Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio (2016)

A Major Disappointment

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Blistering performances.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

So because of the absence of Doctor Who episodes for the entirety of 2016, this is the first episode aired since the last Christmas special. I kinda knew just by looking by the advertising that I wasn't going to enjoy it, because the inclusion of superhero elements looked incredibly cheesy.This is meant to be a science fiction show. The laziest bit of writing I have ever seen is when the Doctor accidentally gives the little boy in the beginning a "wish granting crystal" which gives him his superpowers. If you're writing a science fiction show, at least have some fictitious science-y justification as opposed to full blown fantasy.Also, this episode is a straight up Superman ripoff, down to the hero wearing spectacles as his secret identity. All the tired clichés are still here, Capaldi is once again being let down by weak writing, and I just lost hope for the show at that point.Completely forgettable plot, Matt Lucas is brought back for no reason, and Justin Chatwin is playing the hero? Really? The guy who portrayed Goku in that abomination of a live-action Dragonball Z film? Sigh.Needless to say, I wasted an hour of my life.

I think it's a sign of the times that the BBC were just pleased that this episode got into the top 10 in terms of ratings over Christmas. Years ago it would have been the top rated programme.But times change, just ask the Doctor. Capaldi's Doctor has divided opinion more than any other Doctor, and he's not been helped by weak writing, or in this case, just a weak plot.There are moments of quality, that's actually the frustrating thing, but there's nothing in this episode to make me alter my opinion that Capaldi leaving with Moffatt is perhaps the best thing to try to revive a flagging show before the BBC wields the axe.Perhaps it's time anyway.

One plus for the Doctor Who creative team is they're consistent. 2015's Christmas Special was blah. 2016's Christmas Special was blah.I think I have this thing figured out. Cable TV stations run Christmas specials through November and December. The majority of these are what I call cut rate Christmas specials. They're romantic comedies that are set at Christmas time. Other than the time - there are a few Christmas decorations, some snow, maybe a Christmas dinner - the specials have nothing to do with Christmas. They're mostly about some girl and guy getting together.This episode is a cut rate Doctor Who episode. It takes place in a Doctor Who setting, but it's mainly about a girl and guy getting together. It's secondarily about the Doctor's grief at losing one of the many loves of his life.This one uses the now becoming generic Doctor meets someone when they're a child, and then Doctor checks in throughout their life.It also has the Doctor create one of his wonder machines. This is a machine that's so complicated the Doctor can't even begin to describe what it does or why he built it. He blathers some ridiculous explanation, then he immediately admits that explanation is baloney.The end of the episode is a coming attractions for Series 10 of "Doctor Whaaaa". There's a new cockney companion basically saying "Doctor Who is gonna be so COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

After such an absence of the show I looked forward to this very much, despite being underwhelmed by the trailers. A show we all love which has a distinctly British feel to it, I did not like the American setting, in my humble opinion it felt like it was trying to be something it's not. That uncomfortable feel was further pushed by the Superhero, something we've not encountered on the show before, it just felt like they were trying to force the show into a direction it's not meant to be in.I can't criticise the acting, I love Capaldi in the role, if the powers that be aren't careful, he will unfortunately be remembered in the same way that Sylvester McCoy was, the actor that saw the cancellation of the show.A very stylish episode with some snazzy special effects, but sadly a woeful script, an uninteresting adversary, it's no surprise to me that audiences are turning off.Mr Moffat you have given us some treats in your time, but please don't utterly destroy the show before you leave. This episode has genuinely left me fearful for the future of Doctor Who. Rubbish. 4/10