Doctor Who - Listen Review

This is one of those times when I have absolutely no idea where to start. Well, OK. I will start by warning anybody who hasn't seen the episode yet not to read this. You really need to experience it without me spoiling anything.

Moffat's best episodes have always played on our most basic fears - this episode was, in effect, a "greatest hits" episode - but of course, it wasn't. That was what made it so beautifully, refreshingly different. Moffat literally made fear itself the only monster in Doctor Who to ever be real.

This episode brought many things full circle, including the episode's story, the characters' stories and the very purpose of the show itself. Moffat did some very clever writing here - providing something scary and then an explanation in the style of his previous episodes. Something that seems rational, but that nobody believes. This time, in the first of many twists, it was that disbelief that became the monster itself.

Now, let's talk about THAT scene. I have to admit, I kind of saw it coming. This was because of a less than careful "spoiler free" review that I read, stating that there was a scene "steeped in Who lore" that may cause outrage. I then guessed, as Clara made the mistake of going back through Danny's timeline, that she may do the same with the Doctor - which she did. The only other thing that briefly popped into my mind was that that barn looked familiar, but I didn't really think about it properly, so the massive twisty ending still made a massive impact. But who could have seen THAT coming? Moffat had so carefully created his story that with one move - Clara grabbing the Doctor's ankle - everything changed. I literally could not believe what I was seeing. Clara became the Doctor's reason to be good. My whole family looked at each other, I felt like applauding and I think my dad actually did...

The direction and music worked perfectly together to create tension and, indeed, the illusion that our fears might be real.

Now let's talk about my niggles. Insert blank space here. Not only can I not find anything wrong with this episode but I can also say that this episode has eliminated any previous concerns I had for the show. The length was perfect, and the story showed that the show can be self contained and yet still have meaning to its audience without being self aware.

Bravo Moffat - you have surpassed yourself, which is no mean feat.

10/10

Next week the Doctor robs the most protected bank in the universe.

Doctor Who - Robot of Sherwood Review

I have to say, I wasn't looking forward to this one. It just looked a bit... silly. And I was right. But for some reason, it was still a good episode.

Well, a good episode of something. Whether or not that something was Doctor Who is a question that must be asked. I think this story was very much more in the style of olden days Doctor Who than the Doctor Who we've seen since its reboot in 2005. That said, it still made for an entertaining 45 minutes of television.

Peter Capaldi, as always, was amazing. This week really showed his Doctor's versatility, as well as Mark Gatiss' versatility as a writer. If Doctor Who was ever going to do a Robin Hood episode, this was it.

I didn't really notice the direction or the music this week. I think that's because they were fitting and adequate. They definitely weren't bad, or I'd have noticed. But the same goes for them being good, I suppose.

A big problem with the episode was the ending - shooting golden arrow at the spaceship to save the world was a nice idea, but even in the world of Doctor Who, it didn't really make much sense and was just a little ridiculous.

But perhaps it was the ridiculousness and humour which made this episode so enjoyable. It was a nice break from the "into darkness" idea that this series has created without completely turning away from it. I also felt that, while issues about the Doctor and his status as a hero were mentioned, the episode didn't head too much into the territory of self consciousness, as I thought it might do last week. It would be nice, in the future, to see a little more character development for the Doctor. But I think by the end of the series we'll definitely be satisfied - if not after next week. The episode also didn't feel rushed at all, which was very reassuring.

Overall, "Robot of Sherwood" (Why not "Robots"? I don't think we'll ever know...) was an entertaining episode which did many things very well. It was a little ridiculous and a bit different, but still enjoyable.

6.5/10

Next week... well we don't really seem to have any idea. But it looks pretty awesome.

Carrie

Blood. Blood everywhere.

Who knew a girl's period could cause so much terror? Well, more terror than an average period, anyway.

Carrie White is the daughter of super-strictly religious Margaret White, and she has a special gift - the power of telekinesis. Carrie learns to control this power as, unaware to her, the bullying girls in her year group plot the most awful prank you will ever hear of (I'm not going to tell you what it is because spoilers but loads of you probs already know).

I absolutely loved this book. It is right up my street, what with the slight psychological theme, the gore and the tension. The story is captivating and I constantly wanted to know what was coming next.

Considering this was Stephen King's first novel, the writing style is extremely interesting. It is original and unique, and I thoroughly enjoyed the multiple perspectives shown throughout the novel. I also really liked the way he incorporated sections from fictional articles and books.

Reading Carrie has made me excited to read more of King's work in the future, namely Misery, The Body and The Shining. But for now, I've got to continue with my reading list.

Next I will be reading More Than This by Patrick Ness, which is Ben's favourite book. I look forward to seeing what he is always raving about.

Heather out.

P.S. I wrote this review whilst listening to Collabro's debut album, 'Stars'. Go and listen to it right now, it is totally fab, and I would do a review of it except I can't put my feelings about it into words. Just go listen. Go.

Doctor Who - Into The Dalek Review

And so we are immediately catapulted into another week of high expectations. These high expectations, yet again, were met.

This week saw a Dalek story unlike any we've seen before - one which shows a morally self questioning monster. Well, two, actually. And that's what's looking so good about the new series - we are getting a Doctor whose character is more complicated than we've seen for a long time, and as he begins to explore that character, we see him partaking in morally complex and mature stories. This is something Doctor Who has needed for a long time and is finally getting. Capaldi's performance suits this perfectly and was yet again breath-taking.

This episode also included some brilliant visuals and music which gave it a feel of a "classic" story. This feel lead to the approaching Dalek army actually feeling slightly more intimidating than in some more recent episodes. I also discovered that I may have been wrong about "The Doctor's Theme" as to what it actually was as the only recurring new theme to occur was different. It was still very fitting to Capaldi's Doctor but we'll see how that develops.

Danny Pink made his debut in this episode and as of yet I am unsure what to think of him. I think episode 4, entitled "Listen" will show us enough of his character to make a proper judgement, but until then he has left a good enough impression.

Ok, so here's where I get to be nitpicky. Two minor issues that didn't really affect my enjoyment but may start to get annoying if they carry on happening.

1) 45 minutes isn't long enough - loads of shows get an hour, and that would be perfect for Doctor Who. 45 minutes means we compromise on nice little extra details which pad the world of the show out a bit more, and 45 minutes also means that we can only focus on one main theme or character development. This leads me onto my next point...

2) The show seems to be becoming slightly self-aware - I don't like it when this happens. It doesn't ruin anything, it just makes me think...well..."meh". We seem to have a "debate of the week" thing going on on twitter which I hope isn't an aim of the writers. Sherlock went in this direction last series. I hope Doctor Who doesn't.

That said, the ideas, themes, tone, characters, acting and overall story of this series is making these 12 weeks look like the best ever for Doctor Who, and I have been thoroughly reassured that this is the case by this week's excellent episode.

8.5/10

Next week Clara meets Robin Hood, whom the Doctor thinks can't exist...

Doctor Who - Deep Breath Review

*WARNING - This contains major spoilers!*


Woah...

I haven't seen any negative comments about this episode at all yet. And that's because it was brilliant.

Where do I start? Let's start with Capaldi. He was, as predicted, perfect. He had just the right amount of everything at exactly the right times. This was also Jenna Coleman's best episode to date. I think she's finally found her Doctor. Matt Smith's cameo was also nice and well timed and executed, making the transition between the Doctors seem less sudden than it did when Matt Smith basically sneezed and turned into Peter Capaldi last Christmas.

Now onto Moffat. Some may hate him, but why would you now? This episode was perfectly paced, drew on elements of old and new and the idea for the monster was what he does best. Simple and brilliant. First we have the monster that you can't blink near, now we have one that you can't breathe near! I read an interview with Moffat recently where he described how in 2010 with the introduction of Smith, everything was a sudden change, and this time he wanted to make it more gradual - and I think this was a success. It was also not too arc heavy but kept the weekly viewer interested enough, which I thought was exactly what was needed.

And now onto my favourite part - the music. I can already see (well, hear) parts of music that are coming together to form the 12th Doctor's theme and I AM LOVING IT! It is based on 11's theme but is different enough to make it brand new. Murray Gold seems to get better with every series.

Other good parts - I like the new titles and theme very much (I know some people didn't, though. But, "Change my dear, and not a moment too soon" kind of rings true for me here) and the direction was also noteworthy.

One criticism? Probably Strax. He's funny enough, but after Jenny and Vastra had made their epic entrance to the basement of the SS Marie Antoinette I felt that his entrance sort of made what could have been a brilliant scene into a good one.

Overall a very very strong opening episode which promises much for the next 11...

9.5/10


Next week the Doctor and Clara literally go into a Dalek...

A Long Way Down

'Can I explain why I wanted to jump off the top of a tower block?'

Ruined TV presenter Martin, quiet single-mum Maureen, bolshy teenager Jess and American rock star JJ meet on the roof of Toppers' House on New Year's Eve, all with the same intention - suicide.

'A Long Way Down' by Nick Hornby gives an interesting and funny take on how depression can effect multiple groups of people. The story is told from four different perspectives and each character speaks in their own unique and intriguing way. While technically there isn't a great deal of physical goings-on throughout the novel, Hornby gives us an insight into the minds of four completely different people and how they cope with the same mental illness.

While the subject matter is serious, the storytelling is light-hearted and fun. Whether you're timid and naïve like Maureen or loud and sweary like Jess, you will (most likely) find a way to relate to this book, even in the smallest of ways.

This book is completely different to what I usually read, but I enjoyed the change, and I will definitely read more of Hornby's work in the future, even though he didn't invent an adorable minor character for me to fall in love with.

The next book on my list is a different genre again, as it is 'Carrie' by Stephen King. I'm not gonna lie, I am so excited for this one.

Heather out.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

"An artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them." - Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Dorian Gray is the human embodiment of perfection, captured in a painting forever. But the idea of watching himself grow old while his canvassy counterpart will never age pains him, and so he makes a bargain. His painting begins to show the true nature of his soul while his physical appearance never changes. And, lead astray by Lord Henry Wotton's desire for pleasure, Dorian's life leads away from happiness and into misery while the portrait in his attic shows the grotesque nature of his soul.

As you can see, Oscar Wilde's novel isn't exactly light reading. With detailed descriptions of the lives of everybody in the novel, the beginning feels a little slow - but things definitely pick up later on. The novel toys with ideas and themes which would have been more than shocking to its original audience and even specifically mentions homosexuality (!) - a crime at the time of publishing. Oscar Wilde's own words came back to haunt him as this book sparked the events which lead to his imprisonment and disgraced name. But it is this element of shock which makes the book even more gripping and truthful.

This novel is so well formed that I believe nobody can ever fully unravel the philosophical threads woven into the narrative by Wilde. The very definition of the human soul is questioned, and then questions are asked of these questions. What makes it all the more terrifying is not the physically ugly nature of the picture itself, but what that picture means.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is more than just food for thought, and is something everyone should read at some stage in their life.

Anyway - enough of all that seriousness. I hope I don't get that deep with all my book reviews. I've not really said hi yet. Hi. Like Heather, I also have a reading list, which unfortunately contains a load of books I need to read for my English A2 level. I'll review the most interesting ones plus some others I've been reading, so keep a look out.

"I keep a diary of my life from day to day, and it never leaves the room in which it is written. I shall show it to you if you come with me." - Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray