Doctor Who
Season 9, Episode 6 “The Woman Who Lived”
Directed by Ed Bazalgette
Written by Catherine Tregenna
Starring Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Maisie Williams, Rufus Hound
BBC America
Air date: Saturday, October 24, 2015

If I talk to my mother about growing old, one of the things she reports about getting old is the annoying sensation of seeing people make the same mistakes over and over again. It is that sort of insight that raises questions about immortality in Doctor Who 9.6, “The Woman Who Lived.” How do you deal with the fear and ignorance of those around you? How do you form relationships with individuals whose status can only be transient? Do you have children when you know that you may see them grow old and die? How do you react to a world that seems to lurch often backward and only occasionally forward? These are all tremendously fertile questions to examine through drama, and while the episode frequently does a more than competent examination, it is let down by some uninspired elements that pop up in its last half.

Doctor Who
Season 9, Episode 5 “The Girl Who Died”
Directed by Ed Bazalgette
Written by Jamie Mathieson & Steven Moffat
Starring Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Maisie Williams, David Schofield, Simon Lipkin
BBC America
Air date: Saturday, October 17, 2015

I’ll say this up front: watch this episode.

I guess I could stop there, but it wouldn’t be much fun to do that, now would it? Doctor Who Episode 9.5 “The Girl Who Died” is a pocket symphony running at tempo molto vivace. It deconstructs and reconstructs the themes behind modern Doctor Who at the same time. It takes what could have been a significant guest star part and turns in the best episode of the season so far. It reveals something of the Doctor’s past and finally brings this current incarnation of the Time Lord into sharper focus. It is, in short, the best that I think Steven Moffat-era Doctor Who can offer.

I’ve been a bit of a hard case on Doctor Who so far this season. Where I know other reviewers on the Internet have spoken about the first, third, and fourth episodes of this season in strong terms, I deliberately played up the negatives. Episode 1 was shock and awe, but it gave little solid ground for viewers to stand on. Episodes 3 and 4 were praised for their strong performances and paced, economic storytelling, but I thought they veered a little too close to formula. I thought that only episode 2, with its carefully constructed constraints, represented a strong offering for this season.

Geeks should already be familiar with the name Maisie Williams. She appears as Arya Stark on this little HBO show called Game of Thrones. Now, to further solidify her name in the geek community she will take a little trip over to BBC where she will have a guest starring role on Doctor Who.

Now I am not an avid watcher of the show, but this is pretty big news for fans of the immensely popular British series, which has built a massive worldwide fanbase. Hit the jump to see what Williams and series executive producer and writer Steven Moffat (Sherlock) had to say about the guest starring role.

The sestras are back! BBC America has just released a teaser trailer for Season 3 of Orphan Black. With the plethora of revelations and betrayals that were strewn about the whole of Season 2, it’s safe to say that Sarah and the Clone Club will have no shortage of challenges to face when the show returns.

Check out the trailer here below.

Yesterday, a Doctor Who 50th Anniversary TARDIS Cake was delivered to BBC America’s New York office. The cake, which was created by New Jersey’s Pink Cake Box, featured the Eleventh Doctor standing outside a beautiful, edible TARDIS.

But the Doctor Who-themed cake wasn’t yesterday’s only arrival. The actual TARDIS also landed at the BBC America office! Check out the photo here below of the TARDIS, which arrived straight from the television show’s set.