Doctor Who The Eaters of Light Review

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Bill Potts, Charles Palmer, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Series 10, Doctor Who Survival, Doctor Who The Eaters of Light, Doctor Who The Eaters of Light review, Doctor Who World Enough and Time, John Simm, Matt Lucas, Nardole, Pearl Mackie, Peter Capaldi, Picts, Roman legion of the Ninth, Romans, Rona Munro, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor, The Master

Doctor Who The Eaters of Light

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

It is an enduring mystery, the Roman legion of the ninth vanished in the swirling mists of Scotland long ago in the past. Bill has an uncanny theory about what might’ve happened, and seeing how the Doctor just happens to have a time machine… But once the TARDIS has materialised in ancient Aberdeenshire they soon discover something mush deadlier than a Roman army, because in a secluded cairn there is a doorway, one that leads to the end of the world!

The tenth episode of series ten, The Eaters of Light, is perhaps one of the most eagerly anticipated episode this season, as it is written by Rona Monro, who returns to the series nearly thirty years after her first script for Doctor Who – the highly-regarded 1989 Seventh Doctor adventure Survival. The episode is directed by Charles Palmer, who, along with helming the series ten episode Oxygen., also directed 2007’s Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code and the acclaimed two-parter Human Nature / The Family of Blood.

Nardole isn‘t too pleased the Time Lord is off neglecting his oath to guard the Vault again; but he still goes along with Bill and the Doctor to investigate the bizarre mystery surrounding what really happened to Rome’s Ninth Legion who disappeared back in second-century Caledonia in AD120. In this hauntingly evocative episode strange music comes from the earth, the crows are talking, there’s a light-eating monster prowling the night, a Police Box has been carved in a standing stone, and a strange inter-dimensional gateway awaits as the TARDIS trio joins forces with Roman Centurions and Pictish warriors against a terrifying horror like something from Celtic myth that now haunts the lands.

Since she wrote Survival, the last story aired in the class series’ original twenty-six year run, Rona Munro has gone on to become one of the UK’s most renowned playwrights, writing also for radio, TV, and film screenplays. Munro’s wonderful script for The Eaters of Light weaves a magical thread of history, fantasy and sci-fi through this spooky saga of ancient legend, lost youth, and the fate of the Ninth Legion. As well as being a life-long fan of Doctor Who, Rona Munro now also has the added distinction, so far, of being the only person to have currently written stories for both the TV’s Doctor Who’s twentieth and twenty first century versions of the programme.

Peter Capaldi gives an especially towering performance as the Doctor in this episode, being both wise and heroic to a fault. Meanwhile, Bill finds this motley and diverse bunch of Roman’s are far more open-minded than she could’ve expected, especially where topics of sexuality are concerned, and Pearl Mackie one again brings a delightful sense of wonder and charm to the role of Bill Potts. Matt Lucas of course gets most the fun lines as Nardole, whose wry observations bring a welcome dash of mirth to the narrative. The Eaters of Light also features a great supporting cast: including Rebecca Benson (Kar), Daniel Kerr (Ban), Juwon Adedokun (Simon), Brian Vernel (Lucius), Ben Hunter (Thracius)), Arron Phagura (Marcus), Sam Adewunmi (Vitus), Billy Matthews (Cornelius), Jocelyn Brassington (Judy), and Lewis McGowan (Brother).

After discovering most of the Ninth Legion has been slaughtered by a “beast” known as the Eater of Light, Bill finds sanctuary with some of the surviving Roman soldiers. Meanwhile the Doctor and Nardole have found the remaining Pict warriors, the sole defenders against the Eaters of Light, whose weapons can refract and poison the light the monsters feed on. Their cairn holds the portal – where time flows more slowly – to the beast’s realm. Once in every generation, a lone warrior must enter to protect the gateway from an invading creature. Though they would survive only a few hours, it would be long enough to protect the world, but the Picts never suspected that each beast they battled was just the first of a deadly swarm that lurks beyond the portal.

It perhaps comes as no surprise that, much like The Empress of Mars which preceded it, The Eaters of Light also has a distinctly classic series feel about it. Charles Palmer’s excellent direction really makes the most of the impressive scenery. The episode is a bit low action in some places, but there is some great characterization, and the dark and atmospheric setting more than compensates for any lull in the overall pace of the story. This is an episode that once again has the Doctor and Bill separated for part of the story, so we get the Time Lord and Nardole teamed up for a bit, and the banter between them proves quite fun at times.

The Ninth Legion did really exist and they did disappear mysteriously. The Easters of Light is far from the first story in the programmes history to focus on such unexplained events. Real life mysteries have often provided the basis for many Doctor Who stories over the years: such as the inexplicable sightings of the Loch Ness Monster in Terror of the Zygons (1975), the extinction of the dinosaurs in Earthshock (1982), and Agatha Christie’s famous disappearance in The Unicorn and the Wasp (2008), are just a few examples where fact, mystery, and Doctor Who’s timey-wimey fictional world have collided with spectacular results. In the Easter of Light the Doctor’s companion Nardole also refers to the mystery of the Mary Celeste as he chats to the Picts when the Time Lord is absent for two days because of the time distortion while he’s investigating the portal. The abandoned Mary Celeste was found in the Atlantic Ocean in 1872, an enduring enigma, it has never been solved, but the 1^st Doctor (William Hartnell) adventure The Chase (1965) had the Daleks appearing briefly on board the Mary Celeste which then frightened the crew into abandoning ship!

I really liked how the way the TARDIS can translate languages is woven into the story in The Eaters of Light. First discussed in The Masque of Mandragora (1976), when the 4^th Doctor (Tom Baker) explained to Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) how it is a ‘Time Lord gift’ that allows them to understand and interpret local languages. In the modern series its also become something linked to the TARDIS as well – which Bill quickly deduces in The Eaters of Light. It’s a moment that’s pivotal in getting the Roman and Pict survivors to put aside their differences and work together to fight the beast. Following the Doctor’s guidance, they mange to trap the beast at the gateway during daylight. Someone must stay and stop the monsters escaping until sunset. Because of the portals time dilation the Doctor believes only his Time Lord Physiology will enable him to complete the task, but the Kar and the last of the Ninth Legion overrule him and enter the gateway together to finally end this ancient battle and prevent humanity from being cast into darkness forever.

The Doctor offers no definitive explanation for the origins of the Eaters of Light; we get some idea of how these light-eating locusts can breach the dimensional cracks between worlds to feast on light. For the most part, the eponymous “beast” of the story only appears fleetingly.

Every hour of sunlight that feeds the monster makes the world darker by the moment. Striking from the shadows, the way it drains the light from its victims and hunts the humans is, initially at least, really effective. Sadly, when the monster finally appears in its entirety for the climatic final battle in the cairn, the CGI rendered creature isn’t that satisfying, which is rather disappointing considering all the effort that’s been put into establishing its threat to the world.

As the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole depart in the TARDIS leaving the remaining Picts to honour Kar’s memory, The Eater of Light has a wonderful coda featuring Michelle Gomez as the ever repentant Time Lady, Missy. It transpires she’s been on board during this adventure the whole time at the Doctor’s behest, doing maintenance on the TARDIS, and also observing their adventure – much to Nardole’s and Bill’s chagrin. We even get to briefly explore the complex nature of the Doctor’s relationship with Missy / the Master in an especially moving moment; and the dramatic tension Peter Capaldi and Michelle Gomez create here in this short scene is mesmerising.

Slightly ropey CGI monster effects aside, The Easters of Light is still an extremely good episode. Rona Munro’s script is bursting with pertinent themes and strong characterization for this final standalone episode of series ten, Capaldi, Mackie, and Lucas are all at the height of their game, and it’s all impressively directed by Charles Palmer. Now the stage is set first part of the big series finale World Enough and Time, and with the incredible ‘next time’ trailer also offering a glimpse of John Simm as the Master, and the original Mondasian Cybermen, I can’t wait to see what happens next!

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Doctor Who Series 10 New Iconic image featuring Missy & The Master!

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Bill Potts, Cybermen, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Series 10, Doctor Who Series 10 New Iconic image featuring Missy & The Master!, Doctor Who World Enough and Time, Doctor Who World Enough and Time review, John Simm, Matt Lucas, Michelle Gomez, Missy, Mondasian Cybermen, Nardole, New Missy and the Master Image, Pearl Mackie, Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The 10th Planet, The Doctor, The Master

The Master Returns in new iconic image featuring Missy & The Master

for the Season 10 Finale!

A new image has just been released for the Doctor Who series 10 finale, featuring Missy (Michelle Gomez) and the Master (John Simm) together for the first time. The pair are seen either side of the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) as they put their own chilling spin on the iconic poster image that previously accompanied Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor.

Simm is returning to Doctor Who as the Master for the first time since New Year’s Day 2010, when he was instrumental in brining about the Tenth Doctor‘s regeneration. Now the Master will come face-to-face with Missy, his own later regeneration, and battle the Doctor in the series’ two part finale which begins next weekend.The episodes also feature the return of the Cybermen – including the original Mondasian Cybermen, for the first time in over 50 years. Peter Capaldi’s 12^th Doctor is accompanied by Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) and Nardole (Matt Lucas) in an epic story that will change Doctor Who forever!

Doctor Who’s series finale begins with episode 11, World Enough and Time, at 6:45pm on Saturday 24 June on BBC One. It concludes on Saturday 1 July with episode 12, The Doctor Falls – an extended, 60 minute episode.

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Doctor Who The Pilot Review

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Bill Potts, Daleks, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Series 10, Doctor Who The Pilot Review, Jennifer Hennessy, John Simm, Lawrence Gough, Matt Lucas, Movellans, Nardole, Pearle Mackie, Peter Capaldi, Stephanie Hyam, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor, The Master, Time For Heroes

Doctor Who The Pilot

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

We’ve had two Christmas Specials and a hiatus between series, but now the waiting is finally over as Doctor Who’s tenth series gets underway with: The Pilot. Worlds collide when the Doctor meets Bill Potts! There’s a girl with a star in her eye, a race across the universe, and old enemies lurk in the shadows as Bill joins the Time Lord and Nardole on board the TARDIS for a whole new series of adventures in time and space!

Even though series ten will be a year of big changes for Doctor Who, with it being Stephen Moffat’s sixth and final year as Doctor Who show runner, and Peter Capaldi final season as the 12^th Doctor, The Pilot begins the series’ journey towards a new era with what is effectively a soft-reboot for the series, and of course the introduction of Pearl Mackie as the Doctor’s and Nardole’s new travelling companion – Bill Potts.

If you thought you’d have to wait for series eleven and Moffat’s successor as show runner, Chris Chibnall, to revamp Doctor Who, then you’d be mistaken, as Steven Moffat’s somewhat cheekily entitled series ten premier The Pilot actually turns out to be very effective and refreshing reboot of the series’ overall format. It ticks all the right boxes, there are lots of fun references for long term fans to enjoy, but just as importantly the episode also provides a good jumping on point for new viewers, and serves as a great introduction for the new companion Bill as she becomes embroiled in the Doctor’s madcap timey-wimey adventures.

Pearl Mackie makes a great debut as Bill Potts, a bright, geeky, twenty-something who lives with her foster mum, Moria (Played by Jennifer Hennessy, who also appeared as Valerie in the 10^th Doctor story, Gridlock, in 2007), Bill also works at the canteen in at St Luke’s University, in Bristol, where she’s fallen for a girl that she’s been serving extra sized portions of chips to in the canteen. There’s a scene were Bill looks in a box containing old photos of her late mother is also especially touching, it gives us further insight into Bill’s life, and is really well played by Mackie. Of course, The Pilot still has all of the familiar tropes that we’ve come to associate with the series – since its return in 2005 – when a new companion joins the TARDIS: such as a contemporary present day setting, with the explanation for the TARDIS being bigger on the inside than on the outside, and its chameleon circuit malfunctioning Police Box exterior, touching all the necessary bases. Indeed, Bill asks all the right questions, and some rather new and unexpected ones as well! Because of Bill, and in another first in the series‘ history, we also get to learn where the TARDIS toilet is located! While it might take Bill a little while to get to grips with the TARDIS and its amazing interior dimensions, she gets there eventually. Her first moments inside the TARDIS are a joy to behold, and Bill’s introduction makes the Doctor’s world feel all the more richer for her presence as she brings a very real sense of fun, innocence, and wonder along with her.

Naturally, it goes without saying that Peter Capaldi is as superb as ever. The Doctor is now giving lectures at the university, but what is the real reason for his mission on Earth? Capaldi’s eminent Professor becomes Bill’s tutor after he notices her sneaking into his lectures, there’s a great teacher / student dynamic between them, and Pearl Mackie’s scenes with Peter Capaldi are beautifully scripted as the Doctor and Bill explore the mystery of the strange puddle that’s far more dangerous and powerful than anyone could‘ve suspected. Following his appearance in the last two Christmas Specials, Matt Lucas also returns as the alien Nardole, and he’s been helping the Doctor investigate the mysterious Vault they seem to be guarding at the university. Nardole pops up intermittently over the course of the episode, but still has a key role to play, and he gets all the best jokes!

Superbly directed by Lawrence Gough (whose previous television work includes episodes of Misfits, Atlantis, and Endeavour), The Pilot sends the new TARDIS crew on frenetic chase across the world to Australia, before embarking on a voyage to the other side of the universe, and back again. There are a some scary moments with Heather (Stephanie Haym), the mysterious girl with a haunting connection to a liquid spaceship, strange pools of water prove deadlier than they seem, romance blossoms in a war zone, a Dalek battle – featuring the same three minute Friend From the Future scene which was originally shown during half-time of the FA Cup Final last April that announced Pearl Mackie‘s casting as Bill Pott’s – is another highlight and the exciting and emotional finale that will leave you eager to see where the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole’s adventures will take them next.

There are plenty of fun and nostalgic links to past to look out for in this episode as well. The Doctor’s study in the university is reminiscent of Professor Chronotis’ study at Cambridge from Shada (the abandoned story from the Classic series’ seventeenth season in 1979/ 80), framed pictures of River Song and the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan, adorn his desk, there’s even a pot filled with a collection of the Time Lord’s old sonic screwdrivers, and the “Out of order” sign on the TARDIS door is a nice throwback to the one used in The War Machines (1966). The Movellans, a race of robots that waged war on the Daleks, last seen in Destiny of the Daleks ( 1979), also make a blink-and-you’ll-miss- it appearance. The Pilot also has numerous hints towards the modern series as well, especially with its depiction of Bill’s everyday life, which seems reminiscent of Rose Tyler’s introduction in Rose (2005). Most notable though, is when the Doctor attempts to wipe Bill’s memories at the end of The Pilot, which clearly mirrors the moment when the 10^th Doctor took Donna Nobel’s memories away to save her life in Journey’s End (2008), but the Doctor’s change of heart and Bill’s subsequent avoidance of this fate uncannily resonates with previous companion Clara’s decision to erase the Doctor’s memories of her during the 2015 season finale: Hell Bent – a point accentuated further by the short inclusion of Murray Gold’s score for Clara’s theme.

But it is the closing moments of The Pilot after the next time trailer for Smile, where the addition of a tantalizing coming soon mini-trailer featuring none other the return of The Master himself, played by John Simm, that really provides the icing on the cake that elevates the excitement surrounding this new series to a whole new level. John Simm’s gave David Tennant’s 10^th incarnation of the Doctor a run for his money when he played the Master in 2007’s Utopia, The Sound of Drums, and The Last of the Time Lords, and The End of Time Parts 1 & 2 (Dec 25^th 2009 / Jan 1^st 2010). Simm’s return is even more thrilling because we also know Michelle Gomez is returning as Missy, so, thanks to the wonders of time travel it looks like Peter Capaldi’s Doctor will be confronting two incarnations of his old nemesis this series. If that wasn’t enough, the coming soon trailer also seems to provide a startling glimpse of Peter Capaldi’s Doctor swathed in even more regeneration energy than we‘ve seen in pervious trailers! Could this momentous event be happening sooner than we think, or are we just being teased?

Posing almost as many questions as it does answers, chiefly the mystery surrounding the vault that the Doctor and Nardole have been watching over at the university and why the Doctor wants to keep his true identity there a secret, The Pilot gets series ten off to a really exciting start. Boasting some impressive special effects, this fast-paced adventure has a decidedly more upbeat tone, along with an energetic sense of fun, and the Doctor even belts out a smattering of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on his electric guitar for good measure too. The Pilot makes the Doctor Who universe feel fresh and invigorated again, a palpable sense of anticipation has built up around this new series, and there is a great rapport between The Doctor, Bill, and Nardole. One things for sure, if the rest of series ten is as good as this episode we are going to be in for one hell of final jaunt around the universe with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor!

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Doctor Who Death In Heaven Review

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Chris Addison, Clara Oswald, Cybermen, Danny Pink, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Death In Heaven, Doctor Who Series Eight, Ingrid Oliver, Jemma Redgrave, Jenna Coleman, Kate Stweart, Michelle Gomez, Missy, Osgood, Peter Capaldi, Rachel Talalay, Samuel Anderson, Sanjeeve Bhaskar, Seb, St Paul's Cathedral, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The 12th Doctor, The Gate Keeper of the Nethersphere, The Master, The Nethersphere, UNIT

Death In Heaven

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

In 24 hours the human race will cease to exist. The Cybermen have invaded London, a new indestructible army built from humanity’s dead. Missy has been revealed as the Doctor’s arch nemesis, the Master! With Danny deceased, trapped in the Nethersphere, an impossible decision looms for Clara as the Cybermen close in. As the Cyber-Invasion spreads around the world, the Doctor joins forces with old friends, but can even the might of UNIT help the Doctor defeat this terrifying alliance between the Master and the Cybermen? The Doctor must his face the greatest challenge of all and difficult sacrifices will have to be made to save the world…

Death in Heaven concludes the exciting two-part series eight finale, as the Cyber-Invasion continues in this special hour-long episode, written by show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Rachael Talalay. Now that the secret of the “Promised Land” and Missy’s true identity has been revealed, the dark and ominous tone of this this action packed season finale kicks into high gear as Steven Moffat engineers the mother all showdowns for the Doctor and his UNIT allies as they battle the combined menace of Missy and the Cybermen.

While Clara tries to deceive the Cybermen that she’s really the Doctor, the Cybermen hidden in the Dark Water tanks at the 3W Institute begin to emerge onto the streets of London, where the Doctor, still reeling from discovering that Missy is his old enemy, the Master, can only look on helplessly as the Cybermen march past St Paul’s Cathedral towards the unsuspecting civilians. Missy encourages people to take selfies with the Cybermen, giving the concealed UNIT forces time make their move, but even though they capture Missy the dome of St Paul’s cathedral opens and 91 Cybermen take to the air – except for one that remains and explodes over London to unleash a deadly cloud of Cyber-Pollen. Missy gleefully informs the Doctor, Kate Stewart, and Osgood the Cybermen will target the other key areas of significant population density in the UK to spread the Cyber-Pollen – something the Cybermen are now doing simultaneously on a global scale in every town and city around the world. As the dark clouds gather over graveyards, funeral homes, and mortuaries, the rain starts to fall and the Cyber-Pollen begins its heinous work – infusing the corpses of the dead and reanimating them as Cybermen.

Steven Moffat rounds off series eight of Doctor Who in fine style with Death in Heaven, building on the deeply unsettling premise established in Dark Water (Where all of Earth’s dead had been transformed into a Cyber-Army, their minds stored in the Nethersphere – a Gallifreyan Hard Drive – were their emotions are subsequently deleted before transplantation back into the Cybermen), to provide a harrowing and emotional roller coaster ride for the Doctor and Clara that will test their friendship to the limit.

Needless to say, Peter Capaldi is superb as the 12th Doctor in Death in Heaven. Here we see just how dark and uncompromising this incarnation can be, and Capaldi delivers an absolutely magnificent performance that will have you on the edge of your seat. Jenna Coleman is also brilliant as Clara Oswald, whose character has constantly evolved over the course of series eight, and the culmination of the events and decisions Clara ultimately makes in Death in Heaven makes this arguably one of Coleman’s best episodes to date.

Death in Heaven also marks the welcome return of UNIT to help the Doctor fight the Cybermen and Missy. Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor has constantly voiced his dislike of the military since his regeneration, which creates a really interesting dynamic here as he’s forced to work alongside the Brigadier’s daughter, Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), together with Ossgood (Ingrid Oliver), now sporting an 11th Doctor style bow tie instead of the 4th Doctor scarf she wore in The Day of the Doctor (2013), and Colonel Ahmed (Sanjeev Bhaskar). The Time Lord takes to the skies as the newly appointed President of Earth, where he is given control of the worlds military forces and is expected to coordinate their retaliation against to the Cyber-Invasion.

Its good to see Jemma Redgrave return as UNIT’s chief scientific advisor Kate Stewart, she gets some really powerful scenes alongside the Doctor, even confronting the Cybermen in London where she throws the head of an Invasion style Cybermen – that originally featured in The Invasion (1968) – at the feet of their new counterparts to make her point. When Kate brings the Doctor, the TARDIS, and the captured Missy to a special UNIT aircraft that serves as its secret mobile headquarters (just like her father Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart used in The Invasion), there’s a great scene where the Doctor notices a portrait of Kate’s late father – its a fleeting moment; and one which resonates poignantly with events later in the episode.

Samuel Anderson gives a particularly moving performance in Death in Heaven as Clara’s boyfriend, Danny Pink, the former soldier turned Maths teacher, sent to the Nethersphere after he died, where Missy’s conniving assistant, Seb, sinisterly played by Capaldi’s The Thick of it co-star Chris Addison, now explains to Danny that he – along with the other minds of the recently deceased stored in this Gallifreyian data cloud – are about to be sent back from what they believed was the afterlife with an added upgrade…

Transformed into a Cyberman, the moment where Danny awakens in the Chaplet Funeral Home is genuinely chilling. He saves Clara from the Cybermen at the 3W Institute and takes her to a graveyard, where Danny’s role becomes even more vital, and the groundwork already established earlier in the series really comes to the fore. The traumatic event that caused Danny to leave the army, when he accidentally killed a young boy (Antonio Bourouphael), continues to haunt him in Death in Heaven while his love for Clara remains undiminished, despite her lies, and she becomes his guiding light as he later confronts the most heartrending decision of all.

The army of Cybermen created from the remains of every human being that ever died, is a deeply unsettling concept, and one from which Steven Moffat skilfully wrings every ounce of horror from as we witness Clara stumbling through a graveyard just as the Cybermen begin to rise from the graves. Danny’s Cyber-resurrection in the mortuary is another scary scene that’s sure to send a few chills down the spine before the realisation of who he actually is begins to sink in. The Cyber-Pollen is perhaps the most grotesque use of cyber-technology that we’ve ever seen in Doctor Who, used to weaponise the dead, the Cybermen have created the ultimate form of Cyber-Conversion, and the way its implemented in this episode is truly horrific. These Cybermen also have a new ability, the power of flight, and their chest units emit a scanning beam to try and validate Clara’s identity when she tries to buy herself more time by pretending to be the Doctor – a witty subterfuge that cleverly spills over into the opening titles of the episode to keep us guessing.

It doesn’t take Missy long to orchestrate her escape, she ruthlessly kills Osgood, and summons the Cybermen to attack the plane mid-air. I was really surprised when Osgood was killed, and the senseless nature of her sudden death left us with no doubt just how evil and manipulative Missy can be. When the Doctor confronts Missy he’s horrified by what she’s done to Osgood, but when the Doctor receives a call via the TARDIS from Clara whose just discovered that Danny is a now a Cyberman, Missy finally reveals that she was the one that originally gave Clara the phone number to the Doctor’s TARDIS in The Bells of St John (2013), and she also put advert in the paper in Deep Breath (2014). Missy is the person who brought the Doctor and Clara together, the control freak and the man that should never be controlled, and the irony of her grand design to keep them together really hits home as the Cybermen tear into the fuselage, sending Kate Stewart plummeting to her doom before Missy teleports away and the plane explodes. The special effects used to bring us the Cybermen’s attack on the plane are stunning, the action doesn’t let up for a single moment, and the aftermath of the aircrafts destruction throws the Doctor into a nail biting freefall towards the TARDIS.

The gender reassignment for the Doctor’s old enemy, the Master, has given the renegade Time Lord a whole new lease of life as the gloriously twisted Mary Poppins-like incarnation known as Missy – the woman that we’ve seen welcoming the recently deceased in series eight after they’ve arrived in the faux afterlife of the Nethersphere. Michelle Gomez gives a wonderfully villainous performance as Missy, successfully channelling the sinister charm and menace of the Master with a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she revels in her evil scheme. The scene where she kills Osgood, initially taunting her, and then crushing her glasses underfoot after killing her is really cold. Missy’s scenes with the Doctor are the real highlight of Death in Heaven, especially when she taunts him about killing his friends and teases him with her claims that she actually knows the location of Gallifrey. The chemistry between Michelle Gomez and Peter Capaldi is positively electric, their verbal sparing perfectly captures the essence of the classic rivalry between these two characters, and it certainly makes for a fittingly epic confrontation between the 12th Doctor and this new version of the Master.

After using the TARDIS to reach the graveyard, where Clara is trying to activate Danny’s emotional inhibitor to end his suffering because even though he’s a Cybermen he has still retained his emotions, the Doctor is reluctant to help as he fears Danny will try and kill Clara after his emotions are deleted. The Doctor also needs to know what the rumbling storm clouds of Cyber-Pollen will do next, however, Danny informs him that in order to access the Cybermen’s hive mind his emotional inhibitor will have to be switched on. The Doctor reluctantly agrees and Clara tearfully says goodbye to Danny before using the sonic screwdriver to switch on the inhibitor. Danny reveals that a second rainfall is imminent, and this time all humanity will die and rise again as Cybermen. Missy teleports to the graveyard and offers the Doctor control of the Cyber-Army as a twisted birthday present for the Time Lord, so he can use them however he wants to save the universe from tyranny. Aghast that anyone should have such power, the Doctor rejects the offer, giving the control bracelet to Danny, whereby the former soldier takes command of the Cyber-Army and orders them to fly into the skies where they explode and destroy the Cyber-Pollen clouds.

These riveting final moments of the battle conclude with a furious Clara threatening to kill Missy with her own weapon, and she’s angry that the Doctor hasn’t done so before. The Doctor intervenes, saying he will kill Missy for her, but before he can act a lone Cyberman suddenly fires at Missy and vaporises her. The Doctor and Clara discover Kate Stewart unconscious on the ground nearby, she’s still alive, and was saved by the Cyberman. The moment when it suddenly dawns on the Doctor that the Cyberman that saved Kate is her father, the Brigadier, also resurrected by the Cyber-Pollen, is both haunting and deeply moving, and the Doctor’s farewell salute to his old friend before the Cyberman soars into the sky makes this beautifully poignant scene even more special.

Death in Heaven really shows what the Doctor and Clara are made of. We’ve seen over the course of series eight how both of them have been capable of making difficult choices that haven’t always necessarily rested easily with them, secrets and lies have also shaped and defined their adventures, so it is perhaps fitting that this series finale concludes with the Doctor and Clara not being entirely honest with each other. The coda that unfolds two weeks later as Clara meets with the Doctor to end her travels with him and say goodbye is tinged with sadness and deceit for both of them.

We know Danny found enough power in Missy’s bracelet to return to the living world, but Clara doesn’t tell the Doctor that Danny chose instead to send the young boy he accidentally killed when he was a soldier back in his place – sacrificing his last chance of being reunited with Clara – knowing she will help him put things right. Likewise, we see the Doctor take the TARDIS to the coordinates that Missy said were for Gallifrey – having claimed the planet had actually returned to its original location – only to find an empty region of space, where he flies into a furious rage inside the TARDIS at being given this glimmer of hope by his old enemy only to have it cruelly snatched away. After saying their farewells, unaware of the others lies, the Doctor’s solitary travels in the TARDIS are suddenly interrupted by a very unexpected and special Christmassy visitor…

I really liked how Dark Water and Death in Heaven were not quite as time twistingly complex as some of the previous season finales, instead we had the focus placed firmly on making it a more straightforward action-adventure, and I think that made these episodes all the more enjoyable. Sure, it’s not 100% perfect, few season finales ever are. The resolution to the cliff-hanger was initially a little stilted, with civilians taking selfies with the Cybermen, and I was really sad to see Oswin get killed. However, overall I thought Missy was an excellent foil for the Doctor, and the Cybermen were used effectively by the story and were really creepy in the graveyard scenes. Steven Moffat’s tense and exciting storyline was fast paced and skilfully brought all the elements of series eight together, and Rachel Talalay’s confident direction made this two-part series finale gripping viewing.

Death in Heaven was a great way to bring Peter Capaldi’s impressive first season as the 12th Doctor to a close. I’ve really enjoyed series eight, there’s been a great mix of stories, and the performances by Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman as the Doctor and Clara have been excellent. Samuel Anderson has also been exceptionally good as Danny Pink, and Michelle Gomez was superb as Missy. Peter Capaldi has completely won me over as the 12th Doctor, he’s proved to be a perfect choice for the role, and I can’t wait to see what happens next in the Christmas Special!

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Doctor Who Dark Water Review

Tags

Andrew Leung, Chris Addison, Clara Oswald, Cybermen, Danny Pink, Dark Water, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Dark Water, Doctor Who Series 8, Dr Chang, Jenna Coleman, Michelle Gomez, Missy, Peter Capaldi, Rachel Talalay, Seb, St Paul's Cathedral, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The 12th Doctor, The Gate Keeper of the Nethersphere, The Master, The Nethersphere

Dark Water

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

The finale begins… Somewhere, in the mysterious realm of the Nethersphere, a sinister plan has been devised. When the secret organisation known as 3W promises “death is not an end”, the Doctor and Clara must face the darkest day of all. Missy is about to meet the Doctor at last, soon an impossible choice has to be made, and it is during this blackest hour the Time Lord will confront his old enemies – the Cybermen!

Dark Water moves the action to the Nethersphere for the start of this two-part season finale, with a story written by show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Rachel Talalay. This deeply unsettling and dark episode doesn’t pull any punches as Moffat’s grand design for series eight begins to fall into place, tackling concepts of heaven and the afterlife as the mystery of the “Promised Land” is revealed – delving with unflinching clarity into the chilling life-after-death experiences that await in Dark Water when someone dies.

When Clara decides to phone Danny while he’s on his way to her flat, tragedy strikes, and Danny is struck by a car and killed. Some time later, while Clara’s Gran (Sheila Reid) is visiting her flat, the Doctor finally answers Clara’s telephone call. Hiding her grief, Clara deceives the Doctor to get the TARDIS to a volcanic world, before attempting to force the Doctor to help her change what happened and save Danny – throwing the TARDIS keys into the lava each time he refuses to comply. However, the sleep patches Clara believes she’d managed to subdue the Doctor with have actually been used by the Time Lord to send her into a dream-like state, one that allowed Clara’s grief stricken scenario to play out – albeit harmlessly inside the TARDIS console room – so the Doctor could see how exactly far she was prepared to go to save Danny.

Dark Water gets this two-part series finale off to a cracking start, with its harrowing opening scenes testing the Doctor’s and Clara’s friendship to breaking point. Peter Capaldi is magnificent as the 12th Doctor in this episode, he dominates every scene he’s in, and the sheer gravitas that Capaldi bring to his performance is utterly compelling. Jenna Coleman is also superb in Dark Water as Clara Oswald, whose role has now become so integral to the ongoing narrative of this eighth season, and this episode really rewards us with some major turning points for her character.

Samuel Anderson also returns as Danny Pink in Dark Water, and his sudden demise in the opening moments initially leave you wondering if that’s his lot. Danny soon himself being welcomed to the unsettling realm of the Nethersphere, just like so many before him this series. Samuel Anderson gives his strongest performance yet as Danny Pink, his anguish at discovering he’s apparently dead, is heartrending to watch, and over the course of this episode we also discover the terrible tragedy that caused him to leave the army. Chris Addison (Peter Capaldi’s co-star from The Thick of it) is also excellent as Seb, a being who exists inside the Nethersphere as Missy’s assistant, and there are some terrific scenes between Seb and Danny as the real nature of this otherworldly realm is gradually revealed.

In a brilliantly scripted moment between the Doctor and Clara by Steven Moffat, were even treachery and betrayal fails to diminish their timeless bond of friendship, the Doctor resolves to help Clara bring Danny back from whatever hereafter might exist. With the navcom offline, the Doctor has Clara use the telepathic interface to locate Danny (just like she did in the episode Listen), which brings the TARDIS to a foreboding mausoleum, where the individual tombs contain seated skeletal corpses immersed in a clear fluid.

On closer inspection, the Doctor and Clara discover the mausoleum is the 3W Institute, and following their initial encounter with Missy (Michelle Gomez), who pretends to be a multi-function interactive welcome-droid, they encounter Dr Chang (Andrew Leung) – using the psychic paper to establish the Doctor’s credentials in a way that humorously references Capaldi’s former well known role as the foul-mouthed Malcolm Tucker from The Thick of it – who offers Clara the chance to talk to Danny Pink, via signals the institutes founder, Dr Skarosa, discovered in broadcast white noise signals that are believed to be telepathic messages from the recently departed. The horrific nature of Dr Chang’s and Seb’s claims, that the dead remain conscious and fully aware of everything that’s happening to them, provides a ghoulishly disturbing afterthought that takes this episode into some of the darkest territory that has been explored so far over this course of this series.

The Cybermen make a dramatic return in Dark Water. Ever since they made their first appearance in the 1st Doctor’s final story, The Tenth Planet (1966), the Cybermen have become one of the Time Lord’s deadliest enemies. The Cybermen have undergone several upgrades over the years. This latest version of the Cybermen, which debuted in Nightmare in Silver (2013), are sleek, fast, and have the ability to quickly adapt and repair themselves. In Dark Water the Cybermen are in league with Missy, and this time they have ingeniously hidden in plain sight. The skeletal bodies, which Dr Chang explained to the Doctor and Clara as being held in a support exoskeleton and suspended in a “Dark Water” solution that makes the exoskeleton invisible, are really the Cybermen – their metal bodies hidden because inorganic material cannot be seen in the liquid.

Dark Water illustrates just how inhuman the Cybermen really are, perhaps more so than ever before, revealing how little organic mater actually remains within them to make the prospect of Cyber-Conversion seem even more grotesque, transcending the horrific loss of emotions and individuality, and taking the concept of body horror to the ultimate extreme as we realise how completely their victims humanity is stripped away.

The tombs seen in the 3W Institute are reminiscent of the Cybermen’s frozen tombs in the 2nd Doctor’s adventure, Tomb of the Cybermen (1967), and when the Cybermen are unleashed in Dark Water, director Rachel Talalay portrays a Cyber-Invasion that re-creates one of Doctor Who’s most iconic scenes from the 1968 story The Invasion, were the Cybermen also invaded London and marched past St Paul’s Cathedral. Impressive set designs, especially the doors and offices in both the Nethersphere and the 3W Institute, also carry subtle hints of Cyber-Design. Along with the chilling scenes with the skeletons in the tanks, the impressive visual effects also give us our first glimpse inside the Nethersphere itself as Danny contemplates the afterlife.

Having established contact with the Nethersphere the Doctor leaves Clara to talk to Danny in the 3W Institutes office, having prompted her to question Danny to make sure that its really him she’s speaking too, while he goes with Dr Chang to investigate the tombs and finds that Missy is waiting for them. While a distraught Danny faces a fateful decision, one that will delete his pain and thereby all his emotions, Missy kills Chang and gives the command to drain the tanks and release the Cybermen. The Nethersphere is revealed to be a Gallifreyan Hard Drive that is actually contained within the 3W Institute itself, where the memories of the dead have been stored so their emotions can be removed before they are transplanted into the Cybermen in the tanks. The Doctor races outside where he is shocked to find himself standing outside St Paul’s Cathedral in present-day London. The Time Lord desperately tries to warn the civilians to flee the area as the Cybermen emerge, but there is one more surprise in store for the Doctor as Missy finally reveals her true identity…

Michelle Gomez gives a mesmerising performance as the villain known as Missy, or perhaps we should say Mistress… Yes, the big reveal of the identity of this mysterious Mary Poppin’s like character that has been welcoming the recently deceased to the Promised Land (one of the many names the Nethersphere is known by) over the course of this season, finally happens in Dark Water. Missy is The Master, the renegade Time Lord and arch enemy of the Doctor! Now the Master is back, as a new female version of the classic villain, having forged a frightening alliance with the Cybermen that will take advantage of mankind’s biggest weakness – the fact that the dead outnumber the living – to strike against humanity in the most horrific way imaginable. The Master’s love of disguises is also utilised in this story, when Missy pretends to be a multi-function interactive welcome-droid, and she even kisses the Doctor at one point!

Michelle Gomez and Peter Capaldi both give incredible performances in Dark Water, the chemistry between them is brilliant, and this episodes cliff-hanger sets up a fittingly epic confrontation between the Time Lord and Time Lady that is sure to keep us on the edge of our seats. With its dark themes, excellent performances all round, great story by Steven Moffat, and taut direction by Rachel Talalay, the first instalment of this two-part series finale is an exciting and thought provoking episode. Dark Water certainly lives up to all the hype, it was great to see the Cybermen return to the series in a more prominent role as well, and I look forward to discovering the full extent of the Master’s grand plan in the concluding part of the series eight finale: Death in Heaven.

Images Belong BBC

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Doctor Who Classic Sereis The Sea Devils

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3rd Doctor, Doctor Who, island prison, Jo Grant, Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, Roger Delgado, Royal Navy, Sea Devil, Sea Fort, Season Nine, The Doctor, The Master, The Sea Devils, UNIT

The Seas Devils

Review by Paul Bowler

The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Jo (Katy Manning) decide to visit their old enemy, the Master (Roger Delgado), who has been imprisoned on an island prison off the south coast of England. After learning from the governor, Colonel Trenchard (Clive Morton), that ships have gone missing in the area, the Doctor decides to investigate and visit’s Captain Hart (Edwin Richfield) at the Naval base, where he discovers that all the ships have all disappeared in the vicinity of an old abandoned Sea Fort. The Doctor and Jo take a boat out to the fort and are attacked by a Sea Devil, an amphibious species, who once ruled the Earth in prehistoric time alongside their Silurian cousins.

Realizing that the Master is behind the theft of equipment at the Naval base, and was assisted by Trenchard, the Doctor tries to stop the renegade Time Lord from escaping, but he is too late to stop him from reviving the Sea Devils from hibernation. After narrowly escaping a Sea Devil on the beach, the Doctor and Jo escape through a mine field. Returning to the Naval base to warn Captain Hart, they lean that a submarine has gone missing. Determined not to make the same mistakes as he did with the Silurians, the Doctor uses a diving bell to reach the Sea Devils underwater base, but his attempts to find a peaceful solution are dashed when the Navy are ordered to attack the base with depth charges.

The Doctor helps the crew of the submarine escape and they return to the surface, but he is captured again when the Sea Devils attack the Naval Base. Back at the Sea Devils base the Doctor sabotages the Master’s machinery, the Sea Devils turn on them both, but they manage to escape before the underwater base is destroyed by a huge explosion. When they return to the surface the Master uses a disguise to distract everyone so he can escape in a hovercraft.

The Sea Devils (1972) sees the Doctor and Jo teaming up with the Royal Navy and Captain Hart for this sea faring adventure. Satisfied the Master is still under lock and key, the Doctor sets out to uncover the mystery surrounding the missing ships, and soon enlists the help of Captain Hart. This story was made with the help of the Royal Navy and so it naturally features a number of vehicles: including a motor boat, a diving bell, speedboats, and even a hovercraft – as well as a considerable amount of stock footage showcasing ships, submarines, helicopters, and footage of depth charges being detonated.

Jon Pertwee is right in the thick of the action as the 3^rd Doctor, battling Sea Devils one moment, and quickly seeing through the Masters deception the next. Katy Manning plays the ever resourceful Jo Grant, who keeps her cool even when they are stranded on the Sea Fort, and helps the Doctor escape from the prison after Trenchard’s treachery is revealed. Together the Doctor and Jo make a fantastic team, nevermore so than here, when their quick thinking and tenacity helps them keep one step ahead of the Master’s plans.

The Sea Devils themselves are one of the most distinctive monsters from the 3^rd Doctor’s era, director Michael Bryant slowly build up the suspense, using innovative camera angles and unnerving close-ups to maintain the mystery surround the creatures until the Doctor finally meets one face-to-face on the Sea Fort. As a race the Sea Devils are portrayed as highly intelligent creatures that are as agile on land as they are at sea. When the Doctor meets with their leader his peacemaking attempts are foiled by the Master, who has managed to convince the Sea Devils that man is weak, and goads them into starting a conflict with the humans anyway.

Few could forget the iconic moment when the Sea Devils rise from the sea. It’s a brilliant scene, one that still has a great impact, really building the excitement as the creatures shamble ashore. The design of the Sea Devils is very striking, and their attack on the Naval Base shows just how quick and deadly they can be as their quickly overwhelm the base. Despite his best efforts, the Doctor fails to convince the Sea Devil’s leader to break off their attacks, and he is left with no choice but to cause the power systems of their undersea base to overload – with The Doctor and the Master managing to escape to the surface before it explodes.

After being captured at the end of The Daemons (1971) the Master makes a welcome return in The Sea Devils. He effortlessly runs rings around his jailer, Trenchard, manipulating the pompous fool with malicious glee before Trenchard’s own misguided treachery leaves him at the mercy of the Sea Devils when they attack the prison to free the Master. The Sea Devils features one of Roger Delgado’s best performances as the renegade Time Lord, fiendishly plotting from his prison cell, causing havoc and chaos without hardy even stepping outside the room. There is a lovely scene where he switches on the television and smiles to himself a he watches The Rock Collector episode of the Clangers, he even jokes about the children’s programme to Trenchard, who fails to see the funny side, further exacerbating the Master and probably sealing his death warrant in the process.

The Sea Devils offers a real insight into the friendship the Time Lords once shared. It’s nice to see the Doctor’s genuine concern for his old enemy, even though their banter is still as barbed as ever, you get a sense of the great respect they still have for each other. Later, when the Doctor confronts the Master in his prison cell, he walks straight into a trap. What follows is a spectacular sword fight between the two Time Lords, its fantastic to watch as Pertwee and Delgado lock swords and duel, and every moment of this tense showdown is superbly choreographed. The 3^rd Doctor even takes time out to nibble a sandwich after he disarms the Master, before sportingly giving him back his sword, clearly enjoying every moment of this exhilarating confrontation.

This is a really good story, Michael Bryant’s direction is superb, the production values are also extremely high, with the regular cast all giving great performances, and the excellent location filming really makes The Sea Devils an extra special adventure. The only thing that mares the production is the somewhat bizarre electronic incidental music by Malcolm Clark, it works moderately well in the scenes set on the Sea Fort, but feels out of place and intrusive for much of the story. The Sea Devils is one of the most visually striking adventures from Season Nine, featuring some of the series most classic moments, and remains one of the best stories from the 3^rd Doctor’s era.

Doctor Who Classic Series The Daemons

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3rd Doctor, Azal, Bok, Captain Mike Yates, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Classic Sereis, Jo Grant, John Levene, Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, Nicholas Courtney, Richard Franklin, Roger Delgado, Season Eight, Sgt Benton, The Brigadier, The Daemons, The Master, UNIT

The Daemons

Review by Paul Bowler

Strange mystical forces seem to be gathering around the village of Devil’s End where an ancient barrow is being investigated by Professor Horner (Robin Wentworth). The archaeological dig at the barrow is also being filmed be a television crew, who intend to show live coverage of the event on BBC Three as the Professor attempts to breach the inner chamber at the stroke of midnight. Alarmed by what forces the Professor might unleash, the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Jo Grant (Katy Manning) travel to Devil’s End to stop the dig but arrive too late, and the Professor and the Doctor are both enveloped in a freezing blast of energy from inside the barrow.

With the Professor dead and the Doctor frozen in ice, Jo seeks help from the villages. Having seen everything happen on TV, Captain Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) and Sgt Benton (John Levene) take the Brigadier’s helicopter to Devil’s End to go and help Jo and the Doctor. After they arrive the Doctor quickly recovers, leaving them free to explore the village, and together with the help of the white witch Mrs Hawthorn (Damaris Hayman), they discover that the local vicar – Mr Magister – is really the Master  (Roger Delgado) who has been using black magic rituals to summon the monstrous Azal to the cavern beneath the church. The Doctor explains that Azal is the last of a race of beings known as the Daemons, their super science is so powerful is appears to work like magic, and their spaceship is actually miniaturized inside the barrow itself.

By tapping into the Daemons powers the Master has gradually twisted the village’s minds, forcing them to serve him, while Azal generates a heat barrier around the Devil’s End to keep the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) and the rest of UNIT from entering the village. Each time the Master summons Azal the Daemon’s energies continue to build, until he states that Earth is a failed experiment by his people, and that he will either bequeath his power to a worth  successor or destroy the world.

As the Brigadier and his team race against time to build a machine to break through the heat barrier, the Doctor has to rescue Jo from the Master before he sacrifices her to Azal so he can claim the Daemon’s power.

The Daemons (1971) is the jewel in the crown of the Eighth Season of Doctor Who. Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning are now fully established in their roles, they make a fantastic team, and Jo continues to prove how resourceful she is by coping so well when the Doctor is frozen in ice. The 3^rd Doctor may come across as slightly arrogant and rude at the start of this story by Guy Leopold (which was actually a pseudonym for Barry Letts and Robert Sloman), but his haste to get to the dig is soon balanced out by his resolve to help the villages escape the Masters influence. The Daemons is one of those Doctor Who stories where the story and special effects all come together to make a truly remarkable adventure, and offers a clever juxtaposition between science and magic. This is also one of the finest UNIT stories, and is full of classic moments. Katy Manning also has a pivotal role to play, as it is Jo’s willingness to sacrifice herself to stop Azal killing the Doctor that ultimately turns the Daemon’s own power against him – with explosive results!

Christopher Barry directs this adventure with a real flair for the darker aspects of the story, particularly during the spooky opening sequence, and later staging some spectacular chase scenes between Bessie and the Helicopter, as well as the moment when UNIT finally breaks through the barrier to attack the church – which is being guarded by the living statue Bok.

The gargoyle Bok (Stanley Mason) is one of The Daemons best examples of how magic and science are used to play on everyone’s deep rooted fears and superstitions in this story. While Azal remains unseen for much of The Daemons, it is Bok who acts as the emissary of the Master’s power, flying from scene to scene, dealing death and destruction to anything that stands in its way. Bok is also responsible for one of the Brigadiers most memorable lines in Doctor Who, when he sees the creature for the first time and says: “Jenkins… chap with wings there. Five rounds rapid!” Even when Benton shoots the gargoyle with a bazooka, it explodes and suddenly reassembles itself.

Azal’s presence in the story is often portrayed by waves of heat and ice as the creature shrinks and grows from its miniaturized spaceship, these have devastating effects, and one is even responsible for thawing out the Doctor after he was frozen. The poor Policeman who was left guarding the barrow is squashed flat by Azal as he stomps across the countryside, leaving a trail of giant cloven footprints that Yates and Benton spot from the air. The heat barrier is also a very clever part of the story, and well realized by simple visual effects, although one wonders why a creature as powerful as Azal would need such a thing when he can destroy the world so easily – he even implies that his people were responsible for destroying Atlantis as one point. When he does finally appear Azal (Stephen Thorne) is perhaps the weakest aspect of the story, the CSO is not very good, and so it was probably a good move to hold off revealing the Daemon’s appearance until the final episode.

Roger Delgado is absolutely wonderful as the Master in this story. The renegade Time Lord makes a perfect enemy for the Doctor, although he may have been overused in Season Eight, appearing in every story, The Daemons is undoubtedly one of the best Master stories of all time. Few Dr Who Villains have ever warranted a cliff-hanger of their own, but when the Master foolishly summons Azal when he is alone in the cavern, even the Master is left covering in fear as the giant Daemon lumbers towards him. Of course the Master is eventually captured at the end of this story, in a charming scene that makes a perfect end to one of Doctor Who’s best seasons.

Doctor Who Classic Series The Claws of Axos

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3rd Doctor, Axos, Classic Doctor Who, Doctor Who, Jo Grant, Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, Nicholas Courtney, Pigbin Josh, Roger Delgado, Season Eight, TARDIS, The Brigadier, The Claws of Axos, The Master, UNIT

The Claws of Axos

Review by Paul Bowler

As well as having to endure a security inspection at UNIT HQ by the pompous civil servant, Mr Chinn (Peter Bathurst), the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) is also visited by the American agent Bill Filer (Paul Grist) to discuss the threat posed by the Master (Roger Delgado) – but the meeting is soon thrown into chaos when an alien spacecraft is suddenly detected by the radar monitoring station. The spaceship lands next to the Nuton Power Complex, burying itself in the earth, where strange tendrils snake out and capture a tramp – Pigbin Josh (Derek Ware) – who stumbles onto the scene and gets dragged inside the living vessel for analyses.

The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Jo Grant (Katy Manning) travel to the crash site with the UNIT team to investigate the spacecraft, they are joined by Hardiman (Donald Hewlett) and Winser (David Savile) from the power plant, and together they enter the alien ship where they meet the golden skinned crew – the Axons. The Axons leader (Bernard Holley) says that their ship, Axos, has been badly damaged by a solar flare and needs repairs. The Axons offer the world a substance called Axonite which humanity could used to make animals grow rapidly, demonstrating the effects on a small toad, before stating that Axonite could eradicate the worlds food shortages.

Ignoring the Doctor’s misgivings, Chinn soon begins to arrange for the world wide distribution of Axonite, unaware that the Master is a prisoner of Axos, and that Bill Filer has also been captured and duplicate by the Axons to help them capture the Doctor. The Axons true form, a horrific mass of shambling orange tentacles, is revealed when they attack the reactor at the power complex. Having been captured by Axos and forced into revealing the secrets of time travel to prevent Jo being aged to death, the Doctor joins forces with the Master and uses the TARDIS to snare Axos inside a time loop. The Master manages to escape and the Doctor returns to Earth, the TARDIS materialising in the ruins of the Nuton Power Complex, and sheepishly has to explain his actions to his friends – the Time Lords having programmed the TARDIS to always return to Earth to ensure the Doctor remains exiled.

The Claws of Axos (1971) is the first televised set of script by writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin, although you’d never realizes it, with director Michael Ferguson and the production team doing an excellent job of realizing every aspect of this hugely ambitious story. Jon Pertwee is brilliant as the Doctor, his contempt for the pen pushing Mr Chinn quickly puts the civil servant in his place, and the Doctor isn’t easily fooled by the Axons offer either. He works closely with UNIT throughout much of this story, relying on the Brigadier to keep the situation under control while he attempts to study the sample of Axonite. Never one to follow orders, Jo Grant is the first to see the Axons true form, and after being captured with the Doctor she is tortured by Axos to make the Time Lord divulge his secrets. Katy Manning is brilliant as Jo, particularly when trying to escape the psychedelic interior of Axos with the Doctor as the organic ship convulses violently around them; and her unwavering faith in him – even when he apparently sides with the Master – is justified when the Doctor returns and reveals that it was all just a ploy to defeat Axos.

Stunt team HAVOC have a field day with The Claws of Axos. The scripts offer the opportunity for plenty of gun battles with the marauding Axons, with their explosive tendrils killing UNIT troops, as well an impressive showdown in the Nuton Power Complex. There is one fantastic scene where Captain Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) and Sgt Benton’s (John Levine)  jeep is attacked  by Axons, who jump on the vehicle as Yates and Benton bail out – an explosive stunt by HAVOC ends with the jeep careering into a field as it bursts into flames.

The Axons themselves are a remarkable concept. We learn that these golden beings and their vessel are actually one and the same, originating from a planet on the far side of the galaxy, who travel the universe plundering the life force of other worlds to survive. Their ship is like a great parasite, feeding off other planets, with each part of Axos, including the golden humanoids and their ghastly depersonalised forms, and even the ocular nerve centre of the vessel are all conjoined by a bizarre kind of symbiosis with the chameleon element Axonite – a process by which these aliens can absorb and manipulate any form of energy they encounter. The Axons true appearance resembles a gnarled mass of orange roots, a stark contrast to their beautiful golden forms; these misshaped monstrosities are often filmed in slow motion – giving them a really threatening presence as they lumber around.

This story features some fantastic model shots as well as some great location work that really helps establish the exterior scenes outside Axos after the spaceship lands. When the location shooting experienced changeable weather conditions, a line about freak weather and snow surrounding the area where Axos landed had to be written into the story.  These scenes also feature the hilarious antics of Pigbin Josh, a poor rambling old tramp who becomes Axos’ first victim, suffering a horrible death after being foolish enough to try and investigate the spacecraft. The voice of Axos is also provided by Bernard Holley, who plays the Axon leader, and he effortlessly conveys the ruthless nature of Axos as the omnipresent entity issues commands from its all seeing command centre.

Season Eight sees the UNIT family fully established, with Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks also introducing the renegade Time Lord the Master played by Roger Delgado. The Master would feature as the main villain in every story of Season Eight, often working behind the scenes, and manipulating others to do his bidding. However, in trying to forge an alliance with Axos the Master has unwittingly become a prisoner himself. Seizing his opportunity to escape, the Master uses his hypnotic abilities and clever disguises to break into the Nuton Power Complex so he can steal the Doctor’s TARDIS and leave Earth.

When the Doctor and Joe escape Axos they return to the Nuton Power Complex, where the Doctor decides to work with the Master to defeat Axos. This leads to some wonderful scenes as he Doctor and the Master struggle to get the TARDIS console in working order, this is the first time we have seen the TARDIS interior since The War Games (1969), and its great fun to see the sparkling banter between Pertwee and Delgado as they prepare to dematerialise. Naturally the Doctor saves the day by trapping Axos in a time loop, but he’s unable to prevent the Master from escaping again.

The Claws of Axos is an immensely exciting story, filled with terrific performances and good special effects; it includes all of the classic elements that made the third Doctor’s era so successful. With its memorable aliens, contemporary Earth setting, and some great action sequences, The Claws of Axos is one of the eighth season’s best stories.