I thought we were not gonna see the Master for a bit after ‘Mind of Evil’, but here he is again! And he was the star of the show. For someone that acts sooo dignified, he can get into just as much trouble as the Doctor. You’re saying he escaped Earth last episode and was almost immediately captured by the Axons? Loser. Anyway, he’s back, this time in a I help you you help me deal with these Axons: he leads them to Earth and gives them knowledge on time travel, they free him, give him back his TARDIS, and kill the whole planet + the Doctor, as a treat. Typical Master plan. How did the Doctor put it in ‘Terror of the Autons’? Vicious, complicated and inefficient. 

The Master does it all in this one. He’s captured, he’s hypnotizing people, he’s killing people with the ray gun, he’s wearing a mask, he’s breaking into the TARDIS, he’s fixing the TARDIS, he’s criticizing the Doctor for being messy, he’s making deals, he’s working for UNIT for like 10 minutes, he’s running away with the Doctor, he’s running away without the Doctor. Great great great stuff. Now, I’ve been a good girl and kept quiet so far, but I shall not be silent any longer. The levels of Thoschei in this whole season are astronomical. Amazing to see that this ‘ooh they’re exes and the breakup was bad’ energy has been with them from the very beginning. Pertwee and Delgado are great together. They both approach their roles with a certain aura of dignity (read: both the Master and the Doctor snobs), and when they turn that towards each other it’s always very funny to see. That bit where they’re trying to fly the TARDIS but the Doctor forgets to put that little piece back, suddenly remembers, tries to put it back quietly, the Master realises, somehow rolls his eyes without rolling his eyes (Delgado is great at this particular look), and they both just silently agree to ignore what just happened… That’s cinema, my friends.

Other little comments: my girl Jo didn’t get to do much this time apart from yelling at a government official, but neither did anyone else apart from the Master, so I’ll let it slide. The Axon threat was pretty good! Seemed like their plan had good chances of actually succeeding. The Doctor was this close to saying ‘timey-whimey’ 40 years too soon in his attempt to explain the time loop to the UNIT gang; not that Three ever would, he’s too chic for that kind of language. They went all out with the sets and costumes on this one, it all looked pretty cool.

And finally, SHE’S BACK ONLINE BABEYYY, WELCOME BACK, WORKING TARDIS!!! And thanks to the Master, who’d have thunk? One thing: did the TARDIS herself show him that he needed that light-accelerator switch thingummy to fix the Dematerialization Circuit? From what I understood, the screen on the round things just turned on out of nowhere, zoomed on that bit of the machine, and the Master went “Oh, of course”. Huh. Anyway. I really liked Three’s exile stories. He was constantly trying to fix the TARDIS, visibly upset at being stuck in one place, and I think it worked very well for the character. Gave him something to rebel against, and a very clear goal to work towards. Things are not 100% fixed, though. The TARDIS is rigged to return him to Earth like a “galactic yoyo”, but at least we can move about a bit. At the right time too. I do love the UNIT stories, but it was getting a bit repetitive.

Re-watched this recently with a friend to introduce her to DW. Her boyfriend and I are on a mission here.

Man, this was my first episode all those years ago! My Doctor! I’ll try to be critical, but honestly, how can I when this is why I’m even here in the first place? 

This is such a good intro episode to the show. The plot is quite simple, but already plays with the key elements of the show, aliens and time travel (of course). Prisoner Zero is not really menacing as a villain (does it even do anything harmful to anyone?), but the Atraxi threat is clear and appropriately high stakes. But that’s not really the important thing here, is it?

Matt Smith (and Steven Moffat, the new showrunner) had gigantic, immense shoes to fill. David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor was an icon, there’s no way to deny it. His last episodes were a big, emotional farewell not only to Ten, but to the whole RTD era. Looking back, I can help but feel like they overdid it with the drama of Ten’s regeneration. I mean, he goes through the stages of grief for like half an hour of television, and his “I don’t wanna go” tells us he doesn’t quite reach acceptance. That probably made Matt’s and Moffat’s work here harder than it had to be, as the new men who were “sauntering away” with the Doctor and the show. But yeah, DT was a tough act to follow: a fantastic actor with huge charisma. Matt Smith does not have huge charisma. He is, and I believe this can be scientifically proven, the source of all charisma in the universe. I really think it’s impossible to not like this guy within 30 seconds of seeing him. And he’s also a fantastic actor. Eleven, much like Ten, has a motormouth, but his performance still manages to keep the dialogue grounded and interesting. The whole way he moves is just fascinating to watch. He talks with his hands, he’s never still. I’ve seen it pointed out that he never just turns left or right, he spins 270 degrees, and that’s true! Oh, and he can deliver badass Doctor veeeery well. Ten was usually either silent, cold fury or yelling outrage; Eleven is more boastful, more prone to big speeches, to open-armed “come and get me” stances. His speech to the Atraxi in this episode already shows it. I remember when I first watched it. The combination of the outfit reveal (another hit), Murray’s ICONIC “I’m the Doctor” (best Doctor theme, no contest), and his delivery of “I am the Doctor. Basically, run” gave me honest to God goosebumps. And didn’t even properly grasp the context of what was happening there, because it was my first ever episode! Apart from the ditzyness, motormouth, “uncoolness”, and unexpected authority, the rest of Eleven’s main traits don’t show up yet, but that’s fine. It is only a 45min episode after all, and he has a whole series ahead of him.

Getting the companion right on the first episode was also important. Our last companion was powerhouse Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, after all. But Amy was also an instant hit. A little girl praying to Santa to help her with the crack in her wall? Loved that. From the start we see that she’s clever, resourceful, rebellious, and brave. And then comes Karen Gillan, and gives us a perfect grown up version of her who is still all those things, but also without purpose or prospects, seemingly settling for the uncomplicated childhood friend Rory more due to inertia than true love (at this point in time, of course!). So when adventure presents itself in the form of her long lost “imaginary friend”, she confronts him for abandoning her, yes, but of course she goes with him. As another reviewer said, we could have done without the kissogram aspect, although Amy is consistently a very flirty character.

Okay, Doctor is check, Amy is check. The last thing they had to nail is their chemistry. Tennant and Tate worked so well together that they’re friends to this day. Could Matt and Karen match that energy? Yes. Yes, they could, and they did.

I wrote too much already, but yeah, in the end, this episode and everything it represents have a very special place in my heart, and I don’t think it’s nostalgia talking. Hat’s off to Moffat. He really hit a homerun on the start of his reign as showrunner by showing solid and fun characters with a solid and fun story, with a great cast to back it up. 

As a massive Beatles fan, I was beyond excited for this episode. Then I saw the cast for the Fab Four and the synopsis, I ended up postponing watching it for months to garner strength to survive what was sure to be a very very camp, bordering on cringe, experience. And so it was.

Why are the Beatles even in this episode? I expected they’d be like Dickens, Agatha Christie, and Van Gogh were in their respective stories: an integral part of the plot, pretty much one-off companions, even. But no. The boys are barely in the story at all. The Doctor and Ruby watch them perform one (very bad, for plot reasons) song, and have 01 conversation with John and Paul, and that’s all the interaction we see between them. George and Ringo don’t have a single line of dialogue. They defeat Maestro unknowingly, by playing one single chord in a piano that is in a whole other room, separate from where the climax is taking place. They never even see Maestro! Now, as a Beatlemaniac: John and Paul, I must point out, could not read music. Not that anyone would be able to read those floating notes, as there was no clef and no staff, so how would anyone even know what they were??? Anyway. The boys have like 3 lines, and I could have never guessed who they were supposed to be by them. “Oh, but this is a world where music has been shit since the 30’s”. Fine, then maybe don’t use the very famous, very real, Beatles as your characters? And I have to be a bit petty and complain about John’s glasses. John Lennon in 1963 would not be caught DEAD wearing those. He used them later in his life and is famously associated with them, yes, but this is supposed to be ‘63, and wearing glasses was a big insecurity of John’s back then. 

On the DW side of things, I did like Maestro. The whole thing with lasso-ing people with magical music and trapping them in instruments was waaay  too much, but it was silly fun. The soundless scene was pretty cool. Maestro was quite menacing, I hope they show up again. But really, they’re defeated by playing 01 chord on 01 piano? That’s just too simple! They could have at least made it so the chord had to be played by several people, on several instruments or something.

The Doctor and Ruby don’t have much going on in this one, but they are clearly having fun, and Ncuti and Millie have amazing BFF energy. Characterisation-wise, though, this episode is not very meaty.

I swear I’m not usually this grumpy, but I had such high hopes for this! I can’t believe they wasted this great idea, the Doctor teaming up with the Beatles!!!, on a story where the Beatles are tangential to the plot, and where they don’t (can’t, I guess) play a single one of their songs. Ah, and on the singing at the end: it was super silly, but it was funny, so I was okay with it.

Re-listening to this after some years and uh. This is... not a very good story plot-wise, is it? The whole thing of how the Brits even got in touch with the Triskele in the first place is odd, and them trying to find a new Lawgiver among humans is also very strange. Do they understand humans live for a very short time only? The resolution of Tamworth staying with them as more of an advisor than a Lawgiver is treated like it solves everyone's problem, but I can't really see how. Rathbone and the Uncreator Prime were pretty lackluster as antagonists go.

Anyway, the main point of this story is to set up our main characters, namely Charlotte Pollard (aka Charley), and the Eighth Doctor. It does so... adequately. Charley's character traits as a brave, compassionate, progressive, wannabe 19th century adventurer are all there. However, I thought she trusted the Doctor waaaay too much, way too fast, especially considering that he was not at his most formidable here. Charming and smart, sure, but he seemed out of his depth for most of the story. The most important plot point by far is the Doctor's realisation that Charley was supposed to die when the R101 crashed. This change threatens the integrity of the Web of Time, so he can't ignore it, but he also doesn't have the heart(s) to just put this girl back on the ship to die. So he just says nothing and takes her him. Surely this will not come back to bite them in the ass. Nice setup for future DramaTM!!

One thing was bothering me about the Vortisaur the whole time: how big is it?? That one guy on the ship was saying he wanted to take it home as pet for his son, but then we get the Doctor and Charley mounting it to escape the crash. Was that guy just full on insane, wanting to take a horse-sized pterodactyl home with him?

i'd play the heck out of this videogame, gotta say.

they gave him 5 mins. he showed up, served cunt, and died. what an icon.

fr though, after all these years, part of me still thinks they could have done DotD with Eight instead of War. Oh, well. Given this is the direction they chose, this minisode is amazing. I still remember how my jaw was on the floor when I watched it for the first time and Paul McGann was there, saying "I'm the Doctor, but probably not the one you were expecting". Absolute cinema. I loved seeing the comments from people that were not familiar with Eight just being floored by how he just is the Doctor, his own Doctor, from the first second, and in a story that's only 5 minutes long. The shout-out to his BF companions was so emotional and such a nice nod to all the expanded universe work that made Eighth such a beloved incarnation of the Doctor. Plus, "Physician, heal thyself" goes extremely hard as last words go. On a more in-universe note, is this the saddest death for the Doctor? Must be up there with Two's. It wasn't even a sacrifice to save someone, which is sad, but noble. It was him having to give up all he believed in to go fight in a horrible war. And he was alone :( To think that Eight begins his life as the sweetest Doctor we've ever had...

It's like that one post that goes "who was the target audience for this movie?" "me, i was the target audience".

People that dislike this movie have no concept of joy, no whimsy. I made a casual, nuwho friend watch it with me and spent at least one hour explaining how the plot makes sense, actually, if you ignore the fact that the Eye of Harmony can do anything, the fact that you need a human eye to open it (honestly, what was up with that??), and some other things as well. Hilarious that poor Seven gets killed not by the bullets, but by the doctors investigating why his heart rate is so damn high. Grace is living the life as a companion: gets to kill and snog the Doctor in the span of two days! But really, she's a pretty solid companion, and Daphne Ashbrook and Paul McGann have great chemistry. Roberts' Master is fun and camp ("I always drezzz for the occasion") and also scary and I like him, okay? I also like it when the Master has a little companion, and Chang Lee is a good gullible accomplice for him.

Now. The real reason this movie somehow works in the end is Paul McGann. People complain about the memory loss, but idk, it's not a problem for me. The audience gets to figure out who he is alongside himself and Grace, and I thought that was nice, actually. The regeneration in the morgue bit was great, the "WHO. AM. I." was unprecedented in levels of ham. "These shoes! They fit perfectly!". His delivery of that "so that he will live and I will DIE! NO!" line lives in my head rent free. I liked him from the very first second, but was 100% sold when he steals that cop's gun and threatens to shoot... himself. C'mon. What's not to like. Love everything about him. Also, Paul McGann shouts very well?? He shouts "GO!" I'm like "yessir" and I'm out, fast. He can put a lot of authority on it and it's very impressive considering he can also be extremely soft spoken. I'm very glad got into his BF audio dramas, where this talent is very well utilized indeed.

Maybe my fav Doctor. Considering his further characterization in the novels and BF dramas, to me he's a combination of my favorite traits of the previous (and future, actually) Doctors. He's usually kind, very caring, self-sacrificing, full of child-like wonder and love, and quite ditsy. He's great at sleight of hand (love this gimmick), believably a genius, very alien. He has a lot of gravitas, can go from polite to commanding to cold in a split second, and can be quite manipulative too. Of course it's not all present in a 90min movie, but it does start here. Also, I love the outfit! It matches his personality very well and that's important to me.

Def my fav TARDIS interior!!! It makes Fifteenth's look like the inside of a fridge. Monstrous crime that this is the only time we see it.

Bottom line, this is definitely a comfort movie for me, and very much not a guilty pleasure, because I feel no guilt at all. Not to mention it doubles as a New Years movie, so I have a great excuse to watch it every year.

This was a very fun story! But I must say, the Master's plan was very weird. He's stuck on Earth because the Doctor stole his TARDIS's Dematerialisation Circuit last episode. So the Master, instead of immediately making a plan to, you know, steal the thing back, makes a (needlessly, but that's the Master's prerogative) very complex plan to start WW3, so that he can rule the Earth in the aftermath. Was he just resigned to being stuck here forever? He only gets the circuit back at the end because the Doctor suggests an exchange, the circuit for the missile, in their negotiation. A win for the Master, sure, but out of sheer dumb luck being on his side rather than his plan actually working.

Moving on to Jo: I love her already, even though the "companion as a literal assistant to the Doctor" is not my favorite dynamic. She's just so charismatic that it works. And she got to kick some ass this time! I really like how kind she is to everybody, and how she has Benton and Yates eating out the palm of her hand. Speaking of them, both my boys had their own little arc going on in this story, which was great to see. The Brigadier was a delight as usual. As another reviewer said, they really are becoming a little family.

10/10 for the Doctor's outfit in this one, I must say. Loved how he got to be cheeky for a bit in the beginning (waving at the camera, interrupting that guy's presentation while sitting as flamboyantly as he possibly could on that plastic chair, speaking Hokkien with the Chinese delegation and leaving the poor Brigadier just sitting there). All of his interactions with the Master (no comment, I cannot not like the Master) were great as well. That little part where the Master is worried the Keller machine killed the Doctor, and when they are working together to destroy it were both very good at showing that hey, these two really were close at some point, uh? And that final phone call? Muaw, chef's kiss.

Jo betting the Doctor's ass at checkers while the Master patiently watched was so funny. Specially with the Doctor seeming to be genuinely mad that he lost, complaining that the game is "too simple" for him, and he prefers 3D chess (Star Trek reference!?). Jo/Doctor scenes I thought were great were he telling her random stories about his travels, and that exchange where, during UNIT's takeover of the prison, the Doctor makes a little joke about the hostages being in danger, forgetting that he and Jo *are* hostages; she just looks at him and he goes "...Ah" after a while. On this note, damn, UNIT sure killed a whole lot of people when they took the prison back, eh?