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Doctor Who Regeneration 03: Reversing the Polarity

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    The Zygon Inversion
    Second part was really more of the same to be honest, it's sole focus seeming to be focused on getting all the key characters together in a room with a final decision over whether to start a war or not. Now, this isn't a strong episode but it's a noteworthy one because it's still the first time in Capaldi's run where he finally gets to command the screen in the same way his predecessors got to much earlier. His long speech about the futility of war and the ignorance that causes it is his best work up until this point and he blends in the right reactions for the Doctor in terms of speaking as someone who has an unimaginable level of first hand experience in what he's talking about. The ending may be visible from a mile away but that one scene elevates this a little higher than the rest of the episode would have left it.

    Series 01 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 4 For Eccleston)
    Series 02 - 2 Strong Episodes
    Series 03 - 3 Strong Episodes
    Series 04 - 8 Strong Episodes (Total 15 For Tennant)
    Series 05 - 3 Strong Episodes
    Series 06 - 5 Strong Episodes
    Series 07 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 12 For Smith)
    Series 08 - 2 Strong Episodes
    Series 09 - 0 Strong Episodes So Far

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      Stephen Fry will guest star in an episode of Series 12. Though I wish they'd stop calling the current Doctor by the wrong number everywhere, she's No.14!! #Nerdrage

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        How is she 14? Are you counting the War Doctor? He doesn’t count!

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          I always count the War Doctor:

          01-Only a true villain would deny John Hurt recognition, and for a genuine regeneration as well
          02-One of the points of the whole storyline was the Doctor coming to terms with and accepting that regeneration as being the Doctor rather than a dark past to be forgotten as Smith's incarnation helps change the outcome for Hurt, relives events and remembers everything that happened afterwards unlike Hurt and Tennant

          Go on... deny this man

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            He would only mess up the numbers because he happened retroactively. I get why they stuck with the numbers they had.

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              I'll never forget! Especially when a proportion of the viewership think McGann is just a car Renault makes

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                Sleep No More
                Turns out there was a stand alone episode this series as the final three form the finale arc. This episode tells a very by the numbers threat on a space ship story but aiming to be told through headcams and security footage perspectives. I say aim because it fails spectacularly at that mission by breaking from that view all the time, not that it matters as it's a deeply needless and irritating gimmick on an already thin episode.

                Face the Raven
                I'm watching these much closer together than they aired and I still struggled to recall the character of Rigsy from the previous series. He has a ticking clock on the back of his neck to the Doctor and Clara race to save him and once again meet Maisie who, frankly, is redundant. Having her recur adds nothing and could equally have been done with new characters so you largely brush past her being there most of the time. Ultimately though, the episode is another one that hangs on one scene, the end of Clara. It's a nice scene, her trying to temper his potential rage in the face of her death and he's menacing enough at the end. It's not top tier stuff but it's an enjoyable send off (or should have been)

                Series 01 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 4 For Eccleston)
                Series 02 - 2 Strong Episodes
                Series 03 - 3 Strong Episodes
                Series 04 - 8 Strong Episodes (Total 15 For Tennant)
                Series 05 - 3 Strong Episodes
                Series 06 - 5 Strong Episodes
                Series 07 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 12 For Smith)
                Series 08 - 2 Strong Episodes
                Series 09 - 0 Strong Episodes So Far

                Comment


                  Heaven Sent
                  The second part of the arc plays as a stand alone episode and is a good one to rewatch without long week long gaps between events. This is the episode where the Doctor appears in the teleport chamber, having been sent there by Maisie at the end of the previous episode. He discovers he's locked in a complex isolated and restructuring fort as he tries to work out who has locked him there and why as a creature hunts him for his confessions. For the first half it plays pretty standardly, Capaldi doing the usual shtick but finally getting the screen entirely to himself in a plot not written for a previous Doctor. The second half, where he pieces together that his sudden arrival there isn't what he thought it was and the reality of his situation makes the second half brilliant and its delivered really well. He's in as close to a hell scenario as he's ever been which makes the episode work in the end on both a level that's simple but also plays in your mind a little after viewing too as S9 finally lands a KO.

                  Series 01 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 4 For Eccleston)
                  Series 02 - 2 Strong Episodes
                  Series 03 - 3 Strong Episodes
                  Series 04 - 8 Strong Episodes (Total 15 For Tennant)
                  Series 05 - 3 Strong Episodes
                  Series 06 - 5 Strong Episodes
                  Series 07 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 12 For Smith)
                  Series 08 - 2 Strong Episodes
                  Series 09 - 1 Strong Episode So Far

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                    Hell Bent
                    My defining memory of this episode on going into it was the frustration at them not being able to let Clara go when she should have and having to give her a better outcome than they originally did, that Moffatt overused favourite of 'gone but not really' that weakens character exits. It was nice to rediscover how much more going on there is within this one. From the return of moments from Tennants theme in the soundtrack, to the Doctors home from the anniversary special and also bringing back (even if recast) Rasillion from Tennants final episode, this one played like a sequel to several previous episodes and leaves Gallifrey in an interesting place for the show to one day revisit. Amidst the various nods to Tennant and Smith there's also more for Capaldi to chew on as the Clara storyline wraps up more on his side than hers this time. It underuses one or two ideas like the Time Lord Catacombs but this was much better than I remember and this series of the show has pulled it back right at the last minute with only one more special to go.

                    Series 01 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 4 For Eccleston)
                    Series 02 - 2 Strong Episodes
                    Series 03 - 3 Strong Episodes
                    Series 04 - 8 Strong Episodes (Total 15 For Tennant)
                    Series 05 - 3 Strong Episodes
                    Series 06 - 5 Strong Episodes
                    Series 07 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 12 For Smith)
                    Series 08 - 2 Strong Episodes
                    Series 09 - 2 Strong Episode So Far

                    Comment




                      Due to Series 11 progressively losing viewers over the course of its run Series 12, next year, is expected to return to running on Saturday nights instead of last years Sunday one.

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                        The Husbands of River Song
                        Probably the most immediate distraction is what a poor job they did of masking the reuse of the same street set from Face the Raven but they don't spend too much time there. This Xmas special is really straight forward and rests almost entirely on the interactions between River and (unbeknownst to her) the Doctor. It's a good excuse for Capaldi to play things light like the previous Doctor's did and it works well for him. The whole thing is one big grand finale for her character, a fact that makes sense given Moffatt intended to leave the show originally with this episode, and thereby close the last of the Moffatt era plot strands. Her realisation scene about him is played well as is their final exchange when he's telling her their time is finally up. Really good one.

                        Series 01 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 4 For Eccleston)
                        Series 02 - 2 Strong Episodes
                        Series 03 - 3 Strong Episodes
                        Series 04 - 8 Strong Episodes (Total 15 For Tennant)
                        Series 05 - 3 Strong Episodes
                        Series 06 - 5 Strong Episodes
                        Series 07 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 12 For Smith)
                        Series 08 - 2 Strong Episodes
                        Series 09 - 3 Strong Episodes

                        Eventually S10 next...

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                          The Return of Doctor Mysterio
                          The special where a gem gives a kid super powers and he grows up to be the cheesiest, worst acted and delivered Superman knock off you've seen in a long time. It's hard to find much that is redeemable about this clunker.

                          Series 01 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 4 For Eccleston)
                          Series 02 - 2 Strong Episodes
                          Series 03 - 3 Strong Episodes
                          Series 04 - 8 Strong Episodes (Total 15 For Tennant)
                          Series 05 - 3 Strong Episodes
                          Series 06 - 5 Strong Episodes
                          Series 07 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 12 For Smith)
                          Series 08 - 2 Strong Episodes
                          Series 09 - 3 Strong Episodes
                          Series 10 - 0 Strong Episodes So Far

                          Comment


                            The Pilot
                            The introduction of Bill and also the Doctors restless vigil over his vault. After Bill meets a girl she quickly gets introduced to a puddle, the show skips over months of them supposedly getting to know each other better in order to sell the ending but it's done in a very shoddy manner meaning it misses the mark quite widely. The girl gets consumed by the puddle and then she stalks Bill as the Doctor attempts to keep her at bay. The central idea and turn are okay but the execution is way off with the relationship between Bill and the girl feeling too empty to buy and the ultimately motivation being revealed way, way after the viewer has already worked it out. Broadly it's fine enough, we learn enough about Bill to get started with the season but it's all very average in this one.

                            Series 01 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 4 For Eccleston)
                            Series 02 - 2 Strong Episodes
                            Series 03 - 3 Strong Episodes
                            Series 04 - 8 Strong Episodes (Total 15 For Tennant)
                            Series 05 - 3 Strong Episodes
                            Series 06 - 5 Strong Episodes
                            Series 07 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 12 For Smith)
                            Series 08 - 2 Strong Episodes
                            Series 09 - 3 Strong Episodes
                            Series 10 - 0 Strong Episodes So Far

                            Comment


                              Smile
                              Second episode and this is a very simple Matt Smith era style with small robots killing everyone who isn't happy. The idea is fine but it's a lot of the Doctor and Bill wandering empty sets rather than the more obvious approach of using it as a threat throughout the episode. Passable.

                              Series 01 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 4 For Eccleston)
                              Series 02 - 2 Strong Episodes
                              Series 03 - 3 Strong Episodes
                              Series 04 - 8 Strong Episodes (Total 15 For Tennant)
                              Series 05 - 3 Strong Episodes
                              Series 06 - 5 Strong Episodes
                              Series 07 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 12 For Smith)
                              Series 08 - 2 Strong Episodes
                              Series 09 - 3 Strong Episodes
                              Series 10 - 0 Strong Episodes So Far

                              Comment


                                Thin Ice
                                The Doctor and Bill arrive in 1800's London during the last fair on the frozen Thames. There's a monster under the ice and they work out how to free it, the episode is... there's nothing specifically wrong with it but it's just hard work. Like a lesser version of bog standard episodes before it, lacking in ambition.

                                Series 01 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 4 For Eccleston)
                                Series 02 - 2 Strong Episodes
                                Series 03 - 3 Strong Episodes
                                Series 04 - 8 Strong Episodes (Total 15 For Tennant)
                                Series 05 - 3 Strong Episodes
                                Series 06 - 5 Strong Episodes
                                Series 07 - 4 Strong Episodes (Total 12 For Smith)
                                Series 08 - 2 Strong Episodes
                                Series 09 - 3 Strong Episodes
                                Series 10 - 0 Strong Episodes So Far

                                Comment

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