Oh. my. stars. That was amazing. That more than made up for the ups and downs this series, and, oh, they’re so clever. This episode did the exact opposite of what people feared it said on the tin, of course it did. It’s not about the name. It’s about the promise that he made. The promise that’s going to break his hearts.
Doctor Who: The Name of the Doctor—review.
Doctor Who: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS—review.
The TARDIS is a living, breathing, feeling, sentient machine; and it’s important that she and the Doctor’s companions get along, because she’s always there for him, and for them. She protects them with all her power, and whoever earns the Doctor’s trust has hers. Which also means that, try as he might, the Doctor didn’t trust Clara. He wasn’t sure whether she was hiding her identity from him, he thought she might be laying a trap for him; and as much as he loves her personality and the mystery she represents, he didn’t trust her, not fully. Hence, the TARDIS couldn’t, either, not unreservedly. She gave Clara kudos for struggling to save the Doctor whatever it took, but it’s still difficult beyond that. And why? Read more…
Doctor Who: Hide—review.
With this second adventure, Neil Cross has truly outdone himself. It’s thrilling, properly frightening in places, and the suspense never lets up. This time around, the bits of breathing room that we get, discovering the characters through dialogue, was necessary for all involved. Nothing superfluous anywhere, no plot strand out of place; and plenty of surprises along the way. Figuring out part of the puzzle only leads to more questions and danger—and that’s how it should be!
Elementary: A Giant Gun, Filled with Drugs—review.
When old friends come to visit, that’s usually great. Reminiscences, old jokes, sometimes those are a solid foundation to build a friendship future on.
Less so when your name is Sherlock Holmes and the old friend is your former drug dealer, Rhys, who’s run into some problems.
Since we’re toiling in the cesspool of social media: that awkward moment when the delivery guy you perceive as a threat might have actually saved you from being abducted. Damn.
Doctor Who: Cold War—review.
Waking up the beast is a bad, bad idea. Good thing then that Eleven mostly runs hands-free, doesn’t he? He can save the universe using a kettle Barbie and some string, and look at him, he’s wearing no vegetable but Elvis shades.
Elementary: The Deductionist—review.
Since she correctly predicted his drug addiction, Sherlock is afraid that she was right about the rest of his potential fate: he’s afraid that he will spiral out of control, that he will lose mastership of his life and, more importantly, his incredible intelligence. He’s afraid that it will, in fact, drive him mad. He once told Joan that, once you start training in the art of deductive reasoning, you won’t be able to stop. Once you see everything, you can’t stop looking. His work continuously leads Sherlock into the backwaters of the human mind, the abyss that yawns beyond sanity and self-control. What if Sherlock’s scared that he will plunge into his very own abyss?
Scott & Bailey: S03E02—review.
Rachel has lost a lot of her faith: in her superiors, the system, justice (both the legal and the moral kind).
Back in the present, Janet and Rachel are searching for Adam Armitage, an estate agent who killed a homeless man and fled the scene, a case that, in the backseat of Rachel’s story, is little more than filler, but serves to illustrate Rachel’s changed attitude. She’s bitter, and her withering prognosis of how the trial is going to go for Adam Armitage underscores that. She doesn’t believe in criminal justice anymore, and even though she wouldn’t know what else to do for a living, one gets the impression that she thoroughly hates it by now, even though her hearing went well and she kept her job without prejudice.
Doctor Who: The Rings of Akhaten—review.
And thus, “We don’t interfere,” became, “We do not walk away.”
edit: sorry about the mix-up, wordpress was being a div, so I had to delete the post before. This is the right link.
Scott & Bailey: Series 3, Episode 1—review.
Manchester’s Major Incident Team around Scott and Bailey have returned for the third series of its critically acclaimed run on ITV, and it’s a roaring series premiere. The shit is hitting the fan from so many angles, it’s splattering everywhere. With a lot of trouble pouring in at the beginning of a new series, it might start off feeling a bit packed, but it’s one of the great strengths of this show that no-one gets shoved into the backseat. Supporting characters may have to wait for their turn, but the leads are now fitted with the seeds of the burdens they shall have to carry over the next seven episodes. So far, the writers around Sally Wainright have done an excellent job of balancing the drama and giving each character enough space, but not too much in favour of the case; and I trust that they’ll continue doing so.
Elementary: The Red Team—review.
Sherlock knew what he was doing—and if I’m getting this right, he wasn’t even planning to escape after murdering Moran. He was fully prepared to go to jail and have his entire existence taken away from him… because he’d already lost it the day Irene died. He kept count.
He knew that he would disappoint and sadden at least two people who cared about him, and, well, possibly infuriate his father. And while Joan stays with him, against all odds (and probably would have supported him throughout the trial, if it had come to that), Captain Gregson has waited long enough for the other shoe to drop.
