June 10th, 2017
89 comments
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What did You Think of Empress Of Mars?
Now that the Ninth episode of series 10 has been aired what did you think? Was it everything you had hoped for or not what you expected.
The Doctor, Bill and Nardole arrive on Mars, and find themselves in an impossible conflict between Ice Warriors… and Victorian soldiers.
As the Martian hive awakens around them, the Doctor faces a unique dilemma – this time the humans, not the Ice Warriors are the invaders. When Earth is invading Mars, whose side is he on?
Doctor Who Series 10 Parts 1 and 2 Blu-ray / DVD
Available to order in the UK from www.amazon.co.uk
Available to order in the USA from www.amazon.com
Peter Capaldi returns as Doctor Who for twelve thrilling adventures. He is joined by new companion, Bill (played by Pearl Mackie), along with returning loveable alien, Nardole (played by Matt Lucas).
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Pats86
June 16th, 2017 - 6:54amFair enough James, you expect better and I’m with you on that.
prototype dalek
June 15th, 2017 - 5:22pmThey might use the argument of him being drafted in from the British Empire Territories of Africa as that technically was a part of Britain at the time, which would make a bit more sense if going in to more detail.
Doctor Stu
June 14th, 2017 - 9:02amBut there was only one though which sort of hints at a kind of subtle segregation and you’d think the problem would be broached with Bill as well like it was in thin ice
Mick181
June 14th, 2017 - 12:48amThere were no Soldiers of African descent in the British Army in Victorian times and Mark Gattis protested about one being in this episode but was over ruled by BBC executives. Is this a possible pointer towards who the next Doctor may be?
PS : i didn’t personally have a problem with it
Jordan Scott
June 13th, 2017 - 11:39pmSame, I’m quite liking the mystery around it all.
James Harlow
June 13th, 2017 - 10:08pmI genuinely hated it. It wasn’t a specific thing as such, but lots of small things I really didn’t like.
Something just felt off, all the way through. I didn’t particularly like the concept of Victorians on Mars to begin with, regardless of whatever reasoning they gave. The “nobody will ever remember this” aspect is taken straight from the end of The Day Of The Doctor.
The introduction seemed like the TV version of clickbait. There was next to no reason for the Doctor and co to be there, just to shoehorn in the idea of Mars. And why “God Save The Queen”? Sure, it’s a thing Victorian soldiers said, but I highly doubt any Victorian, or the Doctor, or Bill, or an Ice Warrior, would decide to write that specific phrase to communicate with Earth.
The Ice Warriors, I thought, were poorly executed. In 1967, they were sinister, with snake-like voices, and clunky, eerie movements and suits. The theme of staying hidden from the Ice Warriors, like the Xenomorphs in Alien, was replicated well in New-Who episodes such as Cold War, and well (apart from the leaving the suit bit). Fear was the last thing I felt during the Empress Of Mars episode. And why the Ice Warriors’ arm weapons were replaced with shooters that turn you into a ball is beyond me. I think, if you’re trying to use creatures introduced in the 60s, there shouldn’t be any fancy graphics, CG, or effects used to replicate them. If, originally, they were just men in suits making noises, the best way to honour that now is to do the same.
I didn’t like the voice of the Ice Warrior Izlyr on Peladon, so I think Empress should have used the voices like the original ’67 Ice Warriors episode, rather than a generic (I’m a scary alien lizard) the Empress of the Racnoss, and the Silurians (new-who) have already taken.
These things, the overacting, and more, are why I don’t like this episode. I can sort of see why people might like it, but it really wasn’t for me. I liked the Alpha Centauri cameo, but there honestly wasn’t really anything else about the episode I enjoyed.
The Temporal Jelly Baby
June 12th, 2017 - 10:35pmUnexplained so far. I’m expecting it to play a part in the series finale.
DOCTORDREDD67
June 12th, 2017 - 9:41pmWhy did the Tardis leave the doctor and bill behind on mars?? I’m just curious.
Spamella
June 12th, 2017 - 8:42pmI liked this espiode very much it was good to see the ice warriors in action, the doctor;s face was a picture when he saw Missy in his tardis coming to save him and Bill. The message on the planet’s surface of god save the queen added humour the story.
Tim M
June 12th, 2017 - 5:14pm‘The Pilot’ 7/10
‘Smile’ 9/10
‘Thin Ice’ 7/10
‘Knock Knock’ 9/10
‘Oxygen’ 10/10
‘Extremis’ 9/10
‘The Pyramid at the End of the World’ 6/10
‘The Lie of the Land’ 5/10
‘Empress of Mars’ 9/10
So far a really great series, only let down by the inconsistent and overlong monk trilogy.
Mark Belsom
June 12th, 2017 - 4:48pmI to got very excited.
D0CT0R WH0
June 12th, 2017 - 4:07pmThe Pilot 8/10
Smile 4/10
Thin Ice 7/10
Knock Knock 5/10
Oxygen 7/10
Extremis 2/10
The Pyramid at the end of the world 4/10
The lie of the land 10/10
The empress of mars 6/10
Michael
June 12th, 2017 - 1:20pmOxygen 10/10
Knock Knock 9/10
Pilot 8/10
The Lie of the Land 8/10
Smile 7.5/10
Pyramid at the End of the World 7.5/10
Extremis 7/10
Empress of Mars 6/10
Thin Ice 4/10
Anonymous
June 12th, 2017 - 12:58pmVery enjoyable episode…is it just me or does anyone else think the production budget has been cut in this series? Ever since Moffat took over, the show has had a cinematic feel to it, but this series looks cheap, like the RTD era? Th CGI is awful.
prototype dalek
June 12th, 2017 - 10:10amTherefore he might not be a dedicated fan that watches every episode of every series, seems that only 3 of his scores are above 5 and 1/10 for empress of mars personally seems very harsh, some episode’s can be not as good as others but 1/10 for a seemingly very good episode just seems strange and just wonder why it was so bad that they would hate it
Pats86
June 12th, 2017 - 7:01amI must admit 1/10 does seem harsh, but we all see the show differently. I myself gave the episode 7/10 and for me that is quite high and although this is a much better season compared to the last two or three it still is not good enough, I genuinely expect much better that what is on offer.
Personally I do not understand where all these high scores are given out over what I see as mediocre writing, this is hardly a golden age for Doctor Who in my opinion, but as a life long fan like many others I will always stand by it.
Doctor Stu
June 12th, 2017 - 12:00amIt was because Ferdinand kinglsey plays a chef in ITV’s Victoria and so it was a Doctor Who mash up. Catchlove sent by a young victoria played by Jenna Louise Coleman to mars XD. I loved the continuity in the portrait of Victoria as well. ITV’s Victoria is just a game of spot the Doctor Who character they’ve got jenna Coleman, eve Myles, tommy knight, the bloke who played uncle and I swear there’s more
12th Doctor Fan
June 11th, 2017 - 11:23pmI too was delighted at this brilliant.
The Temporal Jelly Baby
June 11th, 2017 - 11:08pmOf course, and that’s totally OK. I was only asking because a score of 1/10 suggests not merely disliking an episode but genuinely hating it. Naturally, having given Empress of Mars a score of 9/10, I’m curious as to what there is to genuinely hate about it.
The Werewolf
June 11th, 2017 - 10:50pmScotland and Wales are in Britain.
Jordan Scott
June 11th, 2017 - 10:08pmNot been a single bad episode this series, I’ve finally managed to rank them in some form:
The Pilot: 7/10
Smile: 6/10
Thin Ice: 6/10
Knock Knock: 6/10
Oxygen: 8/10
Extremis: 7/10
The Pyramid at the End of the World: 7/10
The Lie of the Land: 7/10
Empress of Mars: 9/10
pats86
June 11th, 2017 - 9:38pmJames Harlow clearly wants better than he is getting, as do I.
Not everyone gives high marks for mediocrity!
Queen Iraxxa
June 11th, 2017 - 9:21pmMine
The Pilot – 9/10
Smile – 8/10
Thin Ice – 8/10
Knock Knock – 7/10
Oxygen – 10/10
Extremis – 8/10
The Pyramid at the End of the World – 6/10
The Lie of the Land – 5/10
Empress of Mars – 10/10
WhovianFazbear
June 11th, 2017 - 9:14pmI’m sure I’m not the first person to say this but I had absolutely no idea alpha century was going to be in this it was such an amazing classic Who reference and well I have to praise Mark Gatiss for putting that in
Also here is my ratings on series 10 so far
The Pilot – 9/10
Smile – 8/10
Thin Ice – 8/10
Knock Knock – 7/10
Oxygen – 10/10
Extremis – 8/10
The Pyramid at the End of the World – 6/10
The Lie of the Land – 5/10
Empress of Mars – 10/10
James Harlow
June 11th, 2017 - 9:01pmI don’t think it was Capaldi or Mackie’s best work, and the Victorians seemed really over-acted, even for Victorians. Bill’s line about “Making allowances for your Victorian attitudes because, well, you actually are Victorian.” just deems so clunky and slow.
As for the Ice Warriors, their voices seemed way too human. Comparing it to Skaldak’s voice in Cold War, where his voice was deep, gravelly, and powerful, while being fairly monotonous, but angry, the Ice Warriors in this episode seemed like a drunk man in the pub doing a pathetic impression of Dark Vader.
The Empress was even worse. Did anyone else see that CBBC show Wizards Vs Aliens, written by Steven Moffat a few years ago? The Ice Empress sounded like the female lead alien on that. Just an English woman speaking slowly. She should have sounded a bit more like the Empress of the Racnoss, but with more power and authority, and less like Nigella Lawson.
The Temporal Jelly Baby
June 11th, 2017 - 9:00pmOK, I’m curious. What’s so bad about Empress of Mars that makes it a 1/10? The reviews on here have been pretty positive about it so I’m interested in knowing why you differ from the majority here. My opinion is literally the opposite: Empress of Mars is my favourite and The Lie of the Land is my least favourite.
James Harlow
June 11th, 2017 - 8:50pmReally? I thought the Lie of the Land was the best in the series. That’s not saying much, but mine’d be:
The Pilot – 4/10
Smile – 6/10
Thin Ice – 5/10
Knock Knock – 3/10
Oxygen – 2/10
Extremis – 4/10
The Pyramid at the End of the World – 6/10
The Lie of the Land – 7/10
Empress of Mars – 1/10
Obsie
June 11th, 2017 - 6:46pmAlpha Centauri’s sudden appearance really jolted me and I clapped, thinking how many fans my age may have just punched the air, lol. Not only that, the original actress herself doing the voice once again, I wonder if Mark Gatiss donned his deerstalker and sought her out.
Obsie
June 11th, 2017 - 6:37pmWhen he does go to Scotland it seems it will be the second time he’s been in Aberdeen-shire, after accidently dropping Sarah Jane off there all those years ago-by mistake naturally.