THIS is the episode to watch if you're (somehow) not convinced by all or any of the work done by Capaldi, Coleman and Moffat on Dr Who. The plot sees Clara on a date with Danny but she makes some comments about his time in the military and he ends the date. She is upset, but wait: Here's The 12th Doctor come to take her on yet another exciting adventure! He's convinced that there are monsters that can hide from you any time any place and he wants to find them.
After the trying-too-hard-to-be-funny format of "Robot Of Sherwood" it was good to be treated to this masterpiece; The naysayers cannot possibly watch this without having to undergo a much needed change of attitude. Moffat's script teases you at every turn. The Doctor wrote LISTEN on a chalkboard and forgot - OR DID HE? Another child is playing a joke on Rupert - OR ARE THEY? The ship's pipes are cooling down and it sounds like something banging on the door, but there's nothing out there - OR IS THERE? He did, they are, there's not. In that order.
But Moffat is saving his trump-card for the final scene when Clara meets a frightened child. She believes it to be Rupert. She is wrong: The child is, in fact, none other than... The First Doctor! This means the 1st Doctor has been played on screen by three actors now. We also get a nice shout-out to The War Doctor making an appearance via archive footage from "The Day Of The Doctor". The reveal that The Doctor's mysterious monster under the bed is Clara is something of a shock and the excellent soundtrack really hits you hard as she realises this.
This is truly a magical experience for Dr Who fans; It's good to have another properly scary entry to the series and any further back story for the enigmatic First Doctor is always welcome. This is everything Dr Who should be.
After the trying-too-hard-to-be-funny format of "Robot Of Sherwood" it was good to be treated to this masterpiece; The naysayers cannot possibly watch this without having to undergo a much needed change of attitude. Moffat's script teases you at every turn. The Doctor wrote LISTEN on a chalkboard and forgot - OR DID HE? Another child is playing a joke on Rupert - OR ARE THEY? The ship's pipes are cooling down and it sounds like something banging on the door, but there's nothing out there - OR IS THERE? He did, they are, there's not. In that order.
But Moffat is saving his trump-card for the final scene when Clara meets a frightened child. She believes it to be Rupert. She is wrong: The child is, in fact, none other than... The First Doctor! This means the 1st Doctor has been played on screen by three actors now. We also get a nice shout-out to The War Doctor making an appearance via archive footage from "The Day Of The Doctor". The reveal that The Doctor's mysterious monster under the bed is Clara is something of a shock and the excellent soundtrack really hits you hard as she realises this.
This is truly a magical experience for Dr Who fans; It's good to have another properly scary entry to the series and any further back story for the enigmatic First Doctor is always welcome. This is everything Dr Who should be.