Doctor Who
Season 8, Episode 7 “Kill The Moon”
Directed by Paul Wilmshurst
Written by Peter Harness
Starring Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Samuel Anderson, Ellis George, Hermione Norris
BBC America
Air Date: Saturday, October 4th, 2014

Doctor Who has a long, long history with “the base under siege.” Introduced to the series as a way to save money when the show was forced back into smaller production facilities because of lower ratings in the late 1960s, it provided a way to produce a lot of multi-week serials on a small number of standing sets.

The formula generally includes: the Doctor and companions arrive at a base (or other solid structure) in some remote location, they discover the inhabitants, the base comes under attack, the politics and conflicts among those in the base come to the surface, the Doctor and/or the companions are put in jeopardy, the jeopardy is resolved, and the Doctor uses his unique skills to save the base. Two of the most memorable recent stories of this type are “Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead” and “The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People.” Notice that those stories are two episodes. This one isn’t.

The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) takes Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) and Courtney Woods (Ellis George) on a trip to the Moon in 2049, only to find that the anticipated gravity is impossibly like that of Earth. Soon, deadly creatures begin emerging from the depths of the Moon, and the Doctor discovers that not everything is as it seems…

During TARDISblend 78, we discuss the dark and spooky aspects of the latest Doctor Who episode, hearkening back to feel of the Philip Hinchcliffe era of the series. We also look at the not-so-subtle social commentary injected into this adventure, and speculate on how some elements may tie into the overarching plot.

All this and more on the latest TARDISblend!

Doctor Who
Season 8, Episode 6 “The Caretaker”
Directed by Paul Murphy
Written by Gareth Roberts and Steven Moffat
Starring Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Samuel Anderson, Ellis George
BBC America
Air Date: Saturday, September 27th, 2014

What happens when people you care about from two different parts of your life meet? Do they fight? Do they get along? Do they begin to see you differently? These are the questions that Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) faces this week on Doctor Who. She’s been dating Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson) and traveling with the Doctor (Peter Capaldi). One thinks she’s only a teacher at Coal Hill School. The other doesn’t quite know that she’s dating. Both think (in different ways) that they are the most important man in her life. It’s a collision that’s seemed inevitable for a few weeks now. Finally, here it is.

The resulting episode is ultimately about character development and relationships. Yes, there’s a Terminator-like scary robot that’s the pretext for the two men in Clara Oswald’s life, but it’s just window dressing. The real conflict comes when Danny meets the Doctor and vice versa. It’s generally played for comedy with a fairly deft touch by all involved, though some sparks do fly. In the end, I’d call this a good episode without enough context to be a great one.