Christian Cawley's Blog, page 38
November 26, 2015
Anthony Read (1935- 2015)
Katie Gribble 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.
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Anthony Read at the age of 80. Anthony played a key role as script editor of Doctor Who during Graham Williams time as producer in 1978. He also wrote the story The Horns of Nimon (How many Nimons have you seen today?) and collaborated with Williams to write The Invasion of Time under the pseudonym of David Agnew.
Born in 1935, Read attended the Central School of Speech and Drama and, following National Service, worked in Fleet Street in advertising, journalism and publishing before deciding to become a full time writer. He joined the BBC on 2nd November 1963 with his early work including writing for The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling and being a script editor for Peter Cushing’s Sherlock Holmes, a world he would return to over the years with The Baker Street Boys which earned him an award from the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. The series followed the exploits of Sherlock Holmes’ young band of detectives starting with the disappearance of Conan Doyle’s famous detective himself.
It was later in the 60s that Read became known for The Troubleshooters, a series he script edited, wrote and later produced for. However it was in 1977 when he came to be associated with Doctor Who, invited by producer Graham Williams to take over from Robert Holmes, working alongside the outgoing script editor on Image of the Fendahl and The Sun Makers before formally taking charge of scripts with Underworld. Having co-written The Invasion of Time with Williams, the pair went on to devise the umbrella-themed Key to Time Season Sixteen, with Read also taking on producer duties when his colleague became ill.
A long-time friend with David Fisher (hailing back to the 1960s), the pair collaborated on a number of non-fiction works, including The Fall of Berlin, The Proudest Day: India’s Long Road to Independence and Colonel Z: The Secret Life of a Master of Spies.
Toby Hadoke’s interview with Anthony Read, conducted at the 50th anniversary celebrations, can be downloaded from the Big Finish website for free in which the pair discuss his time working on Doctor Who.
Anthony Read, 21st April 1935 – 21st November 2015.
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November 25, 2015
Doctor Who Titan Comics – ‘Album Variants’ Covers
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.
They’ve been courting each other from across the galaxy ever since those pesky schedules wouldn’t align back in 1983 but given the love garnered at the feet of the Starman himself David Bowie by Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and countless creatives; you’d be forgiven for thinking that he should have been in show by now.
Well how about Bob Dylan too – maybe the answer in blowing in the wind was nothing more than a glitchy telepathic matrix? Or Blondie? Peter Capaldi is more new wave than skinny ties and converse; would the Doctor leave Debbie Harry hanging on the telephone?
Well, not content to wait for the (black) stars to align, Titan Comics have released three special ‘Album Variant’ covers from the upcoming Doctor Who comics featuring The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) and The Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi).
All these ‘Album Variants’ are by artists Simon Myers and they’re utterly brilliant – I’m a particular fan of the Parallel Lines cover – I mean come on, no one in Blondie liked each other, can you see a Cyberman taking playing tips from an Ood?
You can picture the scene:
OOD: “We shall sing you to sleep Doctor”
DOCTOR: “I’d rather you sang into the mic…”
And:
CLARA: “Good take, yeah?”
CYBERMAN: “DELETE. DELETE.”
CLARA: “No need to be rude…”
The hilarity is endless.
The cover variants will accompany the following issues:
THE EIGHTH DOCTOR #1 FORBIDDEN PLANET/JETPACK VARIANT
WRITER: GEORGE MANN | ARTIST: EMMA VIECELI
OUT NOW
Get ready for an all-new season of comics adventures featuring the Eighth Doctor, as played by Paul McGann in the Doctor Who movie, fan-favorite minisode Night of the Doctor… and over fourteen years (and counting!) of astounding Big Finish audio spectaculars!
Five amazing, interconnected new stories take the Doctor on a rollercoaster of threat and misadventure, as he investigates the mysteries surrounding his new companion Josie. Victorian magic shows, murderous trees, lost books, crystalline life-forms, barges in space crammed with the undead… and the grand journey all begins in a sleepy Welsh town… besieged by living paintings!
Buckle up for a wild ride that embraces all the Gothic Romance and interstellar terror of the Doctor’s eighth incarnation!
THE TWELFTH DOCTOR YEAR TWO #3
WRITER: ROBBIE MORRISON | ARTIST: RACHAEL STOTT
RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 3, 2016
Chaos descends on the private Scottish school of Ravenscaur, as secrets sunk at the bottom of the bay are dragged into the light! As the Doctor investigates reports of a Tunguska-style event that shook the heavens decades previous, Clara unravels an establishment conspiracy that cuts to the country’s heart!
THE TWELFTH DOCTOR YEAR TWO #4
WRITER: ROBBIE MORRISON | ARTIST: RACHAEL STOTT
RELEASE DATE: MARCH 2, 2016
The shadowy puppetmasters behind the darkness at Ravenscaur are revealed, as the bodycount climbs and the shocking revelations add up! Can the Doctor and Clara, armed with a hundred years of secret history, triumph over the conspiracy and drive out an ancient evil?
The post Doctor Who Titan Comics – ‘Album Variants’ Covers appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Doctor Who – The War Doctor 1: Only the Monstrous Clip
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.
Just over two years ago John Hurt stole the show in the 50th anniversary spectacular, The Day of the Doctor and now, the Radio Times has an exclusive clip from his return to the role of the War Doctor.
Hurt will once again play the irascible Time Lord in 12 all-new episodes from Big Finish, with the first, Only the Monstrous set to be released this December.
As the Daleks mass their time fleet for a final assault on Gallifrey, something ancient is waiting for them at Omega One. And a sacrifice must be made. Arch manipulator and Time Lord strategist, Cardinal Ollistra (Jacqueline Pearce) receives shock news of the Doctor’s death.
Meanwhile, on the planet Keska, a parochial war has returned to plague a peaceful civilisation after decades of tranquility. But how can such a war have any connection with the great Time War which, at any one moment in the whole of eternity, could threaten to tear the universe apart?
If only the Doctor were still alive.
The clip, taken from the first episode of the new run, entitled The Innocent, which finds the War Doctor in the midst of the Time War, before the events of The Day of the Doctor.
The new audio dramas are written and directed by Nicholas Briggs, who says he couldn’t wait to explore the 50th anniversary back story in more detail.
“The story of the Doctor who refuses to call himself the Doctor in order to do the unthinkable upon the ultimate battlefield — all of space and time — was irresistible to me,” he said.
“Such a deeply disturbing and engaging character created by the formidable talents of writer Steven Moffat and actor John Hurt. It’s such a privilege to be working on this.”
The War Doctor Volume 1: Only the Monstrous is available to pre-order now for release in December on CD and Download for £20.00 from Big Finish.
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Heaven Sent: New Image Gallery and Clip
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.
Alone, grieving and imprisoned by an unseen force, Peter Capaldi takes centre stage in Heaven Sent – the first ever solo outing for the Doctor.
For reasons of spoilers, we won’t include the synopsis here but suffice to say the Doctor finds himself alone, trapped, pursued by an ancient creatures known only as ‘the veil’, and facing the ultimate challenge of his many lives.
However, this new batch of images doesn’t give too much away about the episode, which has an extended run time of 55 mins, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Rachel Talalay – with Peter Capaldi very much at the heart of this maze.
Heaven Sent airs Saturday 28th November at 8.05pm on BBC One.
Check out a newly released clip from the episode below.



















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Moffat: Eccleston Turned Down 50th But “Really Cares For Doctor Who”
Katie Gribble 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 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who, The Day of the Doctor, was a landmark in the shows history. It was simulcast in 94 countries and shown in 1,500 cinemas around the world – a spectacular success for TV’s longest-running sci-fi series. There were documentaries on almost all BBC channels and a massive three-day convention at London’s ExCel. It was an unabashed, unapologetic celebration of all things Who. Bringing aspects from across the timeline of the series from 1963 up until the present day and beyond (No, Sir! All Thirteen!). I certainly remember it being a huge event, gathering friends together in my living room to cheer, laugh and cry at this beautiful commemoration of 50 years of Doctor Who.
In an interview with the Radio Times, Steven Moffat, showrunner and man tasked to bring the 50th anniversary special to life, revealed the trials and tribulations of getting such a highly anticipated piece of television to air. We learn now that The Day of the Doctor was a nightmare to make with so many uncertainties, last minute changes and secrets all trying to find the right story to tell.
When asked about the original plans for the anniversary special, Moffat revealed that one of the initial ideas involved Clara Oswald as the central pivot of the story with the anniversary following the Series 7 finale where Clara leaps into the Doctors time line to save him. Certainly an interesting idea, but hardly something that could be justified as celebrating all 50 years of Doctor Who. However, the most interesting piece of information to come from the interview was the revelation that:
“The first version was David [Tennant], Matt [Smith] and Chris [Eccleston] together…But I knew that Chris was almost certainly going to say no. I met him a couple of times and he was absolutely lovely. He met with me because he didn’t want to say no through his agent or a phone call or email. He wanted to do it personally. And I three-quarters talked him into it.
“So I started a version of it but I got to a point where I could go no further unless it was going to be him. I went for another meeting with him and he decided no. His reasons are his business and he’s a very private man. But it’s reasonable to say he really cares about Doctor Who. He’s well versed in what’s happened since he left, and happily chatted away about Amy Pond by name.”
News of Eccleston’s involvement was bandied around way in advance of the 50th anniversary and was certainly a hope that, despite Eccleston’s refusal to return previously, he would return for such a big event for a show that he clearly still cares very much about. After the special aired and we were introduced to John Hurt’s brilliant War Doctor, there was of course a lot of praise for the episode but naturally questions about how close the production team had got to getting the Ninth Doctor into the anniversary began to surface.
On 17th October, a fan on various forums revealed how close the production team had reached. What Moffat’s confirmation in his recent interview about Eccleston being in the original version can be shown by his appearance in storyboards drawn up for the show by Andrew Wildman. The user who revealed this news TheBlackKnightRises on reddit revealed that:
“I asked whether the artist had read the script featuring Nine and he said yes, so who knows, maybe one day we’ll also get to read the original idea! But for now I hope you guys find this cool, it’s certainly interesting to see how similar the drawings are to what we eventually saw.”
Wildman had worked on episode storyboards before and was asked to storyboard most of series 7 along with three Christmas specials and a few bits for the 50th anniversary. The appearance of these storyboard images is particularly exciting and shows how close we came to having the ninth Doctor in the anniversary. However, we sadly were not to see him except for the inclusion of footage from his series and in his appearance in the final shot of the episode. Nevertheless, we should not be completely downhearted that Eccleston did not take part. From that decision came John Hurt’s beautiful War Doctor; certainly a very welcome addition to the Doctor Who universe who has opened up a period in our history that we didn’t even know existed.
The post Moffat: Eccleston Turned Down 50th But “Really Cares For Doctor Who” appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Which Classic Monster Does Moffat Want to Bring Back?
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 don’t know about you guys, but the announcement of what classic Doctor Who monster is being brought back for the latest season is always what I look forward to most during the awful in-between seasons period.
So, which classic monster does Steven Moffat say he wants to bring back?
“The classic monster I always look at bringing back are the Sea Devils, the design of them is amazing, they are beautiful and bizarre. I haven’t thought of anything to do with them yet. But I think they’re quite extraordinary in their conception.”
Not the choice I was expecting, not gonna lie. The Sea Devils, aquatic cousins of the Silurians, originally appeared in their eponymous 7-parter in 1972, and reappeared more than a decade later alongside their earth based cousins in 1984’s Warriors of the Deep. In which they wore samurai armour for some reason. No, I’m not joking.
On the topic of bringing back other classic monsters, Steven said:
“I have a very long list of monsters to bring back , you know. As well as the Sea Devils I do have a couple of others in my mind, but I might be doing those so I’m not telling you what they are!”
While I trust it could be done well, it does seem like a strange choice to me. We already have a New Who version of homo reptilia, do we really need the other half? Especially when faced with other monsters who clearly deserve an epic return more. Yes I’m still waiting for Attack of the Chumblies.
Anyway, what do you guys think? Are you for the return of the aquatic antagonists? What classic monsters would you like to see return?
The post Which Classic Monster Does Moffat Want to Bring Back? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
November 24, 2015
Review – Big Finish’s Doctor Who: Planet of the Rani
Chris Swanson 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.
Miasimia Goria was a quiet planet, an ancient world of bucolic tranquillity… until the Rani arrived with ideas of her own.
She planned to create a race of new gods… gods that she could keep on her leash, but those plans went horribly wrong.
Now, she languishes in the high security of Teccaurora Penitentiary, consigned there by her arch enemy and old student colleague, the Doctor.
But the Rani, always resourceful, ever calculating, knows things about the Doctor’s past that he would rather forget. She wants revenge, even if it takes a hundred years… and then she has other unfinished business.
The ruins of Miasimia Goria await…
Producer David Richardson
Script Editor Alan Barnes
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
I’ve always rather liked the Rani. Not necessarily an evil character, but certainly someone who is extremely amoral, and, at least at the time of her introduction, a more interesting villain than the Master. Sorry, 1980’s Master, but you just weren’t up to snuff.
I’d long anticipated the return of the Rani through either the TV series or Big Finish. As it happens, Big Finish beat them to it, though sadly after Kate O’Mara, who had originated the character had died. Thankfully, they introduced Siobhan Redmond as the new Rani last year, and she turned out to be excellent. Now we have a new adventure with the Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, his new companion, Constance Clarke (Miranda Raison, who you’ll know from Daleks in Manhattan/ Evolution of the Daleks), and the Rani. How does it hold up?
Quite well. Redmond’s Rani remains similar to the original, but still distinct enough to be her own character, and while the story here is a bit weaker than in her previous appearances, she acts the heck out of it, doing a good job holding her own against Baker’s Doctor and getting in some lovely scenes with Constance – as well as some interesting scenes with the Rani’s “people” on Miasmia Goria. Of course, Baker and Raison are their usual fantastic selves.
Directed by Ken Bentley, the story, though, falls down a bit. I’m not entirely sure where it went wrong, as Marc Platt (Ghost Light) has written some excellent tales in the past, and this one, at least on paper, should be one of them. But I really found my attention drifting quite a lot after the prison scenes, and had a very tough time staying focused. The parts I really wanted to get into, like the aforementioned scenes with the Rani back on Miasmia Goria, were good, but not great, and the whole thing just felt a bit “eh” overall.
But! It’s redeemed by the acting, which was pretty fantastic all around: we have James Joyce as Raj Kahnu, Olivia Poulet as Pazmi, Dominic Thorburn as Brejesh, Tim Bentinck playing Chowdras/Governor, and Chris Porter as Degoor/Montain. So while I can’t recommend this story on its own merits as a tale, I can recommend it for people who like the Sixth Doctor and/or the Rani. They won’t be disappointed.
The post Review – Big Finish’s Doctor Who: Planet of the Rani appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
The Zygon Inversion Cleared Over ‘Insensitive’ Plane Crash
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.
Ofcom has decided against launching an investigation into The Zygon Inversion after the episode was branded ‘insensitive’ for showing a plane brought down soon after the crash of the Metrojet airliner in Egypt.
The regulator received 31 complaints about the episode, which aired one week after the airline crashed, probably due to a terrorist bomb, killing all 224 people on board.
Bonnie, the Zygon copy of Clara (Jenna Coleman) was seen attempting to bring down a plane carrying the Doctor using a surface to air missile – the plane was eventually hit, exploding in midair. Later in the episode, there is a tracking shot that lingers on some of the wreckage of the explosion – triggering parallels with the recent disaster.
“We received a number of complaints that it was insensitive to broadcast this episode, which featured a plane being shot down, so close to events in the Sinai peninsula,” said a spokesman for Ofcom. “In our view, the science fiction nature of Doctor Who and the storyline created a sufficient distinction from recent events. We therefore will not be taking the matter forward for investigation.”
Last year, Ofcom also ruled out further action after the regulator received six complaints following a kiss shared between Madame Vastra and her wife Jenny Flint, in Season Eight opener Deep Breath.
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Doctor Who and the Trap Streets of London
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.
Trap Streets, what a marvellous invention! Oh, what’s that you say? They’re not a flight of fancy. In fact there are hundreds in London alone. What about Quantum Shades? Are they real?
Don’t look at me like that.
A trap street is exactly how the Twelfth Doctor described them in Face the Raven – a fake street inserted into a map by a cartographer, or a street named incorrectly to expose anyone copying their work. And Rachel Holdsworth over at Londonist has listed some of the most well-known trap streets currently confusing Google Maps.
Moat Lane
Perhaps the most well-known is Moat Lane; this fictitious street in Finchley was still tripping up Google Maps as late as 2012 when TeleAtlas Directory (which sounds like a front for possible alien activity to us) slipped in the phantom lane, which takes a right angle north-east from the end of Clandon Gardens, to mark its copyright.
Torrington Place
But we’re not quite done with Finchley and the nefarious TeleAtlas Directory; according to various sources on the internet, there’s another trap street at the end of Arcadia Avenue in N3 called Torrington Place. Sadly, the killjoys at Google have since deleted all trace of it.
Bartlett Place
In 2005, the BBC aired a documentary called Map Men, which claimed that there were 100 trap streets within London. The one cited was Bartlett Place — actually Broadway Walk. A-Z said they’d call it by its proper name in future editions. According to Londonist, there is no Bartlett Place within the A-Z – or at least the 2005 edition currently sat on their desk – but it does have a Broadway Walk, a tiny street between Alpha Grove and Casslis Road on the Isle of Dogs.
Whitfield Street
Whitfield Street, found by Maisie Ann Bowes in 2013 as part of her London College of Communication course, crosses Blackheath, running on from General Wolfe Road over Shooters Hill Road and connecting to Hare and Billet Road. Except it doesn’t. In fact, consulting their trusty A-Z, it’s marked in purple – denoting ‘restricted access’.
You don’t say…
Book Mews
Found by London tour guide Peter Berthoud, Book Mews, just off Denmark Street, is actually listed as Brook Mews in the A-Z. A subtle little snare for trapping copycats.
So what of the trap street in Face the Raven? Did the Doctor Who team go that extra mile and use an actual trap street? Well, no. Firstly there isn’t one at the location used in the show and secondly, it’s in Wales. Sorry, it would have been cool too.
What of other trap streets in fiction? Well in 2013, a Chinese film written and directed by Vivian Qu, and starring Lu Yulai and He Wenchao, helpful called Trap Street, inverted the concept so that the titular street was removed from records as a digital map-making surveyor becomes infatuated with a mysterious woman who lives on the street – anyone who attempts to log the street becomes trapped within the street.
So there you have it. A great little detail given the kind of fantastical spin that only Doctor Who can provide.
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Face The Raven: Review Round-Up
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.
Never has a ‘…To Be Continued’ card felt more like a pause for breath – the sheer amount of material to unpack from this week’s Face the Raven will undoubtedly be examined and re-examined in the weeks to come but, as is expected, most of the reviews focus on the tear jerking, heart rendering finale.
Calling the episode a ‘gothic emotional rollercoaster’ The Independent praised the show for providing the kind of thrills that only Doctor Who can.
“We’ve had a lot of different styles of stories this, year, and the show has been all the better for it. We’ve delved deep into the relationships the Doctor has with enemies, investigated underwater ghost stories and foiled schemes with immortal highwaymen.
“Last week Mark Gatiss blended various horror tropes into a clever but not wholly successful episode, and while writer Sarah Dollard’s influences are clearly on show (its half JK Rowling and half China Miéville) this feels like an episode of television you could only ever see on Doctor Who. A heady mixture of science fiction, Gothic whodunnit and emotional rollercoaster, it doesn’t just leave you breathless – it leaves you wanting more.”
Sarah Dollard was also praised by Digital Spy – who’s assured work at keeping the myriad ideas together and building towards that gut-punch of a climax – is testament to the confidence and bravery of her, Moffat and the Doctor Who team.
“In one of the finest episode climaxes that Doctor Who has delivered in 10 years, Clara meets her surprisingly bleak end. While one of the episode’s few flaws is to overplay her final moments with a surplus of slow-motion, you’ll still be left gasping as the Doctor – now alone – disappears, his final destination unknown.
“Given all that it has to accomplish, and the vast array of ingredients it has to juggle, this is a remarkably confident and assured Doctor Who outing. Even more so considering it comes from a writer new to the show.”
However, the Radio Times found the stakes of Clara’s demise a little too small an actor who has come to typify the series co-lead status for companions.
“This year, it became obvious that her recklessness would lead to her demise. Clara’s readiness to help a relatively unimportant friend (Rigsy) whose life is threatened, her sense of invincibility and blind faith in the Doctor’s ability to solve everything are her downfall. And she accepts it with dignity and stoicism – dying alone, arms outstretched, while the Time Lord watches from afar, impotent.
But after all the scrapes they’ve been in, what befalls Clara in Face the Raven is unmomentous, unspectacular; the stakes are small. Couldn’t she have died saving the universe?
“Jenna Coleman and Peter Capaldi perform her farewell with conviction, all the more effective for their restraint. Several young viewers I know will be inconsolable. (I’ve warned their parents.) I didn’t shed one tear. I will miss Clara/Jenna but am ready for a shake-up; it’s time for a gear change in what Steven Moffat terms the ‘co-leads’”.
The restraint from both leads also impressed Den of Geek, who also praised Murray Gold’s score – who does much to rebalance the intrusiveness of The Zygon Inversion’s musical swell during Capaldi’s magnificent speech.
“With superb audio accompaniment from Murray Gold (and it really was something special), as the episode clocked past the 35 minute mark, both Jenna Coleman and Peter Capaldi earnt every penny of their fee. Look how they act this sequence out, with Capaldi’s eyes instantly filled with sorrow as he sees what Clara’s done, and Coleman’s gradually changing as the realisation hits her. Never mind the excellent dialogue for a second: just watch them.”
Refusing to eulogise Clara – due to the ‘misdirection’s within misdirection’s’ nature of Doctor Who’s casting announcements – the AV Club instead looked upon the culmination of her legacy and found much to love.
“As much as I’ve had my issues with the show’s handling and characterization of Clara, that transformation really does work, mostly because the underlying person doesn’t actually change there. In both those stories, and in pretty much any story with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor, Clara is clever, perceptive, and willing to take risks—both with her life and with others’—and all that’s changed is how much she believes in her own abilities.
Last season’s Mummy On The Orient Express and Flatline started kicking around the ideas that Clara was addicted to the thrill of traveling with the Doctor and that she was beginning to act like the Doctor at the expense of some measure of her humanity. Those were fine ideas, though they got a bit lost in the shuffle as the show turned it attention elsewhere with “Dark Water”/“Death In Heaven,” and the attempts to revive those story arcs this season have often felt perfunctory….Until tonight’s episode.”
And finally, in a five star review, Games Radar singles out Capaldi for praise articulating the Doctor’s bottomless rage and his utter helplessness.
“Capaldi is just as magnificent giving his passionate speechifying in The Zygon Inversion a run for its money with some fearsome but increasingly desperate intellectual rage. When the Doctor growls “I will end you and everything you love” you’re in no doubt that his anger could raze planets. It’s a rare moment where the Doctor can do nothing but look on, stupefied and utterly unable to help. He can’t even comfort Clara. Instead he’s the one who receives all the words of advice and warm hugs from his companion. Quite what effect it will have on the Twelfth Time Lord remains to be seen.”
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