Doctor Who: All Of Series 8 And Last Christmas Ranked
4. The Caretaker
Ranking a humorous mid-series episode so highly might seem an odd choice but bear in mind the following: the script was by Gareth Roberts so fans knew it was going to be laugh-out-loud funny even before watching it. This story also gave Capaldi the chance to show how his Doctor would fare trying to fit in as a human in a normal environment (his Doctor stood out even more than Matt Smith did in The Lodger). If there is any doubt as to the episode's comedic success, re-watch the part in which the Doctor examines his "Go Away Humans" sign and remarks quietly, "Never write a sign when you're angry". The story also advances the series-long arc of Danny and Clara's blossoming romance and provides viewers with a memorable encounter between Danny and the Doctor in the TARDIS wherein Danny correctly identifies the Doctor's penchant for acting like an officer. True, there are misfires. The Doctor repeatedly referring to Danny as "PE" is grating and Danny's somersault over the Skovox Blitzer is distinctly odd. However, if the five or six seconds comprising these clunky parts are ignored, what is left comprises solid gold dramedy, epitomised by the Doctor assuming that Clara's boyfriend must be the Matt Smith lookalike.
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike
