Doctor Who reviews

I reviewed every episode of Doctor Who, Series 5, the debut series of the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith. Then I did the same for Series 6, and for much of Series 7. Then I decided to put together a book of reviews of all Eleventh Doctor episodes (including the ones not on the blog) and some new material. Here are the reviews, in order, and the posts about the in-progress book:

SERIES 5

2010 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

SERIES 6

2011 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

SERIES 7

See also my book, based in part on these blog-postsThe Eleventh Doctor: a critical ramble through Matt Smith’s tenure in Doctor Who. It discusses every Matt Smith episode, including the second half of Series 7 and the various specials.

 SERIES 8

Series 9

“The truth is I have not really felt moved to write about Doctor Who much in the Peter Capaldi era. I can’t put a finger on what it is. It might be that he feels a bit like an actor playing the role of The Doctor, while Matt Smith felt like The Doctor. It might be that Moffatt has reached the natural end of his term (much as Davies has by Doomsday) and has nothing really new left to say. It might be that I am just too worn our by the sheer mundanity of Clara.” — from here.

Series 10

  • Meh.

Series 11

Series 12

Miscellaneous

9 responses to “Doctor Who reviews

  1. still watching Dr Who?

  2. Yes; but not obsessively any more. (For example, I have yet to catch up with last week’s episode.)

    I should really write a post on why that is.

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  6. Donald Trump

    Have you heard the news about Doctor Who?

  7. Yes! I am delighted that Whittaker is moving on, but much more delighted at the prospect of seeing the back of Chibnall. (For reasons, see The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos: too late, had your chance, muffed it.)

  8. Mal Reynolds

    What do you think of the news that RTD might be returning as the showrunner for Doctor Who in a couple of years?

  9. I think the news is more definite than that. Like I guess everyone I have mixed feelings. I loved RTD’s seasons 1 and 2, but felt that 3 and 4, which they had plenty of great moments, were a bit tired in comparison, as though he’d said everything he had to say and was struggling a bit to find new material. So I was delighted at Moffat’s taking over, and I think seasons 5 and 6 definitely validated that feeling. But he, too, seemed to run out of steam a bit after that (not helped by Matt Smith leaving), so season 7 and especially his last two seasons suffered a definitely drop in quality.

    Against that backdrop, I deplored the appointment of Chris Chibnall, whose previous work on Doctor Who and Torchwood gave us no reason to think he could do a good job helping the show. And season 11 definitely corroborated that sense. Season 12 is a bit better, but still well below even the weakest of the RTD and Moffat seasons. I have no great hopes for season 13.

    So what to make of RTD’s return? First, he is definitely a step up from Chibnall, so that’s good. My concern is that if he felt a bit played out in season 4, what can we hope from season 14? Will the fourteen years that have passed have given him a fresh vision and energy? If so, this could be a great move. On the other hand, I can’t help thinking of when great football managers return the clubs where they were previously successful (Howard Kendall at Everton, Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool) and how the triumphant return always always always turns out to be terrible disappointment.

    Bottom line: I don’t know.

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