Friday 26 December 2014

Doctor Who: Last Christmas

Clara: 'Every Christmas is last Christmas.'

This was an episode which benefited greatly from the media confusion surrounding it. The possibility of Jenna's departure transformed it into a tense tale of multiple fake-outs, and the more cognisant you were of the rumours, the more harrowing it was to watch. Unlucky for me, I believe any old horse shit... so I almost vomited from the stress.

Tuesday 11 November 2014

Doctor Who: Death in Heaven

Doctor: 'How can you win a war against an enemy that can weaponize the dead?'

Well, that was bleak beyond belief. With finales you expect a modicum of carnage. What you don't expect is for the effects to be permanent, nor the victims to be soft targets. If Santa hadn't turned up at the end, I dare say I'd have burst into tears. Let's hope they don't kill him at Christmas.

Monday 3 November 2014

Doctor Who: Dark Water

Doctor: 'Be strong, even if it breaks your heart.' 

This was a wonderfully dark penultimate episode. I've always believed that Clara and Danny would one day end up together. Despite her occasional indecision and whoppermongering, it always felt like the desired endgame. Until now. Now, I haven't got a clue what's going to happen. Help!

Monday 27 October 2014

Doctor Who: In the Forest of the Night

Missy: 'Now that was surprising.'

You're not kidding, Missy. This felt like an episode with some really good ideas at its core, but some really weak pay-offs. The idea of the world waking up to find itself covered with trees was solid, the dialogue was consistently top drawer, and the ecological digs were both amusing and apt. So why did the rest of the episode fail to set my thrill circuits alight?

Monday 20 October 2014

Doctor Who: Flatline

Al: 'Are we really hiding from killer graffiti?'

When I first saw that bald, bearded bloke vanish into the border, I sighed loudly and braced myself for the worst. Was 'Flatline' destined to become this season's 'Fear Her'? Then the quality of the CGI picked up dramatically, and the whole episode was transformed into a classic Russell T. Davies-style romp to the end. Thank goodness for the inaccuracy of first impressions.

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Doctor Who: Mummy on the Orient Express

Clara: 'To hell with the last hurrah, let's keep going.' 

Despite the naff title, this was an excellent episode. It contained just enough Agatha Christie hat-tips without resorting to overkill (the fatal mistake of 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'), the atmosphere and setting were effective without being corny, the central mystery was mostly consistent, and the last six minutes were thoroughly absorbing. To think, I thought last week's denouement was a surprise.

Monday 6 October 2014

Doctor Who: Kill the Moon

Clara: 'You go away, okay? You go a long way away.'

The early buzz seemed to suggest we were in for a treat this week. Reviewers were praising tonight's episode as better than 'Listen', others were saying it was terrifying, and some were touting it as one of the best episodes of all time. I don't think it was any of those things, but it had much to recommend it. The story was good, it had a decent moral conundrum at its centre, and the acting was terrific. So why am I being such a Davros Downer?

Monday 29 September 2014

Doctor Who: The Caretaker

Doctor: 'How can you think that I'm her dad when we both look exactly the same age?'

This was an episode in which introductions took precedent over monsters. Danny meeting the Doctor has been on the cards for a while now, but I never thought it would be so much fun. After last week's plot-heavy caper, I enjoyed tonight's more character-centric focus. Plus, the funny dialogue was back—and sing Hosanna!—did it make a difference to the quality.

Monday 22 September 2014

Doctor Who: Time Heist

Doctor: 'I was hoping for minimalism, but I think I came up with magician!'

The best part of tonight's episode was the beginning. I loved the heist setup: from the mysterious phone call, to everyone losing their memory, to the bank at Karabraxos. After that, it was a fairly standard runabout-by-numbers, with predictable reveals, a liberal dash of synapse-scrambling timey-wimeyness, and the occasionally wonky secondary character.

Monday 15 September 2014

Doctor Who: Listen

Clara: 'Fear makes companions of us all.'

Beautiful! Without a doubt my favourite episode of the season, and one of my favourite episodes of all time. Virtually everything about it worked: from the domestic drama between Clara and Danny, to the timey-wimey shenanigans, to the ambiguity of the monster story. Was there ever anything there? Will we ever find out?

Monday 8 September 2014

Doctor Who: Robot of Sherwood

Hood: 'And remember, Doctor. I'm just as real as you are.'

This is an episode I've been dreading since I first saw it advertised. The title sounded awful, the premise laughable, Robin Hood himself looked ridiculous, and the less said about the teaser the better. So why did I spend half of the episode cackling like a loon? One word: banter. The Doctor may not like it... but I do.

Monday 1 September 2014

Doctor Who: Into the Dalek

Doctor: 'No, you don't understand. You can't put me in there.'

Since Doctor Who's return in 2005, the second-episode slot has become something of a poisoned chalice for writers. For every 'The Fires of Pompeii' there's been a plethora of lesser monstrosities, ready to stink the place up and put an end to our new-season enthusiasm. How did 'Into the Dalek' fare? Was it another 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship' or did it hit the heady heights of 'Day of the Moon'?

Monday 25 August 2014

Doctor Who: Deep Breath

Doctor: 'You can't see me, can you? You look at me and you can't see me. You have any idea what that's like?'

It seems like centuries since we had our last full season of Doctor Who. With the last couple of episodes being so momentous in terms of the show's history, it feels nice to be back to normality again. Assuming you find a combustible dinosaur, a sword-fighting lizard, an organ-stealing cyborg, and a genital-bashing sonic screwdriver normal.

Monday 3 February 2014

Sherlock: His Last Vow

Sherlock: 'The east wind takes us all in the end.'

Whereas episode one rattled along at breakneck speed, with episode two applying the brakes and focusing more on character development, tonight's offering was a patchwork of twists, traumas, fake-outs and surprises. How many of these surprises represent reality, I'm not yet certain. With the gap between series approximating the lifespan of a geriatric spider, I dare say we'll have ample time to wonder.

Sunday 26 January 2014

Sherlock: The Sign of Three

Watson: 'He's cluing for looks.'

For a show renown for its middle episode slump, tonight's instalment skewered the trend through the belt, and set a new bar for hilarity. It may have taken the collective might of Gatiss, Moffat and Thompson to pull off this minor miracle, but after two years away, what better way of reacquainting us with our favourite high-functioning sociopath than with a wedding, some wacky character interplay, and a cameo from Lara Pulver?

Monday 20 January 2014

Sherlock: The Empty Hearse

Lestrade: 'Bollocks!'

I think I agree with Greg. To say that I was peeved at tonight's cold open would be something of an understatement. I was apoplectic. My dander was, as they say, well and truly up. Two full years waiting for that explanation? And then the truth dawned that we were being hoodwinked, and my umbrage turned to relief. Well played Mssrs Moffat and Gatiss. I hate you both, but you got me. You got me good.