Doctor Who: Series 7 - Hide

This was a creepy and yet sweet story at heart.

This story held the classic images and aspects of a haunted house story including lightning, candlelight, ghost-like apparitions, writing on the hall and a spooky house. The image of the ghost and its appearance made it look like a classic portrayal of a ghost, with I supposed was used to try and reinforce the possibility of it actually being a ghost. Although it later turned out to be a time traveller trapped in a collapsing pocket universe reaching out to her empathic ancestor.

More continuity and development appeared in this episode as the empathic Emma Grayling warned Clara to not trust the Doctor while also declaring that Clara was an ordinary person to the Doctor as he really wanted to try and find out more about her. Also it's interesting to see how they are using the TARDIS to show that something must be wrong with Clara as it doesn't seem to like her. It was then good how the TARDIS and Clara worked together to save the Doctor from the pocket universe.

I like how Clara questions the Doctor, especially in this episode as they watch Earth from birth to death to get images of the ghost and Clara realises that she can be seen as a ghost to the Doctor. In addition. I thought that the scenes between Emma and Major Alec Palmer are really sweet and it was good how these two lost souls were able to find each other.

Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman were superb, with guest stars Jessica Raine, Dougray Scott and Kemi-Bo Jacobs gave great performances, making it a strong episode.

Doctor Who: Series 7 - Cold War

A good story with a great return for an old enemy.

This episode saw the long awaited return of the Ice Warriors and their first appearance in the new series format. It really worked well to give to the classic image with the design of the suit, while adding new elements with the reptile inside leaving the suit to attack the crew of a Soviet Union submarine in the middle of the Cold War. This use of the creature outside the suit allowed for it to be seen as something more scarier and dangerous, while not showing too much of it to ruin the mystic of what could be inside. Similar to the reintroduction of the Daleks in Dalek, this episode combines old and new to create and re-imagine a classic enemy.

Meanwhile, I liked how this episode saw Clara trying to deal with the danger that travelling with the Doctor brings to her and other people. Her relationship with the Doctor remains strong as Clara discovers more about him and the TARDIS. In turn, I like how the Doctor is very strong in the face of the lone Ice Warrior Skaldak, especially when convincing him to not fire the nuclear weapon that would change history and also gave a little bit of humanity to Skaldak when he hesitated and allowed them to live.

I also liked the character of Professor Grisenko who added a good bit of comedy that worked well to make the episode more diverse and at the same time not taking away from the tension that is built through the shots used. Moreover, I thought how Lieutenant Stepashin tried to negotiate with Skaldak like how would use to happen in the classic series before being killed.

Matt Smith and Jenna-Lousie Coleman are great and carried the episode well, while Liam Cunningham, David Warner, Tobias Menzies and Spencer Wilding also gave good performances and the voice of Skaldak provided by Nicholas Briggs was really good and creepy.

Doctor Who: Series 7 - The Rings Of Akhaten

This was a great and interesting futuristic episode.

I like how the episode was used to establish a lot of character development for Clara, through the Doctor trying to work out what makes her so special for him to have met her in three different times. This allowed me to see how Clara seemed to have a normal life, shown through the meeting of her parents Dave Oswald and Ellie Davenport, them playing in the park with her and the funeral of her mother, which were all observed by the Doctor. This allowed for a lot more depth in Clara's character and allowed for the story to become more stronger and empowered.

As the Doctor and Clara arrived for the Festival of Offerings, it felt like a really good 'first trip' story as the appearance of various new and strange aliens allowed for me to empathise with Clara's wonder and excitement. Meanwhile, the story also explored the importance of history and treasured memories and items, as these were used as currency on the planet. Clara was then able to take centre stage as she had to give up her mother's ring in order to save Merry Gejelh, known as the Queen of Years, and then when she used the leaf that caused her parents to met in order to defeat the awaking god that feed on history and precious memories. The idea that the creature was defeated by the potential of the what could have beens and the possible future that Clara's mum should have had, was an interesting aspect to explore.

Furthermore, I also liked the use and possible power of song and storytelling and how it is often used to comfort or unity people. Murray Gold's soundtrack really added to these aspects to make a big and strong episode. In addition, the use, look and filming of the Vigil did well to add a bit of a creepy sense to the story, giving it a good mix of light and shade throughout.

Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman were superb in showing the continuing chemistry between the Doctor and Clara and their further development. Guests stars Michael Dixon, Nicola Sian and Emilia Jones gave great performances and supported the main characters and development of the story in really good way.

Ripper Street - Series 1

This was a strong episode to start a new gritty drama.

This series had a good exploration of how the police had to deal with controlling law and order in the aftermath of the Ripper murders, with it set six months after the last murder and a new one causing fear of his return. Within this an interesting clash of industrial and technology against the old ways was highlighted. This was also heightened by the police's attempts to control society, including vigilante groups baiting for blood and answers after a Ripper copy cat murder victim is found. The main character DI Edmund Reid, the name of one of the factual policemen that hunted for the Ripper, faces conflict and struggle from Inspector Frederick Abberline (also factual) who was determined and obsessed with identifying the man behind the Ripper mask.

 

Reid was well developed and complex with a good heart, hard exterior, but not so fused to the use of rough tactics in order to crack a case. The lose of his daughter years earlier and the testing effects it had on his marriage to Emily, leading to him start an affair with Deborah Goren also gave a good deal of depth to the character and a good bit of exploration alongside the other storylines. These storylines including business corruption, the terror caused by a gang, murder as part of pornographic films, the reliability of someone suffering from mental health and the fears of cholera.

 

The last two episodes really built up the tension and sent it up a gear as the truth around the mystery Dr Homer Jackson and Long Susan emerged. This had been that Jackson or rather Matthew Goode had seduced and run away with Susan or rather Caitlin Swift the daughter of American shipping magnet Theodore P. Swift, who along with members of the Pinkman association try to hunt them. This led to the death of PC Dick Hobbs which caused a lot of shock waves to the force and a showdown between Jackson and Frank Goodnight resulting in Goodnight's death, which came after he framed Jackson as the Ripper but was later released by Reid's determination to get to the truth.

 

Matthew Macfadyen gave a great portrayal of Reid, providing a complex and connectible character, while other cast members including Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Burling, Amanda Hale, Charlenee McKenna, Jonathan Barnwell, David Wilnot and David Dawson all provided good performances of their respective characters making it a varied, intriguing and diverse series.

Doctor Who: Series 7 - The Bells Of Saint John

This was a great return for the second half of Series 7 with a strong opener.

I really enjoyed this episode with changes in some of the usual aspects of the show and re-introduction of the new companion Clara Oswald. This was a great way for Clara to have her 'intro adventure' while at the same time being recognisable. This had come in the strong continuity ties of her being a nanny like she was in The Snowmen, the gaining of computer skills linking to the skill of her appearance at the start of the series in Asylum of the Daleks and the return of the Great Intelligence.

The Doctor and Clara's chemistry works really well and they bounce off each in a fun and interesting manner. Clara herself seems like a strong character with a lot of potential for growth especially surrounding her mystery of her dying twice. I was slightly worried that she might end up being another Rory-like situation where she dies a lot, but hopefully that won't get to used too much. Also I liked the remastered theme tune, with its classic series 1970s or 80s aspect, which was a good way of acknowledging the old with the new in this momentous year.

The story of Miss Kizlet and the Spoonheads highlighted the fears around the control of Wi-Fi, our reliance on it and a fear that people's souls would be taken by the internet. The use of the Wi-Fi to control and 'download' people's minds was quite a scary thought especially when it turned out that Kizlet and her staff were returned to their original mind sets and in Kizlet's case that of a child. The reappearance of the Great Intelligence further created intrigue as to how and why it all ties in together.

Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman gave great performances with a good amount of chemistry. In turn Celia Imrie, Robert Whitlock, Dan Li, Manpreet Bachu, Sean Knopp and Richard E. Grant's voice all gave good performances and really added to the episode.

Mayday

This was an atmospheric mystery drama and twisted and turned in an effective way.

Surrounding the disappearance of May Day Queen Hattie Sutton, four residents of the tight nip community, Fiona Hill, Gail Spicer, Linus Newcombe and Steve Docker come to suspect one of their loved ones of being involved. This narratives allowed for a set of intriguing and contrasting situations that kept twisting and turning, keeping my attention as I tried to work out who and what had happened.

The plot thickened with the suicide of Gail's husband Malcolm whose project had been destroyed by Hattie's campaign and led him to financial ruin. This threw more suspicion on Malcolm which led Gail and her son James to get rid of the evidence showing Malcolm's obsession over the failed project. It also added more into this vigilante feeling that emerged and made the people searching and their intentions quite dark. This can be seen by Steve who leads the search and tries to divert it from his mentally ill brother Seth who often lives in the woods because of his belief in druidism.

There are also strange happenings as the trees seem to whisper, the odd behaviour of Fiona's daughter Charlotte and Linus kept seeing the ghost of his mother as he tried to discover more about his father. Meanwhile, his friendship with Hattie's sister Caitlin added a good and nice quality compared to the psychological darkness. There was a lot of character development looking into differing aspects creating an effective and complex narrative, leading to a dramatic finale where it was revealed to be Fiona's husband Alan was the murderer, but she framed Linus' father Everett, and Caitlin transformed into Hattie and haunted Alan as he picnicked with this family.

The main cast including Leila Mimmack, Sophie Okonedo, Max Fowler, Lesley Manville and Sam Spruell all gave great performances and really held the story and me captivated. Peter Firth, Aidan Gillen, Peter McDonald and Tom Fisher also gave good portrayals and worked well with the main cast to make it an intriguing and complicated drama.

Dancing On The Edge

This was a great five-part series that intrigued and made a big impact.

This 1930s period drama was a vibrant and well developed story around the struggle of the Louis Lester Band, a black jazz band who faced scrutiny, discrimination, but found fame. It had many aspects including journalist Stanley Mitchell who discovered the band run by its namesake and strove to get them heard and recognised. It was good how Louis and Stanley developed a friendship and the band were able to become famous through Stanley's connections to Arthur Donaldson and Lady Cremone, and their approval by royalty.

This, along with the music, added a stylish and unique quality, making me be able to enjoy the songs and made it a great soundtrack to help the story develop. In turn the series also used the scrutiny that black people faced as the band had to have constant employment in order to be allowed to stay in the country, apart from Louis who was originally born in the UK. This is emphasised by the deportation of the band's manager Wesley, who was actually also born in the UK, but couldn't find his birth certificate to prove it.

Louis' relationship with Sarah Peters added a sweat and light quality to the series and it helped to develop the characters well especially with their sad parting of the ways. In turn Stanley's relationship with Pamela Luscombe, his friendship with Lady Cremone, Donaldson's encourage towards Jessie to awaken from her coma and the changes made at Stanley's music magazine made the series full of various storylines and interesting ways to see the character's develop and form.

From the start there was a mystery of Walter Masterson and Julian Luscombe especially when Louis was pulled into helping to dealt with a drunken women found in Masterson's room. Also the plot thickened with the attack on the band's lead singer Jessie Taylor which further created mystery as Julian seemed to be the last person to see her before it happened and she herself didn't seem to be herself. Then her later death came as a shock and started to reveal what the flash forwards at the start of the episodes had been about Louis getting accused of Jessie's murder and having to go on the run. Then the ending was tense as Julian planned to shot Masterson but instead killed himself leaving a confession to Jessie's murder.

Matthew Goode and Chiwetel Ejiofor gave great performances as Stanley and Louis, along with Angel Coulby, Jacqueline Bisset, Anthony Head, Joanna Vanderman, Janet Montgomery and Tom Hughes who were really good and added a lot to the episode. Other cast including Wunmi Mosaku, Jenna-Louise Coleman, John Goodman and Ariyon Bakare all did well to support the main cast and hold their own.