So every now and then if you want the show to have any kind of stakes then the Doctor can’t be able to solve every problem, if he becomes so infallible that nothing can stop him then it would be much less interesting. So this episode fortunately found a way to keep the Doctor outside of the action, while still having him stay involved.
The Doctor takes Clara back to when she last left with him and back where she left...ish; they’re in Bristol by mistake, it happens. The problem? The TARDIS has shrunk on the outside and while Clara goes to look around the outside shrinks again with the Doctor trapped inside. The cause of it all is a group of mysterious creatures that live in two dimensional space, taking on the form of graffiti. Clara has to take on the role of the Doctor and try to keep a group of council workers who were there to paint over the graffiti.
This was a quality episode, it was great to see Clara taking more of a lead role with the Doctor relegated to her companion, stuck inside a TARDIS small enough to fit in her handbag. The way it started with the mystery felt very reminiscent of some of the Seventh Doctor’s stories with a mystery effecting ordinary people on a local council estate and the Doctor and companion trying to solve it in their own ways.
Jenna Coleman was on top form here, taking on the role of the Doctor felt somewhat suited to Clara’s experience as a teacher and was well executed. Her lying to Danny was also addressed which suggests that before long he’s likely to find out and I can only forsee two possible outcomes, either she leaves Danny to stay travelling with the Doctor, or she leaves the Doctor to settle down with Danny. She can’t keep both.
Peter Capaldi was given slightly less to do than usual, but he was wonderful with what he was given and it was nice to see the Doctor feeling helpless, with no way to take control and save the day like usual. Also his reaction to Clara having lied to both him and Danny at the end was very good stuff.
The Doctor takes Clara back to when she last left with him and back where she left...ish; they’re in Bristol by mistake, it happens. The problem? The TARDIS has shrunk on the outside and while Clara goes to look around the outside shrinks again with the Doctor trapped inside. The cause of it all is a group of mysterious creatures that live in two dimensional space, taking on the form of graffiti. Clara has to take on the role of the Doctor and try to keep a group of council workers who were there to paint over the graffiti.
This was a quality episode, it was great to see Clara taking more of a lead role with the Doctor relegated to her companion, stuck inside a TARDIS small enough to fit in her handbag. The way it started with the mystery felt very reminiscent of some of the Seventh Doctor’s stories with a mystery effecting ordinary people on a local council estate and the Doctor and companion trying to solve it in their own ways.
Jenna Coleman was on top form here, taking on the role of the Doctor felt somewhat suited to Clara’s experience as a teacher and was well executed. Her lying to Danny was also addressed which suggests that before long he’s likely to find out and I can only forsee two possible outcomes, either she leaves Danny to stay travelling with the Doctor, or she leaves the Doctor to settle down with Danny. She can’t keep both.
Peter Capaldi was given slightly less to do than usual, but he was wonderful with what he was given and it was nice to see the Doctor feeling helpless, with no way to take control and save the day like usual. Also his reaction to Clara having lied to both him and Danny at the end was very good stuff.
The enemies were a very interesting idea and yet another example of how Doctor Who likes to turn everyday things into horrors, in this case graffiti. The way they moved was very creepy and the forced perspective moments where things were flattened into two dimensions were very interesting to look at, it was truly some of the best effects work the new series has managed to pull off.
So yes, this was another very good episode, adding to the overall continued quality of this series as a whole and I very much enjoyed getting a little freaked out by it.
So yes, this was another very good episode, adding to the overall continued quality of this series as a whole and I very much enjoyed getting a little freaked out by it.