WE HUNT TOGETHER For the Best TV

Article first published as TV Review: WE HUNT TOGETHER on Seat42F.

This weekend, Showtime premieres the drama WE HUNT TOGETHER. Made by BBC Studios and already aired overseas, the six-episode run is now making its stateside debut. It follows two serial killers, who may be in love, or possibly the attraction is one-sided, as well as two detectives that don’t seem to get along at all who are hunting the murderers. Which pair will you root for and who will win?

Honestly, WE HUNT TOGETHER doesn’t feel all that fresh. Yes, it has two pairs instead of one, but the British crime drama of cops hunting a killer is now so well established that there are dozens of other shows to compare it to. It’s become as tired and overdone as American procedurals, helped along only by the fact that the seasons are shorter (and storytelling is serial), and the accents and locales are slightly exotic. Yes, it’s well-written and well-performed, but so is pretty much every other program in the genre.

The detectives are played by Eve Myles (Torchwood) and Babou Ceesay (Into the Badlands). It’s great to see Myles in a regular role again, and DS Lola Franks is delightfully grumpy, a bit of a departure from her most well-known role, though not exactly a new archetype. Ceesay’s Jackson Mendy is a bit more original, an always cheery man who also works with internal affairs, investigating crooked cops. You would think that would make Mendy jaded and suspicious of his fellow officers, but Franks is the one who views him with a wary eye. The joyful detective is something pretty new, usually a character like this being outside the force or in a supporting role, so their scenes play better to me than the others.

The opposing side of WE HUNT TOGETHER follows Freddy Lane (Hermione Corfield, The Halycon) and Baba (Dipo Ola, Baghdad Central). The chemistry between them is instant, or so it seems, given the circumstances of their meeting. Freddy seems attracted to Baba right away, but could that be because he saves her? She then uses his obvious mutual feelings to manipulate him into helping her kill people. The first guy they take out is a real jerk, but who knows who their next victim will be? Is Freddy delighted to find the Clyde to her Bonnie (with murdering), or is she just using Baba to do her dirty work? It’s impossible to tell from the initial premiere.

WE HUNT TOGETHER is enjoyable; don’t get me wrong. I’m sure the story can sustain viewers who are interested through six installments. But with KILLING EVE being the premiere cat-and-mouse thriller of the moment, and with the myriad of other shows in the vein, will this one stand out? I’m just not sure it will.

Why did Showtime buy the drama, is my question. It doesn’t seem super on-brand for them, unless they’re branching out. Their series tend to be more outrageous than WE HUNT TOGETHER, which is relatively grounded. If they’re trying to fill programming at a time when filming has basically stopped, it seems a little early to be pulling from the international well. Other networks have this niche covered, and it seems weird Showtime would want to compete for the corner. Especially when I’m sure there are foreign shows they could pursue that are more in their wheelhouse.

Whatever the reason, WE HUNT TOGETHER is good, not great. Or maybe it would have been seen as great if it didn’t open itself up so fully to comparison of others. The fact that the show hasn’t even rated a Wikipedia page yet, months after its British premiere, should tell you something about its chances at longevity.

WE HUNT TOGETHER airs Sundays at 10PM on Showtime.

Catch THE CAPTURE

Article first published as TV Review: THE CAPTURE on Seat42F.

NBC’s new streaming service, Peacock, launched today with a handful of original series. One of them is THE CAPTURE, a six-episode drama (with the first installment free to non-subscribers) in which a military officer, just cleared of a crime during wartime, possibly commits murder against the barrister that defended him. Did he do it? If he did, was he sane at the time, since he doesn’t seem to remember it? If he didn’t do it, who faked the CCTV footage showing him do it and why? The last seems far-fetched, but it is a very interesting story.

My first thought about THE CAPTURE was that it feels like a British crime drama. Unsurprisingly, it is, having aired on BBC One last fall. So by saying it’s a Peacock ‘original’ series, that only means it’s original on the platform here in the States. In my opinion, Peacock doesn’t deserve much credit for buying it, although the show certainly deserves an American run. If the streaming site (not available on most streaming devices, a major knock against it) is seeking to set a brand for itself, this doesn’t do it any favors, being obviously someone else’s borrowed style.

At the center of THE CAPTURE is DI Rachel Carey (Holliday Grainger, The Borgias), a fast-rising cop who needs to oversee a major investigation to move up the next rung on the ladder. The case mentioned above may just be it. Not everyone who works with her is happy about her rapid ascension, but the ones that seem smart apparently respect her, so she’s a Good Guy; a typical driven, strong hero. Grainger fulfills the role very nicely.

Shaun Emery (Callum Turner, War & Peace) is the soldier who spent time behind bars and then was cleared, just before being arrested again. This character is the complex one, and surely will be given the most thought by audiences. It seems extremely likely that he did commit the murder, given that the CCTV stream was witnessed as it ran live, even if he doesn’t have any memory of it. And he has no explanation for what is shown. As long as you believe Shaun is telling the truth as he knows it, there definitely appears to be mental issues key to the issue at hand. Shaun’s lack of memory could be an act, but it doesn’t feel likely.

What’s more, knowing he could do something like this calls into question if he was innocent of the other crime, which was chalked up to bad technology. But maybe the tech wasn’t flawed. In fact, camera advancement is as much a character as the two leads. CCTV is shown quite a bit, as is the body cam Shaun wore overseas. Most of the evidence in both cases hinges on this footage. How reliable is it? Given that it is called into question right away, it certainly seems to have its fair share of flaws. So can it be trusted at all, even when what it’s showing seems like an obvious crime?

There have been other shows with a similar hook as THE CAPTURE uses cameras. There have also been plenty of other British crime dramas in this vein that are widely lauded and highly entertaining. This could indicate that THE CAPTURE isn’t needed, given that it fits very firmly into already established molds. And yet, it is compelling, with solid direction, writing, and acting that mean, even if you’ve seen a bunch of the others, it may be worth it to watch this one, too.

Admittedly, I’ve come out against American crime procedurals in the past. I don’t know why I find British six-episode formulas better than a case-of-the-week format, but I do. THE CAPTURE is a great example of this.

Watch THE CAPTURE on Peacock now.

Too HARD SUN

Article first published as TV Review: HARD SUN on Seat42F.

Hulu premiered all six episodes of a new drama called HARD SUN last week. A co-production with the BBC, HARD SUN follows two cops in a pre-apocalyptic world. Yes, pre-, not post-. An event known only as “hard sun” (hence the title of the show) is being kept secret by the government, even though it predicts an extinction-level event in a mere five years time. As more people begin to find out about it and react, our heroes not only have to continue to do their jobs keeping the peace, but they also get drawn into the conspiracy coverup.

HARD SUN sounds like a really neat idea. After all, so much time has been spent examining how people would deal with the aftermath of a big event. It’s cool to finally get into the psychology of how they would react when the disaster is looming, but has not yet arrived. Painting it as a secret that leaks out and is, at first, only believed by conspiracy nuts makes it all the more intriguing because the series can take its time getting around to various types of people reacting differently to the news.

The problem is, HARD SUN doesn’t really delve into the psychiatry so much as uses it as a distraction from the main story. Several of the six hours are mostly made up of our leads trying to catch a bad guy doing something horrible because he (always he) believes the world is ending. This could be very interesting if the focus wasn’t just on catching him, or if there were more variation in the execution. But despite some good guest star turns here, these stories are mostly unsatisfying and seem to just be in the way of getting back to the plot most viewers will care more about. This is the way a 22-episode network season would stretch things out; it doesn’t work for a six-episode short season.

The through line story is pretty good, but HARD SUN spends too much time ignoring it. DCI Charlie Hicks (Jim Sturgess, Feed the Beast) is a complicated man. He cares deeply for people and wants to protect them, and has done some pretty bad things while pursuing that goal. His new partner, DI Elaine Renko (Agyness Deyn, Hail, Caesar!), is put in place specifically to catch him, until she bonds with him during their duties. She also has her own issues, with a violent son she loves, despite the fact that he tried to kill her. This baggage is pretty inconvenient when Hicks and Renko have to spend so much time avoiding would-be assassins from MI5, in particular Grace Morrigan (Nikki Amuka-Bird, Luther).

That is a LOT of story just for our two leads, so having to watch them do their jobs around it is too much. HARD SUN should have just focused on the complex set of circumstances they built, and if we saw Hicks and Renko working at all, keep it to routine duties or a single case, not extra-complicated serial killers.

I admit, I was caught up in HARD SUN, watching all six hours before sitting down to write this review. Part of the reason I waited was to see if the end paid off the time spent slogging through the middle hours. It does, with bright promise for a second season, should one be ordered. But that doesn’t change the criticism above, which still stands upon completion. I expected a bit more from writer Neil Cross, who is best known for his excellent British crime series, Luther.

Also, HARD SUN is very graphically violent. If that bothers you, you might want to skip it.

HARD SUN season one is available now on Hulu.

DOCTOR WHO Season 10 Premiere Event

Article first published as TV Review: 'Doctor Who' Season Ten Live Premiere Event on Blogcritics.

With assistance from Nick Arganbright

Doctor Who is back for the 10th (!) season premiere, and Fathom Events recently made sure it was done with style. Hosting screenings across the country, Fathom presented the Who franchise’s latest installment on the big screen, with some cool extras. I was lucky enough to attend one such gathering (thanks Fathom!) this week.

Things kicked off with some Doctor Who trivia, which is an enjoyable way to begin. The questions were light and fun, and called to mind fan-favorite Doctors and occurrences from the recent past.
After that, the pilot for Class, the new Doctor Who spin-off, was presented. Fans have been eager for an expansion of the world since the end of Torchwood, and anticipation was high for the new series. Unfortunately, while there are some interesting concepts, and I personally couldn’t get enough of Katherine Kelly’s Miss Quill, Class fails to ignite interest right from the start. It may grow into itself,  but episode one isn’t one that will instantly hook itself a new batch of viewers.

Class presents a diverse group of high school students who end up having to battle aliens and monsters from another realm while attending Coal Hill Academy. Coal Hill is an institution periodically seen in Doctor Who from the beginning, most recently as companion Clara’s place of employment. One of the students in the cast is even an alien himself, the last of his kind hiding on Earth, and I think the idea is a relatively solid one. But the presentation feels artificial, the characters gelling together in a way that doesn’t come across as natural. It’s like the formula for popular young adult shows has been co-opted in an effort to bring in ratings, but they’re trying too hard.

Still, that is only episode one. It may yet grow into itself.

After Class, we got a lovely short about Pearl Mackie “becoming the companion.” Pearl plays the Doctor’s newest traveling buddy, a young, gay, African-American woman named Bill. She (the actress) is charming, and the bonus segment flowed nicely, introducing us to her and getting us psyched up for the episode that followed. I never liked Clara all that much, so am very excited that the new cast member is as instantly likeable as she is.

The Doctor Who 10th season premiere itself does not disappoint in the slightest. It has the whimsical sense of adventure that the best Who episodes do, a genuinely scary villain, real mystery, and not only is new companion Bill magnetic and awesome, but the very amusing Nardole (Matt Lucas) returns as well, presumably to stay for awhile. Plus, a cameo by The Doctor’s most serious foe! What more could anyone want?

The first regular episode in more than fifteen months, we catch up with The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) working as a professor. He meets cafeteria worker Bill (Mackie) when she finds a sentient puddle, whom The Doctor assumes has come to take something from a vault he’s guarding. A girl is killed, and the TARDIS races through the universe and time stream to try to gauge the range of the creature and find a solution to the threat it poses. (The vault, presumably, is a teaser for a future hour.) The episode is called “The Pilot,” which seems tongue-in-cheek for what is essentially yet another reboot of the long-running franchise. I really have no complaints at all about the hour.

I am very grateful that Doctor Who was shown after Class, the opposite of broadcast order on BBC America, where they are currently paired up (though Class aired last year in the UK). Had the spin-off come second, it is quite possible people would be let down. Instead, it’s a light, not terrible, but somewhat flimsy opening act for a stellar main attraction. With Capaldi’s Doctor making a brief cameo in Class, anticipation builds appropriately, and I felt the whole night was very well organized.

In all, I enjoyed Fathom Events, well, event, and I hope they do it again soon. Doctor Who looks fantastic on the big screen, and with the way it all came together, the inclusions that were part of the night, I had a good time and I think others did, too. The only drawback was that attendance was sparse, perhaps because it came a couple of days after the television airing of the premiere, but I would recommend to lovers of the series to go out to the next one. You’ll probably be glad you did.

Not Much CLASS

Article first published as TV Review: CLASS on Seat42F.

BBC’s Doctor Who has had a couple of spin-offs, but none are currently running. Given how infrequent new installments of the parent show are, it’s almost always welcome when there’s some continuation or extension set in that world to fill in the gaps. The newest series, though, at least in America, doesn’t come in the off-season, but instead will air in parallel with new Doctor Who, beginning this weekend.

Called CLASS, the show tells the story of four students and a teacher at the infamous Coal Hill Academy. Renovated and fancied up since the last time we saw it, the school having been periodically featured in the series since the beginning, most recently as Clara’s workplace, this allows both a familiar and fresh setting for the new show.

The ensemble is as diverse as it can be in the British school-limited setting, with multiple races and sexual preferences represented in the five-member troupe. There’s: Ram (Fady Elsayed, My Brother the Devil), who dreams of being a football (soccer to us Americans) star; April (Sophie Hopkins, Brackenmore), the mild-mannered nerd who helps care for her mother; Tanya (Vivian Oparah), a Nigerian prodigy; and Charlie (Greg Austin, Mr. Selfridge), an alien price, the last of his race, who has a crush on a Polish boy, Matteusz (Jordan Renzo). They are watched over by Miss Quill (Katherine Kelly, Coronation Street, Mr. Selfridge), also alien, also last of her race, enslaved to protect Charlie.

So yes, the character descriptions give you a bit of the ongoing plot right away. With two extraterrestrials hiding out and trying to keep their races from going extinct, any number of baddies will come to the school looking for them. Then again, that institution has always attracted more than its fair share of trouble, with a body count well above average. So multiple elements converge on a place that is sure to see exciting things happen on a regular basis.

I do admit, I found CLASS a little hard to access at first. The core group seems so different from one another, and it feels weird to see them all drawn together artificially early, not by the monster, but prior to that. It was especially bizarre when they all sat next to one another in class. I think most shows would have circumstance bond them, or focus on an already solidified friend group, but CLASS tries something different, and I’m not sure it quite works. Or maybe I’m applying an American cultural filter to a British series; I’m just not sure.

The first episode itself is interesting, setting things up nicely, while still having an urgent plot driving it as well. There are some fun references, such as when the school is said to be essentially sitting on a Hellmouth. The problem with that is, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the best shows of all time, and inviting comparison is risky. The saving grace is that Buffy didn’t have a strong first season, so it also asks viewers to give CLASS a chance if it doesn’t immediately hook them.

The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) makes his inevitable cameo, as we know he must, but I found it a disappointing one. Not in of itself, as I loved seeing him, as it fits into the whole. CLASS is trying to set itself and its heroes up, and having The Doctor burst in at a key moment feels like cheating, robbing the protagonists of their chance to really stand up for themselves. We do get some other opportunities to see the cast in action, and The Doctor does provide some welcome wisdom. But it still didn’t feel quite right.

I like CLASS. It has a talented ensemble, and I cannot get enough of Kelly as Quill. But it doesn’t have the charm of Doctor Who (except when The Doctor is present), and it struggles to find its own identity in episode one. It isn’t as instantly gripping as Torchwood, a prior spin-off. With seven more episodes in this run, we’ll see if it develops into something worthwhile, or sputters out.

Queen VICTORIA

Article first published as VICTORIA Review on Seat42F.

PBS’ Masterpiece presents a new drama this week called VICTORIA. Centered around the long-reining British queen of that name, the show originally aired in the UK, and is now coming to the states, the first two hours premiering this Sunday. The initial offering deals with Victoria taking the throne, befriending the prime minister, and her struggles between what she wants personally and what the politics of the country demand.

Although not a fan of Jenna Coleman’s Clara in the series Doctor Who, I do like her better as Victoria. She does a fine job portraying the young, short queen (only eighteen when she took the throne, and under five feet tall) as she comes into her own.

Victoria has a very sheltered childhood, controlled as she is by her mother (Catherine Flemming, Simones Labryinth) and her mother’s close pal, Sir John Conroy (Paul Rhys, Da Vinci’s Demons). When she gets that first taste of being in charge, it goes to her a head a little bit. Coleman keeps her sympathetic through those bits, helping us understand why Victoria makes the decisions she does, and rationalizing the more selfish ones.

I also like Rufus Sewell (The Man in the High Castle) as Lord Melbourne. He and Victoria had a special relationship, and while the way it is shown in VICTORIA isn’t wholly accurate, I like this chemistry, too. It avoids being romantic, which is certainly a good thing, but I do get that Melbourne really cares for her, and that’s important as Victoria transitions into power.

Other than that, though, this series, while interesting, isn’t overly compelling. Some of what is portrayed is relatively factual, historically speaking, but other parts are dramatized to try to add more excitement. This seems unnecessary, and feels forced, especially in making Melbourne so attractive. What happens with Victoria’s birthday cake is a good example of something that didn’t need added in, as is the scheming of relations behind her back. The show could have focused more on the real things, such as the possible scandal with Sir John, which is gotten through pretty quickly, rather than adding excess drama.

I would point to The Crown on Netflix as an example of how to do things better. It doesn’t help VICTORIA that its U.S. release comes just after The Crown has gained steam and awards. (It hadn’t yet premiered when VICTORIA aired across the pond.) The Crown keeps things more grounded, less episodic, and that makes it stronger overall. VICTORIA should take note of that as it develops season two, changing course to feel more like a docudrama and less like a soap. I doubt it will, but that would be the smart move.

The other comparison VICTORIA is sure to rate is to Downton Abbey, mainly because there are plenty of scenes for the servants, including the queen’s German baroness, Lehzen (Daniela Holtz, Phoenix), Mrs. Jenkins (Eve Myles, Torchwood), and the young Skerrett (Nell Hudson, Outlander). I feel like this is a bit of an odd choice because the household of a queen would have a LOT more servants than Downton Abbey, and yet it doesn’t feel like it does because VICTORIA focuses on such a small group. Which again, takes me a bit out of the story, and feels like an odd choice for a show about the queen herself.

Neither comparison, to Downton Abbey or to The Crown, leave VICTORIA the better for it. Taken on its own, I found it entertaining and beautifully produced. By comparison to its peers, it feels trite and superficial, as well as more soapy than it should be. For that reason, I can’t see continuing to watch it, even though it has been renewed for a second series overseas.

VICTORIA premieres this Sunday, January 15^th, at 9/8c.

Lying Down With FLEABAG

Article first published as FLEABAG Review on Seat42F.

Launching as an Amazon Original, though also a British series that already posted to online streaming service BBC Three, all six episodes of FLEABAG come to American audiences on September 16^th. Set in present-day London, it’s the story of a young woman who isn’t handling the death of her best friend very well. Told in semi-non-linear fashion, it’s about grief, feminism, millennials, sex, and so much more.

FLEABAG is created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Crashing, The Iron lady), who also stars as the titular character. When we meet her, she’s a mess but we don’t know why. She treats her sensitive boyfriend, Harry (Hugh Skinner, W1A), and her sister, Claire (Sian Clifford, Paddy), poorly, using them and then pushing them away, and not really seeming to take their feelings into account at all. Her father (Bill Paterson, Outlander) has it even worse, with Fleabag causing friction in his relationship with her godmother (Olivia Colman, Broadchurch). Fleabag herself will sleep with just about anyone and seems to barely get by day by day.

But then, we learn about Boo (Jenny Rainsford, Prometheus), her guinea pig-obsessed best friend and business partner who perished. Did Boo kill herself, or was it an accident? This is in doubt. Since Boo is the only character we ever see happy (in a number of interspersed flashbacks), it makes the situation even more puzzling.

The fact that Fleabag lost Boo does not excuse her behavior, at least not all of it. Fleabag is rude, self-centered, and semi-psychopathic. And yet, viewers will want to cut her some slack because of Boo’s death. Everyone deals with grief in different ways, and maybe Fleabag is acting out from deep emotional pain. After all, she’d have no one at all if she were always so awful, right? Maybe…

Waller-Bridge gives a stunning performance, one that constantly keeps you guessing about whether you should like the protagonist or not. Her snide comments and looks at the camera, a la House of Cards, help us get inside her head and earn some sympathy. And yet, they also betray that she may be just as horrible as she outwardly acts.

I watched two episodes to try to figure out the fascinating dichotomy. I did not manage to, though I’ll be watching the additional four installments to see if they can shed any more light. Instead of answers, we get a complex woman that feels completely real, both a product of her time and a reaction against it. While it’s hard to like Fleabag too much, she begs you to try to peer into her soul, and it’s difficult to look away. She is one of the most interesting, enigmatic character studies I’ve seen in a long time, which is probably why I liked the show so much.

If you are casually pulling up a scene or skimming through FLEABAG, you are likely to wonder why in the world you’d ever want to watch such a thing, which is what my wife asked me ten minutes into episode two (she missed the pilot). But if you’re willing to devote the time and attention this dramedy deserves, it seems to me there is much richness to be mined, and certainly a ton of originality, which is lacking from most other shows.

I don’t know if there’s any hope of FLEABAG coming out of the funk she’s in, or if this is her natural personality and always has been. I hope it takes her awhile to figure herself out, though, because this is something I’d like to watch for a few years, not just one afternoon.

FLEABAG will premiere on Amazon Prime September 16^th.

Check In With THE NIGHT MANAGER

Article first published as THE NIGHT MANAGER Review on Seat42F.

AMC recently co-produced a six-episode miniseries with the BBC, and beginning this week, less than a month after it completed its run in England, Americans will get their first look at the tale. Titled THE NIGHT MANAGER, it is based on the novel of the same name by John le Carre (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), first published in 1993, and updated to seem more timely. Essentially, it presents a cat-and-mouse game of two vastly mismatched partners who just might somehow be a perfect pairing.

The hero of the piece is Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston, The Avengers), a former British soldier who now handles things after dark at a very upscale hotel in Cairo, Egypt. An accidental run-in with a woman who is connected to the seedy underworld sparks feelings of protectiveness in Jonathan, and it isn’t long before he becomes involved in international espionage, given face by MI6 agent Angela Burr (Olivia Colman, Broadchurch).

Cue the villain, Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie, House), who values money above people. Traveling with an entourage, which includes girlfriend Jed Marshall (Elizabeth Debicki, The Great Gatsby) and protector Corky (Tom Hollander, Rev.), Roper comes in contact with Pine, who knows Roper is responsible for some unfortunate things Pine cannot get over. Thus begins their competition.

Hiddleston and Laurie are absolutely phenomenal in the leading roles, as one would expect. Hiddleston is the star, with his Pine as every bit as sympathetic and heroic as Loki, the character he is best known for playing, is scheming and twisted. Laurie has the smaller role, especially in the first hour, but that makes his screen time even more powerful, grabbing attention the moment he shows up.

With two such talented performers leading the story, it’s little wonder that the series is incredibly captivating. They’re the type of men who could carry a single-set, small drama, and given the larger world stage (THE NIGHT MANAGER hops countries a few times), they still steal focus from the impressive scenery.

I mentioned in the opening that the story has been updated, but not to worry, the changes are not startling nor distracting. The televised version of THE NIGHT MANAGER plays upon Egypt’s Arab Spring and the Syrian crisis. Since the novel came out more than two decades ago, those weren’t elements in the original work. But while I have not read the book, I think it’s smart to make the surrounding details more relevant to the moment, giving easily understood context to the larger picture, even though the main points are the characters, whom could exist the same in any number of settings.

Besides our leads, the three other main players are amazing as well, and the supporting cast includes the likes of Tobias Menzies (Outlander), David Harewood (Homeland), Alistair Petrie (Rush), and Russell Tovey (Being Human). If these are the kind of people coming in to play the smaller roles, I think that’s a sure sign the program is heading in the right direction.

Pretty much every direction THE NIGHT MANAGER takes is correct. The pacing is slow enough to dwell in the appropriate moments, but stays far ahead of boring. The locales are sweeping and beautiful. The hotels that Pine works at are extravagant masterpieces. The score accentuates without distracting. Honestly, other than the fact that the story being told is longer than would fit, THE NIGHT MANAGER could make a very well-regarded motion picture. After only viewing a single hour, I am totally hooked and convinced the entire half dozen installments will be well worth your time. I’m putting them on my schedule.

THE NIGHT MANAGER premieres Tuesday at 10/9c on AMC.

PREY For Relief

Article first published as PREY Review on Seat42F.

A British crime drama, PREY follows Marcus Farrow (John Simm, Doctor Who, Life On Mars) as he runs from the law. Marcus is a cop, but when his estranged wife and young son end up dead, he is the one the investigation points to. Is Marcus innocent? And if so, why is he being framed?

Despite the questions I pose in the first paragraph, I am pretty certain that Marcus is innocent. The first episode of PREY doesn’t show the actual crime itself, only Marcus finding his wife’s body, but the entire episode is from Marcus’ perspective. The viewer is made to care about and sympathize with Marcus, so it feels like a drama about clearing one’s name, not a mystery as to whether Marcus is evil or not. Though, there are plenty of unanswered questions as to what happened and why.

Having watched a number of British shows in this genre, PREY feels good, not great. Simm’s performance is terrific, of course; he’s a top-notch actor, and has proven that repeatedly in the past. But something about the story itself doesn’t seem as well put together as, say, Broadchurch or The Fall. I just didn’t find myself caring about Marcus all that much, and the clues we’re given and supposed to be following aren’t interesting or surprising enough to really grab my attention.

This is especially disappointing given the excellent opening, which is bizarre and intriguing. Beginning with a car crash in which viewers are not immediately told what’s happening, we get a sense of Marcus before we even know who he is or what’s happening. I liked the first scene a lot, and it’s a bit of a let down that it goes the way it does from there.

Even more disappointing is learning that Marcus is not the main character of PREY. I know, I know, I already said he was, and he is – for the first three episodes. Apparently, PREY changes direction after week three and there is a totally different case covered in weeks four through six, with an almost totally different cast. Simm exits and someone else replaces him.

There is one character, though, who is the connecting thread between the two stories, and that’s Susan Reinhart (Rosie Cavaliero, A Young Doctor’s Notebook). Susan is a co-worker of Marcus’ who is tasked with tracking down the officer after he goes on the run. She is the face of the law, the one trying to bring him to justice. She’s also totally forgettable.

I don’t blame Cavaliero for this. Looking back at her scenes, she does seem like a talented performer. But the way her part is written, on the fringe of the action with few notable qualities, make it very weird that she is actually the lead of PREY. Had I not done some research on the series before writing this review, I would never have guessed that, nor would I have thought it was a good idea. If she is going to be the spine of this series, I really wish more would be done to set that up or develop her further.

Because of my complaints about Susan’s character, and the mediocre enthusiasm I can muster up for the Marcus mystery, I can’t really recommend this one. Perhaps viewed by itself, it’s not bad, but slipping it in between episodes of The Fall (which I’m currently plowing through this week), it does not feel nearly as good by comparison, and so I am lukewarm on it. If you’re really into the genre, you might want to check it out. Otherwise, I’d give this one a pass.

PREY airs Thursdays at 10/9c on BBC America.

"The Woman" Should "Live" On in DOCTOR WHO

Article first published as TV Review: 'Doctor Who' - 'The Woman Who Lived' on Blogcritics.

Picking up hundreds of years (per Earth’s time) after last week’s Doctor Who episode ends, “The Woman Who Lived” finds The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) in England, 1651, having a run-in with a highwayman known as The Nightmare. It doesn’t take long for The Nightmare to reveal herself to be none other than Ashildr (Maisie Williams), the Viking girl that The Doctor gave immortality to. What has happened to her and why is she robbing coaches?

Ashildr is a cautionary tale that is more about The Doctor than the girl herself, as least in “The Woman Who Lived.” It has long been known that The Doctor doesn’t function so well when he travels alone, without a human companion. Ashildr has shunned taking on someone like a companion, and instead lives a life of isolation. As such, she has lost sight of how meaningful life is, and no longer cares much for her fellow men, seeing them as disposable. It’s not a pretty outlook, and it’s one that The Doctor could share if he’s not careful.

The Doctor realizes pretty quickly what has happened. I guess an addict is always good at recognizing those traits in others, and that’s what loneliness is to The Doctor and Ashildr, an addiction, one that is very damaging to their health and those around them. The Doctor determines he must break Ashildr of this habit and help her see the value in life again. Essentially, he serves as her companion, giving her reasons to look past the surface and find the meaning of life.

Because of this, “The Woman Who Lived” is an excellent installment. The plot with the roguish Sam Swift (Rufus Hound, Hounded) is fun, and the monster-of-the-week is OK, though thankfully minimal. Instead, this is a character piece for Doctor Who that uses another person to reflect a characteristic back at The Doctor for further examination. In this, it succeeds quite well.

The consequences of “The Woman Who Lived” remain unknown. Near the close of the episode, Ashildr says she will make it her life’s work to clean up The Doctor’s messes that he leaves behind. Might this be early Torchwood or UNIT stuff? (Doubtfully the former, which has already been explored a bit.) Or might Ashildr mean something else, something more sinister? While The Doctor says positive things to her after this disclosure, there’s an edge to their exchange that feels like everything won’t be honky dory after this.

Stranger still is Ashildr appearance in the background Clara’s (Jenna-Louise Coleman) present day photograph. Ashildr is sporting a sly grin that doesn’t necessarily bode well. While this might be of comfort if the facial expression were more jovial or if Sam were with her, it instead, the way it is, raises the heckles on the back of one’s neck. Is Ashildr following Clara in order to make sure her life isn’t messed up by her travels with The Doctor? Or is Ashildr beginning to actively work against The Doctor, which she says she won’t do? It’s a question of how Ashildr sees things, as there is definitely an easy path here to put Ashildr and The Doctor at odds and have Ashildr sincerely believe she’s doing good.

Thus far, season nine of Doctor Who has consisted of two-parters, and the next two weeks look no different. Yet, I feel Ashildr’s story is not at an end, and we simply must see her again before this year comes to a close. She’s far too interesting a personality to allow to stay away, and allows the show to dig into the core of The Doctor. I’m sure Williams’ Game of Thrones commitments make her availability limited, but Ashildr has to return.

Doctor Who airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.

DOCTOR WHO "Died"

Article originally published as TV Review: 'Doctor Who' - "The Girl Who Died" on Blogcritics.

In this week’s installment of Doctor Who, “The Girl Who Died,” The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) land on Earth in Viking times. The Doctor claims to be Odin, but is quickly exposed when another false-Odin shows up. When this alien creature kills all the able-bodied fighters in the local clan, a story-telling girl (Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones) declares war on them. Can The Doctor rescue a village from certain death?

Before I get into this episode, I would like to briefly mention the past two weeks, “Under the Lake” and “Before the Flood,” since this is a weekly column and I neglected to cover those installments individually. “Under the Lake” is a solid monster-of-the-week mystery with a number of clever lines, which makes it a good, but not great, hour. Thankfully, it is improved upon by the timey-wimey craziness of the second part, “Before the Flood,” which explores a known paradox concept and some cleverness. While not my favorite episodes of Doctor Who by any means, they are enjoyable, and it was only my own busy life that kept those columns from being written. They are both better than a lot of last season.

So, on to “The Girl Who Died,” which also starts as a monster-of-the-week installment, but evolves into something else near the end. The villain who appears is scary and the situation seems dire, but the plot is relatively straight forward. It doesn’t require a great deal of concentration to watch the hour, but it’s mostly uplifting and entertaining.

Ever since Capaldi took The Doctor’s face, he has struggled to care about life as much as previous incarnations have. The Doctor helps people, and this one continues to, but he’s now a little more cavalier about those he doesn’t save. The Doctor is alien and has bouts of time where he withdraws and stops caring as much about those around him. He has been going through one of the worst periods of this lately.

Then the girl at the center of the piece, Ashildr (Williams), dies and changes everything. The Doctor suddenly remembers what his purpose is, and what he does best. His drive to be a force of good is reignited. Even were this revelation not tied into Capaldi’s guest starring role in a season four episode, it would be great, but using this to explain The Doctor’s current look, expanding the mythology, is absolutely brilliant. The Doctor has let people die in the past, but it should always be as a last resort, never an acceptable sacrifice to let go. His current incarnation is crafted to remind him of that every day.

And it’s really cool to glimpse the tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), even if only for a moment in flashback. Donna is my favorite companion of the modern rebooted Doctor Who, and I’d love to see her appear again some day.

So The Doctor revives Ashildr and gives her immortality. Even The Doctor isn’t immortal, as one day he will run out of lives and pass away (or so he believes; I don’t know if the BBC will allow it). This ‘gift’ might help Ashildr now and make her loved ones feel better, but next week’s preview, set nearly 1,000 years later from Ashildr’s perspective, promises consequences. The Doctor’s intentions here are noble, but are they right?

Being a time traveler, The Doctor always has to struggle to balance what he can do and what he should do. “The Girl Who Died” makes him face this head-on, and doesn’t give an easy answer. It is a masterful piece of a larger puzzle, one that gets to the essential core of the title character in Doctor Who. I look forward very much to the next part, and hope Ashildr’s story goes far beyond two hours, at least as far as it concerns The Doctor.

Doctor Who airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.

DOCTOR WHO Not So "Familiar," But Great

Article originally published as TV Review: 'Doctor Who' - 'The Witch's Familiar' on Blogcritics.

BBC’s Doctor Who concluded its two-part season opener this weekend with “The Witch’s Familiar.” The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is trapped in the heart of the Dalek home world, alone and without hope, especially after a hilarious failed escape attempt. Luckily, his friends aren’t as dead as he believes and are on their way to rescue him. He does need rescue, too, since his heart-to-heart with an old enemy doesn’t have the result it seems to.

The best part of “The Witch’s Familiar” is the interchange between The Doctor and Davros (Julian Bleach). Very old enemies who have fought war and seen genocide together, it seems their connection isn’t all negative in Davros’ final moments of life. They have shared something deep, and there are bound to be mixed emotions in that moment. Davros calls for The Doctor from his death bed and The Doctor, despite millennia of animosity, comes. That means something.

This scene becomes a teary goodbye in which Davros echoes The Doctor’s own question that he struggles with last season, “Am I a good man?” The Doctor can’t exactly say Davros is, nor does he, because Davros created a deadly race that exterminates people; he’s Hitler times a billion. But The Doctor gives him a sympathetic ear and proclaims “We’re on the same side now.” This illustrates The Doctor’s huge capacity for mercy and his dedication to all life, something he passes on in a small way to the Daleks, and he’s not able to kill his enemy when he has the chance.

Of course, Davros is just as evil as everyone thinks he is. There is no last minute turn of the heart, as it appears. This is a trap in which he steals some of The Doctor’s regeneration powers and renews his own life. When this twist comes about, it does feel surprising because Doctor Who has done such a good job in making Davros seem repentant. But it’s surprising that it surprises because the Daleks have always been The Doctor’s most clever and deadly enemy, so as soon as the initial shock wears off, this elicits an “Of course, it’s a trick!” Really, the whole thing is superior storytelling, playing on both emotions and expectations, and making use of a long history in order for a fantastic pay off.

In the meantime, Missy (Michelle Gomez) is able to explain to Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) how they’ve escaped what appears to be certain death (and the TARDIS is fine, too), negating the punch of the triple-homicide near the close of the previous episode. Missy then leads Clara through the sewers, where we learn something new about the Daleks, then traps The Doctor’s companion in a Dalek machine so they can break in. It’s a plan that works, but at what expense?

The way Missy continually plays Clara in “The Witch’s Familiar” is different from the way Davros manipulates The Doctor because Missy doesn’t commit to the her new leaf fully. Sure, she calls Clara clever, but she never ceases to taunt Clara or treat her as a lesser. Clara isn’t able to avoid Missy’s trap, but Missy is a lot, lot older and smarter than Clara, and really, being tricked by a Time Lord is nothing to be ashamed of. Missy’s actions just reinforce the fact that she can never be trusted.

The Doctor is furious with Missy when he sees what’s been done to Clara, and tells her to run. The Doctor’s relationship with Missy, like his with Davros, is mostly one of rivalry, but it’s interesting how The Doctor relates to his foes in these two installments. Missy is a more complex character, being one of The Doctor’s own people and not actively committing genocide, even if she cares little or none for others. The Doctor doesn’t feel the need to battle her unless she’s actively working to do harm. In this case, Missy messes with the wrong girl, but The Doctor allows her to leave and will probably cool down over time.

The Doctor manages to get Clara out of the Dalek, but this is a huge disappointment. I’m ready to be done with Clara, anyway, and this seems like such a perfect way to be rid of her. When Clara first meets The Doctor, before we even know her name, she does so from inside a Dalek. Now, with the way the timey-wimey nature of the show works, this might not be how Clara ends up, but it would be perfect symmetry if it is. Though, it occurs to me that perhaps Clara is still inside the Dalek, since Clara isn’t actually shown getting out, and whatever we witness at the end of “The Witch’s Familiar” with her running alongside The Doctor is a trick. One can only hope that will be a reveal in a future episode, the sooner the better.

I am super impressed and confused that The Doctor has traded in a sonic screwdriver for sonic sunglasses. The look Capaldi’s Doctor is sporting this year, the t-shirt with the stripped pants, makes him look like an aging rock star (an apt metaphor for the character at this point), and the sunglasses add nicely to that persona. They don’t seem as convenient as the screwdriver, such as when he puts them on in Davros’ dark chamber, but they’re usually less obvious to use. It’s something completely new for Doctor Who, and after fifty years, such big changes are few and far between, and very welcome.

My only complaint about “The Witch’s Familiar” is that the sound mixing seems very off. It is incredibly hard to understand Davros, and Missy and Clara’s conversations in the sewer get drowned out a lot, too. I don’t know if it is just BBC America’s broadcast of the episode or what, but it is difficult to follow the story in places. I don’t recall this happening before, and hopefully this will not continue in other episodes.

Doctor Who airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.

Blu-ray Review: ‘Doctor Who – Last Christmas'

Article originally published as Blu-ray Review: ‘Doctor Who’ – “Last Christmas” on Blogcritics.

A few months ago, as the BBC has often presented, Doctor Who aired a special on Christmas Day in both the United States and the UK. The latest holiday-themed episode is called “Last Christmas,” and it finds Santa Claus (Nick Frost, Shaun of the Dead, Mr. Sloane) dropping in on The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna Coleman). This leads to an adventure at the North Pole with a group of scientists. But things get dreamy-weamy when a brain-sucking alien that can alter perception attacks them. This special is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Overall, I was quite disappointed with the most recent season, the eighth since the reboot, but “Last Christmas” is slightly better than those other installments. It is fun and scary and has a classic-type villain that poses a puzzle for our clever heroes, which is the good part about it. Sadly, it also flirts with character development without fully committing to it, teasing at some depth between the show’s leads, but failing to deliver a meaningful package, which is the main weakness of season eight. In short, it’s enjoyable, but also disappointing.

“Last Christmas” picks up after a long separation between our two protagonists, who lied to one another about their “happy endings.” Well, The Doctor lied, and Clara didn’t correct his assumptions about her, spelling an end to their time traveling together. Thrust back into adventure (which is explained adequately enough), they do have a brief screaming match to air the truth, but then they decide to resume their past arrangement with no discussion of the problems between them, minimizing what should be a really cool personal subplot.

I finally have a theory as to why the writers don’t deal with the underlying issues between this pairing. The Doctor is never one to dwell on his darkness when a companion is around, trying to present a cheery front. Normally, his companions help ground him, but Clara is also an avoider of reality, and between the two of them, a true confrontation and discussion just isn’t likely to spring. Which is why Clara needs to go. Part of why Doctor Who is so awesome is because of the complexity of its main Time Lord. With Clara by his side, The Doctor is allowed to ignore his issues, as she just wants to find the fun. The Doctor needs a companion that will stick challenge him to be his best self in a way that Clara does not.

That aside, the episode itself is mostly satisfying because it messes with the viewer’s brain. Some of the best installments of Doctor Who present something to fear and then outline why you cannot protect yourself from it. “Last Christmas” does that brilliantly with it’s Inception-like concept of dreams within dreams. Making Santa Claus, played by the always-terrific Nick Frost, a part of this makes a lot of sense. It’s not as mythology heavy as the previous two Christmas episodes, but it’s a fine stand-alone.

For extra meta-fun, there’s a guest turn by Michael Troughton, Second Doctor Patrick Troughton’s son, who plays one of the scientists, and Dan Starkey, who has a recurring role as Strax, pops up here as an elf.

On a side note, how did The Doctor and Clara encounter Danny Pink’s (Samuel Anderson) descendant in series eight when the later dies without having children? Danny’s cameo in “Last Christmas” makes me think his story may not quite be over, but I don’t see a way for it go forward from here, unless the show repeats itself with him as it did with Rory. I keep expecting Clara to be pregnant, but it doesn’t seem like Doctor Who is going that way, and Danny doesn’t seem to have coupled with anyone else, given his mental state. Will the series follow up and explain this?

The extras on this release are quite weak. We get a ten minute behind-the-scenes, which is pretty cool, as far as these things go, but that’s it for featurettes. There’s also an audio commentary track with the director, Paul Wilmhurst, and a producer, Paul Frift. Both are interesting enough, but I think fans would rather hear from the stars of the show, so it’s a bit disappointing. With only these two bonus features, I don’t think this release is worth it for the extras. If you already have a digital copy of the episode, that’ll surely be enough.

Doctor Who will return for a ninth series (since the reboot) sometime in 2015. Doctor Who: Last Christmas is available now.

Sadly, Not Clara's "Last Christmas" On DOCTOR WHO

Article firs published as TV Review: 'Doctor Who' - 'Last Christmas' on Blogcritics.

As it has many years in the past, the BBC presented a brand-new Doctor Who special on Christmas Day, which also aired on BBC America. Titled “Last Christmas,” The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) are visited by Santa Claus (Nick Frost, Shaun of the Dead, Mr. Sloane), and then head to the North Pole to help a group of scientists. But things get dreamy-weamy when a brain-sucking alien that can alter perception attacks them.

“Last Christmas” is better than most of this past fall’s eighth season, but also displays some of the weaknesses that have plagued Doctor Who this year. It is fun and scary and has a classic-type villain that poses a puzzle for our clever heroes. It also flirts with character development without fully committing to it, teasing at some depth between the show’s leads, but failing to deliver a meaningful package. In short, it’s enjoyable, but also disappointing.

When last we left them, The Doctor and Clara separated because they both lied. Well, The Doctor lied, and Clara didn’t correct his assumptions about her, spelling an end to their time traveling together. Thrust back into adventure (which is explained adequately enough), they do have a brief screaming match to air the truth, but then they decide to resume their past arrangement with no discussion of the problems between them.

I finally have a theory as to why this might be the case, as frustrating as it is that the writers don’t deal with the underlying issues between this pairing. The Doctor is never one to dwell on his darkness when a companion is around, trying to present a cheery front. Normally, his companions help ground him, but Clara is also an avoider of reality, and between the two of them, a true confrontation and discussion just isn’t likely to spring. Which is why Clara needs to go.

Part of why Doctor Who is so awesome is because of the complexity of its main Time Lord. With Clara by his side, The Doctor is allowed to ignore his issues, as she just wants to find the fun. But Capaldi’s version of The Doctor definitely has things to deal with, as the series has hinted that his older appearance is not merely selected by chance. Even Clara has gotten fed up with him at times, yet she always backs off before forcing anything from him, and in order to unlock this mystery, The Doctor needs a companion that will stick to their guns.

That aside, the episode itself is mostly satisfying because it messes with the viewer’s brain. Some of the best installments of Doctor Who present something to fear and then outline why you cannot protect yourself from it. “Last Christmas” does that brilliantly with it’s Inception-like concept of dreams within dreams. Making Santa Claus a part of this makes a lot of sense. It’s not as mythology heavy as the previous two Christmas episodes, but it’s a fine stand-alone.

Toss in Nick Frost, who is always terrific, a guest turn by Michael Troughton, Second Doctor Patrick Troughton’s son, as one of the scientists, and Dan Starkey, who plays recurring part Strax, as an elf, and there’s plenty for fans to get excited about.

On a side note, how did The Doctor and Clara encounter Danny Pink’s (Samuel Anderson) descendant in series eight when he later dies without having children? Danny’s cameo in “Last Christmas” makes me think his story may not quite be over, but I don’t see a way for it go forward from here, unless the show repeats itself with him as it did with Rory. I keep expecting Clara to be pregnant, but it doesn’t seem like Doctor Who is going that way, and Danny doesn’t seem to have coupled with anyone else, given his mental state. Will the series follow up and explain this?

Doctor Who will return for a ninth series (since the reboot) sometime in 2015.

Was GRACEPOINT Worth It?

Article first published as Was 'Gracepoint' Worth It? on Blogcritics.



WARNING: If you intend to, but have not yet, watched the full first seasons of Broadchurch and Gracepoint, you’ll probably want to bookmark this column and come back after you’ve seen them. Major spoilers are contained within. You’ve been warned!

When FOX decided to remake the British series Broadchurch, starring the same lead actor no less, my first thought was, “Why?” The original is in English and was produced recently, a second season not even out yet. It’s also brilliant, a compelling, twisty drama with terrific acting and a gripping story. Now that all of Gracepoint has aired and a second season is a pipe dream, we are left with the question, was this project worth viewers’ time? Spoiler alert: my answer is no, definitely not.

The first thing that strikes me about Gracepoint‘s pilot is just how similar it is to Broadchurch. The producers deviated very minimally from the source material. The problem with that is, every time an element goes head-to-head in an obvious comparison, Broadchurch wins. Every single time. Why try to copy a successful series if you can’t do it better or offer a fresh viewpoint?

A large part of the inferiority stems from the cast. I’m not talking about David Tennant, who overcomes bad hair coloring and being forced to speak in an American accent to give us a performance that is essentially as good as when he played the role the first time. He’s a reliable, consistent, impressive actor. I’m also not talking about Anna Gunn. I love Olivia Colman and I wouldn’t say Gunn is better, but she’s as good and Gunn proves here that her Breaking Bad gig will be followed by a long, respectable career. Pretty much everyone else, though, especially the victim’s family, just do not stack up to the originals.

Had I not seen Broadchurch, I would likely have loved Gracepoint from the start. It’s a solidly-written story, and as I mentioned, the leads are terrific. The case has lots of mystery surrounding it, and it’s like an East Coast version of The Killing, a series I adore. Any cringe worthy moments in the early installments are purely colored by my memory of the first edition.

As the season unfolds, I do get drawn into Gracepoint. It doesn’t make many major changes, but it does have a couple of extra hours (being ten episodes instead of eight) to fill, so a bit of layering is added in. Around the mid-point, it starts to look like it may veer off entirely and be it’s own beast, and that gets me excited. I enthusiastically told a friend who was holding out to give it a chance. This experiment may end up being a good one to watch after all.

Then I arrive at this week’s season finale. From the start of the series, we had been promised a killer different than the one in Broadchurch. There is foreshadowing in earlier episodes that this will not be the case, but I assume the writers are being misleading, not truly setting up the reveal. Halfway through the finale, Gracepoint had returned to a nearly carbon-copy of Broadchurch and the same perpetrator is arrested.

After that, there is a big twist in that the person who is charged didn’t actually kill the boy. But he’s still guilty of criminal acts and deserves to rot in jail. I guess this is how Gracepoint gets around the “same killer” charge, but it feels like a technicality more than an actual change, just broadening the circumstances surrounding the death a little more, rather than making it drastically different.

I do believe that if Gracepoint were to get a second season, there is the possibility to overcome the comparison issue. The fact that Danny’s best friend accidentally does the deed, his child molester father is (nobly?) taking the blame, and his mother is covering up the true crime are all rich veins to tap. Danny’s mother’s partner clearly grows suspicious of the outcome at the end, threatening to put fixing his life on hold, though he definitely should not, to further pursue the case. But since the running time of the season is almost out at this point, there’s no time to really explore any of that, and Gracepoint ends on a semi-cliffhanger that will most likely never be resolved because the ratings are pretty bad.

Without this further exploration, most interestingly Ellie (Gunn) hiding things from Carver (Tennant), Gracepoint doesn’t have a lot to set it apart from Broadchurch. If the original had been subtitled, one may argue Americans are too lazy to read them. If the shows went completely separate ways in their second years, a case could be made that they really are different stories. If we lived in a pre-Internet age and Americans didn’t have easy access to the original version, it would be somewhat, flimsily arguable to make our own, homegrown, series. As it stands now, though, Gracepoint is an inferior copy of an easily obtainable show with very few significant differences. So what was the point?

No official word on Gracepoint‘s renewal has been released, but I’m pretty sure it’s not coming back, and it does not really deserve to do so.

Broadchurch season two premieres in February on BBC America. Please check it out.

DOCTOR WHO Finale Good, Not Great

Article first published as TV Review: 'Doctor Who' - Series Eight Finale on Blogcritics.

The BBC’s Doctor Who has been building to a big finale all season, as per usual. That ending is finally here in the two-part episode “Dark Water” and “Death in Heaven.” As expected, this adventure pays off much of the story from not just season eight, but ties itself into past mythology as well, and it almost makes up for the overall-mediocre year. Almost.

In “Dark Water,” The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) takes a devastated Clara (Jenna Coleman) to find her recently deceased boyfriend, Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson). What they stumble into is Missy’s (Michelle Gomez) plot, which involves turning all of the deceased of Earth into Cyberman which she can then use to conquer the planet, or multiple planets. Or just give them to The Doctor, as she does in “Death in Heaven,” to try to repair their friendship, as she’s actually old frenemy The Master reincarnated as a woman.

“Dark Water” and “Death in Heaven” are good episodes because they hit a lot of excellent notes. Any chance to see UNIT is delightful. Clara’s grief over losing Danny is palpable. Danny’s love overcoming the Cyberman programming is very moving. The Doctor finally giving a salute to old friend Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (played for many years by Nicholas Courtney, but seen here only as a Cyberman) is nothing short of amazing, giving long-time fans a much-deserved reward.

The goodbye between The Doctor and Clara is equally good. Neither gets what they want, and they each lie to the other to make it seem like things turned out OK. That’s a hanging thread begging to be explored, and it will be in the upcoming Christmas special. But for now, the scene in which Clara quits her travels, never really saying what she means to say to The Doctor, is terrific enough.

An unresolved mystery, that of where Galifrey is and how The Master found it, or if he/she really did, remains, tantalizing, sure to be picked up in season nine. We know The Master is a liar, of course, but since Galifrey is out there, somewhere, The Doctor needs to find it.

This finale explores the question posed earlier this year as to if The Doctor is a good man. He decides he’s not, but he’s not a bad man either. In doing so, he’s able to let go of some of his hangups and trust Danny Pink, a solider, something The Doctor detests. This is a beautiful, solid conclusion to the subplot, though The Doctor is far from done in his evolution as an individual, nor has he addressed why he now looks the way he does, surely connected to his internal turmoil.

Lastly, it’s no small thing that The Doctor is made President of Earth in “Death in Heaven.” He may not stay in the position full-time, but it means something, and since Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) survived, it will have to be dealt with again. It’s a post The Doctor doesn’t want, but it might be useful to him at some point. How much will he invest in the power and is his term finite?

Now, there are still quite a few holes, though, and that’s why “Dark Water” and “Death in Heaven” continue the trends of this season, rather than making up for them and fixing the series entirely. For one, Missy’s ability to capture the souls of deceased people and then transform their corpses into Cybermen is never adequately explained, nor is how she can control Cybermen in the first place dealt with. I do not understand her plot to win back The Doctor, either. She’s crazy, sure, but there has to be some reason she thinks her plan will work. We don’t know why she puts Clara and The Doctor together, not really. I doubt we’ve seen the last of The Master / Mistress, as Time Lords regenerate, and hopefully future glimpses will explain these things, but this two-parter doesn’t do a good job making itself cohesive here.

I also feel like Osgood’s (Ingrid Oliver) death is quick and cheap. Her presence is a memorable one, and I love how she references older versions of The Doctor in her wardrobe. Killing her should have affected someone and meant something, and instead, it’s just a throw-away moment, scary, but not worth it.

Doctor Who‘s season eight is, overall, the weakest since the show’s reincarnation in 2005. Yet, the season finale has enough wonderful tidbits to prove the magic is not dead, even if it skips over them too quickly instead of giving them the exploration they deserve. A refocus is in order, hopefully without Clara, playing on the strengths still running through the show and minimizing the inconsistencies and stand-alone tales that just don’t work. I’m cautiously optimistic season nine and a new companion can get the show back on track.

Doctor Who will next see a Christmas special on that holiday, and then (reportedly) return to the BBC and BBC America sometime in 2015 for season nine.