Welcome, once again, to The Companion Piece . Thank you, first of all, to Paul B for handling things so well last week – and proving, once and for all, that I’m entirely unnecessary for our Doctor Who discussions! But now I’m stepping back into the role of host, just in time to see Clara stepping into the role of Doctor!
Spoilers from this point on, so turn back now unless you’ve seen this week’s multi-dimensional episode – Flatline .
I feel like there’s loads to unpack this week, so what did people want to talk about first?




I thought that was a great conceit. It’s smaller on the outside – it’s always smaller on the outside – so why not play with that.
And it led to all those great gags with the Doctor’s hand.
Yeah, loved the Addams Family reference with Thing. Quite nice that Clara had to have the idea as well.


The warehouse was above ground. They called the tunnel where the graffiti was “the subway”.
It has two meanings though. In Norfolk they have subways which are just tunnels underneath roundabouts – allowing you to cross under for safety.

Weird. Why set the episode in Bristol if you know the story needs a subway?
Well, whichever kind of subway it was, it was still full of monsters. What did we make of those?



Star Trek: The Next Generation had a similar idea.
Also DS9 , although those were 4 dimensions.



That scene, with the naming of the monsters, felt very David Tennant to me, with the Doctor talking himself up and laying down the law.
Protector of Earth, the Oncoming Storm, etc…
Booted them right out of there!
So did it all start off with them trying to communicate then suddenly evolve into an invasion?



I think we aren’t meant to know the Boneless’ motives – they’re too alien to understand. But in the end that doesn’t matter because, as the Doctor said, he gave them a chance and they still acted like monsters.
Although, for creatures that didn’t understand any known form of communication, they seemed to have no trouble reading numbers written on jackets!






Such a great effect.
I work as a 3D modeller, and normally when the results look like that it means you screwed up badly… but here it was perfect for them. So clever.


So that’s the monsters dealt with. What did we think of the other human characters this week?
Liked the one guy, hated the other. Kind of how it was meant to be.
Although it was interesting to see someone who was too grumpy to be fooled by psychic paper.

Yeah that was weird, but good to see even the paper is fallible.
Rigsy was quite an interesting character, would make a good addition to the TARDIS crew.










Yeah, I think Clara could be a Timelord herself.
She did jump into the Doctor’s timeline though – I guess she’s been like this before.


That’s why the Doctor needs a companion, I think. If the person he’s travelling with is too similar, they never second-guess or call him out on stuff. He needs a foil, not a mirror.
Which is probably why Clara will have to leave.

I don’t think a simple walking away from the role would suit her though. I expect some sort of cataclysmic event where she has to sacrifice herself.
Either that or something to do with time. Maybe having to unravel her entire timeline or something.

That would make her the first Companion death since the show rebooted, and that would be a pretty brave move considering how great she’s turned out to be.
Have we considered the idea that Missy might be a good-guy? She is kinda saving people, after all…





She seems like a twisted Mary Poppins. Question is, why is she saving these particular people?
She’s obviously the one who gave Clara the Doctor’s number, too. The woman in the school.


I’m not sure who she is matters so much as who she’s becoming .
Ooh, maybe Missy is a regenerated Clara and now I’ve gone cross-eyed…



What Clara’s story highlighted for me this week is the whole “darker Doctor” thing.
Capaldi seems a bit less phased by death, but otherwise he’s not markedly different from the other three Doctors of recent years. But when Clara starts acting the way he does, we start to see that it is a little bit worrying and maybe even dangerous.
Exactly. We trust the Doctor because we trust his knowledge and authority. But with Clara, we don’t quite trust that she knows what she’s doing.
But I suppose that’s all part of the Doctor’s façade.
It was a nice twist to see Capaldi getting worried by that as well.
But I think he’s certainly softening, not as callous as he was at the beginning of the season.





I wouldn’t say perfect, but definitely enjoyable. And they make a certain kind of sense.
It’s just a shame that some of the badness from the episodes come from their core – the basic ideas and premises.

Great premise, loved the change of roles for Clara and the Doctor. Awesome monsters and just great TV. Awesome episode where everything seemed to fit into place.
It all seemed to just gel together to make one of the strongest stories so far this season.
This episode felt good. They had an interesting concept, created a new and unique monster and developed the characters further than previous episodes. The one thing that is probably fairly apparent in the series though, is the focus on episodes set in the UK today. The next episode should at least prove interesting though.
I feel like tampering much more with the formula may revert things back to previous statuses, so I kind of hope that they keep up with the character development, a story that makes sense and the stakes remaining high.
Good to see Clara taking the role as The Doctor, and a very interesting foe.
Beautiful effects as well.
I really feel like Series Eight has hit its stride over the last couple of weeks. They’re hitting an ideal balance between fun, fast-paced adventures, and an undercurrent of serious drama. Great monsters, strong characters, and a role-reversal plot that managed to be both funny and a little bit disturbing.
The natural progression of Clara’s arc keeps surprising and impressing me, and I’m both excited and frightened to see where it’s leading. More than anything, this episode really drove home the whole idea of this series for me: they’re not making the Doctor darker – they’re showing how dark he’s always been.
What about you folks – did the Boneless give you the heebie jeebies? How much do you want a tiny TARDIS? And was Clara a “good” Doctor? Let us know via the comments, on Twitter , Facebook , Google+ , or by… actually that’s it. We can’t possibly comprehend any other forms of communication from your plane of existence.
The TARDIS stays in modern England next week – but we’ve never seen it like this before. London’s in a forest, Danny Pink is in a fairy tale, and the Doctor is back in that horrible sparkly jumper. Join The Companion Piece as the urban jungle turns literal In the Forest of the Night .