The Twelfth Doctor in Retrospect: Series 8 (2014)
"DEEP BREATH"
In the first of Ben Wheatley's two directorial contributions to Who, we are offered a visual treat for the eyes, with some stellar steampunk imagery in the form of semi-returning villains the Clockwork Droids, as well as offering a very well-handled CGI T-Rex. Peter Capaldi has a lot of fun bouncing between off-the-wall comedy and heroic drama in his third debut (having had a cameo in the previous two episodes), while Jenna Coleman rests the episode's dramatic weight on her shoulders. Sure, some of the character drama doesn't entirely work, and the inclusion of the Paternoster Gang feels like a structural decision as opposed to a narrative decision; I mean, Clara basically needs characters she knows to talk to about the Doctor, and that ends up being pretty much their role in the story. The subtle tie-in to 'The Girl in the Fireplace' is a nice, relatively low-key reference, while Murray Gold supplies one of his best scores. When all is said and done though, the real standout here is Twelve facing off against the Half-Faced Man in a sequence that firmly cements his more brooding, serious incarnation of the Doctor.
"INTO THE DALEK"
Regardless of what people say, I still love this episode. Jumping from steampunk to futuristic, Ben Wheatley makes what could have been a very average episode of Who look spectacular, and the frequently stunning Visual FX certainly help too. The Daleks are depicted as a threat, even if the model shots perhaps lessen their impact somewhat. Saying that, I love the model shots, so...yeah. Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are given a lot to work with here, and bounce off each other well, while the supporting cast do a damn fine job too. Again, Murray Gold's work here is stellar, adapting his musical style to fill the episode with heavy synth sounds, which combined with Wheatley's visuals makes for a wonderfully retro but also very modern Who episode.
"ROBOT OF SHERWOOD"
Confession time: I can't actually remember the last time I watched this episode. I remember starting a Series Eight marathon, but I honestly don't remember watching this one. Odd. However, this is a really fun, if slightly rushed installment in the series. The more fun and up-beat depiction of Robin Hood is much more entertaining and likable than what Hollywood seems to be wanting to do with the character, while Ben Miller is a lot of fun as the Sheriff of Nottingham. I just wonder what could have been achieved in a sixty or ninety-minute episode, as the story rushes along so fast that many elements feel either underdeveloped or just ignored. Quite why Twelve would fight Robin Hood with a spoon though is beyond me - making for the first (in my opinion) out-of-character episode; this might have worked slightly better with Matt Smith.
"LISTEN"
What could have been an incredible episode is made somewhat disappointing by a peculiar fascination of Clara interfering with the Doctor's life. The emotional climax of the episode, as Clara comforts a younger Doctor, doesn't quite feel earned, and draws all sorts of arguable plot-holes. The ambiguity as to the threat of the episode is interesting, and the scary moments work fairly well for the most part, but I do wish that Danny Pink was more of a focus here; it might have helped his overall character arc (or lack thereof) in Series Eight.
"TIME HEIST"
Somehow Steve Thompson gets it right with this episode, giving the Twelfth Doctor and Clara a fun bank heist story, complete with a likable duo of guest characters to help along the way. Some of the episode looks fantastic, some of it doesn't, and Keeley Hawes is sadly given a very dull villain character to work from. The Teller looks great as a Doctor Who monster, but its threat is undermined by the old "it was really a nice monster" ending, which perhaps wouldn't have been so disappointing if the thing wasn't so damn creepy. I mean, the scene where the man's skull caves in is a classic Who horror moment if ever I saw one. This is one I wouldn't mind revisiting soon, come to think of it.
"THE CARETAKER"
Gareth Roberts' last contribution to Doctor Who takes shape in a third fish-out-of-water comedy flick that gives Clara some wonderful character development. Jenna Coleman makes the most out of the extra narrative focus here, with her relationship with Danny proving to be the dramatic core to it all. Such a shame Danny isn't given any real development, nor does he manage to have a particularly interesting dynamic with the Doctor, but Samuel Anderson works wonders with so little. Also, the Skovox Blizter is a cool robot - I even bought a small toy of it! A lovely episode from Roberts, but one hurt by this series' ending.
"KILL THE MOON"
More like kill this episode. No, wait, sorry, that sounds a bit too mean. 'Kill the Moon' starts off okay, and it has to be said that anything with creepy spiders will do a good job at unsettling me. The moon setting is created really well through the combination of location work and CGI, while the actual story about the dragon-thing "hatching" makes for a neat idea...it's just that the actual story and meta-narrative of the episode doesn't work at all. I mean, what could have been a morally ambiguous episode turns into a very clear, black-and-white, right-and-wrong episode. The conflict between Clara and the astronaut woman (not interested in remembering the character's name) is so one-sided that the episode fails in what it aspires to do. If written with subtlety or complexity, this could have been a real gem, it's just a shame it isn't.
"MUMMY ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS"
I love this episode. I love the Agatha Christie murder mystery aspect to it. I love the vintage 1920's/30's style of the train. I love the look of the Foretold. I love the whole backstory and history behind the Mummy. I love Frank Skinner's guest appearance in this episode, and I love the actual character drama. Clara's complex relationship with the Doctor is very neatly explored in the episode, and splitting the two up works quite well in the overall scheme of things, especially when complimented by the next episode. Gus makes for a creepy villain, while his ambiguous motives are best left unexplored - it saves future disappointment, that's for certain. The episode has some minor problems, but I enjoy it far too much to point them out.
"FLATLINE"
Another cracking episode from Jamie Mathieson, 'Flatline' could be one of the most original Doctor Who episodes in recent memory. The Boneless are a chilling and brilliantly-created threat, and the role-reversal between the Doctor and Clara works very well. Even with its scary moments, the episode still incorporates lots of humour throughout, and Rigsy is a great, down-to-Earth guest character. It's a bit annoying that the rest of the supporting cast are so weak really. Do have a lot of fondness for this one though.
"IN THE FOREST OF THE NIGHT"
I know everyone hates this one, but I honestly don't feel particularly fussed either way. I think Frank Cottrell-Boyce tried something different here, and while it didn't work, the fairy tale approach is an interesting one to go for. Danny and Clara's relationship is explored quite well, and Peter Capaldi has some very fun moments to work with, but the whole episode lacks a sense of direction or threat, with the ending being particularly underwhelming.
"DARK WATER" and "DEATH IN HEAVEN"
While I personally quite enjoy the first half of this finale, it features a variety of problems. Yet again, we are treated to another Cyberman story that does virtually nothing with the Cybermen themselves, and upgrades them so much that one has to question if there's a point to it all. The revelation of Missy as the Master is rather disappointing, given that the two are characterised very differently (as proven later in 'The Doctor Falls'), and the idea of the Master changing her name after changing gender just seems odd to me. Surely she'd just stay as the Master? There's some lovely moments sprinkled through though: Clara and the Doctor's confrontation on the Volcano, the Cybermen stomping out of St Paul's Cathedral, the Doctor's free-fall from the U.N.I.T plane, etc., but it all comes down to a finale that doesn't provide much resolution. Danny's arc isn't really earned here, making the emotional drama feel quite weak, while Missy's exit is very poorly-handled in my opinion. There's also some questionably distasteful moments thrown in there too, which many hate - and probably for good reason. It ended with the potential for future development in Series Nine, but...well, that sadly didn't happen.
So, there we are - Series Eight in retrospect. Honestly, I would've liked to have written about the merchandise and other media surrounding this series, but there's virtually nothing to talk about. The mini-figure line produced several Series Eight characters; this was the first series to not feature "volume" DVD releases; and the soundtrack album is the best release from Silva Screen to date. The World Tour was a wonderful way to kick-off the series, and certainly built-up my excitement over the weeks leading up to the premiere, but the series didn't engage audiences the same way Series 5 managed to back in 2010, perhaps signifying the start of Doctor Who's decline from "must-watch telly" to "oh, is Doctor Who still on?" I personally loved this series overall, but the general audience wasn't too fussed about this new era, and the disinterest would continue on for a little while yet...
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