Christmas is coming and getting in the way...

Next up on my reviewing schedule is the missing story Marco Polo, it's presented on the The Edge Of Destruction in a mini form using audio a photos taken from a TV set when it was broadcast and I was going to use that for my review... I then realised that all the missing episodes have been reconstructed by Loose Cannon in the same manner but without being cut down so when I found Marco Polo on YouTube (which they had only managed to create earlier this year) I watched that as well, all seven episodes. Meanwhile, Christmas preparations are getting in the way of me sitting down and writing about it fully and with the new Christmas episode on its way, Marco Polo may not appear in my reviews until the New Year... you'll just have to wait and see...

Progress check

He he! Three weeks into the project and I have already fallen behind! Fortunately, although I only posted the review for serial two The Daleks yesterday, serial three The Edge Of Destruction is only two episodes so I should be able to squeeze it in this week... It is itself an anomaly only created out of necessity when the series was extended at relatively short notice and with no creative budget. The only solution was to set the story entirely in the TARDIS so there was no need to for new sets or cast. The result is a great character and mood piece which develops both the relation between the characters, finally settling them into a full team comradery, and reveals (or sets up) aspects of the TARDIS that will be echoed for many years to come. It's also a little surreal at times so understandably isn't to everyone's taste...

Live Review: The Day Of The Doctor

Following the excitement of the 50th Anniversary, and a few other things, I'm finally sitting down to comment on it! I did write a brief overview with minimal spoilers on the following Monday so I'll start with that before the jump...

As for "The Day Of The Doctor" itself, I really enjoyed that too! A little disappointment here and there but in the grand scheme of things it was due to good reasons. Possibly a little too heavy on the comedy but I'd guess it was there to balance out the historical references and convoluted plot - it doesn't matter if you don't quite know what they're babbling on about because they'll say/do something funny in a minute! I have to say I was disappointed by the Zygons though. The way they were used felt sloppy as if it were an after thought - yes the shape shifting dopplganger aspect worked in the plot but the fact that it was Zygons behind it felt like it was just to throw in a successful monster from the past. They looked good, in the brief moments they were seen, but I didn't feel the shape was right - the best part of their original appearance was the way their silhouette was less human despite being a man in a suit, more curve to the spine, bulging chest and practically no shoulders. All things considered, I think Moffat pulled off a lot of great feats in terms of homage, tradition, development and growth and finally closed the gaping hole between TV movie and the shows return - almost...