Doctor Who The Zygon Inversion Review

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Clara Oswald, Daniel Nettheim, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Series 9, Doctor Who The Zygon Inversion, Ingrid Oliver, Jemma Redgrave, Jenna Coleman, Kate Stewart, Osgood, Peter Capaldi, Peter Harness, Steven Moffat, The Doctor, The Zygon Inversion, The Zygons, UNIT, Zygons

The Zygon Inversion

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

20 million Zygons were granted asylum on Earth by UNIT, they have lived peacefully alongside humanity, unnoticed, but now a breakaway Zygon faction wants to take over the world. The Zygon revolution has begun! The fate of the Earth is sealed inside a Box in the Black Archive, but only the Doctor knows what’s inside. Now with UNIT neutralised and the Zygons in control, Clara cocooned in a Zygon pod and her evil Zygon doppelganger “Bonnie” on the loose, the Doctor and Osgood must reach London at all costs, but nobody can be trusted now. However, there is one last hope, because the box in the Black Archive is a very special box, its Osgood’s Box, and it will decided the fate of this conflict once and for all…

The Zygon Inversion concludes this exciting two-part story from Series 9, written by Peter Harness (Kill The Moon) and Doctor Who show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Daniel Netteim (Line of Duty / Humans), finds the Doctor, Clara, Kate Stewart, Osgood, and UNIT all in peril as the Zygon revolution begins in earnest.

The Zygon Inversion brilliantly resolves the cliff-hanger from The Zygon Invasion, where Clara’s Zygon double, Bonnie, fired a rocket launcher at the Presidential Aircraft just as the Doctor and Osgood where returning to the UK from Turmezistan. An ingenious plot twist wrong foots us right from the outset, using Clara’s unsettling experience as a “live feed” for her Zygon double to provide us with an entirely different perspective of the events leading up to the cliff-hanger. Following their mid-air escape, the Doctor (whose parachute is remarkably patriotic!) and Osgood (the Zygon “sister” of the human Osgood murdered by Missy in the 2014 series finale Death In Heaven) become fugitives as Bonnie searches the UNIT safe house for the location of the Osgood Box. But when the Doctor receives a surprise text message, Osgood realises the real Clara is “awake”, and the subsequent phone conversation between Dr John Disco and Zygella allows Clara to use a non verbal form of communication to tell the Doctor she’s trapped amongst the Zygon pods in the tunnels beneath the streets of London – where the missing civilians are also being held.

The Doctor and Osgood make a fantastic team in The Zygon Inversion, brilliantly played by Peter Capaldi and Ingrid Oliver, these characters work so well together. The chemistry between them is magical and their banter is sure to bring a wry smile to your face, especially when Osgood gets to wear the Sonic Specs after her own glasses were broken, and it soon become clear that Osgood is undoubtedly a big fan of the Doctor! Kate Stewart also has a key role to play in events in this episode, her character has some fantastic scenes, and Jemma Redgrave gives a strong performance as Kate Stewart faces the most challenging decision of all. Jenna Coleman is also fabulous in her roles as both the real Clara Oswald and her villainous Zygon / human duplicate Bonnie. She gets some great scenes when Clara’s consciousness is in the bizarre dream-like reality of her flat while her body is trapped inside the Zygon pod, particularly when Clara has to find a way to endure Bonnie’s interrogation about the Osgood Box to stay alive, and Coleman is also wickedly evil as Bonnie in her quest to use the Osgood Box to end the ceasefire – no matter what the price of victory.

Bonnie’s sinister plan to unmask her fellow Zygons – whether they want it or not – to provoke fear, paranoia, and ultimately war, becomes even more disturbing when the Doctor and Osgood reach the Fleet Estate Centre, and the tragic fate of Etoine (Nicholas Asbury) makes for some of the episodes most emotive and deeply moving scenes. As Bonnie enters the Black Archive with her Zygon guards and Clara’s pod in tow, the Doctor and Osgood are surprised at the Fleet Estate Centre by the unexpected return of Kate Stewart from New Mexico, and accompanied by two UNIT troops they set out to reach the Zygon Command Centre in the tunnels beneath London, where it soon becomes clear not everyone is quite who they seem…

Ever since the Zygons first appeared in the 4^th Doctor story Terror of the Zygons (1975), they have been amongst the series’ most popular monsters, and their long awaited return in The Day of the Doctor (2013) led to the fragile peace between Zygons and Humans that is now under threat in The Zygon Inversion. The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion has made the new Zygons (Played by Aidan Cook, Tom Wilton, and Jack Parker and brilliantly voiced by Nicholas Briggs) even more menacing than ever before, and the Zygon transformation in The Zygon Inversion are especially graphic. Their shape-changing abilities no longer require the original body print to refresh the Zygons disguise, they can even adopt the form of your nearest and dearest directly from your mind to use against you, and their hands can emit a lethal electric sting. However, as we see with Clara and Bonnie in this episode, Zygon live links can work both ways and be used against them. The differences between Zygons who want to live in peace on Earth and the splinter Zygon faction from the younger brood that wants to conquer the world are thrown into sharp contrast in The Zygon Inversion, just as Kate’s views and Bonnie’s stance on the Zygon revolution are also called into question, and the powerful script by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat unflinchingly tackles these challenging issues.

The Zygon Inversion builds towards an exciting finale, as the Doctor, Osgood, Kate, and Clara, find themselves locked in a tense stand-off against Bonnie and the Zygons in the Black Archive, where the mystery of the Osgood Box – which the Doctor left on Earth as the final sanction should the Nightmare Scenario occur – and the reason why both the Zygon and Human Osgood’s were needed is finally revealed at last. It sets in motion a deadly game of truth or consequences. Peter Capaldi’s powerful speech here, to break the cycle and broker peace once more between Zygons and Humans, is sure to be heralded one of this series’ defining moments, it’s a truly momentous scene, and Peter Capaldi’s performance is utterly magnificent!

There are a number of nostalgic references in The Zygon Inversion. The 1^st Doctor’s (William Hartnell) portrait is seen again in the UNIT safe house, and we also get another mention of the Z67 Sullivan Gas – a clear link to the 4^th Doctor’s (Tom Baker) companion Naval Surgeon Harry Sullivan (played by Ian Marter). Kate Stewart also gets to use the line “Five rounds rapid!”, a line forever associated with Kate’s father, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) in the classic 3^rd Doctor story The Daemons (1971). The Doctor also reflects on a time when he was going to press a button in another box, The Moment, during the Time War in The Day of the Doctor. UNIT’s Black Archive also returns, the secret facility played a major role in that story, and eagle eyed viewers will also spot a Mire helmet from The Girl Who Died in the background. The Doctor is also surprised when Osgood admits she doesn’t know what TARDIS stands for as she’s heard there are a couple of different versions of this anachronism. The “D” has been referred to as both “dimension” and “dimensions” at different points in both the classic series and the new series, in An Unearthly Child (1963) the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan (Carol Ann Ford), claimed she’s made up the name “time and relative dimension in space”, but the Doctor would later go on to tell people the “D” stands for dimensions, when the series returned in 2005 the 9^th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) explained the name of the TARDIS to Rose (Billie Piper) in her debut adventure but reverted back to “time and relative dimension in space”, and the 12^th Doctor’s ridiculously OTT explanation to Osgood in The Zygon Inversion about what TARDIS really stands for is a fun acknowledgment of Doctor Who’s most unusual quirk in continuity.

With peace finally declared, along with a somewhat convenient mind-wiping re-set switch to restore the post Day of the Doctor status quo between the Zygons and Humans, the wonderful closing scenes with Osgood await us, and what marvellously scripted scenes they are. There are so many fan-pleasing moments in the conclusion of The Zygon Inversion its sure to leave you seeing double, Osgood’s outfit here also takes several elements from seventh Doctor’s (Sylvester McCoy) costume from The Curse of Fenric (1989), and I’m sure that I probably wont be the only one hoping Osgood accepts the Doctor’s offer to travel in the TARDIS one day. Some questions are left unanswered for now, there’s a fun play on first names, and a poignant closing TARDIS interior scene that beautifully judges emotion and time as one and the same.

Proving itself to be anything but the same old same old, The Zygon Inversion is Doctor Who at its very best, and this episode provides an exciting and tense conclusion to this two-part story. The taut script by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat skilfully plays on the issues of identity, trust, and paranoia, while the stories deep philosophical core enables director Daniel Netteim to gradually build this though-provoking episode to a thrilling conclusion. With its strong cast, excellent performances from Peter Capaldi, Ingrid Oliver, Jemma Redgrave, together with Jenna Coleman’s brilliantly acted dual role as Clara and her evil counterpart, and the return of the Zygons for this story, The Zygon Invasion & The Zygon Inversion have all the hallmarks of classic Doctor Who and is without a doubt one of the best two-part stories from Series 9 so far!

And just for fun here’s a clip where actress Ingrid Oliver explains why Osgood turns down the chance of a lifetime at the end of The Zygon Inversion!

Images & Clip Belong: BBC

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Doctor Who The Zygon Invasion Review

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Clara Oswald, Daniel Nettheim, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Series 9, Doctor Who The Zygon Invasion, Ingrid Oliver, Jemma Radgrave, Jenna Coleman, Kate Stewart, Osgood, Peter Capaldi, Peter Harness, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor, The Zygon Invasion, The Zygon Inversion, UNIT, Zygons

The Zygon Invasion

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

A fragile peace established long ago beneath the Tower of London is in jeopardy. Zygons have been living in peaceful coexistence with humans, undetected, but a rogue faction has begun plotting to overthrow humanity. Joining forces with UNIT to help deal with the global crisis, the Doctor and Clara must stop events spiralling out of control. A message from UNIT scientific officer Osgood issues a chilling warning, but she is supposed to be dead, is this really Osgood, or some Zygon deception? The Doctor, Clara and UNIT must embark on a world-wide adventure to rescue the kidnapped Osgood and stop the Zygon Invasion!

The Zygon Invasion, written by Peter Harness, who also scripted Kill The Moon (2014), begins a two-part story that features the return of the classic Doctor Who monsters, the Zygons, which originally appeared forty years ago in the 4^th Doctor story Terror of the Zygons (1975). The Zygons also played a significant role in the 50^th anniversary story The Day of the Doctor (2013), where Kate Stewart and Osgood from UNIT confronted Zygon duplicates of themselves in the Black Archive below the Tower of London. The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion, directed by Daniel Nettheim (Line of Duty), returns to address the memory-wiped peace Kate Stewart and Osgood negotiated with their memory-wiped Zygon counterparts, and the challenging issues facing this Zygon-Human coalition when a secret Zygon faction attacks humanity.

Right from the opening moments, The Zygon Invasion hit’s the ground running and the action doesn’t let up for a moment. A fan-pleasing recap of event from The Day of the Doctor sublimely blends into a recording made by both Osgoods in the wake of these events, detailing the covert Operation Double instigated by UNIT that allowed sanctuary to the 20 million Zygons now been living on Earth disguised as humans, who until now have existed unnoticed, in peaceful coexistence alongside humanity. As we ponder the mystery of Osgood’s Box the Doctor’s rousing guitar solo in the TARDIS is interrupted by news of the Nightmare Scenario! “Doctor Disco” returns to Earth, but a Zygon attack on a children’s playground and sinister happening near Clara’s flat, soon reunites the Doctor and Clara with Kate Stewart, Jac, and UNIT at the former Zygon Base inside the Drakeman Junior School in London, where the Zygon Control Polyp has been compromised, and the Doctor and his allies witness as the Zygon High Command – in the form of the kidnapped school girls Claudette (Cleopatra Dickens) and Jemima (Sasha Dickens) – are ruthlessly usurped by the radicalised splinter group from the younger Zygon brood now seeking to take over the world.

The Doctor and Clara are right at the heart of the action in The Zygon Invasion, Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman continue to build on the strong relationship between the Time Lord and his travelling companion. Kate Stewart is also back for this adventure, brilliantly played by Jemma Redgrave; she is joined by Jaye Griffiths as Jac. Jemma Redgrave has some great scenes with Peter Capaldi, especially when Kate and the Doctor are at loggerheads about bombing the Zygons, and Kate also gets to investigate a decidedly spooky town in New Mexico – where Gretchen Egolf proves unsettlingly mysterious as Norlander. Clara and Jac also make a good team, and they spend much of the episode working together. The impressive cast also features Rebecca Front (who also co-starred in The Think of It with Peter Capaldi) as Colonel Walsh, her scenes with Capaldi’s Doctor as her forces confront a difficult situation outside a church in Turmezistan are incredibly tense, and the angst-ridden situations UNIT troops Drone Operator Lisa (Jill Winternitz) and Hitchley (Todd Kramer) face delivers some of the most powerful and moving moments in the entire episode.

With Osgood captured by the rogue faction of shape-shifting Zygons, the peace treaty between the Zygons and Humans is now violated. Determined to restore the peace between Zygons and Humans before the ceasefire breakdowns completely, the Doctor takes the Presidential Aircraft to rescue Osgood from a Zygon infested village in Turmezistan, while Kate Stewart sets out to solve a mystery in New Mexico, and in London Clara and Jac call in UNIT reinforcements when they discover something nasty lurking below her block of flats…

The presumed dead, not dead-is-she-really-a-Zygon now, scientist Osgood also returns in The Zygon Invasion, and it’s great to see Ingrid Oliver back as the former bow-tie / scarf wearing Osgood. Ever since the character first appeared alongside the 11^th Doctor in The Day of the Doctor, Osgood soon became a fan-favourite, and her untimely death in the 2014 series finale Death in Heaven – when she was cruelly vaporised by Missy – left us all mourning the loss of our favourite geek / scientist character. Now Ingrid Oliver reprises her role as Osgood in The Zygon Invasion, but is she human this time, or a Zygon disguised as Osgood? Well, this Osgood is indeed the Zygon Osgood, although in many way’s she’s also the human Osgood – as we discover after the Doctor rescues her in Turmezistan. Ingrid Oliver’s scenes with Peter Capaldi are the big highlight of this episode, especially when the Doctor and Osgood travel on the Presidential Aircraft back to the UK, and their movingly frank conversation is undoubtedly one of Series 9’s finest moments so far. The live link the human Osgood and the Zygon Osgood shared makes the Zygon Osgood a hybrid, Human and Zygon at the same time, and she was almost overwrought with grief when her human “sister” was killed as they were the living embodiment of the peace they made between Zygon and Humanity.

The Zygons have always been a popular monster amongst Doctor Who fans, despite having only appeared in one story during the classic series: Terror of the Zygons – where the Zygons wreaked havoc with their pet Loc Ness Monster (A huge cyborg creature called the Skarasen). Their return in The Day of the Doctor was a little overshadowed by all the epic events in that 50^th anniversary story. The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion finally gives the new revamped Zygons a story that really utilizes them and their abilities to the full. Seeing the Zygons (Aidan Cook & Tom Wilton) attacking humans in such everyday settings as they do here is actually quite unsettling. Their shape-shifting powers are used to great effect in The Zygon Invasion, the new Zygon costumes look more menacing than ever, and they secretly plot in caverns below London were strange pods are growing that hide a terrible secret. The Zygons are chillingly voiced by Nicholas Briggs, and he nails their whispering gurgling voice perfectly. It seems the Zygons have evolved too! The original body print is no longer necessary for the Zygon to maintain its disguise, once they have the information they need, the original can die, they can even take the images of loved ones from your mind and use them against you, and they have a sting-like bio-electric charge which they use to disable or vaporise their enemies.

The Zygon Invasion is chock full of continuity references, the opening flashback from The Day of the Doctor features David Tennant, Matt Smith, and John Hurt as the 10^th, 11^th, and War Doctor respectively, there’s a portrait of the 1^st Doctor (William Hartnell) that adorns the hallway in UNIT’s London safe house HQ, and there’s numerous links to the original invasion in Terror of the Zygons that includes a mention for a certain Naval Surgeon (Harry Sullivan played by Ian Marter) as well. The 12^th Doctor recalls kissing Zygon once (the Zygon / Queen Elizabeth the I) from The Day of the Doctor, and the red question marks on Osgood’s shirt lapels where a key feature that also appeared on the shirt collars of the 4^th Doctor – from the Leisure Hive (1980) onwards, as well as the 5^th and 6^th Doctor’s, and the tank top Osgood wears in this episode is not too dissimilar to the one the 7^th Doctor wore – although his was covered in rows of the familiar question mark symbols.

The Zygon Invasion hurtles towards a thrilling conclusion as the Zygon revolution begins, Kate Stewart makes a horrific discovery in New Mexico, the mystery of what happened to the people who went missing from the lifts and the true contents of the pods in the caves is discovered as treachery strikes, and the Doctor, Osgood, and their Zygon captive on the Presidential Aircraft find themselves locked in the sights of a new enemy… Clara; or more precisely the Zygon duplicate called “Bonnie” who took her place when she went to hep the little boy (played by Abhishek Singh) earlier in the episode! It’s a classic Doctor Who cliff-hanger, with the companion in peril, unconscious in the Zygon Pod in the caves, while her Zygon doppelganger unleashes chaos for UNIT across the world, and Jemma Coleman is fabulous as this wickedly evil version of Clara /Bonnie.

Stylishly directed by Daniel Nettheim, The Zygon Invasion certainly gets this new two-part story off to a great start. Peter Capaldi gives a commanding performance as the Doctor in a story that is like an international sci-fi themed conspiracy thriller, the frenetic pace doesn’t let up for a moment, and Peter Harness’ strong script, with its clear nods to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, also tackles some particularly challenging social and political themes with its depiction of the strained relations between the Zygons and Humans in this episode. Jenna Coleman is excellent when Clara goes evil as “Bonnie”, its great to see Ingrid Oliver again as Osgood as well, the Zygons also make fearsome adversaries in this exciting story, and the jaw-dropping cliff-hanger brilliantly sets everything up for the truth or consequences to be resolved in The Zygon Inversion.

And here’s the Next Time Trailer for The Zygon Inversion!

Images Belong: BBC

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Doctor Who The Witch’s Familiar Review

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Clara Oswald, Colony Sarff, Daleks, Davros, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Sereis 9, Doctor Who The Witch's Familiar Review, Hattie MacDonald, Jemma Redgrave, Jenna Coleman, Kate Stewart, Michelle Gomez, Missy, Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor, The Witch's Familiar

The Witch’s Familiar

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

The Doctor is trapped and alone at the heart of the Dalek Empire on the planet Skaro, surrounded by Daleks from throughout the ages. Having witnessed Clara, Missy, and even the TARDIS suffer maximum extermination at the orders of the Supreme Dalek, the Doctor now faces Davros simultaneously on the eve of his death, and via an uncanny twist of destiny, on a pivotal moment from when Davros was a child. Will the Doctor now kill this child, or will mercy prevail, as the Time Lord endeavours to risk everything to save his friend?

The Witch’s Familiar continues the two-part opening story of Series 9, with an even darker episode, written by show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Hettie Macdonald (The director of 2007’s Blink). The cliff-hanger “Exterminate” ending of the Magician’s Apprentice left us all on the edge of our seats, when the Doctor appeared on the battlefield strewn with Hand-mines in Skaro’s distant past to exterminate the young Davros with a Dalek gun-stick. Now in The Witch’s Familiar, the story builds from this crucial moment as fate, compassion, and evil collides with far flung consequences as the Doctor confronts Davros on Skaro.

With the loss of Clara, Missy, the TARDIS, and without even the Sonic Screwdriver to help him, the Doctor must faces his ultimate challenge on Skaro as he wrestles with his conscience at the gates of Davros’ beginnings. The heart-stopping quandary of the cliff-hanger with the young Davros (brilliantly played by Joey Price) holds this episode on a constant knifes edge, while in the future, protracted, almost heart-felt exchanges unfold between the Doctor and Davros as the old enemies debate the Daleks ultimate defect and the fate of Gallifrey. This really plays to the strengths of Peter Capaldi’s Doctor, his performance is totally compelling, especially when the Doctor realises the Life Support / Hyperspace Relay in Davros’ chamber can touch the beating heart of every single Dalek on Skaro – once again presenting the Time Lord with the temptation of inflicting genocide on the Dalek race. Julian Bleach brings a cold, rasping, cocktail of evil and emotion to this ancient version of Davros, as the Daleks creator’s heinous scheme finally become apparent. Indeed, The Witch’s Familiar shows sides to the Doctor and Davros unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

Naturally enough Clara (Jenna Coleman) and Missy (Michelle Gomez) were not killed during the climatic moments of The Magician’s Apprentice. Missy’s gleefully casual explanation quickly alters Clara’s perspective on their escape from extermination, with a gloriously psychedelic classic Doctor story / energy manipulating / teleporting just-in-the-nick-of-time solution. Clara’s uneasy alliance with Missy continues as they find a way into the Dalek city, where the Time Lord has gone AWOL from the Infirmary in Davros’ own chair, but his audience with the Supreme Dalek is cut short as the coils of Davros’ grand design ensnare him once more!

Much of The Witch’s Familiar revolves around the epic face-off between the Doctor and Davros, there are several moments here that revisit classic elements from Genesis of the Daleks (1975), and every scene between Capaldi and Bleach in the infirmary crackles with tension as the Time Lord confronts his arch-enemy. Peter Capaldi is excellent, he brings so much gravitas to his role as the Doctor, but it is Julian Bleach as the wizened Davros who makes for the most riveting viewing in this episode with a outstanding turn as the Daleks creator that is almost on a par with Michael Wisher’s magnificent original performance as Davros from Genesis of the Daleks. Indeed, when Davros asks the Doctor “Are you ready to be a God?” there are echoes of a similar debate that Davros once had with the 4^th Doctor (Tom Baker) in Genesis of the Daleks – about unleashing a virus that could destroy all life in the universe – and the Dalek creator even eschews the 12^th Doctor’s own mission statement from Series 8 when he asks the Time Lord “Am I a good man?”

The Daleks are at their ruthless best once more, cold, calculating, and extremely protective of Davros. We also get to see a lot more of the Dalek city in this episode, a glorious re-imagining of the original 1963 sets and city model designed by the late Raymond Cusick, where Daleks now fly amongst its gleaming futuristic spires and towers. Scenes in these eerie corridors also resonate powerfully with the Daleks classic debut story. Putting Daleks from different eras of Doctor Who together on screen was an inspired move for these episodes, the Supreme Dalek and his new & classic Dalek minions make a formidable sight, and director Hettie Macdonald ramps up the horror as Clara and Missy descend into the grungy Dalek sewers where we discover even more disturbing qualities about these mad Skarosian tanks of bubbling hatred.

Jenna Coleman is exceptionally good here as Clara. Missy’s plan, to hijack a Dalek and then get into the city with Clara hiding inside the Dalek’s casing, is also reminiscent of the very first Dalek story, when Ian (William Russell) hid inside a Dalek, and we really get a sense of Clara’s fear as the casing closes around her – chillingly echoing the soufflé girls fate in Asylum of the Daleks (2012). Michelle Gomez is brilliant as the evil Missy, her incarnation of the renegade Time Lord is wickedly enchanting, and Missy’s summation of the genetically hard-wired Dalek remains condemned to rot in the sewers leads to a startling lesson in Dalek vocabulary for the Impossible Girl. Perhaps most unexpected of all is the comparison Missy makes with the Cybermen to explain how the Daleks reload, which like much said here in the Dalek sewers, certainly offers us plenty to dwell over…

After their ploy to reach Dalek control succeeds, Missy treacherously begins to bargain with the Daleks, and offers Clara “gift wrapped” inside the Dalek casing. Meanwhile, it seems the Doctor has been foolish enough to look into his enemy’s eyes, and believing him sincere, he willing uses a fraction of his regeneration energy to power the Hyperspace Relay and grant Davros his dying wish – to live long enough to see the sunrise on Skaro. But to the Doctor’s horror his regeneration energy is suddenly leeched away by Colony Sarff (disguised as the coils of the machine) where it is transferred into every Dalek on Skaro, making them into Dalek / Time Lord Hybrids, while also simultaneously revitalising Davros during the process! Perhaps inevitably Colony Sarff (Jami Reid-Quarell), the serpentine henchman of Davros, does get a little overshadowed by everything happening in this episode, but his menacing presence is still used to great effect.

The exciting finale has Missy arriving in the Infirmary to assist the Doctor at a critical moment, the Doctor reveals that he knew what Davros was planning, and soon generations of decaying mutant Dalek hatred – revitalised by the Doctor’s regeneration energy – is bubbling up from the bowls of Skaro to wreak havoc on the Dalek Empire! If that wasn’t exciting enough, everything is rounded of with a magnificent scene where the Doctor has to see through Missy’s deceptions to save Clara from her Dalek casing. A showdown with the Supreme Dalek follows just as the revolt of mutant sludge strikes the Dalek city, while Missy also has a really good idea at an opportune moment, and the Doctor and Clara are finally reunited with the TARDIS thanks to the Hostile Action Dispersal System – first used in the 2^nd Doctor story The Krotons (1968/9) and more recently in 2013’s 11^th Doctor story Cold War – and a very nifty pair of sonic shades. Soon the Doctor and Clara are ready to leave Davros and the Daleks to their fate. The contents of the confession dial remain a secret for now. But the question of how a tiny sliver of mercy managed to find its way into the DNA of Clara’s Dalek remains, and it is this startling moment of realisation that provides the Doctor with the impetus to complete one life-changing task before they set off on their adventures in time and space…

The Witch’s Familiar saves an exciting time-twisting surprise for the last moments of this opening two-part adventure. Steven Moffat ushers in some big timey-wimey developments in this episode. Some will admire the scale and ambition of Moffat’s vision, others will no doubt balk at his playing fast and loose with the rich tapestry of the series’ mythology, but this is still probably one of Moffat’s most ingenious storylines, and the pay-off is all the more powerful because of the Doctor’s unwavering sense of compassion and mercy.

The Witch’s Familiar certainly lives up to the expectations of this first half of this new season opener. I found this episode to be just as exciting, if not more so because of the face-off between the Doctor and Davros, there were moments here that seemed like a natural extension of classic scenes from Genesis of the Daleks, the Daleks were well served by the story, and the conclusion was outstanding! Series 9 is already shaping up to be one of the best yet, I really like the dynamic between the Doctor and Clara now, they make a great team, Missy was also excellent in these episodes, and the return of the two-part stories make for most a welcome – and long overdue – addition to the programmes format. Roll on the rest of Series Nine!

Images Belong: BBC

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Doctor Who The Magician’s Apprentice Review

Tags

Clara Oswald, Colony Sarff, Daleks, Davros, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Series 9, Doctor Who The Magicians Apprentice Review, Hattie MacDonald, Jemma Redgrave, Jenna Coleman, Kate Stewart, Michelle Gomez, Missy, Ohila, Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor, The Magicians Apprentice, The Sisterhood of Karn, UNIT

The Magician’s Apprentice

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

Doctor Who series 9 begins with the blockbusting premier episode The Magician’s Apprentice, where the skies of Earth have succumbed to a strange alien power as a desperate cry for help echoes from the past, and Clara Oswald needs to find her old friend the Doctor. But the Time Lord has gone missing, is this really the Doctor’s final night, and what terrible event could have driven the Doctor into hiding? Clara must join forces with the most unlikely ally of all if she is to find the Doctor, dark secrets from the past return, old foes will be confronted, and soon the Doctor will have to face the most impossible challenge of all …

The Magician’s Apprentice is about as epic and cinematic a series premier as Doctor Who has ever had, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Hettie Macdonald (director of the highly acclaimed 2007 episode Blink), the opening moments alone quickly establish what we can expect from this the dark and ominous two-part story – and indeed the new series itself.

A blanket of fog swirls over a battlefield on a distant world as a child of fate runs though a mud-strewn land covered in Hand Mines… But what is the secret shame of this awful place that has made the Doctor take to the shadows, and who is the mysterious cloaked figure – Colony Sarff – that has been searching for the Doctor? When a bizarre alien force strikes the Earth, freezing passenger jets in the skies, not even Clara, Kate Stewart, and UNIT can locate the Doctor. So, when the Doctor’s old enemy Missy inexplicably reappears in a foreign locale, with a Confession Dial that holds the Doctor’s last will and testament, Clara must form an uneasy alliance with Missy to find the missing Time Lord. Their journey will take them across space and time, but the Doctor is already proceeding along a dark path of destiny, one that will soon lead him into the most terrible danger of all and a confrontation with his deadliest foes – the Daleks!

Peter Capaldi’s performance in the Magician’s Apprentice is little sort of superb, Capaldi seems completely at ease now in his role as the 12th Doctor, and his commanding presence permeates though every aspect of the episode. His incarnation of the Doctor is clearly not afraid of making difficult decisions either – or accepting the consequences of his actions. Jenna Coleman is also on fine form as Clara Oswald, and the erstwhile Impossible Girl once again proves she is as confident and resourceful as ever. Michelle Gomez returns as the new gender-swapped incarnation of the Master, Missy, to meddle in the Doctor’s and Clara’s lives again – while gleefully glossing over her apparent demise in the Series 8 finale Death in Heaven (2014) – and Gomez excels herself here as the Doctor’s wickedly evil nemesis. It’s also good to see Jemma Redgrave returning as Kate Stewart, along with UNIT, to deal with the crisis Missy has engineered to get their attention.

The Magician’s Apprentice is a big, bold adventure, set on a grand scale, and the pace doesn’t slow for a moment as time ladies Clara and Missy team-up to find the Doctor just as he is about to face his greatest moral dilemma and most ruthless adversary. The story travels between numerous locations in time and space: including a grim battlefield in the past, an alien bar, the grand fortress of the Shadow Proclamation, the planet Karn, an outlandish medieval tournament in Essex 1138 AD, and a very familiar looking city on the Daleks original home planet of Skaro…

The character of Ohila (Claire Higgins) from The Night of the Doctor (2013) also returns along with the Sisterhood of Karn (Last seen in the 1976 story The Brain of Morbius), and Ohila’s tense scenes with Colony Sarff (Jami Reid-Quarell) resonate powerfully with her appearance in the 1^st online prequel for Series 9. Jami Reid-Quarell is also very menacing as the snake-like Colony Sarff, a strange creature with a message for the Doctor, whose quest has taken him to the Maldovarium, the planet Karn to address the Sisterhood of Karn, and even the mighty Shadow Proclamation, but nobody seems to know where the Doctor is. The Magician’s Apprentice weaves a complex path through Doctor Who’s mythology – past and present – juggling extensive nods to the past and a wealth of continuity references, with some perhaps far more pertinent than others, along with a few surprise voices from the Doctor’s own past as well!

It seems the mad man in the blue box has really disappeared this time, because even the Daleks are looking for him! Yes, the Daleks are back with a vengeance in The Magician’s Apprentice. Daleks from throughout all of time have assembled to wreak havoc on the Doctor in a story that harkens right back to their origins. Nearly every type of Dalek that you can think of is here for this ultimate Dalek team-up! Seeing the original classic 1963/64 slivery-grey Dead Planet style Daleks, a black domed guard from Evil of the Daleks (1967), along with a grey Renegade and the Special Weapons Dales from Remembrance of the Daleks (1988), in the same scenes as gold / bronze modern era Daleks, a Dalek Sec style Black Dalek, overseen by the gleaming red and gold Supreme Dalek from The Stolen Earth / Journey’s End (2008) and its like all our fan-boy dreams have leapt from the pages of the old TV Century 21 comics to unleash maximum extermination on TV!

The Dalek city in The Magician’s Apprentice has been beautifully realised on screen in this episode, a clear homage to the original 1963 Dalek city on Skaro designed by the late Raymond Cusick, and its been reimagined here in exquisite detail. The design of the Daleks control room in this episode – whilst containing nods to Cusick’s designs – also provides a delightful throwback to the Peter Cushing Doctor Who films, Dr Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks’ Invasion of Earth 2550 AD (1966). Even the 12th Doctor’s revised costume has a hint of 60’s era of Doctor Who about it, especially the Hartnell style check trousers.

Ok, here we go. BIG SPOILER ALERT! The Daleks are back, Missy is back, but there’s one more old adversary vying for the title of the Doctor’s arch-enemy – much to Missy’s consternation – in this episode, Davros! Yes, the creator of the Daleks, the Dark Lord of Skaro, is dying, and he has sent Colony Sarff to bring the Doctor to his chamber on board a medical space station. Julian Bleach reprises his role from 2008’s The Stolen Earth / Journey’s End, giving a blood-chilling performance, and the malevolent creator of the Daleks certainly has a few nasty surprises for the Doctor! The lines between past and present blur constantly as the young boy Davros, played by Joey Price, cries for help ring out across time to haunt the Doctor, and I can’t think of one instance in the history of Doctor Who where sound of the TARDIS dematerialising has ever sounded so cruel…

The Magician’s Apprentice is a great start to the new series. In fact, there’s so much going on in this first episode of the opening two-part series premier that it actually feels more like a series finale! Steven Moffat has gone for big spectacle, high drama, and full timey-wimey overload for The Magician’s Apprentice. Drawing heavily on the programmes past, the intricate plot is dark, intense, and even the 4^th Doctor’s iconic “If someone who knew the future, pointed out a child to you, and told you that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives… could you then kill that child?” speech from 1975’s Genesis of the Daleks takes on a whole new perspective in the context of the Doctor’s actions in The Magician‘s Apprentice – setting up some interesting themes that will no doubt impact on the ongoing narrative of new series. There are moments of wry humour too, particularly when Missy and Clara are working together, the way Missy compares the Daleks plan to destroy the TARDIS with a certain part of a Dalek casing is another standout moment, and it’s clear that the Doctor’s bond with Clara is now even stronger than ever.

Exciting, if initially a little bewildering, The Magician’s Apprentice, while somewhat grim at times, also has a great sense of adventure and fun – especially when the Doctor makes a surprise – if somewhat superfluous – rock and roll entrance with an electric guitar! It’s a story that probably needs multiple viewing to fully appreciate every nuance of the storyline, even the Sonic Screwdriver has an unexpectedly significant role to play, but despite the slight overloading of the script there is still a lot to enjoy here. Once all the characters have been drawn together, a space station that isn‘t quite what it seems leads to a fittingly epic face-off between the Doctor and Davros, and the build up to that first glimpse of the Dalek city and then the Daleks themselves are both breathtaking moments.

Minor quibbles aside, I really enjoyed this first episode, and thought it got the new series off to a fantastic start. The Magician’s Apprentice races towards an incredibly exciting cliff-hanger, the stakes get raised impossibly high as the full horror of the Daleks plan actually sends the Doctor to his knees, and you will be left wondering how those nerve-jangling final moments can possibly be resolved in the conclusion of this two-part story – The Witch’s Familiar.

Images Belong: BBC

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The Power of Three

Tags

Amy Pond, Arthur Darvill, Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who, Doctor Who The Power of Three, Doctor Who The Power of Three Review, Dr Who, Dr Who Season 7, Jemma Redgrave, Karen Gillan, Kate Stewart, Matt Smith, Rory Pond, Rory's Dad, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, the 11th Doctor, The Power of Three, UNIT

The Power of Three

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

It should have been a day like any other on planet Earth, except the entire world has just woken up to find that millions of little black cubes have suddenly appeared everywhere. These strange cubes appear inert, and are apparently indestructible, but there seems to be no clue as to where they have come from or who created them. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory have to investigate this bizarre phenomenon, which has also caught the attention of UNIT, but it will take months to properly study the cubes so The Doctor has to take a break from his travels and move in with the Ponds…

The Doctor has to take a break from his travels and move in with the Ponds

The Power of Three is Chris Chibnall’s second story this season and is a very different beast from Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, primarily because it encompasses almost a year in the lives of Amy and Rory Pond as they struggle to share their home with the erratic Time Lord. Most of the story unfolds from Amy and Rory’s perspective, like a John Wyndham Sci-Fi page-turner, with Karen Gillian and Arthur Darvill turning in a superb performance as the married couple who are beginning to crave a life way from The Doctor and his non-stop adventuring.

Mark Williams also makes a welcome return as Rory’s dad, fresh from his travels around the world; Brian embraces this adventure with The Doctor and more than earns his honorary status as a companion in my book. Brian does everything he can to help the Doctor monitor the cubes, even making his own video log (Brian’s Log) to document events, but after The Doctor whisks Amy and Roy away for their Wedding Anniversary  – a visit to the Savoy in 1890 that unfortunately goes awry with the discovery of a Zygon spaceship – Brian gets an unexpected confession from The Doctor when he presses the Time Lord about the fate of his pervious companions.

An early wake up call for Amy & Rory

Meanwhile, it falls to the esteemed actor Steven Berkoff to chew up the scenery with his perfectly understated performance as the villainous Shakri, the alien menace behind the cubes. Shakiri isn’t introduced until the latter half of The Power of Three, but his presence reveals that his race was known, to the Time Lords – and it would seem that these legendary beings act like intergalactic pest control, wiping out whole civilizations to prevent “contamination” by those they deem unfit to evolve. The two Orderlies (David Beck & Daniel Beck), who carry out Shakri’s orders to harvest bodies from the Hospital where Rory works, are also eerily similar to Mr Oak and Mr Quill from Fury From The Deep (1968), particularly when Rory’s Dad finds himself cornered by the duo. Three are also a number of cameos by several famous faces: newsreaders covey the global scale of the invasion,  they are joined by Professor Brian Coxx who theorizes about the cubes, and  Lord Alan Sugar as the mysterious cubes begin to infiltrate every corner of society, encroaching on the populations everyday working lives.

If living with The Doctor wasn’t trouble enough for the Ponds, having UNIT turn their lives upside down doesn’t help much either (Particularly when they burst into the Ponds home while Rory is in a state of undress). The Power of Three features the welcome return of the United Nations Intelligence Task Force, and this episode also features Jemma Redgrave as UNIT’s new Head of Scientific Research – the charming Kate Stewart. Its great to see Matt Smith’s Doctor working with UNIT again, his first being The Sarah Jane Adventures episode: Death of the Doctor (2010), and this adventure is also reminiscent of some of the Pertwee stories from the 70’s (Where UNIT played a significant role in Dr Who), and Chibnall does a superb job of introducing Kate as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart ’s daughter while The Doctor and UNIT struggle to contain the cubes uncanny invasion by stealth.

The Doctor & Kate Stewart / the daughter of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

There are plenty of fun moments too as The Doctor does his best to fit in with the Ponds linear existence on Earth, but the Time Lord is like a chaotic explosion in their lives, and after spending nearly a year with The Doctor we begin to see Amy and Rory wishing for an easier way of life. The Doctor has been a part of virtually every aspect of Amy and Rory’s lives, there have always been three people in the Ponds marriage, and The Power of Three ironically pushes The Doctor back into Amy and Rory‘s lives in a way that makes their bond even stronger. Even fish fingers and custard makes a welcome return, although it is almost upstaged by the humble Yorkshire Pudding!

The Power of Three is a rare instance of The Doctor not actually knowing what is going on. We are used to him knowing just about everything about everything, so to hear him admit to that he has no idea what the cubes are is quite unsettling.

While his attempts to fit in with his companions lives offers plenty of comic relief, especially when he gets hooked on the Wii and mowing the lawn, this episode also offers Matt Smith some great material to work with. There is one scene in particular, when Amy confesses to The Doctor that she is beginning to think about leaving The Doctor for her life on Earth with Rory. Karen Gillan and Matt Smith have an amazing chemistry on screen, never more so than here when she turns to him for some heartfelt advice when it comes to choosing between her “real life” and her “Doctor life” and The Doctor surprises her by telling her how much she means to him. She was the first face he saw after his regeneration, because of this the Ponds are destined to be emblazoned on his hearts forever, and that is why their adventure in the TARDIS are all the more meaningful to him.

Amy, Kate, & The Doctor watch as the cubes begin to countdown

Jemma Redgrave also has some wonderful scenes with Matt Smith’s Doctor when he visits the UNIT base beneath The Tower of London, and the moment when the Time Lord realizes that Kate Stewart is the daughter of his dearly departed friend – Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart – we are treated to one of those rare moments in Dr Who where the past and present collide to give us something truly magical. Kate plays a pivotal role in helping The Doctor deal with the threat posed by the cubes, her links to the series past gives the inclusion of UNIT an added depth, and I sincerely hope Jemma Redgrave’s returns for more episodes.

The real shock comes after the cubes have finished their bizarre countdown to reveal themselves as instruments for the Shakri  – and induce heart attacks in anyone near them when they finally activate; including The Doctor! In some ways these strange cubes were oddly reminiscent of the same devices the Time Lords used to send psychic messages when they are in urgent need of assistance; like those seen in The Doctor’s Wife (2011). It’s a bold move by Chris Chibnall to hint that the Shakri are in some way linked to the Time Lords, but no real explanation is given. The hologram running the spaceship seems to converse with The Doctor, almost as if he knows him, possibly pointing towards an even greater threat lurking on the fringes of the future for the last of the Time Lords.

This episode rockets along under Douglas Mackinnon crisp Direction, hitting the perfect balance between the superbly choreographed action as UNIT make their spectacular return, effortlessly encapsulating the global panic as the cubes begin to count down to activation. This story holds the added significance of featuring the last scenes that Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill actually filmed for Doctor Who, which also coincidentally happened to be filmed at St Cadocs Hospital in South Wales; the same location used for The 11^th Doctor’s 2010 debut: The Eleventh Hour. The Power of Three is a terrific showcase for Amy and Rory, in this, their penultimate adventure, as well as ushering in a new era for UNIT with the introduction of the wonderful Kate Stewart.

The Power of Three is a terrific showcase for Amy and Rory

The Power of Three almost feels like it has drifted in from the Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who, it’s a terrific episode, and breathlessly energetic as it plays out against the everyday backdrop of present day Earth. Although the invasion might be resolved a tad too quickly, there is still lots to enjoy here, not least the last chance to see The Doctor, Amy, and Rory before the encroaching darkness of the Ponds imminent departure breaks all our hearts.

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