The Greatest Ever Doctor Who Series
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- Опубліковано 1 тра 2024
- Well...it's finally here! It's at last time for the Doctor Who Series 9 review. Today let's take a look at why the series is so good and whether it's the best series ever!
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#DoctorWho #Series9 #Review - Фільми й анімація
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Nathan Gibson. You will be missed
🎵Alone again... naturally... 😥🎵
@@FaolanCortez😢
Maybe in the third act he'll show back up
Beat me to it😂😂
I hope Faolancortez doesn't go missing. I couldn't cope with the loss.
Truly the main character of the channel
Capaldi era was absolutely one of the best era of the show, I really love how each season is different from the last and while not overshadowing the other. Can’t wait for the Series 10 reviews
Series 9 will age like wine. It certainly has for me.
Capaldi is my favourite Nu Who Doctor. Series 8, 9, 10 are just so re-watchable for me. I love his whole arc.
I honestly think objectively he's the best modern Doctor but I found Moffatt era is a giant step down from RTD episodes series writing etc wise
Season 10 is garbage - why do people like it?
@@sopronunciareglignocchi7255because they don’t think it’s garbage. Personally for me I like season 10 because of the Tardis team. 12, Bill and Nardole have great chemistry and Bill’s ending is sad but beautiful.
@@peterthirdmusic2231
I liked Nardole, Bill was rubbish. Not to mention the writing was often dross. Also, I know they don't think it's garbage, I was asking why they don't.
@@sopronunciareglignocchi7255 Bill was great, and breath of fresh air after the last two companions had quite intense, all consuming arcs.
I’ve always hated watching Angels take Manhattan, Face the Race and The Doctor Falls, because they’re all so GOD DAMN GOOD at showing companion departures, as well as Hell Bent and Waters of Mars as they both show the great acting of Tennant and Capaldi!
*face the raven? Or am I missing something 😅
I agree, Capaldi and Coleman, especially in this series, are the greatest Doctor/Companion team up of the modern Whos.
The 12th Doctor is my favourite of new Who. Peter Capaldi understood that the Doctor shouldn’t act in too human a way and that the character isn’t a typical heroic type and has a different mentality to human beings. It’s no wonder William Russell & Waris Hussein love Capaldi’s version since their favourite William Hartnell the original Doctor. I doubt we will ever get an older Doctor again especially with RTD’s Bad Wolf team preferring younger actors.
"Actors"...
So far,the new "actors" are only good at playing themselves...
@@NashmanNashwhat?! I would argue the only doctor who’s anything like the actor is Smith
your reviews have really made me appreciate the depth and complexity of the relationship between capaldi's doctor and clara. thank you.
Harbo's love for series 9 and the pairing of 12 and Clara is refreshing in comparison to the flack that both have received in the past. I don't know if I can say it's the best series, but it's certainly the best series that I have seen, even including some of the lower episodes in it.
The Doctor and Clara are the best pair ever, their love for each other is undeniable. The three part finale is the best, in my opinion, for what it tries to achieve and how it wraps up Clara's story arc. Heven Sent is the best episode ever, and it wouldn't have the power that it does without the consequences of Face the Raven before it. Hell Bent isn't loved by most fans, but I love how it wraps up the Doctor and Clara's story together and some of the best scenes of Capaldi and Coleman together come from this episode in the diner. The herartbreak she feels when she realizes he really doesn't recognize her is tragic, and moving.
If no one else online will give series 9, or Clara, the love that they deserve at least there is Harbo who will do it, and justifiably so. I'm right there with you on both counts. Thanks for the nuanced analysis, and your honest take on both. Let the haters hate, and let the lovers love and appreciate everything good about this era. Long live 12 and Clara, and long live Series 9!
When Clara realises the Doctor doesn't recognise her, she understands how he felt in Deep Breath. He looks at her, but he doesn't see her. Their relationship ends like it started.
I'm a bigger fan of Series 8 and 10, but I can definitely appreciate your love for 9 and it's amazingly experimental approach to Whovian storytelling. And Heaven Sent is just bonkers good. Capaldi is my favorite Doctor of all time.
I can't wait for your S10 reviews!!!
yesss, I've been saying this for years. finally some vindication. Every series has its highs and lows but 9 has so many more highs than most and the lows are at least always experimental and interesting
I feel like with the Matt smith era Steven moffat played it safe and took it back to basic. With Peter Capaldi era moffat took a lot of chances especially with series 8 and 9. I love Clara arc I’m series 9. You could argue it started in series 8.
One take I really see often in this fanbase is that Peter Capaldi is one of the greatest actor to play The Doctor but his writing lets him down.
Doctor Who series 9 is the ultimate refutation of that.
You mean the season that gave us "the question is, where did I get the tea? Answer, I'm the doctor, deal with it" is proof of *good* writing??
@@mantistoboggan1503 It's just meant to be a badass line. It's fine.
@@mantistoboggan1503 Yeah context matters in writing. It's one thing for a character to say that line and 100% meet it. It's another thing for an ancient alien to fuck with people from time to time.
@@mantistoboggan1503
yes.
@@mantistoboggan1503 Did that solve a problem? Was there an obstacle that the Doctor bypassed because of it? No? Then it's fine. It's harmless.
So great to finally hear this opinion from someone else! Series 9 was the first I watched while it was coming out, so a lot of my love for it comes from nostalgia, but I also just love it as a series! The 90% two-parter format was such a fun way to mix up the show, and so many of the individual stories are awesome! Magician’s Apprentice/Witch’s Familiar is a fun series opener that kicks things off with a bang, Under the Lake/Before the Flood is one of my all-time favorite stories, Zygon Invasion/Inversion is a classic, and Heaven Sent is arguably the greatest episode of the modern era. Even the bad episodes like the Ashildr arc and Sleep No More are way better than the bad episodes of Series 10 (which I don’t understand the argument for at all). The character arcs are incredible too. Clara’s evolution and ending were perfect, and the Doctor’s inability to let her go was such a great exploration of toxic relationships. The Doctor’s memory being wiped was such a tragic twist, too. The series is just so strong overall, and it will always be in contention for my favorite series alongside 4 and 5.
You consistently have some of the best takes on this show, and I agree with so much you say about it, but this is your best take yet. You're on top form as always my dude, absolutely love your stuff. Hope you're doing well🤘
I love Series 9 too, for the most part. The only SLIGHT gripe I have with it is some of the handling of Clara's arc - episodes like Under The Lake and Face The Raven are quite heavy-handed in their approach to it, IMO. I much prefer Clara in episodes like the Zygon 2parter where she's a bit arrogant and smug at the end of her conversation with Bonnie, so you can see her growing overconfidence there, but it's not beating you over the head with it like the "wooo, look at me, I'm so RECKLESS" Clara we get in UTL and FTR. That subtler approach to her evolution feels much more natural and much like Clara to me, because she usually has a bit of a mellow vibe to her; the more caffeinated Clara of UTL and FTR just doesn't "sound" like Clara to me. (Maybe that's the point? I dunno)
Perhaps controversially, I actually kinda despise the scene in FTR where she's hanging out of the TARDIS going "wooo!" for this reason. Not only would no human being ever react like that in that situation, but even in S9 Clara fears for her life when it's endangered - such as in the opening of The Girl Who Died, where she only acts like it's nothing and she wasn't scared AFTER she's already safe. So I'm pretty glad Hell Bent ended up being the final word on her character, not FTR; she actually sounds like Clara in HB.
I also kinda feel as though a lot of the most interesting part of her arc happened off-screen between S8 and S9 - how'd she go from control freak Clara in S8 to reckless, Doctory Clara in S9? That can't have happened overnight surely? Right from her first scene in S9 she's already very Doctory, so a lot of that evolution has already happened without us getting to see it, which feels like a bit of a bummer. I'm not saying it's not possible for her to have evolved in this way, just that I would've liked to see a bit more of how it actually happened, so I could make a bit more sense out of it.
Then again, this could all just be bias on my part - all the hate towards Clara at the time made me a bit resistant towards them doing a storyline where she "deserves to get punished" at the end of it. I respect the dramatic irony of how things played out for her in FTR, 100%, but all the haters celebrating it and going "ha ha, she got what she deserved, hooray!" left me with a bad taste in my mouth regarding that episode, as someone to whom Clara had come to mean a great deal, so it's probably worth taking my criticisms here with a pinch of salt. Would still be interested to hear if anyone else feels similarly, though 🙂
Regardless of all that, though - great review! Always glad to see another 12/Clara supporter! (I'll have to get round to watching all the individual episode reviews at some point 😊❤)
I remember when this season had just came out people were much more divisive on this season but it ages better and better every year since and I'm glad it's finally getting the recognition it deserves among fans cause I always thought Series 9 was amazing.
I started Doctor Who (the new series) a bit less than a year ago and I'm currently at the end of Series 12, and I watched the newest 4 episodes as well so almost up to date.
Series 8 and 11 were really hard for me to watch because the new Doctors were so different from the previous ones that I loved. Peter after Matt, and Jodie after Peter just felt like drastic changes, whereas the previous ones felt more natural.
I really disliked 12 in Series 8 and I didn't think I would ever like him as much as 10 and 11 but gosh I was wrong. He was amazing and so touching. His dynamic with Clara was so good. I was really happy when I watched your video about Heaven Sent.
I don't think I have a favorite Doctor but 12 was definitely great!
The two-parters made it much better than series 8 tbh
Never got the hate for Clara, the fan base begs for them to do something new and interesting, they give them exactly that with Clara, then they cry about it for years
Wasn’t a huge fan of her with Smith, she was a bit too, “yet another love interest”, but she’s great with Capaldi
100% agree. Series 9 is the best of New Who. I remember when this series aired, it was actually shocking how good it was on a week-to-week basis, and the only episode I would rate less than 8/10 is Sleep No More. But when your series clunker is still a 6/10 that had ambition to do something different and didn't quite pull it all off, plus you've got multiple all-time greats, including The GOAT, that's one hell of a fucking good season. Admittedly, I'm a much bigger fan of the Maisie-Williams two-parter than most. For all its flagrant flaws, I still love The Woman Who Lived as a 10/10 amazing episode. Sue me! 😅 Series 9 is the best. Harbo is genius. All who disagree dumb. 🔥🔥
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that 12/ Peter Capaldi is one of the best doctors no matter if he’s one of your favorites or not
Loved when he did the Bootstraps Paradox explanation, which ended with him doing the rock version of the theme. Wish they kept that theme after that episode.
I’m glad @HarboWholmes is sain, this is what I have been saying for years and no fan channel has ever caught up to it. Season 9 will forever be the best Doctor Who season of all time for MANY reasons.
Ncuti’s Doctor is also good so far but for invasion and a breath of fresh air his doctor is now second to Capaldis which I consider the best.
Wow I was surprised by the title. Series 9 is good, loved the two parters, my favorite being the Under the Flood and Before the Flood. It was my first poster I got for my favorite Doctor. Excellent video. Reminds me to rewatch since it's been since college since I watched it.
Solid work to get here, Harbo! Your love your Series 9 and the Capaldi era in general is always a joy to watch :)
You also love series 9? A man of culture I see! Some of the best who on tv!
I was worried about Peter Capaldi becoming the Doctor because he was an actor with such an established perception. I thought he might try to lean into his previous popularity.
I'm glad that season 9 showed us the amazing acting talent of both Capaldi and Coleman. I agree that it was top tier Doctor Who, and the set designers were punching well above their weight.
Just picking a nit: You hone something to perfection. You home in on something. Like a homing pigeon.
As a seasoned nitpicker myself, you beat me to it!
@@ftumschk My people!
Capaldi = The GOAT.
I recently rewatched s9 and found I enjoyed it way more than I did upon first viewing.
I enjoyed this video and really liked the persuasive arguments you made because I definitely can appreciate it more now I’ve heard why you enjoy it so much :)
What an excellent video!!! This is my absolute favorite season of Doctor Who and it's so much fun to see someone else gush about it :)
"Immortality is everybody else dying" is a great line.
Bro I was worried you were gonna disrespect my boy Capaldi. But I see the love
can’t freaking wait to watch this, series 9 is just back to back bangers 🔥 ps i’m a lifelong girl who died defender
Girl Who Died is actually a lot of fun, it’s really just Woman Who Lived that was pretty boring
@@nairrdlairrdif u tune out of the tacked-on alien lion plot it’s actually a rather interesting character piece imo
@@pilot2697 for sure, and it’s not agonizing, there are some clever ideas, mainly just forgettable
8:56 even the Sandmen in Sleep No More are hybrids of humans and rheum (yes it sounds stupid, no I don't care)
Also loved the mention of Gagan abusing trust at 22:03, cool to see how Sleep No More ties into the themes of the series =)
Always loved this series, it’s my second favourite, I do hope to see you do Series 10 , that’s my personal fave of the the whole show
I totally agree. I been saying this for years that this is the strongest run of episodes in the modern era.
8-10 aka Capaldi is what I’ve come to realize as the years when Doctor Who was truly For Me. I don’t resent it becoming for other people but I gotta say, everything about the Capaldi era felt absolutely perfect for me. I loved how Peter portrayed the Doctor as a cranky leftist agitator, and Clara and Bull were such wonderful counterweights to keep the tone right.
I got into some very nasty arguments with some people about the Zygon episodes, who were all white people that were being offended on behalf of others due to that first immigrant family being menacing and turning out to be Zygons, and for SOME REASON they got angrier and angrier as I kept pointing out how the point was that the twisty, Captain America: The Winter Soldier flavored twisty sci fi intrigue conspiracy vibe allowed the story to dramatically reveal that white self identified “good guys” were equally capable and in fact very guilty of doing what ISIS did. The point of having the Zygon radicals look like ISIS but ultimately become Clara was because Kate Stewart ends up being the one with her hand on the other boss. It was the same madness infecting them both.
The idea that they themselves might be too eager for bloodshed and cruel for the sake of feeling dominant really ruffled some feathers.
But damn if that speech doesn’t get me every time. Its beautiful
I’ve been waiting for this one! Thank you so much!! My favourite series!💗
Next up series 10!❤
Great series! I love series 8 and 10 too and 12 is my fav doctor so far. And one of the few people who loves Hellbent!
Hard agree. I don’t think I’d call it perfect as I don’t think any series of the show has achieved that. But series 9 is definitely my favourite and I’d say that series 8 and 9 together is the pinnacle of Doctor Who for me personally. Not that I don’t love other series/episodes but those two are the most constantly enjoyable and well rounded series to me personally
Series 9 is great in places, and Under the Lake / Before the Flood plus Heaven Sent are two of the best ever Doctor Who stories, which definitely bring S9 up to a higher level ❤
The Heaven Sent trilogy of eps should be enough for this series to be considered a banger. I don't get some of the hate.
FYI, her journey's with Ashildr *_do_* change her fate. In the diner she doesn't have the chronolock tattoo, and this has been confirmed by Talalay to be intentional. (It's also stated to be the case in the Twice Upon a Time novelization.)
There’s even a reference to the Doctor losing Clara in his one appearance in the first episode of the spin-off Class.
FINALLY, AFTER ALL THIS TIME! Series 9 is the best!!!
Yes!
When i first watched Heaven's sent i cannot begin to describe how felt that episode was amazing
Yes, I completely agree and agree with your analysis.
At first it was difficult for me to accept Capaldi as Twelve, but in the end he convinced me, he is one of my favorites along with Jenna as a companion, both gave a great performance. And I think that outside the cameras, that trust, friendship and fun dynamic that was generated between them, made the relationship between Twelve and Clara look very convincing, authentic, perfect in the sense that they both complement each other. Something that is not seen very often in the series, much less in others.
And it's good that you mentioned it, it is very interesting to appreciate and name those details.
I love the appreciation and opinion you make in your videos, keep it up Harbo.😉😊🤗
Series 9 and 10 are my personal favorite, can’t wait to see your reviews for series 10.
5:42 And that makes it all the more tragic that the final straw was an Earth being she still felt connected to
Honestly such a wonderfully worded video
Love the relationship between Clara and the Doctor and i was sad when Clara died and it also adds that Clara is the 2nd companion in a row that he lost to death. Definitely shows how low he went for losing his companions who he loved like a family member. Definitely better than the current state of Doctor who.
Series 9 was fantastic. It was simply the darkest and most grown up New Who and it's so good to see it appreciated. I'm not sure if it's my favourite overall - it's been years since I saw it - but it’s up there definitely. I rewatched it many times. I agree that with series 9 Moffat finally went into the kind of Who that was not markatable before and imo it really paid off. Capaldi and Coleman were phenomenal. As someone who loved Clara from the second they introduced her to the very end (doesn't mean I always liked her or agreed with her, good, well-constructed characters are not perfect and that’s the point) I have never fully understood the hate she received. For all the accusations of sexism or misogyny thrown at Steven Moffat, it seems to me that a large part of the audience simply couldn’t handle an independent, self-assured, but deeply flawed and complex companion. It was too much, especially with the Doctor not acting like a God-like hero at the end of the day, for once. Funny how people sometimes criticise this era for exactly what it wasn’t.
I've always loved this series. Capaldi and Clara is a perfect pairing.
My only complaint would be the 2 parters made it feel much shorter than it was. The Woman who lived could've used a rewrite. If I had a TARDIS I would go back, cut WWL and Sleep No More, and tell a new SNM type camera story, set in the future, with Ashldr/Me as a replacement for WWL, cut out all the "furries shooting fireballs," and then give someone else a chance to tell a different kind of story. Maybe set in the time of WWL, but with a different plot.
Sleep No More is a great episode. It just expected more from it's audience. I usually hate it when people say 'you just didn't get it, man'... But Sleep No More is an episode that is generally hated by people that didn't get it.
@@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg I liked it up to a point. That point was the eye-crust monsters. Everything else about the episode was good. There is a level of suspension of disbelief every individual has, and those monsters crossed mine.
@@R.senals_Arsenal Sleep No More is a story about a computer virus that can cross over and infect humans. There are no eye-crust monsters. This is lampshaded at the beginning ("your life may depend on it") and explained at the end when you find out that the scientist and witness that has been narrating is just a construct.
Never forget Nathan Gibson
Never forget. 💕
Holy shit it’s Faolan Cortez
Completely agree. Series 9 is my favorite of all of Who. New and classic.
And Peter Capaldi is my favorite Doctor of all.
My favourite series! Rock star Doctor is the best Doctor! And my absolute favourite pairing!
Series 9 is the greatest series to ever do it
To ever do what?
Love Capaldi. Love series 9 especially the last 3 episodes & Heaven Sent is my go to episode I can relate to the grief losing my dad at 15 & how empty I felt in a house full of people ❤
Jenna Coleman and Peter Capaldi have both said in interviews that the Doctor and Clara have a romance, but it's a deep romance. They're not flirty like with Matt Smith's Doctor, but they're closer than they've ever been. They need each other, and become desperate whenever the other is threatened. I loved the parallels between the characters how they're both selfish and want each other to always remain as they are, but the longer they spend together the more they change to become less like themselves and more like the other.
The expression speaking my kinda of language has never been more apt
Very well done video and breakdown of this series. Ever since I watched it I felt it was special. I agree wholeheartedly with this summary. This is the middle section, meaty innards, of a Who story arc like no other. It's not perfect but it stands out to me way and above any other season. The best Doctor. The best, original Doctor/companion story ever. The darkest and most human series.
For me, the only truly flawless season of Who is 1970. Literally doesn't drop the ball at all ❤️
I personally loved Clara as a companion as far as a companion goes I think she was perfect for the 11th and 12th doctor
Capaldi and Coleman are what l made me fall in love with Doctor Who. I was a fan before but I was ride or die for this stretch.
9:11 no, the Hybrid isnt abstract, it just doesnt get answered in this season. Butnit does get resolved in the last story of Jodie''s second season.
Series 9 has always been my favorite Nu Who series. It has everything I love about series 9
That Dave Meltzer star rating mention lol
I haven't watch the video. I've only seen the title and thumbnail and - YES. I completely and absolutely agree. No questions. I am so here for this.
Jenna, Capaldi & Michael were the best trio in Who History
So true and well said
Was the best trio
The dig at Meltzer 😭
I just rewatched NuWho and felt that Peter Capaldi was pushing her away at first, then when she got the phone call from the previous Doctor she felt more able to help him. He started developing feelings for her, but snarkly, pushes back not to develop more a personal relationship with her. She put up a lot of slack from him, once she found out a relationship with him wasn't possible, when she got herself a human boyfriend, he became jealous and was passing harder knocks towards her and when meeting Danny Pink kept referring him to as a PE teacher even after corrected many times. I think that when Clara had her heart broken when she figured out Danny was hit by a car, she started getting angry as well as hurt since the Doctor treated her unfairly, she snapped at him basically passing the bad temperment back at him. Once the Danny Pink finally was overcome, he became more sympathetic towards her and let her train to use the Tardis as a human pilot, usually all pilots were not human.
**reads title**
You're goddamn right it is
All this is correct and proper. Capaldi is my favourite Doctor and I liked Clara a lot more than many. I do wish we were *shown* why the Hybrid stuff was so important rather than being told all the time, it's very confused for much of the run although in retrospect I see what Moffat was trying to do now. I loathe Sleep No More and I am not a fan of the Ashilda two-parter, but the rest is good to fantastic. And yes, Heaven Sent is the best episode of Doctor Who ever made.
So much hate is thrown on Clara and Capaldis run. I loved Clara from day 1 and Capaldi did an amazing job in the role.
Series 9 has grown on me over time. I hated Clara and still kind of do but I appreciate the stories in series 9 more now. The underwater two parter is definitely severely underrated. And I even found myself lowkey enjoying the vikings story too. It was more interesting than I remember.
I really enjoyed this series since it first aired and I really don’t get why it put people off. I agree the finale doesn’t stick the landing (I think doctor who finales rarely do), but the use of two parters and finishing on a three part epic is pretty great throughout this series. Also, even in the clunkier episodes, capaldi and Coleman are pretty much always perfect.
Highlights are of course under the lake/before the flood and heaven sent.
As a series it’s not executed quite as flawlessly as 5, and it doesn’t have quite the same thrills as 4, but I’d say it’s on the same tier as those two. Interesting stories, cohesive narrative, and fantastic character work by the leads and and support cast.
Capaldi is my favourite Doctor, and his seasons among the best, and I feel each of his series was better than the last.
But hey that’s part of the fun of watching a show, which episodes were best/worst. And same for series/season
Agree with everything you said. Incidentally, series 4 is my other top tier series as well.
I don’t see how anyone could dislike series 9. It was beautiful and tragic. And it ended perfectly.
Agree. 9 is my favourite.
Since you, like me, like Jenna's performance in Doctor Who so much, I wonder how you like her performance in the TV series Wilderness, if you have seen it already, that is.
I’ve struggled to understand the hate for Capaldi, Clara, and Moffat’s run generally. It’s always been the peak of Nu Who to me.
I was more a fan of Bill as a companion but Clara was a close second.
Crazy that series 8 and 7 are in the same tier as 1 and 3. The quality of the writing and stories aren’t even comparable.
Great video.
Capaldi is my doctor. When I think of the doctor I see his face. Dude just encapsulated a 2000+ year old time traveling genius in a way many others can't
Capaldi without a doubt is what I think of when I think of The Doctor.
A really good example of Season 9 being Art (to the point where I think it lost people who were expecting pure entertainment) and Season 14 being Entertainment (which I found myself criticising heavily because it lacks any complexity).
Its at its best when its both, but S9 can be jarring to people who want the Tennant/Smith youth high energy and s14 can be kind of thin to people like me who want depth and character challenge.
(S11 and s7 are kind of flat in both directions)
(S1, 4 and 10 being much clearer at being a more balanced mix and I insist its why s9 got such mixed response but s10 had people reconsidering the arc)
Nathan Gibson was my favorite companion honestly
It’s my favourite too! Glad I see someone who agrees
Series 9 has in my opinion the best doctor who two parter of all time which is just so prestigious. Before the flood and under the lake is THAT good and special and so unbelievably underrated for what it gives
I rlly enjoyed it also.
Oh yes! Series nine is the best.
i find it so funny how much hate that the peter capaldi era got at the time and now everyone sees it's one of the best eras in the show, which can be partly put down to the Chibnall
Lots of people always hate the current era.
I love how I at all don't fit into this fandom- Imo 10 & 5 are the worst of Moffat, and 1 & 4 RTD.
To hear someone use them as examples of what most would perceive as best series, is literally a kick in the guts for me.
I feel that. 4 and 5 are some of my favorites, but 1 and 10 are both at the bottom of my list so I can never understand those being lifted up as the gold standard.
You are quite right about how great this series is. Capaldi is genius and the writing he's given is excellent.
Unlike you I even like The Woman Who Lived as a perfectly fine comic romp episode.
The problem is that the Doctor succeeding in saving Clara undermines the whole emotional force of the previous two episodes. Clara needed to be properly dead to give meaning to her whole arc of overconfidence and foolish self sacrifice. And to the Doctor's suffering in Heaven Sent.
We really loaded up on emotion in those two episodes, and now by contriving a way for the Doctor to undo the death, Moffatt makes all that meaningless. Then when he tries to build a great sadness up again with all that guff about losing your memory, the whole thing just feels hammy and manipulative. I just don't care any more.
True genius would have been to finish the series with Heaven Sent.
Then have a Christmas episode with an obviously unhinged and vengeful Doctor facing some other crisis on Gallifrey as he tries but fails to find a way to save Clara. Clara can appear in his mind as she does in Heaven Cent, they can talk about the hybrid as the dangerous transformation the Doctor has undergone. But just don't make her a real living person. Or give her a happy ending.
At that point there wouldn't even be a question about this being the greatest series ever.
Under the Lake/Before the Flood is my personal favourite of this season. And honestly only the Girl who Died/Woman who Lived are not my favourites. Everything else is top notch. In my books this is one of the finest series of this era.
As polarizing as this series is, the fact that the steelbook goes for over $1,000 should show you how beloved the series really is.