Kiroku Tensha Eriko goes Doctor Who - A look back at possibly the best series of Modern Who to date: Series 9

Following the momentum of my "look back" at Series 8 of Doctor who in my last post, this time I review what could possibly be the best series of Modern Doctor Who to date - Series 9.

As I have said, Series 8, despite being a great "12th Doctor Starter Pack", was a difficult and turbulent one.  Considering that statement, there was virtually no way I have telegraphed that the sophomore season of Peter Capaldi/Twelfth Doctor will turn out to be as one, if not, the best Series of Doctor Who I have ever seen since the revival (2005 - Series 1). Yes! It was great, like a movie sequel that turned out to be better than the first one!

Series 9 dealt largely with the themes of death, loss, and even immortality. It also showed us a little bit of a toned down Doctor from last season as Peter Capaldi's Doctor this time has a more down-to-earth persona, but still has the "Grumpy One" vibe he had from his debut. One thing to note about Series 9 is it was a galore of multiple part episodes which was a first for Doctor Who since 2005.

Without further ado, here is my take on Series 9:



(Disclaimer: For the purpose of this look back, I re-watched all of the episodes of Series 9 and relived all of my reactions when I first saw those episodes. As such, all of the following are my own personal opinions.  Tread carefully. Also, I tried my best to make this a semi-Spoiler Free one, but I guess you will be the judge of that. Don't say I did not warn you though, LOL!)

To start things out was the two-parter "The Magician's Apprentice" and "The Witch's Familiar." The showrunners wasted no time and showed that they were serious from the get-go as in the forefront of the story were not only the Doctor's most menacing foes - The Daleks, but also their creator - Davros!

However, that was not the only thing they had in store as the story also marked the return of the gender-realigned Master - Missy (See, she ain't DEAD) and to spice things up, made her team up with Clara Oswald. A team-up that, in my opinion, was a ticking time bomb ready to explode. Also, did I mentioned that the first time the Doctor showed up in the story, he was rocking out with an electric guitar....on top of a military Tank? Yeah, Dude!!!

Going to an "AXE" fight....in style!!!

To be honest, the plot of the story- even though it had a lot of promise - turned out to be a hit or miss as the resolution was not as grand as the premise. Even the Doctor-Davros scenes in the story were overshadowed by the Missy-Clara ones (Who would have known that Gomez and Coleman would have that chemistry). All in all, it was a good Dalek-themed story, but not a great story to end Davros with, but that is just me. The two-parter, for all that is worth, was a strong start to what will be a superb season. I may have not liked how it played out, but it made me excited how the other stories will turn out to be. High points were the Missy and Clara surprise impromptu team-up.

Are we an effective team?

I am Human! (I am a Dalek!), I am Human! (I am a Dalek!) - Oh no, not again, Clara!

Oh, I also have to mention the "Asylum of the Daleks" homage when Clara found herself in a Dalek again and that moment when Missy poked Davros' eye! That was gold!

Next up was the old Who trope "a crew facing a mysterious danger in or on a remote station" story that was "Under the Lake" and "Before The Flood" (a two-parter again). 

This was a spooky story as it has "ghosts" in it, and even had the Doctor becoming one of those ghosts.  In this one, the strength of having two-parters were evident, particularly as far as that guest-starring crew was concerned. In single episode stories, a lot of guest characters turns out to be one-off and if they survive or not does not really matter. In this story, however, we had a lot of time (screen time) to know the group and feel for them as together with the Doctor and Clara, they were haunted by these "ghosts" to no end in their underwater base.

Hello, Fisher King! You are big, alright, now prepared to be flushed.

The first part of the story was a spook-fest that will really keep you on your toes and make you hide behind the sofa, but then there comes the second part.  The closer episode of the story is where the big baddie was introduced, which was a creature called the Fisher King.  As imposing as the creature was, it was not as frightening or impressive as the ghosts before it. All it did was tower above the Doctor, show how imposing it was, and then got flushed in the drain to kingdom come as the flood came. End of Story. If not for a somewhat weak closing, Under the Lake/Before the Flood could have been better, but again, it was a great thriller episode. The Fisher King may be a disappointment of sorts, but the spooky ghosts and a memorable crew that I grew to care for as the story progressed made up for it. One more thing I liked was the Fourth-wall breaking dialogue by the Doctor that talked about bootstrap paradoxes and Beethoven and ended with his distortion-infested take on the Doctor Who theme on his guitar that continued into the opening theme. Bravo Superior!

Let us spice that opening credits with some hard riffs, shall we?

Maisie Williams' much anticipated arrival in Doctor Who lore came in the two-parter "The Girl Who Died" and "The Woman Who Lived".

Many fans thought Maisie will play someone like the Doctor's granddaughter of sorts, but it was not the case as she played a new character in Ashildr, who will turn out to be one of the key characters in Series 9. This story deals with immortality and its "cons." Ashildr was just a simple Viking girl, who after falling in battle, was resurrected and given immortality (through alien tech) by the Doctor in one "spur of the moment" decision. This gift turned out to be curse because even though it may sound good, a life without end can be the worst fate one can have.

The first part set up the story well and the second part is where Maisie Williams shone brightest. In this episode (interestingly without Clara), a now immortal Ashildr has once again bumped into the Doctor and of course, has some ill feelings for him after he had granted her immortality that was too much for her to bear. Ashildr had people come and go in her (eternal) life and she cannot do anything about it as she had outlived them all. This mirrors the Doctor’s own dilemma, as he is immortal himself and was forced to watch as his companions - his friends - come and go too and even die. The dialogues between the Doctor and Ashildr were so good to watch that I have to give it to Maisie Williams. I was impressed. Unlike the first two stories, this story had a good first part and an even better second part. Maisie Williams as Ashildr, really owned this two-parter.

The Zygon-themed two-parter "The Zygon Invasion" and "The Zygon Inversion" is next and in my own humble opinion, this is the best story of the series.

It delivered a real-world analogy of themes like immigration, refugees, terrorism, and even racism which, at the time the episodes were aired, were socially relevant more than ever. It also marked another tour of duty for Kate Stewart and UNIT and our favorite Doctor Who fangirl, Osgood. There was no Timey-Wimey mumbo jumbo needed for this story as it all happened at the present time and with an impending rebellion by the outnumbered population of Zygons and a sure retaliation by the humans, War is really at hand and the Doctor needs to do something before lives (both Zygon and human) get squandered for a senseless cause.

Here is what "Being Cross" looks like

This story gave us another Jenna Coleman showcase as this time, she did a double role as Bonnie, a Zygon clone of Clara Oswald.  To be honest, if people will start to take Jenna Coleman for granted, they should just watch her do her thing in this story. It was fun to watch Ms. Coleman take on a baddie role and honestly, I was on the verge of liking Bonnie's character than Clara's. That was how effective Jenna was in here.

Dr. Basil and Petronella

The team-up of the Doctor and Osgood was like a geek dream coming true. Osgood has companion-material written all over her character and has the intellect to stand toe-to-toe with the Doctor as shown in the story. No wonder in the end, the Doctor became a fan.  Too bad, she cannot join the Doctor in the TARDIS as she has an important job to do for the safety of two species.

The Doctor using his best weapon - His Words!

To top all of the good stuff that this story had, is probably the best 10 minutes of Doctor Who anyone can ever have - The Twelfth Doctor's War Speech, arguably the best speech that the Twelfth Doctor ever delivered so far and props to Peter Capaldi for his nerve-wracking take on that hell of dialogue. This two-parter is definitely the best of the crop.

Unfortunately, even good runs has some share of bad and that is where "Sleep No More" come into play. Okay, Sleep Crust Monsters? What the Hell?!

To be fair, it was a good story, but to follow four two-parters which are arguably great, then this episode stands no chance at all. The only thing I can give it is its capability to frighten, but with all the good things Series 9 has been throwing at this point, it makes you wonder why this episode was thrown in the mix. I am not being bad here, but honestly, you can skip this episode and miss nothing at all.

It is not a secret that Series 9 is going to be and will have to be Jenna Coleman's last run as Clara as she had served the role well for too long (I would not mind if she became a forever companion, but that will be too ridiculous for the show). As sad it may sound, but Clara had her exit in "Face The Raven."

For the record, this is the first time I saw a companion unambiguously die as in "Drop Dead and lifeless" and it was more heartbreaking that it was Clara (obviously my favorite companion).

Let me be Brave

In all honesty, I had a hard time with this episode, but I guess that is how you end the "Impossible Girl" - facing her demise head-on and courageously...being Brave.

The now companion-less Doctor was all alone, and all alone he was in "Heaven Sent".

Heaven Sent is a One-Man Show Masterpiece

This episode is hands-down an instant classic; what with the "One-Man Show" that Peter Capaldi did on this one. For me, this is an episode that will prove how Peter Capaldi is obviously one of the greatest actors to don the mantle of The Doctor.

Well, not really that alone....

The pain and guilt and torment that the Doctor suffers here after Clara’s death and his current situation was pretty gut-wrenching and spectacular at the same time. To top this over the top episode was the mind-blowing twist that the Doctor was in fact trapped in his own Confession Dial and had been so for...wait for it... FOUR AND A HALF BILLION YEARS! WHAAAT????? It ended up with the Doctor finally getting out of it and standing on a very familiar planet to him - Gallifrey. What a way to set up the finale eh?

After that spectacular episode, the Finale that was "Hell Bent" had the toughest position to follow it up and close a very impressive series 9. Fortunately for us, it did end strong.

The Doctor going a bit too far

Having accepted Clara's demise a few episodes back, it was a surprise to see her return in the finale. Turns out, with some Time Lord trickery, the Doctor was able to save Clara from the last moment before her death. However, as every death in the Doctor Who Universe is a fixed point, Clara is still fated to die and there were ramifications and consequences of the Doctor trying to "save" her - he threatened the safety of the universe. With the stakes too great and too unbecoming for the Doctor, it is a must that both of them must be separated.

This is where the bittersweet part came, in a "reverse Donna Noble solution" way, the Doctor found himself (voluntarily) losing all of his memory of Clara. Clara, on the other hand, is still fated to die and that is what she is going to do; but with her own TARDIS to command, a very old Ashildr as her companion, and being virtually immortal in her own right, she decided to do it the long way round.

The finale gave us a fitting finish to Clara Oswald's story.  The companion who had likely become a Doctor herself is now a Doctor in her own right - started and ended as "The Impossible Girl." The price was great though as the Doctor would never know Clara anymore or remember all of the times he had with her. The only thing the Doctor will remember is her name.

A bittersweet final look

The Doctor plucking out "Clara's Theme" on guitar and Clara having a final look at the Doctor was truly a melancholic scene. After all was said and done, the Doctor is now alone, again. However, with the TARDIS giving him his new sonic screwdriver, we all know there will be a new adventure in the horizon and the Doctor will go, run, and will always be the Doctor.

New Screwdriver, New Adventures

All in all, Series 9 was arguably the best Doctor Who series that we got since its revival.  Peter Capaldi gave us another fantastic run as he became comfortable and found his rhythm in being the Doctor. His upcoming third season as the Doctor is something to watch out for, I am sure about that. Also, this series gave us a fitting end to Jenna Coleman's run as Clara Oswald. She will be missed for sure. The series could have used more of Michelle Gomez as the Master and I was really disappointed that she was only featured on one story. Nonetheless, it is hard to find a fault in Series 9, it was filled with great stories, intriguing ideas, unique and scary monsters, and great performances by the actors. Truly, Doctor Who doesn't get much better than this. I can't wait for series 10 and fortunately, it is A-coming!

That concludes my look back on Series 9, I do hope together with my look back at series 8, this got us all pumped up for Series 10 which will start in just a few days time.

Be sure to check out Series 10 which will be airing in April 15 (April 16 in the Philippines). It will sure be another spectacular season of Doctor Who.

Until next time,



Allons-y!!!