In my opinion (and I’ve shown a complete lack of good opinions thus far), this is the best Capaldi season. It’s still not mind-blowing, but it’s definitely one of the most consistent seasons we’ve had. How would I rank the episodes?
You can read some of my other Doctor Who posts below:
9 – The Eaters of Light
Rating: C-
I don’t think any of the episodes this season are all that bad, but this one is definitely the most forgettable of the lot.
8 – Empress of Mars
Rating: C
It only took 10 seasons and 12 years, but Gatiss finally released a serviceable episode of Who.
The Ice Warriors are a formidable foe, and the Mars setting is a lot of fun too.
7 – Knock Knock
Rating: C+
I was quite excited for the episode when it came out – it seemed like the spooky episode of Who that was sorely missing from past seasons. What we got was a little disappointing, but still a decent episode.
6 – Thin Ice
Rating: C+
With Bill as the companion, there was always going to be a racially focussed historical episode. I actually thought this was OK, and it was great seeing the Doctor punch that guy in the face (that last bit only makes sense if you’ve seen the episode).
5 – Smile
Rating: B-
Possibly one of the stupidest premises we’ve ever had in the show (Emoji bots?!?), but it was executed quite well.
4 – Extremis / Pyramid at the End of the World / Lie of the Land
Rating: B-
The first three-parter since season 3 had a lot of hype surrounding it, and it kind of delivered.
I say kind of – the first two parts were great, but the final part was a bit anticlimactic. Chalk this one down to diminishing returns.
3 – Oxygen
Rating: B+
Space zombies and capitalism? Sounds like a weird episode, but Jamie Mathieson once again proves to be one of the better writers in the show’s history.
2 – The Pilot
Rating: B+
This was such a nice u-turn from seasons 8 and 9, having Capaldi’s Doctor become a university lecturer is a creative decision nobody was expecting but everybody loved.
Bill Potts also has a nice character introduction – it’s nice having a companion who isn’t the most important person in the universe, and the fact she’s going to the Doctor’s lectures for fun makes you instantly connect with her character. A great season opener.
1 – World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls
Rating: A
I was so pleasantly surprised by this finale when it aired – Moffat hadn’t done a good finale since season 5, so an amazing finale took us all by surprise.
John Simm’s return as the Master was great to see, and the re-introduction of the Mondasian Cybermen provides a fantastic final villain to close off the season. I kind of wish this was Capaldi’s last story before his regeneration, as it would have been a perfect send-off.
Season Rating: C+
I did like this season when it aired – there are a lot of just OK episodes, but at least there were no terrible ones. Let’s see the stats for the season:
- 1 A (11%)
- 4 Bs (44%)
- 4 Cs (44%)
Very solid, not a single “bad” episode. Now let’s look at Peter Capaldi’s tenure as the 12th Doctor:
- 3 As (11%)
- 10 Bs (36%)
- 9 Cs (32%)
- 3 Ds (11%)
- 3 Es( 11%)
- 28 Stories
No too great, almost a quarter of his episode were pretty terrible, and only 1 in 9 were amazing (about one per season). Still, not bad having 79% of episodes above par, just not an ideal era to look back on.
Now for Steven Moffat’s tenure as show-runner:
- 11 As (18%)
- 19 Bs (31%)
- 16 Cs (26%)
- 10 Ds (16%)
- 6 Es (10%)
- 62 Stories
6 Es in 6 seasons isn’t a good record, and over a quarter of the episodes were sub-par. However, half of the episodes were at least good, so Moffat wasn’t the worst show-runner we’ve had (that accolade is still to come).
Next time, we look at a piece of garbage. In the meantime, you should check out some of my latest posts:
David Bowie – Every Album Cover Ranked
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James Bond – Every 007 Actor Ranked
James Bond is the longest running film franchise we have, and while I would have loved to see an 80 year-old Sean Connery strutting his stuff in Skyfall and beyond, I think it only makes sense that the actors have to change as the franchise goes on. Every single transition between actors and eras couldContinue reading “James Bond – Every 007 Actor Ranked”
“american dream” (LCD Soundsystem) – Songs Ranked
I get the impression that a few people were underwhelmed by this album, and how LCD Soundsystem dragged themselves out of retirement for it. To that I say – what the hell?!? This album’s fire! The awesome dance beats, a whole range of diverse tracks … why were people so underwhelmed?!? Maaaaaybe it doesn’t quiteContinue reading ““american dream” (LCD Soundsystem) – Songs Ranked”
