Dr Who — Series 10: Episode 12 — The Doctor Falls

2nd July, 2017

Yep … 

It’s a Sunday, again.

It’s a Sunday, and, to distract myself?

I’ve managed to play a game of backgammon on my tablet.

Whilst playing three games of a Scrabble clone via Facebook Messenger, and add audio to the video versions of some Teasers for later this month, AND, after recoding this week’s episode of Dr Who, editing the resulting bits together.

All that?

And seriously wanting cough mixture!

~≈®≈~

What I am saying here?

Is that I’m a busy little bee.

Or, at least, trying to multi task.

Rather distractedly, as it goes.

If you can imagine an overweight, distracted bee, that doesn’t have a clue about pollen?

Yep … 

That’ll be me … 

And, yes: I’ve no clue about pollen.   But DO have a clue about this twelfth episode of season ten of new Dr Who.

The Doctor Falls, effectively the middle episode of a three parter?

Has left me waiting for Christmas.

~≈®≈~

Episode 12 — The Doctor Falls — follows directly on from last week’s episode:  showing us Missy (Michelle Gomez) and her former self, the Master (John Simm), having captured the Doctor (Peter Capaldi).

Only for him to be rescued by the now cyber-converted Bill (Pearl Mackie).

Only for them to arrive a a floor further up the Mondasian colony ship featured in last week’s episode.

The inhabitants of that floor?

Are desperately fighting off hordes of early stage Cybermen: and are only two glad of the help offered by the Doctor and Nardole (Matt Lucas).

And scared of what Bill has become.

Bill?

Bill is convinced she is a normal human being: it’s only when shown a mirror?

That she finds out the truth.   She’s been completely converted into a cyberman … 

~≈®≈~

In the meantime?

Missy and the Master are making plans.   It seems the Master escaped Gallifrey, in the wake of the events of The End of Time: in a stolen TARDIS.

That Missy knows exactly how to fix.

Whilst that’s going on … ?

The cybermen, themselves, are coming further up the ship.

You can tell this is going top end badly, can’t you … ?

~≈®≈~

Now … 

Have I enjoyed this episode?

Yes, I have.

And, yes I know that possibly sounds underwhelmed.

But I’m looking at The Doctor Falls as the middle episode of a three parter.

Yes: it has fantastic writing, enough geek boy references to keep an army of fans happy.

Yes, there are some genuinely emotional moments.   I’m thinking here that Gomez’ and Simms “I loved being you,” dialogue is powerful stuff: only bettered by Bill’s confession she would rather die than live as a cyberman.

And yes: they’ve closed off Bill’s story — even if it did involve a deus ex machina — in an emotional satisfying way.

But it’s the middle part of three episodes.

Personally?

I’m seriously looking forward to Christmas.