doctor who

The final epsiode of the Matt Smith era and also the 800^th of all time drew a line in the sand, wrapped up all sorts of story lines and questions and left the new Doctor to start afresh. After the brilliance of the previous episode, I found this story to be wanting (although it has improved with subsequent viewing).

The 50th anniversary special was a pure delight. It had everything a fan could want and more.

Not a full episode, but one of the brief mini-episodes (or prequels) that have become fashionable. I don't normally record these, but this one is very special and contains stunning new information. In a huge surprise, Paul McGann is back as the 8th Doctor, we see his regeneration and we find out the truth behind the unknown Doctor from the previous episode.

The season finale was not only one of the better episodes with some intriguing plotlines, it contained two key moments: the explanation for Clara - the woman twice dead, and a simply mind-blowing reveal of a previously unknown incarnation of the The Doctor. Teh interwebs will go mad over the latter and it sets the scene for a mammoth 50th anniversary special.

The Cybermen are back and they have evolved to be almost indestructible. Cybermats have become advanced cybermites. There's a super-Cyberman, a Cyber-Planner, seen before but not as a biped, who is more advanced than the Cyber leaders. And the Cyberiad, the collective consciousness of all Cybermen (a little bit like the Dalek's pathweb perhaps, or more obviously, Star Trek's Borg). While the story had some good points, the Cybermen's new ability to upgrade almost instantly to counter new threats, is frustrating and defeats the tension in the story.

Another episode featuring Vastra, Jenny and Strax, initially told from their point of view. The Doctor first appears as a victim of the Crimson Horror that they are investigating. Eventually, the Doctor is saved and the source of the horror exposed and destroyed. A fair-to-middling episode.

A clever, promising premise, that revealed some interesting information, but ultimately another weak episode.

An attempt to improve the relationship between Clara and the TARDIS ends with the TARDIS ensnared in a tractor beam and about to be salvaged. The Doctor ends up outside the TARDIS and tricks the salvagers into helping him rescue Clara, who is stuck inside.

A claustrophobic episode that centres around a ghost story. The Doctor drops in, apparently to assist, but in reality he's simply continuing to try to understand the mystery of Clara. A reasonable episode, better than the last two anyway.

Clara and the Doctor arrive at the haunted Caliburn House to assist a ghost-hunting professor (Alex Palmer) and a gifted empathic psychic (Emma Grayling) who are searching for the Witch of the Well. Her apparition has appeared throughout the history of the building.

A mixed episode: it was good to see an Ice Warrior back (and very cool to see him without his armour), but what was the point of a story set on a submarine in 1983?

Clara's first trip in the TARDIS as a proper companion was one of the weakest stories in a while. The Doctor also looked into Clara's past, but found everything to be normal, much to his perplexment.