Eaglemoss Big Finish Eighth Doctor Set Now In Stock!

The first Big Finish centric set from Eaglemoss is now in stock!

The set includes figurines of the Eighth Doctor in his TV Movie costume, Lucie Miller and the Dalek Time Controller based on their appearances in the 2011 audio 'To The Death'.

You can order this set now from the Eaglemoss website for £29.99
www.shop.eaglemoss.com

Doctor Who Series 12 Steelbook Artwork Revealed!

The amazing cover art for the upcoming Amazon exclusive Series 12 steelbook has been revealed. I think this looks excellent and follows the same style of artwork as the recent 'Specials' and 'Series 5' sets.

The boxset will have the same contents as the regular blu-ray release, and while we don't know the bonus features yet it's pretty much a given that the set will include all ten episodes from this year's series.

The steelbook can be pre-ordered now for release on March 16th for the price of £49.99 from www.amazon.co.uk

Let's Talk About... Doctor Who: Ascension Of The Cybermen

**WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS FOR 12x09 FOLLOW**

Well, here we are, part one of the two part finale is here! Prior to it's release, this episode had set up a lot and had a lot of anticipation surrounding it, but did this episode answer any of our questions? and did it live up to the hype? Well, let's find out...

We'll start off with the obvious, the Cybermen are back! Not only did this episode continue the story of Ashad from last week, we were reacquainted to the Cybus Cybermen (first seen way back in 2006 - that makes me feel old) and introduced to a brand new warrior class of Cybermen. The new warrior Cybermen looked amazing! Their look seemed to combine the 'Invasion' design and the 'Nightmare In Silver' design, while incorporating its own elements (including spikes!). These look beautiful and they definitely stole every scene they were in - especially the beautiful shot of all the Cybermen marching through the ship.

But i'm jumping ahead! Let's go back to the very beginning of the episode and that absolutely stunning transition into the opening titles. A small but gorgeous detail. For us old school fans, it was lovely to see the aftermath of the Cyber Wars, a war that's been referenced all throughout the history of the show (most notably 'Revenge Of The Cybermen') and it was great to see how the feared the Cybermen are and how much of a threat they are to the universe. Something which was conveyed well through speech as opposed to a massive CGI battle. Also, the reference to Cybermen being allergic to gold was such a surprise, I loved it!

Ashad is such a wonderful villain so brilliantly played by Patrick O'Kane. While we did see him last week and were terrified by him, this week we learned more about his intentions and his desire to hunt down the last remaining humans. There was real fear whenever he was on screen and the confrontation between him and the Doctor was another standout moment.

Team TARDIS were separated quite early on this episode, this really allowed Graham and Yaz to act by themselves and show their initiative and what they've learned from the Doc. The Doctor and Ryan also worked well as a duo and it is making me long for 13 to have one companion for Series 13. It does make me worry however for the fates of our gang as we're left in the dark as to Graham and Yaz's fates at the end of the episode.

This episode also featured many cutaways to a sub-story taking place in Ireland following a policeman through his life and apparent immortality. If i'm honest I didn't know where this was going and when the episode ended I was no closer to knowing how this factors into the main story. It was very interesting however and I am intrigued as to how this all links into 'The Timeless Children'.

The cliffhanger of Gallifrey being on the other side of the portal was incredibly unexpected and raises SO. MANY. QUESTIONS. and with only one episode left, those answers had better be on their way! Also, the Master is back! Sacha Dhawan has proved to be a true embodiment of the Master and it's such a joy to see him back on screen. Let's hope he has a much bigger part in the finale.

I didn't really have any complaints with this episode, it was an epic space opera that perfectly reintroduced the Cybermen and set up a great deal for next week's finale. Did it live up to the hype? Perhaps not entirely but it acts as the perfect setup for the finale. Where will this story go, I couldn't possibly tell you. There are so many threads that have to be resolved and how do the Cybermen factor into it? Either way i'm really exicted for it, in a way that I haven't been for Doctor Who in quite some time.

9/10

Let's Talk About... Doctor Who: The Haunting Of Villa Diodati

**WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS FOR 12x08 FOLLOW**

First of all I have to apologise for the lateness of this review (real life getting in the way), and in the time we've been greeted with two terrific episodes of Doctor Who. We'll be starting off with episode 8: 'The Haunting Of Villa Diodati'.

This episode was interesting because it reminded me a lot of 'Utopia', in that it's an episode that stands by its own merit but gives us a greater story arc that leaves us on a cliffhanger leading into the finale. By this I, of course, mean the Lone Cyberman! Yes, the prophecy that Jack first mentioned four weeks ago finally has a face and, my goodness, how terrifying was Ashad?! What I loved was how this story did something new and different with the Cybermen, by making Ashad half-converted we are given all the menace of a normal Cyberman but with the added bonus of him having emotions. My main worry with this is that they were going to go down the 'Closing Time' route and have emotions be the victor, however we had nothing to worry about and Ashad was a truly evil character, even with his emotions intact!

I loved the setting for this story, all of the characters were given something essential to do within the story and it was great to see Mary Shelly represented on-screen in Doctor Who. I say this because the character of Mary Shelly had previously appeared alongside Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor in several Big Finish audios, most notably 'The Silver Turk' with which this story shares many similarities. Such as the setting, Shelly and a Cyberman. One aspect of the story which drew some attention before transmission was the ages of Shelly and Byron, however they were in their early twenties when Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein in real life, so I appreciated that little nod to real life. It is also a testament to the historical stories being the strongest of the Jodie Whittaker era thus far.

There was also a great dynamic between the TARDIS team in this story. Ryan was given some comedic moments, Yaz proved useful to the narrative and Graham's lust for food admittedly made me chuckle. It has to be said that I was blown away by Jodie Whittaker in this story. Her speech about the decisions she is forced to make was really powerful and could be compared to Peter Capaldi's anti-war speech from 'The Zygon Inversion'. In short it really made me feel that she is the Doctor. Plus her new waistcoat was a lovely touch.

There were a lot of questions raised after this episode, why was Graham seeing ghosts when no one else could? What was Ashad's plan going into the finale? and does this mark the beginning of the end for the TARDIS team as we know it? Well, with only two episodes left we won't have long to (hopefully) find out all the answers.

If I had any criticisms with the episode it would be that almost too much happened. I'll be honest I was really enjoying the ghost story elements and then we were thrown into a Cyberman story. It's almost as if they could have been two entirely different episodes but that being said the episode did have a real pace to it and I didn't see myself looking at the clock once.

Overall, this episode was definitely my favourite of Series Twelve so far. It brought us an intriguing historical tale and reintroduced the Cybermen in a brand new and horrifying way that perfectly sets up the high stakes of the series finale. In short, I loved it!

9/10

Upcoming Doctor Who Figurines From Eaglemoss!

Hero Collector and Eaglemoss have revealed some upcoming Doctor Who figurines set to be released in May.

Regarding the main collection, SV7 from 1976's 'The Robots Of Death' will comprise issue 175, while a Weeping Angel from (at a guess) 2007's 'Blink'(?) will be issue 176.

Recently Eaglemoss have been releasing a seperate line of TARDIS consoles and we are finally gonna be able to get our hands on the first New Who console: The Peter Capaldi era model. (one which I am especially excited for)

These figurines will be available to order from the Eaglemoss shop and Forbidden Planet at a later date.

Also coming from Eaglemoss in April is the second in their new range of Time Lord sets, this set including the Meddling Monk, as played by the superb Peter Butterworth in 1965's 'The Time Meddler' and The Master (who always dresses for the occasion!) from 1996's TV Movie played by Eric Roberts. Who ever thought that one day we'd have figurines of these two?! 

This set can be ordered at a later date from the Eaglemoss site (when all the items here go up for order i'll be sure to add links) 

Torchwood Added To BBC iPlayer!

All four series of Torchwood have been added to BBC iPlayer for the next 11 months! This means you can now binge watched Series 1, Series 2, Children Of Earth and Miracle Day on these cold, rainy British days.

This all does seem rather coincidental, what with 'Spyfall - Part One' making reference to Torchwood and Captain Jack reappearing in 'Fugitive Of The Judoon'. Could this be possibly hinting at some form of reappearance of the institute in the Doctor Who Series 12 finale? Well, we only have a couple of days to wait to find out...

Doctor Who Action Figure Review: Thirteenth Doctor Electronic TARDIS

For my first video, both on my YouTube channel and here on the blog, i'm taking a look at the brand new Jodie Whittaker era 5.5" electronic TARDIS from Character Options.

The TARDIS is available now from:
www.forbiddenplanet.com
www.character-online.com
www.amazon.co.uk

The GallifreyStands YouTube Channel!

Yes, I have taken the leap and set up a YouTube channel. This is hopefully a way of presenting you guys with more visual media so action figure reviews, discussion videos and the like. I have already filmed a review of the 13th Doctor's TARDIS from Character Options which will be uploaded later today.

So, if you have a YouTube channel give it a subscribe to check out the latest Doctor Who Action Figure Reviews in the link below

www.youtube.com

The Classic Series & Women (1963 - 1989)

The Master once asked the Doctor if the future was gonna be all girl, well it turns out that statement has never been more true...

We are now accustomed to there being a female Doctor in the TARDIS, played by Jodie Whittaker, with numerous female writers, producers and directors helping shape the new era of the show. However it wasn't always like this, the BBC was once a more male dominated environment and it was Who that helped bring roles to more women at the BBC...

Verity Lambert made history as the first female producer at the BBC in 1963. As the series' producer of Who she was ridiculed at the time by men thinking that a woman couldn't produce TV, she quickly proved naysayers wrong by delivering one of the most successful shows of the 60s. She was at the forefront of the show when 'Dalekmania' hit in 1964, the Dalek's massive success spawning fan mania comparable to Beatlemania, another craze of the 60s.

Verity Lambert on the set of 1965's 'Mission To The Unknown' 

Lambert made decisions that would create the show we know today. The main one making Susan the Doctor's granddaughter. Initially, Sydney Newman, the man who came up with the idea for Who, had the Doctor merely travel with Susan. But Lambert thought it inappropriate that an old man be travelling with a young girl and so, the decision was made to make her his granddaughter. Not only making Susan a three dimensional character, but also adding layers to the Doctors mysterious backstory. Between her departure and the next major female voice, Rona Munroe in 1989, there was a noticeable decline in the characters of the companions. They were only there to scream and ask questions and we knew very little about them beyond that.

The First Doctor and his granddaughter Susan Foreman in the first ever story 'An Unearthly Child' in November 1963.

Doctor Who also gave the opportunity for one of the first female directors to work at the BBC - Paddy Russell. Who directed 'The Massacre' in 1966, plus three more stories under Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker respectively. Russell was the only female director of the classic era. This paved the way for more female oriented crews on BBC productions outside of Who into the 70s.

The 1970s were a very male dominated era for the show, with only Russell directing three serials. It was in the 80s that a female presence reemerged; Barbara Clegg became the first female writer in 1983 with 'Enlightenment', a story which was notable for introducing Eternals and bringing Guardians back to the screen for the first time since 1077. It was often seen that a woman couldn't write sci-fi and so whenever a woman did write for the show, it was with a male writing partner. The most famous of these being Pip and Jane Baker, who scripted four stories between 1985 and 1987.

The Sixth Doctor in 'The Trial Of A Time Lord - Part 14' written by Pip & Jane Baker 

Andrew Cartmel was responsible for bringing in Rona Munroe to script the final classic story 'Survival' in 1989. This story proved a fan favourite and she was subsequently invited back to write for Peter Capaldi's Doctor in Series 10 in 2017. Munroe also has the distinction of being the only writer to write for both the classic and new series. In total there were only three female writers, one producer and director between 1963 and 1989. This is something the new series would strive to improve when it returned in 2005...

The Doctor & Ace walking off in the final shot of Rona Munroe's 'Survival', the final regular story for 16 years. 

Build-A-Bear Doctor Who Range Revealed!

Build-A-Bear have revealed a brand new range of Doctor Who products today.

The range includes various versions of the Tenth & Thirteenth Doctor (available individually, in a gift set and deluxe sets) and an online exclusive bear with the Doctor Who logo printed on the chest and foot. Also available are the clothes by themselves to you can build your own.

You can shop the range from www.buildabear.co.uk

All The Latest From Gallifrey One!

Gallifrey One is currently under way in Los Angeles. But for those of us unable to join the celebrations, we do at least have some news to wet the appetite!

Starting off with probably the biggest news to come from the convention that details have been revealed, as well as the cover, for the next series of Eighth Doctor adventures from Big Finish; 'Doctor Who: Stranded'

'The TARDIS is gone. Stranded in one time and place, the Doctor, Liv and Helen seek refuge in Baker Street. But the house has changed: they now have neighbours - not all of them welcoming. And someone has a dire warning for the future. The Doctor and friends face their greatest challenge yet: living one day after another, in 2020 London!'

Stranded will comprise of four stories:

• Lost Property (by Matt Fitton)
• Wild Animals (by John Dorney)
• Must-See TV (by Lisa McNullin)
• Divine Intervention (by David K. Barnes)

'Stranded' will also see the return of Tom Baker as The Curator (?!?). The mysterious (future?) incarnation first seen in 2013's 50th anniversary special 'The Day Of The Doctor' 

The box set can be pre-ordered now for release in July from the Big Finish website for £24.99 on CD and £19.99 on download. 

In other news, a second series of 'Missy' is coming in July with Michelle Gomez reprising her famous role for four further stories: 'The Lumiat' by Lisa McNullin, 'Brimstone and Terror' by Roy Gill, 'Treason and Plot' by Gemma Arrowsmith and 'Too Many Masters' by John Dorney. 

Not much was said about the TV series, other than filming on Series 13 won't begin until September. This more than likely means that we won't see Doctor Who return to screens until next autumn once Series 12 has finished airing. 

With two days remaining on Gallifrey One, i'll be posting updates if any more news gets announced. 

Sir Michael Palin Joins Torchwood!

Sir Michael Palin, yes THE Sir Michael Palin of Monty Python fame, is joining the Big Finish Torchwood range for a format-breaking release coming in April 2020.

The story in question takes the form of a spoken word relaxation tape but you can rest assured the last thing it will be is relaxing.

This is really exciting news and it's great to see Big Finish pushing the realms of audio and the addition of Sir Michael Palin is something I, like just about everyone, didn't think possible - but it's VERY exciting!

Torchwood: Tropical Beach Sounds and Other Relaxing Seascapes #4 is now available to pre-order on the Big Finish website for £9.99 on CD and £7.99 as download.

Doctor Who Pin Badge Collection from Eaglemoss!

Eaglemoss and Hero Collector have revealed a new range of Doctor Who pin badges of the Thirteen Doctors (+ the War Doctor). These are really unique pieces and its nice to see Eaglemoss expanding beyond the Doctor Who Figurine Collection. These badges are available to order now from the Eaglemoss shop for £6.99 each by following the link below.

www.shop.eaglemoss.com

Let's Talk About... Doctor Who: Can You Hear Me?

**WARNING MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR 12X07 FOLLOW**

I didn't know anything about 'Can You Hear Me?' before it aired and honestly, I was quite pleased about this. I expected this to be a dark story but not knowing anything really let me ingest the episode without any expectations - and I really liked it!

The basic premise of the story is a really interesting one; a character who is taking your nightmares, by sticking his detachable fingers in your ear, this is a really cool and original story for Who (which admittedly does bare some resemblance to the Sarah Jane Adventures story, 'The Nightmare Man'), Ian Gelder brings the villain Zellin to life with a tremendous amount of gravitas and he absolutely steals every scene he's in. Speaking of which, one of my favourite scenes was the confrontation between the Doctor and Zellin. This scene really allowed Jodie to shine through and let us finally see some of the darker elements of her Doctor, as opposed to the light and cheery personality we've previously seen.

I particularly enjoyed Jodie's Doctor in this story, seeing her operate on her own without her 'fam' really made me see what her Doctor will be like when Ryan, Yaz and Graham eventually leave, which, given what Ryan says to Yaz at the end may be sooner rather than later :( This leads me to probably the main takeaway from this story was the development in the companions (Fianlly!) these storylines were heartbreaking to watch, particularly Graham and Yaz's stories, and I found myself connecting with the characters a lot more now, almost as if they are real people because they have been through real problems.

However, this leads me onto perhaps my biggest complaint of the episode, the story of Yaz feeling suicidal and her subsequent path to finding herself again has come far too late for me, this would've been a story I would have much rather seen in Series 11 to make us connect with her character more. As a result it felt quite tacked onto the ending, almost as if the episode under-run and they used this side-story to fill the episode up to its 50 minute time slot.

Also, the ending scene where Graham tells the Doctor about his fear of his cancer returning and her reaction of not really offering any words of encouragement and instead walking away. This scene has proved quite divisive, some say that she did the right thing because she isn't human and wouldn't know what to say. Unfortunately I side with the majority of the crowd on this one, she should've comforted Graham and told him that everything was going to be okay. Not doing this felt really out of character, not just for Jodie's Doctor, but for the Doctor in general.

The Syria story could've been dropped in my opinion as there was so much going on in the episode already, I personally would've much rather more focus be put on Zellin and his backstory. These are my opinions and im sure many will probably disagree.

I did however grin like a kid in a candy store when Zellin references the Eternals, Guardians and the Celestial Toymaker!

Overall, despite my gripes I really did enjoy this story and it was probably my second favourite of the season (behind 'Fugitive Of The Judoon'). I'm really looking forward to next weeks as well, and then there's the, what promises to be epic, season finale!

7/10

A Closer Look - Big Chief Studios 1:6 Scale Eighth Doctor Signature Edition Figure

After first going up for pre-order way back in April 2017 we finally have our hands on the Big Chief Studios Eighth Doctor Signature Figure. But did the figure live up to the hype of a three year wait? Well let's find out...

starting off with the box. This has been newly redesigned to match the new Thirteenth Doctor era style guide, it looks really nice and I love the inclusion of the Pertwee-style time vortex used as the background decoration. The only downside is the box using the prototype of the figure on the box as it really doesn't do the actual figure inside justice. As well, the figure is lacking the inclusion of the Tardis console room as a backdrop for the figure but this can be brought down to licensing disputes with Fox.

Out of the box and the first thing you notice is the incredible head sculpt which features an outstanding likeness to Paul McGann. It's incredibly photogenic (as you can see in these pictures!). This is down to the many skin tones used to make the head look as true to life as possible. There is also a slight 5 o'clock shadow present, which McGann sports in the film, and this only adds to the realism in my eyes. The hair is also wonderfully done and both looks and sits better than the awful wig did way back in 1996.

The clothes are immaculate, with every part of the Eighth Doctor's costume recreated lovingly by the BCS team. Particular highlights are the waistcoat and velvet coat. At last we have an Eighth Doctor with an accurately coloured coat! *ahem Character Options ahem*.

The figure also, because it utilises the Big Chief slim male body mould, has an impressive amount of articulation. The figure has a ball jointed head and shoulders (with the latter also having butterfly joints). Double jointed and swivel elbows, ball jointed wrists, ab crunch, swivel waist, ball jointed hips, double jointed knees and ball hinged ankles. To name but a few!

We have a whole host of accessories with this figure too, with the bag of jelly babies, sonic screwdriver, TARDIS key and beryllium chip being particular highlights. We're also treated to the Doctor's fob watch, magnifying glass and magnetic clamp (which Grace famously bashes the Doctor over the head with near the end of the film). Plus if you were one of the first 400 people to order the figure and pay in full back in 2017, you would have also received the Master's urn from the beginning of the film*. I particularly love posing the figure with the fob watch to recreate the iconic 1996 promo shot! We also have a wide selection of alternate hands so the Doctor can be posed with whatever accessories you desire. Finally, we have the generic display base which, when lit up, illuminates the number 8 in Gallifreyan text.

Finally the icing on the cake is the autographed plaque signed by Paul McGann! This is amazing and just adds to it being the definitive Eighth Doctor figure in my collection.

Overall, this is an absolutely superb figure that was well worth the three year wait and will no doubt be a fantastic addition to the Big Chief shelf! It's a shame the pictures I've taken really don't do the figure justice but it really looks the part next to his fellow Doctors and I can't wait to get the next figure in the range: The Thirteenth Doctor in the Summer!

* Quick side-note, as of 7/2/20, the Master's urn has gone up for order as an individual accessory on Big Chief's site for £9.99. So those of us who missed out the first time round can now pick one up.

The Faceless Ones Animation Cover Revealed!

The covers for the DVD, Blu-Ray and Steelbook releases of 'The Faceless Ones' have finally been revealed ahead of their release on March 16th. I'm really happy with these covers, particularly the steelbook one, and cant wait to add them to my DVD shelf when they're released next month!

Also revealed were the bonus features which will run across all three releases, they are as follows:

• Photographic reconstruction of the story. Including surviving footage of episodes 1 & 3
• Audio commentary on episodes 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6
• 'Making of the animated series'
• Camera script PDF's 
• Surviving film fragments from the story 
• x5 'Easter Egg' surprises
• Coming soon trailer for the next animation release; 'Fury From The Deep' 

The Faceless Ones is one of the mostly missing stories from the fourth season of Doctor Who, broadcast over six weeks between April and May 1967. Only two of the six episodes survive, along with the off-air recordings of the soundtrack, allowing for a complete serial to be made in animated form. The six new animated episodes will be made in full HD colour.

The DVD release will cost £14.99, the Blu-Ray £18.99 and the Steelbook £28.99 and can be pre-ordered from www.amazon.co.uk now!

The Collection: Season 12 Blu-Ray Re-Release Coming!

The insanely popular Season 12 Blu-Ray box set is due to be re-released in March following its insane sell-out release back in June 2018.

This is ideal if you missed out the first time round, but if you do want one, i'd say order now to avoid missing out a second time!

The limited edition re-release is available to pre-order now from Amazon.co.uk, Zoom.co.uk and Zavvi.com. Priced at £39.99
www.amazon.co.uk
www.zoom.co.uk
www.zavvi.com

Captain Jack Meets River Song... At Last!

Big Finish have announced 'The Lives Of Captain Jack - Volume Three'. This is significant because this series will mark the first encounter between Jack Harkness and River Song. Ever. (I know, it's hard to believe!)

This is great news and is something that I certainly have longed to see, weather its on TV or audio, and hearing John Barrowman and Alex Kingston share the 'screen' will be thrilling!

'The Lives Of Captain Jack - Volume Three' will be released in March 2020. You can pre-order the CD boxset now from the Big Finish website for £24.99

https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/the-lives-of-captain-jack-volume-03

Series 12 Finale Details Revealed!

Details have been released on the finale two episodes of Series 12!

Episode 9 - 'The Ascension Of The Cybermen'.
Episode 10 -  'The Timeless Children'.

Not much information on the episodes has been released beyond the titles (no doubt because these will be incredibly spoiler filled), other than Jodie's Doctor will face an army of Cybermen, episode 9 will take place in the wake of the Cyber Wars (exciting!) in a world where both the Human and Cyber empires have been reduced to nothing. One other detail is that episode 10 will run for 65 minutes and be action packed and extremely emotional.

What's noteworthy with the titles however is ep10 being called 'The Timeless CHILDREN'. Plural! What does this mean? Who are the other timeless children? Perhaps Jo Martin's mysterious new Doctor? We've only got a couple of weeks to find out.

This information comes courtesy of Doctor Who Magazine 548, which is on sale now. (and comes with an option of two covers, just to make life difficult for us collectors)

Let's Talk About... Doctor Who: Praxeus

**WARNING MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR 12X06 FOLLOW**

Praxeus was an odd one, an episode that I think would've worked better had it not come in the wake of last week's game-changing episode. I say this because last week's set up so much and yet this episode really didn't do anything to act off the back of that, there was no mention of the 'Ruth' Doctor, Jack or the 'Lone Cyberman'. Maybe this was deliberate to make the audience get used to long play narratives but what I found while watching it was that I would just rather be watching a continuation of last week's. For this reason i'd have swapped episodes 5 & 6, in order to have a pretty episodic format for the first half and a massive scale, linked narrative second half. But now I've said that (which has been on my mind since Sunday night) let's get into Praxeus...

This episode has I think proved to be Doctor Who at it's most divisive (certainly this series). There have been those praising it's environmental message and those arguing that it was too on-the-nose. But at the end of the day Doctor Who fans will always find something to argue about, one thing I think we can all agree on is that the episode looked amazing! One of the main things i'm loving about the Jodie Whittaker era is the location filming in South Africa, and this episode made great use of it's scenery. Not only that but the visual effects are a step up, especially the scenes in which the Praxeus infection take effect, those shots looked amazing! It's just a shame all (bar one) of the victims disintegrated, because it mean't we didn't see enough of the infected.

On that topic, let's talk about the monsters (or lack thereof), the episode did feel as if it lacked a proper threat. I say this because, while we see the infection across three continents, we only see it infect a handful of people, this doesn't build any sense of jeopardy or threat like this is a global pandemic. (and no, plastic filled birds don't count as monsters). The episode did seem to miss an enormous opportunity, and one which I think most fans were expecting, and that would have been bringing back the Sea Devils. The episode would've fitted the context of the story perfectly and all throughout the episode I was just waiting for an army to emerge on the Madagascan beach, even up to the scene where Yaz and Gabriela arrived on the underwater base I thought the big returning monster reveal was coming. But alas, it's not like we don't already have enough from the shows past returning this year.

One positive I did have with this episode is that the guest cast were terrific, with Warren Brown and Matthew McNulty giving great performances. Oh, and if Chris Chibnall could find a way to make Joana Borja's Gabriela character a full time companion then that would be great!

Overall, this wasn't really my kind of episode, especially what with us already having a pollution themed episode three weeks ago. But it was enjoyable for what it was. Next week's looks a bit good though doesn't it!

5/10