DOCTOR WHO Hits It to the "Moon"

Article first published as TV Review: 'Doctor Who' - 'Kill the Moon' on Blogcritics.

I mentioned in last week’s Doctor Who review  that I hoped The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) would wipe Courtney Woods’ (Ellis George) memory, rather than let her come on future TARDIS adventures. This definitely did not happen. I’ve also complained a lot recently about shows starting at the climax, then backing up and telling the story from an earlier period, working their way up to the opening. The latest episode of Doctor Who does exactly that. And yet, I can’t help but feel that this week’s installment, “Kill the Moon,” is an excellent hour of smart science fiction television.

The episode begins with Courtney upset when The Doctor tells her she isn’t special. Clara (Jenna Coleman) confronts The Doctor about this, and rather than give into Clara’s prompting that he say something he doesn’t believe, The Doctor whisks all three of them to the moon, circa 2049. There, Courtney becomes the first girl to set foot on the satellite, but this is quickly overshadowed by the fact that the moon is broken. A team of astronauts led by Captain Lundvik (MI-5‘s Hermione Norris) have arrived to blow up the thing before it wrecks more havoc on Earth. The decision to do this becomes complicated, though, when The Doctor reveals the moon is an egg about to hatch, then abandons the humans to figure out how to handle it themselves.

On its face, “Kill the Moon” is a grand adventure. Courtney is having a rollicking good time, no longer worried about being special, and indeed becomes very special. The writers take something everybody takes for granted, the moon, and makes us look at it in a new way. There are scary monsters that can be defeated and serious stakes and logical progressions. We get a little more info about The Doctor and what he can or can’t see of time. It’s a tightly crafted story that most viewers will surely appreciate.

The people of Earth voting to kill the innocent fetus is a powerful message. One can understand why the population feels this way, afraid for their own safety, for which they have cause. Yet, Clara and Courtney’s refusal to sacrifice an innocent for the good of the many, misguided though it may be, is wonderfully optimistic. Doctor Who shows us what people are like, but has hope for what they can be. Heart always beats brains, which certainly makes for feel-good television.

But there is readily apparent a deeper thread in “Kill the Moon.” Clara and The Doctor haven’t been all that chummy since his regeneration, she finding his new, more callous demeanor not to her liking, and he oblivious as to how to fix their relationship. The moment The Doctor leaves Clara, Courtney, and Lundvik to fend for themselves, the bond between the Time Lord and his Companion is broken, most likely permanently.

The Doctor makes a strong case, logistically speaking, as to why he leaves. This is a turning point for all of mankind, and it should be mankind that makes it. They have matured as a species enough to face such a test, and how they deal with it will chart their course forward. They can do this without him, and he trusts Clara to make the right decision. He isn’t necessary and he steps back, exercising his version of the Prime Directive, or a parent sending their child off to face the world alone, having given them the tools to do so.

But Clara’s position, while much more emotional, is equally valid. The Doctor she knew (Matt Smith) didn’t abandon people. After all, he went to Christmas and stayed for centuries. He acts in the name of protecting Clara and her species, and this Doctor doesn’t. Her Doctor had compassion, this one lacks such. Her Doctor understood her, this one cannot. She has lost her Doctor, and she’s been in denial about it, and can’t be any longer.

Which leads to an extremely tense breakup scene in which Clara basically tells The Doctor to leave and never come back. In the moment, she means it, and it’s impossible not to be moved by the tears streaming down her face, which, I’m not ashamed to say, were reflected on my own cheeks. This is beautifully telegraphed in the previous scene, in which The Doctor, Courtney, and Lundvik celebrate their triumph while Clara stands apart, barely keeping herself together. Then it is executed perfectly, a tour de force for Coleman, echoed by the clueless manner Capaldi uses for The Doctor here. It’s no one’s fault, really, but their union is dissolving before our eyes.

I do not think this is the last we’ll see of Clara, though a slightly different ending to the episode could have made it a really good departure. Instead, after she relays the story to Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson), he tells her to see how she feels when she calms down, then talk to The Doctor. While Clara does not appear in next week’s trailer, and is likely to sit out at least one episode, she’ll probably be back for the big finale of the season, if not before. But this does feel like the beginning of the end for her, choosing to discontinue being a Companion because it no longer feels right for her to serve in that capacity.

As much as I’ve been slow to warm to Clara, “Kill the Moon” is a stellar showcase for the character, and highlights Coleman’s considerable talent. I won’t exactly miss her, but she’ll definitely be well-remembered, justifiably, for her contribution to the series, especially if her departure is going to be this well done and so compelling! I don’t mean this to sound like an eulogy yet, but it sure seems like her end is coming, and fans should steel themselves for it to happen sometime in this season’s five remaining episodes.

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

DOCTOR WHO Pretends To Be "The Caretaker"

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


The latest installment of the BBC’s Doctor Who is a pretty typical episode. There are actually several types of “typical” episodes in the long-running franchise, and this week’s entry, “The Caretaker,” is the one in which The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) inserts himself into his companion’s life to find out something about her or push her to do something, while also defeating a malevolent alien that coincidentally happens to be in the area. This happens approximately once per companion, so the story in “The Caretaker,” while feeling very familiar, probably won’t be repeated again for awhile.

The benefit of an episode in this mold is two-fold. One, we get to learn a bit more about the current companion, who is much more often seen flitting around the universe or through time with The Doctor, away from the main component of their life. And two, it puts The Doctor secondary in a situation, the rare instance where he is less familiar and comfortable with what’s going on around him than the companion is. Thus, “The Caretaker” and its ilk feel different from other Doctor Who episodes, even if this standard has been repeated many times.

Looking at “The Caretaker” specifically, The Doctor infiltrates Clara’s (Jenna Coleman) school by posing as the substitute caretaker (or custodian, for you American viewers). His stated intention is to stop a killer robot that may have already claimed at least one life, but he also wants to learn who Clara is dating and feel out the guy to see if he’s good enough for her. As one might expect, neither goes quite according to plan, but at the end of the day, all is pretty much right with the world.

We know The Doctor doesn’t approve of soldiers, and since Clara’s beau, Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson), was formerly a solider, he’s not someone The Doctor wants to see Clara with, or even expects her to go for. The Doctor can be somewhat forgiven, then, for assuming a bookish boy who loves literature is Clara’s dating partner, while dismissing Danny as a physical education ape, going by first impressions and prejudices. These impressions are mistaken, but there they are, and at least’s they’re humorous.

What’s interesting in “The Caretaker” is that The Doctor’s judgments on Clara’s man are as much about himself as they are about Danny. The Doctor sees himself as a studious observer of life primarily, not a fighter or defender at his core, though he may be called upon to do those things. He sees himself as that bookish type, identifying with the other teacher, and thinking Clara will go for someone like him. The truth is, Clara is attracted to many qualities of The Doctor, but she sees through him to the hardened soldier he is, not just the surface persona he tries to project. The Doctor despises this part of himself, hoping Clara won’t notice it, and so rejects Danny as he rejects the parts of his own personality he doesn’t approve of.

Danny sees this right away, more quickly than either Clara or The Doctor. He recognizes a kindred spirit in The Doctor, and also the loathing The Doctor has for himself. Danny doesn’t like the way The Doctor handles himself, but is willing to put up with The Doctor because Danny truly does care for Clara, and he feels she needs protecting in the Doctor’s presence. Danny may just be right.

The Doctor doesn’t intentionally harm others (Dalek War, aside), but his actions do sometimes have dire consequences. Just ask some of his past companions who didn’t make it home. Or those departed souls that are now with Missy (Michelle Gomez), whom we glimpse again in this episode, still without a clue as to her purpose. The Doctor has grown especially cold and callous as of late, and while he places more value on Clara than he does on most people, he could do something stupid, such as luring a dangerous robot into her school, that could end in pain and suffering. His presence also risks her job, distracting her and making trouble that she must deal with, which he doesn’t seem to care about. The Doctor isn’t cruel, but he can be careless.

Contrary to The Doctor’s wishes, this adventure actually brings Clara and Danny closer together. They can finally be honest with each other, and start to build a real relationship based on truth and trust. It is worrying that Danny sees Clara’s secret-keeping as selfish (she’s not the first companion to be so), and he may have a point; he’s turning out to be quite the perceptive individual. But they end up on the couch together, and things certainly look cozy between them for now. Plus, there’s that descendant we meet in an earlier episode that certainly implies Clara and Danny will have offspring together.

Besides Danny, another recurring character is introduced to The Doctor this week. He takes one of Clara’s students, mouthy Courtney Woods (Ellis George), up into space. Again, this shows The Doctor’s lack of consideration, as revealing himself to a student and allowing her to leave Earth, presumably without parental permission, isn’t a good thing. What if something happened to her? I do hope Courtney gets a quick memory wipe, though, and her subplot ends here, not because I don’t like her, but because I feel like her presence on the TARDIS could seriously complicate things for Clara and/or Danny, who are supposed to be responsible for her well-being, at least during part of the day. She makes a good comic relief bit part; I don’t see her as a traveling companion.

I enjoyed “The Caretaker” because it has some very interesting character revelations, even if the story isn’t particularly original. It serves as a season-filler better than most recent installments, and while it continues the trend of Doctor Who not quite meeting expectations this season, it isn’t half bad.

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