"TWICE UPON A TIME" - O'BSERVATIONS

I'm not going into a lengthy analysis of the Christmas special.  Far better writers than me have already done that.  I'm just going to post some quick O'Bservations.

1)  There have been some great speeches over the course of the entire series, but no Doctor delivered better and more consistently than the Twelfth Incarnation.  This is a tribute to the skills of both Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat, as well as the directors who helped get the full measure.  And this time, it was his final advice to the incarnation who would succeed him.  (And as I saw mentioned in another review, it was reminiscent of the advice from Polonius.)

2)  The final scene might as well have been entitled "The Doctor Falls Part Two".

3)  I had seen that frame grab of Mark Gatiss and Toby Whithouse facing off against each other in that crater.  I knew it was set during World War I based on the uniforms.  And O'Bviously this was the Christmas special.  Well, bravo to everybody involved in the production for keeping me distracted from realizing the significance of all those points.  Those final moments in the resolution of the main plot was a wonderful homage to the original mission of the series - to teach history lessons through science fiction.  

4)  Almost immediately after the first picture of Gatiss in uniform was released, I saw the rumors that he would be the father of the Brigadier.  Then after thinking it through, they adjusted their theory of "relateeveety" to Gatiss playing Grandfather Lethbridge-Stewart.  And then there was a rumor in which Gatiss was playing the man who invented the police box.  I found that one intriguing, but a script flaw ruined that.  In the end, the feels from having the Captain be Archibald Hamish Lethbridge-Stewart were more in keeping with all of the other salutory notes which graced the special.

5)  About that script flaw - Gatiss looked like the man who invented the police box, and it might have been fun to think he was "inspired" by the TARDIS in its design.  But then the Captain, of whom we didn't know by name yet, admired the TARDIS interior and thought it was an actual police box.  However, they weren't utilized until the early 1920s.  

6)  It made me sad to read a Facebook comment in which a viewer was glad to see Moffat go so that the stories would get back to being linear and not so complicated.  Should that happen, it will be like Trump trying to erase everything Obama did previously.  Moffat showed us what could be accomplished with a series about time travel - all that jumping back and forth in Time realized the potential.  'Doctor Who' ruined me for the staid and static world of 'Star Trek'. 

7)  This is not a spoiler; it's just a guess.  But when the TARDIS looked as if it was deliberately trying to upchuck the Doctor out the doors before blinking out of sight, it wasn’t a case of “Sexy” showing disdain for the Doctor’s new incarnation.  I think “she” was trying to save her.  It threw her out the door because of the explosions caused by the regeneration.  And when it vanished in mid-air, it was either going back in Time or forward into the Future.  Then it could take its sweet time to repair itself and come up with a new “screensaver” for its interior before it came back to scoop the Doctor up before she went splat.

8)  I’m glad the Doctor’s memories of Clara were restored.  Now if only Zoe and Jamie could remember the Doctor so that we might be able to have both Wendy and Frasier could come back for a reunion while we still have them.  (And since “Polly” showed up in the opening of the special, could we see Anneke Wills come back as well?)

9)  Thankfully, the return cameo by Matt Lucas as Nardole did not give away anything about his fate.  Sure, I hope he was able to survive his current situation, but I didn’t want it to be spelled out and thus locked in.  Let’s see what the Future holds.  It was the same with the Master.  Moffat left it open for Chibnall to bring her/him back if he wants to, and with the ability to come up with some novel way in which to do so.  (Just as both Rusty and the Grand Moff did with their visions of how the Master should be played.)  Personally, I hope Chibnall lets the Master lie fallow for a few years before bringing him/her back.  There’s always the Rani and the Monk, Rasillon and my personal favorite, Colin Baker as Commander Maxill.  Bring them back for something fresh instead of recycling the Daleks and the Cybermen, along with the Master, yet again.

10)  One last note - It was a pleasant, unspoiled surprise to see Rusty the Dalek one last time.  With the two-part season ender, Moffat got to say goodbye to his versions of the Master and the Cybermen, and now it was the Daleks' turn.  Having it be Rusty, with its unique take on the brainwashed programming of a Dalek....  Well, I didn't see that coming.  In fact, as it was at the blasted heath of the Villengard munitions factory, I expected to see Captain Jack.  (LOL - I freely admit that it was my nephew who opened my eyes about those being unshelled Daleks running all over the place, doing their "Alien" xenomorph impersonation.  I was hung up on them being the brains from Harmony Shoals - second cousins to the "Brain from Planet Arous"!)

I’m just going to leave it on that.  In the end, I enjoyed it very much and I’m excited for the adventures still to come.

All the best to Jodie Whitaker and Chris Chibnall, as well as to the actors joining as her new Companions and whoever will be the new composer.

BCnU!