Doctor Who Series 8 Finale

This review contains HUGE spoilers for the Doctor Who Series 8 finale, as well as spoilers from Steven Moffat and possible fan theories. You’ve been warned.

Doctor Who "Death in Heaven" Promo. (Peter Capaldi, Michelle Gomez, Jenna Coleman. BBC)

The finale of Season 8 left many open-ended questions and was quite heart breaking.

First, Danny’s (Samuel Anderson) death from the last episode continued to be painful. Especially as he was had to confront Clara as a Cyberman and later decide whether to save the boy he killed or go back to Clara (Jenna Coleman). The death of Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) was, to me, even more devastating than Danny. Osgood’s character was one of the only things I liked about the 50^th Anniversary special. I had convinced myself that she was going to be the next companion to travel with the Doctor and I was so excited to get to know her better. But that will never be.

Now, we are going to be getting into the more spoiler-y topics so turn back if you haven’t seen the last episode.

I think my favorite part of this episode was Missy and the Doctor’s relationship and dynamic. Of course, any Doctor and Master episode I love. I was a little nervous because I had loved the relationship between John Simm’s Master and David Tennant’s Doctor.  But I thought Michelle Gomez did fabulously as the first Master Time-Lady and her banter and craziness with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor was funny and witty and generally amazing. I’ve always loved the Master (not as a person because s/he’s terrible, but as a character) and Gomez’s version was so clever and intriguing. I hope she comes back in the future before the Master has another regeneration.

On that note, while the episode left Missy’s survival open ended after being shot by a Cyberman (which I’ll talk more about later) Moffat has since confirmed that Master does live on, although he hasn’t said if Gomez will reprise in the role. I hope she does. I loved her in these two episodes and I thought her Master foiled Capaldi's Doctor perfectly. 

Missy and the Doctor in "Dark Water" Promo. BBC

Now, let’s talk about that cyberman now, that is almost certainly the Brigadier, Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, from Classic Who.  The Brigadier is one of my favorite Classic Who characters and one of the most beloved in the fandom. It was kind of great but kind of worrying that he may be alive but in Cyberman form. I loved that he saved Kate Steward, his daughter, when she went out of the plane. I wish him catching her would have been showed in the episode. I also loved that the Doctor saluted him. As the Doctor said earlier in the episode, he wouldn’t salute anyone but the Brigadier. But it is little worrying to me if he is in Cyberman form . As we have seen through Danny and other episodes of Doctor Who like “Nightmare in Silver” for a human to be alive and conscious inside of a Cyberman is painful and torturous. I would hate to think the Brigadier would be suffering through that. His fate was also left open ended, but I highly doubt the Cyberman Brigadier will return.

The last thing I’m going to talk about is the ending for Clara and the Doctor. It was so hard to see them both lie to one another, thinking they were helping the other. To recap, Clara told the Doctor that Danny was back so he wouldn’t worry about her on her own. The Doctor told Clara he had found Gallifrey so that she wouldn’t worry about him and could just be happy with Danny. Neither of which were true. Their hug at the end was heartbreaking and very revealing about both of them. The Doctor saying “never trust a hug. It’s just a way to hide your face” was so true for both of them that it was so depressing and devastating to watch them both try to be brave for one another.

The last thing I’m going to talk about is a wide spread theory that I completely believe, but it hasn’t been confirmed by anyone associated with the show. If you don’t want to read about it, stop here. Basically, a lot of people including myself are convinced that Clara is pregnant. When Clara met the Doctor at the coffee shop it seemed like there was more she was planning on telling him than just that Danny didn’t return. Also, there was a note earlier on in the episode in Clara’s apartment that read “3 months”.

Finally, if Clara was pregnant, it would explain the appearance of Orson Pink in the episode “Listen”. Because as of now, Danny has no children to continue his line, so Orson would have never existed. If Orson never exsisted, the Doctor and Clara’s timelines from “Listen” would drastically change the course of their lives, because they never would have gone to the end of the universe and Clara never would have met the young Doctor. This would change everything, so somehow Danny has to have a child. Even without Orson, Clara being pregnant is a logical step since Clara is alone on Earth and the Doctor is travelling alone again. I think this will be addressed in the Christmas special, but I doubt Clara will ever travel full time with the Doctor again.

I thought this was a great ending to Peter Capaldi’s debut season as the Doctor. I’m excited to see what the Christmas special brings this year. 

Supernatural 200th Episode Post 2

This review contains HUGE spoilers for the tenth episode of Supernatural. You have been warned.

This is the second post about the 200^th episode of Supernatural. For my first post, which was a general overview of the episode and some of the best moments, click here. In this post I’m going to talk about the Samulet, hipping and subtext references, Carry on Wayward Son, and Chuck.

The Samulet played a big part of this episode, as I think it should have. To fans, Dean (Jensen Ackles) throwing away the Samulet in season 5 was devastating. I personally have always refused to believe it just was thrown into the garbage.  Since the Samulet is such a big deal to the fandom as a symbol of Sam and Dean’s relationship, I think it was so fantastic they had the Samulet be such a powerful symbol in the episode. At the end, it was so heartwarming to see them driving into the sunset and dean putting the little wooden Samulet around the rear view mirror, and smiling at Sam. That was the best moment they boys have had in Baby in a while.

Another big theme throughout the episode was shipping and “subtext”.  As a devout Destiel shipper, all of these references and linees made the episode so amazing for me. So many times the writers and actors have  been very dismissive of the fandom’s community and beliefs about shipping. To have an episode that does show shipping in a more positive view was so great. In particular I loved when Sam (Jared Padalecki) was listing off different ship names like Sastiel, DeanCas, Sabriel, and trying to figure out the pronunciation of Destiel. I thought this was a great and funny touch.

Jared and Jensen with Supernatural Play Cast. "Fan Fiction" CW

All the talk about subtext was also great because it showed that people can see and expand on subtext in the show, which often is has been discouraged before. One of my favorite Destiel moments in the episode was right before the play went on and Dean (the real one) was telling the actors to put as much “Sub into that text as possible” and looking directly at the girl who played Castiel the whole time. That was really funny and cute.

The scene that I cried during was when Sam and Dean were watching the plays cast sing “Carry on Wayward Son”. To the fandom this song has always had a special significance because of its mirroring of Sam and Dean’s life. “Carry on Wayward Son” is the closest thing Supernatural has to a theme song and the fandom has gladly adopted it as our anthem. But this is the first time Sam and Dean see the reflection of their own lives in the song and hear the meaning it has in their lives. As they watch the actors playing their parents and family, listening to this song, they both looked close to tears. This was the most heartbreaking part of the episode, but it gave it a depth that I wasn’t expecting.

The last thing I’m going to talk about is Chuck. I really don’t know what impact Chuck’s return is going to have on the show, if any. I also don’t know if it was Chuck Shurley (Rob Benedict) who returned or if it was God. It’s recently became canon that Chuck was God when he disappeared in the episode, “Swan Song” in season 5 (both Eric Kripke and Rob Benedict have said Chuck was God.) However, Chuck obviously wasn’t always God or the Samulet would have burned Dean when they met him and the several times when they were together before the Samulet was trashed.  Most people take that to mean that sometime between “Dark Side of the Moon” and “Swan Song” Chuck became the vessel for God. Neither have been seen or heard from since “Swan Song”. 

Chuck Shurley (Rob Benedict) Supernatural. CW

This could be a one-off thing where Chuck/God disappears again and Sam and Dean never even know he was at the play, but they could be bringing back either Chuck as a prophet or Chuck as a god for future use in the series. I personally like to think that they are preparing for Prophet Chuck to return since Kevin is dead and Metatron flipped the prophet switch to keep more people from becoming prophets. Sam, Dean, and Cas need someone to read the tablets, and to bring back Chuck for the job would be great. Only time will tell, but it is interesting that Chuck made a cameo just a few weeks after Richard Speight Jr (plays Gabriel/the Trickster) announced he would be returning to Supernatural.

I absolutely loved this episode and I am so excited to see what the future of Supernatural brings.

Supernatural 200th episode Post 1

This review contains HUGE spoilers for the tenth episode of Supernatural. You have been warned.

Last Tuesday, the 200^th episode of Supernatural entitled “Fan Fiction” aired. The episode was dedicated to the fans and billed as a ‘love letter’ to the loyal and passionate followers of the show. 

Supernatural Cast and Writiers. 200th Episode Party. CW

The show centered on disappearances at a high school play. The catch, the play was inspired by Carver Edlund/Chuck’s (Rob Benedict) books, Supernatural, which were based of Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean’s (Jensen Ackles) lives.

Supernatural is in my top five all-time favorite shows (Which is as close to a single favorite show as I can get). This entire episode was gold. I laughed almost constantly through it, cried at “Carry on Wayward Son” and literally screamed at the big reveal at the end. Pretty much during this review, I’m going to talk about my favorite moments of the episode. Even to get to this list, which is longer than I originally planned it to be, I cut out a lot of amazing things. This entire episode was amazing, and definitely geared towards those heavily involved in the fandom.

The title sequence from this episode couldn’t have been better. “Supernatural  Pilot by Eric Kripke”  type as if it was on a computer was how everything started in the first place, and I think it was so cool to see that two hundred episodes later. I also loved how they put every “Supernatural” title sequence from the show’s ten seasons back to back. It was a great visual for the changes and different themes of the show.

I also loved the little catch phrases that were sprinkled in throughout the episode. While most of these phrases weren’t ones that were recurring throughout the series, they were sayings the fans latched onto. One of the best was at the beginning when Dean (Jensen Ackles) says “We got work to do” While the camera was shooting up as if from the trunk. It was almost an identical shot from the Pilot episode. I also loved the girls playing Castiel and Bobby saying their catch phrases (Hey, Assbutt for Cas and Idjits for Bobby) when Sam and Dean walk into the theater. I also loved when the theater actors used the “Ghostfacers” motto and group huddle before going on stage. This was especially great considering the Ghostfacers (Ed and Harry) are the longest living characters on the show. There were so many other great moments with old phrases from the show but to list them all would make this post really long.

Sam and Dean’s facial expressions throughout the episode were amazing. Jensen and Jared did amazing showing  the confusion and uncomfortableness Dean and Sam had at watching their own lives. One of my favorite moments was Dean’s brief Office moment when he looked directly into the camera, looking so over the whole situation. I also loved the moment when Adam’s character came on stage and Sam and Dean asked who he was. This was a great way to show the memory lapse of forgetting to leave Adam in hell for all those years. Once again, their facial expressions when they were reminded about Adam was perfect. Finally, I really loved the symbolism at the end of Sam and Dean driving in to the Sunset.

Dean and Sam in Supernatural Promo "Fan Fiction". CW

Okay, spoiler time. So once again, this is the big spoiler, so if you haven’t watched, don’t continue.

The best possible ending to this episode happened when Chuck/(God?) returned and had watched the play. This could have been a one-time thing, but there could be a continuation of the character more in the rest of the series. Only time will tell, but I’ll talk about that more in my next post.

I really loved this episode, and there is only one thing I wish had been different. And that is simply that I wish Misha Collins (plays Castiel) had at least made a cameo or something. This episode really was a love letter to the fans, but Misha is one of the staples of the show and the fandom. I wish he had been in it as well. (Also Mark Sheppard who plays Crowley because he's a big part of the show too.)

For Part 2 of the Supernatural 200^th episode review, click here. In this post I will go more into more detail about  the Samulet, the shipping and subtext references, Carry on Wayward Son, and Chuck.

A to Z

In the last two years, both of my favorite comedy shows ended. The Office finished its last season in May 2013 and How I met Your Mother (HIMYM) ended last April.  The only other comedy I’ve watched is New Girl and I’ve not been watching that regularly since season 1.

So, I decided to try out the new NBC romantic comedy, A to Z.

A to Z Pilot Promo. From NBC

While it is a cute show, it isn’t particularly special either. The cast and characters are both good. The characters have the usual romantic comedy personalities. There’s the workaholic girl who doesn’t believe  in love and marriage anymore. The romantic and sensitive guy who falls in love with every girl he meets. Then tack on the two best friends, one who is the sometimes-jerky comic relief and the other who has the cool British accent and has a new boyfriend every episode.

I do like the idea of the story documenting the entire relationship, which is made very clear at the beginning when the narrator tells how long Zelda (Cristin Milioti) and Andrew (Ben Feldman) will date.

While it is a cute show, and I think Milioti and Feldman have good on-screen chemistry, I am having some difficulty seeing Milioti in another romantic comedy so soon after the HIMYM finale.  

In HIMYM, Milioti played the ever-illusive ‘Mother’, Tracy.  I’ve heard many people say that the characters of Tracy and Zelda are very similar as well as the premise of both the romantic comedies. I agree that the roles and shows are so similar I sometimes feel like I’m just watching Tracy’s half of the HIMYM story.

A little over a week ago, I saw that A to Z will be ending after this season. Therefore, there will be a total of thirteen episodes of the show, unless they drastically improve their numbers, as in at least double.

I do wish that the show would have went on for a full season through May, but it doesn’t appear that will be happening. While I enjoy watching it, it won't be a show I will miss much once it ends.

Basically, if you want something to watch that’s cute and lighthearted, give A to Z a try. Just don’t get too attached to it as there are only a handful of episodes left. 

Gracepoint Mini-Series

The following review contains spoilers for the mini-series, Gracepoint, episodes 1-6.

Gracepoint Promo from Fox

The mini-series, Gracepoint, has four episodes left. The series, staring David Tennant and Anna Gunn, is a remake of the BBC series, Broadchurch (Also starring David Tennant, along with Olivia Colman). I have not yet watched Broadchurch but definitely plan on starting it soon.

Gracepoint is about a small U.S. coastal town. The quiet town as rocked by the murder of a 12-year-old boy. The lead investigator, Detective Emmett Carver (Tennant) is an outsider in the town, seeking redemption after leading failing to solve a child’s murder years earlier. Besides  Carver’s investigation the story follows  the relationship with his estranged daughter and his failing health. His partner, Detective Ellie Miller (Gunn) was born and raised in Gracepoint and close family friends with the victim’s family. Her son was friends with the murder victim.

While the show follows both Miller and Carver’s lives and investigation, as well as snippets from other residents, the show is heavily filter through Carver’s suspicious view of every town member. This is balanced out well by Ellie’s often blind trust and optimism towards the people she grew up with.

The story itself is interesting as it continues to unfold. While it’s a bit cliché, the show does well with the “little town where everyone has a secret”.  It seems every episode the suspect pool for the murder shifts and very few people are not under suspicion.

Fox has a constantly running Gracepoint poll where you can vote on who you think the murder is and see what percentage of voters suspect each Gracepoint resident. I haven’t been on there much, but I’ve checked it a few times after key episodes and it’s interesting to see how suspicion moves from the viewers as more characters secrets are revealed or hinted at.

I’ve enjoyed watching the show a lot. It’s interesting watching Carver in particular as he sees the bad in everyone and Ellie tries to keep him from stirring the entire town with conjecture. I like the complicated characters and the complicated relationships between everyone in the town, including outside reporters and Carver. It makes for interesting confrontations and group dynamics.

Needless to say, I also love watching David Tennant act and use an American accent. Anna Gunn is also great in the show, she grounds the other characters and works great as an anchor for the viewers as Tennant’s character is often quick moving and quick changing. Tennant and Gunn work very well together and translate their character’s complicated relationship well.

One of the main criticisms to Gracepoint I’ve read online is many people saying the show is practically identical to Broadchurch except with more whales (whale watching is a big thing in Gracepoint) and different names. I can’t speak to this, as I haven’t yet seen Broadchurch, but  I will be watching Broadchurch after this.

Gracepoint airs on Fox on Thursdays at 8 p.m. central time.

Doctor Who: Flatline

This review contains spoilers for the Doctor Who episode in season 8, “Flatline.”

I absolutely loved this episode. I thought it was clever and the both the Doctor and Clara had character development but stayed true to their past characterizations. The episode was funny but also intense at times and the supporting characters and actors were all great and diverse.

My favorite part of this episode is it featured Clara (Jenna Coleman) sort of as a female Doctor. During the transition between the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi), there was a lot of debate on whether a woman could play the Doctor. While many welcomed the idea, many others said that the Doctor was a role that could only be played by a man. I think this episode showed that is not the case.

Clara was fantastic running around with the sonic screwdriver and psychic paper while the Twelfth Doctor was stuck inside a shrunk Tardis. She was able to play the role as quirky and fun, as the Doctor does, but also make tough decisions in intense moments.

BBC, Flatline Promotion Picture. Source

I do wish that it had been Clara to force the aliens off of Earth instead of the Doctor, but I did think the Twelfth Doctor’s speech was a great call back to David Tennant’s first episode as the Tenth Doctor in “A Christmas Invasion.”  Both speeches featured a passionate declaration of Earth being defended and protected by the Doctor… all versions of him.

The last conversation of the episode between Clara and the Doctor was very interesting and a little unusual, although unlike in “Kill the Moon” I think it fit with the overall characterization. I’ve seen a lot of people trying to decipher what the Doctor meant when he told Clara “You were an exceptional Doctor… But goodness had nothing to do with it.”

I think this quote shows how the Doctor is still questioning whether he’s a good man, as has been a recurring theme throughout  this season. I also think that he was able to watch more objectively this episode from the Tardis as Clara made the tough decisions that are usually his responsibility, some of which caused deaths of innocent people.  I’m sure this theme is going to come back in the finale episodes of this season.

Overall, I loved this episode. It was a great sci-fi story that was unique and interesting. 

Doctor Who: Kill the Moon

This review contains minor spoilers for the Doctor Who season 8 episode, “Kill the Moon.”

The Doctor Who episode “Kill the Moon” was a cool concept and I liked the episode overall. The visuals were great. But there were a few things that really irritated and worried me about the episode.

This episode, I thought the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) was very out of character all the way around. From the beginning, the Doctor told Courtney (Ellis George), a student of Clara’s at Coal Hill Elementary that she wasn’t special. This bothered me a lot. One of the common factors of all the Doctor’s has been their love and fascination for humanity. The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) often declared his love for humanity and the individuals he met.

The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) once said, “In 900 years of time and space, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important” (Episode: A Christmas Carol). In “Kill the Moon”, the Doctor was unwilling to tell a young, troubled girl that she was special. This bothered me a lot, as it also did Clara (Jenna Coleman) throughout the episode.

BBC. Kill the Moon Promo Picture. Source

Another thing that bugged me about this episode was the Doctor’s complete lack of guidance and support for Clara and the other humans as they tried to make the decision to destroy the moon and or risk the creature inside destroying the Earth. In the episode, the Doctor leaves completely. He disappears for most of the episode after telling Clara to handle the situation.

The Doctor made a point that this was a turning point in the future of humanity, therefore, he said he shouldn’t be involved in the decision. The Eleventh Doctor dealt with a similar crucial point for humanity in the episode “Cold Blood”. In this episode where he, Amy, and a couple of other humans meet the reptile people living below the Earth. Once again, the Doctor steps back and tries to let the humans handle the decision making for their own future. But he also stays close by and helps them with this important choice.

The Doctor’s complete lack of help seemed out of character. I’ve seen many people online saying that Clara’s anger at the Doctor at the end of this episode was childish and misdirected. But I think she was completely right with her frustration at being left alone to make a seemingly impossible decision.

I’m not even going to go into the blatant parallels between the Clara’s decision in this episode and the pro-life, pro-choice debate. But if you would like to know more about that Claudia Boleyn talks about in her review of the episode. To watch that video click here.   

I’m still not sure whether I like this episode, because as I said in the beginning, I really liked the idea, the writing was great, and I thought Clara had a lot of great character development. All of the actors did a great job with the intense theme of the episode. But the Doctor’s characterization seemed off from his usual principles and ideals and that worried me quite a lot.