I'm finally catching up on the past few seasons of Doctor Who. I miss Amy and Rory. I don't like Clara. I despite the whole Clara leads a double life and actively lies to Danny.

Sadness! Season 8 is my favourite season of the new era - possibly my favourite ever - and Clara is the main reason for that. She went from being one of the most generic characters ever, in Season 7, to perhaps the best-drawn. (Not that I'm wanting to change your own mind, but I do like talking about it.) Also probably the first time ever that they've had an arc actually driven by character flaws (contrast Amy's and Rory's flaws being used more or less exclusively for laughs). I've heard it said that under Russell T. Davies, the focus was the Doctor's effect on the world, while under Steven Moffat, it was the world's effect on the Doctor. With the Twelfth Doctor, it's become the Doctor's effect on his companion, which I think works much better.

Her best scenes, for me:

• Deep Breath: going one-on-one with the robot, after the Doctor's just abandoned her. She does this often - takes the lead against the villain and/or takes the Doctor's role. (The only other companion with that ability was Romana.) She does it in Robot of Sherwood, Flatline, Death in Heaven (with similar occasions in Listen and Dark Water). Also Cold War and Nightmare in Silver, last season. But in this one she does it while clearly terrified.

• Kill the Moon: tearing strips off the Doctor at the end. She makes the emotion in that scene more complex than just anger. Also an important corrective to the Doctor's behaviour up to now. I feel it was necessary for the show to acknowledge that this regeneration, to date, wasn't right.

• Mummy on the Orient Express: again, right at the end, when she decides to keep travelling with him. Given the set-up, I was expecting the Doctor to engage in some partial redemption, and Clara accepts that despite his manner, his heart(s) are still in the right place. But then she lies to Danny (and the Doctor), and her decision to stay becomes so much more complex, more to do with her than with the Doctor, and something profoundly unhealthy.

• Dark Water: The scene by the volcano, of course. (Or I should say, the scene that starts by the volcano.) I can't think of any scene between Doctor and companion as gripping as this. Jenna Coleman and Peter Capaldi act the hell out of it.

And special mention to her line from Deep Breath: "Nothing is more important than my egomania!"

Though giving Clara a stronger personality, especially a seriously flawed one in some ways, means people can form stronger opinions of her. (I did find her quite unlikable in Forest of the Night. getting addicted to the thrill of adventure is one thing, neglecting the kids she's responsible for is quite another. Not to mention that when she does focus on them again, it's to decide they'd be better off dead than surviving as orphans. The hell?)

Hated Clara was in love with the Doctor and freaked when he got old but there was Madame Vastra which was bonus points.

Oh, that points to another thing I very much like about the Twelfth Doctor, namely the decision to get away from the romantic tension in the Tardis. (I don't actually mind him having a love life, but it never serves the companions well to be caught up in it.) But I'm not sure that she really was in love with Eleven. That was Vastra's accusation, but Clara offered a forceful rebuttal (of which Vastra apparently approved), and then there's this exchange towards the end:

The Doctor: "I’m the Doctor. I’ve lived for over two thousand years. And not all of them were good. I’ve made many mistakes, and it’s about time that I did something about that. ...Clara, I’m not your boyfriend."
Clara: "I never thought you were."
The Doctor: "I never said it was your mistake."

I think Clara having such trouble accepting his regeneration was kind of ham-fisted. It put her out of character so they could try and steer the audience's reaction to accept Capaldi as the Doctor.

I want...a companion that is not from current times and in her 20s and from Earth. Alien would be good. And more stuff going on in space. These episodes based around the school are way less interesting than the UNIT episodes.

That'd be good, I think. For instance, in the Big Finish audio adventures, they have the Sixth Doctor paired with a middle-aged history teacher called Evelyn Smythe. They work very well together.

It's time they mixed it up. (And perhaps also set up for a female Doctor after Capaldi.) I'm pessimistic though. With the change in showrunner coming up, I'd expect them to play it conservative.

Despite not being crazy about all but the last few episodes, I think Capaldi is the best-acted Doctor since at least Nine, and the one most to my taste since Four. Not coincidentally, his episode with River Song is the first time I've been enthusiastic about the Doctor having a sincere romantic relationship (as opposed to Ten and Queen Elizabeth being played for comedy) since Romana was around.

I like 10 but not with Rose. For the most part Rose annoyed me. Some of it wasn't her fault...the romance angle wasn't my thing, but the Doctor kept his history a secret. ..for the most part. I'd get frustrated when Rose would act like she was his only traveling companion and then remember she really didn't know. Was Sarah Jane's appearance the first time she knew about any othe companions?

I think part of it is being grumpy.

The volcano scene was good. I like Capaldi as an actor and what he can do with the material. I just don't think much of the material. But I haven't seen the most recent episodes. I did start to watch the episode with River but Mom came in and started asking questions. ..who is that..whats going on...and only half paying attention to what I said so it was easier to stop watching.

Belated comment on X-files pilot part I. Not thrilled with more or less straight faced emphasis on mythology. What I liked about X-files was:

1) Quirky characters
2) Monster of the week
3) Mythology eps only when they had lots of funny bits, and left open the possibility that Mulder was completely nuts and there was no conspiracy

In that order.

I will admit this though [Shallow] Gillian Anderson is even hotter than when she was younger, smolderingly so [/shallow].

[Shallow] Gillian Anderson is even hotter than when she was younger, smolderingly so [/shallow]

Yes, and what the hell. What arcane spell is she using, where is the portrait hidden, how do I get in on this wicked magic.

I think it's down to winning the lottery on bone structure. As she's aged and her features have gotten sharper, she looks more and more like a statue of a Greek goddess.

I really liked Rose and Nine, but I had never seen Dr Who previously, and at the time, it seemed like they made it just for me!

Typo, you will love the third ep of the new series. It was written by Darin Morgan, and guest stars Murray from Flight of the Conchords,and that's all I'll say without spoilers.

Yes, and what the hell. What arcane spell is she using, where is the portrait hidden, how do I get in on this wicked magic.

I'm pretty sure that spell is botox and fillers. Her face wasn't so shiny and taut when she was young. I spent most of the first episode wondering what the hell she did to her face.