2017 Stuff

Here are a list of things in the world of TV and Film that were interesting

1. Doctor Who: The 13th Doctor Reveal
What better way to end a great Wimbledon than with the reveal of a new Doctor Who? The build up and the reveal were great. Jodie was fantastic.

2. Dunkirk (2017)
Christopher Nolan's film about the Allied Forces should be seen by everyone as it is fantastic.

3. Feud
An interesting series about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. It is funny and sad at the same time.

4. Broadchurch Series 3
The third series tackled the issue of rape. It is an improvement over the second series.

5. Blue Planet 2
An interesting look at marine life.

6. Wonder Woman (2017)
It was a long time coming but we finally got a film about Wonder Woman and it was great. Gol Gadot is great in the role and Patty Jenkins is a good director. Hopefully the upcoming sequal will be just as good if not better.

7. Three Girls (2017)
A harrowing but necessary television about the girls of Rotheram. One of the most important drams put out by the BBC.

Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time

I was very nervous going into this episode. Twice Upon a Time is the last episode to be produced by Steven Moffat and the last to star Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. I really wanted it to be good so that both men could leave the show on a high note. At first I was worried that the return of the First Doctor might distract from the departure of the Twelfth. Some of the early publicity and previews put me off as well as they emphasized the First Doctor's sexism. After I finished watching this episode I was much happier.

Twice Upon a Time is a story about deciding when to let go. When the First and Twelfth Doctors meet at the South Pole, they are both trying to stave off their regenerations and cling on to their current identities even if it means they will die. We discover that the First Doctor is afraid of the first change while the Twelfth just wants to stop after all the deaths he has seen. The Doctors are joined at the South Pole by the Captain, a World War One Soldier whose death has been postponed by an error in the timeline and is now being pursued through frozen time by glass people who are seeking to harvest his memories. As the Doctors try to protect the Captain's life they begin to consider whether to regenerate or not, just as the Captain considers whether he will die or not.

Due to the introspective nature of the story, there isn't really a villain at all. The Doctors discover that the Glass People, known as Testimony, are not really antagonists after all. Their reason for seeking peoples' memories is to preserve that person after physical death. It is actually the Doctor at fault because his decision to not regenerate caused the timeline error that drew the Captain to them. Some viewers might be disappointed at the lack of an antagonist but I found it a refreshing change. Not every Doctor Who story has to have a villain.

Bill Potts appears as the avatar for the glass people to get close to the Doctor and find out who he is. I thought this was a good way of including Bill in the story as it did not undo the fate of the real Bill. Her memories could have been preserved at some point after she became human or perhaps just before Heather made her a puddle person. Either way it works and Pearl Mackie is always great as a foil to both Doctors.

Ultimately all three men face their destinies. The Captain chooses to face his death in Ypres but the Twelfth Doctor adjusts the time to occur at the beginning of the Christmas truce so that he is spared.
It was a nice way of including Christmas and the scene of hope in a bleak place gives the two Doctors the motivation to carry on and face their regenerations. The act of kindness from the Twelfth towards the Captain makes the First Doctor see that the good in the universe is caused by the Doctor and gives the Twelfth Doctor motivation to carry on.  I had guessed that the truce would be referred to but I was worried that Steven Moffat was going to make the Doctor the cause of it. Thankfully, this did not happen.

The First Doctor's regeneration stays the same and the shots of David Bradley at the console are a nice homage to the original. it is a shame that his final line had to change as I would like Steven Moffat to have kept the keep warm line.

The Twelfth Doctor's regeneration in the Tardis is alright. His final speech was like a resolution to his future self. We get the return of the ‘Never Cruel or Cowardly’ by Terrence Dicks as well as the dislike of pears from Human Nature.  ‘Doctor, I let you go’ worked both as a final line for Capaldi playing the Doctor and for Steven Moffatt handing over the creative reins to Chibnall. It is fitting that the last thing we see of the Twelfth Doctor is his eyes and forehead which were the first things we saw of him in The Day of the Doctor.

The first moment with the Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor was very good indeed. Rachael Talalay builds up the tension by giving us brief glimpses of the new Doctor before we see her face.

First is a glimpses of her hand and the old ring dropping off her finger in a homage to the Second Doctor's first appearance. Then we get a blurry POV shot, which is unusual in the show,  and a reflection in the scanner screen.   Jodie’s first word was good. It was brief enough to keep people hooked. I also liked the ‘To Be Continued’ graphic. These words reinforce the idea that although the era is over the story as a whole is not over. It is slightly let down by an exploing Tardis sequence that feels awfully familiar. Still, Jodie herself looks interesting.

The Captain was a likeable character and it was a nice, if slightly predictable, twist that he is an ancestor to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. He is well played by Mark Gatiss. He showed the stiff upper lip of a British Army Soldier without turning it into a caricature like something from his wonderful comedy series The League of Gentlemen. This character’s appearance makes up for the incident of the Cyber Brig at the end of Death in Heaven.

David Bradley does a good job portraying of the First Doctor. A lot of the character’s ticks are in place including the way he calls the Tardis the ship, his use of a monocle, and calling people ‘my dear’. Some of Moffat’s writing overstates the characters’ sexism and misses the point of the smacked bottom line. Nevertheless this Doctor does get a great speech about trying to find the reason for good in the universe. It is also refreshing to see a less grandstanding Doctor who has yet to gain the titles that his future selves do. It is also fun seeing him puncture some aspects of his future self such as the sonic sunglasses.  The inclusion of William Hartnell footage at the beginning and the end reinforces that this is a tribute performance and not an attempt to replace the original leading man.

Of course, the real focus of this episode is Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor who is, of course brilliant. He is funny when he is bantering with his older incarnation and his reaction to seeing Bill again is heart-warming. You really get the sense that his Doctor cares about the people around him

This episode also featured a surprise cameo by Rusty, the ‘good Dalek’ when  the Doctor goes to him for knowledge about Testimony. It might have seemed quite self-referential but there is something fitting in the idea that the Doctor should meet someone from his earliest adventure. Twice Upon a Time highlights the importance of the Doctor as a force for good so it is interesting to compare the olderTwelfth Doctor, a dark, pragmatic Time Lord who didn’t care about the deaths of other soldiers to the Doctor that we see now who is trying to protect the life of the Captain

The only other cameo appearance s of note were Nardole and Clara, manifested by the glass people to say goodbye to the Twelfth Doctor. It was nice to see Nardole back. As with Bill, I am glad that this departure looking after the children of the colony ship has not been overwritten. One might surmise that he was finally got at by the Cybermen or perhaps he held off the Cybermen long enough to die of natural causes. There is perhaps room for a future tie-in comic, novel or audio to bring him back. Clara’s final words were good even though she was obviously on green screen. At least it clears up the issue of the Doctor’s  memory problems so he remembers her.

Rachael Talalay is to be congratulated for making the regeneration and the entirety of the episode, work so well. The original series had Douglas Camfield and Graeme Harper as their best directors and Rachael Talalay is equal to those in being able to make the show look better in a way her contemporaries couldn’t manage. The Tardis has never looked so gorgeous as it does here She recreates Derek Martinus’; shot of the First Doctor standing over the Tardis. Her use of ‘John Smith’ for VFX is a wise one as the time vortex looked amazing as did the transition from black and white Hartnell footage to the widescreen David Bradley footage. There are also beautiful shots such as when the Twelfth Doctor raps his coat around him in the cold battlefield. I hope that Rachael comes back for the Chibnall era but if not she will be missed.

Murray Gold reuses a lot of old themes here including ‘Vale Decem’ and the ‘Flavia theme’ but if this is to be his last story then he deserves to make it a greatest hits package. He has done a lot for the show after all so he is allowed this one indulgence. He has been the only composer from the show’s return in 2005 so his departure would be a momentous event for the series.

Twice Upon a Time doesn’t quite reach the heights of Heaven Sent or The Doctor Falls but it was a nice, acceptable end to the Steven Moffat era and a good send off to the wonderful Peter Capaldi. We can look back at the Capaldi era fondly as we go into the Chibnall series and the onus of producing good Doctor Who falls to him.  Congratulations to Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi.

A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

If I had to choose a favourite Christmas film then A Muppet Christmas Carol would definitely be among them.

The film stars Michael Caine in the role of Eberneezer Scrooge. It follows the story of A Christmas Carol as Scrooge is visited and redeemed through visits by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. This version omits the death of Scrooge's sister, slightly decreasing his reason for disliking Christmas.

The Great Gonzo serves as Charles Dickens narrating the story, assisted by Rizzo the Rat as his assistant. They keept he story light and accessible for the child audience.

Michael Caine is quite good as Scrooge. He does not go quite as nasty as the Alistair Simm version from Scrooge, but he does at least show the human side.

The soundtrack is pretty memorable. It is only annoying that "When Love is Gone" was cut but bits of it can still be heard in the closing credits.

Steven Moffat's Achievements

Soon enough, the Steven Moffat era of Doctor Who will be over. Some people, even those whose opinions I appreciate, will say that this was not before time. However, just this once, lets put these opinions to rest and appreciate all of the good things that he has ever done. If there is anything in the past seven years you have enjoyed from Doctor Who then you have got Steven Moffat to thank for allowing it through. If you one of those looking forward to Chris Chibnall being showrunner then remember that Steven Moffat is the man that hired him as showrunner and was the one who kept the Doctor Who torch going long enough for a replacement.

Here are ten of what I consider to be Steven Moffat's greatest achievements as showrunner.

1) The Night of the Doctor was a real success story by Steven. Bringing back Paul McGann was a brilliant stroke. Even if we couldngt get him in a whole story we at least got him for a regeneration.

2) The Eleventh Hour is another success story. It is hard to start with a new Doctor and new companion but Steven proved it could be done. Chris Chibnall may be doing something similar but it is on the basis that Steven Made it work.

3) The 5ish Doctors Reboot.  Although  Peter Davison initiated the project, Steven Moffat allowed Peter access tot he BBC Production team. This could easily have been a small fan-only project but thanks to Steven it became mainstream.

4) Casting Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts. Without doubt she is my favourite companion of his tenor. Someone who feels like a real person.

5)  Heaven Sent. Steven Moffat's script served as a blueprint for a story that was also acted and directed. It is a good example of Steven moving outside his comfort zone and produce an episode focusing on just the Doctor and one monster. This is 45 minutes of pure Doctor Who bliss.

6) Hiring Rachael Talalay as a director for each of Peter Capaldi's season finales. She is one of the best directors of Doctor Who. Some struggle with making the show dynamic but she is able to do so much with a low budget.

7) Hiring two brilliant mainstream Doctors in the form of Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi. Casting young and old. He also cast a brilliant guest Doctor in the form of John Hurt. It is great that one of Britain's best actors got to be in the show.

8) Deep Breath. Just when Steven Moffat had already rebooted the script he rebooted again, producing an episode that introduces a darker Doctor in precisely the way that the production team failed to manage with Colin Baker in 1984.

9) While Rachael Talalalay is the director for the Peter Capaldi years Nick Hurran is the one for the Matt Smith years, proving his stuff with The God Complex.

10) Amy Pond and Rory Williams.Karen Gillian is really feisty while Rory Williams was the great every-man who put up with the Doctor's shenanigans to help the woman he loved. They were great companions.