Doctor Who 8.12 Blog: Death In Heaven [Contains Spoilers]

Writer: Steven Moffat

Director: Rachel Talalay

Cast: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Samuel Anderson, Michelle Gomez, Chris Addison, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jemma Redgrave, Ingrid Oliver

The Story: With Cybermen on the streets of London, old friends unite against old enemies and the Doctor takes to the air in a startling new role. Can the mighty UNIT contain Missy? As the Doctor faces his greatest challenge, sacrifices must be made before the day is won.

The Verdict:

So here we are…the series finale following on from last weeks bombshell cliffhanger left with ‘Dark Water‘. It seems hard to believe that the highly anticipated debut of our brand new Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi, was actually twelve weeks ago. It seems even stranger however, to cast our minds back a mere year and remember that November 2013 was the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who and THN were in London with a stupendous gathering of fans. I suppose it’s poetic irony really then, that a television series revolving around time travel, seems to pass us by like the flick of a light switch. Thankfully however, ‘Death In Heaven‘ may well be one of the greatest episodes the show has ever produced, with the feature length story only a Doctor cameo away from rivaling the mighty ‘Name of The Doctor‘ or possibly even ‘Day of the Doctor‘.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Michelle Gomez’s ‘Missy’ was in the fact ‘The Master’, anticipation was at fever pitch for ‘Death In Heaven‘. A female Time Lord was something discussed for years by fans and audiences worldwide, but few were expecting the ambitious discussion topic to materialise with The Master. Thankfully though, Gomez was yet another fantastic casting choice made by the Doctor Who guru himself Steven Moffat. Sure, Moffat has proven to be quite controversial in his time as showrunner of the most popular show in the galaxy, but you can’t fault the man for his remarkable casting decisions that create an incredibly long list occupied by Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and many, many more. Gomez clearly emulates some of the more manic and bombastic tendencies that ran throughout John Simm’s portrayal of the character in the late noughties. However, the Scottish actress definitely brings a unique presence and fear to her interpretation of the Doctor’s greatest foe. One scene in particular that demonstrates this, is her terrifying promise to the Doctor’s number one fan and trusted ally Osgood (making a return appearance from last years ‘Day of The Doctor‘). Missy’s murder of Osgood is both chilling and horrifying in a number of different ways, largely due to the phenomenal talent of Gomez.

It was an immense disappointment that Gomez’s iteration of the rogue Time Lord seemingly met her end at the climax of the story, as it would have been fantastic to see more of what she could bring to the fan-favourite character (other than an appropriately twisted sense of humour). Although on the other hand, the manner in which Missy met her demise will no doubt be one of the most talked-about elements of the entire episode. Few would have guessed that a reincarnated, Cyberman-version of the famous Brigadier would be the one to end Missy’s reign of terror via a surprise disintegrator blast. But, it was without  a doubt one of the most welcome surprises the show has had to offer in a long time. With Doctor Who clearly making it painfully obvious for audiences that it would like to pay tribute to the late great Nicholas Courtney, which is of course a beautiful and heart-warming sentiment. One just has to wonder now, when Elizabeth Sladen will receive her much-needed tribute…after all it would be a great reason to bring back Tommy Knight’s ‘Luke Smith’ wouldn’t it?

The Cybermen also deserve a mention when discussing this mammoth episode. After all, it is about time that the metal menaces received a well-written, impressive appearance that didn’t result in a meaningless cameo. For the first time in quite a while, the Cybermen actually felt like a real, genuine threat that could harm The Doctor and Clara. Their horrifying and ultra-robotic voices (accompanied by Murray Gold’s brilliantly re-vamped Series 2 score), created the best on screen presentation the characters have seen since the rebooted series began almost ten years ago. It should also be mentioned that the new ability the Cybermen have accumulated, displayed some fantastic CGI set pieces that could have easily been taken from IRON MAN 3 or THE AVENGERS. The ability to blast through the sky seems like something the robotic antagonists should have been able to do years ago, but it was certainly worth the wait (with the impressive plane sequence a definite highlight).

This one also contains its fair share of heart-breaking narrative threads that will no doubt leave more than a few weepy eyes in the households of Britian after it’s air date. Danny Pink may not have been my favourite character of this series, but his drawn-out demise was easily one of the saddest moments in recent Doctor Who history. Other highlights include the numerous geek references hidden within fast paced dialogue and intense action sequences including The Doctor’s granddaughter, Jenny, The Valiant and “Bow ties are cool!”. Overall, it was disappointing that Missy/The Master received minimal screen time compared to Clara (and no John Simm regeneration), but that did not detract from an all-round fantastic hour of Saturday night television. For me, this episode will be remembered amongst the likes of ‘Blink’, ‘The Waters of Mars‘ and ‘The Name of The Doctor’ in the years to come, and for extremely good reasons, because Steven Moffat has knocked it out the park once again.

Best Bit:

That honour would have to go to the amazing action sequence that takes place over 50,000 feet in the air, when flying Cybermen attack the plane currently housing The Doctor AKA President of the world, Kate Stewart and the rest of U.N.I.T. Suffice to say, The Doctor’s sonic summoning and subsequent mid-air dive into the TARDIS is one of the most visually stunning aspects of the entire episode.

Best Line(s):

Missy: ‘Hey Missy, you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Missy…hey Miss…excuse me’

And…

Doctor: ‘Thank you, thank you so much. I really didn’t know, I wasn’t sure, thank you! I am not a good man! And I am not a bad man, I am not a hero, and I am definitely not a president…and no I am not an officer! You know what I am? I am an idiot…with a box and a screwdriver, passing through, helping out, learning. I don’t need an army, I never have…because I’ve got them, always them!’

[usr=5] Doctor Who returns this Christmas!