Chris Chibnall

Three stars are for the book, with maybe one of those stars born of a gravity effect from the five-star drama - of the same name and similar pedigree - pulling up the score of this lackluster adaptation. Hidden within the BBC show are depths unspoken. Unfortunately, that depth is of an elusive, almost silent variety. A better novelist could have listened, through the silence, and found the truly literary amongst the dramatic. Instead, we have a thinly disguised, reformatted teleplay. Even the tense carried over, as if the author couldn't be bothered to transform the most surely present-tense script (scripts are almost universally written in the present-tense) into a more traditional, past-tense novel. Simply set the writing application for stun - reformatting the script - and insert the odd detail, a bit of inner-dialogue, a novelistic touch. I exaggerate, but by how much I'm not sure.

But do catch the BBC program.… (altro)

We very much like Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor in this, her second series. Her three companions provide some light relief in the form of banter as well as giving aid in different ways. This series includes some meetings with historical figures, as well as daleks and cybermen, and ends with a stunning - if confusing - episode in which we find out about the origin of the Time Lords.

Recommended if you like this series, but it would be a bit bewildering to see as a one-off if you are not already a fan of Doctor Who.… (altro)