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Doctor Who's Flatline: Cool monsters, yes, but utterly limp subplots

We know what the Doctor does, stop going on about it already

Jennifer says:

My fellow reviewers predicted I would hate this episode because there’s so much Clara in it, but, in fact, she was less irritating than usual – perhaps because she was actually DOING something and not just standing around looking like a drowning puppy.

Rigsy in Flatline

The fluorescent pudding brain, or Rigsy

By comparison, Danny, who has barely any screen time, maximises each second he does have to ramp up to peak annoying levels. Rarely has a man been so irritating from so few appearances.

The “theme” of what-would-the-Doctor-do is also wearing a little thin. At this stage surely even small children are thinking: “Okay, we get it! The Doctor has to make tough choices and sometimes lies.”

As has been the case more than once in this series, the best thing about Flatline was the monsters. That “they’re in the walls” is genuinely frightening. And there were no lame duck efforts to un-deadify the dead. And I can’t have been the only one to be relieved that they weren’t “trying to communicate”. We don’t need any more bleeding heart, fluffy bunny monsters.

This week’s secondary companion (companion-lite?) “the fluorescent pudding brain” was a great improvement on the ham of Frank Skinner in Mummy on the Orient Express. But none so far have looked to be keepers, leaving speculation wide open for Clara’s replacement after Christmas.

So far, so good. Even Ms Goody Two Shoes’ brainwave for re-charging the Tardis was plausible. But then it was time for Mr Rabbit to meet Mr Hat once again. Out bursts the Doctor buckling his swash and blasting the baddies back to wherever they came from. It was a great moment from Capaldi (I did rather swoon) but, but… so many questions: At what point in the episode did he work out how to do that? Is he magic now? Where can I get a coat with red lining?

Missy’s back, but it felt tacked on, as though the writers have created a bunch of vignettes to be dropped randomly into the series with no connection to the events of any episode. There’s no progression with the story arc, so although I’d like to know what’s going on with the Promised Land, I’m not burning with curiosity.

Surely the point of such a series-long story is to carry viewers from episode to episode, papering over any cracks in individual storylines. Missy is not doing that… yet. ®

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