New Who Review for Death in Heaven
Posted By Kathleen David on November 10, 2014
Being the last episode of the first season of Capaldi’s Doctor long may he reign.
I really have a lot of mixed feeling about this one.
Acting was top notch. The nods to Classic Doctor Who hit the right notes. The end is still making me think.
But it didn’t hit it out of the park. Maybe a double if I squint. And I honestly can’t tell you why this episode sits like a bad piece of potato in my gut.
Most of what I want to talk about is in the spoiler zone so it will be behind the cut.
Short answer, I liked it but I didn’t love it as an episode.
I am grateful for another season of Capaldi.
Everyone was trying to give Doctor power. The humans made him president of earth and control of its military might. Missy gave him the Cyberman control and encourage him to right wrongs. It felt like Jesus in the garden where the devil tempted him and he kept denying. The Doctor doesn’t want it. And if you think about it, he has had this sort of power and almost used it several times. But he recognizes what would happen to him if he did cross that line and you have a feeling at some point he did and he knows there is no coming back from that.
Bring back the Brigadier as a Cyberman like Danny was one of the things I really am of two minds about.
Then there was the end. Clara lies to the Doctor. The Doctor lies to Clara and everyone is unhappy.
And why create such a lovely version of the Master played with evil aplomb by Michelle Gomez to just off her? Are we really suppose to believe that was it? That bothered me.
I did like the “I’m an idiot with a box and a screwdriver.” Kind of sums up 51 years of Doctor Who in a sound bite.
And Santa is going to sort this out. I can’t wait.
The Master’s survived being killed once or twice before 🙂
Think of the Master as more of a comic-book supervillain. “Nobody could have survived that!!” And next issue (or arc) they’re back, with a “Oh, I had a teleport/clone/robot double, so I survived. Now bow before my *new* Evil Plan!!!”
I was really disappointed that they killed off Osgood. She was one of my favorites from the Gallifrey Falls No More episode.
I am so tired of the ‘crazy’ Master. I feel like Eric Roberts is the model for the new Who Master. The Master was never insane in the classic series. Obsessed with the Doctor, yes. Willing to kill innocents if they got in his way, yes. But he was never a psycho until the TV movie (taken to the Nth degree by John Simm, shame on him) I’m sorry, but, no! The Master is not a maniac. He’s an egomaniac!
Oh, I think the Ainley Master was pretty crazy at times. Not bugf**k nuts, but definitely not entirely there.
I agree that it’s a shift (and that Eric Roberts was awful), but I think it’s a shift in emphasis rather than a total change of character. The modern Master is also, let’s be honest, a significantly better long-term planner than the classic Master ever was, much as I love Roger Delgado.
And Derek Jacobi’s 5-10 minutes as the Master are easily the most chilling that the character’s been in *any* era so far as I’m concerned.