Time and Relative Dimension in Spoilers 000
Whovians have all been wishing for a T.A.R.D.I.S. of their own to whisk them from last Christmas to next Saturday. And for those of us not as lucky as Clara and the Doctor, the wait is almost over. We’ve had a full series of episodes to get used to 12 and we’ve witnessed something of a transformation in Clara. The nature of her finale departure and her change of heart in the Christmas special leave me especially curious as to how she and 12 will relate in the wake of those events. To belabor the metaphor, I’m itching to leap into the timestream and see what the future of Doctor Who has in store. But, since it’s been so long, let’s look back and remember where we left off.
We finished off Series 8 with a two-parter in which the Cybermen returned to London with the help of Missy, the gender-bent latest incarnation of series regular villain The Master. Our heroes bested the bad guys yet again, at the cost of Danny Pink (whatever) and UNIT scientist Osgood (awww, I liked her). Both the Doctor’s hopes of finding Gallifrey and Clara’s hopes of being reunited with Danny were raised and dashed, but each let each other believe they had found what they were looking for and parted ways. At Christmas, Clara and the Doctor’s paths cross again. After an adventure in which they must tell dream from reality, the Doctor decides he regrets their parting and invites her to rejoin him, which she accepts. Cue 9+ long months of waiting, with Steven Moffat cast in the role of expectant mother.
Premiering at the show’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic Con, a 90-second trailer gave us the fall airdate, a host of goodies (including Daleks, Zygons, another appearance from Missy, and the reveal of the highly anticipated Maisie Williams guest-star role), and what will surely be the series 9 tagline “I’m the Doctor and I save people.” A month later, we were gifted a second trailer, which didn’t give us much we didn’t already know about, but was still pretty exciting. We do see Missy and a Dalek in the same scene and a closeup on 12’s face similar to his appearance in The Day of the Doctor, but I’ve been fooled by editing monkeys entirely too often to read very much into this. Still, it is shaping up to be quite an exciting season.
You may ask “Who is this woman who claims so much Doctor Who knowledge?” Well, I’ve been a Whovian since long before we were called that. I discovered what is now called “Classic Series” on PBS in the fourth grade, back in the dark ages of the 20th century. Friends and I traded episodes on VEE-AYCH-ESS tapes (kids, ask your parents). 5 was MY doctor, though I am a big fan of 11 as well. I stuck with the show through the glory of all its terrible special effects, the miserable Colin Baker era, the nonsensical but enjoyable end of the classic series, the painful 16 year hiatus, punctuated only by the laughable FOX TV movie, and all 5 new series Doctors. Though I’m not blind to its flaws, I love it unconditionally.
I’ll be following the Doctor’s adventures closely and giving you my take on the latest slew of episodes. If you’re up for an adventure and you’re able to enjoy your TV without looking too closely at its wibbly-wobbly explanations, I hope you’ll come along with me as we discover what the baddies are up to, who exactly Maisie Williams is supposed to be, why the Doctor is rocking some badass shades, and how the HELL they’re going to explain the return of River Song in the Christmas special, here at Geekade starting the week after the Doctor Who premiere on Spetember 19th. This is Time and Relative Dimension in Spoilers.