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Welcome to the review for “The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos”. Yes, it’s the season finale for series 11.
Answering nine separate distress calls, the Doctor and friends arrive on the remnants of a brutal battlefield on the planet Ranskoor Av Kolos. This planet has many secrets. It’s name translates to “disintegration of the soul”. An amnesiac commander with a missing crew? Mysterious vibrating objects? Who or what are the Ux? A deadly reckoning awaits the Doctor and friends once they begin to have the answers.
The TARDIS lands on Ranskoor Av Kolos, a planet with a psychic field that alters one’s perception of reality. The Doctor provides her companions with counteracting neurobalancers. They come across an amnesiac pilot, Paltraki. Paltraki gets a video signal from a woman, Andinio, and Tzim-Sha, who warns Paltraki to bring him an item, a rock floating in a protective shell, in exchange for his crew. Graham and Ryan look for the crew, while the Doctor, Yasmin and Paltraki seek Tzim-Sha. They encounter Andinio, who takes them to Tzim-Sha and Delph; Andinio and Delph are the Ux, a telekinetic race of faith-driven dimensional engineers. Tzim-Sha has been trapped on Ranskoor and the Ux consider him their “creator”; he has had them shrink planets to tiny objects: the item from Paltraki’s ship. Yasmin and Paltraki discover four similar planets, while Tzim-Sha begins the same to Earth. The Doctor convinces the Ux to stop the process and help her return the planets. Graham and Ryan find the crew in stasis chambers. Ryan leads the crew to safety, and after, they stow Tzim-Sha in a stasis chamber. The Doctor, the Ux, and Paltraki’s crew work together to return the planets, and the Doctor and her companions are off to more adventures.
Join us as we discuss this and soo much more!
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I remember Mark Addy (Paltrki) from “Still Standing” and “The Flintstones”.
Side note: heads up Wayne, there’s a “Downton Abbey” movie coming since you like it! Here’s you a trailer: https://youtube.com/watch?v=X1wU1FXe6KY .
If they bring someone back it has to be Krasko, sure you could save him for another Doctor but he wouldn’t have the same punch as if this group sees him again. I’m a pass on the Uks myself for awhile as they feel maybe too powerful to see next season after just coming in this season at the end so it won’t feel like such a gap between appearances like say as if the pilots from “Ghost Monument” pop up in an episode.
Graham was definitely the most developed of all the friends this season.
Things I’d like to see in season 12…
Doctor building something that saves the day in at least 3 episodes of the season to callback to her saying she builds things!
An episode where the sonic isn’t used at all; it does feel like a magic wand with how much it was used last season.
A dark Doctor moment to again nod to the Hurt version, think Graham in this episode; I know Jodie’s Doctor is a hopeful one but even hopeful people have off days!
More episodes in the season because this season felt short, do a full season for the UK (13 episodes)!
A Yaz centric plot for the season because she’s due for some character development as Graham and Ryan had this season for their relationship and journey over Grace.
Doctor/Yaz – the chemistry was real this season and they did say “no romance this season” which means going forward with 12 there could be romance.
Familiar faces; again I love they went different this season because it does make the universe feel bigger not running into the same people over and over but like maybe four episodes, no more than 6 because again new makes the universe feel bigger, of the season where we have a familiar villain (daleks if they’re not in the holiday special) or face (Jenny Flint) wouldn’t be bad.
For those wondering what a River-Doctor episode may be like – https://youtube.com/watch?v=GdhE4Z3PO3M .
The same level of cinematography because this season has been gorgeous!
Doing a rank of the episodes this season I’d say…
1 – “Rosa”
2 – “Demons Of The Punjab”
3 – “The Woman Who Fell To Earth”
4 – “The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos” – I feel while rating better than TWWFTE (I gave it a 9 where as Battle got a 10) I have to put this second as both are good and this is the payoff so it should be watched second; it’s helped by what happens in Woman.
5 – “The Ghost Monument”
6 – “Kerblam!”
7 – “The Witchfinders”
8 – “The Tsuranga Conundrum”
9 – “Arachnids In The UK”
10 – “It Takes You Away”
The only reason I’m rating “It Takes You Away” as last is because I wanted more of the mirror world; that part had such potential and I just felt like it got sped through sadly. Even though this is my lowest rewatch episode I’d still watch this over some other Who episodes I’ve seen from other seasons because the mirror stuff was so good; it’s the worst for me of this season but it’s not what I would pick for worst of the series. Do you two have rankings yet, if so what would they be?
Aaron, thanks again for your feedback and post comments! Great points. Yes, I’m definitely amped-up for the Downton Abbey Movie!