Oxygen

Finally an episode that had substance, depth, proper sci-fi and not just running around and away from a horrible CGI monster. Most importantly an episode actually in space, we don't get enough of those in New Who, especially in recent seasons. Glad Bill got a taste of her own medicine about the racism thing too, yes it is that easy to be accused of being racist.

A breathe of fresh air for Bill Potts, gets to walk in space with astronauts, but there's a big price to pay, for the oxygen bouquet, that's acquired in breathable shots.

Some space suits have a mind of their own, their incumbents evicted, dethroned, it's created a schism, cosmonaut capitalism, the less well-off left all alone.

Often when you tune into Doctor Who, you're not expecting any huge concerns. Oh, sure, towards the end of a season you might have to worry about a companion dying or a Doctor regenerating, but it's usually low stakes, even when they seam high. And yet this made the danger feel real. Anyone saying the commentary on capitalism being inaccurate or overblown hasn't looked into where the cobalt and tin for their devices come from, who built them, or what happened to people making semiconductors early in the industry. And that's just tech. Car manufacturers knowingly allowing dangerous defects because recalls are more expensive than settlements, or lobbying for more roads and less public transport despite the thousands of deaths every year from car travel. Let's not get started on your ridiculous healthcare, Americans. Capitalism has always been about the price of a life, this just makes you think about it for every breath. It's a tension that'll carry you through this episode, at the edge of your seat... and perhaps counting your breaths.

Certainly a highlight of this Series so far, as Jamie Mathieson writes another great story for Doctor Who. Mackie was exceptional at portraying fear throughout the episode; Lucas was great on his first adventure through time and space in the TARDIS; Capaldi was outstanding as usual, while the audience is treated with another one of his wonderful lectures; the rest of the cast were brilliantly unique and amazing in their own way. One great thing this Series has done exceptionally is the visuals, which really shows on the nightmarish zombies.

The capitalism concept was very interesting also, making for a unique base-under-siege story. The Vault storyline is going quite nicely throughout the Series, making it feel very grounded and reminiscent to the UNIT Pertwee era in the 70s. Series 10 continues to get somewhat stronger each story. Also, the Monks look great for next week!

Episode 5 "Oxygen" - 9/10

This serious is progressing way too quickly, I've been so impressed by the episodes thus far, the latest 'Oxygen' promised much.

A few days ago I watched a film called In Time, where people have to pay for their time to exist, it impressed me, that idea was realised here where the world is at a stage where you need to pay for your own oxygen, it had a real pop at the capitalist world, almost reminding me of an episode of the Green Death, where a similar message was used.

Once again, I was so impressed by this episode, I know some will say it was another base under siege episode, but there were so many elements that worked particularly well, which made Oxygen feel like one of the better ones. The Space Zombies for example, it's nice to see a bit of horror has returned to the show, first Knock Knock, and then Oxygen, the show works so well when the tone is that little darker.

Nice touches of humour, the race card being played in a different way, that was cleverly done. Good use of Special effects too, the space station looked great, and finally mention of the fluid link, long since forgotten.

I liked the twist of The Doctor being temporarily blinded, that gives next week's episode a very different tone. The episode did a good job in setting out what a bleak future lay ahead, and I'm sure there was a hidden message in the dialogue.

Gravity meets 28 days later meets money grabbing corporations, this was fantastic 9/10