In The Forest of the Night
Series 8, Episode 10
A school trip to the museum. A lost girl. Nelsons Column. None of these things would you find in a forest, but when The Doctor follows little Maebh out of the TARDIS, he discovers the world has literally grown overnight.
IMAGINE IT FROM MY POINT OF VIEW!
The Doctor rescues a little girl from a global Magic the Gathering conferences, that shows up over night in the form of trees. Mr. Pink and Miss Oswald take a small group of not-so gifted and talented kids from Coal Hill on an overnight in a museum (?) and the Sun (possibly at the direction of Missy) vomits on the Earth. Parts Red Riding Hood, parts fairy kingdom, and parts ecological statement doesn't gel very well, and most of the inhabitants of London opted to stay inside. One of the weakest, if not THE weakest story of the series.
The Good Things
Don't Always Soften The Bad Things...
Seeing the Forest for the Trees:
Once more, the visual effects gang have done an amazing job at capturing the reality of a London drenched in flora.
The Doctor will see you now:
The Doctor taking Maebh at her word was a nice touch. He (eventually) listened to her and considered her behaviour as real and not a condition.
Fairy Tales:
Though the execution didn't quite pay off, but the notion of DW tackling a more magically related story is not one most fans go for. One day we might get a proper magic story with The Doctor. It is possible.
...But Vice-Versa, The Bad Things
Don't Necessarily Spoil The Good Things...
Wander Lost:
Too many ideas, too much to keep track of caused me to loose interest in this story. The aimless & disconnected way in which the story unfolded was a challenge to overcome as a viewer.
Clara the Pancake:
Are we going to get some kind of consistency from Clara, like ever? Her attitude was all over the map, deceiving Danny, pushing the Doctor off the planet, not saving the kids? It is becoming aggravating to watch.
Alone in the Universe?:
The Doctor is no longer the last of his species. He saved his species. Saying so feels like taking a step backwards for the Doctors character and places the underpinnings of this story out of sync with his current experiences.
...And Make Them Unimportant.
Will the REAL Mr. Pink stand up:
Danny gets some sensible, engaging character development with his dialogue. Where was this guy earlier in the season? I'll watch him instead of the doofus we've had.
Surprises:
Speeding towards the finale, Missy staes the outcome of this crisis was a surprise. Was she involved? Or was she commenting on the bizarrely strained relationship between The Doctor and Clara? Curious.
Everybody Lives:
The missing sister shows up out of a bush at the end. I suppose the motivation behind Maebh's anxiety was needed, but it would have worked just as well without the sister sub plot.
