Why do Gallifreyans living outside the Citadel look like citizens of an 1800s English village? They looked a bit more savage in _"The Invasion of Time."_ Regarding the diner scene.... When The Doctor starts playing "Clara's theme" on his guitar, how/why does Clara recognize this music? Do characters in the Doctor Who universe hear the incidental music scores that accompany their adventures?
That’s why they shout when the “I am The Doctor” or “All The Strange, Strange Creatures” theme comes on. (Excuse me if I got the name of the second theme wrong, been so long since it was used haha)
If they could hear their incidental music, that makes Series 4 even better than before! Imagining having "Corridors and Tablaphones" play when you go for a run!
As a person who loved Hell Bent, I will answer your question. We learnt from watching 20 minutes of Hell Bent that... ...that Timothy Dalton should have returned.
Tbh, if that's the quality of writing they were going to give him, I'd say he dodged a bullet, a big fat bullet bc the man deserves and already got much better.
It honestly pisses me off that so many people are praising this episode. Not just because is it badly written, not just because I wasnt invested in it at all, not just because it made no sense, but because it deliberately pissed all over the show's legacy while trying to trick you into thinking it's not. "Ooh look, it's Galifrey! Remember Galifrey? Now here's some more bullshit with Clars"
I honestly believe this show is now made in mind of social media and people expressing their 'feels' towards certain things, most significantly Clara... *yawn*
okay but clara is not the first person he has ever lost, he knows what grief is and he knows better than tearing the whole fabric of time apart to save this one companion who really just is one of the 20+ companions the doctor knew and lost (even tho not everyone of them died) we are talking about a guy who had the guts to time lock his whole race and put up with it for decades
As well as this, it completely destroys Heaven Sent. The whole point of Heaven Sent is that it is character development for The Doctor, helping him to metaphorically get through the pain and grief of losing Clara but in this episode it turns out that he never got over her to begin with so what was actually the point?
The 21st Century equivalent of following ‘The Caves of Androzani’ with ‘The Twin Dilemma’. This was so awful that it feels like one of those terrible fever dreams that you half-remember. Diabolical, and the low point of 21st Century Doctor Who. Thank God Series 10 was so good.
@@user-yf4gx9lw6c Series 10 is pretty good and easily better than Series 8 and 9 (not that that says anything) but tbh even the first half is kinda mid.
***** Rose "died" except she actually didn´t. She got his mom. deceased dad, Mickey, a job in saving the Earth AND ANOTHER 10TH Doctor just for herself. Clara got to travel time and space, after avoiding her dead and her OWN TARDIS Boy, you can tell when a companion is the showrunner´s favourite buttercup
Nuwho series 1, "Father's Day" -- Rose saves her father and all existence is threatened. But the Doctor can bring back Clara then forget her. This episode was mangled sh*t.
That’s actually a great reference back to earlier New-Who. Fuck Clara, seriously. You know who no one remembers and was great? Martha. Imo anyway, she’s too underrated.
I actually liked the first 20 minutes. But yeah, everything after that is wank. In theory, I don't mind the Doctor's ageing rocker / embarrassing old person shtick. Its not unusual for the Doctor to be endearingly uncool. And he's an alien who's lived for thousands of years, so what's the difference between these affectations, and say, the Victorian era, or a recorder, or cricket. The electric guitar is as much a legit respectable piece of culture as anything, or it at least should be from the Doctor's point of view. The only problem I have with it, is that The Doctor's characterization seems rampantly messy / unfocused. Like after his debut was poorly received, they back-pedalled and made him TOO dorky for his current incarnation, especially when they were doing great to distance him from the previous two incarnations.
Honestly, this episode was an exhibition of Moffat's ego. It was Moffat betraying his own characters and his own story arcs to tell us another exit for Clara. And what a poorly scripted exit too. Gallifrey was pushed aside for Clara for fuck sakes. CLARA. I mean, revisit the RTD era and you'll see how important Gallifrey is. It continuously plays a part in the Doctors life, so to have it completely sidelined here was nothing short of an insult. And I like Clara, but nobody should be this important to the Doctor, and I honestly fail to see why he holds her in such regard. Could this be a case of Lucas and the Star Wars prequels? George Lucas was surrounded by a team of yes men and ultimately got his way in every corner, churning out three terrible films... Is this the case here? Isn't there anybody telling Moffat that he's stretched it too far? Surely there's a script editor that should stop Moffat making decisions like this? It certainly doesn't seem that way. There damn should be! Sigh. It just goes to show that he can't help himself. He honestly can't. I can't believe he thought this was a better option than an episode based solely on Gallifrey and the Hybrid. Sad thing is that I'm sure we'll get more of the same next year. He'll write another hollow mystery to solve. There will be a truck load of foreshadowing for said mystery that I'm sure either wont amount to anything, or it'll be so fucking predictable. This is the first time I've said this as I've genuinely been a fan of his in the past, but I fucking miss RTD.
+TheCosmicHobo2 In my opinion, Clara is the embodiment of Moffat's ego, and her immortality is a way of ensuring his eternal hold and relevance on the show. He didn't come up with the character and idea of the Doctor...so why not create another character of almost equal power...except much less lovable and fleshed out. I am now done with Moffat; I used to be accepting and sometimes impressed with his stuff (Heaven Sent), but now I am done. RTD I have my concerns with, but still...he wouldn't go this far. Moffat truly cannot help himself, you are right. It's embarrassing now.
Jesus Christ this has to be the most entitled and disconnected piece of writing ever genuinely, if you legitimately feel like this over an episode of crappy science fiction and feel that it makes you say personal insults and make assumptions about a writer, you need help
Also something that no one mentions: the fact that the time scoop has existed all of this time and the Doctor could apparently break in there at any point he wanted to and save anyone that died means that he literally has the ability to choose who lives and who dies. He is the Time Lord victorious which means that the Doctor learned nothing from the Waters of Mars either. It also makes the Doctor seem extremely unlikable because apparently in over 3,000 years Clara is the only person that has ever died that the Doctor thought was worth saving. The only...single...person. Not Adric. Not Astrid. Not any of the audiobook companions. Clara is the only person that the Doctor thought was worth his time to bother saving.
The thing i fear the most about this is that after Moffat turned Clara into a goddes with her own TARDIS basically, the next companion will be negatively received as Martha.
+TheJaviferrol probably not since The Doc probably won't be mentioning Clara every episode and hopefully the next companion will be bit less generic than Martha was (I like Martha alright but she just kind of good and that's it). Plus there seem to be a lot more Clara haters then there were Rose haters in 2007.
+defrostedrobot77 Yeah. The pining after Rose was unbearable. I mean, I liked her well enough, but damn I wanted to slap 10 round the face at times. Hopefully the next companion is Shona or something. Someone easy going and dopey to counter-balance Capaldi's dark grumpiness.
Randy Butterknubs I don't mind that they wanted to show consequences for losing someone but looking back and hearing what everyone else has to say they went a little far with it. If anything they should have quit the references after Lazarus Experiment since they had kind of reached an understanding at that point but they still kept coming. At least Moffat had the decency to keep Eleven's Amy moaning to a minimum. Personally I think he should have given away her glasses at the end of Rings of Akhaten to show he and moved on (and allude to Star Trek IV), though that's just me and I guess we needed to have the glasses gag in Day of the Doctor.
defrostedrobot77 It just seemed like every episode had a token Rose moment, and while it did all culminate into Martha's character arc of having more self respected, it really did get grating. But, yeah, a bit of grieving is alright.
But Stuart! Clara said "reverse the polarity" That is something the third doctor said........ that is a good thing..... somehow.... Seriously when I heard her say that I thought "Wow I love thinking about awesome episodes from the third doctors era.. it's a shame this episode doesn't live up to that standard" He literally made me think of something I'd rather be doing than watching Hell Bent. Watching good doctor who.
I always feel like the references to popular Classic quotes are more throwing a bone for the long term fans than actually helping the story. And only the more popular ones like the jelly baby thing or mentioning the scarf. Sarah Jane was the ONLY classic companion mentioned by her name (Leela as Leather Bikini, Tegan as Gobby Australian...). Still waiting for a new series Doctor to mention the rainbow coat or the umbrella...
I have to agree. Throw in the odd reference to the original episodes. Have Osgood wear a scarf, or a question marked jacket. I object more if you're meant to fully understand some reference to any of the original shows. I'm more annoyed, by things like 'The Sisters of Karn', than a fleeting view of a barn, etc. Or if the past is seen as unbreakably canon. Cries of 'That's not how the Zygons work', or 'The Doctor's never been a woman before', just grate. Despite Mondas, and the parallel Earth with Cybus Industries, I still enjoyed The Doctor Falls, as a 'Genesis of the Cybermen'-style episode.
This quote from Ben Yahtzee Croshaw describes Clara and the 12th Doctor in Moffat's era perfectly "It makes them come across as reckless idiots with no grasp of the consequences of their actions."
Like I said last time, Moffat is the Doctor Who equivalent of Frank Miller: A man who has been praised for doing great things to old characters, reinventing them and making them more current and bringing in more newcomers and has also written written some of the best works of fiction in modern times (ie - The Dark Knight Returns/ Year One and Watchmen) which are still being heavily praised to this very day. But his ego got the better of him and is now writing drivel that is either stupid, nonsensical, utterly offensive and writing characters that are downright out of character and are so awful (ie - All-Star Batman & Robin and Holy Terror) that they are downright offensive, both to fans of their much loved characters and to people who are easily sickened by such works) Makes you wonder what Moffat's Holy Terror is going to be?
Brandon Hudson If that's the case then there are three ways the next series could go. 1. I wouldn't be surprised if the Doctor kidnaps his next companion after her parents are murdered and forces her to eat rat burgers in a secret room within the TARDIS where he tells her to be ready for while. 2. The next companion will be working at a Hooters bar when she hears about the Doctor's rogue attitude and gets quickly inspired by him although it takes her six months to get to the Doctor. 3. The Doctor finally becomes a woman and all the promotional shots of the new Doctor will be of her posing with her ass and both breasts sticking out in some tight revealing costumed (designed by Rob Liefeld) and her first series would consist of her bitching about how all men are scum and are just evil until she bumps into the other incarnations of the Doctor's who are planning on attacking robot crabs with human heads inside them and jams her sonic screwdriver into their eye sockets while calling them all "punk" ten thousand times over.
I think the sunglasses and guitar can be ironic one episode and taken seriously another. To me it can be both. When the Doctor plays guitar to the vikings it's funny, but when he plays the Clara theme, mourning her, it's serious. I don't see anything wrong with that. If you find it stupid, that's fine, you do you.
I feel like this episode should’ve been written as a condemnation of the Time Lords as people. It should’ve been the doctor making the “you’re monsters, you’re hated” speech, and it should’ve ended with him confirming that he is never bringing them back. Would’ve been a better episode than what we got.
I just couldnt wait for this review man. Exactly on point. Im so glad to have people like you with a capacity for intelligent criticiwm and not fanboys and girls who give 10s to every episode because of THE FEELS!!!! Now seriosly, Moffat completely fucked up what he had built on the last two episodes (hell, the 3 years of Clara and all 10 of build up to Gallifrey returning!!!) and threw Gallifrey and the stupid hybrid arc (did anyone actually got what it was???) to give one last sobfest parade to his personal Mary Sue AGAIN. Happy new Year to you Stu and everyone who reads this comments. Thank you for a year of entertainment with your videos, bro ;)
I feel like bringing back Clara was a cheap move. I liked it when it aired, but looking back, it's great. It really felt more like waffling on Moffat's fault and just him reconning things. I would have been happy if Clara just died like that, because it made her death more impactful on the Doctor to realize his folly of turning people into him.
Awesome review; I honestly think this video speaks on behalf of a lot of people. When will Moffat realise that 'criticism' is something to take on-board and build-upon, instead of thinking that people complaining will shut up about the narrative problems because of pretty set designs? Bizarre. Either he's too busy getting his arse kissed by everyone else at the production team, or he's just too arrogant to listen. I don't think there was anyone who was slightly surprised about him bringing Clara back in this episode. Doctor Who has just become a show filled with potential that's never acted upon for no good reason. Such a shame.
I know what you mean about the arse kissing. I mean, with Doctor who being (In my opinion) perpetually Mediocre for four years now, SOMETHING has to be going on behind the scenes, right?
+Padaster Almost certainly. I can imagine people behind the scenes listening/reading the positive reviews of how amazing the visuals are, or how much of a superb actor Capaldi is and ignoring the narrative issues people raise because "Ah, you can never please everyone, am I right?". That, or hoping the positives will blind people to the obvious flaws (but if that's the case, why not just address the flaws in the first place?). Very strange.
+Padaster From 2011 to 2013 it was the worst it's ever been aside from Season 24. Apart from series 1 none of new who has been of a high standard bar the occasional good episode
I had an idea as to how the stupid barn thing could be redeemed - Remember how in City of Death an artist sketches Romana without her knowledge, and when she and the Doctor look at the picture its her with a clock for a face? The doctor's reaction is 'not a bad likeness for a Time Lord' This would suggest that the humanoid appearance of Time Lords is really a projection, not false as such,but merely a facet of a multidimensional being - their true form is incomprehensible to humans. The artist was somehow able to sense this, and while still unable to see Romana's true form nonetheless was able to develop a metaphorical representation of her*. By this logic the barn - and every other mundane thing on Gallifrey - is just a projection of something we puny mortals cannot directly perceive. * the idea that artists would be able to tell a time lord wasn't human because they see the world differently could be contradicted by Vincent and the Doctor, since Vincent Van Gough's unique perspective on in the world is a major plot point and he never noticed the Doctor was an alien, but the doctor actively sought out Van Gough so may have exerted a greater mental effort to maintain the illusion of humanity, whereas Romana was just chilling out in a cafe (as incomprehensible demigods are wont to do)
There are also like a billion references in Classic Who to Galifreyans and Time Lords being "humans but not". Spoiler alert: Do not turn to Classic Who for consistency reference
Great review as always. It really frustrated me that in the end, the Doctor's arrival on Gallifrey had little significance to the story. I was genuinely surprised to see it at the end of Heaven Sent and was really intrigued with what the writer were going to do now that he's back on Gallifrey and to see what role (if any) the Doctor would play in the resurgence of Gallifrey. In the end, all he does is exile Rassilon (I think), shoot someone, and break into the Matrix. As others have said, the wasted potential is really frustrating. And you're not the only one that was thinking about the Web of Time story line and how the Doctor should have remembered the outcome of rescuing Charlie from the R-101. Part of me really wants season 10 to follow a story line similar to the Web of TIme in which the Doctor has to ultimately face the consequences of Clara's un-death, but I'm sure it would be terribly executed and a just a re-hash of what Big Finish has already done.
The one thing ... the two things... that annoyed me the most was how Galifrey was treated as plot device and the hybrid arc being absolutely nothing. What the hell???!?! The shows been building up Galifrey for years. I've never watched old who, so I don't know much about Galifrey, but it seemed awesome. What moffat gave me was a planet filled with humans either poor and dirty or rich and dumb. I don't get it... and instead of giving me a proper resolution to the hybrid arc moffat decides to just let Arya and the Doctor talk it out. I still don't understand the point of the arc. That prophecies are dumb???? I haven't even watched the christmas episode. I don't know if i will. If this is how moffat is going to treat a real episode I don't want to watch the buffoonery of a Christmas episode. Thanks again. You're reviews help me get it out of my system. Over at r/doctorwho everyone likes everything and its exhausting.
+Isthisright? The same thing over at DoctorWhoTV, everyone there are so in love with everything that they just ignore obvious flaws, everything is a "10/10" and it just kills me. And actually the special wasn't that bad, Give it a chance.
+Isthisright? I'd recommenced spending $3 on Chimes of Midnight from big finish for a good christmas special if you think you'd be able to enjoy just audio, don't watch the shitty new christmas special, it's seriously not worth your time, I fucking hated it. It wasn't as bad as Hell Bent, not by far, but those 2 episodes alongside each other have made me give up on new who entirely, I expect nothing from it any more, all we get is the odd 1 or 2 good episodes from the series.. well 4 in series 9 (Under The Lake/before the flood, Face the Raven and Heaven Sent) During the Classic show, from at least William Hartnell to the end of Pertwees run (what I've watched up to) I have enjoyed a fuck ton more than I would've expected to. Something else that's good about classic who, is that the story is focused more often, not in the background like new who is a lot of the time.
With Hell Bent being the worst Doctor Who story of all time, it's honestly quite strange that the Stormtrooper aiming at the barn of the Gallifrey soldiers refusing to kill the twelve Doctor is now the main reason Hell Bent is so shit.
I think what really irritated me the most about this episode is that the Doctor straight up murdered the General. He breaks "the promise." He is cruel and cowardly. And it's just brushed off like it it's nothing!
In the classic series they killed off one of the 5th Doctor's teenage companions, and actually kept the character dead, and showed us the Doctor dealing with his own shock, guilt and grief over said companions death in one brilliant scene of understated, but effective acting where the Doctor realises there is nothing he can do. Why, oh why couldn't they have done the same in Nu-Who with Clara. Admittedly I haven't hated this episode, upon rewatching it, as much as I did the first time around, but oh my various gods did I want to put my fist through my TV when I first saw it.
I think one of the biggest problems with Steven Moffat and his inability to listen (pun intentional) is that he only listens to the fanboys that see no wrong in what he is doing. Seriously, I went into the Doctor Who YT channel and it was pathetic the amount of people that were praising Hell Bent, all sucking up and saying things like "Oooh I hope we get to see adventures with Clara and Ashildur (Me) now," and "Best Moffat script ever." I think he lives in an echo chamber of fanboys who say everything is excellent no matter what. Even the lassie that presents the fan show on that channel praised it and then on her own channel said loads of negative things. He is never going to get the kind of honest feedback he needs, when the people around him are too afraid to speak their minds. Anyway, nice analysis Stuart, onto the Christmas episode next right... RIGHT!?
The thing that annoys me the most about Hell Bent is that not only is it a bad episode, but it makes everything which came before worse. Heaven Sent was AMAZING. It really was, easily the best episode in Capaldi's era so far and it really hyped up everything that was gonna happen next. It leaves us wondering what the Hyrbrid really is and why it was worth all the endless agony he went through. Only for it to turn out that HE DOESN'T FUCKING KNOW and he was only doing all that just to save one girl. One person. FUCKING CLARA. Are you serious? that's such dumb writing. But if that wasn't bad enough it gets worse. The scene where the doctor has his memory erased is not only stupid in its own right. But it also ruins his character. Most of his development through the last two seasons was his relationship with Clara which I didn't particularly enjoy but wiping that only makes it worse. It's like none of those events even happened. 3/10
I effing hated Moffat throwing away the main point of Day of the Doctor. Probably the most important plot development he's introduced as show runner, and the final piece in his rewriting of Rusty's legacy. But I agree with you, probably what's worse is the way he throws away the point of Face the Raven and Heaven Sent. I really won't miss him, despite writing some brilliant DW scripts in his time.
Well said, it's just a bit sad that so many reviewers are gushing over this like it was the best thing ever...which sets a bad example since it says "This is amazingballs, keep writing more of this forever."
What they should have done was get rid of Sleep No More, make Face the Raven and Heaven Sent a two-parter (the rock bottom of Series 9's arc) and have the final two episodes deal with The Return of Gallifrey and The Hybrid prophecy. Get rid of Clara and really focus on a more vengeful Doctor; not for the sake of an "evil Doctor story", but because... let's face it, the Time Lords are responsible for Clara's death and everything else that sucks in the Universe and a lot of this needs to be addressed. Just an idea.
Hell Bent is for me not canon , like Harry Potter 7. I think we have just to imagine what realy happened. The New 13/15 Doctors Tardis Console room should look like that classic one. I hope Clara flyes with her Tardis back in the Time war and gets destroyed by an vortexcloced dalek battel saucer.
Wasn't Gallifrey lost - ? Missy gave him the fake coordinates in Nightmare in Silver (Is that the one Danny Pink turned into a Cyberman? I can't be fussed to look it up.)
This episode probably will be remembered in years to come... as the biggest disappointment ever. People always answer me with "just because it didn't meet your expectations doesn't mean it's bad", so I have tried to look at it for what it is rather then what it could've been, and it still doesn't work. Bringing Clara back is unnecessary and completely undermines 'Face the Raven' and great elements from 'Heaven Sent', the Hybrid plot added absolutely nothing and Gallifrey was completely underused. I mean, why bring Rassilon if you're doing nothing with him? Because you're going to use him in the future? Well, maybe use him NOW and don't spend precious screen time over nothing.... I could go on and on about why this didn't work, but I'll save my energy for better things. Spot on review, Stuart, and happy new year to everyone. (It was still better than Death in Heaven, though.)
+Pacitti Club Johnny well season 22 was ok the twin dilemma before it was essentially overshadowed by the caves of androzani. the same thing is happening here even if the episode was decent it would still be somewhat disappointing after the amazing episode known as heaven sent.
+Joseph Carlisle I agree. A disappointment. Witch is something it shares with series 9. Too much reliance on Fanservice. The Scrips can be decent to God awful.
Only some Time lords grew up in those barns, most lived within the cities and grew up to be like the ones in the War Games. The ones who grew up in barns are known as Outsiders and live very primitively most of the time.
In "The Invasion of Time" story, from the "classic" series, we see Outsiders living a "cave-people"-like existence (one that seems to suit Leela almost perfectly). I guess we're meant to believe that at some point in Gallifrey's future, their society evolves into more "Space-Amish People" existence. And it's kinda stupid...
I really feel like this episode is constantly one step away from being really great, but at every second it steps away from the good option to instead go the really crap way instead. I really like the idea that the doctor tries to play god and bring Clara back and I think that’s a good premise for an episode. We understand that he’s grieving due to heaven sent and Clara’s last scene in Face the Raven is her accepting her death so the episode should be about that. Plus, I think the Doctor having processed his grief but jumping on the opportunity to bring back that person could be a really true representation of grief, you can get over a loss, but you still want the person back. So having the episode be set on Gallifrey allows the story a) a good reason for the doctor to have the ability to save Clara and b) a good showcase of the doctor’s character by showing him be home for the first time in 2000 years but only care about Clara, showing us how important it is Instead, the episode wastes all this potential for a boring story where the Doctor shows that he actually wasn’t processing anything for 4.5 billion years, Clara didn’t actually accept her death or even die, the least satisfying payoff possible to the hybrid arc, a waste of gallifrey, and a waste of Capaldi and Coleman’s acting talents. Then it retroactively destroys series 7b-9 because the Doctor doesn’t even remember Clara so she has no impact on the story going forward and may as well have never happened
I have to admit the moment where the doctor's mind was being wiped out, I wasn't even realizing that he's mind was being wiped out. I know some fans who thought that was sad but seriously what? Clara has had so many so supposed deaths. With the one that I hate the most, "Last Christmas". I told myself after that I am in no way in like hell that I will ever feel sad for her leaving. Moffat you've crossed the line. Oh, also, stu the sonic screwdriver jumping was the Tardis's way of cheering him up. Sort of like that tennant two parter episode (Silence in the library/Forest of the dead) where the doctor was able to snap his fingers so that the tardis's doors open. That ending scene with the sonic screwdriver for me just signaled clara's depearture and new era. I am also kinda of a sucker for the whole "Run you clever boy" it just made me feel happy. Is it bad that I have something to like about in this episode but I can't discuss it though.
I'll admit, as much as I hated this one, I quite liked the ending sequence in The Doctor's TARDIS (ignoring everything to do with the bits with Clara and Me inter-cut in-between). The whole episode, he hadn't been "The Doctor", what with him risking time and space to save Clara, killing the General (still a death, even if it was a regeneration, guys) and whatnot. So when he strides back into his TARDIS, puts his jacket back on, gets a new screwdriver, having (I'm assuming) learnt his lesson, it felt like he was back to being himself. Like I say, I (like a lot of people here) despised this one quite a bit, but it did have a few good points. Not nearly enough to even come remotely close to saving it IMO, but I will give it credit in the few places where it's due
and what about "Father's Day" from season one of the new series? The WHOLE point of that episode was that saving someone who is supposed to be dead (no matter who it is) really messes up the whole timeline. Remember the Reapers or whatever they were called? Damn.
Heaven Sent was a better representation of the Time Lord having technology being indistinguishable from magic, with the confession dial and monster in it.
The Cloister level thing was maybe the one thing about Hell Bent that might of been good. To my knowledge it isn't a piece previously established in Doctor who Lore but something Moffat came up with as is filled with some interesting ideas, like how it is a living thing, and how it is basically hell with people becoming ghosts or just apart of the Matrix forever trapped in a tormented state and how there were entire wars centred around it showing how important even small parts of Gallifrey are. I say maybe because it is only talked about for 5 minutes through an exposition dump and then it's forgotten about, seriously why wasn't Hell Bent about this.
You put into this video the exact same thoughts I've had after watching this parody of an episode. I've found this series surprisingly decent and I was starting to have some hope again for Moffat, especially after Heaven Sent. Then came Hell Bent and ruined everything. At least I know series 10 will not disappoint me because I don't expect it to be anything but bad. Also, the theory that The Doctor narrated the entirety of series 7-9 and that's why they were so crap and inconsistent and Clara's character was so atrocious because he couldn't remember her properly is brilliant.
A problem I had with the episode was the fans. Everybody was suprised that the doctor was in the confession dial for 4 billion years and could always say what the hybrid is. What they didn't realize was that it wasn't the doctor reliving that, it was more of a replay. Its like watching this video. If you watch it for 4 billion years nothing will change what stu said. He won't say "Oh I loved this episode because blah blah" at the 2 billion year mark.
Excellent review Stu which sums up this atrocious episode that summarises how I felt about this awful episode. Moffats ego is ruining Doctor Who this finale is utter crap, Face The Raven & Heavens Sent were brilliant & then we get this shitty episode which fucks up all the previous two episodes hard work along with this year's Christmas special which was fucking horrendous. Moffat needs to go before Doctor Who gets axed again, it needs a new direction from someone who has a vision, maybe get one of the Big Finish writers as showrunner. Thank god for Big Finish is all I can say.
I once saw someone say, "I feel like this episode is completely decided by whether or not you like Clara." and I thought to myself, "You know what? That's exactly it." Because I never grew to really care about Clara, so I cared about the episode less. Anyone who praises/likes this episode seems to like her more than I did, so therefore, they liked Hell Bent more than I did. More power to them then. I don't want to take joy away from those people, but I will not lie. I attempt to be as respectfully honest as possible when saying that I think he could have potentially fractured Time itself, and risked harming many people. The General mentions that and the Doctor later recognizes he went too far. I also believe a great Doctor knows better than to save a person at the risk of harming millions of people.
I can't agree that liking Clara will incline one to like this episode. IMO this is the worst episode of nuWho. Especially since it follows the previous two: Clara dies bravely and the Doctor mourns. Then there is this jumbled, incoherent mishmash. WTF, Clara is dead, I've mourned and accepted that, I don't want her back because that is an insult to the mounting. Crap. Just crapity, crap crap.
clara should have remained dead (what's the point in killing of a character if you're just going to bring them back straight away with no repercussions), Me should have been left for another story and the hybrid hadn't had enough time to make me care about what it was (although that may be because i'm tired of the word of the series, how about we just have a surprising reveal without having to spend the whole series going "look at me, loook at me, i'm hinting at something really cleaver annd you don't know what it is.", only to find out that it barely meant anything because there are no stakes in new who as no characters are allowed to die and the reset button gets pushed at every opportunity) so should have been left for the next series, or just have it in the background for several seasons. the Doctor should have spent the whole episode dealing with the repercussions of changing time and saving galifray. with rassilon being the bad guy wanting revenge and galifray split down the middle one side with the Doctor (with romarna, ace, the war cheif guy/woman, lela, the witches of khan, the non timelord galifrayions, two seperate K-9's (that could led to a few jokes), etc) and one side with rassilon. maybe throw in missy and some call backs to the Doctors past stories on galifray and maybe even to him being the reincarnation of the Other. and then a hint at bringing back omaga or the black and white gaurdians or morbius or the Monk or something that would be more interesting than either the daleks, the cybermen or the master because i'm getting really fucking bored of it always being those three villains (in old who you could go a whole series without seeing a single recurring villain and that was nice, it stopped them from getting boring and not feeling weak, when they did arrive they were a power house of shit going down, not the same guys from the last series again). but instead after years of galifray being gone and then saving and then missing and know found, we don't do anything at all with all of it's rich past and story possiblities and instead spend the whole time bring clara back for no reason, having Me show up for no reason and have the reset button pushed. hell bent is the prime example of how to waste a great opportunity and instead ruining a characters death and the set up because the writer can't let go of a character.
charles townsend Wait, Ace was left on Gallifrey? Never mind that. Those are the points of untapped potentiality in Gallifrey and the franchise in general. I hope beyond measure someone sees that soon within the production staff. Hopefully when Chibnall takes over we'll see more of that. Also, I would be down for the Daleks and Cybermen disappearing for 3 or more seasons, just get them out of the front lines. They leave no feeling of dread with myself as to what they might do. I'd like to see the Paradigm Daleks show up again too, but only after a long absence of Daleks in general.
I don't understand New who's version of Timelords and there planet galifrea for these reasons 1-the planet is boring as hell 2-the Dr turns into an insane person just to save Clara who's death was fine 3-making the time lords evil just why is that a thing 4-the Dr always kinda grieves about there being no more timelords but EVERY TIME THERES A TIMELORD THERE ALWAYS EITHER EVIL OR HATED BY THE DR I have more reasons I hate what they did for the time lords and galifrea and I honestly HATE he'll bent
I would like a story that explains the disparity between past time lords and the dirt farmer ones they show in new who, and I've had an idea about that. It's the doctor's fault. Imagine you're a species whose main source of anything is time travel, I mean Gallifrey is amcient it's world looks like it's mainly dust, I doubt they've got a lot of natural resources left. So let's assume their main form of acquisition was either space or time travel. Then suddenly they're placed in a pocket dimension outside of space and time. What to they do then? I believe they regress, they have to go back to farming because if not, how are they supposed to survive? The only people still dressing and acting futurey are the leaders and military. So basically all the time spent outside of time and space since the doctor's use of the moment, destroyed their once great civilization. I think this could be an interesting turn of events and while most common Galifreyans are just happy to survive the Time War. Some feel like the Doctor has doomed them by sticking them away. Which could lead to some interesting conflict with her own kind. Though I also think it would be interesting to see a copy-cat of the Doctor now that Galifrey is back in the universe. I mean think about it, the Doctor is a hero in their society. Wouldn't that mean some young people who look up to the doctor would try to emulate him and head off on their own. But I can see how some people might view that as gimmicky so maybe I'm not the best choice.
The Room' clip you used was so appropriate. I'm fed up with this 'world' Moffat has created - a world where we are tantalized and teased 24/7, nothing means anything, nothing has consequences, nothing has finality, and fan-service is a replacement for a story. Genuinely think Tommy Wiseau could write more compelling drama right now.
Isn't there a difference between regular Gallifreyans and Time Lords? Aren't Time Lords genetically enhanced Gallifreyans who get to be all superior and wear silly cloaks and live in the citadel, while the normal Gallifreyans live in rural zones? I think the barn is supposed to be linked to the house the Third Doctor mentions growing up in (The Time Monster) only that one was on the side of a mountain so maybe not. Anyway, the episode still sucks and Gallifrey was used poorly regardless.
In total agreement! You sir have another subscriber! I'm sick of people blindly liking shit like this because of baity elements like new sonic, Weeping Angels, classic TARDIS etc, did they forget Doctor Who needs a fucking story!
This is why I can't get too worked up about series 11 being completely average - At no point did I tear my hair out wondering why I thought that this show was good in the first place. Unlike episodes like Hell Bent.
Russell Tietjen THIS ^ As billy Garrett John said ages ago “If you’ve got major problems with series 11 yet don’t have any of the previous years then you’ve not watched the show”
@@iain9757 it's funny because series 11's ratings are evidence of that. People complain about the dip in viewing figures, but it still beat out series 9 and 10. Did those people complain then? No, because they literally weren't watching! 😂
Yeah it was a undermined piece of shit. Gallifrey was horribly underused, after 10 years of set-up. You basically said everything I was thinking as I was writing this episode. I do like that theory of yours of The Doctor telling series 7-9 through story, we can know *somewhat* de-canon all of the episodes yay! Clara didn't ask the timelords for the Doctor's new regeneration cycle, The Doctor made that up, she didn't influence him changing the destruction of Gallifrey, he just thought she did, heck, what if she was just The Doctor's manifestation of the boring side of life, of boring Earth life, and he included her in the story to support this? Or what if he made her character up to be the audience's hand holder, *we're through the looking glass here people*.
Such a poor conclusion to the season. It really seemed like Moffat was improving till Hell Bent came along to crushed any and all remaining hope I had for him as showrunner. P.s. I also quite liked the retro console room.
5:05 yes it requires 20 minutes because "the barn" was the doctors home and where he intended to use the moment, and the soup server was most likely his mother... (You should re-watch listen if you didn't understand that)
+rubiumproductions Also Clara's "Popping off" cheered me up immensely...next season they could just have a balloon with a grimace drawn on it and I will most probably rank it higher than Colemans performance in series 7,8 and 9 combined #Weneverforgive #weneverforgetlastchristmas
Honestly, I found the guitar and the song quite beautiful. I mean, not everyone understands the referrence to Clara with that song, but it just didn´t harm me in any way. To me, the episode went quite downhill when the Doctor uses the "extraction chamber"! I know, Doctor Who is infamous for using "Deus Ex Machine" quite often, I just hardly can take it, when they do it so stupidly and this was my "OH FOR FUCK´S SAKE, MOFFAT!!?" moment of the year!
I don't know if Moffat thought that people wouldn't be able to accept Clara's death for some reason, or if he was simply so attached to Clara that he couldn't bring himself to do anything long-standingly bad to her. Well, you can't have it both ways, Steven. You can't have a provocative exploration of grief over a character and then also bring that character back without consequences. Sometimes you have to put your characters through the wringer and they just emerge stronger from the experience. That's how you make meaningful stories. Sometimes an optimistic ending is more meaningful than a happy one.
With the guitar I was hoping that they might put Fitz in continuity, because he teaches 8 how to play it. Also why is the doctor so obsessed with his companions.And of all the companions to give a Tardis to Clara is not one of them (neither is Rose) but they give both Tardises why? Is the reason there are so many plot holes is so that big finish can do them justice, and save the characters from being stupid?
At the very least this story confirmed that Time Lord is a rank for the modern audiences which I'm sure Diamanda Hagan appreciated (even if she seems to hate the episode too).
The reason that the gallifreyan villagers are so similar to humans is because they are different to Time Lords.(This has been explained:) This means that they havent joined the academy or looked into the untempted schism, therefore they have no powers such as regeneration. Timelords like rassilon look down on them for these reasons. They generally live in poor places like huts, like the doctor's when he was a kid, so maybe this is what the doctor means when he says he was human on his mum's side, as the villagers are pretty much humans.
It was strange that the doctor was sad about losing someone, but couldn't remember anything about them. I wonder if Clara still has a part to play in the doctors' life ? If he sees her over and over in his future travels, will she still have some important role to play ? She has died multiple times in the past, but still kept coming back, making her "his impossible girl", but it was never really explained how this was accomplished, and why this is such a mystery. Perhaps she is the doctors' "good wolf".
i would have rather this episode had been a two parter with the Doctor vs Rassilon (maybe the gallifrayions and some of the timelords are on the Doctors side and most of the timelords on Rassilons side) and the Clara we see in the bar is one of her echos from the name of the doctor (showing that Clara is dead but a part of her still lives, that way alll the greving that the doctor goes through in heaven sent actually means something). also the hybrid wasn't that interesting but if they really wanted to go down that path, do the Doctor is the Other story arc as you have Rassilon as the enemy that would make sense. oh and no Me, if you are at the end of time she should be dead or something.
Why do Gallifreyans living outside the Citadel look like citizens of an 1800s English village?
They looked a bit more savage in _"The Invasion of Time."_
Regarding the diner scene....
When The Doctor starts playing "Clara's theme" on his guitar, how/why does Clara recognize this music?
Do characters in the Doctor Who universe hear the incidental music scores that accompany their adventures?
sixstanger00 they looked more Amish to me
ikr
That’s why they shout when the “I am The Doctor” or “All The Strange, Strange Creatures” theme comes on. (Excuse me if I got the name of the second theme wrong, been so long since it was used haha)
@@johnwhittington2998 yeeeaaah
If they could hear their incidental music, that makes Series 4 even better than before! Imagining having "Corridors and Tablaphones" play when you go for a run!
As a person who loved Hell Bent, I will answer your question.
We learnt from watching 20 minutes of Hell Bent that...
...that Timothy Dalton should have returned.
Tbh, if that's the quality of writing they were going to give him, I'd say he dodged a bullet, a big fat bullet bc the man deserves and already got much better.
It honestly pisses me off that so many people are praising this episode. Not just because is it badly written, not just because I wasnt invested in it at all, not just because it made no sense, but because it deliberately pissed all over the show's legacy while trying to trick you into thinking it's not. "Ooh look, it's Galifrey! Remember Galifrey? Now here's some more bullshit with Clars"
I honestly believe this show is now made in mind of social media and people expressing their 'feels' towards certain things, most significantly Clara... *yawn*
okay but clara is not the first person he has ever lost, he knows what grief is and he knows better than tearing the whole fabric of time apart to save this one companion who really just is one of the 20+ companions the doctor knew and lost (even tho not everyone of them died) we are talking about a guy who had the guts to time lock his whole race and put up with it for decades
Not to mention that the general regenerating into a woman was to help set up the brand new woman Thirteenth Doctor.
As well as this, it completely destroys Heaven Sent. The whole point of Heaven Sent is that it is character development for The Doctor, helping him to metaphorically get through the pain and grief of losing Clara but in this episode it turns out that he never got over her to begin with so what was actually the point?
And then the Timeless Child happened...
I honestly found 12's glasses and guitar really cool.
An evident example of Moffat.
Heaven Sent - His brilliant, genius side.
Hell Bent - His not brilliant, shitter side.
well, the titles sorta match
@@shneancy220 Facts
Steven Moffat: The Most Inconsistent Doctor Who Writer Of All Time
The 21st Century equivalent of following ‘The Caves of Androzani’ with ‘The Twin Dilemma’.
This was so awful that it feels like one of those terrible fever dreams that you half-remember. Diabolical, and the low point of 21st Century Doctor Who. Thank God Series 10 was so good.
Was that last part sarcasm? I really hope that was sarcasm
@@HerohammerStudios Series 10 is Capaldis best season. Hell bent still sucks.
@@user-yf4gx9lw6c Series 10 is pretty good and easily better than Series 8 and 9 (not that that says anything) but tbh even the first half is kinda mid.
Why didnt the doctor rescue his other companions??
+ian vance I thought the same.
+ian vance exsactly i thought he'd want to know exsactly what happened to peri
Because back then none of them were THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE, TIME AND SPACE
+TheJaviferrol Thank u and Happy New year to you
***** Rose "died" except she actually didn´t. She got his mom. deceased dad, Mickey, a job in saving the Earth AND ANOTHER 10TH Doctor just for herself. Clara got to travel time and space, after avoiding her dead and her OWN TARDIS
Boy, you can tell when a companion is the showrunner´s favourite buttercup
Nuwho series 1, "Father's Day" -- Rose saves her father and all existence is threatened. But the Doctor can bring back Clara then forget her. This episode was mangled sh*t.
Yeah ikr XD
Suzanne Berry "Yo, Reapers! Fetch."
That’s actually a great reference back to earlier New-Who. Fuck Clara, seriously. You know who no one remembers and was great? Martha. Imo anyway, she’s too underrated.
Yeah, but 'Father's Day' was a mess too.
I actually liked the first 20 minutes. But yeah, everything after that is wank.
In theory, I don't mind the Doctor's ageing rocker / embarrassing old person shtick. Its not unusual for the Doctor to be endearingly uncool. And he's an alien who's lived for thousands of years, so what's the difference between these affectations, and say, the Victorian era, or a recorder, or cricket.
The electric guitar is as much a legit respectable piece of culture as anything, or it at least should be from the Doctor's point of view.
The only problem I have with it, is that The Doctor's characterization seems rampantly messy / unfocused. Like after his debut was poorly received, they back-pedalled and made him TOO dorky for his current incarnation, especially when they were doing great to distance him from the previous two incarnations.
Honestly, this episode was an exhibition of Moffat's ego. It was Moffat betraying his own characters and his own story arcs to tell us another exit for Clara. And what a poorly scripted exit too.
Gallifrey was pushed aside for Clara for fuck sakes. CLARA. I mean, revisit the RTD era and you'll see how important Gallifrey is. It continuously plays a part in the Doctors life, so to have it completely sidelined here was nothing short of an insult. And I like Clara, but nobody should be this important to the Doctor, and I honestly fail to see why he holds her in such regard.
Could this be a case of Lucas and the Star Wars prequels? George Lucas was surrounded by a team of yes men and ultimately got his way in every corner, churning out three terrible films... Is this the case here? Isn't there anybody telling Moffat that he's stretched it too far? Surely there's a script editor that should stop Moffat making decisions like this? It certainly doesn't seem that way. There damn should be!
Sigh. It just goes to show that he can't help himself. He honestly can't. I can't believe he thought this was a better option than an episode based solely on Gallifrey and the Hybrid. Sad thing is that I'm sure we'll get more of the same next year. He'll write another hollow mystery to solve. There will be a truck load of foreshadowing for said mystery that I'm sure either wont amount to anything, or it'll be so fucking predictable. This is the first time I've said this as I've genuinely been a fan of his in the past, but I fucking miss RTD.
+TheCosmicHobo2 In my opinion, Clara is the embodiment of Moffat's ego, and her immortality is a way of ensuring his eternal hold and relevance on the show. He didn't come up with the character and idea of the Doctor...so why not create another character of almost equal power...except much less lovable and fleshed out. I am now done with Moffat; I used to be accepting and sometimes impressed with his stuff (Heaven Sent), but now I am done. RTD I have my concerns with, but still...he wouldn't go this far. Moffat truly cannot help himself, you are right. It's embarrassing now.
Cryer24597 And he goes and claims the history of the Cybermen and the Brigadier in S10. I at least liked Doctor Falls
Assuming you're still around, has retrospect coloured Hell Bent any differently for you?
Jesus Christ this has to be the most entitled and disconnected piece of writing ever genuinely, if you legitimately feel like this over an episode of crappy science fiction and feel that it makes you say personal insults and make assumptions about a writer, you need help
Also something that no one mentions: the fact that the time scoop has existed all of this time and the Doctor could apparently break in there at any point he wanted to and save anyone that died means that he literally has the ability to choose who lives and who dies. He is the Time Lord victorious which means that the Doctor learned nothing from the Waters of Mars either. It also makes the Doctor seem extremely unlikable because apparently in over 3,000 years Clara is the only person that has ever died that the Doctor thought was worth saving. The only...single...person. Not Adric. Not Astrid. Not any of the audiobook companions. Clara is the only person that the Doctor thought was worth his time to bother saving.
Patrick Mcgann Exactly, this episode fucking sucks. But I would not save Adric even if I could.
Huh. Well put. Didn’t think about that. Honestly your observations are more genius than Moffat’s entire “reign” haha
Wasn't Adric a kid?
Technically Adric already did survive.
The thing i fear the most about this is that after Moffat turned Clara into a goddes with her own TARDIS basically, the next companion will be negatively received as Martha.
+TheJaviferrol probably not since The Doc probably won't be mentioning Clara every episode and hopefully the next companion will be bit less generic than Martha was (I like Martha alright but she just kind of good and that's it). Plus there seem to be a lot more Clara haters then there were Rose haters in 2007.
+defrostedrobot77 The thing is; will Moffat care as much as he did with her dear Mary Sue?
+defrostedrobot77 Yeah. The pining after Rose was unbearable. I mean, I liked her well enough, but damn I wanted to slap 10 round the face at times. Hopefully the next companion is Shona or something. Someone easy going and dopey to counter-balance Capaldi's dark grumpiness.
Randy Butterknubs I don't mind that they wanted to show consequences for losing someone but looking back and hearing what everyone else has to say they went a little far with it. If anything they should have quit the references after Lazarus Experiment since they had kind of reached an understanding at that point but they still kept coming. At least Moffat had the decency to keep Eleven's Amy moaning to a minimum. Personally I think he should have given away her glasses at the end of Rings of Akhaten to show he and moved on (and allude to Star Trek IV), though that's just me and I guess we needed to have the glasses gag in Day of the Doctor.
defrostedrobot77 It just seemed like every episode had a token Rose moment, and while it did all culminate into Martha's character arc of having more self respected, it really did get grating. But, yeah, a bit of grieving is alright.
But Stuart! Clara said "reverse the polarity"
That is something the third doctor said........ that is a good thing..... somehow....
Seriously when I heard her say that I thought "Wow I love thinking about awesome episodes from the third doctors era.. it's a shame this episode doesn't live up to that standard"
He literally made me think of something I'd rather be doing than watching Hell Bent. Watching good doctor who.
I always feel like the references to popular Classic quotes are more throwing a bone for the long term fans than actually helping the story. And only the more popular ones like the jelly baby thing or mentioning the scarf. Sarah Jane was the ONLY classic companion mentioned by her name (Leela as Leather Bikini, Tegan as Gobby Australian...).
Still waiting for a new series Doctor to mention the rainbow coat or the umbrella...
+TheJaviferrol
Or celery.
"Brave choice, celery, but fair play to you, not alot of men can carry off a decorative vegetable."
Carrot Juice.
I have to agree. Throw in the odd reference to the original episodes. Have Osgood wear a scarf, or a question marked jacket. I object more if you're meant to fully understand some reference to any of the original shows. I'm more annoyed, by things like 'The Sisters of Karn', than a fleeting view of a barn, etc. Or if the past is seen as unbreakably canon. Cries of 'That's not how the Zygons work', or 'The Doctor's never been a woman before', just grate. Despite Mondas, and the parallel Earth with Cybus Industries, I still enjoyed The Doctor Falls, as a 'Genesis of the Cybermen'-style episode.
The worst thing about this episode:We never did get that custard pie fight between The Doctor, Clara and Missy... * sniff *
This quote from Ben Yahtzee Croshaw describes Clara and the 12th Doctor in Moffat's era perfectly
"It makes them come across as reckless idiots with no grasp of the consequences of their actions."
Like I said last time, Moffat is the Doctor Who equivalent of Frank Miller: A man who has been praised for doing great things to old characters, reinventing them and making them more current and bringing in more newcomers and has also written written some of the best works of fiction in modern times (ie - The Dark Knight Returns/ Year One and Watchmen) which are still being heavily praised to this very day. But his ego got the better of him and is now writing drivel that is either stupid, nonsensical, utterly offensive and writing characters that are downright out of character and are so awful (ie - All-Star Batman & Robin and Holy Terror) that they are downright offensive, both to fans of their much loved characters and to people who are easily sickened by such works)
Makes you wonder what Moffat's Holy Terror is going to be?
Now I'm imaging in the next series the doctor will say something like
"Are you retarded, I'm the god damn doctor" lol
Brandon Hudson If that's the case then there are three ways the next series could go.
1. I wouldn't be surprised if the Doctor kidnaps his next companion after her parents are murdered and forces her to eat rat burgers in a secret room within the TARDIS where he tells her to be ready for while.
2. The next companion will be working at a Hooters bar when she hears about the Doctor's rogue attitude and gets quickly inspired by him although it takes her six months to get to the Doctor.
3. The Doctor finally becomes a woman and all the promotional shots of the new Doctor will be of her posing with her ass and both breasts sticking out in some tight revealing costumed (designed by Rob Liefeld) and her first series would consist of her bitching about how all men are scum and are just evil until she bumps into the other incarnations of the Doctor's who are planning on attacking robot crabs with human heads inside them and jams her sonic screwdriver into their eye sockets while calling them all "punk" ten thousand times over.
2 years after "The Final Problem", I think we have an answer
You'll never see this but alan moore wrote watchmen mate, invalidates your whole bloody thing.
"Final Problem" was the wooooorst.@@theuncannydag
I think the sunglasses and guitar can be ironic one episode and taken seriously another. To me it can be both. When the Doctor plays guitar to the vikings it's funny, but when he plays the Clara theme, mourning her, it's serious. I don't see anything wrong with that. If you find it stupid, that's fine, you do you.
I feel like this episode should’ve been written as a condemnation of the Time Lords as people. It should’ve been the doctor making the “you’re monsters, you’re hated” speech, and it should’ve ended with him confirming that he is never bringing them back.
Would’ve been a better episode than what we got.
I just couldnt wait for this review man. Exactly on point. Im so glad to have people like you with a capacity for intelligent criticiwm and not fanboys and girls who give 10s to every episode because of THE FEELS!!!!
Now seriosly, Moffat completely fucked up what he had built on the last two episodes (hell, the 3 years of Clara and all 10 of build up to Gallifrey returning!!!) and threw Gallifrey and the stupid hybrid arc (did anyone actually got what it was???) to give one last sobfest parade to his personal Mary Sue AGAIN.
Happy new Year to you Stu and everyone who reads this comments. Thank you for a year of entertainment with your videos, bro ;)
I feel like bringing back Clara was a cheap move. I liked it when it aired, but looking back, it's great. It really felt more like waffling on Moffat's fault and just him reconning things. I would have been happy if Clara just died like that, because it made her death more impactful on the Doctor to realize his folly of turning people into him.
You forgot one point: The Doctor now shoots people (as long as they can regenerate). Bloody awful.
The whole point is that he's breaking all his own rules and going against his personal code. Watch the scene where he gets his mind wiped
Also follows up from 10 reaching from wilfred's gun when he discovers time lords are coming
Awesome review; I honestly think this video speaks on behalf of a lot of people.
When will Moffat realise that 'criticism' is something to take on-board and build-upon, instead of thinking that people complaining will shut up about the narrative problems because of pretty set designs? Bizarre. Either he's too busy getting his arse kissed by everyone else at the production team, or he's just too arrogant to listen.
I don't think there was anyone who was slightly surprised about him bringing Clara back in this episode. Doctor Who has just become a show filled with potential that's never acted upon for no good reason. Such a shame.
I know what you mean about the arse kissing. I mean, with Doctor who being (In my opinion) perpetually Mediocre for four years now, SOMETHING has to be going on behind the scenes, right?
+Padaster Almost certainly. I can imagine people behind the scenes listening/reading the positive reviews of how amazing the visuals are, or how much of a superb actor Capaldi is and ignoring the narrative issues people raise because "Ah, you can never please everyone, am I right?".
That, or hoping the positives will blind people to the obvious flaws (but if that's the case, why not just address the flaws in the first place?). Very strange.
+Padaster From 2011 to 2013 it was the worst it's ever been aside from Season 24. Apart from series 1 none of new who has been of a high standard bar the occasional good episode
+C.J Lightfoot Show the slightest bit of critique and the word 'hater' rears its ugly and banal head.
C.J Lightfoot its odd that he didnt get fired by the ghost of Terence Dicks
I had an idea as to how the stupid barn thing could be redeemed - Remember how in City of Death an artist sketches Romana without her knowledge, and when she and the Doctor look at the picture its her with a clock for a face? The doctor's reaction is 'not a bad likeness for a Time Lord' This would suggest that the humanoid appearance of Time Lords is really a projection, not false as such,but merely a facet of a multidimensional being - their true form is incomprehensible to humans. The artist was somehow able to sense this, and while still unable to see Romana's true form nonetheless was able to develop a metaphorical representation of her*. By this logic the barn - and every other mundane thing on Gallifrey - is just a projection of something we puny mortals cannot directly perceive.
* the idea that artists would be able to tell a time lord wasn't human because they see the world differently could be contradicted by Vincent and the Doctor, since Vincent Van Gough's unique perspective on in the world is a major plot point and he never noticed the Doctor was an alien, but the doctor actively sought out Van Gough so may have exerted a greater mental effort to maintain the illusion of humanity, whereas Romana was just chilling out in a cafe (as incomprehensible demigods are wont to do)
Apparently there was a throwaway line about the Doctor not really looking like a human in the First Doctor era?
There are also like a billion references in Classic Who to Galifreyans and Time Lords being "humans but not". Spoiler alert: Do not turn to Classic Who for consistency reference
Steven Moffat is the Shadow the Hedgehog of writing
True ambivalence between good and evil
Great review as always. It really frustrated me that in the end, the Doctor's arrival on Gallifrey had little significance to the story. I was genuinely surprised to see it at the end of Heaven Sent and was really intrigued with what the writer were going to do now that he's back on Gallifrey and to see what role (if any) the Doctor would play in the resurgence of Gallifrey. In the end, all he does is exile Rassilon (I think), shoot someone, and break into the Matrix. As others have said, the wasted potential is really frustrating.
And you're not the only one that was thinking about the Web of Time story line and how the Doctor should have remembered the outcome of rescuing Charlie from the R-101. Part of me really wants season 10 to follow a story line similar to the Web of TIme in which the Doctor has to ultimately face the consequences of Clara's un-death, but I'm sure it would be terribly executed and a just a re-hash of what Big Finish has already done.
The one thing ... the two things... that annoyed me the most was how Galifrey was treated as plot device and the hybrid arc being absolutely nothing. What the hell???!?! The shows been building up Galifrey for years. I've never watched old who, so I don't know much about Galifrey, but it seemed awesome. What moffat gave me was a planet filled with humans either poor and dirty or rich and dumb. I don't get it... and instead of giving me a proper resolution to the hybrid arc moffat decides to just let Arya and the Doctor talk it out. I still don't understand the point of the arc. That prophecies are dumb????
I haven't even watched the christmas episode. I don't know if i will. If this is how moffat is going to treat a real episode I don't want to watch the buffoonery of a Christmas episode.
Thanks again. You're reviews help me get it out of my system. Over at r/doctorwho everyone likes everything and its exhausting.
+Isthisright? The same thing over at DoctorWhoTV, everyone there are so in love with everything that they just ignore obvious flaws, everything is a "10/10" and it just kills me.
And actually the special wasn't that bad, Give it a chance.
+Isthisright? I'd recommenced spending $3 on Chimes of Midnight from big finish for a good christmas special if you think you'd be able to enjoy just audio, don't watch the shitty new christmas special, it's seriously not worth your time, I fucking hated it. It wasn't as bad as Hell Bent, not by far, but those 2 episodes alongside each other have made me give up on new who entirely, I expect nothing from it any more, all we get is the odd 1 or 2 good episodes from the series.. well 4 in series 9 (Under The Lake/before the flood, Face the Raven and Heaven Sent) During the Classic show, from at least William Hartnell to the end of Pertwees run (what I've watched up to) I have enjoyed a fuck ton more than I would've expected to.
Something else that's good about classic who, is that the story is focused more often, not in the background like new who is a lot of the time.
With Hell Bent being the worst Doctor Who story of all time, it's honestly quite strange that the Stormtrooper aiming at the barn of the Gallifrey soldiers refusing to kill the twelve Doctor is now the main reason Hell Bent is so shit.
I think what really irritated me the most about this episode is that the Doctor straight up murdered the General. He breaks "the promise." He is cruel and cowardly. And it's just brushed off like it it's nothing!
I live in terror everyday, knowing Clara's still out there in a TARDIS and could come back at anytime
In the classic series they killed off one of the 5th Doctor's teenage companions, and actually kept the character dead, and showed us the Doctor dealing with his own shock, guilt and grief over said companions death in one brilliant scene of understated, but effective acting where the Doctor realises there is nothing he can do. Why, oh why couldn't they have done the same in Nu-Who with Clara. Admittedly I haven't hated this episode, upon rewatching it, as much as I did the first time around, but oh my various gods did I want to put my fist through my TV when I first saw it.
I think one of the biggest problems with Steven Moffat and his inability to listen (pun intentional) is that he only listens to the fanboys that see no wrong in what he is doing.
Seriously, I went into the Doctor Who YT channel and it was pathetic the amount of people that were praising Hell Bent, all sucking up and saying things like "Oooh I hope we get to see adventures with Clara and Ashildur (Me) now," and "Best Moffat script ever."
I think he lives in an echo chamber of fanboys who say everything is excellent no matter what.
Even the lassie that presents the fan show on that channel praised it and then on her own channel said loads of negative things.
He is never going to get the kind of honest feedback he needs, when the people around him are too afraid to speak their minds.
Anyway, nice analysis Stuart, onto the Christmas episode next right... RIGHT!?
Sucking up? Maybe they just liked it.
ikr
+Michael Smith no m8
The thing that annoys me the most about Hell Bent is that not only is it a bad episode, but it makes everything which came before worse. Heaven Sent was AMAZING. It really was, easily the best episode in Capaldi's era so far and it really hyped up everything that was gonna happen next. It leaves us wondering what the Hyrbrid really is and why it was worth all the endless agony he went through. Only for it to turn out that HE DOESN'T FUCKING KNOW and he was only doing all that just to save one girl. One person. FUCKING CLARA. Are you serious? that's such dumb writing. But if that wasn't bad enough it gets worse.
The scene where the doctor has his memory erased is not only stupid in its own right. But it also ruins his character. Most of his development through the last two seasons was his relationship with Clara which I didn't particularly enjoy but wiping that only makes it worse. It's like none of those events even happened.
3/10
This review has earned you a subscribe in the first three minutes. :D
I effing hated Moffat throwing away the main point of Day of the Doctor. Probably the most important plot development he's introduced as show runner, and the final piece in his rewriting of Rusty's legacy. But I agree with you, probably what's worse is the way he throws away the point of Face the Raven and Heaven Sent. I really won't miss him, despite writing some brilliant DW scripts in his time.
Yes the Doctor wearing the hoodie and shredding on the guitar are a lot and kinda ridiculous but to be honest I genuinely unironically love it
Well said, it's just a bit sad that so many reviewers are gushing over this like it was the best thing ever...which sets a bad example since it says "This is amazingballs, keep writing more of this forever."
it was shit
What they should have done was get rid of Sleep No More, make Face the Raven and Heaven Sent a two-parter (the rock bottom of Series 9's arc) and have the final two episodes deal with The Return of Gallifrey and The Hybrid prophecy. Get rid of Clara and really focus on a more vengeful Doctor; not for the sake of an "evil Doctor story", but because... let's face it, the Time Lords are responsible for Clara's death and everything else that sucks in the Universe and a lot of this needs to be addressed.
Just an idea.
The 3 last episodes of series 9 in 3 words. Good, Great, atrocious
Maybe they're saving it for later! Because insert reason here! CHECKMATE STUART!
Bring back Hinchcliffe
And Andrew Cartmel
“Humans are nice but we see them everyday”
Me: (laughs in reclusive)
I like when they make references to the old show because it reminds me of how much better that show was
Hell Bent is for me not canon , like Harry Potter 7.
I think we have just to imagine what realy happened.
The New 13/15 Doctors Tardis Console room should look like that classic one.
I hope Clara flyes with her Tardis back in the Time war and gets destroyed by an vortexcloced dalek battel saucer.
Wasn't Gallifrey lost - ? Missy gave him the fake coordinates in Nightmare in Silver (Is that the one Danny Pink turned into a Cyberman? I can't be fussed to look it up.)
This episode probably will be remembered in years to come... as the biggest disappointment ever.
People always answer me with "just because it didn't meet your expectations doesn't mean it's bad", so I have tried to look at it for what it is rather then what it could've been, and it still doesn't work.
Bringing Clara back is unnecessary and completely undermines 'Face the Raven' and great elements from 'Heaven Sent', the Hybrid plot added absolutely nothing and Gallifrey was completely underused. I mean, why bring Rassilon if you're doing nothing with him? Because you're going to use him in the future? Well, maybe use him NOW and don't spend precious screen time over nothing....
I could go on and on about why this didn't work, but I'll save my energy for better things.
Spot on review, Stuart, and happy new year to everyone.
(It was still better than Death in Heaven, though.)
+VividSauce it's series 22 all over again......and im a 6th doctor fan boy!
+Pacitti Club Johnny well season 22 was ok the twin dilemma before it was essentially overshadowed by the caves of androzani. the same thing is happening here even if the episode was decent it would still be somewhat disappointing after the amazing episode known as heaven sent.
+Joseph Carlisle I agree. A disappointment. Witch is something it shares with series 9. Too much reliance on Fanservice. The Scrips can be decent to God awful.
no it wasn't ;) it gets 2 for me on my top 10 stories but caves gets my number 1
"This episode probably will be remembered in years to come... as the biggest disappointment ever."
The Timeless Children: Hold my beer
Only some Time lords grew up in those barns, most lived within the cities and grew up to be like the ones in the War Games. The ones who grew up in barns are known as Outsiders and live very primitively most of the time.
In "The Invasion of Time" story, from the "classic" series, we see Outsiders living a "cave-people"-like existence (one that seems to suit Leela almost perfectly). I guess we're meant to believe that at some point in Gallifrey's future, their society evolves into more "Space-Amish People" existence.
And it's kinda stupid...
The hybrid was the Cyber Lords.
Hope we see them again.
I really feel like this episode is constantly one step away from being really great, but at every second it steps away from the good option to instead go the really crap way instead. I really like the idea that the doctor tries to play god and bring Clara back and I think that’s a good premise for an episode. We understand that he’s grieving due to heaven sent and Clara’s last scene in Face the Raven is her accepting her death so the episode should be about that. Plus, I think the Doctor having processed his grief but jumping on the opportunity to bring back that person could be a really true representation of grief, you can get over a loss, but you still want the person back. So having the episode be set on Gallifrey allows the story a) a good reason for the doctor to have the ability to save Clara and b) a good showcase of the doctor’s character by showing him be home for the first time in 2000 years but only care about Clara, showing us how important it is
Instead, the episode wastes all this potential for a boring story where the Doctor shows that he actually wasn’t processing anything for 4.5 billion years, Clara didn’t actually accept her death or even die, the least satisfying payoff possible to the hybrid arc, a waste of gallifrey, and a waste of Capaldi and Coleman’s acting talents. Then it retroactively destroys series 7b-9 because the Doctor doesn’t even remember Clara so she has no impact on the story going forward and may as well have never happened
AY! You mentioned early Jonathon Creek! That show was awesome! (Then Maddie left and it went terrible)
I have to admit the moment where the doctor's mind was being wiped out, I wasn't even realizing that he's mind was being wiped out. I know some fans who thought that was sad but seriously what? Clara has had so many so supposed deaths. With the one that I hate the most, "Last Christmas". I told myself after that I am in no way in like hell that I will ever feel sad for her leaving. Moffat you've crossed the line.
Oh, also, stu the sonic screwdriver jumping was the Tardis's way of cheering him up. Sort of like that tennant two parter episode (Silence in the library/Forest of the dead) where the doctor was able to snap his fingers so that the tardis's doors open. That ending scene with the sonic screwdriver for me just signaled clara's depearture and new era. I am also kinda of a sucker for the whole "Run you clever boy" it just made me feel happy. Is it bad that I have something to like about in this episode but I can't discuss it though.
I'll admit, as much as I hated this one, I quite liked the ending sequence in The Doctor's TARDIS (ignoring everything to do with the bits with Clara and Me inter-cut in-between). The whole episode, he hadn't been "The Doctor", what with him risking time and space to save Clara, killing the General (still a death, even if it was a regeneration, guys) and whatnot. So when he strides back into his TARDIS, puts his jacket back on, gets a new screwdriver, having (I'm assuming) learnt his lesson, it felt like he was back to being himself.
Like I say, I (like a lot of people here) despised this one quite a bit, but it did have a few good points. Not nearly enough to even come remotely close to saving it IMO, but I will give it credit in the few places where it's due
But the visuals were a bit nice???
and what about "Father's Day" from season one of the new series? The WHOLE point of that episode was that saving someone who is supposed to be dead (no matter who it is) really messes up the whole timeline. Remember the Reapers or whatever they were called? Damn.
I was clawing my eyes out after this.
Heaven Sent was a better representation of the Time Lord having technology being indistinguishable from magic, with the confession dial and monster in it.
Although I really like that episode I can't deny that it has many, *many* flaws, I also enjoyed your commentary on that.
The Cloister level thing was maybe the one thing about Hell Bent that might of been good. To my knowledge it isn't a piece previously established in Doctor who Lore but something Moffat came up with as is filled with some interesting ideas, like how it is a living thing, and how it is basically hell with people becoming ghosts or just apart of the Matrix forever trapped in a tormented state and how there were entire wars centred around it showing how important even small parts of Gallifrey are. I say maybe because it is only talked about for 5 minutes through an exposition dump and then it's forgotten about, seriously why wasn't Hell Bent about this.
You put into this video the exact same thoughts I've had after watching this parody of an episode. I've found this series surprisingly decent and I was starting to have some hope again for Moffat, especially after Heaven Sent. Then came Hell Bent and ruined everything. At least I know series 10 will not disappoint me because I don't expect it to be anything but bad.
Also, the theory that The Doctor narrated the entirety of series 7-9 and that's why they were so crap and inconsistent and Clara's character was so atrocious because he couldn't remember her properly is brilliant.
To use your words: I wish I could pretend "Hell Bent" didn't happen.
A problem I had with the episode was the fans. Everybody was suprised that the doctor was in the confession dial for 4 billion years and could always say what the hybrid is. What they didn't realize was that it wasn't the doctor reliving that, it was more of a replay. Its like watching this video. If you watch it for 4 billion years nothing will change what stu said. He won't say "Oh I loved this episode because blah blah" at the 2 billion year mark.
the 4 billion year thing made me hate Heaven sent.
"Does anyone actually want the Doctor to be half-human?"
Samuel Davis does.
I wish you'd do a Jonathan Creek review, since you mentioned its early greatness here.
....That has to be the most toxic ending to a toxic relationship I've ever seen. o_0
Also, boy must Rose and her dad feel silly now, huh?
coming up next on doctor who: rasslion has the infinity gauntlet
Excellent review Stu which sums up this atrocious episode that summarises how I felt about this awful episode.
Moffats ego is ruining Doctor Who this finale is utter crap, Face The Raven & Heavens Sent were brilliant & then we get this shitty episode which fucks up all the previous two episodes hard work along with this year's Christmas special which was fucking horrendous.
Moffat needs to go before Doctor Who gets axed again, it needs a new direction from someone who has a vision, maybe get one of the Big Finish writers as showrunner.
Thank god for Big Finish is all I can say.
I once saw someone say, "I feel like this episode is completely decided by whether or not you like Clara." and I thought to myself, "You know what? That's exactly it." Because I never grew to really care about Clara, so I cared about the episode less. Anyone who praises/likes this episode seems to like her more than I did, so therefore, they liked Hell Bent more than I did. More power to them then.
I don't want to take joy away from those people, but I will not lie. I attempt to be as respectfully honest as possible when saying that I think he could have potentially fractured Time itself, and risked harming many people. The General mentions that and the Doctor later recognizes he went too far. I also believe a great Doctor knows better than to save a person at the risk of harming millions of people.
I can't agree that liking Clara will incline one to like this episode. IMO this is the worst episode of nuWho. Especially since it follows the previous two: Clara dies bravely and the Doctor mourns. Then there is this jumbled, incoherent mishmash. WTF, Clara is dead, I've mourned and accepted that, I don't want her back because that is an insult to the mounting. Crap. Just crapity, crap crap.
I hated Clara and Heaven Sent almost made me like her again.
When I enjoy your intentionally sh*tty dialogue more then most of Series 11, that’s saying something
clara should have remained dead (what's the point in killing of a character if you're
just going to bring them back straight away with no repercussions),
Me should have been left for another story and the hybrid hadn't had
enough time to make me care about what it was (although that may be
because i'm tired of the word of the series, how about we just have a
surprising reveal without having to spend the whole series going
"look at me, loook at me, i'm hinting at something really
cleaver annd you don't know what it is.", only to find out that
it barely meant anything because there are no stakes in new who as no
characters are allowed to die and the reset button gets pushed at
every opportunity) so should have been left for the next series, or
just have it in the background for several seasons. the Doctor should
have spent the whole episode dealing with the repercussions of
changing time and saving galifray. with rassilon being the bad guy
wanting revenge and galifray split down the middle one side with the
Doctor (with romarna, ace, the war cheif guy/woman, lela, the witches
of khan, the non timelord galifrayions, two seperate K-9's (that
could led to a few jokes), etc) and one side with rassilon. maybe
throw in missy and some call backs to the Doctors past stories on
galifray and maybe even to him being the reincarnation of the Other.
and then a hint at bringing back omaga or the black and white
gaurdians or morbius or the Monk or something that would be more
interesting than either the daleks, the cybermen or the master
because i'm getting really fucking bored of it always being those
three villains (in old who you could go a whole series without seeing
a single recurring villain and that was nice, it stopped them from
getting boring and not feeling weak, when they did arrive they were a
power house of shit going down, not the same guys from the last
series again).
but instead after years of galifray being gone
and then saving and then missing and know found, we don't do anything
at all with all of it's rich past and story possiblities and instead
spend the whole time bring clara back for no reason, having Me show
up for no reason and have the reset button pushed. hell bent is the
prime example of how to waste a great opportunity and instead ruining
a characters death and the set up because the writer can't let go of
a character.
charles townsend
Wait, Ace was left on Gallifrey?
Never mind that. Those are the points of untapped potentiality in Gallifrey and the franchise in general. I hope beyond measure someone sees that soon within the production staff. Hopefully when Chibnall takes over we'll see more of that.
Also, I would be down for the Daleks and Cybermen disappearing for 3 or more seasons, just get them out of the front lines. They leave no feeling of dread with myself as to what they might do. I'd like to see the Paradigm Daleks show up again too, but only after a long absence of Daleks in general.
Always love the reviews.
Admired your restraint in not screaming at this eps until your vocal cords snapped
....like I did. -_-
time of the doctor was great
I love your theory on why Clara was so crap in the last three series XD
I don't understand New who's version of Timelords and there planet galifrea for these reasons
1-the planet is boring as hell
2-the Dr turns into an insane person just to save Clara who's death was fine
3-making the time lords evil just why is that a thing
4-the Dr always kinda grieves about there being no more timelords but EVERY TIME THERES A TIMELORD THERE ALWAYS EITHER EVIL OR HATED BY THE DR
I have more reasons I hate what they did for the time lords and galifrea and I honestly HATE he'll bent
The review we've all been waiting for !
For a show about traveling time and space it has become a waste of time and space thanks to Hell Bent.
Is gallifrey like the Q continuum like we saw it in Star Trek voyager?
I would like a story that explains the disparity between past time lords and the dirt farmer ones they show in new who, and I've had an idea about that. It's the doctor's fault. Imagine you're a species whose main source of anything is time travel, I mean Gallifrey is amcient it's world looks like it's mainly dust, I doubt they've got a lot of natural resources left. So let's assume their main form of acquisition was either space or time travel.
Then suddenly they're placed in a pocket dimension outside of space and time. What to they do then? I believe they regress, they have to go back to farming because if not, how are they supposed to survive? The only people still dressing and acting futurey are the leaders and military.
So basically all the time spent outside of time and space since the doctor's use of the moment, destroyed their once great civilization.
I think this could be an interesting turn of events and while most common Galifreyans are just happy to survive the Time War. Some feel like the Doctor has doomed them by sticking them away. Which could lead to some interesting conflict with her own kind.
Though I also think it would be interesting to see a copy-cat of the Doctor now that Galifrey is back in the universe. I mean think about it, the Doctor is a hero in their society. Wouldn't that mean some young people who look up to the doctor would try to emulate him and head off on their own. But I can see how some people might view that as gimmicky so maybe I'm not the best choice.
Eerrr
Have you not seen The Invasion of Time
Dear He-Who, I've really been enjoying your review videos.
D
The Room' clip you used was so appropriate. I'm fed up with this 'world' Moffat has created - a world where we are tantalized and teased 24/7, nothing means anything, nothing has consequences, nothing has finality, and fan-service is a replacement for a story. Genuinely think Tommy Wiseau could write more compelling drama right now.
Michael Bay, Adam Sandler, and Tommy Wiseau could make something together, and it would be better than hell bent.
Isn't there a difference between regular Gallifreyans and Time Lords? Aren't Time Lords genetically enhanced Gallifreyans who get to be all superior and wear silly cloaks and live in the citadel, while the normal Gallifreyans live in rural zones? I think the barn is supposed to be linked to the house the Third Doctor mentions growing up in (The Time Monster) only that one was on the side of a mountain so maybe not. Anyway, the episode still sucks and Gallifrey was used poorly regardless.
In total agreement! You sir have another subscriber! I'm sick of people blindly liking shit like this because of baity elements like new sonic, Weeping Angels, classic TARDIS etc, did they forget Doctor Who needs a fucking story!
I agree. I will admit I liked the visuals, the acting and the baity elements, but those things can`t save a terribly written episode.
This is why I can't get too worked up about series 11 being completely average - At no point did I tear my hair out wondering why I thought that this show was good in the first place. Unlike episodes like Hell Bent.
Russell Tietjen THIS ^
As billy Garrett John said ages ago
“If you’ve got major problems with series 11 yet don’t have any of the previous years then you’ve not watched the show”
@@iain9757 it's funny because series 11's ratings are evidence of that. People complain about the dip in viewing figures, but it still beat out series 9 and 10. Did those people complain then? No, because they literally weren't watching! 😂
Thank you good sir. I watched this episode today and was a little miffed there was no moaning. :) Happy New Year when it comes.
+thresholdofdave Moffat's gone and one episode this year. Please discuss.
Yeah it was a undermined piece of shit. Gallifrey was horribly underused, after 10 years of set-up. You basically said everything I was thinking as I was writing this episode. I do like that theory of yours of The Doctor telling series 7-9 through story, we can know *somewhat* de-canon all of the episodes yay! Clara didn't ask the timelords for the Doctor's new regeneration cycle, The Doctor made that up, she didn't influence him changing the destruction of Gallifrey, he just thought she did, heck, what if she was just The Doctor's manifestation of the boring side of life, of boring Earth life, and he included her in the story to support this? Or what if he made her character up to be the audience's hand holder, *we're through the looking glass here people*.
11:21
I burst out laughing.
Such a poor conclusion to the season. It really seemed like Moffat was improving till Hell Bent came along to crushed any and all remaining hope I had for him as showrunner. P.s. I also quite liked the retro console room.
What is your opinion of the Clara tardis being an American diner and the new sonic screwdriver. I really liked the room reference.
Who didn't the miss mash of the classic tardis ? It was like "ooooohhhhh look at this so you don't see the shit"
5:05 yes it requires 20 minutes because "the barn" was the doctors home and where he intended to use the moment, and the soup server was most likely his mother... (You should re-watch listen if you didn't understand that)
The barn is where the doctor spent most of his life in and it his second home.
Only when moff told us. Before then we had no idea that was a thing
I personally agree with wifeinspace's theory that the Doctor being half human is why he consistently goes back to earth
Any Chance of some Classic who reviews in the 9 month gap sir? :) brilliant review as always :)
+rubiumproductions Also Clara's "Popping off" cheered me up immensely...next season they could just have a balloon with a grimace drawn on it and I will most probably rank it higher than Colemans performance in series 7,8 and 9 combined #Weneverforgive #weneverforgetlastchristmas
Honestly, I found the guitar and the song quite beautiful. I mean, not everyone understands the referrence to Clara with that song, but it just didn´t harm me in any way. To me, the episode went quite downhill when the Doctor uses the "extraction chamber"! I know, Doctor Who is infamous for using "Deus Ex Machine" quite often, I just hardly can take it, when they do it so stupidly and this was my "OH FOR FUCK´S SAKE, MOFFAT!!?" moment of the year!
I don't know if Moffat thought that people wouldn't be able to accept Clara's death for some reason, or if he was simply so attached to Clara that he couldn't bring himself to do anything long-standingly bad to her. Well, you can't have it both ways, Steven. You can't have a provocative exploration of grief over a character and then also bring that character back without consequences. Sometimes you have to put your characters through the wringer and they just emerge stronger from the experience. That's how you make meaningful stories. Sometimes an optimistic ending is more meaningful than a happy one.
With the guitar I was hoping that they might put Fitz in continuity, because he teaches 8 how to play it. Also why is the doctor so obsessed with his companions.And of all the companions to give a Tardis to Clara is not one of them (neither is Rose) but they give both Tardises why?
Is the reason there are so many plot holes is so that big finish can do them justice, and save the characters from being stupid?
And then if rose and Clara
Why not charley or Sarah Jane or jo grant ? Or all the other
At the very least this story confirmed that Time Lord is a rank for the modern audiences which I'm sure Diamanda Hagan appreciated (even if she seems to hate the episode too).
why would you think moffatt would not save his impossible girl? he gave river an out in one of the episode with vastra in it.
I think the worst thing for me was the diner TARDIS
I don't know why it just rubbed me the wrong way
The reason that the gallifreyan villagers are so similar to humans is because they are different to Time Lords.(This has been explained:) This means that they havent joined the academy or looked into the untempted schism, therefore they have no powers such as regeneration. Timelords like rassilon look down on them for these reasons. They generally live in poor places like huts, like the doctor's when he was a kid, so maybe this is what the doctor means when he says he was human on his mum's side, as the villagers are pretty much humans.
It was strange that the doctor was sad about losing someone, but couldn't remember anything about them. I wonder if Clara still has a part to play in the doctors' life ? If he sees her over and over in his future travels, will she still have some important role to play ? She has died multiple times in the past, but still kept coming back, making her "his impossible girl", but it was never really explained how this was accomplished, and why this is such a mystery. Perhaps she is the doctors' "good wolf".
i would have rather this episode had been a two parter with the Doctor vs Rassilon (maybe the gallifrayions and some of the timelords are on the Doctors side and most of the timelords on Rassilons side) and the Clara we see in the bar is one of her echos from the name of the doctor (showing that Clara is dead but a part of her still lives, that way alll the greving that the doctor goes through in heaven sent actually means something). also the hybrid wasn't that interesting but if they really wanted to go down that path, do the Doctor is the Other story arc as you have Rassilon as the enemy that would make sense. oh and no Me, if you are at the end of time she should be dead or something.