(Original review from the other website, you know the one)
My thoughts in a jumbled list form, as a tribute to Chris' writing and especially The Halloween Apocalypse:
1. It genuinely had the worst expository dialogue I have ever heard in any DW episode, on par with Legend of The Sea Devils, only more of it.
2. Awful, stilted dialogue.
3. Some truly awful performances from certain actors, maybe down to the horrible dialogue they had to say.
4. Worst DW special ever.
5. Plotholes waved away with dialogue scarcely better that "no, that is not a plot hole", I mean come on! "This is Ashad The Lone Cyberman... but he's forgiven me."
6. 13 acts a bit more like the doctor sometimes, not always, but still that is always appreciated, it genuinely seems like Chris learned from the way she was portrayed in The Haunting of Villa Diodati, which is great, a bit late, but better late than never, and I wish it was consistent throughout, but I will not look a gift horse in the mouth.
7. Graham goes to a volcano to stop Daleks, yep, that sounds like him, doesn't at all feel like Chris couldn't find a good way to get him into the plot.
8. The 'many doctors in one' was pretty nice, still some awful dialogue, but genuinely some nice little moments, and always a pleasure to see 8 on-screen some more! (Now give him a spin-off show already!)
9. Blatantly stolen plot points and moments from much better episodes all over the place, most obviously, the many baddies coming together from The Pandorica Opens and the master dancing to a pop song after enacting his plan from The Last of The Time Lords.
10. Chibs cribs from himself yet again, the several version of 13 from Flux and a shortened version of the conversation Yaz and The Doctor had in Legend of The Sea Devils.
11. Feels like a checklist of things that needed to happen come to life (Oh, wow, just like this review, isn't that meta!?)
12. Several more conservative, boomer jokes, how anyone thinks this era is in any way progressive is beyond me (a highly progressive t-girl, if you couldn't tell)
13. The only joy I got from it, besides seeing Tennant again, was:
13a. Laughing at how incredibly bad some of the writing was
13b. The knowledge that this is the last of ChibWho, our long, intergalactic nightmare is finally over!
14. References that make no sense in-universe, like "I guess you could call this The Master's Dalek Plan"
15. The Master was highly inconsistent, occasionally hitting a good level of unhinged, but quite often going way over the top, and just being a bit cringe if I'm honest "I'm human intolerant" and the way too long bit after the "The Master's Dalek Plan" line.
16. Visual effects were pretty good as always, some iffy bits here and there, but mostly really good as is the standard with ChibWho, all flash and no substance! or as us fans know it, the exact antithesis of the spirit of Doctor Who.
17. Why are you still reading this incoherent rant, go watch some good Doctor Who!
2/10