S00.E149: The Return Of Doctor Mysterio

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

New York is attacked by a deadly threat and the Doctor teams up with an investigative journalist and a superhero to save the city.

[LadyArcadia]

I must say, this is the first Doctor Who preview I've seen and expect it to be terrible. I'm not looking forward to this and that disappoints me greatly.

[Last Time Lord]

I ordered it on Vudu. Only thing that's showing up so far is the trailer, and I doubt they would charge $4.99 for that. 

Hope not, anyway. 

[alrightokay]

This was really fun and charming.  Not the deepest episode, but that's okay, given how bittersweet last season (and the last Christmas Special) was.  I liked the fact that the Ghost was also a nanny, someone who's a caregiver.  And the Doctor/Capaldi was energetic and endearing, making just enough reference to what happened to him and River last year to show he's healing and moving on.  I've missed him and this show so much!  

[Beatriceblake]

I thought this was a decent Christmas episode. I liked Grant/the Ghost and Jessica well enough. But enough with the pining dudes, Moffat. If you like someone for five hundred years and don't tell them, then it's kind of on you.

[Lokiberry]

I honestly thought this would be pretty stupid, but it turned out great. The Doctor accidentally giving Grant super powers was fun, as was his double life with the inevitable feisty reporter, Lucy. The aliens were appropriately evil, while at the same time being disposable. I'm surprised they didn't do more with Nardole. Why bring Matt Lucas back and give him such a minor role? The ending dealt with the passing of River Song, and the Doctor's sadness, but gave hope that he was healing and moving on.

Also, that squeaky toy (Mr. Awful?)  made me laugh and laugh.

I've had a lot of trouble with Peter Capaldi's Doctor. The first time I really liked him was last year in the Husbands of River Song, but he was fantastic here, and that gives me hope for the upcoming season. Maybe the problem really was The Albatross, and now that he's free, I'll be able to enjoy Twelve.
 

Edited December 25, 2016 by Lokiberry
What was that squeaky toy's name?

[Cirien]

I loved all the Superman references: Not just the glasses and the "mild mannered reporter   male nanny, but "Miss Shuster and Miss Siegel" ???? Well played show well played, and the feisty reporter. And Peter Capaldi was as always great....and seemed much better when he wasn't trying to live up to *Someone*'s impossible standards

And of course "With great power comes great responsibility"

OH SHOW

Edited December 26, 2016 by Cirien

[Lantern7]

This was okay. Like Moffat wrote a story about the Doctor and Whashisface facing off against aliens who never heard of pockets and like storing weapons in their heads. Then he had to expand it for Christmas, and figured, "Screw it, I'mma do a Superman homage story. And I'll use the name of Spider-Man's annoying dome-headed B-list villain."

Seriously, what is the sidekick's name? I know he was in the last Christmas special, but I'm drawing a blank. And he's going to be an official companion alongside Bill? By the way, I'm hoping the Doctor pronounces it like Blackadder says "Bob."

At least we had a story in America with a happy ending. I'm surprised the Doctor ever comes to New York, especially after what happened to Amy & Rory. And the idea of the aliens filling world leaders' heads with their brains . . . promise?

ETA: I couldn't resist . . . got this sketch of The Ghost last month. Asymmetrical letter aside, he had a good look.

[Last Time Lord]

Ooh! BBC America showed a promo for Class! I think I'm more excited for that than I was for the Season 10 promo.

I loved this Christmas Special, even if the "Christmas" aspect was tangential at best. I think I want a Ghost Spin-off. I really loved the Grant and Lucy characters and think there's more that can be done with them and this little slice of Who.

[Chaos Theory]

Super man is my least favorite in the super hero genre.  Something about deceiving everyone he loves "for their own good" always did annoy me.  This special didn't really work all that well,  it was cute but it felt flat to me.

[penguinnj]

The machine the Doctor is making on the roof is supposed to fix the anomalies and time distortions in NY- which he says are his fault.  So, theoretically he might be able total the Tardis back to NY now if he found a replacement for the gem.

And I can just say as a former kid with siblings and cousins and later my own children- EVERYONE has a cold at Christmas- a little touch of realism I appreciated :))  I've really missed Capaldi!

[Commando Cody]

I don't know what they need Bill for. Nardole would be enough. Until I saw the preview of next season, I watched the episode thinking that Nardole should be the new companion. 

I was a little annoyed that they brought the brain people back. They did that last year. Otherwise nothing else annoyed me about this episode. I think I even enjoyed it. 

[Last Time Lord]

23 minutes ago, Commando Cody said:

I don't know what they need Bill for. Nardole would be enough. Until I saw the preview of next season, I watched the episode thinking that Nardole should be the new companion.

Now that you mention it, have they ever had just The Doctor with a male companion since the classic series?

[Cobb Salad]

Yes, Donna's grandfather in "The End Of Time".  Then Rory's father (although we just saw pictures) at the end of "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship". 

[Lantern7]

And don't forget Captain Jack and Mickey with Nine and Ten, respectively.

How much money do you think the BBC owes DC Comics for going nuts on the Superman homages?

ETA: "You ate? The gem?!? [pause] That's on you. If you live forever and turn amoral, it's not my fault. Not this time."

[snarktini]

6 hours ago, Lokiberry said:

Also, that squeaky toy (Mr. Awful?)  made me laugh and laugh.

I've had a lot of trouble with Peter Capaldi's Doctor. The first time I really liked him was last year in the Husbands of River Song, but he was fantastic here, and that gives me hope for the upcoming season. Maybe the problem really was The Albatross, and now that he's free, I'll be able to enjoy Twelve.

Mr Huffle, according to my CC. Yes, for whatever reason the toy made me laugh, too. I like how her squishing Mr Huffle was a threat, and it worked.

I've not liked Capaldi's Doctor at all -- or I haven't liked the storylines, it's hard to tell -- and this was quite a bit better. I cancelled my Doctor Who season pass (bitterly) and I'm not likely to undo that decision based on this one special. But I may do with the season what I did with this special, which was wait for some comments to roll in and then decide if it sounded worthwhile. 

[justmehere]

Loved it. Loved the lighthearted tone, the clear Superman homage, and the acknowledgement of River, including that he did spend the 24 years with her. We don't have to see the painful parting, knowing she's heading to the library. We saw the bittersweet last year; we saw the beginnings of him moving on now.

Nardole was the right companion here because he knew River and could understand. However, I'm glad that he's not the companion for the upcoming series. I find him too passive and not that engaging as a character. Bill looks like she'll be an interesting challenge for Twelve.

One disappointment is that we didn't get to see more of Twelve with River. It will seem too odd now to bring her back somewhere else in her timeline, but it would have been nice to see more of them together.

Also, very much hoping Peter Capaldi decides to stick around for series 11. I love him in the role.

[Writing Wrongs]

Is he wearing a wedding ring now? It looked like 2 rings.

[Primetimer]

Marvel as the Doctor learns a thing or two about superhero mythology.

View the full article

[Unclejosh]

I loved this episode as I love all things super power related.  Fun with the right amount of humor.  Might be my favorite Xmas special.  Plus I miss Charity Wakefield since The Player was cancelled.

I don't like the choice of companion from the preview as I find her voice irritating and she is more Donna Noble than Amy Pond/Clara Osgood/RoseTyler/Martha Jones looks wise.  Sorry for being shallow but I do like some eye candy on my shows and while Peter Capaldi and Matt Lucas are certainly entertaining and some may find attractive in their own right, they don't meet that particular quotient for me.

Hopefully the trailer impression I got will be proven wrong.

[ganesh]

I don't mind light and breezy for an xmas special, and it was a cool concept. I just found the intrepid lady reporter to be annoying and it kind of took me out of it. 

I do like how seemingly every year there's a huge disaster. My favorite moment was when we first met Wilf years ago, and he was like "yeah everyone leaves now." 

I liked Twelve's derisive quips at the aliens though.

[HauntedBathroom]

2 hours ago, Unclejosh said:

 Plus I miss Charity Wakefield since The Player was cancelled.

Thank you!!! My husband and I were going bananas trying to work where we knew her from. Never actually saw the show, but the trailers have been interminable.

I greatly enjoyed this episode. Twelve seems so much more fun to watch when he's not having to pander to Little Miss Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better.

[futurechemist]

The episode was fun.  After how dark the previous series got, it was nice to just have fun.  I enjoyed the show gently mocking superhero conventions.  Loved the  comic book style boxes when the Doctor was watching Grant and Lucy on the phone to each other.

I like Nardole, mainly because he's not a 20-something woman from present-day London.  He's pretty much the opposite of all that.  Him randomly showing up in Egyptian garb, and then keeping it on when they went to the Japanese branch was hilarious.

And there's the sequel hook that UNIT has been infiltrated again.  Though Zygons, Sontarans, and the Nestene seemingly all do a better job at infiltrating than a guy with a massive scar across his face.

[alias1]

5 hours ago, Unclejosh said:

I loved this episode as I love all things super power related.  Fun with the right amount of humor.  Might be my favorite Xmas special.  Plus I miss Charity Wakefield since The Player was cancelled.

I don't like the choice of companion from the preview as I find her voice irritating....... Hopefully the trailer impression I got will be proven wrong.

I loved this episode, too.  And I was happy to see Charity Wakefield again.  But her role in The Player was so fantastic, where they let her use her fabulous English accent, that something seemed to be missing in her portrayal here.  In spite of that, I thought this was one of the best Christmas Specials in years.

And based on the previews, I am not looking forward to Bill.  Another 20 something female who looks to be every bit as precocious as most 20 year olds. Ho Hum.  I, too, hope I'm wrong.

[catrox14]

I havent enjoyed an episode this much since The Day of the Doctor. I'm fully on board with Peter Capaldi's Doctor. And I am so glad that he isnt stuck with Clara anymore. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

Is there any reason that no one told the Ghost that there were aliens about planning a world conquest early on, other than it would shorten the episode by half?

[Last Time Lord]

So, after re-watching this on Vudu, not only does it flow much better without the commercial interruptions, but subtracting the commercials actually reduced the total run time by a half hour.

[benteen]

I really enjoyed this episode.  I loved the whole superhero aspect and I liked how they developed the Doctor's relationship with Grant through the years.  Boy, the Doctor has really been messing up kids like Ashildr and Grant, hasn't he?  The episode did have a slow patch but on the whole, I found this Christmas special to be fun.

I got a good laugh with the Doctor discussing what would really happen if you were bitten by a radioactive spider.  I loved seeing all these real comic book characters acknowledged.

I like how the aftereffects of the Doctor's long night with River were portrayed.  Really good work by Capaldi there.

One of the rare times the Doctor has traveled with just a male companion and I thought him and Nardole work well off of each other.  Nardole was fine although having seen the NYCC Doctor Who panel earlier this year, Matt Lucas is MUCH more funnier in person.  It was mentioned during that panel that Nardole is a kind of butler/manservant for the Doctor.

Interesting that they decided to keep the villain alive at the end and possibly infiltrating UNIT.

I liked the preview of the new season with Bill.  Can't wait for Doctor Who to really return.

Edited December 27, 2016 by benteen

[Eolivet]

I got taken out of the show several times because I was so confused about the time period. They seemed to be saying it was "present day" New York (did they ever give a date?), with the characters in fairly contemporary dress (though Grant looked like mid-90s Seattle chic), but the sets looked like 1930s New York. It just looked absolutely nothing like the actual city. I normally wouldn't care, except they made a big deal out of "This is New York!" And I kept thinking "No, it is not!"

The dialogue was funny a couple times -- just certain expressions you never hear from Americans, and just sounded like British dialogue in an American accent.

I get that they needed New York for the "superhero story," but it was so unbelievable as contemporary New York City. But I'm sure plenty of American writers have butchered British English and depictions of English cities. So, it's fine that they were just returning the favor. And I enjoyed the special otherwise!

[snarktini]

5 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

I get that they needed New York for the "superhero story," but it was so unbelievable as contemporary New York City.

I assume it was intentionally stylized to evoke comic-book NYC, not real NYC. The Harmony Shoal building even had a spinning, Daily Planet-like globe on top. However it definitely didn't look anything like the city -- it had that generic Gotham / Star City look that could be any big city but none in particular so for storytelling's sake it probably should have been left unspecified.

[call me ishmael]

14 hours ago, PreviouslyTV said:

Marvel as the Doctor learns a thing or two about superhero mythology.

View the full article

I think that you miscounted on your scoring.  You gave 7 out of 8 greens not six.

I liked this a lot.  I've always liked Capaldi and thought he did well as did Matt Lucas.  And i thought the relationship between Clark and Lois err, Grant and Lucy was great.  And the various refernces ro both the Doctor's screwups and the silly nature of superhero origins was great.  I even liked their version of Lex Luthor even though i don't like lex luthor.

[buttersister]

Welcome back, Peter, nicely played. And a big thanks to Clara---for going away and staying away from our Doctor.

[azshadowwalker]

Boring. Haven't much cared about the show since Tenant left. This reminded me why. Nothing particularly amusing about the story. Nothing compelling about the characters. (I absolutely hate the "nice guy gets friendzoned" bullshit, but it is so Moffat.) If I have to hear about River again, I will probably check out for a few more seasons. I hope to fucking god this was the last mention of that character. Maybe someday Moffat will go away...

[Llywela]

Hmm. I watched this episode in company, which is never really a good thing in terms of being able to follow the plot, and missed the beginning, which probably didn't help. I didn't watch the last Christmas special (or, rather, turned it off after about 10 minutes) so I had no idea who Nardole was or what he was doing there - and although in principle I like the idea of the Doctor having a solo male companion, a) the execution of it didn't ring true for me (oh look, a new character who seems to know the Doctor inside out, out of nowhere, because they've had an entire relationship develop off-screen, where we couldn't see or become invested in it), and b) since Nardole isn't being advertised as a companion, despite seemingly spanning multiple episodes, I guess we aren't supposed to think of him as such. Just as we aren't supposed to remember that Jack, Mickey and Rory were also companions - only young pretty females are allowed to be thought of as 'true' companions.

The plot, such as I could make out, seemed mostly light, frothy fun, although it also struck me as very Moffat - I often liken his plots to Impressionist paintings: they look pretty from a distance, but the moment you step closer to examine the detail, it just turns into a mess.

My biggest takeaway from the episode, however, was how very bored I am with the Doctor being all sad and emo over losing yet another woman in his life. Having not seen the last Christmas special, I couldn't even remember which woman he was meant to be sad about this time! It has become the New Who default: the Doctor is sad and lonely because a woman has left him in some way, and therefore needs someone new to look after him and bring him out of himself. I grew up on the classic series, and that just isn't the Doctor I know and love - and although I applaud the attempt at emotional continuity, for me it gets overdone to the point where it just drags down otherwise entertaining episodes. Show has been in a rut for far too long, and 'the Doctor as angsty broody hero' never really suited the character - trying to wedge him into that role just weighs the character down and prevents him being who he should be, although I'm sure the writers believe they are adding layers of depth, but it's too repetitive to be effective at this point.

Edited December 27, 2016 by Llywela

[Gulftastic]

Liked it a lot. Light and breezy bit of Xmas fun. As a DC geek, I enjoyed all the references. Using pages from John Byrne's post-Crisis run on Superman means Maggie Sawyer has appeared in 'Dr Who', albeit in comic strip form. Does that make her the first out lesbian to do so?

[TwirlyGirly]

23 hours ago, Writing Wrongs said:

Is he wearing a wedding ring now? It looked like 2 rings.

Peter Capaldi has worn that ring from his first episode as the Doctor:

"In Doctor Who, [Peter Capaldi] wears a special ring to cover his wedding ring while filming. 'It sits on top of it,' [Capaldi] says, holding his wedding band. 'I didn't want to take it off because I felt sure that working every day for 32 weeks, if I took it off it would go somewhere or fall off somehow. So I got them to make a special Doctor Who ring that fits on top of it. It has a special gem in it ... but that's another story .'"

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/peter-capaldi-the-new-star-of-doctor-who-talks-wedding-rings-unemployment-and-sex-appeal-20140819-105dys.html

As to the significance of the ring and its design:

"Actor PETER CAPALDI has revealed the gold ring his new DOCTOR WHO wears is not just for show - it's full of symbolism and history.

The Local Hero star came up with the idea of reintroducing jewellery to the Time Lord while visiting the set of Doctor Who origins movie An Adventure in Space and Time, where he met the original sci-fi icon William Hartnell's granddaughter.

She brought along a box full of her grandfather's Who trinkets and the ring he wore on the show caught Capaldi's eye.

He tells TV Guide magazine, 'She opened this little box of props from the original series. She showed me this fabulous ring. Later, I had a band made with a stone in it (like Hartnell's). The stone was sent to me by a jeweller whose son wrote this little story that went with it, which was amazingly affecting.

He said the stone represented and reminded the Doctor of all the the people he's lost in his long life. But it wasn't a sad thing. It was to remember how joyful times could be.'"

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

[bugsmum]

I thought this was a lot of fun.  Enjoyed the superhero stuff, the Superman references, Nardole, all of it.  Appreciate the references to last year's Christmas special and River, appreciate that Twelve was a wonderful madman with a box who is occasionally caught short by the memory of a deep sadness. 

And oh my goodness Capaldi is a very, very splendid Doctor when he's free of the Specialist Snowflake Ever.   It makes me sad for the wasted opportunities of his previous seasons.

[eurekagirl mOo]

Happy. happy, happy!!! Loved it.. Does anyone know when the series comes on in America? Can't wait!!

[Enigma X]

It seems that I am going to have to give this one another try. I am a superhero geek. Something was just not holding my interest with this. I will admit that the Christmas specials have always been hit or miss with me.

[cardigirl]

Count me in as one who enjoyed the episode.  Doctor Mysterio!  Loved that the Doctor loved that title.  And that he kept checking in on Grant.  

I, too, thought it was interesting that the Doctor was trying to "fix" the time distortions around NYC, after all this time.  Hmmmmm.  Also loved the River references, and Nardole.  Glad to see him again. 

I'm looking forward to Bill and the new series. Tired of waiting!

Edited December 27, 2016 by cardigirl

[TwirlyGirly]

57 minutes ago, eurekagirl mOo said:

Happy. happy, happy!!! Loved it.. Does anyone know when the series comes on in America? Can't wait!!

The new season will begin broadcasting in April 2017. I can't believe we will have waited almost a year and a half between seasons!

[MarkHB]

21 hours ago, Unclejosh said:

Sorry for being shallow but I do like some eye candy on my shows and while Peter Capaldi and Matt Lucas are certainly entertaining and some may find attractive in their own right, they don't meet that particular quotient for me.

I started watching the show in college with "Logopolis," so really my first exposure was to the Fifth Doctor with Nyssa and Tegan era. I consider myself spoiled :)

7 hours ago, Llywela said:

Hmm. I watched this episode in company, which is never really a good thing in terms of being able to follow the plot, and missed the beginning, which probably didn't help. I didn't watch the last Christmas special (or, rather, turned it off after about 10 minutes) so I had no idea who Nardole was or what he was doing there....

I didn't realize until the end how much this directly fed off of "The Husbands of River Song," and since I hadn't rewatched that I wound up looking for recaps. Hopefully it's on On-Demand so I can re-watch it.

I also finally realized that "Lucy Lombard" is a double-L name and hence another Easter Egg.

[that one guy]

On 12/25/2016 at 9:45 PM, Lantern7 said:

I'm surprised the Doctor ever comes to New York, especially after what happened to Amy & Rory.

There's an anomaly surrounding the Ponds that makes travelling to New York between the 30s and 80s nearly impossible. The Doctor's machine was attempting to correct the anomaly - presumably so he can go visit Amy - but Grant eating the Ghost gem (AWESOME reference to Marvel's Infinity Stone family of McGuffins by the way) - foiled his attempt. Grant's childhood would have been in the 90s, after the deaths of Amy and Rory. He can visit contemporary New York, just not Pond-and-Angel-infested mid 20th Century New York, presumably due to the paradoxes caused by the multiple coexisting Rorys etc.

7 hours ago, Llywela said:

I didn't watch the last Christmas special (or, rather, turned it off after about 10 minutes) so I had no idea who Nardole was or what he was doing there

I liked the last Christmas special (but then I like River Song in general) so I watched it a couple times. But I still had no idea who Nardole was. I guess he was one of the heads?

4 hours ago, TwirlyGirly said:

Peter Capaldi has worn that ring from his first episode as the Doctor:

This I did not know! I thought the ring was just a reference to the First Doctor (it didn't fit Patrick Troughton's smaller hands, and so it was discarded, as we've seen in the marvelously reconstructed animated "Power of the Daleks." But apparently it has a practical purpose, as well, covering up Capaldi's wedding ring.

So I loved this! I really don't like most of Peter Capaldi's run as the Doctor, he's my least favorite, or at least tied with Colin Baker. And I can't entirely blame Moffett - after all, Matt Smith is my favorite. I guess I just don't like it when the Doctor is a jerk. But now I have hope for next season - the new characterization of the Doctor as addled and "out of [his] mind" as he says in both the episode and the preview, is much more likable than arrogant and dickish. Plus they really sabotaged the Clara character by making her a mystery rather than a person her first season, so in the Capaldi/Coleman era neither of them really had a solid character to play - I had no idea who these people were from episode to episode.  Now it seems like he has a better grasp on the character, and we'll get better-defined companions as well.

But mostly, I liked Lucy and Grant and I would have been happy to see them come on board the TARDIS. Lucy was sort of an American Sarah Jane Smith (from her first season with Pertwee, smart and plucky but not quite up to speed yet on what was going on around her). I realize the other attempt to have an American companion played by a Brit was less that totally successful (Peri) but again, it was the Colin Baker era.

I guess the door's open to seeing them again, because the Doctor's probably going to want that gem back eventually.

[proserpina65]

I enjoyed that.  Was it the best Christmas episode ever?  No (that would be The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, for me) but it was far from the worst either (The Next Doctor - that one was awful).  And those brains with the tiny eyeballs and the people with the sliced heads were creepy as hell.  So it entertained me and creeped me out a little, and that's really all I was looking for.

[eurekagirl mOo]

Have I mentioned River Song is my spirit animal? 

I got a Dr. Who Yahtzee game for Christmas! The Cup for the dice is a Tardis and the dice have weeping angels, daleks, etc. Lots of fun!

[ohjoy]

I think I liked it. Oddly, Christmas episodes are usually not my favorite (although the very first episode I ever watched was "The Time of the Doctor"), and I've not particular enjoyed the last two full seasons -- but I loved last year's Christmas episode, and this one seems pretty decent too. Liked the references to River Song, since I like her, and since that was the most recent episode (man, this year flew by), and I even liked Nardole this time around. I'm not a huge fan of "Girl can't figure out that (a) the guy who constantly drops everything for her is in love with her and (b) the superhero who just swept her off her feet is the same guy who is constantly standing right next to her" stories (which makes my love of superhero/adventure stories somewhat complicated), but Grant was okay and Lucy was tolerable, and it made for something kind of lighthearted at Christmas, so that's alright. the eyes in the brains were disgusting and creepy, so won't be watching that part again. But all in all, this seemed pretty decent. I'm not sold on the next companion, but I have hope that she's less aggravating/annoying than the last one, at least.

[ganesh]

In the previews, Bill actually looked interested and curious as to what was going on. One of the main problems with Clara was that they made her annoyed with the Doctor when he came by to take her somewhere. 

If Bill is just someone who enjoys traveling and is wowed by all the wonder in the universe then that's a good start for me. 

[CatWarmer]

Quote

I liked the last Christmas special (but then I like River Song in general) so I watched it a couple times. But I still had no idea who Nardole was. I guess he was one of the heads?

I only know because I rewatched The Husbands of River Song a couple of days ago.  Nardole was her assistant who went looking for the surgeon and ended up finding and bringing back The Doctor to the flying saucer.  He was the one who kept warning The Doctor to stop crossing his arms.  He did end up as one of the heads but presumably got freed after the robot was fried by the banking system firewalls or whatever that was.

 

Enjoyed the episode and will wait to see how the new companion develops.  I didn't like Amy at first but she really grew on me.  I do like the idea of a regular person instead of a special snowflake.

[whoknowswho]

Count me as one who really enjoyed it.  I'll preface it by saying I've been less than enthusiastic with the Grumpy Old Man persona of Capaldi's run. Not because I dislike him--I think he's great and will be a good doctor, now that his Clara albatross is out from around his neck.  I've had problems with both the sound and the voices the past 2 seasons, just can never hear the dialogue well.

I have never watched the classic series since it first aired--I grew up not watching it, though my sister was and likely still is a die hard Whovian. I came in at Matt Smith's reign, and then watched all the New Who seasons, umpteen times. Loved Matt--loved David Tennant, but became more and more disinterested since Clara's first season, and it got to the point that I have never rewatched any of Capaldi's series, having barely stood watching it the first time.  Last year about 1/2 way thru I thought--"I'm done".  And tuned out.

I don't know why I don't care for Jenna Coleman, she just has irked me forever.  She was at her best as Souffle Girl/ Dalek, way back then.  When it became apparent last season that she was dead for real--or not dead but off flying the Diner Tardis with Me, I had hope in my heart. The other night I watched Face The Raven and Hell Bent, skipping Heaven sent though I may watch it tonight. 

I've always loved River--from her first episode in The Library, so this last year's Christmas special was cute and poignant.  And I know Christmas specials are generally less weighty so it was with great joy that I discovered Capaldi's Doctor for this episode was funny and not full of angst.  I'm disappointed we have to wait till April for a new series, and we'll have yet another young woman companion--so I hope at least Nardole gets to stay around for awhile.  Doctor Who will never be as good (for me) as it was with the Ponds, but I'm looking forward to it again.

[justmehere]

12 hours ago, ganesh said:

One of the main problems with Clara was that they made her annoyed with the Doctor when he came by to take her somewhere. 

Have just been re-watching some of series 8, and I don't see this at all. She kept dropping everything -- even as her relationship with Danny was developing -- and was excited to run off in the Tardis whenever the Doctor showed up. Same with Eleven. I'm about to re-watch the last season, so I can't say definitively, but I don't remember any hesitation about traveling with him. She was actually reckless and wanting bigger and bigger adventures.

I know it's contrary to the general opinion around here, but I liked Clara for the most part. My main problem with her was Danny Pink. That character's attitude and dislike of the Doctor caused unpleasant conflict in Clara that I think hurt the season. However, I loved the end of Last Christmas and how things were repaired between them, and then I loved series/season 9. His dependence on her was extreme, but that didn't bother me nearly as much as Ten's ongoing moping over Rose. So many mentions of Clara as the special snowflake -- that, for me, is Rose. I loved the last trio of episodes, from Hell Bent onward in the last set. The Husbands of River Song is my favorite of the Christmas episodes, but this one was just like... a mimosa or something. Just light and refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable.