“Empress of Mars is unlikely to be remembered as one of Gatiss’ best. But given his fine contributions to the show, if this is to be the last, then it is a well-earned extravagance and a fitting send off”
“The episode might not quite work as a whole, but there are plenty of elements within it that could rival some of the finest moments in Doctor Who‘s long history. The Doctor’s description about the Ice Warriors, ending with the observation that they can destroy whole civilisations yet weep over the fate of a flower is one of many great lines as is Bill’s observation that the Doctor would enjoy watching The Thing because everybody dies (how [...]
Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss protested at the decision to cast a black actor in this past Saturday’s Empress of Mars, citing historical accuracy as an issue with the role.
Actor Bayo Gbadamosi played Vincey in the episode, yet the decision to cast a “brilliant young black actor” in the role was not taken by Gatiss. Speaking at Oxford University, Mark said he sent a “very difficult” email to colleagues, saying:
“This is very difficult email to send, but I don’t think we can do this…these are soldiers from the South African war, they’ve just been fighting the Zulus. There [...]
Doctor Who‘s audience rose significantly for last night’s episode, rising from the 3.01 million viewers that watched The Lie of the Land overnight to 3.58 million for Empress of Mars, the ratings reflect a 20.6 % share of the potential audience compared to last week’s 15.0%.
Doctor Who was under competition from the England vs. Scotland World Cup Qualifier and The Voice Kids on ITV, the football drawing 4.73m viewers on a day where no show topped 5 million.
Doctor Who‘s ratings were not far [...]
The Doctor, Bill and Nardole arrive on Mars, and find themselves in an impossible conflict between Ice Warriors… and Victorian soldiers. As the Martian hive awakens around them, the Doctor faces a unique dilemma – this time the humans, not the Ice Warriors are the invaders. When Earth is invading Mars, whose side is he on?
Considering that it’s so rare to find Jon Pertwee anywhere near the top of a favourite Doctor’s poll, the sheer number of references to the Third Doctor’s run since the show returned in 2005 is truly remarkable. In fact, if we were to carry out some kind of [...]
