[DERP WARNING: “Listen” was, of course, the fourth episode of the season, not the third. D’oh!]
So we’ve seen three four eps of the latest Doctor, Peter Capaldi — which means its probably enough data to draw some broad conclusions.
First off, unless they are pulling their punches for later in the series, the idea that Twelve was going to be a profoundly dark Doctor, obsessed with correcting his past mistakes, all grim and gritty … was pretty much incorrect. Yeah, there have been a few moments, but I’ve been finding myself mapping Matt Smith onto the screen, and I don’t think there would be much difference in the stories or how they have been played.
Capaldi’s Doctor is most noteworthy for his Scottish accent and being older in appearance than any of the Modern Era Doctors, but his demeanor to date is still a bit frenetic — more verbal and less physical than Smith’s Eleven, but just as scattered and occasionally befuddled.
I hope the role gets a bit meatier as the series goes on. As it is, I’m enjoying it, but more as a dessert than a meal. The Doctor as zany old uncle is not that much different from the Doctor as zany weird boyfriend.
As far as Clara goes … I wish she’d go farther. Away. Granted, the classic Companions had low agency and were too often played for Damsels in Distress. But Clara has surpassed even Amy in turning this on its head — now it’s the Companion who hangs around with her own life, getting picked up for rides when the Doctor needs her. It’s the Companion who controls the action a substantial portion of the time. It’s the Companion who overrides the Doctor’s orders and tinkers with the timeline — and does so with that little smug and perky smile that Clara seems to carry around all the time.
“Oh, hey, can you do me a favor, stop the TARDIS here, let me risk universal catyclism if I mess up the timing, all so I can fix up a problem I had with my date? Right, thanks.” Yeesh.
I am not a Clara fan, as you might guess.
What I’d like to see happen to her is … well, not necessarily anything fatal (unconfirmed rumors notwithstanding), but something where her chirpy, headstrong, but always-right behavior leads to some major, tragic mistake. As a character, I feel like she needs to be taken down a peg or ten, learn a little humility. As it stands, it feels like the universe (and the show) revolve around her.
So a moderately enjoyable but hardly earth-shattering start to the new series. I do hope things will amp up soon.
I find myself chuckling at the dialogue more this series. I don't know if it's just the way Capaldi delivers the lines or if they're adjusting the writing a bit.
I like the interaction between Clara and the Doctor, but I agree, the episodes so far have been very Clara-centric.
Since I absolutely do NOT join in the preference for darkness, you've pretty much told me I'll like this Doctor. I'm also real fond of Clara; she's probably my favorite of all the companions to date, I suspect because she's by far the smartest of them.
Useful like a bad review that dislikes something for all the reason that I'll like it. Thanks!
+Brian Rush I aim to, ah, serve. Or do do the reverse of serving. If you know what I mean.
+Nick McIntosh Oh, I'm enjoying his performance (even if sometimes the accent gets a bit thick to follow), and he's got a good comedic talent. I'm just not caring for the writing behind it as much.
FWIW, Robot of Sherwood was written as an Eleven episode. I don't think we've really gotten a good idea of Twelve yet, largely because I think the season so far has been… well, not that good.
I'm also massively disappointed that they're teasing an additional companion and it's basically just Rory again. Don't get me wrong, Rory is by far my favorite companion, but I feel like that story's already been done, and I was looking forward to something new.
Three episodes? Which one did you miss?
@Solonor — Well, clearly I miss…counted. Ugh.
+Brittany Constable "Robot of Sherwood" could have been an ep for 10, 11, or 12. Very generic Who tale.
Yeah — I'm withholding judgment on Danny Pink. I'm liking him better than early Rory (who was too much like early Mickey). I don't know which direction they are actually going with him, but it would be interesting if Clara leaves the show to have a male solo Companion for a while.
For me, I don’t think I’ve seen a first four episodes of the new series where all of them have been very good, if not great.
I’m finding Clara to be much better this season than in the past…though “Listen” pushes the envelope on that a bit. And I’m really liking Danny Pink, but it might be just the way Samuel Anderson is playing him.
@Solonor – Agreed on Danny. I just want to see more about him (and see what they’re going to do with him) before passing judgment.
I think it's interesting that many of the folks calling for a "darker Who" are the same folks mocking the dark-n-gritty turn in other media and IPs.
+Doyce Testerman Which I guess means there's just no pleasing some people. 🙂
For me, I've been looking for a darker Who to contrast against the (relatively) light-hearted goofiness I associate with Matt Smith's 11. Not that there wasn't darkness and drama there, but it seemed in aggregate a lot zanier than my comfort level.
So my wanting a darker Doctor doesn't mean I want a joyless, gritty, never-ending festival of grimdark. The banter, the jokes, the occasional silliness has a place. I just think there is definitely room, though, for something other than the gosh-darn-lovable "Raggedy Man" approach.
Or maybe I just still don't know what I really want.
I really hope they were serious about revisiting the Doctor's past mistakes, or even some of his successes. I suppose there is some risk of every such plot turning out just like The Face of Evil [IIRC], which was great for Doctor #4, but you wouldn't want to get repetitive. I think there might be a deeper risk of suddenly requiring continuity of story lines in a universe where time gets kinda-sorta-accidentally re-written even now and then.
Yeah — cleaning up past messes rather than blithely TARDSing on to the next adventure sounds like a fine idea.
I don't think it's necessarily the Doctor who will revisit past mistakes, but the writer. Here's a little part of a review I wrote just after the episode :
"It seems to me Moffat, in season 8, is pulling a "Clara" on the show. He appears bound on sneakily revisiting the 7th season to correct everything that was weak or wrong with it. Clara has never been so colorfull, the Doctor is, well, the Doctor again, and the excess of last season's episodes (too much grand scenes, too much monologues, too much cgi, too big ambitions etc.) are discarded in favor of a more intimate approach. For instance, out, the Dalek's paliament ! We'll go inside a single dalek. No more jumping the shark : western really ? Better get back home in Sherwood. No more free-wheeling episode ! Give Hide a purpose, and call it Listen."
What drove me to this is the strong influence of Hide on Listen ; conceptually, it's the same story : budding love interest between clumsy characters, vague menace that can receive a down-to-earth explanation, attempt at time travel gone wrong, time traveller revealed to be related to characters. More importantly, both episodes share the same pace, slowly building up fear. But Hide, for all its qualities, was a weak episode that didn't fit in the season arc in any meaningful way. Listen, on the other hand, leads firmly the watcher to the climax of the barn scene, which touches upon the sensistive subject of the Doctor's youth.
It may not be that the Doctor changed that much. But it may be testimony that the showrunner has decided to get a grip on the story, to firmly bring it back into a more canon direction.
+Manuel Viet Well, I concede that "Listen" was better than "Hide." And the episodes to date, except for maybe the season opener, have been smaller, more intimate affairs than some of the grand time opera of last series, and that's largely a good thing (though I think both are needed).
Total wait on season 9, ladybugs dude, honestly?
I thought "Listen" was the best of the season so far, mostly because it was cleverly constructed and directed. The final scene with Clara under the bed caught me completely and that's a rare thing.
Doctor's always take time to grow into their roles and I still feel Capaldi has the potential to be one of the better Doctor's of all time.
About Clara I'm still undecided. With the Doctor as he is now – still slightly befuddled – there needs to be a strong companion to take control. As he becomes more complete, it's likely the companion role will reduce.