So, I have previously discussed the general problems with this series in part one of my review. In this part, I will look at each individual episode and how these problems can be seen throughout the series.
Episode 1: The Woman Who Fell to Earth
The things I liked about this episode were the decision to kill Grace (Graham’s Wife and Ryan’s Nan) which had a good emotional impact on the main characters. This, while not being my favourite opening episode was quite promising for an opening episode. Tzim-Sha is not my favourite villain, as will be explained later. One thing that confused me was the lack of title music at the beginning of this episode, I’m still not sure why there wasn’t any?
Episode 2: The Ghost Monument
This episode is overall pretty poor. The villain is terrible, some old rags that talk to the Doctor and some sniper robots with terrible aim. Fundamentally, this episode is just really meandering and a bit dull. At the end my reaction was oh, is that it?
Episode 3: Rosa
This is an episode that everyone seemed to really like, but I wasn’t a fan of. I think some of the writing is actually quite bad, particularly in the scene where Ryan and Yaz discuss how their lives have been affected by racism. It just beats you over the head with the message that racism is bad. I know racism is bad, I just don’t need to be told it when I’m watching Doctor Who!!! The villain is ok, but quite bland, his only motivation is that he’s racist, which shouldn’t really be in a Doctor Who episode, in my opinion. It’s ok, just not as good as some people have made out.
Episode 4: Arachnids in the UK
Blimey, the second lowest rated episode of Doctor Who ever (IMDb audience score). The problem with having spiders as the villain is that they can have no more real development than just: ugh! Spiders are scary! They can’t do much more than that. The American businessman character is rubbish, so overdone and the end resolution to the episode is so convenient, it is just ridiculous.
Episode 5: The Tsuranga Conundrum
The lowest rated episode of modern Who and my least favourite. Everything about this episode is terrible. The villain has a terrible design and is the worst of the series. The pregnant man subplot is the most ludicrous and unnecessary I’ve ever seen. The writing in this episode is just terrible and is certainly the low point of the series.
Episode 6: Demons of the Punjab
The set up of this episode is quite intriguing, but it is again let down by some issues. Firstly, no villain, the aliens that are there turn out to be good. Secondly if you took Graham and Ryan out of the story nothing would change, so why are they here anyway? Thirdly, the basic premise of this episode has already been done really, in the Series 1 episode ‘Father’s Day’, which had a better villain, better writing and more emotional impact.
Episode 7: Kerblam!
An episode I liked more. I liked the fact that some characters actually died, giving some degree of threat. The idea of Kerblam! as a galaxy-wide delivery service is interesting and the level of automation in the workforce is an interesting theme to look at, considering current world issues. My problems are that the robots aren’t very threatening when they are so easily defeated, all you had to do was pull their heads off!
Episode 8: The Witchfinders
The villains here are terrible. Just so bland and unmemorable. The companions again aren’t give enough to do and just have to ask questions whilst the Doctor explains whats going on. There were also some strange plot holes, for example why would Becka Savage, the lady of the manor, chop down a tree herself, doesn’t she have servants to do that? Another convenient resolution to a villain with no threat.
Episode 9: It Takes You Away
This episode has some interesting ideas. I liked Graham having to face his wife and come to terms with the fact she was gone and that this was just an alien toying with his emotions. Whilst the introduction to the aliens involved a weirdly convoluted backstory, I liked the idea of aliens using your emotions to try and blackmail you. The episode however is ruined by having the Doctor talk to a frog. Anything would have been better than this. It is a major missed opportunity. The Doctor only knew Grace for a small amount of time, why not have someone from the Doctor’s past attempt to convince her to stay in this universe? Say Rose Tyler or River Song, anyone? Surely one of these people could have turned up to film this scene and it would have been a nice call back to the previous series’. Instead you use a ridiculous talking frog. It baffles me.
Episode 10: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos
The most underwhelming series finale of modern Who and the worst episode title too, what is Ranskoor Av Kolos? The basic premise of this episode is ok, but needed changes. Here’s what I would have done:
1) Make it a two parter 2) Set it on Earth, rather than some random planet we have never been to before. You can even set it in Sheffield. 3) Have the threat be to destroy Earth, rather than some other random planets we’ve never heard of. The idea to kidnap planets has already been done before, in The Stolen Earth/ Journey’s End finale. Also, the bit with robots cutting through the door has been done in Bad Wolf/ The Parting of the Ways. 4) Tzim-Sha would be ok as the villain, but he needs more threat. I’m supposed to believe he spent thousands of years developing a plan that the Doctor managed to stop in about five minutes. Have him kidnap one of the companions, Yaz for example and threaten her life, forcing the Doctor to choose between saving Earth or saving her friend. It would make Tzim-Sha into a proper villain that the Doctor fears. The Doctor fears the Daleks because she knows what they’re capable of, she doesn’t fear Tzim-Sha because she’s easily defeated him now twice. 5) Kill one of the Ux, the older woman, giving the episode more depth and giving them more character development. Also, give Mark Addy something to do, he’s a fine actor. You could have got rid of his character completely and had him in another episode.
So, we’ve made it and what have we learnt? While I’ve learnt a few things and have a Wishlist for Chris Chibnall of things to change for the next series:
- Villains- Have some returning villains to link to previous series! But also, new villains are a good idea, they just need to be genuinely threatening and have interesting design and good acting behind them. You don’t need to go all out with crazy effects, just good writing, good acting and real threat.
- Companions- Don’t have all the companions in all the time. It just means they spend lots of time standing around asking questions. Why not have episodes with just Graham and the Doctor or just The Doctor, Ryan and Yaz? It would give them something more to do and allow their characters to develop more.
- Writing- Other than Chibnall himself, there were no writers in this series who had previously written a Doctor Who episode and it shows. Bring back Mark Gatiss or some of the other talented writers who have worked on previous series. Hell, you could ask Steven Moffat or Russell T Davies to write an odd episode, you don’t have to do everything new. And get Charlie Brooker to write an episode, that would be fantastic!
- Don’t over-rely on the sonic- The sonic screwdriver has been used a bit too much this series as a device to move the plot a long, you don’t always have to use it. Also, use the TARDIS more, change the design if you don’t like it and spend more time there.
- Links to the previous series- Follow a more traditional structure. I understand Chibnall’s desire to change the series and keep it fresh, but you’re not making a new show. Why not have characters, villains and settings that have been used before? In Matt Smith’s first series we had a new Doctor and a new head writer, but we still saw the return of the Daleks, the Weeping Angels, the Silurians and River Song. Have 13 episodes, instead of 10, have two-parters and don’t forget the past.
Now, follow my advice Chibnall and Doctor Who can still be salvaged yet! I will also try to write something about the New Year’s Special to tell you what I think. Thanks for reading!
Movie Night 