I haven't been watching much live TV lately (mostly been watching things on DVD/Blu-ray or recording stuff and watching it later).
is one of the only things I make a point of watching live (it helps that there are no ads on the channel which airs it here).
I'm so glad to have the 'Fam' back.
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!