Oxygen

Oxygen is my favorite episode of this season by far. Jamie Mathieson is one of my favorite Doctor Who writers, and he does not disappoint with episode. The writing was impeccable, perfectly characterizing the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole, who I am glad to see onboard the Tardis again after a few episodes where he did not do anything. Charles Palmer's direction is very good, the cinematography is solid, and the acting is very strong as well.

I'm not going to say very much because I want to stay spoiler free, but this episode was very intense. I also really liked some of the humor in this episode. It was kind of dark but funny at the same time.

Overall, Oxygen is an instant classic. Even the music worked perfectly.

10 out of 10

I was concerned when the episode started out with what appeared to be nothing more than zombies in space. The premise got a little more interesting than just that, but only moderately so. The overall theme of this season continues with SJW lecturing. Ultimately, this episode failed utterly when the rant against capitalism began by a group of people who owe their relevance and wealth to capitalism.

This serious is progressing way too quickly, I've been so impressed by the episodes thus far, the latest 'Oxygen' promised much.

A few days ago I watched a film called In Time, where people have to pay for their time to exist, it impressed me, that idea was realised here where the world is at a stage where you need to pay for your own oxygen, it had a real pop at the capitalist world, almost reminding me of an episode of the Green Death, where a similar message was used.

Once again, I was so impressed by this episode, I know some will say it was another base under siege episode, but there were so many elements that worked particularly well, which made Oxygen feel like one of the better ones. The Space Zombies for example, it's nice to see a bit of horror has returned to the show, first Knock Knock, and then Oxygen, the show works so well when the tone is that little darker.

Nice touches of humour, the race card being played in a different way, that was cleverly done. Good use of Special effects too, the space station looked great, and finally mention of the fluid link, long since forgotten.

I liked the twist of The Doctor being temporarily blinded, that gives next week's episode a very different tone. The episode did a good job in setting out what a bleak future lay ahead, and I'm sure there was a hidden message in the dialogue.

Gravity meets 28 days later meets money grabbing corporations, this was fantastic 9/10

The Tardis lands on a remote space station in deep space and right away the Doctor and co realise something is very wrong

"Hey Theo what you doing watching old Doctor Who vids. I thought you were going to review the latest NuWho episode"

Well of course I am and for the second week in a row I'm commentating on an extremely traditional DOCTOR WHO story that feels the need to traumatise the little ones. This time it's written by Jamie Mathieson who I was very impressed with - along with the rest of fandom - with his two scripts from the Capaldi debut season. There's very little in the way of radical storytelling but when the narrative seen here is old school horror film inspired narrative like we had in the Hinchcliffe era this doesn't really matter

"Hey Theo it sounds like you're really enjoying the show again. What's going on ? There's got to be a catch right ?"

Well sadly yes and that is there is a blatant political statement made in a very clumsy manner one of telling without showing . That is capitalism is wrong and feels out of place especially if it's delivered in such a hamfisted way

"Hey Theo I take it you've never seen classic stories like Colony In Space ? "

Of course but in the classic show there is an element of subtext. It was never all that subtle but at least it didn't feel like right on student politics either. The lines also conflates oppressive corporate greed with everyday capitalism when in reality the two concepts are completely different. After all even Lenin and Trotsky brought in capitalism for the individual even though they changed the name of the brand to "New Economic Policy" . I'll take Lenin and Trotsky over the Guardian reading Islington dinner party mobsters any day of the week . Incidentally we will be getting a religious themed tale set in the Vatican next week. Will the production team via the Doctor be making statements involving religion being the worst man made invention that has negated the lives of billions over millennia ? What do you think ?

Anyway despite this small jarring effect Oxygen is an outstanding episode from the Moffat era which leaves me puzzled why we haven't had such a consistent high quality show until now

Often when you tune into Doctor Who, you're not expecting any huge concerns. Oh, sure, towards the end of a season you might have to worry about a companion dying or a Doctor regenerating, but it's usually low stakes, even when they seam high. And yet this made the danger feel real. Anyone saying the commentary on capitalism being inaccurate or overblown hasn't looked into where the cobalt and tin for their devices come from, who built them, or what happened to people making semiconductors early in the industry. And that's just tech. Car manufacturers knowingly allowing dangerous defects because recalls are more expensive than settlements, or lobbying for more roads and less public transport despite the thousands of deaths every year from car travel. Let's not get started on your ridiculous healthcare, Americans. Capitalism has always been about the price of a life, this just makes you think about it for every breath. It's a tension that'll carry you through this episode, at the edge of your seat... and perhaps counting your breaths.