Doctor Who: 10 Greatest Steven Moffat Episodes

Now that Doctor Who is getting a new showrunner in the near future, it's time to look at the best work of the previous incumbents of the job. Last month, it was Russell T Davies' turn. Today, it's the man who has overseen more Doctors than anybody- Steven Moffat...

Steven Moffat to Leave Doctor Who in 2017

It has been announced that current Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat is to leave the series and will be replaced by previous Who writer Chris Chibnall...

 

Review: Doctor Who - Hell Bent

Every story ever told really happened. Stories... are where memories go when they're forgotten

Read more at: http://transcripts.foreverdreaming.org/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=24142

Every story ever told really happened. Stories... are where memories go when they're forgotten

Read more at: http://transcripts.foreverdreaming.org/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=24142

The Doctor has finally returned to Gallifrey but he's got an axe to grind in this fearless yet controversial finale...

 

'Every story ever told really happened. Stories are where memories go when they're forgotten.'

Review: Doctor Who - Heaven Sent

The Doctor is without hope and trapped in an inescapable prison in 'Heaven Sent' which sports a masterclass performance from Peter Capaldi...

'It's a killer puzzle box designed to scare me to death and I'm trapped inside it. Must be Christmas!'

Doctor Who: Series Nine Episode Titles Revealed

Unusually this year we knew several of Series Nine's titles quite early on but now, with just a mere handful of days to go until the premiere, we have the entire set, released today in one handy image on the official Doctor Who twitter account.

My Top Three Doctor Who Stories: Blink

Clearly March is the month of telly birthdays. The other week I celebrated the eighteenth birthday of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and now, on 26th March, 21st century Doctor Who reaches double figures. To celebrate - with this, my 100th Doctor Who post on this blog - I'm looking back at one of my favourite stories of the modern Who era. But first, I have a confession to make.
In Doctor Who's fiftieth anniversary year, I wrote a post entitled 'My Top Three Doctor Who Stories: The Doctor's Wife' and then promised to write the next two soon after. Well, finally, I'm making good on that promise and am finally giving you Part Two of my top three Doctor Who episodes. Expect Part Three in the summer of 2017...

'People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more of a big ball of  wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey... stuff.'

What more can be said about 'Blink' that hasn't been said before? Casual viewers and hardcore fans alike seem to hail this one above all other Whos. Myself, although I don't think its quality is quite as above the rest of the show as some do (every episode of Doctor Who is brilliant in its own way), it is one of my all-time favourites. But just why is 'Blink' so popular?

The big reason why I think it stands as such an impressive piece of work - even after multiple, multiple viewings - is because of how everything feels necessary and perfectly pitched. Usually when you endlessly rewatch old favourites, you start to notice things that could be done better or bits that don't make sense. 'Blink', however, manages to withstand such weary eyes and survive intact. One thing, even if it is not a fault, that does leap out now though is all the intrigue surrounding DVD easter eggs. It might have occurred to some already but you can imagine watching this in a few years time and thinking 'aw bless, I remember 'easter eggs.'' Hopefully, due to the precision of everything else this won't date the episode too much. 

Understandably, as they are perhaps the TV series' scariest monster (though for my personal creepiest creature in Who I point you to Steven Moffat's Floofs from his short story 'The Corner of the Eye') the Weeping Angels are generally the most praised aspect of the story. For me, however, Carey Mulligan's Sally Sparrow is just as integral to its success - as in her capable hands we remarkably never miss the Doctor, who is reduced to a fleeting guiding presence here. Without any offence to Amy and Clara, it is a shame neither of Moffat's companions share the maturity and strong-headedness of Sally.

After their breakout success, it was a no-brainer that the aforementioned Angels would return (and, for what it's worth, I really like their next two appearances, though popular opinion says they are far inferior) but I wish other elements of this episode had been repeated as well. Because of how well it works here, 'Blink' makes me wish there were more of these Doctor/companion-less adventures. Not only do they free up the main actors' schedules they also make the Whoniverse feel more expansive and it reminds you that the Doctor can't solve all of the alien shenanigans going on in the universe. Personally, I'd love one of these self-contained mini-movies every year!

Like, say, 'Genesis of the Daleks' before it, 'Blink' has proven itself to be one of Doctor Who's most fiercely acclaimed stories. Thanks to the Weeping Angels, Steven Moffat's tightest script and a glittering lead, 'Blink' certainly isn't a disposable episode that disappears when you stop watching it - rather it's a veritable stone-cold classic. The perfect reminder for fans, or the perfect convincer for a newcomer, of why modern Doctor Who is so blinking brilliant.*

Stone circle - The Angels are trapped staring at each other at the end of Blink. But I've always wondered what will happen when the light bulb goes off?

Fancy a Doctor Who marathon on this special day but don't know which ones to watch? Then read my list of the 30 Greatest Doctor Who Episodes of the Revived Series over on Whatculture!

*Even I think I might have overstepped my pun quota in that last paragraph.

Review: Doctor Who - Last Christmas

'Last Christmas, the Eleventh Doctor went away. But, the very next day, the Twelfth Doctor came. This year, to save them from fears, Santa turned up on a sleigh...' 

'Every Christmas is last Christmas.'

After the harrowing events of series finale 'Death in Heaven' the mid-credits reveal of Nick Frost as Santa Claus seemed utterly ridiculous. This was a year where the show had aimed to be darker and more sombre - and now it was introducing the decidedly magical and whimsical figure of Father Christmas into the Doctor Who world. It can't be real. Surely it was all a dream? Well, yes, it may have been. But, that's a long story. 

Yes, as if to assure fans that he had not gone insane, Steven Moffat shrouds Santa Claus' (début?) appearance on the show in a very traditional Who plot, albeit with a few clever twists. In fact, the whole thing was boldly cerebral for a Christmas special, on a day when we traditionally use our stomachs more than our brains. Not to mention creepy, The Kantrofarri are something of a hodge-podge of familiar monsters (the episode itself even acknowledge's Alien's influence on them  - resulting in the story's best line from the Doctor: 'There's a horror movie called Alien? That's so offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.') but very effective nonetheless and fit well into this year's rousing roster of revolting reprobates who have suitably Moffatesque creepy powers including the Foretold and the Boneless.

Much like the previous two Christmas specials, 'Last Christmas' was an important instalment of the series ongoing plotlines rather than the traditional (this is Doctor Who's tenth annual Christmas episode, facts fans) standalone episodes. As such its heart is the Doctor and Clara's relationship, once again showing us that, though their friendship has not been easy this year, they have a deep affection for each other that keeps them together. The most touching and poignant parts of the episode are Clara's dream of a perfect Christmas and the Doctor's late arrival at Clara's. The scene with the elderly Clara, one who has travelled the world just as the character wished to do way back in 'The Bells of Saint John' and who needed the Doctor to help her pull a cracker just as she did for him in 'The Time of the Doctor', appeared to be a sad but fitting end for Miss Oswald... but appearances can be deceiving. Despite the evidence of the end of Series 8, the two best friends are sticking together. 

So what's next for the Doctor and Clara? I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of Faye Marsay's gobby Shona - the most fun and developed of this episode's guest stars. Perhaps the Doctor and Clara will gain a new companion in the first episode of Series 9, which we already know will be called 'The Magician's Apprentice.' After all, it was Shona who called the Doctor just that in this episode...

Although reminiscent of Inception and Who episode 'Amy's Choice', 'Last Christmas' was a highly original episode compared to most Christmas specials. Santa Claus' appearance was much publicised but really he and his comedy elves were just the tinsel decoration on the story branches of this Christmas special tree (yeah, I'll stop now) and was all the better for it. This was not my favourite Christmas episode but if every Christmas special is as good as 'Last Christmas' then we are sure to have a very merry Christmas for however long the Doctor Who Christmas tradition goes on for. Doctor Who - it's a long story.  

Nobody likes the tangerines - what's to be the Doctor's Christmas present this year?

Review: Doctor Who - Death in Heaven

Two of the Doctor's oldest enemies have returned and want to take away everything that is precious to the Time Lord and Clara. Will there really be 'Death in Heaven' in the series finale?

'Hey Missy, you're so fine. You're so fine you blow my mind, hey Missy.' 

Doctor Who finales are always something of a double-edged Darth Maul-style sword. On one hand, they are automatically the most anticipated and often most exciting to watch by nature of their sending off the current run of the show with a bang. On the other, the pressure of ending the series on a high note can be too much and such episodes don't always live up to the hype. In this respect, 'Death in Heaven' succeeds, delivering an episode both exciting and emotional in equal measure.

Perhaps unlike the feature-length series opener 'Deep Breath', this episode certainly benefited from its fifteen minute extra running time, which really allowed for a few scenes to be further explored that might otherwise have been cut short. The story deserves praise alone for wrapping up most of the ongoing ideas and themes of the series - from Clara and Danny's relationship to the Doctor's dislike of soldiers. Building on the thoroughly glum 'Dark Water', 'Death in Heaven' tugged at the heartstrings and contained its fair share of shocks to boot. Much like last week, however, there were points at which I thought the show was pushing the boundaries of taste. In particular, one 'reappearance' of a much-loved character seemed a tad dubious in its execution to me and I'd rather it hadn't happened. Still, there was much to enjoy elsewhere…

While it was fun to see them, this episode had the unenviable task of featuring two classic villains in the Cybermen and their Master. For the Cybermen, this was glorious comeback. Their new jet-powered boots are a great new superpower to add to their evergrowing collection and the image of them attacking UNIT's plane like gremlins is a terrific moment. Likewise, not since 'Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel' has the true terror of the Cybermen been demonstrated this well: that they were once us. Whereas previous episodes have cast them as regular robots, we are left in no doubt here as to who these Cybermen are underneath. 

Also, Michelle Gomez is rather wonderful here as an utterly 'bananas' incarnation of the Master. What she does, particularly mowing her way through the episode's supporting cast and her scenes with the Doctor, she is brilliant at but with the episode as packed as it is the character is not as well explored as she could be - just why was she suddenly so besotted with the Doctor, for instance? This reviewer certainly hopes she will return. 

Despite the shocks and the Cybermen, the true heart of this episode is the trio of central characters who all go through the ringer here. Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman and Samuel Anderson have been superb all year and each go out with another fine performance. Anderson's Danny proves to be the real hero of the series as he finds redemption for past failures in the most tragic of ways. Faced with his old enemy, the Doctor has to look hard at who he is but comes out the other end a wiser man by realising he is nothing but ‘an idiot with a box.’ And Clara...Well, poor Clara. The final scene between Capaldi and Coleman is a touching affair and beautifully scripted by Steven Moffat, acting as a bittersweet round-up of the characters’ journeys over the series.

There really was much to like about this finale which encapsulates this series' style, mood and its courage to be different. It was not a heavenly episode of Doctor Who but that's not to say it came from the Nethersphere either. Say something nice? How about: 'Death in Heaven' is almost certainly the best finale since 2010. There you go, that's something to squee about. 

In the words of Clara, thank you Capaldi and Coleman for making Doctor Who feel special. 

Next time: The Doctor returns at Christmas when he faces the great evil of ... Santa Claus and his elves? 

Review: Doctor Who - Dark Water

The future becomes unclear when events take a turn for the existential in 'Dark Water.' Things are going to get very murky, indeed...

'The darkest day. The blackest hour. Chin up, shoulders back. Let's see what we're made of.' 

Before this regenerated series of Doctor Who started, a lot was made of the fact that it would be 'darker.' Upon airing, it could be said this was met with a pinch of salt. Sure, the show had a more serious Doctor and the series had sported episodes about weighty topics such as the nature of fear and tricky moral dilemmas but was it actually any darker than Doctor Who before it? Well, after tonight, we can say they were right to give us that warning as 'Dark Water', the penultimate episode of Series 8, was as bleak as the show's ever got. 

As with the hints scattered throughout preceding episodes, this episode's premise revolved around the age-old question: what happens after death? The answer, it turns out, is not a happy one, to say the least...

A few years ago, Torchwood presented its own, suitably nasty, depiction of the afterlife which was a natural fit for an adult-orientated programme that enjoyed exploring areas that its parent show couldn't. When said parent show did exactly this here, however, it felt unsettling in more than just the obvious way - should the show, that is avidly watched by children everywhere, do something as properly dark as this? Or perhaps this is a distinctly adult fear, one which kids will miss, but will keep us old folks awake at night? Either way, 'Dark Water' is certainly paving new ground. 

In other matters, the episode is on surer ground. The Cybermen's return in this episode was no secret but their actual reveal in the episode is inspired, a macabre twist on the classic image of Cybermen escaping their tombs. Gone are the invincible athletes of 'Nightmare in Silver', these silver soldiers march with menace down the steps of famous London landmarks and even use their old catchphrase 'delete.' Amongst the boundary pushing elsewhere its nice to see something so punch-the-air 100% Doctor Who. 

But enough of these trifles. There was only one question on our lips going in to this episode; who is Missy? Well, we certainly got the answer to that. In the end, it's the reveal many of us were expecting. The clues were all there. A penchant for pseudonyms. A love for teaming up with other baddies.  A general need to cause trouble for the Doctor. My personal reaction was to cackle for the next ten minutes at the sheer bravura of the move. Here's hoping Michelle Gomez gives the role its due now that the cat is out of the bag (or the Time Lord is out of the Time War...).

It is, of course, impossible to judge the episode fully without seeing its concluding chapter (what is Missy planning next? will everyone get out alive?) but the first forty-five minutes of this show-stopping story contained heartbreak, horror and shocks aplenty. Just like the Cybermen hiding in Dark Water, we've seen the skeleton of this finale, now I can't wait for the rest. 

The Doctor and Clara land in water that is deep as well as dark when the Cybermen arrive...

Next Week: Old friends and old foes surround the Doctor and Clara as the series comes to a blistering end. Will there really be 'Death in Heaven'? 

Review: Doctor Who - Listen

Listen up! This week the Doctor searches for the thing in the corner of your eye in this utterly unique adventure...

'What's that in the mirror, or the corner of your eye?/ What's that footstep following but never passing by?/ Perhaps they are just waiting, perhaps that when we're dead/ Out they'll come a-slithering from underneath the bed.' 

For a that show can literally go anywhere, Doctor Who has quite a lengthy checklist of things we expect from each episode. But sometimes an episode comes along that breaks the mould - and 'Listen' is one of those episodes. This week we were delivered many inversions of the show's norms - just this once there was a hugely ambiguous nature to the monster of the week, it centred around the Doctor and Clara on their 'days off'' and, most tantalisingly, went to places that the show has never been before. Well, it has but it hasn't. Trust me, it's timey-wimey.  

There seems to be a deliberate effort to up the thematic content of the episodes this year as, beneath the whimsical adventures in space and time, we've had stories that are really about change, hatred and heroism. This week's episode not only continues the theme but emphasises it. While 'Listen' may start out as a familiar - but still spooky as heck - Moffat scarefest it then goes down a completely unexpected avenue to become a sensitive mediation on loneliness and fear. As the First Doctor - and now Clara - said 'fear makes companions of us all.' 

While we've come to expect great blockbuster finales and Christmas specials from Steven Moffat, this episode takes him back to his creepy one-off roots, In fact, Moffat has described the episode as a 'chamber piece' a small-scale adventure with few performers. In such a story as this, then, the cast is all important and, thankfully, the three leads of Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman and Samuel Anderson do not disappoint. Firstly, Capaldi embodies the Time Lord better than ever before here, as we see him inspire children and face terrifying sights but also explore new facets to the character like his almost unhinged obsession with the notion of a perfectly-evolved hider. Can such things really exist?

Meanwhile, as several incarnations of Pinks were met this week, Anderson's Danny (don't call him Rupert) is fitting well into the show, aided by the actor's awkward charm that fizzes with Jenna's perky Clara. Speaking of whom, Clara herself proves once again this week how invaluable she is to the Doctor - we've already seen her save his entire life and inspire him to rescue the Time Lords but here she makes her biggest impact on the Doctor yet. The Doctor is the solider who never carries a gun - I wonder where he got that idea from?  

'Listen' utilises all the classic horror film tricks and motifs (the thing under the bedsheet is one we've all seen before but that makes it no less eerie here) to treat us to a sleepless-night-inducing episode but then is also not afraid (ha!) to pull the rug from our feet and surprise and scare us in different ways. But embrace that fear because being scared is a superpower. And being scary is just one tool in the endless arsenal of Doctor Who, the show that can do anything. Just as this episode reminded us. 

It's the end - Is there something waiting on the last planet in existence?

Next Week: The Doctor and Clara save the day - by robbing a bank? Find out how in 'Time Heist'...

Review: Doctor Who - Deep Breath

And breathe out - Peter Capaldi's first episode has aired! But how did the new Doctor measure up? 

'I'm the Doctor. I've lived for over 2000 years. Not all of them good. I've made many mistakes. And it's about time I did something about that.'

Has any other actor been the Doctor so immediately as Peter Capaldi? Usually when a new Doctor is announced there's months of trepidation on the fans' part, worrying 'will this new guy fit the bill?' But it felt different this time. As soon as Peter Capaldi was announced to the world, walking out of the smoke holding his lapels, he was the Doctor. Then when we got to see a glimpse of him in 'The Day of the Doctor' - those were the Doctor's eyebrows. It was simply a fact that the Doctor's future was in safe hands. So, a whole year after he was announced as the Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi last night made his début in the role. And how like Doctor Who to give us a change we've already accepted and then rip the rug from under our feet. Make no mistake, 'Deep Breath' marked a regeneration, not just of its leading man, but of the whole show, hurtling us into a brave, moodier reincarnation of Doctor Who. 

After one of the daftest (for daft, read brilliant) pre-titles sequences to ever grace the series - not only is there a T-Rex in Victorian London but it also coughs up the TARDIS! - 'Deep Breath' proves to be a more low-key affair than other opening episodes. Instead of a large-scale alien invasion we have a pseudo-sequel to 'The Girl in the Fireplace' with a troupe of Clockwork robots rebuilding themselves with bits of people - with some clever parallels drawn with the eerie Half-Face Man and the Doctor (both have changed their body parts so many times they can't tell if they are the same person underneath any more). And, of course, the Paternoster Gang return with the now customary comedy Sontaran antics of Strax. However, this was just window dressing as the main thrust of the story was the idea of changing perceptions and age. In all, then, the plot was a familiar one but it was how it was told and the moments hanging on it that set the different tone. Quite fitting for an episode about patchwork monsters, really. 

Perhaps this episode's biggest surprise, however, was how it is really Clara who steals the episode. Some have said that the character served as a plot device throughout Series Seven rather than a proper person but here we are unequivocally on Clara's side as we both adjust to the new Doctor. Jenna Coleman delivers her best performance yet, imbuing Clara with facets to her character - fear, anger, grief - that we have never seen before. The spark that she shares with Peter Capaldi is incredibly fresh and feels like none of the other Doctor/companion pairings we seen so far in the revived series. These two have real promise to grow into one of the great TARDIS teams.

Invasion of the Dinosaur: A T-Rex visits Victorian London.

But the most important question is -  yes, all right, I shan't keep you waiting any longer (blimey, put down that pitch fork) - how was Peter Capaldi? Well, over the course of the adventure there are hints of Christopher Eccleston ('I'm stuck on the planet of the pudding-brains!'), Tom Baker (there's much wide eyes and eyebrows - plus a mention of long scarves) and Jon Pertwee (the more autocratic attitude and the dress sense) but really Capaldi carves out a Doctor who is all his own. He's in turn mirthful and mournful, crazed and calm, not-your-boyfriend and, oh, so very Scottish. Deep Breath was a wonderful taster, showing us all that this new Doctor is capable of, but he is still a newborn. We'll have to wait until next week to see him on an ordinary day. Because travelling inside a Dalek is just another Saturday to the Doctor.

Complete with a thrilling title sequence (still not sure of the shrill new theme though) and a new mood and tone, this new series could literally go anywhere but there is someone to hold our hand along the way. Irascible yet irreplaceable, Peter Capaldi is the perfect man to helm this brand-new version of the show. The old Doctor Who is gone. Long live the new Doctor!


P.S. As we're on the subject of old Doctor Whos... While it's sure to prove a controversial moment, I for one thought Matt Smith's cameo as the Eleventh Doctor was a stroke of genius. It could have come across as fandering (that's a contraction of fan-pandering - do you like it?) but instead marked a special moment of Clara's - and our - acceptance of the new Doctor. This moment tells us that beneath the volatile and a little unknowable Twelfth Doctor, the more amiable, human characteristics of the Doctor - that Matt Smith embodies - are still there. Also, more Matt Smith is always a good thing.  

Doctor Who: Series Eight Episode Titles Revealed

With only five days to go until Peter Capaldi makes his full-length début in 'Deep Breath', Who fans were treated today with a full list of this series' episode titles. Just like the chapter page of River's book in 'The Angels Take Manhattan' I always look forward to the titles being released as its like a collection of spoiler-free hints that get you excited for what's to come, rather than the gimme-gimme nature of proper spoilers (yes, I'm looking at you, those who watched the whole thing online weeks back). So let's take a sneak peak at Series Eight...

1. Deep Breath by Steven Moffat

This one we've known for a while, of course. The 75-minute special promises to be a relaunch of the show in style, with much more emphasis on characterisation and mood, apparently, than whizz-bang action. That said, it is still Doctor Who, so there will be steampunk spaceships, clockwork men and T-Rexes. We only have to wait till Saturday to see how it all comes together...

2. Into The Dalek by Phil Ford and Steven Moffat

This recently revealed title implies the tantalising premise that the Doctor will venture into a Dalek. At the moment I'm imagining a spiritual cousin of Tom Baker adventure 'The Invisible Enemy' in which the Doctor goes inside his own body (don't ask) but it could be more of a philosophical episode where the Doctor has to learn how to get into a Dalek metaphorically i.e. learn how to think like it. Who knows...

3. Robot of Sherwood by Mark Gatiss

The 'Sherwood' of the title would suggest that we are in for a Doctor Who/Robin Hood team-up - an event that is surely overdue. How has no one else thought of that in fifty years? This looks set to be another of Mark Gatiss' wonderful romps, like last year's terrific 'The Crimson Horror.'

4. Listen by Steven Moffat

What do you know? When a teaser trailer was released a few weeks back of Peter Capaldi, I mean the Doctor (we'd better start calling him that), sitting on the roof of the TARDIS saying 'listen' we just assumed it was a sign of his eccentricity. Now it turns out he was actually giving us an episode title - and we didn't realise! We'll have to listen closer in future.

5. Time Heist by Steven Thompson

One of those titles that says what it does on the tin. Moffat has stated that one of the episodes this year 'a heist movie done with Doctor Who' so I'm going to out on a limb - no, make it two, an arm AND a leg - that this is the episode to which he's referring. If so, it looks set to be continuing on from the 'Movie-of-the-week' ethic of Series Seven. This is also the episode that Keeley Hawes will guest star in, as the villainous Miss Delphox.

6. The Caretaker by Gareth  Roberts and Steven Moffat

Co-written by Doctor Who's funniest writer - whom, I think, the show really missed in Series Seven - this one is sure to be the comedy episode of the series. The title is syntactically similar to Robert's previous story 'The Lodger' so this may be an episode either stylistically similar or, well, actually similar. Maybe the Twelfth Doctor's about to pop back to see his old friend Craig? 

7. Kill The Moon by Peter Harness

This one possibly wins this year's 'Let's Kill Hitler' Award for the Most Audacious Title. Little is known plotwise about this one but we do know it was filmed in location in Lanzarote - the same place Fifth Doctor story Planet of Fire was shot. As Lanzarote doubled for the planet Sarn in that episode, it is thought that the TARDIS could be returning there. Also, that story featured the Doctor's old enemy the Master, leading many to speculate the old devil is going to make a comeback too. I'm twiddling my evil moustaches in anticipation. 

P.S. How does one kill the moon?

8. Mummy on the Orient Express by Jamie Mathieson 

Hmm, perhaps the Most Audacious Title Award should be split? Intriguingly, way back at the end of Matt Smith's first series in the role, in the closing moments of The Big Bang (blimey, doesn't that feel a long time ago now? Doesn't time fly when you live in a rebooted universe), the Doctor received a phone call from the Orient Express, asking for help to deal with an Egyptian Goddess who was attacking the train. The similarity of the title to that suggests we are about to find out what happened. Perhaps the Doctor has only just remembered to go there?

9. Flatline by Jamie Mathieson 

In this second episode in a row from ex-Being Human writer Jamie Mathieson (there's lots of new Who writers around this series), we see... Well, it could be anything. The title is giving away no clues. One of Moffat's hints for the series is that this is proper scary one so have that trusty sofa at the ready to jump behind. Unless this episode's about a monster behind the sofa...

I'm now copyrighting that idea, just so you know.

10. In The Forest of the Night by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce brings us this lyrically-titled story. Apparently, this is a fairy tale of an episode - but one quite different from those told by Steven Moffat. I'm very intrigued by this one. Could it be this year's 'Vincent and the Doctor?'

11. Dark Water by Steven Moffat

In a first since the aforementioned 'The Pandorica Opens'/'The Big Bang' in 2010, the finale of Series Eight will be two episodes long. Little has been revealed as of yet but we do know that Michelle Gomez will be appearing as the interestingly-named Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere. And so too will the pesky Cybermen, recreating a iconic scene from the past - parading past St Paul's. 

12. Death in Heaven by Steven Moffat

This is my personal favourite title of the new series - but what does said title belie? Moffat, Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman have all spoken about the themes of the series including double identities, lying to protect those we love and the idea that travelling with the Doctor might not be healthy for those around you. With this in mind, we can expect a big finale with possibly some catastrophic results. Sporting such a grand-sounding title, it's bound to be an Earth-shattering ride. As I'm sure will the whole of Series Eight.

Take a deep breath, everyone. Just five days.

Doctor Who: Step Back in Time - Series Six

With Peter Capaldi materialising on our screens in just under a month, it's time to up our game of this run-down through the previous series of our favourite bigger-on-the-inside programme. Earlier this month, we covered Matt Smith's first foray into the TARDIS in Series Five and now - anyone good at maths out there? - we come to Series Six. So join us as we sing Melody's Song...

Starring: Matt Smith (the Doctor), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) with Alex Kingston (River Song).

Produced by: Sanne Wohlenberg, Marcus Wilson and Denise Paul

Executive Produced by: Steven Moffat, Beth Willis and Piers Wenger

Best Episodes

The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon by Steven Moffat

No other Doctor Who series opener sets up the episodes ahead quite as well as this one. In a year full of twists and turns and complex plots that keep you at the edge of your seat, this two-parter delivers a unique take on the classic extraterrestrial incursion ('we're not fighting an alien invasion, we are leading a revolution'). some terrific monsters and a Doctor Who explanation of a famous historical event. When, just ten minutes into the new series the main character dies, you know you're in for a quite a ride. 

The God Complex by Toby Whithouse

In a series full of gems, this thrilling, slightly surreal offering from Being Human creator Mr Whithouse is often unfairly overlooked. With a spellbinding premise - a creepy hotel with a different horror in each room - and an interesting collection of supporting characters - Rita is one of the best companions-who-never-was - as well finding time to look at the relationship between the Doctor and Amy, this is one of the bravest and most accomplished of its year. In fact, in a near-quote from the episode itself, praise it. 

Closing Time by Gareth Roberts

I've spoken before on Mr Roberts' reliability to produce the funniest Doctor Who episode of the year every time but here, a sequel to his tremendous The Lodger, he outdoes himself, creating possibly the most outright hilarious Who story ever told. Even if the Cybermen are underused, Matt Smith and James Corden simply crackle with comic chemistry and the humorous set pieces and one liners never let up. An episode to please the Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All, in all of us. 

For more on my other favourite episode of Series Six, see here. 

TARDIS Team

For the first time in the modern series, the regular cast of Series Six were exactly the same as the previous year. And the growing familiarity between the Doctor and his companions, arguably to a level not seen since the Tenth Doctor and Rose, shines through as surely never before had the TARDIS Team felt so much like a family unit. There's Mum and Dad and their two kids. However, here's a question for you, which is which? 

With Series Six, Rory is promoted to full-time companion and, now that Mr and Mrs Pond have tied the knot, there is a greater emphasis on the love story of Amy and Rory, and how it is stronger than their, in particular Amy's, ties to the Doctor. In the reverse, a character who's ties to the Doctor increase this series is River Song. Previously their timey-wimey relationship had been rather strained but over the course of the series it burgeons into a fully-fledged romance. Despite the reveal that River was raised a perfect assassin for the Doctor. Well, what other kind of woman was the Doctor going to fall for?

Our four heroes begin the series as a group of friends but end it as a pair of married couples travelling through time and space (though only occasionally with River - one psychopath per TARDIS, unfortunately). However, every story has to end sometime...

 Story Arc

While Series Five introduced us to the story arc of the series being, rather than a few peppered references, like a rolling stone, building and building until it got to the finale, Series Six takes this one further. If Series Five was a rolling stone then the overall arc of Series Six is a boulder crashing down a mountain. Doctor Who was more of a serial show than ever before, with plots interweaving all over the place (and time).
In content, this series revolved around the Doctor discovering the mythic Silence who had been mentioned throughout the previous year and their new plot to ensure the Doctor dies. And at the centre of all this, as hinted above, is River Song - who it is not only revealed as an agent of the Silence but also the daughter of Amy and Rory. This marks the evolution of the story arc revolving around the main heroes to actually being about the heroes themselves (the mystery of Clara in the next series continues this).
Series Six, then, combines the show's classic story-a-week philosophy with modern television's penchant for ongoing storylines. As such, the result was a winner and overseas interest for the show increased, laying the path for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary which turned out to be an international extravaganza. In short, Series Six sees Doctor Who bigger, brighter and boulder than ever before.

Next Month: Series Seven - Putting the Who Back in Doctor Who

Review: Sherlock - His Last Vow

'Sherlock Holmes has made one enormous mistake which will destroy the lives of everyone he loves and everything he holds dear.'

After two lighter-hearted episodes, the game was back on for the series three finale, 'His Last Vow', which turned out to be one of the strongest instalments the series has seen - and it's up against some stiff competition!

Set up perfectly by the deepened characterisation of the first two episodes of this series, ‘His Last Vow’ accepts that we care for the all the characters and hurtles us into an adventures with more twists and turns then Sherlock’s mind palace (I imagine, I haven’t actually been). Sherlock's ability to take its audience by the scruff of the neck has always been impressive but here Moffat has complete mastery over us, countermanding every expectation we have about what's coming next with a stonking great twist that's seemingly come out of nowhere but which was actually, as is one of his favourite phrases, hidden in plain sight.

Amongst the high drama, there is also the customary laughs - particular highlights being, as always, the Holmes boys sparring at at their parents' house on Christmas Day ('Are you two smoking?' 'It was Mycroft!') and also Sherlock's surprise venture into the human world of relationships. However, remember rule one about this episode: nothing is as it appears...

While also serving up the thrills and the rib-ticklers, this episode also finds time for character notes on all three mains. Mary’s character is significantly explored in ways that no one had foreseen and there is some wonderful material for John, who gets to do everything from showing his tough side by surgically beating up a drug addict to dealing with a terrible truth, very close to home. As it is called Sherlock, there is also considerable work done on the detective himself. In the fabulous scene in Sherlock's mind palace – featuring a gloriously insane Moriarty, chained up in a rubber cell – we get the revelation of Redbeard (with echoes of Citizen Kane) going some way to uncover why Sherlock is the way he is (incidentally, the young Sherlock seen throughout the episode is played by Steven Moffat's own son, Joshua). 

Intriguingly, there seems to be a reinvigorated sense of patriotism to the character that hasn’t been seen before. The Sherlock of Series One and Two, who turned down a knighthood and went to Buckingham Palace naked is now England's Greatest Hero. Hero, being the operative word. Just as Conan Doyle also understood, Moffat and Gatiss knew that their Sherlock could not stand still and had to develop as a character. Despite what he says, the three series of the show so far are really about the journey of a high-functioning sociopath growing into a hero.

And this review could not finish without a word to Lars Mikkelsen, pitch perfect as the detestable Charles Augustus Magnussen. While Moriarty was, as he put it, ‘a good old-fashioned villain’, Magnussen really is a nemesis for the modern age. A newspaper magnate with a hold over the western world, he is an absolutely chilling concept and an even better villain, every inch the ‘dead-eyed shark’ and thoroughly deserving of the vitriolic disgust Sherlock shows him. It is such a shame we won't see him again - although, who knows in the Sherlock world... 

Totally thrilling and unabashedly unpredictable, 'His Last Vow' was triumphant television, providing everything you could ask for from the show. Including the shocking reappearance of someone we all wanted to see again...

Sherlock, we will miss you.

Five Favourite Sherlockian References: 

• Billy Wiggins, the drug addict that Sherlock takes under his wing, is a conflagration of two characters from the canon. The most obvious is Wiggins, the lead boy of the so-called Baker Street Irregulars (otherwise updated as Sherlock's homeless network). However, his first name is presumably a nod to Billy, 221B's page boy who helps out Mrs Hudson. Originally created for William Gillette's hit stage play,  he was consequently written by Conan Doyle into the later Holmes stories.
• One of the first shocks we get in this episode is the revelation that Sherlock has a girlfriend! The fact that this is all an act to get into Magnussen's office is lifted straight from the canon, whereupon Holmes proposes to Milverton's maid for the same reason. Interestingly, the woman, Janine, moves to a Sussex cottage, which is home to a few beehives. In the story 'His Last Bow', Holmes retires to keep bees on the Sussex Downs. Maybe we haven't heard the last of her yet...
• While the twist of Mary's true identity is completely Moffat's own creation, the memory stick containing information about her real life, scrawled with her actual initials, is a sly reference to the canon. In Mary's introductory story, The Sign of the Four, she recruits to Sherlock to investigate the disappearance of the Agra treasure. 
• At one point, Mycroft casually hints at the fate of 'the other one', presumably referring to another Holmes brother. This is likely drawn from the Sherlockian notion that Sherlock and Mycroft have an elder, and even cleverer sibling, Sherrinford Holmes. Whether this tantalising remark is going to be drawn on remains to be seen.
• The 'east wind' that Mycroft used to taunt the young Sherlock with is a clever inclusion of the famous patriotic closing speech of the original 'His Last Bow', published during the First World War: 'There is an east wind coming all the same, such a wind as never blew on England yet... A cleaner, better, stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm has cleared...' 

Review: Doctor Who - The Time of the Doctor

It's Boxing Day (at least for us here in the UK) so all of you at home are most probably still full from the previous day's celebrations; full on food, drink - but also writhing emotion as this Christmas Day, the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, took his final bow in a climactic battle that saw all his enemies attack. You know what, I'll let Clara explain...

'Now it's time for one last bow, like all your other selves. Eleven's hour is over now, the clock is striking Twelve's.'

Like a Christmas dinner piled high, there were ingredients aplenty to this very special episode, with a trio of main areas to cover. Firstly, it had to act as frothy, Christmassy entertainment to satisfy the festive folks at home, secondly, it had to tie up all the ongoing plot lines of Matt Smith's tenure - and there were many - while also, and this is the thirdly, delivering enough emotion to serve as a fitting farewell for Doctor Eleven. His final hour was certainly packed, so did it make the most of ‘The Time of the Doctor’?

As for balancing Christmas with continuity, while there is some fun early on with Clara’s timey-wimey turkey and Handles the friendly Cyberhead, festivities largely fall by the wayside when, ironically, the Doctor treks to Trenzalore, taking up residence in a town called Christmas to stop the amassed evil of the universe from restarting the Time War. There’s cracks in time, every alien from Silents to Weeping Angels, the first question and so much more that would leave a casual viewer scratching their heads so much they resemble a shaved Matt Smith.

In actual fact, it’s a little too crammed with ideas to make for a perfect Doctor Who episode. Some of the time it sagged under the weight of all the plot threads, certain ideas such as Matt Smith's Doctor being the last and the inclusion of the Time Lords were not given enough room to make suitable impact. Likewise, the ageing of the Doctor sadly meant less of Matt Smith's physicality which has been such a large reason his incarnation is so beloved. However, most of the episode’s faults could easily have been fixed with a tad more running time – although maybe that’s just me being indulgent after the movie-length ‘The Day of the Doctor’? 

The high point of this episode truly is the final scene, Matt Smith's last as the Doctor. If the rest of the episode has a problem with heart then the reason could be that it's all been squeezed into the last ten minutes. The Doctor approaches his change with optimism to counter the heartbreak and there’s some touching talk of the necessity of change. Staying on the right side of sentimental, the Eleventh Doctor’s regeneration joins the long list of sad farewell scenes in modern Doctor Who, lifted beyond the norm by Matt Smith’s effortlessly endearing, emotive performance that he has delivered every episode for the past four years as the Doctor. Yes, Matt Smith, we will always remember when the Doctor was you.

Despite its problems (and who can blame a bit of overfeeding on Christmas Day), ‘The Time of the Doctor’ was a truly eventful episode that gave us answers to long-asked questions and, most importantly, a tearful goodbye to the latest, greatest Time Lord. The ground is now clear for Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor to start a brand new golden age of Doctor Who. The eleventh hour has ended and it has now turned Twelve. A new day has begun. But what a day yesterday was? With a terrific lead actor and an abundance of intelligence and imagination (ably summarised in this episode), it really was Christmas. 

Review: Doctor Who - The Day of the Doctor

The day has come and gone. Christmas day for 77 million Doctor Who fans worldwide, the 23rd November 2013, is now over. The surprises have been unwrapped - so was it worth the wait? In a short answer; most certainly so! For a longer answer: read on...

'Never cruel or cowardly.' 'Never give up. Never give in.'

When UNIT call the Doctor in to investigate an impossible incident at the National Gallery, he is swept into an adventure involving Elizabeth I, shapeshifting Zygons and his past self! But there’s more, an even older incarnation of the Doctor is returning, and the Last of the Time Lords is going to have to visit his darkest day all over again...

A few months ago, we thought Series seven finale ‘The Name of the Doctor’ was a liberal re-shaking of Doctor Who history - yesterday the 50th anniversary special materialised in our dimension, pointing and laughing at that episode for its half-hearted attempt. For at its heart, 'The Day of the Doctor' treads a very clever line between changing a defining part of the revived series of Doctor Who while also, actually, not. For once, though, it can be said that the show will be the same 'no more...'

Away from the plot (spoilers), the special was released in cinemas worldwide – one screening of which I was lucky enough to attend – and so had extra pressure to reach the filmic quality that the Doctor Who of the past year has aimed for. And to all intents and purposes, it achieved it. Many fans have been after a big-screen Who outing for years, but surely if one ever came it couldn’t look anymore gorgeous than this (oh, those beautiful Zygons). As for the 3D element, it was a potentially superfluous but enjoyable addition to proceedings and was quite effective on several occasions. Nick Hurran, the show's current stand-out director, certainly handled it well and it really aided to the cinematic feel that the special possessed. 

As well as Moffat’s script and the whole sheen of the special, the performances are really what held the whole shebang together. It was wonderful to see Billie Piper back, bringing new aspects to her character, Jemma Redgrave was once again solid as the Brigadier’s daughter and UNIT lead, Kate Stewart while Jenna Coleman was as likeable as ever, albeit in a diminished role. However, the sure stars of this special are certainly the three Doctors. John Hurt brings his usual gravitas to the 'War Doctor' while the riffing of David Tennant and Matt Smith is a true treat to watch. The return of Tennant was an exciting prospect alone but its extra pleasing to see him playing a fun Doctor again, not the tortured version of his later years in the role. Every exchange between the two Doctors is laugh-out-loud funny and work in tandem next to the special’s unfolding drama.

Unfortunately, there are a few nitpicks to be had – I'm unsure of the characterisation of a hopelessly besotted Elizabeth I and a resolution to the Zygon subplot would have been nice (I just want more Zygons) but, really, when the rest is as bold and exciting as this these foibles are forgiveable. 

Overall, 'The Day of the Doctor' is a fast-paced blockbuster as well managing to be a portrait of the Doctor's character, with a flavour of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. After the release of 'The Night of the Doctor' and the reveal that it was going to reveal secrets of the Time War, there was the worry that the episode would be low on shocks (we, of course, know how it ended). However, Moffat pulls out all the stops to produce an exceptional piece of television (even if you don't see it on a TV). Congratulations to all involved for creating something that, as with much of Doctor Who this year, celebrates the show’s illustrious past and aims to ensure its future. After this 50^th anniversary (very) special was broadcast in 97 countries across the world, it’s fair to say that Doctor Who will be with us for a good many years yet. Another fifty? For those of us without a TARDIS, we'll have to wait and see. 

P.S. Rather wonderfully, this is my fiftieth blog post this year. If Doctor Who has taught me anything, I now need to pop back into my own time stream to ensure that it turns out this way...

Review: Doctor Who - The Night of the Doctor (Minisode)

Unless you've been living in a cave on the planet Karn for the past day or so, you can't help but have been swept up in the hype over this very special minisode (hey, it's Matt Smith's term). If you haven't seen it yet, trust me, the hype is entirely justified as this is literally a seven minute chunk of Doctor Who history. If you don't trust me, see for yourself here:

A surprise appearance of a past Doctor! The Time War! A hitherto unseen regeneration! If these six minutes forty eight seconds contains all of that what in the name of Rassilon will the actual special contain? Well, that's a question for another day.

The best thing about this minisode is, of course, the fact that it stars Paul McGann, previously only seen onscreen for the 1996 TV Movie in which McGann gives a truly brilliant turn as a romantic, thoroughly hands-on (and lips-on, eh, know what I mean? Nudge nudge) version of the character who lives for the adventure. The Eighth Doctor is arguably the Doctor in his purest form, an alien with a love for humanity who can always be relied upon to save the day (no pun intended). So it is of course, fantastic to see him back but also incredibly sad to see perhaps the nicest, and most heroic incarnation of the Doctor forced to make the most difficult decision of his lives.

The switch around of the oh-so familiar set-up of Doctor Who - young brave woman swept off feet by the Doctor before being whisked off in the TARDIS - with Cass shunning the Doctor in disgust is simply heartbreaking, providing a fascinating insight into the effect the Time War had not just on the Doctor's race but the man himself. That he would refrain from partaking in the war for so long seems totally appropriate for his character, in particular, this incarnation. His ultimate decision to join the fight being due to the Sisterhood of Karn is also a nice touch, raising interesting questions and nodding back to fab Tom Baker story 'The Brain of Morbius'.

Another element of the episode worth a mention is the references to the Eighth Doctor's companions from the audio adventures produced by Big Finish, which finally creates a connection for at least one branch of Doctor Who spin-off media to the main series. My only gripe is that as Moffat had done that why couldn't he have had the Doctor mention, say, Fitz from the Eighth Doctor novels or Izzy from the glorious comics featuring this Doctor (she's still one of my favourite companions ever). It's a tiny nitpick but one small adjustment that would have truly brought all of Doctor Who together which would have added a little more icing on the cake. Although there is a hell of a lot of icing already. Maybe it would be one of those edible ball bearings on the cake instead. The Doctor does love ball bearings...

The scope and ambition of this short really shows that Steven Moffat is the perfect man to guide the show through its 50th year - he's the only writer with the sheer gall to liberally change massive parts of Doctor Who history. For one thing, does this affect the oft-argued '12 regeneration' rule? With the inclusion of the John Hurt 'War Doctor' (I personally prefer the term used by some fans prior to this episode - 'The Mayfly Doctor') it pushes Capaldi up to No.13 but does it also give the writers a legitimate excuse to continue on after him?
Whatever the answer to these questions, 'The Night of the Doctor' must be commended for being a seven-minute masterpiece of a web-only minisode that manages to significantly alter the course of Doctor Who. It certainly lays the groundwork for 'The Day of the Doctor', just a little over a week away. Now that we know who the John Hurt Doctor really is, we will surely find out what horrors he committed during the Last Great Time War. He is a Doctor, after all, but probably not the one we expected.

Review: Jekyll (Series One)

Everyone has a dark side. This is the theme of today's post. We may appear trustworthy members of society but underneath may lurk a secondary savage nature. The side you try to hide. the side you try to bury deep and the side that may come to the fore and close this tab if I keep up this melodramatic introduction. So, as Gothic Creatures month continues, we turn our two-faced heads to inspect a new take on a classic tale...

Three years before he reinvented Sherlock Holmes as a modern-day sleuth, Steven Moffat brought another icon of late-Victorian literature into the 21st century - the tragic Dr Jekyll and his twisted other half, Mr Hyde.

Jekyll, a sequel to the Robert Louis Stevenson original, sees James Nesbitt (ubiquitous on British television back in 2007, he can now be seen as Bofur in The Hobbit films) as Dr Tom Jackman, a man who is suffering from serious split personality. Cutting himself off from his job, friends and family, he is determined to defeat his inner demons before they - or should that be 'he' - can bring harm to his loved ones. Jackman, a descendant of Dr Jekyll, can trust no one - not even himself. 

As one can expect from Steven Moffat, the king of complex plots, this short six-part series (no more were produced) hurtles at a strong pace and is unpredictable to the extreme. While this is far from being the only reimagining of Jekyll and Hyde, to take the Victorian gothic novel and turn it into a contemporary conspiracy thriller show as this does is really quite inspired. Thankfully, however, Jekyll manages to never take itself too seriously and supplies another thing one will always find in Moffat's work; more than a handful of humour. Mr Hyde - oh, yes, he still calls himself that - is portrayed as a camp, so-mad-he-loves-being-evil villain in the vein of John Simm's The Master and, later, Andrew Scott's Moriarty and so regularly gets you laughing with him, despite his nasty nature. 

Across the episodes, there are some stonking great classics of Moffat dialogue. My favourite has to go to the following exchange that's played to deadpan perfection by Nesbitt:

Jackman finds a CD titled 'Disney Favourites' on his desk

Tom: What's this?

Katherine: It's his.

Tom: He has Disney favourites?

Katherine: He likes the songs.

Tom: My dark side likes Mary Poppins. No wonder I was bullied at school.

The cast is filled out ably by familiar actors to any British TV viewer, including Meera Syal, Denis Lawson and Michelle Ryan. Ryan plays Katherine, Jackman's capable assistant who helps keep Hyde at bay (by giving him Disney CDs, apparently) while Syal and Fenella Woolgar (Who's Agatha Christie) play a pair of lesbian private detectives - clear forebears of Moffat's much-loved crinolined crime-fighting duo Madame Vastra and Jenny. They are all entertaining additions to the cast but sadly fall a bit by the wayside in the series' latter half as the plot spirals all over the place (in a good way). On the plus side, though, Gina Bellman who is underused in the first episodes gets a chance to shine as Jackman's suffering wife.

As the issues with character above suggests, the show does have its problems. The biggest being that there's something about it that means the series as a whole just doesn't click. It's certainly great fun to watch but it is the show's inability to ever quite come together that keeps the production from reaching the heights of Sherlock and Moffat's Doctor Who. While the writing runs the show and the actors carry it well, it seems like one-part generic TV drama and one-part bonkers, innovative stuff. The series was clearly designed as a vehicle for Nesbitt, who plays both roles with either suitable restraint or bouncing energy, and also allows Moffat to go solo on a big-game drama project for the first time. Perhaps it is these manufactured beginnings that stop Jekyll being a truly great piece of television.

On the whole, Jekyll is a hugely enjoyable series with sharp writing and solid performances but one that never quite fires on all cylinders. With elements of both pure genius and mediocrity, Jekyll really is a show split down the middle, meaning that the series may leave the viewers themselves in two minds.