TV Show Review: Doctor Who, The Girl Who Died and The Girl Who Lived, Series 9, Episode 5 and 6

The first two episodes of Doctor Who were great, but the following two didn’t really interest me. The two who followed that however, were just fantastic.

When it was introduced that Maisie Williams was going to be on Doctor Who, speculation was that she would play the Doctor’s granddaughter. I’m so glad those theories were wrong because the character that Williams plays in so much more interesting and treads on new ground.

Episode five was a good episode but merely an introduction Williams’ character. The real meaty parts happen in episode six where we explore what has happened to Williams’ and the existential implications of what has happened to her. In many ways, the side story doesn’t really matter. It’s just a fun vehicle to explore Williams’ character and what she has experienced.

In regards to performances, Williams is just great, matching the stage presence of Capaldi even though Capaldi is a much more experienced actor.

Score: 8.3/10 Loved the introduction of Williams’ character. I sincerely hope to see more of her in future episodes.

TV Show Review: Doctor Who, Series 9, Episode 1, The Magician’s Apprentice

Doctor Who returns in stride.

The Doctor and Clara Oswald have returned once again to take us on their adventures and what an adventure the first episode is. Some of the best Doctor Who episode have been based on this formula: revisiting something from the fifty years of canon and adding a little bit more to it.

The best science fiction in my opinion combines a heavy theme with heavy character development and this episode is mostly this. The Doctor evaluates the morality of his actions and the consequences that stem from that action. An old villain is written with more understanding and sympathy than he was given in the past. The end result is the conclusion that the Doctor is a person who is capable of not only good, but great evil.

Worth a mention is the opening sequence, which I liked. I always enjoy the strange, science fiction-y ideas that Doctor Who introduces and I thoroughly enjoy the introduction of “hand mines,” although it was brief.

Score: 7.3/10 It was nice seeing some old faces, but a character who returns from last season always rubs me the wrong way because it just reminds me too much of Moriarty from BBC’s Sherlock. Not very original and likely due to Moffat’s influence. Otherwise, a nice episode to start the season.