O'BSERVATIONS - MY LOOK BACK AT SEASON 10

So the 10th season of 'Doctor Who', the last one for Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor (cough-cough - Thirteenth!), came to a close by the middle of the year, and the Christmas episode aired just a few days ago.

Here's just some quick notes I had for each episode:

THE PILOT:

I'm glad Bill was accepted by fandom so quickly.  I think her incessant questioning of everything was the most realistic reaction we've had by a new Companion in ages.

I don't think they went far enough with her sexual identity, however.  Being the "first gay companion" doesn't seem like much of a ground-breaker, not when you've had people like Captain Jack and even Clara Osgood along for the ride. 

They should have made Bill a trans-gender.  I think Pearl Mackie is talented enough to pull off that illusion.

I'm writing this on May 4th.  I don't know what the future holds past the "Thin Ice" episode.  But I'm hoping we'll get to see Heather with the Star in her eye again in the future.  I think her story ended without true resolution.  (Post-note: Huzzah!)

SMILE:

I was amused by the tenuous connection to "The Ark In Space" as that was about a colony ship that left Earth around the same time as the "Erewhon".  I'm not sure if "The Beast Below" happened around the same time as well?

I didn't catch it on first viewing, but I liked the call-back to "Dinosaurs On A Spaceship" with the Doctor finding the bust of Nefertiti among the "Citizen Kane"-like collection of "knick-knacks".  He moved it from its original spot but then just left it on top of a crate.  I think his original instinct was to steal it as it reminded him of a former Companion who had the chance to snog the Doctor in his "11th" incarnation.  Otherwise he didn't seem to show any recognition of its significance other than it being an historical artifact (which at this time is being kept at the Neues Museum in Berlin.)

Bill was transfixed by it as well.  She has a keen mind and must know of it already, but I thought there was something else, perhaps almost psychic, in the way she looked at Nefertiti.  Maybe she sensed that kinship of a fellow Companion?  Or maybe it's a case of "Born To Rerun".  Maybe Bill is the reincarnation of Nefertiti's soul.  She must have died at some point by the mid-1900s.  Or maybe Bill just found her hot.....

THIN ICE:

I always say Television is a great teaching tool.  Even though there were apparently two previous mentions of the Frost Fairs, and the 1814 one in general, I never noticed it and I never heard of the event.  This was a great example of how the show fills in the blanks with History.

That tragic little boy, Spider, was at least memorialized by an artist, who painted his imminent demise without truly recognizing what was happening.  Another example of Mankind's ability forget the horrible which we cannot understand.

Spider about to fall through the ice.
[artistic rendition]

Little Lord Peregrine Sutcliffe could be considered the founder of the family line from that point on.  There are several eligible Sutcliffes to be found in the British corner of Toobworld who could have been descended from him, athough no longer with access to his wealth.

As for the real Lord Sutcliffe, he sired only bastards before he died, none of whom were successful in their bids to contest the conditions of his will.  But his descendants can still be found in Toobworld to this day.  Some might look exactly like him, such as 'Nathan Barley', and others resemble him a little, but probably have no idea who he is - like the EMS paramedic Johnny Farrell of 'Sirens'.

KNOCK KNOCK:
This was probably the best "haunted house" episode the show has ever done.

With the introduction of Bill's new flatmates, the show expanded the supporting cast, even if only on a recurring basis.  Hopefully they'll play into future episodes.

I'm glad they cut out the mention of Harry's grandfather as being Harry Sullivan, once a companion of the Fourth Incarnation of the Doctor.  I think the concept was a great idea, but they chose the wrong flatmate.  I think Paul looked more like he'd be descended from Harry than the other young man.

However, that Harry certainly would make a more interesting companion if given the chance.

David Suchet was great in the role of the Landlord, but I had the same ambivalent feelings as I did when Derek Jacobi guest starred.  In that case, I wished the Doctor got the chance to deal with Emperor Claudius.  This time, had it only been Hercule Poirot who got to meet the Doctor.  There would be no Zonk, just because the Doctor had met Agatha Christie.  She only created Poirot in the real world.  In Toobworld, she chronicled his "true" adventures.

OXYGEN:

I found this interesting in that it set up the premise of a multi-part story with the Doctor becoming blind.  They were able to carry that off for another two episodes, before coming up with the technobabble to cure him.  But I was thinking that maybe even more would happen to him, to the point that his body cried out for regeneration.

Also, I wouldn't have left the two survivors on their own to face the corporation.  They could easily have been bumped off to keep the company secret.

And more blue people!

EXTREMIS:

I love the idea of fictional worlds dependent on belief in such worlds and the truth never getting out.  But I think this one will be remembered more for the image of Angelina Jolie as the Pope.  Also, couldn't they have made the President look more like Trump?

THE PYRAMID AT THE END OF THE WORLD:

The best thing about this episode was the introduction of the little person scientist Erica.  There seemed to be the promise that she might become a Companion for the Doctor, but unfortunately they didn't carry through with it.  A shame too because the actress who played Erica was very good.

THE LIE OF THE LAND:

The monks were okay for the run of these last three episodes as the Big Bad, but I would have preferred a different name for them.  We've had the Meddling Monk, the Headless Monks, and now these were just the monks.  Yawn.

EMPRESS OF MARS:

It was great to see Anthony Calf return to the series in its rebooted series; one of the few alumni of the original series to do so.  (Sarah Jane and K9 did, of course, and as a technicality so did the Brigadier.  And then there was Pauline Collins, whose portrait as her return character, Queen Victoria, was seen in this episode.)

I wrote once before about Calf's previous character; I'd like to think Goodacre in this episode was a descendant.  (Click here.)

The method of execution by the Ice Warriors was visually striking and must have been extremely painful.  But efficient when conserving space......

THE EATERS OF LIGHT:

I guess the main reason I wasn't so enamored of this episode was because I like another depiction of the fate for the Ninth Legion better - as seen in the movie "The Lost Legion".  It was an excellent blend of legends and myths.  I recommend it!
   

WORLD ENOUGH AND TIME:

I'm hoping there were people who were caught off-guard by the character of Mr. Razor on board that 400 mile long spaceship.  I knew John Simm was coming back this season as the Master, but as this was a two-part finale I expected him to show up right at the end of the episode.  As the Master, yes he did.  But he was throughout the episode as the hospital orderly.  No longer the days when you could see right through any disguise worn by Anthony Ainsley's Master.

Many of my tele-savvy online friends who are fans of 'Babylon 5' recognized a similarity between Mr. Razor's speech patterns and those of the caretaker of the Machine, Zathras.  (And by extension, the nine others also named Zathras.)

Here's what I wrote for a B5 fan page on Facebook:
In the greater TV Universe, I'm thinking that the Master must have met Zathras and copied his mannerisms. "No one ever listens to Zathras." But the Master must have. Being a Time Lord, the Master could have met Zathras at any point in Zathras' own convoluted timeline, but I'm thinking it had to be at the end of it. No one ever comes out ahead in encounters with the Master. (As for which of the ten Zathras met the Master, Toby cannot say. Toby doesn't know, so Toby cannot say.)

The title of this episode comes from a poem by Andrew Marvell, "To HIs Coy Mistress" and theories came up that other lines in that poem would refer to Missy as well.  I wrote about Marvell and his "televersion" years ago.  (Click here.)

THE DOCTOR FALLS:

A great example of Moffatt as a writer, both for the dramatic moments - and I was crying throughout - and for the comedy.  And he created a very believable world inside the spaceship.

But the two payoffs at the end made it sweet.  First the reunion of Bill with Heather (cried again) and the appearance of David Bradley as the First Incarnation of the Doctor. 

The Christmas special hasn't aired yet, but that looks to be quite the capper to a fantastic final season for Capaldi and Moffat.  Good work, gentlemen.


BCnU!