This will be a spoiler-free review, but I will have a reveal box full of spoiler information and speculation.
Series 7 Part 2, #4 of 8:
The TARDIS is damaged during capture by a salvage vessel and Clara is trapped inside. The Doctor has to embark on a mission deep into the TARDIS to prevent it’s destruction and save his companion. FIRST BROADCAST: 27 Apr 2013
This episode really caught my attention looking at the lineups for this season… “a Journey to the Center of the TARDIS.” Any Doctor Who fan will utter those words in hushed, reverential tones. The TARDIS is truly an iconic character (yes, it is a character, as last year’s The Doctors Wife truly cemented) and a chance to glimpse at her in more depth was a tantalizing prospect. Does it deliver?
Well, the episode opens with the Doctor trying to cement a bond between Clara and his Big Blue Box by teaching her to drive. To simplify things he puts the TARDIS into “basic” mode. Unfortunately, a salvage ship is in the area and with the TARDIS in such a state, it is susceptible to capture — the process of which severely damages the ship. Once hauled on board, the Doctor recruits the salvaging team to assist him on a trip into the malfunctioning TARDIS to find and save Clara who was lost inside during the crash.
“Don’t get into a spaceship with a madman, did no one ever teach you that?”
So what’s in the TARDIS and whats in this episode? Well… corridors mostly. Yes, the epicness of the title is not quite manifested in what is shown on screen. The opening effects are great, the TARDIS being taken down by the salvage vessel is a great opener. After that, things dip with a few glimpses of what could have been. As the story continued we did get to encounter some “things” deep within the TARDIS, I couldn’t help but think of Sunshine (Danny Boyle) but sadly the episode never came close to hitting those heights. There was a lot of running and as the TARDIS was damaged, flickering lights left the episode with a low budget, effect-lite feel when it needed to go all out to satisfy. Yes it has its moments, or had. Some wibbly wobbly timey wimey games at the end undermined some of the developments this week, which is yet another negative mark against the episode.
The salvage crew do a adequate job of imbuing the journey with some sense of awe but as viewers who have been building up such a trip, we are not really convinced by this. I also found their backstory to be redundant really. We were deep in the TARDIS, I didn’t care about sibling rivalries. Monsters were dropped in to add to the sense of urgency but a well-written script would have negated the need for that. I will say the reveal of their ‘origins’ was a nice twist and slightly horrifying too. The Doctor/Clara interaction was good, but undermined by the resolution. The Doctor himself delivered his usual swagger and one-liners but felt strangely like he was out of his depth dealing with the unfolding scenario. A lot of bluffing and bullying other characters rather than careful crafting which is his usual remit.
SPOILERS AND SPECULATION HO! CLICK HERE TO VIEW
Longtime Who fans would have caught the second reference to the “Eye of Harmony” in as many weeks. Is this a repurposed item now or is this building to something bigger? Peppered references in Who usually are laying the ground for something more.
And Clara died, again. Well kind of. The end of a certain timeline that now didn’t happen. A timeline where she read the book of the Time War and confronted the Doctor about who she was. Finally seeing that spill our was so gratifying and I have waited so long for it, it was extra infuriating to have the “reset” button pushed to undo essentially the whole episode. Sigh.
“The TARDIS is special. She has her own gravity. I’d explain if I had a chart and a board pen”
Overall, a disappointment really. The subject of the episode could have lead to something so much more. Possibly even being part of a larger broadcast like the 50th Anniversary. The TARDIS is as cherished a character in the show as the Doctor himself and the old girl is not served well here in a run of the mill adventure. What should have been a exercise in mind and time bending epicness meandered through a underwhelming script and ended up with no development for the show thanks to how the problem was resolved. More infuriating due to advancement in the Doctor/Clara relationship that many have been waiting for. A forgettable installment unfortunately.
.