mostly david ephgrave

I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Peter Capaldi in last Monday’s Doctor Who. I have a soft spot for him anyway (which is probably a strange thing to say about an actor with a resting face of pure fury) and thought his casting was inspired, but despite this, it wasn’t until the most recent series that I felt everything fell into place; this was nothing to do with Capaldi’s performance, but more due to the fact that when he joined the show, the programme maybe needed a second reboot. It probably didn’t help that I watched this week’s special in a post-Christmas-induced emotional state, so couldn’t deal with the inevitable tugged heartstrings of a departing Doctor; that said, I found Capaldi’s last few episodes hard to watch too, so the time of year’s no excuse: I’m just a vulnerable audience member. The reason I didn’t want him to go yet is simple: it may be childish to have bought into what’s essentially a kids’ sci-fi series so completely, b...

Last night’s Doctor Who series finale was pretty damn heartbreaking. I’m sad to see Peter Capaldi go, particularly when things really came together with his Doctor in this last series for me. He’s a fantastic actor - and the Machiavellian Malcolm Tucker was a barnstorming performance - and is the perfect casting for the Doctor, but the combination of him, Matt Lucas and new companion Pearl Mackie has lifted things to a level to rival some of the key David Tennant and Matt Smith episodes (I hate what I’ve become). That said, it’s always better to leave on a high note than when things begin to falter; not to suggest this was likely to happen, though everything has a shelf life. It’s hard to hit a consistently high standard, which is probably why the original Who ended when it did. At the very least, last night’s episode was an example of great television, the kind of which the BBC always does the best; what with Doctor Who and Sherlock (and The Thick of It, come to mention i...

I’m really enjoying the current series of Doctor Who. I'm a big fan of Peter Capaldi - primarily for his performance as the wonderful, yet terrifying Malcolm Tucker - but aside from the odd episode here and there, it wasn’t until this series that his Doctor found its stride for me. When I heard of his casting in the role, I was delighted (he was an inspired choice), yet I can’t help but feel he was unfortunate in taking on the part when he did. Every idea has its natural life and eventually, these things can run out of steam, which generally how I felt about the last few series. It was just a case of poor timing that Capaldi should come in at the point he did when the revamped Who seemed to have used up most of its tricks; there are only so many rejigged battles against Daleks and Cybermen before things started to feel a little samey. Yet it’s with the current series that things have really kicked into gear, which is a shame as it’s se...

Tonight was definitely a night for watching television. This evening saw the broadcast of the much-hyped fiftieth anniversary special of Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor – and I, like many others across the country, stayed in so I could watch it. I’ve become something of a fan of the series over the past few years. I saw it occasionally as a child, during the Sylvester McCoy days, but didn’t really get into it until its ‘regeneration’ in 2005 (see what I did there). Even then, I was a bit of a late-starter; I only really started watching properly after I bought a couple of box-sets for my girlfriend for Christmas. It’s probably not that surprising that I would like it. I was always a bit of a sci-fi fan as a kid (I used to watch Star Trek almost religiously; braving the cold to sit in my mum and dad’s conservatory each week, as the original series was repeated on BBC2). What I particularly like about the revamped Doctor Who is that...