Christian Cawley's Blog, page 28
December 20, 2015
Reaktion Round-Up: What You Thought of The Zygon Invasion
David Power is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
I wish I hadn’t used the “let zygons be zygons” joke in last week’s Reaktion Round-Up, as I’ve been sitting here for quite awhile now trying and failing to come up with a joke with “Zygor” in it. Anyway, it’s time to hear what you all thought of the first part of Peter Harness’ zy-gore filled episode! (I tried, okay?)
Best of Series 9 – so far at least 22.78% (64 votes)
Accept no imitations: brilliant stuff! 41.99% (118 votes)
Undecided until The Zygon Inversion 24.91% (70 votes)
What was all the fuss about? 6.76% (19 votes)
Actually worse than Kill the Moon. How is that possible?! 3.56% (10 votes)
I think we’ve come to realise that we’ve given Peter Harness a bit off a harsh time. I don’t know about you guys, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled when it was announced Peter Harness was returning to write for Series 9. 2014’s Kill the Moon did not leave a good taste in my mouth, so I was apprehensive about this one. And yet I thought this episode was actually really enjoyable.
I realised recently that what UNIT was missing during Series 1-6 was a face. We never really had anyone to look forward to when UNIT arrived, just a random general inevitably saying they’ve read the Doctor’s file. But as of 2012 onwards, we now don’t just have a face, we have a whole new UNIT family! Returning faces for this episode includes Kate Stewart, Osgood(s), and Jac. (Anyone know what happened to that McGillop fellow from The Day of the Doctor?)
This was quite a different episode of Who than normal eh? I felt like it wouldn’t be out of place as a 6 part Pertwee serial. Very politically fuelled, but still enough goofiness to make it still feel like Who. Only Doctor Who would have an intense chase scene in a playground. That being said, not all of it hit fully for me. That scene with the soliders outside the chapel? I got what it was trying to do, but it was written so poorly and without common sense that I spent most of the time arguing with the tv.
Yet again this season the ratings weren’t great. The overnights dropped from 4.34m to 3.87m, but I think it’s fair to say that Halloween parties may have taken priority away from Who (I know it did for me!). Overalls decreased from 6.11m for The Woman Who Lived to 5.76m for The Zygon Invasion. At 6.49m for L+7 (people who watched live and all repeats, including iPlayer, within seven days following broadcast), it’s the lowest L+7 so far this season. The Appreciation Index score rose one from the preceding week, from 81 to 82.
What did the K-readers think?



So, check back soon for your guys’ opinion of the the second sucker spectacular!
The post Reaktion Round-Up: What You Thought of The Zygon Invasion appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
December 19, 2015
Which Doctor Who Episodes Are On Over The Festive Period?
Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Doctor Who and, no, we’re not talking about River and her domestics with the Twelfth Doctor, there’s a veritable sack load of Doctor Who episodes on over the festive period in the UK.
Well, of course there’s the Twelfth Doctor’s Christmas Day exploits but there’s also adventures featuring Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor, David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor, and Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor!
And thanks to the Radio Times (I know, who would have thought you’d get TV listings from the Radio Times) you could literally spend all Christmas watching Doctor Who!
Tis indeed the season to be jolly!
Highlights include a fair share of the Tenth Doctor’s exploits from Series Three on Watch on Sunday 20th December, the Fourth Doctor’s battles with a robot labour force in The Robots of Death over on The Horror Channel via Freeview on Monday 21st December, the classic The Talons of Weng Chiang again over on The Horror Channel and featuring a Deerstalker clad Fourth Doctor on Tuesday 22nd December, and on Wednesday 23rd December why not join the Tenth Doctor and relive the thrills of Series Four over on Watch?
Then there’s the big days themselves; other than the mad dash to find that Turboman doll you’ve heard all about, there’s also a big helping of Who on Christmas Eve – why not catch up with some of the fun you may have missed in the preceding days? Series Four on Watch? Yep. Talons of Weng Chiang on the Horror Channel? You bet! Let the Christmas madness fade away as you board the TARDIS in some of the shows best adventures.
It’s Christmas Day! No you haven’t missed it, those spirits were good to their word and, while that may mean a trip to the Cratchit’s house (you reformed old miser), it also means a veritable shed load of Who too!
Of course there’s The Husbands of River Song but you can also settle in with the post dinner blot by watching all of the Tenth Doctor specials on Watch and the Fourth Doctor’s perhaps more special serial The Horror of Fang Rock on, suitably enough, the Horror Channel.
And finally on Boxing Day, put the Turkey sandwiches to one side and catch up with the debut series of the Eleventh Doctor over on Watch?
You can see the full list of Doctor Who episodes over the festive period over at the Radio Times.
The post Which Doctor Who Episodes Are On Over The Festive Period? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Steven Moffat on River Song: “There’s No Way to Kill Her Off”
Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
River Song may have been missing from our screens for a while but now she’s back, Steven Moffat wants her around for good.
Speaking at the press conference for this year’s Christmas special The Husbands of River Song, Moffat was asked whether this would be the last time fans would see the feisty archaeologist.
“Look, I killed her off in her first adventure, I wrote her as a ghost in another adventure, I wrote her into some mini episodes in a DVD – which was definitely her last appearance. There is no way to kill her off, she was dead in the first place,” he explained.
This year’s special marks the first time she’s met Peter Capadi’s Twelfth Doctor, and Moffat went on to add that River’s character stays the same regardless of which version of the Doctor she encounters.
“I think she’s always River and I don’t think she pays that much attention to which face he’s wearing. When she finishes an adventure I don’t think she remembers which one it was, it doesn’t matter – he is the Doctor – and she treats him sort of the same way as essentially fantastic, wonderful, the man she loves and slightly junior to her.”
Also at the press shindig was River herself, Alex Kingston, added that despite not altering her personality with each Doctor, she is very much her own person.
“I think that the way she treats the Doctor in this episodes, when she doesn’t realise who he is, I think is sort of quite indicative of who she is,” she said. “It’s just that we haven’t gotten to see her very often playing outside of being with the Doctor.”
And what of the newly united pair? What can we expect from the lighter, festive episode?
“I actually enjoy doing comedy and I don’t get that much opportunity, so to have a chance to do such a rollicking – like an old Hollywood comedy, the relationship between the two of us, it was just fantastic to have that opportunity.”
The Husbands of River Song is on BBC One on Christmas Day at 5.15pm.
The post Steven Moffat on River Song: “There’s No Way to Kill Her Off” appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Out Now: Doctor Who Magazine Yearbook 2016
Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
Out now the 100-page Doctor Who Magazine Yearbook 2016 featuring all new material from the likes of Steven Moffat, Michelle Gomez, and Ingrid Oliver.
There are also contributions from writers Mark Gatiss and Sarah Dollard, producer Derek Ritchie and directors Daniel O’Hara and Edward Bazalgette.
Elsewhere in the issue, Peter Capaldi shares his recollections of the now iconic Abbey Road photoshoot, there’s a glimpse behind the curtain of November’s Doctor Who Festival and the yearbook pays homage to those luminaries who’ve passed away in 2015.
Editor Marcus Hearn said:
“Peter Capaldi’s second series contains some of the greatest moments in the show’s history, but we’ve also explored many other corners of the Doctor Who universe. We’ve included as much as we can from a diverse year – everything from The Underwater Menace to Doctor Who: The Fan Show.”
Doctor Who Magazine: The 2016 Yearbook is out now priced £5.99 (UK) and $11.99 (US)
The post Out Now: Doctor Who Magazine Yearbook 2016 appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Ashildr’s on Radio 1 on Christmas Day. Sort Of.
Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
What’s everybody doing on Christmas Day? Watching Doctor Who, yeah? Good stuff. Except Ashildr/Me/Mayor Me/Me Again will be on Radio 1 for anyone deciding that they’d prefer to listen to some soothing music.
Well, music at any rate. It’s Radio 1. Probably won’t be soothing at all.
Maisie Williams, best-known for Game of Thrones, but she also played an immortal Viking throughout Doctor Who Series 9, will be playing her favourite recent tracks (apart from Jess Glynne and Adele – the latter played endlessly for some reason – I’m clueless), as well as a collection of festive frivolities. She’d better not play that terrible Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews number.
Throughout the special day, Radio 1 will be manned by ‘superstars,’ some of whom you might’ve heard of. The schedule, thanks to Radio Times:
1-2pm: One Direction
2-3pm: Demi Lovato
3-4pm: Troye Sivan
4-5pm: Little Mix
5-6pm: Maisie Williams
6-7pm: The Vamps
Which is kind of sad, isn’t it? They’re excluding a considerable part of the audience by playing Maisie Williams’ segment at the same time as Doctor Who. Madness.
Those guests will follow Greg James announcing the Christmas Number One. Greg was in the background of a scene in 2011’s Closing Time, looking at lingerie, don’t you know? Sorry, that’s all the trivia I have. This is Radio 1 we’re talking about. You’re lucky my attention span has lasted this – – –
The post Ashildr’s on Radio 1 on Christmas Day. Sort Of. appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
December 18, 2015
Writers Announced for Big Finish’s Fourth Doctor Series 6
Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
Series 5 of the Fourth Doctor Adventures hasn’t even debuted yet, but Series 6 of the Big Finish audio stories has already been recorded!
Starring Tom Baker as the Doctor, alongside Lalla Ward’s Romana and John Leeson as K9, the tales are still to be announced, but he company has revealed the writers who have forged out a new path for the TARDIS.
The run kicks off with a tale staring Jago and Litefoot (Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter), written by Justin Richards, while we’re also teased with two returning foes as Romana’s past catches up with her.
And there’s a new name to Big Finish: Adrian Poynton, creator of the BBC3 comedy, White Van Man, which co-stared Georgia Moffett (The Doctor’s Daughter – who actually is the Doctor’s daughter; Peter Davison’s, in fact. She’s also married to David Tennant). Poynton also appeared in the show, and wrote episodes of Trollied.
Cavan Scott (Titan Comics’ The Ninth Doctor) and Mark Wright (Who-ology) also pen an adventure, as do James Goss (Dead Air), Phil Mulryne (The War Doctor: Infernal Devices), and Jonathan Morris (Touched by an Angel).
Andrew Smith, writer of Full Circle, returns to the audio stories, and Marc Platt (Ghost Light) writes the two-part finale.
All four previous series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures are still available to buy as part of a range of money-saving Bundles, and Series 5 begins in January 2016.
The post Writers Announced for Big Finish’s Fourth Doctor Series 6 appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
NuWho 10th Anniversary: What Is Most Underrated Series 7A Story?
Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
This year, Doctor Who has been back on our screen ten whole years. It feels like yesterday that the TARDIS materialised once more; suitably, it also feels like forever.
So join us as we celebrate a decade with the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors. Let’s find out which serials are our favourites, and shine a light on the underrated ones too. Watch us run.
And then vote on your favourites. At the end of the year, we’ll find out which serials showcase our beloved show at the height of its game.
Daleks! Dinosaurs! Brian Williams! Yep, Series 7A certainly threw a lot of goodness at us. The last days of the Ponds saw them tackle a slow invasion, an alien cyborg looming over Mercy, the ruthless Solomon, the parliament of the Daleks… and culminating with those riskily Weeping Angels – in New York!
So join us, old friend, on the last page.
You know our favourites of Series 7A, but what’s the most underrated serial…?
Tony Jones: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
If Series 7A stories are mostly marking time between Asylum of the Daleks and the departure of the Ponds in Angels Take Manhattan there is one that still delivers in spades – Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. As Steven Moffat repeatedly said in the pre-publicity, the story is all there in the title.
This tale delivers on action: there is plenty of it. It may lead fans to speculation about Silurians in Space, but look also at the wonderful ensemble of characters (and note Big Finish has yet to grab any of these for a spin-off audio). There’s the evil Solomon played by David Bradley, he who would play William Hartnell in An Adventure in Time and Space, Rupert Graves’s Riddell and Riann Steele’s imperious Nefertiti. We even have a Mitchell and Webb appearance as two comedy robots! What’s not to love?
For those fans who want more than entertainment there was also plenty to worry over in the way the Doctor handled Solomon. The only weak link in this story was Amy and Rory, except of course they were the vessel by which Rory’s dad ended up in the story. Marvellous, bloody marvellous!
Andrew Reynolds: A Town Called Mercy
I love a good western; be it spaghetti, revisionist or a good old fashioned oater – there’s nothing finer than men in hats grumbling in single syllables pointing six guns at each other in the name of personal justice. And that’s nearly what we got here.
There was a brief moment where I thought we were going to get a proper take on the western genre; where tropes and archetypes were broken apart and reborn in a sci-fi guise without pastiche but, nope, the episode was a little too happy with its cyborg gunslinger and it all became a little uneven.
But there’s a lot that’s great here: the old fashioned western tropes of order battling chaos, civilisation and frontier peril, of desperate men looking for a second chance, and the unmistakable look behind their eyes that suggests they’ve done unspeakable things – all of which fit beautifully with what we’ve come to understand is the Doctor.
Here, where the greatest sacrifices are arguably made by the aliens – one decides to make the right decision and it costs him his life but, ultimately not his soul. The very thing the cyborg gunslinger wants back from the metal grafted onto his flesh. After all, it’s the Doctor (well, Dr. Jex at any rate) that says: “We all carry our prisons with us. Mine is my past. Yours is your morality.”
That’s the problem with the barren big country – you can’t lie about who are for long before someone calls you out.
Drew Boynton: The Power of Three
The Power of Three contains some of the best Doctor Who ever… at least in the first 20 minutes.
After that, it crashes and burns so badly that a person has to wonder if a) the budget suddenly ran out; b) part of the script accidentally got lost during filming; or c) UNIT censored the episode on a strictly “need to know” basis.
But those first 20 minutes! Great stuff: adventures with Amy and Rory, the Doctor trying to fit in to daily “boring” life, Kate Stewart making an appearance (Hey, it turns out she’s the Brig’s daughter!), and an intriguing and suspenseful mystery involving bunches and bunches of black cubes. This is absolutely one of the few episodes that I truly believe should have been a two-parter. The mystery involving the cubes is brilliant, but is totally wasted by a slap-dash finish. Has there ever been an alien menace that was so under-explained? And what in the world is going on with that creepy hospital – what is the whole story there?! And how was the ending ever approved – the Doctor waves the sonic screwdriver and everything is solved?! Ridiculous and frustrating.
But, man oh man, those first 20 minutes were amazing Doctor Who.
Katie Gribble: A Town Called Mercy
On the surface, it’s an adventure into the Wild West. In actuality, it’s a foray into the atrocities of war and injustice. The Gunslinger has been stalking Mercy for three weeks, stopping supplies and reinforcements entering the stricken town and holding it to ransom. However, the parts that stand out is when it plays with the simple binary of good and bad and reveals that it is not so simple. When waiting for morning to bring the Gunslinger into town, Kahler Jex tells the Doctor:
It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing. The mad scientist who made that killing machine or the physician who has dedicated his life to saving this town. The fact that I am both bewilders you.
This episode questions the nature binaries and proves that they do not always work. When the town was hit by cholera, Jex cured those in the town so that not a soul died from what was, in those days, a big killer for small towns in America. He rigged up rudimentary heating and lighting for the town and became a valued member of the community. Then everything changed with the arrival of the Gunslinger in Mercy. The Sherriff was prepared to temporarily ignore the past and see Jex as the man he had become. He was so much better than his past, but it now the past is back and has brought terror to the people of Mercy.
In his previous life, Jex argues that he was a war hero who saved millions of lives in building an army which quelled a nine year war in less than a week. What he doesn’t reveal is that he and his team took volunteers telling them they had been selected for special training. He then experimented on those poor souls, fusing their bodies with weaponry and programming them to kill. This is found out by the Doctor who is determined to see justice done. However, as in any Doctor Who story, justice does not come in any simple form.
Jex ultimately blows himself up, denying the Gunslinger the opportunity. In Kahler culture, when you die you climb a mountain carrying the souls of those you wronged. By choosing to die, Jex goes to that death. However, other episodes which deal with justice, this ending is problematic. Is it a positive thing that Jex killed himself and got rid of the problem that was terrorising both Mercy and the Gunslinger? Or should Jex have confronted the Gunslinger and received the justice he deserved? Despite having watched the episode countless times, I still cannot work out whether Jex’s suicide was the best outcome. I constantly find myself swapping between thinking he did the right thing to get rid of himself whilst relenting that the Gunslinger did not get his own justice.
Philip Bates: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
When it comes to the most underrated, I was going to plump for A Town Called Mercy but that’s also my favourite, so let’s go for variety here. Then it went to The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe, which didn’t especially impress me on Christmas Day 2011, but actually it’s a really beautiful, gentle, and ultimately Christmassy story. Or The Angels Take Manhattan, which almost criminally, no one at Kasterborous selected as their favourite…
But my heart tells me to go for Dinosaurs on a Spaceship because it’s fun, and people disregard fun stories. The Romans! Daft, witty, brilliant, and overlooked time and time again. Ditto The Unicorn and the Wasp. Dinosaurs, however, deserves a bigger look-in. Yes, it’s great fun, but it’s also surprisingly dark.
The Doctor goes through such remarkable extremes in this episode: ecstatic at seeing the dinosaurs, happily revealing he has a Christmas list, and then up close and threatening. And eventually mercilessly killing Solomon.
Even the death of Tricey is touching and dark.
There are three bits that really stick out to me. Brilliant writing, through and through. This line struck me as something wonderful that I can’t see any other protagonist saying, but it’s just perfect for the Doctor: “Don’t ever judge me by your standards.”
That ominous scene that demonstrates not only sublime acting, but also the ultimate sadness of Doctor Who, of the Doctor, of the nature of his travels with humans: “You’ll be there ’til the end of me.”
“Or vice versa.” (Turns out, they’re both right.)
And finally, the stunning scene with the TARDIS above Earth. At this time in their travels, the Ponds needed to know how special their days have been, and Brian’s there to remind them. But the thing that steals that scene (and breaks my heart in the process) is the Doctor joining Amy and Rory by the door. His sadness at the inevitable. He knows it’s coming to a close. He’ll miss them.
And I knew I would too. I still do.
Becky Crockett: The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe
A great riff on the classic C.S.Lewis title, but turned sci-fi just past the lamppost. The special is a light on the Doctor Who landscape after concluding a very twisty and complicated story arc through all of Series 6, with the many reveals and creepy monsters you can’t remember and a stark contrast to the darker and scarier Christmas special that would begin series 7B.
The episode is all at once serious and a bit sad but shows us the strength and love of a parent and gives us a wonderful happily ever after ending.
Jonathan Appleton: A Town Called Mercy
Toby Whithouse does love a good moral dilemma (check out the fabulous Being Human if you fancy being well and truly emotionally strung out…) and he plays it for all it’s worth here, none-too-subtle allusions to ‘crossing the line’ included (the Doctor’s crossing a line of stones, see…). There aren’t enough westerns on TV these days so I enjoyed all the familiar tropes of the genre and I like to think the youngsters watching would have been enjoying them for the first time.
I’m not sure that the moral dilemma of whether to hand over Kahler-Jex has quite enough legs to sustain the episode and it would have been welcome to have had some more twists along the way to liven things up, but full credit to the programme for giving us a story where there isn’t a clear-cut villain and for spending time exploring the murky shades of grey of its premise.
Joe Siegler: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
It’s just FUN! This isn’t going to be one of my longer reviews, because honestly, I wanted to end it after the word “fun”, but I know my editor won’t go for that.
Too many people are caught up in having Doctor Who “make sense”, be “plot worthy”, or the specific writing – “I don’t like Moffat, I don’t like this, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Too many people forget to remember that the show is supposed to be FUN, and this was a fun episode.
My reaction to it is basically the Doctor’s. “There’s Dinosaurs – ON A SPACESHIP!” If you want a little more than that, I got a kick out of Queen Nefertiti getting all hot and bothered over the Doctor, the gang the Doctor had, the bits with Brian, etc… Having Amy act almost like a Doctor herself is a bit of foreshadowing of what they did with Clara as “The Doctor” in Series 8/9.
The episode also had the First Doctor, William Hartnell… er… OK, it had David Bradley, who played Hartnell in the most excellent Adventure in Space and Time. Wasn’t much depth to the character really; he just existed to be defeated by the Doctor.
But I loved watching the Dinosaurs run around the ship. And that last scene with Brian having a coffee hovering over the Earth is just gold. I liked this story. Sue me if you don’t. (Don’t actually sue me.)
That’s what we think. Now it’s your turn! Vote below for the most underrated serial of Series 7A, and we’ll find out the overall winner later this year…
What Is Your Most Underrated Series 7A Story?
The post NuWho 10th Anniversary: What Is Most Underrated Series 7A Story? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Complete History Previews Issues 9, 10, and 11
Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
The next three issues of Doctor Who: The Complete History have been announced, and they’re a nicely varied – and in one case, surprising – bunch.
While Issue 8, featuring Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor in The Krotons, The Invasion and The Mind Robber, is out now, issues 9, 10, and 11 star Doctors Five, Eleven, and One: it’s the first volume released to focus on Peter Davison’s incarnation of the Doctor, but it’s also nice to see such a quick reappearance of the Eleventh and First Doctors too.
Issue 9 looks at Warriors of the Deep, The Awakening, and Frontios, a mixed bunch I think you’ll agree, but personally speaking, I enjoy them all. Yes, even Warriors of the Deep – mainly because it was great seeing the Silurians and Sea Devils together.
The Awakening is a neat little story with one of the most memorable foes in the form of the Malus, and Frontios… Well, I love Frontios. It’s such a strong, underrated tale. The book also includes an overview of the 1984 series.
The next issue, however, is a big surprise: The Day of the Doctor and The Time of the Doctor, rounding off the Matt Smith years. I thought they might keep that volume for either an anniversary date or maybe even as their final book, seen as it’s the monumental 50th anniversary adventure.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m pleased to be able to get my hands on it sooner rather than later; it was just a shock a bigger deal wasn’t made of it.
That volume also includes an overview of 2013, while Issue 11 has one on the 1965 series.
This First Doctor HC covers four wide-ranging stories, The Crusade, The Space Museum, The Chase, and The Time Meddler, which is about as mixed a bag as you can get. The Crusade is the only one of the four missing form the archives, while The Time Meddler is a classic, notable for being the first pseudo-historical, and the debut of the Meddling Monk.
The Space Museum is an oddity, but enjoyable nonetheless (depending on who you speak to!), while The Chase zips through time and eventually dumps Ian and Barbara back in the 1960s!



These three issues will be available from newsagents over the next six weeks.
The post Complete History Previews Issues 9, 10, and 11 appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
The Husbands of River Song: Spoiler-Free Reviews
Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
Blowing away the cobwebs and bringing some levity to last series’ darkness, the spoiler-free reviews are in from last night’s screening of The Husbands of River Song and the verdict is, unsurprisingly, it’s a festive romp.
Calling it ‘spot on fodder for teatime on a Christmas Day’ Den of Geek found lots to praise in the sudden change of tone.
“The episode as a whole can’t help but feel like a sudden shift in tone for those who have been following the current run of Doctor Who, but that’s not a bad thing. I like that Doctor Who is willing to take a few hard lefts and rights. In this instance, it’s the show deliberately back to being fast, festive and fun.”
Calling the special a return to the more emotion-driven fare of the Russell T. Davies era, The Telegraph have called the reteaming of the Doctor and River Song ‘beautifully bittersweet’.
“Ultimately romcom-like in tone, Capaldi and Kingston’s final scene is beautifully bittersweet – with the bitter bit soon fading to leave only the sweet. I won’t say much more because, as River says, “Spoilers, sweetie!” But thanks to the best Christmas special this decade, dedicated Whovians and once-a-year watchers alike are in for a merry old time.”
Much of that merriment comes from a simple role-reversal for the Doctor and River and both Capaldi and Kingston relish this new dynamic, The Metro wrote.
“But it’s Kingston and Capaldi who run the show here in amongst fantastically-realised aliens, duplicitous heist activity and gorgeous sets. Once she finally recognises the Doctor, it’s a moment you will savour and beam with delight at (and maybe even get a bit teary at too).
Writer and showrunner Steven Moffat has packed this festive bundle full of jokes and levity – including a LOL-inducing reference to Stephen Fry, and a Jeremy Corbyn-esque working man speech from the Doctor – before making you crack out the Kleenex in the last third. Fans of the Time Lord and River’s timey-wimey relationship will be hugely rewarded by the end of the episode in an emotional denouement.
Capaldi and Kingston absolutely sizzle on screen. It may not quite be a ‘sex storm’ but if Doctor Who were to continue with these two, you would be smiling from ear to ear every Saturday.”
The Metro weren’t the only ones who called for River and the Doctor to become permanent partners in crime, The Mirror called her return a treat not just for fans but for fans of drama – high praise indeed.
“Seeing her and Capaldi acting together is a joy to watch and a good enough reason to tune in for on its own. I hope Moffat has a few more husbands hidden away for River Song so there are more excuses to bring her back. She would be an ideal companion for Capaldi on screen again and again.”
We there you have it; are you looking forward to change of tone come Christmas Day? Are you eagerly awaiting the ‘sex storm’? and Do you think River should become a permanent companion?
The Husbands Of River Song is on BBC1 Christmas Day at 5.15pm.
The post The Husbands of River Song: Spoiler-Free Reviews appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
December 17, 2015
Steven Moffat: New Series Ten Writers Will Make Your Brain Explode
Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
Anyone clambering for Series Ten news can find nourishment in the fact that plans are already afoot and two new to Doctor Who writers are joining the fray – now all we need is a new companion and possible an air date too!
Steven Moffat made the fresh blood at last night’s screening of the Christmas special, The Husbands of River Song.
“We’re already moving [on the next series] – we’ve had meetings today with two writers who’ve never written Doctor Who before,” he confirmed.
“If I told you their names, your brain would explode,” he added – though Moffat did at least confirm that they were “brilliant, prominent and amazing writers”.
Sounds promising. if the two new additions are anything like this year’s crop of newbies – Catherine Tregenna (The Woman Who Lived) and Sarah Dollard (Face the Raven) – then let’s hope they’ve got another The Doctor’s Wife up their sleeves and not an In the Forest of the Night.
The Husbands of River Song will air on Christmas Day at 5.15pm on BBC One.
The post Steven Moffat: New Series Ten Writers Will Make Your Brain Explode appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
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