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As a grieving teenager in 2024 (my mother died a year ago today actually) this episode is what I needed now, especially because she introduced me to this show
these reviews are coming out so quickly I genuinely live for them they're class. Been watching your channel since I was 10 and now I'm in the first year of uni and your channel has been a staple. Genuinely love it. Cheers for all these great reviews!
2:44. "What made matters worse was the smoke that was clearly just a visual effect." Dr Who Unleashed clearly shows the smoke was genuine and was wafted onto the set by someone off camera. 15:48. "How Canto is killed is never shown." He dies because while he was chatting about the tattoo and "trying to get past the safeguards" , the ambulance causes a short circuit (hence the sparks bursting out) which knocks Mundy over but kills him because of his close proximity to it.
@@badger_shorts7708 i agree. I think he's often obviously wrong or not willing to think about these things differently. Even when I overall agree with Harry on something, like Space Babies, I often find his unwillingness to interpret something differently grating. Especially regarding how this doctor seems to talk about his grief. To me, it's relatable. To Harry, it's bad writing
@rollingon5566 yeah. I like Space Babies for how absurd it is. And I relate too. If I'm going through a hard time, I'm like: "Yeah, this is what happened...okay moving on..." I just don't like to mope about it.
the smoke doesn't quite explain why none of the actors reacted to it, which I think was Harry's main complaint. But maybe they just cut the coughs out etc.
As an American, I genuinely expected you to mention us at 6:30, lol. Despite the U.K.'s history, the modern image it has doesn't scream "one of the largest arms exporters in the world."
Yea I was expecting him to say America not the UK. the UK is more in the European Arms dealing group which is a mix of Belgium, German, Austrian, Italian & French weapons manufactures which supply like a 3rd of the worlds weapons (mainly richer countries as their guns are reliable but expensive) compared to the US which is usually cheap initially but you basically end up needing to buy all American to get the most of it & America will hold up any government as long as they pay them. The Europeans don't like dealing with groups they disagree with like Russian & Chinese proxies. The US however will.
Genesis of the Daleks is not only notable for being the first time The Doctor steps on a landmine, having a companion called Harry, and also featuring 4 and Sarah Jane, but it also was about the Genesis of the Daleks. That's a full fact box there Harry
The scene with the soldier's death actually made me cry, surprisingly. I liked that it was so sudden and you see the hologram before you realise what's happened. I felt the grief coming from the female soldier in that moment.
It confused the hell out of me. I turned to look at my wife for a second and when I turned back, he was dead. Neither of us had a clue what had happened.
I watched with headphones so I liked that the sound design in his voice gives away that he’s dead before you actually see it, and I enjoyed that subtle bit of dramatic irony after the sudden explosion when Mundy is disoriented for a second and doesn’t realize Canto is dead, and it’s the hologram that’s replying to her. I thought it was a bit clever and creative, but yeah it’s kind of subtle, and a bit fast
Really strong first half. Did feel like once the kid and the other two soldiers came in it lost a bit of intensity and momentum. Overall a fine-good level episode.
I just realised that Ruby says in the Devil's Chord that her "time" is June or July. June/July is the 2 part season finale for season 1. Are we watching the adventures out of sync?
Nah, the Doctor pretty much always takes the companion back to their time when they want to go home, even if Ruby is with him for years he’d return her to June/July 2024.
First episode of doctor who that felt like doctor who in years. I wish Jodie had been given the opportunity to work with material like this. I hope Ncuti continues getting stories like this. It wasn’t even that amazing or anything, but having the Doctor feel like the Doctor again was very cathartic.
@@friendlyotaku9525 Famously, the entire Chibnall era was a bit of a wash for lots of fans. The portrayal of the Doctor was the worst it had ever been (IMO). What do you mean “what does that even mean” lol, disagreeing is fair. But have you been living under a rock?
Yeah, i thought about it too, but ai would wait for a prompt to emulate the soldier. No other soldier ai would have receive a prompt stating what was happening and to look for proof in the system. Therefore, even if they emulated the same level of love for their relatives, they wouldnt have directed it against villengard.
I was just so confused... Why did the doctor randomly run straight out into an obvious battlefield? And then Ruby followed him without looking left or right?? And then we get a fake Ruby death scene... For a character we barely know or care about yet? Everything happened way too fast to make sense of. The side characters were so one note. Why did they make the young girl act so dumb and keep asking about her dad when she would have known he was dead??? Ugh
"Why did the doctor randomly run straight out into an obvious battlefield" because he's the Doctor, he heard someone screaming and his instincts kicked in so he ran to try and help.
Well, you made some very good and well-articulated arguments defending an episode that I believe was the most offensive piece of television I have ever seen. While you were laughing at the Doctor's turns of phrase and strong commitment to his lines highlighting the absurdity of the situation, I was literally swearing at the screen at the contempt dripping from his lips for faith itself. The episode was very clever, but it knew it and didn't mind telling the audience to its face -- since The Doctor spent the entire episode on a landmine talking directly to camera -- that it was not just the characters that it considers stupid, gullible corporate tools, but us as well. At one point he even spews at us, "Do you GET, GET, GET it?" As you point out, this is not the first time we run into the Anglican marines, but while the characters themselves are better here, the impression is worse, because it is clear that the show is not treating them as a narrative or allegorical device here, but is calling out the actual Church and its adherents and denouncing them. Basically telling Anglicans that they have no positive place in the Whoverse. What was galling for me, is that this comes on the heels of Space Babies, a show that argues that children need imaginary enemies -- boogeymen -- in order to grow and develop properly. But here, the Church is fighting an imaginary enemy and it is contemptible. How does THAT work? Well, it works from the point of view that the Church is a state Church and that State is an arms dealer. Yes, we get it. But this could've been told more metaphorically and less judgmentally.
I also found this whole episode so offensive. And please note that it was not just myself, who is Christian, but also my agnostic sister as well, who found this so incredibly offensive. The metaphors were so heavy handed they weren’t metaphorical and the doctor insulting faith? (And then also paying some lip service to it at the end???) “Faith girl” used as an insult from the doctor felt so out of character to someone typically respectful or all different cultures. Like if you wanted to do something with this you could explore the values of this group’s religion and have the doctor or companion help the side characters realize how the higher ups are manipulating them to not actually uphold those values. I think the show might have been trying to do that but…. It absolutely didn’t. Instead it just insulted them for having faith. And telling the foot soldiers to surrender?? How?? That’s the tragedy of war- the people dying can’t stop the fighting. It was so off the mark there, like doctor what are you doing? This episode was trying to hit us over the head with so many themes and I personally didn’t feel like a single one was executed well. To me, worst ever episode of doctor who, like I haven’t loved the last few because the writing felt very weak, but this was a new low. I would have stopped and never watched again if my sister didn’t want someone to watch the following episode with so she could look at reviews online.
@@cara3566 I've watched a few reviews of this ep so far. A couple of reviewers have mentioned the anti-faith sentiment, but only one of them actually understood why it rankles so much, and that person was an atheist, so we're not imagining it, despite the fact that I've been reading a lot of comments trying to tell me that I missed the point of the episode and that it's all OK, because The Doctor acknowledges at the end that he needs faith. But that just smacked of pandering to me and it couldn't undo the damage. "Faith girl" was said with so much venom that any pretext that this was not an attack on believers as well as belief is not credible. He also said that the Church had always been an army, which in a different context would not have bothered me, because there is a place for criticizing the Church's role in colonialism, but this was just a dismissive throwaway line used to denigrate Anglicans in general, or at least that's how it came off. It would be one thing to criticize only the Church itself, but here it is clear that its adherents are also targets. Sacred remains? That concept is offensive in and of itself. The Doctor clearly believed that the Church was the enemy, as much as the evil corporation that is manipulating them and that is nominally the bad guy of the episode.
Not a believer myself, but yeah, the level of open contempt for faith was really distasteful and off-putting. Not the first time Doctor Who has criticized faith (and I don't oppose reasonable criticism itself), but this was an unusual level of venom.
Seems that the Anglican Marines in this were part of the Church of the Papal Mainframe/Church of The Silence, which is indeed the same church the Clerics in Flesh and Stone were part of. The "Anglican Marines" also appeared in the Matt Smith episode "A Good Man Goes to War"
I think anything from 5-7/10 feels fair for this episode. Definitely no higher than 7 though despite some people claiming this to be the best episode ever.
@@sadmanadib8536 If this is a 9 then any episodes better than this, in your estimations, must be literally perfect ones. Wild Blue Yonder is a better episode than this. WBY is not a 10 by any stretch. Because it's a 7 and this episode is a 6. If your rating was sound, that'd mean every nuwho episode that is better than this one needs to be a perfect 10. Ratings should be a relative scale, so if this is a 9, your 9's are worthless.
@@captbuckyohare5585or, multiple episodes could be on par with each other? I would rate this episode a 9/10 as well, but it’s probably not even in my top 30.
Its starting to feel like either only star wars knows how to properly use the volume tech or just that tech just actually looks worse than green screen does
the anglican marines were also present in flesh and stone, yes? i’m certain jorah’s actor, (Ian Glenn) from game of thrones was working alongside river there. hence why they showed up to back the doctor in AGMGTW
the strongest episode in a while. It’s a curse when you know the “snow isn’t snow until it falls” line is reused from a deleted scene in a Christmas Carol. Edit: Harry and skillshare is back!
I agree Harry I think they missed a trick with the smoke they could’ve been coughing badly at the start because of the smoke until the vacuum drones fly by and clear the smoke up
At 13:06 i caught a glimpse of the Calendar Age of an individual from the ambulance and it says year 3082 so this episode is set on the planet Kastoria in the 31st century somewhere.
To each their own, but not sure why you keep insisting that Ncuti and Millie have no chemistry when I'd argue their sibling like dynamic has been the highlight of this season.
They are both young, energetic, likeable actors and I do think they have chemistry but I would suggest the episodes aren't stretching them enough or doing enough things with their dynamic to take full advantage. We're 4 episodes in and it feels like they're elevating a Doctor / Companion dynamic that has one dimensional training wheels still on. How much more depth and colour did 11 and Amy have 4 eps in? 9 and Rose? 10 and Rose? 10 and Donna? Even 12 and Clara? It's a similar issue to 13 and her companions... there's not enough conflict or drama or character there. Just actors making mid dialogue and scenes feel better than they are on the page.
Right?! I think if anything you could argue that the development has been a bit rushed but Ncuti and Millie/15 and Ruby have so much chemistry and just work together so well!
Honestly thought this episode was really terrible, worse than the first two for sure. It's hard to enjoy an episode when every character in it can't seem to stop making the stupidest decisions and the plot devices make no sense.
“Oh, so now you need proof, faith girl?” Is such a MASSIVE ick coming from the Doctor. I swear at least half his lines about religion came straight from r/atheists or something. Doctor Who attacking religion is EXTREMELY unhealthy for the show. It used to treat that subject with such respect. Hell, the Doctor himself beat the Devil. In RTD’s original tenure, no less! Other than that gross bit of dialogue, the episode is solid. I agree with the 7/10, but surprised Harry did not call out that cringe.
Indeed. What's better? Boom or Asylum of the Daleks? Because I think the latter so all these overexcited folks giving Boom 9/10 are baffling me cuz that means Asylum is a 10 and hohoho no it ain't.
Very fair review, I didn't realise it was written by Moffat (I saw him give a talk at The Oxford Union and didn't think he'd be returning to Who anytime soon). I really felt this stood up as a well constructed, edited story.
Again, very generous, I expected wayy more from Moffat. No more than a 6 for me, but it tells you how far things have fallen that this is the best that this season has so far had to offer by some distance.
I thought the effects in this episode were fantastic and the LED screen was used quite effectively! I certainly bought that this is an alien planet, in fact it reminds me of how in the 60s they'd have like these painted backgrounds for alien landscapes, this was like a HIGHER budget and more technologically advanced version of that! Though nothing beats a classic welsh quarry, I'm sure we'll see one of those at some point too!
Anyone else get the distinct feeling this anti-capitalist, anti-soldier, anti-religion episode is actually a repurposed script by Moffat from Capaldi's era that he's recycled? Millie's Clara-isms, The Doctor's darker and nastier dialogue, the 12/Clara dynamic that doesn't feel quite earned by the new guys yet? This was a 6/10 for me. I thought the commentary was cluttered and clunky like some of Moffat's weaker latter era scripts. A bottle episode that somehow manages to be simultaneously quite simple but is also falling over itself to cram in so many points, ideas, and character beats that amount to less than the sum of their parts and ultimately suck the potential out of what should be the meat of the story - 15 and Ruby trying to survive while also in opposition to each other. This should have been the episode where the companion's defiance and agency in contrast to the Doctor solidifies their dynamic and develops who they'll be as a team going forward. That didn't happen for me. WBY is still top for this era. Also, if the battlefield is artificially being conditioned to maintain the optimum warzone for profitability and it operates on an algorithm, once the AI realised that the Doctor being exploded would destroy half the planet and completely unbalance the casualty rate etc. shouldn't the landmine have disarmed itself? Hmmm?
Completely convinced that this is from 7B. The dialogue sounds fresh out of Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman and TBF, it almost definitely would have better if it was
@@unthusiasm4541 Really? That whole weight re-balance exchange with a few key word tweaks for me would literally copy and paste into Series 9 Twelve and Clara for me. I can't picture 11 standing still for 30 mins so it's hard to imagine a scenario where the mine didn't immediately explode.
@@captbuckyohare5585 honestly, I thought the entire episodes worth of dialogue was written specifically for Matt Smith. Parts of it I can hear for Capaldi but I can hear every single line in Smith's voice
he definitely had capaldi in mind while writing it. probably written even before he knew who the next doctor would be or had a chance to see him as Doctor.
I don't get why people think this episode is good, its literally the most vapid cliched trash I've ever seen. It's all just drama and meaningfull sounding phrases, but there isn't actually anything behind it, it just says it is something and then does nothing to back these claims up. And all the emotional beats are so transparently manipulative, the narrative doesn't care about any of the characters, thats why they don't behave like characters and instead do whatever would be the most dramatic in the moment. The same goes for the world building, it is entirely incoherent, it doesn't work emotionally or as an allegory for any of the things this episode pretends to be about, it just does whatever would be the most fucked up thing, and cause the most conflict. But even the conflict is lazy trash, just concepts seen a billion times before executed in the same way as those billion times before, whithout any of the elements that made these concepts work. It even fails st being shallow melodrama. If it hadn't been followed immediately by 73 yards it would have soured the entire season for me.
The question of faith was dealt with so much better in the tennant one when they discover the devil. RTD used tk be able to write these themes subtly so that it actually provoked thought, in this new era he is just spelling it out and whacking it in peoples faces and its not clever, it comes across as childishly bad writing
I agree with the dumb ending bit but I thought about it some more and basically my head cannon is that the AI is trying to replicate the dad as much as possible ie the fatherly feelings and going to search which isn’t in its remit. So thinking from that POV what would the father do when he realises the war that’s killed so many of his friends and that he brought his only family his daughter to is basically smoke and mirrors and the real enemy was the system he is infiltrating. Add to that that system is currently going to attack his daughter as it assume she is a hostile entity what would he do in that situation. Which makes the ending much better. Obv if this is the OG view it wasn’t communicated properly and effectively but doesn’t really take away from a brilliant ep in my view.
Except for the fact that Evil McNasty Inc should have accounted for that possibility and programmed the AI to remain loyal to the company in spite of the superficial “fatherly” qualities it was programmed to display. Actually making it take those attributes on is just stupid.
@UnderTheKoscheii Ive been watching doctor who since 1985, nothing can change the fact that I didn't enjoy it. If you thought it was well written and structured, good for you.
14:25 wish I could agree with ya man but I thought it was kinda ignorant writing. A lot of people who have faith think for themselves and I think truncating it like that is actually very narrow minded. Thankfully the Doctor has a slight realization to this at the end but I still didn’t care for that moment
Was it a perfect episode? No. And I also disliked the child and the end solution. But damn, I haven't enjoyed an episode of Doctor Who this much since....well, Capaldi's last episode.
This new Doc openly weeps a LOT. Not hating, just an observation. Does make each time he does feel a little... wasted, or forced tho. A tad unnecessary. Idk, how often do people cry? Am I just a sociopath?
I think it really depends on the situation. If you were standing on a land mine and watched your friend "die" in front of you I think that's warranted. The only other example I can think of is the Doctor shedding a tear in front of the church when he sees Ruby's mum walk away, and tbh that also feels warranted. He is certainly a more openly emotional Doctor thanks to 14's retirement.
@@badger_shorts7708 Except he also broke down weeping in CORR when she’d been erased after he knew her for two minutes. So weeping over her now just doesn’t have the same emotional impact because this isn’t an outpouring of emotion, this is just what he does all the time.
@Longshanks1690 it wasn't just her being erased. It was how all those children who were adopted weren't and Lord knows what happened to them, the happy and outgoing mother had become cruel and cold and a lot more.
@@badger_shorts7708 Oh come on, you know the implication is that it’s primarily Ruby he’s crying over, they were written to be besties from their first scene. If he had cried the last episode when people didn’t appreciate music anymore, you’d probably have a point. But when it’s only when Ruby is threatened that the tears come out? It’s so abundantly clear that it’s only her he gets overly emotional over, and it’s so absurdly out of character for how short a time they’ve had together.
Is the Doc sure the *entire* Villengard mainframe got taken down by AI-daddy? Presumably that's just local though, like with the ambulances and mines and stuff right? You don't mean to say the largest supplier of arms in the universe has had all of its weapons go offline *everywhere* and countless lives have been condemned out of nowhere as a result? If both sides of a given war are using Villengard, woo, war's over. But if only one side was using Villengard, they've just been massacred 🤨
Evil McNasty Inc was stupid enough to let its own AIs take over its ambulances, as well as their long-standing policy of murdering their customers for no reason while pretending that it’s somehow profitable. Why shouldn’t we think they’re stupid enough to let the entire corporation be taken over that quickly too?
Yes. That is exactly what you’re supposed to think. Evil McNasty Inc doesn’t have security on their tech just like they don’t have reasons for killing their customers, they just do things to be convenient for the plot, not because it makes sense. Because this episode has the intelligence of a Year 7’s creative writing but it somehow tricked everyone into thinking it’s high art because of a dark tone. Media literacy is actually in the toilet.
Yep, it was just local in that planet. The War Doctor eventually destroyed the corporation as the Ninth Doctor mentions, but this takes time before that. Basically they just shut down a local server
@UnderTheKoscheii because Doctor Who was always a Sci-fi series, now it's just an echo chamber for the left and thier 'message'. Blokes wearing dresses, pretending to be women, and diverse box ticking isn't Doctor Who. The ratings say it all! 🙄🤦
I actually enjoyed the way they did the surprise death of the Anglican love interest, to me it came across in the way that, this is how easily someone can die in war and that people are taken so easily from those that love them. Thinking about how that applies to real life right now actually made me cry a little during the episode. The ending though, very weak for me too. Slightly ruined it all for me.
Oh hey my friend is balancing on a land mine. But lemme admire the view, be disgusted at random stuff, demand answers and do other time wasting thing. :)
Also, the mine doesn't make sense. It only goes off once it knows there's a person on it and not just a rock or something that just happened to fall on it. That bit makes sense but then Mundy says it has a failsafe, so if the object is on the mine for more than 10 mins or whatever it will go off regardless.
Considering the creators of the mine are a giant company that are profiting off this war, having their mines be wasted and leading the soldiers to invest in more mines makes sense.
I think it’s more implied that it will only fail safe if it can’t determine what’s on it. Live target, detonate, non live target, deactivate, can’t determine if the target is live or not, detonate anyway.
This would have been a good follow on from the Giggle in terms of making the timeline making slightly more sense. And yet again the ending felt rushed and the dad was a bit Deus Ex Machina. But definitely the best of the new series so far
This is the better out the 3 so far, but it was still pretty poor. I have been on the edge of cancelling my TV licence for years. Doctor Who is the only thing I pay it for. I don't use it for anything else. I just want Doctor Who to be good. Maybe it is just ain't for me anymore.
This particular episode told me right to my face that it isn't for me anymore. Anglicans need not apply. Which is a shame, because Doctor Who has always been inclusive and expansive, an infinite universe.
@@Kieop *Screen Rant interview* Moffat: I never saw them as straightforward bad guys, to be honest, at all. In Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone, Father Octavian is the most heroic character there. The way he dies to save the Doctor, and the Doctor realizes throughout that story that he's misjudged him brutally, as he's inclined to, just because he gets wound up. He's a scientist adventurer who has a slight suspicion that he might be God himself, so he just gets really annoyed at that. I think people are thinking I'm having a pot at armies and religion. I'm really not. It's the Doctor; he's just like that. I don't view them as straightforwardly bad people at all. Even in "A Good Man Goes To War," in fairness, the mission they're on is to try and stop the Doctor sparking an enormous war. They do so wrong, and it's brutal what they do, but their mission is not straightforwardly evil at all.
@@SPM0717 Thank you for providing some context from Moffat himself. And I had never seen them that way before either. It's true, The Doctor has always been anti-military, which was a source of a lot of dramatic tension in the Pertwee years. And I have felt a bit uneasy with The Doctor's more recent comfort with UNIT's presence in most of his adventures as a result. Even in this episode, the Anglican characters are good people. Perhaps that's part of the problem for me. Usually when you watch an episode of television and characters are being denigrated, you don't identify with them, but here, The Doctor is stuck on a landmine and he is speaking directly to camera most of the time. It's a heavy-handed metaphor and he is telling these characters (and us) that he has contempt for them and their faith because it is what has allowed them to be corporate tools willing to sacrifice themselves for nothing. He implies faith is delusional and thus the faithful are stupid and gullible. But it's even worse than that. He attacks the Church itself. He says that it has always been an army. In another context, I might have accepted that, since it's true that the Church was an instrumental tool of colonialism, so it's a valid criticism for an SF allegory to explore. But here, it just sounded dismissive and hateful. The concept of sacred remains was offensive in and of itself. These "Anglicans" and their beliefs are unrecognizable, so when they are criticized in other eps, it is hard to take it personally. But here, for me, it really felt like the Church was the enemy, rather than the fictional corporation that was meant to be bad guy.
it was a step up from the previous two but one of the most forgettable Moffat-penned stories for me. Nice to have him back though in a weird sort of way xD I have to say I think Frontios did the invisible aggressors aspect better
If the final act had been as strong as the first half an hour this is the best Doctor Who episode for many years. Couldn't quite stick the landing but it's still good stuff
I found the episode started great but then just got weak trying too hard to add more and more and more tension. It felt self parodying after a while. I also found the romance sub plot utter bilge and most of the side characters woefully acted. I also found myself full of sheer rage when Moffat wouldn't stop referencing himself
13:35, I mean, if they are willing to just let a blind dude die because it would take too long and cost too much, they probably already know that the higher ups would just let them die anyway
I haven't seen your content before, but I really enjoyed this video! I might be oblivious, but I didn't even notice the effects looking out of place, and in general loved the episode. For me it felt like the first doctor who episode with bite in a long time. I would give it an 8/10.
4:50 Damn, spoilers! Lol. This is the first time I hear about this. I kinda wish we got Gibson for longer - I do wonder if that means she dies at the end? I am happy that we at least gonna get rather quick finish to her backstory storyline - and that we won't have to wait seasons to see the mystery resolved. Also Sethu sounds like someone who will actually be a good companion, I enjoyed her acting in this episode and this could mean we get some justice to character archetypes like Yazmin - with hopefully some nice exploration of Sethu's Indian ancestry. I do wonder, if her sister has any acting skills, but it would be funny to somehow utilise a fact that she does have real world twin sister. 6:40 Also a discussion about capitalism, humanitarianism and AI? This is also the first of the "Black Mirror"-esque episodes. Which I don't mind and the preaching isn't as in your face as Orphan 55.
Sheesh, never been this early, should probably say something productive instead of just proclaiming how early I am... Theres loads of discourse for Dr Who at the moment, plenty of people refusing to give it a chance or insulting it constantly, and equally loads of people praising it and ignoring all flaws. I doubt thats going to stop anytime soon. That being said, I think you do a good job of giving the episodes a fair chance and review with as little bias as possible. Pragmatic and reasonable reviews are in short supply these days and your videos are always welcome.
It's hard to remain objective because going to extremes on either side of the discourse spectrum nets not only a lot of clout but also that sweet, sweet dopamine release.
I think the odd time difference can be explained by the fact that I heard I think from Harbo's review of the 2nd episode of this series but I am not certain. But its basically the music episode was moved around which leads to this clear dissonance between the series. I however ended up watching them in the right order because I skipped it as I just didn't want to watch it & ended up watching it right before the finale which made it feel in place. Just proof that somebody made a stupid decision with moving an episode like what's happened before with Moffatt season but those episodes didn't suffer as much.
I think this season shows that the writers just need time to get back into the feel of writing doctor who. Also they need more episodes per season. Like most seasons have like 2 or 3 bad episodes but most past seasons had about 10 other episodes that were great. Now we can say that this season had 12 episodes if we include the 60th anniversary specials & the christmas one. We still have like 4 bad episodes & then like 2 mediocre ones but like none are nearly as bad as the 1st season by Chibnall.
You're being mighty generous to those last few seasons before the last 5 years. Just because Chibnail was worse (and omg he really was so much worse) doesn't magically make Moffat's last couple of seasons retroactively good.
I disagree. Ive just watched the whole modern show within this one year, and this is one of the only episodes that gave me adrenaline rushes and made me tear up! Its good! I just seriously think ONLY suspense fans can enjoy it. I love an eventful suspenseful horror movie, this is right up my alley despite not being horror. All the darker episodes are what i like.
@@Longshanks1690i actually didnt know who wrote it when i watched it, i dont read the credits or keep up with anything until AFTER i watch the episodes, and i really liked it!!!
This episode really showed me how Steven Moffat is better than RTD in so many ways less preachy more story I enjoyed Moffats incredible writing for the doctor the fast pace dialogue and funny writing was exactly what I missed.
To the people who say this was a terrible episode, just stop watching Doctor Who. There's obviously no satisfying you no matter what the show does, and you've got better things to do than to hate watch this show.
@UnderTheKoscheii and others praise it to the point of sycophancy whilst also making money from the gullible. It's an honest review, get out of your echo chamber and don't cry bc someone has a different opinion than yourself?
Yes all 3 million of the uk audience that are left. 1/4 of nuwho peak. They left mate. The only folks left either still enjoy it or watch out of habit / hope / curiousity.
@@jamescarr1265Buddy doesn’t know doctor who always been political 😭 wtf you think the idea of a master race called Dalek that wants to kill every other living thing, or a cyberman who loses all creativity when they conform to everyone else’s standards. The literally second episode of the reboot has the richest people in the universe watching the world burn for fun and this was somehow lost on you 😭😭😭
@@RandyMcRandomson huh… chill I said 3 words. I never said Doctor who wasn’t political, leave your planned talking points on the desk. Doctor who takes on MODERN politics is bafflingly awful imo
Haven’t enjoyed an episode of dr who like this since world enough and time and maybe Wild Blue Yonder too. It wasn’t perfect but the sense of danger was back it was fantastic imo
I like Splice's character, however, I think the character is meant to be more like 6 rather than 11, as the actress looks older than I suppose how the character was written. So her character works better if you think she is younger than she looks. Overall I did love this episode and I rank them very close to the Devil Cord IMO. The only thing I didn't like was the side romance and the long opening, I just felt the relationship between Mundy and Catno was really undeveloped and really felt no immediate reaction when they killed Catno off. I loved the ending with the "Kiss Kiss", as it was implemented throughout the episode and felt it was a good payoff. I also wasn't expecting Ruby to be shot there, so the only good bit from Catno XD. Overall I say a high 8 for me. I am personally really excited for Saturday's episode as it looks like it's a Doctor Lite episode and the themes of the episode look so interesting.
I feel like the community has fallen to the mass media disparagement of Dr Who recently. This episode wiuldve felt right at home in Capaldi's era, or even Ecclestone. Like with some of Whittakers stuff (Eve of the Daleks, Haunting of Villa Diodari, Village of the Angels) this is being billed as mediocre by instant reaction but will be recognised as acrually pretty good in a few years.
@couruu what do you mean by traditional media? This new season has been getting a lot of praise by critics particularly this episode and tomorrow's! Unless you mean something else? Sorry, I'm genuinely confused.
@@friendlyotaku9525 that's kinda my point - the individual episodes are good, but people are still going "doctor who is awful" and nitpicking the most minor of issues, damaging their enjoyment of it. There's an air of negativity around the show.
@@couruu Ah! You're likely referring to ahem... *those* people then, they've sadly been around for years ever since Jodie became the Doctor and have just become louder really, I don't like them either and they really damage actual critique and just poison the well really, particularly the ones who run youtube channels with large followings, that just causes it to spread. It's sadly a culture war.
What I don't like about the Doctor's writing so far is all the "young people" things he says. It should be the Doctor is old person in the Tardis no matter how young they may look and the companion should be the one with the "young people" things to say.
@@HellfireComms well yeah that was there to a degree as well, I wasn't a fan of that back then either. But here it feels a little bit worse here because despite Matt Smith getting some of that "young people" speak, it seems as if there was always someone around to make sure that the Doctor felt like an old man in a young man's body... at least some of the time... There just isn't much of that here so far. I'm sure it's not Gatwa's fault and he's got time to show more of that "old weary gentleman traveller" quality that the Doctor should have... if the writing will let him that is.
It's not as if the Doctor lived on Earth with the Nobles and their 15 year old daughter for an undisclosed amount of time. Okay, sarcasm aside this is very intentional, alongside this Doctor being more emotionally vulnerable, that's because of the Doctor's therapy living with the Nobles, that has affected him!
Was it the showrunner after he realised the character continuity and his own handle on what bi-generation is didn't make sense from episode to episode because that's a hell of a get out jail free card.
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No, this was Negative Infinity out of 10
@@mattthesilent777REDyour opinions rated even less
@@benmackin6942 My opinions are more that they appear
Writing a great story and then just ending it with the “power of love” is a typical Moffat moment
Plus a force ghost!
That's what they did in the walking dead Rick spin off show.
As a grieving teenager in 2024 (my mother died a year ago today actually) this episode is what I needed now, especially because she introduced me to this show
Sorry for your loss ♥
I feel like the little girl was supposed to be like 5 years younger than the actress
Omg yes. She seemed completely unaware of her surroundings and was terrible
Truly the worst part of this episode, that and the weird tonal inconsistencies
these reviews are coming out so quickly I genuinely live for them they're class. Been watching your channel since I was 10 and now I'm in the first year of uni and your channel has been a staple. Genuinely love it. Cheers for all these great reviews!
2:44. "What made matters worse was the smoke that was clearly just a visual effect."
Dr Who Unleashed clearly shows the smoke was genuine and was wafted onto the set by someone off camera.
15:48. "How Canto is killed is never shown."
He dies because while he was chatting about the tattoo and "trying to get past the safeguards" , the ambulance causes a short circuit (hence the sparks bursting out) which knocks Mundy over but kills him because of his close proximity to it.
I used to like his reviews on Who, even if I disagreed.
Now I feel like he's just looking to complain most of the time
If I'm being honest, this level of basic research and thought is very much missing from Harry's recent videos on Doctor Who imo
@@badger_shorts7708 i agree. I think he's often obviously wrong or not willing to think about these things differently. Even when I overall agree with Harry on something, like Space Babies, I often find his unwillingness to interpret something differently grating. Especially regarding how this doctor seems to talk about his grief. To me, it's relatable. To Harry, it's bad writing
@rollingon5566 yeah. I like Space Babies for how absurd it is. And I relate too. If I'm going through a hard time, I'm like:
"Yeah, this is what happened...okay moving on..."
I just don't like to mope about it.
the smoke doesn't quite explain why none of the actors reacted to it, which I think was Harry's main complaint. But maybe they just cut the coughs out etc.
As an American, I genuinely expected you to mention us at 6:30, lol. Despite the U.K.'s history, the modern image it has doesn't scream "one of the largest arms exporters in the world."
As a Brit, I expected him to say America too
Yeah lol, BAE systems is one of the largest arms exporters in the world, everything from naval ships to cruise missiles come out of the UK
well its true regardess of its image
Yea I was expecting him to say America not the UK. the UK is more in the European Arms dealing group which is a mix of Belgium, German, Austrian, Italian & French weapons manufactures which supply like a 3rd of the worlds weapons (mainly richer countries as their guns are reliable but expensive) compared to the US which is usually cheap initially but you basically end up needing to buy all American to get the most of it & America will hold up any government as long as they pay them. The Europeans don't like dealing with groups they disagree with like Russian & Chinese proxies. The US however will.
Genesis of the Daleks is not only notable for being the first time The Doctor steps on a landmine, having a companion called Harry, and also featuring 4 and Sarah Jane, but it also was about the Genesis of the Daleks. That's a full fact box there Harry
I hope we see the Villengard company make their debut with company reps or assassins
Also fun fact the song the doctor was singing is a reference to a song the second doctor would play on the recorder. My favorite Doctor
The scene with the soldier's death actually made me cry, surprisingly. I liked that it was so sudden and you see the hologram before you realise what's happened. I felt the grief coming from the female soldier in that moment.
It confused the hell out of me. I turned to look at my wife for a second and when I turned back, he was dead. Neither of us had a clue what had happened.
I didn't really care because he had 3 minutes of screen time with a romantic that got even less
I watched with headphones so I liked that the sound design in his voice gives away that he’s dead before you actually see it, and I enjoyed that subtle bit of dramatic irony after the sudden explosion when Mundy is disoriented for a second and doesn’t realize Canto is dead, and it’s the hologram that’s replying to her. I thought it was a bit clever and creative, but yeah it’s kind of subtle, and a bit fast
Really strong first half.
Did feel like once the kid and the other two soldiers came in it lost a bit of intensity and momentum.
Overall a fine-good level episode.
The kid was the weakest part for sure.
I just realised that Ruby says in the Devil's Chord that her "time" is June or July. June/July is the 2 part season finale for season 1. Are we watching the adventures out of sync?
Nah, the Doctor pretty much always takes the companion back to their time when they want to go home, even if Ruby is with him for years he’d return her to June/July 2024.
it makes more sense when you realise that Devil's Chord was originally supposed to be the sixth episode, not the second.
@@alkrolyd that hasn’t been confirmed
@@alkrolyd Ah right, I guess that just makes more sense now. Especially with Ruby's comment "You never run", they've travelled for quite some time.
That would have worked sooooo mich better, the line about ruby knowing the doctor never runs would carry so much more weight @@alkrolyd
First episode of doctor who that felt like doctor who in years. I wish Jodie had been given the opportunity to work with material like this. I hope Ncuti continues getting stories like this. It wasn’t even that amazing or anything, but having the Doctor feel like the Doctor again was very cathartic.
Well, "Wild blue yonder" felt very Doctor Who
@@jonathangimenos Yeah that’s true. I guess I meant within a “proper full length new series”. Tennant is always going to feel like the Doctor 😆
@@diabeetus_9837she did get an episode like that
The Doctor has always felt like the Doctor. What does that even mean?
@@friendlyotaku9525 Famously, the entire Chibnall era was a bit of a wash for lots of fans. The portrayal of the Doctor was the worst it had ever been (IMO). What do you mean “what does that even mean” lol, disagreeing is fair. But have you been living under a rock?
Best episode of this era so far, followed by Wild Blue Yonder.
Personally I preferred wild blue yonder
@@murraymint8599 I can definitely respect that, I think i might be having a touch of recency bias tbh.
I agree! Tomorrow's episode looks fantastic too...!
@@friendlyotaku9525 Ikkkkk!!!!!! I can’t wait
I guess all of the other soldier holograms didn't love their relatives enough
It’s because he was coached by the doctor
Yeah, i thought about it too, but ai would wait for a prompt to emulate the soldier. No other soldier ai would have receive a prompt stating what was happening and to look for proof in the system. Therefore, even if they emulated the same level of love for their relatives, they wouldnt have directed it against villengard.
@@batattack6432 🤓🤓
It was all over the place but the good moments were lit af
I was just so confused... Why did the doctor randomly run straight out into an obvious battlefield? And then Ruby followed him without looking left or right?? And then we get a fake Ruby death scene... For a character we barely know or care about yet? Everything happened way too fast to make sense of. The side characters were so one note. Why did they make the young girl act so dumb and keep asking about her dad when she would have known he was dead??? Ugh
"Why did the doctor randomly run straight out into an obvious battlefield" because he's the Doctor, he heard someone screaming and his instincts kicked in so he ran to try and help.
@@friendlyotaku9525 exactly lol, people acting like its out of character for him to do that
Well, you made some very good and well-articulated arguments defending an episode that I believe was the most offensive piece of television I have ever seen. While you were laughing at the Doctor's turns of phrase and strong commitment to his lines highlighting the absurdity of the situation, I was literally swearing at the screen at the contempt dripping from his lips for faith itself. The episode was very clever, but it knew it and didn't mind telling the audience to its face -- since The Doctor spent the entire episode on a landmine talking directly to camera -- that it was not just the characters that it considers stupid, gullible corporate tools, but us as well. At one point he even spews at us, "Do you GET, GET, GET it?"
As you point out, this is not the first time we run into the Anglican marines, but while the characters themselves are better here, the impression is worse, because it is clear that the show is not treating them as a narrative or allegorical device here, but is calling out the actual Church and its adherents and denouncing them. Basically telling Anglicans that they have no positive place in the Whoverse. What was galling for me, is that this comes on the heels of Space Babies, a show that argues that children need imaginary enemies -- boogeymen -- in order to grow and develop properly. But here, the Church is fighting an imaginary enemy and it is contemptible. How does THAT work? Well, it works from the point of view that the Church is a state Church and that State is an arms dealer. Yes, we get it. But this could've been told more metaphorically and less judgmentally.
I also found this whole episode so offensive. And please note that it was not just myself, who is Christian, but also my agnostic sister as well, who found this so incredibly offensive. The metaphors were so heavy handed they weren’t metaphorical and the doctor insulting faith? (And then also paying some lip service to it at the end???) “Faith girl” used as an insult from the doctor felt so out of character to someone typically respectful or all different cultures.
Like if you wanted to do something with this you could explore the values of this group’s religion and have the doctor or companion help the side characters realize how the higher ups are manipulating them to not actually uphold those values. I think the show might have been trying to do that but…. It absolutely didn’t. Instead it just insulted them for having faith. And telling the foot soldiers to surrender?? How?? That’s the tragedy of war- the people dying can’t stop the fighting. It was so off the mark there, like doctor what are you doing? This episode was trying to hit us over the head with so many themes and I personally didn’t feel like a single one was executed well.
To me, worst ever episode of doctor who, like I haven’t loved the last few because the writing felt very weak, but this was a new low. I would have stopped and never watched again if my sister didn’t want someone to watch the following episode with so she could look at reviews online.
@@cara3566 I've watched a few reviews of this ep so far. A couple of reviewers have mentioned the anti-faith sentiment, but only one of them actually understood why it rankles so much, and that person was an atheist, so we're not imagining it, despite the fact that I've been reading a lot of comments trying to tell me that I missed the point of the episode and that it's all OK, because The Doctor acknowledges at the end that he needs faith. But that just smacked of pandering to me and it couldn't undo the damage. "Faith girl" was said with so much venom that any pretext that this was not an attack on believers as well as belief is not credible. He also said that the Church had always been an army, which in a different context would not have bothered me, because there is a place for criticizing the Church's role in colonialism, but this was just a dismissive throwaway line used to denigrate Anglicans in general, or at least that's how it came off. It would be one thing to criticize only the Church itself, but here it is clear that its adherents are also targets. Sacred remains? That concept is offensive in and of itself. The Doctor clearly believed that the Church was the enemy, as much as the evil corporation that is manipulating them and that is nominally the bad guy of the episode.
Not a believer myself, but yeah, the level of open contempt for faith was really distasteful and off-putting. Not the first time Doctor Who has criticized faith (and I don't oppose reasonable criticism itself), but this was an unusual level of venom.
This episode made me want to touch grass! 🤘
No way you based your entire YT account over one thing Ncuti Gatwa said 💀
@@edwardreed67 Touching grass was a thing before Ncuti
@@edwardreed67People have been saying "touch grass" since 2014, long before Ncuti had even one acting role.
@@HOTD108_ That is true but I'm pretty sure this person is one of those "anti-woke" types based on their recent comments, best to ignore.
Anti woke? You mean people with a functioning brain.
Weren't the anglican marines also in the flesh and stone two parter?
Seems that the Anglican Marines in this were part of the Church of the Papal Mainframe/Church of The Silence, which is indeed the same church the Clerics in Flesh and Stone were part of. The "Anglican Marines" also appeared in the Matt Smith episode "A Good Man Goes to War"
I think anything from 5-7/10 feels fair for this episode. Definitely no higher than 7 though despite some people claiming this to be the best episode ever.
you cant gatekeep what people rates it bro id rate it a 9 what are you gonna do
@@sadmanadib8536 If this is a 9 then any episodes better than this, in your estimations, must be literally perfect ones.
Wild Blue Yonder is a better episode than this. WBY is not a 10 by any stretch. Because it's a 7 and this episode is a 6.
If your rating was sound, that'd mean every nuwho episode that is better than this one needs to be a perfect 10. Ratings should be a relative scale, so if this is a 9, your 9's are worthless.
@@captbuckyohare5585 not really.
@@captbuckyohare5585or, multiple episodes could be on par with each other? I would rate this episode a 9/10 as well, but it’s probably not even in my top 30.
Yeah I'd put this at 7 which is big jump compared to the others. Space Babies is 4-5 and Devils chord is a 3.
Boom has more good than bad, but it really wasn't a great episode.
If this episode was aired in the RTD1 era and was starring Tennant you’d be praising tf out of it 😂
@@NileSWPhotographyno
@@NileSWPhotography At best, its on par with some of the less memorable episodes from fifteen years ago. As I said, it was fine.
Its starting to feel like either only star wars knows how to properly use the volume tech or just that tech just actually looks worse than green screen does
Nah it's just Greig Fraser is the only person who knows how to use it.
the anglican marines were also present in flesh and stone, yes? i’m certain jorah’s actor, (Ian Glenn) from game of thrones was working alongside river there. hence why they showed up to back the doctor in AGMGTW
I was thinking this. I remember the Time Of Angels soldier fellas were from some sort of church
the strongest episode in a while. It’s a curse when you know the “snow isn’t snow until it falls” line is reused from a deleted scene in a Christmas Carol.
Edit: Harry and skillshare is back!
I agree Harry I think they missed a trick with the smoke they could’ve been coughing badly at the start because of the smoke until the vacuum drones fly by and clear the smoke up
At 13:06 i caught a glimpse of the Calendar Age of an individual from the ambulance and it says year 3082 so this episode is set on the planet Kastoria in the 31st century somewhere.
To each their own, but not sure why you keep insisting that Ncuti and Millie have no chemistry when I'd argue their sibling like dynamic has been the highlight of this season.
I see a lot of people saying that, I really don’t understand it.
They are both young, energetic, likeable actors and I do think they have chemistry but I would suggest the episodes aren't stretching them enough or doing enough things with their dynamic to take full advantage.
We're 4 episodes in and it feels like they're elevating a Doctor / Companion dynamic that has one dimensional training wheels still on.
How much more depth and colour did 11 and Amy have 4 eps in? 9 and Rose? 10 and Rose? 10 and Donna? Even 12 and Clara?
It's a similar issue to 13 and her companions... there's not enough conflict or drama or character there. Just actors making mid dialogue and scenes feel better than they are on the page.
Right?! I think if anything you could argue that the development has been a bit rushed but Ncuti and Millie/15 and Ruby have so much chemistry and just work together so well!
Still waiting for a re-review on Heaven Sent, like you did with Vincent and The Doctor
Pretty sure you have to be a patron
@@temerson2Like, he did a re-review of Heaven Sent and you have to be a patron to see it?
@@Notanothercrayon I believe so? Might have changed now.
Honestly thought this episode was really terrible, worse than the first two for sure. It's hard to enjoy an episode when every character in it can't seem to stop making the stupidest decisions and the plot devices make no sense.
“Oh, so now you need proof, faith girl?” Is such a MASSIVE ick coming from the Doctor. I swear at least half his lines about religion came straight from r/atheists or something.
Doctor Who attacking religion is EXTREMELY unhealthy for the show. It used to treat that subject with such respect. Hell, the Doctor himself beat the Devil. In RTD’s original tenure, no less!
Other than that gross bit of dialogue, the episode is solid. I agree with the 7/10, but surprised Harry did not call out that cringe.
Boom would’ve been a mid-to-bad Moffet episode back when he was showrunner.
Indeed. What's better?
Boom or Asylum of the Daleks?
Because I think the latter so all these overexcited folks giving Boom 9/10 are baffling me cuz that means Asylum is a 10 and hohoho no it ain't.
Shows how low standards have fallen.
Nah it would be a mid to good one imo.
Just out of curiosity what would be a mid-good Moffat ep from hos time as showrunner for you?
Into the Dalek? Magician/Familiar?
@@captbuckyohare5585 Thin Ice, the Monk Triology, Into the Dalek, Hell Bent, Bells of St John, Victory of the Daleks that sort of thing.
This episode being worthy of praise is sad, the barr has really went under the ground.
Very fair review, I didn't realise it was written by Moffat (I saw him give a talk at The Oxford Union and didn't think he'd be returning to Who anytime soon). I really felt this stood up as a well constructed, edited story.
Again, very generous, I expected wayy more from Moffat. No more than a 6 for me, but it tells you how far things have fallen that this is the best that this season has so far had to offer by some distance.
I thought the effects in this episode were fantastic and the LED screen was used quite effectively! I certainly bought that this is an alien planet, in fact it reminds me of how in the 60s they'd have like these painted backgrounds for alien landscapes, this was like a HIGHER budget and more technologically advanced version of that! Though nothing beats a classic welsh quarry, I'm sure we'll see one of those at some point too!
Anyone else get the distinct feeling this anti-capitalist, anti-soldier, anti-religion episode is actually a repurposed script by Moffat from Capaldi's era that he's recycled? Millie's Clara-isms, The Doctor's darker and nastier dialogue, the 12/Clara dynamic that doesn't feel quite earned by the new guys yet?
This was a 6/10 for me. I thought the commentary was cluttered and clunky like some of Moffat's weaker latter era scripts. A bottle episode that somehow manages to be simultaneously quite simple but is also falling over itself to cram in so many points, ideas, and character beats that amount to less than the sum of their parts and ultimately suck the potential out of what should be the meat of the story - 15 and Ruby trying to survive while also in opposition to each other. This should have been the episode where the companion's defiance and agency in contrast to the Doctor solidifies their dynamic and develops who they'll be as a team going forward. That didn't happen for me.
WBY is still top for this era.
Also, if the battlefield is artificially being conditioned to maintain the optimum warzone for profitability and it operates on an algorithm, once the AI realised that the Doctor being exploded would destroy half the planet and completely unbalance the casualty rate etc. shouldn't the landmine have disarmed itself?
Hmmm?
Completely convinced that this is from 7B. The dialogue sounds fresh out of Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman and TBF, it almost definitely would have better if it was
@@unthusiasm4541 Really? That whole weight re-balance exchange with a few key word tweaks for me would literally copy and paste into Series 9 Twelve and Clara for me. I can't picture 11 standing still for 30 mins so it's hard to imagine a scenario where the mine didn't immediately explode.
@@captbuckyohare5585 honestly, I thought the entire episodes worth of dialogue was written specifically for Matt Smith. Parts of it I can hear for Capaldi but I can hear every single line in Smith's voice
he definitely had capaldi in mind while writing it. probably written even before he knew who the next doctor would be or had a chance to see him as Doctor.
I think he said something about talking to Russel way back in the 2000s or 2010s and this idea did come up.
I don't get why people think this episode is good, its literally the most vapid cliched trash I've ever seen. It's all just drama and meaningfull sounding phrases, but there isn't actually anything behind it, it just says it is something and then does nothing to back these claims up.
And all the emotional beats are so transparently manipulative, the narrative doesn't care about any of the characters, thats why they don't behave like characters and instead do whatever would be the most dramatic in the moment.
The same goes for the world building, it is entirely incoherent, it doesn't work emotionally or as an allegory for any of the things this episode pretends to be about, it just does whatever would be the most fucked up thing, and cause the most conflict.
But even the conflict is lazy trash, just concepts seen a billion times before executed in the same way as those billion times before, whithout any of the elements that made these concepts work. It even fails st being shallow melodrama.
If it hadn't been followed immediately by 73 yards it would have soured the entire season for me.
The question of faith was dealt with so much better in the tennant one when they discover the devil. RTD used tk be able to write these themes subtly so that it actually provoked thought, in this new era he is just spelling it out and whacking it in peoples faces and its not clever, it comes across as childishly bad writing
I agree with the dumb ending bit but I thought about it some more and basically my head cannon is that the AI is trying to replicate the dad as much as possible ie the fatherly feelings and going to search which isn’t in its remit. So thinking from that POV what would the father do when he realises the war that’s killed so many of his friends and that he brought his only family his daughter to is basically smoke and mirrors and the real enemy was the system he is infiltrating. Add to that that system is currently going to attack his daughter as it assume she is a hostile entity what would he do in that situation. Which makes the ending much better. Obv if this is the OG view it wasn’t communicated properly and effectively but doesn’t really take away from a brilliant ep in my view.
Except for the fact that Evil McNasty Inc should have accounted for that possibility and programmed the AI to remain loyal to the company in spite of the superficial “fatherly” qualities it was programmed to display.
Actually making it take those attributes on is just stupid.
did it suck...
yes.
@UnderTheKoscheii it did. it was a mess of a story. and quite boring too
@UnderTheKoscheii Ive been watching doctor who since 1985, nothing can change the fact that I didn't enjoy it. If you thought it was well written and structured, good for you.
@UnderTheKoscheii yes it did. Only the alphabet brigade enjoyed it. 🙄
@UnderTheKoscheii LBGTQWERTYUIOPASDFHJKLZXCVNM+/-...get it right! 😏
@@Durka-Durka01 ignore him bro he's a troll
Nice to see you enjoying an episode this time! 😂
14:25 wish I could agree with ya man but I thought it was kinda ignorant writing. A lot of people who have faith think for themselves and I think truncating it like that is actually very narrow minded. Thankfully the Doctor has a slight realization to this at the end but I still didn’t care for that moment
Hold on a minuet!
Isn’t this the plot to the 1995 film ‘Screamers’?
I like watching your vids because they're intelligent but also non partisan. You call it as it is.
Was it a perfect episode? No. And I also disliked the child and the end solution.
But damn, I haven't enjoyed an episode of Doctor Who this much since....well, Capaldi's last episode.
This new Doc openly weeps a LOT. Not hating, just an observation. Does make each time he does feel a little... wasted, or forced tho. A tad unnecessary. Idk, how often do people cry? Am I just a sociopath?
Wouldn't you cry if you watched someone you cared about shot to death in front of you?
I think it really depends on the situation. If you were standing on a land mine and watched your friend "die" in front of you I think that's warranted. The only other example I can think of is the Doctor shedding a tear in front of the church when he sees Ruby's mum walk away, and tbh that also feels warranted. He is certainly a more openly emotional Doctor thanks to 14's retirement.
@@badger_shorts7708 Except he also broke down weeping in CORR when she’d been erased after he knew her for two minutes.
So weeping over her now just doesn’t have the same emotional impact because this isn’t an outpouring of emotion, this is just what he does all the time.
@Longshanks1690 it wasn't just her being erased. It was how all those children who were adopted weren't and Lord knows what happened to them, the happy and outgoing mother had become cruel and cold and a lot more.
@@badger_shorts7708 Oh come on, you know the implication is that it’s primarily Ruby he’s crying over, they were written to be besties from their first scene.
If he had cried the last episode when people didn’t appreciate music anymore, you’d probably have a point.
But when it’s only when Ruby is threatened that the tears come out? It’s so abundantly clear that it’s only her he gets overly emotional over, and it’s so absurdly out of character for how short a time they’ve had together.
Is the Doc sure the *entire* Villengard mainframe got taken down by AI-daddy? Presumably that's just local though, like with the ambulances and mines and stuff right? You don't mean to say the largest supplier of arms in the universe has had all of its weapons go offline *everywhere* and countless lives have been condemned out of nowhere as a result? If both sides of a given war are using Villengard, woo, war's over. But if only one side was using Villengard, they've just been massacred 🤨
Evil McNasty Inc was stupid enough to let its own AIs take over its ambulances, as well as their long-standing policy of murdering their customers for no reason while pretending that it’s somehow profitable.
Why shouldn’t we think they’re stupid enough to let the entire corporation be taken over that quickly too?
Shhhh, you're not meant to think about that stuff.
Yes. That is exactly what you’re supposed to think.
Evil McNasty Inc doesn’t have security on their tech just like they don’t have reasons for killing their customers, they just do things to be convenient for the plot, not because it makes sense.
Because this episode has the intelligence of a Year 7’s creative writing but it somehow tricked everyone into thinking it’s high art because of a dark tone. Media literacy is actually in the toilet.
I was thinking terms like mainframe is going to date the episode one day. And the mines lights already look a bit dated!
Yep, it was just local in that planet. The War Doctor eventually destroyed the corporation as the Ninth Doctor mentions, but this takes time before that. Basically they just shut down a local server
Woke nonsense. Down with this sort of thing!
@UnderTheKoscheii
Woke: aware, especially of social problems such as racism and inequality.
@UnderTheKoscheii because Doctor Who was always a Sci-fi series, now it's just an echo chamber for the left and thier 'message'. Blokes wearing dresses, pretending to be women, and diverse box ticking isn't Doctor Who. The ratings say it all! 🙄🤦
@UnderTheKoscheii no they don't. They are delusional men, wearing dresses, wearing makeup, pretending to be women. 😂
@UnderTheKoscheii 'BiGoTed' 🥱
@UnderTheKoscheii was your mother a woman? 🤔...or a man?
this is so far the most doctor who esque episode that gatwa was done so far
I actually enjoyed the way they did the surprise death of the Anglican love interest, to me it came across in the way that, this is how easily someone can die in war and that people are taken so easily from those that love them. Thinking about how that applies to real life right now actually made me cry a little during the episode.
The ending though, very weak for me too. Slightly ruined it all for me.
Oh hey my friend is balancing on a land mine. But lemme admire the view, be disgusted at random stuff, demand answers and do other time wasting thing. :)
So is everybody just going to ignore that the whole 'You're no longer profitable, bye bye' storyline was done in Oxygen with Capaldi then?
Also, the mine doesn't make sense. It only goes off once it knows there's a person on it and not just a rock or something that just happened to fall on it. That bit makes sense but then Mundy says it has a failsafe, so if the object is on the mine for more than 10 mins or whatever it will go off regardless.
Considering the creators of the mine are a giant company that are profiting off this war, having their mines be wasted and leading the soldiers to invest in more mines makes sense.
I think it’s more implied that it will only fail safe if it can’t determine what’s on it. Live target, detonate, non live target, deactivate, can’t determine if the target is live or not, detonate anyway.
My doctor.
Ouch
This would have been a good follow on from the Giggle in terms of making the timeline making slightly more sense. And yet again the ending felt rushed and the dad was a bit Deus Ex Machina. But definitely the best of the new series so far
This is the better out the 3 so far, but it was still pretty poor. I have been on the edge of cancelling my TV licence for years. Doctor Who is the only thing I pay it for. I don't use it for anything else. I just want Doctor Who to be good. Maybe it is just ain't for me anymore.
This particular episode told me right to my face that it isn't for me anymore. Anglicans need not apply. Which is a shame, because Doctor Who has always been inclusive and expansive, an infinite universe.
@@Kieop *Screen Rant interview*
Moffat: I never saw them as straightforward bad guys, to be honest, at all. In Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone, Father Octavian is the most heroic character there. The way he dies to save the Doctor, and the Doctor realizes throughout that story that he's misjudged him brutally, as he's inclined to, just because he gets wound up. He's a scientist adventurer who has a slight suspicion that he might be God himself, so he just gets really annoyed at that.
I think people are thinking I'm having a pot at armies and religion. I'm really not. It's the Doctor; he's just like that. I don't view them as straightforwardly bad people at all. Even in "A Good Man Goes To War," in fairness, the mission they're on is to try and stop the Doctor sparking an enormous war. They do so wrong, and it's brutal what they do, but their mission is not straightforwardly evil at all.
@@SPM0717 Thank you for providing some context from Moffat himself.
And I had never seen them that way before either. It's true, The Doctor has always been anti-military, which was a source of a lot of dramatic tension in the Pertwee years. And I have felt a bit uneasy with The Doctor's more recent comfort with UNIT's presence in most of his adventures as a result. Even in this episode, the Anglican characters are good people. Perhaps that's part of the problem for me. Usually when you watch an episode of television and characters are being denigrated, you don't identify with them, but here, The Doctor is stuck on a landmine and he is speaking directly to camera most of the time. It's a heavy-handed metaphor and he is telling these characters (and us) that he has contempt for them and their faith because it is what has allowed them to be corporate tools willing to sacrifice themselves for nothing. He implies faith is delusional and thus the faithful are stupid and gullible. But it's even worse than that. He attacks the Church itself. He says that it has always been an army. In another context, I might have accepted that, since it's true that the Church was an instrumental tool of colonialism, so it's a valid criticism for an SF allegory to explore. But here, it just sounded dismissive and hateful. The concept of sacred remains was offensive in and of itself. These "Anglicans" and their beliefs are unrecognizable, so when they are criticized in other eps, it is hard to take it personally. But here, for me, it really felt like the Church was the enemy, rather than the fictional corporation that was meant to be bad guy.
it was a step up from the previous two but one of the most forgettable Moffat-penned stories for me. Nice to have him back though in a weird sort of way xD I have to say I think Frontios did the invisible aggressors aspect better
If the final act had been as strong as the first half an hour this is the best Doctor Who episode for many years.
Couldn't quite stick the landing but it's still good stuff
I found the episode started great but then just got weak trying too hard to add more and more and more tension. It felt self parodying after a while. I also found the romance sub plot utter bilge and most of the side characters woefully acted. I also found myself full of sheer rage when Moffat wouldn't stop referencing himself
13:35, I mean, if they are willing to just let a blind dude die because it would take too long and cost too much, they probably already know that the higher ups would just let them die anyway
RTS directing with SM writing. They need to be combo together to make a good Dr Who. You cant separate them. I would say this, We’re so back?
I gave it a 7/10 too. Definitely back to form and at the standards of series 2-4 episodes. Just hope there's some consistency!
I haven't seen your content before, but I really enjoyed this video! I might be oblivious, but I didn't even notice the effects looking out of place, and in general loved the episode. For me it felt like the first doctor who episode with bite in a long time. I would give it an 8/10.
It's nowhere near as good as some people and channels are saying it is
We are so back
4:50 Damn, spoilers! Lol. This is the first time I hear about this. I kinda wish we got Gibson for longer - I do wonder if that means she dies at the end? I am happy that we at least gonna get rather quick finish to her backstory storyline - and that we won't have to wait seasons to see the mystery resolved.
Also Sethu sounds like someone who will actually be a good companion, I enjoyed her acting in this episode and this could mean we get some justice to character archetypes like Yazmin - with hopefully some nice exploration of Sethu's Indian ancestry. I do wonder, if her sister has any acting skills, but it would be funny to somehow utilise a fact that she does have real world twin sister.
6:40 Also a discussion about capitalism, humanitarianism and AI? This is also the first of the "Black Mirror"-esque episodes. Which I don't mind and the preaching isn't as in your face as Orphan 55.
The way that the Doctor pronounced “Villengard” kept taking me out of the story for some reason.
Whoa, that was quick!
Yo this video came out while I was watching your other video about The Devil's Chord. Great timing
Sheesh, never been this early, should probably say something productive instead of just proclaiming how early I am...
Theres loads of discourse for Dr Who at the moment, plenty of people refusing to give it a chance or insulting it constantly, and equally loads of people praising it and ignoring all flaws. I doubt thats going to stop anytime soon. That being said, I think you do a good job of giving the episodes a fair chance and review with as little bias as possible. Pragmatic and reasonable reviews are in short supply these days and your videos are always welcome.
Good first comment. Give credit where its due. Point out issues when they appear.
Argue.
That's what fandom should be.
It's hard to remain objective because going to extremes on either side of the discourse spectrum nets not only a lot of clout but also that sweet, sweet dopamine release.
Great work Harry, just widened the green screen so you're not cut off.
I think the odd time difference can be explained by the fact that I heard I think from Harbo's review of the 2nd episode of this series but I am not certain. But its basically the music episode was moved around which leads to this clear dissonance between the series. I however ended up watching them in the right order because I skipped it as I just didn't want to watch it & ended up watching it right before the finale which made it feel in place. Just proof that somebody made a stupid decision with moving an episode like what's happened before with Moffatt season but those episodes didn't suffer as much.
Omg! Harry is smiling... like really hard.
Probably my favourite of this season. Though I find myself on the fence between this episode or the next one.
I think this season shows that the writers just need time to get back into the feel of writing doctor who. Also they need more episodes per season. Like most seasons have like 2 or 3 bad episodes but most past seasons had about 10 other episodes that were great. Now we can say that this season had 12 episodes if we include the 60th anniversary specials & the christmas one. We still have like 4 bad episodes & then like 2 mediocre ones but like none are nearly as bad as the 1st season by Chibnall.
*Boom was only good because everything has been so crap for the last five years but IMHO it was only average. 5/10* ❤
People only like it because it has Russell and Steven’s names on it.
People would scorn this episode as it deserves if it were Chris’ work.
Hey. Now be fair.
We might be swimming through a bucket of diarrhea, but when we find a bit of sweet corn, we should totally celebrate.
You're being mighty generous to those last few seasons before the last 5 years. Just because Chibnail was worse (and omg he really was so much worse) doesn't magically make Moffat's last couple of seasons retroactively good.
I disagree. Ive just watched the whole modern show within this one year, and this is one of the only episodes that gave me adrenaline rushes and made me tear up! Its good! I just seriously think ONLY suspense fans can enjoy it. I love an eventful suspenseful horror movie, this is right up my alley despite not being horror. All the darker episodes are what i like.
@@Longshanks1690i actually didnt know who wrote it when i watched it, i dont read the credits or keep up with anything until AFTER i watch the episodes, and i really liked it!!!
I like the collars on the soldiers.
This episode really showed me how Steven Moffat is better than RTD in so many ways less preachy more story I enjoyed Moffats incredible writing for the doctor the fast pace dialogue and funny writing was exactly what I missed.
Your standards have simply lowered with the overwhelming amount of bad writing.
No.
@@friendlyotaku9525But actually yes
@@Notanothercrayon but actually no.
@@friendlyotaku9525 sure, except actually yes
@@Notanothercrayon such as?
Part of me thinks the collars should have shown medals or ranks, like some christian symbols clipped either side of the white inset.
Never before have I wanted a mine to explode more.
nice bait
@UnderTheKoscheii TOTALLY not racism. Nope. not at all!
This was the first time since jody, excpet for tennents Return of course, that I see the doctor again. It was great I was thrilled.
To the people who say this was a terrible episode, just stop watching Doctor Who.
There's obviously no satisfying you no matter what the show does, and you've got better things to do than to hate watch this show.
We're not saying it's terrible, just not the false dawn everyone says.
Anyone who thinks it's terrible already stopped watching.
@UnderTheKoscheii and others praise it to the point of sycophancy whilst also making money from the gullible. It's an honest review, get out of your echo chamber and don't cry bc someone has a different opinion than yourself?
@@captbuckyohare5585 I feel like even those who stopped watching keep complaining online every week and i consider that the problem
Yes all 3 million of the uk audience that are left. 1/4 of nuwho peak.
They left mate. The only folks left either still enjoy it or watch out of habit / hope / curiousity.
@DorisDay-lw4xs Doctor Who isn't being cancelled anytime soon so what you on about?
why doctor don't use screwdriver to disable a mine or disable ambulance i don't get it where is screwdriver :D ? ?
Doctor whos takes on modern politics is why it is so good honestly. 6:20 had me dying
Are you joking
@@jamescarr1265Buddy doesn’t know doctor who always been political 😭 wtf you think the idea of a master race called Dalek that wants to kill every other living thing, or a cyberman who loses all creativity when they conform to everyone else’s standards. The literally second episode of the reboot has the richest people in the universe watching the world burn for fun and this was somehow lost on you 😭😭😭
@@RandyMcRandomson huh… chill I said 3 words. I never said Doctor who wasn’t political, leave your planned talking points on the desk. Doctor who takes on MODERN politics is bafflingly awful imo
Do you think 73 Yards made Harry go Boom out of Anger😂
Probably the Moffat I liked the most in a very very very long time.
Haven’t enjoyed an episode of dr who like this since world enough and time and maybe Wild Blue Yonder too. It wasn’t perfect but the sense of danger was back it was fantastic imo
Blindness is fatal - it's called hegemony
I like Splice's character, however, I think the character is meant to be more like 6 rather than 11, as the actress looks older than I suppose how the character was written. So her character works better if you think she is younger than she looks. Overall I did love this episode and I rank them very close to the Devil Cord IMO. The only thing I didn't like was the side romance and the long opening, I just felt the relationship between Mundy and Catno was really undeveloped and really felt no immediate reaction when they killed Catno off. I loved the ending with the "Kiss Kiss", as it was implemented throughout the episode and felt it was a good payoff. I also wasn't expecting Ruby to be shot there, so the only good bit from Catno XD. Overall I say a high 8 for me.
I am personally really excited for Saturday's episode as it looks like it's a Doctor Lite episode and the themes of the episode look so interesting.
I feel like the community has fallen to the mass media disparagement of Dr Who recently. This episode wiuldve felt right at home in Capaldi's era, or even Ecclestone. Like with some of Whittakers stuff (Eve of the Daleks, Haunting of Villa Diodari, Village of the Angels) this is being billed as mediocre by instant reaction but will be recognised as acrually pretty good in a few years.
"mass media disparagement" what does this mean? genuinely wondering.
@@friendlyotaku9525 very negative perception of the show by traditional media; bashing on dr who is "in vogue"
@couruu what do you mean by traditional media? This new season has been getting a lot of praise by critics particularly this episode and tomorrow's!
Unless you mean something else? Sorry, I'm genuinely confused.
@@friendlyotaku9525 that's kinda my point - the individual episodes are good, but people are still going "doctor who is awful" and nitpicking the most minor of issues, damaging their enjoyment of it. There's an air of negativity around the show.
@@couruu Ah! You're likely referring to ahem... *those* people then, they've sadly been around for years ever since Jodie became the Doctor and have just become louder really, I don't like them either and they really damage actual critique and just poison the well really, particularly the ones who run youtube channels with large followings, that just causes it to spread. It's sadly a culture war.
What I don't like about the Doctor's writing so far is all the "young people" things he says.
It should be the Doctor is old person in the Tardis no matter how young they may look and the companion should be the one with the "young people" things to say.
Did you just forget about 11? He was literally "down with the youth" personified.
@@HellfireComms well yeah that was there to a degree as well, I wasn't a fan of that back then either.
But here it feels a little bit worse here because despite Matt Smith getting some of that "young people" speak, it seems as if there was always someone around to make sure that the Doctor felt like an old man in a young man's body... at least some of the time...
There just isn't much of that here so far.
I'm sure it's not Gatwa's fault and he's got time to show more of that "old weary gentleman traveller" quality that the Doctor should have... if the writing will let him that is.
It's not as if the Doctor lived on Earth with the Nobles and their 15 year old daughter for an undisclosed amount of time. Okay, sarcasm aside this is very intentional, alongside this Doctor being more emotionally vulnerable, that's because of the Doctor's therapy living with the Nobles, that has affected him!
Somebody said the episodes are out of order to make the series more interesting.
Was it the showrunner after he realised the character continuity and his own handle on what bi-generation is didn't make sense from episode to episode because that's a hell of a get out jail free card.
I really disliked the "everywhere becomes a beach in time" line.. writers workshop level of writing.
I kind of like it, honestly. A really hopeful way of saying anything good can come out of the worst tragedies.
i lost interest in dr who when matt smith regenerated into peter. honestly there hasnt been a single episode since then that made me want to come back
i think this time thing has got to have something with the plot this time jumps are too glaringly odd to be a mistake in writing
The whole season has an odd, fairy-tale like vibe to it and I'm pretty sure that's not a coincidence.
These comments are upsetting
@DorisDay-lw4xs I hope not I love Doctor Who!
@DorisDay-lw4xs I really liked this episode as well
get off the internet then
@@xsm5525 okay
@DorisDay-lw4xs they're not going to cancel it.
How old is the girl meant to be she looks like she's 13 but she's written like she's 8 or something