50th Anniversary Shenanigans!

With the 50th anniversary special to begin filming next week, some more updates have been released!

bbcdoctorwho tweeted these pictures earlier today:

Matt Smith called the special "hilarious" and "epic", while paying homage to previous episodes and looking forward at the same time.

The special is set to air on November 23 in 3D. 

David and Billie Set To Return

Yes, you read that correctly. David Tennant and Billie Piper have been confirmed for the 50th anniversary special *cue fangirl squealing*

John Hurt (Ollivander - Harry Potter, Kilgharrah - Merlin) is also set to make an appearance.

However, with this news also comes the sad fact that John Barrowman will not be reprising his role as Captain Jack Harkness for the special.

Who do you want to return? Let me know!

The Bells of St John

There's something in the Wi-Fi...

The Bells of St John introduces a new threat. Something harvesting souls and human minds through the Wi-Fi, leaving them as good as dead. Harvesting them, I might add, in a way that was eerily similar to Season 2's The Idiot's Lantern. Actually, its not just the method of harvesting that is the same, it is the whole idea: new-ish technology which everyone uses (and maybe even addicted to) being used to collect human souls to feed a power-hungry alien (which also uses that technology to communicate - it has no corporeal form) and questions our reliance on technology.

Though the basis of the story may be the same, The Bells of St John offered something new. We get to meet the version of Clara who will be travelling with the Doctor for the rest of the series. Who is this mysterious Clara, how is she alive and why has the Doctor met her before?

Possibly related to this is The Great Intelligence, who was the villain in The Snowmen and the mastermind behind the Wi-Fi invasion. I guess we'll see what becomes of that because its story is far from over.

The Spoonheads were the physical threats in this episodes but they left much to be desired. They were a little underwhelming, and while they suited their role, they just weren't scary enough.

Then there was the clear reference to one Miss Amelia Pond (Williams):

It just so happened to be a book Clara has read. And don't those characters look awfully familiar. (As someone who loved the Ponds, I am so glad this was in there. I still miss them)

The Doctor-Clara dynamic works quite well, as does Matt's and Jenna-Louise's chemistry. Though I hope it just remains casual flirting. There have been enough love stories for the Doctor...I'd like to see a more Doctor and Donna friendship happen. One question though, did Clara keep her newly acquired computer knowledge? Because we know how that will turn out..

Overall, the episode was a good mix of action and comedy with Moffat leaving just enough 'quiet' time before launching into the aeroplane and motorbike scenes. Though it didn't live up to the hype, I still think it worked well by posing enough questions to keep us guessing and wanting to come back for more. I give it a 7/10.

Also, if you are in Australia and are not going to watch it online, you can see it on ABC at 7:30 tonight!


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Doctor Who Royal Mail Stamps

As part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations, Royal Mail has issued a number of stamps featuring each of the 11 Doctors, the TARDIS and some of his notable foes: Daleks, the Weeping Angels, Cybermen and the Ood.

If you're lucky enough to live in the UK, you can purchase these 1st Class stamps at any (well, almost) Post Office. If you're from someone else, you can order them online here

Doctor Who Season 7.5

The second half of Doctor Who season 7 starts in 5 days. FIVE DAYS! You are officially allowed to get really excited.

So if you are part of Hermit's United and have only decided to join the real world, here are the promo pics for the next four episodes:

Episode 6: The Bells of Saint John.
Something is getting people through their Wi-Fi. As if Moffat wasn't evil enough...

There is also the prequel to the episode, which you can see here:

Episode 7: The Rings of Akhaten

The Doctor and Clara travel to what Moffat describes as an "epic, overwhelming, boiling, red-orange planet." 

Episode 8: Cold War

The long-awaited return of the Ice-Warriors is finally happening. Thanks Mark Gatiss 

Episode 9: Hide

A classic, spooky ghost story.

Hopefully they live up to the blockbuster-style that Moffat seems to be going for. 

The Power of Three

SPOILER WARNING

Just a quick note on the feel of the season so far...To be honest, I'm getting a bit tired of these episodes. While I think they are generally good standalone episodes, there could have been a stronger story arc. From what I can tell, the arc is The Doctor saying goodbye to the Ponds. And that's it. I feel as if they should have a stronger sense of going somewhere, that there needs to be a bigger picture.

Anyway, on to The Power of Three

I thought the episode was fantastic in terms of the Doctor-Ponds relationship. However, the actual sci-fi, monster story was lacking. The resolution was far too simplistic and rushed. When I think of a year-long alien invasion (or pest-control as the Doctor so kindly puts it), I think of battles and a fight for the human race. The episode feels reminiscent of the Army of Ghosts/Doomsday episodes but much weaker. There is the same aspect of these 'things' being incorporated into our everyday lives only for them to, well, want to kill us. Whereas Davies' episodes delved into the invasion, Chibnall's was more like "oh I'll just point my sonic screwdriver and be off. Have a good day!"

I mean, Shakri, the stuff of Timelord fairytales was just a hologram and their conversation lasted about two minutes. He really wasn't even a threat. It was hardly exciting.

Also, why were the nurses taking humans onto the ship. I thought they were trying to kill us. And why did the Doctor just leave them there to die? Honestly, I just think it was way to rushed.

That said, The Power of Three was hilarious! I loved Brian's return. He is just a brilliant character, like Wilf. It's a shame we probably won't see him again.

(bye-bye Brian)

I also loved seeing the Doctor being all domestic (even if it was only for an hour!) I can't imagine him sitting still for any length of time so this was great!

The best bit of the entire episode was definitely this part:

It was such a beautiful moment. It made me tear up. The Doctor, destined to be alone because people leave...or die. He has never been so open about his feelings before. I mean, in his tenth regeneration, he couldn't even tell Rose he loved her. So yeah, this was nice.

The Ponds finally settling down after all this time is so sad when you think about how the next adventure will be their last. They finally started to sort out their real lives and it is coming to an end. Boo!

I think I'm even less ready for the Ponds to leave than the Doctor is. Which is..sad. While I really like Amy, Rory is just so amazing. How great was he in this episode. The Rory from the beginning of Season 5 would not have gone charging into an unknown portal completely unaware of what could be waiting for him on the other side. He's really become a proper companion and now he is leaving. And also (queue fangirling), his hair is really sexy and I just want to touch it. He can't leave yet!

Definitely excited for the The Angels Take Manhattan. I've read that it's a bit wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey which should be fun! Though I hated Moffat's confusing episodes in the past, I'm looking forward to one just in the hope that it'll be complex enough to warrant a good amount of time being spent on solving it. It also better be as heart-breaking as Moffat has promised. I want to farewell the Ponds with as much uncontrollable sobbing as I've given to the other companions, Nine and Ten.

What did you think of the episode? Minus the actual alien-fighting, sci-fi part, I thought it was fabulous. Just like the Doctor in this .gif:

And what are you hoping for next week?

(NOTE: pictures/.gifs aren't mine. I borrowed them from Tumblr)

A Town Called Mercy

As always, there will be spoilers

A Town Called Mercy was definitely a triumph. Can we just start off with how visually stunning it was? The scorched, dusty landscape was just amazing and made it look like really authentic. (I would know, I've seen an entire TWO Western films)

The episode was fantastic! I loved the writing and a storyline about morality never gets old. In the Doctor's now 1200 or so years (I'm not sure how or why time jumped that fast), he has had so many life changing moments that of course his morality is going to altered by these experiences. It's always good to revisit it. It felt especially important in this part of the season as he is "weaning" himself off the Ponds, and vice versa. He needs a companion to keep him grounded. We've seen what happens when he doesn't (think the Waters of Mars etc) He needs Amy and Rory to be his moral anchors.

I also want to take back what I said about disliking the part in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship when the Doctor did not save Solomon. In combination with this episode, it seems a lot more...justified? I'm not too sure but it helped to reinforce that the Doctor needs a companion. Would he have perhaps saved Solomon if Amy was there?

Obviously the question of 'what would you do?' was put to us. Save Jex or let the Gunslinger have his justice. What would you have done?

Now that I've mentioned the Gunslinger, how cool was he?! Appearance-wise, at least. They did a really good job with him.

Also, Matt Smith's acting has to be applauded, it really does. I actually have no words for the jail scene and the scene where he pushes Kahler Jex outside the town's boundaries.

Let's delve into those a little. The jail scene was pretty powerful. Kahler Jex is one of those characters that mirrors the Doctor.

"In my culture we believe that when you die your spirit has to climb a mountain, carrying the souls of everyone you wronged in your lifetime. Imagine the weight I will have to lift. The monsters I created, the people I killed" - Jex.

This seems to resonate within the Doctor. Imagine 1200 years of people he has wronged. Imagine the weight the Doctor will have to carry. Though he tries to act for the good of all, nobody is perfect.

There is also the part where Amy and Rory are discussing what they should do with Jex and the Doctor is off in the corner in his own inner conflict.

Then there is this scene. The Doctor actually holding and aiming a gun. 

 Not a single monster is as scary as the Doctor when he is angry like this. 

(Brilliant, brilliant acting, Smithy)

Reflecting back on the episode now though, I feel as if it was kind of...forgettable. Don't get me wrong, the above scene will probably be ingrained in my memory for a while but apart from that, I don't really remember what else happened. 

One last thing, have you all picked up on the recurring motifs from the last 3 episodes? The mention of Christmas and the flickering lights. Eggs seems to be another too. My guess is that the 'Christmas' references mean the new companion and the flickering lights are the Weeping Angels. Not too sure about the eggs thing though. What are your theories?

And, are you excited for the next episode? The Power of Three...sounds like the Doctor needs his companions more than ever!

(Note: None of the pictures/.gifs are mine, I found them on Tumblr :P)