As the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor finishes his time aboard the Tardis, I thought's I'd reflect on his tenure by picking out my favourite television episodes that he appeared in over the past few years:
10. Thin Ice
The mystery for this episode - visitors to a Thames frost fair disappearing and being snatched through the ice - is a great hook. Everything about the story feels realistic and this helps to set the atmosphere - the studio-shot set of the fair looks magnificent, the large supporting cast adds a great communal feeling and Bill's reaction to the little boy's death near the start is very realistic. Whilst the sea creature is a bit disappointing, the fact that it isn't alien in origin should be applauded and makes a refreshing change.
9. The Return of Doctor Mysterio
Whilst this isn't really a fan-favourite, if taken as a nostalgic homage to late-20th Century superhero stories, it can stand alone as being quite a fun Doctor Who adventure. Editing techniques play homage to comic book layouts and there are some good discussions around the theme of keeping your identity a secret. The Doctor has some great scenes with Grant the 'babysitter' and the ending, whilst predicable, does bring the story to a nice close. The villain isn't exactly memorable but the episode is very well self-contained and left this reviewer with a smile on their face.
8. The Witch's Familiar
This episode is easily best remembered for its amazing conversation scenes in which Davros begs the Doctor for compassion to help save him. Julian Bleach’s performance is simply outstanding as he manages to use just a few facial expressions and his tone of voice with maximum effect to convey Davros' suffering. On top of this, the idea of putting Clara inside a Dalek to help break into Skaro is a great twist and leads to some fantastic dialogue between her and Missy as they attempt to get passed the Daleks. The ending is unfortunately humourus - covering a room full of classic Daleks with brown 'mud', but the fantastic journey up to that point makes this easily forgotten on reflection.
7. Deep Breath
Deep Breath is the Twelfth Doctor's debut story and it's an exciting adventure through Victorian London featuring a clockwork villain, a dinosaur and the always hilarious Strax. Capaldi's acting is truly on top form as he suffers with post-regeneration side effects at the beginning and when he later stands up against Half-Face Man above the city. Jenna Coleman also gives a very believable and engaging performance as someone who no longer knows who her friend is and the sequence where she needs to hold her breath to remain safe is an extremely tense watch.
6. Robot of Sherwood
This is a proper Saturday evening family drama which is fun to watch - the Doctor strikes up an unlikely alliance with Robin Hood and must try to figure out who is real and who is fake in Sherwood Forest. Inspiration has clearly been taken from the movie Prince of Thieves with Robin portrayed as an over-the-top, heroic rebel and as such, the episode is full of comedy and light-hearted moments, like when the two leading men go to take part in a sword versus spoon fight together. The ending was unfortunately cut just before broadcast and it is this review's belief that every fan must watch it to be able to feel fully satisfied with the story.
5. Kill the Moon
In Kill the Moon, the Doctor finds himself on a space shuttle on its way to make a suicide mission to the moon. Despite suffering the inclusion of some extremely dodgy science, if this story is instead taken more as a pseudo-sci-fi, it's extremely tense to watch and has many scary moments in the lead up to the final resoultion. The scene where the Doctor is attacked by a vicious spider-like creature is full of suspense and well directed to make viewers sit on the edge of their seats. In addition, the moon set itself looks gorgeous and the moral dilemma regarding whether or not to destroy the moon is superbly played out to make you really debate both sides of the argument.
4 The Woman Who Lived
Fast-paced time travelling stories are always great to watch and this story continues the trend, complete with a hilarious guest appearance from Rufus Hound. Viewers are taken on a whistle-stop tour though Me's everlasting life which manages to be both exciting yet agonising at the same time as she realises that whilst she lives forever, all her friends around her still grow old and die. The inclusion of her tear-stained journals really make you feel sorry for Me and allow you to empathise with how desperate she has become. It's really quite heartbreaking to watch as the Doctor reflects upon the horror that he has inflicted upon her in his attempt to be a good man. All this seriousness though is well-balanced with the comedic inclusion of Rufus Hound as highwayman Sam Swift who enjoys living life to the fullest and takes his hanging as a golden opportunity to perform in front of an audience. The Woman Who Lived really has some very interesting sci-fi concepts in it which are worth understanding and debating. This reviewer hopes that Me will one day return to the Whoniverse so we can discover more of her past, or indeed future, adventures.
3. World Enough and Time
This is possibly the Cybermen's finest appearance on television - it's dark, it's emotional and it is truly horrific. Set on a colony ship belonging to Earth's twin planet, Mondas, the story follows the Doctor's attempts to rescue Bill as she is taken for 'healing' on a lower floor, whilst he is stuck at the top where time moves much slower. The CGI as the camera zooms through the windows between the floors ship is amazing and really helps you visualise both the wonder of the spaceship and the dilemma the characters are stuck in. Bill's exploration of the hospital wards is frightening to watch as she turns down the volume of patients screaming in agony waiting to be killed, and her eventual conversion into a Cyberman, whilst clearly inevitable, is extremely upsetting and painful to watch. Mention also needs to be said about Razor, the hospital employee whom she befriends - he's a great character who is best described perhaps as being a memorably bizarre person. This episode is extremely atmospheric and sets up the series' finale wonderfully.
2. and 1. Heaven Sent and Hell Bent
These two stories are just an outstanding season finale pairing for Series 9 of modern Who - they are both quite different yet both quite brilliant in their own unique ways. Heaven Sent is very much a one-man piece for the Doctor as he attempts to escape from a mysterious water locked castle - it's truly compelling to watch and Capaldi gives a standout performance as we follow his journey through solving all the puzzles he is presented with. This is then followed by Hell Bent which sees him summoned to Gallifrey in the hope he will reveal the identity of the Hybrid to the Time Lords - a being that is prophesied will conquer the planet. There are many scenes in this which are just perfectly written and directed, the stand off against Rassillon perhaps being the best. It also has a superb ending that just tempts the viewer into wanting more - there's surely plenty of scope here for future Clara-based Big Finish audio adventures. These two episodes encapsulate everything that makes Doctor Who super sci-fi!
SH
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