I SURVIVED THE MOFFAT ERA RE-WATCH!

NOTE: It took me about two years and four months to get through Matt's stories but to be fair, I watched his stories while I watched David's. David's I knew inside out from having watched it so many times, they were mostly that great; Chris's too; that first season was fantastic and probably the best (though this rewatch makes me realize season ten might be better?). I had some trouble watching David's because I knew them so much so decided to intersperse with the occasional Matt Smith episode.
 That is part of the reason it took me so long to get through them. The other is that they are mostly of a low quality (see below) but not as bad as I first thought, some of them. Some are even worse. Capaldi's too but I was more motivated to watch Capaldi and his stuff, even his bad scripted stuff. It took me eight months to get through Capaldi's and most of that was due to season 8 and 9 being so tedious for the most part, with some major exceptions. 

The Eleventh Hour: I seem to like this story more. I used to give it anything from a 1/10 to a 4/10 or maybe even a bit higher but now I would probably give it a 7/10 and that only for Amy being so unlikable in the first half.  A definite improvement in my feelings for this

 

The Beast Below: A curious episode, one that’s not really awful but not really very good either and which is forgettable and illogical. With a new Doctor and a new show runner and a new companion, they needed better; 2/10

 

Victory of the Daleks: Other than that and some dodgy stuff from both Matt and Karen, nothing too bad, mind you, this was quite okay. Mediocre at best but certainly not the *(*&^ I used to think it was. Hopefully this will go on…4/10

 

Time of the Angels: felt the same: not bad; I’m impressed. I always liked this first episode despite the many flaws in the first five minutes; 7/10

 

Flesh and Stone: not great; angels are different, more generic, and Amy and River are annoying. Still, the same feeling as when I first saw this. Not good. 3/10

 

Vampires of Venice: liked it just as much but Amy is a nasty girl/person. 9/10

 

The Hungry Earth: still pretty good: this first episode is not bad. 9/10

 

Cold Blood: I’ve quite enjoyed it this time BUT Amy calls Rory an idiot and she AND the Doctor are most unlikable. The Doctor being mean to the mother who killed to protect her son was hypocritical. See next ep where he calls a blind monster who was stranded and fearful. 7/10

 

Vincent and the Doctor: that was even better than I remembered but to be honest, while still probably a 9/10, and at times looking like living art, it didn’t have quite the emotional impact it did the first time and yet the alien parts weren’t as bad as I remembered either. Perhaps I was harder on this season that I had to be. Still can’t stand Amy and feel Karen was not the actress for DW. Yet this can rank among her better episodes. 9/10

 

The Lodger: a GREAT episode. I give it a 10/10

 

The Pandorica Opens: So, this was maybe a 7 out of 10 at best; a 4/10 at worst. Part two will determine the outcome.

 

THE BIG BANG is bad. Really bad. It is the first in a slow slide down to low quality DW that has to have season ending big bangs of illogical and boring complexity that some fans think are funny and intelligent. They’re not either of those things. They’re, frankly, embarrassing clap trap that are not even good escapism adventures. They’re dumb. They’re unfunny. 1/10

 

A Christmas Carol: For now, we can enjoy the Christmas Carol story, the last of the good DW holiday specials. 9/10 or even 10/10

 

 

 

One of the good Moffats. And genuinely Christmas-y.

 

THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT and DAY OF THE MOON are impossible garbage. 1/10 for both.

 

CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT is almost as bad but had a good start and atmosphere until the mid way point sort of. It was a waste of time. 4/10

 

THE DOCTOR’S WIFE remains a 10/10 story, grand, beautiful and wonderful. I still love it.

 

THE REBEL FLESH is slightly okay but there are huge mis steps and the second part THE ALMOST PEOPLE is almost as bad as I remembered but at least that’s what I once thought. It still has some horrid moments and motivations that come out of nowhere and don’t work for the Doctor but it, too, is not as bad as I once believed. 6/10

 

A GOOD MAN is still a huge POS and always will be. 0/10

 

LET’S KILL HITLER is still pretty bad. Padded and cliché, 1/10

 

NIGHT TERRORS is still better than I remembered it being and it even made sense just like it did in the 1970s when THE BIONIC WOMAN did it and did it better. Still, it’s not terrible. 7/10 or 8/10

 

THE GIRL WHO WAITED goes way up in rating IMO. It’s probably a 10/10 given what we know about these three main characters and how this was handled. It wasn’t never about the silly robots. And the acting, especially from Karen, is very, very good.

 

I’ll have to say almost the same thing about THE GOD COMPLEX, given this Doctor seems to have one. It’s not quite as good as THE GIRL WHO WAITED but it is far better than I’ve given it credit for. 9/10

 

CLOSING TIME is still as bad as can be well, maybe a 3/10 or a 4/10 so maybe that’s gone up, too. It’s still pretty awful though.

 

THE WEDDING OF RIVER SONG is boring and silly and makes little to no sense but it, again, isn’t as bad as I recall. 4/10

 

 

 

THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT: worse 1/10

DAY OF THE MOON: worse 1/10

CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT: pretty bad mid way through, 2/10

THE DOCTOR’S WIFE: always the best in this season, a 10/10

THE REBEL FLESH: much better than I gave it credit for 8/10

THE ALMOST PEOPLE: not much better but a bit better, still, not great 6/10?

A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR: pretty horrid, as bad as I remembered, 0/10

LET’S KILL HITLER: as bad as I remembered, awful in fact, 0/10

NIGHT TERRORS: a lot better than I remembered, 8 or 9/10

THE GIRL WHO WAITED: superior; a 10/10

THE GOD COMPLEX: a bit better, maybe a 6 or 7 out of 10

CLOSING TIME: awful, a 1/10

WEDDING OF RIVER SONG: a bit better but still pretty flawed, 5/10? Or even 2/10 or a 1/10, I really don’t care or know

 

 

The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe: I’ve done a total turn around on this story and think it’s not as bad as I thought. Some parts are dodgy and sketchy but I’d give it a 7/10 now or maybe even an 8/10.

 

Asylum of the Daleks: Still love it, loved it then, love it now: Okay, not bad at all! I’d still give it a 9/10 or maybe a 10/10.

 

Dinosaurs On A Spaceship: Fun and entertaining; It’s all wrapped up nicely and frankly, I, for one, can’t be happier with a DW ever! This was a 10/10 for entertainment and yes, a romp and yes, escapism. Wonderful. Just wonderful

 

A Town Called Mercy: even better than I remembered but I always liked this story: A really well done story, though the robot man killed Isaac but everyone decides to not take the revenge route. 10/10

 

The Power of Three: Still bad, maybe worse; This was a boring, slowly paced, illogical mess, 1/10

 

Angels In Manhattan: I liked this when I first saw and I still liked it. It gets rid of Amy and Rory. There’s more emotion that feels real than I first realized. This has gone up in my estimation. It’s quite good. 8/10

 

The Snowmen: it went from a 2/10 in my book to an almost 6/10 and maybe even a 7/10. I didn’t feel Strax, Jenny and even Vastra were too bad in this and visually it’s nice. A few moments are actually quite funny

 

The Bells of Saint John: I liked it which is more than I can say when I saw it on BBC America. 5/10

 

The Rings of Akhaten: still awful in the end, despite a good start, really bad: an illogical set up and an unexplainable back story capped off by an unexplained ending that comes with pop up ways out of the situation AND no reason the Doctor should still be alive or how Clara suddenly knows what to do…at least TWICE. And a sonic that’s a weapon. 2/10

 

Cold War: feels like a role playing game but mostly good, even exciting; This episode it mostly works and is at least functional and somewhat exciting with the Ice Warriors showing up and showing some new features including what they look like out of their body armor. 8/10

 

Hide: Better than first thought: The idea that a ghost story is not a ghost story but a love story is unique. And I’d probably give this a 9/10 now as opposed to a 6/10 in the past. Sure, Clara and the TARDIS bits are a bit…flippant and the Doc going back feels wrong somehow but I do like that he acknowledges that he is sometimes a bit slow (at least THIS Doctor is). We don’t see a lot of the creature being reunited with his love but I would have sworn we did on BBCA.

 

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS: worse, I’m afraid; This is not a bad premise but it is a bad execution, a bad script and a bad way to write a show. Horrible ending. Nothing felt real or settled or satisfying. 0/10

 

The Crimson Horror: still as bad as I remembered, maybe even worse; some scenes aren’t as bad as I recall but overall, this is awful. 0/10

 

Nightmare In Silver: better than when first seen but not by much, still awkward ending and a flippant sense of tone and awfully camp acting, the kids are the best part of this! 3/10

 

Name of the Doctor: a better ending than I remembered; in fact, the first time was boring and stupidly confusing; this is more about the Doctor and not a story at all and I still feel that way but some of the emotion may be actually really felt from across the screen, which is an improvement. Still, not very good but not horrid. 5/10

 

Day of the Doctor: about one percent better; so from a 0/10 to a 1/10. Some merit but not much. Still, a huge missed opportunity to celebrate the past characters (mostly Gallifrean and Leela and maybe Adric) from Doctor Who while using a entire plot that hinges on us caring about Gallifrey and its people and it all fails. The other plot: the Zygons vs UNIT on Earth also fails miserably. Still, this is garbage. Even Tom’s scene doesn’t really add up to much, logically but it was nice to see him. Also: it’s nice to have a future Doctor in a story before his regeneration but again, it’s a brief cameo. This is a bad story.

 

The Night of the Doctor: utter trash and bad writing; the Doctor’s unlikable, likes pain and denies his name and wants to be a warrior; Cass’s unlikable, kills herself and actually causes the 8^th Doctor to die; Ohila is an unlikely Sisterhood of Karn leader, not from the classic series and makes wrong ASSumptions about Cass, The Time War, and the Doctor. 1/10

 

The Time of the Doctor: I used to like this more. I would have given a 6/10 in the past and certainly the novel of short stories TALES OF TRENZALORE helped elevate its status but honestly, this is just as bad as DAY OF THE DOCTOR. Almost worse. It’s really a 2/10 or a 1/10 for all the reasons listed. It’s a lame attempt to copy RTD’s era. The only saving grace is the great premise and perhaps the Doctor’s brief connection to Barnable. Other than that, there’s no real feeling here and a rushed, empty script.

 

So a few went up, more than I expected. There’s still 19 poor stories here, 18 if you don’t count NIGHT OF THE DOCTOR as a TV story. That’s still a lot of material that’s rubbish and poor. It’s a season and a half worth of garbage spread out across three mediocre seasons.

 

Seasons 8 and 9 recap so far

 

Compared to how I felt about this shitty era on first viewing to now:

 

DEEP BREATH: 1/10: worse than I thought

 

 

INTO THE DALEK: 6/10: about the same

 

ROBOT OF SHERWOOD: 0/10: same

 

LISTEN: 1/10 or 0/10: same

 

TIME HEIST: 2/10: same

 

 

THE CARETAKER: 0/10 or 1/10: same

 

KILL THE MOON: 0/10 or 2/10: tiny bit better? Same?

 

MUMMY ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS: 10/10: same

 

FLATLINE: 10/10: same

 

IN THE FOREST OF THE NIGHT: 5/10? 4/10? 6/10?

 

DARK WATER: 0/10: couldn’t remember a thing about it.

 

DEATH IN HEAVEN: 0/10: same

 

THE LAST CHRISTMAS: 0/10: same

 

THE MAGICIAN’S APPRENTICE: 4/10 or 5/10?same?

 

THE WITCH’S FAMILIAR : 1/10: same

 

 

UNDER THE LAKE: gosh? 6/10? 9/10?

 

BEFORE THE FLOOD: 7/10 or 6/10 or 10/10?

 

THE GIRL WHO DIED: 10/10:same

 

THE WOMAN WHO LIVED: 4/10: tiny bit better?

 

THE ZYGON INVASION: 2/10: worse

 

THE ZYGON INVERSION: 6/10 or a 5/10: worse

 

SLEEP NO MORE: 10/10: same

 

FACE THE RAVEN: 9/10 or 5/10: a lot better

 

HEAVEN SENT: 2/10: nonsense; clap trap psyche crap: tiny bit better?

 

HELL BENT-3/10 or 1/10:

Better? Not really. Confused about quality? Yes. A total betrayal of the entire Doc/companion adventure thing? Yup.

 

The Husbands of River Song: 1/10 up one point, awful

The Return of Dr. Mysterio-9/10--so  a huge change there. Used to think this was trash. It's not. 

The Pilot: 9/10

Not really a change.

 

Smile: 10/10

Thin Ice: 10/10

Knock, Knock: 10/10

Oxygen: 10/10

 

I thought all of the above were such when I first watched them and I think this more so now.

 

 

Extremis: 4/10 or even a 1/10 or 0/10: about the same but the next two episodes might retroactively might have changed my opinion on this episode.

 

The Pyramid At The End Of The World 7/10 or 8/10 or 10/10: A total change for me. Hated this when I first saw it.

 

The Lie of the Land 9/10 or 10/10: not even sure I cared enough to pay any attention the first time so a total change. Love this now and love the trilogy much more now.

 

The three of the three previous episodes together: 9/10?

 

Empress of Mars: 10/10

 

Eaters of Light: 10/10

 

World Enough And Time: 10/10

 

The Doctor Falls: 10/10

 

Twice Upon A Time: 4/10-felt inconsequential and forced

 

 Time Crash: sometimes funny but as a DW short: 1/10; somewhat homophobic (beard); somewhat too much being about the real feelings of the actors rather than the fictional world ("you were my favorite") and gushingly poor. BTW David once, before he married Davison's daughter, told us his favorite WAS Tom Baker, hands down (watch his first season's extras).