Doctor Who: Listen Review

doctor-who-listen-headerSteven Moffat has two tricks that he really likes to use when writing episodes. The first is creating and/or solving problems through wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey time paradoxes. I’ve lost count of the number of times that we’ve seen that. The second is trying to scare little children of everyday things. We’ve done statues, shadows and this week, we’re supposed to be scared of being alone in the dark.

Moffat decided to hybrid timey-wimey with everyday horror in Listen. In many ways, it’s a spiritual successor to Blink, the first time we met the Weeping Angels. Maybe it was a bit too familiar, though.

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Doctor Who: Into the Dalek Review

doctor-who-into-the-dalek-headerSince Steven Moffat has taken over as executive producer of Doctor Who, the Daleks have been used sparingly. There have only really been two Dalek episodes, 2010’s Victory of the Daleks and 2012’s Asylum of the Daleks (which was more a Clara episode than a Dalek episode). This is in stark contrast to the Russell T. Davies era (which I have more than this issue with) which had eight Dalek episodes in four seasons and generally made them look like chumps in all but one of those stories.

For the second episode of the Capaldi era, we’ve already got ourselves a Dalek episode. There’s no better way to throw a Doctor head first into the chaos of the universe than pitting him against his arch-nemesis.

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Doctor Who: Deep Breath Review

doctor-who-deep-breath-headerWhile I was writing the review for this week’s episode of Doctor Who, I realized that I was behind in posting my Doctor Who reviews over on The Lowdown. I promised Doctor Who reviews over here this season so you’re getting all three episode reviews this week. Today is the season premiere, Deep Breath. On Thursday is the Into The Dalek review. Usual Friday service begins with the third episode review for Robot of Sherwood.

Given the recent explosion in popularity that Doctor Who has seen on this side of the pond, it seems as though that Deep Breath might be the greatest test of the revived Doctor Who. Sure, this is the fourth incarnation of the series but it with Doctor Who becoming more and more popular during Matt Smith’s tenure at the controls of the TARDIS, this will be many fans’ first regeneration.

While Deep Breath won’t go down as the greatest Doctor Who adventure ever, it certainly worked well at showing that the show is changing pace and themes with the new man in the blue box.

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Doctor Who: The Time of The Doctor Review

doctor-who-the-time-of-the-doctor-headerThe recent Doctor Who Christmas special marked a couple of milestones for the series. Not only did The Time of The Doctor mark Matt Smith’s final appearance as The Doctor and Peter Capaldi’s first appearance in the titular role but it was the series’ 800th episode dating back to 1963.

Given the hit or miss nature of many of the 11th Doctor’s adventures, would his final story at the helm of the TARDIS be another Moffat classic or would Eleven go out with a whimper rather than a bang?

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Doctor Who Timeline (Infographic)

This year represents the 50th year of Doctor Who. The show debuted back in 1963 and the Doctor has gone on over 200 adventures with 46 different companions in 11 different incarnations. But have you ever wondered what the Doctor has been up to over the course of the last 49 years? This infographic is the best chronicle I’ve seen of all of the Doctor’s adventures. Continue reading

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol Review

The Doctor was back on Christmas Day (Boxing Day in Canada) with another Doctor Who Christmas Special. Last year’s Christmas special was the first special that wasn’t set at Christmas time. While the Russell T. Davies era Christmas specials were set at Christmas, they weren’t what one would call “Christmassy.” New Doctor Who head writer Steven Moffat set out to change that with an episode that put a Doctor Who twist on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Was Moffat successful in his attempt to make a proper Christmas episode of Doctor Who? I review Doctor Who’s A Christmas Carol after the jump. Continue reading

Doctor Who Season 5 Review (Part 2)

Four weeks after the season wrapped up on BBC in the UK, Space aired the season finale of this season of Doctor Who in Canada. This was the fifth season of the show but it was the first under new showrunner Steven Moffat. Moffat was writer of some of the best episodes of Doctor Who since its 2005 revival so expectations were high heading into this season. The playbook from the last five years of the Russell T. Davies era Doctor Who were thrown out the window. A new actor was drafted in to play a more alien Doctor. The sets were redesigned, the logo changed, and the musical score was revamped. Most importantly for Who fans were the regular mentions of vintage Doctor Who.

So how was this new season of the iconic British sci-fi show? I review the final six episodes of the season, rate the season as a whole and examine the history of the new Doctor Who on Canadian TV after the jump. Continue reading

Doctor Who Season 5 Review (Part 1)

Four weeks after the season wrapped up on BBC in the UK, Space aired the season finale of this season of Doctor Who in Canada. This was the fifth season of the show but it was the first under new showrunner Steven Moffat. Moffat was writer of some of the best episodes of Doctor Who since its 2005 revival so expectations were high heading into this season. The playbook from the last five years of the Russell T. Davies era Doctor Who were thrown out the window. A new actor was drafted in to play a more alien Doctor. The sets were redesigned, the logo changed, and the musical score was revamped. Most importantly for Who fans were the regular mentions of vintage Doctor Who.

So how was this new season of the iconic British sci-fi show? I review the first seven episodes of the season after the jump. Continue reading