Honestly this kind of absurdist episode will always be my favorite kind of Doctor Who story. I love that they mirror the loyalties of each side to their queen to show how similar each side really is, which I think works great for symbolism for British Colonialism and how the colonies former governments were treated. This is what Victory of the Daleks really should have been.
2:48 Although Pyramids of Mars has nothing to do with Empress of Mars or any other Ice Warrior story, I wonder if the Ice Warriors ever found the Pyramid linked to Sutekh while they were prominent on Mars...
I actually love this episode. I'm a sucker for Ice Warriors, and to go to mars again was cool. I had fun with it. Plus the nice nod to the classic at the end, loved it
I dont mind the soldiers having little to no character to them, Its very easy for a short episode like this to become overclustered with characters to the point that they all blend away into nothing so keeping it limited to the leaders is the best option. Plus any army setting needs some faceless grunts to fill out the ranks
What an absolute corker of an episode, often wished we’d see more outlandish psuedo-historicals like this again, has that distinct classic who flavour that is so ripe for exploration in NuWho.
As you pointed out this had a portrait of Pauline Collins as Queen Victoria from Tooth and Claw. This was directed by Wayne Yip and he directed the previous episode Lie of the Land which had a picture of Winston Churchill. However that was the picture of the real Churchill and not as he was portrayed by Ian McNeice. Just thought it an inconsistency between these two episodes in presenting a picture of a real person in one episode and the actor who portrayed another real person in the next episode and both have the same director.
I wonder if the folding effect would have been better if it folded them backward (with the sound of breaking bones) rather than forward. Just a thought.
So I always took Missy's lines at the end of this episode as her being completely genuine in her concern for the Doctor's well being. Now the Master has always had a soft spot for the Doctor, but I think this was meant for the audience to show that Missy's time in seclusion is affecting her far more than anything has before, that the repentance is really working
Say what you want about Gatiss i adore him as a writer and i love it so much ....we have a brilliant 5 episide run then epicly dark trikogy ghis was wild fun before a bleak finale .... Series 10 is THE standard and nearly 8 years later i miss it we were so lucky to have it Series 10 and 11 deserve flowers for going all out twice ending ine era and beginning another
No real comment on your critique, it's fairly solid overall, all I do want to comment on is how, the way Friday being used as a name its itself a concentrated example of that colonialist mindset. I mean, I didn't even know they used it irl to refer to indigineous guides which is highly offensive... but how many of those brits you think actually *know* what that day of the week means? It's norse, it's Frigg's day, the name of Odin's wife, the norse, the vikings other colonizers, only in many ways they often colonized in *reverse*, they *integrated* into other societies. Sure after a couple raids but they never stubbornly *refused* o stop being vikings, and would *become* part of the culture they were originally raiding... kinda scary honestly. But here, we have british colonialists, using the name of a norse pagan deity... to refer to a person they just didn't bother trying to learn the culture of.
I think it's little unfair on Flashheart to link him to the upstart captain here. Flashheart has more charisma and presence in his little toe than the pipsqueak here. Also Flashheart doesn't need to be an upstart, he's already the best :p
I feel that though Capaldi's run as a whole was way stronger than people gave it credit for, series 10 is somehow overrated? I mean I like Extremis, Oxygen, and finale quite a bit however episodes like knock knock, Lie Of the Land, and Eaters of light are all pretty meh and the rest of his run felt either unremarkable or slightly forgettable. Maybe the reason series 10 is so fondly remembered is due to the fact it came just before Jodie's run...
I love this season! Its in my top 5 the only real bad episodes for me were Knock Knock and The Lie of The Land. I enjoy Capaldi's run overall. But yes you are entitled to your own opinion
Is this episode good? It's got Bill in it so that's going to be a yes. I rewatched this season recently and enjoyed it so much. There's lots of elements I love about Empress. It's not the best episode but it does a solid job. This ep, this series, is a good one to bring out when idiots start ranting about Who having gone 'woke'.
Anyone else feel compelled to look up the Sumerian name for Mars only to find that Nergal was the Babylonian name and the Sumerians called it something completely different? Just me? Okay then.
When i saw the alpha centuri contact thing in this episode I thought it was a joke, i thought it was missy doing a voice which would lead to her showing up. Since i hadnt seen the classing who episodes featuring them, the costume just looked rediculous to the point that I thought that it cant be a legit plot point.
Mark Gatiss is a hit or miss writer for me. He can write good like The Empress of Mars, Cold War, Robot of Sherwood. He can also write bad like Crimson Horror, Sleep No More, Unquiet Dead
Help me beat Elon to mars
www.patreon.com/c/harbowholmes
Honestly this kind of absurdist episode will always be my favorite kind of Doctor Who story. I love that they mirror the loyalties of each side to their queen to show how similar each side really is, which I think works great for symbolism for British Colonialism and how the colonies former governments were treated. This is what Victory of the Daleks really should have been.
Dr Who is often at it's best when it is being absurdist, it makes for a great brake from the serious and horror bits.
the joke about the doctor only recognize Frozen as a film and using it in such a DARK context gives me a good laugh every time
2:48 Although Pyramids of Mars has nothing to do with Empress of Mars or any other Ice Warrior story, I wonder if the Ice Warriors ever found the Pyramid linked to Sutekh while they were prominent on Mars...
I like to think they found it but it gave them a bad feeling so they avoided it. Maybe had myths and lore around it as an evil place to be avoided.
Ngl, almost all the cold opens in this series hit hard
Who's Nigel?😂😂😂
@elberno4243 not going to lie
I actually love this episode. I'm a sucker for Ice Warriors, and to go to mars again was cool. I had fun with it. Plus the nice nod to the classic at the end, loved it
I have a soft spot for this one. I don't think I could take Gatiss as showrunner but I enjoy him when he's being weird every season or so
I dont mind the soldiers having little to no character to them, Its very easy for a short episode like this to become overclustered with characters to the point that they all blend away into nothing so keeping it limited to the leaders is the best option.
Plus any army setting needs some faceless grunts to fill out the ranks
What an absolute corker of an episode, often wished we’d see more outlandish psuedo-historicals like this again, has that distinct classic who flavour that is so ripe for exploration in NuWho.
I wish the Victorians where Mondasians that would have been a cool twist
But Mondas fall in the 80s.
IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR HARBO
How Many Sugars Do You Have In Your Tea?
As you pointed out this had a portrait of Pauline Collins as Queen Victoria from Tooth and Claw.
This was directed by Wayne Yip and he directed the previous episode Lie of the Land which had a picture of Winston Churchill.
However that was the picture of the real Churchill and not as he was portrayed by Ian McNeice.
Just thought it an inconsistency between these two episodes in presenting a picture of a real person in one episode and the actor who portrayed another real person in the next episode and both have the same director.
I wonder if the folding effect would have been better if it folded them backward (with the sound of breaking bones) rather than forward. Just a thought.
Brutal...I love it
How haven't we gotten a Victorian Dalek story is, now that I think of it, quite surprising. Especially with the Moffatt Era.
I genuinely love this episode and think it's Gattis's best.
So I always took Missy's lines at the end of this episode as her being completely genuine in her concern for the Doctor's well being. Now the Master has always had a soft spot for the Doctor, but I think this was meant for the audience to show that Missy's time in seclusion is affecting her far more than anything has before, that the repentance is really working
This is a solid episode. Not exactly great or memorable but competently gets the job done.
Say what you want about Gatiss i adore him as a writer and i love it so much ....we have a brilliant 5 episide run then epicly dark trikogy ghis was wild fun before a bleak finale .... Series 10 is THE standard and nearly 8 years later i miss it we were so lucky to have it Series 10 and 11 deserve flowers for going all out twice ending ine era and beginning another
No real comment on your critique, it's fairly solid overall, all I do want to comment on is how, the way Friday being used as a name its itself a concentrated example of that colonialist mindset. I mean, I didn't even know they used it irl to refer to indigineous guides which is highly offensive... but how many of those brits you think actually *know* what that day of the week means?
It's norse, it's Frigg's day, the name of Odin's wife, the norse, the vikings other colonizers, only in many ways they often colonized in *reverse*, they *integrated* into other societies. Sure after a couple raids but they never stubbornly *refused* o stop being vikings, and would *become* part of the culture they were originally raiding... kinda scary honestly.
But here, we have british colonialists, using the name of a norse pagan deity... to refer to a person they just didn't bother trying to learn the culture of.
It's from Robinson Crusoe
I think it's little unfair on Flashheart to link him to the upstart captain here. Flashheart has more charisma and presence in his little toe than the pipsqueak here. Also Flashheart doesn't need to be an upstart, he's already the best :p
As long as Faolancortez remains we know the world is still working
Literally the only thing I really remember about this episode is that it’s an Ice Warrior episode and the weird nothing Nardole “subplot”.
Underrated episode
I feel that though Capaldi's run as a whole was way stronger than people gave it credit for, series 10 is somehow overrated? I mean I like Extremis, Oxygen, and finale quite a bit however episodes like knock knock, Lie Of the Land, and Eaters of light are all pretty meh and the rest of his run felt either unremarkable or slightly forgettable. Maybe the reason series 10 is so fondly remembered is due to the fact it came just before Jodie's run...
The ol Starwars prequels post sequels syndrome
I love this season! Its in my top 5 the only real bad episodes for me were Knock Knock and The Lie of The Land. I enjoy Capaldi's run overall. But yes you are entitled to your own opinion
I really like this episode despite its faults
My biggest pet peeve about this episode is that the Cyberman music was used the next time trailer for it.
Controversial take but this is one in my top twenty.
Is this episode good? It's got Bill in it so that's going to be a yes. I rewatched this season recently and enjoyed it so much. There's lots of elements I love about Empress. It's not the best episode but it does a solid job. This ep, this series, is a good one to bring out when idiots start ranting about Who having gone 'woke'.
8:39 Harbo, you seem to be reading a season 12 epilogue.😂😂😂
Anyone else feel compelled to look up the Sumerian name for Mars only to find that Nergal was the Babylonian name and the Sumerians called it something completely different? Just me? Okay then.
Great video 👍 Another thing that is Doctor Who is a body count
Friday is a reference to Robinson Crusoe, right?
I now wonder if Series 10 really was as good as I remembered
When i saw the alpha centuri contact thing in this episode I thought it was a joke, i thought it was missy doing a voice which would lead to her showing up. Since i hadnt seen the classing who episodes featuring them, the costume just looked rediculous to the point that I thought that it cant be a legit plot point.
Awwww crap we’re nearing the end :(
But the moment has been prepared for.
it means we are getting close to some of the best episodes tho
To be fair the show was less than an hour long it would have needed more time to go into the things H would have liked it too.
I honestly don’t remember this episode at all.
I’m gonna need you to stop these season 10 reviews before you reach the finale and I become depressed.
24:08 why’s that so weird?
Mark Gatiss is a hit or miss writer for me. He can write good like The Empress of Mars, Cold War, Robot of Sherwood. He can also write bad like Crimson Horror, Sleep No More, Unquiet Dead
6:44 not tired at all. Media gotta start shitting on someone else for once.
Further more I love how everyone gets nice messages about sovereignty except the ones they always shit on
Annoyingly forgettable episode, if only a good writer had written this episode
And what would you have done?
@mayotango1317 I'd have given you a half sibling
@@greghawkins59?
Bill potts sucks!!!!!!!!