Monday, 3 July 2017

Doctor Who: Overview of Series Ten

Here we are at the end of another series of Doctor Who. Series Ten has been a long time coming and the build up was certainly interesting. We knew since January 2016 that Steven Moffat was going to be leaving the show but not before he produced one more series and introduced a new companion. This extra series was probably necessary to keep the show going but it still felt strange. What would Steven Moffat do with another year? Would he rock the boat before his departure or would the series be running on the spot, keeping warm until Chris Chibnall's arrival? The news that Matt Lucas was coming back as a companion also filled fans with confusion. How would this barely characterized character work as a companion?

The best thing about this new series have been the companions. Bill is fantastic. Pearl Mackie makes her a wonderfully grounded character compared to the slightly strange Amy and Clara. She is the best companion of the Steven Moffat.

The aforementioned return of Nardole was actually rather brilliant. The character was expanded on and his more serious side was well played by  Matt Lucas.

The Missy redemption story was decent even if I felt that it could have been handled better. The Lie of the Land suffered by having one scene where Missy is casual about killing people to the opposite where she is crying over her victims. These two scenes should have been in different episodes. Then it would have felt like time had passed and Missy had been thinking more about things. Michelle Gomez has been fantastic. I hope she gets brought back at some point in the future.

When we first met the Twelfth Doctor in Series 8 he was an angry man who claimed he didn't care. Series Nine humanized the character quite a bit, almost too much. In Series Ten he has found a happy medium. Peter Capaldi is perfect for being a tutor to Bill and his performance in the finale was outstanding. I really don't want to see his Doctor go.

My Final Episode rankings are as follows:

1. World Enough and Time (9/10)
2. The Doctor Falls (8/10)
3. The Pilot (8/10)
4. Eaters of Light (8/10)
5. The Empress of Mars (8/10)
6. The Pyramid at the End of the World (8/10)
7. Thin Ice (7/10)
8. Smile (7/10)
9. Knock Knock (6/10)
10. Oxygen (6/10)
11. Extremis (6/10)
12. The Lie of the Land (5/10)

Overall, Series Ten has been a solid series. Looking back at my scores, most of them were eight out of tens, meaning I found the episodes generally quite good. The World Enough and Time and The Doctor Dances were undoubtedly my favourites, taking the best bits from some of Moffat;s previous finales and making them into something even better.

Steven Moffat has only one more episode of the Twelfth Doctor's era left to go. Let's hope that it is a proper send off for his Doctor and not a continuity fest for the First.

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