Rate and Discuss: The Magician's Apprentice

[SiHart]

Earth has stopped. The Doctor is missing in action. Who is Clara going to call for help?

It's The Magician's Apprentice, what did you think?

[Alex]

Really loved that, a superb opener which was not only a lot of fun but quite dark and messed up in places. I had no idea Davros was due to return and was overjoyed to see him in it as I've always felt he's been underused in the new series, and his scenes with the Doctor were beautifully acted. And I did a big gasp at the revelation of Skaro, and I like doing them, so that was nice. Some of the medieval scenes were a bit daft but I found them endearing as well, and I dunno, I just found myself grinning throughout. Especially when Clara died. Ahem. Sorry. But I presume they'll be back by the end of the next episode so I'm allowing myself this brief moment of happiness.

[Jon Masters]

Well I'll give it the benefit of the doubt as it's a two parter , and I need to watch it again, but it seemed a hell of a mess, and I pity anyone who got their children to watch it as their very first episode of Doctor Who as I doubt they had the slightest clue what was going on.

[Philipnet]

Hang on - I know Jenna Coleman is leaving at the end of the season - but did they just jump the gun on getting rid of her

[Dino]

5. Sorry. There was loads to love about how it looked and the plot, but there were a good number of sequences that should have been taken out. And I say that as a musician myself, put it that way!
I really hope the next part increases the value of tonight, but the final shot of the episode seemed a bit flatly delivered. Almost as if it was a call back to the really lazy cliffhangers of the 80's stories!
So not blown away, but not massively upset and betrayed or anything.
Maybe in three weeks time I'll be typing "They should have bought the show back with this story instead!"

Oh well, Series 9 can only go onwards and upwards from here! And as bad as I thought tonight's episode was, it was clearly a step up from "Kill The Moon"!

[Andrew Curnow]

Hard to judge after part one only - I quite enjoyed it, but really it was just 45 minutes of getting the Doctor to Skaro wasn't it. Dare I say, padding....

Like Alex, though, I had no idea Davros was appearing so that was a great surprise - ditto the old series' clips.

[Darren]

2

A rambling mess, really. As Andrew says, a lot of padding. There was alot in the episode and it still managed to be boring.

And I *really* hate Missy.

[Alex]

I pity anyone who got their children to watch it as their very first episode of Doctor Who as I doubt they had the slightest clue what was going on.

I don't think that's a fair criticism of the show given we're in season nine though. If you ever tuned in to any show at this point you'd miss out on a huge amount of stuff. I mean I caught an episode of Eastenders for the first time in ten years the other day and didn't have a clue who half the people were and what was going on. Plus I really really like the way the series uses it's rich history in such an effective way.

[Jon Masters]

I really really like the way the series uses it's rich history in such an effective way.

So do I. However, DW isn't really like US series where there is an almost continual narrative flow from season to season. Late Classic DW has been criticised for stories where you had to be a long term fan to understand what was going on. My kids have seen all of New Who but they found it hard tonight to follow any kind of narrative (and got bored). And since last Christmas there will be children who have now become old enough to watch DW for the first time tonight. In the space of the first 20 mins we had Clara, UNIT, Missy, The Shadow Proclamation and Davros; by the end we've got Dalek-in-human form agents and a panoply of Daleks. I doubt that many non-fan parents could have explained what was going on and you can't sit them down and make them watch Journey's End , Asylum of the Daleks and the end of season 8 again.

I loved the bit where the Doctor was explaining to Clara about the Daleks - I just think it needed a bit more of that to get the 'not-we' up to speed.

[Perry Vale]

Oh dear, didn't think very much of that. A confused pantomime. Perhaps because I still haven't warmed to this Doctor or Clara (as a character), but it felt very reminiscent of other episodes (Bells of St John & Bad Wolf for a start) and seemed full of moments (UNIT) that were thrown in to make it look like they've spent lots of money on a season opener. Does Davros now have the Sith working for him?

Didn't like the new credits font, either.

[Nyder]

I thought the pre-credits scenes were one of the best! I had no idea Davros was returning so this was a real shocker to me! When the propellor planes were firing lasers I thought "this is a bit similar to Genesis" - doh!! Loved the hand mines too. Well they definitely packed a lot into that first episode! It did feel a bit stifling. Two niggles from me - PC please get rid of that scraggy t-shirt. You look far better in a nice shirt! Not convinced that guitar scenes were necessary - found it a bit jarring and "look at me".

Full marks go to Julian Bleach - his portrayal of Davros was mesmerising.

So on the whole - I rather enjoyed that


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[Perry Vale]

Loved the hand mines too.

Thought for a moment it was the return of the Weeping Angels!

[egdcltd]

Okay, those hand mines were creepy. Glad I didn't see them as a child. During the opener I was thinking that the whole war thing reminded me of the beginning of Genesis of the Daleks. With good reason it seems.

[Nyder]

I see in this month's DWM that The Moff said that he'd "wimped out" in Asylum by not giving the original Daleks more screen time.


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[Andrew Curnow]

One thing I really did/do like about the opener is the remaining ambiguity - that is, unless I'm just over-thinking it, is the Doctor's shame because he DID or he DIDN'T leave boy Davros to die? And for that matter (although I suppose the sonic screwdriver does kind of point at an answer) is that minefield scene in the Doctor's past or in his future? Davros remembers of course... but does the Doctor, or hasn't he been there and done that yet?

[duncan]

Very enjoyable with some wonderful lines from Missy. 8/10

[egdcltd]

One thing I really did/do like about the opener is the remaining ambiguity - that is, unless I'm just over-thinking it, is the Doctor's shame because he DID or he DIDN'T leave boy Davros to die? And for that matter (although I suppose the sonic screwdriver does kind of point at an answer) is that minefield scene in the Doctor's past or in his future? Davros remembers of course... but does the Doctor, or hasn't he been there and done that yet?

I think it's both. I think he left Davros at the beginning of the episode in the past, before meeting Davros in the confrontation, but returned to finish him off following the confrontation at the end of the episode, so that it wouldn't have happened. Although what he actually does may be something different.

[Antony Cox]

It jumped about all over the place but quite enjoyable.

I liked the references to Genesis but I must admit I didn't predict the inclusion/reference to the "...would you then kill that child?" so that was a nice surprise.

Missy is both intensely annoying and quite amusing at the same time, but overall a bit too jokey for a character which is essentially The Master (albeit in a dress).

Still hate the awful, weedy, Casio keyboard theme tune arrangement - absolutely ghastly.

[Nyder]

I agree about the title music Ant. Although I like the accompanying backbeat, it's that main synth bit that really grates on me!

[Stuart Wallis]

Oh dear. That dreadful woman who pretends to be the Master is back, and she's still slipping into a Scottish accent for no reason seemingly other than the Doctor has one.

The pre-title sequence was great, but after that the plot keeps leaping about until the Doctor meets up with the older Davros. If the tank business was meant to be funny... It ceased to be several decades ago, never mind will be in several centuries. And obviously the TARDIS at least will survive into next week. Mr. Moffat hasn't learned from Arc Of Infinity - never have a definite threat to a mainstay of the series occur as the first cliffhanger of a new series! I'm sure that Missy's wink to the Doctor back in 1158 is meant to signify something spoilery as well...

Maybe the wholw will be better than the sum of its parts... I hope so!

[SiHart]

I thought the episode was pretty good on the whole. Howvere, the Doctor's last night seemed like stalling until we got to the point we wanted to see, The Doctor and Davros. Those scenes had a real frisson and bit to them that had been missing until then. Peter Capaldi was excellent squaring up to Julian Bleach.

I like Missy, especially so in the scenes where the zany mask drops off and you can see the real character inside. The scene with Clara where suddenly she talsk abiut her friendship with the doctor that's lasted longer than our covilization and the moment she realises they're on Skaro were quite fantastic. More of those please!

[Andrew Curnow]

Yes, I thought Missy and Clara worked very well together. In fact, during the 'airlock/invisible planet' bit it was almost like a female Doctor with her companion!

[Andrew Curnow]

One odd thing though, I'm not sure why there was such a mystery of where the Doctor would be if he thought he was going to die tomorrow. Surely we know, he'd go and see James Corden - been there, done that 😊

[MacNimon]

Enjoyable. Patchy. Padded. After all our complaining about not enough depth in the stories, here we have a 25 minute episode stretched out to 50 minutes! It was fun, though...I'll give it a 6/10 for the moment. Will reserve full judgement until I see Part 2!

[Rob McCow]

Brilliant! Very much enjoyed it, though it did take a while to get going.

Loved the return of Missy, so massively over the top and bonkers it was wonderful. Then the Doctor trounced her with his electric guitar antics!

I wonder if the Confession Dial will be significant next week? And haven't we had the Doctor probably almost going to die or actually get killed in Matt Smith's second series too?