Doctor Who Series/Season 12 trailers & episode discussion...

Still loving the trippy opening credits and rendition of the 'Doctor Who Theme' (a vast improvement over Capaldi's era, in my opinion).

All I knew about the plot when going into the episode was that it involved spies. The beginning, with spies everywhere being picked off, kind of reminded me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the start of Season 7 when the potentials were being picked off everywhere. 

It was good to have a brief catch-up with each companion individually before they were brought back together. I'm glad to see they actually made some preparations for departing this time, as so often the companions seemed to be whisked away at a moment's notice and then later have to explain to their family/friends where they've been. It seemed they'd prepared some cover stories this time around, which was good.

I enjoyed seeing the Doctor working on the TARDIS (I can't recall seeing the bottom of the TARDIS much, if at all, so it was interesting seeing it all open/exposed like that). 

I knew Stephen Fry was going to be in this, but not much about what sort of role he was going to play. I was surprised to see him offed so quickly (and rather violently too - shot in the back of the head). His code name or whatever being 'C' reminded me of the Bond movie Spectre and the discussion of the character named 'C' in that (and the suggestion of what the letter stood for).

Obviously Yaz and Ryan weren't trained for spying, so it makes sense they weren't very good at it (I was amused Ryan decided his alias would be Logan and then he panicked over the fact he looked nothing like Hugh Jackman). While Ryan struggled a bit to keep his cool, Yaz was pretty good at questioning the dude they were sent to investigate, Daniel Barton. Speaking of that guy - I thought there was going to be a 'reveal' that he wasn't who he seemed (especially with the not quite human factor and his being in league with the aliens of the episode).

I'm afraid I must admit that I'd somewhat spoiled myself for the Master reveal. All I knew was that one of the main guest stars this episode was going to turn out to be the Master - so I was 50/50 on whether it was going to be Barton of the friend of Doctor's, 'O'. Regarding the actor playing 'O', I knew I recognised him from other things I'd seen him in, but couldn't for the life of me think what I'd seen him in. Turns out he was in 24: Live Another Day, Mr Selfridge, Iron Fist, the TV movie An Adventure in Space and Time (a dramatisation of the early years of Doctor Who), and one episode of Sherlock - all of which I've watched, but I only really remember his appearances in Mr Selfridge and Sherlock...after being reminded that he was in them. Alas, I was going back and forth between who I thought the Master was going to turn out to be (though I was leaning more towards 'O' for the simple fact that he was so friendly with the Doctor, and he did show the flickers of having a bit more going on under the surface of what we saw). 

It was when he made the comment about sprinting and the Doctor questioned it that I pretty much figured it *had* to be him...and, sure enough, it was. It's my own fault that the 'reveal' didn't have as much impact on me as it probably *should* have had (curse my inability to remain spoiler-free! I only have myself to blame). However, it was still a pretty good reveal scene (though I don't think anything will ever top Derek Jacobi's reveal as the Master in Season 3). 



It was pretty fun seeing the actor, Sacha Dhawan, let loose with his interpretation of the Master (which reminds me more of John Simm's iteration more than Michelle Gomez's). I guess going a bit 'over-the-top' is now a prerequisite for playing the role? In any event, it was still quite fun. And Jodie's reaction as the Doctor really sold the moment too.



Of course, the Master's being around still opens up a bunch of questions considering the last time we saw him and his other self (though I get the impression the Master is the type of character who will never *truly* be gone, no matter how 'dead' he might seem, so people complaining about how he's still around seems a bit odd, considering everything else that's happened). What will be really interesting is seeing where they take the character this season. I found it somewhat amusing when I saw it pointed out elsewhere that the Doctor was inadvertently flirting with the Master earlier in the episode (not knowing who she was really speaking with). 



I'm also interested in seeing what type of dynamic the Doctor and Master will have (since their genders have been reversed since the last time we saw them together). Speaking of gender-swapping, it was a surprise that Graham hadn't really believed the Doctor previously when she'd said she was a man before - I thought he'd accepted it as the truth. On the plus side, at least after 'C' questioned it, he quickly accepted it. There was no real judging the Doctor harshly on her being a 'she' - which was nice (if only certain 'fans' could learn to do the same). 

I'm still loving Jodie Whittaker's performance as the Doctor. She brings such a different energy to the role than what we've had the last few times. She's less 'manic', I think. She also delivers humourous lines in such a great way.



Not only did I love that she chose to wear a suit to the casino-themed birthday party (complete with bow tie), but also the fact that she wore the same length pants as she does with her regular ensemble (apparently this Doctor likes to show off her calves). Speaking of the Doctor's regular ensemble, I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't noticed until now the Doctor's 'earring cuff' (which I didn't even know it was called until I looked it up. I was just thinking of it as a 'double earring with chain').



I enjoyed her mistaking Blackjack for Snap as well. It was pretty fun seeing the nods to Bond in the episode. Everything from the laser shoe (which sounds pretty awesome, if a bit impractical) to "Doctor. The Doctor.", it gave a wink/nudge to the spy genre without going overboard. 

I'd read this two-parter was going to be pretty 'epic' and they certainly delivered that with Part 1. The car chase was pretty neat. Here's a behind the scenes video about it:



And that cliffhanger ending certainly left us with a sense of "How the HECK are they getting out of THIS ONE?!". I'm anxiously awaiting Part 2. Here's the trailer for it to tide us over until then:



About the only 'negative' thing I have to say regarding the episode is that I was a bit letdown by the use of Australia in it (since that's the country I'm in). The two Australian Secret Service characters weren't portrayed very favorably and were quickly dispatched without anyone seeming to much care. I was hoping for a bit 'more' from the Doctor's first trip - though not the 'first' for the Doctor, since she referenced having lived in the outback for 123 years and having seen some "great rocks", but rather the 'first' time we're seeing the Doctor in Australia. It was rather disappointing.

Still, this was a heck of an opener to the season. I liked the fact they balanced the action with some nice character beats. The fact that Yaz was so freaked out by where she'd ended up (no matter how long it was for) felt very 'real'/human, for example. 

Anyway, I'm sure there'll be the usual complaints/nitpicky by a certain percentage of the show's viewers (even ones who claim they're not watching the show anymore - yet somehow feel they're still qualified to criticise it), but for me personally, I'm glad to have this version of the Doctor back on my screen again. I was pretty close to giving up on the show in Season 10, but Season 11 piqued my interested and now I'm all in/here for Jodie as long as she sticks with the show (which I'm hoping will at least be for another season - she's the 13th Doctor, it'll be Season 13...seems fitting/appropriate). 

Bring on the rest of the season!

I've seen some theories that this Master is an earlier version and not one that came after Missy (since last we left Missy and John Simm's Master, it looked as if both were done for). It'd be interesting if this is an earlier version of the Master (I guess it's possible, with all the time travelling). 

Since I hadn't seen the earliest versions of the Master, I found this video interesting (it's narrated by the newest actor to play the part, and I'm including it in spoiler tags just to be safe in case anyone who hasn't yet watched the episode takes a glance at this thread):



I imagine they might leave explaining what the Master's line to the Doctor was referring to until at least later into the season, if not the season final. I'll certainly be surprised if they reveal what he meant earlier than that.

Well, it was certainly better than last week's episode. 

After watching two seasons' worth of Goran Visnjic in the TV series Timeless (another time-travelling show) as a rather 'morally grey' character, it was nice to see him playing someone who was clearly a 'good guy' here. He made the character very compelling - the fact that we spent so much of the episode's beginning with his character could attest to that (I did love the Doctor's entrance, though. I might miss her when she's not onscreen, but the build-up to her entrance is worth it). I like how Jodie's Doctor is very much 'the inventor'. 



The two of them had some nice chemistry/really good scenes together (when the show casts the right guest stars, it adds a lot to the episodes). I enjoyed their bonding over a love for inventing things. I also loved the Doctor mentioning her Sonic Screwdriver and what she made it from back in the first episode of last season.



Speaking of gizmos, when we learned the name of the glowing green floating ball was the 'Orb of Thassar', it immediately made me think of the Orb of Thesulah from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

There was also some good interaction between the companions and the other guest stars, Dorothy Skeritt (whose name reminded me of Skerrett from Victoria...though they were spelled differently) and Thomas Edison. I liked seeing Yaz hanging with Tesla and Graham laying down some hard truths on Edison. Naturally, Tesla was smart enough to work out what the deal was with the TARDIS (Edison...not so much).



I thought this was a really nice shot of him in the TARDIS.



As for the villains this week...well...at least these guys were creepier than the monsters from last week.



Sadly, the giant alien scorpions/Skithra came off more 'slapstick', with their constant scuttling into each other/stumbling over one another (just as well they were so clumsy, or the good guys might've been toast). Meanwhile, the Skithra Queen reminded me of the giant spider/Empress of the Racnoss from the episode 'The Runaway Bride'. 



I've grown so accustomed to Jodie's Doctor having a sense of wonder/whimsy, that it came as somewhat of a surprise when she got all threatening towards the Skithra Queen. 





And Jodie really sold the Doctor's reaction to the question about whether she'd seen a dead planet before.




Clearly the sight of ruined Gallifrey from episode 2 of this season is still fresh in her mind (obviously that isn't the only planet she's seen destroyed, but it was good that they referenced it with the Doctor's reaction). Still, in amongst all the threats and seriousness, the Doctor had some 'lighter' moments/amusing lines her and there. I loved her shift from one to the other when she was talking to Tesla early in the episode.





Honestly, I don't know how anyone can hate Jodie. She's just so darned charming/endearing.

I oftentimes find myself liking the episodes of the show where they go to the past and visit historical figures. There have been some that I wasn't so fussed on, but more often than not I enjoy them. One of my favourites was Season 5's 'Vincent and the Doctor', and the ending of this episode reminded me of the ending to that episode (where nothing really changed for the historical figure in question, despite everything/all the efforts made to help).



All in all, this was a definite improvement over last week's episode. Here's hoping the rest of the season lives up to the quality of this episode and the season's two-part premiere.