ANDREW'S
DOCTOR WHO REVIEWS 
Having gone through a number of rather dark and unhappy
stories, it’s nice for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor to finally get a lightweight, fun
story. It is also great to meet – for the final time at the time of writing –
once again with River Song (Alex Kingston) who we haven’t seen since Matt
Smith’s reign.
In 5343 the Doctor is mistaken for a surgeon by Nardole
(Matt Lucas), a servant of River Song who is needed to operate on River’s
husband, King Hydroflax (Greg Davies). River takes the Doctor aside, not recognising
him, and asks him to decapitate her husband so she can reach a massive diamond
that is lodged in his brain.
Before any action can be taken Hydroflax, who is a Cyborg
and has overheard them, detaches his head from his body and orders his body to
kill River and the Doctor. They are saved when River’s real husband, Ramone
(Phillip Rhys), transports them and Hydroflax’s head outside. Nardole, left
behind, is decapitated by Hydroflax who uses his head on top of the Cyborg and
pursues the Doctor, River and Ramone.
Ramone is caught and assimilated by Hydroflax who then
pursues the TARDIS to a spaceship where River sells the diamond still inside
Hydroflax’s head to a group of people who actually worship the King. A meteor
hits the ship and Hydroflax’s body is destroyed. The Doctor and River end up on
the planet Darillium where she knows she will spend the last night she has with
the Doctor.
Ramone and Nardole’s heads are now controlling Hydroflax’s
body and the Doctor and River look out on the Singing Towers of Darillium, the
Doctor gives her his sonic screwdriver and she knows she is about to travel to
the Library, she asks if this is really the last night they spend together and
the Doctor says that the future cannot be put off forever, but that nights on Darillium
can last twenty-four years.
This is a great fun piece of Doctor Who. The main plotline
of River stealing a diamond from Hydroflax’s head is little more than a run
around being chased by a big red robot. But that doesn’t really matter, this is
about River and the Doctor having one last hurrah before River goes off to meet
her fate.
Peter Capaldi and Alex Kingston make a magnificent team and
it’s such a shame that this is the only time we see them; the early bits when
River does not recognise the Doctor are very funny and then later, when
realisation dawns on her, the pair start to work together as if they’d been working
together for years. Those last scenes on Darillium are beautifully acted (and
filmed) and makes a great coda to the River Song story.
This story also introduces us to Nardole, played by the
incomparable Matt Lucas, and his short screen time is so effective that they
brought him back again in the following story – which was a whole year later,
the longest break at this point in the new series.
NEXT UP: THE RETURN OF DOCTOR MYSTERIO
© Text copyright - Raving Loony
Productions and
Andrew J. Müller,
Roy Barton
and Shaun Runham
© Photos and Artwork - Andrew J. Müller
© Web Design and Layout - Andrew J. Müller
2022
