Oh yay, “Extremis,” everyone’s favorite episode of Doctor Who! For the love of all that is holy, please understand that was sarcasm. Continuing on from the space-blindness of Peter’s previous attempts to save Bill, it is time to look inside the vault. We find out what is so dangerous that he has been guarding it around the clock, staying on Earth (only when he feels like it), and making sure nothing enters or leaves.

It is also the episode where the Pope goes around in his Pope-mobile doing Pope-things, like defecating in the woods. It is also a twisted version of that sketch from Monty Python about the funniest joke ever, which is clearly Gilbert Gottfried at the roast of Hugh Hefner in September 2001. Anyone who reads a piece of paper, a small document, is doomed to commit suicide and it has the Catholic church up in arms. Meanwhile, Bill is on a date, which might also have the Pope up in arms like he just doesn’t care.

I care though, because this is another one of those episodes by Steven where we use swear words for whimsy. Yes, it is nice to know that from beyond the grave, River will still get a good kick out of controlling the Doctor’s morality as he is about to execute the thing in the vault. Nevertheless, I still hold the opinion that this exhausted attempt to make Doctor Who “grow up” with its audience is just that, exhausting. I’m all for swearing and not being the first to say it is immature because it is not if done correctly. However, I will say it is a quick way to get the point across in the least creative way. Be it Doctor Who or every tired cop drama on TV now, it is done excessively.

While I’m at the station of Complaint-Ville, I’d like to point out it is yet another episode where it is mostly dark hallways, rooms, and dark libraries. What is the obsession with every episode being in darkness? Even the characters are in dark clothing, making it almost only silhouettes you’re able to pick out from the candlelit depths of the Catholic church. I say they are all dressed in dark clothes, but Cardinal Richelieu is in red, so at least you could pick him out until he was picked off.

The Cardinal, everyone at CERN, the president, and everyone that is in the simulation to conquer the planet, all commit suicide. It is an episode that flops about in the grim and serious nature of itself and the show overall. It is this bit that bores the ever-living Christ out of me when it comes to Doctor Who. There are a few clever bits and there are a few glitches in that metaphorical matrix that aren’t adding up, though. That makes it a typical Steven Moffat episode.

I don’t hate “Extremis,” despite my overdone sarcasm about it being something it isn’t. It isn’t the first episode you think of when you think of Doctor Who. That doesn’t mean I like it either. It is slow and when it does get to anything good/interesting, it is only for a few minutes to tease out the vault dweller. What does get annoying is the use of Bill’s step-mum being blind to her being gay. At the very least she should have a few hints at this point, right? Or are we just saying she’s a bad mum that ignores her kid to go out on dates with several men with names that start with H? It was a needless bit for the character.

For once I can say that I didn’t hate Matt Lucas. In fact, he was quite good aside from the moments where he attempted to tell Bill off. He felt more grounded, more at home with these lines over the more light sci-fi of the last episode. Not that this is reason enough to keep it in rotation on your rewatch, almost none of it is, and that’s my problem with “Extremis.” All the good bits are the so-called execution, and quite frankly you could make that a five-minute compilation on YouTube. Corrado Invernazzi as the Cardinal is good, but again, he is nothing to carry the episode on.

Ultimately, “Extremis” is one of those episodes that is lore-heavy without bogging itself down in the mire of trying to rewrite all those fan-wikis at once. There is enough story to tease out the series arc and enough to please the fans that care about it. It doesn’t get in the way unlike some Chris Chibnall episodes I could talk about. Where it fails to engage is by trying to tie a mystery story alongside a Doctor that metaphorically wears sunglasses in every dark scene. Aside from a few clever opportunities to make Peter the one pulling strings, the Doctor and the companions felt like passengers in a simulated ride as we got flashbacks to the Time Lord’s execution.

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Doctor Who "Extremis"

6

Score

6.0/10

Pros

• Corrado Invernizzi & Joseph Long's papal performances.
• Matt Lucas finally fitting into the character.
• Almost everything from that execution flashback.

Cons

• A majority of it felt like a mystery we were a passanger to.
• Stop trying to make the show "grow up" with the audience!
• You can shove your Harry Potter references your Moby-Dick.