Sfdebris.net

As a Scottish person, I have to say...

"Finally, someone who speaks normal!"

(a quote from the episode, if you didn't get that)

https://www.sfdebris.com/videos/doctorwho/s34e01.php

I think this episode was a bit cathartic for Chuck- his talk about what this particular Doctor is like from around 19:00 onwards...sounded like he sees this guy as a bit relatable.

(I do so enjoy psychoanalysis)

Well Chuck has used Capaldi as his avatar basically from the get-go xD We've known for a while he ranks very high in his personal rankings.

I heard a theory once that Clara is a better companion for Capaldi than Smith...as someone who still really hasn't watched the second half of Series 7 I have to agree, I never really understood the outright hate. I didn't particularly LIKE Clara, but I didn't hate her. I even liked the dynamic where she's trying to be the mini-doctor.

Also no episode with Strax could possibly be a bad episode. ...No Capaldi episode, at any rate. A Good Man Goes to War exists, after all...

I found the biggest problem with Clare to be that she spent an entire season as the "Mystery Girl", with the audience unable to get attached to her as it wasn't clear how she kept cropping up in the timeline and thus, we were forced to take everything we learnt about her (which by necessity of the mystery wasn't much) with a grain of salt. When we DO learn what it's about, we learn she was just pretty ordinary, and the reason her character development was lax was just to build up the tension for what amounted to an anti-climax.

Then she had the unenviable task of following up a (half-)season of deliberately stunted character growth with being the companion for the 50th anniversary special, followed by the death of Matt Smith into the regeneration of Capaldi.

I think she worked fine with Matt Smith...it's just, the story she had to tell with him was working against her. She works better with Capaldi in part because it was with Capaldi that she actually got her own character arc that didn't involve either big secrets about who she is, or that revolved around big things that the Doctor himself was going through.

I do also think that the comparison of Donna in FoP and Clara holding the TARDIS hostage are a bit unfair mind- when Clara was in Donnas' situation, she too compelled the Doctor to do everything he can to save people; Donna was never in the situation Clara was of having a loved one killed (and few companions were), and while she might not have reacted in such a way, we can't really say HOW she would react either.

I always liked Clara, especially with her flaws, but I can see how character flaws like that could be grating. I suppose everyone has a how-much-is-too-much point, and maybe I just extend more latitude to companions who don't defer so much to the Doctor.

I did have a tougher time connecting with Twelve, but I don't think that was Capaldi's fault. I didn't like the writing as much in his series, and maybe some Doctor fatigue was setting in for me.

I liked Capaldi as the Doctor, I didn't care much for most of the stories in his run. There ARE exceptions, like the finale with the Mondas Cybermen but they are by and large exceptions with most being a bit meh to some being the IMO worst stories in New Who possibly all Who (moon egg!), as the whole thing has swerved fairly hard into science fantasy.

Capaldi was a great Doctor who unfortunately had the one of most inconsistent era when it comes to quality of stories

I do love Capadli's Doctor.

I just hate his writer.

It annoyed me greatly that they retconned the Doctor's theft of the Tardis from ''I stole this to go travelling/do good in the universe'' to Clara telling him which one to pick, making her in effect the most important companion he has ever had. If you don't like her that is a pretty big turd to swallow. This is even worse than the ''Tardis is a woman'' episode.
Sigh. I do very, very much prefer the classic series but I had so much fun with 9 and 10 that I cannot say I am not a fan of the first half of the new series. The second half is very much Stargate Universe for me; one or two good episodes here and there but mostly a blot on what came before.

As of now having finished Capaldi's run, I think Capaldi's doctor works a lot better when he seems to give a crap about those who he is saving, as opposed to acting a bit like a sociopathic prick who doesn't seem to care that others are dying around him. "Your friend is the top layer of goo if you want to say a few words" comes to mind.

Say what you will about Missy, but her showing how similar they were really seemed to wake him up about the fact that he's not that different from her, and made him a much more compassionate individual.