The Whovian Review: "Robot of Sherwood" and "Listen"

Hey everyone!

Well, it took a bit of time to get my thoughts in order after the game-changer that was "Listen," but I'm back to share some more impressions and feelings about the latest Doctor Who episodes!  As always, spoiler alert is in effect, and, due to some polarizing reviews I have read online in the last few days, I feel obligated to remind everyone that my opinion really means nothing in the long run.  But I grateful that you are reading them anyways!

So, let's get to it!

"Robot of Sherwood"

The Doctor is a hero.  After over fifty years of running around and saving people at every corner of the universe, I fail to find a more fitting title for our renegade Time Lord.  His iconic image, blue box and sonic screwdriver included, has lasted and will continue to last the test of time.  It's not surprising that the tales of the Doctor have drawn comparisons to those of other heroes of legend, such as Sir Robin of Loxley himself.  Now, thanks to Mark Gatiss and the good people at Doctor Who, we have a brief glimpse of what an encounter between these two iconic heroes may have looked like.  You know, if either of them had actually existed.

Capaldi is a funny man and his well-acted performance in "Robot of Sherwood" really lets him show some depth through his humorous side.  He remains above most of the cornier moments in the episode and even elevated some of the more goofier moments into something more memorable.  In short, any man that brings a spoon to a sword fight is fine by me.  That being said, I found the characterization of the Doctor in this episode to be a little strange, being more grumpy and argumentative than the sly and brooding Doctor from earlier episodes.  Jealousy is the main motivational force for the Doctor in this episode, and, while it does an ample job moving the story from place to place, makes the Doctor come off as a petty boyfriend.  His robot theory, while entertaining, is pretty unfulfilling and ultimately pointless.

All hail the return of the Impossible Girl who fills this episode with loads of charm and absolutely no character development.  Clara's sudden fangirl obsession with Robin Hood is a little convenient as a story motivator but, as an English teacher, I guess a love of a classic literary hero is justified.  As always, Clara makes a great believer to the Doctor's doubter, even though their conflict came across as more of a lovers' spat than a moral dilemma.  Her encounter with the Sheriff of Nottingham felt hollow and silly next to the tense and emotional encounter with the Half-Face droid in Deep Breath.  Still, a lack of character substance doesn't prevent Jenna Coleman's natural warmth and excitement from shining through and making the episode a fun time.

In a world full of reinvention and reboots, it was refreshing to see Tom Riley's take on Robin Hood remaining loyal to the attributes that made the Prince of Thieves such an entertaining hero to begin with.  Riley's leading man charm and swagger outdo most of the corny and cliche character moments that Gatiss throws at him.  However, like the Doctor, the characterization of Robin was odd at parts.  First of all, he seemed way too alright with all the extraterrestrial things going on around him, being seemingly unfazed by laser-faced robots and flying castles.  He also spends too much time grandstanding with the Doctor and too little time doing any of the actually stealing from the rich and giving the needy.  However, the wonderfully vulnerable moment at the end of the episode makes the trip to Sherwood Forest worth the wait.

The theme of heroism is constantly running through nearly every season of Doctor Who.  However, Robot of Sherwood doesn't really add anything new to the mix other than giving the Doctor a good reminder of what he means to those around him.  Robin's theory about heroism was a poignant moment but seemed a little hollow since his legend turned out to be much like what actually happened anyways.  The Doctor's doubts about Robin mirrors the doubts about himself that have been creeping up since his regeneration.  However, I wish they would've gone deeper into the introspection to balance out the humor.  Maybe future foils for the Doctor will lead to some more profound self-discovery.

Overall, I was disappointed with the storyline of the episode, which turned out to be filled with standard Robin Hood elements and a predictable Doctor Who twist.  Familiarity works well with the characters but not so much with the storyline, which felt stale and tired throughout the episode.  Most of humor in the episode was based on the ridiculousness of the situation rather than anything actually clever, leaving the audience with a few WTF moments (ummm, Marian at the end?  What in the world as that?).  I really wished they would've used the Doctor Who elements of the episode to explain some of the more outlandish parts of the Robin Hood legend instead of piling on.

Robot of Sherwood marks the next step in the "Robots Seeking Paradise" storyline and the little forward motion it makes in that endeavor really makes this episode feeling like a missed opportunity.  There was nothing really subtle about this episode and it suffers because of it.  While the near human-like qualities of the droids from Deep Breath gave an emotional pull to their attempts to get to Paradise, the emotionless Robot Knights make the goal seem more or less like programming.  Plus, the lack of Missy sucks out all the storyline's mystery and intrigue.  However, since these Knight Robots are more advanced and further in the past than the other droid, does this mean that Paradise is actually in the past?  Food for thought.

Mark Gatiss has always had a back and forth history with Doctor Who fans and I think the writing in this episode is a step in the wrong direction for him.  I mean, he clearly has a lot of history writing new and exciting stories for famous figures of fiction but can't seem to deliver on Doctor Who.  He took a fairly easy and uncomplicated path in the writing, which filled the episode with strange coincidences and ridiculous cases of deus ex machina (that freakin' golden arrow was shameful, just shameful).  I wish a sort of Sherlock reimagining would've taken place since that seems to be Gatiss' wheelhouse.  All that being said, the writing does capture a fun and warm "Robin Hood" atmosphere with the dedication that can only come from an endearing admiration for the Prince of Thieves.

Summary: "Robot of Sherwood" is plagued by a cliched story and odd choices in characterization that does very little with classic story material.  However, warm, entertaining, and actually fun performances by the cast and guest stars make this journey to Sherwood Forest worth making a return trip.

6.5/10

"Listen"

We owe a lot to fear.  It fuels us, entertains us, motivates us, and, often times, defines us.  It is fear or the lack of certain fears that separates us from the person next to us and makes us better equipped for the unique set of challenges that lay before us in our individual lives.  Doctor Who, as a show, has a lot owed to fear as well.  It went from a show of cheesy effects and plastic monsters to a show of interplanetary disasters and personal terror in the matter of a few seasons.  It seems like there are precious few things that Moffat and company will not try to scare us with.  However, with "Listen," we fans of Doctor Who might have to, once more, change how we look at being scared.

Flipping expertly from foreground to background character with amazing ease, Peter Capaldi shows us once again why he deserves to wield the sonic screwdriver.  That great opening monologue perfectly sets the tone and opens the door to imagining what exactly the Doctor does when he is alone.  I honestly think this is the first episode that relies solely on Capaldi's strength as an actor rather than the strength of the character itself.  Capaldi's portrayal of a flawed Doctor reminds us all that the Doctor is always better when he is human rather than alien.  Plus, we get to see a sneak preview of the Doctor's chemistry with Danny which makes me excited for the future.

As quickly as it returned, the Impossible Girl is gone once more!  "Listen" presents such an interesting twist on the Doctor/Clara relationship, having Clara playing the doubter to the Doctor's believer.  Her belief in the fear the Doctor feels and her belief in a hope that transcends fear is played in such perfect balance and cements the fact that Clara was always destined to be a perfect companion for Capaldi's Doctor.  We got to see more of Clara's imperfect life with her date with Danny serving as anchor for the time travel storyline.  It was a great place to see how her trips with the Doctor affect her while he is away.  We also got another subtle hint at the possibility of Clara's approaching death but that might just be my fanboy mind translating Moffat clues unnecessarily.

The more of a presence that Danny makes on the show, the more I want something concrete about him to hold onto.  While he is still very likeable and holds exciting potential, there is something unrealistic about him and the episode's story doesn't help ground him at all.  Everything that motivates his actions is being kept in the dark which makes him a hard character to peg.  His relationship with Clara is being moved very quickly too, assuming that Moffat's less than subtle hints about the couple's future isn't going to end up with him pulling the rug out from under us.  I can see that his role in the show is meant to ground Clara to a life on Earth, but, so far, Danny doesn't give the Doctor much competition.

While the theme of fear is not super original for Doctor Who standards, "Listen" is clearly an excellent look at the fear that drives our tortured Time Lord.  The theme matches both the Doctor's and Clara's character arcs perfectly, with the Doctor digging deep into who he is as a person and Clara dealing with a change in worldly perspective.  When you get down to it, fear is the thing that separates the Doctor from many other heroes.  His knowledge of what he has done and what dangers the universe holds make him a fairly flawed man and it is these flaws (i.e. his fears) that make him the hero that he is.  Despite having no tangible thing to fear, "Listen" is a scary episode in its own right, with that scene under the bed being a devilishly good jump scare.

Retconning traditional Doctor Who lore seems to be Moffat's new game and, while some of aspects of this episode were puzzling and unexplained, the changes to the Doctor's timeline felt less hokey this time.  I was really great to see the connections reaching back to the Day of the Doctor and the Sound of Drums storyline from the Tenth Doctor era.  Granted, this may be the most polarizing part of the entire episode and I can understand why many will not like this retcon.  First of all, the episode is so vague on the TARDIS DNA matrix thingy and its limits that Clara just landing in the barn on Gallifrey seems pretty convenient.  Still, it lead to a great character moment nevertheless so I'm willing to let this bit of Moffat bull slide.

Moffat probably knows that he is the most polarizing element in modern Doctor Who history, but it seems that he is actually listening to what people have to say about him.  "Listen" takes Moffat's typical MO and completely turns it on his head.  The focus on fear instead of what causes it feels like a much needed breath of fresh air to the show's formula.  The monster, or lack thereof, is demonstrated through dialogued instead on jumpy visuals.  This is Moffat taking a big risk on a potentially disastrous premise and it payed out in spades.  Granted, the jumps in time don't make for a very fluid story, but everything about "Listen" makes me excited for Moffat episodes once more.

 I've noted before how awesome the cinematography has been this season, and I will say it again: the cinematography has been noticeable different from previous seasons.  Every episode has had a very nice atmospheric shot that sets the tone for the episode.  The play of color and tones in "Listen" especially is interesting and dynamic, from the muted tones of Rupert's childrens' home to the deep blues of the Doctor's childhood barn.  It makes practically any still shot from the episode so gosh darn beautiful to look at.  It's just another thing to look forward to episode to episode.

Summary:  A few timey wimey quabbles can't keep "Listen" from breaking through all expectations for Steven Moffat's next offering in Season Eight of Doctor Who.  A refreshing and personal look at what make the Doctor tick at his very core and the exploration of how Clara fits in the web of the Doctor's life will make this episode one to remember for a long time.

9.0/10

Well, there you go folks!  I hope that was worth a little bit of a wait.  I was just really excited by Doctor Who's offerings this week so I couldn't quite properly process my thoughts.  Anyways, expect an equally well-timed blog about the next two episodes in a couple weeks.

As always, thanks for reading everyone!

The Whovian Review: "Deep Breath" and "Into the Dalek"

Hey everyone!

So, honesty time.  I know it's been a while since I've written anything for this blog and I'm sure that really disappointments me more than anyone else.  I do fancy myself as a writer in some sort of self-definition, and you can imagine how frustrating the lack of motivation to write can be to someone like me.  I guess writing as a whole is one part waiting for the moment of inspiration and the other part forcing the words onto the page whether you want to or not.  So, here I am, squeaking out a few thoughts of the newest Doctor Who episodes for you!  And, for honesty's sake, I should probably say that it might be a little more than a few thoughts.

EDIT:  OK, future me here, coming back to warn all of y'all that I get to be extremely long-winded in this blog post (as if the length wasn't enough to cue you in).  For your convenience, I have written a summary paragraph at the end of the reviews of each episode if you just want to tl;dr the long paragraphs of me being pretentious and ranting my head off.  But, if you are into that, there is a whole lot to read anyways!

Obligatory spoiler alert is obligatory, of course.  I'm assuming the people that actually read this blog will have seen these episodes anyways, but, just in case, I'll mention that I will be going into detail on elements of the first two episodes of the eighth season of Doctor Who.  So, if you haven't seen either of these episodes, don't read on.  We cool now?  Good.

"Deep Breath"

Regeneration is a tricky thing.  I, of course, have no personal experience with it myself, but change and transition in general never go quite as smoothly as anyone imagines.  The transition from one era of Doctor Who to another was a long time coming for lots of the fans of the show.  I certainly felt Matt Smith's exit coming long before it was announced.  At the beginning of the Season 7, there was a pronounced shift from the previous seasons of Smith's tenure in the TARDIS.  The quirky and drawn-out adventures to the small corners of the universe had suddenly become epics of summer blockbuster proportions.  With dinosaurs!  Cowboys!  Haunted houses!  Whether or not this was Moffat's unconscious effort to transition fans of the show to a new formula that would come to define the upcoming Capaldi era is yet to be seen.  However, after seeing the Season 8 premiere, that does seem to be the trend.

The image of a giant dinosaur stalking its way through the Thames in Victorian London does seem to ripped right out of a movie trailer.  Seeing how briefly the dinosaur is used in the episode, our dinosaur friend seemed to serve hardly any other role than a flashy use of special effects.  Kind of a waste, I guess, especially since the writing staff seemed to have used the dinosaur to completely ignore the cliffhanger from the end of The Time of the Doctor.  How exactly did the Doctor and Clara go from crashing in the TARDIS after leaving the village of Christmas to prehistoric times in order to be eaten by a T-Rex?  Will we ever know?  I guess not.  This, on top of a babbling and disoriented Doctor, made for a very awkward opening to a season premiere.  By the time I had a grasp on the Doctor's hilariously confused post regeneration phase, the poor dinosaur was being burned alive.  In a river.  Hmmm.... it set the river on fire too.  I guess it was alien fire?  Nevermind.  Did I care about the dinosaur's death?  Was I sad?  No, of course not.  It was a cheap attempt emotion manipulation that could've been handled a lot better.  Instead, it felt tacked-on and only served to pad an already filled-to-the-brim episode.

The dinosaur aside, Moffat decided to focus on some strange things in Deep Breath.  The relationship between Vastra and Jenny being one of the more puzzling ones.  On one hand, I'm very happy that the Paternoster Gang is getting a little more room to breathe as characters.  I honestly think that, with the right writers, Vastra, Jenny, and Strax could have their own show about their alien antics in Victorian London.  However, seeing Moffat's choices in Deep Breath, I'm not so sure about the prospects of a spin-off.  First of all, there was way too much attention paid towards Vastra and Jenny's lesbian/inner-species relationship.  The cute nods and gestures towards the nature of their relationship in previous episodes were successfully funny because of their subtlety.  It felt like an inside joke that the audience could be a part of as well.  Throw that out the window and what you have is an overly preachy and often tacky set of gags that gets criticism from film review boards and lesbian communities alike.  This is not to say that the banter between Vastra and Jenny was not enjoyable and witty at moments, especially when Clara is also thrown into the mix.  However, it pulled the focus from the fact that we had a new Doctor around and no one wanted to see Jenny pose in Vastra's sun room when we could see Capaldi scream at some bum about his new face.  I had a similar reaction to Strax as well.  I, for one, really do like Strax and his humor a lot.  His "melt him in acid" line was probably that time I laughed loudest during the episode.  However, Strax, like many Doctor Who gags, is best served in small doses.  By the time Strax was giving Clara a physical, I was already tired of his signature comedic antics.  Not to mention the fact that the Paternoster Gang served absolutely zero purpose in the second half of the episode, especially the extremely laughable fight scene in the basement of the spaceship/restaurant.  Such a fall from characters that were so engaging and scene-stealing in A Good Man Goes to War.

Despite all of this, I do readily recognize that Vastra, Jenny, and Strax were essentials for the story that Moffat wanted to tell.  In an episode all about Clara's (and the audience's) reaction to the new outward appearance of the Doctor, Vastra is a perfect parallel for a lesson on judging books by their covers.  And, may I say, that aspect as played expertly.  The conversation Vastra has with Clara about her veil was spot on, never feeling too direct or obvious.  I feel that Moffat tries to fit Vastra into this "zen master Yoda" box too often, and, while he doesn't avoid the cliche completely, Vastra's ability to help Clara to see through her prejudices was one of the highlights of the episode.

I was also very impressed by Ms. Clara Oswald herself throughout Deep Breath.  Clara, during her run with Matt Smith, always seemed be to portrayed as a little too perfect.  One of the running complaints about Smith's era is that companions never seemed normal.  Amy was the Girl Who Waited, Rory was the Centurion, Clara was the Impossible Girl, and River, well, River was River and let's just leave it at that.  The Clara that walked out of the TARDIS with the new Doctor was no longer the Impossible Girl we knew.  She was flustered, she was petty, and she was pissed.  It was really refreshing to see.  We get to see new dimensions of Clara, like the fact that she is a control freak.  Her attempts to bring her world back under her control seemed very reminiscent of the ways that Doctor Who fans have responded to the changes that Moffat had made to the show.  No doubt intentionally so.  Clara's coming to grips with the new Doctor mirror the audience's same struggles, ending with a fantastic and timely cameo by Matt Smith to put most of the tension and doubts to rest.  I also like the fact that we got to see a flashback to Clara's time as a teacher at Coal Hill.  I know her job at the school is going to be an important role in the rest of series so it nice to see a nod towards it in the premiere.  I know several people that felt that flashback was awkward and out of place and I can see where they are coming from.  The flashback did take me out of the moment a little, especially since a poorly timed commercial break was placed right after it.  However, I think it also shows a lot about what I like about this new Clara.  Through the flashback to her first time in a Coal Hill classroom, we can see Clara pulling from her past experience away from the Doctor in order to help her in extraterrestrial circumstances.  One could say that all we are as humans is a collection of the experiences we've had, the people we've met, and the choices we've made.  To say that the Doctor chose Clara for who she is is to say that he chose her because of the unique set of experiences she has had and her ability to gleam the importance of those experiences.  Clara is now important to the Doctor not because she is the Impossible Girl that died twice, but because of who she is as a person, her ability to survive, and her strength of will.  I don't know about you, but I found that extremely cool.

Now, how about the Doctor himself.  I said before I found the introduction to the Twelfth Doctor to be a little rushed and confusing, but I by no means meant to imply that Peter Capaldi's was anything but intriguing, exciting, and completely scene-stealing.  He has yet, in my opinion, to completely distinct himself from his predecessors, not that this necessarily Capaldi's fault.  The writing has kind of giving him a combination persona, full of bits of Eccelston's intensity, Tennant's charm, and Smith's child-like wonder, which is fine by me.  I understand the necessity of having a familiar feeling character to ease us viewers into Capaldi's new style.  Fortunately, Capaldi's style is a marvel to behold.  He shows us a killer combination of tremendous depth, incredible potential, and a nice chemistry with Jenna Coleman.  Capaldi already feels at home as the Doctor, exuding a kind of confidence in the role that, like David Tennant, comes of being a long-time fan of the Doctor.  Deep Breath, while unfocused at parts, is completely geared towards showing off Capaldi and the role he has as the new Doctor.  Many of the questions I have had concerning the Twelfth Doctor have been mentioned or addressed in Deep Breath, giving me hope that they will be answered.  Why did the Doctor take up a face he had already seen before?  Why did the Doctor become older?  What about Gallifrey?  I have no doubt that, with Capaldi's expertise and experience at hand, Doctor Who can be molded into a show that is worth beholding.

Summary:  As a whole, "Deep Breath" is little more than the casing for Moffat's Peter Capaldi showcase.  The story is presented as a load of "Doctor Who-y" bits strung together with little thought to flow and cohesion.  However, the entire episode has an intriguing, dark premise and does not fail to provide opportunities for its characters to shine.  "Deep Breath" is not perfect, nor is it the next Moffat masterpiece.  However, anchored by Jenna Coleman's charm and Peter Capaldi's impressive debut, "Deep Breath" is an entertaining and memorable round with our favorite characters that overcomes some of its flaw to excite us with the possibilities Capaldi's trip in the TARDIS will hold.

7.5/10

OK, round two!

"Into the Dalek"

What impresses me most about Doctor Who as a piece of storytelling is its abilities to go anywhere and do anything and get away with it completely.  There really is no impossible with the Doctor.  Whether its some alien goings-on or some wibbly-wobbly timey-whimey witchcraft, everything is explainable within the Doctor Who universe.  This opens the door to some amazing possibilities, and, as a writer, this kind of concept can literally make my mouth drool.  That being said, the moment I heard about the plot of "Into the Dalek," I could feel a tense feeling of worry being mixed in with my excitement.  And, after watching the episode itself, I think I know why.  The concept of being shrunk down into a Dalek was a practical inevitability for Doctor Who.  I'm sure the writers have had the idea sitting on the back burner from some time now.  It just seems like the next logical step for a villain that has been done so many times.  Unfortunately, I feel that this is exactly why "Into the Dalek" does not live up to the potential the premise has.

OK.  So, before I being to take a big fanboy crap all over this episode, let me detail the things that I thought were really great about this episode.  Firstly, Danny.  I like Danny and what he means for the rest of Season 8 going forward.  Sure, we got a fairly brief introduction in this episode and, sure, it wasn't the best characterization either.  We know that he was a soldier.  OK, cool.  The Doctor has fraternized with military figures before with UNIT.  But why is Danny a teacher now and why is a hardened former solider tearing up in front of a classroom of his students?  I don't really know, but this mystery, combined with a fine performance by Samuel Anderson, makes a compelling character in my book.  Moreover, think about what a new male presence not only in Clara's life but also on the TARDIS will mean for the show.  I think Whovians everywhere can agree that Matt Smith's career as the Doctor really took off when the wry personality of Rory was added to the Doctor-Amy dynamic.  So far, the Twelfth Doctor and Clara have been portrayed as equals in an intellectual and emotional sense, similar to the Eleventh Doctor and Amy in the early bits of Season 5.  I feel like the inclusion of Danny with be equally as welcomed as Rory's and offer up a different dimension to the Doctor that we didn't know we wanted.  Plus, Clara needs a man, you know?  I mean, sure, there first meeting can basically be summed up as "hey, we are both kinda awkward and extremely attractive, we should date," but, as a little side plot to the main storyline, I was very satisfied and am very excited to see the moment Danny boards the TARDIS for the first time.

Alright, now, for starters, let me be clear.  I'm about to get real picky and maybe a little heavy-handed with my wording when talking about this episode.  This is just the fanboy in me getting a little angry and rattling the cage.  You all know how people can get on the internet.  These are my off-the-cuff first impressions of "Into the Dalek" and, if history is any example of the future, I could completely change my mind about this episode after watching it later on.  I'm still waiting for this to happen with "Victory of the Daleks."  I don't know.  Maybe I just don't like Dalek episodes.  Anyways, the disclaimer is over.  I just want to cover my bases in case I write something I regret later.  Cool?

"Into the Dalek," in my refined opinion as a two year veteran of being a Whovian, is a complete and utter cock-tease.  As I mentioned before, my excitement for the episode was crippled a little by some nagging doubts, and, in the end, I was still disappointed.  My initial fears revolved mostly around the fact that the inside of a Dalek could not be recreated properly on a weekly Doctor Who budget.  But, for what is was, I feel that a satisfactory job was done in this regard.  The use of color and lighting was especially nice and something I look forward to in future episodes.  However, some of the other fears I had going into the episode were surprisingly deadly in their accuracy.  I had the feeling that "Into the Dalek" would fall prey to the same mistakes made in "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" a season before.  The concept of going inside of a Dalek is just so open and so full of possibilities of what to explore that the writers simply stuck to a simple linear storyline to avoid any complicated pratfalls.  And, while this sort of storytelling does make an episode simple and easy to follow, it also makes the episode wicked boring.  An example of what I mean here: the moment the Doctor, Clara, and the team go through the Dalek eye stem and into the body of the beast, they pop up right next to the faulty memory altering device that is so crucial to the plot later on in the episode.  I mean, it is like three steps away and its the only thing that is a different color in the "hallway."  It really doesn't get much simpler in pointing out that the device is going to be important later.  This sort of simplification makes it easier for a viewer to follow the linear progression of the narrative but becomes super repetitive and downright insulting to the viewer's intelligence after an entire episode full of this "point-and-click" progression.  Oh, so these antibodies come around when one of the soldiers shoot one of the extremely useful harpoon guns?  Gee, do you think that will come into play later when the Doctor and Clara get into a tight spot and more dramatic tension is needed?  I mean, I could've written this episode, and that's saying something.  Just because I like screenwriting doesn't mean my scripts are particularly ready to go to screen.  I don't deserve a worldwide audience and neither does this episode.  Yeah, I'm real salty right now.  Deal with it.

Another thing that bugs me is how the writers, when given such a unique premise, took so much inspiration from previous Doctor Who episodes.  I mean, the "antibodies" were ripped straight from the Teselecta in "Let's Kill Hitler."  The comparison was so obvious that I thought for a second that Clara was referencing the Season 6 episode when she saw the antibodies until I remembered that she wasn't even in the show yet.  It was clear that "the most dangerous place in the universe" was going to have some sort of defense system, but to literally call them antibodies and have them hover around and shoot lasers at intruders, I mean, really?  There was nothing else we could do?  To make matters worse, the Dalek antibodies are cheap knocks to boot.  At least with the Teselecta antibodies, there was some system with the red and green lighted wristbands to know whether or not someone was safe around them.  I still haven't been able to figure out how the Dalek antibodies knew which of the crew had fired the harpoon gun that hurt the Dalek in the first place.  If they had been able to determine that, why didn't they zap the rest of the soldiers for having harpoon guns too?  Or the Doctor for having a sonic screwdriver?  Or Clara for having long fingernails?  This sort of convenience is excusable in cases when the suspension of disbelief is secure, but, in this case, it serves as nothing more than a cheap excuse to trick us into feeling emotional when the other female soldier as to sacrifice herself for the Doctor, Clara, and Blue.  It is extremely manipulative thing to do and downright lazy in my mind.  

And all this on top of the fact that "Into the Dalek" practically begs us to compare it to Season 1's "Dalek," with the reveal of the Dalek in the cold open and the musing about the Doctor being a "good Dalek."  Let's take a moment to compare the two of these real quick.  I can distinctly remember the fear I instantly felt when the Dalek was revealed and the Ninth Doctor reacted to it so harshly.  I had no idea what a Dalek was at the time or its long history throughout Whovian lore.  Even so, this single Dalek put more fear into me than any army of Daleks have done in follow episodes.  And "Into the Dalek" is no exception to this.  There was not a single point during the entire episode that I felt that the Doctor or Clara were in any real danger, despite being in the "most dangerous place in the universe,"  In fact, for most of the exploration of the Dalek, Clara just seems happy-go-lucky and the Doctor smug about being about able to lead the expedition through the Dalek so efficiently.  How does the Doctor know so much about the inner workings of a Dalek anyhow?  And, if the Doctor knows, how do the soldiers that have been studying the Dalek know so little about its innards?  Could they not detect the radiation and deduced the problem without the Doctor?  And, if the Doctor knows so much about the Dalek memory altering device that makes the Daleks so evil, shouldn't he know that repairing the radiation leak would reset everything to normal?  I mean, I saw that "twist" coming a mile away and I'm just sitting here eating Mike and Ike's.  

Normally, I'm not so ticked off by plot holes in Doctor Who episode, especially since they are unavoidable in most cases.  But, when the entire premise of the episode is founded upon missing and incomplete information, I really can't stand for plot holes.  I mean, who are these soldiers that the Doctor is teaming up with?  We know that they are fighting the Daleks so we should consider them good guys.  But they were extremely willing to kill the Doctor without blinking an eye and then, for some reason, allowed him to get back into his TARDIS and go and fetch Clara, without fearing he would just fly away forever.  Obviously the Doctor would never do that, but the commander of the soldiers seemed far from convinced before the Doctor showed up at Coal Hill. There was also talk about the Doctor being a "duplicate" or a Dalek spy.  They clearly suspected the Doctor and had little trust in him throughout the entire episode.  For his part, the Doctor did little to gain their trust other than save Blue and offer to explore the Dalek.  In the broad scheme of things, the Doctor got most of the soldiers killed by inciting a Dalek fleet and revealing the soldiers' location to them through Rusty.  But, I guess everything worked out in the end, so all is forgiven.  I get that this is television and that we need resolution, but the resolution just feels so cheap when it isn't earned.  I mean, do we even know what the Daleks are doing fighting these soldiers anyways?  I feel somehow that the Daleks, being the big bad of the entire Doctor Who universe, would have better things to do after being blasted out of the sky by the Eleventh Doctor in the "Time of the Doctor" than wage a war of attrition with these seeming alligenceless group of soldiers.  Gosh, am I thinking too much into this?  Does it bother anyone else that such basic contextual information is just completely left out for no decernable reason?  Maybe I just really don't like Dalek episodes...

Well, I guess that this is a good time to remind you that I don't think that everything in this episode was crap.  Peter Capaldi is as brimming and exuberant as ever as the Twelfth Doctor and I really did appreciate the fact that the writers are letting the Doctor get really dark.  That kicker at the end with Rusty seeing all the hatred inside the Doctor, while well-tread territory in Tennant's and Smith's tenures, was played beautifully by Capaldi.  It was an absolute joy to see the Doctor have a sort of unpredictability, especially since the story was so vanilla.  The relationship between Clara and the Doctor is as fresh as ever with Clara serving this time as the Doctor's conscious, leading him away from his hateful tendencies in a similar way that Donna worked with the Tenth Doctor in Season 4.  Clara's confidence was a much needed light in the bleak landscape of "Into the Dalek" and I feel much better about Clara's role as a companion than in the previous season.  I just can't wait to see more of her and the Doctor next weekend.

Summary:  While we can relish in Capaldi's dark interpretation of the Doctor, "Into the Dalek" fails to make the Daleks something to be feared once more in the Doctor Who universe.  Instead, the episode is filled with a truck load of lazy writing and unjustified emotion manipulation that not even the fantastic chemistry between Capaldi and Coleman can completely save.  I fear that the introduction of Danny Pink may be forever buried beneath this forgettable mass of an episode.

4.5/10

Welp, that all went on much longer than I had planned, so congrats to anyone who read that whole thing without wanting to punch me in the face.  If you somehow found something enjoyable in all of that, you are in luck because I plan on writing a Whovian Review on every episode this season.  Despite my opinions on the first two episodes, I'm thoroughly enjoying Peter Capaldi's first season as the Doctor and am looking forward to what lies ahead.  And, as an unrelated side note, I will be writing more Cowboy Bebop blogs as soon as I get back to watching episodes.  Whenever that is, ha ha ha... mumble, mumble....

As always, thanks for reading everyone!