Kill the Moon

Well, I don't want to put any spoilers in this review, but this episode was bonkers. What was this?

I have loved The Doctor since I was a boy, a looong time ago. I have loved Peter Capaldi since the first episode of The Thick Of It. I think he makes a superb Doctor, reminiscent of Jon Pertwee's rendition in many ways, but I feel he is being served very badly by grindingly mediocre scripts in this series. Kill The Moon is a culmination of everything that is poor about the show at present. Hopefully it will turn the corner soon, but I am not holding my breath. There have always been certain episodes that veer into silliness, but this one is just breathtaking in the sheer scope of its utter inanity. To review it is not so much a matter of singling out the bad parts as trying desperately to find any redeeming qualities at all. I will not even bother to describe the plot, as others before me have done so very capably already. I will just say that even children should feel insulted by its total stupidity. What I will say is that I feel there are casting issues looming alongside the poor writing issues. Jenna Coleman was an excellent foil for Matt Smith, but I just don't see the chemistry with Capaldi. I think the sooner she moves on, the better it will be for the show. This is not a dig at Coleman; I think she is a very talented young actor. I just don't think the pairing works. As for Ellis George, who plays Courteney Woods, it's like they held a competition to choose the least talented young actress for the part as some kind of twisted joke. She is beyond awful. I know she is young and inexperienced, but I am certain that there must be far better choices out there than her. Her appalling delivery and wooden acting were the final nail in the coffin of an episode that was already DOA. Samuel Anderson is not a great deal better either. Wake up Steven Moffat and co., or this incarnation of The Doctor could well suffer the same fate as Sylvester McCoy's and drown in a puddle of its own mediocrity. Don't take your audience for granted!

This is not a great episode. The premise underlying the episode is ridiculous and unscientific. Even if the actual storytelling and acting is spot on.

Thankfully you can make it most of the way through the episode before the rottenness is exposed. So it's pretty enjoyable. It just isn't a very good episode to rewatch. Knowing the flawed premise that al the clues are hinting at.

However Courtney totally saves the episode. Her previous appearances in the last couple episodes hinted that she would play a larger role. And in this episode The Doctor actually takes her on an adventure in the Tardis. The actor is pretty good, but the lines they give her are great. And frankly, the humor saves the episode. Making it just that much more enjoyable, gives it enough momentum to carry through the nonsense ending.

Which I have to say is on par with Robot of Sherwood for level of illogical. But this is kind of a perennial trait of Doctor Who under Moffat/RTD. The stories quite often take you 95% of the way there and dissaopint you in the last 5 minutes. Ditto goes for the number of times they have tried to do another 'Bad Wolf' season. Such as they are doing with Missy and this season. There are a number of times the episode long arcs and season long arcs just don't pay out. But the times they do, they really pay off.

Doctor Who was my childhood best TV series. I grew up with it and kept it close to my heart after it was canceled in 1989. I was cautiously optimistic about the new series (if fearful), but it eventually won me over.

That noted, this story almost stopped me watching it any further. That would be an extreme position for me, since I've forgiven numerous cases of bad writing and anti-science in the series as a whole, but "Kill the Moon" went beyond any prior foolishness/writer ignorance the series has ever demonstrated. Had I not been watching from an already purchased DVD set, I don't know how long it would've taken me to come back for more.

If you don't know what I'm referencing, just read the other low rating reviews. Suspension of disbelief for techno-fantasy is one thing. Expecting your audience to be utterly uneducated is another entirely, and is a prime way to anger them.

I'm happy that Moffet is moving on from his show-runner position. He has some really neat and fun ideas, but someone else needs to wrangle him. Keep him as a contributor. That's fine.

Everything about episode sucks. Tone, acting, story. It just annoyed me so much. Definitely one of the worse episodes. Just feels so forced. Also the kid actor. So annoying.