The Twelfth Doctor’s debut series will reach its epic conclusion next weekend as he and Clara face Death in Heaven.

After tonight’s unfolding drama in Dark Water (which you can rate and discuss here), everything is now set in stone for a humdinger of a Doctor Who finale. With Cybermen on the streets of London, old friends unite against old enemies, but can the mighty UNIT contain Missy?

As the Doctor faces his greatest challenge, sacrifices must be made before the day is won…

The extended Series 8 finale will air on BBC One on Saturday 8th November at 8pm.

“You know who I am.” Click here to rate & discuss part one of the Series 8 finale.

In the mysterious world of the Nethersphere, plans have been drawn. Missy is about to come face to face with the Doctor, and an impossible choice is looming… ‘Death is not an end’, promises the sinister organisation known only as 3W – but, as the Doctor and Clara discover, they might wish it was.

The new series continued tonight and it was the beginning of the end as the finale began…

Doctor Who finales are always surrounded by anticipation and speculation and this one has been no different. Whovians around the land have been unravelling the mystery of Missy since her first appearance in Deep Breath. After our initial encounter with the enigmatic Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere, the question on everyone’s lips has been… Who is Missy!?

Tonight our answers were at long last revealed as the Doctor finally came to face with her, and it was a meeting of epic proportions as an impossible choice was looming. Old friends and even older enemies returned as plans were drawn up. ‘Death is not an end’, promised the sinister organisation known only as 3W, but the Doctor and Clara soon wished it was…

So, what did you think of Dark Water? Were your theories proven correct? And has it set things up for next week’s monumental series finale? Have you say in the comments below!

NOTE: This discussion will NOT be spoiler monitored so please do not read the comments if you haven’t seen Dark Water. You have been warned!

Well wasn’t that an exciting episode, folks? Dark Water has certainly given us a lot to think about, especially in regards to what the future of Doctor Who might hold. In some ways though, nothing has changed a bit: there are infinite possibilities of where the show can go from here. I can think of nothing better to do than discuss them all right now…ok, I’m being told by our editor that I should definitely not do that. So fine, we’ll stick to some of the more plausible ones.

There has been a great deal of debate as to whether or not Clara will be leaving after this season. Jenna Coleman is keeping her lips sealed on the matter, so we won’t know for sure until next week, and if not then, Christmas. Personally, while I think this is possible, which is why I’ll be discussing it below, nothing that has come before indicates that it’s what we’re getting. It’s no secret that the decision to make Clara a teacher at Coal Hill School and then introduce Danny Pink as her love interest, coupled with an older Doctor, even, was done in an attempt to replicate the structure of the first season of Classic Who. There are so many arguments for or against Steven Moffat, but there is no denying that he is a true fan, through and through, and I highly doubt he would pass up this writing opportunity, especially after such a set up. My money is on us seeing the Doctor, Clara, Danny, and a student, most likely Courtney or Maebh, in the Tardis for Series 9.

But, contrary to what I like to shout loudly at parties, I’m not psychic. So what else could we be seeing? There’s a chance that one or both of our Coal Hill teachers could not be returning. If Danny truly remains in the land of the dead, it could provide a new level of character development for Clara, having to live with this terrible loss. Depending on where the Doctor ends up with the return of his arch foe, it very well may be that the Doctor and Clara will need each other more than ever. Or maybe Danny does come out of this ok, but Clara hands in her Tardis key(if there are any left!), finally having to go the way of Martha Jones and get out when she can.

Now picture for a minute a third option: Moffat pulls a switcheroo on us. After so often being put first by the man she loves, Clara takes the reigns and puts Danny first for once, exchanging her life for his. A distraught Danny thinks long and hard on how he can move on, and decides that what Clara would have wanted would be for the Doctor to keep having a companion; someone there to keep him in check and save him from himself. The Doctor initially refuses, still distraught himself, but can’t deny Danny’s argument. He opens the door for Danny, but tells him he’s there strictly on a temporary basis, until he finds someone else. Danny says that’s fine, but in Clara’s memory he’s not going to pull a single punch with the Doctor. We spend Series 9 seeing the two former-soldiers slowly soften to each other, maybe with the addition of a third team member to balance things out a bit, with them ultimately developing a begrudging respect for one another, if not a proper friendship. A little out there as far as predictions go, but it feels very Moffat to me, and really, what would the BBC be to do if Jenna Coleman wanted to leave this season and Samuel Anderson didn’t? If we don’t get our Barbara-Ian-Susan parallel for Series 9, I would find this to be a chilling and massively compelling runner-up.

My final idea is perhaps the most radical. Something that Moffat has proven in recent years is that he is very plugged in to the Doctor Who fandom. He reads message boards and the comments on interviews; he pays attention to how we react to things. If there’s an idea we push for that has the potential to get tied up in political red tape, he’ll try a compromise. A female Doctor still a little too out there for some people? Why look at that, a female Master! (My ego is telling me to refer you lovely people to my past article on everyone’s favorite psychotic Time Lord. No, not the Doctor!) Maybe we could be seeing that attitude towards fan input twofold in this finale. It has long been said that the Doctor should have a non-human companion; something not seen since the days of Classic Who. Maybe a human-adjacent companion would do? We see the dead are being downloaded into Cyberman bodies. What if Danny lives on as one of them? His flesh expired, Clara sees this option as the only way to save her beloved. Would Danny object? Would Clara let him? And what would the Doctor have to say about all this? It would make for a shocking twist that may even rival that of Missy’s identity, and could make for a brilliant, unique dynamic for Series 9 that would do justice to Moffat’s writing and the legacy of Doctor Who itself.

With it being Halloween yesterday, I thought I would get all spooky on you Whovian Netter readers and discuss scary episodes of Doctor Woo, I mean Who! This read will definitely have you hiding behind the sofas – so if of a nervous disposition, you better get into position and jump behind that sofa of yours as if a Dalek has just appeared on your silver screen. Speaking of scary sights, nude pictures of the 11th Doctor Matt Smith were linked online – we got to see if the Doctor has two of anything else, apart from hearts! But, if you prefer top see the former Time Lord clothed (with his sonic screwdriver tucked away), don’t look online for ‘Matt Smith images’ and just wait for Terminator: Genisys to come out in the cinemas next year.

One of the scariest episodes of Doctor Who over the last few years has to be ‘Blink’, as Stone Angels and Easter Eggs are a deadly combination. The Weeping Angels made their Doctor Who debuts in this adventure and have been recurring villains ever since. ‘Blink’ was a David Tennant episode (even though he mainly featured on a TV screen), but it was Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor who encountered the Weeping Angels more often than not (they are probably after Adrian from Coal Hill School now – watch out for moving statues in the area of Shoreditch). The Weeping Angels seem most likely to be ‘real’ out of all the Doctor Who villains and monsters, which is what makes them that much more terrifying! When you see a statue of Horatio Nelson in Central London (Trafalgar Square) you think that you should not blink (and that there might be some Zygons near by) and the Weeping Angels have made graveyards and Churches places where you are now even more fearful. When it came to the Angels, you had to keep your eyes on the prize, otherwise you will be sent back in time to Hull (and that’s the last place in the universe you would want to be sent – those Weeping Angels are pure evil). Kathy Nightingale was transported to Hull in 1920 from London in 2007, as a result of not staring out those Angels, but apparently had a good life, despite those cruel Angels feeding on her potential energy.

The recent episode of Doctor Who (Series 8: Episode 8) called ‘Mummy on the Orient Express’ also provided the viewers with some scary moments as there was a killer Mummy which would even make Imhotep quake in his bandagers. The Doctor even referred back to one of his previous scary storylines when he asked the train killer “Are you my Mummy?” – which is an allusion to the World War II gasmask child from Series One with the 9th Doctor. Frank Skinner would most definitely like to put this particular menacing Mummy into Room 101, while at times, it was like watching a football match with it being Orient 1-0 Foxes (that would be Leyton Orient 1-0 Leicester City). The singer Foxes made her acting debut in this adventure, but it was ultimate Whovian ‘fan girl’ Frank Skinner who got the biggest shock when his character turned down the opportunity to be a full time companion. Series 8: Episode 7 had killer bacteria spiders in it, so that episode sent everyone scared of spiders (or the Moon – but that would just be Wallace and Gromit) leaping behind the sofa. However, if other people’s sofas are anything like mine there would be more spiders back there then on screen!

Overall, each series of Doctor Who provides at least one ‘scary’ episode or even a terrifying two-parter. Steven Moffat was the king at providing the darker Doctor tales when Russell T Davies was still in the head writer hotseat. But, Moffat is now the main man and all the episodes have those darker undertones to them – even Peter Capaldi’s Doctor is a harder Time Lord to travel with, as Clara Oswald has found out this series. Capaldi plays a villain in ‘The Musketeers’, while political witch-doctor Malcolm Tucker was hardly child-friendly. Also, those eyebrows and Scottish accent are pretty damn scary!

Being a sometimes enterprising sort who likes a challenge I can invest in, I shall attempt to tackle all three of our requested submission mandates for this month in one tasty treat- scariest episode to date, who the heck is Missy, what might happen to Clara and Danny… because we don’t have enough problems with the triple goddess without her selling dragon burgers and goofy hats at Caerbannog, otherwise known as The Moon.

Cue the rabbit.

My personal scare fest was the Tenth Doctor episode Midnight. It showcased the Doctor’s helplessness and vulnerability in the face of an enemy, two key elements of his inner personality which had not really been on display since Mind of Evil and the end of Planet of the Spiders. He was in the wilderness, stuck with a bunch of paranoid humans who wanted to kill him, slowly being possessed by a ruthless creature (presumably comprised of pure consciousness) desperate to survive and willing to mind-hop until it got its way. There is nothing more horrifying than imminent foreknowledge of the inevitability that you will become powerless on someone… or some-thing… else’s terms.

Which brings me to quite a few notions of Missy. In a hypothesis far far away in the left field universe, perhaps she is an incarnation of the remnant of the Midnight Monster left in the Doctor’s mind? She certainly has the power of menace in her toolbox, but this could be a misdirection. Therefore, perhaps she is the Doctor in some innerspatial, self-projective or split off capacity? Also, remember that the Doctor, at times, can be exceptionally menacing and in many different ways, as evidenced in Genesis of the Daleks and Into the Dalek, to name two such instances. And let us not forget those vivid scenes with the Flesh Doctor. what really happened to good ole Fleshy, by the way? Taking another leap, perhaps Missy is a version of Romana or Clara, judging by the amount of smack she can talk and that little air of narcissism every time she gets the urge to twirl, like River Song. And one may add River Song to the list, as per the former mention of twirling- remember that scene with her at the prison, right after she’d gone with the Doctor to ice skate or something? And the Flesh River cannot be discounted, either, due to the fact that the Flesh Duplicates at the factory seemed to bring out another side to their original body’s personality. Could we be dealing with the original River in the form of the mysterious Missy? Now all that is fine and good, but… as we well know, nobody does twirling mad lady like the TARDIS. Yes. Missy could be the TARDIS.

Finally, anyone who knows about the Eighth Doctor books Zagreus and Scherzo knows that there were good and bad versions of the Doctor and the TARDIS struggling against each other within a mental landscape much like in The Deadly Assassin and The Dominators… only less Bread and Circuses and more Schizophrenia. And speaking of The Dominators, it looks like Moffat is drawing heavily from that episode, judging by the black and white duality elements subtly yet thickly laid throughout this season, starting with the return of the clockwork robots. The presence of the clockwork droids are a direct reference to the Dominators, in my view. I need to see that episode, because it may hold some clue for us about the fate of everyone we’ve been rooting for thus far, like Clara and Danny, self-absorbed though they might well be, though that notion depends on certain factors not yet in evidence.

Why self-absorbed, you ask? It’s simple, if you consider the Doctor’s actions as justified so far this season. It’s a difficult thing, triage. So many people have no notion of it, and condemn people for using it to determine what must be done in a crisis situation, of which we’ve had plenty this season. Inside the scope of the show, it seems no one knows how hard it is to make a real choice better than the Doctor. The new season is exploring this idea, and leaving us all up in the trepidatious and deliciously intrigue-thick air, awaiting every new tidbit with pensive breath. It’s always hard to explore the self, especially when those around you don’t understand your need to finally grow out of previous patterns. They scream inconvenience, at best. Much like Clara and Danny, many might view the new Doctor with concern, and claim he is becoming too dark, too unmindful. But there is another view, one that I personally favor, a view which will either make or break Clara and Danny’s future in the show depending on where you land as a fan. And that view, my fellow fans, is the view that the Doctor is evolving rapidly as a person, as a character. Which doesn’t bode well for Clara and Danny if they fail to understand this. So far, all they seem able to see is the trees, not the forest. The Doctor is well-known for seeing the forest, and missing the trees. He makes hard decisions because apparently, the vast majority of people aren’t cut out for those hard lessons, and what does he get in return? Clara and Danny, gutting him every time he finally decides to make the larger moral choice based on the larger picture. Still, they are developing into another Ian and Barbara, and it’s just fantastic! I can see them, too, as the Doctor’s parents- probably the Woman and the unnamed man in End of Time. Or, perhaps Clara is really his nanny, Mamlaurea! Of the lot, though, only Ian and Barbara got a happy ending. Didn’t they? History denotes the future, and I’m smelling Pythia.

Why? One sequence of scenes in Kill the Moon.

Courtney. Clara. Lundvik.

Maiden. Mother. Crone.

BadaTSSS.

As we rapidly approach the end of series 8, many viewers are waiting with baited breath to find out just who the nefarious Missy is.

As all good Doctor Who fans do, I’ve done my fair share of speculation and I have a few thoughts for your consideration.

Following the events of ‘In The Forest of the Night’ and speculating on the tantalising trailers shown for ‘Dark Water’ it’s pretty fair to say that excitement is building for the big reveal as to Missy’s true identity.

In preparation of writing this article, I’ve been making notes on who Missy might be. In fact, I’ve been reading up on some of the most popular fan theories online and some have been pretty convincing I must say. Some seem to believe that Missy could be a reincarnation of River Song, though this seems very unlikely as River sacrificed her regenerations in order to save the Doctor in ‘Let’s Kill Hitler’. I’ve also seen people claiming she could be a future incarnation of either Romana, the Rani, Tasha Lem, or Susan.

Indeed, any of these could be a potential solution, though Missy’s comment about the Doctor being her boyfriend would take on some very uncomfortable connotations if she is indeed Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter!

While these would make some element of sense in terms of the overall Who universe, I feel these would be ultimately dissatisfying as a denouement; furthermore, many casual viewers would be unfamiliar with many of these characters from the Doctor’s past and could, therefore, alienate the average Saturday night viewer.

For the same reason, I’m also ruling out characters such as Susan’s Grandmother (the Doctor’s first wife), his mother and any other potential character that hasn’t already made a return since 2005.

However, one person I feel is an apt candidate for Missy’s real self is none other than the Doctor’s old adversary; The Master. Many others have made the connection between ‘Missy’ to ‘Mistress’ to ‘Master’ and that seems a likely connection to make; however, the similarities don’t stop there. If you’re to take her costume, for example, it’s easy to see a gothic Mary Poppins thrown into the mix… Indeed, it could be taken as an appropriate female alternative to what Anthony Ainley or Roger Delgado wore in their interpretations of the character.

Similarly, in the teaser released on Monday 27th of October, Missy states while wearing a Machiavellian grin “You know who I am”. While this could be said by any returning enemy of the Doctor’s, it seems most fitted to the Master. Evidently, she seems to be taking a lot of glee and enjoyment out of her new female form, using it to flirt and taunt the Doctor; perhaps this is why she refers to him as her boyfriend in ‘Deep Breath’?

It’s also interesting to imagine the Master taking on the role of the anti-Doctor in a way which has never quite been experienced before. Now in a female form he can truly be the opposite of everything Doctor ever was. In Seb we could very well see Missy’s companion and photos from the filming of the finale show a red telephone box quite prominently placed… Could this be the Master’s TARDIS? It would seem deliciously twisted for the Master to be referencing the famous police box exterior of the Doctor’s Type 40 in this aesthetic choice (though perhaps his chameleon circuit is just working, whereas the Doctor’s is not).

Indeed, if Moffat has truly made Missy the Master (or vice versa, depending on your view… (Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey)) he would have made an amazing shift in the dynamic of the Master’s relationship with the Doctor. For decades now, the Master has been painted out to be the Doctor’s antithesis… Now in Missy, we could literally have the polar opposite of everything our favourite Time Lord is. This could be Moffat proving he’s the ultimate fan boy with ultimate power over his fandom! And frankly, who could blame him?

Another potentially damning piece of evidence is that Missy seems to be salvaging certain people from the Doctor’s recent adventures. Originally many fans thought that perhaps Missy was saving people who sacrificed themselves because of the Doctor, however, this theory seems to have gone out of the window in recent episodes and her selection process seems to be entirely random. She may well be trying to capture people she knows would be useful as leverage over the Doctor. Could she use these ghosts of his past as some sort of torture? Is she hoping to play on the Doctor’s innate sense of guilt?

It’s also been theorised that, due to the high number of Cybermen on display, Missy is converting these people. It could also be that what she calls ‘Heaven’ is actually her TARDIS… Which is now equipped with a Cyber conversion factory which she uses to transform the Doctor’s failures into the very tool for his destruction…!

Indeed, the Nethersphere to which Missy is the Gatekeeper could be Gallifrey – the ‘Promised Land’ for which the Doctor has been searching since the events of ‘Day of the Doctor’. The droids in both ‘Deep Breath’ and ‘Robot of Sherwood’ were seeking this Promised Land and could have been looking for the secrets behind time travel and other Time Lord tech. Perhaps Missy is using this knowledge to have others do her bidding, making her the ultimate puppet master.

It all seems pretty damning but I’ve been wrong before and I’m sure I’ll be wrong again. The truth is, in spite of all my theorising, I just don’t know.

And I hate not knowing.

This series has seen more deaths than usual and even more importantly the appearance of a new character. Missy. This tea drinking spooky Mary Poppins has appeared frequently after a character’s death repeatedly introducing the idea of a “Promised Land.” But who is she?

As said before, in many of the episodes characters have died and then been transferred to Missy’s “Promised Land.” Could this perhaps be Missy collecting lives that were lost as a result of the twelfth Doctor? All these people that are being saved have not been chosen at random, they have been chosen because of their association with The Doctor. But what could the purpose of this be? To make The Doctor realize the deaths he leaves behind? To create some kind of army against The Doctor? Does she want to recruit the Doctor for her army? Perhaps the creation of Danny Pink is meant to convert The Doctor’s views on soldiers. The Doctor’s meeting with Soldier Blue in “Into The Dalek” supports this idea. The series finale trailers have confirmed that the Cybermen will be making an appearance. Will this be Missy’s army?

The mystery of Missy’s identity goes hand in hand with the mystery of the identity of the “Promised Land.” Many fans have been theorizing over what this could indeed be. For example, many fans have made a link between how Missy’s “Promised Land” looks similar to where the older version of Amy was in the episode “The Girl Who Waited.”

Another theory that has came from fans is that Missy is CAL. This character appeared in “Forest of The Dead.” The Doctor and Donna discovered that a little girl’s mind was saving the people into the computer core. Many fans have made the link between how CAL saved people and how Missy appears to be saving people.

Many fans are also hoping for a return of River Song. Whilst this would be greatly enjoyed by all, Moffat has in some interviews hinted River Song will probably (and sadly) not make an appearance.

One of the most outlandish theories for Missy and the “Promised Land” is that Doctor Who is being made into an ACTUAL TELEVISION SHOW. Yes – you read correctly. The synopsis of the series finale reads that The Doctor “takes to the air in a startling new role”. Some fans believe that perhaps Missy is using The Doctor and Clara’s adventures for television entertainment!

One of the most popular theories is that Missy is an echo of Clara Oswald. When Missy was first introduced she called The Doctor her “boyfriend”. Could this be a version of Clara that became insane when waiting for Eleven’s regeneration to one day return? This is similar to the plot of “The Girl Who Waited.” Many fans seem to agree that Missy is linked with Clara somehow. Is Missy a future version of Clara? Perhaps Missy was the one who gave Clara The Doctor’s phone number and the one that put the advertisements in the newspaper? Will Missy be involved in Clara’s departure from the show? The trailer for the finale has revealed a much darker side of Clara. Will she perhaps become an enemy? Is she a creation of Missy? A weapon? We shall soon know!

A final theory is that Missy is a reincarnation of The Master and her “Promised Land” is indeed Gallifrey. The Master last appeared in Ten’s finale and many fans are anticipating an appearance even if its in the form of a different identity.

Although we can spend hours and hours theorizing over who Missy is, I am afraid we will not know until the series finale. All we have been given is that she is the gatekeeper of the nethersphere. Again could she be the gatekeeper of the void that contains the Daleks and the Cybermen. Or perhaps the gatekeeper of the word that belongs to the ghost Cybermen that appeared in the finale of the second series of the reboot. Whether Missy will be a hero, a villain or perhaps neither is unclear, but the synopsis states that old friends must unite with old enemies to defeat the Cybermen. The trailer has obviously raised even more questions and fans are eagerly awaiting the finale, but will be sad when series eight comes to an end.

Everyone loves a text book love story. The whole boy meets girl, they fall in love and a happily ever after. But as we Whovians know, Doctor Who is never that simple. Our latest love story we see unfolding is that of Miss Oswald and Mr Pink, the lovely Clara and Danny. But as this series draws to a close, what will become of them and will it be a happily ever after?

We first met Danny in the newest series of Doctor Who, in episode two. He is the newest member of staff at Clara’s school, where she works. He is a maths teacher, despite what the Doctor thinks. Danny was a soldier, but we don’t really know what made him leave the forces, other than he was pushed too far. The first meeting between Danny and Clara is very awkward, Clara clearly thinks he’s worth a shot, as she asks him to a leaving doo, which he refuses. But when Clara walks in on Danny banging his head against a desk because he said no and correcting all his answers to yes, she says, “Will you look that terrified when you take me out for a drink?” (Clara, series eight, episode two). Danny says yes. The smile Clara smiles, as she walks down the corridor, is clearly that of someone who is feeling sparks. Anyone who has been in love, knows that smile and when thinking of their love, or how they met will smile that smile at the memory. And so the school yard romance begins.

In episode four, we rejoin Clara and Danny on their first date, dinner (and the drink). Well, what an absolute mess! Clara and Danny are as awkward as they were when they first met. All they seem to talk about it work, but they end up laughing about a student they have in common when Clara slips, making a dig at Danny being a soldier, “From you, that means something.” (Clara series eight, episode four). Naturally Danny gets defensive saying how he dug twenty three wells as a soldier and saved whole villages and towns because of them, people he kept safe. Well, it’s easy to say it goes downhill from there with Danny then slipping up saying, “sometimes people like you can get the wrong end of the stick” (Danny). Clara thinks he’s making assumptions and leaves Danny sat at the table. But the rest of this episode is intertwined with Danny and Clara’s relationship. With Clara and the Doctor ending up in Danny’s childhood, where we find him in an orphanage, back to modern day with Danny in the restaurant just after Clara left and finally to Colonel Orsen Pink, from one hundred years in Clara’s future and a pioneer time traveller. So this Orsen Pink, same surname as Danny and a very very similar face, in fact played by the same actor, so could this be a good sign for Danny and Clara, however time can be rewritten. “”Stay away from time travel.” “It runs in the family” “What? Sorry what do you mean, runs in the family?” “Nothing – it’s just silly stories – one of my grandparent – well great-grandparents”" (Clara and Orsen). Could this be Clara and Danny? We will have to see.

Then that fateful day arrives, the Doctor meets Danny. But first we see Clara juggling life with the Doctor in the tardis and life with Danny on earth. Until the Doctor gets a job at Clara’s school as a caretaker. To start with the Doctor gets the wrong end of the stick, knowing Clara has been going on dates with someone on earth, he thinks it’s a teacher called Adrian who looks a bit familiar. The Doctor thinks so too. Adrian looks a bit like a certain bow tie wearing past face and the Doctor thinks he’s the one Clara has been going on serious dates with. Obviously he’s wrong and despite the clues around the school, for example, “Ozzie loves the squaddie” written on a window that the Doctor rubs out, he doesn’t twig it’s Danny. When the Doctor and Danny meet, Danny almost gets killed by the Skovox Blitzer in the school hall and the doctor gets annoyed that the “PE teacher” got in the way. As Danny was a soldier, the Doctor thinks he must be a PE teacher, which is wrong. Danny twigs, working out that the Doctor and Clara know each other, forcing Clara into telling Danny who the Doctor is to her and also vice versa. In that process, Clara says she loves Danny.

Later in the same episode, Clara sneaks Danny into the Tardis using the Doctors invisibility watch. That does not go well. It doesn’t take the Doctor long to realise that Danny is there and naturally he gets smart, reminding Clara of all the times she has left with the Doctor then gone back to Danny. When Danny becomes visible again, he and the Doctor argue. It results in Danny showing Clara that the Doctor is an Officer. Danny is a soldier but the Doctor is an officer. In the end Danny ends up impressing the Doctor by helping get rid of the Skovox Blitzer. All the Doctor wants is someone who is good enough for his Clara and Danny, by saving the world, is one step closer.

So Danny and Clara, not the best of starts, but so far so good. Danny took the fact that the Doctor is an alien really rather well. Along with the fact that Clara and the Doctor travel through time and space together. So what will happen in the end? Clara is living a double life, and she has been for a while. She runs off with the Doctor for these 30 second adventures, without a second thought about Danny, what she has back home and what she leaves behind every time she sets foot in the Tardis. But has the lure of the Tardis claimed another life? It’s all speculation, especially with the rumour of Jenna Coleman’s exit from the show, that was neither confirmed or denied. Truthfully, I’m hoping for a happy ending, after the sadness, pain and tears of the last companions exit, Amy and Rory. It would be nice to have a happier ending. I’d like to think that Danny and Clara stay together and build a life together without the Doctor, but remembering him always. “Run you clever boy, and remember.” (Clara). But what will the mysterious Missy bring to the finale and who will she be to Clara. I don’t want to predict an ending, but in an ideal world, happily ever after would be nice. But for now, we wait, wait and see what the finale will bring.

Autumn is upon us, my fellow Whovians. The leaves have fallen and there is a chill in the air. Halloween has also come and gone by the time this is out, so it only seems appropriate that we take a spooky turn for this piece. Doctor Who is no stranger to that theme. This show is beloved by many, but it is also retained as a memory of childhood scares. And they are varied levels of frights. From a Dalek shooting down innocents to a monster that preys on your most personal vulnerabilities, Doctor Who can surely find a way to make you squirm.

One of my favorite Classic Who episodes, “The Caves of Androzani” (originally aired in 1984), features a variety of elements that contribute to the story being as eerie as it is interesting. A war ensues between Androzani Minor and Androzani Major over valuable resources on Androzani Minor. It is a long battle with major players in a game of strategy. The plot ventures into some dark territory when The Doctor and Peri arrive, and they end up being held hostage by the rebellious Sharaz Jek on Androzani Minor. Unlike many Doctor Who fans, I did not grow up watching the show, so viewing it for the first time as an adult allowed myself to clearly identify the rather mature and violent aspects of this serial. There are some points where a monster (i.e. cave bats) just comes and kills people as a method of straightforward fear. But the majority of the story has some disturbing sequences. The Doctor and Peri are “executed” by firing squad (they turned out to be just androids), Morgus kills the President of Androzani to cover up his corruption, The Doctor is tortured, and several people die within the caves at the hands of other men.

But perhaps the scariest part of “The Caves of Androzani” is the villain Jek. Jek can easily be strewn as a cliché, one-dimensional bad guy due to his disfigurement and drive for revenge. But he is more disturbed; gone slightly mad by the life he’s lived. The most fearsome part of his character is his fixation on Peri, which is unwelcomed and borderline obsessive. There is a sense of unpredictability with Jek as well. He is frightening because he is a danger to everyone, including himself. Jek ends up getting killed after some redemption and you can’t help but feel a little bad for him. But when he is alive and creeping around, he can easily make one uncomfortable. The end of “The Caves of Androzani” is an emotional one, which finds The Doctor regenerating after saving Peri’s life. And although that is a huge change in itself to throw in at the end of the serial, I was just relieved that The Doctor and Peri made it out of there alive.

Fast forward to the current run of the series, or the modern era as we call it. Shock value is higher than it was before. Nowadays, film and television require a perfectly executed formula for scary that is a blend of writing, atmosphere, music, and editing. One of the scariest New Who episodes, and one of my favorite stories in general, is the Tenth Doctor episode, “Midnight” (originally aired in 2008).

“Midnight” finds The Doctor going off on a trip by himself without companion Donna. The destination is a foreign planet called “Midnight” and the only way to get to there is by a completely enclosed shuttle. On the way to the resort, the pilots are forced to take an unexpected alternate route that has never been chartered before. The shuttle breaks down and the environment is too extreme to allow the passengers to exit, let alone open a window to physically see what is outside. Things soon take a turn for the worst as they realize that they are not alone. A mysterious being knocks on the outside of the shuttle, toying with and frightening the stranded passengers. But it somehow makes its way inside and begins possessing the bodies of those inside.

So far this series, I must say I have been rather impressed and surprised at the much darker and down-right nasty at times portrayal of the 12th Doctor, as played by the brilliant Peter Capaldi. While I must admit I have been less than thrilled with the seemingly growing importance of Clara Oswald (played by the lovely Jenna Coleman) and her mounting influence on almost all aspects of the Doctor’s many lives, I have thoroughly enjoyed viewing the Doctor as an angry, disgruntled, and highly disapproving older gentleman. If not for Capaldi’s amazing performance each week, I dare say I might not be tuning in for each new episode. I have been quite open about my displeasure toward the show’s writers’ decision to feature focus Clara nearly every episode. I simply feel that a show named Doctor Who should be focusing more on just that: The Doctor and who he is and who he has now become. But I transgress.

For me, the scariest episodes thus far in series 8 have been “Listen” and the more recent “Flatline.” I found the mystery behind whether or not there was a real monster under the blanket on the bed of young Rupert (Danny) to continue to cause me chills and to wonder if we shall see a return to that in the future. The ongoing nightmare of young and old alike of something or someone hiding under our beds or being with us when we think we are alone, inevitably feeling the hairs on the backs of our necks raise as we sense another presence among us, is absolutely terrifying in a frighteningly amazing way (in my humble opinion). I was watching the television screen through my hands with barely opened fingers, breath held, as the Doctor, Clara, and young Danny stood facing the window in Danny’s bedroom as some creature or being or maybe just some fellow child under a blanket slowly approached from the bed, getting ever so closer to the three. I could feel the hairs on my arms and neck begin to prickle and stand protruding from my skin. Deliciously frightening!! And again I felt myself pulled to the edge of my couch as the Doctor, being the ever so stubborn Time Lord that he always is and has been, decides he must see, he must know what is out there in the distant future, against the protests of Clara and Orson Pink (a distant relative of Danny’s from the future). Overall, I felt that “Listen” was a delightfully scary adventure with a rather hum-drum ending featuring, once again, the great Clara Oswald (I say this with the slightest sprinkle of sarcasm).

Moving on to the more recent episode “Flatline”, I found the Boneless, 2D creatures to be absolutely magnificently terrifying. I thoroughly enjoyed the special effects involved with this episode in creating these two-dimensional creatures. In this adventure, the TARDIS suddenly experiences a severe loss of energy, resulting in a shrinking of the TARDIS (literally Clara holds it with the Doctor still inside in the palm of her hand!). With the Doctor trapped inside of the miniature TARDIS, Clara must play Doctor for the day in order to investigate this mysterious sweetie, we shrank the TARDIS vibe. Clara soon befriends a talented graffiti artist by the name of Rigsy, and the two set off to investigate a string of mysterious disappearances around Bristol. The ever so creepy “Boneless” as the Doctor refers to them, are two-dimensional beings that are snatching people up in an effort to understand and comprehend three-dimensionality. In one scene, the Doctor, looking out through the TARDIS stowed away in Clara’s bag pointed out a mural of a human’s nervous system on the wall of a victim’s home. Remarkable and eerie!! I found the Boneless to be inventive and enticing; I always love an introduction to a seemingly new “monster” or “villain” in DoctorWho.

One scene of “Flatline” in particular that caused me quite a fright was when the female police officer accompanied Clara and Rigsy to the home of the latest victim of mysterious disappearance. Unfortunately, this officer quickly became a victim herself screaming all the way to her demise; I was mortified! As Clara and Rigsy jumped into the circular clear hanging chair, grasping at each other for dear life as we saw the boneless creatures weaving and waving throughout the carpet and walls I admittedly turned to my fiancé exclaiming my fears of ever finding myself in a similar situation (both doubtful and unfortunate). The most terrifying scene of “Flatline” for me, making the episode one of the two most scary thus far in series 8, was when Clara, Rigsy, and the other community service workers were running from the hideous beings in the train tunnel. As the big, ginormous gross hand reached up from behind and under snatching away one of the workers, I screamed in pure terror. How exhilarating!

As series 8 approaches its final episodes, I truly believe that Whovians can expect even more terrifying and exhilarating moments, especially with the near reveal (finally!) of mystical Missy’s “true” (almost nothing in Doctor Who is ever true; identities, concepts, ideas are always changing and hidden—part of why I adore this show!!) identity. I am glowing in anticipation of what is still yet to come in these final few episodes. Doctor Who is a rarity in that its episodes can evoke emotions and feelings from one end of the continuum to the other, all experienced within an hour! One can nearly consistently expect surprise, confusion, adventure, and sometimes even pure terror from this gem forever in pop culture history. I look forward to those moments of terror, fright, and horror, especially this time of the year! And so my fellow Whovians, I hope you all had a safe and SCARY Halloween (if you chose to celebrate this holiday), and if you need to feel afraid re-watch “Listen” and “Flatline” for a few good frights!