Kill the Moon
- Episode aired Oct 4, 2014
- TV-PG
- 45m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
6.7K
YOUR RATING
In the near future, the Doctor and Clara find themselves on a space shuttle making a suicide mission to the Moon. Crash-landing on the lunar surface they find the most terrible things.In the near future, the Doctor and Clara find themselves on a space shuttle making a suicide mission to the Moon. Crash-landing on the lunar surface they find the most terrible things.In the near future, the Doctor and Clara find themselves on a space shuttle making a suicide mission to the Moon. Crash-landing on the lunar surface they find the most terrible things.
Photos
- Director
- Writers
- Peter Harness
- Steven Moffat
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe DVDs that the Doctor says are in the bookcase that will bring the TARDIS to him, is a reference to Blink (2007). They are the 17 DVDs that he made for Sally Sparrow to take the TARDIS back to him in 1969.
- GoofsLundvik laughs at Courtney putting pictures on Tumblr and says her Grandmother used post on Tumblr.
This episode only takes place 35 years in the future. Lundvik and Courtney would be approximately the same age, so the joke makes no sense.
- Quotes
Clara Oswald: [Angrily] Tell me what you knew, Doctor, or I'll smack you so hard you'll regenerate.
Featured review
Implausible even by Doctor Who standards but still watchable
Following on near enough directly after the previous episode, "The Caretaker" came this bizarre and even by "Doctor Who" standards silly addition to the show. Now when I say, this don't get me wrong I say this with all due respect being an avid fan of the series since childhood. However, what can be more ridiculous than the basic idea that the moon is actually an egg. Yes you've heard me right...an egg! One that was laid by some alien, dragon like creature millions of years ago and is just about to hatch. I don't think even the legendarily bad, black and white B-movie film director Ed Wood came up with such a ridiculous concept himself. But with that, when all said is done "Kill the Moon" in it's entirety Isn't that bad of an episode, forgoing the practical impossibility in being unable to suspend disbelief.
The catalyst for the inevitable journey to Earth's old rocky satellite is that Clara (Jenna Louse Coleman) is concerned about her teenage student Courtney Woods, last seen in the previous weeks episode. The Doctor made a cutting remark about her not being anyone special which has wounded her a bit emotionally. Reluctantly the Time Lord, once again played beautifully by the masterful Peter Capaldi agrees to journey with her in his TARDIS which the girl is fascinated with. Their destination – the moon where in the year 2049, where upon arriving they find they've materialized within the confines of a space shuttle loaded with nuclear devices. They soon meet it's crew led by Captain Lundvik (Hermoine Norris) who explains that they are on a suicide mission to destroy Earth's orbiting piece of rock. The reasoning behind this is that years ago the moons gravitational influence had altered thus bringing about high tides that had wiped out much of humanity, and destabilizing the orbit of many of mankind's artificial satellites. Upon investigation of the moons surface the Doctor learns of spider like creatures that exist beneath the surface and which are revealed to be sterilizing microbes that belong to a baby creature encased within waiting to hatch from inside.
All joking and mockery aside if there's one thing about the ludicrous aspect of "Killing the Moon" is that within the context of the plot it does eventually pose a moral dilemma for not only the Doctor, but also Clara and the other supporting characters. The ultimate decision of whether they should kill an unborn, living creature which is essentially innocent and a victim of circumstance does have it's merit. It's just the context of the scenario writer Peter Harness has chosen to pose the ultimate debate. I'm not going to state whole wholeheartedly that Harness is a terrible writer because he does manage to keep the pacing tight enough and there's some strong dialogue and the interaction, bantering and philosophizing is commendable. That having being said is ultimately things don't quite work once the action moves to the final act. Without giving too much away we see Clara ultimately being forced to carry the Doctor's moral baggage, a move which given the context of the story seems extraordinarily careless even for the wily Time Lord who has some history of taking risks. Furthermore the story is ultimately about Clara being forced in to the precarious position of authority where eventually she decides on a course of action which should have been the right one. However, what does she do, but go and contradict herself by doing precisely the opposite. And what's lamentable is that Harness is content to tack on the inevitably happy conclusion so that it's all all right then because everything turned out swimmingly in the end.
However, the direction by Paul Wilmshurt is exemplary, the production values quite splendid with the spidery monstrosities that provide an antagonist threat though not being the most inspired of creations, at least looking pretty decent by CGI standards. The cast which also includes veteran actor Tony Osaba (of 1970's prison sitcom "Porridge" fame) are first rate while Ellis George who some found irritating as the bratty Courtney, has some great chemistry with Capaldi and Coleman to the point where she becomes quite endearing, This is all however slightly ruined by another tacked on contrivance at the very end that dampens some of the good will afforded it. At the very least there's at least an emotional and surprising climax which again, I won't give way but needless to say is tremendously performed by it's two leads.
Overall Kill the Moon although pretty inane Isn't without it's strengths but it sadly misses as equally as it scores. The result is that rather being something that potentially might have been great given a more feasible premise, instead we're given one that spoils it further by going that bit further and doing it again. In short, it's merely passable but had the potential for so much more.
The catalyst for the inevitable journey to Earth's old rocky satellite is that Clara (Jenna Louse Coleman) is concerned about her teenage student Courtney Woods, last seen in the previous weeks episode. The Doctor made a cutting remark about her not being anyone special which has wounded her a bit emotionally. Reluctantly the Time Lord, once again played beautifully by the masterful Peter Capaldi agrees to journey with her in his TARDIS which the girl is fascinated with. Their destination – the moon where in the year 2049, where upon arriving they find they've materialized within the confines of a space shuttle loaded with nuclear devices. They soon meet it's crew led by Captain Lundvik (Hermoine Norris) who explains that they are on a suicide mission to destroy Earth's orbiting piece of rock. The reasoning behind this is that years ago the moons gravitational influence had altered thus bringing about high tides that had wiped out much of humanity, and destabilizing the orbit of many of mankind's artificial satellites. Upon investigation of the moons surface the Doctor learns of spider like creatures that exist beneath the surface and which are revealed to be sterilizing microbes that belong to a baby creature encased within waiting to hatch from inside.
All joking and mockery aside if there's one thing about the ludicrous aspect of "Killing the Moon" is that within the context of the plot it does eventually pose a moral dilemma for not only the Doctor, but also Clara and the other supporting characters. The ultimate decision of whether they should kill an unborn, living creature which is essentially innocent and a victim of circumstance does have it's merit. It's just the context of the scenario writer Peter Harness has chosen to pose the ultimate debate. I'm not going to state whole wholeheartedly that Harness is a terrible writer because he does manage to keep the pacing tight enough and there's some strong dialogue and the interaction, bantering and philosophizing is commendable. That having being said is ultimately things don't quite work once the action moves to the final act. Without giving too much away we see Clara ultimately being forced to carry the Doctor's moral baggage, a move which given the context of the story seems extraordinarily careless even for the wily Time Lord who has some history of taking risks. Furthermore the story is ultimately about Clara being forced in to the precarious position of authority where eventually she decides on a course of action which should have been the right one. However, what does she do, but go and contradict herself by doing precisely the opposite. And what's lamentable is that Harness is content to tack on the inevitably happy conclusion so that it's all all right then because everything turned out swimmingly in the end.
However, the direction by Paul Wilmshurt is exemplary, the production values quite splendid with the spidery monstrosities that provide an antagonist threat though not being the most inspired of creations, at least looking pretty decent by CGI standards. The cast which also includes veteran actor Tony Osaba (of 1970's prison sitcom "Porridge" fame) are first rate while Ellis George who some found irritating as the bratty Courtney, has some great chemistry with Capaldi and Coleman to the point where she becomes quite endearing, This is all however slightly ruined by another tacked on contrivance at the very end that dampens some of the good will afforded it. At the very least there's at least an emotional and surprising climax which again, I won't give way but needless to say is tremendously performed by it's two leads.
Overall Kill the Moon although pretty inane Isn't without it's strengths but it sadly misses as equally as it scores. The result is that rather being something that potentially might have been great given a more feasible premise, instead we're given one that spoils it further by going that bit further and doing it again. In short, it's merely passable but had the potential for so much more.
helpful•53
- The-Last-Prydonian
- Mar 28, 2016
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Filming locations
- Timanfaya, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain(Moon surface)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime45 minutes
- Color
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content