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.
Series 8 is nearly over and it’s been quite a ride. But nothing could have prepared us for Dark Water kicking off the series finale with that Big Reveal…
We saw Danny “die”, Clara taking control, and a Gallifreyan hard-drive posing as the afterlife. We were left with Cybermen swarming the streets of London, Clara trapped and Missy detonated one enormous Mystery Bomb in the Doctor’s face.
The Master has returned. And she’s SCOTTISH!
Oh and she’s a she. …Surprises are all well and good but how did Dark Water do in the ratings? The overnight viewing figures were up at 5.27 milllion compared to last week’s 5.03 million for In the Forest of the Night. In fact this is the highest overnights we’ve had barring the series opener, Deep Breath at 6.8 million.
Just over a fifth of the available TV audience were watching and the final figures (factoring in repeats and catch up) will be higher as will the BBC’s Live+7 that adds on iPlayer views. e usually see around 2 million added on and given the excitement around the finale word of mouth is sure to bump that up.
Votes for Women!
And what did viewers think? The Audience Appreciation figure (AI) is rated out of 100 and gives an indication of the average viewer’s enjoyment. Dark Water scored an AI of 85, which the BBC considers “excellent” – only two other stories in series 8 have had an AI that high – Jamie Mathieson’s winning streak of Mummy on the Orient Express and Flatline.
But what about YOU? The Kasterborous Appreciation Index (KAI) is a similar score out of 100 extrapolated from your poll votes. We can’t compare it directly to the general public’s AI but you gave it a KAI of 78.2 which was a whopping increase compared to last week’s KAI of 49.4 for In the Forest etc.. For a bit of context that puts it easily in your top 5 of the Twelfth Doctor’s run so far. We’ll take a look at the series as a whole after the final episodes votes are cast…
However there was a split – while the vast majority of you voted Dark Water as “Superb…” , there was a second small peak of 11% who thought it was “not good enough.” Going by the comments that had something to do with the Master’s new look…
Re-genderation…
Thanks to Gruff for coining that one. While it’s been dropped in to dialogue before, Dark Water was the first time we’ve actually seen a Time Lord/Lady played by an actor of a different sex to the one we’re used to.
Some of you loved it.
Some of you hated it.
Let’s be clear – the response to Dark Water was very positive. But for a some, it hit a raw nerve. Spleens were emptied and vitriol ran down the walls as you thrashed out sex, gender and character-identity…
My all-out favourite was Simon Magellan’s rejoinder to one contributor,
“You have succeeded in creating a complex argument based entirely on sand”
…which is impressive whoever you are. FrancoPabloDiablo (FPD) in particular was not a happy bunny,
“R.I.P The Master: 1971 – 2010. That was just a shocking cheap victory for the noisy minority of crazy militant feminists.”
Vortexer felt the casting of a woman was,
“…the final nail in the coffin of the universal Moriarty known as the Master. Steven Moffat you are insane. …we know have a female Mistress to make me feel sick in the mouth.”
Blimey! Some suggested that the kiss represented a sexual “frisson” that had long been there between the Master and the Doctor. One nay-sayer asked,
“Have I missed some sexual undertones since 1971? WTF?”
To which Al replied,
“Uh, actually, yes, very much you have… People have been playing the “ho yay” card (google it) since 2007.”
And good lord, he/she’s right!
Tempers flared and accusations were made – you even got a telling off from the Boss! On the more positive side, DonnaM (who is unfailingly always on the more positive side – I’m fast falling in love), said of the two leads,
“oh, we are so lucky to have those two! …the bond between the Doctor and Clara absolutely crackles. It’s neither romantic or sexual but it lights up the screen, and never more so than tonight”
And David F paid tribute to the writing behind the betrayal-forgiveness scenes,
“‘Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?’ This sentence punched me in the gut, and I welled up. All the Doctor-Clara tensions of the last three months, paid off in one genius line.”
The sex/gender debate raged on with some accusations of homophobia and sexism and even God cropped up! There were comments so inflamed they seemed to melt logic…
Clearly this topic brings out strong feelings in us and we’re glad that you’ve made efforts to listen to each other and to be respectful. We’re not so pleased about the name-calling – let’s keep it clean this Saturday. The best thing you can ever do when you disagree with someone is to try to understand why. Nicely.
The last word goes to FDP,
“…if nothing else, the debate this episode has sparked is at least exhilarating and a good thing. I vehemently disagree with a lot of what some people say and vice versa but that’s what it’s all about.”
Good lad.
Suck deeply on your orange slices, Kasterborites. It’s only half time…
The post What You Thought Of Doctor Who Finale Part 1, Dark Water appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.