Good evening everybody, this is Aifos coming to you alive from inside a blue box! No, not [i]that[/i] blue box, just a random blue box of no significant importance. I don't see any way out, and I don't know how I got in here, please send help. But, after a long windy road, my Doctor Who journey is finally at its end. I've watched everything through Eccleston-60th Anniversary specials. Nothing against the new guy, but the rest of these came in convenient box sets, which the new guy does not have, so we're stopping here. It has been quite an adventure, but now we only have three episodes to discuss, so let's just go through them one by one. [b]The Star Beast[/b] [spoiler]They got me with this one. I actually bought the Meep's story that the other guys were hunters. Mind you, I did start to get a little suspicious when the possessed soldiers started fighting the bug men, and it felt perfectly foreshadowed, but the Meep was funny enough that I only figured it out around the same time the Doctor did. I really liked the twist, it was good fun, and the scene with the Doctor in the control room was brilliant. Got another flash of that end-of-Tennant anger that we saw before. I like the twist of Donna being able to handle the Time Lord energy now thanks to her having a kid--that was really clever. I'm not as happy with the idea that she and Rose could just dispel the energy afterwards, though. If that was a possibility, then why didn't the Doctor Donna think of it the first time? Part of me wants to say I would've liked these episodes more with a new Doctor and a new companion, but at the same time I actually really missed Donna, and I didn't realize how much until she was on screen doing all her Donna shenanigans. By the end of the episode I found myself being kind of glad she was back, even if it was all just blatant nostalgia bait. The twist of Rose Noble actually (if subconsciously) naming herself after Rose Tyler was a fun touch, too. Very solid episode overall. A few minor nitpicks here and there, but nothing major. I enjoyed it.[/spoiler] [b]Wild Blue Yonder[/b] [spoiler]This is definitely the shining jewel of these specials. This episode was peak Doctor Who. We get that wonderful premise with the robot taking one step at a time that had my brain buzzing. Then we get the introduction to the Not Things, and ooh boy are the Not Things right properly creepy. The moment they started saying "My arms are too long" sent shivers up my spine, and then we actually see their arms and dove right into the uncanny valley. I love the idea that we have these Not Things who don't operate under the rules of our universe trying to masquerade as the Doctor and Donna, but they just don't quite understand how it works. They can't properly control their forms, the tie disappears after the Not Doctor takes it off, they're surprised by the idea they have to eat... It was all weird and wonderful, and I love it. And then the conclusion of why everything's happening the way it is? That the Not Things just don't understand "slow", and the original pilot set up a trap to get rid of them by just having everything go at a snail's pace? That was brilliant. Super clever stuff. This is probably one of the best episodes in the whole series, honestly.[/spoiler] And finally [b]The Giggle[/b] [spoiler]This episode starts off with a really clever premise. The entire world's gone mad, and the reason is a hidden message that's been built into every single screen from the very first broadcast ever? That is so creepy. I loved that idea, and up until this point I was thinking this episode was going to be just as good as Wild Blue Yonder. Especially the scene where Kate takes off her mind suppressor thing. I loved it. After that however, we get the Toymaker. Like the fingie man from Whittaker, I feel like the Toymaker feels out of place in Doctor Who, which I guess is kind of weird because it seems like he's from the very first Doctor's run. It felt kind of off. There were still some good scenes in here, though. The puppets creeping up on Donna was great, and I think the idea of a villain with the Toymaker's ideology--good and evil are irrelevant; it's just a game and all that matters is who wins and who loses--is really great as well. The puppet show in particular was a really great scene, the way the Doctor kept justifying the losses of his companions and the Toymaker just shouts "Well that's alright then!" after? That was great. But, then we get that really weird ending. For one, a game of catch at the end was just totally anticlimactic. The Doctor is at his best when he has to be clever to win, but this didn't feel very clever at all. It felt just like luck. Of course, though, the big stupid thing here is the bigeneration. The only reason this stupid thing exists is because they wanted to undo the tragedy of Tennant's original ending, but undoing a tragedy [i]sucks[/i]. I hate it when any story does that. This episode wasn't the worst thing ever thanks to the good scenes at the beginning and scattered throughout, but it really took a nosedive the longer it went on...[/spoiler] But there we go. All done. I'm glad I finally got around to watching this show. I'd say I liked the whole thing, including Whittaker. Perhaps one day in the future, when the new guy has a boxset I might pick up where I left off, but for now, this is where it ends. Overall ranking: Tennant > Capaldi > Eccleston > Smith > Whittaker Top episodes: 1. Turn Left (Tennant) 2. Zygon Invasion/Zygon Inversion (Capaldi) 3. Human Nature/Family of Blood (Tennant) 4. Wild Blue Yonder (Tennant 60th) 5. Demons of the Punjab (Whittaker) Though Wild Blue Yonder could have some recency bias to it, since I watched it earlier this week. But that's all for now folks, jambuhbye!