Steven Cooper (3)

I got a lot out of the equivalent book analysing Matt Smith's first series as it helped prepare me for the second series. Reading this now in October 2013 in the run up to the 50th anniversary gives a different perspective as there has been a third series and we know Matt Smith is about to leave. The format of these books is very interesting - with one author reviewing the episode immediately after its original broadcast and the other doing so after the season has ended; this offers show more different perspectives given that Moffat's era more than any other relies on season-extending story arcs and so one's perception can change considerably by the end of the season. All that said, I must admit I don't really share the authors' enthusiasm for this kind of story arc; while I appreciate the artistic and creative effort, I am far from sure it works for much of the TV audience, and it doesn't really work for me. I found the whole River Song/death of the Doctor arc confusing and rather off-putting to watch at the time, and still pretty confusing when I watched the DVDs later. If it had been in a novel or series of novels where one can perhaps read more reflectively than one can really watch, I am sure I would have appreciated the concepts and their execution a lot more. This guide did help me to understand some of the plots more clearly than I had before. But my favourite stories of the season were still the ones not reliant, or less reliant, on the story arc. 5/5 for the concept of these guides though, I hope there will be one covering Matt Smith's third and final series, plus the forthcoming special. show less

Just what the doctor ordered (excuse the awful pun). Reading this book in the run up to the new season of Doctor Who has helped to revive my enthusiasm and made me realise how damned complex last year's season arc was! Now to watch the boxset over the next 12 days.

This is the third of the books where the two authors review the episodes of a season of Doctor Who, Steven Cooper reviewing it immediately after its first broadcast, Kevin Mahoney reviewing it after the whole season has aired. In an era where the show relies heavily on season-wide and indeed multi-season-wide story arcs, this offers two very different perspectives (in the days of classic Who, such an approach would most of the time have made little or no difference). This guide also includes show more the 50th anniversary The Day of the Doctor and the 2013 Christmas special The Time of the Doctor, so it includes in all 16 episodes broadcast between September 2012 and December 2013. Overall I enjoyed Matt Smith's third season more than his first two, largely as the story arc of Clara's true identity intruded less on most of the individual episodes than did the 2010 and 2011 arcs. My favourite episodes were still on the whole among those less (or in the first case not at all) dependent on this theme, in particular A Town Called Mercy from the first part of season when Amy and Rory were still in the TARDIS and, from the Clara half of the season, Cold War, Hide and The Crimson Horror. I have to confess that, even after reading the authors' analyses of the final episode of the season The Name of the Doctor, plus Day of the Doctor and Time of the Doctor, I find the details of this effective trilogy confusing and I sometimes can't recall which details and scenes appear in which of them (Day, the 50th anniversary special is my favourite of the three). The book provides a satisfying epitaph to the eleventh Doctor and it is perhaps a little surprising that it was published only in late August, just before Peter Capaldi's first season started. I hope they continue with these books in the new era. show less