Doctor Who Recap -- 10/25

Tonight's episode "In the Forest of the Night" begins with the Tardis landing in the middle of a forest. A little girl named Maebh approaches and asks the Doctor for help. She explains she was with Danny Pink, but someone told her to come here. Confused and a little irritated, the Doctor takes her into the Tardis, where she seems unimpressed at its dimensions. He complains he can't get to the center of London, but Maebh tells him they are in the center of London (Trafalgar Square, to be exact). But how can this be? It's a forest, not London.

Meanwhile, Clara, Danny and their students are leaving from a sleepover at the London Zoological Museum. They step outside and find the entire city overtaken by a forest that grew overnight. Turns out, it's not just London; it's the entire world. Clara calls the Doctor to tell him, but he already knows. He tells her he has Maebh, but when Danny asks, Clara lies to him about who she was talking with.

The group heads to the Tardis and seeks shelter inside. The Doctor doesn't appreciate all the kids poking around, but forgets about that when Maebh once again goes missing. Clara explains the girl's sister also went missing, causing Maebh to become borderline autistic and hear voices. Seeing a clue there, the Doctor decides Maebh holds the key to solving this mystery. He soon finds her homework, on which she has predicted a coming solar flare. How did she know about it?

The Doctor and Clara go outside to search for her, and they run into men in hazmat suits who are attempting to burn down the trees. However, the trees turn out to be fireproof. The two continue on, but are soon chased by wolves that have escaped from the London Zoo. They eventually run into Maebh, but things get much worse when a tiger shows up. Fortunately, Danny arrives and scares it off with a flashlight.

Maebh reveals she is the one who summoned the trees. Thoughts just come to her, she says, and she thought it would be nice to have a forest. Suddenly, an imposing voice begins speaking through her. Calling itself the Here, it says it has been on Earth long before everyone else, and it will be on Earth long after everyone else has died. Furthermore, it says the sun has called it. The Doctor declares that because of the impending solar flare, the planet is doomed. Clara suggests he use the Tardis to save the children. But it's just a trick to get him to save himself.

The Doctor takes off, leaving everyone to their fate. Upon further examination of the situation, though, he has an epiphany, and quickly returns. He tells everyone the trees are actually a defense mechanism meant to save the world. Sure enough, the massive supply of oxygen they've built up protects Earth from the solar flare, and the trees disappear. Watching this unfold is Missy, who seems impressed.

Everyone rejoices at their salvation. The Doctor reveals this has happened numerous times throughout human history. Mankind remembers the fear (which is why we're afraid of the forest), but not the cause. Finally, Danny tells Clara to stop lying to him about her adventures with the Doctor.

Oh, and Maebh's sister comes back.

Tonight's episode, like most of the ones this season, was solid. I thought the sudden forestation of the planet was an original storyline, and Peter Capaldi continues to impress with his gruff, snarky interpretation of the Doctor. Also, I like how Clara is an imperfect character; she continually lies to her friends, and it keeps getting her in trouble. I sense they're building up to something with her, and I look forward to finding out what.

Next week is the first of the two-part finale. 

Early Impressions -- The Flash

I became a fan of the Flash a while back while reading through old issues of his comic, so I was very much looking forward to the new TV series. I have to say, I'm very impressed so far. The CG is very well-done for television, and I really enjoy seeing the effects in action. I thought the blurring would be similar to Smallville, but it's actually much cooler. Also, the acting talent is solid, with Grant Gustin playing a very believable Barry Allen, and Tom Cavanagh shines with his own charisma. It's also cool seeing cameos from Arrow. Usually in DC movies and TV shows, each universe is separate, but with these two series, they're keeping it together, which is a nice plus.

Finally, there are so many colorful villains they can bring in. Some are cool (like Captain Cold), while others...not so much (Rainbow Raider; here's hoping they leave him out).

Bottom line: The Flash is really exciting so far, and I eagerly look forward to the rest of the first season.

Doctor Who Recap -- 10/18

Tonight's episode "Flatline" begins with a man disappearing from his home after announcing "They are everywhere." Later, the Doctor tries to get Clara home after another adventure, except they end up in Bristol, quite a ways from where she lives. More confusingly, the Tardis has shrunk and they have to squeeze through the doors to get out. The Doctor sends Clara away while he searches for the cause of this strange malady. She goes for a walk and encounters a graffiti artist doing community service named Rigsy. In a funny scene, she takes up the mantle of the Doctor and pokes fun at her traveling companion. Rigsy then comments on a number of people who have gone missing. Also painted on the wall are a bunch of people with their backs to them.

Clara returns to the Tardis and finds it's shrunk down down to about the size of a soda can. She thinks it's funny, but the Doctor--who's now trapped inside--isn't so amused. He reveals that something is leeching external dimensions, and its coming from the northwest. Clara puts the Tardis in her purse and meets up with Rigsy, and the two of them investigate a flat where one of the people disappeared. It's a locked room mystery, and they set about solving it. Soon Rigsy decides to return to his community service, but the Doctor finds him useful, so he has Clara show him the Tardis to get him to stick around. Suddenly, the Doctor announces that an unknown force is sucking the Tardis' energy.

Afterwards, Clara and Rigsy head to the site of another disappearance where they meet MI5 agent Forrest. The agent goes into another room, but a writhing something sucks her into the floor. Clara and Rigsy rush in to assist, but they're too late; Forrest's nervous system has been scaled down and flattened along the wall. The Doctor realizes they're dealing with two-dimensional life forms who are dissecting humans to understand three-dimensional organisms. The 2D entities move in to attack them, but they get on a chair suspended from the ceiling to avoid getting caught. Danny calls and asks if everything's all right. Clara lies to him and says yes, and they escape through the window.

They return to Rigsy's community service detail, only to find the people painted on the walls coming alive. The Doctor declares these are the missing people, and the 2D beings are wearing them like camoflage. The group escapes into a warehouse with the invaders in pursuit. The Doctor wants to try communicating with them because they may not realize they're doing humans harm with their experiments. Using the sonic screwdriver, they rig the building's PA system to transmit a message. The 2D beings respond using numbers, which the community service detail realizes are the numbers on their jackets. Are the invaders listing their past and future victims?

After another attack, one of the men bites it, and the group escapes into a tunnel system. However, they find all doors have been turned to 2D. The Doctor, still stuck in the Tardis, comes up with a device he calls a Toodis which can restore a door handle to 3D. They move deeper into the tunnels, but a giant hand reaches out and grabs another of the workers, revealing they're evolving into 3D. The group makes a run for it, but Clara gets bumped and drops the tiny Tardis into a hole, where it lands on subway tracks...and there's a train coming. There isn't enough power left in the Tardis to defend against this, and the Doctor seems doomed. But taking advice from Clara, he sticks his hand out and maneuvers the Tardis out of the way like Thing from the Addams Family. The Tardis then goes into siege mode, essentially turning it into an impregnable cube. Unfortunately, life support is failing, and it desperately needs a recharge.

No longer able to communicate with the Doctor, Clara has to find a way out of this on her own. So she has Rigsy draw a picture of a 2D door and places it along a wall in the tunnel, and she puts the Tardis behind that wall. The 2D beings poor energy into the faux door trying to get through it, unknowingly powering up the Tardis behind it. Now re-energized, the Tardis goes back to full size, and the Doctor comes out and condemns the 2D beings which he has dubbed Boneless. They knew exactly what they were doing, making them monsters. And if they insist on being monsters, then the Doctor must become "the man who stops the monsters." He banishes the Boneless back to their own dimension and then gets the workers back to the surface. Afterwards, Clara tells him to admit she made a pretty good Doctor. He admits she was a fine Doctor, but says goodness had nothing to do with it. She keeps lying to people throughout this episode, and he doesn't seem to approve.

Finally, Missy appears and has taken a keen interest in Clara. What's going on here? We'll just have to wait to find out.

I found this week's episode to be very imaginative. The 2D beings idea, while not wholly original, was executed very well. And the Doctor's subtle commentary on his own nature speaks to the quality writing this shown continues to display.

Doctor Who Recap -- 10/11

Tonight's episode "Mummy on the Orient Express" begins with an elderly woman being attacked on a train by a mummy that only she can see, resulting in her dying of a heart attack. Later, the Doctor takes Clara to that same train, the Orient Express. However, this is actually a space train! They've come here for Clara's last adventure with him; she decided to end their relationship following last week's episode.

Once aboard, they meet Maisie, the granddaughter of the woman who was just killed, and they find out about the alleged mummy. They also meet Quell, the ship's captain who's trying to keep a lid on things, along with Perkins, the chief engineer. The Doctor begins contemplating the mummy situation and seeks the knowledge of Moorhouse, an expert on myths who's also traveling on the Orient Express. They discuss the legend of the Foretold, a creature seen only by its victims who kills in 66 seconds. It is said to be immortal and cannot be harmed by conventional weapons. The Doctor believes this is the culprit behind the woman's death. As they are discussing this, one of the cooks aboard the train is killed by the Foretold.

Meanwhile, Clara and Maisie break into a storage compartment to see the woman's body. Maisie explains this is out of guilt because she often wished her grandmother dead (Granny wasn't such a nice person, apparently). However, they get locked in and are stuck.

The Doctor and Moorhouse investigate the recent deaths and discover the electricity faltered during each. The Doctor goes to find Clara but can't get through the locked door. Just then, Captain Quell arrives to arrest him on suspicion of being the murderer (the Doctor had been pretending to be a mystery shopper up to this point). But another death occurs, and Quell releases him. The Foretold then kills Moorhouse, and the Doctor tells the crew to bring him the background data on the victims. As it turns out, each of them was sick in either body or mind, causing the Doctor to conclude the mummy is targeting the weakest people first. The Doctor also realizes the passengers are experts in different fields, specifically chosen, and he demands to know who's pulling the strings.

At that moment, the train's upper-class facade is revealed to be a series of holograms (along with most of the passengers), and a lab takes its place. A mysterious man known only as Gus uses the PA system to announce he's brought them together to capture the Foretold so he can reverse-engineer its abilities. And to show he means business, he decompresses the kitchen, sucking the cooks into space.

The Foretold then kills Quell, and the Doctor discovers Maisie is the next victim. He urges Clara to bring her to him so he can watch the mummy attack her, instructing her to lie if necessary. Clara does lie, telling Maisie the Doctor can save her. They go to him, and the Foretold attacks. However, the Doctor manages to steal her negative emotions (the reason the mummy was targeting her), thus becoming the new target. He confronts the Foretold and determines the bandaged menace is actually a soldier who was equipped with a teleporter and cursed with immortality by having to suck the energy from the living. Knowing the soldier just wants his war to end, the Doctor surrenders. The Foretold disintegrates, and the Doctor acquires his teleporter. Unfortunately, Gus doesn't want witnesses, and shuts off oxygen to the car they're in. The Doctor manages to activate the teleporter and get them off the train.

He takes everyone to a nearby planet, and he and Clara have a talk. Her faith in him is restored following his rescue of Maisie, but he explains it's not that simple. Sometimes you have to make bad choices, he says. If Maisie had died, he would have simply moved onto the next victim and kept fighting the Foretold. Nevertheless, Clara decides to keep traveling with him.

Tonight's episode was another strong one. I especially liked the exploration of the Doctor's morality. He's not a clear-cut black-and-white figure. He has his flaws, but he keeps doing his best to do the right thing, and we are again reminded he needs an emotional anchor like Clara to keep him grounded. Also, as a fan of the anime Galaxy Express 999, I dig the space train concept. Finally, I'm intrigued by the mystery of Gus, and I hope he shows up again down the road.

Doctor Who Recap -- 10/04

Tonight's episode "Kill the Moon" begins with Clara in an undisclosed predicament. She says there is a terrible choice to be made: "An innocent life versus the future of all mankind." The episode then goes back in time to earlier when the Doctor and Clara are discussing Courtney, the girl from last week's episode who's a student at the school. The Doctor told her she wasn't special, and now she's upset at that. Rather than apologizing, he decides to make her special by having her become the first woman on the moon. So the three of them take a ride in the Tardis, but instead wind up on a space shuttle on its way to the moon in the year 2049. They are confronted by the shuttle's crew: Lundvick, Duke and Henry who have inexplicably brought nukes with them. The shuttle crashes, and although everyone is OK, they discover normal gravity on the moon caused by an additional 1.3 billion tons of mass. Lundvick explains the increased gravity is wreaking havoc on Earth, and they've been sent to put a stop to it by nuking the moon.

The group makes their way to the Minera San Pedro, a Mexican vessel that Earth lost contact with ten years ago. Inside they find the dead crew cocooned, and Lundvick sends Henry to arm the bombs. Unfortunately, he gets killed by something rather nasty. Back in the San Pedro, the group hears screeching and is attacked by a spider-like alien which gets Duke. It then goes after Courtney, but she manages to kill it with disinfectant, causing the Doctor to conclude the life form is actually a germ. Suddenly, earthquakes begin rocking the lunar surface, and they rush outside to see the shuttle fall into a fissure. The Doctor discovers amniotic fluid leaking from the surface, along with a crapload more spiders which he realizes are actually bacteria living on a massive organism growing inside the moon. Except it's not a moon; it's an egg! Clara wants to leave, but he declares the fate of the moon must be decided here and now, only not by him. Clara, Courtney and Lundvick must choose between killing the massive creature, and letting it hatch and possibly destroying all life on Earth. Refusing to be a part of the decision because he's not an Earthling, he gets back in the Tardis and leaves them to figure it out. 

Clara contacts the people of Earth and explains the situation. She implores them to vote on whether or not to kill the moon creature: Turn off all the lights for yes, or leave them on for no. They turn off all the lights, and Lundvick goes to press the button to set off the nukes. However, Clara stops her. Just then, the Doctor returns and brings them into the Tardis. Setting down on a beach, they witness the moon-egg hatch and disintegrate. The creature immediately lays a new egg, essentially replacing the moon, and the Doctor explains that this incident reignites mankind's interest in space travel, and is instrumental in getting us out into the stars. 

Back in the Tardis, Clara confronts him about his abandoning them. He tells her he had faith they would make the wrong decision. Nevertheless, she feels betrayed and storms off. When she gets back to the school, she meets up with Danny who recognizes her anger; he feels the same way about the army. Clara says she's done with the Doctor. However, he tells her that as long as you still feel anger, you're never done. She thanks him for his advice.

This was another solid episode. I felt the "moon as an egg" idea was pretty cool, and the execution was well-done, even if it does seem a little too convenient that a newly-hatched life form would immediately lay another egg and replace the moon. Since there were more deaths in this episode, I thought there would be another appearance by Missy, but that was not to be. Oh, well. 

Until next time.

The Game Called Revolution -- Free Today

Until midnight on 09/03, download The Game Called Revolution for free on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/9lfdelo.