Doctor Who series 8 – every episode ranked

We haven’t done a TV review in a very long time and missed out on reviewing any episodes from the eighth series of Doctor Who but we’re compiling them from best to worst in this list. To put a bit of perspective on our Who opinions, we reckon the show peaked at series 5 and 6, when The Silence were actually cool. Series 7 was disappointingly bland and I still have mixed feelings about to 2013 specials. Series 8 retained Steven Moffat as chief writer and Jenna Coleman as the companion Clara but introduced The Thick of It’s Peter Capaldi as The Doctor, a seemingly inspired casting for a darker doctor. Sadly this Doctor, and the whole of this series, seems to be more comical than actually dark. Several episodes just seem as if they were discarded ones from the David Tennant or Matt Smith eras. They rarely had a unique sense of twelfth Doctory-ness to them.

Series 8:

1. Listen – Episode 4 – Writer: Steven Moffat – Starring: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Samuel Anderson, Kiran Shah – UK Views: 7.01 million
2. Dark Water – Episode 11 – Steven Moffat – Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Michelle Gomez, Samuel Anderson, Chris Addison, Sheila Reid, Andrew Leung – 7.34 million
3. Kill the Moon – Episode 7 – Peter Harness – Peter Capadli, Jenna Coleman, Ellis George, Hermione Norris, Samuel Anderson – 6.91 million
4. Time Heist – Episode 5 – Stephen Thompson, Steven Moffat – Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Keeley Hawes, Jonathan Bailey, Pippa Bennett Warner, Samuel Anderson – 6.99
5. Deep Breath – Episode 1 – Steven Moffat – Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Neve McIntosh, Catrin Stewart, Dan Starkey, Peter Ferdinando, Ellis George, Michelle Gomez – 9.17
6. Into the Dalek – Episode 2 – Phil Ford, Steven Moffat – Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Nicholas Briggs, Zawe Ashton, Michael Smiley, Samuel Anderson, Nigel Betts, Ellis George, Michelle Gomez – 7.29
7. Mummy on the Orient Express – Episode 8 – Jamie Mathieson – Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Frank Skinner, Daisy Beaumont, John Sessions, Samuel Anderson – 7.11
8. Flatline – Episode 9 – Jamie Mathieson – Peter Capadli, Jenna Coleman, Joivan Wade, Christopher Fairbank, Samuel Anderson, Michelle Gomez – 6.71
9. Death in Heaven – Episode 12 – Steven Moffat – Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Michelle Gomez, Samuel Anderson, Chris Addison, Jemma Redgrave, Ingrid Oliver, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Nicholas Briggs, Nick Frost – N/A
10. In the Forest of the Night – Episode 10 – Frank Cottrel Boyce – Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Samuel Anderson, Abigail Eames, Harley Bird – Michelle Gomez – 6.92
11. The Caretaker – Episode 6 – Gareth Roberts, Steven Moffat – Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Samuel Anderson, Nigel Betts, Ellis George, Chris Addison, Michelle Gomez – 6.82
12. Robot of Sherwood – Episode 3 – Mark Gatiss – Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Tom Riley, Ben Miller

All in all the series was very mediocre. It isn’t Smith that the show misses but rather genuine imagination, excitement and scares, glimpsed in all too brief dashes.

TV review double-bill: The Big Bang Theory vs Brooklyn Nine-Nine

British channel E4 must be proud to have such a fine bunch of exclusive American comedy in it’s hands. Yes, I’d consider E4’s How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, The Mindy Project and Two Broke Girls to be a little below par compared to the excellence of homegrown comedic talents such as Outnumbered, Black Books and Not Going Out but today’s two subjects are some of the best TV sit-coms around.

First, it’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine which aired its pilot a few days ago. The show upstaged award season heavyweights such as Modern Family, Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation and The Big Bang Theory to win the Golden Globe for both Best Comedy TV Show and Best Actor.

Directors: Phil Lord, Chris Miller

Starring: Andy Sandberg, Andre Braugher, Melissa Fumero, Terry Crews, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Lo Truglio, Chelsea Peretti

The opening episode introduces some brilliant moments and character chemistry which, at times, had me howling. Andy Sandberg plays cocky, effective but wildly immature NYPD detective Jake Peralta who’s free, prank-filled days at the office could be over with the introduction of the new, stern and commanding officer Captain Ray Holt (Andre Braugher). The relationship of the lead pair may be the focus of the show but there’s plenty of brilliantly comic supporting characters. Amy Santiago (Fumero) is a viciously competitive detective who’s taken a risky bet with Peralta to see who can solve the most crimes before the end of the year; Crews plays Sergeant Terry Jeffords, a once venerable cop who’s lost his edge; Gina Lenetti’s (Peretti) a perky civilian administrator but my personal favourite is hapless and clumsy investigator Charles Boyle (Truglio) who desperately attempts to chat up tough-as-nails cop Rosa Diaz (Beatriz). This first episode is well written, albeit a disappointing second half and not particularly smart, and excellently performed by the cast.

Director: Mark Cendrowski

Starring: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Kunal Nayyar, Kate Micucci, Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch, Simon Helberg

In contrast, venerable comedy show The Big Bang Theory, which really found its feet and peaked around series four and five, has now got its seventh series in full swing with the lacking new instalment The Itchy Brain Simulation. I don’t think the show’s quite its usual self this series, or series six. I think this is down to the fact that six of the seven main characters are in steady relationships and the show can’t just rely on Raj’s (Kunal Nayyar) search for love to be enough to carry the show. TBBT used to be at the top of the comedic food chain but I’m not impressed by its recent form. The writers need to look over their shoulders and realise that new rivals such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine are promising far more entertainment.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Pilot – 8/10

The Big Bang Theory’s The Itchy Brain Simulation – 7/10

Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor review

Director: Jamie Payne

Starring: Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, Orla Bradley, Nicholas Briggs, Peter Capaldi

The quality of Doctor Who Christmas specials vary dramatically. The annual seasonal Who tale has brought us hits like The Christmas Invasion, A Christmas Carol, Voyage of the Damned and The Snowmen as well as clunkers like The Runaway Bride, The Next Doctor and The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe. Sadly, there hasn’t been a brilliant Doctor Who episode since 2011, in my opinion. Series 7 (2012 – 2013) was a disappointment with some dire episodes (Nightmare in Silver, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship) and the only memorable one being The Name of the Doctor. For me, The Day of the Doctor fell a little flat. Now, more than ever, Stephen Moffat and Who need more consistency and better form but The Time of the Doctor is a big let down.

The ancient prophecy foretells that “Silence will fall upon the fields of Trenzalore, where no man can lie or fail to answer, when a question will be asked, the oldest question in the universe hidden in plain sight: Doctor Who?” Now Trenzalore is sending a message throughout time and space. A Church called the Papal Mainframe, led by Tasha Lem (Bradley), arrives first and shields the planet for teleportation while whole armies of Daleks, Cyberman and Weeping Angels turn up as well as a one man army who the message is meant for: The Doctor (Smith). Knowing that he’s on his last regeneration, he recruits his companion Clara Oswald (Coleman) and set out to find what’s got the rest of the universe so nervous.

Matt Smith is a brilliant Doctor who’s key characteristics are his charisma and energy injected into the role but The Time of the Doctor forgets that and gives us the dreary story of Doctor Who at the Retirement Home. The episode starts off well with some good gags and set pieces before it completely falls into regurgitating everything that Doctor Who’s thrown at us on the last eight years. The next two paragraphs contains heavy spoilers.

The concept of a message being sent out to everyone in space and time leading to all of the alien spaceships convening on one point was done in The Pandorica Opens (2010). The dying Doctor having visions of previous companions and the Time Lords attempted return from an unreachable place threatening the galaxy are ripping off The End of Time (2009). Also, as if there weren’t already enough similarities between Rose and Clara, The Doctor tells his companion to return to the TARDIS before sending her back to her home remotely, much like The Ninth Doctor did in The Parting of the Ways (2005). The Doctor grew old in the episode The Last of the Time Lords (2007). It doesn’t feel like it’s paying homage in any way rather just being lazy.

Additionally, The Silence don’t work at all as protagonists. Their dull origin story is just an anticlimax and it’s ridiculous that the Kovarian Chapter would go to the bother of genetically engineering a Time Lord assassin just to stop the Doctor from going to Trenzalore, couldn’t they have just restrained him. Also, the Silence start a huge war just to stop another huge war from happening.

On a less spoilery but just as negative note, Bradley’s Tasha Lem is another generic and annoying suspicious official, a return for Madame Kovarian would be much preferred, and the story makes waste of the once scary Weeping Angels. The Cyberman and Sontarans, in their small dosage, were fine but the Daleks shouldn’t have featured or should have been made centre stage as they’ve now become the generic nemesis.

This episode isn’t so much of a disappointment in terms of a waste of premise but just doing completely the wrong thing with what should of have been the epic conclusion of the nearly four year Silence saga. Some of the opening comedic sequences are fine but little else it at all entertaining or energetic, as The Eleventh Doctor should be. The Christmas episode seems to have been thrown in at the last second and Moffat has lost the brilliant sense of episode contunuity, scares and revelations once found in the series but, on the bright side, in should take Peter Capaldi’s new Doctor to rejuvenate Doctor Who for an excellent eight series.

4/10

“Kidneys! I’ve got new kidneys; I don’t like the colour!”

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor review

Director: Nick Hurran

Starring: John Hurt, Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, David Tennant, Joanna Page, Jemma Redgrave, Ingrid Oliver, Billie Piper, Tom Baker, Nicholas Briggs, Peter Capaldi

This is my second Doctor Who related TV review of the week as it’s the second Doctor Who TV event of this week, after An Adventure In Space and Time. This is the main event though. It’s certainly only one for the Whovian who’s been following series 7 and the many other sagas tied into this extravaganza.

The Time War is raging at its peak as the villainous cyborg Daleks storm Gallifrey, home of the human like Time Lords, and their stunning city Arcadia. To end the war and the possibility of the Daleks escaping, The War Doctor (Hurt) steals a monstrous weapon: The Moment, who’s developed a conscience represented by a familiar interface (Piper). A fissure in time brings him to two his future incarnations. One, (Matt Smith) is deep into the mystery of the paintings with his companion Clara (Coleman) while the other (Tennant) becomes under attack from Zygons while romancing Elizabeth I. The three/one unite despite the 400 years between them to try resolve a faceless and unrelenting enemy.

The only flaw in this genius plot is the lack of action. The brilliant laughs and then angry tensions between the Doctors/Doctor could be lost on the target audience. Stephen Moffat’s script is a Who masterpiece but, besides the opening Time War sequence, it’s very dialogue and plot based compared to what we expect from The Doctor.

Beyond that, this is the best episode since 2010’s The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, even if The Day of the Doctor lacks some of the craziness we loved in series 5. I loved that Rose Tyler’s involvement wasn’t substantial and the Zygons proved an interesting and scary sub plot. There’s some brilliantly memorable moments, namely the helicopter outside the National Gallery and The Twelfth Doctor’s cameo. Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt, plus of coarse Peter Capaldi and Tom Baker, are all spot on.

We get a warm return for UNIT, Kate Stewart, The Fourth Doctor and the Zygons. We’ll be remembering this one a classic and a landmark in Who history, despite the faults. It completely reinvents the Who universe in many ways replacing the slight hiccup of series 7. It’s certainly magical and a little eccentric giving us a satisfying and cinematic but still loose ending.

8/10

“Great men are forged in flame. It is the privilege of lesser men to light the fire!”

If you cannot wait for this Christmas when Silence falls on the Fields of Trenzalore then check out other Doctor Who goodies such as these prequel episodes. This first is The Night of the Doctor. The short lived Eight Doctor (Paul McGann) has his regeneration explained in this short which is written by Who’s very own Stephen Moffat. Also written by Moffat is The Last Day, a genius first person introduction to Arcadia and its storm of Daleks. Also, remember to tell us who YOUR favourite Doctor is. I’m torn between Matt Smith and Tom Baker but YOU can decide.

An Adventure in Space and Time review

Director: Terry McDonagh

Starring: David Bradley, Jessica Raine, Brian Cox, Lesley Manville, Sacha Dwahan, Claudia Grant, Reece Shearsmith, Nicholas Briggs

Sherlock and Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss is hugely responsible for the excellent telling of how a sci-fi legend nearly never came. With incredible acting and casting, this TV movie really does brilliantly to bring to light how close Doctor Who came to being another forgotten failure.

An Adventure In Space and Time is set over four years of the career of William Hartnell (Bradley), a tired an ageing actor who lives with his wife (Manville) and granddaughter. He’s approached by Head of Drama Sydney Newman (Cox), director Waris Hussein (Dwahan) and the BBC’s first female producer Verity Lambert (Raine) for a role in a new kids’ science fiction serial as a rough but charming old man travelling in history and the cosmos with varying companions. However, after the assassination of JFK, the country is in no mood for whimsical time-travel.

David Bradley is actually incredible as Hartnell. He has the dotty, sometimes rage filled but ultimately adorable First Doctor spot on. He, Raine and Cox, manage top notch performances that allow the behind the scenes world of Doctor Who to become as magical as we watch it on our screens.

Gatiss’ script perfectly manages the terrifying introduction of the Daleks, the friendship and wonder that Who brought as well as the darker tones, the gravitational pull of fame and the sad road of Hartnell’s slight loss of sanity. The brilliant humour mixes with all of this to make an extraordinarily engaging biopic, even if it is a little full of itself and the excellence of the show at times.

“CS Lewis meets HG Wells meets Father Christmas: that’s The Doctor!”

9/10

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot review

“What does SHIELD stand for, Agent Ward?”

“Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.”

“And what does that mean to you?”

“Someone really wanted our initials to spell SHIELD!”

This is our first TV review and we’re unlikely to do more than series openers and finales but there’s no better way to start our new category with Joss Whedon’s great new series. It’s already huge with this opening episode being the most watched American network show debut for four years. You may not want to read on in case you haven’t yet seen the excellent pilot episode.

SHIELD is a organisation dedicated to hiding the truth of superheroes, gods and aliens from the humans. One year on from a catastrophe called The Battle of New York, everyone knows of the powers that some possess. When single father Mike Peterson (J. August Richards) suddenly finds himself with incredible powers, SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) assigns a team, former violent field agent now reclusive pilot Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), Scottish engineering expert Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), English bio-chemistry nerd Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), tough-guy-and-definitely-not-a-people-person type Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) and Coulson himself, to go in search of the man to ensure that he stays good as well as to investigate hacker group The Rising Tide, led by the cocky, obsessive yet mysterious Skye (Chloe Bennet).

Everything about the show oozes awesomeness. Whedon’s signature slick humorous writing style shines throughout and, like all great Whedon projects, there’s a lovable team at the centre, be them Buffy’s band of high-school misfits (and that’s not just the students), Serenity’s quirky crew, the super-powered Avengers or the Agents of SHIELD.

We get more of the playful trickster in Coulson as he sets up a brilliantly funny sequence with Agent Ward and the truth drug. Dalton’s portrayal of Ward is one that makes the character more than the generic muscle of the team. The British scientific duo are certainly entertaining watch (“I’m not Hermione; I can’t just conger up a paralysis spell!) while Agent May could be an interesting character. Skye initially came off as a bit annoying but her potential mysteries are certainly a redeeming feature.

One of the main reasons I loved this episode was because of the sense that it really is set in the Marvel world. It’s not just the occasional reference to Romanoff (Black Widow) or the Director (Nick Fury) but the Super Soldier Serum from Captain America, the Gamma radiation from The Incredible Hulk and the Extremis from Iron Man 3 all come together as major plot points that are unveiled at the same rapid pace of the mystery. We’ve been told that this is Agent Maria Hill’s (Cobie Smulders) only appearance in the series but I hope that characters like Fury (Samuel L Jackson) or the Galaga man also have cameo appearances.

My only queries are that there’s no distinguishable theme tune and that there’s not really a strong link (other than the title) from this to the Marvel SHIELD comics. The latter can be fixed in future episodes that we hope can be more character focused with more terrifying villainous monsters. It would be nice to have the episode continuity established in Buffy series 2 rather than the Doctor Who/X-Files monster of the week kind of theme.

It’s not perfect but there’s a great cast, dozens of quotable lines and is something that’s going to have us glued to our screens for the next 13 weeks. Sharp, witty, great effects, an excellent plot and could be the next big thing for sci-fi TV for the next few years. It’s fun, riduculous, big budget popcorn television if such as thing exists

8/10