Kill the Moon
"Kill the Moon" is the seventh episode of the eighth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who.
Returning to the base, the Doctor asserts that the Moon is and always has been an egg containing a giant creature growing inside, ready to hatch, with the spider being one of thousands of bacteria under its surface.
While briefing Harness on how to write the script, executive producer Steven Moffat told him to "Hinchcliffe the shit out of it for the first half", meaning, essentially, to make it frightening.
"[6] Filming for the episode took place in Lanzarote, near the Volcán del Cuervo (Raven's Volcano)[7] in Timanfaya National Park.
[9] Filming took place on 12–13 May,[10] while the park was closed to visitors,[11] with locals reporting that "they've erected a huge marquee, have trailers, toilets and a van".
Club labelled the episode an instant classic,[21] and Simon Brew of Den of Geek called it one of the show's very best,[31] while Ewan Spence of Forbes found it poorly written with weak characters and themes.
[33][21][34] Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Ben Lawrence noted that "'Kill the Moon' was an excellent example of Doctor Who reaching out to different generations, something it hasn't always done in recent weeks."
Lawrence stated that the guests were underdeveloped, but concluded that, "it lacked the clever-cleverness that has marred recent episodes and proved how good Doctor Who can be when it simply tells a story.
"[33] Writing in The Independent, Neela Debnath praised Coleman's performance, articulating that she "impressed again with her fury as she held the Doctor to account.
He described the episode's writing as "audacious, highly imaginative, and is well matched by Paul Wilmshurst's supremely eerie, cinematic direction", and closed his review by noting "Portentous dialogue, sharp direction, urgent music and a powerhouse performance from Peter Capaldi make this one of the defining moments of the season".
He also praised Harness' script as "impressive" and said that Wilmshurst "fully understands that slowing things down and making little moments count is the key to crawling under people's skins".
[26] In contrast, some reviewers criticised what they perceived to be plot elements alluding to the abortion debate and, moreover, how the issue was dealt with in the script.
The grey moon surface provided an uninspiring backdrop for what amounted to a galactic metaphor for the pro-choice debate".
[36] Spence described the script as "leaden and heavy... the lack of consequences to [Clara's] decision left the episode with a hollow ring."
The review praised Capaldi's and Coleman's performances, but concluded that "'Kill the Moon' wasn't good drama, it delivered false controversy, and it did not respect the debate it was trying to start in the viewers at home.
She summarised that "This episode is a string of scenes that don't make a lot of sense, but are vaguely held together by virtue of the fact that they all happen on the same channel in the same one-hour period."
Writing for Slate, Phil Plait remarked, "The science mistakes were so egregious and so obvious that they kept pulling me right out of the story.
While he praised both the actors' performances and the story's ability to "examine aspects of the human condition", he said the episode was "also terrible, presenting a version of science so incorrect that it almost creates a new genre – 'not-so-science fiction'".
Though part of the fun of the show is "obviously make-believe, sciencey-wiencey facts and jargon", he believed that, "When [The Doctor] states blatantly wrong science 'facts' because the writer couldn't be bothered to think rationally, or consult a scientist, that makes the Doctor look like an idiot, and...ruins part of the believability of the show.
