Capaldi, Capaldi, & more Capaldi

[Bruce Banner]

Well, tonight's episode was interesting, if nothing else.
The Mistress? Really?
Cool to see the Cybermen back, anyway.
Time for Clara's departure soon, I think.

[clemso]

Nice little twist this evening, i wasn't expecting that.

[Mikey]

I'm kinda let down - was hoping it was the Rani

Always happy to see New Oldies return

BTW, loved the scenes of the Cybermen harkening back to The Invasion

[palitoy]

I was fooled, I thought Susan or Romana (the Mistress comment) so it was a good surprise.

The Rani was in two horrible episodes, I have no love for her.

[Godzilla]

Wow, fun episode and such a surprise at the end. I never thought we'd see the doctor kissing that character (being vague to avoid spoilers).

[Mikey]

The Rani was in two horrible episodes, I have no love for her.

I have to disagree partly.

I think Mark of the Rani was pretty decent - perhaps Colin's best story from that year.

Time and the Rani - forget it

[palitoy]

Least smelly fart is still a fart.

[Godzilla]

I re-watched Time and the Rani a year or so ago with my kids. I was surprised that episode 1 was much better than I remembered. And then it went downhill from there.

I know I watched Mark of the Rani around the time of it's original broadcast, but I have zero recollection of it.

[Mikey]

I know I watched Mark of the Rani around the time of it's original broadcast, but I have zero recollection of it.

Mark is basically the Rani is doing medical experiments on 1800's coalminers.

The Master is also there (for no apparent reason).

Most memorable thing that sticks out is landmines that turn people into trees

[palitoy]

The Rani always struck me as an epitome of JNT's apathy towards the series.

A good concept (evil female time lord who is smarter than the Doctor), a great actress and they put her in two dreadful stories where all she basically is a "Girl Master".

[johnmiic]

In Time and The Rani she is the "Girl Master" but in Mark of the Rani she is just out for herself. Her goals are not so all encompassing and she really wanted nothing to do with the feud between the Master and the Doctor. I have to say at least she is her own person in Mark of the Rani. In Time and the Rani she is just a means to an end.

[Falstaff13]

I remember they were trying to push the idea that the Rani was amoral, while the Master was immoral (she didn't care that she might hurt humans she experimented upon, as they were just collateral damage for her experiments), but the stories never really developed that.

[palitoy]

I remember they were trying to push the idea that the Rani was amoral, while the Master was immoral (she didn't care that she might hurt humans she experimented upon, as they were just collateral damage for her experiments), but the stories never really developed that.

Yeah, i remember reading about the character prior to seeing her and thinking it would interesting. I never saw much on the original series that gave me anything different, her first appearance was middling, her second terrible. I'm sure she's been treated kinder in the novels and such.

[Gorn Captain]

SPOILERS


Some good things and some bad things in this story.
Lots of nice references to classic stories, like the Cybermen on the steps was terrific. I liked the idea of "why can't you save someone specifically"? Saving a companion from dying by using timetravel and preventing it, for example.
I don't mind the idea of the Mistress, it's a nice twist, and I feel I'll prefer her to manic John Simms. I think she kissed the Doctor just to mess with him. The Doctor kissing his own worst enemy.
I also liked the fact that the Doctor chose to help Clara, so clearly taking her side and expressing his affection for her.
My favorite part, as usual, are his rather blunt but honest reactions to people. "Is he an idiot?" "If you don't get on with, I'll hit you with my shoe". I had to laugh out loud with those remarks. Capaldi (and the people writing his lines) are doing great, in this case it's Moffat.

Stuff I liked less?
The Cybermen seem to be pawns of someone else, again. Like in a lot of their New Series stories. That bothers me. They are using them as cheap cannon fodder and they're no longer the menace in their own right. The whole thing about "dark water", what's that all about? It seems like a very artificial way to suddenly reveal "They're Cybermen!!!!" That felt pretty stupid.

And while I applaud Moffat for tackling The Afterlife, the man has guts because it's a sensitive issue to many, I felt uneasy about the way it is going. I'll reserve final judgement until the end of next episode, but the idea of "when you cremate someone, you'll be burning them in the afterlife as well", is something that I find rather sensitive. Most of the loved ones I have lost were cremated, one just months ago, and I was surprised that a fictional story on tv actually hurt my feelings. I have wrestled with this issue myself, the "what if?" of what happens when someone's is cremated or buried, and I felt uneasy with the subject matter being used as tv entertainment. But I'll see how it ends.

So pros and cons, but definitely not boring.

[Mikey]

This episode did have one of the Doctor's best quotes of all time, --- “Hurry up already or I'll hit you with my shoe”.