Empress of mars feels to be that filler episode, and what we are given is a story that is simple, okay. I mean, classic doctor who fans rejoice at the homage of the episodes name. But, in contrast with the other episodes in the series, it was definitely one of the best. Oh man, i am so excited to see where they go with missy this season. Oddly, all three stories involve a different alien race the osirans in pyramids, the flood in waters, the ice warriors here and crisis. But, empress of mars never officially explained what went wrong with the tardis. To its further credit, empress of mars makes great use of its guest cast. The empress of mars was by no means a standout episode in the new era of doctor who. The darn tardis has stranded the doctor and whatshername on victorian mars.
A few hardscrabble settlers, emigrating to mars for the usual reasons that misfits emigrate to backwater frontiers. Etched on the surface of mars are the words god save the queen, which prompts our motley crew to travel to mars on this amazingly easter eggfilled adventure. If missy kills bill in world enough and time, does this mean that the. The doctors increasing reliance on missywhether he has control of calling on her help as he did in the lie of the land, or not in empress of mars, nardole, played by matt. Two missy is called upon by nardole to get the doctor and bill home, and alpha centauri appears as the cameo in the denouement. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The doctors increasing reliance on missywhether he has control of calling on her help as he did in the lie of the land, or not in empress of mars, nardole, played by matt lucas, seeks instructions from missy after the tardis starts playing upclearly comes with a dont drive machinery while taking this medication warning sign. Missy tells him that shes more than willing to, but it would be easier if she just showed him herself.
God save the queen has been scrawled on the surface of mars. Stick around for a little bonus video at the end for all you missy fans. Doctor who empress of mars starry constellation magazine. Ice warriors and iraxxa on mars so is there an episode of series 10 in doctor who so far that i would consider as one of my favourites, even if that episode is not a classic by any means. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the empress of mars. On the one hand, empress of mars feels like a classic episode of. The empress of mars ends up being awoken when one of the british soldiers and they then square off as the british soldiers exclaim an eye for an eye when the empress kills one of the soldiers when she wakes up. Especially coming after last weeks disaster the empress of mars was a pleasure to watch. The doctor tries to get the empress to grant them forgiveness and. And, again, when will we found out how the hell missy managed to escape from the daleks last series. Regarding missys redemption its possible she might actually be genuine since the retcon is that the masters insanity is down to the drumbeats put in his mind by the time lords as part of their gambit to escape the time war. After the disappointing monk trilogy, im reluctant to get my hopes up for a satisfying finale. Still, its not an unpleasant way to spend 43ish minutes, including the cryptic coda in which missy appears to have sincerely helped nardole fix a mysterious tardis fault hands up if you dont think she caused it and seems to be genuinely concerned for the doctors wellbeing. The interior resembled a nondescript room with some tables and chairs and, even though it was a sealed unit.
The empress of mars is most certainly an experiment in expectations. My first kage baker novel, and this is apparently a later entry in her company series, but i found it stood alone just fine. Nardole then reappears with the tardis, with missy piloting the ship. The episode itself felt a pretty much a standalone piece of work, save for the return of missy.
The tardis malfunctions and returns nardole to bristol, where he is obliged to seek missys help. It is strange how creepy missy comes across, just how sweet, compliant and concerned she is. Nardole gives a grim look back on mars, the doctor and bill. Michelle gomez missy anthony calf godsacre ferdinand kingsley catchlove richard ashton friday adele lynch iraxxa glenn speers sergeant major peach. God save the queen doctor who s10e09 empress of mars. This however actually allows for some expansion on the arc of the series, with events forcing nardole to have to approach missy to avoid leaving. Doctor who questions and theories after watching empress of mars. The monks have been defeated and the doctor can see again so the third and final block of series 10 can begin. While the storylines werent exactly the same, empress of mars returned to a lot of the same ground, which left it feeling very familiar and predictable. Also, missys brief return was a pleasant surprise, as she wasnt credited in the synopsis for empress. Er, and its a little bit urgent, only the tardis is acting up and i was wondering if you could tell me how to fix missy oc.
The doctors increasing reliance on missywhether he has control of. With peter capaldi, pearl mackie, matt lucas, michelle gomez. Empress of mars is the ninth episode of the tenth series of the british science fiction television series doctor who. Missy is free and on the tardis but willing to go back to the vault in doctor who s10e09 empress of mars. After seeing an unexpected message on the surface of mars, the doctor peter capaldi, bill pearl mackie, and nordole matt lucas go to investigate who left it. I think the various problems with this episodes portrayal of the victorian era people pointed out here exist mostly because its not really set in the victorian era. Having read bakers the house of the stag and loving it, by the way, and being wholly unfamiliar with her company novels, i had expected the empress of mars to be another adventurous, incredibly internalized story, only with spaceships and other science fiction furniture instead of magic and halfdemons. This is the third televised who story with mars in its title, and the other two use this trope as well. What are victorians doing on the home of the ice warriors. Bbc one doctor who, series 10, empress of mars, missys crib. The doctor, bill and nardole discover a tomb of the queen of the ice warriors on mars in 1881. The empress of mars is set in an alternate history, where mars was settled by the british arean company, and then mostly left to dry up as unprofitable. Except for that final twist, with missy now a fullyfledged member of.
Empress of mars brings doctor who back to the scifi basics. The twelfth doctor made a oath to protect the chamber for a thousand years like some other examples of time lord technology, the chamber was bigger on the inside. We dont know, but theres every chance that drumbeat no longer affects missy since theres no more need for it. With regards to the former, michelle gomez was not listed as appearing in this episode in any capacity. Season ten is continuing to move along very nicely and with a strong conclusion, may have a claim to be the best season of the modern era. Doctor who extremis empress of mars eaters of light. Since empress of mars gives us victorian soldiers in their most distinctively imperial uniform, the potential is there to bust out everyones most plummy accents, have the topping and the wot flow freely, and just generally make the whole thing a caricature of britains glorious past being completely outgunned by the ice. Michelle gomez was born on november 23, 1966 in glasgow, scotland.
Michelle gomez reveals the changes missy would make to the ultimate crib. It seems like something isnt right in the who world, especially if youre paying attention. She is known for her work on green wing 2004, doctor who 2005 and the book group 2002. A downplayed case it wasnt regarded as highly as some of the early series 10 episodes by most critics and viewers. And the circumstances of her appearance raise some interesting questions about the season arc. After the threeepisode arc about those meddling monks, it was back to a standalone adventure with empress of mars. The doctors look of disgust and fear as he saw missy pilot the tardis has posed a few questions. Further, bill has ostensibly only met missy once, and, while missy did advocate killing bill as a means to defeating the monks, bills willingness to follow orders, compared to nardoles ability to assert himself highlighted in empress of mars, as the two first remove their helmets to discover oxygen within the martian tunnels. Doctor who extremis empress of mars eaters of light i see fire. The doctor and missy in doctor who s10e09, empress of mars. Ysanne churchman, reprising the role of alpha centauri for the first time since the. Includes clips from episodes 610 monk trilogy extremisthe pyramid at the end of the worldthe lie of the land, empress of mars and the eaters of light and the upcoming series finale.
The final scene, where the doctor finds out that missy. Doctor who has been on quite a roll this season, and there was bound to be an episode that came along that was a bit of a filler. And by the end, i found empress of mars a satisfying, occasionally very nerdy doctor who story. Its business as usual, kids, and even nardole matt lucas gives up on stopping the intergalactic. Doctor who puts victorians on mars, which isnt quite as. It is written by mark gatiss and was broadcast on 10 june 2017 on bbc one. Missy is in the tardis at the end of the episode 9 empress of mars written by mark gatiss. Empress of mars was the ninth episode of series 10 of doctor who this episode was notable for introducing the first female ice warrior onscreen, the ice queen iraxxa, 50 years after the species were introduced in 1967s the ice warriors the episode also saw the return of two actors from classic doctor who. The doctor finds a band of victorian soldiers stranded below the martian surface, claiming the planet as.
Doctor who empress of mars thinking like a warrior. Nardole couldnt get the tardis to go back to mars so he got missys help is this the tardis or missys doing. The humans have befriended an ice warrior they have named friday. Set in the world of the company kindle edition by baker, kage. Not a great one, but a perfectly decent way to spend 45 minutes. Missy is a time lord, so her being able to fly it makes sense. With three episodes to go, and a lot of unexpected routes to follow, im more than happy to put my disappointment with empress of mars to one side in anticipation of what i hope will be a cracking final three weeks. I did enjoy it, but i found the episode pretty unremarkable and largely forgettable. Home forums episodes the twelfth doctor empress of mars this topic contains 170 replies, has 28 voices, and was last updated by missy 2 years, 9 months ago. The craft returns to the school and the only person nardole can turn to is inside the vault. The doctor and bill help godsacre leave the message that nasa will discover. There were moments of greatness, and i will always appreciate the return of such a brilliant classic monster, but it fell a little flat towards the end and really could.