I did, in fact, watch this twice. The second time I was sitting in the theater with my girlfriend, a non-fan / casual fan at the most. She laughed at the jokes and we both cried at the end, during the Christmas armistice scene and…
“This is a strong contender for the saddest ending for a companion we’ve had since the new series began. But an equally strong contender for the happiest.”
Let’s cut to the chase: this is the best episode of Doctor Who since at least “Dark Water,” whose plot it resembles in numerous ways best left as an exercise for the reader. I’m not complaining in the least. To grapple with all the terrific…
Per tradition, it’s the end-of-series rankings, minus the finale. 10. The Pyramid at the End of the World I’m sympathetic: this episode had to clarify the nature of the Monks, provide a credible way for them to hold the Earth to ransom, and maneuver Bill…
“I’m glad new Who does a lot of things in new ways, but there’s nothing wrong with an old-fashioned ending once in a while.”
“They even look fantastic after a 5000-year nap, which is one of the pros of being a reptile, I guess. Ice Warriors are big on naps; of their six stories to date, this is the third instigated by humans thawing them out and waking them up from hibernation.”
“At this point it really does feel as though the Monks have always been here, so I’m looking forward to something new next week, even if it’s the Mark Gatiss episode. Fortunately, I’m one of probably few people who felt they went out on a relatively high note.”
“The question on my mind about the Peter Harness episode of Series 10 was: would this be more like ‘Kill the Moon’ or ‘The Zygon Invasion/Inversion’? The answer is that it’s a very special blend of both: swaggering geopolitical melodrama combined with a ridiculous plot requiring every character to be a heedless idiot.”
“I was going to put a spoiler warning at the top of this, even though I usually don’t, because it seemed like an episode where much of the appeal would be undermined by knowing all the surprises from the outset. As it turns out, the opposite is true: it’s better the second time. Nevertheless, maybe don’t read this until you’ve seen the episode.”
“If you can’t appreciate and relate at least a little bit to a story where the people you work for seem to view your most basic human needs as an unwelcome expense…you just might be one of the suits.”