6
Here, these reviews should create some nice discussion, if nothing else.
Cold War:
I do really see the similarities to “Dalek”, but it’s still different enough to not feel recycled. Problem is, not all the differences/changes are good.
The captain seems to bounce between trusting and not trusting the Doctor, but then practically became his best friend by the end. And um, where was that Barbie in the last episode? Clara seems to have taken to this adventuring thing too quickly, and doesn’t exhibit the wonder and amazement that she should. There has got to be a better way to deal with the TARDIS , and really, it didn’t need to be inaccessible. The threat to all of humanity should have been enough to keep The Doctor from leaving.
The CGI creature is worse than usual, but at least it’s covered by smoke. The creature’s arms look interesting, but it’s a shame we never see the whole thing. It’s also bad since the suit is so great, to see the rest fail like that. Didn’t see that ending twist coming, but truthfully the Martians didn’t do anything but solve all the problems just in time. Deus ex machina big time. While we see Mr. Icee’s hands all over people’s faces, we never actually see him take out a foe, which would have added greatly to making him feel more threatening. (And is precisely the reason the Dalek was scary.)
It was a nice episode, but as one other reviewer pointed out, Clara doesn’t do much, and it’s got a fair number of filler scenes, and Skaldak seems won over to the side of peace too easily. I didn’t feel much tension/suspense while watching it, and while it’ll be a good one to come back and watch again, it just doesn’t stand out from the crowd.
Hide:
Two minutes in, and it’s already scary. It’s off to a great start, and trust me, things do really continue that way. I like how It just jumps right into the story, and doesn’t bother with how they got there and why they came. It gives the story more time to develop, and that stuff is explained later once things settle down. The candle is a brilliant idea, and gives off a nice scary feel. I like the returning spacesuit, and the umbrella, and really, just about all the stuff referencing old Doctors/episodes. The pocket universe stuff is a great concept, as is the time travelling montage.
"It isn’t a ghost story, it’s a love story." –Interesting quote, interesting twist.
I really like the episode. It’s got scares, it’s got action, it’s got timey-wimey stuff, what’s there not to like?
The twist at the end with the girl and the psychic being related was great, but the romance was just a bit heavy-handed, and the ending felt cut off. The “Crooked Man” was a great monster, and while the one in the mansion is not explained at all, the tension created by the quick glimpses was a great way to do things. Also, hurrah for prosthetics! No flaws stood out to me in this one, which is a great relief. I was able to just sit back and enjoy the amazingness of Doctor Who without worrying about some silly detail.
The Crimson Horror-
I wasn’t sure what to think going into this, as I’m not a fan of the Gang. I like Strax, being a nice and violent companion. But the other two aren’t special, and even if they do get a spin-off, I probably wouldn’t watch it, and will be glad when they leave the main show. They all seem like one-trick ponies, and there’s just not enough depth to them to do much. They were great in Series 6, the Christmas special was stretching things, and this was lessened IMHO by their presence.
Stupid fainting guy, you have lost any respect I may have had for you. And that wasn't even funny the first time. Doctor? Ok, that was a bit odd. Kinda hate seeing him that way, but at least he got healed up quickly. I don’t care for the grainy flashback format, but at least it ended soon enough. And 'Tom-Tom,' I love it!
“Sontar-ha!” Strax was an entertaining part off the episode, but the humor didn't fit in well, and it's his only memorable trait.
It seems like The Doctor hardly did anything this episode, and that Jenny, Vastra and Strax could have done everything themselves. The Doctor was conveniently captured, changed, and changed back just to fit the plot, and Clara came to no harm at all. The treatment, for being so horrible, was too easily solved, and to tell the truth I felt that the last few scenes in Yorkshire weren’t that great. The real ending in the modern day however, was greatly entertaining, and touches on something that few others have. The ability to track time traveler’s movements around in history books. Also, Clara's surprise should lead to The Doctor being asked some awkward questions. Can't wait to see that finally happen. The Gang did most of the work, but to tell the truth, it seemed like the main role was split up so much that only Jenny did much of significance. Strax was shoved out of the way and only returned for comic relief, and Vastra just stood around a lot.
This is probably my least favorite episode of this series, as it felt all over the place, and just didn’t work for me. The evil plot was shut down quite easily, the blind girl had a predicable secret, the monster was just a cute spiky red thing, and the villain didn’t seem capable of pulling it all off by herself. Ada was the main bright spot, but her character isn’t worth the rest of the show. Also, The Doctor does everthing possible to save a deadly Ice Warrior, but doesn’t really care about a slug. Not even an annoyed “No, Ada….Don’t…Noooo….”
Doctor-lite episodes have a tendency to not do well, (Other than Blink) and this one follows the pattern. Well, this one really isn’t either side of the coin. It’s more like a Spin-off pilot than anything, which brings me to my last point….Just get the Paternoster Gang out of Who, I don’t care if they’re dropped, or giving a spin-off, or what, just get them out. After reading some other reviews, one last thing arose. The episode took itself too seriously. Had it been made with a camp-y tone, some of the issues would have been less severe. As is, the horror/gore just clashed a lot with the more absurd moments.
. The biggest problem with the Time War thing is that the Doctor has openly discussed it as well as killing his whole race and home planet, in order to disown this 'Doctor' what could he have done that was worse? Also on the Great Intelligences motives I just remembered that The Abominable Snowmen, The Web of Fear, Downtime, and The Web Planet all take place after The Snowmen, so it has only been defeated by the Doctor 2 times (The Snowmen, and The Bells of Saint John. 
)
