Ashildr.

Following a deep space adventure involving battle fleets and something nasty from a Spider Mine, the TARDIS brings the Doctor and the space-suited Clara to a backwater of history, where the sonic shades soon bite the dust – well sort of – and they find themselves captured by Odin-worshiping Vikings and taken to their village. The Doctor attempt to convince them he’s Odin by escaping from his chains and using a yo-yo goes awry when Odin’s face suddenly appears in the clouds overhead! The Mire teleport into the village, scanning their victims, before spiriting away the mightiest warriors to feast with “Odin” in the Halls of Valhalla, but because Ashildr has one half of the sonic shades, its advanced technology and the presence of Clara’s space-suit, ensures she is teleported along with Clara and the Viking warriors to the Mire‘s spaceship.

The warriors meet a terrible fate, Clara attempts to confront “Odin” and convince the Mire to leave, but the enraged Ashildr declares war on the invaders, a challenge they eagerly accept before transporting Clara and Ashildr back to the village. When the villagers refuse to heed the Doctor’s advice and flee, the Doctor and Clara must train this band of farmers, fishermen and blacksmiths to defend their village from the Mire, but with only hours to prepare for the battle, the Vikings are outgunned and outnumbered, and the outcome seems unavoidable.

Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman continue to shine as the Doctor and Clara, their recent adventures have made the Time Lord and his companion seem even closer than ever, and the banter between them is great fun – especially when they are training the Vikings how to protect their village from the threat of the Mire. The opening scene with a space-suited Clara floating in space is another standout moment. The Girl Who Died also features a very special guest star, Maisie Williams, the actress who plays Arya Stark in the HBO series Game of Thrones. Her role as the Viking girl Ashildr in this episode is central to the plot, and her character has a profound effect on the Doctor. Maisie Williams scenes with Peter Capaldi are absolutely brilliant, especially when she talks about always knowing she was different in some way. Likewise, the Doctor also returns to his “duty of care” to Calra in this episode, and it provides another brilliant moment for Capaldi and Coleman as Clara urges the Doctor to figure out a plan that will save them all.

Jamie Mathieson has crafted a beautifully structured adventure with The Girl Who Died (co-written with Steven Moffat), its like a mash-up of The Magnificent Seven and Vikings, and it possesses many of the qualities that made Mathieson’s previous episodes so popular. The story is markedly lighter in tone from the early episodes of Series 9, at least initially, but the mood darkens significantly towards the end, and it leaves us with plenty to dwell over. Two key scenes from the Series 9 trailer take on a whole new context when we see them in this story as well. This unpredictable adventure is full of action, boasting strong performances from Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, and Maisie Williams, the comedy skilfully melds with the darker undercurrents of the story, and the episode is superbly directed Ed Bazalgete (who also filmed some of Poldark this year).

The Mire are huge lumbering creatures, their true features are hidden beneath their armoured helmets, these intergalactic warriors absorb the strengths of other war-like species, and they are one of the deadliest warrior races in the galaxy. They are led by the Odin-like figure, played by David Schofield, who gives a brilliant scenery chewing performance as the leader of The Mire, who uses his holographic face of Odin to address the village from the sky, as well as in person, to play on the Vikings belief in Odin. Using the Mire to select only the strongest Viking warriors, “Odin” actually kidnaps them to extract their adrenalin and testosterone, whish he uses to invigorate himself and the Mire warriors. The Mire costumes are very imposing and impressive, their real faces when revealed are quite gruesome, and they make fearsome adversaries.

The Doctor has to become something of a false Odin if he is to get this group of villagers ready to face the armoured might of the Mire, and he’s only got one day to shape them into an effective fighting force. This leads to some of the episodes funniest scenes, as the Time Lord attempts to get the villages, Nollar (Simon Lipkin), Chuckles (Ian Conningham), Lofty (Tom Sourton), Limpy (Alistair Parker), Hasten (Murray McArthur), and Heidi (Barnaby Kay) ready to face the Mire. Fortunately, thanks to some timely baby speak, a few water barrels filled with electric eels, silvery fibres taken from Clara’s space suit, and Ashildr’s skill with puppets and storytelling, the Time Lord soon has everything he needs to turn the tables on Odin and The Mire when they arrive to do battle the next day.

The Girl Who Died is full of fun references, the Doctor reverses the polarity of the neutron flow (a familiar phrase often used by the 3^rd Doctor), the Time Lord now carries a 2000 Year Diary (very reminiscent of the Second Doctor’s 500 Year Diary from Power of the Daleks in 1966) he also poignantly speaks “baby” at several key moment in The Girl Who Died, a skill he used in A Good Man Goes To War and Closing Time (2011), and the line: “Time will tell, it always does…” echoes the 7^th Doctor’s words when he was in a similar reflective mood in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988). But after defeating the Mire – with their inept failure to defeat the Vikings on her phone recorded on Clara’s phone and set to the theme of The Benny Hill Show – the Doctor’s threat to upload the clip to the Galactic Hub and ruin the Mire’s reputation, quickly sends “Odin” and his lackeys packing. However, the price is high, and Ashildr dies of heart failure shortly after using the captured Mire warrior’s helmet the Doctor modified to enable her to tell the Mire a story they would never forget – projecting the image of a dragon when in reality they were only facing one of her puppet creations.

This leads to the fantastic surprise ending that makes The Girl Who Died so special. Although he plays the 12^th Doctor now, Peter Capaldi actually made his Doctor Who debut as the character Caecilius in the 10^th Doctor story from Series 4, The Fires of Pompeii (2008). Ever since Deep Breath (2015) the 12^th Doctor has long wondered why his regeneration gave him this face, now in The Girl Who Died the explanation is revealed at last! Following Ashildr’s death, when the Doctor sees his face in one of the water barrels, we briefly flashback to the events of The Fires of Pompeii, and the Doctor finally realises his face is actually there as a very special reminder for him… This is a truly magical moment, one that fans of the 10^th Doctor, and perhaps more significantly Donna Nobel, are sure to enjoy; as we discover why the 12^th Doctor looks like Caecilius from The Fires of Pompeii.

Ashildr’s death really affects the Doctor, he’s sick of losing people, so much so he intervenes here to put things right, no who “happens to be listening” (The Time Lords maybe? If indeed they are somehow “listening” in, the Doctor certainly seems intent on making as many ripples as possible to get their attention this season!). The Doctor uses a reprogrammed Battlefield Medical Kit from the Mire’s helmet to heal Ashildr, she recovers, and the Doctor leaves a second chip for her before he departs… When the Doctor and Clara eventually return to the TARDIS and continue their travels, the Time Lord begins to ponder over what he has done. He’s effectively made Ashildr a hybrid (perhaps making the Doctor recall the prophecy Davros spoke of in The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witch’s Familiar), an immortal, and as the episode closes with Ashildr gazing at the sky as the years swirl past around her – she never ages because the repair kit / chip keeps fixing her; but her smile gradually beings fading from happiness to an ever darkening expression. Few words can truly sum up the power and emotion of these final moments, it may leave many questions unanswered for now, but it certainly provides one of the most powerful and moving cliff-hangers in the shows history…

The Girl Who Died is an excellent story by Jamie Mathieson and Steven Moffat, the intricate plot is peppered with humour, seamlessly blended with themes of immortality and its consequences, and the though-provoking conclusion ingeniously blurs the edges of time itself with a brilliant cliff-hanger to round off the first part of this most unconventional two-part story. With its great setting, impressive cast, powerful alien menace, and high-production values, The Girl Who Died is another worthy addition to Series 9 and Peter Capaldi’s era as the Doctor.

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Doctor Who Flatline Review

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Christopher Fairbank, Clara Oswald, Danny, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Flatline, Doctor Who Series Eight, Douglas Mackinnon, Jamie Mathieson, Jenna Coleman, Jovian Wade, Matt Bardock, Peter Capaldi, Rigsy, Samuel Anderson, TARDIS, The 12th Doctor, The Boneless

Flatline

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

Strange alien creatures from another dimension, unknown even to the Doctor, are stalking a Bristol council estate and horrifically flattening their victims into the walls. When the TARDIS begins to shrink, trapping the Doctor inside, Clara must continue investigating without him. Separated from the Doctor, Clara uncovers a terrifying menace from a 2D dimension, entities that are breaking through into our reality. But how can you hide from a multi-dimensional enemy when even the walls cannot protect you? With people depending on her and the Doctor trapped, Clara must face a horror that exists beyond all human perception…

Flatline, the ninth episode of series eight, is written by Jamie Matheson (who also wrote Mummy on the Orient Express) and Directed by Line of Duty’s Douglas Mackinnon (Listen & Time Heist). This dark, menacing, and visually imaginative episode sees the Doctor and Clara confronted with the most uncanny aliens they’ve ever faced. Flatline really challenges the Doctor, he’s never encountered anything like this before, while Clara must take charge of the situation and find a way to deal with the multi-dimensional entities terrorising the estate – and the Doctor’s dimensionally transcendental predicament means he can’t help her.

Instead of returning Clara home the Doctor finds the TARDIS has materialised in Bristol. When forces begin leaching at external dimensions of the TARDIS, causing the time machine to shrink with the Doctor still inside, Clara has to take over. Using a special earpiece so the Doctor can follow events via her optic nerve, Clara essentially becomes the Doctor’s eyes and ears, with the TARDIS in her handbag, the psychic paper, and the sonic screwdriver at her disposal. Clara befriends graffiti artist Rigsy (Big School’s Joivan Wade), who is doing community service in the area, and learns about the mural in a pedestrian tunnel for the people that have gone missing.

Peter Capaldi is on fine form as the 12th Doctor in Flatline. It always makes for an interesting story when the Doctor is slightly in the dark about what’s going on, and with the Time Lord stuck inside the TARDIS for the majority of the episode he becomes completely reliant on Clara’s “Doctor Oswald” – which leads to some great banter between them when their roles effectively become reversed for the duration of this adventure. Jenna Coleman is also excellent in this episode as Clara, who is teamed with Joivan Wade‘s graffiti artist Rigsy in Flatline, and they both prove their worth against the dimensionally transcendental foes.

In a brilliantly spooky scene, Clara and Rigsy visit the home of Mr Heath, the first reported disappearance, where PC Forest (Jessica Hayles) becomes the entities next victim. Trapped in the same room where PC Forest’s nervous system is now imprinted on the wall, things are complicated even further when Clara receives an impromptu phone call from Danny (Samuel Anderson) as she’s trying to escape with Rigsy before the creatures can reach them. It also become apparent to the Doctor that Clara has been lying to him about Danny being ok with her continued adventures in the TARDIS, something the Time Lord is quick to point out to her.

The Doctor believes the forces dragging people into the walls are conducting experiments on their victims, testing, and dissecting them in order to better understand the three dimensions of our reality. When the entities start emerging from the mural in the pedestrian tunnel, wearing grotesque images of the people they’ve killed as camouflage, Clara, Rigsy, and the survivors from the council work party, Fenton (Auf Wiedersehen, Pet star Christopher Fairbank), Al (former Casualty actor Matt Bardock), and George (Raj Bajaj), flee to a train repair yard where the Doctor attempts to communicate with the aliens, but they are attacked again and forced to use the old disused Brunswick Line to escape.

This isn’t the first time the TARDIS has been affected by strange dimensional forces. In the 1964 story, Planet of the Giants, the 1st Doctor and his companions, along with the TARDIS, were all miniaturised to the size of an inch. The 2nd Doctor and Jamie had to evacuate the TARDIS in The Wheel in Space (1968) when a malfunction in the fluid link forced the Doctor to remove the Time Vector Generator, a special rod that makes the TARDIS dimensionally transcendental, which then caused the TARDIS interior to shrink rapidly. Mirroring the 12th Doctor’s predicament in Flatline, the TARDIS also shrank with the 4th Doctor still inside it in Logopolis (1981), when the calculations to fix the Chameleon Circuit were maliciously altered by the Master.

The monsters in Flatline are the Boneless, creatures that exist beyond the normal range of human perception, they are also able to shrink the exterior dimensions of the TARDIS and drain the time machines energy supplies. These bizarre multi-dimensional beings, so strange they even confuse the TARDIS, exist in the walls and can turn somehow humans into static two dimensional images, which they then use to emerge into our reality as horrifying three dimensional caricatures of their victims. I thought the special effects used here for the Boneless were utterly superb, the way the creatures moved was so inhuman, and I really liked how the story didn’t reveal everything about them – ensuring they remain chillingly mysterious and unexplained.

Finding their escape routes in the train tunnels have been flattened into two dimensions, things don’t look good for Clara and the others, especially when the creatures become three dimensional beings and begin hunting them down. The Doctor manages to provide Clara and her companions with a device to restore dimensions to get past one of the flattened doors, but in the confusion the miniature TARDIS gets accidentally knocked down a shaft, where it lands on another railway line. Using a brilliant “Adams Family” style plan to get the TARDIS clear of the oncoming train, the Doctor places the TARDIS into siege mode. After stopping the train and using it to ram the entities to buy them some more time, Clara and her friends, now joined by train driver Bill (James Quinn), must find a way to defeat this intangible menace. But with the Boneless closing in and life support failing inside the TARDIS, time is running out for them and the Doctor.

I really liked how Clara devised a plan with Rigsy to strike back at the Boneless by using his artwork, she manages to turn their enemies energies against them while also providing the TARDIS the energy it needs to return to its normal size. Peter Capaldi is superb during the final confrontation between the Doctor and the Boneless, Capaldi’s speech as he deals with these monsters is absolutely riveting, and sends shivers down the spine.

Flatline is another great story from Jamie Matheson, and he creates a really intriguing and highly original menace for this exciting episode. Even though Flatline is a Doctor-lite episode, Matheson has cleverly structured the plot around this, and the result, with Clara taking on the Doctor’s role, works really well. There are some very intense and scary scenes in Flatline, especially when the killer graffiti comes to life, and the impeccable Direction by Douglas Mackinnon keeps the action and suspense building at a cracking pace. With his innovative style, excellent pacing, and superb use of special effects, Douglas Mackinnon’s work on this eighth series of Doctor Who has been exceptional, and I sincerely hope he Directs more episodes in the future.

Flatline was a really, tense, and exciting episode. Featuring excellent performances from Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, together with a good supporting cast of characters, and frightening monsters, Flatline is a real highlight of the eighth series. The stories conclusion was a little bit rushed, but overall I found Flatline to be a highly enjoyable adventure, and the coda with the mysterious Missy (Michelle Gomez) hinted that she’s has been keeping a very close eye on Clara indeed…

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Doctor Who Mummy On The Orient Express Review

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Christopher Villers, Clara Oswald, Daisy Beaumont, David Bamber, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Mummy on the Orient Express, Doctor Who Series 8, Foxes, Frank Skinner, Jamie Mathieson, Janet Henfrey, Jenna Coleman, Paul wilmshurst, Peter Capaldi, TARDIS, The Doctor, The Foretold, The Mummy

Mummy on the Orient Express

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

The Doctor and Clara are travelling on the most beautiful train in history, the fabled Orient Express, but this is a train thundering across the stars on a voyage in the distant future – and a fearsome creature on board has begun killing the passengers. Once the helpless victim sees the terrifying Mummy they only have 66 seconds to live, there is no escape, and no reprieve. As the Doctor races against time to defeat this undead enemy, the train becomes stranded in space. Clara has seen the Doctor at his most ruthless and her now mind is made up, even if the Doctor figures out how to stop the Mummy, this will be their last adventure…

Mummy on the Orient Express sees the Doctor and Clara embark on their most dangerous adventure yet, in this exciting story written by Jamie Matheson (Being Human and Dirk Gently), and Directed by Paul Wilmhurst (Kill The Moon). The dark, menacing tone of series eight continues unabated, in this eighth episode, as the Doctor’s and Clara’s interstellar journey on the Orient Express, a faithful recreation of the original train travelling along hyperspace rails, where the Mummy has already killed Mrs Pitt (Janet Henfrey), and the passengers remain oblivious to its presence. Another death quickly follows and the Doctor’s little grey cells are soon called upon to solve the seemingly impossible mystery of the ghostly Mummy as it relentlessly stalks the train and its specially chosen passengers in search of its next terrified victim.

Jamie Matheson has crafted a wonderfully dark and macabre story, one that sublimely melds horror and sci-fi, to deliver a thrilling mystery with an uncanny supernatural twist. Set on a futuristic recreation of the Orient Express, the original setting of Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express, the Doctor and Clara soon find themselves embroiled in all the mystery, intrigue, and mayhem on board.

Knowing this trip will be their last hurrah, the Doctor and Clara are intent on enjoying their final adventure. Some time has passed since Clara’s outburst at the end of Kill the Moon. As they observe the majesty of the Magellan Black Hole with the other passengers, she explains to the Doctor that she doesn’t hate him, but she cannot continue to travel like this anymore. This beautiful scene conveys just how much their friendship means to them, despite their recent differences, with Clara’s “sad smile” speaking volumes as they seem to reach a poignant understanding here. After meeting the late Mrs Pitt’s distraught granddaughter, Maisie (Daisy Beaumont), the Doctor and Clara learn more from Captain Quell (David Bamber) about the elderly Mrs Pitt’s death and the Mummy. When the Doctor and Clara wind up exploring the train separately, the Time Lord enlists the help of chief engineer Perkins (Frank Skinner) and discusses the five thousand year old story of The Foretold and the mythical Mummy with Professor Moorehouse (Christopher Villers), while Clara and Maisie become trapped in a baggage car with a strange high-tech sarcophagus.

Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor doesn’t seem quite as fiercely intense during Mummy on the Orient Express, at times its almost like he’s challenging the essence of the 4th Doctor, highlighting the Doctor’s distinct alien qualities and manic eccentricities, and he even offers Professor Moorhouse a jelly baby at one point. Capaldi’s Doctor still dominates every scene he’s in and this episode once again showcases how unpredictable the 12th incarnation can be, but this time we also gain a startling insight into the Doctor’s reasoning for decisions that sometimes have to be made – especially when there are only bad choices and you still have to choose anyway.

After the Mummy strikes again the Doctor realises most of the passengers are scientific experts that have probably been gathered here by a being of tremendous power to study something. Following his announcement the train suddenly shudders to a halt and the hard light hologram façade of their carriage is transformed into a laboratory. The trains computer, Gus (John Sessions), explains that have been brought here to study the Foretold – along with the ancient scroll that somehow makes the Mummy appear in the immediate vicinity – informing them they must assess and contain the creature before it kills them so that its abilities can be reversed engineered.

Mummy on the Orient Express features an impressive guest cast: Frank Skinner is great as chief engineer Perkins, then we have the brilliant David Bamber as Captain Quell, along with Daisy Beaumont who plays distraught granddaughter Maisie, with Christopher Villers (Hugh Fitzwilliam from 1983’s 5th Doctor story The King‘s Demons) as Professor Moorhouse, the elderly Mrs Pitt is played by Janet Henfrey (Miss Hardaker in 1989‘s The Curse of Fenric), and the singer / songwriter Foexs performs a cover of Queen‘s Don’t Stop Me Now. As well as David Bamber‘s excellent performance as Captain Quell, I also thought Frank Skinner was really good as Perkins, and it was great to see the chief engineer and the 12th Doctor working together to solve the mystery of the Foretold in so many of the episodes most dramatic moments.

When the Doctor discovers the Foretold is drawn its victims weaknesses, targeting their illness or psychological state, it becomes apparent the creature moves them out of phase and leeches their energies away on a cellular level. Knowing that it’s likely Maisie will be next because of her trauma the Doctor gets Clara to bring Maisie to them, despite Clara’s reservations about lying to Maisie, and the Time Lord then takes the risk of implanting Masie’s mental issues into his own mind – effectively making him the Mummy’s next target so he can confront it. This isn’t the first time a Mummy has appeared in Doctor Who, the 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith were menaced by lumbering servicer robots disguised as Mummies in Pyramids of Mars (1975), and the 11th Doctor fought against a Mummy-like creature in The Rings of Akhaten (2013). When the 12th Doctor is finally face to face with the Foretold in Mummy on the Orient Express, he asks it: “Are you my mummy?”, echoing the chilling words of the resurrected gas masked child in The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances (2005) as it searched the streets of London for its mother during the blitz.

The Mummy / Foretold (Jamie Hill) has a very unique and disquieting way of dispatching the passengers. Once this ethereal horror has clapped eyes on it victim, they only have 66 seconds to live, and nothing can save them from the Mummy’s wrath. This in no shambling terror that can be easily outrun. The fact that the Mummy can only be seen by those who are about to die make it seem even more threatening, and the way that it closes in on its horrified victim while everyone else is oblivious to their plight is brilliant. When the Doctor glimpses markings on the Foretold’s body he realises the scroll is actually a flag and the Foretold is really an ancient soldier from a long forgotten war that has become trapped by the malfunctioning technology that gives it advanced camouflage and teleportation abilities. Mummy on the Orient Express presents us with a creature that is grotesque, unstoppable, and utterly terrifying. The special effects are superb, the Mummy’s abilities are ghoulishly horrible, and it’s certainly one this seasons most memorable monsters.

Jenna Coleman’s character has undergone something of a reinvention over the course of series eight. We’ve seen Clara balancing her adventures with the Doctor and her life as a teacher at Coal Hill School; she’s also found romance with Maths teacher, and former-soldier, Danny Pink. However, everything was thrown into chaos when Danny and Courtney found out about the Doctor in The Caretaker, and when Clara was forced into making a life-changing decision to save the Earth in Kill the Moon her faith in the Doctor began to crumble.

Mummy on the Orient Express is another great episode for Clara. What began as her final adventure quickly becomes a situation that puts her danger again, and she angrily confronts the Doctor when he coerces her into brining Maisie to the lab and realises that Gus must’ve known about the Time Lord because of the force field around the TARDIS. After the Doctor manages to stop the Foretold by surrendering to it, the creature salutes him before it disintegrates, whereby Gus begins to expel the air from the carriage as the passengers have outlived their usefulness – leaving the Doctor only moments to rig a teleporter from the Foretold’s remains to save them.

The intriguing mystery of Gus and the unknown force that lured the Doctor and the other passengers to the train remains unresolved for now, although the Doctor does tell Clara that it has contracted him before, even phoning the TARDIS on one occasion – which probably refers to a call the 11th Doctor received in The Big Bang (2010).

Afterwards when Clara regains conspicuousness on a nearby planet, the Doctor sits with her and explains how they escaped from the train as they mull over recent events and the choices the Time Lord has had to make. I really like the ambiguity surrounding the Doctor’s explanation about how they escaped from the Orient Express, which exploded after the Doctor attempted to hack into Gus to find out about the mysterious force that brought everyone to the train, and this magical discussion with Clara certainly gives us plenty to ponder over.

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor offers Perkins the chance to stay and maintain the time machines systems, but the engineer politely declines and bids them farewell. After Clara receives a phone call from Danny (Samuel Anderson), who believes this is her last adventure with the Time Lord, but the Impossible Girl makes a momentous decision after the call, one that results in her lying to Danny and the Doctor, when she decides to continue travelling with the Doctor. I don’t think any of us really believed that Clara’s adventures with the Doctor would end during Mummy on the Orient Express, however, after the way she likens the Doctor’s adventures to an addiction, it does make you wonder if the choice she that makes here might eventually come back to haunt her.

Mummy on the Orient Express is another fine addition to this eighth series, the story by Jamie Matheson is tense and exciting, and Director Paul Wilmhurst keeps the episode rattling along at a cracking pace. Peter Capaldi continues to impress on every level as the 12th Doctor, and Jenna Coleman gives another great performance as Clara. With its great sets, impressive guest cast, excellent special effects, and claustrophobic atmosphere this episode a real highlight of the season. There is a distinctly classic series feel about Mummy on the Orient Express, which also really plays to this episodes strengths, and the closing scenes between the Doctor and Clara also provides a deeply moving and emotional coda to this excellent episode.

Images Belong BBC

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