Доктор Кто Face the Raven (2005– ) Online

2005– Peter Capaldi Jenna Coleman Maisie Williams Justin Molotnikov

Original Title :: Face the Raven
Genre :: TV Episode / Adventure / Drama / Family / Mystery / Sci-Fi
Year :: 2005–
Directror :: Justin Molotnikov
Cast :: Peter Capaldi,Jenna Coleman,Maisie Williams
Writer :: Sarah Dollard
Type :: TV Episode
Time :: 46min
Rating :: 8.6/10

Доктор Кто Face the Raven (2005– ) Online

When Rigsy contacts The Doctor about a mysterious countdown tattoo, he, The Doctor, and Clara infringe upon an alien refugee camp run by Ashildr . It is up to them to get the countdown to stop, for if it hits 000 minutes, you face Death when you Face the Raven.

Episode cast overview:
	Peter Capaldi	-	The Doctor
	Jenna Coleman	-	Clara
	Maisie Williams	-	Ashildr
	Joivan Wade	-	Rigsy
	Naomi Ackie	-	Jen
	Simon Manyonda	-	Kabel
	Simon Paisley Day	-	Rump
	Letitia Wright	-	Anahson
	Robin Soans	-	Chronolock Guy
	Angela Clerkin	-	Alien woman
	Caroline Boulton	-	Habrian woman
	Jenny Lee	-	Elderly woman

The Retcon drug has often been used in Torchwood (2006).

There is a poster on the wall of the alley which shows the diagram of a flux capacitor (from the 'Back to the Future (1985)' films) and the writing on it says "Delorean" in Aurebesh (the main alphabet in the Star wars: Osa IV - Uus lootus (1977) franchise).

After examining Rigsy the Doctor flips through his "nice" cue cards and one them reads: "I could be wrong, let's try it your way".

In Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor (2013), Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor asks 'Handles', his traveling companion at the time, to remind him to redirect the telephone through the main console unit. This is the first episode in which we see that that has been done.

A hidden, Old Worlde-looking street in London was a key location in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (1996), which also starred Peter Capaldi. Gaiman would later go on to write the Doctor Who (2005) episodes Doctor Who: The Doctor's Wife (2011) and Doctor Who: Nightmare in Silver (2013). Another similar street, Diagon Alley, appears in the "Harry Potter" stories, which were referenced several times in Doctor Who: The Shakespeare Code (2007).

Robin Soans has a minor role as the Chronolock Guy. He is one of 38 actors to have also acted in the 20th Century Doctor Who (1963) - Soans was in the Tom Baker serial Doctor Who: The Keeper of Traken: Part One (1981) as Luvic, one of the five Consuls of Traken.

The cot has a young raven painted on just above the head of the baby.

'Simon Paisley Day' returns as Rump, having previously played the Steward in Doctor Who: The End of the World (2005) in the first season of the new Doctor Who (2005) series back in 2005.

This is the first story to feature the Twelfth Doctor in a burgundy version of his signature navy blue Crombie coat, similar to the coat he was first seen wearing during Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (2013).

Kabel (played by Simon Manyonda) is a Lugal-Irra-Kush, a species we first saw in Doctor Who: The Rings of Akhaten (2013).

Just before the raven strikes, the name "ROSKILLY'S" is seen on a storefront. As the raven strikes, the rest of the name is very briefly obscured leaving "KILL".

In the credits, the word "Oods" is used to denote more than one Ood, rather than the established "Ood", as used in Doctor Who: The Impossible Planet (2006).

The Doctor tells a young boy to "remember 82". Adric who was a companion of the fifth doctor died in Doctor Who: Earthshock: Part Four (1982), broadcast in 1982.

'Simon Paisley Day' appeared in The Musketeers (2014) with Peter Capaldi.

Joivan Wade originally appeared as Rigsy in Doctor Who: Flatline (2014).

Sometime between the filming of Doctor Who: The Woman Who Lived (2015) and this episode, Maisie Williams got a nose piercing, which meant that between the 17th century and the late 2010s, Ashildr got her nose pierced.

This is the third time an incarnation of Clara has died onscreen. She first appeared as "Oswin Oswald" (aka "soufflé girl"), a human who had been turned into a Dalek, but gone mad and still thought she was human, in Doctor Who: Asylum of the Daleks (2012). Another incarnation, "Clara Oswin Oswald" later appeared in Victorian England in Doctor Who: The Snowmen (2012); after her death, the Doctor discovers the connection between the two. He then encounters the recurring companion Clara in present-day England, in Doctor Who: The Bells of Saint John (2013). The mystery of the connection between the incarnations was a running arc through the second half of series 7, finally resolved in Doctor Who: The Name of the Doctor (2013).

Clara tells the Doctor: "You don't need to be a warrior. Promise me. Be a Doctor." In Doctor Who: The Night of the Doctor (2013) the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) says to Ohila: "I don't suppose there's a need for a doctor any more. Make me a warrior now." She then gives him the potion to change into the War Doctor (John Hurt). In the pivotal part of Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (2013) she describes the War Doctor and the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) as the warrior and the hero and says: "We've got enough warriors. Any old idiot can be a hero." When the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) asks about himself she, says: "What you've always done. Be a doctor." So the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is the fourth Doctor she's talked back from the brink with variations on the same reasoning.

A scene cut from the episode had the Doctor carrying Clara's body indoors and orders Ashildr not to wipe Rigsy's memory, so that Rigsy can tell Clara's family and take care of her body.

Clara is the first recurring companion to die onscreen since the show's revival in 2005, and in fact the first since Adric in Doctor Who: Earthshock: Part Four (1982) (1982). Both stories included Cybermen, and in both stories the companion inadvertently became an indirect cause of their own death, while trying to save someone else.

Ashildr/Me (Maisie Williams), who was originally introduced as a Viking, brings about the death of Clara using a raven. In Norse mythology, Odin's ravens were often associated with the dead.

This marks the first episode to have a post-credits "Next Time" sneak preview. Previously, Doctor Who: Death in Heaven (2014) had a mid-credits scene, but this is the first to have a post-credits one.

Rigsy's portrait of Clara that adorns the TARDIS doors in the post-credit sequence is based upon a publicity photograph of Jenna Coleman used to promote her appearances at science fiction conventions.

This was originally written as a standalone story, with Rigsy, Ashildr, and the Story Arc plot developments (i.e. Clara's death) added later. In fact, it was originally announced as a standalone episode like Doctor Who: Sleep No More (2015), but shortly after Doctor Who: The Woman Who Lived (2015) aired it was confirmed that this episode would pay off its Sequel Hook, and by the time it aired it was clear that its events would have a huge impact on the Series 9 arc.

In the episode {The Power of Three (2012) (7.4) }_ UNIT Director Kate Stewart answers Amy Pond's question in a possibly tongue in check way, when Amy asks about UNIT HQ. Amy Pond: "Secret base below the Tower? Hope we're not here because we know too much." Kate Stewart: "Yes, I've got officers trained in beheading. Also, ravens of death." This could be brilliant Steven Moffat's_ foreshadowing for this episode.

In the sequence where Clara takes the tattoo from Rigsy, she was scripted to address him by his full name while persuading him.

User reviews

Kashicage

I very rarely give a ten it's fair to say, but this episode is fully deserving of top marks. It reminded me of Utopia, in that it's the lead in to the end of the series, but it also felt like it was building up to something big. Clara's demise was exceptionally well done, Capaldi and Coleman produced their A Game for this episode. Clara has been much better this series without Danny's influence. I will just say this, we have been here before with a character dying, should she miraculously come back to life in two weeks time, or turn out to be a Zygon, a hologram, a product of the Tesselector, my score instantly goes from 10 to 1. Mr Moffat do not cheat us! I felt a Torchwood vibe throughout, an episode more satisfying to a more mature audience.

Llanonte

Doctor Who's ninth series has been its best ever. I haven't made any attempts to hide my admiration for this series across the previous nine reviews. Even with the misfire of last week's Sleep No More, series 9 was head and shoulders above anything this show has given us before. If last week's somewhat weak installment left any viewers questioning whether the show's superb standard had been dropped entirely, Face the Raven should pick them up and dust their shoulders off. This was a simply transcendent piece of television. Not only did it transcend and exceed the standards set by any prior companion exit episode, but it managed to surpass every other stellar episode this season. The writer for this episode, Sarah Dollard, had never written for Doctor Who before, and I think I'm not alone in saying that she needs to become a series regular. Face the Raven was a beautiful, dramatic, heart wrenching forty five minutes that was as packed with smart, innovative ideas as it was with emotion. What an upsetting treat this was.

I'll tackle this episode in chronological order, I think. I will try my utmost not to discuss Clara's death until later in the review, but when this episode was so packed with foreshadowing and nice touches alluding to it, it'll be hard ti ignore it completely. Face the Raven begins with the Doctor and Clara returning to the TARDIS after another exhilarating adventure, before the TARDIS phone rings. Clara answers it to hear Rigsy, now a father to a young child, who informs Clara and the Doctor that he has woken up with no memory of his previous night and a strange tattoo of a number, that just happens to be counting down. The Doctor's investigation leads to the idea of a trap street, and the three of them set out to find the street in which Rigsy had this done to him. As set up, it all flows wonderfully. It doesn't last overly long as to force the episode into sketchy pacing, but isn't whipped through so fast as to leave viewers muddled. Once we enter the street, we remain there for the rest of the episode, giving the whole thing a powerful sense of claustrophobia, as well as the set design and costumes alluding to a wonderful feel of magic. The episode then runs its course nicely, the mystery deepens, Me is reintroduced (who is now Mayor of the trap street, which acts as a safe asylum for stranded aliens) and the Doctor begins to work out how to save Rigsy from his impending doom.

But then Clara does what Clara has been doing a lot of lately. She takes matters into her own hands. Clara acting like the Doctor has been a recurring theme this series, with warnings and indicators flashing up in almost every episode this year as to how much the Doctor dislikes this side of her. So it was only fitting that Clara should offer to take Rigsy's death sentence for herself, of course under the impression that she would be safe and that the Doctor would be able to keep her alive. Except, this time, he can't. Clara's reckless behaviour went a step too far, resulting in her inadvertently causing her own death. Everything that occurred in the final fifteen minutes of this episode was breathtaking. The cinematography changed; the framing became tighter as Clara slowly realises her own impending death, much like how the lighting grew darker as the episode progressed. We were treated to some foreshadowing of the upcoming two part finale, as Me tells the Doctor how she was ordered to trick him into being teleported away to an unknown location. Rigsy takes a back seat as the Doctor and Clara bid one final farewell to each other, Me watches from the sidelines. An episode loaded with characters suddenly becomes all about our Doctor and his wonderful companion. And it is utterly heartbreaking.

What sells this moment the most is the performances of Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman. Both have already established themselves as the greatest in their respective positions in the show, but they took it to levels tonight I still didn't believe they were capable of. This series has seen a drastic increase in scripting, with many episodes more than prepared to drop action and spectacle in favour of elongated pieces of dialogue, and Face the Raven is no exception. Once the Doctor discovers that Clara took Rigsy's sentence, there is no action. There are no explosions, no time travel and no big spectacle. The Doctor and Clara simply talk to each other, and it hits harder than any companion exit thus far. The anguish on the Doctor's face tells us all we need to know about this situation. Whilst he understands what will happen almost immediately, Clara comes to her own realisation rather slowly, allowing us to watch as Clara's face progresses from contentment, to fearful, to sorrowful, before finally landing on courageous. After the Doctor says his goodbye to Clara, she walks away from him, tears in her eyes, ordering herself to be brave. Seconds later, she dies right in front of us, and drops to the floor lifeless. And with dialogue and acting this good, it makes for the most bravura companion exit this show has ever produced.

Tam

The TARDIS phone rings, old friend Riggsy's in trouble, a counter's appeared on the back of his neck (a quantum shade,) when it reaches zero he dies. The Doctor learns he's had an alien encounter and had his memory wiped. The Doctor, Clara and Riggsy try to discover who's done it to him, and find an Alien refugee camp run by Ashildr. She is the cause of Riggsy's situation, believing him guilty of murder. He was found over Anna, a psychic woman. The quantum shade is willingly passed from Riggsy to Clara. A fatal error as tragedy strikes for Clara, and The Doctor is transported to an unknown destination.

Absolutely loved the idea of death being dished out in the form of a Raven, death by Quantum shade, just brilliantly conceived and well realised.

As a whole it was hugely atmospheric, and very emotionally charged, the last fifteen minutes or so was exceptional, Capaldi was as always fantastic, but Jenna Coleman, her best performance to date, she's shown us that when the writing for Clara is good she's hugely up to the mark. The storytelling was intelligent and thoughtful.

I'm not altogether convinced that's the end of Clara, based on previous experiences with death on the show I am more then expecting Clara to re-appear in two weeks time. I also thought the Doctor spotted Riggsy had no tattoo on his neck after the switch.

It felt a little bit like The Doctor had landed in Hogwarts, there was definitely a Harry Potter vibe and feeling to the episode, but no bad thing.

9/10

Vizil

Warning do not read unless you've seen the episode.

This is one of the saddest episodes in the show, it's always one of the last things we ever want to happen but it's a reality. No matter how good a hero/superhero is or even how many adventures they've survived or how much experience has been acquired, death is never far away.

The plot isn't really much it's simply a who dunnit but with aliens. I really like the hidden city aspect which looks like 17th century London, it's sort of like Middan in the movie "Nightbreed" as that underground civilization was a refugee for monsters this is one for aliens, most are ones we know from the show like Cybermen which I'll admit is interesting.

Really liked seeing Rigsy again whom I remember from an episode on Season 8, I'll admit when I saw the preview for the episode I almost thought he was going to be the next companion, which would of been awesome and a change of pace, but of course this wasn't true so oh well. I liked seeing that he's got his priorities straight that he's a father and he's got a job and house, which shows just because you grew up the wrong side of the tracks doesn't mean you have to stay there. But my only problem with this episode is his character doesn't have much to do.

However this episode by it's nature is more Clara's episode. I really like how death/fate is a big theme in this episode as there are many foreshadows of it in the episode from one moment when she was clearly in danger of falling out of the Tardis but she laughs while both Rigsy and the Doctor where concern on their faces which is the same as mine; fate/death didn't claim her then but what about tomorrow or the next minute. Let alone the Raven and of course if you remember the Edgar Alen Poe poem and it's content you sort of have a feeling what's coming.

Despite Clara being one of my least favorite companions, I did like her character which is part of what made the episode all the more painful. Clara despite her qualities unfortunately I always felt had a psychological Achilles heel, she's always carried this terrible delusion of becoming the Doctor as well as enjoys the lifestyle of the Doctor too much. This unfortunately made her become kinda reckless even delusional in thinking if she survived this she can survive the next one, but tours of duty never promise survival.

We then see Clara do a selfless thing without thinking it through, taking Rigsy's mark of death in order to guarantee Rigsy, buy time to clear his name, but also thinking the Doctor has an exit strategy for her. But as we see in the final minutes, Clara gets a rude awakening from reality as we hear once the mark of death has passed on to another it can never be undone. So Clara unfortunately got ahead of herself, she tempted fate and now she's finally paying the price. Granted what she did was a good deed but as an old saying goes good deeds don't go unpunished.

The final minutes with her and the Doctor were just heart wrenching, the Doctor didn't want her to die but there was nothing he could do it which makes it all the more painful. Some of the dialog both of them had and then seeing Clara face fate/death head on, really made my heard sink and put a tear in my eye. The last image was haunting and sad as we see Rigsy do some spray paint memorial on the Tardis and Clara's picture displayed, you know Clara is gone.

Farewell Clara, like a shooting star in the sky you burned bright and flew high, you'll be missed but never forgotten.

Rating: 4 stars

Thomand

I've never liked ravens, and now I hate them, for taking the best Doctor Who companion in history.

Doctor Who has its exciting days, its funny days, but then come its sad days that every fan dreads. Back in the day, when a companion left it was just oh see ya, but now it's waterfall of tears.

This week the Doctor and Clara investigate alien streets in London, but the road they ahead is not good at all. We have the return of the pudding brain Rigsy, to make nonsense of the Doctor and Cara's adventure, but also to be the source of Clara's death. We also have the return of Ashildr played by the brilliant Maisie Williams to bring darkness into the story but also out of the Doctor.

Again what's great about Doctor Who is when apply real life paranoia to the science fiction universe to create something awesome. So next time I'm walking down the road, I'm gonna think and walk carefully so I don't enter an alien street.

What's great but sad at the same time is how Doctor Who gets rid of its companion. Years ago it was huge plot development that would lead to their death or some form of departure, but today we just have simpler and normal ways of departure which just show the realism of the easy danger that travelling round the universe.

We also have now a huge cliffhanger leading us to the big finale that has absolutely sold me, and has got the heart pounding. This episode is a high 8/10, with strong emotion, and excitement.

Jorius

Unlike reviews i've read, this was one of the best episodes of the season. Sure you can say there are betters, depends on the point of view. This season is a mix of great episodes with careless, too lazy written ones. As far as capaldi... please hardly the worst doctor ever... he gives the character a way more darker and ruthless tone. Overall good episode, and cant wait for more! Regarding people who don't like it,i have to say i understand, i respect but i don't agree. This season is better then the first ones... the classics. Again it depends on the age (yes age is important) and to what you are used to see in the doctor. Previously we had so many random episodes that were just introducing a single story with a random enemy. I enjoyed those, but im very happy to see that this season we have always got a continuation to the episode.

Framokay

When Clara gets a worried phone call from Rigsy about a tattoo he has got she is initially a little irritated; that isn't what she gave him her number for this is no ordinary tattoo though; it is a number and with each passing minute it reduces by one! When The Doctor sees it he is immediately interested it is a 'Quantum Shade' and when it reaches zero he will die. The only chance to remove it is to find the person who put it there and that means finding a street that apparently isn't there. Inevitably they manage to find the street, which is inhabited by aliens disguised as humans. The people there start calling Rigsy a murderer this is why he has been sentenced to death by none other than Ashildr. As they struggle to find evidence that Rigsy is innocent Clara learns that there is a way to save him; she can voluntarily take the Quantum Shade from him and surely Ashildr will remove it from her except she can't! If that weren't enough as the episode ends the Doctor is teleported to goodness knows where.

This episode may not have been full of action but it was tense; when it was Rigsy with the tattoo there was a feeling that it would all work out but once Clara had taken it there was a sense that she had made a serious mistake; helped by the knowledge that this was her last series of course. The Quantum Shade itself was interesting; the way that the counter inexorably approached zero made it feel more threatening that most things The Doctor and his companions face even though it was just a number. If that weren't enough we see how it works when another person falls victim to it.

It was nice to see the excellent Maisie Williams return; Ashildr is an interesting adversary as she isn't obviously bad; her motives aren't all that different from those of The Doctor she sees him as the villain that needs defeating for the good of others. As expected Peter Capaldi impresses as The Doctor; especially when he is angry and threatens revenge for what is about to happen to Clara. Some companions get better send offs than most and Jenna Coleman's Clara gets one of the best, and certainly the most tragic of those in the new run of Doctor Who; she has done a fine job in the role and I'm sure she will be missed. The ending set things up nicely for the next episode which hopefully will answer some of the questions about who wanted Ashildr to trap The Doctor and why he has enough enemies to choose from.

Felhalar

There will be spoilers.

I loved "The Girl Who Died" and "The Woman Who Lived", and I liked "The Zygon Invasion" and "The Zygon Inversion" quite a lot. Of course, I hated "Sleep No More" (who wouldn't?), but I expected to like "Face the Raven" at least a little. Seeing the glowing reviews here made me firmly believe it would be at least good, and, naturally, I was looking forward to Clara's death.

And, sorry, but this episode wasn't good at all. Although well acted and somewhat visually appealing, it was so mind-blowingly idiotic it made me question my own sanity.

OK, so where should I start? Perhaps saying that I didn't like Clara's death at all would be a fine beginning. It is no secret that many of the show's fans hate her, and her death shows all of the reasons for that pretty well. She is presented as someone who is impossibly perfect, she is the one giving advice to the Doctor, she is the one giving ORDERS to the Doctor, she is willing to risk her life for someone she had met once a year or two ago... As anyone would expect, there was a metric ton of forced drama - that has always been a huge part of the show, but this time it just didn't ring true. Not to me, at least - I just wanted it to end.

To top it all, there were plot holes so huge even the TARDIS wouldn't be big enough for them. OK, Ashildr used Rigsy to lure the Doctor in her refugee camp. Fine. So tell me something. How did she know who Rigsy was? How did she know he had the Doctor's number? How did she even know that the two knew each other? Also, why didn't she just contact the Doctor herself? In one of the previous episodes we were shown that she could easily get in touch with him if she wanted to. Why would she even risk two lives? Why would she frame an innocent man for murder? Why... Also, Ashildr said she had enjoyed reading about her conversations with Clara. Well, how many conversations did they actually have? In "The Girl Who Died" they barely talked to each other, and Clara was not even in "The Woman Who Lived", for F-word's sake. Then there was the refugee camp. Ashildr's street of peace, or whatever she called it. Well, sorry, but this was just not a peaceful place. It was a Gothic horror-influenced concentration camp. Quite literally, I might add. Ashildr was its all-powerful master, who would brutally murder anyone she wanted, and nobody would even try to stop her. Really, a man who had stolen some medication to save his dying wife was sentenced to a horrible death. And nobody protested. Nobody would tell her, "Hello, if you, miss Mayor, had done your job, he wouldn't have to steal the medication in the first place. And no, stealing a few pills is not a crime worthy of a death sentence. What kind of a leader would kill someone for that?" Would you stay under the rule of such a person if you had a choice? I know I wouldn't. No sane person would. And yes, the refugees had a choice. That was explicitly said. Why would they stay there? They were clearly not happy. They were treated like cattle. Some of them were forced to hide their abilities. Why would they stay there? And, by the way, there were many more problems. Again, I am sorry. I like the show a lot. Or may be I should say I used to like it. Because now I am not sure I will waste my time with it anymore.

Nuadabandis

Doctor Who - Face the Raven has set the story for the next two episodes with an amazing cliffhanger. Clara dying by the tattoo that she took from Rigsy and then the doctor being teleported to a random spot which we do not know what it is yet (unless you watched the trailer). The episode started off on a happy sort of mood with the doctor and Clara come back into the Tardis but then they get a mysterious phone call. When Clara picks up the phone they found that Rigsey called, and he had a mysterious tattoo on his neck. The doctor quickly started to act by attempting to find a trap street. When they find it they meet Ashildr/Me. But this time she isn't the same as who she was before. She is now evil. She killed Clara and has put the doctor in a lot of trouble. This episode for me felt like an amazing start to the three parter but I didn't think the writing was perfect. I didn't like the way Clara died and I didn't understand why Ashildr couldn't takes it off her. But I'm guessing Ashildr wanted her to die so she pretended she couldn't help her even though before she said she can fix the tattoo. Here's some categories and what I gave them out of 10 then I simply found the average to give this episode. Writing: 7/10 Directing: 9/10 Visuals (for DW): 8.5/10 Tension: 8/10 Mise en scene: 8.5/10 Total: 7.8/10 (rounded to 8) I'm expecting the next episode to be very tense and scary.

Landamath

This is the episode Clara dies. But what an episode to go out on. Capaldi offers a virtuoso performance, particularly scintillating when he tells 'Me' that the 'universe is a very small place' when the Doctor is angry with you. When I saw it wasn't Moffat who was writing the episode I was initially concerned but boy did Sarah Dollard provide a belter. The episode started with the return of Rigsy (who provided a much better performance than his previous performance 'Flatline'). The series had been hinting that Clara's recklessness may be her downfall but very discretely and it was beautifully set up. What was originally portrayed as a comedic moment as Clara hung out of the TARDIS above London there was a small conversation between Rigsy and the Doctor about Clara's recklessness but the majority of us just disregarded it. But it was a hint. Now, onto the main event Clara's death. Clara, being reckless once more, volunteered to take Rigsy's supposedly inevitable death however you can't cheat the 'Raven' and Clara had to die according to 'Me'. Cue a fantastically scripted scene between Capaldi and Coleman. I genuinely thought she wouldn't die but she was killed off, quite brutally I'd like to add. We saw her screaming. Tear-Jerking. And the to cap it off Capaldi threatens 'Me' with a fantastic the 'universe is a small place when I'm angry with you.' Fantastic!

Faegal

The Doctor and Clara get an emergency phone call from Rigsy who they met last year . Rigsy tells them he has a tattoo that appeared from nowhere and worse still this numerical tattoo seems to be a countdown to something

Being a DOCTOR WHO addict rather than a DOCTOR WHO fan I'll watch it regardless of its quality . Truth be told it's something similar to torture under Moffat , something magnified a thousand-fold when you quickly realise the potential brilliance but unfortunately this often sabotaged by having a zany overload moment like the Doctor suddenly appearing on a tank while playing a guitar . Facing The Raven is perhaps unique in that for the first time this season the good outweighs the bad though there's still some bad that you can't help noticing

First the positive . We get a great and intriguing opening hook . A returning character has a problem and it's this problem that draws the audience in . The show has always been brilliant at this type of opening hook and it's great to see the show returning to its roots and for the first 15 minutes we have some of the most intriguing DOCTOR WHO we've seen in a long time . Best of all Capaldi is shown at his very best and here we see dark and gloomy Doctor for once instead of overblown zany clown . It's almost certainly the actor's finest hour in the show

The negative. Once the episode moves to Trap Street the episode loses momentum . Once again the major bugbear of exposition comes to the fore , the audience are constantly told what is happening and why it is happening . Ashildr returns and once again Maisie Williams shows herself to be a dreadful actress giving a distractingly wooden performance which is even more painfully noticeable when the rest of the cast are on top form

This brings us to the most divisive aspect - the departure of Clara . I didn't like the character and was never too keen on Coleman either though like Smith and Capaldi she's probably constantly let down by the writing . It's a very effective build up and execution to the departure . Except for one thing - is she actually dead ? After watching ten years of NuWho I did become wise to the fact that someone dying doesn't mean they're dead in its literal sense all the way back to the original companion of Rose . This means this viewer has on eye on the present but one cynical eye on the future . Here's hoping against hope Clara is gone for good

Whitebeard

I agree with the reviewer who noted that nothing really happened in this episode. Threadbare is complimentary to the writer. Obviously it was there to give Clara an epic send off but even that was so devoid of any decent writing to be nothing more than ordinary.

The writers did it so much better with Rose, the Pond's and Donna and tapped into the emotion of Doctor Who very well. This was just a bit of dragged out soap drama as Clara hung around for what seemed an age before popping her clogs like an aged Shakespearian drama queen who refused to leave the stage unless dragged off.

The interesting bit of what plot there was involved Me who is a much more interesting character than Clara who outstayed her welcome by several series. Me trapping the doctor and sending him somewhere that may well save what is a truly awful Series 9 with a couple of really good finale episodes. Hopefully not involving Missy or the Cybermen.

The lazy writing in the Moffat era is undoing all the good work of the first 2 new Doctors and this great British Institution is in danger of becoming irrelevant once again.

Capaldi is a good actor and his Doctor has had its moments but the writing is utterly awful. The Moon is an egg, trees growing overnight to cover the Earth, that abysmal Pink character, Robin of Sherwood, Skovox Blitzer, that abysmal Pink character, The Fisher King. Sadly I could go on and on.

The fun element has been taken to the extremes and comes off as more Benny Hill than Doctor Who. The drama has become tired and stale due to lazy writers who come up with ideas an idiot would disown.

Yes it's SciFi and yes Doctor Who has always had silly plots but it managed to do silly well because it had good writers who could combine silliness with good drama. This lot are just people who write daft ideas on the back of a fag packet and then produce that as an episode without any thought to the logic of the situation such as the Egg-Moon.

I keep watching as I am a fan and have been through the period when Doctor Who had its darkest times but fear for the Doctor as Moffat and his crew of writers are killing this programme. The next companion needs to be chosen carefully and not become another Clara who began well but became the worst ever companion in my eyes and that is saying something for this programme.

Let's see Doctor Who not the story of a sidekick. Let the programme be about The Doctor not his companion.

Todal

Sometimes I can be a little harsh on Doctor Who and I accept that, but looking around at the reaction from this episode I really can't believe that people liked it. For me Face The Raven is the weakest episode of the season by a bit and a massively underwhelming send- off for Clara.

I think why people like it, is that people are inclined to like an episode in which a major character dies on any show. Now in general big deaths can make for good TV and quite often the best episodes of shows include major character deaths, because usually a show is at its best when big events are happening and killing off characters tends to represent the biggest of events. But at the same time an episode isn't just good for a big character dying and in the case of Face The Raven so much of the rest of the episode is a complete and utter mess.

More or less each and every episode of Doctor Who consists of characters (in general the Dr and his assistant) narrowly averting death, so when the show does actually kill a character off it is almost quite difficult to sell. Yet at the same time, when assistants have been departing in the past, the show has been able to construct there ends so much better (not that Clara is the first to actually die.)

The way in which Clara dies is really quite silly. Firstly they rely on a character whom I didn't even recognize for being in it before, who Clara must save and secondly her death is based around her not listening very well.

Now okay they don't try to push her death as her sacrificing herself for the love of her life, Rigsy. Yet at the same time couldn't they have found a better reason for her to die I mean even if the show isn't pushing a relationship that we have no investment in, it is still Clara sacrificing herself for a glorified extra.

And while they sort of hint at the idea that Clara kind of wanted this anyway, they don't flesh it out enough to make her death feel like anything but the result of a trivial error. I mean for God's sakes Clara they said that the Raven would get you no matter what.

Then there was the actual death sequence itself, I mean a raven killing someone is pretty tough to dramatize in a cinematic way. Couldn't they have had her fall off a cliff Hannibal style. I mean all the shots of Clara with her arms out looked pretty ridiculous, I guess this is partially the fault of Jenna Louise Coleman, who as an actress has become less and less of a screen presence as her time on the show has gone along, but her performance here was thoroughly underwhelming.

Outside of her death I think the episode is a bit of a mess. The pacing is all over the place, I mean we are thrown into this plot about, as earlier alluded, a character most of us couldn't remember being in it before (just in case you are wondering he appeared in last year's brilliant episode Flatline), where characters are jumping from stupid conclusion to stupid conclusion on the basis of nothing.

Then we are in some knock-off Diagon alley in which Ashildr is the mayor? To a certain degree I don't mind any of this stuff, or at least I can right it off as Doctor Who being Doctor Who but there are other things I find less excusable. Ashildr was the center of one of the best episodes of Doctor Who in the Moffat era, yet her presence her is so besides the point it is questionable why Maisie Williams is in this episode at all.

I also think there is an issue in the number of narrative shifts this episode undergoes. At one point it appears to be a standard story of the week episode, then they start introducing more characters (again what was the point of the two-headed girl disguised as a boy) and then all of a sudden the last ten minutes are totally devoted to Clara and her imminent death.

I'm fine with them devoting the last ten minutes to Clara, but they do in such a way that the previous 35 minutes feel pointless, as the episode was all about getting to this point and everything in the episode that didn't propel us further toward Clara's demise, the writers are not concerned with.

I have been very critical of this episode, maybe overly so but I can't see how or why people are arguing that this was a great episode of Doctor Who.

(for more reviews go to donheisenberg.tumblr.com)

Steamy Ibis

There is a touch of Harry Potter in the depiction of Trap Street and a really wooden performance from Maisie Williams. It seems she was on tranquilizers as she is so sedate.

The Doctor and Clara gets a phone call from Rigsy who had been given the number by Clara. He has a tattoo and it is counting down. The Doctor is immediately to the rescue as he discovers that Rigsy has a quantum shade. When the countdown reaches zero he will die.

Rigsy cannot remember what he did the previous day because he has been retconned. All three go looking for a trap street, something that is there but out of your perception filter.

They find the street and discover it is a safe space for alien refugees. Rigsy has been accused of murder but when they encounter Ashildr again, the Doctor knows that Rigsy is not some random victim. The Trap Street is a trap.

The episode is all about Clara. She has got used to the risks of travelling in the Tardis, thinks she has the wits of the Doctor to outwith her foes or buy time. In Face the Raven her luck runs out.

Actress Letitia Wright (who found fame in the Black Panther film) gives a more beguiling performance than Williams. The idea of a Trap Street that is a refuge for stray and lost aliens is intriguing but is not fully formed. Ashildr is the mayor who runs it along her own rules where people do not have enough medical rations. No wonder the whole street looks a little Victorian.

The ending might be a little slow, but as a character remarks. If you do not run from the raven, you have more time to say goodbye.

Grokinos

After the polarizing Sleep No More, everyone was highly anticipating Episode 10: Face the Raven (what a cool title). I, after seeing the second trailer for the episode, was highly looking forward to this episode, when it finally aired, I didn't know what to think.

First things first, Rigsy's back. Rigsy's was one of the best things about last years brilliant Flatline, and he's back, but sadly, his character's been toned down quite considerably, to the point of just being a dull, hollow character who serves simply as a plot device for the story to get itself going with.

Talking about that plot, why is it so rubbish? Rigsy's wakes up with a number tattoo on his neck and no memory of the day before. The tattoo seems to be counting down and the Doctor realizes he's going to die when the number reaches zero, so the Doctor, Clara and Rigsy decide to spend the next 10 minutes blindly looking for a hidden street, known as a trap street.

After wasting ten minutes of the episode's time, they find a trap street which is full of aliens and, get this, Ashildr, played by Maisie Williams. Bringing Ashildr into the episode is a cool idea, but a completely unnecessary one none the less. Her character could've been played by any character who claims to have come from the Doctor's past and it would have had the same effect.

Ashildr tells the Doctor that Rigsy is believed to have killed someone in the street and the number is a death sentence, when the number runs out, he will be killed by the Raven. The Doctor and Clara set about trying to prove Rigsy's innocence when Clara gets the "brilliant" idea of taking the death sentence for herself. Then after another 10 minutes of time wasting, talking to creatures and asking an alien that can see into the future, things finally, finally get interesting.

Ashildr reveals that she knew Rigsy was an associate of the Doctor, so put the death sentence on him as a way of luring the Doctor to the street, to, um, yeah. When Clara reveals she has the death sentence, Ashildr regretfully informs Clara that there is nothing she can do to save her because... Clara accepting this tells the Doctor not to take his anger at her death out on anyone, but just to accept it.

Clara steps outside and is killed by the Raven in a rather poetic death scene. The Doctor delivers one last threat to Ashildr, and teleports using the bracelet Ashildr gave him earlier.

Face the Raven doesn't get interesting for a good 20 minutes, and spends a lot of it's time just meddling about with nothing really happening, watching it a second time is draining, because you're constantly waiting for something interesting to happen. The only thing that makes it interesting the first time is the tension of the countdown and knowing that when it hits zero, our beloved companion is going to die, a second time, that tension is no longer there, and everything moves as slow as mud.

The scene with Clara hanging out of the TARDIS having the time of her life is a similar scene to Day of the Doctor, but Rigsy's about to die, this scene really takes away from the tension of the plot.

The trap street is just pants, why couldn't we have a street like the Rings of Akhaten, with all alien stalls and a real personality, this is just a typical Victorian village, and it's boring.

On the up side, with exception to explaining the plot, the writing is rather solid, and the direction is good, despite some boring set design, the acting is one of the best things about this episode though, everyone gives a great performance and Clara's death scene is played to perfection by everyone.

Face the Raven may be one of the lowest scoring of the season, but I feel there's enough to avoid it going beyond the 7/10 mark. It's dull, but it's well done, if there'd been a bit more... well, more to it, then it would be better, but Face the Raven doesn't keep me interested for long.

For those who have called this one of the best episode's and one of Clara's best episodes, that's fine, just remember to take the 35 minutes before Clara's death into account as well, otherwise, you're opinion means squat.

Buridora

This episode just showed how doctor who has died. I was looking forward to it actually, it sounded interesting and the episodes at this point in the series are usually good. Review of the episode in short - starts OK, a bit slow, stupid street, no plot, nothing happens, dialogue, dialogue, dialogue *begins to look at Ipad* dialogue dialogue dialogue oh dear Clara died. Except... who cares? This series has been the worst ever, and i have to give it to them, they swept away the competition with ease. Because the episodes are tired, nothing happens, no action, no original or interesting monsters, and lots and lots of uninteresting dialogue. The first three were OK, the third being the best. The rest just sucked. The things that made the first series' of this show so good were as follows : fun characters, good monsters, action, story. This series has had none whatsoever. They all just... The writing is awful, every episode is just boring as hell. Give us intrigue, excitement etc. In fact they just recycle all the old monsters over and over again, with stupid boring plots of course, i mean how hard is it to make a story fun to watch? They're trying to make it all emotional and inspirational but failing miserably. Like the Zygon episodes. Those had action, and the beginning of the second was fantastic! The inversion was creepy and gripping, and then it wasted that, and ended with a speech that took forever and would not have been out of place in 'Crime and Punishment'. I just switched off to be honest, it was cheesy, boring and predictable. After this absolute shocker of a series, make major changes. I've been saying this for like 3 years but now they have to listen. Sack all the writers and revamp everything. Maybe then watching my favourite childhood show won't be such a chore.

Kagalkree

I created an account specifically for the purpose of reviewing "Face the Raven", the worst episode of the new-Who era (except possibly---no, probably---next week's). I won't bore you with me-too-ing all the criticisms of the other newest-Who haters. I want to point out a couple things I haven't seen mentioned. First off: Peter Capaldi has a horrible voice. I don't care that he's ugly and old, but that spitting, raucous brogue of his grates on my ears like nails on the blackboard. Please let the next Dr who be a real actor with a not unpleasant voice, not someone who looks and sounds like a drunken bum from off the street.

This is a minor criticism. Of course if the writing were decent, I wouldn't care. The newest-who writing team is awful in every way, but particular as regards pacing. The drawn-out death scene of whatshername was so painful I had to down a second bottle of scotch to get through it----and still it went on and ON an ON. But the music---oh god. The MELOdrama of it all, as subtle as a piano dropped on one's head. The worst opera doesn't milk the score as much as the newest-who composers. I do find an analogy with current pop-music styles, where melody is replaced by formless, melismatic mush.

I have been a Doctor Who fan for ages, but I would rather see the show canceled than drop any further. Maybe in another 15 years, BBC can try again.

Levaq

8.7

...and it is about time because I need a new companion. This was the best episode of the season & I am not sure if that is saying much because this was not the best season. Even though I was ready for Clara to go, it was sad to see The Doctor so broken about her about to die. Clara's & The Doctor's goodbye was great.

Peter Capaldi's acting was superb.

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