Hi. I hope you are well.
It feels like 2023 is going to be a very exciting year for Doctor Who. 2023 is the show’s 60th anniversary and part of those celebrations is the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate, who played the Doctor and Donna Noble, in 3 specials. It was way back in 2008 that the Doctor and Donna starred in series 4 of Doctor Who. This was the peak of Doctor Who for me. Series 4 is a seesaw of emotions: blobs of fat, planet of the hats, T K Maximus, Halpen coughing up his brain, ATMOS, Martha clone, the Hath, ‘there’s always something to live for’, Agatha Christie, skeletons rattling around empty spacesuits, the lost moon of Poosh, Rose is back, the Doctor being gunned down by a Dalek and the return of Davros.
But, as well as the past, we have the future of Doctor Who to look forward to. Ncuti Gatwa has been cast as the Doctor and Millie Gibson as their companion Ruby Sunday. I brought the Doctor Who Magazine this month and it had an interview with Millie Gibson. I haven’t done the whole getting excited about a new companion joining the show for years, wanting to get to know more about them and their character.
There was also an announcement about new books being added in the Target range. Music to my ears. I have been hoping for Kerblam! Because it’s a good episode and I feel like it would make a good story. Likewise with The Fires of Pompeii that was novelised last year, I am excited about Planet of the Ood because I just love all of the stories in series 4. Waters of Mars is an incredible episode and I’m surprised at its inclusion but am not going to complain. I have only just watched the Zygon Invasion and very much welcome a book version.
I finished watching series 9 this month. Face the Raven and Hell Bent were the 2 episodes I did not care for. I thought we wouldn’t get a companion coming back from the dead. I thought I could watch Heaven Sent and Hell Bent, free of Clara but she was in both of those episodes. I couldn’t believe what I was watching in Hell Bent. The Doctor literally plucks Clara out of her dying moment, after Face the Raven where her death was so drawn out and very final.
What did I like about series 9?
Peter Capaldi is brilliant as Doctor Who. It feels as if he gets to do comedy in this series. I don’t know if that was in series 8 too. But that adds to the enjoyment. I liked the darker tone of this series. It was unsettling. I liked the return of Missy. Episodes The Girl Who Died and Who Lived are so uneven, but they have some great scenes in them. I liked the Zygon 2 parter and its cast of women characters. Sleep No More has sleep dust monsters. So Mark Gatiss.
I have borrowed an audiobook from my library, which is the Doctor Who Origin Stories. I am still struggling with audios. I want to listen to more Big Finish stories this year. The problem is I just don’t like being read to or I seem unable to listen to a number of voices. It feels as if I need to be in a quiet room and concentrate hard. I like the idea of casually listening to an audiobook when I’m going for a walk or folding the laundry but the reality is different. There’s something I don’t like about not being able to follow the words with my own eyes. I need to see words.
Poetic Insights
For those who are curious
Poetic Insights 