All hail the Moff
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Fear Her delayed to the weekend.
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Picked up with the First Doctor again with The Edge of Destruction, midway through it at this moment (aaand Iâm glad this serial is much shorter, because I am not loving it).
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Watching Genesis of the Daleks crossfaded right now and all I can think is that Harry Sullivan needs a hat. Both the Doctor and Sarah have hats, and I really think Harry needs one too. Why doesnât he have a hat? It would be something sensible. Wouldnât it be wonderful if in episode 1, all three of the TARDIS team had hats? Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Also! I hope to listen to Ministry of Death soon. Thatâs a part of why I was quite concerned about Sarah Jane, Harry, and the Fourth Doctor.
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Went on to Marco Polo, my first go at telesnaps/recons/etc., and fortunately liked it much better than Edge of Destruction, at least! (Though perhaps thatâs a relatively low bar.) Also, now Iâve tried a telesnap/recon episode (and itâs a whole serial thatâs missing!) and have found that I can indeed be getting on with them - I did worry/wonder.
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The color reconstruction of Marco Polo is simply marvelous!
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The Witchfinders.
Man this was a great story! They absolutely nail the setting here with the black silhouetted trees, the murky bogs and eerie wilderness. The story touches on something very real with witch trials that werenât just in Britain in the 17th century but became recurring in many parts of Europe. My own country of Sweden saw a massive wave of insane trials in the mid-to-late 17th century and I see parallels with the story here, all the moments of gaslighting and long reaches to convince people that someoneâs a witch. That whole thing of âwell I thought it was weird she was called the Doctorâ is eerily similar to how in real life during the height of the Swedish witch trials you can read about investigations where a commoner would say something like âoh she cast a spell? Well I did feel a little bit under the weather at that time so yeah it seems likelyâ[1].
I think they really explore the themes of fear well with several of the characters and thereâs also you have Thirteen being caught up in additional trouble here not just due to her gender but due to the ongoing trials and they do that really well. The Morax are a really eerie design thatâs done quite well and I think a mud monster fits well with the setting and everything. I wasnât fond of Alan Cumming as James VI and I[2] at first because I just didnât vibe with his campy performance, but he grew on me and they do give his character real emotional and deep moments too so heâs not just a silly caricature. Willaâs a good character too who goes through an arc throughout the episode that works out quite well.
The TARDIS Team donât get much individual stuff here but they do get to work as a team and have to try and save Thirteen at one point. While they might not all be as developed as other previous characters I do think they are given generally good characterization and I like them. Ryan is kinda the weak link but I donât despise him or anything. As a final point of the things I liked, that dialogue between Thirteen and James when sheâs tied up is one of this Doctorâs best moments so far in my opinion.
Not everythingâs brilliant though, I do think that the tonal differences end up being a little jarring at times and unfortunately arenât quite balanced. The serious stuff is good and there are definitely funny moments too, but they clash a bit. That kinda connects to James and Becka. While they do mellow out a bit later and Becka gets a really good serious moment before she becomes possessed, they can feel a bit out of place with Jamesâ campy accent and both of them being over-the-top about their worry of Satan. Additionally, while I do like the Morax, I think they could have worked better as just some kind of parasite that just wants to consume, rather than an army. Yes there is that connection with how the Morax also seem like an imperial monarchical polity but it feels like because they did it like this they had to force in a bunch of lore to be explained in a few minutes. You could do mostly the same story if itâs just some alien parasite locked away beneath the earth. The ending feels a tad rushed too but it doesnât bother me too much.
This one was really good, 8/10.
Also it has what might be the coldest, most badass shot of Jodie Iâve seen:
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Well I got through The WebâŚ
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Love the Witchfinders! Favourite episode of s11.
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Wheel of Space yesterday, and The Dominators today, finally finished. Thatâs two sphere-related episodes Iâve noticed 
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What did you think of The Wheel in Space? I finished it yesterday as well and found I enjoyed it more than I had previously.
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Was it wheely good? 
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It was wheely, wheely good. 
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By pairing up Ryan with King James, this episode did so much to flesh him out. Gotta love it for that.
Willaâs a good character too who goes through an arc throughout the episode that works out quite well.
The novelization sends her off with Clara and Me, which is⌠interesting.
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Missed opportunity though with there not being a line from 13 all like:
âThatâs not Satan, I would know, Iâve met him before.â
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The Sensorites really clicked with me this time around, so much so that it managed a place on the S1 podium, taking the bronze.
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Itâs a decent cyberman story for me, showing off those electric vfx. Youâre right that almost all of episodes this season were really favoring these slow six parters. Some of the guest cast were more brilliant than others, like Gemma. Love her. I wasnât expecting a lot from the designated scifi couple of the episode Leo and Tanya but I think they shone at the last second. I loved that Zoe the new companion was already a foil to Jamie.
If I was a 60s child this would make me close my eyes in horror, but Iâm not and just held my mouth seeing this 
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That was the first Doctor Who story I ever considered a favourite
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And that is the other Season 1 story I especially like 
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Good good! At a glance at reviews/comments it looks pretty polarising; people either terribly fond of/impressed by it or people incredibly not. +fingerguns+
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