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What YOU Thought Of Kill The Moon

James Lomond is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

This is it, Kasterborites. The Great Audience-Splitter of Series 8. Kill the Moon aired last Saturday to the delight and disgust of just fans across the board. In the overall response to our poll, like the response in the media, seems to be positive. But more than any episode this Series, and – some might say – since Love & Monsters this one has been Doctor Who marmite.

The ratings were down a little with the overnight figure at 4.82 million. Our man, Phil Bates, has given a reassuring argument that the Series is still fighting fit and this is a mid-series lull although it’s not the terror-spike we might have hoped for after the Graham Norton teaser with its sinister arthropod and “when I say run” suspense. The AI (appreciation index) came in at 82/100 which is again, respectable if not outstanding. Figures under 60 are regarded as “poor” and over 85 are “excellent”.

But what of you, dear Kasterborite, gentleperson and viewer? What were your reactions. The posts on Kasterborous ranged from giddy excitement to full-on spillage of bile. Like persons who really give a damn, you leapt into debate with characteristic aplomb and carved a massive FAN-CHASM on this humble site.

Opinion in the poll was split, with 35% saying the episode had “A few chills, otherwise good” and 21.82%considering Kill the MoonNot scary, but good nonetheless.”  “Frightened the wotsits out of me!” said 19.7% but the negative reaction was crystallized with “Such a let down, expected more,” an option selected by 19.85%. A final selection of votes, amounting to 4% of the 660 cast, claimed they were “more scared the last time I watched Peppa Pig.”

But what about the comments?

In the RED corner:

Gruff thought, “that was excellent,” and MasonbingDW, “adored this episode.”

David F was full of praise, “It was a tight, mature, well-acted, visually arresting, thought-provoking piece of work with lots of good dialogue, and the dash of preposterous fantasy in the resolution that has always made Doctor Who worth watching. After the flippancy of the last few years (which I nevertheless enjoyed) it’s great to see such a focused, grown-up approach to storytelling.”

But where David F found maturity in the ethical debate, others found the resolution flippant…

In the BLUE corner:

“This was poor!” claimed TonyS “…A filler at best.”

DavePash summed it up with, “Abysmal. Dull. I never thought I’d say this words about Doctor Who. The story line was ridiculous, the acting poorer and the resolution ridiculous.”

Will agreed with DavePash that it was, “a truly abysmal episode and quite possibly the worst, IMHO, since “Fear Her”, which is saying something. The script and premise were…pathetic…this is supposed be a Sci-Fi show, and the science on display here was non-existent. Truly, utterly awful with not even the witty dialogue of previous episodes.”

One key contention touched on by DavePash, was over the science and whether or not it was silly… it was split lips and handbags at dawn for much of the discussion with vitriol bouncing off the walls. Little is repeatable in polite company. Suffice to say some argued that the fantastical technology of the TARDIS meant that scientific or even common sense explanation had no place in Doctor Who with David F commenting, “You might as well criticise Match of the Day for showing too much football.”

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Others argued that some effort to adequately explain convenient resolutions helped them to suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the story. None thrust the knife deeper than FrancoPabloDiablo’s stinging blow, “Bless”.

Happily peace was later restored and Castellan Spandrel sagely observed, “that everyone has their personal limits of credulity. What one viewer finds easy to accept in a story won’t be the same as another, and often there’s no rationality involved & it doesn’t necessarily have to do with science.” Bingo.

The one thing almost everyone seemed to agree on was the quality of the acting despite other qualms people have have had. Jenna Coleman fared particularly well though few were impressed with the character’s outburst…

DonnaM said, “While I can’t fault Jenna’ s delivery, that confrontation between the two of them just didn’t ring true to me tonight. I can see why Clara would feel affronted, but her response felt way overdone.”

Bradley W was chuffed… “Jenna Coleman is also displaying a range in her acting never displayed previously by a companion. The storyline was a bit weak in parts but last night was about redefining the relationship between the Doctor and the companion in a very fundamental way and undoubtedly to set up a delicious twist in the Moffat penned finale. Best of all the finale is a proper two parter. I haven’t enjoyed Who this much in the new era.”

And to finish, Ranger reflected on how the episode did, for some, deliver on the game-changer side of things… “Capaldi is quite frankly astonishing, he has the gift of stillness that Smith and Tennant (much as I loved him) don’t have. Jenna continues to act her socks off. … I’ve been feeling for awhile now that the relationship between Clara and the Doctor is unravelling, I don’t think she has really accepted him from Deep Breath onwards, he isn’t her Doctor, he doesn’t act as her Doctor would and though she pretends and goes along with him, his actions in KTM were so alien to how she expects her Doctor to act that I think a lot of the subsequent outburst was down to shock. But, though they may patch their relationship up, I don’t think Clara will ever really trust the Doctor again.”

Time will tell!

Thank you Kasterborites for your thoughts, feelings and sharing your enthusiasm. Onwards to the Orient Express…

The post What YOU Thought Of Kill The Moon appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.


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