“Deep Breath” Opening: And so we do this merry dance once more, the Doctor and I. I’ve been through every one of these – though most of them long after the good folks of Britain and the right generations went through them – and they never get less compelling. But […] Read more
“The Time of the Doctor” It’s not every year that the regeneration episode of a popular Doctor – and one who’s used up all his regenerations at that – would take a back seat to anything in the Doctor Who world. But so it is with “Time of the Doctor”, […] Read more
This one went exactly as I expected, top to bottom. Here’s the results of the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary poll. I figured that enough people only know the post-2005 reboot that the new Doctors would win, and that Tom Baker would emerge victorious among the oldies. For the record, here’s my […] Read more
“The Day of the Doctor” You’re going to have to forgive me if my thoughts are a bit scattered. Today I’m a 13 year-old boy again, staying up late on Sunday night to watch my favorite show on WTTW Channel 11 in Chicago. Note: this post contains innumerable spoilers for […] Read more
Steven Moffat didn’t just toss longtime fans a cookie – he gave us the whole damn cookie jar. There are several things we can take away from the appearance of “The Night of the Doctor“. First, that there are apparently people at the Beeb who can keep a secret after […] Read more
In case you missed it, Peter Capaldi has been cast as the new Doctor Who. I confess I didn’t buy the rumors – I never thought Moffatt would go through with casting an actual grown-up as The Doctor. Capaldi is 55 and while he’s easily now best known known […] Read more
“The Name of the Doctor” Bring on November 23rd. It’s been an uneven season (or half-season) for Doctor Who. Let’s just be honest – it’s been a mediocre one. Only “Hide” and Neil Gaiman’s “Nightmare in Silver” were solidly above-average episodes by the standard of the Tennant/Smith era. And Clara […] Read more
“Nightmare in Silver” How you feel about “Nightmare in Silver” may depend on how you measure it. In a vacuum, I think this was an excellent if flawed episode – a vacuum removed both from any real tie-in to the season-long mystery and from comparisons to Neil Gaiman’s previous Doctor […] Read more
“The Crimson Horror” Where have you gone, Neil Gaiman? A Whoniverse turns its lonely eyes to you… Prolific Who scribe Mark Gatiss’ “The Crimson Horror” represents another decent episode in a season that’s been characterized by them. It’s pleasant enough, but there’s just something missing. This episode in particular feels […] Read more
“Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS” “Journey” is a pretty solid episode on the whole, with its share of intriguing moments, but I’m afraid Neil Gaiman has ruined for me TARDIS-centric episodes. I’ve noticed an interesting trend this season, or at least this second half of one – Doctor […] Read more