Doctor Who; Series (Season) 8

(Note; UK television does "shows" that come in "series"; US does "shows" or "series" that come in "seasons")

I've debated writing a post about this, simply because I'm lazy and I believe my wordcount could be better spent.  But as a long-time Whovian, I just wanted to sum up my thoughts on the latest Doctor Who season.

In my humble opinion, it was not a good season.

There were some good moments, and even some good episodes. I can name my top three or even top five of the season. The problem is that it would not be a list of gradual decline. There is a huge gulf between the ones I liked and the rest of the list.

My top episodes of the season were the ones where we got to see Peter Capaldi playing his Doctor to the fullest - not retreading past Doctor traits or playing second fiddle to other characters. Capaldi is an excellent Doctor. He did not fail - the writing did.

Not surprisingly, the ones I favor also had minimal moments of rule breaking or world breaking. Often, the rule breaking was done just to sell a crazy idea.

Other people have noted this tendency of showrunner and head-writer, Steven Moffat. Some fans noted it early on as being problematic.  Personally I thought Moffat generally got away with it. But this time around, the plotting seemed either repetitive or muddled or inexplicable - sometimes all three. It seemed that not only was Moffat going for the "crazy splash page," he was also going for big visuals (e.g.; Cybermen coming out of graves) and "moments." But to arrive at those visuals, concepts and moments, the plotting often contradicted character and established "rules" of Doctor Who. Characters (companions and the Doctor) were grossly inconsistent from episode to episode.

Moffat has also mentioned the (not unusual) idea that the companions are our window to the Doctor. Because he is alien, we need their viewpoint. That is a fair analysis. What I don't buy is when Moffat goes to the next level and states that the show is really about the companions. No, no it isn't. The Sarah Jane Adventures are about companions. Doctor Who is about, well, the Doctor.  To me, Moffat really pushed that concept too far this season. I am not the only one who felt like we were watching The Clara Oswald Show, guest starring the Doctor.

By the time I watched the season finale, I didn't even feel like I had watched an episode of Doctor Who. All the elements were there - UNIT, the TARDIS, the Doctor, Cybermen. But the parts did not add up to the sum.

Too much style over substance. Too many gimmicks. (Nicholas Kaufmann sums up my own feelings about the 2-part finale quite well, btw.)

Some people seem to have enjoyed the season. Power to them, but I just don't see it.

My favorite of moment of the season - and even with all this season's faults, perhaps one of my top ten Doctor Who moments  - occurred during the episode, "Into the Dalek." The Doctor speaks to a Dalek;

"You see all those years ago, when I began, I was just running. I called myself the Doctor, but it was just a name. Then I went to Skaro. And then I met you lot. And I understood who I was. The Doctor was not the Daleks!"

It was an insightful character moment that harkened back the very first encounter between the Daleks and the original Doctor.

I wish Series 8 had more of that.

more capsule reviews

In the Courts of the Crimson Kings by S. M. Stirling (novel)

A sequel to his Edgar Rice Burroughs' Venus series homage, The Sky People, Stirling takes us to Mars for his own vision of Barsoom.  Aiming for a modern take on the sword-&-planet genre, we get an interesting mix of a scifi anthropologic/archaeological tale that morphs into a rousing adventure with airships and wildly imaginative bio-tech.  The opening sequence, a scene where various classic scifi pulp authors watch the first Mars landing together (in an alternate history to our own,) is worth the price of admission alone.

Moanin' at Midnight - The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf by James Segrest and Mark Hoffman (biography)

I'd been meaning to read this for a very long time.  I know the basics of Wolf's life, but not the details.  Like so many early bluesmen, it's hard to believe he survived to old age.  Also surprising was his sense of discipline to his work ethic.  Music was his job.  He expected his band members to perform sober and well-dressed.  Considering he was one of the wildest of the Chicago bluesmen when he performed, I was surprised to learn that.  It is fascinating to read about Wolf's early solo rambling around the South.  He met and played with the early greats – Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson - long before he went electric & got to Chicago.  It's dumbfounding that given his vocal styling he was never tapped for “field recordings” in his early days as other bluesmen were.  Because he didn't record until after he went electric, there are only a handful of later solo acoustic songs.  I will be seeking them out.

Thieves' World (anthology) by Robert Lynn Asprin & Lynn Abbey

This is the original anthology that launched the Thieves' World continuing series of anthologies and novels.  Various authors try their hand in a shared sword-&-sorcery world.  Though I sometimes felt the grit and nastiness went too far (a backlash against sanitized fantasies of the day?) generally the stories were enjoyable sword-&-sorcery and I'll get around to reading more of them.

Kingdom Come (graphic novel)

A sprawling epic across the DC universe as a new wave of violent super-powered vigilantes displace the old guard.  Drummed out by popularity of lethal force, Superman retreats for ten years while humanity lives in fear of the gods among them.  Lured out of retirement, Superman soon establishes a new order that is much resented by many of the younger breed.  Meanwhile, the government, Lex Luthor and even Bruce Wayne are edgy about the great civil war that is about to erupt between the super-heroes.  Compelling storytelling, “painted” style of comic makes the heroes look very real and among us. It lives up to its hype, I believe.  Worth seeking out.

The Scarlet Citadel (graphic novel)

Like The Phoenix on the Sword, this is a wonderful and faithful comic adaptation of the original Robert E. Howard Conan tale.  The artwork is stunning again.   Nothing wrong here, at all.  It is excellent!

Kingdom of Silver (Doctor Who audio drama)

The Doctor finds a world where Cybermen of the past have worked their way into the mythology of the people.  The populace experiment with “silver” which cures disease and provides other boons.  But it also means that as they approach the dawn of their technical era, the waiting Cyber tomb hidden underneath the world might awake.  A companionless Seventh Doctor allows Sylvester McCoy to deliver a touch of melancholy to his performance as the Doctor.  Terry Malloy, mostly known for his portrayal of Davros - the meglomaniac creator of the Daleks - plays a good-though-misguided-guy, for a change.  This is a solid audio adventure for the Doctor.