S08.E08: Mummy On The Orient Express

[Dust Bunny]

 

here's what was weird about Perkins: no one spoke to him, acknowledged him, or made eye contact with him except the Doctor. He had all kinds of lines that he just delivered into the air and no one reacted to. There was one moment where the Doctor tossed him a gadget and one of the extras read the display over his shoulder, but otherwise this was scripted as though an early draft had Perkins as the Doctor's imaginary friend/way of dealing with Clara leaving. (Even the last Tardis scene, Clara doesn't so much as look at him!)

Ooo - great catch! Like I posted earlier, there was something "off" about him that I couldn't place. When I saw him in the room with all the scientists, I thought of the Sesame Street song "One of these things is not like the others". I hope something comes of it.

[ketose]

Perkins is the companion the Doctor really wants but he still has to suffer with Clara.

 

I was thinking about how much Amy and Rory's history changed with the Doctor. Rory died the second-ish time in Cold Blood. Earlier, future Amy and Rory were waving at time traveling Amy and Rory. At the end, it was only Amy waving at herself. Of course, the episode happened in 2020 and they were likely gone from history at that point because of the Angels. It's entirely possible that Clara is rewriting her own history and there will be no Danny Pink by the end of it.

[alrightokay]

I loved this episode.  So many great lines, well acted by everyone, including the guest actors.  One delightful tidbit: Captain Quell was played by David Bamber, Mr. Collins from the Colin Firth-Jennifer Ehle version of Pride and Prejudice.

[BizBuzz]

Thoroughly enjoyed this episode.  I have enjoyed them all, but this one was very well crafted, and I don't know, but I think that Twelve has just a bit of charisma in his tux. 

 

Oh my, Clara was eye candy in this episode.  The short hair does her face well, she should do that more often.

 

I wish I would have watched this episode at night...watching it during the day took away some of the scare factor I am sure would have been there had I seen it when it was dark outside.  I don't know, I am nuts.

 

I keep hearing rumors that this is Jenna's last season, is there truth to that rumor?  If so, they are handling her departure kind of messy like.

 

In any case ... I enjoyed it.  A lot.  I am loving Capaldi.

I loved this episode.  So many great lines, well acted by everyone, including the guest actors.  One delightful tidbit: Captain Quell was played by David Bamber, Mr. Collins from the Colin Firth-Jennifer Ehle version of Pride and Prejudice.

 

ETA:  THANK YOU, I couldn't place him, where I knew him from.  BTW, there is another Pride and Prejudice besides the Firth/Ehle one?  ::giggle::

[MarkHB]

I tried to make this post earlier today from my phone and kept getting told that the thread didn't exist:

 

I loved the "are you my mummy?" line, but I thought of it more as a reference to "The Empty Child" than as the old joke.

 

I'm guessing GUS is an acronym, but have no idea for what. I do believe we'll see it again.  But I hadn't picked up on the "Perkins should have been played by Bruce Willis" bit... maybe I'm watching too late at night :) .

 

I notice the "soldier" thing is getting even more play this season than Missy is. After finally acknowledging the War Doctor and then spending 1000 years defending Trenzalore, I can see him having some reservations.

Edited October 12, 2014 by MarkHB

[mac123x]

We never saw Gus, for all we know he could be Missy using a different voice.  Honestly, he gave me a bit of a GLADoS vibe  "Cake and grief counselling wil be provided at the end of the test".

 

 

My favorite bit was when he said he was the conductor's worst nightmare, showed him the psychic paper, and it turned out the conductor's worst nightmare was a mystery shopper. 

 

Fill in my ignorance:  is a "mystery shopper" someone sent from corporate headquarters to pretend to be a customer so they can evaluate the staff's performance?

[BizBuzz]

Fill in my ignorance:  is a "mystery shopper" someone sent from corporate headquarters to pretend to be a customer so they can evaluate the staff's performance?

 

Yes, mystery shopping here in the states is actually a pretty fun thing to do.  You can get paid to go out and eat or to shop.  ::giggle::

 

Here is something from Wikipedia about it.

[magdalene]

I want to be a mystery shopper. Just not on this particular version of the Orient Express.

 

I loved this episode. Very well written, I even felt for the mummy at the end.

 

Tuxedos were made for men like Mr. Capaldi.

[elle]

I really enjoyed this up until Clara boomeranged right at the end. They could have used the time to set up a clear, calm, bittersweet exit for her by the end of the season instead of going the addiction route and thereby telegraphing that Clara's going to have to hit rock bottom before she admits she has a problem.

The episode felt like a set up for that bittersweet exit we are all expecting.  That should have been the first clue.  For as much as it was mentioned that this was their last adventure, I should have guessed that another bait and switch would be pulled and, oh look!  Clara is staying, surprise!.

 

Ooo - great catch! Like I posted earlier, there was something "off" about him that I couldn't place. When I saw him in the room with all the scientists, I thought of the Sesame Street song "One of these things is not like the others". I hope something comes of it.

This sentence is yet another example of how "Sesame Street" will never not be relevant. ;0)

 

I'm guessing GUS is an acronym, but have no idea for what. I do believe we'll see it again.  But I hadn't picked up on the "Perkins should have been played by Bruce Willis" bit... maybe I'm watching too late at night :) .

I rather see more of Clara than to ever see Bruce Willis on this show!  Can you explain this reference, I never thought that anyone else should be playing "Perkins".

[MarkHB]

I rather see more of Clara than to ever see Bruce Willis on this show! Can you explain this reference, I never thought that anyone else should be playing "Perkins".

The references to no one but the Doctor seeing Perkins reminded me of his role in "The Sixth Sense."

[elle]

The references to no one but the Doctor seeing Perkins reminded me of his role in "The Sixth Sense."

Ah!  Got it!  Heh, you know with the dying/after life references this season it would be appropriate to have a ghost show up.

[tankgirl73]

I'm totally going to re-watch this ep now with an extra eye on Perkins and his interactions.  I completely missed this same psyche-out recently on Agents of SHIELD, which in hindsight was blindingly obvious.  The mind reels with possibilities if this pans out...

 

I mean, after all, the episode was about A CHARACTER ONLY ONE PERSON COULD SEE.  Talk about your setup.  Just like when the Doctor took Amy and Rory to the place with the fake people - though of course at that point the Doctor knew about it and deliberately chose to take them there in order to prepare them for the fact of Amy being fake, but it also served the purpose of preparing the *audience* for a concept which would then affect one of the main characters.

Edited October 12, 2014 by tankgirl73

[Mr. Simpatico]

Which led me to a few thoughts... 1) 12 is a lot like 6, arrogant and abrasive.  2) This is also an unusual regeneration.  Maybe getting a whole new cycle, and especially added to the way 11 expended his regeneration energy so dramatically and so stubbornly clinging on (much as 5 did at his end), made this regeneration somewhat wonky too.  3) The Timelords are a nefarious and plotting bunch.  Maybe they even deliberately 'contaminated' the regeneration energy they sent through the rift.  Maybe they didn't respond out of love for the Doctor, the way Clara begged them to, but merely for their own benefit -- if the Doctor died, after all, they'd be stuck forever.  So, send him more lives, but manipulate it to be somehow to their advantage.  And so 4) maybe 12 is actually so abrasive because he's developing into the Valeyard.  After struggling for awhile with trying to be good, he's eventually going to be so dismayed by the futility of it or whatever and give over to his dark side, even to the point of deciding he has to stop himself from doing what he's done in his own timeline, wipe that clear off and start again from there (thus going to the trial).  

 

Except the Valeyard engineered the whole trial of 6 to get his remaining regenerations - Capaldi's Doctor has a whole new set of 13 (at least). Also, one of the (disingenuous, given his love of one-time villans) reasons Moffat has given for not bringing back The Rani is that no one outside of hard-core fans remember her - and she's much more memorable than The Valeyard. It would have been a better idea to make John Hurt's regeneration who pushed the button (or thought he did) to be the Valeyard instead of the "War Doctor" - it would have explained so much.

 

That being said this was my favorite episode of the season for the reasons everyone else has given. More Doctor, less Clara (was actually surprised to see her given last week but apparently they made up off-screen). The Doctor was actually given reasons for his behavior too which may be a first all season.

I did have a few problems with the ending since this would have been a perfect send-off for Clara in line with classic companions (not NuWho who mostly have unpleasant fates) in that she goes back to his life and the Doctor goes back to the Tardis. I was actually excited when the Doctor offered the cap/engineering guy a chance to be a companion. That would have been a shocker no one would have seen coming - a middle-aged guy from the future taking over from the Impossible Girl? I was ready to say kudos to you, Moffat. But of course he REFUSES and Clara inexplicably lies to Danny and stays on (though its obvious they have been setting her leaving all season). 

 

It's also perplexing what hold Clara has over the Capaldi Doctor. He seems fixated on her as if he was a rival for her affection with Danny (and that would have been an interesting way to go) but most of the time he seems he can't be bothered with her. There is no "yours was the first face I saw" stuff 11 had with Amy Pond. The whole Impossible Girl (which Moffat has all but admitted was a mistake by not bringing it up since) situation is not interesting to him the way it was with 11. In the past the Doctor has moved on from companions who wanted to go rather quickly, none of this part-time stuff (which really started with the Ponds). But here 12 seems OK with doing that - if that's part of his personality now I would love for the show to go into it because it is a fundamental change. But since the show is really about Clara (according to Moffat) we never see it.

 

Likewise any other incarnation of the Doctor would be extremely angry with how casually "Gus" toyed and destroyed lives and yet 12 was more bemused than outraged. If he's holding it in that would also be something I'd like to see but nope...

[Which Tyler]

The references to no one but the Doctor seeing Perkins reminded me of his role in "The Sixth Sense."

Didn't the captain also reference Perkins and his countdown?

[shapeshifter]

The references to no one but the Doctor seeing Perkins reminded me of his role in "The Sixth Sense."

O. I was sure you were going with a Looper reference (time travel).

[Erratic]

Yes, I was sure that Perkins was only visible to the Doctor, but whether that was true or not, I did not want him to be the new Companion. That "Aw gee shucks, I'm just a poor common Londoner" would've done me in.

Also, Jelly Babies!!!! Blast from the Whovian past!

[tankgirl73]

Okay, I just watched the ep again expressly to watch Perkins.

 

It's quite noticeable how much he doesn't interact with other characters.  He spends most of his time standing behind the doctor, or just watching the doctor while everyone else is working.  Nobody else looks at him and say 'oh hello Perkins' and at no point does he look at anyone else and say 'hi, I'm Perkins', or any other kind of conversation.  And nobody talks *about* Perkins either.

 

That being said, in the scene where the conductor gets mummied, there is *some* interaction.  The conductor responds to things Perkins says -- first when he says that the chef was healthy, the conductor says "the chef was ill!"  Then when the conductor is seeing the mummy, Perkins says "30 seconds" or some part of the countdown and the conductor says "would someone shut that man up!"

 

Plus, in the same scene, Perkins is holding a tablet and reading off it, and at another point, a scanner, which another lab tech seems to look at while he's holding it.

 

At the very end when Perkins leaves, Clara *does* watch him as he passes by her and out the door.  But she doesn't say boo, doesn't say "hey doc, did you just ask that strange man to come along with you?"  

 

Perkins does seem to supply essential information and ideas to the doctor when convenient.  He even gets the soon-retracted 'you're a genius!' accolades.

 

So, theories.

 

1) He was really there and the story was just badly written around him, the new writer failed to notice that absolutely nobody was reacting to or interacting with this character, who just tags on to the doctor and hangs about, providing essential ideas that nobody has to come up with logically on their own.

 

Or, more interestingly, 

 

2) He's just in the Doctor's head all along, and the scene where he appears to be interacting a *little* bit is only being presented from the Doctor's perspective -- like what we see when someone sees the mummy.  The Doctor is, in fact, providing both "voices", he himself is the one looking at the tablet and the scanner, he is the one interjecting the countdown numbers -- this being foreshadowed by his conversation with himself (where he is totally channeling 4, thanks for pointing that out, I missed it the first time but it's utterly obvious and I'm kicking myself for not realizing).  

 

This theory provides an intriguing reason for Clara having to be locked away for most of the episode -- if she saw the Doctor talking to himself, she'd ask him what was going on.  Who's this Perkins fellow he keeps mentioning?  The other passengers on the train would just assume he's an eccentric professor-type.  It would also potentially force the direction to show things from Clara's viewpoint, giving away the trick.  With her locked up, the audience can be restricted to the Doctor's viewpoint.

 

This theory does not, however, account for Clara watching him leave the Tardis.  

 

Theory 2a) Perkins is a real person who physically leaves the Tardis at the end, however, on the train he was only projecting himself into the Doctor's mind, for reasons as yet unknown but probably connected to whoever or whatever GUS is (I love the idea of that being an acronym -- Gallifreyan Ultimate Supercomputer?  Galileo Ultra System? Ganymedian Underground Syndicate?)

 

2b) Perkins is entirely a creation of the Doctor's subconscious.  Perhaps relating to the theory that this regeneration is 'damaged' due to the extra cycle of lives -- he is dis-integrating, thus his conversation with 4; he is starting to 'split' into his variant selves.  Perkins is an embodiment of this split while not representing a specific incarnation.  Perhaps a 'split' would eventually lead to the creation of the Valeyard -- getting rid of all his negative energy (because he is a particularly nasty doctor), and thus healing the 'split' and continuing on into a normal life cycle.  

 

In either case, I suspect the Doctor knows something is up with Perkins.  Upon rewatch, the end scene did not appear as a sincere invitation to a beloved new companion.  It looked like the Doctor was suspicious, and was testing him out to see what he would say.  

[Dave in Chicago]

Tankgirl - thanks for the detailed breakdown. After posting I felt I should have said "fairly certain" or something along those lines instead; and it's still a conspicuous lack even if it's not 100% of the time. Of course, this could be another in a line of false leads we've gotten from the show... but I wouldn't be angry if Perkins showed up again for something more mysterious/complicated than a companion role.

[benteen]

Very fun premise and setting.  I love the 66-second thing, which I thought was brilliant.  Though I was immediately put off by Clara's complaining about last week.  I'm tired of Clara the part-time companion and if she doesn't want to be there, she should go and make room for someone who is actually interested in traveling with the Doctor.  Her line about "so long as you get me home in time" was ridiculous too since SHE IS ON A TIME MACHINE (granted, Rose will tell you how they can miss their mark).  I'm glad we didn't see much of her in this episode but the dynamic between her and 12 is not working.

 

Glad to get a Doctor-centric episode although 12 and Capaldi didn't impress me in this one until that scene where he explained why he did what he did to Clara.  Thought that was great.

 

I thought Gus the engineer was working for "Heaven" but the question was left unanswered. 

 

Not bad but far from perfect.

[ketose]

Remember when the Doctor would show up late, like not seeing Amy for 2 years, and right before her wedding day? I'd love it if Clara waited for years to go on another adventure and Twelve showed up like nothing happened. It would be even funnier if she gave up, got married and had a child with Danny and the Doctor shows up "Let's go. What's that ugly little human attached to your bosom?"

 

There are some interesting Perkins theories. What if the Doctor senses a presence this season? Sometimes it's the hand in the dark in "Listen" or the engineer who isn't there. What if Clara was trying to pass the Bechdel test and they needed a temporary companion to fill the gap?

[AudienceofOne]

Sorry guys, Perkins gets told to 'shut up' at least once. Really didn't see anything unusual about the character. He was just curious about the mystery.

[Llywela]

Also, one of the (disingenuous, given his love of one-time villans) reasons Moffat has given for not bringing back The Rani is that no one outside of hard-core fans remember her - and she's much more memorable than The Valeyard.

I've seen him make that argument and it never makes any sense to me. The new-to-Who audience of the modern show had no idea what a Dalek or Cyberman or Sontaran was before they appeared in the new show, and had no idea who Sarah Jane Smith or the Master or Davros were. All a little more widely known in the collective consciousness than the Rani, perhaps, at least in the UK, but still they were unknown to the vast majority of the newWho audience until they were introduced in a new story as part of the Doctor's past. The Valeyard is a fairly obscure bit of trivia that's already been namechecked on-screen. And how many times now in the Moffat era has the Doctor had an encounter with someone he claims as an old friend/adversary who has never been seen on-screen before? How much more satisfying would such an encounter be with a character he does actually have a legitimate on-screen history with? It isn't that hard to re-introduce an old adversary to a new audience, it really isn't. All it takes is a tidge of exposition, which has to be done anyway because every adversary in every episode requires exposition of some shape or form, and providing that for a character the Doctor already has history with is material for some really meaty, rewarding scenes. Ditto former companions - all that history, just waiting to be mined. So, yeah, it's an argument that holds no water, for me.

Edited October 13, 2014 by Llywela

[GirlWednesday]

I think I finally realized why I'm having trouble with series 8. Clara is not in awe of the adventures and the doctor has lost his purpose- need to atone for his wrong (nine), need to have adventure ( ten), need to experience innocence I guess ( eleven.. I skipped parts of elevens run because... Boring). Clara is way too judgey. She doesn't remember all her lives but acts like she knows better. I don't get this character setup for this series.

[SnideAsides]

Twelve has his purpose - figuring out who he is - but the problem is it's literally stretching a story we've seen Tennant do in two thirds of an episode, Smith do in a scene, and Ecclestone do by default over an entire season, and the season is suffering because it's just not very interesting. It kind of feels like they're trying to redo the story they'd had for Six just to prove it does work in a climate where we're used to character arcs, except we're yet to get a story on the calibre of any of Six's better stories for Capaldi to sink his teeth into.

[darkestboy]

Easily one of the highlights of this series, a wonderful episode.

The mummy was a clever idea, nicely executed and genuinely menacing in parts too. The resolution also worked really well.

I liked that both the Doctor and Clara managed to hash out their issues in this episode. Glad she's staying for the time being.

Danny might need more to do that just a one scene appearance right about now.

Perkins and Maisie stood out from the guest cast, 9/10

[benteen]

Remember when the Doctor would show up late, like not seeing Amy for 2 years, and right before her wedding day? I'd love it if Clara waited for years to go on another adventure and Twelve showed up like nothing happened. It would be even funnier if she gave up, got married and had a child with Danny and the Doctor shows up "Let's go. What's that ugly little human attached to your bosom?"

 

There are some interesting Perkins theories. What if the Doctor senses a presence this season? Sometimes it's the hand in the dark in "Listen" or the engineer who isn't there. What if Clara was trying to pass the Bechdel test and they needed a temporary companion to fill the gap?

 

I don't know what to expect from Clara anymore.  She's angry, she's not angry...she's never consistent.  I agree though that's it's clear she is NOT in awe of traveling with the Doctor and I don't want to watch anymore of her life on Earth.  I'm not interested in watching Clara at her job or with the man she loves and is going to have babies with after one episode.

 

Amy's wedding...maybe Amy Pond's most self-absorbed moment with her "ME ME ME!  ME AND THE DOCTOR" attitude at her own wedding.  Despite my issues with Amy, she was a memorable companion in a way Clara is not.

[ABay]

This episode made me realize why I dislike Clara as a companion. It is partly what's been said above--no sense of awe--but it's also that her part-time traveling and especially in this episode the call home to Danny make everything so prosaic and everyday. Being in constant contact with her normal life, either by phone or because she's making the daily commute destroys the liminal nature of the Doctor, the TARDIS, adventure, everything that is, and should be, completely different from the companion's ordinary life.

[MadMouse]

Its not returning to Earth that's the problem. Usually those episodes serve a purpose to show us how traveling with Doctor not only changes the companion but impacts everyone around them. The problem is Clara's life outside the Doctor didn't really exist until this season. Her new career just seems like an excuse for a callback to the Hartnell days and nothing else. Danny who should be our eyes into how Clara's changed wasn't around pre Doctor and can't be used in the role of Jackie or Wilf.

[benteen]

Its not returning to Earth that's the problem. Usually those episodes serve a purpose to show us how traveling with Doctor not only changes the companion but impacts everyone around them. The problem is Clara's life outside the Doctor didn't really exist until this season. Her new career just seems like an excuse for a callback to the Hartnell days and nothing else. Danny who should be our eyes into how Clara's changed wasn't around pre Doctor and can't be used in the role of Jackie or Wilf.

 

A callback to the Hartnell days which the show refused to even acknowledge when The Doctor was caretaker of Coal Hill.  Unless it's going to result in an Ian Chesterton or Susan appearance, I have no interest in Coal Hill.

 

Danny isn't a bad character but let's be honest...when Clara eventually leaves this show we are never seeing Danny again.

[elle]

Remember when the Doctor would show up late, like not seeing Amy for 2 years, and right before her wedding day? I'd love it if Clara waited for years to go on another adventure and Twelve showed up like nothing happened. It would be even funnier if she gave up, got married and had a child with Danny and the Doctor shows up "Let's go. What's that ugly little human attached to your bosom?"

About Amy, did you mean 12 years (and 4 psychiatrists) instead of 2 years or are you referring to the time when Amy and Rory were waiting for the Doctor's return?  The first is a great example of time on Earth vs the time on the TARDIS (5 minutes vs. 12 years).   The second part, in hindsight, does a nice job of showing what it would be like to have the Doctor as a friend and how it would affect one's daily lfe: neither Amy nor Rory were considered to be reliable because they  were so often gone for months on end.

 

Clara's request to be brought home on time adds to that sense of lack of awe and adventure which has been missing from this series.

 

That last comment there from the Doctor I can see Twelve saying that without missing a beat.  Eleven would be cooing over the baby and translating what it was saying.  Nine would be less than thrilled but still nice about the baby.  I'm not sure what Ten would do anymore.

[ganesh]

Twelve has his purpose - figuring out who he is - but the problem is it's literally stretching a story we've seen Tennant do in two thirds of an episode, Smith do in a scene, and Ecclestone do by default over an entire season, and the season is suffering because it's just not very interesting.

 

I don't see why this isn't enough for the first batch of episodes about Twelve. He got a new set of regens. He really thought he was going to die for real. Figuring out "what's next" seems like a good theme to explore. But everything has to be A Thing. I don't even care about Missy or the promised land or whatever, just because there's always something going on. It seems like a natural point in the Doctor's life where he'd want to take a pause, or go on walkabout, or whatever. That doesn't mean there still can't be adventures. 

 

Even though Nine was in 13 episodes, and even though there was bad wolf, there was still time for just adventuring around. 

[ketose]

About Amy, did you mean 12 years (and 4 psychiatrists) instead of 2 years or are you referring to the time when Amy and Rory were waiting for the Doctor's return?  The first is a great example of time on Earth vs the time on the TARDIS (5 minutes vs. 12 years).   The second part, in hindsight, does a nice job of showing what it would be like to have the Doctor as a friend and how it would affect one's daily lfe: neither Amy nor Rory were considered to be reliable because they  were so often gone for months on end.

I meant the time between the aliens who were going to destroy earth and the next jump where Eleven comes back and Amy informs him 2 years passed (but doesn't mention the wedding).

 

I think before the astronaut episode, the Doctor was tooling around for 200 years before he came back to see Amy and Rory.

[elle]

I meant the time between the aliens who were going to destroy earth and the next jump where Eleven comes back and Amy informs him 2 years passed (but doesn't mention the wedding).

 

I think before the astronaut episode, the Doctor was tooling around for 200 years before he came back to see Amy and Rory.

Taking this over to the "Amy Thread".  :0)

[LoneHaranguer]

Shouldn't the explanation for why nobody but the victim could see the mummy mean that for those seconds, nobody in the room should have been able to see the victim either?

 

 

It would be so refreshing for a New Who companion to travel for a while, learn and grow, and then leave just because it's time to move on with their life, no tragedy or epic conflict to force their hand.

What about Mickey Smith?

[ABay]

Yeah, I also wondered why everyone could still see the victim if the mummy was taking them out of phase.

Edited October 13, 2014 by ABay

[companionenvy]

What about Mickey Smith?

 

 

I put him in the same category as Martha - he "moved on" in large part because the Doctor wasn't all that nice to him, rather than because he had had enough of life on the TARDIS. Perhaps we should take this over to the Davies vs. Moffat thread, but I feel like Davies loved the Doctor so much that he couldn't imagine a companion leaving for any reason EXCEPT for, essentially, loving the Doctor so much that it hurt. In Mickey's case, it wasn't love, as it was for Martha or, arguably, Jack after Last of the Time Lords, but certainly he felt that he wasn't being adequately appreciated by the Doctor. The cyberman two parter in which he leaves has a couple of scenes in which the Doctor makes him feel like a third wheel or forgets about him entirely. 

 

I thought that was a flaw in Davies' writing, but Moffat, IMO, overcorrects to the point where people, and not just Clara, aren't any longer even believably awed by the Doctor and what he is offering. I mean, even Danny - you find out that your girlfriend is travelling through time and space, and you DON'T want to go for at least a quick trip, whatever your feelings about the Doctor himself? Even in this episode, the idea of companion as addict doesn't exactly paint a positive impression of the wonders of adventure. I do think, though, that Clara has shown appreciation for what she's being given - she was pretty delighted with Robin Hood, for instance.

[John Potts]

Great episode, though not without its faults. Like MadMouse, I was a little surprised that Clara was travelling with the Doctor apparently without issue (I don't really want Doctor/Companion drama, but if it has to be there, don't just sweep it under the carpet next episode). Not that Clara didn't look fabulous in this episode (I can be shallow too!)

 

I liked Frank Skinner as Perkins. I thought the whole "Nobody talks to Perkins" was intended as more of a class thing (nobody notices the servants) but it is possible that he's just in the Doctor's mind in some way (stranger things have happened). I also wondered if GUS was somehow related to Missy, but while it's fun to throw out possible acronyms, it's really rather pointless (I mean, it was almost impossible to guess that Professor Yana might have taken his name from something said by the Face of Boe (Captain Jack?) in a completely different time and space.
 

Maelstrom On a shallow note, can Capaldi wear that tux every episode?

Quantum Mechanic I loved it when Twelve channeled Four's voice whilst talking to himself in his berth about what the mummy was.

 

I thought the outfit was reminiscent of Three and the conversation with himself was very reminiscent of Four (at one point I actually wondered if they'd got Tom Baker in to voice it!). Don't know if it was deliberate (or if there were other Doctorial references I missed). Did think they might have refered to Pyramids of Mars, though (a Four serial with Sarah Jane), what with that one involving (robot, IIRC) mummies.

 

ketose Jamie Mathieson mentioned in his AMA that he wrote Mummy before he knew the casting, so he pictured Twelve as Gregory House.

 

I guess that would explain why I was going "Wow - when did Hugh Laurie start playing the Doctor!?

[MadMouse]

A callback to the Hartnell days which the show refused to even acknowledge when The Doctor was caretaker of Coal Hill.  Unless it's going to result in an Ian Chesterton or Susan appearance, I have no interest in Coal Hill.

 

Danny isn't a bad character but let's be honest...when Clara eventually leaves this show we are never seeing Danny again.

 

I never thought we'd get an appearance by either of them myself. Has Moffat included any character he hasn't created? I was referring more to the characters in general. An older Doctor, two teachers and an outcast teenager. As for Danny my problem is we haven't spent enough time with him. If Clara's relationship with him was going to play such a huge part of the season then he should be fleshed out more as a character. At this point aren't people just waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to him.

[benteen]

I never thought we'd get an appearance by either of them myself. Has Moffat included any character he hasn't created? I was referring more to the characters in general. An older Doctor, two teachers and an outcast teenager. As for Danny my problem is we haven't spent enough time with him. If Clara's relationship with him was going to play such a huge part of the season then he should be fleshed out more as a character. At this point aren't people just waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to him.

 

Yeah, they seem to be doing a REALLY slow burn on the Danny and Neatherworld storylines.

 

I never thought we'd get an appearance from those two characters either.  But I feel if the show isn't going to acknowledge the Doctor's history there this season, then they shouldn't even bother to use Coal Hill at all.

Edited October 14, 2014 by benteen

[cardigirl]

I liked this episode, but I'm really sad that Clara lied to the Doctor about it being fine with her boyfriend that she continues traveling with him. I'm pretty sure that means she ends up alone and abandoned by the Doctor AND Danny.  Because even though the Doctor lies, nobody else can.  Poor Clara. 

 

I wonder if she is not the Impossible Girl anymore because Matt Smith's doctor went into his timeline and rescued her?

[Llywela]

I wonder if she is not the Impossible Girl anymore because Matt Smith's doctor went into his timeline and rescued her?

Well, 'the impossible girl' was never a name that defined her - she never had any special properties. She was always just a girl. Impossible Girl was just a name the 11th Doctor used for her because he didn't understand how he could meet different versions of her, watch them die, and then go on to meet other versions of her, which seemed impossible. Once she went into his timeline and got splintered, the mystery was solved. So she isn't the impossible girl any more because the impossibility has been explained and turned out to be possible after all, if not probable!

Edited October 14, 2014 by Llywela

[cardigirl]

She splintered in Eleven's timeline and thus was involved in saving all of the previous Doctors.  I'm guessing she's not going to be saving this Doctor because she got pulled out of the timeline?
 

So this is the last Clara Oswald incarnation.

[Llywela]

She splintered in Eleven's timeline and thus was involved in saving all of the previous Doctors.  I'm guessing she's not going to be saving this Doctor because she got pulled out of the timeline?

 

So this is the last Clara Oswald incarnation.

She isn't an incarnation, really. She is the original. The others are scattered through space and time, past and future - wherever they needed to be to counter the Great Intelligence's attacks on the Doctor. Or whatever. She never saw this Doctor in the timeline because he didn't exist at that point in his own timeline - the GI was attacking his past selves, not future. Although of course, since the Doctor didn't die at Trenzalore, his 'body' should never have been there anyway, so the whole storyline is out of whack. Or got re-written. Or whatever. It really doesn't pay to overthink it! Just accept that she isn't the Impossible Girl any more because she fulfilled her 'destiny' or whatever, and don't think about it in any more detail than that, or your brain will turn inside out!

 

Being pulled out of the timeline by the Doctor doesn't stop the splinters from having come into being, I think. It simply saved this Clara.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Llywela

[elle]

Although of course, since the Doctor didn't die at Trenzalore, his 'body' should never have been there anyway, so the whole storyline is out of whack. Or got re-written. Or whatever.

Yes, and Thank you!  A very key reason why they never should have gone to Trenzalore in the Christmas Special.  Oh that was a waste, time that could have been used to really explore and explain Twelve, without the Clara plea to the history scar.

 

 

. . . would this count for you? I took the picture this past Monday.

As a mummy reference, right?  Because the guy in the middle is wearing the necessary gas mask, "are you my mummy", got it (finally).   Thanks!

 

I did not recognize David Bamber at all and certainly not as "Mr. Collins".  I thought his job as audience surrogate helping them/us make the tired/wounded solider connection to the mummy itself.

[Lantern7]

elle . . . I think I see the confusion. I linked to the wrong picture. This is what I wanted you to see, as far as mummies were concerned. I'm sorry for that.

[elle]

That makes so much more sense!  It is also is a nice callback to Karloff's mummy.  So back to the original question, yes, yes that would do for me - in lieu of an actual Boris Karloff movie.  Thank you, Lantern7!

[tv-talk]

So is the idea that Clara will keep adventuring so long as the Doctor always returns her to the exact necessary moment that allows for no time to have passed for Danny? Isnt that again getting to avoid tough consequences? I mean the fact is she chose to stay with the Doctor rather than just fully commit 100% to Danny. Right after that phone call, she goes off on an adventure and THAT version of Danny doesnt get see her for however long right? Wonders where she is, worries, realizes she is still with Doctor, considers maybe the Doctor is refusing to bring her back, frets that she could have been killed....all that terrible feeling happens to THAT Danny right? Then she pops back in at the right moment like she was never gone and picks back up with the Danny on the phone? I find that a bit chintzy really, the whole point was she had this big decision to make but really it was just whether she liked the Doctor sufficiently or not. Or at least liked adventuring enough to put up with him. The tough choice would have been Danny or the Doctor, that's what it needs to be anyway, and maybe that's what will happen down the line.

 

The show is better when the TARDIS cant reliably materialize at the EXACT moment in time the Doctor wants. A good episode would be Clara coming back all flush from some adventure (looking more radiant than ever of course) all happy and excited to go on that dinner date only to find it's 1yr later and Danny is terribly hurt and she doesnt have a job. Then deal with those consequences, perhaps then something interesting to watch might happen with Clara. 

 

Overall liked the episode a lot though did think it was Clara's exit so was a bit disappointed by the change of heart right at the end. Good episode though, the Doctor really stood out as THE DOCTOR finally and that's what I've been waiting for.

Edited October 14, 2014 by tv-talk

[ketose]

The Doctor had one episode where the "chameleon" circuit was fixed and the TARDIS could appear as something else. That couldn't be constant thing because the show would lose something with perfect camouflage. That's the same problem with the exactness of the coordinates. When the TARDIS had less control, he might end up in danger. Now, he looks like a reckless addict for picking dangerous situations.

[Namarie]

I really, really liked this episode. Probably my new favorite of the season (topping "Robots of Sherwood"). Hope this new writer does just as well with the other eps he writes!

 

Agreed that they made the monster genuinely creepy - until the Doctor figured out what he wanted, and then he was genuinely tragic. Plus, it was nice to have the Doctor talking to/about soldiers without anyone being nasty about them. I was expecting snide comments when he was talking with the Captain about the fight having been knocked out of him, but there weren't any. How refreshing!

 

I also thought the Doctor and Clara working out their issues worked as well as it could have. I was pretty sure Clara wasn't actually going to leave, so with that in mind it seemed to play out as well as it could. And yes, Jenna Coleman was particularly gorgeous this week!

[Endeavour]

I enjoyed all things Capaldi/Doctor in this ep, but felt every time the focus switched to Clara the episode dragged. I was actually tuning her out. That's never happened before even if I wasn't thrilled with a companion. 

 

I was listening to a podcast where someone said they wanted this season to focus on Capaldi being the Doctor and that would have been enough. I have to agree. This season has been unnecessarily bogged down with all things Clara. I'm not interested in seeing the Doctor through her eyes and I don't care about her adjustment - now addiction - issues. I know a large part of the series is seeing the Doctor through his relationship with the companion but the balance is off and she's too inconsistently written. I think Capaldi is great. Too bad the writers/showrunner can't recognize that they have everything they need right there.