S09.E02: The Witch's Familiar

[Commando Cody]

The one thing I noticed, while watching the Tom Baker episodes again, was how well one could understand the people who traveled with him.  His new companions just sound garbled to me. 

[tennisgurl]

I really dug it, even though I found some pats a little dull. I am just really really glad this show is back. I do think this is enough Daleks though, at least for awhile. Lets have a new villain, to go with that shiny new companion we are going to be getting soon. 

[benteen]

I agree about the sound mix.  It's very hard to hear the dialogue and not because of the accents.

[John Potts]

Commando Cody Could someone who remembers please tell me what the deal is with The Master. I haven't watched the new episodes enough to really get what is going on with him.

 

The Master is a contemporary (and initially friend) of The Doctor (they went to the Time Lord Academy together) and both went rogue, but where The Doctor went around helping people, The Master goes around trying to dominate them (hence their respective titles). It's been implied that the Master had run out of regenerations due to getting caught up in the trouble he'd caused and had run out of regenerations by the time we see him in The Deadly Assassin (a Tom Baker/Four serial) and he only survived for a while by stealing bodies of others: first Tremas (father of Nyssa, one of the Doctor's companions, played by Anthony Ainley), then Eric Roberts (well, his character - he was a cop, but I don't recall the guy's name). By the time the Time War came around, the Time Lords called on The Doctor and The Master to fight for them and gave The Master a new set of Regenerations (we only get this from dialogue after the fact, so it's not clear if they offered the same deal to The Doctor). However, instead of fighting, The Master ran away, hiding at Utopia and transforming into a human (The Professor, Derek Jacobi) until Martha Jones reminded him of his identity where he remembered his prior existence and Regenerated again, becoming Mister Saxon (John Simm). After dying (and being cremated!) in Last of the Time Lords he was resurrected again (still played by John Simm) in The End of Time, but sacrificed himself (sort of) to defeat Rassillon and prevent the return of the Time Lords. We don't know how he escaped, but we next see him (well, her) it's as Missy (Michelle Gomez), which brings us up to date.

 

Essentially, he/she is a dark version of The Doctor (it's even been implied that he's in fact the Doctor's evil brother) but completely indestructible (he's faced something like six on screen "Nobody, not even Time Lord, could survive that!" deaths, on top of all the times he's regenerated). The Doctor/Master relationship varies between co-operation, friendly rivalry and outright trying to kill each other and through it all, it's not clear if the Master wants The Doctor to simply be his friend (again), to screw him over or simply screw him (which has got much more blatant in the modern series, particularly now The Master is The Mistress).

 

Hope that clears things up (and sorry that turned out WAY longer than I intended)!

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Why is his name with thousands of Time Lords probably knew (including the Master) important?

Witches could cast spells on him if his name got around (seriously, if you drill past the pseudo-science, that was the explanation).

[call me ishmael]

That's what I thought when The Doctor told Missy to run and she had that brilliant idea. First off, why did The Doctor have Missy leave on her own? He's always trying to save The Master, not send him/her to his/her death. Plus - Batman reference - the Penguin or Joker et al always had Batman and Robin hanging over a vat of acid or pit of vipers and then they'd leave before the Dynamic Duo died. And every time, they escaped. Note to The Doctor: if you want to keep Missy out of trouble, keep her with you. Don't send her off to run amok amid panicked daleks. Hilarity will not ensue.

I think we are supposed to take his telling Missy to run as a sign of how angry he was about what she has done to Clara.

Edited September 28, 2015 by call me ishmael

[Mabinogia]

but where The Doctor went around helping people, The Master goes around trying to dominate them (hence their respective titles).

 

OMG, that never dawned on me. lol I often wondered about their titles. That makes such sense.

 

I think we are supposed to take his telling Missy to run as a sign of how angry he was about what she has done to Clara.

 

That's what I thought, run before I kill you kind of thing.

[Hyacinth B]

"While there are some questions about his past I'd love to know more about (like the wife he never mentions), I appreciate just how vague they've kept his past..."

 

 

Sorry, I don't follow the storylines as closely as most of you, my aged brain can't handle all the twists and turns. But Crikey, how many wives has he had that we know of?

 

Didn't he marry River Song? And didn't Ten run like hell from Elizabeth the First right after the marriage ceremony? I wonder how many other times has he's tied the knot. And all that time he might even have a wife he left behind on Gallifrey (who, thanks to all 13 Doctors, is now simply frozen in time instead of having been blown into her component atoms like he thought she was?) 

 

No wonder he's in no rush to find Gallifrey again, that naughty boy might have some serious explaining to do.

[Llywela]

Crikey, how many wives has he had that we know of?

I think four (first wife on Gallifrey, presumably, plus Elizabeth I, River, Marilyn Monroe) - so that's four, and three have come from the Moffat era. Make of that what you will.

[jaytee1812]

I think four (first wife on Gallifrey, presumably, plus Elizabeth I, River, Marilyn Monroe) - so that's four, and three have come from the Moffat era. Make of that what you will.

Technically Elizabeth I could be attributed to RTD.

[Commando Cody]

The first doctor did technically and accidentally get engaged to someone in the Aztec episode.  I think it was because they drank chocolate together.  

[Llywela]

The first doctor did technically and accidentally get engaged to someone in the Aztec episode.  I think it was because they drank chocolate together.  

He offered to make her a cup of cocoa in the interests of trying to schmooze valuable information out of her. Turned out, making cocoa for someone was tantamount to a proposal in her culture, much to his shock. No marriage took place. She gave up the info and let him go without pressing the issue.

[call me ishmael]

I think four (first wife on Gallifrey, presumably, plus Elizabeth I, River, Marilyn Monroe) - so that's four, and three have come from the Moffat era. Make of that what you will.

 

 

Technically Elizabeth I could be attributed to RTD.

 

I suppose technically we can blame RTD for River as well since it was under his watch that Moffat wrote the original story and she and the Doctor were already married then even if he didn't know it already.

[elle]

I think four (first wife on Gallifrey, presumably, plus Elizabeth I, River, Marilyn Monroe) - so that's four, and three have come from the Moffat era. Make of that what you will.

Eleven did say that it wasn't a real chapel to which he and Marilyn went.  I always felt sorry for Marilyn for that.

[j5cochran]

Late night rewatch -- I just noticed, when the Doctor is reaching out to young Davros at the end, the Doctor is wearing a gold band on his left ring finger.  Is this a continuity error, did Capaldi forget to take off his own wedding band, or does he always wear a ring and I never noticed before?

 

 

 

[Ringthane]

Late night rewatch -- I just noticed, when the Doctor is reaching out to young Davros at the end, the Doctor is wearing a gold band on his left ring finger.  Is this a continuity error, did Capaldi forget to take off his own wedding band, or does he always wear a ring and I never noticed before?

He always wears that.  It's Capaldi's real wedding ring, but I don't remember if they ever explained why he wears it in the show.  It's not the first time a Doctor's worn a ring - Hartnell had a ring with a blue stone, and I believe Pertwee used to have a pinky ring.

[cardigirl]

He always wears that.  It's Capaldi's real wedding ring, but I don't remember if they ever explained why he wears it in the show.  It's not the first time a Doctor's worn a ring - Hartnell had a ring with a blue stone, and I believe Pertwee used to have a pinky ring.

 

Here's one answer:

http://www.blastr.com/2014-8-13/theres-story-behind-ring-peter-capaldi-will-wear-doctor-who

 

and another

 

http://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/502153/Peter-Capaldi-Doctor-Who-ring-is-packed-with-meaning

 

 

or this one:

 

About the New Costume: Asked by fans about the inclusion of a wedding ring to the Doctor’s gear, Capaldi teased us saying “you don’t even know if Time Lords wear their wedding ring on the human ring finger”! He continued to explain that the ring was made up of both his own wedding ring and a jeweled band specially made for his costume, stating that the “Main reason is that he really hates taking it off, especially filming in Cardiff for 8 months straight as the risk of it getting lost is far too high.” He stressed that “It would very literally break my heart if it got lost. I worked with the costume designer quite intently to seek a disguising ring to almost cover for it to go over my original ring with a jewel, so my actual wedding ring can’t be seen. Interestingly enough when Mark Gatiss invited me to the set of An Adventure in Space and Time I went on the same day as William Hartnell’s granddaughter, who had shown me the ring he wore in the early episodes -- and while I was tempted I thought it might be to up front to ask for the actual prop to wear in my series.”  from http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/review-an-audience-with-peter-capaldi-jenna-coleman-65393.htm

Edited October 2, 2015 by cardigirl

[j5cochran]

Thanks for the great information, Cardigirl!

 

 

 

[AudienceofOne]

So, if you retcon a retcon that already been retconned, is there a word for that? Other than "shark" as in "jumping the".

 

Another tiresome Dalek morality play treading all the same ground in the same way but now with the appalling "Missy" running around as well. This is going to be as bad as last season, isn't it?

 

PS - I could drive everyone round in circles about how the "mercy" conclusion didn't make any damn sense but I'll just leave it to you to either agree or disagree with that. Even though it really was dumb

[paramitch]

It's really interesting for me. I left the show (albeit heartbroken) after last season's finale, since I thought it was ludicrous and as had become usual with Moffat, just logistically retconned a ton of stuff right, left and everywhere. And in a bigger picture sense, at that point, I just could not stand where Moffat was taking the character of Twelve, and I had come to loathe Clara so much that there was very little enjoyment left for me in the show.

 

But I heard good things about the show's return this season, so I finally steeled myself and watched these first two, and... I'm okay. They seem much better and more coherent to me. The resolution here worked for me.

 

I also liked that the Doctor and Clara weren't so dour and mean to one another (especially Clara), and I also agreed with the PTV recap that Missy is actually much more fun here, scarier, and actually makes more logical sense in this incarnation thus far to me.

I liked it better than "The Magician's Apprentice" and, probably, better than a lot of Moffat episodes from recent years.  Yes, the ending is ridiculous, the two episodes don't fit together all that well as a whole, and I'm no fan of the sonic sunglasses.  (Though I wouldn't be opposed to doing away with the sonic for a while, a la Five, or even just downgrading its capabilities so it's more of a techie skeleton key and less of a magic wand/all-purpose problem-solver.)  That said, I can't quite tell if the plotting is BETTER than last week, or if I'm just more forgiving because I like the character stuff so well.  Give me something good for the Doctor, and it seems I'm incredibly easy.

 

Even though both these episodes are going again to the "OMG, is the Doctor just as bad as the bad guys?!???!?" well, I like that, this time around, the Doctor isn't having it.  He's clearly affected by his recent actions re: young Davros, but he doesn't get that horrified/mournful look when Davros tries dragging him down into the mud.  He's evidently given a lot deal of thought to last season's "Who am I?" question, because he's ready for it, and I really like what he has to say about himself and what he does.  And I love his assertion that he "wouldn't die of anything" other than compassion.  Bless.

 

I think this might be my favorite Missy episode so far.  I like to see her being clever, and I enjoy her insights into the Doctor early on, but she's also just balls-out evil.  To go from worrying about the Doctor and what's happening when all the Daleks are going glowy, to trying to trick him into killing his friend, just for kicks?  That is COLD.  While she's still outrageous, I feel like she's less whacky-crazy here than she's been in her previous appearances, which helps her a) feel more like an actual character, and b) feel a lot more dangerous.  If your interests align with hers, she may sort-of be on your side, but keep both eyes open, because she'll turn on you in a second when the wind changes.

 

Clara in the Dalek was interesting, but I really, REALLY wanted her to get some sort of flash of being Oswin.  I'd have thought it would've been too good to pass up.

I completely agreed with all of this, and did like the palpable shifts in Missy, who's so mercurial she's even scarier in a way because she cannot be predicted. And yet there was that palpable sense that she does care about the Doctor (and I admit, I adored her awfulness to Clara from beginning to end). I also agree that the lack of a callback to Oswin was such a shame -- it would have been a brilliant opportunity (and to again make Clara more than just a reflective blank slate).

 

The Clara in a Dalek scene would have resonated more for me if we hadn't already seen A - Clara having a normal conversation with 11 as a Dalek (Asylum of the Daleks) and B - Daleks asking for mercy (River Song in the Big Bang).

 

I liked this part better than the first because the plot seemed more coherent, and for once we had a Master who could be clever without being so over the top.  And I'll admit that I was tricked too, I didn't see Davros's betrayal coming.

 

I was bothered by the "mercy" issue too, but I also like some of the other logical possibilities from other posters, so I'm more okay with it than I was at first. It is possible that the Dalek asked River for mercy because of the Doctor's action here.

 

Also, FWIW, the Doctor wasn't present when the Dalek asked River for mercy so it's also conceivable he had simply never encountered a Dalek using the word.

 

Maybe they're like elves in LOTR - they won't die from old age but they can be killed in battle.

This idea works for me, as far as the Daleks. Although the sludge of ex-Daleks just looked like poo. So of course the entire finale, I was giggling at the destructive force of all the evil Dalek poo everywhere!

 

I really really hate that he doesn't tie this stuff to previous episodes.  Like Clara in the Dalek - this is the second time he's had an opportunity to reference the Dalek Asylum and he doesn't?  Why not?  Why have no reference at all?  Just Look, I put Clara in a Dalek again!  Isn't it cool?   Or the Doctor could have had a throwaway line "River told me a Dalek begged for mercy, but I didn't believe it."  Just something!

This is my single biggest peeve about the Moffat era. What has surprised me most is that he's not just sloppy about references and consistencies within the entire history of the show, but that he cannot even seem to keep the rules straight on characters he created himself (don't even get me started on the damn angels).

 

While Dalek/Clara saying "mercy" gave the Doctor pause (as I think it would regardless) the clincher was "I showed mercy" (I did not attack you) which is a very un-Dalek-like thing to say.

 

Had the Doctor not planted the "mercy seed" those Daleks might not have been able to beg River for their lives.

 

A bigger problem with the "language filter" idea is that it takes deceit and insincerity off the table. But I believe we've seen the Daleks use diplomacy and deceit in the past. I'm not the world's biggest Dalek expert however, so maybe there's some wiggle room there, or maybe there isn't. Threats, coercion, and driving a hard bargain would still be available, I guess. 

I think the script could have used another line or two from Missy about how Clara was experiencing the "default" Dalek programming or something, and that it would take time for subtleties or nuances to set in...

Meanwhile, I wish Clara had simply said something the Doctor would instantly recognize. Like "[Don't] run you clever boy" or some variation there.

 

Something that's just my opinion, but that occurred to me while watching this two-parter: this Doctor may be the first one that works better without a companion.  Twelve just seems to be more alive, more engaged, or whatever in what's going on when he doesn't have a companion weighing him down.  Of course, the only one he's had since he renegerated is Clara, so maybe it's just her.  But I like Twelve more when he's just doing his thing and not having to stop and deal with companion issues.  He just seems more Doctor-like when he's on his own.  The only other Doctor I remember that was like that was McGann's (he seemed to be doing fine on his own in the minisode where he regenerates).

 

Although I think JLC is a perfectly good actress, thanks to the writing, I have really powerfully disliked the dynamic between Clara and the Doctor across her entire arc, with the exception of the Oswin episode and "The Snowmen." I've especially disliked the really ugly dynamic she's had with Twelve.

 

However, I admit that so far in these two, she was much more the kind of Companion I would wish for -- supportive, kind, brave and likable. I was actually caught off-guard when she turned to Missy with angry tears in her eyes after Missy threw her down the pit -- it was a nice and surprisingly realistic moment. So this season, despite my long-standing Clara hatred, I'm willing to hope that this trend continues -- I was so much happier with her character here than I have been since the beginning. (And to be fair to JLC, she was given a lot more nuance to play with.)

ETA: Typos! Ack!

Edited October 27, 2015 by paramitch