Discuss the last episode of Doctor Who you watched

Tell us the most recent episode you watched, write a little review and give it a score out of 10!

I watched both The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion earlier. One of the best stories of Capaldi's era so far for me, he really comes into his own with that speech in part 2. It felt like a classic Doctor Who episode really, with an actual threat and a memorable monster to fight, something it feels like we don't get as much these days (in favour of character moments, which are done very well in all fairness). It's a solid 9/10 at the very least anyway, one of the most rewatchable stories of series 9 definitely.

MarthaJonesFan wrote:Tell us the most recent episode you watched, write a little review and give it a score out of 10!

I watched both The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion earlier. One of the best stories of Capaldi's era so far for me, he really comes into his own with that speech in part 2. It felt like a classic Doctor Who episode really, with an actual threat and a memorable monster to fight, something it feels like we don't get as much these days (in favour of character moments, which are done very well in all fairness). It's a solid 9/10 at the very least anyway, one of the most rewatchable stories of series 9 definitely.

That story is definitely going to go down as one of Capaldi's best! It was brilliantly well made and such good storytelling and characterisation. One of my faves of the 12th Doc era.


Most recently watched The Dominators. And as its reputation goes, it was indeed terribly boring, and get's a 4/10 from me. Troughton of course is on top game as usual, and there aresome great scenes with him, Jamie and Zoe. The action is surprisingly amazing for '60s Who as well, with massive practical effects and explosions throughout the story that was unprecedented in Doctor Who at the time. Beyond that though, the story was so weak and tiring, and the Dominators and the Quarks were horrendously cardboard cut-out villains. This is the first Troughton story I really haven't been impressed with, so it's a shame!

But I'm onto The Invasion now which is ten times better already and I'm only on episode two. Can't wait to watch the rest!

Recently watched Last Christmas again, only my second time ever watching it! I must say a second viewing really helps you understand, I remember being very confused by it when it originally aired. Nick Frost as Santa was fantastic and Capaldi is on top form as ever.

The plot was interesting, a little influenced by both the Alien franchise and Inception, however my main concern with this episode is that it very quickly becomes complicated. The dreams within dreams bit was cool, but the fact the whole episode then takes place withing two more of The Doctor's dreams did confuse me at the time.

Not the best Christmas special, but nowhere near the worst either.

My most recent would have been Doomsday, I think; I was doing a rewatch for the tenth anniversary of Series 2, which is sort of a scary thing to think about!

I quite enjoyed it, really. Something I was conscious of while watching it was that this story, being my first proper Dalek story, did a lot to define my view of the Daleks, and what they should be like. Cold, superior, a little sarky, brutal - in many ways, the Cult of Skaro, particularly Sec, is almost the definitive or default Dalek personality type for me.

Next episode I watch will probably be The Runaway Bride, in time for Christmas!

Last Christmas is pretty enjoyable for what it is I think! I must rewatch it actually, only seen it a couple of times. Now I know what I'm doing tomorrow!

Doomsday is one of my absolute favourites (along with Army of Ghosts too), in fact I'd only rank it second behind The Stolen Earth/Journey's End actually. My first experience of the Daleks also! I was sobbing for ages over Rose's exit, can't believe it was over 10 years ago now, I feel old

I just rewatched "The Husbands of River Song". 
Wow, I do remember enjoying it the first time around and thought it was a lot of fun. But I enjoyed it and appreciated it a lot more this time around. I think the dynamic between 12 and River is fantastic, I was never a fan of Matt Smith's 11th Doctor as her love interest, but this works a lot better. The humour is great, especially with Peter Capaldi being able to play the Doctor much more lightheartedly. I have a soft spot for Nardole too, due to me being a big fan of Matt Lucas, and look forward to seeing him back in Series 10. Greg Davis is great as King Hydroflax too, and the storyline is nice and simple. Overall I really like it, definitely one of my favourite Christmas Specials. 

4/5

Part way through The Invasion. It's a good old Cyber romp, if I do say so myself. 

Seen several, so I'll go through them in one big old post. 

The Trial of A Time Lord:
Loved it. First time ever watching the story arc, and it's brilliant. The meta-humour of The Doctor essentially sitting down to watch Doctor Who for 12 weeks, and then be in a Doctor Who story while Mel and The Inquisitor watch is great. While Mindwarp can be dull,
The Mysterious Planet had me interested, and Terror of The Vervoids was a mix of dark and silly, and was the one I found most enjoyable, until The Ultimate Foe, which is just amazing. The Matrix, The Valeyard, Glitz and The Master, The Fantasy Factory, Colin Baker's final lines as The Sixth Doctor on screen, it's just a wonderful ending that I love oh so much.  

Battlefield: 
Seeing as how I love The Seventh Doctor, Ace and The Brigadier, it's no surprise I fell in love with this story. It has the perfect blend of dark, action, comedy and dramatic tension. Shou Yiang and Ace's immediate friendship works so well, and that scene where they are in the white circle and turned against each other has you on the edge of your seat. It would have been interesting to see her in The TARDIS for a few more stories. The villains are over the top, but executed phenomenally, being sympathetic, dark and humerous in their mannerisms. Overall, loved it.  

The Ark In Space:
…

I don't know…

Didn't enjoy it. I got utterly bored of the story, so I turned it off and switched on Battlefield, and I have no regrets. Highly overrated from what I've seen so far. The concept is dull, the effects aren't great when you compare it to the other stories in that season, and the green bubble wrap…dear god, just why?  Even Tom Baker wasn't too good from what I've seen. I'll likely re-watch it, but so far, I don't like it. 

The Dalek Invasion of Earth:

It's alright. A bit too long for my liking, but then again, The War Games was 10 episodes, and I got through that pretty well. But The Dalek Invasion of Earth felt longer than it needed to be. Regardless, it was enjoyable. Daleks in The River Thames, Crossing The Bridge, the final battle, Susan's departure, it's all great stuff!

~Valeyard

Been quite a while since I saw Trial, yet I'm still quite fond of it. 

It's a weird one, though; I can't help but feel I enjoyed it basically solely because it's Doctor Who, I already love Doctor Who, and I'm sort of "in on the joke", as it were. I don't think I could ever justifiably turn around and say, "yeah, this was the right idea for Doctor Who in the 80s when it was in a precarious position".

Some more I've seen recently!

Earthshock:

Amazing. Just amazing. I never felt like any of the story dragged. The conflict between Adric and The Doctor is tense, and the appearance of The Cybermen and how they act compared to Revenge, Invasion, Wheel, Tomb etc. is fantastic. They're more tactical, threatening and manipulating, far more cunning and strategic than ever before, and David Banks as The Cyber Leader may be an odd thing to point out, but his presence and booming voice, it's so threatening and somewhat frightening. Picture Darth Vader if he were a Cyberman and you get The Cyber Leader in Earthshock.  I loved it so much, that I'm now going to try and get my hands on Attack of The Cybermen to see if it's even better!

Resurrection of The Daleks:

I enjoyed it. I didn't love it as much as I hoped, but Resurrection is a great Doctor vs Daleks and Davros story. The idea is simple; Daleks are in need of a cure for a virus caused by a war they lost, and the only one capable of curing them of the virus is Davros, so they unfreeze him and go about killing people who interfere, as well as attempting to lure The Doctor in a trap. It's a basic idea, but it's fleshed out and expanded upon wonderfully. Terry Molloy as Davros is amazing, Janet Fielding as Tegan in her final appearance is at her best and Peter Davison is now in my Top 10 Doctors because of these two stories! My only issue is that a lot of plot threads are left and forgotten, like The Daleks' plan to have The Doctor and his companions' duplicates attack Gallifrey's Time Lord high council and The Doctor nearly killing Davros, as well as the cure for The Movellan virus. It's never brought up if Davros successfully developed a cure or not. Either way, gonna get my hands on Revelation of The Daleks too after seeing this!

The Three Doctors:

Another great one for me.  Omega is fantastic, The Three Doctors' interacting is entertaining, especially when they argue!  :LOL:It's also a shame this is William Hartnell's last appearance as The First Doctor in the show, as he died two years later. Either way, it's a great final appearance for Hartnell's Doctor, and the first in three re-appearances for Troughton as The Second Doctor.  It's fun, light-hearted but also menacing, and Omega's voice, good lord. He sounds more Vader like than David Banks does as The Cyber Leader!

~Valeyard

And now a few more bits to talk!

The Sea Devils:

Quite enjoyed it. A little draggy in parts, but overall, it's a nice story with good action. Delgado and Pertwee play off one another brilliantly.

The Space Museum:

When I first watched this several months back, I found this utterly dull and boring. People just standing around in rooms talking and doing nothing interesting. But upon re-watching, yeah, it's actually pretty good. It's by no means a classic or a favourite of mine, but certainly not as bad as I remember.

The Chase:

Funny, over the top and The Daleks are played for laughs a bit here, whilst keeping their menace from previous stories intact. They're very enjoyable here, as are the main cast, and seeing Ian and Barbara leave. I loved the two of them so much, they're two of the best companions in my opinion, so it's a shame to see them go.

The Mind Robber:

BEFORE: Huh, this might be a great Troughton story!

AFTER:...What the hell was this amazingness, and what just happened?

Seriously, if you haven't seen Mind Robber, do so. The idea of a land populated by fictional characters is so out there and imaginative and just gives reality the middle finger. At one point, Jamie has his face shot off, and The Doctor has to put it back again, but gets it wrong, and so a new actor takes over for the rest of that episode and part of the next one, due to Frazer Hines wanting the week off!  Doctor Who needs to do more out there and imaginative stuff like this! He can go anywhere and do anything, so why isn't he going to extraordinary places and doing extraordinary things and meeting extraordinary people like he should?

Oh yeah, the series only has 45 minutes to establish a location and develop it's characters.

Can we go back to the serial format? It'd make the series unique, a bit out of place, yes, but come on, it'd make the series so much better and give the writers so much more creative freedom!

~Valeyard