Personally, I think that's a hell of a bird. Series 9 has seen Doctor Who come roaring back to the forefront of quality TV in a major way, especially after an underwhelming Series 8 that followed a couple of uneven series with Matt Smith's Doctor. It was a show transformed this year, helped in no small part by Peter Capaldi really making the role his own, and that's particularly clear in Heaven Sent. The penultimate episode of the series, it takes the bold move of isolating the Doctor, trapping him all alone while he has to confront his fears. What follows is an absolute tour-de-force from Capaldi, and one of the very best episodes of Doctor Who since the show came back a decade ago. Picking up after the events of Face The Raven (itself a great episode of Who), the Doctor is still very hurt, and very angry. Now, trapped and facing a foe he can't easily defeat with a wave of his screwdriver (or, erm, sunglasses), it instead sees him full of rage, fully unleashed. It passes time superbly, really breaking down the Doctor's breaking of the wall over billions of years, and gets deep into the character's past and some of his mysteries, including why he left Gallifrey in the first place. And then, in the final moments, as he finally does break through, we find ourselves back on his home planet, a huge ending to an incredibly powerful episode.
NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far.
A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.
