The New Doctor's costume revealed...

There's been a lot of speculation on what Peter Capaldi would wear as the Doctor. After three weeks of filming, the BBC have finally released a picture of the new Doctor in costume:

I'd been hoping for something simple and straightforward, so I'm glad that's what we've ended up with. A simple look forces you to focus on the actor instead of the clothes and as much as I liked Matt Smith's bow tie, I didn't want another gimmick so soon.

The individual components are nice. The black coat with the red lining reminds me of the one John Simm wore as the Master. I also like the shiny boots, and the cardigan is a nice addition.

Fans have been quick to point out the resemblance to Jon Pertwee's Season 7 costume. I have to admit, as much as I like the old Doctors, I'm not keen on the new ones copying them. I feel they should be striving to be new and innovative. Still, at least the individual elements of the costume are different and it's not quite as flamboyant as Pertwee's look.

It looks as if Peter Capaldi will be wearing his wedding ring in the role. Some fans believe it has been modified. It would nice if the writers could  give a fictional explanation for it. Perhaps it it could be a Gallifreyan ring like the Masters.

If I were to try and make a guess about the new Doctor's personality from the costume, I would say that he will be more suave than previous new series incarnations. The darker colours might also suggest that this will be a more sombre incarnation of the Time Lord. Then again I could be completely wrong. We've got eight months to speculate and build a better picture.

One thing missing from this picture is the sonic screwdriver. Whether he gets a new one is probably known only to readers of spoilers,  but I would imagine, given all of the kisses to the past we've had recently, that a new one would probably resemble the models used in the original series.

Overall, I like this costume. With this picture released, it feels as if we're one step closer to Series 8. We may have a while to go yet, but it's looking very exciting.

Sherlock 3x03: His Last Vow

For those that were put off by the experimental nature of the first two episodes of Series 3, this episode must have been a pleasant surprise. I certainly preferred it myself. Instead of focusing on many different case threads, we only have the one, an update on the tale of Charles Augustus Milverton, with the despicable blackmailer Milverton updated to being a news mogul called Magnussen, a superbly played villain who keeps all of his reports on people in a mind palace, like Sherlock Holmes. He is a villain the audience wants to die.

The structure of the plot is similar to the one Moffat used for Scandal in Belgravia. The first act of the tale is based around the original short story, with Sherlock breaking in to Magnussen’s office, only to find someone already there and planning to shoot Magnussen. It then spirals off into a different direction when Sherlock finds that it is Mary Watson who is threatening Magnussen. The next two acts move off into different directions as John is shown the true face of his wife, reconciliation and the final confrontation leading to Sherlock killing Magnussen.

The reveal of Mary's secret past we well done. I like that the clues to her secret identity were hidden in plain sight in the earlier episodes. This woman who appeared to represented normality for John has now become shown to be the opposite. She turns out to be a killer. Steven Moffat has always had a fetish for sexy psychopaths, as evidenced by River Song in his episodes of Doctor Who. But unlike River, Mary does not seem particularly self-satisfied by her previous life. Her secrets are safe at the end of the episode, meaning there is scope for expansion in future episodes.

Of course, Mary is not the only character who hides a dark side in this show. In spite of his growth as a person, Sherlock shows he can still be a cold bastard, when he proposes to Janine as a ruse so he can break into Magnussen’s Office. John Watson also shows his horrible side by using a neighbour’s drug addiction as a pretext to go and beat up some addicts. At least, unlike in the original text, Sherlock gets called up on his manipulative ways by an angry Janine. To paraphrase Lestrade's words from A Study in Pink, these men may be great men, but they are not good ones. They are not role models. This is also a key to their victory, as Sherlock can kill Magnussen.

With the focus on the main trio, Molly, Mrs Hudson and Lestrade are once again sidelined. Molly has broken off with her relationship, which means she’ll probably be pining after Sherlock again. We do find out that Mrs Hudson used to be an exotic dancer, which is pretty funny.

The characters who do get the best development are Sherlock’s family. It is good that we finally get to see what a Christmas for the Holmes family looks like. Mycroft sharing a cigarette with Sherlock and then hiding it from their mother was genius. The older Holmes is more protective of his younger brother than it first appeared. It was also good to see Sherlock's parents again.

I admit I was worried that Series three would struggle to find a new direction after the death of Moriarty, but I am glad to say it has found one. Mary has been an excellent addition to the cast and she has a good deal of backstory to explore. We have been introduced to Billy Wiggins, who could become a more regular face in the future. I don't particularly care for the mystery of Moriarty's survival, since it is probably just the work of a tape loop. But even so, there is a lot of potential for a fourth series. Overall I would say this is my favourite episode, but it still needed the others to build up to it. Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and the rest of the crew can congratulate themselves on a job well done. 

9/10

Sherlock 3x2: The Sign of Three

One of the great things about Sherlock as a TV Show is that it continues to be surprising. There are not many TV Shows where the main character can  effectively solves an entire case during a wedding speech. But this is exactly what happens here, when Sherlock solves a mystery and prevents a potential murder at John Watson and Mary Morstan's wedding. This is a very laid back episode, consisting of lots of funny set pieces like Sherlock interacting with the guests at John and Mary's wedding, and also set pieces like the drunken Sherlock, but it all comes together in the end to form a single mystery.

Unusually, this episode was written by three main writers together. I'm not sure how the sections were divided but I would assume that the wedding section was probably written by Steven Moffat given that the Bridesmaid sounds like his kind of woman. I could not guess with the other two.

Sherlock continues to show a more human side in trying to make John's wedding work by forcing guests to conform to his wishes. He also admits, in his speech, that John is the best of him. His brief interraction with Mycroft once again highlights the fact that Sherlock is beginning to become more accustomed to other people. I suspect that the third episode will see the price paid for that.

It may be their wedding, but John and Mary are not really developed in this episode. It was good to see John getting to use his medical practitioner skills during the case of the soldier's belt, and Mary continues to be likable, at least.

Una Stubbs gets a bit more to do this week as Mrs Hudson reminisces about weddings. Lestrade sadly gets very little to do other than be the butt of the jokes, although we do at least get to see him solving a case. Molly is not the focus this week, but she is still with her boyfriend Tom.

This is the first Sherlock not to end with a prelude to the third episode. However, with all of the main characters relaxed and enjoying themselves, this feels like the calm before the storm.

7/10

Sherlock 3x1: The Empty Hearse

To some extent, it was easy to predict the plot development of The Empty Hearse. The episode needed to show how Sherlock survived his fall, as well as showing how John would react to Sherlock's survival. Inevitably the two old friends would team up together again to solve a crime mystery. It was also known that John's wife to be, Mary Morstan, was going to make an appearance, so there were expectations that John would be torn between life with Mary and Sherlock. 

Writer Mark Gatiss has some fun with toying with fans' expectations about the reveal of Sherlock's survival. The opening scene, which shows Sherlock surviving the fall using a bungee jump and the body of Moriarty hidden by a mask, turns out to be false. Some fans were enraged by the scene and tweeted about it before they'd even reached the end of the sequence, yet the scene was obviously fake when Sherlock started kissing Molly. The scene came from the imagination of Anderson, now guilty about his role in Sherlock's perceived demise. He has put together a fan club called "The Empty Hearse" which has formed other such theories. Another theory, showing Sherlock and Moriarty using a dummy to fool Watson before they kissed was a hoot. Fans of the series may object to these depictions of crazy fans with crazy theories, but they are pretty accurate. Showing these scenes on screen makes it clear how ridiculous they are. Some Johnlock shippers have no sense of humour. Gatiss wisely keeps the true means of Sherlock's survival until the very end. Like Anderson, fans have created so many wild theories that the truth is inevitably disappointing.  

Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, a prisoner is being recaptured by soldiers who proceed to torture him. The reveal that this prisoner is Sherlock was somewhat predictable. What was not predictable was the sudden appearance of Mycroft, disguised as a soldier, who came to bring Sherlock back to the country to deal with a threat of a terrorist attack in London.

While Sherlock has been away things have changed. Mrs Hudson lives alone. Molly has a new partner. John has of course, got a girlfriend in the form of Mary, who comes across as a likable character with a sense of humour. When Sherlock reveals himself while John is proposing to Mary, John does not take it very well. Martin Freeman successfully shows John's surprise and stress at seeing his old friend back from the dead. As the episode progresses, and the moustache inevitably gets shaved off, we see the old John return. But early on, John does not want to help Sherlock track down the terrorist plot. 

With John reluctant to help, the main plot of the underground terrorist network is surprisingly put on hold while Sherlock teaming up with Molly and solving mutiple small crimes in the style of Gatiss' Series 1 work, The Great Game. Some of these are similar to the short Sherlock Holmes stories. While these scenes might be superfluous, it is good to see Molly getting to do some deduction work. It is good that the writers keep using the character. The only disadvantage is that there is no tension leading up to the terrorist attack when the characters are content to sit around. Still, at least one of the small mysteries of a man dissapearing in a train carriage starts to lead towards the main plot.

Another sub-plot emerges when John decides to go to Sherlock, but is kidnapped and hidden in a bonfire to be burned at Guy Fawkes night. It's a nice reminder of the danger that we put animals in with our bonfires. It is good to see that Mary is a particularly good in helping Sherlock, working out the skip code and following him on a motorbike to the bonfire where John is being burned.

Just as John and Sherlock reunite, the plot threads join together and the piece becomes more focused. Sherlock and John work out that the terrorist threat is underground and that a politician, Lord Moran, is planning to blow up parliament using an underground carriage which has been wired with explosives. It's very similar to V for Vendetta and almost makes me wonder whether the producers were hoping that this episode would be broadcast in November. The threat is disposed of surprisingly easily when Sherlock finds the off switch of the bomb. Some might see this as a cop out, but Sherlock uses this as an opportunity to reconcile with John.

We do, of course, get the inevitable reveal of the mysterious man who no doubt arranged John's kidnapping. The idea of a man setting traps for Sherlock and sending him texts is a tad similar to Moriarty. One hopes that the writers have found a new angle for this new mystery villain.

The Sherlock we meet in this episode is a lot more developed. He is betraying more emotion, such as his gratitude to Molly, his fear when the bomb is about to blow up and his clear longing for John to assist him. He even criticises his brother Mycroft about his lack of friends. Sherlock has come a long way since the loner of Series One. It was also nice that Sherlock liked Mary Morstan, since many fans, including myself, assumed he would hate her. It was also good to get a brief view of his parents, who turn out to be delightfully ordinary. He even shows willingness to embrace his public image when he puts on the deerstalker cap before addressing the press. It is good to see Sherlock showing a more human side.

Mycroft is also given a bit of development as we see him analyzing ordinary objects in the same meticulous manner that Sherlock likes to do. There are also hints that he might be lonely.

The majority of the story is focused on Sherlock, John, Mary and Molly, so Lestrade and Mrs Hudson get less development this time around. Lestrade is solidly played by Rupert Graves. The scene where he hugs Sherlock when they reunite show the respect of the two men. Una Stubbs continues to play Mrs Hudson well, but it might be hoped that she gets to do more than just stay as the funny old lady. Since the Underground Plot only gets developed at a late stage, we do not get to see any development of the villain, Lord Moran. That is a shame.

All in all, it seems like a disconnected story and pulls together in the end. The different threads did not choke the emotional resonance of the story. At the end of the day, this was all about reuniting Sherlock with John. The mystery was secondary to the main requirements. All in all, Mark Gatiss has done very well with this story. A better story than last Series \Hound and a promising start to the third series.

8/10

Looking back at 2013

It's certainly been a busy year with ups and downs. Nelson Mandela passed away, sadly. Andy Murray won Wimbledon and Prince George was born and eventually named.

For me personally it's been a bit up and down. Not bad but not brilliant. I hope, as always, that the new year will provide an opportunity to improve matters.

Doctor Who's 50th anniversary year has certainly been busy. Back in January Matt Smith was sitll the Doctor, fans were complaining that there was nothing interesting for the 50th anniversary. But we got a 3D Episode, a biopic, tie in programs and even a regeneration story for Paul McGann! Better still, could any of us imagine, back in January, that by the end of the year we would be able to watch the complete story The Enemy of the World or the almost complete The Web of Fear? It was a good time to be a Doctor Who fan

Here are five of my favourite things from 2013.

Favourite Public Event: Andy Murray wins Wimbledon
I must admit, I have been one of Andy Murray's doubters for some years. I never really thought he could win Wimbledon, so I was pleasantly surprised when he succeeded. It was nice to have a British Champion, so well done Andy!

Favourite TV Show: Orphan Black 
If you haven't seen this TV show (and you really should do because it's brilliant), stop reading and go watch it now because there'll be spoilers below.

This has been my favourite TV Show of the year. Tatiana Maslanay proved to be perfect at portraying Sarah Manning and her various clones. Series 2 will be coming in 2014 and I can't wait to find out what happened to Sarah's daughter.

Favourite Podcast: "Verity" 
The best Doctor Who podcast out there which started at the beginning of this year. Six smart women discuss Doctor Who. Their analysis of episodes are effortlessly better than my own. So, my thanks goes to Deborah Stanish, Erika Ensign, Liz Myles, Lynne M Thomas, Tansy Rayner Roberts and Katrina Griffiths for making such a brilliant podcast.

Favourite Exhibition: "Alien Invasion" at The Lightbox Museum and Art Gallery
The Lightbox Museum and Art Gallery in Woking has had many good exhibitions this year, from the Gertrude Jeckyll gardening exhibition, to World Wildlife fund art. This exhibition is great for family with sections on HG Wells and the rest of the museum. It's open until 19th January, so if you haven't seen it already, go and see it now.

Favourite Game: Gone Home (PC)
A game with no enemies or supporting characters, just you, the protagonist, exploring an empty house. It's very much like Myst mixed with the original Resident Evil. The story is a little basic, but it's a good step forward for game developers to look in different directions.

Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor

The story of The Time of the Doctor wasn't really suited to being a Christmas Special. It had to bring an end to Matt Smith's Doctor and tie up plot threads from as far back as 2010. As a result, the episode is packed full to the brim with incident and exposition that might have been a bit baffling to a casual audience who were too full up on up on turkey and wine and wouldn't necessarily remember every plot point from previous season. A lot of the Christmas related story threads, such as the Christmas themed town and Clara trying to cook Christmas dinner for her family, felt tacked on. The time spent joking around with Clara's family might have been better spent establishing the main plot.

At its heart, The Time of the Doctor is a very simple story of the Doctor growing old while attempting to protect a backwater town from alien attack. But to get to this point there is a lot of setting up to do, such as reintroducing Gallifrey and the Trenzalore prophecy from Series Six. The story was further complicated by the idea that the Doctor had reached his thirteenth life. A plot point necessitated by the introduction of the War Doctor back in The Day of the Doctor. All of these additions mean that the plot is shifting from location to location. From Earth to the Papal Mainframe, to Trenzalore, and back and forth. This gives the audience little time to take in what is going on, before the story moves to the next set up.

In fairness, Steven Moffat does answer the majority of outstanding questions from the Matt Smith years. We now know who it was that blew up the Tardis in The Pandorica Opens, why the Doctor had to speak his name at Trenzalore and why the Silents wanted to prevent this. While some elements have obviously been altered over the years, Steven has done a good job of tying things together for the end and he can now move on to give Peter Capaldi's Doctor a relatively fresh start.

While the story had its ups and downs, other elements f the production were pretty good. The design work by Michael Pickwoad was excellant. Christmas Town looked like every other fantasy Christmas town ever. The Church of the Papal Mainframe looked suitably vast and moody in black with glowing blues and reds.

By now, Matt Smith has complete confidence in the role of the Eleventh Doctor. This episode shows off every facet of his character from the goofiness when he is naked, to the trickster and the warrior who defends Trenzalore from his old enemies. Seeing the older Doctor at the end of his life was very interesting. It also means that Peter Capaldi’s Doctor will seem younger in comparison. I wonder if the crutch was for his injury that he had before filming?

Jenna Louise Coleman continues to do her best with a thinly defined character. Clara apparently now fancies the Doctor which is disappointingly familiar to other companions. Still, it will be interesting to see how this affects her reaction to the new, older, Doctor. It was nice to see more of Clara’s family life. Her dad is now completely different from the one we saw in the Rings of Akhaten. The Gran was the best character. The other woman is unexplained, but I guess it was supposed to be Dad’s new girlfriend, since she was listed in the credits as “Linda” and not “Mum”.

The Papal Mainframe was an interesting idea, building up from the religious elements introduced in The Time of Angels and A Good Man Goes to War. However, it did veer into the hardcore science fiction that Russell T Davies strove to avoid. I didn’t really like the character of Tasha Lem , partly because I dislike old friends of the Doctor that we have never met before and partly because she felt way too similar to River Song in that she is a psychopath who fancies the Doctor. Either Alex Kingston was unavailable or Moffat fell back on an old character archetype. At least Orla Brady proved herself to be good in the role. It was good to see the Silents back again after it seemed like they'd been forgotten in Series 7. They are continuing with their tradition of having a different background per episode. First they were a race that had manipulated humanity. Then they became the establishers of history, now they are demoted to being confessors for the Papal Mainframe.

The alliance of aliens attempting to destroy Trenzalore was a bit of a repeat of the alliance in The Pandorica Opens but had a few, more interesting differences. The Daleks and Cybermen were generic threats with no discernable differences. I did, however, like the idea Wooden Cyberman that was used to infiltrate Christmas Town. I also liked the comedy Sontarans with their invisibility field. I would query the inclusion of Terileptils in the list of aliens though. It seems that in Steven Moffat’s vision of Doctor Who, every alien race knows about the Doctor.

As for the regeneration itself, Moffat has his cake and eats it by having the volcanic regeneration as the way to defeat the Daleks and a more low key regeneration. Amy’s cameo was nice, although I wish Rory could have been there. I liked the fact that the actual regeneration was swift. It meant the audience was just as disoriented as Clara was. It’s impossible at this stage to give my opinion on Peter Capaldi yet, because he is acting insane through post regeneration trauma, but he looked suitably insane.

All in all, The Time of the Doctor was not a bad story, but not a very emotionally engaging one. It does, at least, give Steven Moffat an advantage in that he can jettison all of the previous story threads and give Peter Capaldi's Doctor a fresh start. Matt Smith has been a very successful Doctor. While I am not sure this was the best story for him to go out on, he has been great in other stories. Steven Moffat has made good decisions and some not so good, but hiring Matt Smith was definitely a good decision. Goodbye Mr Smith. You were brilliant.

My Favourite moments of Matt Smith's Doctor

In three days time, we will be saying goodbye to the Eleventh Doctor, so I've decided to post some of my favourite moments of Matt Smith in his time in the part. Others would no doubt have chosen differently, but this my blog, so it's my choices.

1.  Confronting Rosana Calvieri (Vampires of Venice)
When Matt Smith was first announced as the new Doctor, a lot of people thought that he would be too young to show power and authority. This scene proves those people wrong. He begins the scene sitting on a throne, relaxed and confident. He circles the evil Rosanna, flirting and warning her at the same time. Finally he brushes away her manservant and strides out of the room. A good demonstration that this is not a Time Lord to mess with.

2. Saying goodbye to Amelia before the crack swallows him up (The Big Bang)
The Eleventh Doctor is often described as "wacky" or "zany", but here we see his more melancholy side as he sits by Amelia's bedside and tells her the story of how he left Gallifrey before he enters the crack in time, we viewers can finally see the old man beneath the veneer. Matt makes this a sad moment, one which might rival his regeneration scene.

3. Getting the boy to stop the Bomb (The Boy Who Saved the Proms)
Technically this isn't part of the TV Show but I don't care because it's brilliant. Matt Smith proves that he is great at acting with children away from the controlled studio environment and in a hall full of people and with a child whose responses can't be predicted.  As Matt and the boy disarm a bomb with invisible wires, we can see that like Tom Baker before him, Matt can deal with the unpredictable.

4. The Doctor confronts Oswin (Asylum of the Daleks)
The Doctor/Oswin conversations throughout the episode are pretty good, given that the actors were performing separately. I love the look on Matt Smith's face as he enters Oswin's room and realizes that she is a Dalek before she herself does. The eyes say it all. I also like the fact that the Doctor gets carried away with tearing down Oswin's illusions without realizing the danger he is putting himself in when she starts to revert to Dalek behaviour.

5. The Future Doctor prepares for his own death (The Impossible Astronaut)
Once you've seen the future Doctor being killed by the astronaut, it's interesting to look back at the subtle differences between Matt's performance as future Doctor and the present one. The future Doctor has the same tics, but is warier and more confident. The way he says he "never got done saving you" is the dead giveaway. The younger one is more excitable. It's a good example of the range of Matt Smith's performance.

6. Confronting his friends on their secrecy (The Impossible Astronaut)
A good example of how the Doctor can switch from a comedic goon to a serious Lord of Time as the Doctor reveals to his companions that he knows they are hiding something from him. It is at this moment that he reveals his nastier side as he tells River that he does not trust her.

7. Eating Fish Fingers and Custard with Amelia (The Eleventh Hour)
When we first see the Eleventh Doctor after his regeneration, he is completely crazy. The Doctor's one to one talk with young Amelia in her kitchen is the moment that the Doctor finally settles down. We knew he could be funny, but now we see him being observant. It is also the first time we see him acting with children. It's something that Matt has always been good at.

8. Imploring Amy to release him to save the world (The Eleventh Hour)
The Doctor is forced to implore Amy to free him to save the world. For the first time since she was a child, the Doctor talks seriously to Amy Pond.

9. Closing the door to Older Amy (The Girl Who Waited) 
The Doctor shows his darker side as he shuts the Tardis door on the older Amy. While Steven Moffat's version of Doctor Who is generally optimistic, this is a rare example of the Doctor making a harsh decision.

10. "Legs! I've still got legs!" (The End of Time Part 2)
After the downbeat death of the Tenth Doctor, the mood completely changes for the upbeat birth of the Eleventh. Not every Doctor gets the benefit of having a first line. Tom Baker got no line at all. David's first lines gave no indication of whether I would like him or not. Matt is very good at acting naturally crazy. From this moment on, I knew I would like him.