Doctor Who: Like Clockwork

Deep Breath or “Call Back”

Steampunk comes to Doctor Who as Moffatt seems to try to stuff as many callbacks into one episode as possible.

(Hmm, the new Jurassic Park movie is looking pretty good)

There’s a dinosaur in Victorian London! It stomps around the River Thames, coming very close to Big Ben. People gather around as a black carriage pulls up. Out pops Vastra, Jenny and Strax, come to investigate. Vastra tells Jenny she hasn’t seen a dinosaur since she was a child as everyone wonders why it’s there. A man believes it is choking and Vastra agrees it has something stuck in its throat. The dinosaur coughs it up—it’s the TARDIS!

Let’s talk about the credits—I like them. They seem to have a heavy gear and cog theme but it looks good. And I like the shot of the eyes from the 50th anniversary.


Vastra, Jenny and Strax go down to see the Doctor, but it’s not Matt Smith anymore. It’s Peter Capaldi. Who is still recovering from his latest regeneration and is maniac, much like Ten in “The Christmas Invasion.” Clara looks as disheveled as the Doctor, who babbles on. He’s trying to remember things and has even forgotten Clara’s name. He confuses her with Strax and at one point declares he’s not her boyfriend. And then he passes out.

(If that isn't a look that doesn't scream "Coffee or alcohol better be in my hand in ten seconds" I don't know what is)

In the house, the Doctor protests having to stay in the room. He says there’s only a bed. Clara explains it is a bedroom. People sleep in it. The Doctor asks what happens when they are awake and Jenny replies they leave the room. 

(The Doctor struggles to understand the concept of a bedroom)

But everyone insists he needs rest. The Doctor, though, insists that their accents are strange. So Vastra adopts a Scottish one, much like his. It calms him and he lets her lead him to the bed. She then asks to mindmeld so he can place an image of sleep there so she can sleep. It knocks him out.

Everyone relaxes except Clara. She asks when the Doctor is coming back. Vastra and Jenny explain he’s just sleeping but then realize that Clara’s talking about his previous regeneration. Clara goes on about how old the Doctor looks. Vastra says she will talk with Clara in her study and asks Jenny to get her her veil. Jenny asks if they are expecting strangers. Vastra responds there’s one already in their midst. Ouch, Vastra.

She leaves and Clara’s like “Was I just insulted?” Jenny sidesteps the issue by focusing on the dinosaur, who is still roaring in the River Thames. Clara wonders what the dinosaur is saying but Jenny says the doctor’s the only one who can speak dinosaur. She excuses herself to go fetch Vastra’s veil, saying she can’t keep the wife waiting. Clara stays by the Doctor’s bedside a bit longer. He begins to talk in his sleep, about being in a strange world and being alone. Clara realizes he is translating what the dinosaur is saying but you know it also applies to him.

Out in the street, people flock to see the dinosaur as the night watch settles in. One man says goodnight to his wife before studying the dinosaur. He notices that something’s wrong with the dinosaur’s neck and a mysterious man says he has very good eyesight. The man agrees and says it’s his gift. The mysterious man accepts the gift and says he’s going to take the man’s eye. We see the man is really an android, clockwork metal underneath.

Ring a bell?

Clara goes to meet Madame Vastra, who is wearing her veil. Vastra talks about the veil she wears—not for herself, but for society. Society who cannot stand to see her lizard-like face. And then the veil she and Jenny wear in public—pretending to be mistress and maid when they are really married. Jenny notes that she’s still pouring the tea as if she were a maid. Anyway, this about the veils that the Doctor wears—that his face is his veil. He’s been using younger faces for his companions and society—not himself.

(Vastra takes a nap behind her veil)

This strikes me as kinda meta, that Moffatt is making a commentary about how young the casting of the Doctor has been since the series was revived. As if he’s condemning those who believed no one would care if the Doctor wasn’t young and attracted. And also pointing this out to people who complained about Peter Capaldi’s age, that he wasn’t young and attractive. Or am I just too used to Ryan Murphy’s meta commentary in Glee?

Upstairs, the Doctor wakes up and starts writing everywhere. Walls, furniture and floor. He then hops out the window, talking to the dinosaur on the roof. He promises her that he’ll keep her safe. And then the dinosaur goes up in flames. Oops.

Meanwhile, Clara lays into Madame Vastra, insisting that she’s not one to chase after attractive men and that she’s not with the Doctor for his looks. Jenny applauds and Vastra is impressed. And maybe a little in love. Jenny reminds her they are married as Clara notices Vastra’s veil is gone. She never was wearing one—it was all in Clara’s mind.

They hear a commotion going on outside and go to investigate. Meanwhile, the Doctor leaps off the roof and falls down a tree. He stops a man and his carriage, saying he needs the horse. Well, he tells the horse he needs him. Using his sonic, the Doctor separates the horse from the carriage and they ride off toward the River Thames. Meanwhile, Clara and the Victorian Scooby Doo Gang hop in their own carriage.

Everyone meets on London Bridge…I think. It’s not very clear. But it’s not very pretty, so I’m assuming it’s London Bridge. The Doctor stands on the edge, watching the dinosaur burn. Clara and the others stand around him. The Doctor notes that the people are looking at the burning dinosaur except one guy on another bridge. He then says there is one important question that needs to be asked: Have there been any other such murders? Madame Vastra replies there have. Everyone turns to get back in the carriage; the Doctor jumps off the bridge. Okay.

(Doctor out!) 

Clara returns to Madame Vastra’s while the Doctor wanders the street in a nightshirt. He comes across a beggar in an alley and I’ve since learned that this beggar is played by Brian Williams, Elisabeth Sladen’s widower. 

(Mr. Williams, ladies and gentlemen)

Aww. Anyway, the Doctor tries to figure out who he is with the beggar, having shades of both 10 and 11 in this scene. He asks if the man’s ever seen the face before. The beggar hasn’t but the Doctor thinks he has (a nice nod to the fact that Capaldi was in “Fires of Pompeii”). He also realizes he’s Scottish and decides he can have a lot of fun with that. Somewhere, David Tennant’s wondering why he couldn’t have used his natural Scottish accent.

While the Doctor tries to bully the man out of his coat, Jenny poses for Vastra as she draws. Clara wanders in and asks what they are doing. Vastra reveals she’s actually looking up other cases of spontaneous combustion and Jenny wonders why she had to hold that ridiculous pose for so long. She asks about spontaneous combustion and asks if it’s like love at first sight. Uh, no. Last I checked, love at first sight is not fatal. Unless you’re either Romeo or Juliet.

(Somebody's sleeping on the couch)

Strax oversees the transportation of the TARDIS to Vastra’s home so they can keep it secure until the Doctor’s ready. He offers to throw up the newspaper to Clara, who accepts. He clocks her. Once she recovers, she finds an ad for the Impossible Girl. Excited, Clara shows it to Vastra and Jenny, convinced it’s a message from the Doctor to her. She just wishes she knew where to meet him. Vastra believes it might be a test—that the Doctor is seeing if Clara still knows him. To prove it, she has to solve the riddle—where is she to meet the Doctor?

Turns out it’s a place called Mancini’s Family Restaurant. Clara wears Victorian garb—looking like a callback to “The Snowmen,” the 2012 Christmas special. The Doctor is waiting for her and they bicker a bit before realizing that neither placed the ad in the newspaper. A waiter approaches, but starts naming off body parts. This unnerves them and the Doctor pulls out a strand of Clara’s hair. She’s indignant until he tells her to really look at the people in the restaurant. At that point, she notices they aren’t really eating—just making the same eating motions over and over. The Doctor also notes they aren’t breathing either.

Clara and the Doctor try to escape, but the automatons in the restaurant stop them. 

(On second thought, the veal doesn't sound too bad)

So they take the elevator to the secret lair under the establishment. Our half machine, half man friend sits in a chair—recharging. The Doctor realizes the machine is putting together a human body from parts off different people. It rings a bell with him but he can’t recall why. He and Clara continue to explore the secret lair.

(He looks like Data crossed with a Borg)

As they discover several more automatons and secret passageways, the main automaton comes to life. The Doctor goes through the door but it closes. He tells Clara he can’t open it and someone has to make it out. Meaning him. Way harsh, Doctor. So he leaves Clara to the mechanical wolves and runs away. What is she going to do?

(You can see the panic and betrayal in her eyes)

Pretend to be an automaton herself! She holds her breath, fooling the others. And as a door opens, she walks into the passageway, mimicking their jerky movements. But tears come to her eyes and blackness starts to crowd the edges of her vision. She passes out, taking a deep breath as more automatons surround her. As she goes down, she recalls her first day of teaching. How the kids were out of control and didn’t listen to her. So she threatens to throw them out and one girl dares her to do it. And then Clara blacks out. The main one orders them to bring her to him.

Clara comes to with the other automatons surrounding her. The main automaton interrogates her, asking her about her companion. Clara says there was no one with her. But the automaton knows there was another person. He demands that Clara tell him where the Doctor is or he will destroy her. Clara doesn’t know where the Doctor is and recalls that memory of her first day of teaching. So she dares the automaton to destroy her. The main automaton is confused. She says that if he wants to be taken seriously, he’ll have to destroy her or else he’s just issuing empty threats. But if he destroys her, he’ll never know where her companion went.

Where did the Doctor go? Why, he’s been hiding in plain sight! He’s disguised himself as an automaton. He taunts the main one before asking Clara what the code word is. Because he knows the Victorian Scooby Gang sent her in with one. The word? “Geronimo.”

(The calvary!) 

The Victorian Scooby Gang drop in and proceed to kick ass. Meanwhile, the Doctor follows the main automaton back up to the restaurant. He’s trying to escape and the Doctor wonders how. Especially as Vastra has called an inspector friend and he’s at the restaurant with two bobbies. But the main automaton reveals he has a hot air balloon made of human skin. Ew. The inspector and the bobbies run out and he sends one bobby to get reinforcement. The bobby is like “And I’m supposed to explain this how?”

The automaton explains that he needed something from the dinosaur’s optic nerve, something that would help him fix his ship. The Doctor discovers he’s from the SS Marie Antoinette, sister ship to the SS Madame de Pompadour. That’s confirmation for everyone who figured out the entire plot was calling back to “The Girl in the Fireplace.” Only the Doctor doesn’t make the connection.

So where’s the automaton heading? “The Promised Land.” Israel? Wait, Victorian times. Palestine? Anyway, the Doctor says that’s a very human idea—no doubt absorbed from all the time he spent around humans, harvesting them for parts. He asks the automaton if he even remembered where he got that face, holding up a serving tray as a mirror. The Doctor’s own face is reflected in it as well. We get it, Moffatt. The Doctor can’t remember where he got his face from. For some reason, he apparently can’t recall anything from Ten’s era.

Anyway, the Doctor pours some scotch and offers the automaton a drink. 

(Here's to the "men" who lunch?)

This confuses the creature. But the Doctor explains there are only two options—the automaton is either going to have to kill itself or the Doctor is going to have to kill it. Offering it a drink seemed human. The automaton insists suicide is against its programming. The Doctor says killing is against his nature. But it had to be to done. And someone is lying about their programming. But who?

Meanwhile, downstairs, the Victorian Scooby Doo Gang is having trouble fending off the other automatons. Clara tells them to hold their breaths, but there’s only so long she and Jenny can do so. Vastra kisses Jenny in order to share oxygen. Strax doesn’t show any discomfort but he is a Sontoran after all. Though the automatons stop attacking while they hold their breaths, once they exhale and inhale, the attack resumes.
And then the automatons shut down. The main one is skewered atop a London building as the Doctor looks down. Did he jump? Was he pushed? We may never know. (Or we may find out in the finale. You never can tell).

Clara returns to Madame Vastra’s, but the TARDIS is gone. She’s afraid she’ll be stuck in Victorian London indefinitely, though Vastra notes she put her own clothes back on. She takes this as a sign that Clara knows the Doctor is coming back.

Sure enough, the familiar whir of the TARDIS is heard and Clara boards it. The Doctor has done some remodeling, though it still looks somewhat similar to Eleven’s last desktop theme to me. Maybe a bit darker with the circles more prominent. The Doctor has donned his outfit. As Clara enters, he tells her he doesn’t know who he is and if he is a good man. He also tells her that he isn’t her boyfriend. She responds she knew that and he tells her he didn’t say it was her mistake. He offers to take her home.

Instead, they walk out into a mall. Clara gets a call, which she takes. On the other end is Matt Smith as Eleven, dying on Trenzalore. 

(Look! Matt Smith!)

She recalls that she found the TARDIS phone hanging off the hook and realizes that he must be calling her from only moments before that. He assures Clara—and therefore the fans—that Capaldi is the Doctor and that he’s still the same. After expressing dismay about the fact that his new face looks old, he tells Clara that the new Doctor is just as scared as she is and they need each other.

The Doctor stands there, waiting for her response. Clara chooses to continue her travels with the Doctor. And he offers to get her coffee. Though she’ll have to pay but she doesn’t seem keen on the idea. She also points out that he didn’t bring her home but instead to Glasgow. And then she says he’ll fit in well now that he’s Scottish himself.

We end in a beautiful garden as a woman in Victorian garb welcomes the main automaton. She introduces herself as Missy and asks if her boyfriend was rough with him. I’m pretty sure Missy’s not in her right mind herself. Anyway, she asks the episode’s million dollar question: Was the automaton pushed? Or did he jump? But the automaton doesn’t answer her question. He asks one of his own: Where was he? Missy replies, “The Promised Land.”

dun dun DUN!

(Pretty sure she's insane)

So far, a good first outing for Capaldi. I think it was slow to get to the main action—dinosaur spontaneously combusting in the River Thames notwithstanding—but still good. I’m liking the tone Capaldi is setting, though I hope Moffatt starts toning down the callbacks. Yes, it’s still technically the 50th anniversary until November but still…let’s let Capaldi make his own memories and things to call back to in the future. If you keep tying him to the past, he’ll only struggle to move forward.

Next episode: Daleks!

Exchange of the Episode

“Sorry, I’m going to have to relieve you of your pet.”
“You’re what?”
“Shut up, I was talking to the horse.” –The Doctor and a Passerby

ETA: Screencaps are from here. I have no excuse for forgetting this link originally.