(809) Flatline

Flatline is the second episode to come from Jamie Mathieson who wrote the previous episode and this is another story that has some good ideas and some good characters. The pre-title scene is of a man on a phone who then disappears and then reappears but stretched out on a wall.

When fan taken photos of this episode were put on the net, this episode took on a new level of interest. The idea of the TARDIS shrinking is one that has never been explored in Doctor Who since Logopolis and even that wasn’t very interesting. The effect of the Doctor handing Clara the Psychic Paper and the Sonic Screwdriver.

The effect of things being flattened is quite good and the effect of the people taken walking is even more impressive and one that I think is a huge success for the show.  The Doctor names the monster as the Boneless which is an average name really but serves the purpose which is all you can really ask for with a name. I just wish that they had come with the name earlier on in the episode

With the Doctor stuck in the TARDIS, it means that Clara is on her own except that she is partnered with Rigsy (who is due to return in the 2015 series). I don’t know why but I quite liked the character of Rigsy. He wasn’t annoying and whilst I don’t think his character that big enough to warrant a return, I don’t hate the idea and that might be down to Joivan Wade who comes across as a likeable person who gets the world he finds himself in really quickly.

The Doctor using his hand to move the TARDIS out of the way of an incoming train is such a fantastically ludicrous thing. It’s amusing to me that Clara comes up with the Adams Family reference and the Doctor instantly knows what to do. The Doctor being stuck in the TARDIS is a brave thing to do really because it means that Clara has drive the story outside of the TARDIS. Clara comes up with the idea to save the Doctor without any help from the Doctor. This has been the strongest episode for Jenna Coleman.

Captain Grumpy makes another appearance and this is another appearance where he isn’t quite as grumpy as he was. I don’t know if he will lose the grumpy title because he becomes quite involved in the next episode but the last couple of appearances have shown Captain Grumpy to be less grumpy than I have implied but I have a suspicion that this will change and he will show me the reason why he deserved to be called Captain Grumpy.

Missy makes an appearance at the end where she is holding a tablet showing Clara and Missy saying that she chose wisely. This is the most that we have got from the Missy story arc for quite sometime. I remember thinking in 2014 (seems like a lifetime ago) that there were a million theories about who Missy was and this was a time when the end was being built up to and there is just one more episode before the series finale starts.

Flatline was another solid episode that flipped the dynamic of the Doctor/Companion relationship and seemed like a relatively cheap episode yet managed to maintain the drama and tension. I now have just four episodes left in the marathon and have to seriously start to think what I will do with my evenings. Maybe a Torchwood or a Sarah Jane Adventures marathon. I don’t know what I will do but the end is almost prepared for.

(808) Mummy on the Orient Express

Like Kill The Moon, todays episode has a rather interesting title. Any title that has the orient express in it is likely to make people think that Agatha Christie isn’t too far away and that would be the wrong because it’s the train orient express and its in space. The pre-title scene is quite good cause it pretty much sums the story up in 66 seconds and has a mummy in it. The friction between the Doctor and Clara does seem to have disappeared a bit because the first time they appear in the episode they act like things are normal. Although there is a line that seems to suggest this might be Clara’s final adventure. I think that it was obvious that she wouldn’t be leaving because some announcement would have been made or an announcement made about her successor so it seems a bit silly to act like she is leaving. There is a moment when Clara lies to Maisie and it seems like she the Doctor.  

There are two names in this episode which are well known. Well I say well known because I had never heard of Foxes who sings ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ at the beginning of the episode. Normally this would mean that she would play a bigger part in the story but that isn’t the case.\The other big name is Frank Skinner who has done a lot of things but at the moment is the host of Room 101. I quite Frank Skinner on that show and most of the things that he has done over the years but sadly I think that he wasn’t very convincing in this. It didn’t seem like he was acting but just giving the sort of performance a fan would give thinking it was a Laurence Olivier type performance. Christopher Villiers plays Professor Moorhouse and this is a return for him after appearing in The Kings Demons as Hugh. Janet Henfrey appears as Mrs Pitt and previously appeared in The Curse of Fenric as Miss Hardaker.

Captain Grumpy plays a small part in this episode and whilst he was quite positive I still think that he is Captain Grumpy but even grumpy people can have a bit of cheeriness in them.

The truth about the train is that everyone on the train is either a hologram or a scientist and the train changes to look like a lab. This is when the episode shifts a gear and really find its feet. The Mummy is a great costume design and despite not saying anything it is quite a good monster. It’s purpose is explained and there is a phrase that makes it stop and it is We Surrender and this means that the mummy is a soldier. There is then a quick burst of tension as the Doctor tries to stop everyone from suffocating. There is sadly no answer to who came up with Gus or why the mystery of the mummy needed solving. There is one visual effect shot where its hand goes through the Doctor’s head and I thought that was one of the coolest shots of the story.

The final scene with the Doctor and Clara is a nice one and one which seems to mend their relationship. By the very end of the episode it seems like they are on the same team and they go on more adventures. It might have taken much longer than it needed to but it seems like things are back to normal. I liked this story but I can’t say that it’s the best story of the series. This was the first story for Jamie Mathieson and he has done well with it. The idea in it was well conceived and worked out really well.