Gareth Roberts gives us Closing Time, and it felt more like Closing Time on Doctor Who’s credibility. The penultimate episode leading into the series finale was more like watching 45 minutes of a comedy double act with Smith and Corden.

Early on, as soon as the Doctor begins working in a toy shop and shoving Yappy the toy dog in Corden’s face, I knew something wasn’t quite right. We quickly flash from scene to scene in what seems like a whirlwind of nonsensical goofy one-liners, with Smith and Corden bouncing off each other like Abbot and Costello on acid. We’re informed early on by the Doctor that he is in his last days as he edges closer toward his destiny on the beach and his meeting of death with the mysterious astronaut, yet here he’s acting not unlike a child on a severe sugar overdose. Perhaps he’s taken some kind of drug, because I can think of no other explanation as to why someone—anyone—would act in such a manner whilst on their way to meet their maker. It’d be like a prisoner on Death Row heading toward the electric chair with the glee of someone who’s just won millions on the lottery.

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After the series break we return to Doctor Who series 6B in rip roaring fashion. There’s no let-up in the action; the story telling in the first five minutes alone is enough to convince us that that there’s energy to be found here, a story to tell, and that Moffat doesn’t want to waste any time telling it. Except it doesn’t really work.

The last time I experienced storytelling at this pace and energy was in Back to the Future Part II. I loved that movie. But that was a movie, with almost two hours to tell its story. This is Doctor Who, a programme I watched in my youth that used to take four to six twenty-five minute episodes to get into a nice build-up of mystery, character development, and intrigue to get to the point. Instead we get a cinematic car chase through a corn field, the Doctor stepping out of the TARDIS and explaining something about not being able to find baby Melody, something about crop circles and “Doctor” written in it, then we’re treated to a flashy Hollywood-esque shot of a sports car skidding to a halt narrowly missing the TARDIS, someone called Mels stepping out an waving a gun around. “Let’s kill Hitler,” she tells us. Okay. And after the credits roll, a further brisk flashback of twenty something years of Mels’ life explained to us in a matter of minutes. Continue reading →

I’m poor. Yes, recession has hit full swing, and it’s been a while since I splashed out on anything Who-related, but this release really tickled my fancy. Day of the Daleks was something of a disappointment to me as a kid, and to many of the interviewees on the documentaries too, apparently. I remember having the VHS bought for me at a second-hand market, and watching it with some skepticism. I could only have been eight or nine-years-old at the time, yet I couldn’t fail to be underwhelmed by this story. There were some ropey effects, an odd and inconsistent visual style, and worst of all – the Daleks seemed to be parodying themselves. “Who Ev-er is op-er-at-ing the time ma-chine is an en-em-y of the Da-leks…” And so forth.

This story continues to have its fans, but the good news is that included with this release is a second disc, featuring a brand-new, updated and improved version of this somewhat shoddy serial. Boasting several notable changes in its visual and auditory content, this reworked edition of Day of the Daleks is the definitive one. And don’t think that I hate everything about the original – I certainly don’t. But the enhanced special effects elevate it to a level that it would otherwise never have attained. For the purpose of this review, I shall look at the story through the various alterations that have been made for the Special Edition. Continue reading →

The below review was cross-posted from dannystewart.com.

After a run of episodes ranking anywhere from abysmal to above average (and roughly in that order), the writing, pacing, and directing of this episode were all excellent. The episode felt much longer than 45 minutes, and that’s not a bad thing. There was some terrific frightening imagery here and a very focused, well-developed plot. The dialogue was sharp and the whole episode treated its audience as intelligent viewers, something I am not at all accustomed to with the new series.

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