Oh I love a good ww1 story perfect I fear

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Dethras

A lovely story which tackles grief and survivors' guilt in a nice way. It's got strong horror elements especially at the start, it feels like a proper ghost story. There's an excellent mystery running through aswell and I love the ending. Had I been in a different mood I would have definitely cried.

The supporting cast are really believable and are definitely the main focus of the story. There are some really tense scenes like the séance but also some really heartfelt ones. This is an excellent story with a lot of range and easily the best of Series 6 so far.

Next Story: Subterranea

A horror story that matches the gothic horror of Hinchcliffe's era as well as redefining it to fit the mould of the JNT years. Creepy, timey-wimey - if at times, a little cliche.

Immediately, we're thrown into the confusing temporal shenanigans, as the Doctor tells himself from the future not to go into the attic of the townhouse (is it the same one from the Auntie Matter?) There's some nice setup for the end of the episode, then it plods along nicely, with both the Doctor and Romana being characterised splendidly. The cliffhanger is interesting, with the Doctor disappearing, and I was hoping that Romana would have to save the day and bring the Doctor back, but it's poorly resolved in the second part, with him just appearing in another part of the house. Ever so disappointing. The ending fits the Doctor's character, with his self-sacrifice, but the "living to the present" trope has been used so many times now, I'm getting sick of it. Their differing opinions on ghosts and the paranormal compliment this team and their dynamic fairly well, but at times, Romana seems a little rude and obnoxious - when it's meant to be the Doctor who's like that...

The main villain of the piece is time - a study gone wrong causing a rupture as Morris returns home when he was meant to die. It's a sad tale as Morris submits to his fate and allows the Doctor to return to the point where it all went wrong and condemn him - and I do think there could've been more to that then rather "we didn't know he was going to die so we're okay" and it would've been more interesting to see the dilemma before the Doctor knowing he has to kill Morris to save the day. Of course, there are real ghosts too, as with every ghost story - far too predictable.

The setting is standard ghost story - creepy mansion, surrounded in folk tales going back decades. I liked the tie-in with World War I, and helps to flesh out the characters with established stories and context showing off the impact, and creating a devastating image of the horrors they faced. Also, it's nice that it takes place in Rye, since I've been there multiple times on holiday - it's a beautiful place, if you have a chance to, go visit there, very picturesque. But I'm getting off topic.

Rather standard ghost story characters, but boosted by the world war, like I've mentioned above, creating compelling and exciting people for the Doctor to face. It's nice to see the Doctor and Romana making friends on the train, and on the whole, the acting was excellent and it made me enjoy their company. Also, it's a nice reference that the ghost didn't join in with the seance because she couldn't join hands.

It's a scary little tale, but can be bog-standard at times. But I'd give it a go just once - nothing too massive, but not too small-scale and boring. Average. But the soundtrack is magnificent.